One man's exploration of his love/interest/puzzlement over comic books, adaptations, and other related mediums, as they serve as a solid foundation for sanity!
Brief reading note I wanted to mention, before I wrote today's blog proper. I have NO clue what it is about the late 70's/early 80's DC titles, but as of these past two days, I've read one issue of "The Flash" and one issue of "Wonder Woman" that BOTH featured battles against dinosaurs, and hyper-evolved dinosaurs. Maybe Bronze Age comics influenced Michael Crichton for a trip to a certain "Jurassic Park"? Theories, theories...
Yesterday, I discussed favorite Christmas comic issues of mine. But while sharing the Christmas Spirit through the printed page is a noble cause, there will STILL be a "little kid" side of me, around this time of year, wanting to ask the Comic Book-Based Santa to reply to a few measly "wish list" items of mine. And for today's blog, I wanted to share with you some of those items that either:
Do not exist in a 100% legal format, as far as I know.
DO exist in a legal format... but NOWHERE near the states.
Just have not been given ANY justice, whatsoever.
So, hope you enjoy my trip down my wish list... But sorry, Santa; no sitting on your lap. I do have SOME measure of dignity to uphold.
1. Complete DVD Set of the 1960's "Marvel Super-Heroes" Cartoon Series: If you've ever done a Youtube search for ANY of the featured series under the Grantray-Lawrence Animation studios helmed series KNOWS it is not an animation dynamo. Comic panels are BARELY animated, hardly bear any continuity... watch ANY episode of the "Mighty Thor" feature, so you can see Odin wear at least SIX SEPARATE OUTFITS in a single episode... and sometimes you get some of the cheesiest voice acting this side of American dubbings of Japanese video game dialogue. That being said, this series STILL holds a soft spot in my heart, for being one of the first efforts to bring the Marvel Comics Universe to a televised medium. And since the stories are based SPOT-ON from the source material, you get stories that are interestingly interpreted dramatizations of the budding Marvel Universe. And as far as I've seen, this series is ONLY available via... er... "less than honorable" means. So c'mon Marvel... I KNOW you've had better animated efforts through the years, but you need to pay some tribute to your founding steps!
2. The ULTIMATE 1980's "Spider-Man/Woman" Animated Series Collection: Are you able to find "Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends" in its entirety on Netflix Instant? Sure! ... But there is a noticeable gap in finding Stateside access to the precursor to that very series, a series with the simple label of "Spider-Man". Some fond memories of that particular series that I STILL carry are an episode featuring Spidey's battle with Doctor Doom, as Victor seeks to gain control of the United Nations, along with a clash with Dr. Curt Connors... AKA the Lizard! Pushing together both series into a nice simple DVD set would be a dream come true for a person who found his initial Marvel Comics LOVE by these shows' exposures. But why not make a tidy Oreo Cookie with this set, by also including the one-season only collection of the "Spider-Woman" animated series, of which I have ZILCH memories of! Now, remember my mention of the "Stateside access" to these series? Well, those lucky English citizens DID see proper DVD releases of ALL THREE of these shows? Why doth thou forsake us, Mighty House of Ideas? Need FURTHER proof?
3. A Heaping Helping of BOTH "Incredible Hulk" Series on DVD: Yep... Denied yet ANOTHER revisit of a classic set of Marvel Animated series. I was CONVINCED at least the 90's "Incredible Hulk" series would see a re-release with the theatrical release of the most recent "Hulk" feature film. (Heck, when "Iron Man 2" was released around the same rough time, the 90's "Iron Man" series was collected into a DVD set!) But much like a repeat "Hulk" sequel, the prospects of the 1980's Hulk cartoon AND the 1990's Hulk cartoon are about as likely as Marvel NOT putting out another event after their current comics event ends. Which is a shame, because I remember the 80's series having AMAZING animation quality for a single season, along with one of the BEST animated theme songs of all time. And the 90's series was about 2 seasons worth of a distillation of the best of the Peter David era of the comic title. And even better... it ALSO featured a set of episodes with Doctor Doom, who ALSO was the inadvertent creator of She-Hulk for that show! Hail Latveria!
4. A Marvel 75th Anniversary Music Compilation: Sigh... Marvel, you DO realize DC STILL has you beat on this front, because for their 75th publishing anniversary, they put out a VERY fun music compilation of the various iterations of their popular characters' themes in cartoons, television shows, and movies. (Man, jamming out to that "Wonder Woman" television theme NEVER gets old, nor does the excitement chills of hearing that John Williams "Superman" theme.) Marvel has close to 50 years worth of cartoon, movie, and television show themes that people KNOW and LOVE! (I'm sure you're all familiar with the 1960's "Spider-Man" cartoon theme, and more than a few could probably hum the 1960's "Iron Man" show theme.) Why not tap that RICH history of their characters' exposure to media, and collect them as either a hard CD release, or maybe even just a digital download? Some, I do understand, are probably points of legal contention. (Good luck seeing hide OR hair of that Danny Elfman "Spider-Man" theme on the collection, thank you VERY MUCH, Sony...) But think of how much this collection could tap into people that just LOVE catchy theme songs for their favorite Marvel characters throughout the years. Marvel, I will even send you a BLANK CHECK to make this happen.
But as we're about to see, DC is not totally free of guilt with lacking in materials that just BEG to see release! So, why don't we look at two particularly notable deficits in their trade paperback program...
5. An ACTUAL Series of Reprints for "Fury of Firestorm": The reprinting of the first six "Firestorm" issues, along with "The Flash" backups in ONE TRADE does not count as a comprehensive exposure to the history of Ronnie Raymond and Professor Martin Stein. And due to the fact that Firestorm is starting live-action life in CW's "The Flash" series, you would THINK the company would want to give their nuclear-powered paladin some proper time in the sun by FINALLY giving reprint trades to the long-running series that started in the 80's. It's only right, y'know!
6. Reprinting at LEAST the first "DC Who's Who" Mini-Series: Obviously, the Internet makes any comic book reference book outdated, by nature. But where would those Wikipedia entries be without the influence of that original 26 issue guide to the DC Universe that took place during, and AFTER, the initial "Crisis on Infinite Earths"? A lot of these characters' backgrounds are NOWHERE near where they are reported to be for the course of this series, but there's still something quaint about seeing the character write-ups at the time, along with various artistic interpretations of certain characters. Plus, I think this series represents a HUGE chunk of DC at their nadir, with emphasis on the growing popularity of the "New Teen Titans"... and by proxy, AWESOME artwork by George Perez for those particular entries. How hard can it be to give this series just ONE SINGLE omnibus/trade, and see how it goes, before delivering on the remainder of the future year entries?
And just because I KNOW it exists, but still find it VERY hard to get my hands on in a reasonably-priced manner...
7. A Carded Original Superman figure from the Kenner "Super Powers Collection": ... A guy can dream, can't he?
And before I forget, while it's early, it is still NO LESS sincere, when I wish everyone that's helped support this blog, or even just read it, the best the Christmas Holiday can offer. May you all have a very Merry Christmas!
Before I start blogging, proper... as usual... we start with a few notes. I should refer to this section as being a spiritual successor to "Stan's Soapbox", except it is NOWHERE near as potentially spiritually enriching. Or at the very least, nowhere near as shilling in nature. This is more like a shuffling off of topics in my general life and/or fandom with comics before the ACTUAL subject matter. So, lemme clear my throat...
