Underneath the Mask

Weekly Comic Round-Up

2007-10-18T12:03:00.000-04:00

Every week (roughly) Aaron goes to the Laughing Ogre in Columbus, Ohio and spends far more money than his wife would prefer. He then comes back here and writes about the comics he reads that he thought were noteworthy. This isn't everything he picks up, just the things that he feels merit discussion - either for being really good, or for having something really wrong with them.

Death of the New Gods 1
Ok, I know that this takes away all of my geek cred, but I have to say it. I have never been that amazed with Jack Kirby.

I know. I know. Send in the hounds.

In all fairness, I admire his work. Kirby is to comic books what Orson Welles was to cinema. He revolutionized ways of doing things, and took the bare bones laid by those who came before him and redefined how things would be done forever after him.

But that doesn’t change the fact that since he redefined things, some folks have done it better. There are plenty of artists who I think are better, and certainly there are superior writers. So, with that said and upfront, let’s just start off by saying I’ve never been that impressed with the New Gods. In fact, the only reason I even looked at this book was because it ties in to Countdown, even if it doesn’t do so explicitly.

Man, I almost passed on a really good thing. The action is tightly paced, and the art is really crisp and clean. A device is used to show who is narrating each section with a small symbol placed in the narration boxes, and it works really well.

Case in point? I have absolutely nothing invested in any of the three gods who died this issue. But each death hit me.

And Darkseid getting one-step ahead of Metron? Priceless.

Captain America 31
Bucky is still my personal pick to be the new Captain America. But they’re sure doing their level best to make it hard for him. Having been captured in the last issue by the Red Skull and Dr. Faustus (remember, the guy who brainwashed Sharon Carter into shooting Steve Rogers, and to convince a huge percentage of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to quit?), they’re doing their best to break Bucky, by convincing him that Steve Rogers abandoned him.

The fantasies they create are interesting, though a bit unsubtle. And I don’t really understand why it is that the last one worked on Bucky when the others didn’t. (If it did at all – that’s still left to some debate, depending on whether or not next month’s issue opens up with a dead Agent 13.)

Meanwhile, Tony Stark is having a really bad month. We’ll see more of his bad month in the other books on the round-up, but having to deal with a S.H.I.E.L.D. organization he can’t rely on, and a Falcon and Black Widow who were stunned by a rogue Agent 13, to say nothing of the looming threat of the Red Skull, makes for a rough time for Iron Man.

Brubecker is quickly becoming my favorite Cap author, and that’s not an easy task to accomplish.

In other Captain America news, I picked up Captain America: The Chosen 3 this week as well. Just… don’t. And if they make that guy the new Captain America, I may be as done with Cap as I will be with Spider-Man once One More Day is finished.

(And yes, I know that the idea of using a perfectly new hero to replace the dead/missing/retired icon has worked well in comics before. I still really dig Kyle Rayner, Steel and Connor Kent. But Knightfall would’ve made me happier if Dick Grayson had become Batman, and I’m going to be really upset if the new Cap is a random soldier.)

Booster Gold 3
A comic book where a hero has disgraced himself in order to be able to save the timestream, but who will never be able to get the credit for it, is not what people would expect to be among the more “fun” titles out there today.

People would be wrong.

Booster, Rip and Skeets continue to bounce through time to make reality come together as it’s supposed to. And along the way (in this issue alone), Booster gets drunk alongside Jonah Hex, saved the doctor who will deliver Johnathan Kent’s father, deals with his ancestor Daniel and the double issue of discovering that the Supernova suit was stolen and the fact that he needs to get Daniel together with his future wife, and meets Barry Allen and Wally West – when Wally was still Kid Flash.

This book may be the best title published today. It’s fun, it’s fast-paced, the action is good, and it turns a character who had been little more than a joke into a major part of the DCU.

If you’re not reading this title, close your computer, walk or drive to your nearest comic book store, and pick up all three issues.

Now.

Marvel Zombies 2 1
I am so very, very, very torn about this book.

Why? Well, because on the one hand, I want to like it. And it had moments that I found absolutely perfect. The Galactus/Marvel zombies finding Ego, the Living Planet? That was so beautiful it brought a tear to my eye.

And there were other parts of it I enjoyed too. I liked the idea that Janet Van Dyne’s zombie head, now in control of her hunger, was still a part of the leading council. I liked the idea that, even after the zombie decimation, humans and mutants would still have differing opinions on how life should go on. It even worked for me that Cortez’s son would want to usurp T’Challa.

But the plot holes… dear god, the plot holes. If all it took was a week or so of the zombies not feeding for them to get back in control of themselves, then why did the zombie FF not regain control while they were trapped in the Baxter Building?

And of all the minds who are with the Galactus zombies, would it really be Peter Parker who first noticed that the hunger became less terrible with time? Really? Heck, if anything, I would think it would be Wolverine, with his heightened awareness of his body.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’ll keep reading it. But I was really hoping for better from this series, and Issue 1 isn’t as promising as I’d have liked.

Birds of Prey 111
Another one-off issue, but one that I think hit the nail on the head a little better than last month’s. (Not that there was anything wrong with the Helena issue, it just wasn’t quite as amazing.) Barbara needs to get to a localized Intranet to recover information about her identity from when the Watchtower was destroyed. Unfortunately, the Calculator had the same idea, and so both of them have infiltrated a convention taking place at the company’s HQ.

At the convention, Oracle and the Calculator end up bumping into one another while each is trying to get to the intranet, and so they both decide to distract the other by going to lunch together. There’s some cute flirtation between the two, and then they go back to their attempts to hack the intranet.

As these things must, a fight develops, though due to clever writing about a supervillain’s blind spots, despite the fact that Oracle breaks the Calculator’s leg, he doesn’t believe that Barbara is Oracle. The way that Misfit and the Huntress send the cavalry in when Barbara gets in trouble is nothing short of brilliant either.

Booster Gold may be my favorite ongoing title at the moment, but it’s a close contest with Birds of Prey.

A few books which don’t deserve an entire write-up, but are worth picking up if you get the chance. Penance 2 continues on just as strongly as the first issue did, with Robbie going after the Robot Master, for one reason and one reason only. He wants to get Nitro. And the secret of the numbers he’s been writing? They’re revealed. This issue would be another part of Tony Stark’s bad day. In all fairness, this book does deserve a full write-up, but I didn’t want to spoil any part of it. Meanwhile, Justice League 14 continues the battle between the Injustice Gang (or Legion of Doom, if we want to be honest) and the League, and does so wonderfully. I only had two complaints with it – the first being that things are happening so fast that they lack some of the attention they deserve. A new Shaggy Man? Grodd trying to break Geo-Force? Kryptonite paint? They’re all great ideas, and I just would have liked them to get a little more attention. My second complaint, and this is minor, is that in the splash page where Luthor shows Superman and Black Lightning the captured League is a bit too overtly sexualized in how it shows the captured heroines. Trust me, I know that superheroines in bondage is a common nerd fantasy, and has been ever since the early days of Wonder Woman. But I don’t need to be beat over the head with it. Finally, Mighty Avengers 5 manages to earn a little bit of respect from me in how Ares’ handles Ultron. The problem is how flawed other elements of the comic were. Frankly, Ultron shouldn’t be able to stand up to a pissed-off Sentry. “Power of a thousand exploding suns”, remember? Going to be going toe-to-toe with the Hulk in a week or so. And Ultron just killed his wife (maybe). Ultron should’ve been pulped. And I still think that the thought balloons seem more reflective of an editorial voice than that of the character they’re attached to.

So, that’s what I found noteworthy this week in comics. And if you’re not reading over there already, keep up with the developments in the world of superhero film and television at Superheroflix.

New Captain America

2007-10-11T15:05:00.000-04:00

Marvel has revealed pictures of the new Captain America, with a costume designed by Alex Ross.

No word yet on who it'll be, but Marvel has said it will not be Steve Rogers in the costume.

I kind of dig the costume, but don't see why it was needed. Much like Ben Riley's Spider-Man costume it's a decent moderinizing without dishonoring the original, but was it needed? No.

Weekly Comic Round-Up

2007-10-11T13:46:00.000-04:00

Every week (roughly) Aaron goes to the Laughing Ogre in Columbus, Ohio and spends far more money than his wife would prefer. He then comes back here and writes about the comics he reads that he thought were noteworthy. This isn't everything he picks up, just the things that he feels merit discussion - either for being really good, or for having something really wrong with them.

Green Arrow and Black Canary 1
Hey! Look! Connor and Dinah together on the cover! And a caption that this is not the team we expected. I guess that means that Dinah really did kill Ollie on their wedding night last issue.

Sure it is.

Needless to say, Dinah isn’t taking the fact that she killed her husband well. She’s become overtly violent and aggressive, with Connor, Hal and just about everyone else in the DCU telling her to deal with it. Dinah, on the other hand, is convinced that it was a fake Oliver, and that he’s still alive and out there.

And of course, it’s Batman who is suspicious enough to believe that Dinah might be right. An autopsy reveals that Bruce was correct – how shocking. And as the issue closes, we see who has the real Oliver Queen captive.

Pardon me, but what the hell? There are more plot holes in this then I can even begin to deal with. Let’s start with the fact that they did DNA testing on Ollie’s corpse. That should’ve revealed the truth – most shapeshifters don’t get to that level of duplication. But an autopsy performed by Batman and Dr. Mid-Nite will reveal it. Right.

Then there’s the question of how it took place? Dinah should’ve realized it wasn’t actually Ollie long before he came after her with a knife.

And finally, Dinah is among the ten best martial artists in the DCU. Oliver Queen doesn’t even come close (though his son might). She should have been able to disarm and disable the fake Oliver without jamming an arrow through his neck.

They really need to work to pull this out of the nose-dive they’re currently in. I want to like this book – I love Green Arrow and Black Canary. But this is just lame.

Green Lantern 24
The Sinestro War continues. As the Sinestro Corps comes to Earth, they send the Cyborg and the Manhunters to take out the JLA, as we saw last week in the Cyborg’s own comic. Meanwhile, Superboy Prime leads the Sinestros to attack earth proper.

And Parallax goes after Hal Jordan’s family. Hal flies off to the rescue, and is absorbed by Parallax, but then Kyle and Hal work together to burst free.

Ganthet and his Smurfette arrive and contain Parallax in the lanterns of Kyle, Hal, John Stewart and Guy Gardner – because humans have shown themselves to be especially capable at confronting their fears.

Really? Because, to my knowledge, the only two Lanterns to be possessed by Parallax were Kyle and Hal. That’s not exactly the criteria I’d choose for who to keep it captured.

Kyle does reclaim the mantle of (a) Green Lantern though, which is cool. I prefer him as a Lantern to being the receptacle for Ion. Besides, Ion is going to the Daxamite GL – which is going to be a necessity with Superboy Prime leading the Sinestro Corps.

It was a fun read, but moments that should have been meaningful were rushed.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man 24
“One More Day” continues, and now Peter is off to Dr. Strange to attempt to save May’s life. Despite being told by Stephen that May’s death is inevitable, and there is nothing that can be done, Peter insists. And so Strange uses magic to let Peter ask everyone he can think of to help his Aunt. They all refuse.

(Which makes no sense. We have seen that the technology is there to clone a person. We have also seen that the technology exists to transfer someone’s brain into a clone. If anyone has earned this procedure, it’s Peter.)

Peter, being foolhardy, then sneaks magic from behind Strange’s back to go back in time to prevent the shooting from happening. Because the knowledge of Latin from chemistry and biology is enough to use one of Dr. Strange’s artifacts, of course. It doesn’t work, needless to say.

