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Post by spoon on Sept 3, 2017 23:05:02 GMT -5
Counterpoint: The skill of the actor at portraying the spirit of the roll should be more important than race. The greater fidelity to the source material the smaller the pool of potential actors and, therefore, the worse the resulting movie/tv show is going to be. Additional counterpoint: For some, even many, characters, their white ethnicity has little to no bearing on their character. They are white by default. It would be absurd to have a white person play Black Panther or Storm because their ethnicity is a significant part of their character and backstory. There's nothing about Perry White or Nick Fury that requires them to be white. In fact, there are some instances where it's more realistic that the character NOT be white. Peter Parker? Based on the demographics of modern Queens NY, he's more likely to be Hispanic, Asian, or black than white. If he lived in Flushing, chances are high that he'd be Chinese or Korean. Unless you're comparing white to Hispanic, Asian, and black combined, your statement about Peter Parker is incorrect. At least as of 2014 (the most recent year with estimates in the Wikipedia article for Queens), Hispanics were the largest demographic in all of Queens, but non-white Hispanics were more numerous than black people or Asian-Americans. And Peter Parker is from Forest Hills, not Flushing. Forest Hills is actually majority white. It's good that Spider-Man: Homecoming made Peter's high school more reflective of the diversity of the borough, but having Peter remain white isn't some demographic anachronism.
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Post by spoon on Sept 2, 2017 13:08:54 GMT -5
Jesse In Comics, my best guess would be Iron Man #55 of which he revealed his identity to the world. I've don't have a copy nor the Marvel Masterworks that contains it ... but, I've think that he revealed it early not later. From NewsaramaIf there was an award given out for the superhero who has gone public with his identity – and then walked it back – the most times, it would likely have to go to Tony Stark as Iron Man. In the 1998 Iron Man/Captain America annual, Stark used a villain's technology to make the world forget that he was Iron Man, only for Iron Man #55 to see him unmasked again – and then, for it to happen one more time in Civil War, as well. None of these match up to Robert Downey Jr.'s off-hand remark at the end of the original Iron Man movie, of course, but there are very, very few things in the world that can really beat Downey when he's on his disarming, off-handedly troublemaking best. Wrong Iron Man #55, CC. The one you've posted the cover for is from 1973, looooooooooooong before Stark went public with his secret identity. The #55 mentioned in the quote above is from 2002. As to when specifically Tony let the world in on his being Iron Man, I can only tell you it happened after I stopped following Marvel in '86. Cei-U! I summon the misattribution! Yup. Iron Man was described as Tony Stark's bodyguard as an excuse for why he always showed around Stark. The anonymity the Iron Man suit has been used to the advantage of the wearers at times. I believe Jim Rhodes tried not to let on that he was a different person in the suit for a while. And after Armor Wars, I believe Tony Stark claimed that the wearer of the suit had been replaced and/or died even though it was still Stark.
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Post by spoon on Sept 2, 2017 13:01:10 GMT -5
Do any of the Legion of Super Heroes have secret identities? Not in any meaningful way. Depending on who did the writing, it seemed to be public knowledge; certainly when Colossal Boy's mother was the President of Earth. The superhero names were standard comic book stuff; but, they tended to be used more like a pilot's call sign. Or stage names for famous singers/musicians. The Legion are like celebrities are usually operate with official sanction. You rarely see a Legionnaire who wears a mask. One notable exception was Sensor Girl. That was a masked identity that Princess Projectra adopted when she returned to the Legion in mid-80s comics. Her identity was secret even from her teammates.
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Post by spoon on Sept 1, 2017 22:23:56 GMT -5
The dynamics between the four leads was very good, particularly Jessica Jones's attitude, because Krysten Ritter is an acting genius. Some of the action scenes were great, particularly the traditional Marvel/Netflix hallway fight. I also love the way the supporting casts of the various solo series were integrated.