My new job started, this week. The new place I work for, contract-based work that it is, is VERY comfortable. I still have much to learn about the job, along with my actual tasks, but for the work I do at the moment, it IS a case of learning to "crawl" before I "run".
Life couldn't resist throwing me a curveball, regardless of this new station in life, by smacking my immune system in the face with a case of the flu for the first half of this week, involving one day where I had to miss work to spend time recovering. As my lady Alanis would say, "Isn't it ironic, don't you think?".
Christmas shopping is NEARLY done for me, at least. My bank account is whimpering more than a current comics fan finding out about ANOTHER major comics event dawning on the horizon, but at least I won't have to commit much more finances to the "spirit of Christmas". I admit to not being as much of a "Grinch" for the season, but there's a splinter of my cynicism that wonders if that same "spirit" is more akin to a "vampire" of Christmas.
Finally, I refer all readers to this blog to my 100th post for the still ongoing anniversary quiz contest. I've not seen any entries trickle into my email account JUST YET, but you readers still have until Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January to send in your answers and entries! Please don't feel like you have to "last minute" your chances like this was an eBay action to become a winner!
This is probably where I begin to sound like a stereotypical aging "geek", but the subject for today's blog seems to be a lost art, or tradition, in comic companies. Why tell individual issue fun holiday stories, when they'd only break the flow of their next MEGA-SUPER-EPOCH MAKING event? But should your comic-buying spirit be "Merry and Bright", then with a little bit of bargain-buying savvy, you can ensure you can find more than your fair-share of books that will leave your Christmas Spirit feeling like it's fully in the white! I couldn't even BEGIN to cover all of the Christmas-based comic books in existence, because some I just don't have access to, some I've not read in a VERY long time, and some... I have to wonder if it's REALLY necessary to give my thoughts on them. (C'mon, Rob Liefeld... Even YOU have to be given a break around the Holidays. Unless someone sends me a copy of the "Troll Christmas Special" for a review, that's not exactly a priority project.) But since we're under a week for the arrival of Christmas, then I'll offer to you readers six of my favorite Christmas-themed comic stories to explore. Sure, after today, there's only 5 days left until the holiday that could be considered a "mutant" based on its "X-Mas" branding, but who says you can't read TWO of the issues I mention on that magical day of the 25th of December? We'll kick things off with the Merry Christmas Marvel Marching Society!
Marvel Team-Up #1: I'm trying to remember if "Spectacular Spider-Man" was launched as a regular series before this debut issue of the Spidey team-up title saw release on the spinner racks of America, but for 150 issues, and a handful of annuals, Peter Parker... with occasional diversions for other character guest spots... would weave his web of friendship with other Marvel heroes for mostly one-off adventures. I'm honestly a SUCKER for rotating team-up books from both companies. (I'm still holding off of the blog topic for a future date, but you'll see at least THREE of the primary books of this trend showing up as examples in this particular blog entry.) And for his inaugural story, we are treated to long-time Spider-Man ally/friendly rival, the Human Torch, teaming up with the wall-crawler to battle the recently escaped from prison Sandman. All this leads up to a Christmas Eve showdown, where not only do we get some fun brawls in the Mighty Marvel Manner, but we find out just WHY Flint Marko shuffled his sandy soles outta prison for this festive night. And if this ending doesn't give you the Holiday squishies in your soul, then you're more hardened than ANY hard-sand structure the Sandman can build!
Marvel Two-In-One #8: Not to be outdone by that Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, that "Idol o' Millions", the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Benjamin J. Grimm proved SO popular, he gained his OWN regular team-up book, as well! And while the debut issue was reserved for a story with the boggy Man-Thing... no jokes about being "Giant-Sized" here, PLEASE!... the eight issue of the series featured not only a team-up with the Spirit of Vengeance, Ghost Rider, BUT it was a Christmas issue! We start off with the skeletal biker form of Johnny Blaze running into what appears to be the scene of the first Biblical Christmas, complete with nearly road-pancaking those three Wise Men! Cut to the Fantastic Four Plaza, where Reed Richards spots a new star in the sky, pointing at the selfsame village where Ghost Rider finds himself. Not one to ruin a family gathering, the Thing volunteers to go investigate. This particular location is the location of the Native American tribe Wyatt Wingfoot originated from, and upon our heroes crossing paths, they decide to investigate this unusual "Nativity" scene, dressed as Wise Men of their own! The whole situation unveils itself to be a means for a long-forgotten FF villain, the Miracle Man, to gain more mystical power by means of reenacting the birth of Jesus! ... Obviously, spoilers have no place for this issue, but if this sounds like a good comic to down some eggnog with, you'll honestly have a lot of fun with the Ghost Rider and the Thing in period-appropriate desert garb, beating up on a massive MORT of a villain!
Incredible Hulk #378: I think people forget that while Peter David created some great psychological and interpersonal dramatic situations with his long-tenured run on the Incredible Hulk, he ALSO was able to crank out some honestly hilarious Comedy spotlight issues, on occasion! Cue this particular issue, where Bruce Banner is in his lean-and-mean Grey Hulk phase, running into a VERY unusual Mall Santa. It turns out that, in his plans to go incognito... and maybe earn a few extra bucks... that long-running mental-dynamo of the Marvel universe, the Rhino, disguises himself as a charity Santa. However, things go awry for our villain, as he is recruited to fill in for a missing Santa for a children's mall display. Sure enough, exposure to enough bratty kids starts to wear on the Rhino's nerves, and after TOSSING a kid for a 40-yard pass, night-time falls, and Bruce begins his transformation, which leads to a mall thrashing the likes humanity has not seen since Chuck Norris battled terrorists in "Invasion U.S.A."! All of this story is ACTUALLY part of a tale longtime Hulk buddy, Rick Jones, is telling to a gathering of hospitalized children. So, you have a little bit of genuinely sweet nature sandwiched in to a story that features a METRIC ton of physical and witty Comedy to lift even the most hardened Scrooge's spirit for the season!
Batman #219: Admittedly, this story is NOT the main feature of this particular issue. That honor belongs to a tale called "Death Casts the Deciding Vote", involving a rescue attempt the Batman has to make for a threatened Congressman. (He was probably being threatened into making some ACTUAL progress with the political system...) But while that particular story... entertaining as it was... has fallen into a measure of obscurity, this eight-page tale written by Mike Friedrich, with the LEGENDARY artwork of Neal Adams, has endured well past this issue's initial publication! The premise of the story is very simple, but by no means lesser for its simplicity. It involves Batman going on patrol in Gotham City on Christmas Eve. The Batman... that dread creature of the night... is ever-vigilant for signs of the worst that humanity can offer in this dark city, even on a Holiday night. But as his patrols show, even crime APPARENTLY takes a break on Christmas Eve, with potential scenes of robbery and violence dissipating before they can spill over into action. The Batman even has time to carol with officers of the Gotham City Police Department, and... heaven forbid... SMILE! It's 8 pages of excellent artwork, and a message that even the worst places and situations can sometimes be moved to better places with the right spirit of the season! Essential reading, bar-none!
