comic books: July 2006 Archives
By now, even the most casual of comic book fans have heard about Spider-Man revealing his secret identity to the world in the pages of Marvel's Civil War series. As a comic fan and someone who cut his geek teeth on Spidey comics and cartoons, I feel the need to provide commentary on this big event.
The way I see it, there are two ways to look at the decision Marvel's editors made. The first is from the standpoint of character. Rather, was it true to Peter Parker's character to make this choice and reveal his secret identity? Despite all of the top dogs' claims that they thought it was true to who Spidey was, I disagree. I don't think it was something Peter Parker would do, if he was a real person who actually had, as a personal history, those thirty years of stories under his belt.
I know that as a teacher, the deaths of those kids due to superhero malfeasance would probably weigh heavily on Peter. Also, I know he's indebted to Tony Stark, and views him as sort of a father figure. Both of these would seem to push Peter to agree with Tony and do the reveal. But I think the powers-that-be are missing an even greater facet of Peter's character here, and that's a lifetime devoted to defying authority. Peter has never been one to submit to the people in charge. He's lived his entire life outside the lines, often being labeled a criminal or in the least, a nuisance. And that's never bothered him. He's made countless decisions throughout his career that have pushed the boundaries of or even broken the law, and all because he believes that what's right isn't always what's legal, and what's legal isn't always right.
By nature, Peter should've been uncomfortable from the start with the new law governing superheroic activity. He should know that while the heroes may be bound by the ruling, the villains never would be. Peter's by no means an anarchist, but he's shown throughout his career that rules and regulations aren't his cup of tea. But do I think this general lawlessness is enough to get Peter to defy his new father figure? No, but there's one more factor to this equation: Peter Parker's sense of responsibility.
Sure, most people are viewing the situation as Peter fulfilling his responsibilities to the common man. But what about his responsibility to the rest of the powered community? Peter lives in Avengers Tower right now, surrounded by the most powerful heroes and advanced technology on earth, with Mary Jane and Aunt May under constant watch. But what about those heroes working the streets, whose relatives, friends and associates are not under Iron Man's care? What about them? If their identities were compromised, their loved ones wouldn't last very long. After years of living with a secret identity and trying to keep his family and friends alive (often without success), I don't think Peter would expect all other heroes to willingly unmask and put those people at risk. So, looking at it this way, I think it's not at all consistent with the character.
The other way to look at this reveal is from an editorial standpoint. In other words: Will this event lead to some good stories? And it's here that I contradict my earlier statements about character. While I do think this action goes against Peter's character, I have to admit that it could be the best thing that's happened to the character in years.
Let's face it, Spidey's been getting more and more boring since marrying MJ and settling down to a normal day job. The whole death/resurrection thing that happened in "The Other" was fairly worthless, his new powers and costume are overkill, and his role with the Avengers sort of takes him a little out of that "everyman" role we loved to see. In summary, the character has been dying a slow death. But this change, whether I agree with it from a character standpoint or not, should serve to reinvigorate the storytelling and provide some new insights into the hero. There should easily be several years worth of story arcs that stem from this change, with villains old and new now having a different view of (and different access to) the hero. And even other heroes can react to the change, allowing a lot of crossover potential.
From an editorial standpoint, Spider-Man revealing his secret identity could turn out to be a bold and revolutionary move that sets the standard for "risk" in comic book publishing. After all, Spider-Man may be the most recognized hero in the world, or at least in the Marvel Universe. Do you think DC would ever make such a big change with their top dog? Do you think Batman or Superman would ever go public? I don't really think so.
The big question now, of course, is not whether you agree with the change or not, but whether Marvel will stick with it. Joe Quesada has promised in countless interviews that this won't become a dream or there won't be a mindwipe or any other comic book trick for making people forget who Peter Parker is. He swears this is a permanent move.
Only time (and the book's sales numbers) will tell.
When DC Comics announced that they'd be relaunching all of their titles one year into the future after the end of Infinite Crisis, I thought it was a great idea. Sure, Infinite Crisis was underwhelming, but the prospect of a follow-up reboot and reshuffling of every title in the DC universe seemed like a big deal to me. I imagined the rosters of group books getting a grand shake-up. I pictured individual heroes and heroines suddenly showing up with new costumes, new locations, new supporting casts or even new identities. I basically figured we'd get something brand new and bewildering, and would then have to look to the miniseries 52 to get the explanation of how we got to that point.
Sadly, what I expected and what we received aren't quite the same.
