The Question- Daredevil
“Hornhead,” as he was often referred to by the “head”-happy Marvel writers of the ‘60s and ‘70s (cf: “shellhead,” “webhead” etc), would seem to be natural fit with Batman, right? Frank Miller’s Daredevil run presaged his subsequent Dark Knight, after all, and his emphasis of Batman as a driven paranoiac has stuck with subsequent creators. But as I’ve said before, I’m wedded to the Batman = Cap pairing.
And so we come the Question. I’ve mentioned before that Steve Ditko’s post-Marvel material for Charlton has been collected in the DC Archive Action Heroes vol II: his Captain Atom and Blue Beetle yarns therein suffered for the lack of a equal collaborator, in my view. But the Question is, unlike the above two, is not a conventional super-hero. Rather, Vic Sage is a pulp hero, like the Shadow, transferred into a mid-to-late 60’s urban environment.
That environment was one that reflected an America that Ditko seemed to not much like. He saw a ravenous, quick-to-judge media; an unthinking, irrational general public; unscrupulous businessmen; squishy relativists and whiny liberals; and above all, dirty hippies!
By this time, Ditko had become a diehard devotee of Ayn Rand’s objectivism, which is premised, among other things, upon ironclad notions of “right” and “wrong” as objective facts. So the Question —while modeled on Will Eisner’s Spirit, the Dick Tracy villain the Blank and other pulp characters— was created as Ditko’s instrument of righting wrongs, which include the types of behavior described above. The Question’s visual design is one of my favorites: a featureless, “blank” face, tailored suit, trench coat and fedora.
These stories are completely singular, in that I don’t believe that Rand’s ideas had a greater representation in the popular culture of the time than in these stories, which would have been more or less regarded by the general public as a part of a genre that was nothing more than a diversion for children. I would be very surprised if anyone could cite any super hero comic book story that crosses the line into pure dogma to a greater extent than Ditko’s Question material does —Ditko’s self-published Mr. A books don’t count, as those stories continue his Question leitmotifs into, as Neil Gaiman pointed out in a BBC documentary last year, the realm of outsider art.
In any case, the Question character wasn’t published from 1967 until 1985 (barring a few stories in the ‘70s), when DC appropriated Charlton’s “action hero” characters. The pairing with Daredevil rests upon Denny O’Neil’s take on the Question in a 1980s series, which (in my understanding) saw to it that the character's philosophies were adjusted; it was probably intended to be DC’s answer to Miller’s groundbreaking DD run (the first eight or so issues have been collected in a trade recently, which I ain’t bought yet). I attended a panel at the New York ComicCon two weekends ago that included O’Neil: he described the mission of Ditko’s Question therein as one of pure “vengeance.”
But two iterations of the Question have clearly become vastly better known than either Ditko or O’Neil’s. Alan Moore’s Watchmen saw the character reimagined as the even more morally inflexible and extreme Rorschach, and Bruce Timm’s Justice League Unlimited animated program used him as a Fox Mulder-styled conspiracy theorist.
Commonalities:
Both are solitary creatures of the night stalking urban areas and rarely interact with other heroes, and are melee fighters of great distinction. Both have endured tremendous personal trials.
Differences:
The Question is not blind and has not had his remaining senses enhanced. He has however been shown to possess something resembling a radar sense, if I can possibly interpret as such the little acknowledged addition of an ability to “talk to cities” that was introduced in a series by Roarin’ Rick Veitch.
Alternate histories:
QU: Charles Victor Szasz is an orphan who, through great struggle, becomes a crusading journalist in his troubled home city. He takes on the guise of the Question in order to challenge widespread crime and corruption in his hometown. He endures many massive setbacks, including the public revelation of his secret identity.
DD: Matthew Murdock is a sightless orphan who, through great struggle, becomes a crusading lawyer in an unforgiving city. He resolves to adopt the identity of Daredevil to combat corruption and crime. He works alone, and is eventually beaten to near-death, after which he reevaluates many of his views. until he contracts cancer; before he dies, Murdock passes the Daredevil mantle over to a friend.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Vicious terrorists? Or principled anti-heroes?
Black Adam- Magneto
Magneto? One of the main antagonists of the Marvel Universe, and the X-Men’s chief antagonist. Beginning in the early ‘80s, X-scribe Chris Claremont wrote Magneto as a relatively noble defender of mutant rights (a mutant Malcolm X) and a Holocaust survivor, although I think he’s been shown more recently to be a murderous terrorist again.
Once I started to pay attention to comic books again, I noticed that Black Adam was no longer purely the antithesis of Captain Marvel. It seems that DC —via Geoff Johns and David Goyer— played the character as not only an anti-hero, but as a surrogate with which to address real world tensions between the Middle East and the West. He also looks really, really cool.
Commonalities:
While both were initially portrayed as conventional villains desirous of world domination, they have each been shown to be principled —if often favoring scorched earth methods in dealing with their adversaries— antiheroes. Both are world figures, not to be trifled with.
Differences:
Black Adam is more or less the Middle East’s own Superman, and as such is a mystical reincarnate, whereas Magneto is the master of magnetism.
Alternate histories:
BA: Theodore Adam is borne into a middle eastern community that is oppressed by the Third Reich; his vast metahuman abilities emerge as he defends his people against Nazi depredation. He marries a woman named Sindella: after she flees her vengeful husband, she gives birth to the sorceress-to-be Zatanna and another child. Meanwhile, Adam assumes the identity of Black Adam in his campaign to avenge metahuman oppression. He assembles an organization (which includes his children; neither he nor they know of their true relationship) to oppose the Teen Titans and other superhuman operatives. For many years, he vacillates between more peaceable methods and utter hostility towards conventional humanity. Black Adam takes over the nation of Kahndaq, which he fashions as a refuge for metahumans.
MA: An unscrupulous man named Erik Lensherr is possessed by the spirit of an ancestor, which results in gaining mystically originated control of magnetic fields. Dubbing himself Magneto, Lensherr opposes many in the heroic community: his methods evolve from indiscriminate terrorism towards an old world “eye for eye” brand of justice. He enters an uneasy alliance with the Liberty Legion, but he becomes estranged from the heroic community in time. Magneto becomes the head of state of the nation of Genosha, but runs amok worldwide and is briefly depowered.
Magneto? One of the main antagonists of the Marvel Universe, and the X-Men’s chief antagonist. Beginning in the early ‘80s, X-scribe Chris Claremont wrote Magneto as a relatively noble defender of mutant rights (a mutant Malcolm X) and a Holocaust survivor, although I think he’s been shown more recently to be a murderous terrorist again.
Once I started to pay attention to comic books again, I noticed that Black Adam was no longer purely the antithesis of Captain Marvel. It seems that DC —via Geoff Johns and David Goyer— played the character as not only an anti-hero, but as a surrogate with which to address real world tensions between the Middle East and the West. He also looks really, really cool.
