Saturday Splash Page #37

 

"Trivial Pursuit," in West Coast Avengers #23, by Steve Englehart (writer), Al Milgrom (penciler), Romeo Tanghal (inker), Christie Scheele (colorist), Tom Orzechowski (letterer)

After the initial mini-series, West Coast Avengers got itself an ongoing in late 1985. Steve Englehart was the series writer for about the first three years, though apparently several of the issues near the end were almost entirely re-written by Editorial, to Englehart's great annoyance.

Englehart kept the five characters from the mini-series, although by this point, Tony Stark was back in place of Jim Rhodes. There was some restriction in the current status quo that said the team couldn't have more than six members, so Englehart tried getting mileage out of Hawkeye's search for that sixth member. Hank Pym shows up, determined to just be tech support, and of course Clint tries to get him to do it. When that fails, he tries recruiting Ben Grimm, but that gets wrecked by the events of the tail end of Ben's ongoing series. Mockingbird convinces him he's been overlooking Firebird all along, but by the time Clint asks, she's found a different path.

And then Vision tells Clint that limit got tossed a while ago, anyway. Yeesh. 

Eventually, both Moon Knight and Hank Pym join the active roster. This is when Pym forgoes changing his own size (as his body apparently can't take it) and goes the "scientist adventurer" route, which eventually resulted in him wearing the flight suit with pockets full of tool, weapons and instruments, shrunk down until he needed them. I think it's actually a pretty good turn for Pym, who never seems to fit when he's trying to be big and punch things.

Of course, to get to the point Englehart first pushed Pym to feel like such a failure he was putting a gun to his head before Firebird stopped him. This was either the first or second of the "drag Hank Pym to the depths, then build him up" stories, an arc that has been repeated probably a half-dozen times since then.

Englehart's run is also the one where Mockingbird gets abducted by the Phantom Rider while the team is in the Old West, then drugged into loving him. Which ends with her breaking free and attacking the Rider until he slips and falls to his death. Which she then lies to Hawkeye about when he asks, enabling the Rider's ghost to pop up a century later and tell Clint a bunch of lies which help torpedo his and Bobbi's marriage. Chelsea Cain at least tried to retcon that story halfway with her Mockingbird run, but I'm not sure it didn't do more to rehabilitate Hawkeye than Mockingbird.

Englehart also decided that Tigra, rather than worrying about whether she was cut out to be an Avenger, should be feeling torn between her human and cat selves. Her cat self manifested in her being almost terrified of water (which was not a problem in the mini-series, even when Graviton flung her and the Shroud out into the ocean), and basically trying to jump almost every man she saw. Wonder Man, Pym (the Pym thing is especially weird since she was on the Avengers during the whole domestic abuse thing, and she pretty clearly thought Hank was scum then.) Heck, even Graviton when he forcibly kisses her after capturing the entire team. This is resolved around issue 15, but that first year was pretty rough, and the Mockingbird thing picks up almost immediately after. I'm not sure it's a great run for the women on the team.

The one development that I actually enjoy is what Englehart does with Wonder Man. Simon is still a bit afraid of dying again, but after managing to beat an Ultron all by himself, starts to accept just how powerful he actually is. This causes him to get a swelled head and start trying to throw his weight around on the team. It is really impressive that he managed to be the biggest asshole on a team with both Tony Stark and Clint Barton. Also, they gave him an absolutely hideous Christmas-colored costume for about a year.

Al Milgrom draws the book a lot, and for the first two years, he's almost always inked by Joe Sinnott. There are some nice looking issues, but a lot of times, I think there's too much information to cram into panels that are too small and everything starts to look clunky. Sinnott's inks might be too heavy, or maybe it's that Milgrom's lines are too thick, although it wasn't as much of a concern in the issue when Kyle Baker inks Milgrom (issue #6). Iron Man in particular often looks like he had to expand his armor to accommodate some middle-age spread.

After Englehart left, John Byrne arrived within a few months, and kick-started his own troublesome storyline for a character, with the whole bit about Wanda and Vision's children being figments of Wanda's power, and she's really crazy, and well, you see where that got us. *gestures to the last 20 years of Marvel comics*

Saturday Splash Page #36

 

"Most Dangerous Game," in West Coast Avengers (vol. 1) #2, by Roger Stern (writer), Bob Hall (penciler), Brett Breeding (inker), Julianna Ferriter (colorist), Diana Albers (letterer)

In 1984, in the aftermath of Secret Wars, the Avengers decided to franchise themselves, setting up a branch on the West Coast. Hawkeye finally got his chance to be in charge, with Mockingbird as the first member of the team. That, along with a fairly nifty new hacienda HQ, is about all the "Wackos" have got to start with. So Clint's got to do a recruitment drive, and then immediately deal with the return of Graviton.

