#also jason literally ends up sacrificing himself after losing a lot of things in his life that he clung onto as home. and he knew he was

[everyurlithinkofistoolong]

Why do people forget that Jason was also canonically suicidal in BoO why do I have to do everything around here

[wesavegotham]

So don’t hate me but I’m kinda liking damian’s animated versions better than his comic one I really like his comic one but after all the shit happening where he has been nerfed nonstop getting beat by Thomas Wayne Batman, the teen titans red hood (although Jason attacked from behind like a bitch) and now flatline beating him. Not to mention Bruce not being a father and Damian now Being blamed for everything when they all have no room to talk. God I was satisfied when his old team died in future.

This is going to be a really long post, my apologies in advance.

I absolutely get where you’re coming from. I personally still like comic Damian more because I feel like there is more nuance and layers to him compared to the animated universe Damian, but that is simply the fault of the limited time they could spent on him in the movies.

Movie!Damian certainly wins more fights than comic!Damian and was never regressed in any way that is comparable to the shitshow that was Teen Titans (2016).

You’re adressing a problem I have with comic!Damian too right now, a problem that I’ve already talked about with some people here on tumblr in private. Which is that for all the talk about what Damian can do the comics have rarely shown all those skills Damian should have being used in the actual story in recent years and that is frustrating. I find Damian’s arrogance interesting as long as I feel like he can at least back it up in some way, but in recent time he comes off as just an idiot because he has done almost nothing but fail and lose and the writers still have him act like he’s the greatest. But it doesn’t feel like he can back up his confidence anymore. At all.

If I had to name a skill that differentiates Damian from the other Robins right now then I could only list his skill to hide from Batman and that is a skill he only has for plot convenience. We don’t see him do anything to cover his tracks, we are only told that he somehow did it. And I’m pretty sure that the second this skill stops being convenient for the story it will vanish once again. It will probably end like it did with Jon, where Damian somehow hid so well that Jon said they would never find him in Teen Titans, when they wanted an excuse for Jon to not get involved with his friend’s fall into darkness, but now that DC wanted them to interact again all of that is forgotten and Jon has no problems finding Damian.

Damian is not the most social Robin, nor the most intelligent one and considering how he seemed to lose against everything and everyone in recent years I can’t say with a straight face that he’s the best at fighting or the most skilled. And that IS a problem. Damian will never be known for his social skills or his detective skills, those niches are already taken by Dick and Tim, but in theory he should be a great fighter or a highly skilled person. Damian has sacrificed his entire life for training, both in the league of assassins and during his time with the batfamily. But if Damian sucks at fighting (as in: he loses a lot more than he wins) and his skills play no significant role in advancing the plot, then what is the point of his character? Great, he’s good at drawing and likes manga now, but how will that help with a fighting tournament? Or with solving the mystery behind the league of lazarus? A protagonist is usually supposed to be able to change the situation he is in, that is why he’s the protagonist and not someone else. So what makes Damian so unique that only  he can solve the situation he finds himself in during Robin and not someone like Conner Hawke? Or what makes him unique in the batfamily? I hope Robin adresses that soon. 

Of course now one could say “He still has an unique position as Bruce’s biological child”, but that also was completely irrelevant in recent years. For all the moments since the start of Rebirth that had batfam-fans complaining that Damian was favored by DC because of his status as the only biological child of Bruce, there were actually very few interactions between the two. Stuff like Bruce talking about Damian or saying that he loves him was primarily found in scenes in which Damian was not present. Or it came way too late, like in Teen Titans (and Bruce refusing to hit Damian in the face because he is his child sets such a low bar, I refuse to acknowledge that as a sign of love)

If you look at how Bruce actually treats Damian or describes him then there is little love there. He ignored his 13th birthday, did nothing when Damian left him after the events of Justice League: No Justice, it had no impact on the Batman books at all, Bruce only called Damian for missions like two times, once in City of Bane (which was just so shitty, as I already explained in a previous post) and a second time in Detective Comics #1017 (He sent Damian to find a missing kid in a snow storm, while he dealt with something else), refused to comfort him at Alfred’s wake and when Bruce reflects on what happened in Teen Titans he blames most of it on Damian’s personality, both in Detective Comics #1030 and in Robin #1, and both times there is nobody questioning Bruce’s asessment. He really doesn’t have anything nice to say about Damian and apparently we are not supposed to disagree with him. So in summary: Damian seems to have no skills that make him indispensable for the batfamily, Bruce seems to have a very low opinion of Damian’s character and now that they have decided to give us Bruce searching for Damian the only reason for that seems to be that Bruce suddenly feels responsible for his child, even though that should have already been the case when Damian seperated from him in 2018 or at least directly after the second Teen Titans annual.