Justice League of America #110: I've written, before, about my love for 100-page comic issues. Not only does this Justice League issue offer you ONE-HUNDRED PAGES of content, including two whole story reprints, but you also receive a BRAND-NEW Justice League Christmas story! A mall Santa's murder leads Batman and Superman to assemble the League to get to the bottom of the mystery. All this leads into the team confronting a semi-regular League villain, the Key, in a series of themed traps for the participating JLA members. But what the Key does NOT count on is the surprise element of an unfamiliar Green Lantern participating in this adventure. (This must've been the Ryan Reynolds Hal Jordan, because who ELSE would've knocked himself unconscious by slipping on a bar of soap, while in possession of the galaxy's GREATEST OFFENSIVE/DEFENSIVE weapon in EXISTENCE?!?) So we get a guest appearance of John Stewart as Green Lantern in this issue! This issue also features Red Tornado learning about the Christmas Spirit, along with getting stripped pants! Merry AND bright tidings with those tights, and you as a reader are gifted with a gigantic comic for your reading pleasure!
DC Comics Presents #67: We end this particular blog entry with a story detailing a crossover between Krypton's last son, the Man of Steel... and the man behind the material end of the Season, that North Pole Saint Nicholas! Superman and Santa Claus! In one story! Which also features mental manipulation of innocent children by the Toyman, a massive brawl among toys that serve Santa and that mirthful menace, and an exploration as to why the Fortress of Solitude is located in the North Pole, but why is it that Superman has NEVER seen Santa or his Factory ANYTIME during his relocation for some peace and quiet? This issue is just one of those bizarre Christmas stories that just begs to be explored if you want some goofy... but well-intentioned... Bronze Age adventures!
Ironic that I write a post about comic book character "Achilles heels" that I find charming... but STILL ridiculous... on a day where I, myself, am starting to feel a bit off. OPTIMISTICALLY, it's just a case of my girlfriend's soup not agreeing with me. (It was FAR from bad, but sometimes my belly finds arguments in odd places.) But I begin to dread that maybe one of my former coworkers left me with a delightful "parting gift" of a stomach virus. Sigh... Well, we'll see what we'll see, tonight and tomorrow! The furthest I've gone for discomfort is some cases of reflux, and minor chills. So, former workplace, you managed to gain a MEASURE of revenge for my transitioning! Next time, Inspector Gadget, next time...
One needs look at Superman to find a PRIMARY source of comic book character weakness packaging. Be it physical, in terms of exposure to Kryptonite, spiritual, in terms of magical influence, or even emotional, where he feels overly responsible for those he cares for and loves. It was the Last Son of Krypton that proved that even the BEST of heroes can have chinks in their crime-fighting armor. Now, I do admit that today's article is more heavily weighed towards DC discussion, because Marvel GENERALLY has the cross-character weakness of "human hubris" for their ENTIRE universe. But I still did pry one Marvel example of character weakness that, while an established trait, still makes me roll my eyes a BIT in good-natured annoyed amusement. Hey, sometimes the source of weakness in potential greatness can be kind of laughable, at times! Green Arrow (Runaway Mouth)- I can't be sure if this particular trait carried over into the New-52 DC Universe, but one KEY weakness that Oliver Queen possessed during a majority of the Bronze Age was his instinct to put his foot in his mouth... OFTEN. It's kind of weird that he would make odd transitions from Liberal political stances, to engaging in hardline Conservative views. All the while, he STILL managed to make time to say things that would make Dinah "Black Canary" Lance stare DAGGERS at the Arrow slinger. Let's just say... diplomatically... that Ollie did not truly have the "sensitive man's" instinct for romance and female relations. If it wasn't for his personality quirks, it was his inability to keep his mouth SHUT that also contributed to his weakness. I can't count how many times I've wondered how that stick-in-the-mud Hawkman hesitated in shoving Ollie out of a random Justice League Satellite headquarters airlock, due to something he uttered in a given issue.
Green Lantern (Yellow Weakness)- Each generation's Green Lantern had some TRULY unusual quirks. Alan Scott, with his MYSTIC power ring, could be taken out by a weakness for anything wood-based. But you know, at least a weapon of magical origins could FEASIBLY be tuned out by a natural element. And the "necessary imperfection" that so plagued the Green Lantern rings is mostly a thing of the past, there's no denying that Hal Jordan and his fellow Green Lantern Corps members got the weakness short-end of the stick. Anything... ANYTHING... that was yellow, was impervious to being damaged by ring constructs, and they could not be defended against. Geoff Johns could say ALL he wants that it was due to a power-battery-based parasitic being called Parallax that was CONVIENENTLY yellow, but there's no denying that for 30+ years of Green Lantern history, you could technically assault a Green Lantern Corps member with a package of unwrapped Twinkees, and not be completely defenseless. Criminals could paint bullets yellow, start developing lasers that would project yellow light, heck... a yellow CROWBAR would still be a fatal development!
Red Tornado (Crippling Self-Doubt)- We've seen how difficult it is for super-heroic androids to transition from questioning their "humanity", to melding fully with their team. The Vision had those issues. The original Human Torch had those issues. But Red Tornado took such self-identity doubts to NEW extremes! Sure, he audibly bemoaned the lot of life he had as an "unfeeling machine", while VERY OFTEN disproving that to be the case. But his self-doubt also caused Reddy to risk his life... MANY TIMES... to prove by stupidity-based action that he was TRULY human... and often putting his teammates in the Bronze Age Justice League at risk. He also made sure that he was injured and blown up as OFTEN as possible, just to prove how "human" and "noble" his true nature was. Listen, Reddy... You sacrificed yourself in the "Seven Soldiers of Victory" storyline. That helped cement your "humanity" in the eyes of your fellow heroes. STOP. WORRYING. SO. MUCH!
May Parker (Seemingly WEEKLY Heart Attacks)- I've written, before, about how truly sinister I consider Aunt May's nature! So wicked that not even DEATH wants her in that afterlife domain! Still, that doesn't mean there's lack of forces that bring Aunt May to Death's door, at the very least. I would imagine that you couldn't even count on both your fingers AND toes the number of times May has suffered from cardiac arrest. It's like the very devious nature of her soul forces her heart to want to just SHUT DOWN. And all of this medical trauma causes Peter Parker to overly stress, and put him in dire straights from any given super-hero battle. Y'know, there MAY be something to Aunt May having known for YEARS that Peter was Spider-Man, and to show her loathing for her nephew's selfless actions in the cause of crime fighting, she figured out a way to SHUT HER OWN HEART DOWN to derail his crusading ways. So it could be argued this infarction tendency is less of a weakness, but a potential STRENGTH. Oh May... Your evilness knows no depths...
Batman (No REAL Weaknesses)- There is much vocalized hullabaloo about how Batman is the BEST SUPERHERO, because he has no "super powers", and therefore is more noble for fighting crime, and using his physical and mental prowess to put him on equal footing with individuals FAR out of his power league. But... it's because of some writers' emphasis on this self-made SUPERIORITY that makes him weak, to my reading eyes. I've mentioned, in the past, that Batman is smack-dab in the middle of my top 5 comic book heroes listing. I appreciate his legacy, and enjoy his adventures, but there are times where I feel some creators make him TOO "superior" to his general human standards. Whether it's inexplicably being able to plan ahead for any conflict, despite having NO previous experience with that given threat. Or maybe it's because he still manages to face overwhelming physical odds, being bloodied and bruised, only to show up in the next story arc with a physical rebound that would make most Warner Bros. cartoon characters BLUSH with envy! Sometimes, I think, Batman's primary weakness is his overemphasized strengths, which make him VERY difficult to identify with as the exemplar of the "human" Super-Hero.
