The Evolution of American Dream in Video Games

The Evolution of American Dream in Video Games

After the previous video, I kinda felt like continuing. So, please enjoy this,admittedly shorter, second entry in the 'MC2 Evolution' videos:




Sadly, I don't think there is enough for a third video in this 'series' unless--

Until I learn how to edit videos more efficiently, I remain


frogoat 

Quick Facts: MC2 Edition No. 2

Back for another quick-smart fact? Let's do it then!

Did you know the cat burglar known as Claw who seemingly only appeared in Spider-Girl #73 (2004) also makes a fairly obscure appearance in Amazing Spider-Man Magazine (2007) in the prose story 'The Dance'.

Until Claw realizes he's not all that and a bag of chips, I remain

frogoat

Quick Facts: MC2 Edition No. 1
Quick Facts: MC2 Edition No. 3

Comic Homages

Continuing on from my previous post about homages and all things lovingly referenced, I present to you, my loyal readers (if I have any) a further examination into not just cover homages, but also panels, stories and motifs. Read on.

You may remember a small little post a while back regarding the subtle and not-so-subtle connections between Amazing Spider-man #9 and Spider-Girl #9: Electrically-themed villain, cover parallels, heck, even the same number issue! I'll link it here so you can take a quick peak: http://frogoat.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/supanova-approaches.html

Well, let's go deeper down the rabbit hole, shall we?

A-Next #8 clearly borrows heavily from the classic Avengers #93 (from the absolutely sublime Kree/Skrull War saga) in which Ant-Man enters the body of the inert android Vision to re-activate him, battling his way through the synthetic man's strange immune system in the process. Meanwhile, in the MC2's Avengers Compound, Stinger enlists her father Scott Lang, the second Ant-Man as they venture inside the mechanical Mainframe (spoilers, by the way) to ensure his malfunctioning module broadcasts his intelligence into another body.

Avengers #93 art by Neal Adams and Tom Palmer

A-Next #8 art by Ron Frenz and Al Milgrom

While we are talking about A-Next, I can't go past the most obvious nod to the Avengers past: Avengers #16. The first and most daring Avenger's roster shake-up ever, throwing the established team of Giant-Man (formerly Ant-Man), the Wasp, Thor and Iron Man out in favor of relative unknown's (to say nothing of known criminals and possible terrorists) Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. The impact this had on the fledgeling team is probably the most significant, proving to the readers and the creative team that this little Avengers thing--this could work no matter who was in the book, so long as it was good.

Avengers #16

 Over in A-Next #4 we get American Dream and her Dream Team thrust upon the new fledgeling team of Avengers by the machinations of the mighty Mainframe. Suddenly, the team has to face the possibility of replacement by an already functional and well-trained team. This time we get American Dream (already glimpsed in A-Next #3 and sneakily hidden in A-Next #1. Look closely), Freebooter, Blue Streak and the mysterious Crimson Curse.

A-Next #4

Want more Avenger-y goodness? Avengers #25 features the newbie Avengers (Cap's Kooky Quartet as fan's have since dubbed them) in Latveria, doing battle with the good doctor himself, Doctor Doom (with a name like that, was he ever going to be a horse-whisperer?). A-Next #5 features (you guessed it!) the new members- teamed with Stinger- in Latveria investigating rumors of a returned Doctor Doom.

 This issue not only pays it's dues to the Avengers tale but also to Marvel history, utilizing Doom's ward Kristoff Vernard and building upon old Fantastic Four and Avengers characters and stories. Most of which I haven't read and don't need to to understand the situation. In short: Stinger aka Cassandra Lang and Kristoff Vernard were lovers. Beautiful.

What it adds is also impressive: We hear in A-Next #3 from the Defenders that the 'savage' Sub-Mariner, Namor did battle with Doom. In this tale we discover more tidbits. Scattered through-out the MC2 universe are hints of what happened: Doom wiped out Atlantis, killing Namor's people, and in return, Namor kill's Doom. Or so we are led to believe.....


