#( about mattea. )

[flowerpotmage]

Spider-Punk #3 (2022)

[gwensy]

gwen stacy and matt murdock may be doomed in every timeline, but somewhere on e-138 mattea murdock is listening to a banged up mary-janes cd and i think that is the closest to a happy ending those two will ever get

[dacuslucy]

finals 1&2 mattea save me. um.

[housepilled]

can april 12th please get here already

[lildoodlenoodle]

I wonder if Gwen would get along with Mattea. She doesn't have the best relationship with the Matt Murdock of her earth.

I love to think they’d initially have a little bit of a bullheaded competition with the drums (because to Mattea Gwen is a living legend and to Gwen Mattea is a version of one of her villains) but they’d quickly get past it/laugh it off and would get on like a house on fire. Most of the villains from Gwen’s universe are somewhat unconventional compared to the other universes so I think she’d b somewhat used to being surprised like that lol. But yea I think they’d love each other and would be very loud and obnoxious for everyone around them(mainly Riri and Karl lol), just constantly feeding into each other’s energy.

Also for context: Gwen Stacy is a rock star legend(rip) in Hobie’s+Mattea’s universe. Daredevil in Gwen’s universe is a king pin/enforcer(it gets complicated at points).

[haberdashing]

i want to find some obscure feat that people still keep accurate records about and become the first nonbinary person to do the thing and have my name live on through that, at least in a small corner of niche historians

first nonbinary person to become a chess grandmaster?

first nonbinary person to climb denali?

first nonbinary person to win the price is right?

idk i'm sure i'll find something

[entiretorridaffair]

hi fellow mattea roach lover ... i just binged all of jeopardy masters and i am so emotional. like. they did SO AMAZING against james in both semifinals game 2 and finals game 2 and it just. all fell apart in final. AND JAMES DIDNT EVEN GET THE ANSWER RIGHT IN FINALS GAME 2. MATTEA JUST WAGERED TOO MUCH. i have so many feelings about this

hiii beloved fellow mattea roach lover I WAS ROOTING FOR THEM SO HARD TOO OMG i was devastated and i paced around my room after that

[xycuro-illuminati]

Reading spider-punk arms race and it's like... I'm BEGGING writers to write latines speaking normally and not in choppy spanglish pls ffs it's really not that hard

[hyenabeanz]

The headline on this isn't great but aaaaaaa this is awesome and incredible.

As a kid who grew up rural on country music, it both blows my mind and means so much to see this kind of allyship.

[three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat]

YOUR TAGS ARE SO >?>?:LPL:>:"{,.;<LKMJL I MISSED U TOO DUCHESSS we used to t alk so much omg .... those werre the kotlc days... facinating times .. how are you ?!?!?!?!?!?/

I am doing great how are you,,, it really has been a long time since then we used to talk like every day

[reineyday]

andrew he is really the dark horse of the jeopardy toc this year huh

[metalphoenix]

Hobie Brown had a plan from the beginning

So a little while ago I saw a post that said that Hobie's biggest weakness was that he quit the Spider Society when he did (I can't find that post so I won't link it). I don't really agree with this.

The thing about Hobie Brown is that he knows the value of community. Obviously, we don't get much back round about his personal life in the movie so I'm going to go off of the Spider Punk mini series.

I'm this run Hobie is homeless. He lives out of a van and a community center in Brooklyn (he's originally a New Yorker) but he's not alone. He lives and/or works with a bunch of friends: Captain Anarchy (Karl Morningdew, E-138's Captain America and a gay native american man), Riothart (Riri Williams, E-138's Ironheart), Mz Marvel (Kamala Khan), Hulk (Robbie Banner), Daredevil (Mattea Murdock, in E-138 she is a blind punk drummer in Philadelphia) and other unnamed characters. So even though they switched up his backstory in the film I still belive that he's not alone in his home universe. Punk culture, anarchy and communism are all about building community and helping others.

Honestly I think thats why he's part of the Spider Society in the first place because he obviously does not agree with anything their doing. He's there because he knows they will recruit vulnerable teenagers who don't have the support that he does. Thats why he takes Gwen and Pavitr under his wings I think (to make it clear Hobie is also a teenager that needs support he's just uniquely positioned to give it in this situation because of his background but he is still very much a teenager.) He also knows that sometimes the best way to take down the system is from inside of it. He's gonna play along till he can take them down.

I think it makes perfect sense that he "quit" when he did. At this point Miles knows Spider Society is really fucked up, he knows his dad is gonna die in two days and he's made it clear that he will not go quietly. Hobie knows all of this and trust Miles to have everything handled. I think that he also knows that when Miles escapes Gwen is going to be disillusioned by the Spider Society and get sent back to E-65.

