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Joined: Jul 2003
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Legionnaire!
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Originally posted by doublechinner:
Dream Girl -- hair color issues aside, this is clearly the ultimate Dream Girl, integrating all the best aspects of her previous incarnations (Flaky AND brilliant, non-chalant AND kick-ass, smart AND sexy) into a truly impressive new synthesis. Her relationship (?) to Brainiac 5 is brilliant, a great example of how starting the characters fresh from the beginning (rather than trying to re-tread the past) can lead to interesting, logical and entertaining new stories.
'Ultimate' after one issue? Wow... I loved her here, too... but it'll take a bit more to earn ultimate from me. I am enjoying, in a way, how our expectations for these characters are being played with... so far, in a way that is entertaining without being... hmmm... overly manipulative or cruel. Of course, it's also a bit frustrating (just a bit) to see character bits/traits jettisoned that were well-liked. Originally posted by doublechinner:
Karate Kid -- he reminds me a great deal of the original Shooter KK -- confident, physical, humorous, but very, very disciplined. You're right-- Shooter seems to be an influence for KK... just as the ADVENTURE Sun Boy and possibly Element Lad are the 'source material' for those characters. So far... Originally posted by doublechinner:
BTW, did anyone else get the impression that Dream Girl and Karate Kid have been more than just colleagues? In the whole "clock me/dream" sequence, he touches her hair & neck affectionately BEFORE she asks him to hit her, and then he seems very knowledgable about how her sleep-based visions work. I don't think so... KKid was in zen-practitioner mode here. That doesn't mean he and Dreamy *didn't* have an earlier 'thing'... but I don't think his touching her here or use of 'chakras' was referencing that. Originally posted by doublechinner:
I also really love how Waid incorporated time/prophecy-oriented phrases into the Naltorians' dialogue. Especially "clock me!" That was a nice touch. Not overly done, either. Originally posted by doublechinner:
Brainiac 5 -- Why wouldn't the smartest man in the universe want to run it? This may turn out to be Brainy's central character arc for the new series (along with his possible Naltorian paramour). He clearly has the brains, but it takes more than brains to govern successfully. Again, the science/sorcery conflict seems obvious in retrospect, which means it is a brilliant insight by Waid to build a story around it. As I've said, I'm not sold on this Brainy yet. The 'takeover' comment worries me more than making me nod my head 'yes'. Originally posted by doublechinner:
Cosmic Boy -- A sense of humor, thank God! Always welcome in a character. Let's hope it's consistently used. Originally posted by doublechinner:
Element Lad -- I like his distinctive look and it seems to fit very well with character. It's worth saying that one of the best things about Barry's art is that the Legionnaires DO look distinctive and like "real" people. I liked the implication of cultural/style differences in his banter with Karate Kid. I liked that difference between the Lad and the Kid, too. And I'm glad you read it as banter, as I did. Originally posted by doublechinner:
Shadow Lass -- Does she love the Legion because it's an excuse to hit people? I love her "dark elf" appearance. Again, she seems a true synthesis of past incarnations, not as clingy and melodramatic as the Shooter/Levitz Shady, but a more urbane, humorous and sophisticated tough-girl than the DnA Umbra. That would be an... interesting... heroic motivation. Honest, though. Careful about the clinginess, though... M'onel/Mon-el hasn't shown up yet (maybe *he'll* be the clingy one this time... though I hope they don't get paired up at all).
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,906
Legionnaire!
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Legionnaire!
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,906 |
Originally posted by ferroboy:
I didn't notice it, either, so don't feel bad. But you could be right about the secret identities. OTOH, in a place as information rich as the UP, is it even possible to keep people from knowing who you are just by calling up info based on your face? Maybe the flight rings somehow scramble visual tech? Just enough to obscure the faces? Perhaps it's so subtle that the SP/media/UP don't even realize they're being fed incorrect visual info... ...sounds like this could be a good way to introduce a Computo.
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,906
Legionnaire!
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Legionnaire!
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,906 |
Originally posted by armsfalloffboy:
I thought this issue was really well done in every way. I can't find anything at all to bitch about, other than having to wait for the next issue. Which is probably a comics creator's most wished-for compliment. Just 18 or so days...
