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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 6, 2024 23:56:00 GMT -5
The Twelve #8 Black Widow takes the cover. I just looked at the covers for the entire series; issues 1 and 12 feature everyone, and the rest are solo covers; but, Mastermind Excello and Mister E get shafted, as they never get their own cover. Not even as a variant. Creative Team: Same group, minus Gary Leach, as Chris Weston flies solo for the remainder of the series. Synopsis: We pick up, where we left off, as Phantom Reporter confronts Black Widow, at gunpoint, at her bedside. He would seem to have the upper hand, as she is nude, beneath the covers and he has a .45 automatic; but, remember what she has done! Her response to his presence is hardly one of fear....  She asks if he is sure that a bullet will hurt her...after dark and he responds that he hasn't heard otherwise and is willing to gamble, as he cocks the hammer (if it wasn't already cocked, from a round being chambered, he was already in a bad position). She then proceeds to tell her story and how she met the one she serves. She came out to Los Angeles, to see her sister Debbie. Debbie and her boyfriend, Lester, take her out to a nightclub and Lester hits on her, implying a potential menage a trois. Later that night, at Debbie's apartment, Claire tells her sister that she doesn't like Lester. Debbie brushes it off, talking about his connections and the presents he gives her and she talks about how he could have anyone, but wants her. Claire warns her to be careful and she laughs it off. However, Debbie couldn't handle Lester and he murdered her and got away with it, due to his connections. At Debbie's graveside, Claire encounters her future master....  The voice tells her she will only touch the wicked and bring their souls to him and she accepts, willingly, to avenger her sister. Lester becomes the first soul claimed by the Black Widow. She goes on to say she had hoped that her master had forgotten her, after the long sleep; but, her master does not sleep and she is his, eternally. PR asks why he should elieve her story and she responds because she has told him the truth, then demonstrates that she is beyond his power. He sees that the story of her power is true, that her touch can kill.....  Meanwhile, Fiery Mask answers Lt Rose's questions, at the station. He shows him the scorch arks in the concrete, outside the bar, but FM points out no one was burnt to death, but torn apart. he says that is more power than he possesses. Lt Rose suggests that he could have worked with someone else or have powers beyond what is known. FM gets angry and says he has been straight up and Rose then questions the details of his origin story, based on the story he told in Harlem, at the ex-cop bar, about the Zombie Master. He says he has had NYPD archivists combing records of the period and can find no mention of any aspect of the story. FM sugegsts that is due to their own sloppy records-keeping. Rose pushes Fiery Mask and gets a response....  We then see that Fiery Mask wasn't entirely truthful.....  At the television studio, Elizabeth Zogolowski sets up the equipment to control Electro and gives Blue Blade a demonstration. He then tries out the telepathic control link.....  He finally gets the hang of it. She then shows him other features of the control, including a memory record of what Electro sees. Blue Blade tries it and is shocked by a vision, then says it all makes sense, now. Elizabeth is confused, but he distracts her At the mansion, Richard Jones receives a package from Mastermind Excello, which includes a new costume, with kevlar vest and new weapons. There is a letter, from Excello, which informs him that he also used his connections to get Laughing Mask sprung from jail. We see LM receive his costume and contemplate his mask. Excello's letter continues that the future is becoming clearer, every day and that he is reaching out to others, in ways different than a letter. Rockman comes in, his helmet mask removed, saying he has been contacted by his people. They know where he is and they will see him soon. he is smiling and at peace. Blue Blade is shown a new costume, which was recommended by a focus group. He then asks for the time and says he has to get to an appointment and he drives off in a modern roadster. He parks out in the country and waits. He then recalls life on a farm....dreaming of adventure and excitement......  Blue Blade is brought out of his memories by the arrival of his appointment......  Thoughts: Phantom Reporter now knows the story of Black Widow and it is more frightening than the rumors. If that doesn't end his infatuation, nothing will. Lester is shown to be connected with the mob and probably the studios and police, which were all interconnected in Hollywood, in the 30s and 40s (and after), with figures like Mickey Cohen and Bugsy Siegel, as LA was a conduit to Las Vegas, too. LA was filled with vice, which was controlled by the mob and they were around the studio world. This was the Jewish part of organized crime, with Siegel and Cohen, which helped them get an in with the Jewish heads of many major studios. The LA police were known for their corruption, providing scandal tips to reporters, turning a blind eye to mob operations, for a payout, and harassing minorities. They often acted as hired muscle for the studios, on the side. LA Confidential doesn't exaggerate much of that world. Lana Turner was dating mobster Johnny Stompanato and they had a violent relationship, with him confronting her, at gunpoint, on the set of Another Time, Another Place, filming in the UK, after she called Scotland Yard to try to get him deported from England. he pointed a gun at Turner and co-star Sean Connery, who twisted the gun out of Stompanato's hand.....which is further proof that you didn't want to mess with Connery, if his look didn't convey that enough (Michael Caine said when they were filming The Man Who Would Be King, they would go into a bar and Sean would size people up, with a look and most looked away and avoided him.) Black Widow makes her deal with the literal devil (we presume, unless it was Satanish or one of the other lesser figures) and exacts her personal revenge, then does he master's bidding. It does seem strange that a demonic figure would only use an agent to claim the wicked, though that would fall into their jurisdiction; but....comics. Meanwhile, Lt Rose interrogates Fiery Mask and pokes holes into his origin story, suggesting that the Zombie Master was fictional.. FM's reaction shows that there is truth to that, as we see him treating a dying man, with a fiery hand. Was it some kind of transference of powers? A chemical reaction? Hopefully, we will get more answers, as this goes on. Blue Blade plays with the controls of Electro and we see him accidentally activate its foot jets, revealing that it can fly and that the jets give off extreme heat....the kind that scorches the ground. He also sees something in its memory bank....something that leads him to set up a clandestine meeting, with Dynamic Man.....our chief suspect in the bar massacre. Is Dynamic Man the killer of the patrons? Did he kill Blue Blade to silence him? The only problem is that, in issue one, we see the body of Blue Blade, in costume. he is not wearing the full thing, at the meeting. It suggests that the meeting is not the place of death; but, it might be the cause of his murder. Mastermind Excello's powers are working themselves out and we see that he is manipulating things to bring help to Phantom Reporter, to try to stop the impending doom. First, he gives PR some physical protection that his old costume lacked, with a kevlar vest. He then springs Laughing Mask from jail, so you have an expert gunman and killer. Then, it is implied that he fed the false message to Rockman, from "his people." Rockman provides the raw strength and power. That is a pretty formidable trio, though perhaps we will see more added to this nucleus, as Excello gains further knowledge and acts upon it. Secrets within secrets seems to be the theme, of this issue. We also get a glimpse of Blue Blade's past, as he is from some nodescript farm, longing for adventure, as he reads the comic strips, particularly a swashbuckling adventure strip, The Scarlet Sabre, by Alec Foster. That part is an obvious nod to the kings of adventure, Alex Raymond and Hal Foster. Interestingly, the hero of the strip is Russian Cossack, battling the forces of an evil Tsar. The Cossacks tended to be muscle for the tsars' terror, though there were rebellions, at times. The hero of the strip, the Scarlet Sabre, is named Mikhail Volga. I wondered if he was, perhaps, inspired by Jules Verne's Michael Strogoff (a Verne work that I haven't read), but nothing in the strip sample matches, and he seems more of the generic Ruritanian level hero, as seen in the Monte Cristo films that spun off from adaptations of Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo (The Return of Monte Cristo, Son of Monte Cristo, and Mask of the Avenger, a film with John Derek, as a mix of Zorro and The Count of Monte Cristo, who battles an evil Anthony Quinn). Those films mixed romantic swashbuckling elements of things like The Count of Monte Cristo, The Prisoner of Zenda and The Mark of Zorro, with hidden identities, a nobleman defending the peasants, a military oppressor, and a love interest. The best, for my money, is Son of Monte Cristo, with Louis Heyward, as Edmond Dantes Jr, and George Sanders as the evil General Gurko Lanen, dictator of Lichtenburg. Clayton Moore plays Lt Fritz Dorner, and the basic plot is a swipe from The Prisoner of Zenda. We are finally getting to the nitty gritty part of the murder mystery....just in time for the series to go on hiatus for 3 1/3 years. By this point, I think most of the audience had moved on. We will see if it was worth the wait, for the faithful. It rarely is.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 8, 2024 22:16:41 GMT -5
