#also big barda is so funny i love you big barda (big barda loves you too scene had me crying)

[wintersettled]

despite babs being integral to bop this run suffers because of how editorial demands shes written as batgirl and able bodied instead of as oracle.....

[nitewrighter]

Who do you think would be the best DC hero to appear in MAWS and why is it Wonder Woman?

...I think the best DC hero to show up in MAWS is Mister Miracle, actually.

-We already have hints at Apokolips as one of the factors which took down the Kryptonian Empire and Scott was raised on Apokolips.

-MAWS already has a major focus on technology as part of its worldbuilding and Mister Miracle is a very tech-y gadget-y superhero with the added benefit of also being from space like Superman. Also the fact that his flight is dependent on his Aero-discs would give him a noticeable visual contrast to Superman's style of flight.

-Scott's Mister Miracle definitely has an aspect of PERFORMANCE!! and SHOWMANSHIP!!! as part of his overall superhero persona which would be a fun contrast against Clark's more warm and gentle Superman.

-It would literally be so so so funny to see Scott nearly kill himself multiple times with his crazy Mister Miracle stunts and freak Clark the fuck out only for Scott to be perfectly fine.

-You have a very cool potential drama factor since Scott could be a refugee of both Apokolips's general suckiness and Krypton's attempts at conquest, so he could have a lot of potential interactions with Kara.

-Mister Miracle and Big Barda are basically a package deal, which means MAWS would have TWO wifeguys now, plus Scott and Barda also have a size difference like Clark and Lois but it's gender-swapped.

-Introducing the New Gods is a good way to HINT at Darkseid without immediately cramming Darkseid down everyone's throats.

-Introducing non-trinity Superheroes is a good way to significantly expand MAWS's universe without elbowing out Lois and Jimmy as Clark's primary co-stars.

-I love them.

BONUS: Basically since we see Clark be very conscientious about how much damage he can do as Superman, it would be very funny to have that contrasted against Scott and Barda, with Barda FUCKING WRECKING EVERYTHING and Scott cheering her on.

I love Diana, I do, but the heart and soul of her character is magic and mythology, and I feel it would be really difficult to introduce her to the MAWS-universe in a way that meshes with that show's worldbuilding without changing massive parts of her character. Again, I stress: I would prefer if other members of the Trinity got their own shows establishing them in their own rights rather than just being shoehorned into MAWS.

[moonlightperseus]

Oh don't even worry about it! Half the time I send the anons *at* work so I can't really judge!

I also think that's more so what I do, bit then because of that I'm like "oh I guess I'm done now" bit then the second someone is like "oh comics?" I am feral. Even recently I was at work (the store I work at is doing Reno's so we had to be there to stock over night, ie: there's like 4 people in the store total) and the person I was working with was like "yeah I went to Comicon?" And I was like "why did you go to comic-con if you don't like comics?" And long story short I infodumped so much (she was at the very least, pretending to be engaged in the conversation and I will forever love her for that) that a floorer from ACROSS THE STORE was like "wow they're really nerding out over there huh."

I think so! It was like genuinely when it first came out- i had two influences, one very specific person on my tumblr (you, I believe) and then like a friend at the time.

I didn't like it either but this time it didn't stop mr- the tales however I'm not caught up on. I found them less engaging. (Granted, was that a "I don't think I like this" or a "I forgot I liked comics and now it's been months so I don't actually know what I was reading or where I was in said thing"?)

I hate zombie media (though I tend to have a lot of dreams about zombies lmao) so I understand that. I haven't read any of them or even watched an episode. I just think that's like their BIG name. (and Spawn, but I can't tell you shit about spawn)

I absolutely LOVE the new run. Like I know it's only one issue in so I'm saying that a little early but I was SO excited when Sin was mentioned. I used to write Black Canary fan fic and I had a little idea I never followed through with where Sin came back, mostly because I was just angry that she didn't exist anymore. (granted she came back as a villian, though she switches sides. I don't remember most of my thoughts but I remember designing the costume and trying to include obvious inspiration from black Canary's without being like, a direct copy. (things like fishnets, for sure, but not even full leg fishnets. Iirc it was more so kind of like pants with cut outs that showed fishnets- bit all of this is extra beside the point)) so I was OVERJOYED when she was brought back. I am so intrigued and Dinah deserves her daughter back. (I understand the sister thing in context but that's not how I see it ever)

I ALSO am so intrigued, honestly. Plus it's extra funny because if you take into consideration the Green Arrow and Black Canary run: this is the second family member of Dinah's the Amazon's have stolen.

I was really mad when the BoP movie didn't include Babs (especially since she started it, so how do you make an origin story without the origin?) But I agree that I don't mind this at all. Especially since she is mentioned and it really does keep them as bestfriends (well, it alludes to that so if you're me and you say so that means it keeps them as bestfriends) I haven't read a lot of batfam comics aside from Batwoman bit honestly I love Cass too, she shows up in one of the older runs just as a "friend" of Dinah and idk id die for her. Barda I LOVE (to be fair I am a lesbian and I do have a thing for women built like tanks) so I'm super excited to see more of her!! And I agree that I've never heard of zealot.

Harley is great too!! I was really excited for her and Dinah's relationship (because yes, those would've been injustice panels- and they are BEST friends in injustice and they own my entire heart) but I was disappointed when Harley didn't like Dinah. It makes sense in context but I'm still like hey no love her.

