#but my god this is like. the second post I’ve seen actually mentioning mumbos death

[kdtheghostwriter]

SNK 115  - “OMW”

I mean...

Let’s be real. As far as Deus Ex goes, I’ve seen more preposterous this week.

If any of you are wondering why this post took so long, it isn’t for lack of time I assure you. This chapter was…a lot. And god damn, Isayama, I wasn’t expecting to dig up my Junior Year debate notes for this one blog post but here we are lads. Quick recap before we get into writers’ mumbo-jumbo.

Flashback

Deus EX

#HeelFloch

Sad Hange

RESURRECTION

We all know Isa loves his religious imagery. He isn’t quite as egregious as Zack Snyder (who is, tbh?) but it’s definitely a thing. He also loves mythology of all types. And while Norse mythology seems to be his area of expertise, it isn’t mine - which is why seeing Stupid Sexy Zeke emerge from his Titan Incubator made me think of another Stupid Sexy God from the Ancient Greek Canon.

I speak of the Goddess Aphrodite, who has dominion over love, beauty and its various trappings. Admittedly, this comparison is drawn in relation to aesthetics only. Zeke’s aloof temperament doesn’t really mirror that of the Greek goddess. Even though Aphrodite did technically help start the Trojan War but that’s neither here nor there.

Zeke’s appearance from the steam of the felled Titan is nearly identical to the foam that appeared during Aphrodite’s spontaneous conception in the Ionian Sea. For the sake of transparency, I must point out that long ago, a fanfic author by the name of Homer relayed to us that Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. This is not technically wrong but it is quite boring. And it was also pre-dated (shout-out to Hesiod). Uranus, the primordial god of the sky, got into a spat with his children as deities are wont to do. This particular dust-up ended in Uranus being castrated by his son – the Titan, Cronus – who usurped the throne. The disembodied testicles fell into the sea like a pair of primordial bath bombs and out of the resulting effervescence appeared a full-grown Aphrodite in all of her Tumblr-banned glory.

Zeke, with nothing left of him after the explosion than a head and torso, was taken into the gut of a waiting Titan. Let me clarify, here. He was not eaten, no. The mindless titan scooted itself along the river banks and inserted the dying Zeke into its stomach cavity. Then OG Ymir with her trademark PATHS Magiks,  crafts the golden boy a brand new body and sends him on his merry way.

Like I said up top: of all the examples of Deus Ex, this isn’t even the third-most severe I’ve seen. The implications of it are…a lot. And it actually makes sense if you consider what we know about Titan Biology.

Back to the beginning. Once upon a time, the Founder Ymir Fritz made a deal with the Devil of All Earth that gave her untold power after coming into contact with the “source of all living matter.” With that power, Ymir became the Progenitor of Titan Power. Upon her death 13 years later, her soul was split into nine pieces and connected via a metaphysical system known only as PATHS. These PATHS transcend space and time and bind together every subject of Ymir, even those who have been long dead.

We also know that the Titans themselves are a conundrum of theoretical physics. Their mass and energy are created from nothing. They generate massive amounts of heat, but don’t appear to need fuel. They have no digestive system and regurgitate the contents of their stomach when it becomes full. Even though they are huge creatures, their actual limbs and body parts are incredibly light. Even though Zeke has little recollection of what happened to him post-explosion, he’s likely smart enough to infer, as we can, exactly how and why he emerged from the carcass of a Titan with a brand new body.

This is all before we mention that Zeke Jaeger is a part of the Fritz family tree. The Royal Family line that descends directly from Ymir herself.

I also thought about Lazarus of Bethany while reading this section. Lazarus was a good friend of Jesus, the lad from Bethlehem. Maybe you’ve heard of him. Jesus was told that Lazarus had fallen ill, but has business and doesn’t set out until a few days later. Jesus and his crew arrive in Bethany only to discover that Lazarus has already passed away. This leads to the Gospel’s shortest verse.

Jesus wept. [John 11:35, KJV]

Perhaps the better comparison for her is to Abraham (with the whole “making a great nation” stipulation). But! I’m trying to do something pithy here, so bear with me.

The story of Lazarus might be the Good Book’s most well-known resurrection (besides that other one). The idea here is that the world’s most Holy Figure decided that this man’s time on Earth wasn’t done. Jesus was too late to heal Lazarus and felt so guilty as to weep. Lazarus was then called forth from his tomb, still wrapped in his death robes.

For the Eldian Empire, no figure is more Holy than Ymir Fritz. She’s the Founding Titan and, if this chapter is to be inferred upon, her spirit still influences the will of her subjects to the day. An entire cult has formed with the sole purpose of returning her to her former glory. I should also point out that Zeke essentially committed suicide.

