Thursday, August 28, 2008

Eventually, sisters will do it for themselves

Huntress- Spider-Woman

Sometimes, DC and Marvel introduce female characters that are wholly and somewhat cynically based on marquee male heroes. And sometimes, female characters of that sort can gain a measure of self-defined dignity…

The Huntress character was initially conceived to as Batman’s daughter —namely, the Batman from Earth 2, who had debuted in 1939, married Catwoman and sired Helena Wayne.

But along came the Crisis, and the Huntress was reconceived as a Italian-American Mafia Princess evidently possessed by rather a lot of Catholic guilt. Helena Bertinelli would now exculpate the sins of her family by combatting the criminal element a la certain Dark Knight. I’m only slightly familiar with this version, but I like the way she was portrayed in Grant Morrison’s JLA.

As for Spider-Woman: the Jessica Drew character was created to secure a copyright for Marvel and to launch an animated program in the late 1970s. She has been depowered a number of times to see the Spider-Woman name go to other characters, which suggests that she was not beloved of the Marvel PTB of the ‘80s and ‘90s.

But Brian Bendis, a writer who dominates the Marvel line and who writes sub-Mamet style dialogue that I don’t much like, has restored the Drew character (as well as Ms Marvel) to prominence. Strong women in the MU: how novel!

Commonalities:
Both characters’ histories have been ret-conned significantly, but the status quo for both currently is that both grew among and then rebelled against criminal organizations.

Differences:
Huntress is a female iteration of Batman and thus has no powers, whereas Spider-Woman is a female iteration of Spider-Man and has almost identical abilities.

Alternate histories:

HU: Helena Bertinelli is born in Europe but is orphaned at a very young age, is adopted by members of the terrorist organization KOBRA and is trained in various deadly martial arts disciplines. She becomes disaffected with the organization in her early ‘20s, moves to the United States and assumes the heroic guise of the Huntress. She is periodically debilitated, but has recently joined the Justice League— said membership, however, is said to have been assumed by an impostor.

SW: Jessica Drew is born into a family that’s deeply immersed in the criminal underground. After her parents are killed by rival gangsters, Drew resolves to destroy organized crime and trains herself to her physical pinnacle. Taking the codename Spider-Woman, Drew enters the orbit of an often disapproving Captain America and eventually joins the Avengers. But while Spider-Woman resigns from that organization in disgrace, she has has since worked with the Defenders and with a group of female operatives.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

The escapist and the pussyhound

Mr. Miracle-Starfox

The first character cited is key to Jack Kirby’s Fourth World. The second was conceived by writer/artist Jim Starlin as a part of his supporting cast for his mucho cosmic run on Captain Marvel: it was only later that the folks of Titan were judiciously decided to be a subset of the Eternals. I don’t know what Starlin has made of his Titanians being folded into Kirby’s rejiggered-for-Marvel New God/Eternals mythos, but since he’s fooled with Fourth World concepts for DC, I suspect he wouldn’t mind.

I’m much more familiar with the Starfox character, via ‘80s Avengers stories that showed him to be a super-hedonist, than I am with Mr. Miracle. But I don’t see big problems here…

Commonalities:
Both oppose nigh-unto-omnipotent opponents, and have a more keen interest in the affairs of humans than their most of their kin.

Differences:
Again, Starfox, Thanos and other Titianians were ret-conned into being Eternals. And Mr. Miracle is an escape artist nonpareil, as opposed to a guy that can subtly suggest that women open their legs for him. I know which ability I would prefer…

Alternate histories:

MM: Scott Free is raised by his father Himon alongside his brother, Uxas, in an outpost in Earth’s solar system populated by their fellow “New Gods.” While his brother becomes obsessed with an "anti-life equation" and becomes Darkseid, Free is a —wait for it— free spirit: he’s moved to take existence with greater purpose when his brother threatens the universe. He allies with Hawkman and the Justice League to oppose Darkseid, and eventually joins that organization, using the codename Mr. Miracle. He has since traveled the universe and sporadically returns to active heroic service.

SF: Eros is the son of Zuras, the leader of the Eternals, a godlike race that resides in the extradimensional realm of Olympia. As an infant, Eros is traded to Thanos, the leader of the Deviants of Lemuria, in order to broker a truce between the two races that has been waged for centuries. Growing up amongst Deviants, he and fellow Eternal Thena are influenced by Alars to rebel against Thanos: the two escape to Earth, where their efforts to defeat Thanos nullify the truce mentioned above. Using the codemname Starfox, he marries Thena, joins the Avengers and commutes between Olympia and Earth. Both have apparently been killed in a massacre of all Eternals.

Monday, August 18, 2008

The few… the proud… the unpairable!

The following are two characters, both from the MU, that currently elude equivalents in the DCU.