Commonalities:
While both were initially portrayed as conventional villains desirous of world domination, they have each been shown to be principled —if often favoring scorched earth methods in dealing with their adversaries— antiheroes. Both are world figures, not to be trifled with.
Differences:
Black Adam is more or less the Middle East’s own Superman, and as such is a mystical reincarnate, whereas Magneto is the master of magnetism.
Alternate histories:
BA: Theodore Adam is borne into a middle eastern community that is oppressed by the Third Reich; his vast metahuman abilities emerge as he defends his people against Nazi depredation. He marries a woman named Sindella: after she flees her vengeful husband, she gives birth to the sorceress-to-be Zatanna and another child. Meanwhile, Adam assumes the identity of Black Adam in his campaign to avenge metahuman oppression. He assembles an organization (which includes his children; neither he nor they know of their true relationship) to oppose the Teen Titans and other superhuman operatives. For many years, he vacillates between more peaceable methods and utter hostility towards conventional humanity. Black Adam takes over the nation of Kahndaq, which he fashions as a refuge for metahumans.
MA: An unscrupulous man named Erik Lensherr is possessed by the spirit of an ancestor, which results in gaining mystically originated control of magnetic fields. Dubbing himself Magneto, Lensherr opposes many in the heroic community: his methods evolve from indiscriminate terrorism towards an old world “eye for eye” brand of justice. He enters an uneasy alliance with the Liberty Legion, but he becomes estranged from the heroic community in time. Magneto becomes the head of state of the nation of Genosha, but runs amok worldwide and is briefly depowered.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Pretty birds
Black Canary- Mockingbird
Like these broads quite a bit, and was disappointed that the second named was done away with: I wager this’d have something to do with the “women in refrigerators” perplex mentioned a few posts ago.
Commonalities:
Super tough blonde bombshells with smart mouths both, betrothed to premiere archers.
Differences:
Mockingbird has no eardrum-shattering “canary cry,” and ain’t the daughter of a wartime heroine known by the same name.
Alternate histories:
BC: Dinah Lance is a vastly resourceful and formidable government agent who takes on the guise of Black Canary; she meets and quickly marries Green Arrow. The two lead a West Coast expansion version of the Justice League. When she lets an antagonist fall to his death, Black Canary becomes estranged from Green Arrow, but the two are eventually reconciled. She perishes while defending her husband.
MB: Barbara “Bobbi” Morse is the daughter of a extranormal operative active during WWII. She follows her mother’s footsteps as Mockingbird, and soon joins the Avengers, where she meets Hawkeye. She begins a relationship with the archer, which is interrupted by his seeming death. While Mockingbird later joins the Liberty Legion and Heroes for Hire, she has recently become the chairwoman of the reconstituted Avengers. Mockingbird has recently married the resurrected Hawkeye.
Like these broads quite a bit, and was disappointed that the second named was done away with: I wager this’d have something to do with the “women in refrigerators” perplex mentioned a few posts ago.
Commonalities:
Super tough blonde bombshells with smart mouths both, betrothed to premiere archers.
Differences:
Mockingbird has no eardrum-shattering “canary cry,” and ain’t the daughter of a wartime heroine known by the same name.
Alternate histories:
BC: Dinah Lance is a vastly resourceful and formidable government agent who takes on the guise of Black Canary; she meets and quickly marries Green Arrow. The two lead a West Coast expansion version of the Justice League. When she lets an antagonist fall to his death, Black Canary becomes estranged from Green Arrow, but the two are eventually reconciled. She perishes while defending her husband.
MB: Barbara “Bobbi” Morse is the daughter of a extranormal operative active during WWII. She follows her mother’s footsteps as Mockingbird, and soon joins the Avengers, where she meets Hawkeye. She begins a relationship with the archer, which is interrupted by his seeming death. While Mockingbird later joins the Liberty Legion and Heroes for Hire, she has recently become the chairwoman of the reconstituted Avengers. Mockingbird has recently married the resurrected Hawkeye.
Can't go wrong with feral mammals
Wildcat- Wolverine
The second character cited above is Marvel Comics’ most significant breakout character since the 1960s, and emblemizes the prominence of the X-Men. A quasi-antihero who’d just as soon kill his opponents appeared to be what comic book fans wanted in the 1980s (the Punisher was soon to follow), and Wolverine has since been a cornerstone of Marvel’s line.
Consequently, the character has been overexposed since the early ‘80s, and the endless convolutions that have swamped his backstory and his doings in the past 25 years have neatly paralleled the problematic continuity of the X-Men franchise.
For a while, I thought that Arsenal or Cyborg (both actual Titans, after all) would be good matches for Wolverine. But a while ago, it occurred to me that Wildcat, DC’s own Joe Louis, is pretty much what the doc ordered. Obviously, he’s never been a Titan, but cheating on team lineups as such is what we do here! In any case, ol’ Ted has been a big player in the DC diaspora for the past decade or so, which suits me fine.
Commonalities:
Both have been shown to be virtually immortal (Logan’s healing factor prevents him from aging; Grant was imbued mystically with “nine lives”) and both are as implacable a combatant as anyone knows of in either universe. Both also have been shown to have heightened senses commensurate to certain animals.
Differences:
Logan is prone to beserker rages, and only occasionally exhibits the avuncular qualities that define Grant, who does not possess a skeleton and retractable claws laced with a fictional metal. Wolverine is also one of Marvel’s best-known properties, whereas only devotees of super hero fiction are aware of Wildcat.
Alternate histories:
WC: A mysterious, violence-prone man named Ted Grant is born in the late 19th century. His preternatural ability to recover from deadly adversity (his “nine lives”) ensures that he remains vital long past a normal human lifespan; he travels the world for many years as a soldier and mercenary. He becomes amnesiac and feral after World War II: Grant eventually is dragooned into the service of a government agency, for which he adopts the codename Wildcat. He rebels against the agency and is recruited into the Titans, where he befriends Changeling, is attracted to Donna Troy and bristles under Nightwing’s leadership. While Wildcat remains with the Titans to this day, he has lately joined the non-government sanctioned Justice League. Wildcat is recognized as one of the most deadly combatants on Earth.
WO: During WWII, a champion boxer known only as Logan is inspired to take the codename Wolverine in order to combat the Axis powers and various superhuman menaces. He joins the Liberty Legion during the war. His mutant "healing factor" sees that his aging is arrested, and for years afterwards, he’s recognized as one of the most formidable hand to hand combatants on Earth, and thus trains many newcomers to the super-hero community. While most of his wartime comrades grow enfeebled and perish, Wolverine currently mentors younger operatives in the revived Liberty Legion. He has also encountered various children who he has sired in absentia.
The second character cited above is Marvel Comics’ most significant breakout character since the 1960s, and emblemizes the prominence of the X-Men. A quasi-antihero who’d just as soon kill his opponents appeared to be what comic book fans wanted in the 1980s (the Punisher was soon to follow), and Wolverine has since been a cornerstone of Marvel’s line.
