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So apparently,
they're making a Black Panther movie. Let's hope Hudlin is kept as far away as possible. On a related note, anyone think that the whole 'Super Hero that is also a King/Ruler' is kind of ridiculous? I mean where do heroes like Aquaman and T'Challa find the time to both lead a nation and go gallavanting on the other side of the globe?
Edited by Mrph1 on Sep 1st 2024 at 8:36:28 PM
I misremembered. It was apparently Warren Traveler, who may or may not be related but was magical. And did keep trying for seven years to beat up Captain Marvel Carol.
Forever liveblogging the AvengersThe Midnight Suns game should have romance options. The only reason I don't think they would is that there's only three women in the cast and two of them are gay, so male player characters have only Carol to romance.
I know we headcanon Steve Rodgers to be Bi, but a tie in game isn't going to be where they first protray it.
Edited by Whowho on Feb 20th 2022 at 5:16:25 PM
For a second I thought they put Victoria Montesi in the game (probably because I mixed up Midnight Sons and Darkhold Redeemers), but Nico is bi and Magik is unknown, no matter how much both people who genuinely want representation and people who want to pretend X-Men has more representation than it actually does want to claim she counts as representation.
Still probably no romance, though.
I've been thinking about how the past decades have had their trends that shift the design and conception of heroes then.
The 90's is obviously 90's Anti-Heroes which an overt focus on machismo, edge, guns, swords, big guns, big swords, looking violent and being named dark and/or violent names. DC even had an entire crossfire designed to introduce a bunch of new characters, guys named Gunfire who can anything he touches into a gun and shit like that.
The 2000's had a focus on "maturity" and "realism" which meant lots of civie-spandex non-costumes and characters acting like assholes. Examples include the Foxmen film series for their "realistic" black leather outfits and the Ultimates line which had an emphasis on grounding the fantastic setting of the characters and made their costumes sleeker civie spandex types.
The 2010's to now is a bit interesting, I think the current thing is a focus on social awareness and diversity. Unfortunately that trend is kinda embodied by the cancelled New Warriors team who were an attempt at being socially aware, they were just really bad at it. Like there are good examples of course like Kamala Khan which now that I think about it, the Champions original mission statement was a focus on social awareness and solving the "big problems" without violence.
Wonder how the trend is gonna shift for this decade.
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."I think we are slowly getting better at that. 3 years ago Suicide Squad introduced the Revolutionaries a new diverse socially aware team and none of them appear particularly headbangy as the New Warriors are while maintaining a large level of diversity being multi-national, multi-racial, multi-sexual, and multi-gender.
Interestingly while they have a similar mission statement to the Champions of saving the world, while the Champions wanted to save the world without relying on violence the Revolutionaries instead are all about saving the world through overwhelming force and absolute violence.
Their first appearance was while an American general was showing off 3 new nuclear submarines during a press assembly, the Revolutionaries proceeded to assassinate him and destroy all the subs in broad daylight.
Edited by slimcoder on Feb 21st 2022 at 1:41:56 AM
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."I think they are intended to be anti-heroes but an issue with the narrative is that it never does properly call out their ethics in being overly murderous to the point that Harley and Deadshot of all people had to argue with them not to kill everyone they meet. Even weirder are inconsistencies like one of the more nobler members The Aerie (fun fact Aerie is nonbinary) saying that Deadshot is a tragic victim worthy of redemption despite him being a professional assassin who kills purely for money and the desire to kill people.
And then the story ends with them positioning Black Mask in the right spot so they can execute him in a way that gives "everyone on the team a shot at him" and when the League show up to take him away they spitefully shoot him in both legs "Cause he doesn't need both legs to be captured."
Of course when actual superheroes appear, the leader Osita launches a tirade right to Superman's face about how superheroes suck because they "defend the status quo, fight the establishments, and don't permanently end threats" so they are definitely one of those kinds of people.
Which in fairness members like Deadly Six and Wink are very friendly and affable with the leader even being a superhero fangirl to the disgust of several of her teammates. Still when the League does show up to arrest them since they are technically terrorists they react with a smug superiority especially over the protection they are receiving from the island they are on due to its president being Aerie's mom.
So its a bit of a mixed bag overall. I think they kinda qualify for Designated Hero or Protagonist Centered Morality to a degree.
