Endorsement: Green Arrow

There is a lot happening in the DCU right now. And, surprisingly... I endorse almost all of it, including...

Green Arrow.

You read right; I'm recommending Green Arrow.

And that's not something I do lightly.

Point 1.  Green Arrow's scope has been limited appropriately.  In the previous run on GA, Ollie was padding about space-time more easily than running across of a rooftop.

Perhaps I could have chosen a better metaphor.

It also focused very much on his role at the paterfamilias of the Arrow Family. Which is nice and all, but...

it works much better when the central character is rock solid. It's something you can do with Batman.  But, as history teaches us, simply pretending Green Arrow is Batman doesn't make him Batman.

The new creative team recognizes this and are focused on Ollie himself Green Arrowing.  

Point 2. Good pacing.  I rail on a lot about decompression.  Green Arrow (#1 and #2) is great example of story that doesn't dash along at a Silver Age pace but is still not guilty of decompression. It takes three pages (its FIRST three pages) to show "there's pollution at a local playground".  But this isn't padding; it's zooming in on the crux of the story.  This is important, not only to our story but to Green Arrow.  

This is two pages where only one word is said.  But everything that is happening is important. We get a sense of the effort that Green Arrow is making, we see him doing *gasp* detective work.  I consider this "acceptably cinematic".

Point 3. They let Green Arrow detect. Look, Ollie's not the World's Greatest Detective. He may not even been a great detective. But he has a keen eye and is good at lateral thinking and the action should show those advantages.

People who think normally do not think of Plastic Cat Arrows.

The story gives a couple opportunities for Green Arrow to make contributions to an investigation outside of shooting arrows at stuff.

Point 4. The creators have done a great job with Ollie's personality. 

Ollie is a hard-ass who will let you know if you have failed this city.

But he is genuinely sorry for you that you messed up.

They have created a balance for it I have not seen before (outside the TV show).   

On the one hand, Ollie has no trouble being a rude pain in the neck.

On the other hand, he's not just spouting "liberalisms" randomly. His outrage isn't diffuse and random, it's specific, targeted, and (arguably) justifiable. THIS is a Green Arrow I can get behind.

And nobody wants to get IN FRONT of Green Arrow. Not even Barry.

Point 5. His outfit is cool.

Okay, fine; "cool" is a relative term when it comes to Green Arrow costumes. But the black and green works, his little cape is adorable, the opera gloves are VERY Mike Grell, he's wearing a utility belt, and, for the first time in my memory, he's covering his FACE with a scarf.

It's REALLY adorable. It's like he's still a member of the Junior Spectre Fan Club.
But, really, it does look like something you'd wear in Sherwood Forest, so I think it works.

So, now, it's just Ollie Queen who has a goatee, which doesn't even look all that stupid any more.

Ollie's a tech-bro, after all. It would be almost weird if he DIDN"T have that facial hair.

Point 6. The creators aren't shying away from the problems of writing a tech-billionaire who cares about The Little People.   Ollie is connected to the victims in the case (and might become one!) because he "ran the (evil) company for a month as a favor" to a friend.  That's just the most billionaire-bro thing EVER.

Point 7. The first and current plot is about a big multinational not caring about some of their business causing poisoning among The Little People and the writers take the time and care to personalize it. Not only is that perfectly on point for Green Arrow (as a '70s-style activist) is excellent a creating a niche for Green Arrow's adventuring.

This is some visual storytelling like I haven't seen since the '70s. It made me care.  The panel with the fallen groceries hit me in the feels.

Point 8. What this (and some more) adds up to is: Green Arrow feels unique.

Which, in Green Arrow's case, is not a given.

And unique in a good way.  

That's eight reasons. That's enough for now.

Eight is enough, as they say.

I endorse your reading the new Green Arrow.

Endorsement: Aquaman

Before I get to my main subject, I want to continue an observation I was making yesterday during my discussion of Justice League Unlimited:  the creators taking the opportunity to recalibrate the Martian Manhunter.