Consequently, the character has been overexposed since the early ‘80s, and the endless convolutions that have swamped his backstory and his doings in the past 25 years have neatly paralleled the problematic continuity of the X-Men franchise.
For a while, I thought that Arsenal or Cyborg (both actual Titans, after all) would be good matches for Wolverine. But a while ago, it occurred to me that Wildcat, DC’s own Joe Louis, is pretty much what the doc ordered. Obviously, he’s never been a Titan, but cheating on team lineups as such is what we do here! In any case, ol’ Ted has been a big player in the DC diaspora for the past decade or so, which suits me fine.
Commonalities:
Both have been shown to be virtually immortal (Logan’s healing factor prevents him from aging; Grant was imbued mystically with “nine lives”) and both are as implacable a combatant as anyone knows of in either universe. Both also have been shown to have heightened senses commensurate to certain animals.
Differences:
Logan is prone to beserker rages, and only occasionally exhibits the avuncular qualities that define Grant, who does not possess a skeleton and retractable claws laced with a fictional metal. Wolverine is also one of Marvel’s best-known properties, whereas only devotees of super hero fiction are aware of Wildcat.
Alternate histories:
WC: A mysterious, violence-prone man named Ted Grant is born in the late 19th century. His preternatural ability to recover from deadly adversity (his “nine lives”) ensures that he remains vital long past a normal human lifespan; he travels the world for many years as a soldier and mercenary. He becomes amnesiac and feral after World War II: Grant eventually is dragooned into the service of a government agency, for which he adopts the codename Wildcat. He rebels against the agency and is recruited into the Titans, where he befriends Changeling, is attracted to Donna Troy and bristles under Nightwing’s leadership. While Wildcat remains with the Titans to this day, he has lately joined the non-government sanctioned Justice League. Wildcat is recognized as one of the most deadly combatants on Earth.
WO: During WWII, a champion boxer known only as Logan is inspired to take the codename Wolverine in order to combat the Axis powers and various superhuman menaces. He joins the Liberty Legion during the war. His mutant "healing factor" sees that his aging is arrested, and for years afterwards, he’s recognized as one of the most formidable hand to hand combatants on Earth, and thus trains many newcomers to the super-hero community. While most of his wartime comrades grow enfeebled and perish, Wolverine currently mentors younger operatives in the revived Liberty Legion. He has also encountered various children who he has sired in absentia.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Goddess! Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!
Raven- Storm
We speak here of the one of the premiere superheroines ever conceived, and indubitably the best-known comic book character of African descent.
We also speak of a character who best known by non-nerds as the sullen, sarcastic goth girl from the Cartoon Networks version of the Teen Titans. Her relative popularity on the program has inspired a similar characterization in the current DC diaspora, which I think is quite dumb.
Commonalities:
Both are otherworldly, exotic, mystically oriented and occasionally tormented characters, and each is key to their respective franchises.
Differences:
Raven is an empath, can fly, teleport and project her “soul-self” into combat. Whereas Storm is the weather-witch nonpareil.
Alternate histories:
RA: Orphan Rachel Roth discovers her quasi-mystical abilities and upon reaching her teens is worshipped by a pacifist cult. Taking the code name Raven, she’s enlisted into the Teen Titans, and after several years as a valued member leads the team upon the departure of Nightwing. Raven remains with every iteration of the Titans until she marries another superhuman operative and world leader; the two briefly joined the Doom Patrol.
ST: A woman named N’Dare Munroe is enthralled and then raped by Belasco, a extradimensional demonic tyrant. Their daughter, Ororo, is raised by her mother in a pacifist cult; when she realizes that Belasco intends to enlist her in his campaign to dominate the Earth, she brings together Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Nightcrawler, one other mutant and an alien (both to be named later) as the new version of the X-Men; the team successfully opposes her father. Adopting the code name Storm, she stays with the X-Men until she‘s compelled to join her revived father’s campaign to conquer the Earth. She apparently dissipates, only to be resurrected a number of times in both benevolent and malevolent iterations. Storm spent time with a group of younger X-Men, but has lately rejoined her original compatriots.
We speak here of the one of the premiere superheroines ever conceived, and indubitably the best-known comic book character of African descent.
We also speak of a character who best known by non-nerds as the sullen, sarcastic goth girl from the Cartoon Networks version of the Teen Titans. Her relative popularity on the program has inspired a similar characterization in the current DC diaspora, which I think is quite dumb.
Commonalities:
Both are otherworldly, exotic, mystically oriented and occasionally tormented characters, and each is key to their respective franchises.
Differences:
Raven is an empath, can fly, teleport and project her “soul-self” into combat. Whereas Storm is the weather-witch nonpareil.
Alternate histories:
RA: Orphan Rachel Roth discovers her quasi-mystical abilities and upon reaching her teens is worshipped by a pacifist cult. Taking the code name Raven, she’s enlisted into the Teen Titans, and after several years as a valued member leads the team upon the departure of Nightwing. Raven remains with every iteration of the Titans until she marries another superhuman operative and world leader; the two briefly joined the Doom Patrol.
ST: A woman named N’Dare Munroe is enthralled and then raped by Belasco, a extradimensional demonic tyrant. Their daughter, Ororo, is raised by her mother in a pacifist cult; when she realizes that Belasco intends to enlist her in his campaign to dominate the Earth, she brings together Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Nightcrawler, one other mutant and an alien (both to be named later) as the new version of the X-Men; the team successfully opposes her father. Adopting the code name Storm, she stays with the X-Men until she‘s compelled to join her revived father’s campaign to conquer the Earth. She apparently dissipates, only to be resurrected a number of times in both benevolent and malevolent iterations. Storm spent time with a group of younger X-Men, but has lately rejoined her original compatriots.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Owt lacitsym senioreh
Zatanna - Scarlet Witch
A no-brainer, despite differences cited below…
Both are also key to big, controversial storylines that shook up the status quo of their respective teams and the fictional diasporas in which they reside.
Commonalities:
Both are mystically inclined: the Scarlet Witch was shown to have had training in sorcery…BUT…
Differences:
Wanda’s innate ability lies in her mutant-borne hexes, which wreak havoc on probabilities; she is the archetypal “strike a pose and point” superheroine described in the post below. And Zatanna is not the daughter of a super-villain, nor the sister of a fellow hero, nor the wife of an android. And Wanda doesn't speak her spells "drawkcab."