On the other hand, I felt the series lost steam later on, in part because I'm so-so on the villains. Using master manipulator villains who are seemingly omnipotent is a risky proposition. If the Hand are such great puppet-masters, why don't they just kill our heroes in their sleep? If Alexandra can slip into the Chinese restaurant unnoticed, how was Elektra able to take her out so easily? And I know Sigourney Weaver is a legend, particularly in sci-fi and action movies, but Alexandra was an uninspiring character. She doesn't fight anyone. She the leader of the Hand because . . . she has the superpowers of being bossy and condescending?
I'm glad that Misty Knight will now get her bionic arm. I have never been so happy about a horrific amputation.
I've heard people speculate that Daredevil season 3 will adapt Born Again, because the final scene of the Defenders was evocative of a scene from that arc. But that doesn't really make sense. Born Again was about Matt coming back from having his life destroyed. He was betrayed by Karen, disbarred, had his home destroyed, his possessions annihilated, his reputation besmirched, his sanity shaken, and physically beaten to his limits. With the exception of that last one, none of those are really the case at the end of The Defenders.
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Post by spoon on Sept 1, 2017 22:05:38 GMT -5
The last issue of the Captain America: Justice is Served TPB is the crucial #332. Cap is summoned to the Pentagon by a commission of national security officials. They insist that Cap's costume, shield, etc. are government property, and he should operate under tight government control rather than autonomously. Cap is concerned about their judgment in light of how destructive government super-soldiers Nuke and G.I. Max were and worried about losing his independence. Cap asks for and receives 24 hours to mull over his decision. Cap spends the day moping around his hotel room, calling his pals for advice. With Cap oblivious to the outside world, a terrorist named Warhead parachutes on to the Washington Monument threatening to detonate a nuke. You'd think someone on one of those calls would tell Cap what the heck's going on in D.C.! Warhead ascribes to the "rally round the flag" school of thought that nothing make America as great as attacking another country. His plot is to use the nuke to blackmail the government into starting a war with a foreign country; he doesn't really care which one. He's convinced that the lack of major war since Vietnam has made America weak, and Warhead wants to make America great again.
While Cap mopes, the man of action Super-Patriot springs into action and knocks Warhead off the Monument. But Gruenwald is not shy about being gruesome, so Warhead uses a grenade to commit suicide before he can hit the ground. The next morning, Cap decides to resign and turns in his shield and uniform.
Now, I've just started the Captain America: The Captain TPB. It also includes #332, so I skip to #333. If I'm not mistaken, Steve Rogers doesn't show up at all in this issue. That means that the Commission, which is revealed to include Henry Peter Gyrich (thorn in the Avengers side) and Valerie Cooper (known for appearances in X-Men, and in years in the future, as the head of an incarnation of X-Factor). The commission decides not to offer the Captain America job to various established heroes. Instead, they want a fresh face they can mold. Hey, who's that dude on the front page of the Washington Post for saving the Washington Monument?
After the Super-Patriot does a talk show appearance, a couple federal agents invite him to meet the commission. First, he meets Valerie Cooper one-on-one. S-P unmasks and finally reveals his name, almost a year after his first appearance. He's John Walker, a Southern who talks about how he loves America and joined the military to emulate an older brother who died in Vietnam. After his discharge, he got super-strengths from the Power Broker, and decides to pay off his bill by monetizing a new identity as a patriotic hero. Val offers Walker the Captain America job (pending a background check of course). S-P hesitates at assuming the identity at first, because he spent the last few months publicly slamming Cap, and now he's going to make people think he is Cap. But what the heck! It's a great job!
