Spin the Romance Roulette

With Hellcat's engagement to Iron Man apparently in the dustbin where it belongs, and Tigra deciding to date Moon Knight, it's time for the game called, "Romantic Apocalypse"! As in, which character's taste in guys is worse?

Let's break it down:

Patsy Walker married her high school sweetheart, Buzz, who later went to work for the Brand Corporation. They drifted apart, he got the Squadron Supreme to attack the Avengers, let himself be experimented on by Roxxon, and started picking fights with all sorts of heroes, including Patsy.

Then she married Damion Hellstrom, which went fine, until it didn't. By him driving her mad until she killed herself (although Cantwell's version of Damion is trying to re-frame that to absolve himself and man, that better not stick.) He tricked Hawkeye into bringing her out of Hell, as part of some scheme to overthrow Mephisto, and has periodically fucked with her life since then.

Most recently, she got engaged to conceited asshole, interdimensional warden, and weapons designer Tony Stark. I don't know what ended things between them, other than it seemed to involve Hellstrom, but whatever the cause, bullet dodged. Then there's the dead guy in her current mini-series, who she'd been dating for a month. He'll probably turn out to be a dream demon or something.

Tigra's husband was a cop who formed a vigilante group of other cops called the Brethren of the Blue Fist. He was later killed by his "brethren" for not being willing to go further with their illegal actions. 

Steve Englehart had her ping-ponging between Hank Pym and Wonder Man for a while, when she wasn't just generally written as reacting positively to anything with a dick*. Hank was in the midst of trying to convince himself he didn't want to be a superhero any longer, and despondent enough that Tigra telling him she wanted to focus on herself and just be friends seemed to be the last straw on his deciding to commit suicide. Meanwhile, Wonder Man beats an Ultron by himself and becomes the most arrogant person on a team that had Tony Stark and Clint Barton. At least the ego trip seemed to keep things from going beyond playful flirting there.

Tigra did end up with Pym for a while in the late 2000s-early 2010s. I'm not counting the Skrull who impersonated Pym, because as far as she was concerned, he was Hank Pym. Which, given Hank's erratic history and questionable decision-making, is still not great. Plus, you know, the whole domestic abuse thing with the Wasp.

Speaking of, "erratic history and questionable decision-making", now she's going to try dating Marc Spector. (Until I see evidence to the contrary, I'm assuming the relationship is solely between she and Marc, and doesn't involve Steven or Jake.) Marc tends to react to all stressful situations with violence. Often extreme violence. And he's apparently self-loathing and deeply envious of the other two fellows in the system for being more likeable and balanced than he is. He doesn't get to see his own daughter except when she's kidnapped by vengeful werewolves, because Marlene thinks he's that dangerous to be around. Which is more self-loathing fuel for the extreme violence fire.

So, on the one side, loser super-villain for hire, the manipulative son of a devil, and a guy who describes himself as a "futurist" and expects people not to laugh. On the other, bent cop, scientist with inferiority complex that feeds into mental breakdowns, and mercenary/priest with wild swings in mood and reversions to extreme violence.

It feels like Patsy picks the worse guys in terms of their capacity for harming others (although Pym creating Ultron makes it close), but Greer picks the worse guys in terms of the red flags they're throwing up as potential romantic partners. I mean, Pym and Spector are poster boys for people who need to focus on finding some sort of equilibrium within themselves, before trying to create one with another person.

Still, though, Tony Stark. That's pretty poor judgment. I mean, Pym and Spector have both, at different times, tried to address their issues. It never sticks, because of the cyclical nature of the storytelling, but the effort is there. Stark just seems to get more arrogant, but somehow it's not gonna backfire.

I gotta go with Patsy.

* I read a quote from Englehart discussing his giving Greer's old "Cat" costume to Patsy and he dismissed The Cat series as "pandering" and "not very well done". So of course when he wrote a book with Tigra, he had the cat lady perpetually horny for the first 15 issues of his run. Which certainly seems like pandering, albeit to a different audience.

Saturday Splash Page #70

 

"Cat Scratch One Cop," in Tigra #4, by Christina Z (writer), Mike Deodato (artist), Chris Sotomayor (colorist), Dave Sharpe (letterer)

Marvel had a run of 4-issue "Icons" mini-series going in the early 2000s. I'm sure as hell not going to buy a mini-series about Cyclops, but Tigra, who was part of those early West Coast Avengers' teams I really liked? Sure. Especially since I bought this in back issues several years after it came out. Probably during some rough years for the character, when I was hoping for a better take on her.