I know this song lyric is often quoted, but considering that today brings me to my 100th. post, I cannot help but reflect on the Grateful Dead lyric, "What a LOOOONG strange trip it's been". Comparison and contrast from the start of this blog:
First post, I started this blog as a way to cultivate my love for comic book culture, and as a coping mechanism for my struggles with finding employment.
100th. post, my love for comics has not lessened in the least, and certain television programming has helped ENABLE that love, and as of this past week, I received notice that come 12/15/2014, I'll be starting a new job that will offer more pay and benefits.
It was with some bittersweet feelings that this transition happened, because I WISH I had more time to notify my previous job's coworkers of the changeover, and it will be REALLY weird, later this coming week, when I stop over for my last official job paycheck. But evolution is far from easy; just ask the Cro-Magnon, or the residents of the pre New-52 DC Universe! But just because I've reached "100 Pages" in this blog, that by NO means is the end of the book! I never intended this blog to be a finite project; as long as I love comics, and they provide me with escapism and entertainment, I'll be writing as furiously as ever! But how to cap off such a milestone? Well... We shall expand on the genesis of this blog project to begin with!
As some of you may remember, this blog was born NOT FAR OFF from my actual birthday of June 13th., and a self-treat to myself that day gave me the idea of how exciting comic book conversation can be, when I found at a comic shop near my girlfriend's home copies of the TWO "Superman and Spider-Man" tabloid crossovers. For YEARS, these books were sort of "Holy Grail" items for me. I did once own copies of these two stories in the "Marvel/DC Crossover Classics" trade, but let's be honest; NOTHING beats the original tabloid presentation. And the concept of two competing companies crossing over marquee characters for one EPIC meeting never lost its appeal. ... Despite the fact that both Marvel and DC will probably NEVER engage in such a collaboration, again. Sigh... Well, we had a fruitful set of years in the mid-70's to early 80's, then another boom in the 90's. But for every crossover opportunity, including the mini-series "DC Vs. Marvel", there remained MANY missing opportunities. Stories that, if the companies remained in a collaborative spirit, they could still plumb. And this 100th. post is dedicated to 10 of the "Dream Projects" I would have wanted to see happen, along with what ideas I had for these special events!
Before I get into the gritty details, I have to thank kindly the permission of Ross from Super-Team Family: The Lost Issues, for the use of sets of images for this post. I would HIGHLY recommend you readers check out his website, if you aren't familiar with it, already. Not only is he well-spoken in his posts, but for EVERY SINGLE DAY, he generates some of the most FUN imaginary crossover covers your mind could even fathom! Seriously, you could lose HOURS exploring this site, and you will make your phone wallpaper very happy with Ross' artwork! So again, special thanks to him for allowing me to use some of his created artwork for some of my crossover ideas. Great minds think alike! So, let us proceed, and in no particular order... NEW TEEN TITANS AND NEW WARRIORS: If only their "hot" periods had intersected more closely, these two teamings of the Marvel and DC universes' younger champions of justice would have been a genuine blast! Picture, if you will, Robin/Nightwing trading martial arts counters with Night Thrasher, Changling and Speedball making TERRIBLY sexist remarks about their mutual female team members, Namorita and Starfire... er... "wrestling", and if this was done during the period where Rage was a member of the Warriors, I'm sure he and Cyborg would have a stereotypical "street-smart" character showdown! But who would be their mutual threat sharing? Hmm... We COULD go for their two big "powerhouse" villains to start the conflict, like maybe Trigon and the Sphinx. Unless you wanted to count their first two major villains... but let's be honest: two teams of the most powered "kids" of each universe would not break MUCH of a sweat when facing down Doctor Light and Terrax the Tamer.
AQUAMAN AND NAMOR, THE SUB-MARINER: Kings of the Seven Seas. Monarchs of the depths. Men who, at one time or another, BOTH sported long hair and beards... I think the Robinson clan owe Aquaman and Namor MAD PROPS for their general style. We only got our "toes wet" with a brief meeting between the two characters in the aforementioned "DC Vs. Marvel" miniseries, but what I wouldn't have given for these Atlantean titans to cross paths for one SUPER-SIZED special! Think of the fun that would ensue when Dorma and Mera would exchange notes about their aquatic squeezes, or when Namorita and Aqualad probably awkwardly flirted. (I would mention any potential crossings with Aquaman's two noted "finny friends", Salty and Topo, but Namor really NEVER seemed to care to cultivate relationships with his aquatic subjects.) And of course, we would REALLY see a prime exchange of aquatic prowess between Arthur Curry and Namor, that wouldn't just be limited to a handful of pages. As for their mutual threats, can't do much worse than the constant thorns in their controlling sides, Ocean Master and Attuma teaming up to overthrow and dispose of their obstacles to absolute sinister rule of the Seven Seas! In the words of the "Brave and the Bold" Aquaman, "OUTRAGEOUS!".
BLACK CANARY AND BLACK WIDOW: Now this is a tricky one to make happen... Not because of the notion of two of comicdom's most lethal ladies crossing paths, because who WOULDN'T want to see the Mistress of the Canary Cry square off against the carrier of the Widow's Sting bracelets? But the one iffy point of this crossover is: who would be the villains? I admit, my recollection of both characters' histories can be rather foggy on their individual basis, so hence coming up with ANY arch-enemies is rather difficult. If I really HAD to stretch, I do remember Dinah Lance/Queen squaring off against Blockbuster more than a handful of times in "Birds of Prey", and you could always wrangle up one of Natasha Romanov's former Soviet allies, like the Crimson Dynamo, to serve as opposing "muscle". But if you timed this crossover to just the RIGHT era, you could have Daredevil and Green Arrow show up to exchange notes about their relationships with the femme fatales! (I imagine Matt Murdock would probably at LEAST want to sock Oliver Queen once for something silly he says. Or maybe from a blind Green Arrow chili taste-test!)
BEN REILLY "SPIDER-MAN" AND DICK GRAYSON "BATMAN": Interesting that both concepts of "replacing" the "old-guard" were nearly a decade apart. On Marvel's side, when the "Clone Saga" APPARENTLY wrapped up, Ben Reilly was supposed to step in for the full-time replacement of a retired Peter Parker. And in the wake of "Final Crisis", when Bruce Wayne was Omega-Beamed REAL GOOD by Darkseid... and thought dead... Dick Grayson took up the mantle of the Batman, with Damien Wayne becoming a difficult Robin with this relationship. If only these events occurred more closely together in timing, so that we could have seen how a crossover would have looked when we had a Spider-Man that was FAR more self-doubting, meeting a Batman that was a TIDGE more light-hearted than the Bruce Wayne incarnation. As for their villains to face off against... as much as I LOATHE the Jackal, seeing Dick talk about how much the "Maximum Clonage" version resembled the Joker would be amusing, while Batman could offer that period's take on the Jason Todd "Red Hood" for his foe serving!
