You Don't Normally Build Giant Monsters To Use Once

Back to Steven Universe for a minute. At some point during the original war between the Crystal Gems and Homeworld, the Diamonds began a project for a massive weapon called the Cluster. They forcibly fused millions of shards of shattered gems into one immense being, shards with just enough awareness to remember they were someone once, but unable to recall or regain that, and left it to gestate deep beneath the Earth's crust. The idea being, when it was ready, the gem shards would create a huge fusion creature that would tear the Earth apart as it emerged.

Before things ever got that far, the Diamonds decided to cut their losses and basically nuke the planet from orbit. They weren't trying to destroy the world, just every gem still on the planet after they ordered their forces to withdraw. It didn't work - the gems in question wound up corrupted with greatly altered forms and little sign they remember who they were - but as far as the Diamonds seemed to know, they'd killed all the rebels and that was that. By that point, the Cluster was basically a final "Fuck you," to a planet that had given them a lot of trouble, and gotten one of their one killed.

That seems like a lot of trouble to go to for just that. Once the Earth is destroyed, they're still left with the planet-destroying fusion monster roaming the cosmos. Maybe they didn't think that far ahead, or they don't have any worlds anywhere near Earth, so the Cluster would never pose a threat to their interests. Still, they sent Peridot to Earth to check on its progress. Maybe that was impatience, although the Gems' lifespans mean they consider centuries to be hardly any time at all. That they'd bother to monitor it suggests they had an interest in the success of the project beyond simply destroying Earth. So what is the end goal?

There's no evidence currently Homeworld has experienced further rebellions since that darn Rose Quartz. The Cluster isn't a pacification weapon, anyway, unless you operate on the same wavelength as Emperor Palpatine, where the sheer scale of the weapon wipes away any hope of resistance just by showing up. That would require the Diamonds to control the Cluster, and be able to transport it through space. Having succeeded once, they could create more, but if it's going to destroy the world when it emerges, again, not a great pacification technique. It kind of ruins the world as a source of resources, which Peridot said Homeworld is running low on, anyway. How far are the Diamonds willing to go for spite?

Up to this point, the only two intelligent species we've seen in the show are the Gems, and humans (assuming you count us as intelligent). We've seen the remains of another colony, when Stevonnie was stranded on it, but whatever civilization we saw seemed to be Gem-related. This doesn't mean there wasn't a preexisting civilization there, or that there isn't one on another world they colonized. Or maybe a world they tried to colonize, and were rebuffed. Because it was already being run by another species, and the Diamonds want something to cope with them. Just because Gems and humans are the only species we've seen so far, doesn't mean they're the only ones out there.

(In this, my mind keeps going to the Next Generation episode where Q decides to make a point by throwing the Enterprise in the path of the Borg. Although it could really be any number of Star Trek episodes. They are constantly running into terrifying new shit in that universe.)

The major flaw in this is we've never heard a Homeworld gem make reference to any sort of conflict, other than the rebellion for Earth. But we also know the Diamonds tend to withhold or distort a lot of information. The various Fusions Steven and Lars encountered on Homeworld all thought Earth had been destroyed thousands of years ago. Pink Diamond and Pearl had no idea two different types of Gems could fuse until they saw Ruby and Sapphire form Garnet. Peridot (and I'd imagine most other Homeworld gems) had no idea there were "unauthorized"fusions on Homeworld at all.

It's possible that, other than the Diamonds, the only gems that would know there was any sort of a conflict, would be the ones fighting in it. If the Diamonds ordered any survivors to keep their mouths shut about it, they most likely would. Although I doubt Gem soldiers get leave. They probably fight until they're not able to, and then they're cast aside. Or their pieces are combined into a new Cluster.

Steven's "Hugs and Talking" Strategy Is Going To Be Tested This Time

I feel like discussing something related to the Steven Universe episodes that came out last week. If you haven't seen them, and you don't want them SPOILED, consider this your time to head to another web page. Or you could take a stroll through my older posts. Whatever works.

(Let's give them a minute. Doo-de-doo-doo. OK, I'm impatient, let's go.)

So Diamonds Blue and Yellow know Steven is Pink Diamond, or has her gem in his stomach. And they know or will soon find out the reason Pink wasn't shattered by Rose Quartz is because Pink and Rose were the same person. Pink Diamond was secretly the leader of the rebellion against her rule of the colony they'd established on Earth. That seems like that's going to cause some upset, particularly with Blue, who has been in very vocal mourning for over 5,000 years now over Pink's death. That Pink was never really gone, that she was, in a sense, playing a trick on the other Diamonds, might not go well.

