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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 24, 2019 8:44:12 GMT -5
In Miracleman, the basic premise is that the original Marvelman comics were scenarios fed to MM and his partners, while in a state of induced coma. In actuality, a spacecraft had crashed in the UK and was hidden away and studied by RAF intelligence. Dr Emil Gargunza, a genius, is able to reverse engineer some of the technology, particularly the biological aspects of the dead passengers, who could change bodies. He engineers the super bodies of Miracleman, Young Miracleman and Kid Miracleman (using the American name, since that was how it was published, here) and discovers "underspace," a dimension where the bodies rest in statis, until change is triggered. The superhumans are then fed dream scenarios to condition them into being super-champions; but, their advanced minds start resisting and create subconscious road signs that all is not what it seems. After too many close calls, they decide to pull the plug on the project and have the trio investigate a UFO, possible invasion. They then nuke the three. Mickey Moran, a middle-aged journalist, has dreams of the explosion, at the start of the series and inadvertently triggers his change, while covering the story. he then learns the truth and is directed towards a secret bunker, that housed the project. He smashes his way in (as he is attacked by more and more powerful weapons, then uncovers the records of Dr Gargunza, who in his mind is his greatest enemy. This after discovering that his kid sidekick has grown up in super form and is twisted by his power. The Moore series climaxes with a return confrontation, then MM sets up a utopian dictatorship.
There is a ton of similarity between JMS' take on the Squadron Supreme and Miracleman, though not complete copying.
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Post by mikelmidnight on Mar 25, 2019 11:55:30 GMT -5
As the scientist describes the level of potential damage that Hyperion could cause, Gary Frank ads the visuals, including this map, with a devastation progression, across the US... The borrowings from Moore were obvious, but I loved this scene. An excellent way of assessing what Superman/Marvelman could do potentially. You know that the military even on Earth-1 has probably had this exact conversation. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 25, 2019 23:19:45 GMT -5
Supreme Power #11 You and me, against the world, babe! Creative Team: JMS et al Synopsis: Joe Ledger, fully healed and returned from the ocean floor has been tasked to investigate ground zero, where Hyperion was blown up. At first, he finds nothing, until the crystal suddenly reacts and Ledger's mind seems occupied by new thoughts....  Ledger comes out of it, finding he has lost time and it unnerves him. Meanwhile, Mark and Zarda talk, while she prances around, starkers. She speaks of their people, living in ships, among the stars, sending two children to planets, to pave the way for their people. Always two. Enemies came and attacked as they were being sent out, with Zarda's ship coming on a direct path, while Mark's was diverted, landing nearly 2,000 years later!. She repeats aspects of the story, metaphorically, speaking of their people as goods who took mortals as wives, who turned to stone after bearing their children; of wars between goods and their children sealed in spheres, one sent to the heavens, one to the Earth. She speaks of sailing ships attacked by others, of underwater vessels, worlds of water and worlds of fire. She talks a lot of s@#$, and Mark can see she is a bit loopy.  She then tells Mark that their purpose is conquest. Meanwhile, Stan Stewart is in Chicago, being presented a check for $2 million, by Kyle Richmond, to fund scholarships for students of color, in Stan's name, as a foundation. After the ceremonies, Kyle has a private chat with Stan, where he berates him for wasting his abilities.  He then gives him a chance to use those abilities to help others. He tells him to watch the news, then meet him at an address. They meet up at a dilapidated apartment building, where police are staked out. They are able to inhibit the police, temporarily, to go in first. There, they find something horrific...  Thoughts: Some slight answers to Hyperion's past and who Zarda is, plus the connection to the crystal and the ship. Mark and Zarda are part of a spacefaring race that sets out to conquer other worlds, if what Zarda says is true. They send two children to pave the way for conquest, to further their race. She also says they have enemies. The crystal was the power source of Mark's ship, which sang to the infants, so that the are "Never to be alone," a phrase that Ledger uttered, while under the influence of the crystal. Stan gets a swift kick in the backside by Kyle Richmond, to be a hero, then gets the chance to do it, with Nighthawk, which Kyle reveals to him. They are on the hunt for a super powered serial killer, who rips limbs off of black prostitutes. Serial killers have been in comics since the Joker; but, ones using superstrength to tear limbs is a new wrinkle (thanks to the Comics Code, in part). This is the really scary side of super beings, as even conquerors have limits; but, homicidal maniacs do not. We also see that Nighthawk is still focused heavily on race, both in his philanthropic activities and his vigilante activities. This world just got scarier, as if a guy who could survive the concussive force of 20 Daisycutter bombs (which duplicate the shockwave of a nuke, minus the radiation) and has lost any real connection to humanity. he has been told that he is there to conquer. Will he do it, for his people, to save mankind for himself, or will he oppose his race's past? Is Joe Ledger in control of the power prism or does it control him, more than he knows? Who is the killer being hunted by Blur and Nighthawk; and, if he is superhuman, was he also affected by the release of whatever came off Mark's ship or is his birth related to something else? Lots of questions; the answers may prove very dangerous to all. This issue has a ton of rather gratuitous nudity. Zarda has retrieved no clothing, since leaving the temple. maybe her race is beyond that; but, it just reads like cheap titillation. Frank draws her with ridiculous proportions, with full breasts and an impossibly small waist, with super long legs. An Amazon would be more likely to have a more athletic build and a superbeing would probably tend along those lines. She is a supermodel, crossed with a porn star, in what looks like a cheap grab for readers. JMS is better than that; Gary Frank has done better than that. meanwhile, Hyperion's beefcake is covered up, other than pecs and abs. Maybe Mark is more modest; maybe it's a double standard from those involved. Maybe they know their audience will buy books with naked chicks; but, get uncomfortable with the nude male body.