The Twelve #9 The Blue Blade sounds too much like a euphemism for VD. Creative Team: no changes Synopsis: Phantom Reporter is busy working on his column and skips breakfast. Black Widow brings him toast and coffee, much to his surprise. The moment is interrupted by the arrival of Mastermind Excello, who comes booming in. he is close to seeing everything. Laughing Mask thanks him for getting him out of jail and Rocman calls him "sir," and says he is waiting for instructions. Mister E receives word of his wife's death. Laughing Mask is reading Ricahrd Jones' (Phantom Reporter) column, as he speaks of life in the 30s and 40s, working 9 to 5, time with the family and dinner, some conversation and the radio, before bed. He doesn't recognize the modern world and isn't sure he likes it much...  Meanwhile, Blue Blade and Elizabeth Zogolowsky prepare for the next show. He talks of a special guest, but he doesn't mean Electro. The scene shifts to Shea Stadium, as Dynamic Man makes an appearance, in support of the Boys and Girls Club. He catches rubber bullets, fired by police officer, whil the crowd has made predictions about the final total, for prizes. As this goes on, Blue Blade studies his lines, on the set, when Electro is activated  He puts up a decent fight, but Electro has too many extras and it activates its jets and slams BB into a wall. He taunts it, but it, but his last words are of no help to him....  Richard receives a call from Lt Rose and dons his costume ad goes to the scene of the murder. He examines the body and contemplates the motive.....  Security camera footage confirms that Electro attacked him and hurled him through the window, to the street below. Elizabeth argues that it is impossible, as no one is in the footage, controlling the robot. The detective says that will be confiscated, as evidence, with the robot. Elizabeth hurries Phantom Reporter over to the console and tells him of Blue Blade seeing something via the telepathic link, to Electro's memory bank....something that got him killed. She gets him to put on the link and he sees memories of Dr Zogolowsky, in the 40s.....  It continues through adventures, into Europe and then Berlin, as Electro moves with the heroes through the city, to the basement lab, where they are cut off and gassed. the link to Electro is lost; but, a voice speaks to it, from inside the lab...  LT interrupts and takes the helmet link off of Phantom Reporter, before he could see who belonged to the voice; but, he says he thinks he knows, then passes out from the stress. At the mansion, Dr Jack Castle, alias Fiery Mask, stares into the rain and Excello asks what troubles him. He is able to convince the man and he unburdens himself. There was no Zombie Master and he was not a police doctor. He was a doctor, who came across the site of a gang shootout, and finds a man alive and treats his wounds, but he needs to get him to a hospital. The man shows him a fiery power, that he must pass on, before he dies. Dr Castle goes to call an ambulance, but hesitates, then goes back and says they can't get there, in time. The man passes on the power to Dr Castle. He tells Excello that he let a man die, to gain his power. Thoughts: Finally we see the murder and the killer....Electro. However, Electro is just a drone, incapable of action without a controlling brain. no one used the control console, which means someone else was controlling it, remotely. From the memories that Phantom Reporter taps, we know it was someone who felt alone and craved perfection and to belong. Phantom Reporter collapsed, saying he knew who it was. If you have been paying attention, it is easy to guess. Through all of this we see Excello return to the others, more aware and in control and in control of them. Rockman and Laughing Mask are indebted to him and respond to his directions. Phantom Reporter is chasing down the doom. Fiery Mask has told his secrets to him and one suspects he knows all about Black Widow and The Witness. In some ways, he is like Nero Wolfe, the brains in his home, while Archie Goodwin does his legwork. Phantom Reporter is his Archie Goodwin, while the others await his command to go into action. Phantom Reporter's column reflects an old lament, for many of us who have seen big societal changes across our lives. He speaks of ending the work day at 5:00 pm and being home to spend time with the family, sit down to a meal, enjoy company and a bit of entertainment. Those scenes are juxtaposed against a modern family, hustling between children's extra-curricular activities, kids playing video games, at least one parent working late, noise from gadgets....never slowing down to enjoy life. In my lifetime, businesses have extended operating hours past the dinner hour. People consume more and more electronic toys, without a real need for them. The quality of manufacture is cheaper and less durable and they dispose of it and replace it with another. I just replaced a computer that was only about 4 years old. When I was a child, stores didn't have hours past about 7:00 pm and were closed on Sundays. In my professional life, I have worked closing shifts past 11:00 pm. We eat pre-packaged, microwaved food, instead of preparing meals from scratch, with fresh ingredients. I've seen tables of people who are all on their phones, rather than conversing with one another and people who freak out if they can't check their phone every five minutes. I can empathize. However, it was never that idyllic. My mother, a realtor, worked into the evening and we didn't see her until dinner time, or later. My father, a teacher, earned less than I do, as a retail manager. Factories had shifts around the clock and some families had parents who worked swing shifts. The vast majority of those jobs are gone, replaced by lower paying service positions, with fewer benefits and my real wage (actual buying power) is less than my father's, despite the higher salary. Not everyone was home by 5:30 and sat down to a meal with the family. People in the 1920s lamented the same thing and so did the post-war generations. Things always moved faster than they once did and people don't take time to contemplate their world. They are too busy living. We do have too much disposable junk and we are selling out the future, in exchange for immediate gratification and convenience. We lived buttoned up in air conditioned tombs, releasing chemicals that negatively impact our environment. Still, back then, our factories belched toxic smudge into the air and dumped filth into our water supply. It happens now, but not at the levels it once did. Phantom Reporter, and the others, are still dealing with their loss. If they think about it long enough, slow down, like Excello, they might see the advantages of today, over yesterday, and realize things aren't as different as they think. The scene of Black Widow bringing toast and coffee just cements in my head that Chris Weston is British. She brings him a tray, with a pot of coffee and little triangles of toast, in a rack, with condiments on the side. An American artist would have probably drawn whole slices, lying flat on a plate or saucer. The model for Mastermind Excello features him constantly squinting and he quite often looks like he is constipated and trying to find relief....  Its more than a little ridiculous and it makes Captain Marvel look wide-eyed. It is pretty obvious, based on the staging and the end of the previous issue, that Dynamic Man is a suspect in all of this. His scenes at Shea Stadium are juxtaposed by the attack of Electro. The expression on Dynamic Man's face seems to go beyond the fundraising stunt. The talk of loneliness and seeking perfection seals it, in the flashbacks. The only thing is, why? Not so much Blue Blade's death, as that is rather obvious; but, why the bar patrons? Why any of it? Being homophobic is one thing, even self-loathing, but to massacre an entire bar full of people, then one of his compatriots, when he learns the truth, seems extreme. Obviously, there is more to it. Blue Blade's death is more than a little like The Comedian's, in Watchmen. Both are thrown out of windows and fall to their death, thrown by someone they know, because they knew too much. There is more than a little parallel with Watchmen and, in general, that is a fault with much of JMS' comic book writing; not copying Alan Moore, but not really offering anything that different, except better character development and intriguing, if unoriginal plots. Supreme Power had similar parallels, but kind of fell apart in the absence of a definite ending destination. Rising Stars also seemed to suffer from lack of focus, while paralleling Watchmen, with the death of friends, in a small circle, with bigger implications. It seems that those who seek to write more realistic superhero characters and dialogue can't escape the spectre of that deconstructionist work. The best that have tread their own paths, for my mind, are Kurt Busiek, in Astro City; and, James Robinson, in Starman. Busiek explores the archetypes of heroism and expands upon them, humanizes them, but they remain heroes. Starman celebrates the lure of heroism and helping others, because it makes you feel good and it is right. jack Knight goes from cynical dealer in collectibles to embracing and reveling in his father's legacy. In his heart, Jack idolized his father and his colleagues; but he lost that in anger and grief and cynicsim. it is only when he recovers his idealism that he grows into the role. They are positive examinations of the superhero, rather than dark, cynical deconstructions. They don't approach from the angle of how screwed up costume vigilantes would be; but, rather, who kind of character inhabits a person that lets them risk life and limb to help others, without reward? we were reminded of that on 9/11, with images and visions of firemen and police running into chaos and destruction, to aid those in peril. We saw it during COVID, as health workers put themselves into the heart of a pandemic, day in and day out, caring for people. Volunteers who helped at testing centers or transported patients. People like the late Greg Hatcher, at Atomic Junk Shop and the old CBR blogs, who was driving an ambulance transport and volunteered to drive COVID patients, despite his own fragile health and went out of his way to aid people caught up in bureaucracy. Selfless service to others in need. So far, with these characters, we haven't seen much of that kind of heroism. Phantom Reporter might be the closest, not painted by darkness, tragedy, psychoses or excessive cynicism.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 11, 2024 15:54:43 GMT -5
The Twelve #10Electro gets a Nazi-crushing cover. Creative Team: Still the same Synopsis: Richard Jones wakes up in the hospital, after collapsing from the wave of mental energy from the memory bank of Electro. Elizabeth Zogolowsky and Lt Rose are at his bedside. They ask about what he saw and he says he knows who the murderer is, but they need to bring all 11 together....  Lt Rose jokes about Agatha Christie, but Richard says they will need their combined power. He puts his mask back on and makes ready to return and call everyone together, at the mansion. Victor Jaye attends his wife's funeral and, after the serice, tells her that he is sorry, for hiding who they were and that his son hates him and he doesn't blame him. His son overhears and approaches Victor....  He passes on a message from the police, then asks his father to come home, when he is finished. The word goes out, via the Army, police and other authorities for all of the remaining 12 to return. Richard dons his costume; and, in the grand tradition of mystery novels, lays out the case to the assembled suspects. Electro was the instrument of the murder of Blue Blade, as well as the gay bar. The subject of the controller is brought up and PR says there was another means of control. he takes them back to the beginning, as they descend on Berlin and find themselves trapped. In that instant, Electro was cut off from the mind of Dr Zogolowsky. His last contact was about being alone and loneliness. Electro's sensors continued to transmit signals, trying to "ping" Dr Zogolowsky. Eventually, it came in contact with another "voice." Fiery Mask how, if they were all asleep. The matter of the controller arises again and he responds that they are the same question and turns to Dynamic Man and asks him tor elate his origin, as he is the only one who hasn't. He tells of being bestowed power by Prof Simon Goettler, a brilliant inventor and scientist, out to perfect mankind and bring about a utopian tomorrow. PR pushes him to describe the professor and asks about destroying the "enemies of civilization." The Witness remarks that it is the same rhetoric of the Nazis and DM denies that Goettler was an anti-semite. PR continues to push and DM reacts....  