To be so honest I didn't even bother trying to read it but I love that you did. That makes it easier for me. I love the whole vibe of her having to plan. I feel like she'd be good at it given her time leading both the JLA and the JSA.

I'd also just like to say that I find the new bop art style beautiful

Injustice is a lot of fun, but like I said I might be biased. It's hard to say, because when I started reading it I had really only read a couple Harley Quinn and wonder woman comics and all things considered was really just a fake fan. But I read it and it turned me on to comics as a whole. (especially, since I said in my initial ask, it's what introduced me to Dinah). I would recommend it to people just starting out especially because it's the kind with such a big cast of characters you can meet new ones and get acquainted with them and it broadens your horizons so to say. (I also play the games, though "play" is a strong word because I suck at video games- I haven't gotten through either story, but my brother let me watch the lil character endings for my favourites when *he* beat them). But at the same time, yeah men. Men exist in it. Like a lot.

I also haven't finished bombshells tbch. I love the style of it but I bought the first volume and was just so sad about how much comics cost that I didn't buy another volume (95% of my comics are used, gifted, or bought from the dollarstore)

I absolutely love getting to nerd out about comics lmao so this is great-

And I will say for wlw I LOVE Secret Six, which is a villian team, and tbch I haven't gotten through the whole run (I just keep getting tired of comics as a whole, not of it) but it's written by Gail Simone at the same time as her BOP run (though I know she's hit and miss) but it involves a lesbian polyam relationship (and one of the women involved is built like Barda so that gets extra points from me)

(well tonight i’m responding while at work lol)

first can i say i openly welcome infodumping about comics!! i find the dc universe particularly sooo interesting (i’ve enjoyed some marvel comics as well, but like the world itself doesn’t intrigue me the same way?) i’ve been into superheroes ever since i discovered like the animated shows when i was a kid (i thinkkk the first one i watched was the animated avengers assemble? i watched several of them but my most beloved is the justice league (& justice league unlimited) show. in my completely unbiased opinion, i think the animated shows are a great gateway into the comics world. i devoured every single one i could find. i also really enjoyed the x-men ones & have thought about trying out some x-men comics bc of them. (but the x-men world is another one sooo fucking big idk where to begin lmao)

also god. “i forgot i liked comics and don’t remember where i was at” is SUCH a huge fucking mood god. esp bc there’s always SO GODDAMN much of comics (not that i’m complaining) it’s like. wait have i read this already?

yeah ik there was a lot of upset fans over the bop movie with it not including babs and with turning cass into an oc (which. now that i’ve actually read her comics i understand the full scale of how much they uhh. changed cass for the movie) but i am simply such a bitch for black canary and jurnee smollett dinah sooo godtier that that movie was simply everything to me lmao, i feel like it had a lot of potential to set up for a proper bop movie (one that’s not centric on harley) and like. maybe even bring in babs, they WERE doing the batgirl movie so ig it sort of makes sense if that’s why they left babs out of the first movie but like if post batgirl they added her to the movie bop lineup that could work! and then they fucking canned the batgirl movie which i’m still pissed about and now the dceu is kinda like. imploded? but i’m gonna hold on to the probably somewhat delusional hope that i will get to see jurnee smollett dinah again 😭 (also like my dream is jurnee smollett BC with luke mitchell GA, which is an especially out there dream since luke mitchell as ollie exists only in my head & heart)

also totally get the comics being expensive thing, while i have physical copies of the original bombshells run that i got thru i think a combination of being gifted and buying them for myself as a little treat, i used hoopla (online library app) to read the bombshells united run. hoopla is like my main (legal) way of reading comics tbh, however if you need an…alternative 😉 access to a LOT of comics this site has been my best friend. i do genuinely recommend trying to continue bombshells its genuinely my absolute favorite. like DC peaked with bombshells and i will die on that hill. i would love if dc gave bombshells an animated film or smth. another thing i will hold out hope for jsjsjfjsjs. i just really love dc bombshells (it definitely helps that it’s super wlw. i am a changed man from bombshells vixen and hawkgirl being a couple. and supergirl kissing lois lane <3)

i will definitely have to add secret six to my list of comics to checkout bc wlw content is always a huge win for me!!!

[flashfuture]

hi!! re: your tags on a post not too long ago—what do you mean by dick’s previous love interests not respecting him? i haven’t read a whole lot of his stuff and tend to avoid romance-heavy plot lines in general, so this is 100% a genuine question and not me trying to start anything i promise, it’s just that i’ve seen dickb4bs and dickk0ry shippers in the past claim it’s sexism when people dislike his partners?

Ah well DC are big brain and they think peak humor is the boomer meme of the nagging wife. 

So basically Dick and Kori were an absolutely fucking amazing couple. But then there was the issue of Mirage where she pretended to be Kori and tricked Dick into sleeping with her. Which is r*pe. Dick was slut shamed and victim blamed for this. DC has an absolutely awful track record with male victims of sexual assault. Ollie was always victim blamed for happened to him. And Dick they didn’t even acknowledge that he was assaulted. As well they had Dick sleep with Babs before the wedding I think. And that is so ooc it’s not even funny.

And when Dick started dating Babs they slowly chipped away at his skills to prop Babs up. And I’ll say it again if you have to tear down another character to make one look good you haven’t proven any skill. Character A just got butchered for no reason and Character B stayed the same. So Babs started mocking Dick for a lot of things. And it carries over into modern stuff. Where she’s the big brain and her dumb himbo boyfriend. Dick Grayson is not a fucking himbo. He’s smart as hell and dangerous as hell. 

