Famous panels: Vision

One more won’t hurt, right?  Besides, it’ll serve as a fantastic contrast to how comics have evolved as a medium over the past fifty years.  I’m not here to argue whether the changes have been for the better or worse (definitely better), but this’ll be a fantastic lesson if you’re not caught up on the beginnings of the Marvel universe (everyone under 35?).  Today as we explore #14 on Comic Book Resources’ Top 70 Most Iconic Marvel Panels of All-Time — the full list available here — don’t be afraid to read closely.  The dialogue’ll sound cheesy, the plot silly, and the action brief, but The Avengers #57-58, written by Roy Thomas and drawn by John Buscema, is a perfect example of 1960s Marvel comics. Plus it contains this fantastic (and iconic) panel:

Meet Vision.  While I can’t explain the color scheme, Vision may be one of the most powerful superheroes fighting crime today.  Vision — an android with a human mind and the rest consisting of robot parts — can shoot lasers, become intangible (like Kitty Pryde), and increase his body density to become super strong/durable.  He also married Scarlet Witch back in the day, so that sort of makes him Magneto’s son-in-law.  Also, he can cry.  But in his introduction he serves as a foil, because the Avengers lacked a villain to punch that issue.

Certainly not the worst moment in their relationship, but Hank Pym has always been a fairly notoriously bad boyfriend/husband.  But then again, so has Mr. Fantastic.  And T’Challa blindsided Storm with their divorce.  Tony Stark certainly can’t hold a meaningful relationship.  Turns out that super geniuses lack that important intimacy that allows their significant others to feel wanted and loved.  Wakandan calculus?  No problem.  Making it through an entire dinner without their lady crying? Much more difficult.  Except Beast.  He’s a total gentleman.

Oh yeah, and Vision fights the Avengers.

Well, not for long.  Vision’s father/creator Ultron put some sort of empathy chip or something, because the Vision only needs ten pages to go from unrelenting evil to pushover good guy.

I adore the characterization of Hawkeye.  He’s wildly rude whenever he opens his mouth.  Watch as he condescends Black Panther, a legitimate monarch of a well-liked and respected country:

I can’t tell if Black Panther shouting “By the crags of Kilimanjaro!” is racist.  Probably not, but I miss the era of catchphrases and meaningless outbursts.  Luke Cage’s “Sweet Christmas!”  Dr. Strange’s “By the hoary hosts of Hoggoth!”  Beast’s “Oh my stars and garters!”  At least The Thing still works his into every other issue or so, even if no one currently going through puberty knows what the word clobberin’ means.  Oh, and Vision wants to become an Avenger:

In a test befitting any new recruit, Vision has to prove he has the metal cajones to rumble with the Avengers’ big three.

Are the Avengers satiated?  As the ritualistic vote begins to determine Vision’s worthiness commences, it really feels more like a fraternity pledging than an open door into the world’s greatest superhero team.  But to be fair, dressing up in costumes and getting into fights can also be used to describe fraternities.

Marvel gets applauded for their diversity, as well they should.  Comics creating characters of different races, backgrounds, and origins even before the Civil Rights Movement deserves every bit of our praise and respect.  And now the diversity gets upped once again, as the Avengers welcome the newest member into their ranks — robot and all.  Only supervillains judge.

On Wednesday, we’ll return to the modern age.  But this detour has been fun right?  And can someone give Vision a hug?

Hellcat saves Alaska, Pt. 2

Today, she saves Alaska!  When we left off Wednesday, Hellcat, the chipper martial artist who can sniff out magic, gathered up a crew of talking animals and traveled the tundra to save the shaman’s daughter from a scary monster.  A scary monster that wears striped pants.  If you forgot the feel good insanity of this story, allow me to remind you:

Patsy Walker, while not a terribly popular character, has a fairly intense back story.  She married young to an abusive husband, and thanks to some blackmail towards the X-Man Beast, he gave her power-enhancing costume so she can claw crime or whatever.  Then she hooks up with the son of Satan, commits suicide, and fights for a long time as a crazy gladiator of Hell before returning to the living.  Though her costume’s just simple spandex now, her years of training with Captain America and Moondragon have paid off enough to compensate.  Now she fights a yeti.

You see that fine coat the yeti’s wearing?  That’s not a coat.  So despite being a terrible person, the shaman’s daughter at least has the capability to love a man for his heart and not those notoriously good-looking Sasquatch genes.  But the plot twists don’t end here.  Y’see, shamans don’t breed through osmosis.  One shaman doesn’t chant for a few days before splitting into two baby shamans. I love family reunions — especially between a long-lost daughter and her absentee father.

Look, a superhero needs skills beyond kickboxing.  They have to be emotionally aware, able to counsel traumatic victims and use their words to defuse a situation before anything gets any worse. Sometimes that can be accomplished with threats, logic, or tugging on those heartstrings.  But Hellcat has to deal with a teenager, and while I absolutely do not endorse this method of debate, it’s surprisingly effective:

Once Hellcat can get the girl home, the job’s complete and she can go back to nursing maple syrup liquors at the local igloo.  If she has to be stationed in Alaska, she should at least make the most of the situation by befriending some caribou and romancing a local lumberjack.  But first, she has a mission to finish.