Captain Wonder intervenes and Fiery Mask helps PR back to his feet and PR passes him a note that he palmed. He then returns to DM and asks about how he became Dynamic Man. he says when the time was right, Goettler infused him with tremendous power, but he suffered a heart attack, in the stress of the moment and died. DM buried him, then set off on his mission, to usher in the future. PR says i t is a nice story and DM responds that PR doesn't believe it. He says he does, but that he left part of the story out, which he saw in Electro's memory banks. He says Blue Blade saw it and he knows why DM didn't want anyone to know and murdered him. DM cocks a fist and moves to strike, but is blocked by Captain Wonder. He holds DM back, as he tries to get to Phantom Reporter, who follows up asking when DM was born. he is taken aback and refuses to answer the simple question. PR says that is because he can't answer it. He reveals he researched articles by Prof Goettler, in the internet and he was obsessed with removing "sin" and Immorality, as he saw it, including sexual urges. Anything he saw as corrupt or immoral. We see DM's past actions, in this context....  Laughing Mask points out that DM was with them, when the attack on the bar happened and that PR has no case. PR replies that Electro was not present and that he later found grass in his boot jets, which meant he had moved. The scorch marks on the pavement, outside the club were consistent with the boot jets. Black Widow brings up the controller being packed away and whispers to PR that she wants to believe him and he replies to stick with him. He then says DM's control was not packed away. He had reached out to Electro and answered his ping, while in the stasis tubes. he kept up that rapport. Electro acted either by direct command or indirect interpretation of DM's thoughts and slaughtered the patrons of the bar, then went after Blue Blade, after he tried to blackmail DM into performing with him. He then says DM wasn't born, but was created. He is artificial.  DM goes to attack PR and Captain Wonder holds him back. PR turns to Fiery Mask and says, "Now!" FM unleashes his flame and engulfs Dynamic Man, burning away his costume. He stands revealed as being devoid of any genitalia.....smooth as a Ken doll. Sexless. Nothing "impure." An artificial eunuch. DM explodes in anger and insanity, that he is the man of the future and he will kill every last one of them. Thoughts: Well, that was telegraphed by a mile. We knew from the start that Dynamic Man seemed homophobic and spoke of perfection, echoing ideas behind eugenics, which fueled not only the Nazi ideology, but social crusaders who sought to stamp out vice and sin....as they defined it. People who sought to censor, based on their ideals, rather than let others choose for themselves. They were right and they would protect others from themselves....whether they liked it or not. The villain is the hero of his own story. However, Prof Goettler infused Dynamic Man with his of self-loathing and phobias, passing on that mental illness, so that he couldn't be perfect. He could only be the flawed construction of a flawed man, from a flawed species. He couldn't be perfect because perfection is an illusion. Perfection is a subjective concept, based solely on the criteria one creates in their own mind. He was alone in the world. When Electro, flawed by his own mentally unstable creator, reached out for that mind, he found another, like him responding back. Thus, Dynamic Man was able to communicate telepathically with Electro, without Prof Zogolowsky's control device. You are left to wonder, though, why he didn't then order Electro to release him from his tube or to dig them out? The other major development is Victor Jaye, alias Mister E, reunite with his son, who let go of his hatred to accept his lost father. He could see the contrition in Victor ad that he truly loved his wife. Death can sometimes break through the barriers of emotion and petty grievances. At the tail end of our relationship, Barb and I had many problems, on both sides, made even worse by her mental illness and self-destructive behaviors. In the end, it didn't matter, as my whole world became being there for her, doing what little I could to make her more comfortable. I was able to get her sister and son and grandchildren there to say goodbye and let go of past grievances and her sister and I were by her side, until the end (her son couldn't bear to witness it). Barb at least got depart, knowing she was loved. At one point, I sang to her Elvis' "Always on My Mind," to express my regret for not being able to show her that I loved her, the way she wanted, and she gripped my hand tightly. It didn't matter anymore. This series has been flawed an uneven, at times; but JMS knows how to write scenes like that and he handled it well, aided by Christ Weston's expressive art. Now, the mystery is revealed, but the killer has not been subdued and may be even more dangerous. Captain Wonder can match him in raw strength; but, just how powerful is Dynamic Man? Will it take everyone to stop him? Will there be casualties? Will it rage across two more issues? Again the parallel of Watchmen comes up. The revelation of Dynamic Man's androgyny comes with the destruction of his costume, leaving him naked. Chris Weston draws it fully and he continues the fight in this form, with mutiple shots of a smooth pelvic area and no genitals. It is, if possible, more unsettling than the nudity of Dr Manhattan. Manhattan grows beyond the concept of clothing, which he doesn't need for warmth or protection, or any inhibition of displaying his natural body. It is shocking, at first, given societal taboos. However, with Dynamic Man, it is the mark of his flawed creation, his Scarlet Letter. he is not the "perfect man," because he is not a man. Not because he lacks genitals, but because he is an artificial construct, masquerading as human, but in the manner of a sexless doll. He is a super-powered Ken, but he is not living in a Barbie World.....
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Post by mikelmidnight on Sept 12, 2024 14:02:38 GMT -5
Aside from everything else, this revelation was reminiscent of John Byrne's unfortunate neutering of the Vision, which was less than appealing in its original form.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 12, 2024 21:54:39 GMT -5
It does beg the question; did Prof Horton give the Human Torch a..........wick?
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Post by mikelmidnight on Sept 13, 2024 12:03:55 GMT -5
It does beg the question; did Prof Horton give the Human Torch a..........wick? I honestly never dwelt a lot on the question LOL but ... (a) he gave Jim Hammond a realistic human anatomy to the degree of being able to donate blood to a human, so I see no reason he wouldn't complete the job ... (b) also Wanda always seemed, well, reasonably satisfied in her marriage and they had generated children, so pre-Byrne it was a reasonable assumption. Or maybe (to allude to one of my favorite movies, Making Mister Right), Prof Horton simply didn't want his creation to feel insecure! |
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 14, 2024 15:51:18 GMT -5
The Twelve #11 Dynamic Man goes Kid Marvelman! Creative Team: Not sure why I am bothering. The only change in the series was Gary Leach bowing out on inking. Synopsis: Dynamic Man has gone full tilt Kid Marvelman (superhero version of "postal") and Phantom Reporter realizes that he has lit a powder keg and someone else is going to die. DM knocks Captain Wonder through a wall and then goes for Black Widow's throat....  Rockman doesn't cotton to synthetic eunuchs placing their hands on pretty servants of Hell and throws DM through the wall. PR realizes that the strongest heroes are relatively even, in power and Fiery Mask says he hit him with as much flame as he could, with everyone present. Suddenly, there is a booming sound and the building starts shaking. DM flies up through the floor and crashes through the ceiling and the upper floor and the roof. Captain Wonder gives chase and the others realizes why the walls are shaking....  Phamtom Reporter yells for them to get out of the house; but parts are already collapsing, barring their way. More collapses upon them, trapping them. Mister E says they are being buried alive and Rockman has a flashback and inserts himself to brace the area....  He tells them to get out and they move, but PR lingers and asks about him. Rockman answers that his princess is dead...leave him. Excello pulls PR out before things completely collapse, and Rockman is pressed under the weight. he hears the voice of his little princess...  Captain Wonder returns and says he lost sight of Dynamic Man. He sees the rubble and asks what happened and is told of Rockman's sacrifice. Excello says he saw that Rockman would deliver a great service and then be returned to his family but he never imagined this. PR says there is a chance he might be alive. He tells Black Widow to stay with the others and contact the police and do what they can. He, Captain Wonder and Fiery Mask will search for DM. When questioned, he says it is a matter of power. BW questions his going and he says he started it and must see it through. He tells her that there is a lot they need to talk about and she says they will. That actually makes him happy and she kisses him and tells him he talks too much. Excello tells the survivors that he knows they are where they are meant to be and that not all will survive. Captain Wonder prepares a section of roofing, to carry the others and Fiery Mask climbs aboard, soon followed by Phantom Reporter and Mastermind Excello. Excello can see where DM is going, but then poses it as a question to Phantom Reporter, who says he would go home, to lick his wounds and plan and realizes DM is headed to Prof Goettler's estate. He knows from research it has been held in trust and has been untouched. Captain Wonder takes them to the location and the land, then smash their way inside, where they find Dynamic Man waiting...  Captain Wonder is hit by a massive electrical field and goes down. DM mocks them and Phantom Reporter takes aim and tells him to try coming closer. Dynamic Man lunges and is hit with a wave of psychic energy, by Excello. He stuns him in the psychic plane and tells Phantom Reporter to hurry. He places his pistol against DM's skull and fires, and the barrel explodes when the bullet hits a surface it can't penetrate. The distraction is enough to give DM control of his body again. He goes for Fiery Mask, who is trying to destroy the electrical ray device and grabs him by the throat, crushing his windpipe. He tosses him into the wall and goes for PR. He is too busy gloating to see that Fiery mask accomplished his task and Captain Wonder is free and hits DM from behind, with all of his might. The trade blows and PR aids the dying Fiery Mask. He tells him that he must pass on his powers and transfers them to Phantom Reporter. He then calls to DM. DM turns and sees PR with burning hands and CW grabs him and holds him in place and tells Richard to unleash all of the power. Captain Wonder is hit, as well, burning the side of his face. he tells Richard to keep going, no matter what. Phantom Reporter hits Dynamic Man with everything, burning away his synthetic flesh, leaving the metal skeleton underneath. He dies with his organic matter. Captain Wonder is badly burnt across the right side of his face and collar area. He says he is fine and that they got him. Phantom Reporter burns down Goettler's mansion and destroys all remnants of his work. They then pick up the dead body of Fiery Mask and return home. After the battle, they clear the area. Captain Wonder is hospitalized, being treated for his burns. A path is cleared to the basement of the mansion and they discover something amazing....  