TF Views

138 Scourge wrote:Is Mephisto magic? I don't know if Marvel's gone as far as to say that Mephisto's officially the fallen angel and all that like DC has with Lucifer, but if we assume that he's pretty much the biblical devil, then would his power be technically magic, or just straight-up changing the world around him through sheer willpower? Which, I know, talk about splitting hairs and all, but I figure a being like that's gonna be more powerful than any mortal sorcerer, even the best of all of 'em.

Marvel categorizes his powers as magic or otherwise calls it "mystical energy"... So yeah, he is magic. His home realm is said not to actually be the Biblical Hell although it's still referred to as Hell or Hades. Marvel calls him a "class two" demon which apparently means he's a "Hell-Lord". And Dr. Strange has faced him and another Hell-Lord before, where he managed to send them both away... So it seems to me the Sorcerer Supreme can best him.

Dominic wrote:The basic premise is sound. There are two problems. One, it will not stick. Two, Morrison will find some way to make it completely wank-tastic self-indulgence. (That is seriously self-indulging wankery for those of you not paying attention.)

We're not talking about superheroes, though. I forget the press release where I read it but Morrison is openly talking about specialized police forces and armies wearing Batman's logo instead of a country's. I am not joking, I really did read this.

Which kind of goes against Batman's whole thing. You telling me 'one guy' in that army isn't going to go, "Fuck it, I'm gonna shoot this Joker motherfucker and be done with it?"

Sparky Prime wrote:

Dominic wrote:I can see a being as primal and powerful as Mephisto being able to influence events as he is implied/assumed to ahve done. That makes perfect sense.

Sure, for those unaware of magical influences, but that wouldn't make any sense for someone like Dr. Strange. Again, as Sorcerer Supreme, Strange should be able to detect Mephisto's magic... Actually, Strange might be more powerful than Mephisto as by Marvel's definition the Sorcerer Supreme has "greater skills than all others or commands a greater portion of the ambient magical energies than any other organism on a given world or dimension".

Similarly, I can see Mephisto being able to hide his influence from Strange.

I can't. Again, as Sorcerer Supreme, Strange should be able to detect that magic.

Well, one is mucking around with life and death. The other....that is just mucking around with people's memories of their lives and formative experiences. See, one is so much worse...or.....ah screw it.

He wouldn't have really been mucking around with life and death... Aunt May was still alive at the time. So couldn't he just... you know, magically restore her or something? I'd think that'd be much simpler than erasing all evidence of Peter revealing his secret identity across the entire planet.

And something interesting I've found, while looking through back issues.... At the end of "House of M", Peter asks Dr. Strange to erase his memories of HoM, but Strange tells him "That's not how the magics work". Oops.

Between this shit and Batman, arguably the faces of DC and Marvel? (Excluding Superman?)

Comic books are retarded.

Onslaught Six wrote:We're not talking about superheroes, though. I forget the press release where I read it but Morrison is openly talking about specialized police forces and armies wearing Batman's logo instead of a country's. I am not joking, I really did read this.

If that happens, it will be the most incredibly stupid subversion of the Batman character I've ever heard of. Having the reclusive vigilante as a part of the high-profile Justice League is already a stretch, but this just sounds completely absurd.

I think that's Morrison's intent.

But Dom is right. It will not stick.

Me, stay current on my comics? Or studying? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Truth be told, I actually did go to the comic store yesterday, but have not had a chance to read any of this week's haul.

So, last week's comics are up this week.


Avengers #6:
The first arc wraps up more or less as expected. The only real question I have is if the McGuffin that Ironman gets at the end will be a factor during Bendis' run or left as a loose end for another writer. Over-all, the first arc was standard capes and tights filler. It was not bad, though it definitely read as much like a writing excercise for Benis as it did a story. The text back-up continues to touch on and touch up bits of "Avengers" lore. I wonder if Marvel is going to reprint the text bits in the inevitable compilations or in a second volume.
Grade: B


Marvel Handbook Update:
Do not quote me on the exact title. This is as standard modern Marvel sourcebook. (Egads, unintentional alliteration!) As ever, the word:dollar-cost ratio is really good. But, it is hard to justify buying and reading these unless one is really interested enough in comics to spend the time reading about old stories and possibly speculating on upcoming stories.
Grade: B



Dom
-might review more comics tomorrow.

Brightest Day #13

We're hitting the halfway point of this series now, I think. I'm pretty sure it's 25 or 26 issues.

95% of this issue is dedicated to pushing the Hawkman storyline forward, with only three pages devoted to other characters. And that's fine with me, since I've been waiting for some resolution to this storyline. Hawkman rallies the inhabitants of Hawkworld to fight against the Manhawks, while he tries to find Shiera before Shrike and Hath-Set can kill her. Lots of blood and gore and screaming later, Carter reaches the throne room and tries to fight Shrike, while Shiera kills Hath-Set, who's been tormenting her and Carter for centuries. But it's all been a trap, as the two of them are used to activate the gate so that Shrike can escape Hawkworld. Here the story surprised me. I expected her to go back to Earth, but instead she goes to Zamaron, where Carol Ferris has just become the queen of the Zamarons.

And there's a page with Deadman and Dove trying to find the host for the white ring. Looks like that may turn out to be Bruce Wayne? I'm not sure how this crowded storyline will work with yet another character added to the mix, but we'll see.

Overall: if you enjoy the Hawkman storyline, as I do, you'll probably like the issue. If you're reading the series for any of the other characters, you're out of luck. And there's no resolution yet for last issue's cliffhanger with J'onn J'onzz either. Argh.

Justice Society 80-page giant

The stories in this book vary greatly in quality, ranging from a waste of paper (Obsidian) to pretty strong (Mr. Terrific). What the book does is spotlight some of the many, many members of the Justice Society that often get lost in the crowd and give them a solo story. The art is as varied as the writing, with all of it serving to tell the story, even though some is clearly better than others. The book has an old-school feel, reminding me of All-Star #3, where there was no overall story, but rather each member of the JSA got a solo story. I'm not sure I'd recommend the book. It's $6, and if it gets included as part of a trade at some point, you'd probably be better off waiting for that. But overall, it's not bad.

"Brightest Day" has been selling through at comic shops around here for the last month or two.

Dom
-Anderson is gonna love "Batman Inc."

Dominic wrote:"-Anderson is gonna love "Batman Inc."

Oh yes... can't wait.

Bruce Wayne all but announces he is Batman...publicly. On TV. In front of everyone.

Good lord Morrison....why?


WHY?!!?!???!!?????