Even the kinda nice things Bruce says about Damian in Robin #1 can be called into question if you think about them. He says he has no doubt that Damian can take care of himself...and then we see Damian getting his heart ripped out at the end of the very same issue. Of course we know that Damian’s story doesn’t end there, so I won’t judge this too harshly yet, but to me this didn’t come off as Damian being able to take care of himself.

And I get letting Damian lose at the start of the tournament to establish Flatline as a threat and to make it clear that this tournament is not a game. I also get that Damian’s fight against King Snake was supposed to make sure that we still think of Damian as competent even though he loses later on. But at least for me, winning against King Snake was not cool or badass enough to make up for the fact that Damian was easily killed, in front of everyone, by a literal nobody like Flatline. King Snake is an old, blind guy, that didn’t show up in any DC comic I read since I started in 2018 and that was apparently beaten by Tim in his solo comic when he was 14 back in the 90s. Sorry, but that just isn’t impressive enough for me, especially since I’ve seen Damian lose so much in recent years. It doesn’t establish Flatline as a badass, it just makes me think that Damian is not that great of a fighter and shouldn’t be in this tournament.

I have some more thoughts on the tournament that make me wish that the arc will start being less about winning the tournament itself and more about something like taking down the league of lazarus soon (mainly the fact that a fight about being the best fighter is useless if the big guns are not taking part, the fact that you can only win by killing your oponent, which should be a problem for Damian and how nothing we know about the rewards for winning, becoming part of the league of lazarus und apparently immortality, is desirable for Damian), but this answer is already too long.

I’m going to be honest an admit that I did not like the ending of Robin #1 at all and that I hope that Williamson will show Damian being competent really soon because I’m not here for another pointless arc about Damian learning humility. I want to see Damian win for once, you know, like other protagonist usually do at the end of an arc and if Damian can’t even win or tell us what’s going on with him from his point of view in a book about him then I’m probably going to feel very disappointed by this book.

[fierce-little-miana]

Some translated extracts from “Medea” by Nancy Peña and Blandine le Callet

For @irleughlivelyatalanteangodfan

Médée is a French comic book series following Medea’s story from her childhood in Colchis to her very probable death since an old (apparently believing she is at the end of her life) Medea is the narrator.

Here are the cover or the first three volumes:

- 1) The shadow of Hecate: deals with Medea’s childhood in Colchis and closes on her watching the Argonauts’ boat approaching her kingdom’s shores. 

- 2) The knife in the wound: concentrates entirely on the Jason and Medea’s encounter, the theft of the Golden Fleece, and their escape from Colchis. The last scene of this volume is Apsyrtus’ murder/death.

- 3) The Barbaric bride: deals with Medea and Jason’s ‘proper’ wedding and the events of Iolcus. The volume closes on Medea and Jason running away from their failed coup, Medea discovering she is pregnant, and them deciding to go to Corinth.

(sorry in advance for the quality of the pictures - nevertheless clic on the pictures for better quality) 

This is the genealogy the authors chose for Medea:

Volume 1:

This is literally the second page of the comic and this how a beaten-down old Medea is presented

1 - Chloé (Medea’s servant - apparently dying): A bit more water Mistress please.

2 - Medea: No, it would serve no purpose.

3 - Chloé: I am afraid.

4 - Medea: It will be over soon.

5 - Chloé: Mistress please stay with me a bit more.

6 - Medea: You know this isn’t possible. I still have a long road to travel.

7 - Chloé: Goodbye Mistress.

8 - Medea: Goodbye Chloé 

9 - Medea* thinking: ... and forgive me to not have the strength to bury you.

In the following pages Medea is playing with her nephews (who are her ages) and brother. Then she is embroidering with her mother and sister while her brother is getting cuddles from their mother. As a bit of context: Medea’s father, Aeëtes, is a tyran who resents his son-in-law and grandsons. Medea doesn’t consciously knows it but I really read it as her unconsciously knowing it. Apsyrtus has a mental disability and also suffers from epilepsy. 

(Here I only translated the dialogues that really show Medea’s personality)

1 - Medea: We are giants. We are climbing the tree to reach the gods and kick their asses!

2 - Phrixus, her brother-in-law: Well this is a way of speaking that doesn't suit a princess. I am not sure your father would like it.

3 - Medea: In any case we are gods too.

4 - Phrixus* commenting on Medea’s fall: Ah ah! Gods too must be careful.

5 - Phrixus to his sons: Boys, would you like some archery lesson. It’s been a long time since you last practiced.