There is a deep hole, that goes down for nearly a mile, before collapsing upon itself. They are left to wonder, was Rockman really the ruler of a subterranean kingdom? Did his people finally locate him? Or did he dig down to try to tunnel out? Either way, he is gone and may still be alive. They will probably never know the truth and Phantom Reporter thinks that is probably best. Jack Castle, aka Fiery Mask, is laid to rest. Dennis (Laughing Mask) says he always seemed so haunted, when talking about how he gained his powers. Richard hopes he will find peace and Claire says he will, She finds no trace of him in the "dark fires." His sacrifice brought him eternal peace. Victor tells them he is giving up the hero business. His son has invited him to return home and he is going to reunite with family and try to make up for lost time. Witness tells him it is best, but that he has obligations that do not end and Claire agrees with him. Richard turns to Steve Jordan (Captain Wonder) whose head and face is heavily bandaged. He say that skin grafts are not an option, due to his invulnerability. He says he will live with it. Richard contemplates their future, with half dead or retiring. He also contemplates his power and wonders if he can create a fire that does not burn out and sets Fiery Mask's tombstone ablaze, with an eternal flame. Thoughts: Now that is how you conclude a battle of superbeings! JMS applies some strategic thinking to the battle, as Dynamic Man realizes he is checked by raw power, but can attack in other ways and destroys the load bearing beams of the mansion, causing it to collapse under its own wait, trapping and potentially killing most of the others. Then, Rockman places himself in harms way to save everyone, bracing the rubble so that the others can escape. In that moment, it seems that he emerges from his delusion, but then we are given a moment to question which is the true reality. Does his delusion return, when he hears the voice of his little princess or is she really there, below the surface, calling to him? The ambiguity makes his end that much better. We have to decide for ourselves if he was the deluded miner Daniel Rose or the ruler of Abyssmia. Fiery Mask is able to atone for his greed, which allowed a man to die, so he could gain his power. We can assume that his career as Fiery Mask was part of attempts to redeem his lust for power, putting it to use for good. Here, he sacrifices himself to free Captain Wonder and then transfers the power to Phantom Reporter, so that he can use it to stop Dynamic Man. Captain Wonder sacrifices part of his body to help Phantom Reporter accomplish this and decides to live with the consequences. He may have little choice, as his powers probably prevent him from taking his own life, through any conventional means, which probably factored into his attempts to distract himself with endless heroism. He is permanently scarred, because his body prevents surgical methods that might repair the burn damage. On a more positive note, Richard and Claire finally acknowledge that there is more than just a professional connection and that both feel an attraction to one another. It does bring up the question of the young Goth woman, as to whether there was a romantic or sexual attraction there, or was it more the atmosphere of the club? I believe it was a little of both, but also Claire avoiding her attraction to Richard, knowing that she is tainted and wanting to spare him of her obligations and her master. As it was, she told the young woman that she could not share her world, which seemed like her way of letting her down. Perhaps she merely indulged in the attraction, to know some form of love, even if she didn't fully return it; or, she knew that the woman's attraction was less romantic and more a form of worship, for her aura and world. Maybe she bisexual; or maybe it defies easy classification. What is clear is that she has strong feelings for Richard and is ready to address them. Richard seems to finally be able to connect with a woman, because he has found the correct one. I can understand that. I was painfully shy with women, from adolescence onward (ironically, few problems as a younger child and girls seemed to like me), coupled with being uncomfortable with parts of my internal makeup, based on what I perceived as societal norms. It took a long time to be fully comfortable with who I really was and be at peace with that, which allowed me to open myself to a relationship and start dating. there were misfires, from want it too quickly, before I really connected with Barb. Fairly quickly, I completely opened myself up to her and she accepted me for every part of my being, including finding my mind to be "sexy,' with all of its silly quirks. Talking with her and sharing intimate things was never awkward, until we started having issues, late in our relationship, as her physical and mental state deteriorated. Even through the worst of that, I still found myself connected to her and remained by her side, until the end. Richard knows Claire's story of loss and her dark bargain, for revenge, and the price she has paid; but, he is still drawn to her and wants to have whatever life they can. Claire has found the love she had lost and seems willing to chance finding some happiness, even if she cannot escape her dark obligation. Richard accepts Claire for who she is and must be and she accepts that he is drawn to danger and will dive into it, without hesitation, though not without considering his options. She also sees that he does not stop at obvious roadblocks and finds solutions to complex problems. Maybe she hopes he will find a way to release her from her obligation? Maybe she sees him as her redemption, through their mutual love? This one issue is filled with what I love about JMS, when he is cooking. He is a damn good writer, but has worked so long in television that he doesn't necessarily adapt his skills properly to a different medium. His commitments also distract him from the work and it would be better to get the full script from him before publishing, if possible (or at least half to 2/3). However, comics doesn't pay as well as Hollywood and don't have the same lead time, to allow for development (though a tv series is a grinding pace). I also think that this got locked into a 12-issue structure that didn't best fit the story, designing it for trade collection, as 2 6-chapter volumes. We still have an issue to go, even though we are in the epilogue phase, which puts us dangerously in Lord of the Rings territory, with seemingly endless "endings." Babylon 5's final season grappled with that, at the end and probably could have truncated things, but at least a couple of episodes. Actually, they could have jettisoned about a third of the season and it wouldn't have affected the story. Here, we could lose up to three issues, depending on how you wanted to edit things; certainly by losing two. Chris Weston continues his superb job on the art, capturing both the physicality of scenes and the emotion. This is complex stuff; certainly more than what Roy Thomas was doing, in the Invaders, and most of what followed, with those characters, by varying degrees. Roy was working in a different period, with a different sensibility, more beholding to his bosses to feed a mass audience, through newsstands. he needed to be more action-oriented and more simplistic, so cast a wider net. The Direct Market allowed for more introspection and character work that might have more limited appeal, providing it engaged a large enough audience. Plus, Roy's sensibilities are a bit more mired in the past. John Byrne worked from a certain sense of nostalgia, but also with a certain limited approach to such heroes. He seemed to revel in bringing back some of the characters, to show old evils emerging and old heroes returning to face them, in a sort of Arthurian tradition. However, complex relationships and "feet of clay," aren't exactly his strongest writing traits. JMS is bringing more of an outside approach and has a strong visual sense, from constructing scenes for a visual medium. He's not a true master of the form, like Alan Moore, tailoring his stories to the strengths of the medium and his collaborators; but, he does work in synch with his artists....if not his editors. Quite frankly, from what I've seen from a lot of post-Millennium editors, the problem isn't necessarily with JMS. He is stubborn and a fighter (as Warner learned, with B5); but, he usually has a principle at stake, beyond exercising power or trying to insert oneself into the work, as some editors do. By what I have seen and heard of Tom Brevoort, I don't think he was an issue; though Joe Quesada was and JMS is not the first person who claimed editorial interference or indifference, from Quesada. So, one more issue, which seems like it will be an extended epilogue. Can JMS make it interesting or will it just feel stretched out? We will see.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 16, 2024 23:19:14 GMT -5
The Twelve #12 Creative Team: Copy and paste here. Synopsis: In the aftermath of the fight at the mansion and the Goettler Estate, the remainder of The Twelve are housed at an Army base. Black Widow bunks with the lady soldiers, but creeps them out and gets her own room and choice of bunks. Blue Blade, Fiery Mask and Dynamic Man are dead. Mister E has gone of to be with his son. The Witness has disappeared. Rockman, too. Captain Wonder is in and out of hospital. Laughing Mask is still facing a murder trial. Phantom Reporter works at his typewriter, typing out his thoughts, when Excello tells him he should go take a walk. He questions why he should go for a walk and Excello gives him a very good reason......  He practically runs outside and finds Claire, taking a stroll, in a borrowed (read: purloined) dress. She says she is leaving and asks Richard to come with her. He says he can't.  They kiss. She leaves; he stays. Laughing Mask is offered a plea bargain deal. If he will aid the government, to operate Electro, they will consider the cryo-sleep as time served on the manslaughter charge and consider the work with Electro as probabtion. He accepts. He is necessary because his brainwaves were in tune with Electro, while he slumbered. Richard finds Excello and broaches the subject of the origin of Excello's power, which Excello knew he would ask, before Richard ever thought to do so. He was born into wealth and did all he could to spend it. He was especially adept at gambling. he accompanied his scientist father to Britain, to show them radioactive bullets, that would kill even those only wounded....eventually. A german agent tried to kill him and Excello blocked the path and was hit in the head, in the corpus callosum, which proved not fatal. His power manifested itself. he recovered and then, while travelling back to the US, "heard" parts of the crew plot a mutiney and a mass kidnapping, to hold the ship for ransom, after taking it into German waters. Excello is able to stop the plot....  Excello left that night; no one, not even the guards, saw him go. The Witness calls Richard, from somewhere in Europe, telling him he has found countless new perpetrators of death and horror to find and mete out justice and that he has found an organization to fund his efforts to bring them to justice......  Captain Wonder is outfitted with a golden half mask, to hide his scarred face. He continues heroing and aids with some kids, trapped in a cave-in. One of the rescued kids said they heard a voice from inside the cave.....  