When I was discussing Hawkeye's 1984 solo mini-series in Sunday Splash Page #229, I mentioned that especially in the first two issues, Gruenwald's art reminded me of Bob Hall's. Some of the, I imagine, Buscema influence to the style, but solid art that tells the story, sells the emotional beats, makes the action sequences look good. Those first two issues were inked by Brett Breeding and I look at the credits for this mini-series, and there's Bob Hall inked by Brett Breeding (although on the 4th issue, Hall is credited with breakdowns, while Breeding and Peter Ferardi handle finishes.) 

There's nothing particularly flashy to the art, but it works, and sells the little touches that make the characters feel fleshed out. When Wonder Man is packing up to move into the HQ, he just stuffs everything into one big box, which he seals up by pushing nails in with his finger. Because why would a guy that strong need a hammer? Mockingbird casually dusting Hawkeye's backside off after Iron Man knocked him flat in the training exercise.

This is one of my two favorite Avengers rosters, up there with the Kooky Quartet. I've mentioned  previously preferring small Avengers lime-ups, and at five characters, this is definitely on the small side. Especially for tangling with Graviton, who mentions more than once he fought an Avengers team with twice this many characters. 

Most of it is Stern picked a group that all have something to prove. After years of running his mouth about how he could do a better job than Captain America, Hawkeye gets his chance to put up or shut up, with a team that has a low amount of superhero experience (less than he knows), and basically none working with each other. Mockingbird's been a SHIELD agent, but she's relatively new to superheroics. Her team-up with Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Up nearly got her killed, and Crossfire's weird sonic weapon drove her nuts and almost got her beaten to death by Hawkeye. Her track record ain't great, is what I'm getting at.

Wonder Man died the first time he tried to do the hero thing, and that left a mark. Stern doesn't delve so much into the fact Simon had a tendency to freeze up when he came back from the dead, but there is the fact Wonder Man ditched crimefighting to become a stunt man. He's got to prove to himself he can hack it, and his inability to catch a low-level bank robber like The Blank (no, that's his name) eats at him. Tigra had been doing alright helping Jessica Drew in the P.I. business, but her Avengers stint went even worse than Wonder Man's, leaving her convinced she had no business trying to work at that level.

But hey, they've got Iron Man! One of the original Avengers. A true stalwart, who has been through everything one could face. Oh wait, it's Jim Rhodes inside the armor. Now, you and I know Rhodey is cooler than Tony Stark, but he doesn't have nearly the experience or engineering knowhow. And since he kept the helmet on during Secret Wars, the whole team figures he's the biggest rookie of them all. Until he sets them (more specifically, Hawkeye and his big fat mouth) straight, of course.

It was a solid story that set up inner conflicts for everyone, but also gave them each a chance to showcase what they brought to the table. I would have liked for this to stick as the roster, but that was not to be, as we'll see next week.

Random Back Issues #25 - Avengers West Coast #55

I just had to go and open my fat yap about Byrne and his weird interest in who can and can't have kids last week. Now look where it's gotten me. Stupid dice.

We are one issue away from the "Darker than Scarlet" storyline, where the Scarlet Witch goes entirely off the rails. She spends most of this issue in a comatose state in their "Whackos" compound/mansion. Which is in low-Earth orbit because Magneto thought that would snap her out of it. Explains a lot about Mags' parenting style, right there.

That gets Immortus' attention, fresh off erasing a timeline where Lincoln gives John Wilkes Booth a taste of the back of his hand. Wonder Man and U.S. Agent (ugh) track the house into space, but something blows up, and then the house is back where it's supposed to be by the time Wasp swings by.

OK, whatever, that's more time than that deserved. Relevant to my interests, this is the end of the line for Acts of Vengeance, minus Loki magically fusing three Sentinels in one and sending them at a nuclear plant. The Avengers caught the Wizard after he and a few others tried to attacking the East Coast Avengers, but he can activate the dimensional door the "lackey" gave all the baddies to reach their secret meeting room. He gets back, learns Doom may have been a Doombot the whole time, and Magneto has bailed (for reasons detailed above). The "lackey" isn't too happy Wizard used the door in the Avengers HQ, since Thor could track it and reveals he's actually Loki, who's been manipulating them this whole time.

Or maybe he just took offense to the Wizard, of all villains, trying to boss him around. I will never get over how out of place that schmuck looks next to Doom, Magneto, and the Red Skull.

