My Golden Age of Comics

A while back Scott Tipton of Comics 101 wrote a column based on an old Roy Thomas quote he remembered: "The Golden Age of Comics is five." Of course, while trying to track down the source of the quote, I came across examples of the Golden Age being cited as both 8 and 12 (and Dox knows what other ages might be floating around out there as well) but whatever age you plug in, it all boils down to the same idea: everyone's "Golden Age" is determined by the age they first discovered comics books. So, for me, the Golden Age of comics is around 3.

I was introduced to the world of comics by my uncle who was only ten years older and thus in his early teens (prime comic buying time in a young boy's life) during my formative years. Any time we went to visit my grandparents back then, pretty much my first stop was his bed room closet and the metal box full of comics located there, which I would poor over while sitting under his FOOM* poster.


I've written before about my first year of buying comics (and will probably post that here sometime next week), but it was my uncle's collection that started it all off, and impacted the way I'll think about comics forever. So, I can firmly state that all of the following are totally my Uncle's fault.

Click here to find out how my uncle twisted me forever.

1. My love of the Vision and Scarlet Witch: The bulk of my uncle's books were Spider-Man titles, but he also had his fair share of Avengers, which exerted a much stronger pull on me than ol' Web-head for some reason. A good portion of his Avengers issues had a strong Vision/Wanda** focus, from Wanda's training with Agatha Harkness to the quest for the Celestial Madonna to the battle for the Serpent Crown to that wacky issue where Viz takes a fantastic voyage inside an overgrown and comatose Yellowjacket.


To top it all off, he also had the four-part Marvel Team-Up story which found Spidey, Wanda,

Viz,

Dr. Doom (!) ,

and everyone's favorite baldheaded egomaniacal telepath***, Moondragon,

all traveling back in time to the Salem Witch Trials to battle the evil Dark Rider and his sycophantic servant, the nearly rabid, foaming-at-the-mouth Cotton Mather.**** All of which combine to explain why the two of them are part of my quintessential Avengers line-up.

2. My fascinations with alternate Earths: My uncle's collection also included some early issues of What If? with its regular dose of alternate realities. I was particularly enamored of the different powered F.F. and the Iron Avengers stories; something about the variation in powers and abilities grabbed my interest.



But in addition to the What If?s, there were some other factors in my burgeoning interest in alternate Earths. The first was the Serpent Crown Saga issues of Avengers featuring everyone's favorite Justice League analogues, the Squadron Supreme.



I can't even begin to tell you how many times I read those issues, even before my young mind made the JLA connection; by the time the expanded line-up appeared in The Defenders I was gung-ho to figure out which new members corresponded to what League.

The other factor came from some of the few DC comics in his collection*****. Out of a total of 4 Justice League of America issues, three featured alternate Earths stories, two of which were JLA/JSA team-ups, including "Crisis on Earth-X" which introduced me to The Freedom Fighters

and that strange cross-over where comic-writer Cary Bates is written into the story as the villain

Which also, if you'll notice the lower left-hand corner of the cover, features the ugliest variation of the Robin costume ever.

My uncle also had one issue of the clunkily titled The Justice Society in All Star Comics with The Super Squad which would introduce me to even more wonders of Earth-2.

I can honestly say that this is the book that cemented my love of Dr. Fate, Alan Scott, and Dr. Mid-nite, helped along quite a bit by the pencils of a young Keith Giffen. Plus, when Vulcan showed up years later in All-Star Squadron, I actually knew who he was, and how many 8 year olds in 1983 could have said that?

Man, do I miss Earth-2.

3. The fact that I will always think of Mirage, Will o' the Wisp, and the Kangaroo as "classic" Spider-Man villains: While my uncle's books featured their fair share of big league Spidey-foes (Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Sandman), there were also quite a few issues featuring villains who pretty much faded into obscurity after those initial appearances, a fact that I didn't realize for many, many years; for the longest time I just thought that Mirage would frequently fade in and out as an antagonist for the Wall-Crawler,


that the Kangaroo bounded into the webslinger's path on a regular basis


and I was sure that Will o' the Wisp had lit up the series more than once.


Alas, they were all, if not one-hit-wonders, than at least not likely to threepeat.

His collection also gave me an appreciation for ol' quilt-head himself, The Shocker


for which I'll always be grateful. However, even at the time, I could tell that this dude


was a total loser through-and-through.

4. My love for "lower-tier" characters: 1990 was a good year for me because it saw the return of two character concepts that had captured my imagination as a toddler. First of all there were the Guardians of the Galaxy, who had been granted their own series, and who I had been fascinated with ever since I first saw them in a couple of my uncle's issues of The Defenders, first traveling back in time to help everyone's favorite non-team fight off a giant humanoid telepathic electric eel with the incredibly creative name of "Eelar"

and then bringing Doc and co. to the 31st century to help fight off the Badoon

This brief glimpse at the Guardians would whet my appetite for more, especially the enigmatic Starhawk. These issues (along with the "Valkyrie in jail" story) would also fuel my fascination with The Defenders, which I would collect sporadically over the next several years, only to complete my collection with one of my first big Ebay purchases.

The other returning character in 1990 was the man called Nova, who got another chance at comic book life thanks to The New Warriors.****** My uncle had quite a few issues of The Man Called Nova, which was cemented in my heart thanks to Rich's costume and his wild cast of villains like The Sphinx who spent most of the series searching for the mind that held the Anti-Life Equation . . . er, I mean . . .

And then there was the highly confused Blackout who later became a pivotal villain as Moonstone and Zemo's pawn in The Avengers

And of course, who could forget the awesomely bizarre Megaman.

Hard to believe he never caught on as a recurring foe, huh?

Those weren't the only random characters imprinted on my young mind. My uncle's collection also introduced me to Adam Warlock, The Gardener, and The Stranger (as well as Woodgod, even if only in a couple of panels) in an issue of Marvel-Team-up

And then of course there was Black Goliath


Who would then help ol' Luke fight the ultimate in z-grade villains
The Circus of Crime!

I could go on and on, but instead I shall leave you with this:

MODOK!

*Friends Of Ol' Marvel; yes, my uncle was a Marvel zombie
**Yes, I'm one of those who tends to refer to certain characters by their civilian name rather than their nom de guerre.
***without a Y chromosome, at least (sorry, Prof. X)
****an image that was difficult to dispel later on in life when I had to read some of Mather's writing in one or two classes. So, I guess you can blame that on my uncle too.
*****Marvel zombie, remember?
******which, incidentally, also featured the Earth-616 Vance Astrovik, who I had first seen in the Eelar issue of Defenders

Avengers Dream Team #6

Black Widow



Natasha Romanoff is very likely the Marvel Universe’s most dangerous woman on Earth. Schooled in a hundred fighting styles, the tradecraft of a one-time super power nation and an agent of SHIELD, Natasha played the most dangerous game on both sides of the Iron Curtain for years before she put on a costume and started fighting guys with undersea bases and death rays. She’s in my Avengers for her level head, command ability (she’s the second in command after Cap as far as I’m concerned), nearly unequaled combat experience and she’s the leader of the Avengers Espionage Squad. This is an idea that I stole from the Legion of Superheroes and it seems to make sense in the Marvel Universe even more than the DCU. If you live in a world with SHIELD, Hydra, AIM and all the other super-espionage outfits the MU boasts, you are periodically going to need to infiltrate, sabotage and, frankly, spy on a bunch of organizations. Years of working both sides of the Cold War makes Natasha more than capable of leading and coordinating the efforts of the Espionage Squad and taking over the Avengers’ strategy if Captain America should ever be unavailable.