So he trusts both Miles and Gwen to be able to handle themselves for the moment, but because he knows the value of community when organizing he also knows that they can't do it alone. So he quits (like he always knew he was going to). He knows that the best use of his time and skills right now is to make sure they have everything they need to oppose Spot and Miguel when the time comes. We all know he made at least two watches (he had to have made one for himself as well) but I think that he was also recruiting the rest of the band at the same time.

The only other main spider besides Gwen that we see in the chase scene is Peter. We see Penni that one time during the confrontation scene but not again. I think that he was finding Pavitr, Peni, Noir, and Ham. I think he knew that Gwen would probably go to Peter first. He probably knew when she activated the watch he gave her and brought everyone else to regroup.

But Margo was also in that final shot and Hobie would not have had enough time to recruit her between Gwen being sent back and the final shot. I think they have been working together behind the scenes this whole time. When Miles sends himself back, sure at first she didn't know what was happening, but when she saw Miles in the go home machine she kind of froze. She is looking right at the controls for the machine and there is an option to shut down. She doesn't press it. She could, but she didn't. She even tells Lyla to get out of her way, probably because she doesn't want her to interfere too much. She may have known she was gonna help him escape before that scene even happened. Once that was done she could get out and regroup with Hobie and the rest.

So ya I don't think he's a coward for quitting when he did I think he was really smart. We know he plans and excutes political actions in his home universe. Actions that could defiantly end up with him or others in jail. When planning things like that you need to be smart about it, often times for particularly dangerous things no one has all the information till the very end, of course he'd keep it a secrete. Even from Gwen because she's still not ready. He's not a coward he just knew how to best utilize his and everyone else's skills. He knows when he needs to be in the background as opposed to the front line.

[dacuslucy]

my roman empire. btw

[psychictheater]

Notes about my No Powers AU:

- Miles is an assistant art teacher, basically a teacher’s aide until he can get his full credentials to become a full time art teacher

- Hobie works at a tattoo studio as a piercer. His band does gigs as a side hustle.

- Miles and Gwen dated briefly junior year of high school but broke up on good terms deciding they were better as friends than a couple

- Gwen is dating Margo

- Gwen does band gigs as a side hustle and that’s how she met Hobie, when they were both competing at the same battle of the bands, she works at a dance studio most of the time

- Margo works in cyber security

- Pavitr works at the same dance studio as Gwen

- Pavitr and Hobie used to date very briefly, as in it only lasted about three months but they broke up on good terms

- Rio and Jeff are alright with Miles dating Hobie but Jeff disapproves of Hobie’s choice in career, always trying to talk to him about ‘shaping up’ and getting a stable and financially secure job. It doesn’t come from a place of malice and Hobie understands that he just wants the best for Miles but it still gets annoying being lectured by a cop, a cop that’s his boyfriend’s father at that

- Gwen is the one that introduced Miles to Hobie

- Miles is the one that introduced Gwen to Margo

- Hobie came to the states when he was 10, with his grandma who had custody of him. His mom abandoned him for her boyfriend, his dad was never in the picture. His grandma shortly got sick and died and he was placed in foster care. He constantly ran away from his foster families, living on the streets until he was about seventeen and moved in with Karl, who was sharing an apartment with Riri, Robbie and Mattea.

- Karl, Riri, Robbie and Mattea all gradually moved into their own apartments with their own partners, and Hobie moved Miles in after everyone left, when Miles was looking to leave home and be more independent and Hobie needed help with rent and wanted to be closer to Miles

- Aaron is still alive, and is actually the art teacher at the school Miles plans to teach at and his mentoring Miles to eventually take over his class when he retires. They keep the fact that they’re related under wraps because other student teachers and aides get mad about the apparent “nepotism” that goes on when hiring new teachers

Any questions?

[galaxymoths]

putting some of my parts of the back-and-forth under the cut. because i care a normal amount about these two

"Can you really say that your track record is spotless in that regard? Or do you mean to insinuate that I'm a bad person?"

--

"Oh, please. 'Ruined' is too strong a word!" He scowled, folding his arms and half-turning away. "This sudden altruistic streak of yours is going to get you in real trouble. At a certain point, I'm not going to be able to bail you out, anymore! But knowing you – you'll probably find a way to twist things so that somehow, despite everything I've done for you, I'm the root cause of your troubles!"

--

"Tangentially important – gods, you cannot be this – you are keeping the company of a hunter! Do you really think that an altercation between the two of you wouldn't have had consequences? Do you think that word of your disappearance alongside a hunter sent to kill you wouldn't go unnoticed?" The shapeshifter's fingers flexed dangerously. "And I'm doing this because it keeps me fed and entertained. Of course I want something from you, but I'll be getting it one way or another. And that can wait."