Thor does lead a bunch of Avengers there, except "there" is the Isle of Silence, where Thor fought Loki after the crap he pulled that brought the Avengers together in the first place. Every hero other than Thor is basically useless, to the point Byrne doesn't even bother drawing what Hank Pym (cargo suit version), the Vision (albino, emotionless version), or Hawkeye (just Hawkeye) are doing after bothering to have them there.

Thor and Loki fight in their usual way. Thor asks Loki to try, please, to not be such a dick. Loki yells a bunch of crap about Odin and hatred, and tries to use magic attacks against Thor. Thor yells "I say thee nay!" and smashes crap with his hammer. You know how it goes. Skull, the Mandarin, and the Wizard escape during all the fighting. Which is good, because it enables Magneto to find the Skull later and throw him in a pit to die slowly. (He does not die.)

Then Thor explains Loki was mad about inadvertently creating the Avengers, so he tried to create a Bad Guy Avengers of his own. Earth's Vilest Villains, or something. I'm not sure how the part where they farmed out destroying each other's villains to other bad guys who weren't on the team factors in, but it's Loki. He's a few crackers short of full pack.

{12th longbox, 126th comic. West Coast Avengers #55, by John Byrne (writer/penciler), Paul Ryan (inker), Bob Sharen (colorist), Bill Oakley (letterer)}

Fixing One Problem But Creating Another

So there was bit in the sorta recently released Mockingbird #8 where writer Chelsea Cain tries to rewrite the history between Bobbi Morse and the Phantom Rider a bit, but I'm not sure if it's a net positive. Trigger Warning for discussing rape.

In the original story, written by Steve Engelhart during his stint on West Coast Avengers, the "Whackos" get suckered onto a partially functional one of Doom's time machines that can only go backwards in time and are sent to 1886. They have a brief team-up with Two-Gun Kid, Kid Colt, and Phantom Rider before deciding to try going back to Ancient Egypt to see if Rama-Tut will fix their time machine. Phantom Rider becomes obsessed with Mockingbird, and just as they're about to depart, sucker punches and kidnaps her. Then he drugs her to forget Hawkeye and fall in love with him. Eventually Two-Gun Kid snaps her out of it by dressing up as Hawkeye, Bobbi hunts down the Rider, during the fight he stumbles off a cliff, and Bobbi declines to pull him up (he doesn't help matters by demanding she do so, rather than asking politely or pleading). She and Clint are reunited, but Bobbi holds back about a lot of what happened, at first not wanting to burden Clint (and probably not dwell on it herself), and then later because she hadn't realized how strongly Clint felt about "Avengers don't kill". Which leaves an opening for the ghost of the Rider to appear and tell Clint Bobbi actually killed him. Which Clint, who had sensed she was keeping something from him, believes. It leads to him divorcing her like a total dipshit.

That's a lot of recapping, but I figured we might as well lay out the original parameters. What we get now is Bobbi telling the Rider Clint divorced her because she cheated on him. That the Rider could never have controlled her, and she made the decision to have a fling with him. And Clint, whether he would admit it out loud or not, knows this. {Edit: Now with the page in question from the comic that I totally forgot to include the first time!}

Now, there is a possibility this was all a ruse by her to shatter any illusions the Rider had of being in control. In story, it seems to make him realize he's always been a schmuck she used and discarded, and there's no hope of them being together. So he abandons the relative he's possessing. But Cain did say on Twitter (before she was driven off it by abusive jackasses in an uproar over Bobbi being drawn wearing an "Ask Me About My Feminist Agenda" shirt, because some people are stupid assholes) that maybe the drugged/raped story didn't need to be canon, and that yes, Bobbi is saying she had given consent and Clint just didn't want to accept it. So I don't think the intent is for it to be a ploy Bobbi's using, but rather, the new interpretation of the story. It gets a rape out of a female character's backstory that didn't really need it, seems like a good thing. Except. . .

I mean, as a side issue, it makes Clint look better. He didn't divorce his wife who had just recently been drugged and raped (I don't know how physical the two had gotten, but I don't think it matters much since the Rider had clearly removed her consent) because her attacker said she murdered him and Clint believed it. Pretty shitty. Instead, he divorces her because she cheated on him and (maybe) had a hand in killing the guy she fooled around with. That's more understandable. I've made my feelings on infidelity pretty clear in the past, so if we're going with "Bobbi was unfaithful", I am fully on Clint's side in this, whereas before I had basically no sympathy for him whatsoever.