During our JLA discussions, Tate noted that our choices demonstrated the difference in the sort of JLA stories each of us were wanting; I think that same idea holds even more weight with The Avengers, especially since there's not a single point of agreement between us this time around. His idea of an Avengers Espionage Squad, while interesting, doesn't mesh with my mental picture of the team; this shadowy Avengers feels very Bendis to me, and I always preferred my Avengers to be a bright and shining a la the Starlin, Shooter, and Stern years. Although I know Natasha served a lengthy term on the team, much like Spider-man I've always thought she functions much better as a solo agent.

Scarlet Witch


Out of all of the characters on my list, I don't thing any of them scream "Avenger!" to me as much as Ms. Wanda Maximof. The Avengers were where she went to seek redemption after her time following Magneto; the Avengers were where she learned to tap into her mystical heritage; the Avengers were where she met the love of her life; the Avengers were where she went insane and murderous . . .

Er, um, scratch that last one, okay?

Seriously, though, Wanda seemed to latch onto the "Avengers as family" theme more strongly than most anyone else; add onto that the versatility and coolness factor of her powers (nebulous though they may be), not to mention my early fascination with her (more on that soon) and that's why the Scarlet Witch is a must-have member of my team.

I think you can compare Wanda with my Vision response in many ways. She's just wrapped up in so much stupid stuff! House of M was the absolute capper and it will be many years before she stops being radioactive for me. Aside from the general distaste I have for what's going on with her, I can't argue with the Avengers-as-family feel for Wanda or with the potential coolness of her powers (although that statement strays dangerously near to radiation levels unkind to human life).

I did like her quite a bit during the oft-mentioned Buskiek-Perez run, though. Not enough to wash House of M and Disassembled out of my mind, though. I know I'm the one who keeps bringing up the hotness factor for membership, but I think it needs to be brought up one more time so I can talk about George Perez. Perez managed to give Wanda a costume that, while a little more ridiculous than standard super-hero fare, managed to show off her gypsy heritage and her sexiness. Perez also gave her a slightly different look in her facial features that showed she was a different ethnicity than her teammates without pounding us over the head with it. When you looked at Perez's Scarlet Witch, she looked like a hot magic-user of gypsy descent. Her costume told the tale and accentuated the hotness, you can't go wrong with that.

Avengers Dream Team #5

Spider-Man



Although Spidey has only recently joined the Avengers in the comics, he has acted in a reservist capacity many times over the years. This has always seemed a bit of a travesty to me. In a lot of ways, the Web Head is to Marvel what Man of Steel is for DC: the flagship character, the beginning of their super-hero universes, the epitome of what the company’s characters will be like. I know they’ve always wanted to the Wallcrawler to be a loner, but the guy deserved to be in the Big Show a damn sight sooner than he’s been allowed to be there. As I’ve said, part of that is what he means to the Marvel Universe here in the real world, but the guy’s no slouch when it comes to the power department either. Super agile, super strong, able to leap tremendous distances, super smart (he invented his own webbing when cruel fate gave him every OTHER spider-power!), a precognitive spider-sense to alert him of danger. Spidey is one of the most well-rounded super-heroes around. He’s able to go toe-to-toe with very powerful villains, but can get himself into places quietly and undercover if necessary. He’s a good compliment to Tony in the science department, comes in a close second to She-Hulk in the strength department and edges out the hard core members of the Espionage Squad (see below) in agility and sneakiness (animal instinct apparently wins out over extensive training). His adaptability, impressive power level and indefatigable optimism even in the face of personal and super-heroic tragedy make him a total package team player.

Afraid I'm square in the "Spidey should be a loner" column. Not that it isn't nice to see the wall-crawler finally getting some respect and recognition from his fellow capes and all, but to me, Peter was never meant to run in the pack. While I don't begrudge him the chance to do so now, anytime I see a group picture with him in it, I instantly start to play a mental game of "which of these things is not like the others."

Vision

Power-wise, the Vision has always appealed to me; his ability to control his density makes him both an excellent spy and a formidable opponent. Not only has he gone toe-to-toe with Thor, but he was able to take out Hyperion with one well-placed phase. It was this self-same battle with Hyperion in my uncle's well-worn copy of Avengers #147 that served as the beginning of my fascination with the Vision, aided by the pencils of one George Perez who illustrated possibly the coolest action sequence the Vision has ever been involved in, although that might be the 4 year old in me speaking. Still, that fight, coupled with the relationship between Vision and Wanda (not to mention his unique word balloon style) combined to win Viz an eternal place in my Avengers line-up . . . and this is pre-deconstruction and/or destruction Vision, btw. Y'know, it just dawned on me: not only is The Vision the third of my Avengers #200 cast members, he's also the third cast member to have a history full of being horribly screwed over; sadly enough, the final part of this quartet shares in that as well, but more on that next time.

I'm not sure I can get worked up enough to say anything about the Vision but "eeeeehhhhh..."

I think the first issues of Avengers I picked up off the newstands involved the Vision having just been torn to bits, It hink it was called VisionQuest. Even as a youngling, the name should have tipped me off. They bring him back cold, emotionless and all white. The all white thing was kind of cool since he used his powers to be sort of "ghostly" and it sort of went with his name (although Apparition might have been even better with that color scheme, apologies to Tinya Wazzo), but the emotionless thing, especially with Wanda pining away for him, just completely missed with me.

Now it might be that he's never shaken that initial introduction with me and it might be that he's been wrapped up in some of the stupidest and/or off-putting stories of all time. Wanda marrying the Vision is creepy, I don't care what anybody says. I also say that SOMEONE should have thought it was a damn sight weirder when she got pregnant by Vizh. Regardless, I'm unimpressed with Vision. He doesn't inspire revulsion or anything, he more just inspires me to yawn a lot and start waiting for thigns to get silly.

Four Color Philosophy II - The THRILLING Conclusion

Click here for the thrilling conclusion!

Okay, so this is a comic book blog and you're wondering what all this philosophy talk has to do with comics. I'm glad you asked! In almost every way, the supermen presented in glorious four color and newsprint are exemplars of Nietzsche’s philosophy in pop culture. Let’s look at a few examples of how they’re the best examples and then I’ll share with you the two I consider to be the BEST of the BEST examples.