Granted that "rough years", doesn't narrow it down much. Jim Shooter put Tigra in Avengers to be the rookie who wasn't ready for prime time, wrote her out within six issues. Roger Stern used that poor experience as part of his West Coast Avengers mini-series, but then Englehart wrote the ongoing and suddenly Tigra was trying to jump just about every guy she saw. Because, her "feline side taking over" apparently translated to always being horny. Then Byrne had her go completely feral, get shrunk down and treated like a pet by Agatha Harkness.

But the late-2000s were pretty ugly because for whatever reason, she ended up in Brian Michael Bendis' crosshairs, and that's never a good place to be. Ask Clint Barton. Bendis wrote Tigra being pistol-whipped and humiliated by the friggin' Hood, part of BMB's ill-conceived attempt to turn Parker Robbins from a small-time punk with dreams into a big wheel. I remember complaining about this on the blog and being chastised by someone in the comments that, 'maybe Bendis had a plan.'

Even if you allow for that possibility, that doesn't mean it's going to be a good plan. There was also that bit where Bendis wrote Jarvis (Skrull Jarvis, but presumably meant to be a convincing imposter) as calling Tigra a bitch and promising to quit if Stark put her back on the Avengers again. Maybe if Stark had been written as noting this as clear evidence it wasn't the real Jarvis it could have been something - although, again, it would be a pretty big slip-up for what was meant to be an expert, undetectable infiltrator - but, hahahahahahahaha, that sure didn't happen!

Point being, I was looking for something that treated the character with a little respect (the Marvel Adventures line added her to the Avengers, as a cheerful, but naive, rookie. Better than nothing.) Which brings us, eventually, to this.

This revolves around Tigra trying to figure out what she's really trying to accomplish in her life, played out through her investigating the death of her husband (the "Nelson" part of her being Greer Grant-Nelson".) He was a cop and what scant clues there are point to a "Brethren of the Blue Fist", who surprise! Turn out to be dirty cops. Greer joins the police academy and shows enough promise (all that Avengers training paying off) that she's given the chance to join. Which she uses to tip off her husband's old partner so the cops can stop the various assassination attempts.

Christina Z definitely takes the approach of there being "a few bad apples" that despoil the police's mission of serve and protect. The cops she contacts show no hesitation to arrest the Blue Fist members, or even shoot them. But hey, it's a story starring a cat lady, we should expect unrealistic things.

Greer completes the training and becomes a cop, which I'm pretty sure was never referenced again, but I don't know how in-continuity these mini-series were to begin with. (There's also a brief mention of Steve Rogers having given up being a cop to be Captain America, which, I can't figure how sickly-ass pre-serum Steve Rogers pulled that off.) Greer also learns some unpleasant facts about her deceased husband, so her clarity of purpose comes at the cost of some innocence.

Z's version of Tigra is confident in her physical abilities and the righteousness of what she's doing, prone to urging the Brethren into attacking her, daring them to try and hurt her. She requests the Avengers let her handle this herself, and even when she doubts that she deserves to stand with them, never questions whether she needs their help with this mission.

She's less so about many other aspects of herself. She's short with people who try to discuss loss with her, more prone to speaking through action and body language. Deodato often draws her flipping or leaping up fire escapes, perching on statues, doing full-body lunges towards her enemies, claws flashing. Tigra doesn't hold anything back when fighting, but Greer is more controlled, but just as relentless, willing to get hurt to keep going. During a particularly difficult fight as Greer, she starts to kick and slash more like she would as Tigra while remaining human.

Z does nod to the notion of the animal instincts inside Greer, but writes Tigra as in control of them. Even in that rough battle, she never changes to Tigra. Greer at one point uses her desire for the cop that recruited her to the Brethren to lure him into the woods, then ditches him so she can snoop around the academy.

Deodato seems to have based his version of Tigra on the one from the unlamented Avengers: United They Stand cartoon from the late-90s. I can't remember any other artist giving her shaggy tufts of fur on her forearms and shins. Sometimes, he even draws some of her hair in the front sticking up like little cat ears (you can sorta see it on the page above). That might just be to emphasize the unruliness of her hair, or something about it reflecting her emotional state but I'm not sure of that.

A Possible Package Deal

Jed MacKay's decided to have Tigra and Moon Knight, well, "date" feels like a weird word to use. I don't know if they'll be going to dinner or movies, but it doesn't seem like it's strictly a sex thing, either. Marc's already been coming over for movie and snack time with Tigra and her son, those could sort of be dates.