Until I run out of homages to ramble about, I remain

frogoat

Hawkeye

I've been loving the crap out of the new solo series for everyone's favorite archer and Avenger, Hawkeye. From the art to the writing style, the placement of word balloons, the layout, the letters page even, everything so perfectly links together to form a great impression of the lead character, Clint Barton. By far my favorite issue so far (and this is saying something) was #3.

Managing to so easily juggle character development with witty dialog, poking fun at-and simultaneously showing loving affection for- Clint's gimmick-y arrows, delivering a cracking narrative that is self contained as well as new-reader friendly. From issue to issue, this series has felt both fast paced and fun. It's firmly ingrained into Marvel continuity without feeling bogged down. I just love this series. It's definitely this month's pick for me.

Great job to everyone involved with this stellar series especially Matt Fraction, David Aja and Matt Hollingsworth.

frogoat

Wild Thing: Missed Opportunity

Wild Thing, aka Rina Logan is one of those MC2 characters I always wanted to like a lot more than I did. Rina started out with so much potential, appearing first in J2, then in her own series, which lasted only five issues. So, what is it about Wild Thing that never clicked with me?

I'll start by saying I enjoyed Rina's appearances in J2, written and penciled by Tom Defalco and Ron Lim. J2 was itself a lighthearted book and Wild Thing threw in another angle to play up. In her initial appearance, Wild Thing ends up in a battle with J2, not through any fault of her own. Rina then went on to appear in back-up tales where she was presented as not only a competent hero, but also a kind of 'daddy's girl' to her father, Logan (aka Wolverine); albeit one with psychic claws that resembled both her mother Elektra's sais and her godmother Psylocke's psychic blades. I like many things about her character-as originally presented-that didn't carry over to her own, short-lived series.

Here, I think is where the problem starts. The only MC2 title not authored by Tom Defalco, Wild Thing was written by another talented writer, Larry Hama. Mr Hama is probably best know for his work in G.I. Joe and Wolverine comics. I've read some of his Wolverine run, and I can do nothing but recommend it, it's good fun. However, when he was handed Wild Thing, I can only assume he got the wrong impression.

 Understandably, you're handed a young teenage girl superhero title (not something all that common, in and of itself, anyway) and asked to write it in keeping with the rest of the fledgling universe, what are you going to model it on? The MC2 title all others owe their collective existence to, the one that also happens to have a female teen superhero which is doing well both in terms of sales and creatively speaking: Spider-Girl.So now, Rina attended school, she had a cast of (mostly forgettable) supporting characters, had crushes and generally seemed to become a different, more bland character.

Wild Thing's last major appearance was during Last Hero Standing where she was given equal billing with the likes of American Dream, J2, Spider-Girl and even Captain America. One last hurrah for Rina before she slipped into the background again, cameos not withstanding. It's telling, in my opinion, that instead of Wild Thing joining the Avengers (in the Avengers Next mini) as the wild card/dark horse, Sabreclaw, Rina's half-brother (they don't get along, to put it politely) takes this role on the team.

I honestly believe with a little more page-time and effort Rina could have stepped forward and taken the spotlight back. Maybe someday?

Former Glory

I've noticed, as I've grown up around comics and the culture that goes with it, that people don't want 'new'. No, let me rephrase that; the individual fan will always want to sink their teeth into the latest issue, while the fans in general will always be waiting to sink their venomous fangs into the latest issue. The thing is, I grew up enjoying a lot of new takes on things, whereas some older fans will tell you no new story or character has ever amounted to anything compared to the 'good old days'. Let me explain it a bit more, aye?