GREEN ARROW AND THE PUNISHER: Once upon a time, after Mike Grell's "Longbow Hunters" mini-series, Oliver Queen cultivated a hard-line edge on crime fighting. Gone were the gimmick arrows, and the lack of a "killer instinct". And I think that POTENTIALLY he could've seen eye-to-eye with Frank Castle's outlook on crime-fighting, which was let the lead fly, and let the Afterlife sort the scum out! Of course, the MAJOR risk of a crossover between two characters that, at their particular creative periods, had LITTLE repeat villains, because it's hard to repeat criminals that have bullets... or arrows... in their brains. But I think SOMETHING could have been worked out, like maybe Green Arrow's sometimes regular sparring partner, Merlyn, and Punisher's cyber-armed baddie, Bushmaster. But ANOTHER appeal to this crossover is seeing how the more level-headed partners of Green Arrow and Punisher interacted with each other, talking about how difficult it would be to be associated with them; namely Black Canary and Microchip!
X-MEN AND JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL: I know... Some of you are probably saying, "What? Are you NUTS?!?". Hear me out: the X-Men are perennially regarded as the "misfits toys" of the Marvel Universe, and when the JLI period of the Justice League existed, they were certainly not what people usually regarded as their traditional "World's Greatest Heroes". So it stands to reason that a team that was created mostly for interpersonal drama would make for a VERY interesting mix with a team that was created mostly for interpersonal humor! I don't even think the villain choices would be all THAT important... though it WOULD be fun to see a team of X-Villain "losers" try and mash up with the "Injustice Gang". Rather, seeing how a team that thrived on angst and alienation meshed with a team that argued and joked about each other would be the TRUE driving force of this crossover! And c'mon... Just the thought of Guy Gardner and Wolverine butting heads would sell copies in ANY comic period!
WONDER WOMAN AND THOR: Sure, sure... This crossover already KIND of happened twice: "DC Vs. Marvel" and a bit in "JLA/Avengers". But I would want a REAL crossover between the two mythological figureheads of both companies, the Amazonian princess and the God of thunder. I would want to see how Diana Prince's Amazon might would stand to the test in a showdown with the Odinson's might and fierce pride! And I would also REALLY like to see as the foes behind this showdown appear to be their mutual primary trickster thorns in their side, Circe and Loki. And if you wanted to throw some "muscle" into the mix, you couldn't go much more wrong than giving focus to their primary physical threats, the Cheetah and Ulik. But this is but ONE part of my Thor Crossover "trilogy", as we then lead on to...
THOR AND THE NEW GODS: For those of you old... or retro... enough to remember "Thor Annual #5", that special featured an epic battle between the Greek and Norse pantheons. Now, take the basis of that special, and transition it over to the Norse Gods clashing with their potential "Fallout" successors... the Gods of New Genesis and Apokalips... and you have a crossover with more explosive firepower than a Boom Tube! Thor clashing with Orion! The Warriors Three good-naturedly meeting with the Forever People! Lightray and Sif... or maybe even Baldur... being level-headed soothers of hot tempers! Odin and Highfather trying to seek wisdom in the midst of the chaos most LIKELY instigated by either Loki... or for something different, the Enchantress, and Darkseid! ... Awesome, I know, right? Well, see where you stand with the final part of the "Thor"-logy...
SUPERMAN AND THOR: We saw the results of their clashing in "JLA/Avengers", but what about a simple TEAM UP with the two most recognizable powerhouses of their shared universes! The space-science powers of Kal-El meshing with the mystical musculature of the Odinson! But this time out, for such a crossover, we would have to fade away from the Loki connection, because even Trickster Gods need SOME vacation time! So they could go the way of scientific threats for both characters by having the WELL-KNOWN Lex Luthor cross plans with the lesser-known Zarko the Future Man. Or if you wanted a "Tag Team Slobber Knocker" of a crossover, why not have the mindless menaces of Doomsday and the Destroyer meld to try utterly DEMOLISHING our team of heroes? DC and Marvel... If you made that happen, you may as well ask for my check RIGHT NOW for a copy.
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA AND THE INVADERS/SGT. FURY AND SGT. ROCK: We end this entry's list with the option of DC's and Marvel's World War II-era titans in a DREAM crossover! I can't even begin to think about how much fun it would be to see unions of the Axis Powers of BOTH universes be unified against the JSA and the Invaders! I imagine Per Degaton and Red Skull would have their sticky Nazi fingers in the middle of stirring the pot of first misunderstood conflict among the teams, then assembling allies in a BATTLE ROYALE conclusion! As an added bonus, to make this maybe an EXTRA-SIZED crossover special, you could include the "grunt's point of view" story with Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos meeting with Sgt. Rock and Easy Company to sling hash... and lead... with the Axis foot soldiers! Man... The only way this book could be more more Americana fun was if each copy came sealed with a fresh slice of apple pie!
Once more, I wish to thank Ross of Super-Team Family: The Lost Issues for the genesis of this blog entry, and the usage of images. I cannot say it enough: CHECK THIS SITE OUT! But if you thought this was the end of this entry... Oh-ho... NO! To make this a REAL fun special occasion, I offer up a contest! Here's what you gotta do: to test your long-time readership of this blog, I have cultivated three questions to ask that relate to this blog's history. All you have to do is send your answers to ocean1212w@gmail.com, and the first three entries to get ALL THREE questions answered correctly... by, let's say, Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January... will be eligible for prize packages! I'll announce the winners for the weekend leading up to that particular Monday, and notify them via e-mail of their winning. What stands for the winning are HUGE packages of various "Wizard Magazine" issues, mixed ridiculous comic lots I pulled from back issue bins, trade paperbacks, and other goodies! So, if you feel ready to test your meddle, I leave this anniversary entry with a HEARTY thank-you to everyone that's read and supported this personal project of mine, and with the three contest questions! Have at them, true believers, and keep on flying the Mighty Metal Mikey blogging flame! 'Nuff said!
What comics creator has shown up the most in all of my postings?
What was the first trade paperback I wrote an entry about?
What is the EXTREMELY random price I have mentioned paying for cheap back issues at my girlfriend's nearest LCS? (A hint, it is FAR from being close to a number that manages to even out.)
This is kind of unusual, in that I REALLY don't have any tertiary comics updates for you, this Sunday. I have been reading since my blog entry, yesterday. I came across a KILLER "Batman" issue in my readings, with artwork by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (PRAISE BE HIS NAME), and JLGL can make even the Crime King awesome! I also came up with the ROUGH guidelines for the impending 100th. post contest! So, I may as well present you readers with the details for it, right now! I came up with 3 questions that can ONLY be answered if you've been a regular reader of the blog, since I started it. And there will be up to 3 winners, depending on the arrival of entries, along with the correct answers. If you're one of the lucky trinity, you'll walk away with a mailed package FULL of comicky delights! Graphic novels! Random crazy single issues! "Wizard Magazine" issues! Maybe even an action figure or two! But that's coming for this weekend, and I'll not only provide you with the questions, but the email address to best send those answers to!
Now... Let's talk about the main reason why I decided upon a "Turkey" theme for the weekend. This topic came from my time of material questioning from the "Gentleman's Guide to Comics" Facebook group. It was on that group that a fellow member, James M., gave me a rather interesting challenge. Instead of providing me with a expansive topic, he requested I cover maybe one of the most INFAMOUS event stories of modern comic publishing. At first, I teased him about it, because c'mon... Me, cover THIS story?!? I know I have a bent towards comic masochism, but to visit a story I know I read only ONCE, and apparently was so "impressed" by it, I couldn't even remember a detail of it? Then, the more I thought about the Thanksgiving connections to "Turkeys", this story just sounded more and more viable to cover for discussion. So... James M... and fellow readers... I present you with my coverage of DC's Wonder Woman event leading into the build-up of "Final Crisis"...
