Tim, my best friend Jason Torres send me the Batman Rogues DC Direct set. They so rock. Croc might be my new favorite figure! But to change the subject quickly, Tim are there any new TV shows that you’ve discovered in this Mid-Season?
Nothing new this Mid-Season has really jumped out at me. Mostly, I am excited for the return of Scrubs and 24, both of which are off to excellent starts. I’ll catch in on a new show every now and again, but so far nothing has made me want to stick around.
Links
IP Music is undergoing some interesting changes.
IP Movies has some damn fine readin’!
IP Games will have your thumbs aching.
IP Figures has some of the best images around!
IP TV is all abuzz about 24.
IP Sports has reactions to the playoffs.
Moodspins is a great place to spend an hour just reading.
IP Culture never gets tiring.
Our DC Forums has reactions to the DC solits for April!
Tim, whatever will you link this week?
In honor of two of my favorite shows returning, I’m linking to sites about them.
Here is the comprehensive Scrubs site and a couple of 24 fan blogs.
What I Read Last Week
Hawkman #48 – Great cover. Solid story. It’s great to see more about the Rann/Thanagar War and the aftershocks. It nice to see Kendra finally succumb to Carter’s charms.
JLA #124 – Boring. I’m glad that Dawn is getting some page time, but this story is really dragging.
DMZ #3 – I actually liked this issue. The first two barely held me, but this I really enjoyed this one. I may stick with this title.
100 Bullets – I so wish that DC hadn’t messed up the Vertigo Boards, because I’d have loved to read the reaction to this issue. A sexy scar and a scary tattoo, this is one book that really delivers on the cliffhangers.
Green Arrow #58 – Loved Paul Lee’s art! The story was pretty good, but man was it great to see Paul’s art again. Glad that Connor and Jeff survived.
Captain Atom Armageddon #4 – This book works as a great guide to the Wildstorm Universe. It was very cool to see Nate take out the Wildcats one by one. I’m looking forward to the Authority next issue.
Son of M #2 – Eh. I’m not a fan of the Inhumans. But I dig Pietro’s desperation. Next issue seems to look promising.
Sadly no one placed the lyric from last week’s column. But we’re still going to go ahead and do a column this week nonetheless.
Someday though, we won’t. That’ll teach you a lesson
R. Hardin returns!
I must say that I was quite disappointed to see the end of “R. Hardin’s Question of the Week” regarding the JLA. Alas, it was a good run. In fact, I never email “internet personalities,” so I surprised myself a little by how giddy I was not only to see my question answered, but also see it answered again…and again…and again, albeit with an increasing level of sarcasm each time.
Us? Sarcasm?
Anyway, since all the JLA business is apparently over, I had a couple of questions: One about one of my favorite characters, and one about Infinite Crisis. I also have a brief rant about another of my favorites.
What is your assessment of the character Damage? I am probably the only person in the universe with a complete run of his solo book, and I was sad to see it cancelled so early in its run. The character, I believe has great potential. I mean, he’s the “son” of the entire JLA and JSA, he’s got “wacky out of control powers” which are always cool, and he (along with The Spectre) was the freakin’ Big Bang that restarted the universe at the end of Zero Hour when Hal Jordan was trying to remake it in his image.
Ah, R. Hardin’s Question of the Week. Good times. Good times. Sadly we had to retire it before I got to cast my all Black JLA. It would have been an affair to remember.
Wait…you were going to do an all Black Justice League and we stopped before you did? What kind of justice is that?
But back you to your actual question this week, I can’t say that I dug Damage. I had the first few issues of his title, mainly because I was curious about his origins. But revelations weren’t too quick in being revealed so I bailed.
When I did find out where he came from I remember being disappointed. It was such a cop out. Genetic samples and DNA from all over the place just seems rather cheap to me.