Alternate histories:
ZA: A girl and her brother (to be named later) are raised by John Zatara; she’s named Zatanna. After she discovers an innate ability to control elements, the siblings are drafted into the employ of an international terrorist, but are soon reformed and join Green Arrow in a Batman-led second iteration of the Justice League of America. She serves with the organization for years, and enters into a controversial romance and then marriage with android Red Tornado. After learning that the aforesaid terrorist is Zatanna’s father, the two evidently have children (which turn out to be magical constructs); soon, she becomes estranged from Red Tornado, who is reassembled as an emotionless mechanism. After a short romance with Captain Atom, Zatanna reconciles with the Tornado. She loses her mind in recent years and enacts both the destruction of the League and, briefly, a wholesale reordering of reality. She is now apparently living a quiet life, unaware of the events of her life.
SW: Wanda Maximoff is born to two sorcerors, Django Maximoff and Magda; As a young woman, she learns of and cultivates her congenital mystical abilities. After her command of magic matures, she takes the codename the Scarlet Witch and joins the Avengers. During her time with the organization, she enacts a controversial “mind-wipe” of an opponent.
A no-brainer, despite differences cited below…
Both are also key to big, controversial storylines that shook up the status quo of their respective teams and the fictional diasporas in which they reside.
Commonalities:
Both are mystically inclined: the Scarlet Witch was shown to have had training in sorcery…BUT…
Differences:
Wanda’s innate ability lies in her mutant-borne hexes, which wreak havoc on probabilities; she is the archetypal “strike a pose and point” superheroine described in the post below. And Zatanna is not the daughter of a super-villain, nor the sister of a fellow hero, nor the wife of an android. And Wanda doesn't speak her spells "drawkcab."
Alternate histories:
ZA: A girl and her brother (to be named later) are raised by John Zatara; she’s named Zatanna. After she discovers an innate ability to control elements, the siblings are drafted into the employ of an international terrorist, but are soon reformed and join Green Arrow in a Batman-led second iteration of the Justice League of America. She serves with the organization for years, and enters into a controversial romance and then marriage with android Red Tornado. After learning that the aforesaid terrorist is Zatanna’s father, the two evidently have children (which turn out to be magical constructs); soon, she becomes estranged from Red Tornado, who is reassembled as an emotionless mechanism. After a short romance with Captain Atom, Zatanna reconciles with the Tornado. She loses her mind in recent years and enacts both the destruction of the League and, briefly, a wholesale reordering of reality. She is now apparently living a quiet life, unaware of the events of her life.
SW: Wanda Maximoff is born to two sorcerors, Django Maximoff and Magda; As a young woman, she learns of and cultivates her congenital mystical abilities. After her command of magic matures, she takes the codename the Scarlet Witch and joins the Avengers. During her time with the organization, she enacts a controversial “mind-wipe” of an opponent.
Support tough gals in comic books! Don't tolerate the "women in refrigerators" syndrome!
Hawkgirl - Ms. Marvel/Warbird
Don’t have much to say about the current iteration of Hawkgirl, other than her prominence in current DC comics seems to originate from the popularity of the Thanagarian iteration of the character on Bruce Timm’s Justice League cartoon, of which I cannot say enough good things…
But Ms. Marvel? Here was a female character that didn’t just strike a pose and point in order to engage foes. She decks bad guys, just like red-blooded Marvel dudes did! As I’ve said before, Marvel never had a female bruiser front and center, like Wonder Woman, up to that point. And so, despite the fact that she was written with rather a lot of Chris Claremont’s sympathetic feminist boilerplate, Carol Danvers had an important function.
But it may not be putting too fine a point on it to speculate that many comic book writers have problems with strong women. Before she became a key comic book writer, Gail Simone identified a syndrome in super hero fiction, which she dubbed “women in refrigerators.”
Taking its name from a plot point in a ‘90s Green Lantern story, in which Kyle Rayner’s girlfriend is murdered and stuffed into a refrigerator, Simone cataloged the indignities suffered by female characters in super hero fiction. Many many characters before Sue Dibny’s brutal killing by an insane Jean Loring were disposed with or forever compromised via editorial diktats that, most likely, were concocted and approved by men who probably were ignored or laughed at by chicks in high school. Oh, the horrors the fairer sex visits upon adolescent males who can tell you the issue in which the Vulture picked his nose!
Ms. Marvel got the “women in refrigerators” treatment but good. She was immaculately impregnated by a Kang-style dude, and then was hypnotized into living with him in some mystical dimension. She escapes and, after losing her powers to X-Man-to-be Rogue, gives the Avengers holy hell for abandoning her (well done, Mr Claremont). After a period that found her with cosmic powers as Binary, Kurt Busiek made her into a drunk in his Avengers run, but saw to it that she joined AA and becomes a lucid heroine again.
To Marvel’s credit, Carol Danvers is one of the key characters in their line, one with a mean roundhouse left. But she again bears the name “Ms. Marvel,” which is nowhere near as cool as Warbird (well done, Mr Busiek).
Commonalities:
Two broads known to throw a helluva punch, and known to have connections to expatriate extraterrestrial heroes on Earth.
Differences:
Hawkgirl has them wings and archaic weaponry; Warbird is super-strong, flies and shoots force blasts out of her fingertips.
Alternate histories:
HG: Kendra Saunders is a young pilot in the U.S. Air Force when she encounters and then enters a romantic relationship with Katar Hol, the Thanagarian dissident known as Hawkman. She appropriates some of his abilities, which she uses under the codename of Hawkgirl. Saunders then joins the Justice League, although she is spirited away to mate with a extra-dimensional being. She escapes and then angrily rebukes the JLA for abandoning her; she then spends some time with the Teen Titans before spending time in outer space. She returns to Earth and rejoins the JLA. Hawkgirl currently leads the sanctioned iteration of the JLA, which includes her current swain Captain Atom.
WB: As a young woman, Carol Danvers attempts suicide, but is revived when the spirit of an ancestor enters her body. Via Kree technology, she is imbued with abilities native to that race, and takes the codename Warbird. She joins a later iteration of the wartime organization the Liberty Legion, and is courted by a charter member of that organization to be named later, who she resists. After encountering Kree antagonists on their homeworld, Warbird has joined the Avengers, which includes her current swain, the Angel.
Don’t have much to say about the current iteration of Hawkgirl, other than her prominence in current DC comics seems to originate from the popularity of the Thanagarian iteration of the character on Bruce Timm’s Justice League cartoon, of which I cannot say enough good things…
But Ms. Marvel? Here was a female character that didn’t just strike a pose and point in order to engage foes. She decks bad guys, just like red-blooded Marvel dudes did! As I’ve said before, Marvel never had a female bruiser front and center, like Wonder Woman, up to that point. And so, despite the fact that she was written with rather a lot of Chris Claremont’s sympathetic feminist boilerplate, Carol Danvers had an important function.
But it may not be putting too fine a point on it to speculate that many comic book writers have problems with strong women. Before she became a key comic book writer, Gail Simone identified a syndrome in super hero fiction, which she dubbed “women in refrigerators.”