Richard packs his things and moves into the new apartment the government has provided. Or so he thought. A soldier tells him that someone else is picking up the tab. He finds an invitation waiting for him. It welcomes him to his new home, courtesy of EXC Enterprises and there is a handwritten note, to turn the card over. On the back is written, "Look behind you." He turns....  Black Widow got some snazzy new threads, which look like her lady friend, from the club, assisted with the design. In the afterglow, Richard gets up and destroys his notes and manuscript, about the others. Claire gets out of bed and comes to him and it is time for Round 2. Later, Claire takes him to the high rise HQ of EXC Enterprises. There, they are ushered in to meet the CEO (by, I think, Claire's Goth friend, in her day look). Of course, it is Excello. He foresaw all of this...just not the path to get there. He offers Richard and Claire the chance to make a difference, with private funding. They accept. We get a glimpse of what they and others are doing, as Captain Wonder rescues flood victims, Mister E visits justice on neo-Nazis, and Excello, controlled by Laughing Mask, attacks extremists, somewhere in the Middle East (probably Afghanistan). Richard and Claire suit up, when they get a tip....  Thoughts: A bit of an anti-climax; but, it does set up these character for use by future storytellers. It also gives them a bit of a happy ending, though we get a glimpse that Rockman has lost his priness again. Perhaps he is still delusional and wandering caverns, hunting for a dead girl, or perhaps they are real and he has become separated again. Nick Fury's appearance is the first indication of the larger Marvel Universe (aside from copies of the Daily Bugle), since the Berlin scenes. SHIELD is backing The Witnesses hunt for mass murderers, which has a certain logic, while Laughing Mask gets to use Electro as a weapon of his bloodlust, meting out justice to terrorists. We assume, though we don't really know if the men he attacks are extremists or merely rivals to groups like the Taliban or ISIS. Just because the US says they are the enemy doesn't mean they are necessarily the villains. The images tend to suggest they are; but, images can lie. I am assuming the secretary is the goth girl, because she tells Claire she didn't call her last night. The new costume shows the influence of the Goth costuming. They end up with something that Hollywood would design, especially Richard. Not sure if their names are now Fire and Shadow or just their nature. The creative team gets a curtain call, in this scene....  Not exactly a masterpiece; but, all-in-all, a pretty good mini-series, with a real end and some great characters. JMS and Chris Weston take some real D-list heroes from the dawn of the 40s and give them life and made them far more interesting than some of the B-listers of the Liberty Legion and up there with some of the Invaders. The pacing of this is a bit off, here and there, but the story is compelling. We aren't quite done with this group, though, as we next take a look at how they came together, for the push on Berlin.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 18, 2024 17:51:27 GMT -5
The Twelve: Spearhead Still no solo covers for Mister E or Mastermind Excello! Creative Team: Cris Weston-story & art, Gary Erskine-inks assist, Jim Betancourt-letters, Chris Chuckry-colors, Tom Brevoort-editor. This actually came out while the series was on hiatus, between issues 8 and 9 (two years between each). Probably a little to late to sustain interest in the ending, until a collected form was in print (for the whole thing or the second half). Synopsis: We open, somewhere in Germany, as a group of Wehrmacht soldiers sit in the ruins of a bombed out farmhouse, using it as a machine gun position. One of them has tuned the radio into an Allied frequency, where they are hearing propaganda broadcasts of Spike Jones' "Der Fuhrer's Face"..... Regardless of warnings about shooting anyone listening to the stuff, the gefreiter considers it funny and joins in with the song. The gunner tells them to shot up, that he has spotted a man approaching. They command him to halt and identify, but he says nothing and keeps coming. A look through the binoculars doesn't make it clear if he is friend or foe; but, the costume suggests he isn't a soldier. When he doesn't answer, the gunner opens fire. When they see it has no effect, the gefreiter says to run!  The man is Dynamic man and the bullets have no effect. He teaches the Aryan soldiers about real "super-dooper supermen." Meanwhile, an OSS officer, a costumed man in a purple mask and some soldiers watch the short-lived battle. The costume man yells for the others to look out, as a soldier's body comes flying at them and crashes, lifeless, into a tree. Dynamic Man jouns the group and the OSS liason officer introduces him to the masked man, Phantom Reporter. When he replies to a query about super powers, he says he is more the "masked avenger" type. Dynamic Man becomes even more condescending and tells him to stay out of the way, as the OSS officer explains that PR is there is a sort of "costumed war correspondent." The Mystery-Man look goes down well back home. They mount up and return to base, in the Harz Mountains, and Phantom Reporter remarks that it is April 11, 1945. In the distance, we can see another costumed mystery man, Fiery Mask, standing over a group of German prisoners. PR notes the irony of the Nazi supermen being brought down by American supermen. He looks at some GIs marching and reflects on them as superheroes, with the power to suppress doubt and fear and go into battle, leading the advance into the heart of Germany, with no invulnerability to bullets. An African-American corporal, the driver, asks if PR thinks they will beat the Russians to Berlin. He answers that unless they have their own super beings, and he hasn't heard of a Captain Ukraine or Battling Bolshevik, then they should. The corporal them remarks about their likely reaction to Miss America's "gams," and PR says he is more of a Black Widow Man. That sends a shudder down the corporal's spine, as he relates witnessing Black Widow in action. His unit was delivering fuel to the 761st Tank Battalion and they got pinned down by heavy fire from a concrete defensive position, along the Siegfried Line. Guns took out the tanks and machine gun fire had the men pinned down behind "dragon's teeth," obstacles. Then, it got quiet, all of the sudden. Then, the screaming started....  They carefully moved in and found Black Widow standing there, the only living thing, smiling, as she wiped off blood with the Nazi flag. The officer tells the driver to clam up, that he is scaring PR, but he answers that it is just the kind of story that readers eat up. They are interrupted by the sudden appearance of a Tiger tank, dead ahead. The corporal tries to turn around but is shot through the head. PR and the OSS man take cover behind the jeep, as the tank commander opens up with an MG-34. They only have sidearms and it looks bleak, when help arrives...  Electro turns the tank over, like a turtle on its back and then rips a panzer grenadier in half. The Germans quickly surrender to the Howling Commandos, who follow Electro. The OSS lieutenant grabs a camera, to take propaganda pictures, while PR stares at the dead driver, hoping that killing by remote control isn't the norm of war, in his lifetime. The Lieutenant gets a shot of the Howlers, mugging for the camera, next to Electro, as Gabe Jones paints "Berlin or Bust" on its chest. Phantom Reporter meets Sgt Nick Fury, squad leader of the Howlers and asks about his eye wound, that it should be a "million dollar ticket home." Fury replies that he has had worse, back in Hell's Kitchen (dished out by Jacob Kurtzberg, perhaps?) and that soldiering is in his blood. He remarks that he won't know what to do with himself, after the war. The OSS lieutenant says he is sure something can be found for a man of Fury's talents. They arrive with their prisoners, as their base camp, as The Destroyer and Blazing Skull look on. The lieutenant takes PR into a tent, to meet Excello, who is in a trance, as The Human Torch consults with a G2 officer. Excello calls for a map and points out a position, and gives a vague description of what he sees, through his power....  Phantom Reporter doesn't understand the reference and the lieutenant explains: The Lance of St Maurice, Lancea Et Clavus Domini, The Spear of Destiny. PR snorts at the idea of a supernatural weapon and Excello informs him that shicksals, or "destiny," is a German code word for the German rocketry program. They believe that there is a V-2 site in the area. Excello believes he has found the location. The lieutenant says he will see if he can grant an interview, later and then ushers PR out, as the rest is classified. PR goes outside, recalling why he became a costumed mystery man, to use his contacts and sources to bring criminals to justice, but he wonders if he has a place among supermen, as he views Captain Wonder safely bringing down a damaged B-17. He encounters Mister E, who is also awed by Captain Wonder. They talk, as The Patriot and The Black Marvel carry a howitzer to a new spot. Mister E remarks he doesn't recognize half of the costumed men gathered there, and predicts they will be at the Brandenburg Gate, in a week. He says Captain daring has even flown in some entertainers. We later see Blue Blade and a couple of dancers, in matching costumes, tell bad sword jokes and then engage someone decked out as Hermann Goering. PR wishes it was Bob Hope and he encounters The Witness. he jokingly asks if the Blue Blade's act compares to the worst of humanity and he only replies "burning bodies." He continues, that he was parachuted into Poland, to pass on communications to the Soviets and was with them, when they found a camp, with iron gates, and the words " Arbeit Macht Frei" Inside, they found Hell.....  ...all Jews. Mister E is shaken by those words. Phantom Reporter is unable to sleep....haunted by The Witness' words. It put things in perspective. He sees other mystery men being gathered and asks himself, why not him? He gets dressed and skulks after the rest. Inside a tent, Captain America is delivering a briefing, along with Excello, to Miss America, The Whizzer, The Vision, The Human Torch, Blue Diamond, Rockman and Dynamic Man.  Namor isn't present and the others are to add power. Their target is a missile production facility and launch site. The Red Skull may be present. Phantom Reporter bulls passed a guard and asks to sign up. An MP tries to remove him and PR executes a judo throw and drops the man on his @$$ and Cap hits him with a shield tackle. An officer vouches for PR, saying he is doing work for the Propaganda Department. Excello says he should join them, that he is foreseen his presence on the mission and his role will be vital. Cap accedes, but warns him that it won't be a picnic and that even super soldiers, like Citizen V, can die. PR joins the briefing, then arms himself with a Thompson SMG and an ammo belt and sidearm. Dynamic Man needles him, but he shrugs it off. he wonders about why Rockman is there, with no obvious powers, until he sees his digging machine.....  The target complex is built on, around and inside a mountainside....  