I’m also not a fan of his powers. Sure the whole “wacky out of control powers” works as a concept, usually. But Damage makes things go boom. He blows things up. That’s not interesting to me. Even though I liked Impulse and Green Lantern, I avoided The New Titans. That may have had something to do with Damage being part of the team.
I didn’t like his powers, origin or even his costume. Damage did nothing for me. I’m sorry. I was actually hoping that Damage would die on the pages of Infinite Crisis just so that his fans could finally get their closure.
Tim, how do you feel about that man they call “Damage?”
I loved his appearance during the JLA’s first recruitment drive when he brought the roof down on the joint (literally), but I honestly have not read much else featuring him besides that.
However, I do have some affection for him (which is why you’ll see him pop up, now and again, in our various suggestions for team membership and the like) because of who I associate him with. I tend to associate him with a certain graduating class that include Kyle Rayner, Connor Hawke, The Ray (as done by Christopher Priest), and so on. I look to that era as a great time in DC history. It was past the stunts (Death of Superman, Broken Bat, Crazy Hal, Blown up Oliver, etc) and was all about these new characters making their way in the DCU. Sadly, of course, it was destined to pass, but that’s when I really started to appreciate DC. Thus, although I did not read Damage now or then, I will always associate him with that time and that’ll make me smile.
R. Hardin is into all the latest high tech toys
What is the deal with the machine thingy Alexander Luthor and Superboy-Prime have built, apparently out of the corpse of the Anti-Monitor? It seems they are using “left-over” people from various parallel Earth’s (Lady Quark, Pariah, etc.) to “power” it as well. What gives?
Since I’m typing this on New Comics Eve, I can still make a guess without having read the latest issue, which allegedly drops tomorrow.
That “machine thingy” looks pretty much identical to the tower devices that the Monitor put on Earth 1 and Earth 2 in the Crisis on Infinite Earths. They were kind of like vibrational tuning forks or some such. Heroes were dispatched to protect them at all costs.
Those devices were activated, but a terrible cost. When they were triggered they transported the Earths to a pocket universe where they didn’t really have to worry about the Anti Matter wave that was destroying everything.
(That last paragraph may have been the most fanboyish thing I’ve ever written.)
Anyway, I’m guessing that the tower that Luthor has built is an attempt to undo the “universe” and bring back the “multiverse.” Since those characters that are in the Tower appear to be from different realities, I’m going to pretend that the Tower tunes into them. And using J’onn as an example, I’m going to say that killing J’onn will eliminates every character from Earth 1 from the current Earth.
But I suppose that we’ll find out much more tomorrow.
Tim, any theories?
I’m sort of with you on yours, but it does not fully explain what Breach would be doing there and I certainly do not get your idea about J’onn. Otherwise, I think it is pretty viable.
My only other thought is that it is a big honkin’ death ray. ‘Cause villains love that sort of thing.
Aaron has murder on his mind
Leslie Thompkins, homicidal maniac? Explain.
For the record that’s Tim’s interpretation of War Games (available now where ever great Batman trades are sold!).
I don’t view Leslie as a “homicidal maniac.” I view her as someone who’s putting her foot down about a situation that she feels has gotten out of control.
Think about it like this; Leslie patched up Bruce during the early days and she could deal with that because Bruce was angry. Still she had a hand in his becoming Batman because she helped him out when he was still a lad.
Then came Dick Grayson. She probably wasn’t comfortable Dick taking to the life, but she rationalized it because his situation was so similar to Bruce’s. Still this was a kid.
But then Dick begat Jason, and Jason begat Tim. With each new Robin, Leslie was having more and more of a difficult time to justify aligning herself with Batman and his decisions. Bruce taking that punishment wasn’t a big deal, he was a grown adult and decided to live that life. But these young boys, children really, were risking their lives for a crusade that wasn’t really theirs.
Thus when Stephanie became Robin, Leslie knew that Bruce had gone too far. Here was a girl who was only a kid, yet already a mother, who was putting her life on the line for the approval of Batman. Not because her parents has been murdered in front of her eyes, not because of a thirst for justice, but because Batman made it look cool. Leslie couldn’t deal with that. Her conscience was full.
