Are DC's rights to the Charlton heroes about to expire? The flurry of work around some of the Charlton properies seems like desperate attempts by DC to use them while they can...
Didn't it seem odd that the JLU cartoon used Captain Atom twice (or was it three times?) almost immediately?
Didn't it seem odder that they did the same thing with the Question?
And hasn't the Question gotten an unusual amount of "airtime" in the JLU comic book? He just had a whole issue of it to himself ... as did Blue Beetle just a little while ago.
Is it coincidence that Nightshade is in the "Day of Vengeance" miniseries? Gee, I wonder whether she'll survive!
Why bother introducing, in his own miniseries, this "Breach" character, who's so very much like Captain Atom?
Wouldn't DC want to give the best known Charltonian, Blue Beetle, the opportunity for a big splashy farewell? And they did.
Speaking of which, Shazam now has the Scarab. Will that magical relic be a 'victim' of the Day of Vengeance story?
Notice how Sarge Steel has been kind of phased out of DCU happenings, even though he was a big player for quite a while?
What would possess DC to suddenly do a revival of Son of Vulcan in a whole miniseries? And to give him a kid sidekick (a character that would then be owned completely by DC)?
I don't know exactly what I think about all these...coincidences. But I have an idea what the Question would think!
Showing posts with label Question. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Question. Show all posts
Friday, April 08, 2005
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Are You Sleeping, Brother J'onn?
The interesting thing about the Absorbascon's new toy, the Dynastic Centerpiece model, is its potential use to build a mythos around a character without a dynasty. Take, for example, the ultimate also-ran, the Martian Manhunter.
"Poor J'onn", as everyone knows, couldn't maintain a series to save his life...by himself. But if DC really put its mind to it, they could, without even making up new characters, build a Dynasty with J'onn as the Centerpiece that would not only enable him to have his own title but, eventually, would nearly demand it. A quick stroll through the DC Encyclopedia provides the raw material, simply waiting for Geoff Johns to arrange it one day while sitting on the toilet (or the J'onn, if you prefer cheap Golden Age puns).
The Martian Manhunter's role in the DCU is easily unique: he is the Ultimate Outsider (J'onn is unfailingly ALIEN, no matter how long he's been here) as Ultimate Insider (he's a shapechanger, reads minds, can turn invisible, and "JLA" is his middle name). So the dynastic themes are disguise, espionage, invisibility, detective work, infilitation (physical and mental), alienation and belonging. The Martian Manhunter mythos could become the home for a lot of unused or underused outre figures. There are plenty of pre-existing choices:
Dynastic Centerpiece: J'onn J'onnz
Junior Counterpart: The Elongated Man (as long as we don't have to watch him talk to his dead wife), or Xer0 (a black basketball player who doubled in disguise as a white secret agent)
Female Version: Gypsy, Mirage, or Aruna (shapeshifting Indian girl; she was in "Batgirl", trust me, it's in the Encyclopedia)
Kid Sidekick: Gypsy (hey, if she's not in MM's dynasty, who would be?), Risk, Hero (the gay guy from the Ravers), or even Cassius Payne (Clayface's kid)!
Black Sheep: The Question, The Human Target, Praxis (remember him?)
"Poor J'onn", as everyone knows, couldn't maintain a series to save his life...by himself. But if DC really put its mind to it, they could, without even making up new characters, build a Dynasty with J'onn as the Centerpiece that would not only enable him to have his own title but, eventually, would nearly demand it. A quick stroll through the DC Encyclopedia provides the raw material, simply waiting for Geoff Johns to arrange it one day while sitting on the toilet (or the J'onn, if you prefer cheap Golden Age puns).
The Martian Manhunter's role in the DCU is easily unique: he is the Ultimate Outsider (J'onn is unfailingly ALIEN, no matter how long he's been here) as Ultimate Insider (he's a shapechanger, reads minds, can turn invisible, and "JLA" is his middle name). So the dynastic themes are disguise, espionage, invisibility, detective work, infilitation (physical and mental), alienation and belonging. The Martian Manhunter mythos could become the home for a lot of unused or underused outre figures. There are plenty of pre-existing choices:
Dynastic Centerpiece: J'onn J'onnz
Junior Counterpart: The Elongated Man (as long as we don't have to watch him talk to his dead wife), or Xer0 (a black basketball player who doubled in disguise as a white secret agent)
Female Version: Gypsy, Mirage, or Aruna (shapeshifting Indian girl; she was in "Batgirl", trust me, it's in the Encyclopedia)
Kid Sidekick: Gypsy (hey, if she's not in MM's dynasty, who would be?), Risk, Hero (the gay guy from the Ravers), or even Cassius Payne (Clayface's kid)!
Black Sheep: The Question, The Human Target, Praxis (remember him?)
Civilian Companion: Slam Bradley (the noir detective, like John Jones was)
Elder Statesman: Phantasmo (oh, just look it up), a retconned "The King", Nathaniel Dusk, Hamilton Drew (already associated with Elongated Man), Darwin Jones
Animal Companion: Detective Chimp (although he seems to be spoken for), Sam Simeon (another character who uses his mental powers to go undetected among humans), Rex the Wonder Dog (hey, he's a "property" they need to do something with him!)
Authority Figure: King Farraday, Mr. Bones
Contextualizing City: Midway (with its "neither fish nor fowl" halfway between Gotham and Metropolis image), wacky Delta City (home of Vext), National City (home of Xer0)
Add in the "anti-dynasty" (also easily supplied the Encyclopedia) and the series practically writes itself.
Elder Statesman: Phantasmo (oh, just look it up), a retconned "The King", Nathaniel Dusk, Hamilton Drew (already associated with Elongated Man), Darwin Jones
Animal Companion: Detective Chimp (although he seems to be spoken for), Sam Simeon (another character who uses his mental powers to go undetected among humans), Rex the Wonder Dog (hey, he's a "property" they need to do something with him!)
Authority Figure: King Farraday, Mr. Bones
Contextualizing City: Midway (with its "neither fish nor fowl" halfway between Gotham and Metropolis image), wacky Delta City (home of Vext), National City (home of Xer0)
Add in the "anti-dynasty" (also easily supplied the Encyclopedia) and the series practically writes itself.
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