1. Rise above the Herd and live glorious lives…
Imagine if every single day you saved somebody’s life. Or went to a distant planet. Or fought monsters. Or romanced princesses of lost continents. Or traveled through time. Or met beings of godlike power. Or if you WERE a being of godlike power. If any one of these things was true, let alone all of them, what would you have in common with your family or co-workers? Absolutely nothing, your concerns would have risen as far above the Herd as the average person’s thoughts are above the animals. This is how most superheroes live. To paraphrase a comic writer the Cap'n and I enjoy, comic book universes are a day-glo funhouse where the world is threatened every ten minutes and godlike beings clash in the skies like fireworks. Does this describe your life in the cubicle?

2. …That ultimately end in Tragedy.
Nearly every super hero is in the midst of a mission that cannot be successful. Superman actually describes his daily activities as the Never Ending Battle. Wonder Woman seeks to bring Peace to Man’s World by fighting for it. Spider-Man and Batman will never be able to save their lost loved ones no matter how many people they protect each night. Each catastrophe is averted, but a few more lives are lost, a bit more property is destroyed, a few more comrades fall. And when they wake up the next morning, they’ll be ready to do it all over again. THAT’S tragic optimism.

3. Become the next step in human evolution.
The absolute best example of this is the X-Men. Although they technically go against Nietzsche’s concept that the next leap in human evolution will not be merely biological, there is another aspect to the X-Men that is VERY Nietzschean. They were born a step above, but the Herd looks down on them. The Herd KNOWS that it is inferior, and it fears the X-Men because of this. Despite the hatred and fear, the X-Men strive for acceptance and co-existence which will never be given to them. They know it’s a hopeless goal, but they strive for it anyway because the alternative is stagnation. All of that on top of the “typical” activities of visiting distance worlds, traveling through time and doing combat with beings of godlike power!

4. There is no religion in super hero comics.
Oh sure, there are a few exceptions, but for the most part, nobody in super hero comics belongs to any organized religion. The closest you get are the characters that actually interact with those beings that are considered gods. However, in true Nietzsche fashion, the heroes are arrayed against the gods as often as they are the agents of the gods. In a world devoid of religion, a standard for ethics and morality can only come from within. Superman does what’s right because it’s what’s right (Sound too simple? I challenge you to find a better explanation of Superman’s motivation). Spider-Man does what’s right because of a lesson he learned in tragic circumstances from his Uncle Ben. Batman ignores the law in order to serve Justice. If you are living the life of the ubermensch, then mere morality cannot hold you accountable.

Unfortunately, this is also where the parallels fall apart a little. Nietzsche would be horrified how often the ubermensch of comics are tending the needs of the Herd and protecting the status quo. Is Superman really maximizing his potential for the betterment of everyone if he’s not using his powers to END crime (or war, hunger, poverty, pollution, ethnic cleansing, etc), not just fight it? Are the X-Men working in the best interests of both humanity and mutants if they aren’t using their powers to take over the world and institute a government of mutants that ENFORCES peaceful coexistence with humanity? Batman operates outside the law, but refuses to kill even the most deranged dangers to the lives he holds dear. Is he REALLY serving the public good by not ending the Joker’s rampages once and for all? According to Nietzsche, the superhero may actually be a bigger failure than the Herd. In every way they live the Dionysian lifestyle, but they can’t quite let go of their last vestige of mere humanity.

As the audience for this blog is more in tune with comics, I hope that I've given you some aspects to think about that haven't occured to you before. These concepts can certainly go deeper. Take the examples I used of how the superheroes still conform to traditional morality. There’s a fertile ground for discussion there. How many times has Superman flown into a country like Iraq or North Korea and deposed the leader who’s oppressing or starving his people? Since I originally wrote this, Gail Simone has written a story where the JLA removed a leader, but even then it was only at the behest of the UN and they constantly felt like they shouldn't have been involved. But if you were Superman, wouldn’t that be the right thing to do? We are told to act locally and think globally, but with that kind of power acting globally would be easy. But where do you stop? Do you put the world under your control? If you do, what happens when the power starts to corrupt you? I'm sure most of you have read Watchmen by Alan Moore, but if you haven't make it the next book you read and see if you don’t wind up with similar thoughts.

When the high schoolers and I started kicking these questions around, they inevitably landed on “Who is the best example of the Nietzschean ubermensch in comics?” Up until I sat down to write this post, I believed that Batman exemplified Nietzsche’s ideal. After all, here is a man who had everything important in his life taken away from him while he was too young to do anything about it. He did not fall into the quiet misery to which so many of the Herd would have succumbed. He took his sadness, his drive, his ambition and his existing advantages and forged a new destiny for himself through sheer force of Will. When the Herd’s laws were shown to be a hindrance, Batman ignored them in the interest of his self imposed definition of Justice. In the face of a hopeless war, he fights on night after night, losing a little bit more of what ties him to humanity with each sunrise. He trains lieutenants despite a loner nature because he knows the work must go on when he inevitably succumbs and his mind or body fails him. Batman has so separated himself from humanity that he barely bothers to maintain the so-called secret identity. Bruce Wayne is merely another tool he uses in service of higher ideals. Batman has had very few love interests, even fewer friends and has even managed to alienate Nightwing, the original Robin, a man he raised, because of devotion to his ideals. Batman even holds himself aloof from the other ubermensch, believing himself to be superior to them because he does what they do without the benefit of special powers even as he’s separated from the Herd by the fact that he can keep up with the other super heroes. All these things are true, but I kept coming back to the major failing of all the super heroes from Nietzsche’s standpoint. Batman has morals and CARES for the Herd instead of disdaining them.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this is a fundamental flaw. Batman couldn’t be the truest ubermensch. Then it hit me like a gamma bomb in the desert. Batman isn’t the ubermensch, but the Hulk IS.

The Incredible Hulk is a superman that is set in stark contrast to the Herd mentality of Bruce Banner. It was Banner’s scientific genius that created the gamma bomb that would give birth to the Hulk. It was Banner’s own force of will that allowed him to survive the gamma bomb by becoming (a key Dionysian concept) the Hulk. Since that moment, though, Banner has hated and feared the superior being he created. And he has, in true Herd fashion, tried to destroy it at every turn.

The Hulk is raw power and passion in a rampaging form. In true Dionysian fashion, he knows nothing but his own desires from moment to moment. He has literally frozen time for himself through sheer force of Will. Nothing can stop him because of the strength of his Will. After all, the madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets. The Hulk knows no morality beyond his own needs; whether Hulk wants "his Betty," or the world to “leave Hulk alone,” or the sheer joy he takes in wanton destruction, he makes his desire into reality. He is the next step in human evolution and hates the man he once was even more than Banner hates the Hulk. The Incredible Hulk exemplifies Nietzsche’s overman.

That about sums up my thoughts on Nietzsche and how he relates to comics. The only thing you guys got that the kids didn’t was my musing on the Hulk, and I intend to add that the next time I'm invited to help teach the class. I’m pretty sure that this entire line of discussion would absolutely appall Nietzsche. If anybody knows where he’s buried, let’s go get him. With a couple magnets at either end, I bet I’ve got him spinning fast enough to light the eastern seaboard!