6 - Medea’s nephew: Yeah!

7 - Medea: And me, can I come?

8 - Medea’s nephew: You, you are a girl. Archery is not for girls.

9 - Medea: And why couldn’t I use a bow?

10 - Phrixus: Argos is right Medea. Archery is not for girls.

11 - Phrixus to Apsyrtus who grabbed his sleeves:  No, not you Apsyrtus. You might hurt yourself... or someone else.

(the non-translated bubbles on the second pages are Medea’s sister, Chalciope, giving her embroidery advise and king Aeëtes criticizing his wife for cuddling their sons who should be acting and treated like the other boys.)

12 - Aeëtes to Chalciope: Where are your sons?

13 - Chalciope: With their father...

14 - Medea: They went to practice archery. And they didn’t want to bring me with them.

15 - Aeëtes: This is normal daughter.

16 - Medea: They didn’t want to bring Apsyrtus either.

The horror on the faces of Chalciope and Queen Idyia tells us that Aeëtes hearing of the exclusion of Apsyrtus by Phrixus will be of consequences. Medea only mentioned her brother’s exclusion to her father after her own failed to create any outrage in him.

At this point in the story Medea is the only person who isn’t terrified of Aeëtes mainly because she is his favorite child that he calls “his ray of sunshine”. 

In the following scene a teenage Medea invited her nephew Argos (who has never been there) to come with her to her father library. They discovered a map.

1 - Argos: “This map has been drawn as precisely as possible by Sesostris, King of Egypt, great traveler and conqueror of the world, founder of the kingdom of Colchis, builder of the city of Aea.” What is this? I thought it was your father who founded Aea?

2 - Medea: I thought that too.

3 - Argos: If you want my opinion the King cultivates a lot of legends about his person.

4 - Medea: If you want my opinion you will keep that for yourself.  

By asking her nephew to keep quiet about this document that proves that her father is lying Medea is of course trying to protect him from her father’s tyranny that she is starting to see, but also trying to protect her father’s reign and her own divine ancestry. 

I am not putting any extract from volume two, for length reason, but it is very intense. We have Medea doing some badass magic/chemist stuff to get the fleece. We also have her going against her father while in the first volume she let him murder her brother-in-law and stand by watching even if her sister had made her swear to help Phrixus. This is supported by her mother in a hidden-manner who doesn’t want that Medea to have her life ruin like her brother and sister did. There is of course Jason and Medea’s meeting and alliance. Medea is taking a definitively non-Greek non-womanly approach to it and Jason is liking it and respecting it. And of course Apsyrtus’ murder which is absolutely horrible to read.

Volume 3:

Here Jason, Orpheus and another Argonaut are discussing what to do with Medea just after their escape from Colchis

1 - Orpheus: The Colchians are still on our tracks. There are hundred of them heavily armed. Do you realize what would happen if they caught us?

2 - Orpheus: We should give them the girl.

3 - Other Argonaut: Yes, we should leave her here, running away discreetly and unseen, while she is asleep.

4 - Jason: Abandoning Medea wouldn’t change anything... What the Colchians want back his the Golden Fleece.

5 - Orpheus: You don't know that. Maybe it would appease them if we give them back their princess... What do we have to lose from this?

6 - Jason: I made a promise.

7 - Other Argonaut: She made you promise, it is very different! Jason let’s leave this girl here and go back to Greece. She is a barbarian, we owe her nothing.

8 - Jason: She helped us.

9 - Orpheus: Maybe but she now puts us in danger. Most of the men agree on this: we must hand her over.

10 - Jason: This is out of question.

11 - Orpheus: What is the issue with this girl? If she was beautiful at least I would understand, but she is a real savage!

12 - Other Argonaut: It is as if she has bewitched you.

13 - Jason: Enough! Medea will stay with us. This discussion is over. Now go to sleep, I will keep the watch alone. 

I think it is interesting to show Jason as something else than a coward and an opportunist. This volume also doesn’t forget that he is a pupil of Chiron and that he is a healer. Medea is really interested in learning from him too.

I found this scene on internet without the text so you will have to believe me on the translations. But, since it is one of my favorite pages, I am happy it is in good quality. Here Medea feels trapped living the life of a Greek woman in Iolcus an start talking to her consciousness which takes the shape of her snake bracelet. For extra creepy factor, she is lying next to an asleep Jason here:

1 - Snake: Good news? It is not likely to happen! Pelias will always find a reason to not hand over power to Jason.

2 - Medea: He was supposed to officially proclame him king two days ago, but someone found a crow on a statue in the throne room and this bad omen prevented the assembly to be in session.