Take Spider-man for example. Marvels flagship hero. An icon. Everyone knows who Spider-man is, even if it's only vaguely. Trouble is, Peter's been through thousands of issues, hundreds of super-powered fisticuffs, dozens of supporting characters and loads of changes to his status quo. His Uncle Ben died. That's a given. Then Captain Stacy. Gwen Stacy. Clones. High School. Collage. Graduate School. Photographer. School Teacher. Actual Scientist. His parents return. His parents are not his parents, but Robot Replicas (No, seriously!) Loads more clones. Peter is a clone. Peter is not a clone. Peter and Mary Jane are friends. Lovers. Married. Estranged. Unmarried. Mary Jane didn't know he was Spidey. Mary Jane always knew. Peter and Mary Jane are going to have a baby. Baby? What baby?! Aunt May hates Spider-man. Aunt May knows Peter is Spider-man. Aunt May dies. Aunt May didn't really die, that was an actress with loads of plastic surgery. Aunt May didn't know. Aunt May finds out. Aunt May dies but then Peter makes a deal with the Devil. Aunt May lives. The entire world forgets Peter is Spider-man. Spidey isn't a team player. Spider-man: Avenger. Spider-man: Fantastic Four member. Peter dies. Peter is reborn with new powers. Peter forgets/loses/who-the-hell-knows said powers.

*PHEW*

The problem with being a long time reader is the status quo as you knew it when you first fell in love with the character and his world will never stay static. For a series to continue running, it has to keep trying new things, new angles, new characters, new concepts. The worst thing any comic book can do is to grow stale, predictable, safe. You miss reading Spidey during the 80's, cos nothing beats those days, right? They had that new mysterious villain, The Hobgoblin (who is he under that mask?!) and Jonah had the Bugle bought out from under him, a great supporting cast kept things bubbling, oh, and Peter and Mary Jane were soon to be married. How could this new crap beat that?

The reason so many fans miss this, I think, is because they forget the target audience. It's a six year old kid, or a mother of four who just saw that new movie and wants to give it a spin, it's anyone who is new to the series. It's them. The book has to try to reach out to as many people as possible. Your a life-long reader? That's great, but you've already fallen under the spell, this comic want's to be read by everyone!

Someday, an old fan will sit down with their grand-kids and reminisce about the 'good old days,' when Spidey used to be good. He used to work for Horizon labs, his best friend was a beautiful redhead who owned a club and the book was only just reaching #700. Someday, this will be the benchmark used to rate the series. Let's just hope the new crowd realize what they've got before it changes! The point is, it's wonderful to cherish your past, but it's important to embrace the future too.

Let's talk about Darkdevil

Let's be clear; I love Darkdevil. From Reilly Tyne's complicated origin story too his snarky attitude, I dig this character. He doesn't feel like any other I've come across, equal parts legacy character (though who's legacy is debatable), protective older brother type and grim and gritty avenger of the innocent. I was intrigued by Darkdevil from the first time I 'met' him in Spider-Girl # 17 (yes, I'm aware he shows up from #2 onwards but I didn't read those issues until later). The enigmatic stranger who knows Peter is Spider-man, knows about Kaine and dresses like Matt Murdock's alter-ego, Daredevil.

But it was the Darkdevil mini series that really piqued my interest in young Mr Tyne. I've heard many criticisms of the series, but I honestly reveled in every panel of ever page of those three issues. It was one of my first comics I owned with glossy magazine style printed pages, which made it stand out to me instantly on the newsagent shelf. Besides, hadn't I seen this character in Spider-girl before? Didn't I want to find out why he looked like Daredevil? And what's this? It's only a mini series? That will be easy to collect, and hey, if I don't like it, no big loss, right?

Only, I enjoyed the mini series. Great opening issue, complete with a great set up involving the release of hardened criminal Kaine. Great villain for our hero to attempt to find and defeat. And most importantly, a great origin story. Complicated? Yes. Satisfying? Yes. The series ends on one of my favourite pages ever, with Tyne returning to his hideout, beaten and bruised, concluding 'The time has come for him to return to his loft, and get a good night's sleep...Reilly Tyne has to report to work tomorrow.' Beautiful!

Aside from all the great writing, great art and great character stuff, did I mention he turns into a literal devil?

frogoat

Spider-man with boobs?

I guess the obvious statement made about any female character derived from a popular male character is 'Hey, it's just Superman with boobs'. And yeah, that's valid some of the time. I feel like She-Hulk was only created to protect a copyright, just as I know Spider-Woman was first created for that express purpose. Don't misunderstand though, both characters have gone on to have a rich history of events that characterizes them far afield from their male counterparts. Okay, so what makes Spider-Girl unique, even amongst other Spider-females? I'm going to try to answer that question.