Pearl could try explaining that Pink tried telling them she didn't want to sap the Earth of all life in the process of producing more Gems for Homeworld, and Blue and Yellow dismissed her concerns. But I'm not sure the Diamonds will listen to a Pearl. Both of them have their own Pearl, and they treat them like smartphones, essentially. Play music for me, store my stuff, sit around and wait for me to need you for something. Pearls are slaves, although I've seen good arguments that all Gem classes other than Diamonds are basically slaves. Each class is supposed to have a specific function, and deviating from that function, or being unable to carry it out, is not acceptable. But Pearls are specifically mentioned as "belonging" to someone.

Point being, if Pearl tries talking to them first, I'm worried they'd try destroying her for such impudence.

One thing that comes up frequently is Gems don't understand what Steven is. Understandable; children as we think of them don't exist for Homeworld. Most Gems - or at least Jasper and Amethysts - pop out of the Earth fully formed and ready for their task. They can shapeshift or alter their forms, but they don't age and develop the same as humans. Gems can fuse, to produce a being who is parts of each, but also its own being. But they can break that fusion and return to their original selves. Garnet can go back to being Ruby and Sapphire, two separate Gems. Garnet believed baby Steven was some odd fusion of Rose and Greg (where Greg still existed as a separate entity), and the fusion simply couldn't recall how to split back into two.

Most Gems assume Steven simply is Rose Quartz. He has her Gem, her shield, her powers (mostly). Jasper was certain Steven was Rose in disguise, though she couldn't understand why Rose would keep challenging her in this puny form. That isn't too unusual. Gems tend to barely notice Stephen until they see the gem, or he summons Rose's shield, but once those things happen, they think he's Rose. I'm not sure the Diamonds are going to think much differently.

Granted, they've met Steven before, when he went to Homeworld to stand trial for Rose's "crimes". Where it became clear that he didn't know anything about how Pink was supposedly shattered. Because he doesn't have his mother's memories, though he gets some of them now and then in dreams. And there was a bit in the promo at the end of the last episode where he tells them outright he doesn't have Pink's memories. The concern I have is, Blue and Yellow know Steven has Pink's gem. They may not grasp that this does not make Steven Pink Diamond. They know or are going to know Pink was actually Rose all along. That she lied to them, tricked them. Given that, are they going to wonder if Steven was playing a game when he was on trial, just pretending to not have Rose's memories? If Pink lied to them once. . .

I Try To Understand My Sense of Humor

I wouldn't say "So Many Birthdays" is my favorite Steven Universe episode. It's probably in the top 10, but beyond that, I couldn't say. It is, however, the episode that makes me laugh the most. Maybe it's futile to try and talk about why I find something funny, but what the hell.

It has a lot of great lines in it, but still, this is an episode where Steven's attempt to throw birthday parties for the Gems (who don't really age, and therefore don't understand the point) causes him to become aware that he's growing older. He gets hung up on not acting childish, and his gem reacts, aging him out of control until he nearly dies, while the Gems argue helplessly among themselves. A lot of it seems to come from presenting something familiar to us, to characters who aren't familiar with it. Making the audience step back a little and think about how it looks from a different perspective.

The first half, the unsuccessful parties, shows us Steven doesn't grasp what it means the Gems don't age, or place any particular emphasis on the passage of time with regards to their growth. Gems are supposed to emerge fully-formed and with a specific function they're ready to perform. They are capable of growth and change, but it isn't related to aging. These parties to celebrate that, especially the particular activities Steven chooses, we see how strange it all is to them*. If Steven had candy for Amethyst, why hide if in a paper donkey? Why is Steven wearing a wig and makeup, and why did he hit himself in the face with a pie**? What's the deal with cars that could only be driven by babies ('Which way to the Baby War?') So we watch the Gems go from trying to humor Steven, to trying to hurry things along, to finally just outright telling him they don't get what he's trying to accomplish here, but it isn't working.

The second half, as Steven begins to age out of control, is seeing Steven's perception of what growing up means. The humor is in the hopefully mistaken impressions he has. His responses are those of a kid who has a notion of what getting older entails, but only vaguely. He thinks you get jobs by picking a t-shirt with a title on it ('Love Doctor? I'm too squeamish.') That basically, you can't enjoy anything, certainly can't allow anyone to see you enjoying anything. That growing up is a dull, flavorless existence devoid of joy or friends ('I'll have to eat nothing but oatmeal, and it'll be sugar-free! Sugar-free!'), as you await the cold embrace of Death. Which, I'm not going to say I haven't found my thoughts traveling similar lines at times, but it doesn't have to be the case.

Maybe I laugh at that part as a way of whistling past the graveyard.

