For all the focus I've given to villains over the course of my history with this thing, you'd think I'm a major Villain fan.
Actually, I'm not. I'm all about the heros. I don't even much like Anti-heros. I find Wolverine, the Punisher and that ilk to be annoying and pointless.
That said, I do think that Villains in many ways define stories, and even define the heros that they are associated with. I've joked that the true role of Villains is to provide a jaw for the hero to punch, but it really does go deeper than that.
It's obvious, but they provide the tension for the story. After all, does anyone really want a comic book were Batman and Alfred spend all their time in the Batcave playing Canasta?
There are few villains who "define" their hero better than the Joker. The whole "order vs chaos" thing is pretty potent. However, he's a bit of an exception really. In many ways, the best villains for helping to define heros are the true "masterminds." They are characters where it is very believable that they have their "fingers" in the heros life at nearly every moment. Lex Luthor is an obvious example of this. In his role as "richer than Trump," he's able to be involved in nearly every Superman story, at one level or another. He's always there, weaving his web, shaping the world around Superman. Kingpin was able to do much the same for Daredevil.
Now, there are some great villains who are "crosses," in that they are both "masterminds" and direct threats to the heros. Magneto and Dr. Doom would be good examples of this.
Oh well, I'm tired, and rambling, so I'll shut up and leave y'all alone.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Review: Avengers the Movie
Just watched the new Avengers movie, and I have to give it an overall thumbs up. Now, the animation is rather uneven. On the one hand, the designs and colors are quite good, but the movement seems to be a bit rough.
I've not read the Ultimates, so it's a bit disorienting for me to read. Lots of things that just seem slightly off (like Prof. Betsy Ross). Still, enough of the touchstones are there for me to follow it in good form.
Probably the highlight is the bickering between Hank Pym and Janet. Is there a more disfunctional couple in comics?
I should say more, but I'm a tad tired, so I'll let it be.
Still, a night with Captain America can't be all bad.
One can never have too many boy scouts.
I've not read the Ultimates, so it's a bit disorienting for me to read. Lots of things that just seem slightly off (like Prof. Betsy Ross). Still, enough of the touchstones are there for me to follow it in good form.
Probably the highlight is the bickering between Hank Pym and Janet. Is there a more disfunctional couple in comics?
I should say more, but I'm a tad tired, so I'll let it be.
Still, a night with Captain America can't be all bad.
One can never have too many boy scouts.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
JLU
Pretty good episode tonight. I'd missed the first Stargirl episode, so this was the first time I saw her and Pat. I can't say that I'm fond of her voice, but oh well.
It's interesting to see this storyline pushed across at the same time as some of the themes in IC that I mentioned last night. In alot of ways, it strikes me as a "truer" story than IC.
I think they pushed the "non-powered" thing a bit too far this time though. It was quite funny to see Speedy, and near as I can recall this is the first time that we've seen someone from the Teen Titans cartoon appear in JLU (other than maybe Kid Flash... is that Wally or Bart in TT?) The byplay between him and Ollie was pretty good, and I liked the way that they pulled out the Silver Age wierd arrows.
Overall, a solid episode, and it's good to see them putting focus on some of the secondary characters. I really think that it's been getting better (though the animation isn't as good as it was to my mind). Too bad the series is going by the wayside.
It's interesting to see this storyline pushed across at the same time as some of the themes in IC that I mentioned last night. In alot of ways, it strikes me as a "truer" story than IC.
I think they pushed the "non-powered" thing a bit too far this time though. It was quite funny to see Speedy, and near as I can recall this is the first time that we've seen someone from the Teen Titans cartoon appear in JLU (other than maybe Kid Flash... is that Wally or Bart in TT?) The byplay between him and Ollie was pretty good, and I liked the way that they pulled out the Silver Age wierd arrows.
Overall, a solid episode, and it's good to see them putting focus on some of the secondary characters. I really think that it's been getting better (though the animation isn't as good as it was to my mind). Too bad the series is going by the wayside.
The role of the "origin" Story.