Whatever. I'm generally ambivalent about the development. I would worry MacKay's setting Tigra up to get badly injured so Marc can become full of vengeance again, but a romantic relationship's not required for that. Moon Knight sealed that clay guy up in an airtight steel drum and buried him alive in concrete, and that was just for abducting and impersonating his psychiatrist. Still, I was fine with Tigra wanting to be there to watch out for her friend, no other feelings involved or necessary.

But, we've got what we've got (until the next writer ignores it.) My question now is, how does this work with the system the guys have? Meaning, what are Jake and Steven's feelings about this relationship, or about Tigra in general? What are her feelings about each of them? I'm sure there were times in the West Coast Avengers days where one of those two was at the forefront and spoke with Tigra, but I've never actually seen it. Certainly not in a low-stress situation that didn't involve fighting super-villains.

Reese got to interact briefly with Steven, albeit in a stressful moment where she was trying to keep Marc from murdering someone, and she and Soldier spent some time with Jake when they went to that nightclub. Tigra wasn't involved in either of those, though.

Presumably Tigra understands there will be times Marc's not there, although just based on what's on-page, he's still hogging time as the identity fronting. I feel like Jake is easygoing enough to get along well with Tigra, though I could see him telling off-color jokes around her son and getting himself in trouble that way. Steven I'm less sure about, since I don't know how the circles he's supposed to move in would feel about a were-woman. He's supposed to be high-class, he could manage politeness if nothing else.

Given that Jake mentioned during the boys' conversation in issue 14 that Marc wasn't the only one who loved Marlene, and Marc got rather defensive about that, there could be problems if Steven or Jake fall for Tigra as well. Or maybe the guys are in a healthier balance now. Maybe I'd just like to see her actually interact with either of Steven or Jake, just to see what that's like.

Sunday Splash Page #6

"The Eighties Are Out In Force" in The Aladdin Effect, by David Michelinie (writer), Jim Shooter (plot), Greg LaRocque (artist), Vince Colleta (inker), colorist and letterer unknown?

I picked up The Aladdin Effect GN last year on the cheap, on a whim. It was one in a series of graphic novels Marvel released back in the '80s, part of the same series as The Death of Captain Marvel (which is listed as the first one, Aladdin Effect is the 16th).

Set in a small town in Wyoming that's been entirely cut off from the world by AIM, which is searching for a strange power they've detected. A power within the mind of Holly-Ann, who dreams of some of her favorite superheroes teaming up with her, and they appear in town the next day.

Given Holly's position at the center of everything as a fan of superheroes whose dream of meeting them comes true, I'd have thought this was aimed towards younger readers. Maybe even young fans who are girls? I could have seen this being published 10 years ago and drawn by the Guruhiru team, like all those Power Pack mini-series. But there's a bit where the Wasp, confused as to who she is, is almost sexually assaulted by some random gang of thugs that finds her. Probably not aimed at younger readers, then.

Who's Tigra More Worried About?

I was rereading Avengers Academy #9 as prep for a different post I have planned (probably get to it tomorrow), when a bit of dialogue near the end of the issue jumped out at me.

After Tigra tells Hazmat, Veil, and Striker they're welcome to return to the Academy if they want, Speedball tells her she's a great example to the kids, and if they don't realize it now, they will someday. Tigra's response is 'Thanks, Robbie. I hope you're right. I really do.'

Which part do you think she hopes he's right about? That she is a great example for the students, or that they'll figure that out someday? I figure it's the former. After she has that chat with Robbie, she goes back to her quarters and watches that video of the students beating up the Hood and making him apologize. There's not a discernible expression, except maybe contemplative.

At least some of her anger at the students was that what she badly wants to do, but didn't, they went ahead and did. Her perspective could be that's the only difference, that they went through with it and she didn't. I don't know if she ever had a shot at the Hood when she and some of the other heroes were rounding up the Hood's crew, but I doubt she'd have any trouble getting five minutes alone with Parker Robbins in a windowless room with no security cameras if she wanted to.

Depending on how you look at it, her choice could either be the mature recognition revenge solves nothing. Or it could be she recognized there would be consequences for taking those actions, and she wasn't willing to deal with them. That she went public with what happened to her as a way of dealing with it and helping others is a sign she's recognized the former, but getting past her desire for revenge entirely is going to take time. Which is probably why she wound up watching Robbins get humiliated by the students on video. It's a process.