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Post by rberman on Mar 26, 2019 6:29:51 GMT -5
Supreme Power #11My Two Cents: This issue has three distinct acts. In the first act, Joe Ledger looks unsuccessfully for Hyperion and has some kind of blank-out episode in the process. In the second act, Zarda gives Mark Milton mountains of exposition about their shared alien origin, and how she has come to embrace her appointed role as an agent of conquest. Then in the final act, Nighthawk and Blur team up (heroes working together—what a concept!) to investigate somebody who tears the arms off of people. The nautilus-spaceships in Zarda’s tale recall the similar vessel from “Loving the Alien” in Swamp Thing #60.  
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Post by mikelmidnight on Mar 26, 2019 13:19:04 GMT -5
This issue has a ton of rather gratuitous nudity. Zarda has retrieved no clothing, since leaving the temple. maybe her race is beyond that; but, it just reads like cheap titillation. Frank draws her with ridiculous proportions, with full breasts and an impossibly small waist, with super long legs. An Amazon would be more likely to have a more athletic build and a superbeing would probably tend along those lines. She is a supermodel, crossed with a porn star, in what looks like a cheap grab for readers. JMS is better than that; Gary Frank has done better than that. As I stated earlier: this wouldn't have bothered me except that that only other female member of the Supremes also goes around naked all the time. This is some uncomfortable messaging. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 26, 2019 23:04:36 GMT -5
This issue has a ton of rather gratuitous nudity. Zarda has retrieved no clothing, since leaving the temple. maybe her race is beyond that; but, it just reads like cheap titillation. Frank draws her with ridiculous proportions, with full breasts and an impossibly small waist, with super long legs. An Amazon would be more likely to have a more athletic build and a superbeing would probably tend along those lines. She is a supermodel, crossed with a porn star, in what looks like a cheap grab for readers. JMS is better than that; Gary Frank has done better than that. As I stated earlier: this wouldn't have bothered me except that that only other female member of the Supremes also goes around naked all the time. This is some uncomfortable messaging. I wouldn't have minded as much, had it not been so "center stage." There is no story reason for staging as many shots to display her fully nude body. One or two, maybe; but, after that, it is a pin-up. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 27, 2019 1:07:39 GMT -5
Supreme Power #12 Creative Team: Usual bunch This one is different, told in four parallel stories, on each page. One involves Hyperion, one Nighthawk & Blur, one Joe Ledger and Dr Steadman (the bald scientist and one our serial killer. Hyperion meets nighthawk and takes over that story, while Zarda continues on from Hyperion's segment. I will cover each in turn. Synopsis: Zarda and Hyperion-Hyperion and Zarda complete their talk, with Mark deciding that despite the lies, he felt good helping people and will continue, whether they want him to or not. Zarda is dismissive of the people of Earth and their needs from him, until he says "whether they want him to or not." She recognizes the tone of the conqueror in that, to take control, if only to better this world. they part and she goes on to Rome (they have been talking on an Italian mountain), where she walks around naked (proportioned like she is wearing an invisible corset) until she spots clothes she likes in a shop window. She barges in, before the store opens and takes the clothes, throwing a security man through a window. She continues her spree further, taking jewels and then the spear from a statue. She is confronted bu Italian carabinieri and she slaughters them with the spear, feeling truly alive again. Now she is ready. Nighthawk, Blur and Hyperion-Nighthawk