--

"Generally, people do want the best for other people. That is part of the experience, you know." Blue looked him over, frowning. "At any rate. It isn't like you to act this way, which is . . . distressing, in a sense. It meant a great deal to you, didn't it?"

--

The monster howled, reeling, twisting in an attempt to shield himself from his attacker. "Damn you," he cursed, "can't leave well enough alone – that's twice now I've let you live, Taenor! But this time . . . !" He pulled the paladin into a roughly upright position, grabbing him by the shoulders and head. "Let it go before I break his pretty little neck," he threatened, dragging Linnae forward with him. The darkness surely had an end, if only he kept going. "I would only prefer to bring him in, alive."

--

"I did go through quite a lot of bother to get him here, love," Blue soothed, wincing a little. "It would be a terrible shame to kill him before you have seen what he can do."

--

"I don't want your pity!" He whirled around to face Tay, as angry as he was on the day he'd left with Linnae, except – he caught himself before he reached for the man's throat, this time. Now, there was something present that kept him from physically lashing out. He couldn't rid himself of this indignity, because he had been told that he must not. His fingers tangled back into his hair and began to tug again as he ground his teeth together, staring at nothing. He wasn't fighting against Matt's orders. Quite the opposite; he was fighting to adhere to her wishes, to uphold her will even though it was a truly uphill battle to do so. Her commands and his wants had never been further out of sync. But he could not disobey. "– There is something – wrong," Blue finally managed, and then he continued, distraught and accusatory, "– you've made me wrong. You, and hhhhhim," he spat, with such venom, "have ruined me."

--

The shapeshifter scoffed, looking away, into the treeline. When he said it like that, it sounded ridiculous. How could a single loss have recontextualized their entire dynamic so thoroughly? but – that was what had happened, wasn't it? ". . . Yes. Fine, Gods, yes!" He folded his arms like a petulant child, glaring at the distant treeline. "Make me say it loud enough for the whole camp to hear, why don't you?" His ears burned; this was just another exercise in humiliation. "The little whelp was terrified of me, it should have been an easy victory – how did someone like that have enough strength to – to –" he fumbled, realizing belatedly that one hand had crept up his chest to press against the scar tissue that marked where Linnae's blade had run him through. Blue ground his teeth together and curled his fingers into the fabric of his shirt.

gonna ramble rq abt me n my friend's oc's character dynamics bc they occupy much of my thoughts as of late

the first thing, the most important thing about their dynamic, is that they are really, truly, deeply, entirely in love with each other. the second thing is that they are secure in their knowledge of the first thing. the third thing is that they are bad for everyone around them, and also actively make each other worse.

of the two of them, blue tends to derive the most outwardly apparent joy from inflicting himself on other people. he can play at subtle manipulation, if you can call impersonation and blackmail subtle, but he is a very tactile person and prefers to take a much more active role in whatever machinations the two of them have set in motion. by contrast, matt is entirely capable of doing her own dirty work, but also seems to enjoy the challenge that comes with setting up all of the right pieces just-so, and sending blue in to tip them over.

they do love each other. but they are both strange and at least a little cruel, and while it's never directed at each other with the intent to harm, there are occasionally . . . snags, interruptions, that arise as a result of one of them acting against the other's wishes. when blue holds a vampiric underling in the sunlight for a little too long and they crumble to pieces, instead of learning an important lesson. or when matt decides that she really can't be dealing with one of blue's very few friends (because he is a rather offputting character, and so he does not want or need many) and gets rid of them in a very permanent way. these are actions that they undertake on purpose, not with the intention to hurt the other, but simply because without factoring in the desires of their partner, it is what they would have done anyways. and then there is a moment of disappointment, and a swift apology or consolation, and then it doesn't really matter to them anymore. because they are so tangled up in each other that everything else is comparatively meaningless. and so the people around them are the ones who suffer, in these moments.

[daresplaining]

Mattea Murdock, the Daredevil Drummer of Philly

In celebration of the forthcoming new Spider-Punk: Arms Race series (not to mention Hobie stealing scenes in "Across the Spider-Verse" last year), I wanted to finally write up my long-overdue overview post on Mattea Murdock! If you haven't read her introductory run yet, check it out here.

Mattea truly stands on her own in the wide canon of alternate universe DDs. She is a female Daredevil, she is Latina, and she somehow managed to escape Marvel's NYC gravity and base herself in Philadelphia, where she defends its citizens from violence and exploitation. Hobie and his self-styled Spider-Band encounter her in Spider-Punk (2022) #3, when they make a detour to fix the busted Spider-Van. They are all immediately-- and correctly-- impressed.