Strange finally counsels Peter to go and be with his Aunt in her dying moments, rather than spending what time she has left rushing around to try to rescue her. Peter agrees, and as he wanders away, he remembers Strange saying that Peter couldn’t change what was meant to be. At which point a little girl shows up and says “But I can.”

Right.

The little girl is probably Mephisto. But even if Pete does go back in time, how does it matter? It has long-since been established that time-travel doesn’t let you change the past, it just creates an alternate reality.

I’ve seen spoilers for the end of “One More Day.” They anger me. But it seems like not only am I going to be mad about the results, I’m not going to be real happy with the journey.

JMS won me back to Spider-Man after the horror that was “The Clone Saga” and “Maximum Carnage.” But now he may have pushed me away from the web-slinger even harder.

Black Adam: The Dark Age 3
Adam’s quest continues, and wow has it been fun so far. Faust points out what the rest of us noticed, but that Adam had missed. Isis was missing a finger bone, and without that bone, the Lazarus Pit was unable to repair her. But Faust has said that he can bring her back if all of her amulet can be reclaimed.

Using the magic in her bones, Adam is now able to transform once again. So he begins his quest to regain the amulet pieces. The first piece is guarded by Hawkman.

It was a fun little fight, but why on Earth did it last? Adam is able to go toe-to-toe with Superman and Captain Marvel. Hawkman is a tough fighter with wings and a cool mace. The first punch Adam threw that connected should have removed Carter’s head.

Still, this is a minor quibble. The book has been excellent so far, and continues to be so. If you’re not reading it, you really need to.

A few books which don’t deserve an entire write-up, but are worth picking up if you get the chance. Countdown 29 continues again, and after a really strong week for Countdown and it’s crossovers, this week was kind of blah. First, it depended on the events of the upcoming Lord Havok cross-over, and that hasn’t come out. Secondly, the bits with Mary Marvel/Eclipso, The Karate Kid/Triplicate Lass, Holly Robinson and Jimmy Olsen were all a bit flat. And they really lose points for letting the Jokester be Monitored. He had a lot of potential that I wanted to see explored. And if they weren’t going to explore it, then the Crime Syndicate cross-over shouldn’t have been his origin. In Superman 668, Bruce and Clark are looking for the mysterious Third Kryptonian. (Of course, it’s more than that now. There’s Clark and Kara, but there’s also Karen (Power Girl), Krypto, Christopher, and also Zod and company.) The search was kind of uninteresting. Not bad, but uninteresting. But what was worth reading was the interaction between Christopher and Robin. Finally, New Avengers 35 features the team losing it’s first member as a death occurs fighting Zodiac. And then Night Thrasher disbands the team. It could’ve been interesting, but after five issues, I don’t feel like I know these characters. And by now, I should.

And if you’re not reading over there already, keep up with the developments in the world of superhero film and television over at Superheroflix.

Weekly Comic Round-Up

2007-10-04T15:11:00.000-04:00

News dump from SuperheroFlix

2007-10-02T22:31:00.000-04:00

So, like I said, I'm now working on getting news and stories up at SuperheroFlix. And it's been keeping me busy.

Here are just a few of the stories the site has put up over the last few days:

Heroes Re-cap for Episode 2.02: 'Lizards'
Writers of Transformers Revealed as Rewriters for Watchmen
Jonathan Jackson Battles The Seeker in The Dark Is Rising
Composer Ilan Eshkeri Re-teaming with Director Matthew Vaughn for Thor
James Wong Writing and Directing Dragon Ball Z Live-Action Film
Digital Production Supervisor Jeff White on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Incredible Hulk Storyline and Spoilers
Watch 4 Clips from Episode 2 of Bionic Woman!
Johnny Dynamite Television Series in the Works
Visual-Effects Supervisor Scott Farrar on Transformers 2
James Purefoy to Play the Lead Role in Solomon Kane
Underdog Paws Its Way to DVD and Blu-ray Disc December 18
Steven Moffat Is Writing Tintin
Full Cast List Revealed for Justice League: The New Frontier
CONTEST: Win Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer on DVD!
EXCLUSIVE: Eva Mendes Is Dating The Spirit
Malin Akerman Leaks a Little Watchmen Info
Carlos Mencia to Bring Beaner Man to the Big Screen!
Creators of Watchmen Consult with Author of The Physics of Superheroes

And I'm going to be writing reviews for the site as well.

Now, I didn't contribute all of those stories (not even close actually), but wow, it's a lot to keep up with. It's been tremendous fun, but it's a lot of work.

I'll be back on Thursday with the round-up.

Crickets chirping...

2007-10-01T15:50:00.000-04:00

Hey gang, I just wanted to let everyone know that things are going to slow down over here for a bit. I'll still be doing my round-ups here, and will still be talking about anything that is superhero related without being related to film or television which crosses my mind.

Why will I no longer be talking film or television?

Well, because I'm going to be busy working over at Superheroflix. Superheroflix is a spin-off genre site from MovieWeb, and one that has decided to bring me on-board working with them.

It's a tremendously exciting opportunity, and one I'm looking forward to. But it's not the place to talk about how excited I was to see Black Adam rip one of the Four Hoursemen into shreds in this weeks Countdown, (Hypothetically. To best of my knowledge, we will never see Black Adam engaging in violence against the Hoursemen in the pages of Countdown.), so I'll still be putting stuff over here.

I'll probably also, once I get used to things, put links to breaking news from Superheroflix over here as well.

Just wanted to keep everyone informed.

Weekly comic round-up

2007-09-27T10:42:00.000-04:00

Listen! Up in the sky!

2007-09-26T11:50:00.000-04:00

So, a while back we talked about old-time radio plays of superheroes. Well, three weeks of listening to them haven’t diminished my enthusiasm in the slightest. But there’s one little problem… they’re old.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there is nothing at all wrong with old stories. But it does remove the heroes from our frame of reference - Superman was a different character in the 1940’s then he is today. His relationships with Lex, Lois, Perry, etc. have all changed dramatically in the intervening sixty years, and the modern day listener can be somewhat confused when listening.

Fortunately, a great group of fans has come to the rescue.

The great people at Pendant Audio have been recording audio dramas for several years now. They started off with fan dramas, the first one being Star Trek, and then they moved into superhero audio shows, Superman: The Last Son of Krypton first, than Batman: The Ace of Detectives, Wonder Woman: Champion of Themyscira and Supergirl: Lost Daughter of Krypton.

They’re good stories, grounded in modern continuity, with a remarkably good group of voice actors working on them - all the more remarkable because they’re fans across the internet and not professionals. The different superheroes are also intertwined (no worries, they will provide you with a list of the stories and what order they should be listened).

I’m up to “issue” 6 of Superman: The Last Son of Krypton, and loving it so far. They’re not perfect, but they are a lot of fun.

4 masks out of 5

Review: Hero (a novel)

2007-09-24T07:42:00.000-04:00

Perry Moore is several things. He is a producer, having produced The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. He is a director, having worked with Sissy Spacek on the upcoming Lake City. He is an author, having recently published the novel Hero. And he is also openly gay.

It is a sad truth that the vast majority of characters in superhero comics are white, anglo-saxon, protestant men who are straight. This has been changing as time goes by, but not nearly as rapidly as it should be to have our heroes reflect our population.

Moore tackles that in this novel, as we follow the story of Thom - a young man who is the son of Major Might. His father was an unpowered hero, in the vein of Batman, until the fateful day that he "failed" to stop a world-eating alien menance from destroying a large chunk of the city. (He stopped the monster from eating the planet, but people weren't interested in this detail.) This failure also crippled his father's hand, and the combined failure and injury led to his father's retirement. Thom grew up in a house where one didn't mention superheroes and one certainly didn't mention the superpowered ones. Thom's mother left them both when Thom was younger, leaving Thom alone with his dad. Thom's father is also a homophobe.

This leads Thom to a problem. See, he has superpowers. And he's gay.

Hero is about Thom gaining acceptance and finding his place in the world. Both with his family, his teammates, and the world at large. It's the quest of a young man who knows that he wants to make the world a better place, even if he isn't quite sure how he's going to accomplish that.

Moore creates a fascinating cast of characters; Thom, his father, his rival and possibly friend Goran, the members of the League including Uberman, Justice and Warrior Woman, and his teammates - among them, Typhoid Larry, who can make anyone ill, Ruth, the octagenarian precog, Golden Boy, kid-speedster, and Scarlett, the flaming pizza-delivery girl. Every character we meet has secrets, many just as deep as the ones which Thom keeps.

The novel focuses on themes of loss and sacrifice, and the toll that keeping secrets can take. Ultimately, all works out for the best, but not until each and every dark secret has been laid bare.

If I have any complaints about the novel, it would be the extent to which Thom's homosexuality is rejected by the world at large. Not being gay myself, I will admit that I can't know exactly what level of prejudice homosexuals encounter on a daily basis - but in Moore's novel it seems that either you are homosexual, or you reject it violently. The only person who seems able to accept Thom's sexual orientation without it being an issue, or being gay themselves, is Ruth.

Still, this is a minor quibble. While I thought the message was a bit heavy-handed, it doesn't distract from what is otherwise a great read. Thom is likable and engaging, while still possessing human frailties that the audience can identify with. I have seen some reviewers describe this as a "young-adult" novel, or a novel "aimed at gay teens, struggling with accepting their sexuality". And they're not mistaken - the novel certainly is that. But the novel is also a story about heroism and being a human being struggling to find love and acceptance, which is something which any reader can identify with.

4 and a half masks out of 5

Guilty superhero pleasures

2007-09-21T10:26:00.000-04:00

Guilty pleasures. We all have them. For some of us, it’s that extra Snickers bar at lunch-time. For others, it’s staying up that hour beyond when you should go to bed while playing World of Warcraft. Others have far less innocent guilty pleasures, but in all cases we do something that we know we shouldn’t, just because we enjoy it.

A recent discussion reminded me of one of my own guilty pleasures, the short-lived Birds of Prey series from the WB. Not the excellent comic book, but the television show loosely (ok – really loosely) based on it. It was a weird blend of elements from the Batman mythology. Barbara Gordon was paralyzed, a result of being shot by the Joker. She used to be Batgirl. Batman has left Gotham (which probably had as much to do with copyright issues as anything else), and Oracle guides the Huntress (in this version, a metahuman and the daughter of Catwoman) and later on Dinah (a blonde teenaged girl with psychic abilities – very vaguely supposed to sugges Black Canary) as they try to stop metahuman crime in Gotham city.

The show wasn’t good – I won’t lie about that. Some of the choices made were nothing short of idiotic, and there were acting moments that made me cringe. But it wasn’t as terrible as some people tried to say it was. And I think that a lot of science-fiction/superhero television shows need a full season to find their groove – which Birds of Prey never got.

(Don’t believe me? Watch some of the first few episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It wasn’t good. Had it not been for rabid Trekkies who were just happy to have any form of Trek on TV again, it wouldn’t have lasted long enough to get good.)

Anyhow, this made me think of some other superhero related shows (most of which are now available on DVD) which fit into the category of “guilty pleasures.” So, here’s a list of a few of my favorite guilty pleasures, which I sneak a peak at whenever the SciFi channel runs a marthon of them.

1. Birds of Prey - Already discussed above.

2. The Crow: Stairway to Heaven - Wisely the creators of this show chose to make this film a re-imagining of the film, rather than a sequel. (Yeah, I’m looking at you Highlander.) Marc Dacastos made an excellent Eric Draven, and the show managed to make a compelling case for the fact that Eric was trying to reunite with Shelly, but giving it enough story to last as a series.