S-P's business managers and his pals, the Buckies, think it's a great idea . . . as long as there's cash and jobs in it for them. Walker meets the Commission the next day. He's passed the background check, because apparently being a money-grubbing, roided-up sociopath is not disqualifying. Walker gives the commission the requests from his manager the three Buckies. The commission will consider the requests. Yup. S-P is taken to a locker room by Val Cooper to change into the Captain America uniform. It's a tight fit because Walker is a giant roid-head. Val wears a dress with a Power Girl-style boob window. I don't know if that's just her personal style or if it's supposed to be a selling point to Walker. But Walker probably won't like Val as much now, because she introduced three members of Freedom Force (Pyro, Avalanche, and the Blob) to spar with the new Cap.
Walker holds his own for a while. But then Blob is about to choke the life out of Walker until Val returns to tell him not to kill the new symbol of America. Val asks Walker if he learned anything from the sparring session. Walker is like, "Yeah, those guys are tough." Val is like, "No, dummy. You need to use your shield to do a good job as Cap. Go watch some game tape of the old Cap." Okay, I'm not paraphrasing.
Days later, the commission admits that they're only willing to accept a small bit of Walker's terms. He'll have to drop his manager, and he can only bring one of the Buckies into the fold. Walker isn't going to give up the chance to be Captain Freakin' America just to help out his crew, though, so he takes the deal.
And that's where I left off; #334 is next!
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Post by spoon on Sept 1, 2017 21:14:22 GMT -5
My journey through a bunch of Captain America TPBs continues. In my last post, I left off with Captain America #320. I've remaining issues of the Justice is Served TPB: Captain America Annual #8, Captain America #321-332, and Marvel Fanfare #31-32.
I'm reading most of these issues for the first time, but Annual #8 is one that I read probably just a couple years after it came out. That's the famous Mike Zeck illustrated issue where Cap battles, and then teams up with, Wolverine. Back when I first read it, I thought Wolverine was treated poorly. But re-reading it now, Cap comes across as bossy and Wolverine comes across as more sympathetic in light of it. That's weird since it's Cap's book with his regularly writer. It's a pretty good issue in terms of action and the contrasting personalities. There is a bizarre caption claiming that Wolverine can carry an adult man and run 10 miles at 4 minute per mile pace. Uh . . . no. Zeck's art is really, particularly when it comes to action sequences. It's a stark reminder of how the art dropped off when Paul Neary replaced Zeck as penciler.
Maybe that's why Zeck becomes the cover artist with the next issue of the monthly #321. That issue introduced Ultimatum (or should I say U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M., because their name is an unwieldy acronym) as minions for the Flag-Smasher. Ultimatum members dress predominantly in white, with some black as well. They also carry Uzis, and wear berets, wrap-around sunglasses,and popped collars, because all those things were considered cool in the mid to late 1980s. The issue contains one of the most pivotal moments of the TPB. While trying to free dozens of hostages, Cap throws his shield away. One of the thugs starts gunning down the hostage. Because he is far away and without his shield, Cap shoots and kills the Ultimatum terrorist to prevent him from killing many more hostages.
Cap's fatal decision gets out to the media and plagues him in the issues that follow. Some people are scared that Cap will kill them. Others take the wrong message, and perceive Cap's stamp of approval on guns and killing as a preferred tactic rather than a last resort.
The Super-Patriot is introduced in #323. As many of you probably know, he goes on to become an enduring character under some other aliases. S-P aims to take over Cap's role as the symbol of America, and at this point his main goal seems to be financial gain. S-P takes out a bunch of supposed Cap acolytes, the Bold Urban Commandos (or Buckies), who are secretly Super-Patriot's confederates.
#324 is a curious issue that seems like a just a transitional issue or a throw-away, with Cap fighting the Trapster and Whirlwind. Gruenwald is usually credited as "writer", but he's just credited for "script" (with no one credited as plotter) in this ish. A subplot re-introduces Nomad, who is sporting an ugly handlebar mustache for some reason. The issue ends with Nomad shaving the stache to go undercover as a minion aboard the yacht of Miami crimelord Ulysses X. Lugman, a.k.a. The Slug.