The whole sequence with Lars and Sadie plays off what we understand versus what they know. We know this strange old man is Steven, having an existential crisis. They think he's just some random old man ('I'm! Old! Yeah, and nuts!') who seems to know them and asks them to help him into his Birthday Suit. And so they react with caution, concern, and then Sadie chases him out while brandishing a stool.

The episode concludes with a decrepit Steven being brought to the Gems, who have no idea how to help him. They try reminding him of things from the parties, but they still don't get what the parties represented, so it doesn't do anything. Well, Pearl trying to reenact the pie in the face gag, only to burst into tears made me laugh (Amethyst's outraged, 'Are you trying to kill him faster?!' puts it over the top), but it doesn't help Steven.

Even the normally calm and composed Garnet loses it, resorting to shaking Steven frantically ('I thought. . . violence would be the answer.'), as though he's stuck and that'll jar him loose into his normal form. That part plays more upon audience expectations, I think. We haven't seen Garnet really rattled up to this point, so to see her reduced to that makes me laugh, even if she's losing her cool because Steven looks seconds away from reenacting Donovan's death in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Which is a dire situation, the main character's impending death, and yet, I was laughing. It's serious in the context of the plot, but in terms of Garnet's character, it's more silly.

The episode ultimately takes a common fear people have, puts Steven as far through it as he can go and still come back, and uses a lot of misunderstanding and exaggeration to good effect. As an audience we can laugh at the Gems bewilderment at these parties, identify with Steven's fears about aging, while still laughing at his level of overreaction to the whole thing. 

* It's a pretty time-tested approach to comedy. Yotsuba! as one example, does this as well, although it leans more toward "Look how cool and/or beautiful this thing is."

** In the Gems' defense, Steven forgot the rule Krusty the Clown taught long ago. People want to see a person with dignity get a pie in the face, not a schlub begging to be hit.

This Is Why I Can't Have Nice Things

I think it's been over a year since Steven Universe dispatched Jasper as an enemy, but I end up thinking about that final battle at the Beta Kindergarten a lot. It's one of those frustrating situations where I understand why the creators went the direction they did, and it makes a lot of sense, but I still wish they'd done it differently.

Jasper has, with the exception of that one time when Lapis punched her over the far horizon, lost to group efforts, especially to fusions. Garnet, Stevonnie, Alexandrite, and in the final battle, Smoky Quartz. And it infuriates Jasper, because she thinks of it as a cheap trick, weaker gems combining to make a stronger gem. None of the Crystal Gems could defeat her alone, so they gang up on her.

Jasper misses that the Gems can fuse as effectively as they do because they care about each other and want to help each other out. They do fuse because it helps them in battle, that part is correct, but it works because of their shared connection outside battle. They're trying to protect each other, not smash people.

For Jasper, it's strictly about power. Even when she tried fusion, with Lapis, it was from a desire for revenge, because she felt desperate, and she tried to force Lapis into it, only for Lapis to turn the tables on her and trap them both at the bottom of the ocean. Eventually Jasper took control, but it was never a particularly stable fusion, with both gems working in concert. It was always one personality dominating the other. From Jasper's perspective, it made her stronger, that was the important part. But despite wanting others to fuse with her whenever she starts to lose, she never drops her scornful attitude. She mocks a corrupted gem as deserving its fate, locks it in a cage, but then tries to force a fusion on it when she gets desperate. And is surprised it doesn't want to stay fused with a tormentor who made no attempt to understand it or treat it as an equal. For Jasper, fusion is a way for her to get what she wants, period, and that's why it doesn't work out. For the Gems, fusion is an expression of the feelings they have towards each other, creating a being who is each of them, but also an individual of their own. Jasper still wants to be Jasper, even when fused.

And Jasper buys in fully to the rules of Homeworld. That she exists to serve the Diamonds, that she's how they made her, and you are not to go outside those bounds. To do so, by choice or forces outside your control, is unforgivable. So she's defeated by Amethyst, Steven (who Jasper thinks is just Rose Quartz in a bizarre form), and Peridot. Amethyst was supposed to look like Jasper, but was in the ground 500 years too long, and came out smaller. Rose rebelled against the Diamonds, and has now willingly changed her form to this short, curly-haired pudgy thing. All of that is against the will of the Diamonds, as is the existence of Earth itself. Jasper is ultimately "poofed" by Peridot, who wasn't supposed to have any powers once she lost her limb enhancers, but has turned out to have telekinesis over metal. She figured that out after Steven and Amethyst tried to teach her to shift her form, in either case, moving outside the bounds prescribed by the Diamonds.