3. Swamp Thing - Dick Durock may be the only man who can say that the superhero he played has appeared in multiple films and tv series, and has always been played by him. This is all the more remarkable considering the strikingly different tones of the two films, with the series edging more towards the first. Roughly half of the episodes of the show had little or nothing to do with the Swamp Thing, instead exploring another mysterious happening, but they were almost all watchable.

4. Robocop: The Series - The RoboCop movies are dark and gritty, with an extremely high bodycount. They’re awesome movies, but clearly meant for an adult audience. The series tried to shift the focus to a young adult/teen audience, and made Murphy’s aresenal less lethal. It also gave him a Virtual Reality-based ally. I prefer the films, and the later RoboCop: Prime Directive mini-series, but this is a much family-friendlier RoboCop, and one that I can watch an episode or two of any time.

5. The Greatest American Hero - It was goofy and featured a hero who never was able to get control of his powers. The premise was ridiculous – surely with all that the suit was able to do, the aliens could have made the instruction manual a part of the suit itself. But it was also a lot of fun. And the costume remains one of the more distinctive superhero costumes in existence. Stand the Greatest American Hero (never actually given a superhero name in the show, incidentally) next to Mr. Fantastic, Daredevil and V, and the average person on the street will identify only one of them. The show also gets points in my book for being goofy and making fun of superheroes, but doing so with the kind of gentleness that shows a love for the subject.

So, what are your guilty pleasures?

Weekly Comics Round-Up

2007-09-20T12:40:00.000-04:00

Every week (roughly) Aaron goes to the Laughing Ogre in Columbus, Ohio and spends far more money than his wife would prefer. He then comes back here and writes about the comics he reads that he thought were noteworthy. This isn't everything he picks up, just the things that he feels merit discussion - either for being really good, or for having something really wrong with them.

Countdown to Mystery 1
This book focuses on three of the major players in the mystic community of the DCU – the helmet of Dr. Fate, Eclipso and the Spectre. The rules of magic in the DCU have, after all, been rewritten following Infinite Crisis and the death of Nabu – something we also see this week in the pages of Countdown and Shadowpact. Though even with Nabu being dead, there must always be a Doctor Fate – and the helmet of fate finds a new Dr. Kent Nelson. This Nelson is a drunk, who has lost his wife and child and practice due to his own stupidity and depression. Nonetheless, he puts the helmet on when he finds it in the dumpster he was dumped in. The helmet fills him in on the history of the helmet, as well as reminding him of his own past – just in time for him to be attacked by a hell hound. He transforms into Dr. Fate and takes the hound out, and is then confronted by the beast’s master.

Meanwhile, the Spectre kills a serial killer – whose ghost then decides to follow the Spectre as he is drawn to another crisis. It’s a short story, all of two or so pages, but I imagine it’ll get picked up in later issues.

Finally we come to Eclipso. Jean Loring finds Plastic Man, and taunts him as they battle, eventually (probably) turning Eel O’Brian to the Dark Side. It’s an interesting little story, though I don’t really approve of Plas being so casually used. I think the character has a lot more inner strength then they let us see here. The issue ends with a flashback to Eclipso being drawn to Apokolips – where Darkseid tells us that he was the creator of the Black Diamonds. Interesting if true, and it means that Eclipso will no doubt be pulled into the ongoing murders of the New Gods.

A nice solid issue.

Captain America 30
The Winter Soldier has found the Red Skull in the body of Lushkin, and proceeds to beat the crap out of Crossbones and Syn while the Skull watches. Once the Skull finds out what he needed to know about Bucky, he uses an old Russian failsafe to shut him down – which leads to him torturing Bucky, probably in an effort to re-brainwash him.

As for the other folks who were a part of Steve’s life, we begin to see storylines come together as the Black Widow goes to find the Falcon and Agent 13 at Stark’s behest. Stark has begun to uncover Faustus’ involvement in S.H.I.E.L.D., and Natasha is there to check Sharon out. Of course, Sharon has an unexpected surprise as she finds a final “gift” left to her by Steve, which makes her perfectly receptive to another one of Faustus’ commands – one which bodes ill for the Falcon and the Black Widow.

Stark is on his way to the rescue in time for next issue, but before he leaves we get to see a final letter to Tony from Steve – one where Steve says that Captain America is bigger than he is, and that Tony shouldn’t let that die.

Personally, I’d still rather see Clint Barton take over the role, but it looks like Bucky may be wearing the mask of Captain America in a short time – provided the Skull doesn’t take him over first.

Penance: Relentless 1
I wasn’t thrilled with the last solo issue they gave Penance. I really like Robby Baldwin, and have ever since the first issue of Speedball. I felt like they didn’t quite know what to do with him following the transformation into Penance in the pages of Civil War. This issue, however, gets it.

Quite simply, Robby has lost it. He’s suffering from PTSD, and it has made him reckless, and obsessed with numbers. As one doctor observing him notes, the neurons in his brain were actually burned out by the stress, and so Robby is re-inventing himself. I have no clue what the deal with the numbers is, but I’m digging watching him throw off his handlers, and flummoxing the normally smooth Moonstone.

The big mystery of this issue, however, isn’t what the number patterns mean. It’s what Robby wants to get back from "the Leader of Latveria" – presumbaly Doom, but who can say?

Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Parallax 1
Kyle Rayner is possessed by Parallax. This is, clearly, a bad thing. There are any number of reasons why this is bad – as a symbol, Rayner represents the idea that the Corps will survive any disaster, he’s an amazingly creative artist which Parallax can now use against the Corps, and it means that Ion has lost his host (although he has since been rescued).

This issue lets us see how this is going on inside of Kyle’s head. He’s imprisoned in his own mind, and can see what Parallax is doing through him through a window in his mother’s house. Parallax comes in to taunt him, which leads to a fight – in which Kyle reinvents himself as a Green Lantern once again.

It’s really well done, and a nice reminder of the fact that Kyle has the will to be a Lantern, despite not being selected in a conventional manner. Kyle often gets the short-stick when compared to other Lanterns, but he has

World War Hulk 4
There isn’t a single thing bad about this issue. We begin with a battle between the possessed Dr. Strange and the Hulk. It seems the good doctor has drank the essence of a demon which fills him with rage and power. Enough power to hurt the Hulk, but enough rage to nearly kill a group of innocents – the same group of innocents who the Hulk saves. This is enough of a shock to Strange that the Hulk manages to defeat him, and is able to add Strange to the group of Illuminati who are no implanted with the same control discs the Hulk and his warbound once wore. While the Hulk puts them through the same trials he was put through, we see a flashback between the Sentry and Iron Man, as Tony tries to convince Robert that he needs to be the one to take out the Hulk – something which Robert fears to do, lest he lose control and the Void takes over once more. The issue ends with the Hulk signalling that the Illuminati in the arena must kill one another, which seems to be the trigger that Robert needs to decide that the Sentry must come into action.

It’s exquisitely put together, with great writing and amazing artwork. What amazes me, however, is how effective the scenes of ordinary humans watching and cheering the gladiator match are. Even more significant are the testimonials of Tom Foster and the others who believe (possibly correctly) that the Hulk is in the right here.

I still resent Planet Hulk for it’s length and annoyingness. But with how good World War Hulk has been, I’m beginning to forgive them for it.

A few books which don’t deserve an entire write-up, but are worth picking up if you get the chance. In Green Arrow and Black Canary: Wedding Special we have a generally fun issue, with nice characterization (if occasionally painted with too broad of strokes). My only complaints would be that it was generally predictable – even the wedding being crashed by villains. The ending irritated me, however. Dinah is better than that. Birds of Prey 116 is a good read, and lots of fun as we watch the Huntress chatting with Barbara via uplink while trying to stop a group of kids who are in danger of bombing the city because of being “fans” of the Aromic Skull. It was good, but ultimately unimportant as it did nothing to further any character’s story. Good filler, but filler nonetheless.

This particular week’s issue of Countdown was ok – but nothing terribly exciting happened. Stories are progressing as they should, but no major event happened this particular week. What I did find interesting was the new ad that DC is running to tease Final Crisis. The groupings in this double-page spread include A) The Trickster, holding a flute (presumably Piper’s) speaking with DeSaad and the Penguin. B) The Kingdom Come version of Superman standing besides the Cyborg Hank Henshaw, with a man who appears to be a version of the “back from the dead” Superman (long hair, and in all-black costume. His back is to us, but he wears a black cape with a silver “S” shield. C) The Joker whispering something into Catwoman’s ear, while the Martian Manhunter stands behind them both. D) A far too-excited Mary Marvel standing between Eclipso (Jean Lorring) and Granny Goodness, and finally E) Luthor, in the silver-age purple jumpsuit, wailing on the ground with blood on his hands. Interesting teases about what the future may hold.

Superheroes can talk like a pirate too!

2007-09-19T14:27:00.000-04:00

Arrgh! I ‘most forgot that this day be Talk Like A Pirate Day! Well, lubbers, mayhap this be the place for superheroes, but t’day, the pirates be takin’ over! This blog been raided! And so, we be takin’ a look at some pirates what been superheroes or villains!

Psycho Pirate (DC Comics)
Arrrgh! This lubber be no kind of pirate a’tall! He has this magic mask, see, what makes him change how folks be feelin’. Ain’t got no right to the name of pirate, he don’t! I care not that he be one of the few men what know all 'bout the Crisis! He be a lubber through and through, and ne'er be a pirate any day of his life!

Captain Mako (City of Villains)
Shiver me timbers! This man look like he come straight from Davey Jone’s locker! A mutant who be a bit too much like a shark for me tastes, a life as a pirate was all that he could look forward ta, until Lord Recluse brought him into Arachnos.

Corsair and the Starjammers (Marvel Comics)
Pirates in space they be, and let not the fact that most folk consider ‘em heroes sway ye – they be pirates at heart. Aye, their cap’n be the pa to Cyclops of the X-Men, but they be pirates no less.

The Black Pirate (DC Comics)
Jon Valor be a working man’s pirate, he be. Sailed with a letter of mark from the King, he did, ‘til the curse’d day he been wrongly hanged for killin’ his own boy. Swore an oath, he did, that no body what died in that town would rest ‘till he been proved not a guilty man. A ghost he became, and haunted that town ‘till he met wit Jack Knight, the Starman, finally to be laid ta rest.

Ocean Master (DC Comics – Pre-Crisis)
Aquaman’s half-brother he be. Born wit no powers of his own, he grew ta be an angry man. Went to the sea, he did, and a pirate he was in th’ modern day, using machines ta make hisself a match for his brother.

Bionic Woman: An early review

2007-09-19T11:05:00.000-04:00

We are still in the midst of a superheroic renaissance in film and television. It more or less started with Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman and The Flash on CBS in 1990. (Coincidentally, both were scored by Danny Elfman) This renaissance has continued on to the present. We’ve been treated to countless excellent animated shows. We’ve had some truly excellent superhero films, and we’ve even had live-action television series such as Lois & Clark, Smallville and Heroes, just to name a few.

It’s a good time to be a geek. And television producers are seeing the success that can be had with the superhumans – especially when the shows are treated with respect and given good writing and casting. This is even outside of licensed characters, as shown in the success of shows like Buffy, the 4400, Heroes, Medium and Supernatural.

So, with Hollywood’s trend to re-create anything that was good and remake it, it was inevitable that someone would start to look at past superhuman characters and series and re-invent them for the new millennium.

This fall television series we get one of the more promising ones – Bionic Woman, starring Michelle Ryan, who some of us were lucky enough to see on the excellent BBC mini-series Jekyll. Right now, you can download the pilot of Bionic Woman off of Amazon.com – and even have it download straight to your TiVo if you are so set-up.

Last night there was a significant lack of anything worth watching on tv, and I have a standing promise to my wife that I will take Tuesday nights off from playing City of Heroes, so we decided to give Bionic Woman a try.