3 - Snake: Before that it was a black dog which spilled the content of a stall in the market! Then it will be some bees deciding to live on the roof of a temple. Pelias is laughing at you.

4 - Medea: He will never give his power away. By pretending to not understand and by staying passive Jason is ridiculing himself.

5 - Snake: That’s true!

6 - Medea: Every time I try discussing this with him, he rebuffs me by saying that I do no understand anything about politic and that we must be patient.

7 - Snake: He is wrong.

8 - Medea: I can’t stand it anymore. I feel like I am going mad.

9 - Snake: No, you just feel a bit lonely.

10 - Snake: But don’t worry.

11 - Snake: I am going to stay with you to keep you company.

I really like how Medea’s own darkness is visually slowly strangulating her and taking over her. And how her loneliness and confinement makes her more ruthless, but slowly so very slowly.

Finally this is the final page of the third volume. Medea remembers how Jason made her promise to throw away all her poisons and potions to avoid a new epic failure like in Iolcus and also because she is pregnant and that it is time for her to accept to live like a ‘proper’ Greek wife. Medea promises and throw most of her stuff in the sea very theatrically. We cut back to old Medea narrating:

1 - Medea: Yes I was pregnant, the only reason why I wielded to his demands...

2 - Medea: ... Or rather made him believed I did.

3 - Medea: The only thing I sacrificed for him this night was the heavy crown I put in the casket he saw me throw in the sea.

4 - Medea: My drugs stayed carefully hidden in my luggages, ready to be used again, if the need was to arise.

So yeah I really like the take of these comic books on Medea’s story and Medea’s personality, her family and Jason. If you read French I really advise you to pick it up, or if you like looking at pretty pictures it works too.

The next and final volume is coming out in 8 days and it looks fantastic!

Volume 4: Flesh and Blood

[ibroughtanarsenal]

👍🏻

WHO: Roy and Jason (@thatsjasonfkntodd​​) WHERE: Jason’s apartment. WHEN: Backdated to April 4th, 2020. WHAT: Jason invites Roy over so they can have a real talk.

Jason: He didn’t do anything the day he spoke to Dick. He went out as Red Hood that night to finish up a job that took him outside city limits, but he was back by the next morning with his mind made up. At least stretching his legs had helped clear his head. It let him focus. His bank account was better off for it, too. 

When he was back and settled with a couple of hours of sleep and a shower behind him, he sent Roy a message. It was his actual address and a text that just said 7:00? Assuming Roy wasn’t picking up random shifts as an excuse, he figured he’d be free by then. One way or another, he was waiting when seven rolled around, scrolling idly through his phone without paying any attention at what he was looking at. He still thought the whole thing shouldn’t be necessary, but it didn’t really matter what he thought. He was doing it anyway.

Roy: Even though Jason had given him plenty of clues about where he lived and even extended a vague invitation, Roy sat on the information for the next couple days. He thought about the conversation, over-analyzed it, but ended up certain of only one thing: he regretted how quickly things got out of hand. At some point he almost texted Jason with just a meme, as if nothing happened, but he wasn’t sure if he would go along with it. 

He knew where they left the conversation. It was just a matter of how long he wanted to wait before tracking down Jason’s actual location based on his hints, as if he were in some fucking treasure hunt. Whatever Roy decided, there was no doubt the ball had been forcefully thrown in his court - so he was taken aback to hear from Jason. He was even more surprised to be given a real address along with a specific time to meet. He waited a little while before sending a thumbs up emoticon in response. Whatever Jason wanted to say he would be able to handle. He just didn’t want to start things off like last time; texting made it too easy to convey the wrong mood, so he wasn’t going to risk it. Roy didn’t like fighting with Jason, or with anyone he actually gave a shit about. There were too few of those people left for him to risk alienation. Jason, especially, was someone he wasn’t willing to lose. If he had to ignore his feelings for the sake of maintaining that connection, then he would. He meant what he said: Jason always made him feel grounded. His friendship wasn’t worth sacrificing just because he was feeling sentimental. 

That was what he told himself, anyway. 

It was (predictably) over ten minutes past 7pm before there was a knock at the door. “This keep those door to door preachers out of your hair?” Roy scuffed his shoe against the mat. “Maybe I’ll get myself one. They fucking haunt my complex.”

Jason: For Jason, humor had two uses: he was either being a smart ass and using it to taunt or he was genuinely kidding around to be funny. He didn’t often slip it in to mask discomfort, as that usually resulted in either anger or silence (depending on the source), so he didn’t immediately joke back. He did glance down to the doormat and then back up at Roy. “Sometimes. You can come in.” 