So the story of Jasper's defeat played out really well, on a lot of levels. And yet, I was a little disappointed, because I had hoped Amethyst would be able to beat Jasper on her own. She'd been trounced in their previous fight, battered, humiliated, poofed, and ultimately had to be rescued by Stevonnie, when she was supposed to be protecting them. Jasper had poked at all of Amethyst's insecurities about being flawed, or weak, inferior because she didn't come out the way she was "supposed" to. Meaning, like Jasper. Which also serves to remind Amethyst she was originally meant to be a soldier in the war against Rose and the Gems, rather than on their side, and it was mostly dumb luck she emerged after the war was over*.

Still, while Jasper has the raw power advantage, it's expressed in a fairly limited war. Jasper is the Juggernaut, or the Rhino. Straight ahead, smash what's in your way with overwhelming force. Her weapon is a big helmet with a ram on it. She doubtless has the capacity to shape shift, but outside the Sonic the Hedgehog-like buzzsaw move she and Amethyst both employ, it doesn't seem to be a technique she employs. Amethyst has her whips, which have a variety of uses, and shape shift readily, into a variety of forms, up to and including a functional helicopter. She's not supposed to be able to fly - Jasper can't**, it was one of the things she liked about being fused with Lapis - but she certainly does. That seems like a heck of an advantage to have in a fight.

I hoped that Amethyst would leverage her particular strengths, combined with a greater focus (and Jasper's overconfidence), and hand Jasper her butt. Settle some questions she had about herself, deal the bullying villain a good beatdown. No such luck. Amethyst's best hits could barely scratch Jasper, whereas Jasper could send Amethyst flying with an ordinary kick. It was every fight in a shonen anime between the scrappy, try hard supporting character and the extremely gifted asshole villain character I've ever seen. Nice try kid, but effort and being clever will never win over raw physical talent. Hell of a message to send there, but I guess if one was sick of "plucky underdogs triumphant" sports movies - maybe I should have just typed "sports movies" - I could see it striking a chord.

That's a jaundiced take on the whole thing, I know. I just know that sometimes you have to get things done on your own. The show is right, there's nothing wrong with working together or leaning on a friend. But sometimes that isn't an option, and what we're faced with can't be put off until some help can be rustled up. Not really the story Steven Universe is trying to tell, and normally, that doesn't bother me. In this particular instance, though, I'd have liked to seen it.

* I don't think it's ever been said outright, but I wonder if Amethyst worries about if she can measure up because she didn't fight alongside Pearl, Garnet, and the others in the rebellion. She never had the chance to prove herself in that struggle.

** Actually, I'm not sure about this. She did something close to flying while fighting Garnet on the spaceship. Zooming towards her at a great speed without her feet touching the ground. But she was definitely excited about being able to fly while fused with Lapis, so I don't know what the official ruling would be.

Another Fine Mess Steven's Got Himself Into

Having watched the Steven Universe "Wanted" series of episodes on Monday (SPOILERS, I guess), I'm curious at what's going to end up being the truth about the shattering of Pink Diamond.

The trial of Rose Quartz, with Steven standing in for his mother, lit a big neon sign that the accepted version of Pink Diamond's end is not the truth. That someone else did it and used the rebel Rose Quartz as a convenient scapegoat. It's likely no one would believe her if she protested, though I'd suspect she wouldn't bother. Being known as someone who shattered a Diamond would provide a decent intimidation factor, a certain dangerous cachet.

Steven's counsel made the brief mistake of suggesting one of the other Diamonds may have done it, and while I wouldn't be entirely surprised if it turns out Yellow Diamond is responsible (or the White Diamond we've yet to meet), I wonder if the answer isn't still that Rose did, but that Pink Diamond let her. That Rose somehow convinced her Diamond that Rose was right to fight to protect the Earth from the exploitation of Homeworld. Pink Diamond knew her sisters wouldn't go along*, but also didn't want to escalate a small rebellion into an all-out civil war. So she let Rose shatter her as a way to strike a little terror into Homeworld, maybe make them back off, throw them into disarray. She'd have to swear all her attendants to secrecy beforehand, make them agree to stick to the narrative of Rose attacking (and keep it simple since some of those Gems ain't too bright, no pun intended).

It's a long shot, overly convoluted compared to say, Yellow Diamond being responsible. But it would play into the idea of Rose keeping secrets from the other Gems, or Garnet's statement that Rose did things if she believed them necessary, even at cost to herself. She may have hoped to win her Diamond over to her way of seeing things, and ultimately to her side. She could manage the first, but not the second, not entirely. It might also explain Rose's reluctance to let Bismuth use the Breaking Point, if Rose's shattering of Pink Diamond has been even more difficult than we might imagine.