So they write Dick wrong to make him the butt of the joke. No one is laughing with him, they’re laughing at him. You see it in the newest Nightwing comics where Babs is there to make sure the reader knows how silly Dick is. 

The issue is with the writers being incapable of writing a het relationship well. Literally, the best ones I can think of is Dinah/Ollie (though Gail Simone and Judd Winick tried their best to fuck that one up) Big Barda/Scott Free, Clark/Iris, Barry/Iris, Wally/Linda (but DC keeps fucking my Flashes)

So yeah DickKori got a bad rap because the writers want to over-sexualize Kori so then it’s like she and Dick were only sexual and I just- they were gonna get fucking married. And I literally could care less about DickBabs except that it contributes to the character butchering of both Babs and Dick by the way. Because when Babs is mocking Dick she just looks like a bitch. They reduce Babs over and over again to Dick’s ex-girlfriend. 

So uh yeah those are my thoughts. People do indeed like to throw around sexist the same way they like to call Gail Simone a feminist because she thinks men are bad. She’s also the ally who says read this book because it’s got a gay character and that is about as surface level as you can get🤷‍♀️ I mean sure call me a sexist cause I don’t think the woman nagging and mocking a man all the time is a very good relationship dynamic. Lol yeah when people say that a lot of the time they’re just angry you don’t like their faves. As long as you aren’t you know actually being sexist (which really is not that hard to tell) then it’s best to ignore them. 

I’ve got some scalding takes on characters who are there just to be women for the sake of having a het love interest. They’ve certainly evolved Babs since then but every time she’s with a batboy she gets snapped right back into that box of 60s housewife. I’ll never exactly ship Babs with any of the Batboys because she was made to be Bruce’s love interest and keeps getting shifted around to fit with each and every other batboy. 

It is usually best to avoid Dick romances as the writer just uses the women to cause him more man pain cause of course they do. DC is traditionally written by men and lots and lots of white people. These people are older who have older views of relationships based on what was on TV but it’s still lame.

For example, there is always the age-old Babs and Kori fight over Dick storyline that absolutely no one wants to read. Women being pit against women over a fucking man??? Seriously? And if I see one more writer claims the only woman Dick has ever loved was Babs I’ll scream. It’s the tiniest smoothest brain take I have ever seen. 

Bea was lovely the cherry on top of the Ric mess. She was adorable and fun and she really cared about Dick as a person. I miss her. Which is I think the post you were talking about? Idk I can’t remember what I tag where lol. 

I think to derail for a quick sec the reason so many people turn to same-sex relationships in fiction is that the relationship between two women and two men will almost always be more developed than whatever het thing is going on. 

Dick is much much closer to Roy, Wally, Garth, and Joey than he ever was to Babs. Now DC is retconning that Dick and Babs were childhood friends. But they still imo have no chemistry outside of they both work with Batman and ones a girl ones a boy. 

Kori and Dick had real chemistry they were trying to both find freedom and safety within one another. The writers didn’t constantly have to hammer home that they loved each other or have random thought bubbles to try and make some connection happen. They just did happen. 

Anyone who knows me knows I am not the biggest Babs fan. However, I’ll still protest the unfair treatment of any character. I don’t have to like a character to not want them to be butchered by bad writing. Like confession time I don’t even like Jason that much but I talk about him all the time because I want him to have a good story. So to me DickBabs is directly connected the butchering of both characters and it just doesn’t work. 

so yep rambles on top of rambles. I’m not character bashing here just to make it clear. And I am a little bit relationship bashing but more so writer bashing. 

[valkerymillenia]

Now that I've finished season 3 of Young Justice, I'm adding on to my previous thoughts/review.

Anyway...

There's a criminal lack of Spoiler and Orphan, for starters but it's understandable why, this isn't a BatFam show after all (but I'd sooooooo watch a BatFam spin-off of this universe).

Got to see a hint of Suicide Squad! That was a surprise (not really but it's awesome).

Vandal Savage's backstory and development? Literal gold if you like villains (I never liked Savage and yet this interpretation of him just has so much potential!). I do wonder if they will ever approach the "Roy Harper is Savage's descendant" detail...

Thank you, Lord, for all the Klarion! Boy needs to show up more in DC media.

So Halo is bisexual and non-binary? That's pretty awesome but it sucks that nobody in the show seems to get the NB part and everyone codes her as female throughout the whole season, kinda defeats the purpose of having a NB character.

Still annoyed that they used the hijab for hype but removed her actual faith from the character (she literally says "I'm not Muslim", they could have at least left it undefined), you can't bank on a character's traits for "representation" and ignore the meaning behind them, otherwise it's pointless and insulting.

Also, making the Muslim girl the immortal? Badass (and works well with the character). Making it so you can repeatedly kill her to very graphically highlight the seriousness of the situation? A little fucked up, dude.

Still, she's powerful as hell and saved everyone in an amazing display of power.

So yeah, I totally love Halo and her concept is awesome but she was a bit disrespected by the writer and deserves better on some aspects. Oh, and I like the whole "Halo and Cyborg are now related" thing more than I anticipated.

Really happy to get bi Harper Row in the story! Bluebird is such an underappreciated character of the BatFam. The abuse subplot was also very good because it's a topic that needs to be approached in media, victims need to see positive representation.