The Slug is morbidly obese and sedentary. He makes the Kingpin look like a supermodel. I think I fall in the middle of the spectrum in the "fat acceptance" debate, but Nomad's attitude toward The Slug is stunning. There are a couple of thought balloons in which Nomad, upon seeing the Slug for the first name, decides he is so physically repulsive that he must die. It may sound like I'm kidding, but I'm not. The arc features a dark turn for Nomad, as he engineers a fatal fire on the yacht, but tells Cap he doesn't know how the fire started. Nomad and Cap go their separate ways, and Nomad's new bloodthirsty behavior isn't immediately addressed.
#326 is a callback to the Death of the Red Skull arc and several other deaths of villains. Marvel Fanfare #31-32 features Cap dealing with wannabe sidekick Frog-Man and battling Yellow Claw in a story by J.M DeMatteis and Kerry Gammil. It's an offbeat change of pace from the stories in Cap's own title, but I was expecting a bit more from DeMatteis's return to writing Cap.
In #327, Cap visits his girlfriend Bernie Rosenthal, who is studying law in Madison Wisconsin. It initially seemed that Bernie was being totally written out. Now, she's back with a short, edgy 80s haircut. For now, it's a long-distance relationship, with Bernie appearing mostly in cameos talking with Steve by phone. This is issue is remarkably timeline as the Buckies foment a hate campaign against immigrants, particularly Arabs. Because of the Buckies, many of the bigots get the false impression Cap is on their side. Later, Cap fights the Super-Patriot to a standstill outside of a rock concert. It turns out S-P has enhanced strength, and Cap worries that S-P's claim that Cap is obsolete may be correct.
Cap's concerns set up the next arc in which Cap seeks out the source of S-P's strength by looking into the role of the Power Breaker in giving enhanced strength to members of the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation. I haven't read the Thing's solo title, but I know some of its characters/themes are used in this arc. Cap gets a new temporary sidekick in Demolition Man, who is one of the wrestlers. D-Man sports a costume which is a combo of Daredevil's original costume and a Wolverine-like headpiece, and his eagerness allows for an entertaining interplay with Cap. During the arc there are also appearances by Dr. Karl Malus, the Sharon Ventura version of Ms. Marvel (who Gruenwald repeatedly has oblique mentions of being tortured/mistreated while in captivity), and the Shroud and the Night Shift. I knew the Night Shift as adversaries of the West Coast Avengers in later years, but here they're shown as villains the Shroud manipulates into foiling other villains. The members are mostly horror-themed, and there are way too many of them for the story to flow smoothly. The arc ends with a cheesy U.S. military-sponsored villainous super-soldier named G.I. Max. Noting that he had recently face Nuke (in Daredevil's Born Against arc), Cap is concerned about what the government is doing with enhanced humans.
Paul Neary's art is really dependent on the inker. He paired well with Dennis Janke, but not as well in these issues with John Beatty or Vince Colletta.
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Post by spoon on Aug 19, 2017 14:17:43 GMT -5
I had to flee across state lines and change my identity.
Wait, I meant to say nothing happened. Yeah, that's the ticket!
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Post by spoon on Aug 12, 2017 17:57:05 GMT -5
I finished the remaining issues (#307-317) of the Captain America Society of Serpents TPB. I've continued on to the Justice is Served TPB and have read through Cap #320.
This is the early part of Mark Gruenwald's run as writer, after he and Mike Carlin switched the editing & writing chores. Compared to DeMatteis's boldness, I find Gruenwald's attempts at political writing pretty muddled. There's some generic rah-rah patriotism. There's also bits that seem cryptically right-wing. Gruenwald has Sidewinder describe the Serpent Society as a union rather than a team. And the point is? Unions are bad? The Flag Smasher story tries to walk a tightrope between promoting nationalism as beneficial, but also praising international cooperation.