Four Color Philosophy

This was originally written for and posted to Neurotic's other blog for one of his Four Color Friday features. That was a few months ago and we thought that this blog, being generally erudite and educated about comics, would benefit from the discussion the essay could start. Also, I discovered that somebody had quoted it thoroughly on their own site and I decided I ought to get the same mileage. So without further ado, I bring you Four Color Philosophy!

I originally came by these thoughts while preparing to teach a group of high school seniors in a class that doesn't really have a name that I know of. It might be called Sr. Bible, but it might also be called World View or Philosophy From a Christian Perspective. Regardless, while discussing Nietzsche, the teacher of the class, a long term and very good friend of mine, started researching the concept of supermen. Naturally, our favorite group of supermen came to mind and he decided I'd be a worthwhile guest speaker. How do our comic book heroes, especially the original who shares his name with Nietzsche's favorite concept, stack up to the ideal set forth by the philosopher? Let's take a look.

I have an initial caveat. I will not be editorializing on Nietzsche’s philosophy except in how it comes into play with my personal favorite slice of pop culture, the super hero comic book. If any of you would like to discuss it in greater detail and in light of your own philosophical or religious leanings, that’s what comments are for. And believe me, I have got some SERIOUS commentary on Nietzsche, I’m just trying to maintain a tight scope.

As I’m sure many of you are not aware of the basic tenets of Nietzsche’s philosophy, we’ll start with a primer. In as few words as possible (which isn’t really all that few), I bring you the Brief Guide to the Glorious Anti-Christ. Don’t look at me, that’s what other people called him, I’m just borrowing it.

With no belief in a transcendental God but a desperate need to make some sense out of the universe, Nietzsche developed a few core beliefs. He vehemently believed that life is Tragedy; devoid of hope for good or justice but also devoid of the cynicism that would believe in evil’s ultimate triumph. Indeed, Nietzsche thought of good and evil as abstracts with no real meaning, that there could be no immorality in a world that was inherently amoral. For Nietzsche, the only hope against despairing nihilism was to give in entirely to the Dionysian spirit.

Dionysian thought was centered on tragic optimism and sought to stop the moment in time through a lust for knowledge, youth, beauty and your own superhuman power (starting to get an inkling of where we’re headed here?). A Dionysian would create a superabundance of creative energy and seek to harness that energy towards change or “becoming.” There was no hope outside of yourself, only the potential of self-transcendence could hope to lift humanity out of its mire. This is pretty heady stuff, but believe me when I say I'm really trying to boil this down to the simplest explanations.

Nietzsche hated the middle class and its so-called “good life.” Comfort and conformity were chains causing the mass of humanity, the Herd as he called it, to stagnate in its own mediocrity. The merely average spent their days toiling away trying to get that slightly nicer house or slightly larger television (pardon my modern perspective) while the Dionysian sought to write music, create poetry, make art, love, fight battles and really LIVE, even if they would ultimately fail (constant and tragic failure is a core Nietzschean concept that I’ll deal with in greater detail shortly).

Nietzsche also loved the theories of Charles Darwin. He believed that humanity will be supplanted by a newer, better humanity even as we supplanted the apes before us. However, Nietzsche also believed that this next evolutionary step, this creation of the ubermensch (overman or superman) would not be merely biological. Humanity would do with Will what biology could never hope to do. Humanity has an innate Will to exercise power over itself and others, according to Nietzsche, and it is this Will that is the key to the next step in human evolution.

Nietzsche’s most influential work and the best example of his thought is the epic poem Thus Spake Zarathustra. Zarathustra is a fictional Persian prince who comes down from the mountain to explain that he is in absolute awe of humanity’s potential, but is in constant lamentation over its inability to move the vast majority of itself out of a passionless, orderly and rational existence and into something greater.

According to Zarathustra, we should aspire to heroism because it is the highest state of self-actualization. The definition of a hero is one who strives to achieve goals that have hitherto been the purview of the gods. However, because the hero strives for unattainable goals, they usually fail. Tragedy is the glorious end for the Hero! The Herd also fails, but its goals are so low that there is no tragic or transcendent dimension. In the striving and ESPECIALLY in the failing, the hero rises above the Herd’s pathetic, lowly existence and becomes something more through the exercise of the hero’s Will.

Sounds pretty damn good, doesn’t it? The attractiveness isn’t surprising. The examples of the tragic hero are nearly uncountable in mythology. The Greeks had Achilles who, knowing that life was useless and fleeting, sought immortality through fame. The Norse had Siegfried who knew throughout most of his life that it would end in tragedy, but fought the good fight and demanded all that life could give him despite the whims of the gods. With very little investigation, you will find examples of this ideal in nearly every culture.

“But what about our culture?” you might be saying (that is, if you're still awake at this point). Examples in today’s pop culture are nearly as rampant as they were in older civilizations. Think of James Bond who succeeds in the face of insurmountable odds through his own strength of will. But his successes are never long term; he is just holding the line against the Communists with no real hope of ultimate victory. To borrow another example from my teacher friend , you also have Ferris Bueller. Ferris’ life is hopeless. He is embroiled in his last opportunity for “one good day” in the last good time in his life, his waning youth. Soon, college and adulthood will close in and turn Ferris into the middle-class drone striving for the mediocrity that he sees his parents exemplifying. But before that happens, he will have one amazing day despite all the powers and circumstance arrayed against him. (If anybody likes, we can also talk about how Ferris Bueller is literally an example of evil in its truest form, but that’s a bit off topic in a discussion of a philosopher that didn’t really believe in good or evil.)

Well, there isn't a lot about comics so far, is there? The good news is, the groundwork is laid and we can talk about comics in part two tomorrow. The bad news is that you have to wait until tomorrow to talk about comics. Please come back and comment, vigorous philosophical debate will follow!

Avengers Dream Team #4

She-Hulk




On a power level with Thor or her cousin, the Incredible Hulk, Jennifer Walters adds exuberance for super heroics that most of the rest of the team doesn’t have. She enjoys her job as She-Hulk even more than she likes lawyering as Jennifer, and it shows. Whether she’s enjoying a good scrap or holding up a collapsing building until all the children are saved, she’s doing it with gusto. She’s erudite and will use five dollar words while kicking your ass leaving you wondering how you got so lucky as to have this jade vision take you into custody. This leads me to the last thing Shulkie brings to the table. While she’s not the only woman on the team and not the only hottie, she is the only 7 foot tall, statuesque one. Her ability to stop traffic, either with her muscles or her looks, is legendary and belongs on this team.

Ah, Shulkie. She just missed inclusion on my list; my first real exposure to She-Hulk was the issue when she first joined the Avengers, and I've had a special place in my heart for her ever since; but, love Jen as I do, I just couldn't find room for her in my line-up. But rest assured, when we eventually run out of other ideas and do a "Legion of Super Lawyers" column, she'll be at the top of my list.

