Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Kewl moments of Comics Past

Let's see...

Avengers moments... Seeing all the Avengers lying dead in #177 after the battle with Korvac... The return of Hawkeye / mysterious disappearances of Avengers (kidnapped by the Collector!). I just read the Celestial Madonna story in its entirety and I loved all of it!

Defenders... The all women issues (Wasp Hellcat Valkyrie and Moonddragon)when the Omega the Unknown story was wrapped up.

The Strangers - The revelation of the PIlgrim's true identity!

JLA - the unravelling of the Privateer! (Hmmm, I sense a pattern here, Englehart wrote EVENTS without company wide crossovers and based on characters not plot devices.)

Titans - WHO is DOnna Troy? ALl I can say is WOW!
The end of the Judas Contract, Titans Hunt (It started off so good and quickly went to hell)

Legion - Sensor Girl revealed! Mordruverse! Dr Mayavale (OK, strike that last one)

West Coast Avengers (Lost in Time/SPace) What an epic story! WOuld Hawkeye find out that Mockingbird killed the Phantom Rider? WOuld Hank Pym kill himself? What was up with Firebird's descendants? The return of Moon Knight!)

[Lightning Lad]
{[...] Avengers Annual #10. The introduction of that sugah from the South, Rogue. [... Golden] had her steal the powers and memories of an established heroine. }

Yeah, that's where she deliberately did the number on the undeserving Carol Danvers (Ms. Marvel, back then), who cycled onward through enduring rape, cosmic over-powering, depowering, and alcoholism as well.

Carol's bad karma started there, and the Rogue attack was as misogynistic a story decision as Dawnstar's losing her wings. Splashy, undeniably, but far too brutal. Not at all, um, sweet to me. Certainly not kewl.

This one is pleased by the numberous mentions of her.

This one did participate in some wonderful adventures with the Avengers.

Danny:

Avengers moments... Seeing all the Avengers lying dead in #177 after the battle with Korvac... The return of Hawkeye / mysterious disappearances of Avengers (kidnapped by the Collector!). I just read the Celestial Madonna story in its entirety and I loved all of it!

-- AVENGERS 177 was indeed chilling. I'd forgotten about the Collector kidnapping all the Avengers, but it was a great tale! My copies of AVENGERS 129 and GC Avengers 2 are near-to-tatters but I won't part with 'em. I may break down and buy the CELESTIAL MADONNA tpb, though. I need to re-read my run of AVENGERS that I'm keeping (the old stuff, up to about issue 200).


Titans - WHO is DOnna Troy? ALl I can say is WOW!
The end of the Judas Contract --

Who Is Donna Troy brought a tear to my eye at the time but now it all rings so hollow. CRISIS destroyed this story. I was recently contemplating selling my entire Wolfman/Perez TITANS, but remembered the JUDAS CONTRACT and decided against it-- for now. It'll hinge on one last re-read of those issues to see if I *really* wanna keep 'em.

Legion - Sensor Girl revealed! --

OH, one of my favorites of the BAXTER era. I remember feeling hopelessness for Dream Girl, Tellus, Polar Boy, Colossal Boy and Projectra-- these 5 were by no means wimps, but they were just worn out and I feared for them against the brutal new Fatal 5. Bless Dawnstar & Wildfire for arriving in the barest nick of time...! The Empress at her evil best!

West Coast Avengers (Lost in Time/SPace) What an epic story! WOuld Hawkeye find out that Mockingbird killed the Phantom Rider? WOuld Hank Pym kill himself? What was up with Firebird's descendants? The return of Moon Knight!) --

I re-read this not long ago, and it was very enjoyable. I still elected to sell off my West Coast Avengers collection, though. It was possibly because of medicore artwork. I might regret this one day.

I agree with Grey here. Sure, Rogue became a great character but my loyalty these days is to the heroines of my younger-young days and they include MS. MARVEL.

I elected to sell this issue on eBay and was quite pleased with the $12 it fetched me.

Others:

The last page of Legion (Baxter) #4 - With Karate Kid dead and LIghtning Lass returned - Great Drama!

The New Mutants Graphic Novel: I had just read the XMen companion at the time and it hinted at the new X Spinoff Book. OF course, back then the market wasnt saturated with mutant books. It was thrilling to meet these new characters and find out what place they would hold. Looking back now, it was the beginning of the overexposure of everything X!

Avengers 201-202, I had just read the short story when they adapted it into the Avengers main title. This evil undying was a great read, even if I knew everything that was going to happen.

Death of Mr Terrific. I was really shocked by this, and was NOT happy about. Really, I still don't like it, but his death had quite an impact and gave us something that we don't see often in the comic book form - a murder mystery (a personal favorite of mine). Also, his legacy continues in two different ways, the NEW Mr. Terrific and Roulette, his granddaughter...

Frankly, the Summer JLA/JSA teamups generally had more character moments than the rest of the JLA issues. I remember when Ralph Dibny saved the team against the Lord of TIme! (I still love Elongated Man much more than Plastic Man, who I despise).