Because we’re reading a comic, even a delightful one like this, Plan A always fails.  Always.  In this case, two women, a few talking animals, a yeti, and a giant stone map can weigh down a jeep. Especially a jeep that wants to jump a deep crevice.  But remember Hellcat’s power to detect magic? Turns out yetis dabble in wizardry.

Lafuente’s a skilled artist to have the rabbits conveniently hide a character’s private parts mid-fall. Finally, and after a few bandages (physical and emotional), our story can end happily and satisfactorily.  Thankfully, silly stories always end that way.  Bullseye doesn’t jump out of a helicopter and behead the yeti with a playing card, because that would absolutely be a real fear in a Daredevil comic.

Magic’s a tricky, colorful tool.  Its users tend to be mentally tilted and stubborn.  Normal, stable people don’t wield any dark arts or brew potions or summon ice golems.  You’ve read Harry Potter — those wizards are damaged.  Alaskan shamans fit that stereotype just as snuggly.  Still, all’s well, because miniseries usually wrap up much more nicely than ongoing series.  Closure feels good.

More wonderful stories on Monday!  Do something great this weekend!

Hellcat saves Alaska, Pt. 1

After Iron Man won the Marvel Civil War and basically the boss of superheroes, he decided that having a team full of heroes in each of the fifty states wouldn’t be a bad idea.  After all, sometimes Hawaii gets attacked by octopuses or something.  On a side note, octopuses is the correct plural form, for which I did more research than anything else in this article.  Patsy Walker, peak martial artist and with an ability to detect magical energy, gets called to serve her country in Patsy Walker: Hellcat #1-5, written by Kathryn Immonen and drawn by David Lafuente.

I understand that art’s subjective.  We don’t all have to like certain writers or artists.  But today, if you have anything but wild praise for this miniseries, you are wrong.  Objectively wrong.  Immonen wrote a beautifully quirky, fun story with absolutely gorgeous art from Lafuente.  A perfect comic.

Anyway, with half the superhero community in hiding or incapacitated, Iron Man rings up our protagonist to milk that whole work-for-the-government contract she signed.  But before that, don’t feel bad if you haven’t heard of Hellcat.  A fashion model and surprisingly upbeat for a superhero, she had a rough stint in the ’90s when she married Daiman Hellstorm, the son of Satan.  Don’t judge her bad romantic choices, Daimon is so good looking that his costume doesn’t include a shirt.  As demons tend to get, he became progressively more evil over time, and it eventually drove Walker to suicide in a majorly depressing scene from Hellstorm: Prince of Lies #14, written by Warren Ellis and drawn by Peter Gross.  When Walker returned from the dead, she resumed her optimistic crime-fighting career and divorced Daimon.

Now  the former Mrs. Hellstorm gets to save Alaska.

By the way, that’s totally the way Beast talks.  He’s verbose and eloquent and uses words like verbose and eloquent.  Though Hellcat can totally kick butt, the government is basically sending one female Bruce Lee to protect half a million people from yetis or oil barons or whatever.

Everything in this comic borders on insane.  Every scene.  Every character.  I’m skipping huge chunks of plot and weirdos, but you’ll be able to notice and appreciate everything about it.  Turns out Alaska can be a dangerous place, and not just from angry moose.

Time for our hero to present herself to the Alaskan wilderness.  By the way, I think sometimes we misuse the word cliche (or at least associate it with a negative connotation) when talking about comics.  The literary medium builds itself around certain themes and styles, because comics themselves are larger than life.  I want that giant half page/full page heroic entrance complete with appropriate quip.  We shouldn’t hate the classic ideas if they’re still awesome.  Hell, we read stories about dudes in pajamas uppercutting other dudes in pajamas — we as readers agree to embrace the theatrics of superheroes as soon as we open to the first page.

Shamans grant Hellcat a mission.  And she fights a tentacle monster.  Not in that order.  Though I’m not showing you any of the Alaskan kraken brawl.

To complete her dangerous journey, she’ll need a slew of trustworthy buddies.  Reliable transportation. The support of her employer.  No more fights against polar bears with antlers.  She receives none of that.

Companion number one: a talking rock.  Y’see, with no precedent of Alaskan characters and parameters, Immonen can basically create whatever and whoever she wants.  We instantly accept talking rocks.  And talking wolves.  Everything talks in this comic.

Some pages, while not that important in the story, do contain fantastic artwork.  So when Hellcat throws an exploding mouse at a group of trees, it’s absolutely necessary that you see this.  Not just because I love explosions, but comics as a medium benefit or lose value from the talent of the artist more than any other form of literature.  Dialogue and text boxes can only go so far (very), but my goodness can story moments be improved with the right artistic flair.  Like when Hellcat chucks exploding mice at a group of trees.

Yes, the mystery thickens, especially because I’ve made zero effort to explain anything that’s happened so far.  But on Friday, our tale concludes with exciting sucker punches, thrilling plot twists, and way more talking animals.