I read nine DC titles, not counting Vertigo books: JLA, JLA Classified, JSA, JSA Classified, Hawkman, Blue Beetle, Legion of Superheroes, Justice and 52. In those titles, here's how exciting this whole "One Year Later" move has been:
JLA: Cancelled. Will soon relaunch as the new Justice League of America. The new book could be good, but since the team disbanded during Infinite Crisis, it really could have picked up "three months later," and it still would've been an all-new team.
JLA Classified: This book is really a bunch of stand-alone arcs that have no relevance to the rest of DC continuity, so it jumps around in time, anyway. The "One Year Later" concept didn't touch it. Which is a shame, since any change would've been better than the god-awful "JLA Detroit" flashback they're doing right now.
JSA: Cancelled. Will soon relaunch as the new Justice Society of America. They did have four issues between the "One Year Later" reboot and cancellation. But in those four issues, we saw nothing different from before Infinite Crisis. Same heroes, same villains, no big change. And, again, the relaunch could've happened immediately after Infinite Crisis and been just as impactful.
JSA Classified: This book is similar to JLA Classified, except that its stories do seem rooted in regular continuity. So it did jump one year ahead, though that didn't really matter to the most recent story arc. Having Vandal Savage go after Green Lantern was a plotline that could've happened ten years ago as well as one year in the future.
Blue Beetle: This is one of the only books that "One Year Later" actually dramatically effected. The new Beetle returns home after being M.I.A. for a year, only to find his best friend's become a gangbanger, his dad's become an invalid, and he no longer belongs. Decent drama that actually makes it seem like a year has passed.
Legion of Super Heroes: Since it's set in an alternate future anyway, I didn't really expect a change. However, they did throw Supergirl into the mix, which is only confusing to a casual fan like me. I mean, I see her on the cover of a dozen other DC books every time I go to the comic shop. So how is she also in the future? And why should I care? I really don't get the attraction to this revived character, so her addition to this book meant nothing to me.
Justice: Since it's an Elseworlds book, it's not tied into normal DC continuity. The only tie it has to "One Year Later" is that it has sometimes taken a full year between issues.
52: I'm still buying these, but I've stopped reading them until they start to pile up a little. So far, the book has tried to give attention to too many cast members, meaning that we only get a tiny piece of a character's story each issue, then have to remember that tiny detail through eight other storylines until the next month. It's too hard to follow--or to care about--when read as it comes out. Of course, even without reading it, I know it didn't jump a year into the future when it began...since it's the title that explains what happens in that lost year.
As you can see, the effects of this major event have been relatively minor on the titles I read. I know they've done a bit more with the concept in regards to other titles (Catwoman and Green Arrow being two good examples). But considering the jump ahead has also resulted in the absence of Superman and Batman from their own titles, this "major reboot" has been more of a stalling technique while DC gets its new books together. Not worth the effort, as far as I'm concerned.
Does anyone read any other DC books and have a comment or two on this relaunch? Spill your thoughts in the comments!
Those of you who read this site know that I'm nothing if not derivative. So it should come as no surprise that I'm directly stealing another blogger's idea for this next post.
A while ago, Devon from Seven Hells posted about Patron Saints and his decision to pick one for his own blog. He said:
I've noticed alot of bloggers have them. Some cotton to a Green Lantern prone to massive head traumas. Some have an obsessive love for little boy sidekicks.
What I'm talking about is a character we've all sort of adopted as the ultimate expression of our respective blogs' "mission statement." Our own personal "patron saints," so to speak.
Devon waffled between choosing Lady Cop, Hawkman, or Wildcat for his blog. For me, the decision was much clearer. There was only one hero who could represent all that Push the Pull Door stands for:
Yeah, yeah, I know you're all thinking one of two things right now, either "Who the heck is Quasar?" or "Why would anyone pick that mulleted second-stringer?" But once you know a little about the hero, the reasoning is much more obvious.
Quasar is actually Wendell Vaughn, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent relegated to security duty when it's deemed that he doesn't have the killer instinct necessary to be a field agent. But while guarding the alien quantum bands once worn by Marvel Boy, Wendell found himself in a desperate situation and had to don the bands to save himself. The quantum bands, by the way, had killed the few S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who'd previously tried to master them. But Wendell had no problem using them. The previous bearers had all been men of "uncompromising willl," and their battle for control led the energy weapons to achieve critical mass. Bye bye, agents. But Wendell, facing the same impending disaster, decided to let the energy consume him...basically giving up. When this happened, the battle for control was over, and the bands calmed down. No big boom.
Do you see where this is going? Wendell is the only one able to wear the quantum bands...because he's such a loser! It's his willingness to accept defeat, to give up, that makes him the perfect bearer of such a powerful weapon.
Could there be a better patron saint for this site than the ultimate underachiever? The world's greatest slacker? The living embodiment of Generation X? His ineptitude and self-doubt is something I can totally relate to. In fact, if I had the universe's greatest weapon on my wrists, I like to think I'd be just as clueless and impotent.