The Bumblebee baby subplot was... Tricky. It really messes with an important ethical conundrum (yikes, eugenics) that is definitely too complex for younger audiences but I think the goal was to create another future super-kid for the next seasons (still a little icky though but at least they tried to frame it as controversial even to Karen's own feelings). I guess we'll find out.

Granny Goodness has always been a brutal villain and I hope we see more of her. Also, MORE BIG BARDA, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!

Wyynde and Kaldur are SO CUTE! GAH! I need more of them! I just love their relationship so much.

"Who is Dick's family anyway? Is Grayson's father Bruce Wayne-...?" *cue someone immediately redirecting the conversation*

I'm sorry but that what AWESOME and kinda hilarious too. (Yes, Brion, Dick is one of Bruce Wayne's several children, get with the BatFam).

The Anti-Life Equation thing was very well done, I didn't expect it to go so well but every player involved played a great role and the idea of a world with no free will? Shivers, man. Now, it just needs to be readressed in the future because no way would any villain give that up so easily with Halo still alive.

The Geranium City subplot was quite sweet, it brought back some intriguing questions and finally touched a piece of Conner's story that has been hanging since season 1.

Will x Artemis is NOT a thing, thank God! They made such a big deal about it that I was scared and I get the appeal but they are in-laws, it would be so messed up.

I mean, I want Artemis to heal in a healthy way and move on as much as any fan (that limbo sequence made me cry my eyes out, so heartbreaking) but there's no need to force a thing with Will, so I'm glad for the way things got resolved.

Luthor's Infinity Inc reminds me waaaay too much of the Seven in "The Boys"... Still, a smart move. Kinda wondering where it's gonna lead in the future now that they basically belong to Brion.

Terra actually choosing redemption and the Outsiders before trying to kill them was surprising (as was everyone knowing she was a mole), I expected a big fight against her and Deathstroke because that's always been the Terra schtick but instead we got a power crazed Brion, which was a beautifully executed plot twist and as much as it hurts me to see Brion fall (and break Violet's heart) I have to give kudos to the writers, that was well played to wrench our hearts to pieces.

And that new psychic asshole manipulating Brion and making Markocvia into the Light's puppet? Interesting addition.

I really hope Brion gets his own redemption in the next season (orrr maybe he degenerates further into full blown villain? I don't think he has it in him and by the very end he seems to be depressed, lonely and disgruntled with his position already so there might be hope for him yet, but it would be interesting to see him fall further and further beyond redemption and I don't see him infiltrating the Light for the good guys because that would just be a rehash of Kaldur in season 2).

Loved how Lex Luthor got taken down from that bullshit UN position. He's a brilliant villain but he was soooo getting on my nerves in that particular position and it was such a relief to see him fall (which is a sign of how well written it was).

Black Lighting as boss!!!!! Ahhh, that was such a goddamn good choice in this particular universe, especially after he spent the whole season being a voice of reason while going through some growth himself. Still, feels a bit odd merely because he was barely in the bg in previous seasons.

Funny how Conner and M'gann never speak out loud even at home, damn I love this ship (miss my classic timkon though).

That little Robin laugh at the end of the season was such a nice touch, really nostalgic.

What's with the Legion Flight ring on the waitress?

What's with Lobo's finger? So messed up.

Oh boy, now I need Jason and Damian in future seasons (hell, Jon too, give us the Super Sons!!!).

All in all, the third season seems to bring a lot of things full circle at last but also feels like the beginning of something completely new, opening doors and raising questions for a lot of possibilities. It was a very intriguing subversion of a lot of DC plotlines and mythology.

Still... Can we just call the Outsiders the alternate Teen Titans? because that's basically what they are.

CAN'T WAIT FOR SEASON 4!!!!!!

[delkios]

Rule of Three

RULES: Choose any three fandoms (in random order) and answer the questions, then tag 10 people you want to know better.

Tagged by @soha-friend

Three Fandoms:

-Mortal Kombat (for soha) -Transformers IDW (which, hilariously, i haven’t been keeping up on) -JLI

The First Character You Loved:

-Scorpion.  Using the wayback machine he was my go-to character in the SNES release -Springer -Ted Kord

The Character You Never Expected To Love So Much:

-Any of the kids.  The sudden introduction of offspring into a long-running franchise like MK tends to be hit or miss for me but, surprisingly, I really like all four of them. -Whirl, I mean I loved him back when I was writing Destruction because he’s an unmitigated, unrepentant asshole but that’s because it was me making his character up so I could balance his abrasiveness out with a hidden thoughtfulness in a way I liked.  Then he got a major role in an ongoing and canon!Whirl really wasn’t too different from how I imagined him. -Guy Gardner.  If you try to tell me Guy in the JLI days wasn’t a disgusting ass, I will either call you a liar or side eye you for unto eternity.  But then character development happened, he matured and got into a much better mental place and seeing how he’s changed makes me happy.

The Character You Relate To The Most :

-Kuai Liang.  I also sometimes am unable to see the obvious bad shit heading right for me but I somehow managed to endure it every time. -Thundercracker.  YOUR WRITING MIGHT BE SHIT, YOU BIG BLUE BBY, BUT WE ALL START SOMEWHERE! -Ted.  I am also lazy, obsessive when the mood/inspiration strikes, can sometimes be unintentionally cruel when I’m trying to be funny and am often my own worst enemy.  But, like him, I also like to think that I’m fun and easy to be around and am good at the things that I love.