Taking its name from a plot point in a ‘90s Green Lantern story, in which Kyle Rayner’s girlfriend is murdered and stuffed into a refrigerator, Simone cataloged the indignities suffered by female characters in super hero fiction. Many many characters before Sue Dibny’s brutal killing by an insane Jean Loring were disposed with or forever compromised via editorial diktats that, most likely, were concocted and approved by men who probably were ignored or laughed at by chicks in high school. Oh, the horrors the fairer sex visits upon adolescent males who can tell you the issue in which the Vulture picked his nose!
Ms. Marvel got the “women in refrigerators” treatment but good. She was immaculately impregnated by a Kang-style dude, and then was hypnotized into living with him in some mystical dimension. She escapes and, after losing her powers to X-Man-to-be Rogue, gives the Avengers holy hell for abandoning her (well done, Mr Claremont). After a period that found her with cosmic powers as Binary, Kurt Busiek made her into a drunk in his Avengers run, but saw to it that she joined AA and becomes a lucid heroine again.
To Marvel’s credit, Carol Danvers is one of the key characters in their line, one with a mean roundhouse left. But she again bears the name “Ms. Marvel,” which is nowhere near as cool as Warbird (well done, Mr Busiek).
Commonalities:
Two broads known to throw a helluva punch, and known to have connections to expatriate extraterrestrial heroes on Earth.
Differences:
Hawkgirl has them wings and archaic weaponry; Warbird is super-strong, flies and shoots force blasts out of her fingertips.
Alternate histories:
HG: Kendra Saunders is a young pilot in the U.S. Air Force when she encounters and then enters a romantic relationship with Katar Hol, the Thanagarian dissident known as Hawkman. She appropriates some of his abilities, which she uses under the codename of Hawkgirl. Saunders then joins the Justice League, although she is spirited away to mate with a extra-dimensional being. She escapes and then angrily rebukes the JLA for abandoning her; she then spends some time with the Teen Titans before spending time in outer space. She returns to Earth and rejoins the JLA. Hawkgirl currently leads the sanctioned iteration of the JLA, which includes her current swain Captain Atom.
WB: As a young woman, Carol Danvers attempts suicide, but is revived when the spirit of an ancestor enters her body. Via Kree technology, she is imbued with abilities native to that race, and takes the codename Warbird. She joins a later iteration of the wartime organization the Liberty Legion, and is courted by a charter member of that organization to be named later, who she resists. After encountering Kree antagonists on their homeworld, Warbird has joined the Avengers, which includes her current swain, the Angel.
Monday, April 21, 2008
The charter members of the Teen Titans
So now, we can say what the first lineup of the Teen Titans would be when put through the Kounterparts mow-sheen…
Robin
Kid Flash
Speedy
Elongated Kid
Wonder Girl
Robin
Kid Flash
Speedy
Elongated Kid
Wonder Girl
Mucho fast guy and super cold guy
Flash/Kid Flash - Iceman
After years of being written as an interchangeably gee whizzish-sidekick common to DC, Wally West was written by Marv Wolfman as a very frustrated fellow. Once the identity of the qualifier-free Flash was bequeathed to him, it seems he was written as a devil-may-care dude, which squares with both his characterization in Bruce Timm’s Justice League shows and Grant Morrison’s JLA. Other than those two, I’m not sure how he’s been portrayed in the past twenty years.
And Iceman? Always dug Bobby, the everyman of the X-Franchise.
Commonalities:
Both are every-guys, essentially. And the abilities described below can sometimes be put to similar ends: West’s wind vortices = Drake’s ice blasts.
Differences:
Wally’s the inheritor of the “Speed-Force,” and runs real fast: as such, he worships the memory of his deceased uncle Barry Allen. Whereas Bobby is the numero uno cold guy.
Alternate histories:
FL: Wally West discovers his ability to function at superhuman speeds during adolescence; as Kid Flash, he becomes a charter member of the Teen Titans shortly afterwards, and becomes close to the Elongated Kid. When the original team disbands, West goes to college and intends to lead a conventional life, but he eventually joins a version of the Outsiders with former Titans Arsenal and Elongated Man. As the Flash, he has since rejoined the Titans, and is coming to terms with his vastly increasing speed.
IM: As a preadolescent, Bobby Drake’s abilities to manipulate ice are activated by a freak accident; as Iceman, he is mentored by Mr. Fantastic and joins other young mutants combating injustice in the X-Men. When his abilities wane, he attempts to lead a more conventional life, but his resurgent powers see to a return to adventuring. Drake becomes the first X-man to join the Avengers and in addition becomes a husband and father.
After years of being written as an interchangeably gee whizzish-sidekick common to DC, Wally West was written by Marv Wolfman as a very frustrated fellow. Once the identity of the qualifier-free Flash was bequeathed to him, it seems he was written as a devil-may-care dude, which squares with both his characterization in Bruce Timm’s Justice League shows and Grant Morrison’s JLA. Other than those two, I’m not sure how he’s been portrayed in the past twenty years.
And Iceman? Always dug Bobby, the everyman of the X-Franchise.
Commonalities:
Both are every-guys, essentially. And the abilities described below can sometimes be put to similar ends: West’s wind vortices = Drake’s ice blasts.
Differences:
Wally’s the inheritor of the “Speed-Force,” and runs real fast: as such, he worships the memory of his deceased uncle Barry Allen. Whereas Bobby is the numero uno cold guy.
Alternate histories:
FL: Wally West discovers his ability to function at superhuman speeds during adolescence; as Kid Flash, he becomes a charter member of the Teen Titans shortly afterwards, and becomes close to the Elongated Kid. When the original team disbands, West goes to college and intends to lead a conventional life, but he eventually joins a version of the Outsiders with former Titans Arsenal and Elongated Man. As the Flash, he has since rejoined the Titans, and is coming to terms with his vastly increasing speed.
IM: As a preadolescent, Bobby Drake’s abilities to manipulate ice are activated by a freak accident; as Iceman, he is mentored by Mr. Fantastic and joins other young mutants combating injustice in the X-Men. When his abilities wane, he attempts to lead a more conventional life, but his resurgent powers see to a return to adventuring. Drake becomes the first X-man to join the Avengers and in addition becomes a husband and father.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Pinocchio, Mr. Spock, and these two wanted to be "real boys"
Red Tornado - Vision
Well, of course!
Commonalities:
Two androids, forever bemoaning the distance separating both from humanity. Both have connections to preexisting beings—the Tornado Champion and the original Human Torch—and have endured multiple destructions and reconstructions.
Differences:
Reddy mainipulates wind and air for offensive purposes; Vizh manipulates his density to become intangible or diamond-level invulnerability and can emit solar beams from his eyes. And Reddy was never married to another hero.
Alternate histories:
VI: A criminal scientist manufactures an artificial lifeform specifically to infitrate the Avengers. Called the Vision, the android rebels against his directive and becomes a trusted, if often easy to temporarily destroy, member. He becomes a companion to a woman and child, and briefly becomes a nearly ominipotent “elemental.” After the Vision’s original nature returns, he becomes an adviser to the Young Avenegers before returning to the original team; he briefly gains a truly human body before returning to an android form. Which is of course destroyed: his consciousness now resides in the Avengers headquarters mainframe.