Some of you probably remain unconvinced of Quasar's coolness. And I have to admit, the powers-that-be seem to agree, as they've kept Quasar on the fringes of the Marvel Universe for quite some time. I believe that demonstrates more of a lack of focus on the editorial team's part than any inherent flaw in the character. When Quasar was first given any real character development, he was pretty much a Green Lantern ripoff. His quantum bands were the Marvel equivalent of GL's power ring. They could make energy constructs, provide life support and protection for their wearer, and even give advice. This concept, although unoriginal, was handled masterfully by the late, great Mark Gruenwald. Wendell, under Gruenwald's care, was so lacking in self confidence that he never really understood or utilized the bands to their fullest. He may have had the universe's greatest weapons on his wrists, but his own personality flaws kept him from becoming a god among men. He was the opposite of DC's Hal Jordan, the man with the unbreakable will. Wendell Vaughn remained an everyman, allowing all of us readers to imagine what it would be like to wield such power (and to believe we could do better under such a burden).
But the writers that took over after Gruenwald didn't really get that side of the character. They didn't understand that it was his self-doubt that kept the power in check and made the character relateable. Without that, he was hard to work into a story, since he could basically do anything with his quantum bands. Once they lost the self-doubt, the Marvel gurus had to sentence Quasar to life in outer space, because he was just too darned powerful to live on Earth and participate in the rest of the Marvel line. (Now that I think of it, he's very similar to the current Sentry character in that way. Without his craziness and schizophrenia to keep him in check, the Sentry would probably be shipped off to Mars, too. And even with those flaws, he's kept in the background, lest he take over the Marvel U.)
It should also be noted that once artist Greg Capullo left the Quasar title, there was another problem for the Marvel editors to tackle: what to do with the mullet. Capullo cut his teeth on Quasar, and had developed Wendell as a pretty boy with shaggy blonde hair, almost effeminate, yet still very male. The whole package somehow worked, despite the questionable design choices. But once he was gone, Wendell just looked like a beach bum with a bad haircut. And the new artists even decided to change his costume, adding insult to injury. Successive appearances of the hero show his hair getting worse and worse (often needing an eighties-style headband just to keep it out of his eyes). It was awful.
The character is currently appearing in the Annihilation storyline, and it appears that they have the hair (and costume) issue under control. But the jury is still out on that one. I'll let you know more when I get caught up in my reading.
If you're still not convinced that the ultimate slacker is a worthy patron saint of this site, here are some more things to consider:
- Quasar's middle name is Elvis
- Quasar once had the power cosmic, which came with "cosmic awareness." Despite his ability to see and know all things, he was still constantly clueless and taken by surprise at least once per issue.
- Quasar wore the Star Brand, and is still the current Marvel U's only real link to the New Universe.
- Quasar is an Avenger (and not just the West Coast variety)!
- Quasar was chosen as a mate by Her, the perfect woman!
- Quasar once helped the Eternal Makkari compete in an intergalactic footrace that was won by a red and gold character known as the "buried alien"! (For those of you who don't get the joke, it was a Marvel comic tribute to Barry Allen, DC comics' Flash. How cool is that?)
- Quasar is the duly-appointed "Protector of the Universe"!
- Quasar failed S.H.I.E.L.D. field training (seemingly the only person in the Marvel U to ever do so)!
- Quasar's first foe in his solo title was Angar the Screamer!
- Quasar can teleport via the "Quantum Zone"!
- Quasar has died and come back...twice!
- Quasar once wielded the Ultimate Nullifier!
- Quasar carries with him the spirit of Ego, the Living Planet!
I think I've made a compelling case for our pal, Quasar, to be the patron saint of this site. Do you disagree? Who do you think would be a better fit? Make your case in the comments, or let me know who you'd choose for your own site. The great thing about this is that there are no wrong answers!
Finally, after a week of delays, mishaps, and total chaos, it's here:
COMIC BOOK WEEK, 2006!
All this week, or at least for the next six or seven posts, Push the Pull Door will be entirely devoted to comics and their extensions into mainstream media. With topics ranging from "How I'd Kill Superman" to "Superhero Movie Casting Call", we're about to totally geek out in full color.
Speaking of full color, you may notice that I didn't create a logo for my theme week. This is regrettable, and the sort of amateur bullshit that pros like Dave Campbell and Devon Sanders would never try to pull on their respective audiences. But my thinking here was that comic book week had already been pushed back a week. If I waited until I had a logo made, you wouldn't see your first funnybook post for at least another month.
Anyway, let the comic bookery commence!