There is a downside in that it's been interesting (if frustrating at times) watching Steven struggle with how his feelings about his mother's actions don't really line up with the Gems' way of seeing her. He could still be conflicted over her shattering Pink Diamond, but if Rose did so at Pink's insistence, that's a somewhat different matter.

On the other hand, if that got Steven to stop trying to take responsibility for everyone else's decisions, that would be swell (hence the frustrating). That whole episode leading up to this event, Steven spent the entirety of it blaming himself that ultimately the Diamonds sent agents to abduct some of his friends. Their choice, not his, but he blames himself for admittedly careless statements to Peridot months ago, maybe longer. The Diamonds gave the order, but Steven's spending the entire attempted rescue whining about how it's his fault. Maybe not out of the ordinary for a sensitive kid like Steven. Kids will blame themselves for things they had nothing to do with. Still, if he had focused a little more on the actual rescue, it might have gone more smoothly.

I'm used to characters with overdeveloped senses of responsibility; I like Spider-Man after all. But if Spidey's trying to stop Hobgoblin, he may blame himself for not stopping Hobgoblin sooner, but the Hobgoblin's actions are his own. Those actions are why Hobgoblin ultimately gets punched in the face. Steven's not really the punching type, but I'm going to need him to figure out what he should and should not take the blame for at some point.

A few other thoughts:

- Gonna be curious to see Steven explain what's happened with Lars to his parents, or Sadie for that matter. She tends to hit things when she gets frantic or startled. "Lars died, and now he's pink, has no heartbeat, and there's a Subspace Doorway hidden in his hair" is gonna be pretty startling. And of course, now Steven has a big decision he made to feel conflicted over, leaving Lars behind. But Steven was putting them in greater danger, and as yet, they don't have any way to get Lars back home. I was trying to figure out some way to use Lion to manage it. Like the puzzle about getting the chicken, the fox, and the corn across the river when you can only carry two in the boat at a time, but I couldn't figure it out. Isn't really the same thing, anyway.

- Still, after a bunch of past episodes where Lars' behavior hurt other people, it's recently been a case of Lars' fear or rejection or failure hurting himself. And then he listened to Steven, really listened for maybe the first time, and was the big damn hero. It was nice, even if it didn't end all that well for him. But a lot of Steven's early attempts at saving the day were a little awkward and imperfect. The difference is, Steven had the other Gems there to watch over him. Lars only had Steven. I'm not sure what'll happen with Lars going forward, if he'll figure out some strange powers of his own, like Lion has, or how he's going to adjust to living on Homeworld. Be interesting to see if there are places he can infiltrate easily because he doesn't register with the robots.

- I liked the Off-Color gems Steven and Lars found on Homeworld. Peridot had mentioned a long while back that more recent gems such as herself didn't typically have powers, and had to rely on technological enhancements because resources were running low. Homeworld has overextended itself (possibly no other suitable worlds nearby to mine once Earth was out of the question?). And yet you get the feeling the Diamonds, through whatever gems function as mouthpieces to the larger community, tell everyone all is well. Earth is not the home of a rebellion, because it doesn't exist. Everything is fine, all gems are as they should be, following their assigned purpose. An attempt to maintain the illusion of a non-existent perfect past. And here are these few gems that are different, having to live in hiding to survive in the empty remains of a gem birthing/creation place. The people who get left behind, or actively destroyed because they threaten the illusion.

- Padparadscha's repeating things that just happened could get old fast, so probably would be best used sparingly. The others seem like that would be less of a problem, depending on one's tolerance for Flourite's deliberate pace of speech. Getting them to Earth, or spending some time with them as they try to find a new safe place on Homeworld to flesh them out wouldn't hurt.

- It'd be nice to have some Gems on Earth ultimately that aren't involved in fighting Homeworld. Peridot and Lapis only help occasionally, but they do help sometimes. It'd be nice to see some Gems there who just get to enjoy existing as they choose, and don't have to be drawn into the war. Maybe that's not possible, though, yet. The Crystal Gems are typically seen as a metaphor for gender or sexuality identity issues. I'm a heterosexual white guy, so the main thing I know is I really don't know what that's like, other than that people often have to live in fear for their lives, or of the government declaring them without rights. In that case, maybe you never get to not be involved. Even if you aren't actively fighting, being who you are means other forces are going to try and harm you, so in that sense, you are still fighting? But that was the point of Rose's rebellion, not just to preserve Earth, but to give Gems a choice about their lives, outside the strict roles Homeworld imposed. So at some point, we would see Gems following that, and not fighting, right?

- The pacing on this show is maddening sometimes. They know they're being hunted, they know they are going to be shattered if found, so let's stand around and watch Steven make a sandwich, or extol the virtues of Earth. How about this: If you get to Earth, you probably won't be shattered in the next 10 minutes. Move your butts! The episode established this tension, but the characters abruptly seem entirely divorced from it.

