The Avengers, 1984-1985
Sub-Mariner
Silver Surfer
Scarlet Witch
Beast
Torpedo
Tigra
Living Lightning
Shadowcat
—Sub-Mariner left and was replaced by Captain America
As if the Justice League Detroit wasn’t poorly conceived in the first place, an Avengers iteration feels more like the Defenders, don’t it?
Showing posts with label Scarlet Witch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scarlet Witch. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
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…
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, May 1, 2008
The Avengers, 1961-1978
Founding members
Thor
Captain America
Thundra
Mr. Fantastic
Iron Man
Sub-Mariner
Silver Surfer
Recruits
Hawkeye
Ant-Man/Yellowjacket
Captain Mar-Vell
Mockingbird
Beast
Vision
Ms. Marvel (Una, Mar-Vell’s wife and partner)
Scarlet Witch
Thor
Captain America
Thundra
Mr. Fantastic
Iron Man
Sub-Mariner
Silver Surfer
Recruits
Hawkeye
Ant-Man/Yellowjacket
Captain Mar-Vell
Mockingbird
Beast
Vision
Ms. Marvel (Una, Mar-Vell’s wife and partner)
Scarlet Witch
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)