Amazons Attack #1: Before I fully begin, I want to provide you readers with two key bits of personal background on this event.
This storyline may have been more notable for being an influential series of episodes of Linkara's "Atop the Fourth Wall" video review show. I believe it was this series that helped bring "Amazons Attack" back to some kind of awareness.
This storyline ALSO came during a really... weird... time for Wonder Woman, creatively. After the first "Crisis", where George Perez helmed the title, Diana Prince achieved TRULY great heights in story interest! But once he departed the title, the title became a bit of an ebb and flow. At least before "Infinite Crisis", Greg Rucka provided some form of "return to greatness" for the shaped daughter of Hippolyta, but after THAT particular "Crisis"... and in the wake of the "One Year Later" story for the main DC characters, Wonder Woman's own title was... less-than-impressive. Artistic delays, WEIRD writer choices... like one of the creators of the "O.C" television program, and Jodi Picoult, an Oprah-centric fiction writer... and the notion of Wonder Woman having to piece her life together after her televised murder of Maxwell Lord, just made the book an experience in trying to rationalize why we LIKED Wonder Woman in the first place.
The caveat I should mention for this article is I read ONLY the trade paperback collection of the six-issue mini-series. There are text pieces in between the issues that I THINK summarize events that took place in "Wonder Woman", and in other titles tied in to the "Amazons Attack" storyline. (For example, I get the itching feeling this story touched down in "Teen Titans" and "Catwoman", based on certain connections.) Got that all? Good! Shall I start banging my head against the wall? LET'S!
The background for this story involves Hippolyta being brought back to life, after dying in the "Our Worlds at War" event by Circe. But we know Circe don't have much good intentions in mind for THIS act of kindness! So she notifies our resurrected Queen that Princess Diana is being held prisoner by the United States government, to gain knowledge of Amazonian secrets. Oh, and Diana's being "tortured", too, according to Circe. (Probably by being forced to read the Jodi Picoult issues of her own series.) Diana WAS captured by government forces, true, under the direction of a shape-changing plant in a security agency she works for, but she has already escaped. However, Hippolyta knows NADA about this, and decides the best way to approach the situation is NWO-style. Namely, USA... "You want a war? You got one!"
Our first issue opens up with the Amazonian army zapping into Washington D.C., and right off the bat, killing off a father and his son. So we can begin sympathizing for their anger... right? The President, some aides, and some Secret Service agents are about to evacuate the White House, only to be cornered by Amazonian soldiers... and THEN rescued by Black Lightning. (Who says this character gets NO highlight moments in comics?) Hippolyta decides to chill at the Smithsonian, delivers some Pro Wrasslin' speeches to her fellow Sisters, and converses with Circe... who mutters about her "brilliant" scheming. Our issue essentially ends with 'Lyta chopping the head off the Lincoln Memorial, Batman talking to our fake shape-changer government plant, and Diana INSTANTLY showing up with no background to talk to Mommy Dearest in the middle of the razing of Washington.
Amazons Attack #2 opens up with a trope we will see at the opening of EVERY subsequent issue, with a LexNews "Special Report" detailing the events of the last issue. The text piece talks about some TRULY inspired craziness in other titles, like how Hippolyta apparently "kills" Circe, after revealing that she intends to launch a nuclear missile at Themyscira. We also apparently miss the capture of the shape-changing inside agent of Circe, and the recovery of PROPER defense control by a character known as Nemesis.
The full-on action of the issue begins with Amazons taking out Air Force jets over D.C.... with ARROWS. But before they can begin killing a FEMALE PILOT... the attack is halted by Black Canary's "canary cry", and the arrival of the Justice League of America. Batman... OF COURSE... acts as strategic coordinator. Because... y'know... Batman. Nemesis updates Batman on the fact that the Amazonian attacks are extending out to a Californian Air Force base. Cut to Donna Troy... who for a stretch of time in the post "Infinite Crisis" WW title POSED as Wonder Woman... beats up some Amazons on the way to have a chat with Hippolyta about bringing Diana to her for a conversation. (Which ALREADY HAPPENED!) Hippolyta's two leading generals wonder if she's truly flipped her gourd, Batman finds Wonder Woman and asks "what side is she on", and we end the issue with Superman flying off to his adoptive home territory of Kansas, where the Amazon have apparently set the "grain belt" to the torch. ALL. OF. IT. Makes "perfect sense", right?
Amazons Attack #3 gives us another news update, and Superman arrives in Kansas for the GREAT CRISIS of the crop fires... by blowing on it all, just ONCE, with his freezing breath. Crisis averted pretty darned fast, eh? Hippolyta issues a video statement to the nation, commanding complete surrender to the Amazon rule, with only ONE DAY to decide. (I have to make note that for the "replay" of this video in the next issue, apparently Hippolyta has a change of heart, because her video playback states she gives the nation ONE WEEK to decide on Amazonian surrender.) The cameraman taken hostage for this video piece is beheaded, and we cut... bad joke, I know... to the President and his aides on Air Force One, speaking cryptically about "issuing the order". Cut to the Korean War Veterans Memorial, where Batman fights some Amazons... in the rain... because, Batman. We then get to find out what this Presidential order actually is; the order of house arrests against any women's shelter that was sponsored by Amazonian initiative. Apparently we COMPLETELY missed agent Nemesis being incapacitated by an... well... I'll let Batman describe it for you.
My god, indeed.
Cut to Supergirl and Wonder Girl meeting with Hippolyta, for reasons yet to be revealed, Wonder Woman saying she needs to eventually get to Themyscira to recover the antidote for Nemesis' "bee sting"... but saying that can wait to help out with the Amazonian attack, and Oracle/Barbara Gordon notifying Batman of a nuclear plant bombing in Star City, which Green Arrow managed to help put into order. Ollie Queen also notices the bomb was of completely TECHNILOGICAL make, which is outside of usual Amazonian tactics... but NOT to a rogue group of Amazons known as the Bana, who are interested in Grace Choi... then-member of the then-current Outsiders team. Our issue ends with Air Force One being halted in mid-air by Supergirl and Wonder Girl, demanding the President's surrender to the Amazons. Oddly enough, are we beginning to notice some character choice parallels to my blog entry, yesterday?
Before we talk about Amazons Attack #4, some story updates we missed.
The then-lame version of the Freedom Fighters team were supposed to be tasked with the President's safety, but they were entrenched in a mission, which lead to the Air Force One evacuation. (Forget CANCELLING the mission. Maybe it's because the story was becoming so bloody messy, even the lameoids of the Freedom Fighters didn't want to show up.)
I forgot to mention that Hippolyta met with Diana... AGAIN... to talk about this aggressive action. Did we already forget that this was started all about Hippolyta had NO IDEA where Diana was being held, and what was happening to her, but they've already talked IN PERSON... TWICE since the attack began?!?