* Blue Diamond is portrayed as still grieving over Pink's loss thousands of years later, but I wonder if it isn't a case of regret. Maybe they weren't as close back in the day, and Blue feels if they had been, she'd have been there to save Pink Diamond. Pure supposition, combined with a wariness for surprise reveals, but there you go.

What I Bought 3/22/2017

While in the store on Wednesday, I overheard two other customers express confusion about Marvel doing Mary Jane-themed variant covers for June, and why not Gwen Stacy? I briefly considered saying because some of us find Gwen duller than plain cake doughnuts, but it didn't seem worth the effort.

Steven Universe #2, by Melanie Gillman (writer), Katy farina (illustrator), Whitney Cogar (colorist), Mike Fiorentino (letterer) - Nice of Missy Pena to remember to include the safety fence Pearl insisted on installing after Amethyst nearly killed herself falling off the cliff. Gravity will always be our enemy.

Steven and Connie attempt to see a movie based on their favorite book series, but it's PG-13 (although Steven is 14, but he doesn't look it, I suppose). They try to get in by fusing, but are thwarted by lack of appropriate i.d. While walking away fuming, Stevonnie crashes into Kiki, and the two hit it off, Kiki even inviting Stevonnie to her prom. Which presents a bit of a problem since Stevonnie looks high school aged, but is two middle school kids fused into one. How to address the problem?

Which is a question I've had since the first time the two fused, since they do interact with the various high schoolers in town a lot. I don't have any idea how age works for a fusion, or how old Stevonnie is. And does Kiki need to know this fact about Stevonnie? My feeling would be yes, but if Stevonnie isn't ready to tell her, it would seem to be Stevonnie's right to keep that information private. But Kiki's feelings desreve consideration, but as Connie points out, it'd be kind of hard to explain to someone who would find the idea of two people fusing unusual.

I was going to quibble with the ending, how neatly it seems to tie up, but it isn't as though I wanted a lot of tears and heartbreak, and it's probably not a bad lesson for the presumably younger audience it's aimed at. Steven and Connie are worried about hurting Kiki, with the result that they're putting a lot of stress on themselves trying to avoid that. But when Stevonnie is at least somewhat open with Kiki, about wanting to be friends, Kiki's fine. Other people can be more resilient than we expect, providing we aren't being an ass about it.

My favorite page in the issue is the snapshot page of them trying on different outfits, since we get to see Kiki gradually feel more comfortable with it. The first two pictures she's staying in the background, avoiding eye contact. By the middle pair she's playing it up a little more, and by the last two she seems genuinely excited. During the dance, it looks like Cogar gradually went for darker blues and purples in the background as the scene progressed, which reflected Stevonnie's growing unease as they observe everyone else around them getting very close. And as Steven and Connie argue in the bathroom, the background colors again are mostly darker, which combined with Farina drawing them with hunched over shoulders, suggested the weight of the situation. Even when Cogar goes brighter, with a red or even a pink background, Steven and Connie are drawn as so angry or stressed the colors carries that more hostile sense, as opposed to a friendly warmth.

So, still suspect the book is aimed at younger readers, but enjoyed this issue more than the first issue

Iron Fist #1, by Ed Brisson (writer), Mike Perkins (artist), Andy Troy (color artist), Travis Lanham (letterer) - The stripe down the side really makes the outfit look like a track suit. I think I'm still fondest of the long-sleeve, no high-collar or plunging neckline look David Aja gave him (see the cover to Immortal Iron Fist #3). Also, at least two of the three swords that are supposed to be menacing Danny are obscured by the title. Not great planning there.

So K'un-Lun was destroyed, and Danny's powers are fading. So he's roaming the world, spending his money to get into fights, hoping to find something. Also getting drunk and being a dick. He meets a fellow named Chochin, they fight a bit, they guy offers to bring him to some island and fight in a super-awesome tournament. I'm assuming K'un-Lun was destroyed in the last Iron Fist series, the Kaare Andrews one, but I'm not positive. Hadn't heard anything about Danny's powers waning in Power Man and Iron Fist, but a) I don't keep up on the book, and b) expecting consistent continuity in Marvel these days is a fool's errand.

I'm not sure this is necessarily what I was looking for in an Iron Fist book. Him in a mysterious tournament, sure that could be cool, especially if the tournament actually finishes (Brubaker and Fraction's kind of sputtered out halfway when the HYDRA thing took over in the rushed conclusion of their run). But Danny as some miserable wreck, beating up chumps in the hopes it'll rekindle his powers? Not so much. If he wants a real fight, go find Shang-Chi or something. Let Batroc kick the shit out of him.