As for me, I would have chosen:

Like everyone else, I’m going to assume romantically though, being aro, I’m switching it to ‘being my best friend’

-Takeda.  He’s sweet, nice, kicks ass and does not suffer from an attitude that would grate on my nerves in real life.  Jacqui is similar but she also seems a little too intense for. -Springer.  HE’S LEGIT THE BEST OKAY?  He’s gone through so much crap and still manages to be so compassionate. -Tora.  Ice goddess or not, she looks like the kind of person to give the best hugs and would be willing to just hang out with you because you feel lonely.

The Character You’d Slap :

-Quan Chi. -Hot Rod?  Prowl?  Starscream?  They’re basically variations on a theme.  How do all three of you manage to do some things so well while fucking yourselves over at the same time?? -Max Lord, I guess?  I’ll be honest, even before he ~turned evil~ I was never a big fan of his though he did have some moments where I genuinely liked him.

Three Favorite Characters (in order of preference):

-Kuai Liang, Takeda, Hanzo -Springer, Nautica, Thundercracker -Ted, Booster, the Frees.  I don’t care if Scott and Barda are two separate people (or that barda wasn’t technically part of the jli), they’re so intrinsically intertwined in my head that it feels wrong to have them apart for too long

Character You Liked At First, But Don’t Like Anymore:

-Raiden?  His purpose has basically become ‘make the worst decisions possible’ which isn’t so much his fault as it is the writers but still. -Prowl, I guess.  I think it’s more it feels like the writers trying to make him as unlikable and awful in universe as possible while finding excuses to make others either give him a pass or need him. Just... give the guy a break. -G’nort.  Part because I don’t actually know who else to put and part because I don’t like characters that are nothing but a walking punchline who everyone else hates.

A Character You Didn’t Like At First But Do Now:

-Johnny Cage.  The switch between 9 and 10 was a welcome, welcome relief. -Starscream.  I really have never liked any Starscream iterations ever since the original cartoon.  But here his actions actually had consequences and he was given time and room to grow.  I can respect that, even if he still falls into old habits. -Guy.  See earlier answer.

Three OTPs:

-Hanzo/Kuai Liang, Jacqui/Takeda, Cassie/Frost (i don’t care what ‘official word’ is, until there’s a reason for her not to be in the same age group as the other kids, then i will assume she’s their age for as long as she looks it) -Skywarp/Thundercrack, Blast Off/Onslaught (for as messed up as it is), Anode/Lug (i haven’t actually read the comics with them in it but everything i’ve seen where they show up, i love) -Booster/Ted, the Frees, the Dibnys

Tagging @pluckyredhead, @robininthelabyrinth and @ir-anuk

[wonderlandleighleigh]

Early October, Gotham City

Early October. Sunday morning.

It happens a few times a year, mostly in the summer and fall. He’ll send Clark out to patrol in his place and go to bed early so he can wake up in the morning, ready to go.

“You’ve taken in a baseball team,” Barry once commented, years ago. “I don’t know why you don’t take advantage of that.”

So he started to.

He doesn’t bother showering. He pulls on a pair of faded blue jeans and a t-shirt, and the black hoodie Damian had given him as a birthday gift that year.

“This is for days off, Father,” his son had ordered. “Do not take this undercover.”

Sometimes Bruce listens to his children.

Sometimes.

Amongst the dozens of pairs of shoes in his closet, amidst the soft leather and suede, are a pair of old cleats. He grabs them and pulls them on,

“Good morning, Master Bruce,” Alfred says as he steps into the room. “Up already, I see.”

Bruce grins. “It’s baseball day.”

Alfred chuckles. “Quite, sir. I have the car loaded up, and Damian and Duke are ready to leave.”

When he gets downstairs, he finds the boys standing by the door, wolfing down breakfast sandwiches and thermoses full of coffee or tea, and Alfred hands him one of his own.

“Ready?”

“I will crush them all this year,” Damian answers.

“You don’t even know whose team you’ll be on yet,” Duke points out as they head out the door to the car.

“Irelivent.”

Bruce chuckles softly as they pile into the car and head to a small, quiet neighborhood in the city.

It’s starting to warm up a little, and when they reach the baseball field, it’s to find half of their players hanging out on the rusted bleachers, chatting and drinking coffee.

Bruce helps Alfred and the boys grab the equipment from the trunk and when he gets to the group, Dick smiles.

“Beautiful day for a baseball game.”

“You say that every year,” Jason complains, but Bruce knows he’s not actually too annoyed.

If he were annoyed, he wouldn’t actually be here.

Kate smirks, adjusting the red ballcap she’s wearing so it’s backwards. “You ready to get your ass kicked, Bruce?” she asks.

“No, actually,” Bruce replies, grinning. “But I hope you are.”

The kids around them all hoot and “oooo” and nudge each other.

“We’re not even all here yet,” Barbara points out. “You can’t start shittalking until everybody is here.”

Bruce chuckles and sips his coffee. Everyone talks and laughs and little by little, the rest of the group shows up. Tim and Cassandra and Stephanie, Helena and Jean-Paul.

“So who are our ringers this year?” Tim asks.

While there are enough of them for one baseball team, there aren’t enough for two. Last year’s additions were Conner Kent, Big Barda, Roy Harper and John Stewart.

“Can we have Barda again?” Jason asks. “She crushed the blue team last year. It was amazing.”