Ms. Marvel


Carol Danvers has been a presence in several of my all-time favorite comic books. The first issue I ever bought of The Avengers was #200, the issue where Ms. Marvel left the team to traipse off to Limbo with her son/lover Marcus (not quite as icky as it sounds, but close); in many ways this issue solidified my ideas of who the quintessential Avengers were, as will be evident by the time I finish my list and you see that 4 out of my 7 were members at that time. Coincidentally, the next issue I remember buying was Annual #10, which featured her return from Limbo, as well as her total depowering by Rogue. I then followed her adventures over in Uncanny X-Men where she became Binary, but while I was glad to see her re-powered, to be honest, I really, really missed the Ms. Marvel outfit, which for some reason is one of my favorite female super-hero costumes. But I digress. Experience, power, a warrior's instincts, and a cool costume: that's why Ms. Marvel has to be on my Avengers team.

We find that dreams can come true as our good Cap'n gets his wish and Captain Marvel returns to the Avengers (if you consider the current group to be the Avengers, which I understand is hotly debated) and her own book. I'll tell you, I love the idea of a perpetually B-List superheroine realizing that there's no good reason for her not to be A-List if she'd just put her mind to it. Its an interesting take and a surprisingly good reason to give her a series when, I'll be honest, I really couldn't think of one. I'm prepared to acquiesce on this one, especially since I'm pretty sure Dan Slott has made it impossible for me to like anyone else writing Jennifer.

Earth K's Statement on Superman Returns

This is a statement from all of us at Earth K and since Blue and Red make Black when you mix fingerpaints, that's the color that will henceforth be the official "speaking for all of Earth K" color.

Superman Returns was good but not great. Unfortunately, the longer we think about it the worse it gets so "good" might be downgraded to "merely adequate" as time goes on. It is likely that we will end up on "meh."

As a love letter to Donner and his films about Superman, this movie succeeds on every level. Unfortunately, those damn Donner films just weren't very good and anyone that says otherwise is viewing the world through nostalgia-tinted glasses.

As a movie actually about the characters of Superman and his supporting cast, the movie fails miserably. The top five reasons are as follows:

1. All kinds of things happen for literally no reason (Superman crashes when he returns to earth, water makes Kryptonian crystals grow, Lex has a chance to create super weapons and give amazing gifts to mankind and make Superman look like an ass, instead he makes inhospitable land. There are plenty more but we're tired of thinking about them).

2. Everyone is horribly miscast with the exception of Perry White and Parker Posey. Before you get excited about Brandon Routh, don't. He wasn't cast to play Clark Kent/Superman, he was cast to play Christopher Reeve playing Clark Kent/Superman. This he does well. Unfortunately, we don't care. We doubt we're alone.

3. Nobody talks to anybody for more than sixty seconds at a time. There isn't just a lack of meaningful dialogue, there is a distinct lack of all dialogue.

4. Superman isn't Jesus Christ, however he is messianic. If you want that explained, just ask and we will. Also, even if he was Christ-like, we'd really appreciate it if everyone could stop hitting us over the head with it.

5. Superman needs to punch stuff. Especially when something has happened that will really piss him off. Such as nearly murdering him and/or stealing the last remnants of his long dead homeworld. Lifting heavy things is really interesting ONCE. After that, we require something more interesting than pensive looks and fake straining against weight.

To sum up, we liked it but we feel that a lot of opportunity was squandered. That makes us a little sad.

Thank you...and good night,

The Staff of Earth K

PS: It behooves us to point out that we liked Jimmy too inasmuch as we'd actually like to see that actor turn iunto a wolfman or turtleboy or Elasic Lad. Frankly, that would have upped the interest quotient of this movie to a startling level.

These reviews came from Earth K!

In an effort to keep my promise and be more on top of things, here are the reviews of my buy pile from last week.

Spoilers Ahead!

Batman #654: Well, I may have gotten a bit overexcited with my last review of Face the Face part 7. It turns out that this arc has let me down quite a bit. First of all, it could easily have been six issues if this was all the payoff I was going to get. Second, once again Batman is portrayed as the World’s Greatest Detective with writer tricks rather than actual detective work. Whatever convoluted trail he followed to get to Great White is essentially the same trick as Batman thinking “of course, there’s only one quarry with this time of silicate in Gotham!” Weak. Third, I know that Harvey has supposedly not been Two Face for a year, but to the reader it has been about five minutes. Therefore, whatever shock value there was supposed to be in Dent returning to a life of crime turned up nil. The confrontation with Two Face was weak as well; it would have been a lot better if he’d just faded away leaving Gordon and Batman wondering until Two Face showed up again. Great White is a really stupid villain, and that pains me to say since I really like Dan Slott’s work. He’s Black Mask-lite which further bears up how stupid it was to kill Roman (Man, Catwoman is a book with so many problems they just spill out into the rest of the DCU). The HUGE change in relationship between Bruce and Tim was given about the time that should have been given to the confrontation with Two Face and vice versa. Overall, the arc was okay, but it could have been better. Unless Robinson was given a checklist of what exactly what had to happen and how many issues it had to take. If that’s the case, then it was as good as it could be and that’s what happens when editorial does more than half the writing. I’m glad Face the Face is over, but I only really feel like it wasted my time for two issues. If Robinson had kept it down to six, I would have been a lot happier. Frankly, it doesn’t really matter because once I pick up the first issue of Morrison’s “Batman and Son” this week, I’ll forget all about this arc.

Action Comics #840: There will be a statement from the staff of Earth K shortly explaining this, but Superman Returns was a bit of a disappointment for us. This is likely because Up, Up, and Away is what the movie should have been. Superman is out of commission for a bit, then returns to deal with a Lex who has discovered how to tap into Kryptonian tech. That describes both this arc and the movie, but one was obviously executed MUCH better than the other. Even without Johns’ involvement, I’m sticking around to see what Busiek does with Superman going forward. This is the first time that I’ve actually been excited to buy a Superman book (All Star doesn’t count!). I can’t give higher praise than that.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #19: It is no secret that we of Earth K are lovers of the Legion. I feared that Britney Zor-El’s involvement would be disastrous, but her brief time with the Legion so far has actually made me somewhat interested in her. Well done, Mark Waid, for that was a Herculean task. One reason for that is likely that she’s sort of a background character if not a plot device and she takes a major backseat in this story. I’ve felt that after the war story, the book has meandered a bit while it sets up the next few subplots, but one of the subplots comes home to roost in this issue. The cover blurb says it all; it’s a 31^st Century Whodunit! Chameleon takes center stage and we get to know him a little better. He’s sort of been the weird exchange student that just doesn’t get it up until now, but with this story we get to see him take some initiative and we get a little in his head to understand why he doesn’t get it. So as not to ruin the mystery with spoilers, I’ll just say that while I miss the previous incarnation of the Legion a really, really lot, I’m enjoying the hell out of Waid and Kitson’s re-re-re-re-re-imagining of the Legion. Buy the trades to get caught up and then buy this thing monthly; it’s a good ride.