What Hazmat, Striker, and Veil did suggests they have learned either lesson yet. They thought their actions would accomplish something positive, and didn't realize there might be blowback from it. Since they're sticking around, there's at least a chance they can learn those things, but considering how she's still trying to work through her feelings, Tigra might wonder if she's the right one to be teaching them.

Being A Blunt Jerk Works Sometimes

I have to give Quicksilver credit. Even when he's right about something, and he was right about what he told Tigra of the dangers in expelling those kids for one bad bit of judgment, he goes about being right in a way that makes me want Deadpool to randomly appear and kneecap Pietro. That's the speedster's unique charm, I guess.

It was for the best, though. The other teachers may have done a fine job of explaining why the kids should stay, but they didn't really cover exactly why it'd be a bad idea if they didn't undo the expulsion. Speedball sort of did, but his reasoning was so wrapped up in his own past mistakes (thanks again for that, Mark Millar), it made it easier for Tigra to dismiss. Plus, with someone as headstrong as Tigra can be, the other teachers weren't nearly forceful enough. They were on the defensive throughout the faculty meeting, either because they're not strong personalities, or they were worried about pissing Tigra off.

Pietro can certainly be forceful, and he won't keep his opinions to himself, so the fact he traded insults with Tigra, while also presenting his own perspective, probably gave his argument more weight. He met her anger head on, and shrugged it off with his usual sarcasm. I don't know how much they play up how being a cat-person affects Tigra's personality these days, compared to when Engelhart had her human and feline halves essentially at odds. I'd imagine there was a part of her that was impressed that Pietro didn't back down, didn't try to deny any of the things she said about him (compared to Robbie's protest that he's not agreeing with Justice simply because they're old New Warriors alums). Pietro didn't go submissive, and it seemed to work.

I'm still probably going to laugh the next time something bad happens to him.

I Know It Can't Be Easy, But Still

OK, so yesterday was dealing with the source of frustration by screaming about it. Today shall be dealing with a source of frustration by mocking it.

See, there's this panel where Jarvis tells Stark that he'll quit if Tony lets Tigra back onto the Avengers. Actually, Jarvis tacks a four-letter expletive on after her name, unknown which one, but regardless, what the hell? What could be so bad about Tigra that her presence would cause Jarvis to quit, where getting tortured by Mr. Hyde did not? Sure, Tigra probably sheds, or leaves hairballs laying around, and she might use the furniture as scratching posts, but consider the other people Jarvis has had to look after:

Hank Pym: When not having nervous breakdowns, unleashes killer robots on the team. Unless he's unleashing killer robots while in the throes of a nervous breakdown. Also, leaks Pym Particles allover the place, making things shrink without warning. Jarvis must constantly order new furniture because someone steps on the miniaturized couch.

Scott Lang: The Pym Particles thing goes for him too.

Hawkeye: Tied up Jarvis the first time they met. Freed him by shooting arrows at him. Probably used fine china for target practice. Made inappropriate comments about Jarvis' sort of niece, Silverclaw.

Beast: Larger than Tigra, and just as covered in fur, ergo he sheds even more than Tigra, and does so while hanging from chandeliers, meaning it gets in all sorts of hard to clean places, like on top of bookshelves. Disturbs Jarvis' sleep by making lots of noise when coming in from partying with Wonder Man.

Wonder Man: Out carousing with Beast, makes lots of noise on returning to the mansion. Also probably comes home with many floozies, leading Jarvis to have burn lots of sheets.

Moondragon: Generally unpleasant to be around. Cold, unfriendly, unfairly critical, rude.

Hercules: Also parties a lot. Comes home drunk, can't master the intricacies of the doorknob, so knocks down walls to enter mansion. Leaves giant casks laying around.

Deathcry, Black Widow, Jessica Drew, Wolverine: All of questionable moralities and allegiances. Not beyond the realm of possibility they could have hidden triggers that would cause them to kill Jarvis for some Byzantine purpose, orchestrated by a shadowy mastermind. Also, Wolverine and Deathcry shed too {Edit: As pointed out by Lurkerwithout, Deathcry probably molted, rather than shed. I forgot the Shi'ar were avian descended}. Especially Logan.

Ares: Might kill Jarvis just because. Hey, every other thought this guy has is about how he could have his way with the female teammates, I'm not putting murder out of the realm of possibility. Also sheds, but only when he bathes, which is rare. Once a month, tops, but seriously clogs the drain.

Scarlet Witch: Unstable hex powers constantly causing things to show up in the last place you would expect them. Like when the good silverware wound up in Hawkeye's underwear drawer, or when the vacuum was in the Quinjet, or the Christmas turkey was in the dishwasher. . .