Bruce grimaces. Barda broke a couple of bats, hit a grand slam and ensured his team lost last year.

“She had kind of an unfair advantage,” Dick points out.

“You had Superboy!” Jason cries.

“Big. Barda.”

“She was mad, too, Steph points out. “Like super mad.”

Two cars and a motorcycle pull up, and Bruce squints to take a look. Both team captains get to choose a ringer, and so do both unofficial assistant captains (Dick and Barbara).

Dinah Lance hops off the motorcycle. Barbara’s pick, no doubt.

Zatanna Zatarra steps out of one of the cars. She’s Bruce’s ringer, and he grins and waves a little.

The other car produces Renee Montoya, looking like she might actually be a pro ball player with her own expensive pair of cleats and dusty jeans.

“Your girlfriend?” Bruce asks Kate.

“You brought in your almost-ex,” Kate snaps. “Don’t even try it.”

“That’s only because Mama Selina doesn’t play sportsball,” Jason teases.

“She is not our mother,” Damian snaps.

“Where’s the other ringer?” Duke asks, ignoring the bickering next to him.

Dick sighs heavily, and Barbara looks amused, but also sympathetic.

“You didn’t.”

“He was all mad last year cause I asked Roy and not him!” Dick cries. “I had to!”

“Him who?” Cass asks, tilting her head.

A blur of red produces Wally West.

“Me!”

Jason groans. “Augh. You.”

“What’s wrong with Wally?” Tim asks.

“He’s annooooyyiiiiiiing!” Jason complains.

“You mean like you, Todd?” Damian asks. “You should look in a mirror on occasion.”

Bruce clears his throat and gets to his feet, standing in front of the group. “Now that we’re all here, Kate and I can pick teams.”

“Excuse you.”

He turns around, and Selina steps up, looking flawless in a pair of black skinny jeans and a cute, dark purple baseball t-shirt.

Bruce leans in for a kiss, but is avoided.

“If you think you’re getting a good morning kiss after nearly starting without me here, you’re insane.”

Bruce can’t help grinning. He loves a good challenge. “Alright. Now that we are all here.” He nods to Kate, who hops down to stand next to him.

“You’re going down, Cousin Bruce,” Kate says, poking him in the chest.

“In your dreams, Cousin Kate,” Bruce responds, nudging her good-naturedly.

Selina pulls a coin from her purse, and Bruce raises an eyebrow. It’s a double-sided coin, with one side scratched on.

She shrugs delicately. “What? If Harvey is going to leave his toy lying around when I come to dinner, he deserves to have it stolen.”

“Just flip the coin, please,”  Kate grouses.

Selina flips it into the air.

“Scratchy side!” Kate cries, as the coin comes down, and when it lands in Selina’s palm, she lifts it to show them the pristine side of the coin.

Kate groans. “Damn!”

Bruce grins. “Jean-Paul.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Dick cries. “Everything frickin year!”

“At this point, he’s just doing it because it’s funny,” Tim says. “Calm down.”

“Or maybe I’m just a better ballplayer than you are, Dick,” Jean-Paul grins.

Duck grumbles. “I’ll show you a better ballplayer, you-”

“Steph!” Kate calls.

“Aw, yeah,” Steph laughs as she hops over to stand with Kate.

“Duke,” Bruce calls out, and Dick’s mouth opens wide again.

“What the-”

“Cassandra,” Kate yells out.

“Jason,” Bruce says, and Jason laughs before joining Bruce and Duke and Jean-Paul.

Barbara laughs and nudges Dick. “C’mon, Shortpants, they’re just pulling your leg.”

Dick grumbles again.

“Tim!” Kate yells.

Tim grins and stretches as he stands, wandering down to join Steph and Cass. “Hey guys. Nice day for some baseball.”

Steph glowers at him. “I swear to god, Timmers, if you spend all your at bats fishing, I’m going to-”

“Dick,” Bruce grins.

“No,” Dick snaps. “I don’t wanna play on your team anymore. You picked Jean-Paul and Jason before me.”

“Somebody’s scaly panties are in a twist,” Jason mutters loud enough for everyone to hear.

Bruce shakes his head and grins just a little. “Okay. Barbara.”

“She’s not playing for you either, in solidarity,” Dick snaps.

Barbara snorts. “Eff that. Jason and I are an unbeatable Pitcher/Catcher combo.”

“Is that dirty?” Steph asks as Barbara high-fives Jason. “I feel like that might be dirty.”

Cassandra frowns deeply. “Is it?”

“Huh.”

“C’mon over, Dick, let me put you out of your misery,” Kate smiles.

Dick trudges over, still pouting slightly.

“Damian, come on,” Bruce says, and Damian steps over.

“I was wondering when you would get around to me, Father.”

Bruce pats his shoulder as Kate calls for Helena to head over.

Helena steps down and grins at them. “Ladies. Tim.”

“Yes, you’re very funny,” Dick drawls out. “Har har har.”

“Harper,” Bruce calls.

“WINNER!” Harper cries. “What’s up, boss, you ready to kick some butt?”

Kate smirks. “Luke, let’s go.”

“Finally,” Luke huffs. “You guys know I’m a genius, right?”

Tim wrinkles his nose, but says nothing.

Steph smirks. “That’s Timmy for ‘I’m also a genius, and I’m judging you, because you are a horrifically terrible baseball player.’”

“Hey!”  