The series is a complete re-imagining of the character, with little connection to the original series. (Most notably, due to licensing issues, there is no mention at all of Steve Austin – the Six Million Dollar Man. Jamie’s implants are also a lot more expensive due to inflation, she is told that there is roughly 50 million dollars of property installed inside of her.)

Bartender Jaime Sommers gets the bionics from her super-scientist boyfriend Will after a car accident nearly kills them both. After acquiring these abilities, Jaime is drawn into a world of espionage and super-soldiers, in which she encounters the original Bionic Woman, Sarah Corvus. Sarah was a “failed experiment” that had theoretically been killed years ago. Sarah is also the one driving the truck that nearly killed Jaime. We are also introduced to other characters who will define the series including the heads of the program, Jaime’s kid sister who she is a surrogate parent for, the scientist who originated the bionic process and is now in jail (and who just happens to be Will’s father), and a madman who is working with Sarah Corvus and releases the imprisoned scientist before the episode’s end.

It’s a lot of plot points to cram into a one-hour episode, and truthfully, the show does it with a little less elegance than I’d have preferred. I realize that a pilot episode has to show off enough of the plot for the season to convince execs to make it, but it felt a little ham-handed. Some elements could have been introduced later – Will’s father is mentioned early in the episode as the originator of the process – meaning that the scenes of him in the jail, and his release could have been saved for a later episode. And some of the elements felt really predictable to anyone who has been immersed in the genre. To use a term from superhero role-playing games, Jaime’s sister is clearly a Dependent NPC, worth an extra 25 character points. There’s also a scene where Jaime is mugged right after acquiring her bionics – a scene I called as soon as she left the bar and entered the alley.

It’s not perfect, but the pilot does show that a lot of thought has been given to the course of the series – or at least the first season. The acting is generally good, though a little stiff in some places, and the characters are interesting enough as a sketch – we’ll have to wait for the rest of the season to see if they’re fully fleshed out.

It struck me as being interesting enough to have earned a “Let’s give it a few episodes” reaction. After all, if we look at the first few episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Star Trek: Next Generation, they’re similarly rough. It takes genre shows a few episodes to find their groove – and I think that Bionic Woman has the potential to be one of the really good ones.

Weekly comics round-up

2007-09-14T11:38:00.000-04:00

Every week (roughly) Aaron goes to the Laughing Ogre in Columbus, Ohio and spends far more money than his wife would prefer. He then comes back here and writes about the comics he reads that he thought were noteworthy. This isn't everything he picks up, just the things that he feels merit discussion - either for being really good, or for having something really wrong with them. This week was slightly delayed due to family celebrations for Rosh Hasshana.

New Avengers 34
So... the big secret about which one of the New Avengers is actually a Skrull? The answer is...

No one!

Actually, I more or less expected this. I figured that it was too easy a cop-out. Besides, we all know that the Skrull is over in the Mighty Avengers. Who are about to have Deathlok fired at them by the Hood.

This of course leads to the New Avengers being heroic and going to rescue - only to discover that New York City is being attacked by swarms of symbiotes.

No. I'm not kidding. And no, I'm not thrilled about this. After all, we know how much I love the symbiotes.

What made this issue really fun though was how they proved that no one was a Skrull. Dr. Strange used a spell which showed each person as they idealized themself. Some of these were no surprise - Jessica Jones really wants to be a superhero, Luke Cage really liked the Power Man look, Logan wants to be a samurai, Stephen Strange wishes he'd never had to give up being a surgeon, and Iron Fist is happy to be Iron Fist. But there were three that struck me as very revealing, if not strange.

The first was that Echo sees herself as a female Daredevil. Daredevil got her started, and they do oddly mirror each other, so that one isn't that odd.

Slightly odder, but no great surprise, is that Clint Barton sees himself as Captain America. Now, I know that, somehow, Steve Rogers will be back. And if he isn't, than the Winter Soldier will eventually take over the role. But I think that Clint Barton is possibly the most fitting successor to Steve Rogers of them all.

The really weird one was that Peter Parker saw himself as being 15-years old - before he became Spider-Man. Seeing as how much pain being Spidey has brought into his life, I'm not shocked by this one, but it was neat seeing it on the page.

Booster Gold 2
It stunned me last month by how much I enjoyed the first issue of Booster Gold.

But surely, I thought, It can't stay this good.

I was wrong. This issue feels like all of the best parts of the comics of the late eighties/early nineties, but with a modern sensibility. In his effort to pro-actively prevent continuity warping by an unknown enemy, Booster must go back to a time before Hal Jordan got his power ring, when Sinestro has been sent to Earth (by Supernova) with the warning that someone on Earth is going to become the Greatest of all Green Lanterns, a title that belonged to Sinestro before Hal.

In a twist, this is possibly going to be Guy Gardner, who according to modern continuity was equally worthy, but Hal was closer when Abin Sur died. Booster's task is to prevent this meeting from taking place.

But we all know that Booster can't beat Sinestro. So how does he keep the meeting from happening? By appealing to Sinestro's vanity and talking about how big of a fan of Sinestro's he is. It was hillarious.

Additionally, we get a reminder that Booster isn't going to play Rip Hunter's game without being able to save Ted Kord. We also get a flashback (and one of only a very few in DC continuity) to Dan Garret. The capstone to this issue, however, was watching as Supernova prepares to hire Jonah Hex to take out Booster.

I am now looking forward to issue 3, but I am starting to believe this title is going to remain top-notch.

Thor 3
Thor was led to believe that the other Asgardians still lived, though in most cases, hidden within mortal beings. And so, Thor begins his quest to find them, which leads him to New Orleans. Where he will find Hemidal, but not before being forced to deal with the city.

A New Orleans that was devastated by a hurricane, which Thor might have been able to do something about, had he not been dead. A New Orleans that should have been saved by other heroes, but wasn't. (And herein lies the problem with letting real-world tragedies come into comics - why didn't Superman save those trapped inside the World Trade Towers? Why couldn't Storm stop Hurricane Katrina? But I digress.)

It is in this frame of mind that Thor is approached by Iron Man. The same Iron Man who could have done something to stop this tragedy. The same Iron Man who was once Thor's brother-in-arms, but who led heroes against heroes, including taking down the single mortal man Thor admired most. The same Iron Man who cloned Thor, and whose clone is responsible for the death of Bill Foster. And now this Iron Man threatens Thor with the issue involving registration.

I would like to say it was an epic fight. It wasn't. Thor wailed on Iron Man. When Iron Man mentioned that Thor seemed more powerful, Thor replied "No. The difference is that in this time and this place I am holding nothing back." After the battle, once Thor has destroyed Stark's armor, Thor gives Tony Stark this statement: "Give your orders and ultimatums to those who choose to obey, or are too cowardly to fight, not to me. Or learn again the difference between a god of thunder and a mortal man in a metal suit."

It. Was. Awesome.

Trials of Shazam 8
Speaking of the differences between mortals and gods...
Freddy's quest to become the new Captain Marvel has been a thoroughly good time, right from the start. We've gotten to see as the gods who make up the power of Shazam have hidden themselves in the modern world. The rules of magic, after all, have been re-written.

In the new Magical Atlas of the DC Universe, Atlas still holds up the world. But not by physically hoisting it on his shoulders. Instead, Atlas is plugged into a computer that monitors everything, and makes a million little adjustments every moment to how the world is going, which prevents disaster after disaster. Not the real big things, those are beyond his realm, but the million little things that could butterfly effect into the end of the world.

When Freddy arrives, however, Atlas has been killed (or at least severely injured). He takes over for a bit, but it is too much for him. Captain Marvel arrives to take over, but lets them know that he can only remain away from the Rock of Eternity for 24 hours. So they must find a new god to take Atlas' place. They end up with Apollo, who is working as a doctor. He has a job, and a life, and doesn't want to go back to being a god, but is given little choice. So, he gives Freddy his trial to earn the "A" from Shazam. They will fight, if Freddy wins, he gets Apollo's power, and Apollo will take the place of Atlas. If Freddy fails, he dies, and Apollo goes back to his life.

Good times, and brilliant artwork.

Ultimate Spider-Man 113
It's funny that Bendis is at his absolute best when we see little of Spider-Man. It's true, however, and this issue reminds of it as we see into the mind of Norman Osborn.

Osborn is, needless to say, a little pissed off. He's been denied by Nick Fury, and been stripped of everything. His money, his influence, his work and his son.

And so he escapes. Not only does he escape, but he releases the others trapped by SHIELD. Doctor Octopus picks a fight with him, but then Electro fries Doc Ock, which I found oddly satisfying.

But then we see the masterstroke of the Goblin. Norman calls on someone who owes him a favor, and is given some money and clothing befitting a man of Osborn's station. And then Osborn gets himself booked on National TV, where he tells of how SHIELD stole his work, experimented on him, and kidnapped him.

Peter Parker was thoroughly shocked, obviously, when he saw the news report.

I miss Bagley's art, but this book remains a must-read.

Black Adam 2
I don't want Black Adam to become a hero. But he is a fascinating villain. His willpower is astounding - he almost makes Hal Jordan seem wishy-washy.

Isis' resurrection is a failure. There is magic in her amulet that is missing, and so Adam must seatch elsewhere. He does so, but not before a battle with a Yeti that involves the most amazing combat-application of someone else's intestines I have ever seen.

He comes to Fate's tower, where he encounters the trapped Felix Faust. The whole time, he is trying every word he can think of in order to remember how to transform, but to no avail. Faust offers to help both with Isis' resurrection, and with a temporary transformation for Adam using the magic in her bones. Adam can transform, by saying her name, but each transformation leeches some magic from her bones, and will eventually cause them to disintegrate.

I know this will end in tragedy, but it's like a Greek play. You know how badly things must end, and you know it is due to the hubris of the main character. But it remains fascinating, and you can't look away.

If you're not reading this title, and have any interest at all in the Marvel family, then go out and get it. Now.

Two books who don't deserve an entire write-up but are worth picking up if you get the chance. In Green Lantern 23, the Sinestro Corps war continues. Some good explorations of the power of the yellow rings, and what this war will mean to the Guardians in the future. Also worth checking out is the JLA Wedding Special. The Bachelor/Bachelorette parties are meaningless, though kind of fun. But this has the formation of the new Legion of Doom, complete with their own Hall of Doom (since the JLA now has the Hall of Justice back in-continuity, it only makes sense for the villains to get one.) It also has a nice flashback to Justice League of America 1 where Clark, Diana and Bruce examine possible members, with Luthor, the Cheetah and the Joker doing the same thing in almost an exact panel-by-panel mirror.

It was a good week for comics.

Superheroic Radio Plays

2007-09-12T15:38:00.000-04:00

We've gotten fairly maudlin on here of late, so let's shift gears, shall we? Now, we all know that superheroes are primarily creatures of visual media. Superheroes mainly exist, and thrive, in the brightly colored pages of comic books.

Other superheroes have successfully (sometimes) made the transition to film and television, and we've discussed many of these endeavors, both good and bad, here on this blog.

But imagine, if you will, superheroes you never got to see - but instead only heard?

Ridiculous, you say, but I tell you it's true. Batman, Superman, the Blue Beetle, the Green Hornet and the Shadow all had lengthy careers in radio.

I've spent the last few days at work amusing myself by listening to old episodes of these radio dramas on my iPod. And I thought you, my gentle readers, might enjoy them as well. There are many places to find these old recordings, including through iTunes, but here is a link to get you started.

Botar's Old Time Radio
On this site, you will find archives for many heroes, including the Blue Beetle, Captain Midnight, The Green Hornet, The Shadow and Superman.