But having said that, he's really good at telling super-hero yarns. He's very good at telling a coherent story in an individual, as well as playing plotlines out over an arc. For instance, #315 tells a great self-contained story about the Porcupine but also serves as part of an intriguing ongoing Serpent Society storyline. Gruenwald also does tragedy well, whether it's Porcupine, Madcap (driven crazy by his accidental invulnerability), and Armadillo (grief-stricken by his freakish appearance). In particular, he handles the issue of Armadillo's better than many similar characters.
The Serpent Society is an interesting mix of characters: some were members of the old Serpent Squads, some were members of other groups (Princess Python of the Circus of Crime; Cobra from a partnership with Mr. Hyde), and some are new characters. Diamondback introduces a new element as an enemy who can't seem to stop flirting with Cap. I think she's a fanboy wish fulfillment figures with seductive poses, etc. Some of it's entertaining; some of it's cringeworthy. I don't think editorial at Marvel would approve a similar character today. I like that the Serpent Society gets to establish its credential with success in its Modok mission. I do have some nitpicks though. Even with inflation since the 1980s, $100,000 seems like a really low fee for such a difficult mission. Sidewinder also seems to assign too few operatives to some missions. Also, Gruenwald comes up with an interesting subplot for Princess Python, but I don't think it makes sense in light of the character's history (or what you'd expect from a seasoned villain).
Nomad and Bernie Rosenthal are written out of the series, but it's done more gracefully and patiently than how Arnie Roth was written out.
This transitions into the Scourge of the Underworld storyline, about a vigilante who murders super-villains. This is another example of an intriguing storyline that has plotholes or illogical elements. The Scourge origin in #320 is intriguing. I think Gruenwald was trying to eliminate many villains who he felt were weak, but one particular mass killing in the storyline is beyond "Spider-Man vs. Firelord" levels of implausible. Scourge shouldn't be nearly as successful as he is. He's basically just a master of disguise with a high-tech gun. I also wish Gruenwald had chosen a different member of the Serpent Society to bite the bullet. However, the overall tone and structure of the story are nice. Gruenwald does a good job of portraying a climate of terror.
The Justice of Served TPB is pretty cool because it integrates elements of the Scourge storyline beyond what plays out in the Captain America title. It starts out with excerpts of Scourge's kills (or attempts) in various other titles. It also includes a Marvel Fanfare story and an issue of Amazing Spider-Man in their entirety that are about Scourge's activities, even though Cap doesn't appear in either story.
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Post by spoon on Aug 1, 2017 22:16:34 GMT -5
Off the top of my head, the Warriors Three stories by Charles Vess, The Black Widow issues featuring Perez art, issue 50 with a Buscema Thor story and some of the Starlin stories in the early 20s are among my favorites and the first 6-8 issues with the Golden Savage Land story are also great. I also recall a very good story with Scarlet Witch I believe and possibly other magic using characters using the Wand of Watoom as a MacGuffin that was very good and that had a one-shot sequel a few years later. -M Golden Savage land story is 4 issues, I believe. I need them for my team-up book collecting because the first four issues of Fanfare were originally slated for Marvel team-up, but I haven't got around to tracking them down lately. Yeah, the Savage Land story is just #1-4, and I believe Michael Golden just drew the first 2 issues. I think Paul Smith and Dave Cockrum each contributed an issue. That arc was reprinted as a TPB back in the late 1980s, when very few stories got the TPB treatment. I think it was just titled "Savage Land" or "X-Men: Savage Land" and perhaps re-issued a few times over the years.
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Post by spoon on Aug 1, 2017 20:12:45 GMT -5
I'm continuing to read through Captain America and just finished #306. That's Mike Carlin's last issue as writer before he swaps roles with Cap's editor-turned-writer Mark Gruenwald.