First, they wisely realized that if ANY character needs to just LOSE some powers (as result of the Absolute Power shenanigans), it's definitely the Martian Manhunter

"Most tryingly, I can no longer conjure ice cream cones from the atoms in the void, and I sorely need ice cream right about now."

The choices for what powers to remove from MM were purposeful.  It's his "ranged powers" as we call them in Heroclix games; the powers he can use at a distance.  He retains speed, strength, flight and (I presume) toughness and his two most unique powers, invisibility and intangibility. 

It's surprisingly how far you have to search in the DCU for those two powers to become available.

But his Brobdingnagian telepathic abilities (a power he basically didn't even HAVE in his classic appearances) are gone (I hope for good).  

In the process, they have also shown that JJ is deceptive, untrusting, insecure, and emotionally unstable.

Which I happen to think are some of J'onn's most interesting qualities.

Love J'onn, but... he's simply more interesting as, well, a weirdo.  A character who doesn't quite fit in and it is always, at heart, an alien, no matter how much time goes by.  It makes him a great contrast to Superman.  I much prefer him as someone who needs the JL's help and understanding rather than as "the heart of the League".  J'onn's not the heart of anything. I don't think he even HAS a heart.  

They haven't mentioned his shape-shifting ability, but I have hope that has also been severely tamped down if not eliminated. Classic MM wasn't Plastic Man or even Chameleon Boy; he could shift into other humanoid shapes and that was it.  Let's hope all this right-sizing of MM's power set leads to a Renaissance of his TRUE signature power:

MARS-HALATION.
After all, now that Red Tornado has no body, the League is left without a blowhard.

Which brings us to Aquaman, who in short, didn't lose powers but gained them. Specifically, aquakinesis.

Even more specifically, MERA's aquakinesis.

Look, I love Mera. We ALL love Mera.  But Mera's AK was originally just sort of ... fun.  

Mera's power mostly meant she was able to save HERSELF, so that she wasn't always some damsel in distress. It's one of the reasons we love Mera.

But the use and depicted strength of her AK skyrocketed over the years, until we all knew that Mera seemed more powerful than Aquaman.  And, sexist or not, it just doesn't do to have a member of a superhero dynasty who is more powerful than the putative centerpiece of the dynasty.  

I'm sorry Mera doesn't seem to have her signature powers, but I am very glad AQUAMAN has aquakinesis now (which he has had, at least to a limited degree, in many non-comics portrayals of the character, because it simply makes sense).  Unlike weird attempts in the past (the hook hand, the water hand), this one makes such intuitive sense that I feel confident it will immediately be accepted as an essential part of the character. In a few years, there will be readers who will shocked to discover there was a time when Aquaman DIDN'T have aquakinesis.

And even without AK, Mera is hardly "powerless".  Mera will kick your *** and make you thank her for it.

I would laugh if Mera got J'onn's SPINNING ability, and she went around making lots of underwater whirlpools to shove in people's faces.

A first I was worried that they might have deprived Aquaman of his aquatelepathy, but that is pretty clearly in tact.

I assume that's the point of this panel in Aquaman #1.  If it were Mera controlling that sealife it would have been mentioned.

The other thing that happens in Aquaman #1 is, in essence, showing that Aquaman finds being king tedious.

You can tell how silly he feels in that little hat. You know how hard it is to make AQUAMAN feel silly? It's VERY hard.

This is clever on several levels. First, it is very consistent with Aquaman's character as an adventurer and his historical ambivalence about being king of Atlantis.  "King of Atlantis" is his "Bruce Wayne"; it's a role that both enables and yet hampers him from being his superheroic self. Second, it helps distinguish Aquaman from Namor.

We should all forget Cullen Bunn. But we should all NEVER forget what he DID to Aquaman.

Namor is really crabby, resents "The Surface World", and his identity is really wrapped in being king. Therefore Aquaman should never be any of those things.