Comic books have certain patterns. When a new comic comes out, either the first or (sometimes) second story will be the ever popular "origin" story. In some ways, it's almost gotten to be a cliche.
However, I think that these stories are really a major part in defining a character, and have great value. The odd thing is that I think that people usually look at the "wrong part" of the story. The classic OS consists of two parts. First of all, is how they got their powers, and the second is what led them to become a member of the spandex set. A great deal of the time, the focus seems to be on the way that people got their powers, but I think that's misplaced.
Who are the most important people in the DCU? I think you can make a great case for Ma and Pa Kent. When people talk about Superman's origin, they focus on all the things related to Krypton. Indeed, that story has a great deal of pathos, and the writers have gotten some very good stuff out of there over the years. However, what has really defined Superman is not the powers that he has, but the essential decency of the character. If it weren't for the values that the Kent's raised Clark with, he could have easily become the greatest nightmare the earth had ever seen, rather than the iconic hero that he is. The values he was raised with are part and parcel of answering the question "Why is he a hero?"
You see the same thing with Batman's OS. Here the two parts of the origin are tied pretty closely together. He got his "powers" because of his determination to be a hero (in this case powers being defined as the physical and mental training to fulfill his chosen role.) While the very early stories didn't have his essental aversion to ever killing another human being, even that was an organic outgrowth of his OS. What really defines Batman is the thing that decided he wanted to be a hero.
Much the same is true with the X-Men. The OS of the various characters are varied, and it's gotten to the point that describing how they got their powers is an exercise in handwavium. "They're mutants! And don't think too much about how ruby quartz would actually stop the eyebeam of doom!" However, what unites them all is "the dream." The characters all approach the dream somewhat differently. Charles is the Apostle, Cyclops the Paladin, Wolverine the rather unpleasant cousin that keeps coming to dinner. However, that dream is what defines them as a whole, and their individual relationship to the dream is a major piece of what defines them as individual characters.
On the other hand, we can look at a case where there is no real OS and see how badly it's lacking. Look at Grace in Outsiders. What makes her tick? Why is she a hero? She's been revealed to be a number of things. I'll tempered, cynical about the whole hero thing, seemingly satisfied with working as a metahuman bouncer, and the like. What led her to take Arsenal's offer to join the Outsiders? It's got to be more than the money. She's so cynical about the whole hero "biz" (as has been shown in some of her conversations, such as the one with Thunder after Indigo died), why did she willingly jump into it? There may have been some hints in the "missing child" story, but in many ways, she's a cipher, and because of that, pretty boring to me.
Now, you don't have to reveal all (or even much) at the beginning. The introduction of Raven in Teen Titans would be an example of that. It was clear there was something going on, and that she had a history she was trying to deal with. So, what made her interesting was watching that mystery develop. Grace (at least in my not very humble opinion) hasn't been given that sense of mystery. She's just thrown out there as a "bad girl" with powers.
Oracle is another interesting story, as she in a real way has two OS. I'm going to work under the assumption that Batgirl: Year One is the OS for Batgirl, for the sake of simplicity. There, her origin is really a touch shallow. She wants to be a cop, but when she's blocked from doing that, she practically "falls" into becoming a costumed hero. Still, there seems to be a certain ambivalence about it, even after she takes her "oath" with Batman. She's there for the thrill and the fun, not out of a deeper commitment. On the other hand, her maiming by the Joker forced her to focus, and turn into a deeper and more profound character.
Stargirl is another good example. Her reasons to become a hero are about as shallow as they get, but really the entire run of Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E is her OS, as she's gone beyond her initial silly reasons, and allowed her to grow into something far more. She has an understanding and commitment to who she is and what she's doing.
I don't really care about how someone "got" their powers, I care about why they do what they do.
However, I think that these stories are really a major part in defining a character, and have great value. The odd thing is that I think that people usually look at the "wrong part" of the story. The classic OS consists of two parts. First of all, is how they got their powers, and the second is what led them to become a member of the spandex set. A great deal of the time, the focus seems to be on the way that people got their powers, but I think that's misplaced.