RT: The Construct, an evil robot, manufactures an artificial lifeform specifically to infitrate the Justice League. Called Red Tornado, the android rebels against his directive and becomes a trusted Leaguer. Therein, he meets and enters into a controversial marriage with a female operative to named later. He is nearly destroyed, after which his consciousness resides in the League headquarters mainframe: he then attempts to take over world governments, after which he is dismantled and then reassembled in an emotionless state. Red Tornado regains his original nature and eventually rejoins the League, only to be destroyed in a conflagration that destroys the organization. Another iteration now advises Young Justice.
Well, of course!
Commonalities:
Two androids, forever bemoaning the distance separating both from humanity. Both have connections to preexisting beings—the Tornado Champion and the original Human Torch—and have endured multiple destructions and reconstructions.
Differences:
Reddy mainipulates wind and air for offensive purposes; Vizh manipulates his density to become intangible or diamond-level invulnerability and can emit solar beams from his eyes. And Reddy was never married to another hero.
Alternate histories:
VI: A criminal scientist manufactures an artificial lifeform specifically to infitrate the Avengers. Called the Vision, the android rebels against his directive and becomes a trusted, if often easy to temporarily destroy, member. He becomes a companion to a woman and child, and briefly becomes a nearly ominipotent “elemental.” After the Vision’s original nature returns, he becomes an adviser to the Young Avenegers before returning to the original team; he briefly gains a truly human body before returning to an android form. Which is of course destroyed: his consciousness now resides in the Avengers headquarters mainframe.
RT: The Construct, an evil robot, manufactures an artificial lifeform specifically to infitrate the Justice League. Called Red Tornado, the android rebels against his directive and becomes a trusted Leaguer. Therein, he meets and enters into a controversial marriage with a female operative to named later. He is nearly destroyed, after which his consciousness resides in the League headquarters mainframe: he then attempts to take over world governments, after which he is dismantled and then reassembled in an emotionless state. Red Tornado regains his original nature and eventually rejoins the League, only to be destroyed in a conflagration that destroys the organization. Another iteration now advises Young Justice.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The Strechable Sleuth and the Fun-Loving Furball
Elongated Man- Beast
Geez, the wringer they put ol’ Ralph through in the last couple of years…the “Nick and Nora of the super-hero set” were turned into the crucible for “the women in refrigerators” syndrome and further darkening of comic books. But he’ll always be the wisecracking normal guy of the JLA to me.
As for the Beast: For the first issue of the X-Men, Hank McCoy was initially written as a tough guy with the physical attributes of a gorilla. By the second or third issue, it was probably noticed that this characterization was very close to that of the Thing, so he was written henceforth as an excessively erudite, scientifically gifted intellectual with ape-like attributes. By the 1970s, he became furrily atavistic and, while still an intellectual powerhouse, quite the slang-slinging hipster. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was used by various Avengers writers as a surrogate for the then-off limits Spider-Man. He’s lost his fur and gained it back, lost his intelligence and gained that back, and now has a feline bearing. But I don’t know whether he’s being written as a fun-loving furball or an academic these days.
Commonalities:
Like I’ve written elsewhere with slightly different verbiage, my methodology here rests more on who somebody is more than what somebody does. Dibny and McCoy are both brilliant but easygoing, funny fellows who would try to defuse tension in their respective organizations with humor and bonhomie.
Differences:
One is the “stretchable sleuth”; the other is a super-scientist with the bearing of a simian or, more recently, a big cat. And Elongated Man was never in the Teen Titans. In any case, the abortive early ‘80s JLA vs. Avengers crossover posited that the two would be each other’s best opponent therein.
Alternate histories:
EM: Teenage sleuth Ralph Dibny discovers his ability to elongate every part of his body, and becomes the fourth charter member of the Teen Titans: his keen analytical skills are just as key to the team as his elasticity. He leaves the team to work on his own as the Elongated Man and soon joins the Justice League, where he befriends the time-tossed Captain Atom, as a valued and often anarchically-inclined mainstay. He leads an iteration of the Outsiders with some of his fellow ex-Titans before rejoining the main team. Dibny’s talents as a deductive analyst and chemist have proven key in various crises facing the Titans recently, and his elasticity has revealed secondary traits.
BE: Teenage biochemistry wiz and gifted acrobat Henry McCoy self-activates his latent mutant gene, which results in emerging simian qualities. Taking the code name the Beast, McCoy combats criminals on his own and tackles various scientific quandaries with his girlfriend Vera Cantor before befriending many other superhuman operatives such as Mr. Fantastic. McCoy eventually joins the Avengers and serves for many years as a valued and particularly good natured mainstay. As a semiretired adventurer, he is devastated when Cantor is murdered: he has recently joined her on another plane of existence.
Geez, the wringer they put ol’ Ralph through in the last couple of years…the “Nick and Nora of the super-hero set” were turned into the crucible for “the women in refrigerators” syndrome and further darkening of comic books. But he’ll always be the wisecracking normal guy of the JLA to me.
As for the Beast: For the first issue of the X-Men, Hank McCoy was initially written as a tough guy with the physical attributes of a gorilla. By the second or third issue, it was probably noticed that this characterization was very close to that of the Thing, so he was written henceforth as an excessively erudite, scientifically gifted intellectual with ape-like attributes. By the 1970s, he became furrily atavistic and, while still an intellectual powerhouse, quite the slang-slinging hipster. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was used by various Avengers writers as a surrogate for the then-off limits Spider-Man. He’s lost his fur and gained it back, lost his intelligence and gained that back, and now has a feline bearing. But I don’t know whether he’s being written as a fun-loving furball or an academic these days.
Commonalities:
Like I’ve written elsewhere with slightly different verbiage, my methodology here rests more on who somebody is more than what somebody does. Dibny and McCoy are both brilliant but easygoing, funny fellows who would try to defuse tension in their respective organizations with humor and bonhomie.
Differences:
One is the “stretchable sleuth”; the other is a super-scientist with the bearing of a simian or, more recently, a big cat. And Elongated Man was never in the Teen Titans. In any case, the abortive early ‘80s JLA vs. Avengers crossover posited that the two would be each other’s best opponent therein.
Alternate histories:
EM: Teenage sleuth Ralph Dibny discovers his ability to elongate every part of his body, and becomes the fourth charter member of the Teen Titans: his keen analytical skills are just as key to the team as his elasticity. He leaves the team to work on his own as the Elongated Man and soon joins the Justice League, where he befriends the time-tossed Captain Atom, as a valued and often anarchically-inclined mainstay. He leads an iteration of the Outsiders with some of his fellow ex-Titans before rejoining the main team. Dibny’s talents as a deductive analyst and chemist have proven key in various crises facing the Titans recently, and his elasticity has revealed secondary traits.