In War Games Stephanie was tortured but could have survived with the proper medial attention. Leslie denied that attention. Stephanie died. Leslie put Stephanie out of her misery.
Tim, I know you disagree with me on this, but allow me to pose the following scenario; you’ve got a friend who happens to participate in dogfights. He loves to pit his dogs against other dogs for profit. Now, he’s asking you to take one of his injured dogs to the vet to get patched up. The dog is badly injured, but if it receives the appropriate attention it’ll live to fight another day. So do you take the dog to get all patched up for another fight, or do you let the dog go and accept the inevitable?
That’s a pretty specious comparison there Mathan. For one thing, Stephanie was a person, not a dog. I love dogs, but I still have to admit that I value human life more.
However, we need not even ever got into the comparison of human vs. dog life because of the issue of free will. The dogs you speak of have no choice in the fights. They are tossed into the ring and they can either protect themselves at that point, or die. They did not choose their masters, they did not choose to train to fight, and they did not choose to enter the fights. They only thing that they ever did was act on instinct to protect their lives.
Stephanie, on the other hand, made plenty of choices of her own free will. She chose to become the vigilante Spoiler in her response to her father’s (Cluemaster) villainy. When Batman first met her, he warned her to get out of the business. She chose to ignore him. In several consequent meetings, he reiterated his warnings. Each time she ignored him.
Finally, Batman, with Tim Drake looking like he was done with being Robin, decided that if he couldn’t beat Stephanie, he could at least train her. Unfortunately, it went poorly and Batman told her as much. At this point, he once again told her it was best if she stop being a vigilante.
In response, she raided his computer files and began a Batman plan that led to “War Games”. As Spoiler, realizing how badly she made messed up, she went out to try to set things right. It was then that she was ensnared and tortured by Black Mask until Batman found her and brought her to Dr. Thompkins.
She died as Spoiler, her own agent, not Robin. In fact, except for three issues when she was Robin, Batman never did anything but attempt to dissuade her from the lifestyle. So your dog trainer/dog relationship does not work.
Also, that’s just not a choice, as a doctor, Thompkins gets to make. She does not get to decide who lives and who dies and she especially does not get to decide that someone should die to teach someone else a lesson. It’s so wrong, it is mindblowing.
Aaron is looking for ramifications in this post-I.D. C world
So, Identity Crisis came and went. Despite the criticism that the ending of IC received, all the IC apologists insisted that the haters had to be patient and the “ripple effects” of IC would be felt throughout the DC universe, gradually. Fair enough…so, what’s happened since IC ended to make that lackluster ending to a so-so storyline actually mean something?
Let me just begin that I dug the ending that Identity Crisis had. I liked it. It really does read rather well. As for the actual ramifications throughout the DCU, here’s a list:
Villains United – In the post Identity Crisis DCU the villains, more aware of what the heroes are capable of doing, have bandied together. The Society is a huge organization of villains acting at the behest of Alex Luthor. Over in The Flash, the Rogues are a much tighter knit bunch, with some reformed Rogues reverting to criminal behavior.
Acts of Vengeance – Since the villains of the DCU are aware of the mindwiping, some have sought to seek revenge. The Secret Society of Super Villains recently squared off against the JLA. Dr. Light has appeared in Teen Titans and Green Arrow looking for rematches.
Deathstroke – Deathstroke’s rep in the DCU has reached an all time high. Sure he battled the Teen Titans and had his own book, but every fan took notice when he single-handedly took down several members of the JLA.
Those are just the three most major. That’s not including the deaths (Jack Drake, Captain Boomerang, Firestorm and of course Sue) the new Eclipso, the disappearance of the Atom, making Calculator compelling or the last time Luthor’s Battlesuit was interesting.
Personally I think that Identity Crisis lived up to the hype big time. Tim, agree or disagree?