Who are the most important people in the DCU? I think you can make a great case for Ma and Pa Kent. When people talk about Superman's origin, they focus on all the things related to Krypton. Indeed, that story has a great deal of pathos, and the writers have gotten some very good stuff out of there over the years. However, what has really defined Superman is not the powers that he has, but the essential decency of the character. If it weren't for the values that the Kent's raised Clark with, he could have easily become the greatest nightmare the earth had ever seen, rather than the iconic hero that he is. The values he was raised with are part and parcel of answering the question "Why is he a hero?"
You see the same thing with Batman's OS. Here the two parts of the origin are tied pretty closely together. He got his "powers" because of his determination to be a hero (in this case powers being defined as the physical and mental training to fulfill his chosen role.) While the very early stories didn't have his essental aversion to ever killing another human being, even that was an organic outgrowth of his OS. What really defines Batman is the thing that decided he wanted to be a hero.
Much the same is true with the X-Men. The OS of the various characters are varied, and it's gotten to the point that describing how they got their powers is an exercise in handwavium. "They're mutants! And don't think too much about how ruby quartz would actually stop the eyebeam of doom!" However, what unites them all is "the dream." The characters all approach the dream somewhat differently. Charles is the Apostle, Cyclops the Paladin, Wolverine the rather unpleasant cousin that keeps coming to dinner. However, that dream is what defines them as a whole, and their individual relationship to the dream is a major piece of what defines them as individual characters.
On the other hand, we can look at a case where there is no real OS and see how badly it's lacking. Look at Grace in Outsiders. What makes her tick? Why is she a hero? She's been revealed to be a number of things. I'll tempered, cynical about the whole hero thing, seemingly satisfied with working as a metahuman bouncer, and the like. What led her to take Arsenal's offer to join the Outsiders? It's got to be more than the money. She's so cynical about the whole hero "biz" (as has been shown in some of her conversations, such as the one with Thunder after Indigo died), why did she willingly jump into it? There may have been some hints in the "missing child" story, but in many ways, she's a cipher, and because of that, pretty boring to me.
Now, you don't have to reveal all (or even much) at the beginning. The introduction of Raven in Teen Titans would be an example of that. It was clear there was something going on, and that she had a history she was trying to deal with. So, what made her interesting was watching that mystery develop. Grace (at least in my not very humble opinion) hasn't been given that sense of mystery. She's just thrown out there as a "bad girl" with powers.
Oracle is another interesting story, as she in a real way has two OS. I'm going to work under the assumption that Batgirl: Year One is the OS for Batgirl, for the sake of simplicity. There, her origin is really a touch shallow. She wants to be a cop, but when she's blocked from doing that, she practically "falls" into becoming a costumed hero. Still, there seems to be a certain ambivalence about it, even after she takes her "oath" with Batman. She's there for the thrill and the fun, not out of a deeper commitment. On the other hand, her maiming by the Joker forced her to focus, and turn into a deeper and more profound character.
Stargirl is another good example. Her reasons to become a hero are about as shallow as they get, but really the entire run of Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E is her OS, as she's gone beyond her initial silly reasons, and allowed her to grow into something far more. She has an understanding and commitment to who she is and what she's doing.
I don't really care about how someone "got" their powers, I care about why they do what they do.
Friday, February 24, 2006
More IC thoughts
While out on my walk today, I think I realized what has disappointed me about the way that IC has been playing out. I'll admit that this aspect probably has been played up to an extent in some of the titles that IC is spilling into (I'm only getting the books I normally do, and then a few of the specials that go with it, like Day of Vengance).
In many ways, the "run up" to IC was playing around with the idea of "trust." Think about the "psychology" of living in the DCU (or any superhero universe really). The ordinary people have to show a high level of trust in their heros. These are people who have the power to destroy them at the blink of an eye, and if they ever want to take control, the options of the "rest of us" will be very limited. This vunerability can easily lead to a sense of paranoia on the part of the people. This is hardly a new idea in comics. X-Men has practically lived in this margin, especially in the glory days of Claremont. Likewise, in the DCU, Kingdom Come got into this very heavily. That said, it's still a vibrant place to mine stories.