But wait! There's more! Modern-day superheroes have made the same endeavor. The winner of Season One of Who Wants to be a Superhero?, Feedback, has his own radio play.

One last exploration of superheroes through the auditory media is the Kingdom Come Audiobook. I can't provide you a link to it (and in fact, haven't been able to find a copy of it on CD for my own purposes), but if you can locate it, it's a blast.

Remembering again

2007-09-11T08:00:00.000-04:00

Reposted from 9.11.06
When I started this blog, one of the first things I wrote about what was what makes a superhero. For a blog that is going to be about Superheroes, I figured that was the place to start. Today, it occurs to me that I ignored a key part of that definition. The hero. What makes a hero

A hero isn’t a hero because of their abilities. It isn’t the strength of one’s arms, or the speed of one’s legs, or the amazing devices one can build, or any paranormal power that makes someone a hero. A hero is someone who recognizes that there is a problem in the world, and who does their utmost to correct it. You don’t have to be a costumed crime-fighter to be a hero. You don’t have to fight monsters, dragons or demons. You don’t need to be sent on a quest by the gods, and you don’t have to struggle against a curse.

You can be the teacher who stays long hours in an inner-city school to make sure that those students get the education that might make the difference in their lives. You can be the fireman who rushed into a burning building to save just one more person caught inside. You can be a musician who speaks truth to power through your words and music, expressing ideas that are unpopular but true. You can be the young soldier who signed up for their tour of duty following a national tragedy. You can be the entertainer who put aside their own feelings of pain and hurt to perform for people in desperate need of a distraction.

You can be a parent.
A friend.
A mentor.
A colleague.

In the words of Edmond Dantes, Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout “Do your worst, for I will do mine!”

That’s what it takes to be a hero. The willingness to shout back into the storm. The ability to see a problem, and the willingness to do something about it, no matter the cost to yourself.

Today, I salute those heroes whose sacrifice began six years ago, and continues to this day. The passengers of Flight 93. The workers in the towers and the Pentagon. The rescue workers who tried to save them. The soldiers who fight in their memory.

I do not approve of the choices made by the current administration. I feel that they’ve squandered much, in terms of international goodwill, and in terms of the lives of our young people. But regardless of how one feels about our government, whether you believe they’ve done everything right, everything wrong, or something in-between, the people of this nation have shown countless acts of heroism since that day. And it is to them that I dedicate this entry.

A Marvelous Weekly Comic Round-Up

2007-09-10T10:02:00.000-04:00

Hulk 110
Is the Hulk a monster, or a hero?

It’s a question that has never been definitively answered in Marvel Comics, and rightly so, I think. But I never thought I’d see it pushed to quite this level. Genius kid, Amadeus Cho, puts forth the argument that Banner’s brain sees the world in numbers, the same way that he does. For that reason, the Hulk has nearly always avoided killing, except when brainless or in the most extreme circumstances.

This is Cho’s argument for why the Hulk won’t go through with making the Illuminati fight to the death against one another.

I’m not sure I buy it, and I’m not sure that it was needed, really. I was willing to accept that the Hulk had caused a minimal loss of life simply as a convention of comic books. Still, it made an interesting argument, and one I look forward to seeing how it plays out in the conclusion of World War Hulk. What I do wonder though is why we needed a new, and really annoying, character to fill the role of Cho. I’d have preferred to see these arguments put forward by an existing member of the Marvel Universe. Now, it’s true that most of the “big brains” of the Marvel Universe are a part of the Illuminati, but not all of them. How hard would it have been for Rick Jones and, in a surprise move, the Leader, to put forth the same observation? Still, a fun issue, with a lot riding on the edge of “Will the Hulk kill or not?”

Amazing Spider-Man 544
“One More Day” is here, as Peter makes a last ditch effort to save Aunt May’s life. A doctor who feels that he owes Spider-Man something has made it possible for May to stay in the hospital, so long as there is some way to pay for it. “Insurance would be good. A bottomless checkbook would be better.”

Which leads Mr. Parker to pay a visit to Tony Stark, a man who has a bottomless checkbook. The physical fight between Iron Man and Spidey is short, and ultimately not the important part of their confrontation. Instead, we get to see Peter crack into Tony’s “whatever we do is justified” armor, and ultimately this forces Tony to send Jarvis over with a check for 2 million dollars, to take care of his “cousin.”

Sadly, medical care may only be enough to keep May comfortable until her final hour, which sends Peter off to find someone who can help. In the circles he travels in, death is routinely cheated. Why can’t May be saved as well?

JMS is a great writer, and takes what might be a cliché in other author’s hands into a deeply moving story. I think that May is not going to make it through this, and while that saddens me, I think I’m ok with it too. Just so long as we don’t see the Clone of Aunt May with spider-powers two years down the road. Let her death mean something, in the way that the unmasking has, and I’ll remain interested.

Who Wants to be a Superhero? The Defuser, that's who!

2007-09-06T22:58:00.001-04:00

I'll try not to gloat, I'm just happy that I got it right.

Go Defuser!

Now, I want to see the Defuser/Feedback team-up comic.

Real-life superheroes

2007-09-06T08:47:00.000-04:00

Due to Labor Day, comics have been delayed a day, so the round-up won’t be going up until tomorrow. In the meantime, I thought I’d talk about real-life superheroes.

Now, I’m not talking about the contestants on Who Wants to be a Superhero? (which has its’ finale tonight. The Defuser for the win!), though they’re awesome in their own right. But they’re creating a fictional superhero character, a new superhero for film, television and comics. And that’s admirable, certainly. Heck, I want to be one of them someday.

I’m not talking about the actors who portray Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four or any other pre-existing superhero character, although that’s a nice accomplishment too.

And I’m not talking about the real-life “costumed heroes” either. Individuals like Fantastica, Superbarrio or Metrowoman do amazing things, and I find them deeply inspirational. But they’re not what I mean either.

No, I’m referring to people who endure the impossible. People who fight for what’s right, even when no one would expect them to. The everyday heroes, who don’t often get the attention they deserve.

I’ve got two examples – the first is a new initiative by the ACLU. The ACLU have recently made their own forays into comic books – comics which celebrate everyday heroes who fight for civil liberties. These comics are going to be available online and through viral marketing campaigns. I think it’s a nice idea for how to get people to think about civil liberties.

The other example is on a more personal note. My wife now stays home with our two daughters, and I know it’s a struggle for her. Our eldest daughter, while a delight and a joy in many ways, is also difficult and challenging to deal with. She wrote this yesterday, and it brought tears to my eyes – both because of seeing the pain my wife suffers through, and seeing the love she has for my daughters.

I know my wife is not the only person who fights this “never-ending battle,” she is simply the one I know best. But so now I wish to publicly applaud her and all the other real-life superheroes.

Five superhero films no one should ever watch

2007-09-04T17:32:00.000-04:00

Ever, ever, ever.

This weekend, some friends and I got together to watch movies. We had three genres, and the group picked the best and the worst in each. One of the genres was "superhero," and the consensus of the group (though not one I personally agree with) was that X-Men was the best, and that Superman IV was the worst (which I do agree with, mostly.)

But it occurred to me that, while The Quest for Peace is pretty much only watchable with either a lot of alcohol, or good friends to mock it with, there are lots of other terrible superhero films. So, here are five of the worst offenders, in chronological order.

The Batman (1943)
I don’t quite know where to begin with my critique of this movie. There are so many wonderful things about it, really, that I’m not sure which to start with.

Perhaps it’s the racial epithets Batman uses to describe our Japanese villain – I mean, really, don’t we all want to see the Dark Knight call someone “a filthy Jap”? Of course, there’s also the fact that this Japanese villain is played by a very Caucasian looking man. We’re not even talking Max Von Sydow as Ming level here, but just a clearly white man. Of special note, there’s Robin’s afro – a classic look, and one which I can’t figure out why they never included in the comics. This coordinates beautifully with the baggy tights which both Batman and Robin sport.

But really, the thing that I find most remarkable about this serial is the fact that, in an effort to end every episode with a cliffhanger, Batman and Robin each seem incapable of fighting off a single thug each. Really, why is this? I can forgive special effects of this era being primitive, and I’m even willing to grant them license for the racial epithets in light of the U.S. preparing to enter the war. But fist-fighting hasn’t evolved all that much in the past 60 years. Simple combat choreography should have been manageable, even then. If you want to inflict a racist, bad-looking Batman on us, so be it. But couldn’t he at least be competent?

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
In the late eighties, we were obsessed with worrying about a possible nuclear war. It only makes sense that someone would ask “Wouldn’t it be nice if Superman could take care of this for us?” And that’s what the makers of this film did. But oh boy, did they do a terrible job of it.

First off, it was about the preachiest movie I’ve ever seen. There are nuns in Catholic schools who could learn something about trying to make you feel guilty from this film – if you felt like torturing them in order for them to learn. But even getting past that, it’s just bad. Neither Hackman nor Reeves can save this one, though Reeves is really trying to. He delivers the worst line I’ve ever heard and makes them sound… well, like he means them. Hackman’s performance is phoned in completely, and the movie can’t even be consistent with its’ own rules (Nuclear Man enters a volcano to make it erupt – but he gets depowered without sunlight. And Luthor cuts through Superman’s hair with bolt cutters.)

Which really is what the worst part of the film is – the Nuclear Man. Who is created wearing a cape. Who has a mullet. Whose Lee-Press-On-Nails-of-Doom are what cripple Superman. And who forces us to endure one national monument after another be used to illustrate “Ooh, he’s a bad guy.” And Mark Pillow (yes, that’s his name) doesn’t even get to deliver his own lines! His voice is Gene Hackman’s.

I appreciate the fact that they tried to give Superman a supervillain to fight, but just say no to Nuclear Man.

The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988)/The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989)
(I know I’m cheating by including both of these together – bear with me. That's how they're packaged if you buy them - which you should not, but I did.) Lou Ferigno wore a false nose and a wig, in addition to being painted green, in order to play the Incredible Hulk. This only added to how ridiculous he looked – but somehow it worked. And the series was entertaining, in a 1970’s kind of way, probably due to the incredible acting skills of Bill Bixby.

I remember watching re-runs as a kid on Saturday mornings, and really digging them. So when they announced made-for-tv movies with the Hulk returning, I was ecstatic and forced my parents to let me watch them. I owe my parents a lot.

Every single part of these movies was deplorable. The “ninja-costume” Daredevil. Thor, the ancient Viking warrior (not god) who is summoned by (but not transformed into by) Donald Blake. Bill Bixby with a beard. John Rhys-Davis as the Kingpin. It’s just a lot of pain. The even more remarkable thing is that each of these were intended to also be pilots for a Thor or Daredevil series. Obviously, these never came to be.

They were followed up with The Death of the Incredible Hulk, which was a decent enough film, except for the very ending. (Because a fall from a helicopter is enough to kill the Hulk. Really.) A Resurrection of the Incredible Hulk was promised, but never came to be, largely because Bill Bixby passed away before it could become a reality. Of course, frighteningly, these might have been used as pilots for a She-Hulk or Iron Man series.

Ang Lee’s Hulk wasn’t good, but it was a lot better than these two turkeys. Gamma bomb them from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

Captain America (1990)
(singing) When Captain America (in his rubber costume complete with artificial ears) throws his mighty (made of hard, ridged plastic) shield…

We cringe. A lot. The costume was atrocious, right up there with the bat-nipples from Batman & Robin. The shield looked like a toy, not the mightiest weapon available to the U.S. A heat gun could’ve destroyed it – so much for an unbreakable shield.

For reasons that will never be known to me, they also decided that the Red Skull shouldn’t be a German Nazi. Instead, he’s an Italian fascist. And his face doesn’t actually look like a skull – it just looks oogie. When Captain America re-awakens in the modern era, the Skull has disguised his appearance by painting the red flesh colored. So, he looks marginally less oogie.

