Discussion Main / ReverseCerebusSyndrome

What is that, a pic for ants? Make it link to a larger version of itslef.

I realise it’s the page image and everything, but I’m really unsure about the Ultimate Universe example. It’s a long time since I read these comics, and I haven’t read all of them, so I could be off-base here, but here’s what I think.

Firstly, the tone seems off; coming pretty close to saying the addition of Funny Animals to the Ultimate Universe is a sign They Just Didn't Care. Tropes Are Tools. If you want to accuse creators in the later days of the Ultimate Universe of not caring, I’d probably be looking at the ones saying "What if we threw another disaster at them, because Ultimatum worked so well?"

Secondly, I'm not even sure it is an example. Reading the quote, what I’m getting is that, after a series of terrible events, they get a visitor from another universe where exactly the same terrible events happened, only worse, and everyone died. Yes, this happened to Funny Animals with silly names, but so did Grandville. It looks to me that, while Fialkov may have been interested in adding some whimsy and absurdity to the Ultimate line, he was also interesting in seeing how seriously you could take the Spider-Ham characters. (These goals are not mutually incompatible. "Funny is not the opposite of serious. It is the opposite of not funny and of nothing else." – G. K. Chesterton.) We have a whole trope about taking Funny Animals seriously.

Thirdly, as far as the page image goes, yes, giving Captain Americat Animal Jingoism in place of regular Cap’s regular jingoism is clearly a joke. But the thing is, the original line was also supposed to be a joke. (We know this because Millar felt it necessary to devote a scene later to Hawkeye telling Cap how funny it was.) Millar’s Blacker-Than-Black Humor is not exactly to my taste, but suggesting a writer responsible for a naked Hulk roaming the streets of New York threatening to eat Freddy Prinze Jr was taking it seriously seems unlikely.

Okay, rant over. It's probably just me.

(Don't even get me started on Doctor Who...)

I don't think Deadpool should be on the list. ESPECIALLY not the version by Joe Kelly. Yes, he made Deadpool insane. He also made him completely emotionally crippled and barely able to handle the fact that he was failing to be the hero he was trying to be. He also abused Blind Al immensely including that room (ah crap what was it called? The Box?) with all the sharp dangly blades and hooks among other things. This was character development and NOT this trope.

A misplaced message from Rhyme Beat:

Oh my got this Needs A Better Name. Especially when we're dealing with a Series Trope Namer adding reverse just is akward. I'd go with an actual example. Perhaps Peanuts Syndrome? Good trope but akward name.