and Blur discuss what happens next and Nighthawk makes a statement about "you people" and Stan calls him out on that, saying he has problems and needs to fix them. nighthawk puts an ad in major newspapers for Hyperion, to meet up in Chicago. Nighthawk presents his evidence of a super-powered serial killer. Hyperion says he has to take care of some things first; but, will help. He then returns to his penthouse and sees personal items tagged for study. he burns the entire place and contents and leaves, meeting back up with Nighthawk. Now He is Ready. Joe Ledger meets with Dr Steadman, discussing the missing Hyperion and Ledger's blackouts and odd behavior. Ledger spots one of Steadman's colleagues, the female scientist who isolated the alien DNA virus that was launched from hyperion's ship. The crystal informs him that she is hiding something. Steadman follows her and discovers she is part of a secret secondary project which has studied the virus DNA and how it may have bonded to human specimens. They reveal that they tested in on a military subject, who died, then military prisoners. One escaped, with super strength. Steadman calls them out on this and is told he won't be able to reveal it, until he reveals his back-up, as Joe Ledger appears. Now he is ready. Serial Killer-a small farmhouse and pickup truck are seen in Louisiana. A bulky man leaves and returns, at night, with a prostitute. She remarks of the smell, when they go inside. She is heard to scream and the segment ends with the man tossing away an arm.     Thoughts: Interesting experiment in telling 4 parallel stories, which intersect at times. The serial killer segment has little detail, until the end and mostly acts as punctuation on things observed or revealed in the upper tiers. Each story folds into the other and adds to the one before, though they also progress across, in their own manner. We have more pointless nudity with Zarda, and ridiculous proportions; but, she finally gets some clothes (such as they are). She is a definite manipulator, with Hyperion, and cares nothing for others, as she takes what she wants and has no compunctions at killing innocents. She is above them all. Definitely setting her up as a future point of conflict. Hyperion closes the books on the past and links up with Nighthawk. They will now work together to stop a super-powered madman. Stan is aiding at first; but, returns the favor to Kyle when calling him out on his racist attitudes. Stan talks of never being referred to as "You people," until Kyle says it about him, meaning super-powered. Stan says Kyle has blind spots and needs to fix them. This Nighthawk/Batman doesn't trust super beings, any more than he does white people. He is as guilty of prejudices as those he fights. Ledger and Steadman discuss whether Ledger influences the crystal or the other way around. Steadman questions whether ledger decided to heal on the ocean floor or if the crystal did. Ledger then spots the colleague who has siphoned off material for a parallel project, which is revealed to have created our super serial killer. The Killer was not the first test subject, has a military past and ripped out a prison wall. How does he compare to hyperion, in strength. Will Mark's conditioning give him a handicap in a fight? From a story structure standpoint, this is one of the best issues so far. Now that the cast has grown,it allows for more involvement by the various characters. It sows some seeds for the future, while serving to bring together at least 4 of our heroes, to face a common foe.
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Post by rberman on Mar 27, 2019 6:32:57 GMT -5
Supreme Power #12
My Two Cents: It’s a fun formal experiment in parallelism; similar things have been done on film, but in this format, the reader is free to spend as much time on each panel as desired without being propelled unwillingly through the fourth dimension. As a TV writer, JMS is well accustomed to breaking down an episode in terms of “A plot, B plot, C plot.”