And once more, we’re treated to an incompetent superhero. This movie is only 17 years old. I know for a fact that there were movies made before this film that had good fight-scenes. But “the Living Legend,” the pinnacle of human achievement, the most highly trained warrior produced by the US army – he fights like a drunken seventh-grader.

Catwoman (2004)
Do you remember seeing Lee Meriwether, Eartha Kitt, Julie Newmar or Michelle Pfeiffer playing Catwoman? They did so in the 1960’s television series and movie, and then in Batman Returns. Each of them was sexy, cunning and dangerous, and played a marvelous rendition of Selina Kyle.

I remember when they announced that the woman responsible for wasting the role of Storm (and she did) was going to be playing Catwoman in her own feature film. And I thought, Well, this is a waste. Why didn’t they do this ten years ago when Michelle Pfeiffer could have starred in the role? Then they further announced that she wasn’t going to be Selina Kyle, she was going to be Prudence Price. Ok, I thought, well at least this atrocity won’t be connected to the character of Selina Kyle. She’s just some other crazy cat-lady.

And then I saw the preview images from the film. There was a reasonable costume for her to wear, which she began off in. And then there was this one. To which I could only think to myself, Well, I have now seen the only thing in this movie that could possibly be worth seeing – namely a mostly-nude Halle Berry.

Little did I realize how right I was. That image was the only thing worth seeing. Save yourself, and look at the screen-shots, but avoid this film.

So, which terrible superhero films are among your favorite (or most hated?)

Weekly Comic Round-Up

2007-08-30T19:15:00.000-04:00

Who are the members of Gyrich's team? Trauma, from the pages of this comic, the Bronze Tiger, who no longer can handle working under War Machine, the Constrictor, who has been offered a full pardon and a chance to become a hero - something he apparently wanted, the Scarlet Spiders, who are three people wearing the "Iron Spider" armor Stark made for Peter Parker, and Mutant 0. Who is Mutant 0? She's off the record, the 199th of the 198. And has all sorts of rules about what she does and doesn't do during the team's missions. Honestly, I've no idea who she is. I have some theories, but nothing with any strength behind them.

The team manages the rescue, but not before Trauma gets beaten up by the Hulk. See, apparently Trauma is an Omega class threat, with his ability to transform into whatever his opponent fears. Having trained under Mirage, he has some control over his power. Mirage, of course, looks at this as an opportunity for him to help people with their fears, but Gyrich wants no part of that. So, Trauma tries to hold off the Hulk while the team escapes, transforming first into the Abomination, then Juggernaut, than David Banner, and finally into Bruce Banner. This is when the Hulk really focuses on him, and suddenly Trauma can't change form. Why? Because the Hulk says (and at the moment, I believe him) "I'm not afraid of anything." Right now, as consumed with rage and vengeance as he is, I think he's telling the truth. And that's a scary thought for the Marvel Universe.

Countdown 35
This wasn’t the best week of Countdown for me, which I really was kind of bummed about. Why? Well because Sean McKeever wrote it, and I know the guy. He was even at my comic store signing comics this week.

I think it was just an issue of it being a little too scattered, and that the characters I like most in Countdown didn’t get a lot of screen time in this issue.

In summary, Donna Troy and Jason Todd continue their trip through the Palmerverse to find Ray Palmer, and now have actually found him in the clutches of Queen Belthera, who turns him into an insectoid and makes the Monitor turn on Donna and Jason. Meanwhile, Zatanna shows Mary why she’s one of the world’s greatest sorcerers, while Mary is a very powerful novice. Mr. Action, or Jimmy Olsen to most of us, gets kicked off the JLA due to being unable to demonstrate any abilities – a consequence of them only activating if he is legitimately in danger, which he never was against the JLA. Oh, and there was something going on with Athena’s disciples all fighting, and a continuation of Karate Kid’s fight.

All in all? Kind of a “meh” issue.

World War Hulk/X-Men 3
The final issue of this mini-series has arrived, and for all that I enjoyed it, it seemed a bit pointless. We were treated to more scenes of the Hulk taking one member of the X-Men after another. Each of which was amusing in its’ own way, but none of which seemed all that important over-all. No one was too seriously injured, no damage was done to the Hulk, and Xavier remains with the X-Men instead of being dragged off by the Hulk to suffer with other Illuminati.

Why? Well because despite the fact that Xavier was willing to go with the Hulk from the beginning (because even though he wasn’t there when they decided to send the Hulk to Planet Hulk, he couldn’t honestly say he knows he’d have opposed the plan), his students aren’t willing to abandon him. Why? Because being a mutant means watching people get killed just for being different, and as mutants they’ve suffered as much as the Hulk has.
I’m not quite sure why the Hulk agrees, but he basically tells Xavier “You already live in hell, I don’t need to do anything to you.” Eh, whatever. I guess it’s just to keep the X-Men from needing to be in the climax to World War Hulk.

We also get to see the Juggernaut back to full power, and back to being a villain, maybe. Cyttorak tells him that he was weakened because he was denying what he is – an engine of destruction. He didn’t come there to fight the Hulk, he came to save Xavier, and that’s not what the Juggernaut is. But sadly, we didn’t get to see much of the fight between them, since the Hulk basically uses Akido to get rid of the Juggernaut long enough to have his confrontation with Xavier. I am glad to see them returning the Juggernaut to villain status – I’m getting tired of making all the cool villains into heroes.

Teen Titans 50
Bart Allen was killed by the Rogues over in the pages of The Flash, and now the Titans finally get around to having a funeral for the former Impulse/Kid Flash. Touching ceremony, and pretty much what I expected from it. There were two nice flashback scenes involving the different Kid Flashes – one about Bart flying the Batplan, and one involving Wally remembering Barry showing confidence in him. Nice moments both.

After the funeral, Megan (Miss Martian) makes a terrible faux pas, impersonating Bart. She was trying to do it to lighten spirits and remind people of Bart, but it was obviously taken the wrong way. Later that night, Tim and Cassie meet at the memorial which now sports two statues – one for Bart and one for Connor. There was another moment of romance between Tim and Cassie, which I am now beginning to think is her just trying desperately to not think of Connor. There moment is interrupted by the Flash running up to them to warn them that “They’re back.” Is this Flash Bart? Or is it Wally? It’s left uncertain.

As for who’s back? Well, it’s the future versions of the Titans after they’ve taken over for the JLA, seen not too long ago. Connor as Superman, Cassie as Wonder Woman, and Tim as Batman. During the course of the issue, we also get to see these future versions taking out the current members of the JLA. It will be interesting to see how this pans out next issue – I look forward to a really nasty fight.

Sadly, as good as I found the issue, it was a bit too much for one issue – even an extra-large one. And unfortunately, despite all the momentous events, the moment that I will never forget from this issue was that of Ravager leading Kid Devil to the pool so they could go skinny-dipping. She is really growing on me, though I want her to hook up with Robin and end the abomination that is Tim and Cassie.

Sharing superheroes with my kids...

2007-08-29T19:01:00.000-04:00

McDonald’s recently had Legion of Superheroes figures as the toy inside their happy meal. I’ll admit to being a big enough geek that when I ordered for my daughter, and the cashier asked “Toy for a boy or a girl?” I would answer, “Boy.” Why? Because I wanted the toy, dangit.

(And because why should there be a distinction that superheroes are for boys and teddy bears are for girls? My daughter has little interest in stuffed animals beyond her beloved Puppy and Dinosaur. But she’s as rough and tumble as they come, and loves it when Daddy flies her, or blasts her off into Outer Space.)

Well, despite the fact that I wasn’t fooling my wife in the slightest, I did turn each toy over to my daughter as we opened her Happy Meals. “Look what you got! A superhero!” My daughter, being intelligent, and an amazing mimic, would reply “A superhero!”

She now actually recognizes superheroes. Not by name, she couldn’t tell you the difference between Superman and Batman. But she can look at the bright costume and (sometimes) cape, and decide that someone is a superhero. (She’s also decided that any sufficiently ugly figure is a monster.) Just the other day I was on my laptop playing City of Heroes when she crawled onto the couch and looked at the screen, no doubt expecting to see “Balls!”

(I spend far too much time playing puzzle games, and she loves watching the colored balls move around the screen.)

Well, there were no balls for her to look at, but there was a blue-and-yellow figure, flying through the air, zapping bad guys with bolts of lightning. “A superhero!” she screamed in delight.

This gives me a dilemma. My wife and I have decided to keep violent television and movies away from her until she’s old enough to discern the difference between “television” and “reality”, and when she’s old enough to understand the idea that violence isn’t a good thing, and when we see it, it’s because the hero is stopping a bad person from doing a bad thing. But how do I let my daughter learn more about superheroes without the violence?

I suppose I could rustle up old Challenge of the Superfriends and Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends videos on YouTube…

Ten graphic novels for the starting superhero reader

2007-08-28T20:38:00.000-04:00

This entry marks the 100th post to this blog, and as a result, I thought I’d do something a little special. Most of you who read this are already dedicated comic book readers, but I do get a fair bit of traffic from random google searches and blog browsing services. Some of these readers may be getting into comics for the first time, or returning after a long hiatus. And so, I thought I’d run down my personal choices for the top ten collections to introduce a person to superheroes.

As always, my lists are arbitrary, based on nothing more than my own personal likes and dislikes. And also, as always, I feel the need to explain a bit about my criteria. To begin with, these aren’t necessarily my ten favorite graphic novels – just the ones I think provide the best introduction to superhero comics. I also limited myself to superheroes (or darn close to them in some cases). There is some amazing stuff going on in comics that has nothing to do with superheroes, including my all-time favorite graphic novel, Maus, but that’s outside the realm of this blog. This list also isn’t meant to be in order of importance – most of these are equally excellent as each other, and I honestly don’t know that I could rank one above the other. Therefore, I listed them alphabetically.

Astro City: Life in the Big City (Kurt Busiek)

Busiek created something remarkable with Astro City – a comic world that feels like it has the same depth and richness of the DCU or Marvel Universe, with characters that seem familiar even as we meet them for the first time. Just as remarkably, the characters he created are evocative of characters we remember from other publishers and fifty years of comic history, but remain unique and interesting in their own right. Samaritan reminds of Superman without ripping him off. Winged Victory bears a striking similarity to Wonder Woman, but has her own fascinating story, and the same can be said of Jack-In-The-Box, Crackerjack, The Confessor, the Silver Agent and others.

What makes Astro City even better is the fact that it doesn’t have the same focus that we see in most superhero comics. Astro City, as often as not, is about the normal people who inhabit the same world as the heroes. And when it is about the heroes, it isn’t about their heroic exploits, so much as it is about their daily lives. Life in the Big City starts off with the best Superman story that isn’t about Superman ever written, as we see what a typical day is like for the World’s Greatest Hero.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Frank Miller)

Many people have projected the superheroes of the late twentieth century into their near future, imagining what life would be for the superheroes of yore in a new generation, but none have done it as well as Frank Miller did with The Dark Knight Returns.

The transformation of Bruce Wayne into a recluse, and then back into Batman remains gripping, engaging, and visually brilliant. Miller gives us a dark vision of the future, and one that is firmly mired in the politics of the late 1980’s, but that doesn’t take away from the power of this story.

Without The Dark Knight Returns, it’s difficult to imagine Batman Beyond or Kingdom Come ever having been written. The power of this story can even be seen in how elements from this story have worked themselves into modern continuity – Green Arrow’s sacrifice (or not) of his arm, and Luthor as world leader. This comic really marked the beginning of the transformation of Batman from being one of many vigilante detective/martial artists into the driven, darker persona we are all now familiar with.