BE: Teenage biochemistry wiz and gifted acrobat Henry McCoy self-activates his latent mutant gene, which results in emerging simian qualities. Taking the code name the Beast, McCoy combats criminals on his own and tackles various scientific quandaries with his girlfriend Vera Cantor before befriending many other superhuman operatives such as Mr. Fantastic. McCoy eventually joins the Avengers and serves for many years as a valued and particularly good natured mainstay. As a semiretired adventurer, he is devastated when Cantor is murdered: he has recently joined her on another plane of existence.
Monday, April 7, 2008
A cultural icon! And Ditko's obscure follow-up to that icon!
Blue Beetle- Spider-Man
Or, “one of the most recognizable fictional characters of the 20th century” and “a similarly-inclined but fairly obscure character developed by the eccentric and disaffected half of the creative axis behind the former”…
Particularly in light of recent and unprecedented ret-conning, I don’t think the netweb needs excessive Spidey commentary from me. So let’s talk BB!
One of the few facts we know regarding Steve Ditko’s exit from the Amazing Spider-Man in 1966 was that he disagreed with a plot point devised by Stan Lee. Ditko wanted the Green Goblin to be revealed as an anonymous criminal, and not, as per Lee’s diktat, the father of Spidey’s best buddy. Seeing as Lee was not only Ditko’s collaborator but also his editor and thus his boss, he got his way.
So Ditko took his ball to Charlton Comics, a third rate comic book publisher, and did things his way, without any appreciable editorial interference. One assumes that Charlton was happy to let the co-creator of the decade’s breakout comic book character do as he wished.
Ditko revamped Blue Beetle and Captain Atom and then created the Question. These characters were each square-jawed and completely convinced of the correctness of their actions. One can infer from this that Ditko, who by this time had become besotted with Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism, tired of the morally conflicted Marvel status quo, of which Spidey is the prime exponent, and made his good guys at Charlton REAL GOOD and bad guys REAL BAD.
The Action Heroes vol II Archive Edition I referred to in the previous post contains all (I think) of Ditko’s post-Marvel Charlton work. Although each story is striking for the art and the fact that Objectivist Dogma was finding its most high-profile outlet in children’s comic books (this topic will be revisited in a post devoted to the Question), the resulting stories are mostly one- and two- dimensional and lack depth. Ditko’s Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, is a scientist and inventor of unimpeachable morals and indomitable integrity who, like all of Ditko’s protagonists, must still persist against the unthinking herd: this is almost certainly what Peter Parker would have been like without Lee’s influence.
Here again, we see that Lee’s collaborators needed him: Jack Kirby’s Fourth World, for all its greatness, is often ponderous space opera without Lee’s human touch, and Ditko tips over into one-dimensional agit-prop without Lee’s attention to every character’s often troubled interior. He may have grabbed too much credit from Kirby and Ditko, but those who say that Lee is rip-off artist and that K & D did everything are full of shit.
But Charlton’s Action Heroes line folded in 1967, and the Blue Beetle lay fallow until DC bought the characters in the mid ‘80s. I didn’t read any of Blue Beetle’s DC comics at that time, but I seem to remember writer Len Wein saying something along the lines that he intended the series to evoke the kind of Spidey stories Marvel was not publishing any longer. Ted Kord did however become a fan favorite via Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis’ Justice League—he was written here as a bit of an underachieving (but still brilliant) goofball…hence the pairing. I quit collecting around this time, but I remember liking the Kord character, who infamously met his demise in 2005 via a bullet through the brain.
Commonalities
Apart from taking their arthropod-ic guises, both are very bright bulbs: very handy with inventions and all manner of scientific know-how. Both are nonetheless supposed to be the likable regular guys of the super-hero set (or at least BB has been written that way since 1986) and are beset by regular guy problems. And both are acrobatic, “hurtle around willy-nilly and make short work of several thugs” kinda combatants.
Differences
Spidey has the extra-normal abilities that BB lacks. And Kord was written as a wealthy scion of “Kord Industries,” as opposed to the decidedly middle class Parker.
Alternate history:
BB: Scientific prodigy Ted Kord takes on the identity of Blue Beetle on a lark, but the death of a family member makes him apply his heroic duties with more gravity. Over the years, his visibility as a crime-fighter increases —he’s beloved by some, hated by others—but he resists associations with other superhuman organizations, and joins the Justice League of America only briefly. In his personal life, he takes on a number of jobs and dates a number of women—please forget that he was married, that was a terrible dream…
SM: Scientific prodigy Peter Parker takes note of a boom in meta-human activity and gives himself extra-normal abilities based on that of a spider. He works alone for some years, but eventually joins various iterations of the Avengers; his reputation in those organizations as a wiseacre masks his insecurities. Immediately after discovering a plot to decimate the meta-human community, he is assassinated.
Or, “one of the most recognizable fictional characters of the 20th century” and “a similarly-inclined but fairly obscure character developed by the eccentric and disaffected half of the creative axis behind the former”…
Particularly in light of recent and unprecedented ret-conning, I don’t think the netweb needs excessive Spidey commentary from me. So let’s talk BB!
One of the few facts we know regarding Steve Ditko’s exit from the Amazing Spider-Man in 1966 was that he disagreed with a plot point devised by Stan Lee. Ditko wanted the Green Goblin to be revealed as an anonymous criminal, and not, as per Lee’s diktat, the father of Spidey’s best buddy. Seeing as Lee was not only Ditko’s collaborator but also his editor and thus his boss, he got his way.
So Ditko took his ball to Charlton Comics, a third rate comic book publisher, and did things his way, without any appreciable editorial interference. One assumes that Charlton was happy to let the co-creator of the decade’s breakout comic book character do as he wished.
Ditko revamped Blue Beetle and Captain Atom and then created the Question. These characters were each square-jawed and completely convinced of the correctness of their actions. One can infer from this that Ditko, who by this time had become besotted with Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism, tired of the morally conflicted Marvel status quo, of which Spidey is the prime exponent, and made his good guys at Charlton REAL GOOD and bad guys REAL BAD.
The Action Heroes vol II Archive Edition I referred to in the previous post contains all (I think) of Ditko’s post-Marvel Charlton work. Although each story is striking for the art and the fact that Objectivist Dogma was finding its most high-profile outlet in children’s comic books (this topic will be revisited in a post devoted to the Question), the resulting stories are mostly one- and two- dimensional and lack depth. Ditko’s Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, is a scientist and inventor of unimpeachable morals and indomitable integrity who, like all of Ditko’s protagonists, must still persist against the unthinking herd: this is almost certainly what Peter Parker would have been like without Lee’s influence.