Its funny, most of these "moments" happened years ago. Maybe I'm not as excitable as I used to be, or maybe the industry has changed, but we just don't have "moments" like these very often anymore...

Oh, and I didn't care for that Avengers Annual that introduced Rogue either, I will always loathe her for what was done to Carol.

Speaking of Avengers.... A real poignant moment for me was after Baron Zemo and his gang had destroyed Avengers Mansion, Mr Hyde had smashed Jarvis off a few walls and the 'vengers finally kicked bad guy ass out of town and CAPTAIN AMERICA was in tears as they had destroyed the last photo he had of his mother. That brought a lump to my cynical world weary hardened throat ...

Korvac was extra kewl too....

And Carol Danvers falling pregnant! That was a shocker for the time... an unmarried mother in American Comics was a real statement! Pity it wasn't a pregnancy to some bloke she met at a bar on a one night stand, oh no, they had to ruin it with that weird incestuous Immorto relationship...still, it was a very touchy subject they tackled....

I cant believe I forgot about the Cap scene. I did cry through that...

It's funny how Rogue evolved. Reminds me alot of how Luke Spencer ended up marrying Laura on General Hospital after he had raped her in his first storyline!

At least Rogue acknowledged and tried to atone for her crime against Carol, and grew as a character. The whole GH rape thing was swept under the rug until twenty years later, when they needed a storyline... :rolleyes:

Only in comics and soap operas.

It's funny how that episode stuck with me-- I had to've been 6 or 7 when I saw it, but I knew it was wrong, and he was a really bad person. Consequently, I never liked him after everybody fell in love with him and he became the star of the show. I wanted Scotty to run off with Laura... It always bothered me.

But Scotty is an asshole now.

And I think the story of what really happened between Luke and Laura and how Lucky, their son, found out, was well done.

I've been watching GH since Luke and Laura started, when Scotty and Laura were together. Got hooked during school when I was home with a broken foot. So I've been watching for about 25 years, on and off. And was about twice as old as Pov at the time.

Danny and Sonnie, that is one of my favorite Avengers storylines too! One of the best Avengers issues IMO, and a 'kewl' moment is the story that followed not too long after that was centered on Jarvis in his hospital bed. In it, he pretty reviews the entire Avengers history up until that point, and it's a pretty emotional and very enjoyable story!

Hmmm... recent kewl moments.

I'll rate the recent Milligan/Allred X-FORCE "Bush Rangers" storyline in which U-Go Girl died up there with any of the classics I've mentioned. An excellent, suspenseful story.

It's been done to death by now, but back in the day during the Claremont/Byrne X-Men, before Wolverine became the end-all, be-all of bad-asses, that scene at the Hellfire Club when the X-Men have been defeated and captured, Pheonix has turned evil under the influence of Mastermind -- Wolverine emerges from the sewer, having been dropped through several floors of building, turns and says "Now it's my turn!"

That was SO kewl!!

A recent example? I doubt this qualifies as "kewl" but it was certainly disturbing and utterly unforgettable:

Katchoo setting fire to her stepfather's grave and writing "child molester" across his tombstone in a recent Strangers In Paradise.

One of my favorite moments in comics is from New Warriors #26.

Vance Astro has been tried and sentenced to prison (okay, the utterly escapable Vault, but still...) for the accidental murder of his father. Firestar attempts to free him, but Vance is determined to "do his time" for committing the crime. The icing on the cake? The very sexy virgin Firestar offers herself to Vance before he has to resume his journey to jail, and Vance, being the utter gentleman he is, tells her he wants to wait until they're married, and proposes to her on the spot! Pure class.

Here's one while I'm in a sentimental mood:

After a long, long run, Preacher is about to end as a comic. Jesse, Tulip and Cassidey have been through more shit than any other three people in recent comics history. After dying, Jesse comes back from the dead, although Tulip now refuses to talk to him. After all, he lied to her again, after promising he never would, by not letting her be a part of his final battle. She decides to leave him, even though the two of them love each more than almost any other comics couple I've ever seen written.

Jesse finally decides to say "fuck it", grabs a horse, rides across the high way in traffic, up to her car, and professes to her how much he loves her, how much none of what he has accomplished is worth a damn without her. Crying for the first time since his father was killed in front of his eyes at the age of six, he tells her he loves her.

And then Tulip gets out of the car, kisses him, and gets on his horse.

And they ride off into the sunset.

Here's one from one of my all time favorite books, "Zot!":
Terry, a fairly normal though left of center high school girl finds herself becoming attracted to her old friend Pamela (the -shhh- "lesbian"). Needless to say, this causes a lot of stress and fear. She spends the entire issue struggling with what to do with her feelings and on the last page we see her walk by Pam and she blows her off -- but wait! The placement of the letters page is only a ruse -- when you turn the page you see the real last page where Terry turns around and in a brave moment of self-acceptance, walks right up to Pam, giving birth to the beginning of a beautiful relationship!