Origin? What origin?

It's even become a running gag in the books themselves that May 'Mayday' Parker has almost nothing in the way of an origin story.  As Mayday says, she just woke up one day and found out she had her powers. That's it. Hmm. Well, okay, she had to fight Normie Osborn, the grandson of the original Green Goblin who had vowed a vendetta and yada yada yada. But still, this leads straight into her series as it's set up initially.  No swearing vengeance on crime, no traumatic childhood, no loved-one struck down. Her characterization comes from how she was raised. My god, a normal childhood for a superhero? Could it be?!

Without Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

Now, not to be down on my main man Peter, but seriously, how often does he hang up his webs, vowing never to wear them again, only to take them up again to save someone next issue? May's the kinda girl who, even when she loses her abilities, she still can't quit. See, May's not like her dear ol' dad. Whereas Peter started out as a bit of an outcast who, when he got his amazing abilities, he instantly used them to make money and live his dream, May is different. Peter had to have the trauma of his uncles death to shock him into heroics, to knock him out of his hubris. May simply does the right thing because....well, because it is the right thing to do. For crying out loud, she borrowed a Goblin Glider and equipment to keep on helping people when she lost her powers, doing push ups and admitting to herself that she wasn't done with the hero thing. I guess what I'm saying is May Parker has ovaries of steel and a strong work ethic. :p

Heel Face Turn, or 'No Rematch For You!' 

  You know the routine, the villain and the hero go toe to toe a couple times then the villain falls into a cycle of grudge matches or revenge attacks.....and *yawn* we've all seen it before. For the most part, May's rogues gallery changes often, with only a few big bads returning to spice things up and push chess pieces around. May's belief in the good in people has not only set her apart from her father, but has reformed so many of her former enemies it should be a freakin' super-power. Normie (Green Goblin) Osborn, Brenda (Raptor) Drago, The Dragon King,  Mr Abnormal, Killerwatt, Mayhem, the list goes on and on.

Genre Savvy 

This one I kinda like for the simplest reasons. When I was younger, I often wondered why, being heroes and all, they continued to battle at the slightest provocation. 'He's talking to the bad guy, therefore, he must be working with them!' In the MC2, the heroes try to avoid this. Sometimes they come to blows, but usually, they are all well aware that in the hero biz, things are not always as they seem. May even cites this when confronting her fellow heroes, 'Oh great! Another misunderstanding!'. One of my favorites comes from Stinger: 'Everybody, CHILL! Nobody want's to look like a jerk by starting a fight over some silly misunderstanding! I suggest we retire to the nearest rooftop and try to sort things out like adults.' Spider-Girl: 'Sounds good to me!'

She's a Joiner

Peter Parker was always a loner, either by nature or by choice. Sure, the Bugle never helped his image, but if he'd joined the Fantastic Four like he planned in Amazing Spider-man #1 he could have sued J Jonah Jameson for libel. Problem Solved. It took him around fourty years to join the Avengers and even longer to be a full-time member of the FF. Spider-Girl decided early on to seek allies where ever she could. She joined the new Avengers team in Spider-Girl #13, made friends with the F5 in Spider-Girl #3 and founded her own team in Spider-Girl #42; The...erm....even newer Warriors? We'll call them the Warriors. Okay? Got it? Good. Super villain giving you problems? Call in the Avengers, and the Fantastic Five, and the Warriors and the Nation Guard. Care to surrender?
 

Nobody Dies On My Watch

May takes every death personally, even going so far as to mourn the lose of Crazy Eight after he is shot and killed by another villain. Tom Defalco said it best in an interview,  "Peter failed to stop a burglar who later killed his uncle. Mayday succeeded in stopping a super villain and prevented him from killing her dad. Pete learned that people die when he fails. She learned that people live when she succeeds. It's a subtle, but profound difference."

I've only scratched the surface, but these are the major points I felt sum up Mayday.

Until Marvel prints a Spider-Girl digest volume 13,

I'm frogoat.