From Bobbi's perspective though, it's kind of hard to square her actions in that story with this retcon. Like, the last she sees of her team, they're going further back in time to try and parlay with a potentially dangerous time-traveling despot to get back home. She has no idea how that's going, but she should be able to reasonably conclude they're worried about her (and Clint is probably frantic), which is going to make them desperate and cause them to maybe take risks they shouldn't so they can get back to her. But there's no indication she thinks about that at all*. What's more, Two-Gun Kid and Kid Colt are trying to track her down and rescue her through all this, and the first time they catch up, she helps the Rider beat their asses. Which is one thing if she's drugged, but quite another if she's not. That's going a little far for an affair, no?

Then there's the whole issue of the Phantom Rider's death. In the original story, Bobbi shakes off the effects of the drugs, is rightly pissed, and hunts down the Rider in a fury, telling Two-Gun and Colt to stay out of it. She's clear-headed enough to be ready for all his tricks, but her emotional state could be questioned in terms of how much she's thought this out. In the new version, she was toying with the Rider the whole time, and when it's over she attacks him until he falls over the cliff. Then she watches him die. Which makes it seem like her trying to cover her tracks. She got what she wanted, time to get rid of the evidence. How inconvenient he didn't stay dead. There's a greater argument for premeditation on her part. Slade is no innocent, he still kidnapped and tried to drug her, even if it didn't work. But the fact Bobbi played along with it, rather than kicking his ass the moment she regained consciousness - or the first moment he dropped his guard, or the first time Two-Gun and Colt caught up - doesn't look too good**.

The original story didn't really do Bobbi any favors, in terms of adding or illuminating aspects of her character. I think there were probably stories in her SHIELD years that could have handled pointing out how her attitude towards killing differs from Hawkeye's, without adding rape to her backstory. The new version takes that out, but I'm not sure it puts back in anything good. One answer might be that the story had to play out differently from how we've seen it, but there's only so far you can stretch it. Phantom Rider still has to die, and Bobbi still has to be present. Hawkeye still has to lost somewhere in time during all this. It still isn't going to be great for her, any way you slice it. So I don't know. Not so much turning a negative into a positive as it is turning a big negative into a little one? You could do something probably with exploring why she made that decision, how it fits into her personality as a whole.

{Edit: Something that came to mind after I posted this originally is this retcon does sort of explain why Clint and Bobbi have had an on-again, off-again thing since her return in Secret Invasion. Based on how the story played out originally, it's hard to understand why Bobbi would want anything to do with a jerk who abandoned her at a traumatic moment and basically blamed her for it. I'm sure Clint regretted it (and it certainly fed into him venturing into Hell to rescue her soul that time Daimon Hellstrom tricked him into rescuing Patsy Walker, a story which is probably not in continuity anymore, but whatever),  but I'd expect Bobbi to feel a lot of resentment towards him. But if he divorced her because he was hurt she cheated on him, but he still cares for her, and despite the affair, she still cares for him, then the fact the mutual attraction persisted makes more sense. For what that's worth.}

* Cain also made a point we've only seen the story from male POVs which if she means the writers, yes, I imagine that's correct. But in-story, we did see Bobbi's thoughts, via the magic of thought balloons.

** There's also the question of Phantom Rider's mental health. Even setting aside his unhealthy obsession with Bobbi, which has persisted beyond death, he was clearly having problems. Struggling to uphold the law, dealing with the guilt of his brother's death and trying to carry this mantle of the Phantom Rider, which left him feeling isolated. I mean, he's so ecstatic when he thinks the drugs worked, because he isn't alone. It doesn't excuse his actions, but the guy needed treatment (treatment he would almost certainly have not received in the 1880s, but that's another matter). At the minimum, he probably needed to get out of law enforcement and vigilantism entirely. That's not relevant, it's just something I noticed a little more thinking back over the story recently.

The Hate Doesn't Always Stick With Me

Someone posted this question on a forum, and I thought I'd ask my audience. Is there a character you disliked when initially introduced to them, who you later warmed up to? The shift in your opinion can be caused by anything. The thread starter listed Amanda Waller, because they didn't like her on the Justice League cartoon, but changed their mind after reading some Suicide Squad.

I was having a little trouble thinking of one at first. It seems like if start out not liking a character, then I usually avoid them after that. Or any appearances they make after that are viewed through my biased perspective, and aren't able to change my mind. I didn't care for Cyclops when I first read comics with him in them, and that hasn't changed 20 years later, for example. I did come up with a few, but I only listed the first one that came to mind.

Hank Pym.

