Okay, I have to confess: I don't hate Black Lightning and Metamorpho.
But I do hate what the Outsiders did to them.
They were originally cool (well, in Metamorpho's case, bizarre). They actually were outsiders. Metamorpho, like Captain Marvel, pretty much existed in a world all his own (the Haneyverse, don't you know). Black Lightning was a real "street-level" hero, when most heroes were busy battling against Mordru or the Construct. And they were legendary for being the Guys Who Turned Down Membership in the JLA.
But, naturally, they fairly leapt at the chance to join *snort* "the Outsiders". Now, that, folks, is how to lose your street cred in record time.
Of course, a hard look at their secret identities helps none. Metamorpho is, in fact, Rex Mason, a wealthy, debonair, jet-setting adventurer with an insanely devoted, gorgeous, heiress girlfriend and powers that render him virtually indestructible. Black Lightning is, in fact, Jefferson Pierce, an Olympic gold medalist in the decathalon and high school educator.
Yep. Them's some "outsiders", huh.
Thanks to the Outsiders, Black Lightning, instead of fighting drug dealers in the streets of his hometown, was out defending ... a foreign country. A European foreign country. A monarchic European foreign country. As outsiders so often do. And Metamorpho, instead of living his incomparable swinging life, became hired muscle for Latveria Lite.
Yeah, I hated what the Outsiders did to Black Lighting and Metamorpho.
4 comments:
If you're accepting members in the I Hate The Outsiders Club, sign me up Mr. President.
In mock defense, might I add that there was a perfectly no good reason why Black Lightning joined the Outsiders. He needed to pretend he was Lucius Fox' brother. As the only other black character in the DCU at that time, isn't it logical that Jefferson Pierce would leave the slums of Metropolis for a tiny Eurpoean country?
Did you know that Barr says Frank Miller helped in the finalization of this series concept? What do you think the first draft looked like? Superman and the Outsiders?
Seriously. Frank Miller - here's an old Treadmill entry on this subject.
I think Tony Isabella must have hated the Outsiders more than you, Scipio. But for the same reason.
Batman and The Outsiders is probably the only series drawn by Jim Aparo that I didn't but.
I was never a huge Outsiders fan, but for whatever reason I thought Looker had some potential to be interesting.
Guess that's over with now that she went all splodey!
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