I understand where a lot of people are coming from when they complain about I.D. C. Not everything matched up quite right, even after the mystery lay revealed, and the ending was quiet and a bit less than action oriented.
However, the logic issues and gaps that came up (a flamethrower?!) I was able to overlook enough to still enjoy the story and the ending made sense to me as it kept with the Meltzer’s idea that this book was a mystery first and foremost, not a superhero extravaganza.
So I do not need ramifications to like or justify I.D. C. That having been said, I think it did have plenty and that Mathan nicely highlighted them.
Aaron‘s taking it to The Wall
During the Justice League Unlimited run, I gained a new appreciation for Amanda Waller. Not sure I got the name right, but is that thick-azz sista still around? What’s she up to these days and, more importantly, is she single?
Ah Amanda Waller, who doesn’t love “The Wall?”
She is indeed still around. She was spotted chatting up the recently convicted Atom Smasher (many suggest about joining a new and improved Suicide Squad) Personally I think she was looking for someone to replace Lex Luthor in her heart (sorry Aaron).
Y’see Amanda was part of Luthor’s Cabinet back when he was Prez. In fact during his last days in office she and he shared a passionate kiss, which I believe she never recovered from.
Thus I think that when she saw Atom Smasher (or as you may be more familiar with him, “Nuklon”) she thought; red hair, behind bars – Luthor! Thus she propositioned him right on the spot. And according to my assumption Aaron, she’s no longer on the market. Sorry to dash your dreams.
But hey, there’s always Nell Carter! No, wait, there’s not.
Tim, care to add to the awkwardness?
I’d love to, but I am still hung up on thick-azz sista.
That and the death of Nell Carter. Why does God have to take some a fine looking woman away from us?
James is super shocked to hear about a super murder
In the latest Marvel Handbook it was mentioned that Superman has killed before. That combined with the recent talk on the site about whether Batman should kill the Joker has gotten me thinking…
Who has Superman killed and is it in current continuity?
Superman killed my ambition for one. I dreamt of becoming a heroic crusader, but when I looked at his example and his nifty powers I was just decided to spend my days on the couch in front of the TV.
He’s actually killed only a few folks. But to get into it opens up a big can of worms, I’ll try to do it the easiest way possible.
Once upon a time (directly following Crisis on Infinite Earths) there was a “pocket universe.” That universe featured Superboy as it’s sole hero. Unfortunately the Kryptonian criminals in that universes’ Phantom Zone also existed. So our Superman was enlisted to journey to that Earth and help fight against the evil Kryptonians, General Zod, Zaora and Quex-Ul.
Superman bested them using Gold Kryptonite to rob them of their powers. However Zod taunted Kal by saying that they’d find a way to get their powers back and then journey to his Earth and rampage. Kal then decided to kill them using Green Kryptonite. Neither Kryptonite affected Kal because the property of the isotope was different in that pocket dimension.
Tim, does this make Kal a “homicidal maniac?”
No, no it does not. It makes him a soldier and a hero. Not unlike Prince imagined himself to be while singing, “Oh, Seven, and we’ll watch them fall. Stand in the way of love and I will smoke them all.”
Sometimes, this time, you just need to smoke them all.
James longs to see still more heroes will blood on their hands
Obviously we know about Wonder Woman, but have any of the other major DC characters (specifically Flash, GL, Aquaman, Batman, Nightwing, Martian Manhunter, etc.) killed before and if so whom?
The short answer is “no.” But a long and more nuance full answer would be much more accurate.
For instance Wally West hasn’t killed anyone, but his uncle and predecessor Barry Allen snapped the neck of Professor Zoom. But Barry only did that to save the life of his fiancé Fiona.
Nightwing has never “killed” but he did allow Blockbuster to be killed before his eyes, without lifting a finger to stop it.