The Vision obscures their movements with a smokescreen, while Miss America and Dynamic Man take out the sentries. Whizzer zips in at super speed, to perform a reconnaissance. Human Torch takes out the V-2 rockets and then the rest make their assault, in Rockman's digger. They meet up with Whizzer and Miss America, who have liberated forced labor prisoners, while Cap takes out a guard, with his shield. He tells Excello to get them some directions and he concentrates and points towards a portal. He leaves Rockman as a rear guard and tells Blue Diamond to cover them, as they move into the factory section. They see The Red Skull and Cap leaps in to attack, while Excello tells Phantom Reporter that they have work to do, elsewhere. he leads PR and Blue Diamond to the door he saw in his vision and directs Blue Diamond to rip it off. Phantom reporter hears the explosions caused by The Human Torch and goes to check on Captain America and narrowly missing getting crushed by a falling support beam. He has never been more scared, but Excello's words, about being meant to be there, resonate through his head. He spots Cap trapped under some rubble and tries to free him, but isn't strong enough. He calls for Diamond and Excello, but it is Rockman who helps, easily lifting the beam off of Cap. Pr helps him to his feet and helps him to the digger. He tells Rockman to get them out. Outside, he and the OSS lieutenant watch, as Captain Wonder, The Angel and Electro round up the German soldiers, who have surrendered. Still no sign of the red Skull. It appears that they have missed any horde of supernatural weapons, when Excello and Blue Diamond emerge from the chamber, holding a speartip. We later see it in the hands of general Patton. Phantom Reporter remarks about the aftermath, in his writings, saying Whizzer and Miss America went off to form their own super team (and we see their discarded costumes, next to a bed). Human Torch is briefed for a special mission, as he stands before an image of Adolf Hitler. Dynamic Man is rounding up Waffen SS men and bringing them before Laughing Mask, who is administering justice for the murder of Major General Maurice Rose, who was forced to surrender, then was executed by the SS. Phantom Reporter is assigned to write things up in a stirring manner, to distract the public from the death of Franklin D Roosevelt. He asks about Cap and the lieutenant says he is back on the job, as we see an image of him falling from the drone, into the icy waters below. The lieutenant says that Cap did send a message, though and hands it to PR. It's an "atta-boy, " from Cap to Phantom Reporter. We end with an image of ordinary soldiers, leading the way, breaking through German Resistance, with the mystery men following, pouring into Berlin, taking us back to the beginning of the story of twelve of them. Thoughts: This one-shot serves two purposes: is helps keep interest alive, while they work to get issue #9 out, among disputes and delays and it shows how the heroes were gathered and the types of missions they performed. An attack on a V-2 sight is a special operations mission and what commando group could be more special than a squad of super-powered mystery men and women? Especially if the Red Skull is there. We see how super soldiers might have been used, to open up paths to pour troops through, take out strong points, conduct recon patrols and create general mayhem and propaganda to destroy enemy morale. In North Africa, the SAS destroyed more planes and supplies on the ground than the RAF or USAAF, in the air. They crippled the Afrika Corps' logistics, slowing their advances, making them vulnerable for counter-attack. More and more troops were pulled from the lines to guard airfields and supply dumps, while whole hunter-killer units were tasked with stopping the raids and capturing or killing the SAS. That is the point of special forces. Airborne troops seize key bridges and destroy defensive positions, until they are then relieved by invading troops, to prepare for the next mission. However, in Normandy and Holland, they were used for far too long as shock troops, to beef up overly cautious advances by infantry. The Commandos were used much the same and suffered heavy casualties, through attrition, wasting their special skills and extensive training. They achieved better results than the average frontline infantry company, but they paid for it and were unavailable for the right kinds of missions. When Montgomery failed to secure the sea approaches to the port of Antwerp, he allowed the German to reinforce them and the Allies were forced to expend major efforts, over an extended period of time, to secure them, to open the vital port and relieve the Allied supply bottleneck, as they trucked up supplies from the beaches of Normandy. Commandos employed at that time could have overwhelmed German garrisons; but, by the time commandos were sent against places like Walcheren, a peninsula that guarded the sea approaches into Antwerp, they faced heavily reinforced and dug in troops and had to fight it out, at high cost. In serving to remind us of the characters, after a two year absence, we see moments that reinforce their earlier depictions. Electro is remotely guided by Prof Zog and overturns a tank and rips a human being in half, like a child with a ragdoll. Dynamic Man brutally kills the soldiers in the machine gun position, while referring to them as "pansies," and acting in a condescending manner to Phantom Reporter. Blue Blade merely entertains, with old jokes and eye candy. Mister E seems an afterthought, startled by the news of the Holocaust and his own hidden past. The Witness sees the horror and enacts retribution. Black Widow comes for the souls of the damned. Rockman and Captain Wonder provide muscle, while Fiery Mask scares them into surrendering, in the face of his fire. Laughing Mask executes prisoners, acting as judge, jury and executioner, without remorse. Excello guides the Allied missions, providing psychic intel. And Phantom Reporter records their deeds, while adding his own, suggesting that the name isn't as silly as it sounds...or, at least, the man isn't. Chris Weston also serves to record a bit of history, such as the Nazis use of forced labor, via the Todt Organization, which carried out building projects, using slave labor, as well as factories and in the German rocket complex at Penemunde. Men like Werner Von Braun conducted their research, while directing the use of slave labor to do the menial tasks, men and women who were worked to the point of death. Yet, they are given priority treatment to keep their research and knowledge out of Russian hands, with little thought given to their complicity with crimes against humanity. It seems a contradiction, until you recall our own concentration camps, where the inmates were imprisoned, without due process of law, without regard to the rights of citizenship. Or the fact that racial discrimination was institutionalized and that African-Americans were segregated into menial roles, like transport and graves detail, until the need for manpower was great enough and combat units, like the 761st Tank Battalion and the Tuskegee Airmen were activated and let loose on the enemy, distinguishing themselves above others.....as with the 442nd regimental Combat Team, who earned more Medals of Honor than any fighting unit in history, while their families were held prisoners of the US government. For all of the talk of a fight against evil....and it was an organized, mechanically efficient evil, the Allies had plenty of sins in their houses. The special mission, against the missile factory gives them something to do, but it is really their to give a reason to bring some of the Twelve togther, before Berlin, and help establish why they were in that grouping and others were not. The aftermath has a timeline issue, depending on how literal it was. Captain America and Bucky are shown to be in the assault on Berlin, yet we see Cap falling from the boobytrapped drone, stolen by Baron Zemo. We must assume, then, that the Captain America and Bucky in Berlin are William Naslund (The Spirit of '76) and Fred Davis (the batboy who aided the Invaders and Liberty Legion, against the Red Skull and his mind control). We do see The Human Torch briefed on his mission to kill Hitler, in the Fuhrerbunker. In The Twelve #1, we see him among the horde of mystery men pouring through the Brandeburg Gate; but, that is April 25, 1945 and Hitler died , at his own hand, on April 30. As Roy Thomas and Frank Robbins depicted, The Torch and Toro arrive as Hitler has his pistol pointed at his head, but he reaches for a self-destruct mechanism and the Torch flash-fries him. Namor is not there to explain why others, like Rockman and Blue Diamond were needed, to add raw power. The lancetip we see depicted would be historically inaccurate, though it matches European depictions of the legendary Spear of Destiny. If you take the legend literally, that the Spear of Destiny is the weapon that pierced the body of Jesus, on the cross, then it should be a pilum, the javelin carried by the Roman Legions. That had a pyramidal head, made of iron, on an iron shaft, with a wooden handle. What is depicted in the story, and in medieval paintings of the weapon, is a medieval lancehead, much like depictions of King Arthur in medieval plate armor, rather than the armor of the 5th Century, particularly that used by the Romans and Celts. All-in-all, a n excellent prologue to The Twelve. There are two others Twelve comics, a zero issue and a 1/2; but, they are reprints of the debuts of the characters. Next, we have a reunion of the Young Allies.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 21, 2024 21:25:27 GMT -5
Young Allies 70th Anniversary Special The cover is an homage to the original Timely Comics series, which usually featured Knuckles, Tubby, Jeff and Whitewash in peril, to be rescued by Bucky & Toro, and/or their adult mentors. This version avoids the racial caricatures, especially Wash. Compare to the original Young Allies #1....  Wash is colored more of a grey, on that one. That's pretty offensive, as it is, but the caricature got even worse, on subsequent stories. Creative Team: Roger Stern-writer, Paolo Rivera-art & colors, Jared K Fletcher-letters, Tom Brevoort-editor Synopsis: Captain Puerto Rico....er, Bucky Cap....oh, heck; Bucky Barnes....is at Arlington National Cemetary, walking past the grave markers, looking for someone. He recalls some of the names, especially when he comes across the grave of Sgt Michael Joseph Duffy, Steve Rogers' old DI, at Camp Lehigh. Bucky recalls his father showing him around the base, then his own training, later....  He continues down memory lane, recalling a rather awkward speech, to the Sentinels of Liberty youth group,, where he first met Pat "Knuckles" O'Toole, Washington "Wash" Carver Jones, Geoffrey Worthington Vandergill, and Henry "Tubby" Tinkelbaum. The lads seem impressed with Bucky's speech, even if his knees were knocking and Bucky enjoyed their company, after the speech. They later followed Bucky to a pier-side warehouse, where he is going after some saboteurs and they join the fray, nearly getting machine-gunned for their troubles, if not for the interference of Toro, who melts the gun's barrel. He and Bucky then get into a spat about who is in charge, when Toro is hit with a blast of water, from a firehose, administered by The Red Skull.....  Luckily, the adult heroes, Captain America and The Human Torch turn up and rescue the boys. Bucky thinks about the comic books made about their exploits and the liberties they took, making them caricatures of 12 year-old boys (and worse), as well as changing the names. Bucky finds the marker he seeks, which lists the names of Geoff and Tubby, but not the others. It's the first indication Bucky has had of someone he knew, in the 40s, still being alive (apart from Steve). Bucky later locates Wash's granddaughter (or possibly great-granddaughter, as Bucky isn't sure) and learns that he is visiting a sick friend, at the Samuel J Sawyer Memorial Veterans Hospital (aka Happy Sam Memorial). He easily ducks security and searches inside the hospital, before he finds the right room....  