I hadn't read much Avengers prior to picking up Kurt Busiek's run, so I'm not sure how much I knew about Pym prior to that. Busiek made it clear Hank had made some mistakes in the past, and had some problems he was still working through, both in how he viewed himself, and in his relationship with Janet van Dyne. These problems were brought up, dealt with, and at least somewhat addressed. I don't have the comic with me, but I feel like Hank and Jan agreed reaffirmed their friendship, though they weren't back together as a couple, which is still nice. Soooo, great. Problem solved.

Naturally, subsequent writers went back to the well and tried to put them together again, seemingly so they (or the next writer) could have the fun of breaking them up. They became one of those comic couples doomed to try and get together only to have it destroyed somehow. With Hank and Jan, it seemed like it was his periodic mental instability, or the time he backhanded her. Which isn't something to be brushed over lightly, but it was strange how much of an issue it would be. It wouldn't prevent them from starting to get together, but it would eventually rear its ugly head and split them up again. Tedious.

Somewhere along the line I put together a run of Steve Engelhart's first 2 years on West Coast Avengers, where he did his own arc with Pym, and it was actually deeply satisfying to read. Hank was struggling with his various issues, almost killed himself, and Firebird (or La Espirita) came along and helped him out, by demonstrating he wasn't a big failure, as he believed. he had made mistakes, but they were ones he could learn from, so he could succeed the next time. It didn't solve all Hank's problems, but it gave him a way to go forward, and I was interested.

Eventually, I figured out it was better to simply ignore all the stories I didn't care for, and once I excised all those repetitive stories from my personal Hank Pym continuity, I liked him a lot better. He still has recurring difficulties with self-doubt and relationships, and that makes sense. Those sorts of insecurities and issues don't go away easily. But they're aren't occurring as frequently, the issue isn't always the same (like most recently he's had to cope with Janet's death or dissolution) and his solutions seem a little different each time. As though he's trying out different theories on how to get it right, which seems appropriate for a scientist.

Anyway, that's how Hank Pym won me over. A few good writers, and a conscious decision on my part to ignore all the other writers. Who's the character for you, and how did they win you over?

Hank's Getting Smarter With Age. Until His Next Foul-Up, Anyway

I've been meaning to do this post for a month, but kept getting sidetracked.

Avengers Academy #7 reminded me of West Coast Avengers #15. You have Hank Pym on the verge of a huge decision, the difficulties of his relationship with Tigra, and a super-villain that badmouths Hank about his superheroic career choices.

With WCA #15, Hank and Tigra are in San Francisco with Hellcat and Damion Hellstrom, celebrating Tigra managing to integrate her human and cat selves, so she's not at war with herself. This revelry is interrupted by Tiger Shark trying to elude Harbor Police, and the ladies make the capture. Turns out Tiger Shark was double-crossed by Whirlwind, who's still on the loose, and the heroes decide to bring him in as well.

At that time, Hank Pym's out of the crimefighting biz. He lives at the WCA's headquarters, but he's basically support staff. Not like Jarvis, or Oracle, more like that Harold fellow who lived in the Batcave in the '90s. Anyway, even though Whirlwind is one of his old foes, Hank is not going to suit up. He will, however, lend his experience by helping set a trap to put Whirlwind in a location where his powers are neutralized, and Tigra and Hellcat have a better shot at him. Things are going fairly well until Whirlwind tries to escape by slingshotting onto the roof Hank happens to be directing the fight from. At which point, Whirlwind giving Pym crap about being a loser who gave up his identity and let others take it, while Whirlwind, no heavyweight himself , has a unique shtick he won't let anyone steal from him. Hank flips out, tries to rush Whirlwind. . . and nearly falls to his death. The issue ends with Hank learning that while he and Greer Nelson (Tigra's human half) may have had a thing going, in her current form, she needs to figure out who she is, so Hank doesn't even have a girlfriend. Which helps drive him to the point of putting a gun to his temple in the last few pages of West Coast Avengers #16.

Avengers Academy is a little different. Hank's still taking a teaching role, but he's also still fighting crime himself. It had been as the Wasp, but he's opted to return to Giant Man. The Absorbing Man breaks confinement, there's no one else left to stop him, so Hank steps up. Crusher talks some trash himself, making fun of Hank for using his ex-wife's crimefighting name, shrugging off Hank's insults about his education, and electrocuting him in response. Crusher calls Pym a loser, and Hank flips out and rushes him, too. It works a little better this time, since he makes contact, but it allows Crusher to steal Pym's powers. This time around, Hank does take care of business, by enlarging the both of them to a realm where Abstract Beings reside, which is more than Crusher's mind can handle. The whole fight is set in between Tigra and Hank awkwardly discussing her son's parentage, and Hank's big plan to bring Jan back to them, over Jocasta's concerns.