John Stewart hasn’t really “killed” anyone, but his arrogance did doom an entire planet to death over in the Cosmic Odyssey. Hal Jordan maybe responsible for the deaths of billions, if you believe Zero Hour.
So you see how blurry the line is? The rest of the characters that you mentioned are pretty much conscience clear when it comes to killing.
Tim, can you think of any other major homicidal maniacs in the DCU?
You mean, besides Leslie Thompkins? Then no, no I cannot.
James is taking a poll on popular opinion
What was the reaction by other DC heroes, the DCU public, and/or the readership regarding these killings?
I’m pretty sure that most folks aren’t aware that Hal tried to restart the universe or that John blew up an entire planet. Equally not well known is the role that Nightwing played in the death of Blockbuster, though a few people “in the life” are aware.
The Flash actually stood trial for the murder of Professor Zoom, but was acquitted in the end. I don’t think that many folks know about Superman’s adventures in the Pocket Universe either.
As far as readers there was plenty of debate. Many have called the storyline involving Nightwing and Blockbuster terrible, even resorting to taking pot shots at the author Devin Grayson.
Clearly fans didn’t like Hal as a bad guy. I don’t remember John’s mishap causing too much of a stir. I do remember that there was some debate when Superman killed the Phantom Zone criminals. Some readers liked the modern approach, while others were very upset.
But Barry killing Professor Zoom was before my time, so I have no idea.
Tim, anything to add on this one?
Wally actually testified against Barry at Barry’s trial, claiming that Barry had another way of stopping Zoom besides killing him. Wally has recently rescinded those thoughts.
While Barry was on trial for murder, I believe the Justice League also put him on trial with his Justice League membership at stake. I could be wrong on that and, in either case, I do not recall how it all worked out.
So both of those demonstrate that the heroes were not really on board with the killing and the public, at least initially, felt the same.
In Superman’s case, I believe several heroes eventually found out, but none of them were as hard on Supes as he was on himself. He developed a bit of split personality for a time (in addition to being Superman, he was donned a different costume and christened himself Gangbuster), and also exiled himself into space. Eventually, he got over it.
I think that that covers my knowledge on the subject.
Jag hates deadbeat dads
Do you think the father of Selina’s baby after OYL is going to be Bruce? Or do you think DC will swerve us? I think being a Bat-Dad would add a very interesting dynamic to our brooding Dark Knight.
I think that the only way Bruce is the father is if Selina miscarries. If DC wanted a Bat baby to exist they wouldn’t have made Son of the Demon an out of continuity story.
I’d actually suggest that you pick up that book to see what type of dynamic it actually brings to Bruce. It makes him soft and weak.
I don’t actually read Catwoman but I know that she’s hooked up with Slam Bradley in the past so I’m guessing he’s the papa. Either way I’m still guessing that Selina loses it. I really can’t see her having a child. It’s much too much of a shock to the status quo and would really mess things up all over the DCU.
The only think that I know for sure is that this whole storyline sounds like it should be resolved on Maury.
Tim, do you care who’s paying Selina child support?
Pss, whatever. Just as long as everyone recognizes that it isn’t me.
Umm…which is to say…I mean, how could it be mine? I’m in a committed relationship and Selina is a fictional character.
Phew…I think I covered that one up nicely. Now no one will suspect anything.
Admiral Snackbar is stuck on the scent of blood in the air
I’m not sure on this, but since you addressed Bloodwynd in the column; I heard it was revealed that he was really Martian Manhunter in disguise. I never read Justice League at the time this may have been revealed. Plus, it wouldn’t explain why they were both at Superman’s funeral. but my main question was whether or not he was at one point really the Martian Manhunter/J’onn?
This is another tough one. The answer to your question is “no, Bloodwynd was never really Martian Manhunter.” But it’s misleading, because J’onn did masquerade as Bloodwynd at one point. Let me clarify.
Bloodwynd possesses the Blood Gem, a mystical stone that was passed down his family line since it was created by them when they were slaves. It’s a powerful stone, but it wields much power and nurtures its bearers more malevolent side.