I, too, remember that issue of Zot!, Drake ... and I was also fooled by the "false" last page. It sure pulled my emotions -- I was ready to hate Terry (and Scott McCloud, for that matter) for giving in to peer pressure and cynicism. But, then, you turn the letters page and ... !

It was masterful storytelling.

Recent kewl moments:

Quite suddenly the X-Men find themselves fighting side by side with Colossus, recently returned from the dead. After a scene verging on a tear-jerker with Kitty, they all fight together against Ord of the Breakworld until it looks like he's about to get away. Cyclops or Beast utters something along the lines of there being no way to get to him, until Wolverine looks at Petey and smiles, saying, "well, I've got two words for you..." Next scene, with absolutely no dialogue (no need to say it), we see Colossus hurl Wolverine through the air, as the fastball special reminds me why I still love the X-Men.

After Mia heart-breakingly talks to Green Arrow about her condition of having contacting HIV, she has a subsequent talk with Connor, who tries to tell her it will be OK. Finally, she admits that now she's worried that no boys will ever want to be with her again, and that she is now 'dirty'. In possibly the sweetest scene of the last year or so, Connor walks over with no words and kisses her on the lips, despite his not having the same feelings toward Mia that her crush on him has suggested.

Some recent kewl moments that popped into my head...

-- when the THUNDERBOLTS revealed that they were actually the MASTERS OF EVIL... and then that some of them were actually going to become heroes was the kewlest of kewl moments. It's a good thing I read that issue indoors, otherwise I'm sure I would've had a fly zoom into my jaw-drop opened mouth.

-- a similar moment occurred when I read the trade collecting the first half-dozen issues of THE RUNAWAYS... the status of those kids floored me, as well. (There really oughta be a THUNDERBOLTS/RUNAWAYS crossover, IMO...)

-- The last page of YOUNG AVENGERS #1 approached that jawdrop reaction... and subsequent issues have had their own jolts. I have a feeling that this title could well yield several kewl moments in the years to come.

-- A less iconic moment that I found kewl occurred in the JLA/TITANS miniseries a few years back wherein Wally West, THE FLASH, sided with his oldest friends, the TITANS against his more current teammates, the JLA.

-- Kewl moments in the making= the return of SAND and the redemption of OBSIDIAN in JSA... both characters need a defining moment to cement slowly moving 'arcs'.

Gotta agree with the CELESTIAL MADONNA sequence from THE AVENGERS... get that TPB, if you haven't read this story-- it's a doozy.

I thought it was kewl seeing The BEAST from the X-MEN join the AVENGERS. QUICKSILVER, POLARIS and others opening up to a therapist (was it Doc Samson? I forget...) in Peter David's run on X-FACTOR was kewl.

THE ATOM's brief resurgance in several DC titles a few months before IDENTITY CRISIS was kewl. I hope his eventual return will be, too.

I'm surprised how many moments I've listed are Marvel moments... hmmm.

What would the opposite of a kewl moment be?

FANTASTIC FOUR #27 -- "The Search For Sub-Mariner!" Namor, lovesick, declares his intentions to pursue Sue Storm. His loyal men, shocked, desert him. Namor kidnaps Sue. Reed returns from the jewelers, having just bought an engagement ring, only to find Ben & Johnny pulling themselves together, then learns what happened. Reed goes BERSERK!!! He warns the other to stay out of it-- this is PERSONAL between him and Namor. Ben & Johnny are shocked, since Reed's always the calm, intelligent, un-emotional one. Desperate for help, Johnny puts out a call for Dr. Strange, who arrives in his ectoplasmic form. Ben tries to grab him to emphasize the urgency of their situation, but his hands go right thru...

"How can ya reach out to somethin'-- and touch nothin'? I must be losin' my grip-- or is it my marbles??"


Jack Kirby was so inspired, nearly every panel of this story is worthy of being a pin-up-- a pity the art was nearly ruined by the very rushed inks of George Roussos, who was doing money-short Stan Lee a favor, inking on weekends for half-price. Imagine-- inking 10 PAGES a DAY!!! No wonder they looked so bad...)

Kewl, huh?

Daredevil-Born Again. This story ranks as one of my all time favorites. By far the best character story Miller ever wrote. Matt Murdock stripped of everything except a heartbeat. The Kingpin triumphant. When you take away everything he has, what makes a man a hero? Plus, it has IMO the kewlest line in comic history: "And I-- I have shown him...that a man without hope...is a man without fear."

Rom #24-25. Rom returns to his homeworld, only to discover it had fallen into enemy hands. Then Galactus shows up. Battle ensues and Rom ends up losing his humanity. Also tres kewl in this arc was the apperance of many new spaceknights.

Legion - the revelation of Sensor girls identity!!!
Legion - Ferro Lad's death vs. the suneater. That story blew my mind the first time around. Awesome villians finally ending in a noble sacrifice.

Animal Man - the coyote bible story. Perhaps not kewl, but extremely funny

Recent moments.....hmmmm, in the current Authority series there is an awesome moment in washington dc. Can't say what it is though, don't want to give any spoilers for anyone who hasn't read it. All i will say is i turned the page and my jaw literlly dropped.