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 27, 2019 9:21:51 GMT -5
Supreme Power #12 My Two Cents: It’s a fun formal experiment in parallelism; similar things have been done on film, but in this format, the reader is free to spend as much time on each panel as desired without being propelled unwillingly through the fourth dimension. As a TV writer, JMS is well accustomed to breaking down an episode in terms of “A plot, B plot, C plot.” Yes, but, it is a structure that comes with hazards. More American Graffiti tried to do a similar thing, with segments following different characters around the same time frame, but in different years. The end result was a confusing mess, as characters are dead in some segments and alive in their own. It takes more than one viewing to sort it out and it wasn't obvious, in the opening scenes. I've seen others try this in comics, with mixed results. The genius of this is you can read one story all the way through the book, then come back and start the second, then the third and fourth. Or, you can read each page, with all 4 stories. There are connections which link the stories on the page, acting as and addendum to what occurred in the panel above, in a more traditional manner. I think this is where the series comes closer to brilliance, though only in the technical side of things. Thematically, we are on well tread ground. Moore had been here 20 years before. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 27, 2019 10:54:08 GMT -5
Supreme Power #13 15 year old comic or ripped from today's headlines? Nah, somehow I don't see Kyle Richmond paying his personal trainer to beat him up this badly. Creative Team: JMS and Co. Synopsis: We pick up on the rooftop, as Nighthawk and Hyperion confer. Nighthawk goes holier than thou on Mark and he fires back that he didn't know about the situation until Nighthawk alerted him, calling him out on his BS. Mark reveals he has severed his government connections, which was part of why Nighthawk contacted him. His police sources are hitting roadblocks and he needed someone with more authority. Mark will try to fake it.  Mark talks to a police lieutenant and asks questions, then leaves to pass in potential locations for the serial killer, which Kyle and Stan check out. The cop knows something is fishy, as the FBI are involved, yet Mark is uninformed. he calls the Feds. Stan questions some prostitutes in Colorado and gets razzed badly by them, suggesting that he hasn't had as much interaction with women, outside his home. he learns that some of the missing hookers went off to LA to work in strip clubs and passes the info to Kyle. Hyperion is in orbi, equidistant from Kyle and Sta, ready to swoop in if they find something in their locations.  Dr Steadman has been informed of Hyperion's activities by the FBI and alerts Ledger, who prepares to go find him. meanwhile, Nighthawk is in Louisiana, smacking around a pimp, for info about the missing women. The pimp eventually gives up the story that three hookers disappeared in an area known as the "backroads," a place where lower end prostitutes ply their trade, for $10 or $20. We cut to there and an African-American hooker has been picked up by the killer, who has been identified as Michael Redstone, supposedly dead, in prison. Nighthawk has the place under surveillance and puts ina call to Hyperion, when Redstone attacks, knocking him flying, then systematically breaking ribs. he is going for the eyes when a sonic boom erupts.  Thoughts: Our first team up of heroes. We see how they operate and the flaws in their work, due to their own issues. Stan has not mixed with other people, much, and is intimidated speaking to the prostitutes, who tease him mercilessly. he has a physical reaction, which makes him, basically, run away. Nighthawk's narrow perspective has kept him from getting help sooner and his strategy is risky. Mark is still rather naive, but is learning fast. Ledger is a wild card, at the moment, as we don't know what he will do. Redstone proves to be efficient, though governed by impulses. They song playing as Nighthawk observes Redstone is "Silent Running, from Genesis member Mike Rutherford (from his solo project Mike & The Mechanics), which features lyrics about hiding out from danger, swearing allegiance to survive and looking to the Heavens for salvation. The theme fits as Mark swore allegiance to a flag and country that wasn't his and discovered the lies. he believes more in the principles than the government. It is also fitting as he is sitting up high, waiting for the call from Stan or Nighthawk, that they have found the killer. Can he hear them running? There is a sidebar of government minders sifting through Mark's burnt penthouse. One speaks of working to win him back. Visions of things to come.
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Post by rberman on Mar 27, 2019 10:55:30 GMT -5
Supreme Power #13
My Two Cents: Finally the case of Redstone starts to bring the whole gang together, each working the situation in his own way. For the moment, Nighthawk has Hyperion thinking about being a hero instead of getting vengeance against his military masters.