Edited by slimcoder on Feb 21st 2022 at 9:09:55 AM
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."I think we forgot about that Dark Ages comic. Issue four came out I think sometime back in January:
- In order to save Tony and the other people captured by Apocalypse, a team is organized. A downed Helicarrier is being used as a ship (in a nod to the Marauders), with Storm using her powers to push it, Nightcrawler as the captain, and Madrox and Collosus as part of the crew.
Doom, Peter, Laura and her clone Gabby, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, and I believe Pepper Pott (in some kind of Iron Man suit that must be steam punk, analogue or something, since how else would it even work in this universe), Susan Storm, Moon Girl, Nick Fury and Dr. Doom are all on the mission.
Doom says they need to kill Apocalypse. He also says they'll need to put in a new leader. Everyone else gets suspicious of that (cause it's Doom and all) but then they hear a scream. Peter's daughter May and Luke's daughter Dani snuck aboard....but May is screaming because her her head hurts...and Peter realizes his does too.
They get attack by....The Ghost Raiders. People who made the Ghost Rider deal and became fucking pirates. And Poor Nick Fury is the first victim, getting a spear through the chest. Fortunately, they're saved by Ant Man (Scot Lang version) and Fin Fang Foom, who are known as the Guardians of the Port.
....This is good stuff. I like it.
One Strip! One Strip!They had it for most of it's run. Besides Not relying on violence doesn't mean they wouldn't fight if necessary.
That sounds like what Banner and Devil Hulk were doing. Though they did it because it was necessary against Dario Agger.
Edited by Cortez on Feb 23rd 2022 at 7:57:02 AM
I think the main difference there is a lack of apparent self-awareness and introspection. Like Devil Hulk's rage against the system was questioned to degree by characters on whether it was a valid method. Like how Cho didn't approve of it while Namor supported it.
The Revs meanwhile never really receive any level of introspection. They are more akin to characters like Punisher and The Authority, being characters who kill without remorse in the name of peace and/or vengeance. An evolution of the concept really, going from a white guy who kills brutally to a lesbian Puerto Rican who kills brutally.
They are kinda unlikable but that is a natural result of completely new characters upstaging older ones and calling them archaic.
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."I've recently realized that the whole "why don't superheroes solve Real Problems™" narrative is narmy for the same reason things like, say, "John Harrison is Khan" and "Franz Oberhauser is Blofeld" are - because they call in-story attention to distinctions that, when you think about it, matter only to the audience in the real world, not the characters in the story, and thus they remind you that you're reading a story. In Marvel and DC, the mundane and supernatural exist side by side, and the general public knows this. Alien invasions, evil wizards and such are just as much Real Problems™ to the people in the stories as things like corporate corruption and sexual harassment, and yet somehow the people in the stories see a distinction that they logically shouldn't, which takes you out of the story.
Bleh, hope that load of word-vomit made sense.
I like that.
Plus, if Superheroes are fighting real problems (which, in universe, they are) then it's because the writers don't have them do so, so you're essentially calling yourself out for not writing about things you think are important, and then still not having them do it.
One Strip! One Strip!It just goes to show that if you're going to have them deal with this stuff, you really have to think it through about what you want them to say.
One Strip! One Strip!Define what the “real problems” are in this context?
I’m not sure I’d consider Injustice that (we don’t usually have evil clowns nuking cities), but in any case most major real life issues are complex. Superheroes are often just extremely large hammers, so solving the “real problems” often becomes “take over by force and make the world how I want it.”
Edit: On that, how well do you think the Dark Knight Returns works on that score? It places superheroes in Cold War politics but goes in the opposite direction of Injustice where Batman WANTS Supes to take over rather than subordinate himself to a corrupt institution in the form the the Reagan administration (and later Lex Luthor’s).
Edited by CheapMarzipan on Feb 23rd 2022 at 12:34:34 PM
Or in the case of anti-heroes like the ones I mentioned where its basically kill, kill, kill indiscriminate amounts of people with no end in sight.
Which really it is mostly used as a form of character shilling. In Injustice case its obvious, in others especially when the new character is younger it very much has the feel of "Hey young reader, think our classic heroes are to old and fuddy duddy for you? Well here's some new kickass modern totally radical heroes who'll show up your grandpa's hero."
"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."

Ove, Amora and Namor's asshole future son
Uh Judas Traveller apparently.
Forever liveblogging the Avengers