It's interesting to contrast the two issues. In each case, Hank tries to attack a super-powered foe. In the first, he does so without any powers himself, because he's trying to give up superheroics, claiming he's not cut out for them. In the later case, he does have powers, because while he still may not be able to settle on an identity, he's at least accepted that he does, if not enjoy fighting crime, feel a responsibility to do so. Also, a charge is a somewhat better strategy against The Absorbing Man, who isn't particularly fast. He'll naturally steal Pym's powers when given the opportunity, and that ends up helping Hank defeat him, by making it easier to enlarge him to a size where the weakness Hank mentioned earlier (Crusher's mind) can come into play. Even if that wasn't Hank's intention at the time, if he simply tackled Crusher because the taunts got to him, he was able to think, and retake control of the situation. Trying to rush Whirlwind, whose entire deal is he's quite fast and hard to get ahold of, was ill-advised, especially considering they were standing on the edge of a rooftop.

In the more recent story, Hank actually listens (eventually) to everyone's concerns that he might be rushing his plan to bring Jan back. It also helps that he saw what brief exposure to that level of existence did to Crusher. In the WCA story, Hank can't really get past Tigra needing time to find herself. Even though she says they might wind up together again some day, he can't see it, he can't wait. He's frustrated that they were together, and then she changed, and now they aren't, and he seems to consider that emblematic of the superhero world he supposedly wants no part of. In reality, he did miss being a superhero, he just hadn't found a style that fit him.

And he wouldn't confide in anyone. When Hellcat asks him what Whirlwind was saying to him, Hank's response is he has no idea. He refuses to let on that anything is bothering him, and so nobody can help him through it. Granted he didn't tel everyone right at the start that his 'Infinite Mansion' was actually helping keep Jan's body together, but before he made his big attempt to save her, he let some other folks in on the plan. Ultimately, the decision was his, but hearing the doubts other people had, helped him realize he had the same doubts, that he was rushing into things again. This time he slowed down a little bit farther away from the edge.

That's Awfully Tempting

Up to this point, I haven't been buying Amazing Spider-Man in its Brand New Day incarnation. That's probably patently obvious to you, the audience, but I wanted to start with that, on the off chance you thought I was buying it and just never discussing it*. It's a combination of distaste over the dissolution of the marriage, though more with the method it was done, plus the sense that money could be spent on books that need the sales more, plus the reviews I was reading didn't suggest that the stories were so awesome that my world was somehow poorer for not reading them. They were solid books, reestablishing a supporting cast for Peter Parker, and pitting him against various villains with different motives and the like. Very old school, and I get that from Amazing Spider-Girl already, so there didn't seem to be a dire need.

Still, there have been times I've considered it. That Zeb Wells/Chris Bachalo story about the snowstorm and the Mayan Death God? That looked interesting, the bits I read sounded more like a Spidey I was accustomed to, and Bachalo's art was more to my liking than the other artists up to that point**, while not nearly as incomprehensible as his work on X-Men had sometimes appeared. The Slott/Marcos Martin Paperdoll story looked good, for Martin's art at the very least. And John Romita Jr. drawing Spider-Man fighting those twits, the Thunderbolts, holds a certain appeal. But thus far, I just haven't felt a burning desire to purchase any of them. At least, not a cover price.

Then the December solicits come along, and Amazing Spider-Man #580 is going to be written by Roger Stern, and if there's one thing I've figured out by going through back issue bins, it's that Roger Stern being listed as writer is a good thing. Plus, and I'm just going to quote the solicit here, 'When a bizarre criminal endangers his Aunt May, Peter Parker is determined to bring him to justice. But who is this strange, faceless, felon? How can Spider-Man stop a foe who can slip through his webbing? And hey, what's Pete's old pal Joe Robertson been up to? New York Times best selling author and veteran Spider-writer Roger Stern and artist Lee Weeks join forces to tell the story we could only call "Fill in the Blank"!'

Do you know what that means?! It's the return of this guy, I just know it!

Oh, I loved that guy. Actually, I loved that entire West Coast Avengers mini-series, but I really enjoyed that guy. He's has this ridiculous device that makes him look like a messed up TV screen, and he just uses it to rob banks. No world domination schemes or revenge plots. Just trying to get a little cash because, as Homer might remind us 'Money can be exchanged for goods and services.' Gotta appreciate the small-time bad guys, they're the bedrock of the superheroic society. Even better, he completely stymied Wonder Man's attempts to capture him, and if there's one thing we should support, it's villains who make Wonder Man look foolish. I don't know why that is, but it seems appropriate somehow.