Here again, we see that Lee’s collaborators needed him: Jack Kirby’s Fourth World, for all its greatness, is often ponderous space opera without Lee’s human touch, and Ditko tips over into one-dimensional agit-prop without Lee’s attention to every character’s often troubled interior. He may have grabbed too much credit from Kirby and Ditko, but those who say that Lee is rip-off artist and that K & D did everything are full of shit.
But Charlton’s Action Heroes line folded in 1967, and the Blue Beetle lay fallow until DC bought the characters in the mid ‘80s. I didn’t read any of Blue Beetle’s DC comics at that time, but I seem to remember writer Len Wein saying something along the lines that he intended the series to evoke the kind of Spidey stories Marvel was not publishing any longer. Ted Kord did however become a fan favorite via Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis’ Justice League—he was written here as a bit of an underachieving (but still brilliant) goofball…hence the pairing. I quit collecting around this time, but I remember liking the Kord character, who infamously met his demise in 2005 via a bullet through the brain.
Commonalities
Apart from taking their arthropod-ic guises, both are very bright bulbs: very handy with inventions and all manner of scientific know-how. Both are nonetheless supposed to be the likable regular guys of the super-hero set (or at least BB has been written that way since 1986) and are beset by regular guy problems. And both are acrobatic, “hurtle around willy-nilly and make short work of several thugs” kinda combatants.
Differences
Spidey has the extra-normal abilities that BB lacks. And Kord was written as a wealthy scion of “Kord Industries,” as opposed to the decidedly middle class Parker.
Alternate history:
BB: Scientific prodigy Ted Kord takes on the identity of Blue Beetle on a lark, but the death of a family member makes him apply his heroic duties with more gravity. Over the years, his visibility as a crime-fighter increases —he’s beloved by some, hated by others—but he resists associations with other superhuman organizations, and joins the Justice League of America only briefly. In his personal life, he takes on a number of jobs and dates a number of women—please forget that he was married, that was a terrible dream…
SM: Scientific prodigy Peter Parker takes note of a boom in meta-human activity and gives himself extra-normal abilities based on that of a spider. He works alone for some years, but eventually joins various iterations of the Avengers; his reputation in those organizations as a wiseacre masks his insecurities. Immediately after discovering a plot to decimate the meta-human community, he is assassinated.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
2 Tuff dudes made of cool "energies" unique to comic books
Captain Atom- Wonder Man
The state of my finances for the past couple of years are such that, when I saw that Action Heroes II, a DC Archives volume comprised of Steve Ditko’s Charlton work, had come out last spring, I could not purchase it on sight. But I got it for Xmas this year: the book includes the mid-sixties Captain Atom stories Ditko created, as well as his Blue Beetle yarns and his celebrated but few Question tales.
I’ll talk about Ditko’s BB and Question stories when I get around to posts pertaining to those characters. But I will say that the Captain Atom comics have not aged well in my view. To me, the character became more interesting —as a man out of time— when DC revived him in 1986, after the company acquired Charlton’s properties.
As for Wonder Man, I’ve always had a soft spot for old Simon. He’s one of the strongest earthlings in the MU, but is most often written as a chronically insecure fellow (not sure what his status quo is these days).
Commonalities:
Both are troubled guys at their inception who go into hibernation and emerge as one of the toughest customers in either diaspora: both are entirely composed of comic book varieties of “energy”: Cap’s is “quantum,” WM’s is “ionic.” Both occasionally play both sides of street, sometimes in opposition to their super hero comrades.
Differences:
Cap is a military man, having served in the air force; WM is an industrialist who embezzles his company’s funds, and later becomes an actor.
Alternate history:
CA: Air Force Captain Nathaniel Adam is tried for treason, but falls in with a criminal genius before he is convicted. His body is suffused with quantum energy by the criminal, and his massive strength and abilities of energy manipulation render him a challenge to Superman. As Captain Atom, he infiltrates the Justice League with the intent to betray the team, but has a change of heart before he is seemingly killed. In fact, he is in suspended animation and upon revival joins the JLA and serves with the main team and then with a West Coast expansion team led by Green Arrow. When Green Lantern starts a pro-active organization, Captain Atom joins, only to be apparently disintegrated in battle. He is once again revived and currently serves with Green Lantern in the “legitimate” JLA.
WM: Simon Williams is a industrialist convicted of embezzlement: he volunteers for a experimental procedure that, should he survive it, would earn him a pardon. While his body is suffused with ionic energy, he is thrown into suspended animation. He emerges some time later with strength commensurate to Thor and is compelled to be a reluctant operative of the U.S. Government. Wonder Man leaves the service and participates in several iterations of the Avengers. He then is thrown hither and yon into different universes, and has apparently become evil and is now menacing the multiverse.
The state of my finances for the past couple of years are such that, when I saw that Action Heroes II, a DC Archives volume comprised of Steve Ditko’s Charlton work, had come out last spring, I could not purchase it on sight. But I got it for Xmas this year: the book includes the mid-sixties Captain Atom stories Ditko created, as well as his Blue Beetle yarns and his celebrated but few Question tales.
I’ll talk about Ditko’s BB and Question stories when I get around to posts pertaining to those characters. But I will say that the Captain Atom comics have not aged well in my view. To me, the character became more interesting —as a man out of time— when DC revived him in 1986, after the company acquired Charlton’s properties.
As for Wonder Man, I’ve always had a soft spot for old Simon. He’s one of the strongest earthlings in the MU, but is most often written as a chronically insecure fellow (not sure what his status quo is these days).
Commonalities:
Both are troubled guys at their inception who go into hibernation and emerge as one of the toughest customers in either diaspora: both are entirely composed of comic book varieties of “energy”: Cap’s is “quantum,” WM’s is “ionic.” Both occasionally play both sides of street, sometimes in opposition to their super hero comrades.
Differences:
Cap is a military man, having served in the air force; WM is an industrialist who embezzles his company’s funds, and later becomes an actor.
Alternate history:
CA: Air Force Captain Nathaniel Adam is tried for treason, but falls in with a criminal genius before he is convicted. His body is suffused with quantum energy by the criminal, and his massive strength and abilities of energy manipulation render him a challenge to Superman. As Captain Atom, he infiltrates the Justice League with the intent to betray the team, but has a change of heart before he is seemingly killed. In fact, he is in suspended animation and upon revival joins the JLA and serves with the main team and then with a West Coast expansion team led by Green Arrow. When Green Lantern starts a pro-active organization, Captain Atom joins, only to be apparently disintegrated in battle. He is once again revived and currently serves with Green Lantern in the “legitimate” JLA.
WM: Simon Williams is a industrialist convicted of embezzlement: he volunteers for a experimental procedure that, should he survive it, would earn him a pardon. While his body is suffused with ionic energy, he is thrown into suspended animation. He emerges some time later with strength commensurate to Thor and is compelled to be a reluctant operative of the U.S. Government. Wonder Man leaves the service and participates in several iterations of the Avengers. He then is thrown hither and yon into different universes, and has apparently become evil and is now menacing the multiverse.
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