Neither believe it is Bucky, until he reminds them of what he said to them, the first time the met ("It's Bucky, not sir."). Wash embraces him, though both have to get it into Knuckles' head. He then invites Bucky to sit and they try to catch up 70 years. Knuckles keeps remarking that Bucky's tale of being dropped into the North Sea, fished out by the Soviets, and used as a programmed assassin, kept on ice otherwise, sounds like something out of Amazing Stories. Bucky shows them his prosthetic arm and Knuckles says a lot of guys there would giver anything to have that and Bucky says, not with the price he paid. They then think back to happier times, in Paris, 1944, after the liberation.....  Geoff and Tubby work for the OSS, Wash is with the 332nd fighter group...the famed Tuskegee Airmen, while Knuckles is a "ground-pounder." They reminisce about the comics, with Harry complaining he was never as fat as they showed him and Wash complaining about looking like a minstrel show character (it was far worse than that). Knuckles presents a bottle of brandy given to him by a Frenchman, after his unit liberated the man's village. He was saving it for the end of the war, but thinks this is a better occasion. Geoff spots someone, a man he believes is named Kleinschmidt. We see Kleinschmidt move down back streets and alleys, until he arrives at a warehouse, where armed men load a truck. They are German saboteur agents, with incendiary bombs, who intend to burn Paris to the ground, as Hitler had ordered. They are interrupted by SS officers (Geoff and Tubby), who get verification of the bombs, then call in the troops, as Bucky, Wash and Knuckles crash in, on Wash's motorcycle and sidecar, tommy guns blazing.....  The gunfire ignites the bombs, which is where Toro comes in, as he absorbs the heat and flame and then carries it skyward, to safely release it. Kleinschmidt escapes in a truck and Wash and Bucky pursue, with the motorcycle and Bucky leaps off, onto the truck and grabs the wheel, fighting with Kleinschmidt, until the crash into a wall, near the Seine, and plunge into the river. Toro fishes Bucky out of the water and they mop up, then say their goodbyes, going back to their units and assignments. The men relate their after-war experiences. Wash continued flying in the US Air Force, after desegregation of the military, in 1948 and flew in Korea and eventually retired as a "full bird" colonel. Knuckles remained a non-com and a DI, until he retired and opened a bar, which his grandson now runs. Geoff went on to work for Naval Intelligence, then the new Central Intelligence Agency and died in Indochina, just before the US became involved in the advisory role. Tubby became a successful businessman, but was killed when hit by a bus, in 1984. Bucky relates Toro's history, as he was duped into believing he was the Human Torch and sent against Namor, until he regained his mind and sacrificed himself, later. Knuckles tells Wash to tell Bucky about the tontine and Wash produces a case with Knuckles' brandy. They had vowed that the last survivor would drink it, in their memory. Bucky tells them it's better to share and Knuckles produces glasses and they pour out the contents and drink to old friends. They talk through the night of their families. In the morning, only Bucky and Wash remain, as Knuckles passed in the wee hours....  Wash goes on to march in the inaugural parade, for new President Barrack Obama, with other surviving Tuskeege Airmen. Some time later, Bucky visits Arlington again and finds the memorial, featuring all their names (as Bucky was believed dead), Wash having passed on. He pulls out the remains of the brandy and pours it on the ground, then salutes his friends....  Thoughts: S'cuse me; got something in my eye. * sniff* Man, Roger Stern knows how to write a great yarn! Stern took what was one of the most caricatured and racist comics of the 40s and turned it into a tribute to the real men, like Geoff, Hank (Tubby), Wash and Knuckles, who answered the call and helped liberate Europe from the Nazis. Out go the minstrel show caricatures and Birmingham Brown stereotypes and in comes a brave, intelligent man, who flies with the legendary Tuskegee Airmen. The youngsters were not so young and the offensive stuff is turned into contemporary comic books, making a fast buck off them, while changing their names to more insulting versions (like "Whitewash" and "Tubby," as the Young Allies call him Hank). Bucky reminds us that Toro's name is Tom Raymond. It's a more mature and celebratory idea and a far better legacy than they were given, in the 1940s. Golden Age comics reflected their times and attitudes and racial stereotypes and caricatures abounded, just as they did in the pulps, newspaper strips, radio and film. Actors like Stepin Fetchit and Mantan Moreland played lazy and child-like characters, perpetually afraid of ghosts, work, and the villains and the Young Allies reinforced that, in Whitewash. Stern, cuts of the first half and leaves a more realistic nickname, Wash (as in the adventure strip, Wash Tubbs) and plays Washington Carver Jones as a man of education and drive, taking the fight to the Nazis with the rest of the gang. Geoff and Hank are played as more mature and les stereotyped, with Hank being more husky than tubby, while Geoff is a man of guile and action, not just words. Bucky had already been massaged by Fabien Niceza and Kevin Maguire, in The Adv of Captain America, Sentinel of Liberty and by Ed Brubaker, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Bucky went from being the camp mascot, who stumbles in on Steve Roger's secret and becomes his sidekick, to a slightly older, trained soldier and someone picked by the Army to do the dirty stuff, so Cap can be kept an inspirational symbol. Bucky carried weapons and killed, while Cap may have killed by collateral damage, rather than direct action. Bucky is a trained marksman and expert in hand-to-hand combat, deadly in his own right. Geoff and Hank become OSS agents, Knuckles an infantry sergeant, though Rivera depicts him with an old-school Tommy Gun, with 50 round drum magazine, like in gangster films. The military generally issued only stick magazines, as they were more reliable, easier to carry and easier to load. Soldiers would actually tape magazines together, end to end, to rapidly switch to a fresh magazine, in a firefight. The Young Allies were pretty much a third rate knockoff of the other, more successful Simon & Kirby kid gangs, which were, in themselves, copies of the Dead End Kids and Reg'lar Fellas, of stage, screen and newspaper strips. Kirby drew the first cover, but Charles Nicholas handled the story, from Otto Binder. Their adventures were largely unseen, in the Marvel Era, until a 2009 Marvel Masterworks two-volume release. I can only imagine how they justified reprinting those stories, unaltered (assuming they didn't make edits). Then again, DC did reprint Ebony White, in The Spirit, though they drew the line at Steamboat and Captain Nippo, in the proposed Monster Society of Evil volume, that was delayed, resolicited and finally trashed. I supposed they included a disclaimer about the times. Quite frankly, this is a better idea, of using realistic and thoughtful versions of the original and pass commentary about the negative aspects, showing them for what they were, and giving us a more positive and inspirational spin. And Roger Stern knows how to write inspirational. Next up, a look at the New Invaders, as were are tortured with knockoffs, wannabes, and some de-aged originals. Then, Avengers/Invaders, as we do some more Cosmic Cube "hopscotch" and mess around with dead people. Roy Thomas it ain't!
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 25, 2024 16:54:19 GMT -5
I was going to cover New Invaders; but I rally can't be bothered to explore it deeply, as it is yet another 9/11 allegory, focusing on the wars carried out in its wake, replacing the US and allied military with a new bunch of Invaders, with USAgent, Namor, The Torch, Union Jack, Spitfire, Blazing Skull, the Thin Man, and a new synthetic daughter of Jim Hammond. It gives lip service to characters from the original series, with Roger Aubrey turning up, a new Baroness Blood, Axis Mundi (a bunch of Nazi terrorists, led by John Byrne;'s Herr Nacht and Warrior Woman involved, as well as U-Man) and Agent Axis, but Union Jack and several others are now outfitted in pseudo combat utilities and body armor, carrying firearms, and looking like SHIELD rejects. It's costume design by Hollywood, making them look more like soldiers than colorful heroes, failing to be either. It's also dark and cynical and I can't stand it. It lasted 9 issues and killed off Jim Hammond, again. Instead, we will move on to Avengers/Invaders, as Dr Strange has to send a group of heroes back in time, to fix some meddling, disguised as old Timely heroes. It features the Alex Ross/Jim Krueger team, from Earth-X and the like, as well as a team-up between Marvel and Dynamite Entertainment. Avengers/Invaders #1 Little bit of cutting and pasting, from Alex Ross, there. Creative Team: Alex Ross & Jim Krueger-plot, Krueger-script, Steve Sadowski-art, Todd Klein-letters, InLight Studios-colors, Everyone and their brother's next-door-neighbor-editors Seriously, the credits during this period looked like a Hollywood movie credit roll, with everyone getting a listing, including the publisher. If you didn't directly contribute to the comic, @#$% off! Yeesh! Anyway, yet another reason why I drifted away from mainstream comics, by this time period. Thank heavens for European translated reprints and indie books! Synopsis: The Invaders are in Italy, at Monte Cassino (Loosest slots in town!), trying to steal something called Ordnung Zeitgeist (Operation Time Ghost) and are with a group of GIs, in a heavy firefight. The story is told via Bucky's war journal and he reminds us of who is in the cast. he screws up by saying Union Jack (Brian Falsworth) has no powers, forgetiing he was exposed to a variation on the Super Soldier Formula and also gained powers from contact with Thor. So, either the latter hasn't happened yet or Bucky has been hitting the jungle juice a little hard. Either way, Union Jack is a super soldier.  Union Jack takes a hit and the GIs are mauled badly, but Cap rallies everyone to press forward, as a strange green mist appears. Is it a chemical weapon?  We cut to the present day, as Spider-man battles it out, with the Thunderbolts, officially sanctioned government heroes, out to arrest him for violation of the Superhuman Registration Act. The fight rages across Time Square and innocent civilians are in the way. A young man helps his grandfather get out of the combat zone. The old man mutters that these are not heroes...that he knew heroes. The old man pauses and stares and the battle comes to a halt, as everyone stares in disbelief......  The Invaders aren't any surer of what is happening; but, Cap directs them in battle, as Penance has a German accent and the sight of a massed group against one man says it all. During the fight, the Thunderbolt's jet goes out of control and Spidey works fast to take it out of harm's way. The Invaders trash the T-Bolts as Spider-Man steers the jet out over the river. Then, The Invaders move on. Meanwhile, a GI, who followed the Invaders, picks up a discarded newspaper and can't believe his eyes....  