Third, it acknowledges an ugly truth: Atlantis is boring not just to him, but to US. It always has been.  We don't care about Atlantis's petty problems and prejudices and, despite being a fantastical mythical underwater world with magic and super science, it has less CHARACTER than Gotham or Metropolis or even Central City.  

How many buildings in Atlantis can you name? None.
Yet you know the name of Central City's COFFEE SHOP.

Atlantis exists only to be threatened so that Aquaman has to protect it. Mera doesn't need to be a damsel in distress because ATLANTIS IS.

So, in Aquaman's first issue, the creators do the logical thing:

They get rid of it.

Of course, it's just a quest that Arthur will need to go on, if for no other reason than that his wife and daughter have gone missing along with Atlantis.  But it is good sign the creators know what Atlantis's purpose is and are not going to try and suck us into bothersome details about class conflict among the "trides".  

Apparently, the incident is the fault of some Magic Pearl that Jackson "Aqualad" Hyde found (in an earlier issue of the current run of Brave & The Bold).

It is highly reminiscent of the Silver Sphere, which, I am sure you will remember, sparked war between the Tortoids and the Lizardians, averted only by Aquaman's mediation.  

One of the undercurrents of the issue is the Aquaman was too distracted by his duties as king to give Aqualad's discover of the Pearl sufficient attention, which might have forestalled the disappearance of Atlantis.  I can hope only that where they are headed with this is Aquaman appointing SOMEBODY regent (like Garth the Giant-Headed Purple-Eyed Freak which would at least give that character SOMETHING to do).

Make no mistake; this recommendation isn't because I trust Garth.
It just shows how little I think of Atlanteans, who really need to get their own **** together.

One of the nicest touches in the story is the fact that Aquaman immediately goes to seek advice and possible assistance from the Justice League.

No more of readers asking, "but why didn't Hero-Person asked their super friends for help?"  They will. It won't solve the problem, but done right it can speed up the story.

That is exactly how the League SHOULD work. And they do give him some information and back-up, but he still has to go on the quest by himself.  No one, not even the big icons, should be ashamed of needing help from the League.

Well... ALMOST no one.

It's only the first issue but there are all signs that this creative team knows what to do with Aquaman, both underwater and in the larger context of the DCU. That's why it has my unhesitating endorsement. 

Endorsement: Justice League Unlimited

There is a lot happening in the DCU right now. And, surprisingly... I endorse almost all of it, including...

Justice League Unlimited, whose second issue I have just read.

Written by Mark Waid and Art by Dan Mora.  Already, it's a winner.  Nobody is better at handling a large cast of characters than Mark Waid (of Legion of Super-Heroes fame), with a demonstrated understanding of core personalities and how to convey them. 

Waid nails Ray Palmer in one panel. Grinningly confident scientist. You know have all the information you need about his personality, organically shown.

Mora's art makes every character solid, colorful, and distinctive but within a unifying style; he's the ideal superhero comic artist, especially when you need to put a wide variety of characters in the same context.

An example of Mora's work from the series that makes my point.

Waid's mastery is evident right from the start.  He overviews the League's new headquarters, its scope, and its principle players, then introduces an Overt Threat storyline (the remnants of Apokalips left in the wake of Darkseid's death), a Shadowy Threat storyline (the "Inferno" group), an Interior Threat storyline (the new double agent within the JLU).  By the end of issue 2, the current manifestation of the Overt Immediate Threat is understood and dealt with; the Shadowy Background Threat is identified as such but neither understood nor dealt with; and the Hidden Foreground Threat isn't even identified (except to us, the readers).

With these three different story levels, Waid is giving us: in-your-face action sequences which tests the League's muscle and tactics; lurking mysteries that test its brains and strategy; and a Columboesque howcatchum that creates Hitchcockian tension for the reader by giving us knowledge of threat unknown to the characters.  

Pictured: threat unknown to the characters and Comic Book Irony.