I'm not sure about Mike Perkins' artwork. There are so many shadows, it feels very much like Deodato's art, which is can be good or bad, depending on what you're trying to draw. At one point, I thought I saw something in there that reminded me of Joe Kubert's some of the hatching on the hands, but I couldn't spot it again on subsequent readthroughs. Most of the fights are presented as a series of moments from the fight, a particular hit, rather than the fight as a single thing. The former style can work, but I prefer the latter, seeing how one thing leads to the next. It feels like the creative team put more thought and effort into it that way, beyond coming up with some cool-sounding name for what is essentially uppercutting a dude.

There's one fight/beating in the middle they do the other way that I thought worked pretty well. There's a three-panel sequence in the middle of it, when Danny starts to fight back where in the first panel he's lower, punching upward, then they're even in the second panel, and by the third, Danny's on the top, even as he's thinking to himself how he feels like he's punching down. And it looks as though his opponent is on his back, just trying to block punches, while Perkins draws that opponent with a wide-eyed look of fear in the panel. That was solid. And I thought it was interesting that Danny's last attempt to hit Choshin is blocked partway and left hanging. Then on the next page, after they've sat down, Choshin extends his hand in greeting, and it looks very similar, even down to the angle his hand is tilted at. Could be something, could be nothing.

If it is something, I'm not sure it's enough for me to stick around.

What I Bought 2/8/2017 - Part 1

It was going to be a big week in theory, six comics, but I was only able to find three of them. Might as well start with the two first issues of the bunch, although spoiler, neither one knocked my socks off.

Justice League of America #1, by Steve Orlando (writer), Ivan Reis (penciler), Joe Prado and Oclair Albert (inkers), Marcelo Maiolo (colorist), Clayton Cowles (letterer) - If Batman has figured out how to transport people around inside his cape, that would be really handy. Although I weep for the rest of the team being trapped in there with Lobo. The smell cannot be pleasant.

It's a getting the team together issue. One at a time, we see Batman recruit the people he wants, often bringing along the last person he signed up to help convince the next person. Except he sends Black Canary alone (to get Lobo), and Ryan Choi alone (to get the Ray). Curious if that means something. I could see him not going to get Lobo because he figures their personalities will clash, although why recruit someone you know is going to be a problem? But sending someone Ray has never heard of to tell him Batman wants him on a team seems like a bad idea. A suspicious person would suspect a trap. Fortunately, Ray isn't any brighter (heh) in this universe than he was pre-Flashpoint.

There are things here I could see being interesting. The last page preview of what's to come - and what are the odds we ever see that stuff? Those preview pages rarely pay off - suggests Ray and Lobo are continuing their conflict from the earlier universe. But it seems like same old Batman. I feel there's a disconnect between telling Canary he wants someone who speaks her mind to keep them honest, and two panels previous where he dismisses her concerns about Killer Frost with, 'I trust her. That's all you need to know.' What if that isn't all Canary feels she needs to know? Is Batsy going to offer more, or be his usual closed off asshole self? Although he let Lobo put Choi on the team, so I don't know. Mixed signals.

Batman does seem to spend most of the issue scowling and looking unfriendly (except with Vixen), which isn't much of a recruiting pitch. I was hoping, given he's picking his roster, he'd be a little happier about it. Don't love the redesign on Ray's costume. The helmet not going below the tops of the ears around the back, so the white collar of the shirt/tights goes up the back of his head to meet it. Awful. Maybe that call was made independent of Reis, don't know. I tend to like Reis' work fine, and Ray's costume aside, there's nothing wrong with it here, other than his Batman is reminding me of David Finch's artwork, which is not a good thing. I feel like Maiolo could brighten the colors a bit, perhaps, but that's a nitpick. It's pretty easy to follow what's going on in the book, so no complaints there.

But I still don't think I want to read them fighting the Extremists.

Steven Universe #1, by Melanie Gillman (writer), Katy Farina (illustrator), Whitney Cogar (colorist), Mike Fiorentino (letterer) - Oh Steven, are you floating in the depths of space inside a bubble again? Did last time's near-death experience teach you nothing?

Steven's at the barn, showing off some new game on his phone, when they find a baby bird that has fallen from its nest. A nest they can't find. Steven tries following the advice of a doctor at a wildlife rehab center, but despairs of leaving the bird outside in bad weather. So he, Lapis, and Peridot take care of the bird themselves. Eventually it grows big enough, and they release it to find others of its species.