Our text piece mentions that Wonder Woman meets with her mother... AGAIN... which leads Diana asking Hippolyta if she would kill Diana to win this battle? Before we know the answer, Superman evacuates Wonder Woman from this family conflict, to fly her off to the Justice League for a strategy meeting, and to discuss the revelation of the Bana's involvement with some of the terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, Wonder Girl and Supergirl convince the President to ground Air Force One... just in time for an Amazonian army on Pegasai to start chucking spears at the plane, killing off the pilot and gravely wounding the President. They damage one of the jet engines, and the forced landing escalates into a forced CRASHING. Cut to Grace Choi invoking the Marvel team-up tradition of beating up, then being convinced to join with, the Bana group of Amazons. Supergirl and Wonder Girl start to see that with the Amazons being so blood-thirsty, they may have chosen the "wrong side" of the conflict, and they struggle to defend the President from being killed by the Amazonians. Superman arrives on the scene, and attempts to talk some peace-sense into the Amazons. (But not before he gives them the PATENTED red-glowy eyes of ANGER!) Clark does manage to talk down the Amazon army... in time for a stealth group of Special Forces soldiers to show up, and gun down the Amazons, and evacuate the President to medical care, where the commanding officer talks DOWN to Superman. (And if I were in Kal El's shoes, this would be the point where I would freely backhand some ingrates...) We end the issue with Hippolyta beginning to doubt the effectiveness of the battle, when all of the sudden the battle-zone is covered by an energy dome, trapping in the Central D.C. area, and keeping out more powerful heroes like Superman, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter. All this is achieved by Circe, who stands in the shadows... like a "dead person" does.
The text opening for Amazons Attack #5 tells us of how Catwoman helps Batman in averting a Bana attack in Gotham. (I also forgot to mention in the last issue that Batman was about to COMPLETELY bail on the D.C. defense, because his "turf" in Gotham was being threatened, because... Batman.) And we find out Wonder Woman finds the "Amazon bee" medicine on Themyscira, only to find out Circe DID end up launching a nuke at the island! Diana prevents the nuke missile from landing, and has a chat with the goddess Athena, to talk out all this insanity, and basically gets a lot of godly "non-answers" from this conversation, and is teleported back to D.C. The issue opens with Superman crossing over with "Under the Dome", as he collides with the mystical D.C. dome. Grace Choi gets the Bana backstory, and a plea to join forces with the renegade Amazon faction. Superman runs into the Bana, and Grace, and tells Grace that the Bana aren't quite as "benevolent" as they make themselves out to be. The Bana hold Grace hostage, freely enter the dome... BECAUSE... and then stab Grace in her side for their trouble. We... as readers... were given the impression that the Bana DESPISED the Amazonians-proper. So why is it that Hippolyta seems so happy that they've arrived to "join forces"? Circe is disabled by some magic words that Zatanna told Batman to recite, when he sneaks up on her... because, Batman. He then decks her across the face, and notifies the powerhouses that could not PREVIOUSLY enter the dome that, with Circe de-powered, they're clear for entry! Our issue ends with the DC Heroes and the Amazons beginning to square off for the final GRAND MELEE! Which Circe is apparently overjoyed about, because this is just what she... wanted? Er, WHAT?!?
No opening texts for Amazons Attack #6. Just an opening of Hippolyta screaming about where Wonder Woman is. Diana's a bit busy meeting with Circe, threatening the sinister sorceress, when Mommy Dearest shows up for a loving "slobber knocker". Diana challenges her mother to kill her for the victory of their cause... AGAIN. Hippolyta sees "wisdom", but Circe shows up to say the fight ends only when SHE says so. Oh yeah, and her magic is back. But then Athena shows up on the scene in her Low Rider. (I can wish, can't I?) Athena exiles Circe to Hades, browbeats the Amazons in a long-winded lecture, and... I STILL really can't figure out how she punishes all Amazons outside of Wonder Woman. I THINK she draws Themyscira closer to "Man's World", and then basically makes all Amazons forget about their heritage, and zaps them into normal "womanly" lives. So... the war is OVER? But we find out Athena was actually Apokaliptian headmistress, Granny Goodness, in disguise, leading towards the developing "Final Crisis". And I end up wanting to punch myself, after it all.
What shocks me, the most, about this event was it was a series I collected when they FIRST CAME OUT! I was completely hooked on DC Comics after the "Infinite Crisis" event, and was curious where they would go with the lead-in to "Final Crisis". What I GOT, instead, was a BOATLOAD of really confused and train-wrecky mini-events, leading to a VERY confusing main event. And "Amazons Attack" falls more in the train-wreck category of the storytelling spectrum. Events, and character beats, are often recycled and forgotten in the span of SINGLE ISSUES. The artwork by Pete Woods is pretty uninspiring, not really carrying the action to any degree. And I really can't say I'm moved by either Wonder Woman, Hippolyta, or Circe's roles in the conflict. While I may have slightly been involved with this story when it was originally hitting the shelves, I now find it reads TERRIBLY, and is a certifiable low-point for DC story arcs. But I imagine if I argue against it TOO long, I'll also suffer from a near-fatal Amazonian bee attack...
Another week come, another week gone, with my hump THROUGHLY busted through my labors in my job, wondering when I will FINALLY hear back about an opportunity that will be less physically intensive, and more lucrative for my wallet. Oh well... I can't stop trying, can I? Anyways, I hope you all had yourselves a very Happy Thanksgiving! Mine was certainly an... interesting one at least, BUT I still ate like a king, and pretty much exhausted all of my food supplies the following day at work. On the VERY plus side, my girlfriend had some Kohl's cash online to spend before the holiday, so the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, she took me out to the store, knowing about a 2 for $20 sale on Men's design t-shirts, and this ACTUALLY ties in to comics, because both choices I made were somewhat related to the medium! One being a "Heroic" cast design for "Masters of the Universe". (I STILL think Kohl's is blatantly anti-Skeletor, but what can you do?) Another was a general Marvel character t-shirt, but ANY shirt that features jolly blue-eyed Ben Grimm and the Silver Surfer earns my apparel attention!
The MAIN impetus of this weekend's blog theme has yet to arrive, when hopefully I finish reading my "homework" for the intended post. (And the person that suggested it will receive full credit for the idea, tomorrow. ... Or maybe he'll shoulder ALL the blame for it! Heh!) But upon accepting the challenge of reading a generally regarded "turkey" of a comic event, which WILL be a DC event, it made me wonder what offering I could make for my Marvel half of a "Turkey Day" weekend. Then it came to me; the event that started to MAJORLY turn the tide against modern Marvel Comics storytelling. The event that began what now seems to be a bi-MONTHLY event schedule for the company. The event that is so repugnant to my sensibilities, I didn't EVEN want to re-read it for review purposes, because I already KNOW there's no changing my mind for how much I dislike it...
Civil War. Ugh... I remember the year VERY well of the release of this event. This was the beginning of my SECOND major comics phase of my life. You see, my first major phase began around the time I was entering my teenage years, with a mixture of new titles from both Marvel and DC, then later transitioning into older titles from the companies. I believe when I started becoming more entrenched into High School... and thereupon trying to feel more "comfortable in my skin", comics became less interesting for a few years. (Trust me, there were NOT replaced by interest in girls: the ladies would have NOTHING to do with me back during those awkward years of my existence!) My second buying phase came on the wings of interest in a widely advertised DC event known as "Infinite Crisis", and not long afterwards, Marvel began to launch "Civil War". And when you think about it, both projects serve as inverses towards their ultimate storytelling end games! But first... and bear in mind, I did NOT get a copy of the core series for review of this storyline, but while my disdain for this story is strong, it was MAINLY due to my not being able to track down a library copy... a brief summary of events.