Now, in the last couple of years, the buildup of storylines in the DCU have begun to "erode" the trust that the common people would have in their heros.
1. Identity Crisis It's a bit unclear how much the man on the street know of the lobotomization of Dr. Light... but it's still an ongoing issue. The next two are clearer.
2. Black Reign(JSA)- When a "hero" goes rogue and takes over a nation by main force.
3. The killing of Max Lord by Wonder Woman.
These elements have come together and would have formed the backbone of a good storyline, of how the heros have to deal with a situation where the trust has begun to erode. In a way, it's the converse of the old X-Men situation, in that they were feared for no good reason, while the DCU heros are starting to give reason to fear them.
In a way, the Black Reign storyline in JSA is the key to my mind. You have two heros from the most "respected" of the teams (if not the most powerful) becoming the nightmare that everyone had to fear in the back of their heads. Now, this story does have some mitagating circumstances. Black Adam was a "reformed" villain, so people could just shake their heads and say "they never should have trusted him." Likewise, Atom Smasher "repented" and is doing his jail thing, so the people can breathe a sigh of relief. The others involved were "minor players" and didn't have the cachet of the JSA.
Still, that could serve as a "floodgate" for an expansion of this theme. It's not that the people are afraid of superpowered people doing bad things. Well, they are of course, but they also know that the heros are there to protect them. The nightmare is if the heros begin to abandon the side of good.
There are elements of all of this in the runup to IC, and some of the side stories. Sadly, IC has become tied up with rehashing COIE, and this focus has really been pulled to the side. Instead of dealing with the nightmare of falling heros, we are instead just treated to platitudes by Earth-2 Superman and Earth-Prime Superboy about how this world is the "wrong" one, that leads heros to fall. It doesn't carry the power or the impact.
To really have a "payoff" with the groundwork that we've seen, we've got to have something that I don't recall in the history of comics. We are going to have to have a major hero fall hard. There have been low and mid range heros fall (Hawk for instance), and there are times that major heros have been framed or misunderstood (Batman every 20 issues or so), but I don't recall a first or second tier hero in either the DCU or Marvel (the ones I know best) who truly fell. Even Black Adam was pretty enigmatic in his hero phase, so he doesn't fully count. I realize that DC would be afraid to have someone as iconic as Superman or Batman fall, but they could have one of the second tier characters fall all the way.
I hope that IC ends up doing just that... but I don't see it, the way the story is developing.
PS: Even if you say Hal Jordan fell, they then turned around and redeemed him... I want a story where a hero falls, and stays fallen)
In many ways, the "run up" to IC was playing around with the idea of "trust." Think about the "psychology" of living in the DCU (or any superhero universe really). The ordinary people have to show a high level of trust in their heros. These are people who have the power to destroy them at the blink of an eye, and if they ever want to take control, the options of the "rest of us" will be very limited. This vunerability can easily lead to a sense of paranoia on the part of the people. This is hardly a new idea in comics. X-Men has practically lived in this margin, especially in the glory days of Claremont. Likewise, in the DCU, Kingdom Come got into this very heavily. That said, it's still a vibrant place to mine stories.
Now, in the last couple of years, the buildup of storylines in the DCU have begun to "erode" the trust that the common people would have in their heros.
1. Identity Crisis It's a bit unclear how much the man on the street know of the lobotomization of Dr. Light... but it's still an ongoing issue. The next two are clearer.
2. Black Reign(JSA)- When a "hero" goes rogue and takes over a nation by main force.
3. The killing of Max Lord by Wonder Woman.
These elements have come together and would have formed the backbone of a good storyline, of how the heros have to deal with a situation where the trust has begun to erode. In a way, it's the converse of the old X-Men situation, in that they were feared for no good reason, while the DCU heros are starting to give reason to fear them.