Batman: Year One (Frank Miller)

Not content to just write the end of the Batman story, Frank Miller went ahead and re-wrote the beginning of it too with Batman: Year One.

Wisely, this comic focuses as much on Detective Jim Gordon as it does on Bruce Wayne. As a reader, we can be thrilled with the exploits of the superhuman, but we can’t ever really understand them. What we can understand are the reactions of the ordinary humans around them.

Additionally, Year One is one of the most beautiful comics ever put together. Year One’s impact can be seen elsewhere in the recent Batman Begins, where Gary Oldman portrayed not Commissioner Gordon, but instead Detective Gordon.

Marvel Superheroes: Secret Wars (Jim Shooter)

The first major twelve-part mini-series that crossed into all aspects of that universe’s comics, the first Secret Wars comic is such a perfect slice of comics in the eighties that it can’t be ignored.

Featuring the best, and most well known heroes and villains of Marvel at the time, it was the first time we got to see Captain America and the Avengers fighting alongside Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. And they were fighting against the best in Marvel’s supervillains as well (with a few notable exceptions, such as the Red Skull).

Secret Wars reverberated throughout all of Marvel, and its aftershocks are still felt today. Remember that it was in Secret Wars that the alien costume that would eventually become Venom was introduced. It spawned a (far less interesting) sequel, and when Marvel was looking for a mini-series to introduce opposite Infinite Crisis, they even used the Secret War name again.

Beyond all of this, it’s also just a good fun read – and the kind of comic we rarely see anymore.

Starman: Sins of the Father (James Robinson)

Jack Knight was exactly what I wanted from my 90’s superheroes. At least, of the ones who identified themselves as such. You know, the whole “we’re not going to wear tights, because that’s ridiculous” movement.

The reason he stood head and shoulders above the rest is that he was unquestioningly a superhero (to the reader at least, he questioned it himself a lot). Sins of the Father did something that we almost never see in a comic – it killed Starman in the first issue of his comic.

Sins of the Father was a great example of how to tell a “darker” storyline without going into the “grim n’ gritty” movement, where sometimes it’s hard to tell who we’re supposed to consider the hero. And it spawned a great series that only got better as it went on. I regret the fact that Jack retired as Starman, and passed his cosmic rod onto Stargirl, but as a father myself, I understand and applaud his choice. You'll want to read the whole thing, once you get through this volume.

Superman: The Man of Steel (John Byrne)

Before Crisis on Infinite Earths, Superman had become truly ludicrous in power. He could fly nearly at the speed of light, was able to push planets around with his bare hands, and nothing that wasn’t magical or made of kryptonite could so much as scratch him.

The list of his secondary powers went on and on – not just heat vision, x-ray vision, microscopic hearing, ultrasonic hearing and super-breath, but also super-mesmerism and whatever other odd power the authors felt he needed. (The cellophane “S” from Superman II is almost understandable in this context.)

In the aftermath of Crisis, the editors at DC wisely decided to tone Superman down a bit, and they gave that job to John Byrne.

The Man of Steel isn’t the most elegant comic ever written, it has a lot of re-introductions to take care of. But it does so in a fairly admirable and entertaining way. And a lot of what we now think of as “cannon” for Superman and company originates in these pages. Byrne gave us Lois, the daughter of an army general and a very competent investigative reporter. He gave us Lex Luthor as a wealthy industrialist – both of which have been incorporated into every incarnation of Superman created since; the animated series, Smallville, Lois and Clark, and Superman Returns. The Man of Steel redefined Superman for a generation, and therefore is really a must read.

Supreme: The Story of the Year (Alan Moore)

I mentioned this is my Top Ten Superman Pastiches list, but it merits being mentioned again. Supreme: The Story of the Year is a loving deconstruction of the Superman mythos – complete with touching on how heroes get re-invented every generation, and all the trappings of the Silver Age.

But Moore doesn’t do this as a scathing commentary on the era, nor does he do it to make fun of the characters or genre. While I think that Astro City Vol. 1, Issue 1 is the best single issue of a Superman comic that isn’t actually about Superman, I think that this is my favorite Superman graphic novel without actually being about Superman.

It also does the best job of explaining why comic continuity can be such a mess to the novice reader that I’ve ever seen. On top of that, it’s illustrated wonderfully – very evocative of the style of Marvel and DC in the 1980’s, but on the higher quality paper and coloring techniques of the modern era.

X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga (John Byrne & Chris Claremont)

Jean Grey’s tragic tale is as big a part of comic book history, and as important of a single event as the shooting of Bruce Wayne’s parents, or the rocketing of baby Kal-El to Earth, or the bite of a spider on Peter Parker’s young hand. It has become, unfortunately, muddled with ret-con after ret-con, new incarnations of the Phoenix-force, and the three thousand, four hundred and eighty-three resurrections of Jean Grey.

But that doesn’t change the fact that the original tale is about as good of a story as you’ll find anywhere. The battle in the Hellfire Club is a great warm-up battle for the X-Men (and one that would have future impact on the X-Men, especially Wolverine), and the battle on the dark side of the moon against the Shi’ar Imperial Guard is a superpowered slugfest that has rarely been matched.

Just as significant, this story was the one that really cemented the strength of the bond between Jean Grey and Scott Summers – the best romance in comics in my opinion.

Ultimately, I wish that they had left Jean dead at the end of the Phoenix Saga. Her rebirth, again, opened the floodgates wide for superheroes returning from the grave. The great truisms of superhero death, Bucky and Captain Mar-Vel, have even now been violated. Fortunately, you can read this comic without worrying about the future resurrection after resurrection.

Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 1 (Brian Michael Bendis)
By the early years of this millennium, Spider-Man’s life and continuity had become, frankly, a mess. Somewhere between Carnage and clones, I swore off Spider-Man comics. The continuity was ugly, and I felt like I no longer knew these characters.

I still occasionally saw Spidey in other titles I picked up, and vaguely missed him, but he was out of my life. I had been abused one-too-many times, and it was time for me to move on. But then Marvel created Ultimate Spider-Man. Written by a (then) up-and-coming writer by the name of Brian Michael Bendis, Ultimate Spider-Man featured a sixteen-year old Peter Parker in the modern era, facing re-imaginations of Spider-Man’s classic foes. The Green Goblin no longer relied on gadgets – Norman Osborn transformed into a giant green creature capable of throwing fire from his hands. The early romances of Peter Parker’s life were largely ignored in favor of immediately focusing on MJ. And Nick Fury looked like Samuel L. Jackson instead of Clint Eastwood

“A publicity stunt,” people said. “It’ll never last.” “It won’t be any good.”

Were they ever wrong. The rest of the Ultimate continuity has gotten a little messy, and I can’t say I fully approve of all the changes they’ve made, but Ultimate Spider-Man has remained one of the best comics on the market. Even my favorite titles tend to have ups and downs, but there hasn’t been a single issue of USM that I haven’t enjoyed reading.

Watchmen (Alan Moore)

No list of great comic book graphic novels would be complete without including Watchmen. Alan Moore’s masterpiece has been analyzed more than any other comic collection, and sparked more debate and discussion as well.

Superhero comics changed forever after the publication of Watchmen, as people began looking at their heroes as beings who had feets of clay. Finding true heroism in Watchmen takes a lot of digging, and for the most part, the heroes fail. But they make the world a better place – at a price.

It was also the first time we saw our heroes behaving in ways that were really ugly. The Comedian rapes the Silk Spectre, Rorshach is a certifiable sociopath, and Nite-Owl has let himself go and now has a beer-gut.

Oddly enough, I don’t really like Watchmen. I consider it important to comics, and well-written, but I blame it for much of what I now find unpleasant in superhero comics. Still, if you’re going to read modern comics, then Watchmen is an important thing to read. The trends in modern comics originate here.

That's my list, and I hope you enjoyed it. So, what do you think I missed? (Other than Crisis on Infinite Earths). Let me know, and thanks for sticking with me through the last hundred posts. Here's looking to another hundred!

Superheroes and advertising

2007-08-27T14:34:00.000-04:00

“After spending an entire night fighting Venom, the Hobgoblin and Doctor Octopus, there’s only one thing that makes me feel like a human being again – and that’s new Mountain Dew: Extreme.” – Peter Parker

A ridiculous idea you say? Well, it is, but why do we think that really? We make fun of heroes like Captain Amazing and Booster Gold for product endorsements, or wearing an advertising patch on their costume – but if superheroes actually existed in this world, why wouldn’t they do that?

The responsible thing, some would say, would be for heroes to let any money made off their image go to a charity. That’s what Superman does in the DCU, after all. Money made from the sale of Captain America merchandise no doubt goes to the Federal Government in the Marvel Universe. But what, I ask, is so wrong about a hero being paid for the work they do?

Fighting crime is a tough gig, and it can make holding a regular job really hard. So, doesn’t it make some sense to let heroes earn their living by doing what they do? After all, real-world heroes, firefighters, police officers, soldiers and teachers get paid to help society. It wouldn’t even require that the hero give up their identity to the public, so long as there was a trusted individual or corporation who could collect their earnings and distribute them. The Avengers could certainly act as a clearing house to take in the money and then provide it to their members, as could the Justice League.

Heck, in the Marvel Universe, Reed Richards funds the Fantastic Four through a combination of merchandise and patent-sales. And no one ever criticizes him for it. The Wasp uses her status as an Avenger raise attention to her designs, and even models them as superhero costumes, and no one hires Jennifer Walters as an attorney without being very aware that she is the Savage She-Hulk.

So, if a hero wants to take an endorsement deal from Nike, why not let them?

Especially since we're perfectly comfortable using them for advertising in the real-world. And they don't even see a cut of the profits.

Top ten non-superpowered superheroes

2007-08-24T19:24:00.000-04:00

A short-time ago we discussed the various pastiches of Superman overthe years. And while I stand by the statement I made there, that in many universes the World’s Greatest Superhero (tm) is a flying strongman in a cape, what is almost as interesting is that the second place character is usually a person with no superpowers at all.

Below you’ll find my take on the top ten non-superpowered superheroes. But before we get into this list deeply, there are going to be some notable absences, so let me explain them off the bat.

1) I didn’t include any sidekicks/spin-off heroes, no matter how noteworthy they are in their own right (though Nightwing really almost forced me to break this rule). This means we won’t see Robin, Speedy or Bucky on this list.

2) I also didn’t include superheroes who have superpowers, even if they proved themselves as heroes without their powers. So, despite the fact that Dinah Lance is just as competent a hero as Green Arrow, Huntress or Oracle without her sonic scream, she didn’t make the list. Neither did Storm.

3) “Borderline” superpowered heroes didn’t make the list either, even when it pained me to leave them off. As a result, you won’t see Hawkeye (who has superhumanly good eyesight), Moon Knight (who sometimes is written as having supernatural power due toKhonshu), or Wildcat (with his mystical nine lives) despite the fact that these characters are usually considered non-powered.

4) I didn’t include any primarily gun-wielding heroes. While many of the folks on this list do stretch my definition of a superhero in that they have killed, guns really serve no purpose other than “Make the other person dead.” I also think of soldiers and super-spies as a different breed than cape & mask heroes, so Nick Fury, the Punisher and any of the Old West supers didn’t make the cut for this list.

5) Finally, while most “normal human” superheroes do use high-tech gadgets of some sort, if they are entirely (or even mostly) dependent on a gadget for their superheroic acts, they didn’t make the list. WhileTony Stark and Hal Jordan may be ordinary humans, their equipment disqualifies them from this list. Sometimes this was a hard choice to make, and several of my favorite “normal human” heroes got cut as aresult (I’m looking at you, Blue Beetle and Night Thrasher).