Quicksilver

One of the Flashes, right? Uh-uh! Based on my tendency here to base pairing on who characters are rather than what they do, Pietro Maximoff does not line up with nice midwestern guy archetype. While he's an Avenger of some note, he’s arrogant eurotrash who, rather like Magneto, who was revealed to be his father, doesn’t think much homo sapiens. His sister, Scarlet Witch, is an exotic “witch” character that can more easily be paired with an American sorceress like Zatanna, who in any case doesn’t have a prick brother.

Occasionally, I think Geo-Force, a headstrong European from “Markovia” might do. But Brion Markov is a noble guy, as well as a nobleman. So as yet, Quicksilver is unpairable.

Black Panther

T’challa is a historic character: the first black —and african— super-hero, the ruler of a technologically advanced and yet stereotypically “tribal” nation of Wakanda and an Avenger.

But there is no “African king” character in the DCU. The closest would be Solivar, the king of Gorilla City, a super-advanced hidden kingdom in Africa, populated by super-intelligent apes. Am I gonna put a black character with an ape, no matter how smart? Hells no!

Then there is the Bronze Tiger, a super-athlete like T’Challa. But he’s not African royalty. Then there’s Impala, a South African speedster…who is marginal. Then there’s Freedom Beast, an African rendition of Animal Man…who is also marginal.

Sigh…

Thursday, August 14, 2008

A good guy paired with a bad guy? Huh?

Metamorpho- Sandman

At first glance, this pairing appears to be based on what the characters do and not who they are. But Metamorpho and Sandman not only have similar abilities, but are rough around the edges dudes who have played both “good guy” and “bad guy” side of the street.

Commonalities:
Both are shapeshifters, due to their bodies being composed of sand/various elements found in the human body, are superhumanly strong, have dissipated and been reassembled into separate, seemingly unique personas several times and, like I said above, are rough and tumble fellas.

Differences:
Chiefly, the Sandman was conceived as a thug, but was reformed in the 1980s and ‘90s. Metamorpho has been shown to be easily hypnotized and thus has often been a pawn of various super-villains.

Alternate histories:

ME: Low level hood Rex Mason is exposed to radiation and is thus transformed into a being that can shapeshift into the various elements found in the human body. Using the codename Metamorpho, he opposes the Blue Beetle and other superhuman operatives. But after tiring of criminal activity, he is befriended by Robotman and eventually reforms, joining the Justice League. Metamorpho’s body has dissipated and reassembled in both benign and villainous orientations.

SM: Adventurer William Baker is exposed to the energies of a mystical artifact and is thus transformed into a being composed of sand like particles. Taking the codename Sandman, he works largely alone and declines an offer to join the Avengers. He eventually joins Captain America’s Defenders and the Avengers, but is easily controlled by super villains. Sandman’s body was thought to be destroyed, although he has recently reassembled himself and has since worked with the Defenders again.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Zeus' demi-god son, and a character inspired by Sean Connery's most obscure role

Vartox- Hercules

In the Marvel diaspora, Hercules has been a perpetual presence; he’s been written consistently as a likable blowhard. The character has taken over the Incredible Hulk’s book; It’s now the Incredible Hercules!

Even though the DCU has an Olympian pantheon with Hercules, Zeus et al, I’ve chosen to pair the MU’s Hercules with a character from the Superman stable, a guy who parallels Kal-El the way Herc does Thor and one so obscure I can’t believe that I remember him …

VARTOX!!!!!!!

Apparently, writer Cary Bates and artist Curt Swan created Vartox after they saw Zardoz, an LSD-etched, pre-Logan’s Run film from 1974 which found Sean Connery running around a post apocalyptic dystopia… in trunks! Dig this fucked up trailer, in which Connery seem to be completely bemused (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbGVIdA3dx0).

ZARDOZ!!!!!

So this b-list Superman character seems to be the most enduring exponent of this way fucked up film that I can’t wait to see. I reckon DC shoulda got the King to do something with Vartox.

Commonalities:
More or less, both serve as equivalents to marquee characters, namely Superman and Thor…

Differences:
But Herc has been a major player in the MU for forty years; Vartox is a marginal ‘70s character that has been revived to little effect in recent years.

Alternate histories:

VA: Vartox is a half-human but most physically powerful member of the royal family that rules the planet Valeron; like the Kryptonians they resemble and have consorted with over the ages, Valerions are tremendously powerful. He comes to Earth in recent years and meets and battles Kal-El, whom he knows from years ago. Something of a braggart and drunkard but lion-hearted and convivial, Vartox eventually joins the Justice League, allies often with Superman and commutes from Valeron to Earth.

HE: Hercules, native of the extradimensional realm Olympus, comes to Earth after his wife on another planet dies, and befriends the Mighty Thor. He meets and then romances Janet Van Dyne, and departs and returns to Earth from time to time.