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,906
Legionnaire!
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Legionnaire!
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About Shady-- I always wanted her to visit Kathoon and have Night Girl's father do to Shadow Lass whatever he did to Lydda. Her power might only work if she wrapped herself in a tight 'shadowskin'... so it'd be a visual thing. Whenever you see Shady 'blackout', you'd know she was ready for some superstrong feat or other.
I wasn't all that crazy about the 'dark lantern' power... though I did find the cloud of shadow ancestors *very* intriguing, and was sorry even DNA seemed to drop it so quickly.
The poster Shadowplay in Candlelight suggested that Umbra and her communication with her ancestors was a subtle mixing of the preboot Shadow Lass with her Talokian foe, Lady Memory. I thought that was an insightful bit of extraploation.
The other power-use I've sometimes imagined for Shady is the ability to read shadows, thereby viewing events of the past.
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Mystery Lad:
BRAINIAC 5: [We now know he's '5' and from Colu] "How handwringingly dramatic." Detached, take charge, sarcastic, distrustful of what he doesn't understand (here, Dream Girl and Naltorians, in general), didactic... all qualities exhibited by Brainiac 5 in other boots. But, so far, I'm not warming up to *this* Brainy, though he does make the 31st century's best joke-butt.
I dunno. I thought Brainy was coming across as a spoiled brat who just found out maybe he *WASN'T* the best thing around for most of the issue. But there was one thing that turned me around on his character. Maybe it's odd to do a 180 on just one scene - one bit of dialogue - but this totally changed my outlook on him. "Can you not allow for the possibility that one of them might be so moved by that experience that he or she might find a way to AVERT it? All it would take is for one future casualty -- Just ONE -- to find the will to break the lockstep of destiny. If that happens, all probability shifts." Even continuing the explanation, where he could get a tiny dig in, depending on how you read it: "The universe is more unpredictable than we give it credit for. Your predictions don't HAVE to be infallible." I guess maybe I just read it differently, but I read that as more of an assurance ... possibly support of what the Legion did on Naltor. I think this opens up a whole new side of Brainy. My only question about him now is ... if he's so freakin' smart, shouldn't he know you don't end a sentence in a preposition????? I did enjoy Dream Girl in this issue. I liked the fact that she had problems keeping "visions" and "current reality" apart. That was always something that impressed me with all the other versions ... how could they possibly keep things straight??? After all, I know that I can have some dreams and wake up in the middle of them, not sure if they were real or not. So it would make sense for a precog to have problems ... at least initially. I also like the fact that she's a little flirty and doesn't seem to take herself too seriously. "'What's she going to do next?' Look at my EYES ... which are UP HERE, by the way..." Maybe it's just the fact that I'm a guy. But I found that little bit driving home the point that these are people aware of their surroundings. They also seem to be aware of themselves. It was also refreshing to see the teamwork of Dreamy, KK and Shadow Lass. I think we also got a hint of the powers of Titan in that instance. If they can be distracted, then their powers don't work. Might be something to file away for future use.
You can never quit believiing in your dreams ... or yourself. ----- You GOTTA listen to Levi Kreis.
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Originally posted by Infectious Drura: If Mon-el turns up please don't have her saying 'my love' and clinging to him for 30 years, please?  Because I hated that. I really really really hated that  I guess you hated it, then. I know what you mean, though. It's always been jarring to read preboot Shadow Lass and see how utterly wimpy she is compared to the Tasmia I "fell for" in the rookies' issue in the reboot (also notable for being -- 'ow you say? -- le appearance premiére of Ze Tongue!!!!!!!1!!!1 ). And guess what? That initial version of Umbra had "mere" shadowcasting powers, which were quite mighty in their own right, able to absorb any form of radiation (as she did to aid the wounded Radion). What the heck was I talking about? Uh... This Shady is a good blend of both so far. And I hope Mon-el never shows up if it's gonna turn her into the little wifey all over again. We know Waid's got a powerful romantic streak in him, based on his Flash run...
-- Still here to help.
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Romantic plots should and don't require wishy-washy females. For that matter, Linda Park, while sometimes the damsel in distress, was never quite as limp as Mon-el attached Shady.
Avatar? I don't need no stinkin' avatar...
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