In a way, the Black Reign storyline in JSA is the key to my mind. You have two heros from the most "respected" of the teams (if not the most powerful) becoming the nightmare that everyone had to fear in the back of their heads. Now, this story does have some mitagating circumstances. Black Adam was a "reformed" villain, so people could just shake their heads and say "they never should have trusted him." Likewise, Atom Smasher "repented" and is doing his jail thing, so the people can breathe a sigh of relief. The others involved were "minor players" and didn't have the cachet of the JSA.
Still, that could serve as a "floodgate" for an expansion of this theme. It's not that the people are afraid of superpowered people doing bad things. Well, they are of course, but they also know that the heros are there to protect them. The nightmare is if the heros begin to abandon the side of good.
There are elements of all of this in the runup to IC, and some of the side stories. Sadly, IC has become tied up with rehashing COIE, and this focus has really been pulled to the side. Instead of dealing with the nightmare of falling heros, we are instead just treated to platitudes by Earth-2 Superman and Earth-Prime Superboy about how this world is the "wrong" one, that leads heros to fall. It doesn't carry the power or the impact.
To really have a "payoff" with the groundwork that we've seen, we've got to have something that I don't recall in the history of comics. We are going to have to have a major hero fall hard. There have been low and mid range heros fall (Hawk for instance), and there are times that major heros have been framed or misunderstood (Batman every 20 issues or so), but I don't recall a first or second tier hero in either the DCU or Marvel (the ones I know best) who truly fell. Even Black Adam was pretty enigmatic in his hero phase, so he doesn't fully count. I realize that DC would be afraid to have someone as iconic as Superman or Batman fall, but they could have one of the second tier characters fall all the way.
I hope that IC ends up doing just that... but I don't see it, the way the story is developing.
PS: Even if you say Hal Jordan fell, they then turned around and redeemed him... I want a story where a hero falls, and stays fallen)
Thursday, February 23, 2006
The Good Stuff
As I mentioned, last month's issue of JSA was very, very good (I forget the number offhand, it's the one with the Ross cover of Stargirl).
Now, it's not perfect by any means. The entire Jesse Quick/Liberty Belle subplot was a bit of a mess, and was really used as a Deus ex machina to set up the real focus of the plot. However, that focus was excellent.
As I've mentioned before, I thought Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E was a very good comic that got killed before its time. The very last issue ended with some very strong family dynamics, and this issue really picked up from them.
It's nice to see that things between Courtney and Michael are still somewhat messy. In fact, if anything, they are becoming very brother and sister like. They'll fight, and even drag their parents into it. That said, you just know that if anyone outside the family crosses either of them, the other will be all over that person.
What does Courtney's real father represent to her? At first, a hope. A hope of belonging, of something better than the life she had before when she and her mother were alone. It was a bit surprising to see her as an "outsider" at her old school, but it fits in a way. For all of her trouble with Pat Dugan early on, her home and her life is developing into a place where she fits. She's found her place in life, and is comfortable in it, and is confident in it.
It's a sign of her fundamental decency that she's so badly shaken when she found out about her real father. What did she really want? She had her place with her mother and Pat, so it wasn't that any more. Did she want redemption for him? Did she want to understand him? We don't know, but as angry as she'd been when she'd seen him in jail, she obviously hadn't cut him out of her heart, even though she "knew" she was "supposed" to.
Stargirl is one of the best characters going, there's just no other way to say it.
Now, it's not perfect by any means. The entire Jesse Quick/Liberty Belle subplot was a bit of a mess, and was really used as a Deus ex machina to set up the real focus of the plot. However, that focus was excellent.
As I've mentioned before, I thought Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E was a very good comic that got killed before its time. The very last issue ended with some very strong family dynamics, and this issue really picked up from them.
It's nice to see that things between Courtney and Michael are still somewhat messy. In fact, if anything, they are becoming very brother and sister like. They'll fight, and even drag their parents into it. That said, you just know that if anyone outside the family crosses either of them, the other will be all over that person.
What does Courtney's real father represent to her? At first, a hope. A hope of belonging, of something better than the life she had before when she and her mother were alone. It was a bit surprising to see her as an "outsider" at her old school, but it fits in a way. For all of her trouble with Pat Dugan early on, her home and her life is developing into a place where she fits. She's found her place in life, and is comfortable in it, and is confident in it.