Brave New World #1 and Virgin Comics #0: I’d personally rather not review books that are essentially trailers for other books since their job is completely different than a normal comic. Both of these books made me want to look closer at some of the titles they featured. In that respect, they were a success. Some of the titles still look totally uninteresting to me, so that’s a failure. I will say to DC that I don’t appreciate a big thing like the reveal at the end of Brave New World appearing in a book that is essentially a preview. As a preview book, it didn’t really NEED a framing device and when said framing device shows up later and everyone who didn’t buy BNW wonders what the hell is going on, that sucks. Still, I might buy Creeper and the Atom…so Didio probably doesn’t care if I think the last couple pages are stupid.

One Month Later

For a variety of reasons, I've been unable to get and read my comics from the LCS for the last month or so. For the same reasons, I've been unable to blog. If anybody is interested and doesn't already know, post a comment and I'll do a quick post explaining. However, since this is a comic blog and not one about my whiny personal life, here's the stuff you should have read in smaller doses over the last month.

Spoilers Ahead!

Action Comics #839 and Superman #653: These two issues are parts 6 & 7 of the excellent Busiek/Johns 8 parter Up, Up, And Away! If you aren’t reading this book and consider yourself a fan of DC, Superman or just super-heroes in general, you have no excuses. It has done a fabulous job of resetting Superman’s status quo (including some apparent changes to the New Krypton that must go along with the post-Crisis New Earth) and giving some hints as to how Clark has spent his year without powers. Better yet, we’re given an idea of what Lex has been up to in the last year and all his machinations finally come home to roost. There isn’t really any bad here unless and until DC starts claiming it was always their plan to return Superman to something more in line with the original Donner and Singer films. It might be true, but it’ll ring hollow in the face of all the crystalline Kryptonian tech and the shiny, 3-D S-Shield Supes is now sporting. Either way, I can’t wait to see how this arc wraps up.

Detective Comics #820: Overall I’ve really enjoyed Robinson’s OYL reset for the Dark Knight (of which this is part 7 of 8). This is going to sound like a dig, but the best word I can use to describe it is “serviceable.” It’s getting me where I need to go. Gordon is commissioner again, Batman is less of an asshat and Tim is actually working with him all the time. These are all good things.
The issue previous to this one was a total letdown as Harvey talked himself back into being Two Face and while that did make me worry for the last couple installments, I probably shouldn’t have. I have some general questions about the story (like why Batman would leave a recently stabilized Harvey in charge of meting out vigilante justice for a solid year), but most of them were probably mandated by editorial. Bottom line, I expected to just mark time until Morrison and Dini took over the Bat titles, but instead I’ve really enjoyed the ride.

Birds of Prey #98: BoP is the workhorse of my comic buy-pile. Some issues are beter than others, but there’s never a bad issue. This is one that feels a little on the worse side. I feared a deus ex machina once Prometheus took Shiva down in two panels last issue and there was something of one, but it was also one that had been foreshadowed in the lead-up to this issue. Really, the weakest part of this installment was Prometheus letting the Birds walk out once the Crime Doctor was dead. Maybe that would have happened if there was some sort of contract and he wasn’t being paid to kill the Birds, but he works for the Society now. I doubt that Talia and Deathstroke are going to be too amused to find out that he didn’t kill Oracle’s operatives when he had the chance.

I’m sorry to see Shiva go, she was a great addition to the book and I was really hoping that her status change would continue for longer. For instance, I’d like to see the Birds run into Batman or Green Arrow while Shiva was running with them as the Jade Canary. Shiva and Canary each getting “daughters” was a very nice touch of synchronicity, hopefully Simone will be around for a good long while to shepherd that new status quo. Unfortunately, with a young Asian girl who knows how to kick ass running around Babs, I can’t help but think of the mess that is Cassandra Cain. Ah well, none of that is Simone’s fault that I know of, I’ll try not to hold it against her going forward.

All-Star Superman #4: I have a bit of a crush on this book right now. The two months in-between issues seems interminable until you just about forget about how much you enjoyed the previous issue and then BAM! there’s a new issue in your pile. I recently read that Morrison described his All-Starniverse as the Pre-Crisis Superman with 20 years of continuity that we know nothing about. I love that, it shows through every issue of this book. Twenty more subjective years of Lois getting jerked around by Clark as he tries to protect his secret, twenty more subjective years of wacky stuff happening with bottled cities and long-dead alien father’s college roommates, twenty more subjective years of Jimmy being the coolest cat in the world because he hangs out with the Man of Steel.

That’s where we find ourselves with this issue. Jimmy Olsen is leading essentially a dream life with the coolest best friend, the hottest girl his age and the baddest ass job in the world for the biggest metropolitan newspaper ever. The good news is he’s about to be P.R.O.J.E.C.T. manager for a day. The bad news is he’s been cursed with bad luck by the Queen of the Gypsies. Naturally hijinks ensue and Morrison does an amazing job of showing why Superman would hang out with a kid who wears bow ties, which isn’t something that always made sense to me. This series has been absolute magic and this issue was no different. How else but magic could you explain me actually wishing I was Jimmy Olsen?

Wonder Woman #1: Okay, at this point you’ve read it, heard about it or don’t care. Bottom line, I’ve never given two shakes about Wonder Woman. I always thought the spy days sounded interesting, and now I may get to see for myself. I like Donna as Wonder Woman, I like the new Wonder Woman outfit, I liked what was done with the villains and I love to see Diana in a white version of Mrs. Peel’s catsuit.

But I’ll say this. If Heinberg runs me off this book with ridiculous and over the top melodrama (I’m looking at you, Young Avengers) or if issue three isn’t out by September…2008 (I’m looking at you AGAIN, Young Avengers), then I will be royally pissed off.

Casanova #1: I like Matt Fraction’s work. I’m not obsessive about it; when he wrote something in the universe of 30 Days of Midnight, I didn’t get it because I didn’t like the original book. But I did love the ever-loving hell out of Last of the Independents and I’m still anxiously awaiting Big Hat (pay attention, Matt! I still remember it even if nobody else does!). I’m very likely to add a Marvel book to my pull list with his Punisher. So, I dig his stuff. I dug Casanova VERY much.
I can’t explain the plot, but that’s okay because the plot is totally meaningless. It’s a bunch of influences thrown together into the pot that is Fraction’s brain and brought to a boil. The art is damn fine as well. You could do a lot worse for two thin greenbacks. Go buy this…in fact, buy it instead of Fell. I want to support the format, but I’ve heard about all I need to from Warren Ellis.

Astonishing X-Men #15: There’s been some talk in the blogalaxy that Whedon is relying to heavily on the nostalgia of the old Claremont/Byrne days and is trying to recreate some Golden Age of the X-Men with this book. I think that, whether we like it or not, nostalgia has become a big part of our comics and we need to decide if that’s what we want or not. If I can get quality writing like this each month, then I’m in like Flynn. The last time the X-Men were worth reading (aside from Morrison’s New X-Men run) was back in those days, so a writer could do a lot worse than looking back at them and emulating or making reference to that era. I also, however, give Whedon mad props for having the huevos to build on the stuff Morrison did. Since every other writer has broken their back to undo that stuff, its extra gravy for Whedon to embrace it and combine it with the classic stuff. I’m not blind to some of the problems of this series, but neither can I focus on those problems when I’m getting such an enjoyable read.