Jason��s place was a far cry from Roy’s apartment. It was minimalistic with dark furniture and clean lined. In place of what people usually had for decor, Jason kept meticulously displayed and arranged weapons. They weren’t ones he used, actively, just that he’d liked. There were  a few sets of matching daggers he’d picked up in Indonesia, a pair of katanas that were more ornamental than useful, an antique pistol that he’d tinkered with enough to get to work but wasn’t worth using, so on. The only other thing of note was a low, Japanese style tea table and service situated in one of the corners. “Sit down if you want to,” he made some vague gesture at the couch, his body language uncharacteristically stiff.

Roy: Humor was Roy’s default tool when he was uncomfortable (or when anyone was uncomfortable), because it added some levity in tense situations. In this case it seemed to do the opposite, which wasn’t that much of a surprise, it was Jason, and he hesitated before actually going inside. It looked exactly how he pictured it would, but he didn’t comment on it. 

He was looking at the katanas when Jason suggested he could sit. “…Okay, sure.” The couch was smooth and it didn’t feel like he should be sitting there. Jason’s movements were all wrong and suddenly it seemed to make sense, now that he was actually seeing it, why Jason kept him separate from his life. Ten minutes and he’d have everything in chaos. 

The strangeness of the situation was making him uneasy, but this time the joke fell flat, “Jesus, why are you acting like you’re about to deliver a death notice?”

Jason: One thing he did not want to deal with was small talk or pretending like things weren't weird. They both knew they were weird. He also knew he had to speak quickly to keep himself on topic and not immediately ask the questions he'd tried not to let sit too heavy. Mostly, why the fuck hadn't Roy bothered to come on his own. But he'd already talked to Dick, he'd made his mind up to be the bigger person and say what needed to be said, and if he got off on a different foot he wouldn't get back to it. He didn't have that much faith in his own self restraint. 

"This isn't a casual thing," he said, ignoring the question. He gestured between them. "I didn't mean for this to be a casual thing. It wasn't the first time," but surely Roy knew that without having to be told, "and it isn't now. I could have done that with anyone."

Roy: At first, Roy thought he meant the talk they were about to have wasn’t casual and he was confused, frowning, but as Jason continued he realized what he was actually talking about. They never had this talk the first time around. Roy didn’t bother asking what it was back then, didn’t think to question it, but he also never expected Jason to leave, either. 

He nodded when Jason said he could have anyone, since that was something he’d turned over his mind a dozen times while trying to puzzle out Jason’s motivations, but he’d also considered the possibility that it was a choice based on comfort. It almost shocked him how relieved he suddenly felt to know that wasn’t the reason. “Yeah, I know.” He paused, suddenly not sure if he’d made his point clear enough the last time they saw each other. “It was never casual for me.”

Jason: Jason stayed standing for a few beats, but finally sat down on the other side of the couch. If it had been Dick in his place, he probably would’ve been warm or reached out or something, but Jason couldn’t bring himself to do it until he got to the end of it. Just because he said what he meant to say didn’t mean it was going to be what Roy wanted to hear or the way he wanted to hear it, and it was a lot harder to pull back if he’d already gone all in. So he stayed on his side. 

“I didn’t call it off the last time because I didn’t give a fuck or because it was easy to do it.” It hadn’t been. Roy had been his best friend and his partner, on more than one level, and Jason had turned his own life upside down when he’d decided to walk away. “You’re...” he hated this, “I care about you. Then, now, and the middle parts.” Even when he’d been pissed off, and even when he’d moved on.

Roy: Hearing Jason talk about things that they both tended to skip over, or minimize, disarmed him more than he expected. Roy didn’t know what Jason intended when he sent him the text message earlier, but this wasn’t what he was expecting. He watched him sit at the other end of the couch, his expression strangely serious, and took in what Jason was saying with the same shock as when he’d started. 

Roy knew Jason hadn’t fucked off for those reasons, or at least he knew it most of the time - there were moments when he doubted his own perception of events, when his mind liked to torture him with other possibilities, but largely he always knew Jason cared on some level. It was different to hear it aloud. When he last saw Jason, Roy had been fully prepared tell him exactly where he stood, but now that they were here and Jason was being so calm and straightforward about it, he suddenly didn’t know how to respond. They were both fucking shitty at this. “It was like that for me, too,” he finally said, pausing again to think of how to word things correctly. This wasn’t something he did often, either, but if Jason of all people were making an effort then he couldn’t just sit there and stare at him. “I’ll always care." Even though he put those feelings away for a while, they never disappeared. "Seeing you made me realize that. The bad shit doesn't make any difference."