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 28, 2019 1:30:22 GMT -5
Supreme Power #14 Creative Team: Warren Simmons joins as associate editor and Axel Alonso is editor. Synopsis: The day before, a new CO, gen Alexander is bellowing the finer points of the F-Ups so far. Dr Steadman relates where Joe Ledger is, tuned into the National Geologic Foundation's tectonic imaging system, waiting for Hyperion to trigger a seismic event. Well, that happens...  Hyperion and Redstone ar pretty evenly matched; but, redstone is clever and burrows through the ground, to the freeway...  then into a mall, where bodies are everywhere. Stan implements Nighthawk's plan and whispers into Hyperion's ear, at speed, "Now." Hyperion holds Redstone and Stan flings some kind of expanding foam into his mouth and nasal passages, which seals them up, cutting off his air. he collapses and Stan asks about inserting a tube. mark and Nighthawk stare at him. Stan takes a straw and inserts it. Ledger shows up and takes custody of Redstone and Hyperion lets it happen. Redstone is to be contained, not killed. Kyle berates Stan for his compassion and continues his bigoted rants against the powered and Stan, at speed, strips Kyle and leaves him buck naked in the mall, while Mark stares at the aftermath of bodies. We end with Redstone imprisoned and a question posed...  Thoughts: This is the clash and we see that the government experiment created someone as powerful as Hyperion; but did so with a psychotic subject. The collateral damage is horrendous. Here, again, we invoke the precedent of Miracleman. In issue 15 of that series, Miracleman and Johnny Bates, the adult Kid Miracleman, clash. Bates has mounds of bodies throughout London, that he has mutilated. Flayed skins swing on washing lines. Limbs litter the streets. The dead are piled like the rubble from building destruction. With the aid of the Warpsmiths, Miracleman forces Bates to say his change word, returning the child Bates to their dimension, from Underspace. The child cries in horror at having let the demon out of the bottle, when some psychotic youths tried to rape him, in a facility for disturbed juveniles. Miracleman comforts him, then crushes his head, to prevent the Kid Miracleman from ever being released again. Here, Redstone creates devastation, flinging cars at Hyperion, which he proves unable to catch all. people die in fire and impact. He then goes to a heavily populated shopping mall and the corpses pile up. Redstone is defeated through trickery, rather than strength. Hyperion surveys the damage. In the Miracleman 16, MM decides he has to fix the world and save it from itself. He and the Warpsmiths remove all nuclear weapons, then eliminate government, taking over the role. They rebuild society, providing cures for dangerous psychoses, cures for disease and distribute food and shelter to all. London becomes a memorial to the dead and Olympus is built upon it, where Miracleman sits, ruling over this Brave New World. is that the future for Mark? Will he save us from ourselves and our leaders' follies? Will Nighthawk let him? Will the government? There are contingencies, as we see. This issue is about the level of destruction and horror that super beings could create, in battle. This is the 9/11 nightmare, of random violence on a massive scale. Moore created his scenario nearly 2 decades before the 9/11 attacks, while JMS is doing his 2 years after. War was raging across the globe (still is, which brings memories of Vietnam). This is something on a grander scale and we know the consequences will be higher and world reaction greater. The violence of this issue is staggering; but, in keeping with the logic of the story. it is justified, unlike some other works I could name. Moore set a big precedent in his work, with John Totleben's images of the dead in London and the mutilated. Gary Frank's work is cleaner, the violence more intimate and less "noisy." It is more the cleaner Hollywood gloss, while Totleben had the gritty detail of illustration, with harsher, scratchier lines. Gen Alexander outlines the government's new priorities: reacquire Hyperion as a strategic asset and the escaped convict specimens from the covert secondary program. They are also to be weaponized, if possible. he is the sole authority, which makes him very dangerous. We have the foundation for a formal team.
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Post by rberman on Mar 28, 2019 5:05:37 GMT -5
Supreme Power #14
My Two Cents: “Objects in Motion” was also the title of the third-to-last episode of Babylon 5; the second-to-last was “Objects at Rest.”
Redstone goes full-on brutal, skewering whole families in the mall. Blur stands up to Nighthawk. Spectrum talks Hyperion down from a second fight, showing that he's not just a government killing machine. JMS leaves it deliberately vague how many super-villains were created and then escaped in the prison break-out, so there’s plenty of room for future stories with an arbitrary number of them.
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Post by mikelmidnight on Mar 28, 2019 11:46:34 GMT -5
You can also see the disadvantage Mark has in not having grown up in a standard comic book universe. Redstone matches him for strength, but Mark has a lot of other powers which he fails to use to his advantage, due to inexperience fighting other superpowered opponents.
I'm suddenly reminded of a line from Morrison's "Zenith," along the lines of: "What? Superhumans ... fighting each other?"
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 28, 2019 13:22:49 GMT -5
You can also see the disadvantage Mark has in not having grown up in a standard comic book universe. Redstone matches him for strength, but Mark has a lot of other powers which he fails to use to his advantage, due to inexperience fighting other superpowered opponents. I'm suddenly reminded of a line from Morrison's "Zenith," along the lines of: "What? Superhumans ... fighting each other?" I'd say the comparison to Zenith is stronger in the Hyperion mini-series, coming up, and the follow on Squadron Supreme series, rather than this point. Then again, Zenith has a lot of (deliberate) parallels to Miracleman and similar features. Morrison's real hook to the thing was in making the "hero" a pop star, making him one of the early "heroes as pop culture" figures. Lee and Kirby had already done a bit of that, especially in Fantastic Four; but, not with quite the same mass media focus that Morrison brought to it. Zenith is one of Morrison's works that I really, really like, until the last book, where I think it falls apart, in its attempt to copy Moore and Moorcock. The first two books of Zenith are some of my favorite comics, despite what my criticisms of Morrison's work may have you believe. |
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