But enough with the rules, let’s bring on the heroes!

10) Nighthawk (Supreme Power, Marvel Comics)
Kyle Richmond watched his parents be cut down as a result of a racial-inspired hate crime. Using his father’s investments to build a successful corporation, Richmond has trained himself in martial arts and investigation to hunt down those who commit crimes against African-Americans as Nighthawk.

Why he made the cut: The original version of Nighthawk was little more than a copy of DC’s Batman, but the Supreme Power version of the character has enough differences to make him notable in his own right. Nighthawk has all the paranoia about superhumans that Batman does, but adds in a healthy issue of race-relation paranoia.

Why he’s number 10: As interesting as they’ve made him in Supreme Power, it’s hard to ignore the fact that he is really an almost direct copy of someone much higher on this list.

9) The Confessor II (Astro City, Wildstorm Comics)
Wearing an all black costume with a large white cross on his chest, the Confessor protects Astro City by night. The Confessor focuses on“ordinary” crime – and is the one stopping the city from being looted while Samaritan fights off the alien invasion.

Why he made the cut: The original Confessor was a Roman-Catholic priest turned vampire, whose costume was made in part to harm him enough thathe would avoid the temptation of drinking blood. He later recruited a sidekick – Altar Boy, who became the Confessor after the original gave his life fighting off an alien invasion. Altar Boy had no superpowers of his own, which makes the present Confessor more like the characters he emulated. Astro City features a number of other non-superpowered heroes, including the ever-lovable Crackerjack, but the Confessor has a more prominent position in the universe.

Why he’s number 9: As good as the former Altar Boy’s story is, the Confessor was far more interesting as a vampire. As a normal human, the new Confessor has a neat look, but really has little terribly original about him.

8) Yeoman (Wild Cards novels)

Daniel Brennan was a US Army Captain who made the enmity of a high-ranking traitor in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Framed for murder, Brennan fled the country. While in exile he studied Zen Archery and martial arts. He returned to the United States to track down his foe, ending up in New York City, the haven for Aces and Jokers. Having no superhuman powers, he nevertheless became well known as the Ace ofSpades killer and battled many superpowered Aces and Jokers, even helping end the Swarm invasion.

Why he made the cut: Yeoman is nearly unique in the Wild Cards universe in being a vigilante who wasn’t touched by the Wild Card virus. TheWild Cards novels are a deadlier place than most comics, making Brennan’s life that much harder.

Why he’s number 8: Firstly, Brennan is a killer – something he doesn’t hide from. It’s also impossible not to look at him and see a mesh of the Punisher and Green Arrow. As fascinating as I find him, he is more unique due to his setting than anything noteworthy about the character himself.

7) Citizen V/Baron Helmut Zemo (Thunderbolts, Marvel Comics)

The original leader of the Thunderbolts, Baron Zemo masqueraded as Citizen V. Using high technology, martial arts, sword-fighting skills, and a natural sense of leadership, Citizen V was the perfect disguise– invoking the memory of Captain America without copying him.

Why he made the cut: It took him longer than the rest of the Thunderbolts, but Zemo did eventually evolve into a hero. His look was astounding, and fit well with the idea of a normal human leading a team of superheroes – something which was the case with most teams of Avengers. What was even more interesting, to my way of thinking, was that it took banishment from earth for Zemo to begin to be a hero. Since then, he has ruled the world, given up god-like power, been betrayed, and allowed all of it to happen. Zemo’s evolution remains fascinating, and I can’t wait to see what happens next to Helmut.

Why he’s number 7: Zemo pushes against most of the rules of this list, honestly. While he may be one of my favorites, and I might even have made a Citizen V costume one summer, he is a former villain, and may in fact still be one now. He has killed, and will probably do so again. He also was the possessor of not one, but two Moonstones, pushing him in the "had superpowers" category. They didn’t define him, the way that Iron Man’s armor or Green Lantern’s power ring do, but it pushed the borders of how I defined this list. So, despite my intense love of the character, I really couldn't justify putting him any higher on the list.

6) The Spirit (Will Eisner, now DC Comics)
Denny Colt, with the blessing of the police commissioner (an old friend), fights crime as the masked hero – the Spirit. The Spirit’s adventures ranged from noir detective work, to horror stories, to comedy– sometimes more than once in a single issue. With no superhuman powers, the Spirit is nonetheless a competent hand-to-hand fighter and detective.

Why he made the cut: The Spirit paved the way for the non-powered detective/martial artist we’ve come to see so often in comic books. On top of that, he was created by Wil Eisner – which in and of itself makes him notable.

Why he’s number 6: Despite the legacy the Spirit can claim, it doesn’t change the fact that to the layperson, he’s barely known. It hurt to put characters whose origins can be traced directly to him higher on the list, but the Spirit just isn’t well-enough known to the public to justify putting him higher. With a movie coming out, and a regular series of comics through DC, that may change, but for now, he leads the back of the pack.

5) The Question (DC Comics)
Charles Victor Szasz was trained by Richard Dragon, the greatest martial artist in the DCU in martial arts and philosophy. An investigative reporter by day, he uses his identity as the Question to resolve problems that “Vic Sage” can’t touch. After Vic succumbed to cancer, former Gotham Detective Renee Montoya takes up the mantle of the Question.

Why he/she made the cut: There are a few reasons that the Question stands out among the detective/martial artists who inhabit comics. One is their distinct look – there is something massively unsettling about the appearance of a person with no face. The Vic Sage Question also had a rather memorable run on Justice League: Unlimited, which has helped bring the character to the mind of many. He was always a favorite of mine, but the JLU appearance did a lot to strengthen that. And being voiced by Jeffery Combs did nothing to hurt either. Their appearances in 52 and Countdown have also brought the Questions to the forefront of the DCU. The Question is also the basis for Rorschach from Watchmen, who is one of the most endearing sociopathic heroes in all of comics.

Why they’re number 5: The Question is one of my all-time favorite heroes, but even with the recent surge of attention, they are still second or third-tier characters. That might change a bit with Renee Montoya, especially with her relationship with Batwoman, but at the moment the Question remains in the middle of the pack.

4) The Green Hornet (Various)

Newspaper publisher Britt Reid, grand-nephew to the Lone Ranger, masquerades as the Green Hornet – a vigilante who is considered a crime boss by police and criminals alike. This deception allows Reid to discover much about his enemies. Armed with this knowledge, his loyal companion Kato, and the amazing Black Beauty, the Green Hornet is a threat to criminals everywhere.

Why he made the cut: The Green Hornet loaned so much of his mythology to future heroes that it really is remarkable. But what is even more amazing is how much remains unique to him – not the least of which being his status as crime boss. (Marvel’s Shroud doesn’t do it half as well.) His gadgets are second to none, and he even has a memorable bit of theme music – even if it was written by Rimsky-Korsakov.

Why he’s number 4: It is absolutely no knock against the Hornet himself that he only made it to number four on the list. It really comes down to the fact that the three people ahead of him on the list are just that much more notable. Starting with one who has stolen his color…

3) Green Arrow (DC Comics)

Millionaire playboy Olliver Queen was stranded on a desert island by a crime boss. His own survival instinct plus a lifelong fascination with archery saved him from a grisly fate, and when he returned to civilization, he decided to use his new identity to protect the “little guy” as the Emerald Archer, Green Arrow.

Why he made the cut: Green Arrow is one of the more notable “normal human” heroes in comics today, and his fame is only growing. In addition to comics and cartoons, Green Arrow has also been included in the Smallville mythology, and is even going to have a movie made about him (probably). Though he started as a Batman knock-off, he has grown to be a champion of liberal causes, and has started the legacy for numerous other heroes, including the current Speedy, Mia Derden and the former Speedy, RoyHarper, who is now a member of the Justice League as Red Arrow. He has also developed a rivalry with Deathstroke – the single deadliest assassin in the DCU. And on top of all that, he just proposed to theBlack Canary, Dinah Lance.

Why he’s number 3: As amazing as Ollie is, and how rapid his ascent has been, he still remains just out of reach of the top-tier of superheroes. To comic fans, few characters are as beloved as Olliver Queen is today, but he still lacks the name recognition of Spider-Man, Superman or the top two spots on this list.

2) Batman (DC Comics)

His parents gunned down at a young age, Bruce Wayne swore that he would never allow what happened to him to happen to anyone else. Heir to a vast empire of wealth, Bruce travelled across the world, honing his mind and body to become the ultimate weapon against crime. Already a brilliant detective, martial artist, tactician and scientist, Bruce crafted a disguise to strike terror into the hearts of criminals. He has had many allies in this war against crime, but deep inside, Bruce remains a loner. Still, no hero is as feared as the Batman is.

Why he made the cut: Because he’s the Batman, that’s why. Few superheroes have the recognition as an icon that he does. Bruce Wayne represents the ultimate in what a human can strive for, and is one ofthe “Big Three” of the DCU. Batman has out fought everyone, and has contingency plan after contingency plan for future battles. He has trained several Robins, one of whom, Dick Grayson. has become such an important hero in DC Comics that he honestly deserves a place on this list himself. He has inspired numerous other heroes, including the Huntress and two different Batgirls. His arsenal is nearly as well known as his origin story, and he has been the subject of more movies and television shows than any other superhero. No list of “human” superheroes would be complete without him.

Why he’s number 2: This will be probably the most contentious placement on this list, because for many Batman is what people think of as the non-powered superhero. I struggled between placing him in the number one or number two slot, and ultimately went with who I chose as the winner because of what that character represents. Batman is, at heart, a story about vengeance. Bruce’s mission has grown beyond that, but that’s where its’ roots are. Batman also inspires fear above anything else, and I wanted the number one position to belong to a hero who inspires hope in all those around him, even after his death.

1) Captain America (Marvel Comics)
Despite being a patriot, Steve Rogers was deemed unfit for duty during the Second World War due to his scrawny physique. Offered an opportunity to take part in a secret Super-Soldier program, Steve Rogers was transformed to the peak of human ability and trained by the army. Armed with an unbreakable shield, and possessing unmatched leadership and tactical skills, Steve became Captain America. Frozen in ice for years and released in the modern day, Captain America is still regarded by nearly all in the Marvel Universe as the ultimate expression of what a hero should be, even as he struggles to find his place in modern-day America.

Why he made the cut: In the Marvel Universe, no one is a greater hero than Cap. Cap has led several incarnations of the Avengers, leading gods, mutants, aliens and robots despite having no powers of his own. He has stood toe-to-toe with the likes of the Hulk, Thanos and Ultron, and come out on top. His sidekicks have become potent heroes in their own right, and other nations have champions who are clearly inspired by Captain America, such as Union Jack and the Red Guardian.

Why he’s number 1: Cap isn’t just an unpowered superhero, he is a leader of superheroes. Cap inspires hope and loyalty in those around him and is one of the few who are worthy of wielding Thor’s enchanted hammer, Mjolnir. No matter how jaded or bitter a hero is, when they work alongside Cap, even the likes of Wolverine, Spider-Man and Luke Cage find ways to be members of a team. When Captain America opposed the Registration Act, he gave legitimacy to the cause. Without Cap, those who refused to register would have been despised by all. But with Captain America leading the resistance, it made people think about why heroes might oppose the law, even in the wake of Stamford. After being assassinated, Steve Rogers has continued to inspire heroism in his memory. He may not be as well known as Batman, and may have even lost to him in Marvel vs. DC several years ago, but Captain America is the single largest symbol of hope to the Marvel Universe, and for that reason, he is my pick for number one.

So, what do you think? Who do you think deserves a place on this list but didn’t get one? Where would you have moved people around on the list? I’d love to hear.