“Alright, everyone,” Alfred calls. “We’re now onto the ringers. Your choices are Renee Montoya, Dinah Lance, Zatanna Zatara and Wally West. Since Master Bruce won the general coin toss, Miss Kate, you can go first.”

Kate points at Renee, and then crooks her finger.

Renee smirks and walks over. “Hi, babe.”

Kate kisses her cheek. “Hi. Thanks for coming.”

“And miss a chance to watch Billionaire Bruce Wayne whiff? Never.”

Bruce nods a little. “Zatanna?”

Zatanna grins and walks over. “Hey.”

“Morning.”

“This should be fun, right?” Zatanna grins.

“West, come on over,” Kate grins. “Us gingers gotta stick together.”

“I resent that,” Barbara pouts slightly.

“I do, too, but I can’t remember why,” Jason adds.

“Dinah, you’re with us,” Bruce nods.

Dinah smirks and steps over. “This is gonna be hilarious. I’m gonna kick the crap out of all of them.”

“Alright, children,” Selina says, getting to her feet. “The teams as they stand right now are as follows: On the blue team, we have Bruce, Jean-Paul, Duke, Barbara, Jason, Harper, Damian, Zatanna and Dinah. On the red team, Kate, Stephanie, Cassandra, Tim, Dick, Helena, Luke, Renee and Wally.”

“Since Master Bruce won the coin toss, they’re first up at bat,” Alfred tells them. “You’ll have ten minutes to chat about your line-ups and starting positions. Spit-spot.”

They get to work, making the most of their ten minutes, and then it’s game-on.

[totesmccoats]

Mister Miracle #1

Mister Miracle is a masterpiece.

Which, is to be expected from Tom King and Mitch Gerads at this point in their shared and separate careers. What’s really impressive is how they keep raising the bar, and this first issue already has deeper characterization and a more intriguing plot than some entire runs.

We open on Scott Free having just slashed his wrists open, and waking up in a hospital after being found on the bathroom floor by his wife, Big Barda. Even before he’s released, we see that Scott isn’t just a superhero, he’s a celebrity, and everyone from the press to Superman start asking him why he did it. But through all the noise – including a painful visit from his brother, Orion – Scott notices things have been off since his suicide attempt. For one thing, Barda’s eyes are brown now, instead of blue. For another, Barda tells him that his friend Oberon – who he was just talking to – has been dead for a month, and that they pulled the plug on him. But worse is that Darkseid has finally found the anti-life equation.

Starting with a suicide is a stunt, to be sure, but one that King doesn’t make light of; and while we’re not sure what pushed Scott over the edge just yet, the book does an amazing job of establishing that things aren’t right in the world that he’s waken back up in. Besides all the plot details, there are formal elements of the story that clue the reader in. Things become cyclical, with panel layouts and dialogue repeating themselves. And there’s the art. Gerard uses filter effects on his art to give the impression that we’re seeing the story played out through a camera lens, with different parts of any spread in focus at any given time; or color effects like what you’d get from a bad VHS recording. One character’s eyes appear to be taped onto the page rather than drawn on. And then there are things that I just appreciate, like how Barda towers over Orion, or how cartoony Scott looks with his mask on compared to the more realistic style Gerard uses for every other character.

But if there’s one thing that convinces me completely that King is the right writer for this book, it’s the two panels he writes of Barda putting Orion in his place, throwing his angst back in his face and telling him that he knows nothing of the pain that her and Scott share. Its two panels that show a greater understanding of Kirby’s 4th World mythos than, again, most other entire series. The entire scene it’s in is wonderful, but those two panels are key.

If you missed out on The Vision, don’t make the same mistake twice, pick up Mister Miracle.

  The Flash #28

Following his last fight with Thawn and the encounter with the Negative Speed Force, Barry has some new and destructive powers that he’s yet to get the hang of. He’s also more irritable than usual.

Barry’s got a black suit! This one’s not an alien symbiote, but it the Negative Speed Force looks to be having the same effect on Barry; increasing his powers at the cost of his emotional stability. He’s even doing the whole “if they knew what I really sacrificed for this city” shtick in his inner-monologue. I’m having fun! Also, the black and red lighting that accompany Flash’s new powers the perfect amount of edgelord for the story. Man, I am so glad that we’re past the point of edgy superheroes being cool and can have stories that acknowledge how bad those are while still establishing that such a sudden change in character actually is narratively engaging just on a character standpoint. Because, and what keeps this story from being a parody, is that the negative powers do seem to be acting as a metaphor for depression, exhausting Barry, making him anti-social, and visibly destroying things around him. It’s being played for pathos instead of cool, and it works way better because of it.

  Secret Empire #8

First thing I want to say about this issue, I love the cover art.

Second thing, it’s basically an issue-long deus ex machina, but it’s also one of the better issues of this event so far. Though events that I’m guessing happened mostly in the tie-in books I didn’t read, Sam Wilson is Captain America again, leading the Underground in their last ditch effort to use their fragment of the cosmic cube to rewrite just enough of reality to give them a fighting chance. And their plan to bring down the shield and the darkforce just so happens to coincide with the other heroes’ own plans to bring the fight to Hydra.

Basically, if this were an anime or a Sonic the Hedgehog game, this is right about where the main theme would kick in. It’s an issue that reminds me that when Nick Spencer doesn’t trip over the half-tied shoelaces of his political analogies, he can actually write a pretty good superhero story.