Jason: The bad shit always made a difference, or at least it did to him, but he realized that he’d been pretty much banking on Roy to be able to let it go. Well, no. Not really. He’d expected him to tell him to fuck off the first night he showed up at the rehab center to talk to him, and he’d been prepared to let him say or do whatever he felt like he needed to say or do, even if that was deck him. Roy hadn’t, though, so suddenly getting it thrown back at him literal months later had set him off. Fair or not. 

“So what do you want?” He’d accused him, rightfully, of not letting Roy have any say in ending things before. So why then should it be up to Jason to decide again where they stood? It seemed backwards. He was willing to do it, and Dick had even agreed that it should be on him, but it still felt contrary to what it should be. His composure faltered for a second and he pushed the shock of white hair back away from his forehead. “I just want you. There’s not anybody else. There was, but...” he rolled his eyes, entirely at himself, for what he was about to admit. He went ahead and did it anyway. “I broke it off after I talked to you back at the center.”

Roy: Even though Roy knew Jason was in the city, after months passed and he didn’t see him, or didn’t hear anything about it from Dick, he just assumed he wouldn’t be seeing him. It wasn’t a surprise. Part of him was even grateful that he wouldn’t have to deal with the complications. Everything from back then had been stored away for years by then; he had no idea what he was going to find by unpacking feelings he never bothered working through. 

So when Jason showed up, he was too shocked and too happy to see him that he made the conscious decision not to bring up the past. It felt like thin ice. He hadn’t wanted Jason to take off against pushing his resentments aside seemed like the best decision he could make at the time. His gaze shifted away, but he nodded along, leaning forward so he wouldn’t be tempted to put his feet on the table instead. “That’s all I wanted.” Maybe Jason thought that was what he was giving him, but there was a marked difference between how Jason had been with him before and in how he was now. “Why did you? Break it off, I mean.”

Jason: He’d asked himself that back in November. He liked Natasha. They had plenty in common and, despite their initial insistence that it was just sex, he’d found her easy to spend time with in other ways. If he’d stuck it out he wasn’t sure what would have happened, ultimately. Maybe nothing. They hadn’t actually been dating, only...friends with benefits, as Roy had said. Once he’d made up his mind to go see Roy, though, he’d realized something even if he couldn’t fully give voice to it at the time. 

“Once I decided to come see you, I just...” he sighed, having divulged more personal reasoning and thought in the last two days than he had in probably two years combined. “I didn’t want some kind of extra roadblock if,” he motioned between them again, “it got here again.”

Roy: Roy didn’t have any significant relationships or connections during the gap - or if he did, he didn’t remember it, and it would have just been for easy access to drugs or maybe a place to sleep. After that was rehab. There wasn’t much time to focus on another person at all, they were all discouraged from it during treatment, and once he was clean it was just… habit. Opening himself up to some new distraction or influence in his life meant risking a backslide. That was something he wasn’t willing to do. Sex was another thing altogether, but even that was limited to women for reasons he still didn’t quite understand, but also wasn’t eager to analyze. It had something to do with putting Jason out of his head, anyway. 

If he knew Jason had been dating someone when he showed up at the center, he definitely would have reacted much differently. He would have been a lot more distant - and he was relived Jason kept it to himself, at that point, otherwise they might not have gotten here at all. “I would’ve done the same thing. I don’t want to see anyone else.”

Jason: His tongue snaked out between his lips and he finally actually looked at Roy again, rather than the avoidant way he’d been staring at virtually any other space in the room while he tried to get the words out. The whole “soulfully lock eyes and talk about feelings” was way too much. “So...are we on the same page now? You want to yell at me some more? I can’t remember what the other problems were.” 

He wanted to move on, to fall into something easier again. Maybe he could have added the other thing, told Roy that he loved him, but any time he even considered it the word died in his throat. Saying it now felt almost like placating him, or like it was out of desperation, so he took Dick’s advice and left it out entirely.

Roy: Roy’s gaze flicked up the he realized Jason was actually looking at him. He wasn’t one to overdo things like this, if he did them at all, and after only the briefest hesitation he nodded. This was what he wanted to know. He wanted Jason to confirm that he wasn’t wasting his time. Even though he was curious about how this conversation happened, he wasn’t about to ask. It was more than what he expected from him and he was all too happy to move past it. 

“Yeah,” he said, smirking faintly at the offer to yell. “Nah, I think that’s it. Extend the offer to the end of the year, though. I'll save it for later.” If there were other things he brought up during their fight he couldn’t remember what they were, which meant it was unlikely they were ever important. "I would have showed up... you know. On my own." Maybe it wouldn't have been for another week, but eventually he would have.