It's a sign of her fundamental decency that she's so badly shaken when she found out about her real father. What did she really want? She had her place with her mother and Pat, so it wasn't that any more. Did she want redemption for him? Did she want to understand him? We don't know, but as angry as she'd been when she'd seen him in jail, she obviously hadn't cut him out of her heart, even though she "knew" she was "supposed" to.
Stargirl is one of the best characters going, there's just no other way to say it.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
I live!
Well, I'd apologize for the long delay since a post here, but it would be kind of pointless. It's not like anyone was waiting with baited breath for me to actually post or anything.
In any case, life has been rather insane, and while I've been reading comics, I've not been that moved to post. I'll probably post at one point or another on the Star-Spangled Kid issue of JSA from last month one of these days.
In any case, one of the reasons for the delay is the difficulty of posting in the middle of a long, overwrought company wide crossover. Sad to say, that's what it's turning into. Since I only get my books one time a month, I've been avoiding blogworld to avoid spoilers, but I'm not really joying IC all that much. I'm not going to say that it's down to Zero Hour level, but it's not that good either.
I think part of the problem is that I much prefer focused stories. Even if they are sprawling (like some fantasy novel series I've read), if the focus that underlies the story is clear. Well, to this point, IC is rather shotgunned. The Alex-Superboy-Superman thing is somewhat interesting, but the rest of it is just sort of floating on by. I'm still not entirely sure why they had to scrag Bludhaven (at least it's not in California this time, after Coast City and Sub Diego, I'd be leaving that state...). I'm probably a bit behind, but I sure how that Capt. Marvel doesn't get stuck on the rock. He needs to be an active character, not stuck out there.
Anyway, I've only gotten into a bit of this months shipment, but the highlight easily is Nightwing. I'd really thought that he would eventually go the other way in this. Nice to seem I'm wrong. I still think that Babs can do better, but hey, what do I know :)
Batgirl was fairly interesting. A bit too much use of "bringing back from the dead" for my tastes (and you know that Shiva will fall into the pit soon), but still interesting. I'm glad to see they didn't kill Cassie outright. Whether she uses the name "Batgirl" or whatever is immaterial to me, she's finally growing into being an interesting character. Her original "mute" form was an interesting idea, but not something that can be carried off in an ongoing series.
Oh well, time marches on.
In any case, life has been rather insane, and while I've been reading comics, I've not been that moved to post. I'll probably post at one point or another on the Star-Spangled Kid issue of JSA from last month one of these days.
In any case, one of the reasons for the delay is the difficulty of posting in the middle of a long, overwrought company wide crossover. Sad to say, that's what it's turning into. Since I only get my books one time a month, I've been avoiding blogworld to avoid spoilers, but I'm not really joying IC all that much. I'm not going to say that it's down to Zero Hour level, but it's not that good either.
I think part of the problem is that I much prefer focused stories. Even if they are sprawling (like some fantasy novel series I've read), if the focus that underlies the story is clear. Well, to this point, IC is rather shotgunned. The Alex-Superboy-Superman thing is somewhat interesting, but the rest of it is just sort of floating on by. I'm still not entirely sure why they had to scrag Bludhaven (at least it's not in California this time, after Coast City and Sub Diego, I'd be leaving that state...). I'm probably a bit behind, but I sure how that Capt. Marvel doesn't get stuck on the rock. He needs to be an active character, not stuck out there.
Anyway, I've only gotten into a bit of this months shipment, but the highlight easily is Nightwing. I'd really thought that he would eventually go the other way in this. Nice to seem I'm wrong. I still think that Babs can do better, but hey, what do I know :)
Batgirl was fairly interesting. A bit too much use of "bringing back from the dead" for my tastes (and you know that Shiva will fall into the pit soon), but still interesting. I'm glad to see they didn't kill Cassie outright. Whether she uses the name "Batgirl" or whatever is immaterial to me, she's finally growing into being an interesting character. Her original "mute" form was an interesting idea, but not something that can be carried off in an ongoing series.
Oh well, time marches on.
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