Jeez, I'm gonna have to give this one some thought.

* But really, I struggle far too often for content to not at least consider discussing things if I bought them.

** I'm not certain what it is, but McNiven and Jimenez both just leave me cold. It's like it's technically sound art, but it lacks feeling. Maybe it's the coloring.

Disjointed Thoughts on West Coast Avengers

I understand it isn't Engelhart's best work, but some of it is so crazy that I just love it, like the story that was taking place in seven different periods in time simultaneously. And this is from someone who usually hates time travel stories. Heck, I actually find Hank Pym interesting in this book. Granted, Engelhart accomplished that by having Hank almost blow his brains out before he got it together, but still. He couldn't make me like Wonder Man, but he's a writer, not a miracle worker. I'm not a huge fan of Al Milgrom's artwork, because it lacks energy, and Iron Man's helmet looks far too conical to actually fit. Could be worse, though. And some of the characters they dredge up. '60s X-Men enemies, the Griffin, the Voice (and assorted other '60s Ant-Man enemies), Zzzax. Hey, no reason not to use them, right?

Near the end of what I have though, things started to get a bit weird, and not really in a good way. I've got the first 36 issues of West Coast Avengers. According to Engelhart's website, after that he started to get a lot of editorial interference, so it seemed like a good place to stop. Plus he was bringing in Mantis, and I've heard she was kind of his pet character, so even though I've liked her as a supporting character as written by Giffen, or the Abnett/Lanning team, there were no guarantees. So I only grabbed #33-36 at the convention last month, rather than press forward. Based on those issues, that was probably for the best.

Part of the problem is that it's been a while since I've read the earlier issues (at least six, seven months), so I can't recall when Khonshu took control of Moon Knight's body, but that's happening throughout these four issues, which threw me a little. Then in #35, the team's stuck in Doom's castle, though it may be Kristoff that has them (or is it Doom in Kristoff's body?), and Khonshu lets Moon Knight's body get knocked out, then starts wandering the castle until he can confront Doom. They have this odd exchange I can't really follow, no matter how many times I read it. Doom tries to attack Khonshu, and appears to get shocked for the trouble, but proclaims that he's fought gods before, so he's not just going to accept Khonshu's claims of who he is. Then they start the back and forth.

Khonshu: Each of us can prove his identity through the use of his powers! Mine to have the Avengers freed!

Doom: I see. . . I might then surmise that you reside within the body of Moon Knight, spirit? If I free the Avengers, will you ensure they labor in my cause? (Calvin's note: That cause is to eliminate the other Doom).

Khonshu: Beware, Doom! For those who displease me, I demand the strictest judgment!

At that point Doom agrees to free the Avengers, because Khonshu called him Doom, and that means he recognizes he is speaking to the real Doom, and so Doom agrees to play nice. OK, so was Khonshu threatening to demonstrate his powers in a fight, or was him calling Doom "Doom" the demonstration, showing that as a god he can see this person's spirit, even if it's trapped in a child's body? It just confuses me, even though I probably shouldn't get that hung up on it, but it's seems such an awkward conversation, and it is fairly relevant to that issues' progression.

The other thing that kind of got to me was the deterioration of Hawkeye and Mockingbird's relationship. During the time travel arc, during a stopover in Two Gun Kid's time, the Phantom Rider became infatuated with Mockingbird, so just before the team gets set to leave he grabs her and takes off, then drugs her so she'll love him. Yeah, skeevy. Two-Gun Kid and Rawhide Kid go in pursuit, but Mockingbird's loyal to Phantom Rider now, so they're fighting both of them, even though Mockingbird's pretty much more than they can handle. Anyway, she eventually comes to her senses (I think she found one of the heads to Hawkeye's arrows that he'd dropped 100 years in the past, and it jolted her memories) and starts kicking the Rider's butt. She knocks him over a cliff, then chooses not to pull him back and down he falls. Except he doesn't stay gone, and now his ghost is haunting her, plus she hasn't told Hawkeye, as he's gung-ho about no killing when you're Avenger.

Anyway, with the Rider watching in an invisible form, Mockingbird finally spills the beans in #34, while she and some of the others are trapped in a Hungarian prison (which Quicksilver helped set up, 'cause he's gone round the bend, talking about becoming the king of the evil mutants. Whoo.) Scarlet Witch and the Wasp understand how she felt, so they're on her side, and Hank Pym thinks the no killing thing is good, in principle, and that she had valid reasons. The Vision says no husband would be mad that his wife upheld her honor, and Moon Knight, well whether it's Marc Spector or Khonshu, I doubt anyone will be surprised he has no issue with her actions. Odds are, Khonshu was thinking she should have stomped on his hands a bit to speed things along.