As it grew in power, an evil entity the Rott was created. It was composed of the evil nature of all of the Gem’s possessor and all of the evil that it had consumed. While in the possession of Bloodwynd, the Rott became powerful enough to strike.
After the JLI fell apart, J’onn took some time off from the hero thing and set out to meditate. But he bumped into Bloodwynd. At the time Bloodwynd wasn’t in complete control of his gem due to the manipulations of the Rott. Bloodwynd got trapped in the gem and J’onn was manipulated into impersonating Bloodwynd and joined the reformed JLA.
Blue Beetle discovered Bloodwynd’s “secret identity” and J’onn was eventually returned to normal with the help of Atom and the Ray.
So while Martian Manhunter may have impersonated Bloodwynd for a brief time, Bloodwynd was an actual hero before that. Does that make any sense?
One day Tim, I’m going to put my vision of Bloodwynd in your Revamping
I look forward to it. The space is always open to you.
Stone King is looking for God
I’m curious: where do you guys stand religiously and does that effect how you buy comics. If that is too strange or invasive, I understand, but Tim was sort of, kind of flip about it so it made me curious.
I’m game. I think I’m somewhere in the agnostic/pagan/heathen range. Personally I think that today’s modern world needs a polytheistic approach. With all those new doohickeys and gadgets I’ve got to believe that there’s a god that you pray to specifically for the high tech stuff.
But my lack of any religious convictions whatsoever doesn’t sway my comic purchases in anyway.
Tim, care to respond to the Stone King’s query?
Sure, why not. If he’s filling to try and open that can of worms, I am happy to dump them all out (ugh…what a strained metaphor).
Anyway, my name was selected by my Mom because St. Timothy is a Catholic saint (my brother is similarly named after a Saint) and my Mom loves the Catholicism. Thus, I was also baptized a Catholic.
However, when I turned four my parents got divorced and I went and lived with my non-Catholic father. So, I did the Catholic Church thing with Mom every other weekend and did the no church and then, eventually, the Episcopal Church thing with Dad (and then Dad, Stepmom and sister) when I was home. I received my First Communion in both churches (shh…not strictly legal via Catholic law) and then I started to question things.
For example, my Mom, despite being all about the Catholic faith, going to church every Sunday, and donating more money than she should have, was not allowed to receive Communion. And that just did not seem fair. Also, as I became more politically aware the Church’s stance on issues began to bother me (gays, sex in general, tithing, abortion, birth control, etc).
Eventually, it reached the point where going to Catholic service made me think almost entirely about politics and not at all about God. It was silly for me to continue, so I gave up on Catholicism. I was confirmed Episcopalian and have not looked back since. My Mom won’t acknowledge that, but hey, whatever.
So these days, I go to church with some regularity (Janelle is a big fan of doing it, I less so), and remain a believer in God.
And there is your long winded answer.
Much shorter is my response to the second query: No, my religious beliefs generally do not impact my buying practices. Longer answer: I do not tend to believe that entertainment, regardless of what it is depicting, is “sinful” and therefore see no issue with reading a comic or book, or reading a movie or TV show that depicts behavior(s) that might not be “acceptable”.
Cory H. wants to see the DCU go dooooooooooooown
In 1995, Marvel released a title called “The Punisher kills the Marvel
Universe”. I asked the Marvel guys over at the handbook about this & they said:
“Oh and yes Batman can kill the DC Universe. I’d go ask Batman to go do that right now but I’m a Marvel guy so I can’t crossover into DC at the moment.”
So only with the A-listers, how can ole Bruce Wayne accomplish this? (Superman, WW, Flash, GL, MM, Zatanna, Hawkman, Aquaman,etc.)
Wait a minute, did you really just type that Zatanna was an “A-lister?” (Aaron, consider this an addendum to my answer about the effects of Identity Crisis; “Zatanna is an A-lister”)
I’m really torn; you deserve an answer but I really don’t want to spoil Tower of Babel for you because you’ve got to read it.