Jason: Jason made a noncommittal sound, not about to extend a blanket offer to complain until the end of the freakin year. It was April. Of course there was going to be something to complain about by December, but that didn’t mean he’d be so amenable to the idea of hearing it then. 

“I didn’t want to wait and see.” And after the first day of utter silence, he’d been pretty convinced that Roy wouldn’t do it. It was one thing to make a decision to call something off and another to just be left behind or put aside without so much as a word, and Jason had just decided that he was unwilling to wait and see if that was what was going to happen. He’d felt that enough in his life, and he didn’t need it from Roy. So he hadn’t waited. “Will you get over here now? If we have to talk about it anymore I’m going to get hives.”

Roy: Roy nodded. He would have done the same thing if he knew where Jason stood, but Jason had always been the sort of person he couldn’t read well. That was something Roy wasn’t used to. He was good at reading people, there were a lot of things he looked for that could give him some idea of what was going on in their heads, but it was difficult to get a good understanding of what Jason was thinking. The walls were either too high or Jason too unpredictable, at least when it came to things like feelings. 

Either way, he was glad they were done talking about it. He didn’t need a lot in the way of words, never did, and now that he knew where Jason was coming from he needed them even less. Amused, he slid over on the couch and yanked Jason against his side, suddenly much more relaxed than he’d been in weeks. “Chill out. You got to the other side unscathed. Now all that’s left is setting the date and inviting all our close friends and family.”

Jason: Jason immediately rolled his eyes. “I’d rather die again. I’ll leave the getting married to Dick. One wedding is enough to suffer through.” He still saw absolutely no point in it, love or no love. “Actually, I take that back. That’s one too many  already.” Dick didn’t have a damn clue what he was doing. Jason wasn’t even convinced he knew who he was trying to marry. 

More to ensure that they completely moved on than anything, Jason slid a hand around the back of Roy’s neck and pulled him close enough to kiss. There would inevitably be some kind of issue that cropped up again, but whatever it was would have to just...wait a fucking while.

[rangerslayer-97]

Mighty Morphin’ Power Ranger: Shattered Grid Finale Thoughts/Review

*WARNING: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE SHATTERED GRID FINALE, I RECOMMEND NOT TO READ THIS POST. THERE ARE SPOILERS. A LOT.*

The Introduction:

Kyle Higgins and company of BOOM! Studios sent us on a roller coaster ride for the past six months from Shattered Grid’s Prologue in Issue 24 back in February, right to this anticipated finale which makes Countdown To Destruction seem small. Kyle and his team kept us buying the comics, may it be online or barging down the door of your nearest comic book store for a physical copy for your rapidly reducing shelf space. 

I can safely say Shattered Grid #1 was worth the wait and build up and Kyle, with help from illustrators Daniele Di Nicuolo and Deigo Galindo and colourists Walter Baiamonte and Marcelo Costa for bringing popping colour to the series. There is so much to cover in this double-sized special at a cost of US$7.99 (EUR: 8.99), so sit down with a cup of tea and enjoy.

The Story:

The starts with an explosive opening with the rangers from MMPR-Ninja Steel (including Hyperforce and Beast Morphers [AKA: Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters]) battling Drakkon’s forces, with some new additions to take out the tower on the moon. The first two panels are not easy to look at as the Rangers already lost some of their allies; one from Zeo and the other from Super Megaforce, along with a few Megazords. Zedd’s former zord Serpentera is causing trouble (looks like Drakkon made fuel alterations). However, thanks to Jen’s access to the Time Force archives, she was able to bring up blueprints and create a hybrid zord dubbed hilariously despite the seriousness: the Whatever-We’re-Calling-It-Megazord (seems like even Kyle and the gang had trouble making up a name). This Megazord consists of Kendall’s Plesiozord, RJ’s Wolf Zord, Kat’s Super Zeo Zord and the Hyperforce Ranger’s Megazord - Chronos Hyperforce Megazord. Then add Drakkonverse Trini’s Black Dragon armour to make it match the size of Serpentera. 

While Jason orders Noah to summon the Q-Rex Zord (no, not Eric’s zord), he makes the final move to send the tower crumbling, but sadly, sacrificing his life in the process AFTER admitting his feelings to Lauren (shame Jayden wasn’t there. He might want a few words.) Unfortunately, Serpentera makes a dessert meal out of the Q-Rex, crushing Jason inside. The loss of the tower meant it causes the powers of every single sentry to vanish and the hybrid Megazord delivers the killer blow, completely disabling Serpentera. Sadly, the victory is shortlived as Drakkon appears in his new form (and a giant), completely breaking the Grid and causes insane damage to the Multiverse.