Green Lantern Corps #1: This comic isn’t bad by any stretch, but it did fail to rock my socks in any significant way. When I think of a book devoted to the Corps, I think of a book like JLA: 100% Spectacle, 0% Characterization. I’m not really interested in getting to know a bunch of Lanterns, what makes them tick, what they fear and why it keeps cropping up. I’m not really interested in watching Kilowog be the understanding father figure and Guy being the disreputable uncle. Wait, I lied, I am interested in that. But I need it in a MUCH broader context than some backwater planet that’s having a civil war…I have Marvel’s entire line for that. The GLC as a police force, sure. The GLs as cops or troubleshooters, sure. But for crying out loud, make the trouble they shoot big enough to get the attention of the Guardians of the Galaxy! Anything smaller is just Green Lantern of Sector XYZ doing their day to day stuff. I don’t really care about GL of Sector XYZ, I have Hal and his book for those kind of stories. I enjoyed this read, but it isn’t what I was expecting or what I want from a GLC book. It gets a few more issues, but I need it to get above a Tales of the Jedi setup.

Godland #11: I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t do anything other than love this homage to Jack Kirby. There are some things about it that grate on friends of mine, but I’m willing to accept those things as part of the overall tone of the book. I’ve enjoyed every issue and #11 was no exception. This series is highly recommended. However, nearly a year into the book, and its still just more and more madness piled on top of itself. Something somewhere needs to be resolved and it would be nice if it were done inside the first year’s worth of issues.

Eternals #1: Apparently Dan Didio isn’t interested in getting the money I would spend on the Fourth World, so I’m forced to spend that money elsewhere (see above as well as this entry). If you’ve read the early Eternals stuff, you can see that Kirby was in a very Chariot of the Gods mood back then (Gaiman even references that book), but the Eternals were unfortunately integrated into the Marvel Universe proper. Because of this, they’ve never really took off, they just don’t fit in the grander scheme that is the MU. Gaiman is apparently going to try and reimagine them back in and make it work this time. I enjoyed this first issue, but I’m willing to chock that up to being willing to give just about anything that’s moving a Kirbyverse forward. For six issues of Gaiman’s great writing, Kirby’s great concepts and Romita Jr.’s great art, I’m all in.

Liberty Meadows #37: I really shouldn’t have bought this. It is, after all, two freakin’ years late. Seriously, two years. But the fact is that the book is really funny and my wife loves it. We all know Cho now, he’s a very good artist. He’s got a sense of humor in strip form. Liberty Meadows is good comics and I’m stuck buying it even if it comes out every Centennial. It is my own personal shame.

Avengers Dream Team #3

Iron Man

Money, technology, a ridiculous level of firepower and the guts to wield all of it while tanked on bathtub gin…that’s Tony Stark, the invincible Iron Man! As Tony Stark, Tony is a multibillionaire, the owner of a multinational company and an inventor of military grade technology of world renown. As Iron Man, he’s his own bodyguard (one of the lamer secret identities, in my opinion, even if it does explain why they’re always near the same place at roughly the same time) and a human being wrapped in enough ordinance to take on a couple of Balkan nations without breaking a sweat. What Thor is up close, Iron Man does at distance and if it comes to a technological problem, Tony’ll have it fixed and patched into his armor before the Mad Thinker gets off his coffee break. Sure he’s wildly promiscuous and a dipso, but I think that just adds a little unpredictability, and who doesn’t want that when you’re fighting Dr. Doom or Ultron?

I used to like Iron Man quite a bit, but over the years my love affair with ol' Shellhead has gone the way of the dodo; while I'd be hard pressed to pinpoint at what time I started to drift away from the Iron Avenger's fan club, but I know what might best sum it up: the aformentioned issue of Busiek's run, when Cap tries to get Tony to break Morgan's control but Tony is too caught up in being a high-and-mighty knight to be able to do so. That inherent snobbery which has pervaded his characterization over recent years has made me distance myself from Mr. Stark.

Yellowjacket

Yup, that's right: instead of an alcoholic snob, I instead opt for a mentally disturbed wife-beater. Who says I don't make bold choices? I think one of the reasons I like Hank Pym as a character is that he does have all of these obstacles to overcome, and has successfully regained the trust and respect of those he once let down (Chuck Austen's horribly out-of-chracter run aside); after all, the infamous "wife-beating" aspect of Earth 616 Hank (as opposed to the rabid jackass Ultimate Hank) took place when the man was on the brink of a nervous breakdown. He's repented, atoned, reformed, and healed: as John Astin said on many an episode of Night Court, Hank's "feeling much better now." Out of all of Pym's many aliases, the one which I've always enjoyed the most is Yellowjacket, which has always struck me as the most interesting variation, both visually and in terms of abilities. Plus, I'm sure it doesn't hurt that this was the identity he was using when I first started reading the series.

I love the Yellowjacket outfit, Hank had a real look going there. He's also a scientific genius, so I can't argue against that since that's a selling point of Iron Man as well. But COME ON, as Yellowjacket he's essentially the Wasp without the hotness! Sure, he's done bad and made good and that's a major theme of the Avengers (they have a lot of ex-villains in the ranks, no wonder the MU USA wants to register them), so there's something metatextual there. I'm thinking this might come down to a pick of Yellowjacket because he makes for interesting reading while I would replace him with the Wasp because she's more interesting to look at. I don't think this qualifies as shallow so much as good marketing. Think of the covers, man!

I Know, I Know, But "Loyal Book Apes" Just Doesn't Have the Same Ring to It . . .

I am currently three weeks behind in my comic reading, due to my recent move screwing up the delivery of my comics,which is a tad frustrating. So far I've managed to stay spoiler-free for 52; not so for Civil War. Darn you, Sci-Fi Wire and your too descriptive headlines!

I'm hoping that by next week Bubblegum Tate and I can get things back on track and regale you with something other than increasingly non-controversial wish lists.

Until then, please enjoy a few testimonials for my alternate-universe publishing company, Infinite Monkey Press. Who knows, maybe someday I'll be able to import some of the titles across the vibrational barrier . . .

Avengers Dream Team #2

Thor

When it comes to raw power in the Marvel Universe, you can’t top the Mighty Thor. He’s so powerful he’d probably be able to hang in the DC Universe. There isn’t much to Thor other than being a raging powerhouse. Well, he does have the hammer and the hammer gives him the ability to fly, travel across dimensions (although usually only home to Asgard), hit people at great distances and spin it as a shield to deflect just about any attack thrown at him. Combine all that power, that weapon and the fact that Thor isn’t creative enough to know when to quit and you’ve got the “brick” of the Avengers.

I object to Thor solely on the basis that all of the "thee"s and "thou"s give me a headache.