  Amazing Spider-Man #31

Because of the serial nature of comics, you could easily measure a writer’s worth by how exciting they make the inevitable slide back into the status quo. And if that’s what you’re going by, then Dan Slott has to be one of the best. And that’s not in small part because of how broadly he deviates from it. In this issue, Slott demolishes years’ worth of contributions he’s made to Spider-Man to bring him back to basics; literally even stripping him down at one point; and he manages to do this in a way that also reinforces the themes and core values of the character.

I’m not sure if the rumor that he’ll be stepping away from the book at issue #800 has been confirmed or debunked, but if it is true, he leaves behind one of the greatest (and the longest) runs of the character.

  Ms. Marvel #21

Ms. Marvel helps the captured inhumans and mutants escape the neighborhood militia, but only barely. They escape to the mosque, but Discord and his goons aren’t far behind, and Kamala is too exhausted to continue fighting much longer.

The shoe doesn’t drop until the last act of the issue, but when it does, it’s a doozy. Wilson is an expert in making weaving political commentary into her stories in ways that compliment both the message and the metaphor being used to tell it. In this case, how easy it is for allies to betray a cause when an opposing ideology appeals to their own bitterness. If you’ve been on left-wing twitter recently, you know it’s something that PoC’s, women, and LGBTQIA+ folks are constantly guarded about; and this comic manages to highlight the issue in a way that’s sympathetic without letting any actual villains off the hook for endangering people.

  Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #23

Squirrel Girl continues to be the best comic Marvel is putting out, using its recap page to skewer Secret Empire and event comics in general, and also Spider-Man, while affirming how much better a story it’s telling in its own little corner of the Marvel universe.

And that story is about how Doreen, Nancy, and the other contest winning programmers from Wakanda, K’un-L’un, and Latveria need to debug the programming in the 70 million year old alien computers that keep the Savage Land hospitable to dinosaurs before they all die out – again. But more importantly, Doreen wants to set Nancy up with the cute Latverian boy she’s crushing on, but all he can think about is Doom!

This issue squeezes a ridiculous amount of mileage from Latveria jokes, and every single one of them lands. Aside from some dinosaur puns, Latveria jokes are basically all this book is doing, but they are all so good. Who’da thunk a comic book dealing with characters living under an egomaniacal dictator could be so funny? Ryan North, that’s who.

  The Wicked + The Divine #30

Dionysus waits in the underground for Morrigan to release Baphomet, enduring all of her abuse. But he can’t stay down there forever, as he’s a key part of Woden and the Norns’ plan to activate Ananke’s machine. Meanwhile, Baal and Ammy are still on the lookout for Sakhmet.

This issue, and probably this arc, will be pregnant with anticipation. In the backmatter, Gillen describes this arc as the two minutes before a set, and that feeling definitely comes across in this issue. The tension between Dio waiting underground and him needed to be present for Woden’s plan is palpable as the issue’s bumper-pages become a countdown clock.

There’s also a great couple pages where each panel shows a shot of some of the Pantheon’s Instagram accounts. Seeing the reflection of the phone in Woden’s helmet is one of those neat little details; while a Baal fanpage snapping a pic resembling the cover of The Dark Knight Returns might have taken me out of the book a little much.

  Kill or Be Killed #11

Having discovered the demon in his father’s artwork, Dylan managed to convince himself that it was all in his head, renounced killing, got back on his meds, and started to catch up on his school work. He even reconnects with Kira, who invites him on a date to a Halloween party. Life’s looking up for him, and then he gets sick, like he did the first time after not killing for a while, and he finds out that the Russians are still on his trail.

This really is the “Spider-Man No More!” part of the story, down to a panel with him dramatically exiting an alley. He gives up the mask and things almost immediately improve. The cops stop looking for the vigilante, he catches up on the normal life he left behind, and even manages to pick things up with a newly interested Kira. But that makes for a boring story, so soon enough he gets pulled back in.

But as the beginning of the issue is quick to remind us, that was inevitable. Dylan still has to become the shotgun wielding badass we saw in medias res. The real genius of this brief period of happiness is to once more give Dylan something to lose when it all inevitably goes wrong again.

  Redlands #1

Redlands, Florida 1977. The tree outside the local police station burns, nooses still hanging from its branches. The police inside barricade themselves in to defend against an enemy they thought they had hanged this morning, but is now clear they have no recourse against. A young girl approaches their door, and letting her in also lets in the evil they fought so hard to keep out.

The first issue of this series is the third act of a really good horror movie. The last fight against an unstoppable power. And the atmosphere is laid on thick from the first page. The burning tree, the nooses, the scared cops, there’s no need for exposition, we already know everything we need to understand that this night will be far shorter than the police barricaded inside want to believe.

This is also the book’s greatest weakness, too, however, as we have no sympathy for the cops. This issue essentially has no stakes. We want the cops to die, and their powerless to do anything but. Meanwhile, our protagonists, who don’t show up for most of the book, have nothing to lose, and because they haven’t been properly introduced, it’s hard to root for them yet.

But, just as a first issue to a new series, this is explosive; and the atmosphere goes a long way to telling you what this series will eventually be about, I think. Largely an issue-long cold open, I can’t wait to get the story started in the next one.

Comic Reviews for 8/9/17 Mister Miracle #1 Mister Miracle is a masterpiece. Which, is to be expected from Tom King and Mitch Gerads at this point in their shared and separate careers.