We then move onto the rescue team loading the last of the prisoners onto Terra Venture. Heckyll is certainly redeemed, but I won’t be surprised if he’s still a bit of sarcastic asshole in the next event. As the group makes their escape, Grace and everyone sees the crack in the universe occurring and the entire cosmos literally shatters, which somehow casts Terra Venture out of the Grid or the existing universe.

The scene moves on and we are shown, literally a Power Rangers version of Smallville or Superman. Drakkon is living with his ‘parents’ coincidentally named Zordon and Rita *shivers*. Drakkon leaves his home and goes all Superman, revealing on his chest some kind of gem or crystal. Outside, we surprisingly see Jen piloting the Tigerzord and beside her is the Dragonzord. The city is being attacked by two giant animal spirits or Energy Beasts that have been terrorising Angel Grove. Drakkon quickly deals the attackers and is soon being interviewed by the reporters. It’s kind of hilarious seeing Trini and Zack acting a little like Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen. To our further surprise, we see the apparition of the real Tommy Oliver in the camera lens. 

To cut things short of this Power Rangers version of Superman, this is a world Drakkon created, a world where everyone loves and worships him. Next, we hear voices telling the apparition of Tommy to take the chance and that chance is literally breaking through the barriers. Yes, everyone! Tommy Oliver is alive after being dead for six months! Right now, he went around restoring the other rangers memories and left Kim until last. We learn that upon his death, after being shot with the Chaos Crystal tipped arrow courtesy of Ranger Slayer (read GGPR Issue 12), his essence was taken outside Space-Time and literally had to watch as everything unfurled. Tommy then shows The Emissaries! The assholes who rejected Zordon’s plea for help. Much to my pleasure, as evil as it sounds, Drakkon beat up the Emissaries, but managed to escape the Grid itself and into the Nether Space where Tommy was residing. We are told Drakkon took an artefact they were protecting: the Heart of a Master and was granted the powers of a God. So, to fix everything, the Rangers need to take back the Heart.

To cut short, the Rangers managed to recover the Heart, rendering Drakkon powerless. The Emissaries open a portal for them to escape before the world Drakkon created collapsed. However, Tommy offered Drakkon a second chance, to redeem himself. Really, all he needed was a friend, but Drakkon turns him away, leaving him to die in the world he created. The Rangers find themselves in a form of the Morphing Grid, which took the form of the Command Centre. As the Emissaries explain they each have a connection to the Morphing Grid and have to RESET everything, not rebuild it and risk losing the memories of all that happened. That is when Kim learns what Jen meant: ‘You can never truly get back what you’ve lost’, it’s kind of bittersweet. Everyone learns that need to put the world back together, not for themselves, but for the ‘good of everyone’. 

With that, the MMPR Rangers, Tommy, Lauren, and Jen place their hand on the Heart, not before making some closures. Jason and Lauren admit they will miss each other, after admitting their feelings. Then for the delight of the Tomberly fans, Kyle and company give us the kiss we’ve all been dying for. Tommy and Kimberly finally kiss. With that, they all access the power of the Heart, all embracing the white light.

We are then shown a small snippet of Beyond The Grid and it turns out Terra Venture, containing Grace Serling - 1969 Red MMPR Ranger, Mike Corbett - Magna Defender 2, Andros of KO-35 - Red Astro Ranger Tanya Sloan - Zeo Ranger II: Yellow, Cam Watanabe - Green Samurai Storm Ranger, Heckyll of Sentai 6 - Dinocharge Dark Ranger and Kimberly Ann Hart of Drakkon’s Universe - Ranger Slayer. They have all been casted out far from the Grid and it turns out to be a different reality. The preview closes with Grace vowing she will ‘never lose another ranger again’.

Thoughts:

Kyle Higgins and his team did it. They completed Shattered Grid, the biggest 25th Anniversary event of Power Rangers history and they ended it on a sweet and bitter ending note. I’m still laughing at the world Drakkon created, I can just feel the Superman vibe so strongly, even though he is far from the morals Clark Kent/Kal-El uphold. It’s been quite the roller coaster and is the best Power Rangers adventure I have followed. BOOM! Studios really did bring me back into my old childhood and even gave it a sense of maturity. The world building was amazing and there is so much lore to explore now. Also, we have to see what reality Grace and co. ended up after being cast out due to reality itself shattering. Beyond The Grid begins on September 26th.

Rating:

5/5. Pick it up now!