And even with the Hidden Threat, it's made clear there the reason the Question was engaged to be Head of Security on the satellite headquarters was because the JLU's leader (the Big Three) suspect that there is SOME lurking threat within the group's ranks and that a relenting inquisitive, skeptical detective is just the person needed against such threats.  A potential weird use of DC characters ("Why is former Gotham cop in charge of a space facility full of super beings?") is plotted to not only make sense, but to be almost the only thing that WOULD make sense.  So, too, the assignment of Perennial Problem Character the Red Tornado as the now-bodiless AI running the satellite, takes a character's potential downsides ("He's a robot and blows up regularly") and re-contextualizes them into a logical role for the character. It certainly makes more sense than having demigods bitching about having to sit on "Monitor Duty".

Sometimes, you or I might not agree with the particulars of what Waid does in any story, BUT you cannot disagree that Waid always knows what he is doing.  

Waid is The Batman of DC writers.

Unlike some modern writers, Waid isn't using the characters to act own his own emotion problems or to explore literary theory; he's plotting the bejeezus out of every panel to keep your brain engaged and your feelings invested.

In all this, he makes sure the Justice Leaguers are shown to be competent and expert (in their own ways).

JLU: "Hey, Batman. You're not super, but do you more know about what's going on they we and can therefore advise us?"
Batman: "Yes, of course. I'm Batman, that's what I do. I think and I know things."

Waid does not STOP things to talk about How The Characters Are. He lets the situation show us.

Waid uses this sequence of the JLU solving a problem with the Overt Threat to show ways in which Wonder Woman and Mary Marvel are similar but distinct, connected by different, and he does it in mildly amusing way that doesn't stop the action or jar the overall serious tone.

If it seems I am gushing over what seem like Basic Writer's Doings, I must remember that such things cannot be taken for granted.  I remind you that Some People's Justice League took four issues TO STAND UP FROM SITTING A TABLE.  If there is a Sherman, a MacArthur, Cincinnatus in The War Against Decompression At DC, it is Mark Waid.

In two issues, we are shown, in context, the personalities and abilities of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, both Atoms, Atom-Smasher, the Question, Blue Beetle, Air Wave, Star Sapphire, Flash, Stargirl, Red Tornado, Mister Terrific, Mary Marvel, Martian Manhunter, Dr. Occult. 

Honestly, I could kiss Waid simply for so strongly introducing Dr. Occult.  Not because I am some huge fan of Dr. Occult, because I am SO sick of John Constantine even typing his name brings me close to throwing up.  Dr. O fits the Arcane Consult role perfectly and without sticking out from the JLU's tone.

Waid gives more definition and personality to Dr. Occult in one issue than the rest of DC's writers have in the NINETY YEARS since he was introduced.

Waid even recognizes that J'onn J'onzz is a secretive, deceptive, lunatic and uses that to add another Potential Threat storyline. More on that tomorrow.

If you are reading more than one DC title currently, you'll notice that incidents in them are referred to in JLU and vice versa.  The title isn't just its Own Wacky Thing; it's the hub for what's going on in the DCU. In two issues, Waid (supported by Mora's matchless art) has made the Justice League something it has always deserved to be (and in my memory, has almost never been): 

an essential, exciting, enjoyable read for any DCU fan.

I have no trouble endorsing that fully.

To The Artists on "The Atom Project"

 As has been mentioned in comics about 27,000 times, Ray Palmer is 6 foot tall.

I mean... it's built into his schtick, people.

Ryan Choi is 5'8".

For the record, 5'8" is not "short, short". It's barely even "short".  He's taller than I am. 

Other than Ray's auburn hair color and Ryan being Chinese, their heights are perfectly much the only defining physical characters they have.  

It is NOT asking too much to have you draw them at different heights, especially when together. 

And if it IS too much, then you shouldn't be the artists on The Atom, which is pretty dependent on being able to draw things at different sizes.

Endorsement: The Atom Project

There is a lot happening in the DCU right now. And, surprisingly... I endorse almost all of it, including...

The Atom Project.