First obvious point: The book is aimed at a much younger audience than my old butt. That's fine, just should have considered that possibility from the start, rather than being all, "Whee, more Steven Universe!". I didn't say "whee", but you get the idea. There's a fair amount of things in here I enjoyed. Lapis being willing to help Steven, both because she considers him a friend, and because he helped her when she was lost and alone. Peridot only really getting into the idea once she realized some baby birds grow up to be big, powerful birds, like eagles. But not realizing that not all baby birds do that. Because gems do work that way. In theory, if you are a Peridot, you look basically like this one. Rubies look mostly alike, Amethysts, and so on. So she figures Birds also work like that.

And there was Steven's moment of terror when he worried they broke the law by deciding to care for the baby themselves. I might honestly expect that more from Connie, but she'd be more worried about germs.

I will say, if you didn't know anything about Steven Universe prior to reading this, I'm not sure you would have any more idea of what it is after. I mean, you can get a fair idea of the three characters' personalities from this, Lapis being a mixture of easygoing and straightforward, Peridot being more manic, but I don't think you'd have any idea what they are, or why they're hanging around this seemingly ordinary young boy. I don't know if that would be a problem if you were considering buying this for yourself or someone else, but I figured it was worth mentioning.

Cogar's colors are very bright, which matches the show, and creates a mostly warm, pleasant feel. Even the scene at night, when Steven is worried about the bird out in the storm, the colors aren't that dark. But they aren't going to leave it out there to fend for itself, so that makes sense. Farina keeps the characters on model, and getting to look at the barn in still images, I got to notice some of the modifications Peridot and Lapis made I never had before. Which isn't a huge deal, but was still nice. The montage of them caring for the bird, showcasing their different methods was a cute sequence.

I think the book did what it set out to do, but it may simply be a case of I'm not the target audience. But I'm game to give it a little longer before I decide. I've given much worse books a much longer leash.

Must Be "Talk About Characters I Hate" Week

So I finally actually post about Steven Universe, and I decide to talk about this goober*, of all characters:

I don't interact with many other Steven Universe fans, so take this with a grain of salt, but I'm pretty sure Lars is not one of the more popular characters. Which is understandable, because Lars is a complete jerk. He's rude to Steven, takes advantage of his coworker and friend Sadie's good nature. He apparently blows up at his parents so frequently they're tiptoeing around him like they expect a bomb to go off (although they named him "Laramie", so they kinda have it coming). He tries to play at being the cynical guy who hates everything to impress the "Cool Kids", who aren't actually impressed by that at all.

The series has devoted at least three, maybe four episodes by this point to him, all of which boil down to Lars maybe learning he shouldn't be such a jerk to people all the time, and should appreciate his friends or something. Except he has to learn the same damn lesson all over again by the next episode that focuses on him. It's a little frustrating, especially since most other characters that get that much focus make some kind of progression, their perspective evolves, something.

Maybe he resists it because all of it involves Steven meddling in some way. It had to be pretty jarring to learn that everyone (except Sadie) liked Lars better when he was acting like Steven. Because Steven had accidentally wound up in control of Lars' body. And when he found out and freaked out at Steven, everyone yelled at him. Maybe that's a difficult situation to take lessons from. Or, it's just difficult for some people to change.

For some reason, years ago, I read part of an interview online Garth Ennis did about The Boys. He mentioned people being mad that Hughie was, at the end, still making the same decisions. Ennis argued, as best I can remember, that people don't change that much. That Hughie would still be much the same guy he always was, for good or ill. It's not a universal rule, but I know for myself, attempts to move outside my normal patterns at social events don't tend to last long. I can try to be more involved, but after awhile, I drift away from the crowds to the periphery, where there's less noise, move breathing room.

I don't know if that's what's happening with Lars. We rarely see him making the effort to be kinder or more open before falling back into anger and defensiveness. But all the hints and nods to Lars having been friends with Reynaldo, or the times he's worried about how Sadie feels about him, suggest we're supposed to see it within him. He just has to chose to follow those impulses, rather than burying them under fear people will laugh at him over those personality traits. But on the show, if characters actually show a better nature, they tend to act on it when the chips are down. I'm not sure when, or in what form, Lars' nature will show through, but I believe it will at some key moment.

Which isn't much consolation to the people sick of having to see him learn the same lesson over and over again right now, but maybe it'll be something.

* Forgot to add my footnote. Someone retweeted another person who had screencapped someone in the comments for some Canadian news site. The comment was complaining that liberals were calling anyone who didn't go along with them goobers and slack-jawed yokels, and the tweeter wondered who still called people that. Answer is that I do, at least. Look, I get easily frustrated with other drivers and sometimes profanity and euphemisms for profanity don't work. And "Spud Hammlicker and his pumpkin truck" only fits in particular situations.