Seeing all this love and acceptance really pisses the Rider off, so he goes to find Hawkeye, Wonder Man, and Tigra, who've escaped and are on the loose in the city. We don't know what he told them exactly, except that it wasn't the truth, since Hawkeye (in #35) tells Bobbi the Rider said nothing about any drugging. And because Hawkeye's a meathead (and because Mockingbird kept it a secret for about a dozen issues, causing trust issues when it finally comes out), he believes the Rider. So does Wonder Man, but who gives a crap what he thinks? He's an idiot. Really though, given all the mistakes both Hawkeye and Simon have made in their lives, you think they'd have more compassion and understanding. Hank Pym gets it; why can't they? Then again, Wonder Man's died before, so maybe he's kind of touchy when it comes to death. I guess that could be it.

I did wonder about Tigra's feelings on the whole situation, since we got to see the perspective of everyone else that was on the mission, but not hers (at least not up to the point my collection ends). She heard the Rider's version, so she didn't get the whole story, and she seemed to think the Rider was pretty cool, so she might be on his side. On the other hand, she and Moon Knight/Khonshu were getting along pretty well, so if he told her Mockingbird's side, she'd probably listen to him. And Tigra could be pretty fierce, so she might figure Phantom Rider got off easy.

As for me, I was fine with what Mockingbird did. Phantom Rider did something really wrong, and he took some payback for it. That's how it works in the fictionalized West, right? Bad guy gets his in the end? It just so happens Phantom Rider didn't lose a gunfight on Main Street, he just fell off a cliff. Bobbi demonstrated Batman's philosophy from the end of Batman Begins. I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you, so you're outta luck, and all that. The mistake, as it so often seems to be, was in not being upfront with it. Hawkeye's a hotheaded, impulsive twit sometimes, but he usually comes around (like he must have at some point down the line), and if you tell him right from the start, it probably goes over a lot easier. I know, easier said than done, right?

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?

Definable Patterns In Comic Storytelling

Relax, it's not really as deep as it's sounds, I just felt like doing one of those thesis-esque titles.

So in reading through the first 25 issues of Byrne's Namor series, West Coast Avengers and New Warriors, I've detected a sense of closure after that 25th issue. Like there was an overarching plot from the first, and now it's done, and they're moving on to the next arc.

With Namor, the first 25 seem to focus on Namor getting involved in the surface world, and dealing with parts of his past (his history of aggression, his dead wife, his time in WWII, etc.). Well, that and things Byrne had some sort of vested interest in (I'm still not sure why he was so intent on bringing Iron Fist back, but I won't complain). The 25th issue wraps up a lot of those things, and sets Namor off in a somewhat different direction.

The point of the first 25 issues of West Coast Avengers seems to have been to get a roster constructed, as well as deal with various psycholgical problems of the members (Wonder Man, Tigra, Hank Pym). Sounds a lot like New Avengers, except WCA actually involved time travel, Hellcat, and about a dozen different super-villains getting beat down (including Ultron and the Grim Reaper). And nothing as incomprehensible as the Xorn/Magneto thing. After 25 issues, the roster is set, one of the major villains of the first 25 issues is dealt with, but there's still some other threads left open to hit later.

New Warriors plot point seemed to be Night Thrasher, and what the hell was up with him. Throw in some bonding between the team, some confrontations tied into character history (Firestar/Hellfire Club and Marvel Boy and his dad), and by issue 25 Nicieza was pretty much ready to go from there.

I think Darkhawk had roughly the same scenario, with Chris Powell having found the truth about his dad's death, fended off numerous people trying to kill him, learned some of the ups and downs of herodom, and helped keep his family together, but by then he'd run into another person with similar armor to his, which raised new questions as you moved into the later issues.

This doesn't always happen. The adjectiveless Spider-Man series of the '90s didn't have an arc I could discern, but the book went through about 4 writers in 25 issues (3 after MacFarlane left at #16), and it was one of 4 monthly Spidey titles, so it was at least a little beholden to what was happening in those. It's hard to have a defining arc in those circumstances.

But why would writers go with 25 issues as sort of a wrap-up/jumping forward point? Did writers have to come to the Editorial with a plan laid out for the first two years of any project they wanted to kick start? Was it simply because it was a quarter of the way to 100 issues?