Mattea: "Yo, Kam!" Hobie: "Wait, you know each other?!" Kamala: "Duh! You think I wouldn't know the Daredevil Drummer of Philly?" Hobie: "You're a drummer too?" Mattea: "Best in town." Hobie: "Oh man, my friend Gwen is a pretty dope drummer too. I think y'all would definitely get along." Mattea: "Hope they're ready to get outplayed by a pretty, blind girl." Spider-Punk vol. 1 #3 by Cody Ziglar, Justin Mason, Jim Charalampidis, and Travis Lanham

I talked a little about her killer character/costume design when she was first introduced (I was a fool; of course she's blind), and my love for her look has only grown. It's badass, distinctive, and it slots her beautifully into Hobie's punk rock world while still evoking that trademark Daredevil image (red, sticks, pointy bits...). Her irises are red, which is a visual choice I enjoy in more heightened, fantastical DD stories/art styles, and I think it works for Mattea. Heck, I could even imagine them being colored contact lenses she's chosen to wear for the aesthetic. Also, one detail that wasn't in the previews is the fun little laughing devil face on the back of her jacket (I'm not punk rock enough to get the reference if it is one, but it reminds me of Darkdevil):

Of course, always a big priority for me is Daredevil's power-set, and Mattea provides a quick primer on her unique perspective, mostly focused on hearing and the radar sense:

Mattea: "What? You think just 'cause I'm a blind girl, I can't see? Echolocation, my abuelas used to call it. But it's more intimate. Instinctual. Can hear a kick drum from ten blocks away. Can see it too. If I think hard enough, I can even see what the garage it's being played in looks like." Hobie: "Yo, are you doing it right now?" Riri: "She's definitely doing it right now."

This is not my favorite description of Daredevil's powers, nor-- to be honest-- a particularly informative one. She can gather spatial information through walls...from ten blocks away? I also never love an overuse of visual language in any explanation of these powers, especially as it's implied that Mattea, like Matt, is completely blind. Surprisingly, no direct mention is made here of the hypersenses as a whole, beyond the reference to hearing a kick drum from ten blocks away. Even her hearing doesn't receive that much attention in the story overall, which feels like a missed opportunity for such a musical character. Her blindness, too, is pretty much irrelevant to the story, and never comes up again. But I do LOVE that she uses the term "echolocation", though is still very clearly the radar sense, in all its vague, undefined, semi-magic glory.

And visually? This is great. I'm always a fan of the cross-hatching visual, especially against a black background, and artist Justin Mason doesn't go too overboard on the detail, which is another preference of mine. And thematically, I love the ways in which Mattea's drummer identity is tied into her superheroics-- not just for laying a beatdown on bad guys, but also for channelling and enhancing her echolocation/radar sense. One of my favorite scenes in the comic is when she plays a drum solo on a roof edge to scope out the Kingpin's lair. I'm willing, in that moment, to ignore any gripes about radar sense irregularities out of respect for the coolness and thematic heft of the concept. I mean, this rocks:

Mattea: "Come on, show me the good stuff."

At the end of the day, though, this is not a Daredevil comic and Mattea is not the main character. Plus, it's only five issues long, and introduces a bunch of other new characters as well. There was only ever going to be room for the creative team to offer a cursory introduction, hopefully generating enough interest to prompt these characters to appear again in other comics. In that, I think they fully succeeded with Mattea; we get a cursory sense of her powers (or at least, enough to show that they're the normal DD set), her personality (delightfully cocky, playful, tough, fearless), a few hints of her backstory, and some truly kickass fight scenes. There's a bit of suspension of disbelief required to believe she can use drumsticks as a stand-in for billy clubs (unless her drumsticks are made of something really hefty-- and hey, maybe they are), but this is Spider-Punk. Hobie killed Norman Osborn with a guitar--twice. It's not about realism, it's about style.

Mattea: "Been waiting for this for a long time, Fisk. Real long time." Fisk: "I'm going to break you, li'l girl--AWGGH!" Mattea: "Big, strong man who sends out his band of wackos to push over people too weak to fight back." Fisk: "Wouldn't get too cocky, girlie...you're not the only one who's fast! I'm gonna hurt ya. A lot. Then I'm gonna kill ya. And I'm gonna love every second of it. You know, this is the same look you had when I had your old band clapped a few years back. I like it. Brings out your eyes--GAAAH!" Mattea: "There's something you need to understand about me, papi. I'm not the kinda girl who goes down without a fight."

I can't wait to see more of Mattea and learn more about her, her world, her friends, and her enemies. In particular, she seems to have a history (possibly romantic?) with this world's Kamala Khan, and I would love to see more of that relationship. While Mattea Murdock clearly has a lot in common with Matt Murdock, she also seems happy to be a team player, unlike Matt, and I really enjoy that. Though I guess it's not that surprising a distinction. After all, every drummer needs a band.