The ostensible plot of The Atom Project is that Ray "The Atom" Palmer, as the classic JLA's premiere scientist, has taken on the task of fixing the Wacky Power Scramble caused when (in DC's latest universe-changing crossover) Amanda Waller's army of Amazos blew up, forfeiting (somewhat haphazardly) all the powers they had stolen.

Paired with his fellow "The Atom", Ryan Choi, Palmer is having limited success, but exposits that working with Nathaniel "Captain Atom" Adam is the key to unlimited success.

There are so many reason to dislike Captain Atom that the stupidity of the "Adam/Atom" thing is sometimes overlooked.

Why is Captain Atom the key?  I'm not going to bother to explain the in-story reason (especially since I don't understand it), but the meta-reasons are obvious. First, no one ever knows what to do with Captain Atom,  DC's red-chested stepchild from the Charlton Universe. Certainly he has no fans other than complain about his use/misuse/abuse.  Second, he's an angsty, volatile character, making him a perfect unstable platform for "the Atom Project" to teeter upon.  Third, he is, quite simply, a hero with "Atom" in his name.

Because, clearly, one of the longer-term goals of this miniseries to is creating an Atom Dynasty (that is, a dynastic centerpiece model build around Ray Palmer, an idea I have obviously endorsed for, um, some time.

After all, how could you possibly go wrong centering your world around Ray Palmer?

The real Atom (Ray Palmer), the "ethnic counterpart"/"junior partner" (Ryan Choi), the sidekick (Atom-Smasher), the black sheep (Captain Atom).  It's a solid start.  

Sure, I'd love to see the return of the mysterious Molecule, 

Who, despite being nameless and appearing in perhaps three panels total, seems to have more potential than Vixen, Voodoo, and all of Stormwatch combined.

smart'n'sexy Enrichetta Negrini, 

Objectively, if I OF ALL PEOPLE think a woman is too smart and sexy to go to waste,
then she damned well IS.

and the ultimate animal sidekick, the bionic Major Mynah.

I do not love Major Mynah despite the fact he's absurd.
I love Major Mynah BECAUSE he's absurd.

But all this point I'm just happy that DC sees Ray Palmer as deserving of dynasty and making the effort to build one.

The creators clearly set up Ray and Ryan as a bad science-cop/good science cop duo, or, more accurately, and cold and calculating scientist / sensitive and humanist scientist duo.  I'm not really sure this jibes well with their past portrayals but, let's face it: neither Ray Palmer nor Ryan Choi have (or ever had) sufficiently strong characterizations in the past to complain that this new interpretation of them is off-model.  On the whole, Ray has generally been noted only his outstanding level of confidence (even for a superhero) and his problem-solving nature.  

The amount of confidence required to casually, commandingly SLAP JEAN "THREAT TO ALL WHO LIVE" LORING in the face is far beyond my ken.

And Ryan Choi, well, I think his most consistent and identifiable traits are hero-worship and haplessness.

You're a physicist, Ryan. Don't do engineering, it's beneath you and you suck at it.  Do you try to do your own dry-walling, too?

So, for the time being, it seems a reasonable way of not only distinguishing the two Atoms, of making them not just non-redundant but necessary counterparts.  There aren't a lot of crimefighter duos in comics anymore and two Atoms just might be more viable than one (something the Flashes have never made work).

As long as they are assembling a world of characters around Ray Palmer, it begs the question, where, if anywhere, is Jean Loring?

Again--try to imagine the confidence. This woman eats a bowlful of Karens every morning for breakfast and then shits Yelp reviews.

Jean Loring was alive two or so years ago (in Cold Coast Asylum) but that was two years; how many times has the DCU been soft-rebooted since then? To my satisfaction, it has not really been established whether Jean Loring's long and storied history still stands in current continuity.  Is she still dead, eaten by sharks? Or has she NOT YET HAPPENED?!

AGAIN, try to fathom the degree of confidence required to propose to Jean "you vermin, I'll rip your face off" Loring ONCE, let alone FIFTY-SEVEN TIMES.

Oh, yeah. Let's get on that rollercoaster AGAIN, daddy!