The opening threads of the "Civil War" storyline can be traced back to the launch of Brian Michael Bendis' "New Avengers", the "Secret War" event, and even Warren Ellis' run on "Iron Man". Tony Stark was becoming more convinced that the "policing" of super-heroic activities was becoming a credible idea, after some BAD encounters with the Extremis human-alteration program. S.H.I.E.L.D, after Nick Fury's disappearance, was starting to shift focus under the leadership of new director, Maria Hill. (No... Sam L. Jackson did NOT just step in, afterwards.) And after the Scarlet Witch broke asunder the Avengers, a new team rose from the ashes... but it was a VERY tenuous alliance, at best. But the floodgates for "Civil War" were broke WIDE OPEN when this period's "New Warriors" team... a "reality television"-based squad of teen superheroes... assaulted a villain hideout in Stamford, Connecticut. There, a villain known as Nitro, whose power is being able to generate powerful explosions with his body, blew up in the middle of a peaceful neighborhood, killing off 600 innocent bystanders, and even some of the New Warriors team. Not only was the loss of innocent lives tragic enough, but this was also the point that series writer, Mark Millar, decided to kill off ANY credible characteristic moments for our Marvel Universe, so he could squeeze out his steamy loaf of "narrative commentary".
While before this series, Tony Stark was only thinking about the Superhero Registration Act, due to this event, Iron Man became the FIGUREHEAD for the Registration Act. Before this event, the name of Captain America was respected by the government of the nation. But upon launching, he became a TARGET for the very government he represented. Now granted... this ISN'T exactly a new turn for Captain America, because similar events happened during the 70's for the "Secret Empire" storyline, along with the late 80's when the latter U.S. Agent replaced a dismissed Steve Rogers, but these two events involved a RATIONAL and STRATEGIC Captain America, that was STILL respected by the heroic community. And probably... most irritatingly for me... the series basically made the S.H.I.E.L.D organization a villainous group under the sneering dogmatic leadership of Maria Hill. Latter story beats for Maria made her a FAR more interesting character, but in "Civil War", with her reflecting "real world" political agendas in the comic book pages, the spy agency that we all grew to love as a general Marvel policing agency became a group of "stormtroopers" to enforce the Registry Act. Oh, but that's not ALL of the "delightful" twists this story had to offer us!
For one, remember that Stamford, CT explosion event with Nitro? You would think in a SANE universe, the general public would realize that Nitro... a VILLAIN... was the one at fault. But they hair-triggeredly pointed their venom towards the superhero community, even going so far as to spit at Tony Stark during a public event, and assaulting Johnny "Human Torch" Storm at a nightclub. Geez... You build up public heroes just to tear them down, eh? A tilting linchpin of the series comes in the place of Spider-Man. For Peter Parker, while Tony Stark gave him a SPECTACULAR job at Stark Industries, along with the nifty Iron Spider armor, Spidey surely believed in his right to retain anonymity in his heroic activities. So, what's the best way to dissolve the tension... which was being reflected in Tony Stark, all of the sudden, DOGGEDLY chasing after Captain America, and both heroes gathering other heroes to "sides" in their conflicts? Of course! Why didn't I of it? Why not REVEAL YOUR SECRET CIVILIAN IDENTITY IN A PUBLICALLY TELEVISED PRESS CONFERENCE? NOTHING COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG WITH THAT!
Have we had enough stupid decisions, yet? Then how about a few more? Such as Reed Richards building a Negative Zone "detainment camp" for heroes resistant to the Registration Act, acting as a cold-hearted scientific ally to the EEEEVIL government forces. (And thereupon FORCING a wedge into the characters of the Fantastic Four.) Or maybe we could create a cyborg clone of Thor as a Registration weapon, POINTLESSLY killing off Black Goliath for a "shock" moment of the "Civil War" event. (But to be fair, Ragnarok DID become an interesting character, later, in the latter run of "Thunderbolts".) Or since Spider-Man decided to show off his secret identity to the world, why don't we have him AGREE to Captain America's stance, and have him hounded by Tony Stark and his S.H.I.E.L.D. forces, which ALSO includes a new team of Thunderbolts agents, headed by LONG-TIME Spidey villain, Norman "Green Goblin" Osborne. (And I will ALSO be fair in saying that this period's run of Thunderbolts stories were some of my FAVORITES since the original Kurt Busiek/Mark Bagley comic run!) Sigh... Are we at the end of the train, yet?
Not quite, since the end of the train involves the Resistance group being betrayed by Tigra, which leads to a MASSIVE hero VS hero battle in New York's TIME SQUARE. Now... I KNOW part of the "Marvel Charm" is that sometimes our heroes can scuffle with each other, but usually it will lead to some sort of understanding at the end, but the tone of this series... again, shoe-horned by an atmosphere of gross negativity by Mark Millar... is one of outright dismal bloodshed, in an effort to give the Marvel Universe a "new season" to run under. So our entire story ends up with Captain America seeing the results of his brawl with Iron Man upon Times Square, weeps, and surrenders to imprisonment. So we walk into a new Marvel Universe where Tony Stark is a complete jerk and villain figure, Captain America is in prison... and in a few short publication months, MURDERED, Spider-Man is a hunted man, nearly gets his Aunt May killed, and has his marriage with Mary Jane Watson absolved via a mystical deal with Mephisto, and the start of a BAJILLION Avengers books to come, with the launch of "Mighty Avengers" and the rebel "New Avengers" rebranding. It's not so much the end result of this core mini-series was the sole factor in my losing interest in a majority of current Marvel events, but the publication tone of this series that REALLY did me in!
Because it WASN'T enough that the core 7-issue series contain the main story beats. No, no... Marvel Publishing execs wanted to tie this event into EVERY BOOK, along with side mini-series. And if you missed ONE CHAPTER, certain events in the main series would make ZILCH sense! It also wasn't enough that for about 2-3 years, our Marvel heroes... who we came to love in their years of developments, had to conform to their outright nasty treatments due to this mini-series. I thought the trend this series established would FINALLY end after a nearly 3-year continuous story arc transition, from "Secret Invasion", to "Dark Reign", and HOPEFULLY to a conclusion with the ending of "Siege", which was supposed to be the beginning of the "Heroic Age", where all wounds would be mended from the events of "Civil War", and HOPEFULLY we could receive an event breather! ... But that's just the foolish thoughts of a man that feels that not EVERY story needs to be written to tie into a bi-monthly EVENT SCHEDULE, and not every story needs to conform to a "Written for the trade" mentality. Yes, I did still dip my toes into the Marvel Universe during the "Civil War" event, and even a little bit afterwards, but it also never felt like it was completely the same place I grew up to love throughout my life. I even start to worry about the outcome of the third "Captain America" movie, which will APPARENTLY serve as a semi-adaptation of this storyline, but I think the cinematic Marvel Universe can hopefully pull us viewers from the potential morass that came in the comics' wake of this misguided attempt to bring current "news" relevancy to a fictional universe, and to grossly mangle characters that may have their disagreements, but in the end, still worked for a cause of justice. Oh... but once my "homework" is done, we'll see ANOTHER similar scenario play out in tomorrow's entry, only in the case of the DC Universe, involving a major figurehead character that usually finds HERSELF in rather difficult relevancy footing, especially when she is being tentatively tied into a lead-in to ANOTHER upcoming event!