Ah to hell with it I’m going to spoil it for you. But I’m going to wait until the next paragraph to do that. So if you want to read that story, which is in trades right now (look for it wherever you find such other quality DC trades as War Crimes) then this is your last chance because after the impending period I’m going to start spilling the beans.
(Ok I lied. I’m going to spill the beans in a minute, after I say that I’m actually going off my memory of Tower of Babel. My copy of the trade is in Atlanta with an ex, where I left it.)
You might me to get it back from her for you? ‘Cause I don’t mind.
Batman is the type of dude that’s got protocols-a-plenty when it comes to dealing with other heroes. Could Batman take them all at the same time; nope. Could he take them if they ambushed him? Maybe. But if he had to take them out because they’d gone rogue he’d be able to and here’s how;
Superman – Bruce actually synthesized Red Kryptonite and that wrecked havoc on Kal (and his skin in particular.)
Wonder Woman – Batman realized that if he placed Diana in a type of virtual reality fighting an unrelenting opponent, that she’s burn herself out by never giving up.
Green Lantern – “What good is a blind Green Lantern” is a question Bats was curious about. Kyle was hypnotized into thinking that he was blind while he was asleep and his ring willed it into reality.
Aquaman – How do you take Aquaman out of the picture? By making him afraid of water, naturally.
Martian Manhunter – Bruce created some nanobots that would attach to J’onn skin and burst into flame when exposed to the air.
Flash – Wally was shot with a vibration bullet which caused him to have seizures.
Hawkman – I’m guessing that some fear toxin would do the trick. It might not incapacitate him completely, but I think it would do enough to give Batman the edge.
Zatanna – Bats would use her own tricks against her. Since she’s a magician and distraction is a key component of making a trick work, I’m guessing that he’d use some smoke or gas pellets to make her cast a spell to disperse the gas. While she was doing that he’d either hit her with a dart or a punch to the gut. Either way I’m guessing that Zatanna ends up with a ball gag, perhaps from the Bruce Willis collection, in her mouth.
I can’t really think of too many other “A-listers.” Tim, can you think of any others and how Bats would take them out?
Batman vs. Anyone/Everyone should go down like this, all the time.
Anyone/Everyone: I/We are going to get you Batman.
Batman (with teeth appropriately gritted): Guys, come on now. I’m Batman.
Anyone/Everyone: Oh……..I/We see your point. I/We surrender.
And scene!
Admiral Snackbar needs clarification
Was Sue Dibney really raped by Doctor Light? I still think the scene is open to interpretation. Of course, recently other writers have referenced it in current stories as an actual rape. So was it Brad Meltzer’s intent to leave up open ended (like most of the IDC series) or was it specifically planned to be a rape?
I’m guessing that the scene was intended to be a violation. I’m thinking that there was supposed to be parallels between the violations of Sue, Dr. Light and Batman. It’s like yeah Dr. Light did a horrible thing, but does that justify what the JLA did to him? And if that’s true does that justify what they did to Batman?
So yeah, I’m putting money on the idea that Sue was supposed to be violated.
Tim, do you think it was intended or not?
If I recall correctly, Meltzer did want some ambiguity to that scene so it did not illustrated how bad and to what extent Dr. Light had violated Sue. However, it is pretty clear that, in any case, he had sexually assaulted her and was planning on taking that all the way to rape when the heroes arrived to break it up. Whether he had already crossed that line is debatable and probably will never be fully explained.
Unfortunately that brings us to the close of another column. But don’t worry, next week will feature plenty more Q&A goodness. And be sure to either email me your questions and comments or feel free to post them over on the thread devoted to this very column!
Before I go here’s my question to you this week;If you could set up the creative team for a One Year Later title who would be the creators and what title would it be?
“Phew, for a minute there, I lost myself.”