Quasar
Remember that scene in Busiek's run that I mentioned last time? Well, our boy Wendell Vaughn was right there with Monica in the "I Heart Avengers" club. Plus, there's the cosmic-level powers and that whole "protector of the universe" thing. Oddly enough, I never really read Avengers while Quasar was a member; however, I was a huge fan of his solo series, and it's been a bummer that he's been moved to the background of the Marvel Universe since its cancellation. It would do my heart good to see Quasar back in the big leagues again; I've had great fear that Marvel might use the Annihilation "event" as an excuse to knock Wendell off.
If they did, I can only hope that it would be Kid Reaper who came to collect.

I'll give you Ye Olde Queen's Englishe gets really annoying from Thor, especially becuse he's a VIKING. STOOPID. I blame Stan for that side of things (not my precious King, no sir!). Let's replace Thor with... BETA RAY BILL!!!



Quasar is a good pick! I think in the MU someone who's operating on a "cosmic" scale is a very good idea. I mean, Thor sort of kicks out the jams on a higher plane, but he's not much for gathering intel which means he only knows what Odin wants him to know. Quasar has got his cosmic gauntleted finger on the pulse of the universe. Considering how often all roads lead to Earth in the MU, that makes good sense. Wow, where's the controversy? Is this just a goofy love fest where we disagree but admire eachother's intentions and forethought? LAME. Let's find something to argue about.

Avengers Dream Team #1

All right, I know that in our dream list introduction I said that we were going to also include an alternate member picked from the ranks of characters who've never held membership, but unfortunatley your good friend Cap'n Neurotic has been lax in his JLA Dream Team duties.

Lo siento.

However, Tate and I had both made quite a bit of headway on our Avengers discussions back when we first started working on our dream team ideas, so rather than leaving our reader(s?) hanging, I figured we'd save the alternates for later, and dive right into our ideas for the best line-up of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Captain America

Cap is the leader of the Avengers. That’s not a fact, it is an ontological statement describing who he IS. Nobody is more qualified to lead the Avengers based on combat experience, tactical and strategic know-how or ability to inspire. When Cap says that you’ve got to get it done, nobody asks how, they just follow him to the job. On top of this, he’s an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, a gymnast and carries an indestructible shield that keeps him alive and in the thick giving orders where lesser mortals might be turned into red, white and blue paste.

Blah blah blah contrarian blah blah can't really argue blah blah blah and now my pick.

Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau)


I could mention her wide range of powers, or her many years on the team, or her stints as leader, but my choice of Captain Marvel (can't bring myself to call her Photon, let alone Pulsar) can be traced back to possibly my favorite moment of Kurt Busiek's run on The Avengers: the scene when Captain America and Hawkeye try to snap their ensorceled teammates out of Morgan le Fey's spell by appealing to their inner pride in being Avengers. A depressingly small number of them responded to the call, but Monica was chief among them. That's one of the things I looked for when picking my team: someone whose identity is tied so tightly with the team. Maybe it's the whole "living together in a mansion" thing, but to me, the Avengers were always closer to being a family than the Justice League, and it's that close-knit behavior which I most associate with them. Of course, that's not the only criteria, otherwise Captain America and Hawkeye both would have made the cut. I also tend to have empathy for those characters who have no outlet other than the team book: Cap and Hawkeye have ranged far and wide, but outside of Avengers, Monica has been sorely lacking in exposure for far too long, although Nextwave (which I have yet to read) might remedy that.

I own that issue of Avengers, awesome stuff. I can see why you'd use that as a criteria. With the JLA, theyr'e pretty much solo acts that come together for the biggest problems, but the Avengers are family and you want someone who is really committed to the fam if you're going to do a season of Real Word New York of the Marvel Universe. Which is essentially what the Avengers are. Several heroes, picked to live in a mansion, given a goofy job and then watched to see what happens when they stop being polite and start getting real.

I'd be curious to know now if Nextwave has sated your craving for Monica. I find the book hilarious, but I also have no emotional attachment to previous incarnations of the characters (those that existed before).

Bottom line, I can't really argue against this choice because she's acquitted herself as an Avenger well in the past but, once again, I find myself making some picks based on the awe they inspire. And Captain Marvel does not inspire my awe.

Justice League Dream Team #7

Mister Miracle

I’m a total freak for the Fourth World, so this one won’t come as a huge shock to those that know me. However, why Scott over Orion or Barda? I needed someone who knew there way around technology. Mister Miracle has the greatest relationship with a Mother Box EVER and while he might not be a genius of technology, she IS! Just get Mother Box near the techno-problem, and she’ll start solve it quicker than you can say “Hightfather’s PJs.” How many times do the villains put the heroes in some elaborate death trap? Once in a while, one might answer. If you were in a diabolical death trap, would you rather have Superman or the guy who escaped from Apokolips when he was barely out of his teens? Scott Free all the way, man! Plus, if the JLA were ever in a real pinch for firepower, Scott just has to call his wife and ask her to help out. In case you didn’t know, Scott Free is married to Big Barda, onetime leader of Darkseid’s Female Furies. We’re talking about a woman who beat down the Wonder Woman of the 853^rd century (“She might last a week or two on the firepit crust-colonies of Armagetto,” Barda says after knocking Wonder Woman through most of the Watchtower, “but she lacks discipline.”)!

Mister Miracle rounds out this team and makes it the perfect Justice League of America.

I know this flies in the face of all of Tate's Kriby-love (I suspect he was tempted to have an All New Gods JLA), but I never have liked the idea of having any of the Fourth World characters in the League; I think I've always felt that the New Gods were a bit too, I don't know, cosmic to be involved with the League. Yes, Scott and Barda worked well in Giffen's League due to the comedic tone, and the inclusion of the New Gods during Morrison's run fit in with the escalating threat of his run, but on the whole, I shy away from the idea. So, who is my 7th? Let me tell you, I've gone back and forth on this a lot, and after a heated round of einey-meeny-miney-moe, I've settled on:

Captain Atom


I realize that my League is a bit testosterone heavy, and I was this close to choosing Black Canary, but something made me go with the good Captain instead. I think Captain Atom is one of those characters who hasn't fared so well over the years outside of his own title; in his previous tenures in the League he was often portrayed as bumbling, intolerant, and kind of unlikable hot-head. A lot of that came from him being the straight man in Giffen's JLE, and a lot came from the horror story that was Extreme Justice (the less said about that the better). I guess I'd just like a chance for Nate to finally step forward and show his potential as a leader without all of the artificial obstacles being thrown in his way.

The Fourth World is pretty cosmic, this is true. But Scott and Barda are about as down-to-earth as you can get in the DCU. They live here...and in suburbia. Plus, they're really great characters. It isn't like I wanted Lightray in the League or anything. That would be totally weak.

While I can certainly understand wanting Captain Atom in the League for both firepower and to give him a shot at being a likable guy (Extreme Justice was quite the load of baggage for him), I'm surprised to see him mentioned as leader. You can see from earlier that I assumed Hawkman would be the leader of Todd's JLA and I stand by that pick. Maybe Captain Atom would be a good second in command, but with Katar around I can't see him wearing the big shoes at the Big Show, Nate's tenure as leader in the JLE notwithstanding.

Wow...the most non-argument argument ever. On to the Alternates!