Quicksilver: Slipstream from super-speed throws everything into disarray.

Warbird: Got into drinking contests with Herc and Stark. Drank up expensive bottle of Chateaus La'Tour from 1876 Jarvis was saving for special dinner with Aunt May. Replaced it with bottle of cheap stuff from corner liquor market.

Namor: Do I really need to explain this? Fine. Imagine having to meet Namor's specifications for living arrangements. "These sheets are not of fine enough silk! You call this caviar?! The water in the bathtub is loaded with mineral deposits! I demand a bath of fine mountain spring water, if you foolish surface dwellers haven't defiled it all!" And on and on.

The Hulk: I don't have to explain this one, right? "Coffee too hot! Hulk Smash!"

The Sentry: Batshit insane. Look, he can bring people back from the dead. It only stands to reason, therefore, that Superman Jesus (trademark: somebody else) can make that work in reverse as well. And who knows what would set him off? He could get terribly depressed from watching an episode of Animal Cops for cripes' sake!

USAgent: I don't think he was ever part of the East Coat branch, though he did help them in the last issue of Busiek's Avengers run. But they must have interacted at some point, and since we're talking USAgent here, there's no way it was pleasant.

Jack of Hearts: Leaks radiation. Leaves Jarvis concerned about cancer, or radiation poisoning in general.

Sandman: Tracks sand everywhere. Duh.

That's what I've got, just off the top of my head. I'm sure there's other heroes with other reasons, but it does seem odd the cat girl would be the one Jarvis vehemently opposes having around. Hmm, maybe he's a dog person? Either way, I feel better. Ah, cleansing the soul.

A Week Late And Five Bucks Short: Barda, JLA, Tigra

On some level, I'm certain I'm going to regret entering into this discussion, but this is a few thoughts on some of the recent topics of discussion around the comic blog realm.

Barda's Death: This is setting aside whether or not she or the other New Gods are actually dying, and whether or not they'll be back eventually. On its own, Barda's passing in Death of the New Gods #1 doesn't bother me. I have no real affinity for the character. I'm a little sad it's interrupted her feud with Knockout, and that it's broken up one of comics' happy marriages, but I'm not angry about it like I was say, Spoiler's death, or even Ben Reilly's (What? I liked him as Scarlet Spider). She died in a similar pattern to several other New Gods whose deaths we've seen thus far, meaning she doesn't appear to have fought back. Between that option and the "running for your life" strategy opted for by Deep Six, Knockout, or Lightray (he made that huge impact crater because he was trying to get away really fast, right?), Barda's better off how it went down, in my opinion.

Also, I think the reason she was in the kitchen was well enough established in the story that I'm not too sore about that. I don't know whether the location was important to the death or not. It seems like Starlin was trying to give us a glimpse of Barda and Scott's relationship, and as a result of the story he chose to demonstrate that (them going out to get groceries to prepare dinner for the friends they would entertain that evening) Barda wound up where she did. If the location has a meaning, then I think Black Racer's dying in a hospital bed, and Sleez in that slum where he died, also have some sort of meaning, and are clues to tell us who the killer is. Right now, I can't say they're very good clues, because I don't have any idea who it is (but I don't know much about the New Gods). I think/hope her death, both where it took place, and when, in relation to the others, is going to mean something when we get closer to the end.

That being said, I don't like Barda's death, or those of the other New Gods, as a symptom of what seems to happen at Marvel and DC these days. "Oh, I can't think of any way to use these characters creatively. Me either, let's kill 'em off. Brilliant!" This mini-series strikes me as the same sort of thinking that lead someone to decide to use the New Warriors as the fall-team for Civil War, where it just seems pointless and gratuitous. Yes, nobody was doing much of anything with the New Gods before, but what purpose does killing them off serve (besides selling a few copies of a freaking mini-series)?