Up on the SHIELD Helicarrier, Maria Hill studies the monitor images, as an aid questions if it really is Captain America. She answers, the question is, who does the Director think it is....  Thoughts: In an interview, Jim Krueger said this project originated in the growing fascination with Golden Age heroes and their moral clarity, as well as the narrow, nostalgic view that those were clearer times, where good and evil was clearly defined. That simplistic view ignores a lot of uncomfortable history, like denying sanctuary to Jewish refugees before Hitler invaded Poland, despite intelligence of their persecution, or a segregated military, or colonial exploitation or war profiteering, or the indiscriminate use of high explosives and white phosphorus munitions, or concentration camps within Allied nations (US, Canada, Great Britain and Australia). Right now, the story is about time displacement, as the Invaders are brought into the modern world, a world where an incident involving a superhero destroyed an entire community and the government reacted by declaring that all superhumans had to register with and be controlled by the government, or face legal consequences. A civil war broke out between factions of heroes siding with the government and those opposed to the fascist nature of the legislation. Leading the two opposing camps were Captain America and Iron Man. Cap was killed (or so we thought), but here he is. Along with Bucky, The Human Torch, Toro and the Sub-Mariner. The whole thing is a confusing mess and it reminds me why I never really warmed to Alex Ross and Jim Krueger's projects. There was always something missing in the execution, for me. Ross would come up with interesting designs and ideas, then the actual story left me kind of cold. Krueger never really had the feel for the characters that Kurt Busiek or Mark Waid did. At this point, it is hard to say if I like it or not, as very little has actually happened, apart from the team traveling in time, in a reverse of the original Invaders & Avengers battle, when the Grandmaster played time games with the Avengers and dropped them into wartime Europe. So far, that seems to be where the plot begins and ends, as the rest is all mindless fighting, with no real strategy or character development, beyond Bucky's musing about the other Invaders. They are cursory summaries, not really character moments. Why they said Union Jack has no powers can only be down to Ross eighter not reading the whole of the Invaders, or getting confused between Lord Montgomery Falsworth, the original union Jack, who had no powers; and his son, Brian, who had become The Destroyer, thanks to a variation of the Super Soldier Formula, then took over the role of Union Jack, from his crippled father. Later in the series, exposure to Thor's magic gives him electrical powers, because he had to be different than Captain America. This isn't necessarily better than New Invaders, based on one issue; but, it does feature the originals, in a time travel story, juxtaposing the past of the Marvel Universe with its presence, rather than use them for ham-fisted metaphors about misguided wars against a concept, rather than a clearly defined enemy. However, no matter how much rationalizing happened after WW2, even that war was rather murky. Germany and the Soviet Union sliced up Poland, for themselves, until Hitler turned his sights on eradicating the Russians. They knew Hitler loathed them, but did the deal. The US and Great Britain feared Communism more than fascism and praised Hitler, before hostilities broke out and appeased his demands, to avoid another war, regardless of what the populace of the territories they handed over to Germany thought. The US and Japan clashed over control of the Pacific, despite neither having any moral claim to it...only desires for empires and economic exploitation. Evil was done to bring down a greater evil...compromises were made, revealing that clarity of purpose was mostly an illusion, grafted onto history, after the fact. The truth is, we are always blindly stumbling towards the future. We also tend to repeat our mistakes because we don't learn from history. At east everyone isn't decked out in flack jackets, knee pads, shooting gloves and festooned with grenades and ammo pouches. We will just have to see how this develops. I know the part I am most interested in is down the road a little. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 29, 2024 21:54:20 GMT -5
Avengers/Invaders #2 Creative Team: No changes Synopsis: Ms Marvel/Warbird/Captain Marvel...whatever Carol Danvers was calling herself that week.......looks over the footage with Tony Stark and tries to assure him he wasn't responsible for Captain America's "death." They wonder if it is Immortus or Kang, or someone else. Carol makes a joke about Black panther's Time Frog, but doesn't even raise an eyebrow about Immortus...you know, the guy who impregnated her with his own form, to be born and then rapidly grow to adulthood and retake his realm....that whole episode that usually gets equated with rape...that Immortus.  They brief the rest of the "Avengers" and Stark tells Ares "no killing." Why is Tony Stark tolerating someone who kills on his team? This is why I skipped Civil War and all of that crap. The Invaders emerge from a subway terminal, in Brooklyn and question whether they are really in 2008 New York, hallucinating in the past or just tripping on some 'shrooms. Then the Avengers turn up and Cap has to act like a butthead for there to be a fight....because, plot convenience and we get a less convincing fight than you average AEW match, with Cap now able to deck an armored Stark.  Wasp zaps him and puts him down (punching armor doesn't break his fist, but Wasp's bio-blast stuns him....okay...) Peter Parker witnesses this and photographs it (and has to wear a red sweater vest that looks like it is crossed with webs, so we can identify it is him), which is seen by the modern Captain Puerto Rico, aka Bucky. Meanwhile, the time displaced GI has found an address and knocks on a door....  The Invaders are imprisoned on the Helicarrier, but no one searched Bucky and he has plastic explosives up his sleeve. This stuff existed in WW2 (the SOE used Nobel 808, a form of gelignite, which had an aroma of almonds); but it isn't wafer thin. Bucky blasts his way out of his cell, while Torch destroys an LMD, in his, and Toro is doped up and studied, with the word "mutant" thrown around, as well as the phrase, "Purple haze, all in my brain..." The displaced GI talks to his older self and asks for the 411 on his post-war life, while the Avengers talk about not creating time paradoxes (too late). Spidey goes to see the other Avengers (the one with Wolverine and Luke Cage) and tells them about Cap and the Invaders. They decide to break them out, especially Wolverine, who says, "Beauty, eh?" to the plan. Thoughts: Still not wowed by this. A whole lot of lazy writing, requiring people to be stupid, to perpetuate the conflict and put mindless fight scenes in there. I don't know how you can write a scene of Carol Danvers and Tony Stark, invoking the name Immortus, and not address Avengers 199 and 200. Regardless, you really have had to have followed Civil War and the whole Mighty Avengers/New Avengers mess to understand what is going on here and none of it makes me feel like I missed out on anything really epic or groundbreaking, except epic plot holes and groundbreaking stupidity. If you enjoyed that stuff, more power to you. Maybe you will get more out of this than I am, so far. I liked Steve Sadowski's art on JSA; but the fights here aren't particularly staged well. I don't know if he is following Alex Ross layouts, or the script is dictating the shots or whether he is making the choices; but they seem rather stiff and posed and unnatural, which is why I lean towards Alex Ross' staging. Many look like his usual pin-up art. Some of the figure work is lacking. The Bucky with plastic explosives up the arm just makes me laugh, as no one seems to know much about the stuff. It came in bricks and could be molded, to a point; but, it wasn't Play-doh. Regardless, you can't blow something up with it, without a detonator and the question is where did Bucky hide that, without blowing his flagstaff off? Watch Lawrence of Arabia to find out what happens to people who have detonators in their trousers. This all seems padded out with pointless stuff and not particularly well written dialogue. There are ideas here, but they are spinning their wheels, while pointless distraction occurs, probably to strech a 4 issue story (at best) to 12.
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Post by mikelmidnight on Oct 2, 2024 11:32:39 GMT -5
It does beg the question; did Prof Horton give the Human Torch a..........wick? I honestly never dwelt a lot on the question LOL but ... (a) he gave Jim Hammond a realistic human anatomy to the degree of being able to donate blood to a human, so I see no reason he wouldn't complete the job ... (b) also Wanda always seemed, well, reasonably satisfied in her marriage and they had generated children, so pre-Byrne it was a reasonable assumption. Or maybe (to allude to one of my favorite movies, Making Mister Right), Prof Horton simply didn't want his creation to feel insecure! After some thought, we did see a close-up interior of the Vision in one issue (through Pym's eyes), and he plainly wasn't sophisticated enough to be human down to a genetic level. Here's an alternative solution: Wanda pretty much assumes they were created by parthenogenesis, but for some contrived reason, she needs to know something about her kids' genetics, so they do a blood test. It turns out that her probability hex powers, in trying to make the spell work, reached out and found someone to use as a genetic male template, so physically, he's the father, even though they never consummated their relationship. Of course, it would be someone Wanda loves and trusts. Fortunately, the best solution is also the funniest: Clint Barton. |
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Post by foxley on Oct 3, 2024 3:08:58 GMT -5
I honestly never dwelt a lot on the question LOL but ... (a) he gave Jim Hammond a realistic human anatomy to the degree of being able to donate blood to a human, so I see no reason he wouldn't complete the job ... (b) also Wanda always seemed, well, reasonably satisfied in her marriage and they had generated children, so pre-Byrne it was a reasonable assumption. Or maybe (to allude to one of my favorite movies, Making Mister Right), Prof Horton simply didn't want his creation to feel insecure! After some thought, we did see a close-up interior of the Vision in one issue (through Pym's eyes), and he plainly wasn't sophisticated enough to be human down to a genetic level. Here's an alternative solution: Wanda pretty much assumes they were created by parthenogenesis, but for some contrived reason, she needs to know something about her kids' genetics, so they do a blood test. It turns out that her probability hex powers, in trying to make the spell work, reached out and found someone to use as a genetic male template, so physically, he's the father, even though they never consummated their relationship. Of course, it would be someone Wanda loves and trusts. Fortunately, the best solution is also the funniest: Clint Barton. Not Simon Williams? |
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Post by mikelmidnight on Oct 4, 2024 11:49:41 GMT -5
(a) at this point, he's an energy being
(b) I maintain Clint would be funnier
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