Carlin's brief stint as writer was a departure from J.M. DeMatteis. There's an arc about Cap's shield being stolen that involves Batroc's Brigade (apparently the first time he teamed with these henchmen). It seems like a conscious effort to pivot to a lighter tone and lower stakes. Batroc is a fun character though. I was surprised that Dr. Myron McLain (the creator of the shield) was still alive at this point, because I thought he died before this point. Then, there's a two-parter featuring Captain Britain and Modred, which is pretty forgettable.
Carlin also seemingly write Arnie Roth out with a short goodbye sign with Bernie Rosenthal. It's very oblique. Although Steve and Bernie got engaged toward the end of DeMatteis run, not much is done to develop the relationship during Carlin's short run. There is a little bit of development with Nomad's storyline, as he worries that he isn't as effective when Cap is around because he's nervous.
The TPB reprints the letter page of Carlin's last issue, which features an underwhelming introductory essay by Gruenwald.
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Post by spoon on Jul 22, 2017 9:30:03 GMT -5
I wonder how this would work under Fox's Fantastic Four contract. My understanding is that Fox has to periodically make an FF film or the film rights will revert back to Marvel. If a Doctor Doom movie is counted as a Fantastic Four movie, then part of the motivation may be to reset the clock while they figure out what they're doing. Do they try to use the same FF cast with a different director? Do they assemble a new cast? I'm sure Fox would like more time to consider their options given how poorly the last movie went.
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Post by spoon on Jul 17, 2017 21:56:50 GMT -5
Steven Moffat didn't ruin Doctor Who, he rescued it from the drivel it had become under Russell T Davies. I think both had similar issues towards the end of their runs; namely they seemed to tend towards "bigger and better" over arching stories which occasionally sacrificed the fun of the individual episodes. It was great to have these big season long stories to start with but once you've had one or two it begins to feel like rinse, lather and repeat. I think there has to be a better balance struck between focusing on a larger narrative and stand alone adventures. That's what I like about several episodes of Capaldi's first season. I liked a lot of the one-off episodes like Mummy on the Orient Express and Time Heist. I also think a lot of the better Tennant stuff were self-contained episodes or two-parter that weren't about some season-long Big Bad. The "can you top this" quality of finding some way to have The Doctor defeat millions of Daleks or Cybermen has less appeal to me than some smaller stories.
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Post by spoon on Jul 15, 2017 17:30:32 GMT -5
X-Men #103, the issue with the leprechauns, included a page where it was shown that Nightcrawler becomes invisible when in shadow. I don't think that ability was referred to again, so Claremont removed the page from Classic X-Men #11. That sucks. Who knows what else I missed out through Classic X-Men revisions. The two issues of Days of Future Past was skipped over by Classic X-Men because the thin TPB was out at the time. I know the TPB cut out the last page of the second issue. I think it had Senator Kelly saying they should go ahead with the Sentinel program. I guess they didn't want to end the TPB on a downer.
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Post by spoon on Jul 15, 2017 13:19:16 GMT -5
The reprints in Classic X-Men revised Jean's "back in 1969" to "years ago" and her tombstone was altered to say "Jean Grey Rest in Peace". I've read a lot of X-Men comics via Classic X-Men and thought I remembered the dates on Jean's tombstone, so I just double-checked. On the splash page in Classic X-Men #44, Jean's tombstone does have "1956-1980". It's the new cover that substitutes "Rest in Peace". But the other changes makes me want to get an Omnibus to see the edits I didn't realize were in the Classic X-Men reprints. Some edits were obvious though. Classic occasionally had some new pages inserted in original story (I'm not talking about the new back-ups). I think Kieron Dwyer did the art in several of them.
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Post by spoon on Jul 15, 2017 11:28:25 GMT -5
Apparently, BBC America is going to announce it in the US. But since the announcement is being when the Wimbledon men's final ends on the BBC, and ESPN rather than BBC America broadcasts the tennis in the U.S., will BBC America randomly break into whatever program they're showing. Probably not. They'll just delay it until a commercial break. I guess I'll just have to loiter around Twitter to find out.
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