Justice League of America: There's a lot of talk about the panel of the JLA helpless in the clutches of Luthor's group, with Wonder Woman, Black Canary, and Vixen front and center, T&A prominently displayed. I'm not sure what to make of it. I can completely see Luthor doing that just to rile Superman up, especially with his follow-up line of 'It's unconscionable, isn't it?', which suggests Luthor knows how bad it looks, which is why he did it. I'm not sure whether I buy that line as commentary by Dwyane McDuffie of Ed Benes' artwork. I think the sequence means something beyond the story. McDuffie seems to know his way around the Internets, he probably knows there would be a response to that panel, and not a positive one, but I'm not certain it isn't a case where he actually has Benes playing it up, to get the reader as angry as Lex is getting Superman. I know Benes is known for this style of art, but I wouldn't be surprised if he and McDuffie collaborated to turn the T&A up to 11, get the reader in a similarly aggravated state as Superman. That does overlook the people not bothered by the scene at all (beyond "Oh no, the Justice League are in trouble!"), but it's unlikely those folks would pick up on either meaning, if there is one. So either Mr. McDuffie is giving us a nod, looking heavenward, and saying "I hear ya, folks. I didn't ask for him as artist", or he's poking us with a stick.

Tigra: Let's start with me saying I don't know Bendis. I haven't read all his work, I don't know if there's a heavily sexist streak running through it or not. I don't know if he hates Tigra. I remember a Wizard interview (before he disassembled the Avengers) where he said he thought Hank Pym was 'a dog that should have been taken out back and put down years ago'. Yet Hawkeye was the one Bendis "gifted" with the most idiotic (and later, rightfully ridiculed by Deadpool) death I can remember. So who knows. I think Bendis is aware enough of the online fans to say things just to deliberately rile them up, but I don't think he writes his comics that way. Which doesn't really matter, if how he does write leaves it open to being interpreted as sexist. I personally don't think the scene is sexist, just not terribly well-written, because Bendis goes too far trying to establish the Hood - at the expense of the character playing taking the fall - which is what I think was his intent. Yes, he shows the Hood to be brutal, and willing to help his troops get payback, but after Tigra's portrayal, are we supposed to be impressed? Bendis and Yu portray her as no more of a competent, respected superhero than I am.

Now, if BMB set out to make me uncomfortable when I read the scene, mission accomplished. It didn't make me as uncomfortable as the scene in West Coast Avengers where Graviton has Tigra on a leash (I thought cats hated leashes?), and she sits there demurely as he captures her teammates, but that's a pretty tall order for Mr. Bendis to match, after all. But if the purpose was to make me buy the Hood as a top-notch threat, someone that can command respect from all these loser criminals, and lead them well, then Bendis failed. If I read this before I found comic blogs, and heard rumors that he hates Tigra, maybe it works, but looking at the scene now, I get the sinking feeling Tigra is fighting Bendis and Lenil Yu, not the Hood, which makes me wonder if it would have gone the same in McDuffie or Brian K. Vaughn's hands.

The mistake, I think, is that it's too one-sided. Yes, the Hood shot Wolverine in his groin, but that was in the middle of a brutal fight, and I think it served a purpose of demonstrating the Hood's quick thinking. His attempt to kill Logan by shooting him in the head failed miserably (because of the adamantium-laced skull), so he switched tactics, and shot Logan some place with no bones to protect it. That's clever, it demonstrates a capacity to change plans on the fly, which is something you'd want in a leader. And Wolverine walks away from it, albeit limping, wounded, angry, but pride still mostly intact.

In contrast, Tigra offers no defense of herself. Yes, she might have been stunned by the first hit, but she doesn't even try and cover her face to ward off his attacks. I mean, if someone was pistol-whipping you, and you're still conscious (as she was), wouldn't you try and protect your head from further damage? Tigra doesn't. No one holds her arms, but she chooses not to try and use them to ward off the hits. She doesn't show any sign of defiance, whether it be in the form of a refusal to scream, or the cliche "spit blood in the villain's face". Any of those could have made Tigra look a little less, how should I put this?, pathetic, while not devaluing the Hood as a threat one bit. He still comes off looking totally badass, Jigsaw gets the payback he wanted, and Tigra demonstrates that the Hood beating her up should actually mean something. As it stands, he might as well have beaten one of my grandmothers. Sure, he's an evil bastard for doing it, but it doesn't strike me as particularly dangerous that he pummeled someone who apparently couldn't defend themselves. Ooh, big man, I guess we all better be careful around you, huh? Gimme a break.

Or, if any of those suggestions had been too much trouble, how about a Tigra caption box, where she thinks about how she's going to let the Hood have his moment, because she'd be at a severe disadvantage if she tried to retaliate now, but she's got his scent, and she'll find him when she's ready. That strikes me as the sort of maneuver you might see the Punisher or Nightwing take. Rather than fight a losing battle now, let the baddie have his moment, rest up, and strike when you have the advantage. The hood still gets his moment in the sun, and the readers can have some sense that good will triumph in the end. Or would that notion be too silly?