Like, yeah, maybe the injuries were a bit too extreme for an old shifter to be able to regenerate from, but even if that’s the case there would have been the telltale signs of an attempt to do so, like Pieck in Liberio. There wasn’t even that. He was so tired of the fight – so done with Levi torturing him – that he was willing to abandon his years-long plan entirely and sacrifice his powers to the shadows of death. He chose to die; the Founder chose differently.

The rainstorm clearing to make way for the sun. The beautification of Zeke Jaeger. The visage of his tall, strong frame standing firm as his hated rival lays broken and mutilated at his feet. It’s all very hard to miss. Who knows where his head is at following this? I do, however, finally know why I get so many Spidey Sense tingles whenever Zeke opens his mouth.

  The name is Immanuel Kant: German scholar and one of the godfathers of modern philosophy. I first learned of Kant and his teachings as a teenager on my high school debate team as I prepared my cases for the Lincoln-Douglas competition. It was my first tournament and I placed second out of dozens of students. After I was done for the day, a girl came up to me and gave me congratulations for understanding Kant. I thanked her, but the truth was that I didn’t fully grasp Kantian philosophy until I got home that night and studied a bit more. Kantian ethics can be hard to grasp because they are often in conflict with each other. (Gee, that sounds familiar.)

Kant’s ethics are deontological in principal. This is a fancy way of saying that the main concern is the Deed That Must Be Done. It is a separation of morals from emotion. Kant rejected the Utilitarians of the day and their schools of thought regarding the inherent “goodness” of an action. Specifically, he had a big problem with Determinism, saying that things like free will were inherently unknowable; also, basing the morality of a decision around perceived outcomes was impossible, because consequences existed outside of physical existence and therefore could not be quantified. Kant set out to quantify the question of moral relativism with his most famous work: The Categorical Imperative.

This is a terribly complex system that has been repurposed and reinterpreted countless times over the past two centuries so I’ll spare you any ballywho. Basically, CI is the inverse of Consequentialism where everything but the consequences matter. Saving a person from drowning isn’t inherently a good action unless there is a logical reason for doing so. This is admittedly a very simplified summation, but even the expanded version leads to some dissonance of reason.

If we look at the Abstract of Categorical Imperative, it tells us: “Do not impose on others what you do not wish for yourself.” This line is very similar to the Golden Rule, which Kant famously opposed. The American scholar Peter Corning pointed this out, saying, “Kant’s objection is especially suspect because the Categorical Imperative sounds a lot like a paraphrase…of the same fundamental idea. Calling it a universal law does not materially improve on the basic concept.” To borrow an idea myself, it’s like playing the Super Mario theme in a minor key. It’ll sound more dour than usual, but it’s still the Mario theme. Joking aside, what’s important here is that the whole point of CI is to quantify the question of morality and it appears to do that in part by using the qualitative philosophy of the Golden Rule.

Another big beef came from Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard. He felt that Kantian autonomy was insufficient in holding people to the standards of CI’s universal truths. In his words: “Kant was of the opinion that man is his own law – that is, he binds himself under the law which he himself gives himself. Actually, in a profounder sense, this is how lawlessness or experimentation are established.” In other words, if the only thing that matters is reasoning, you can justify almost anything to serve your immediate reasoning.

EXAMPLE

Here is where the dubious nature of the Categorical Imperative fully rears its head, as it displays BOTH the morality and immorality of Zeke’s plan.

On one hand, this plan is fucking awful. There are numerous and many arguments to be made against it; working solely in the context of Kantianism, it is irrational to presume that sterilizing the Eldian people will lead to a more peaceful world. It relies on a ludicrous number of assumptions – the least of which isn’t that Marley will one day stop being a total bell end. Besides that shit, it violates the nature of Kantian philosophy by attempting to foresee the outcome of the situation.

The other hand? It actually makes sense. CI says that only reason matters. It’s ethics through the lens of rational thought. No matter your thoughts about the Great Titan War, how it started and ended, whether or not the Eldians’ preceding subjugation was just or not, it’s a fact that the Titans have caused a great deal of suffering for many people. Only one race of people can transform into these beasts, so the idea of stripping their ability to reproduce isn’t a great leap to make. It is rational specifically in the context of this universe.

(Apologies for any details missed. I haven’t read any Kant in several years and this is a very condensed version of a concept I would encourage you to look into further. Thinking about this all now, the fact that I ever made it to out-rounds while arguing any of this is frankly absurd.)

It makes sense then, finally, why Yelena is so devoted to Zeke’s plan. Titans destroyed her home and slaughtered her people. The rational course of action is to remove this weapon from the hands of those (Marley) that would abuse them. And if those same perpetrators get screwed over during the course of this plan then…[Shrug Emoji]. She claims what she wants is justice. What she really wants, of course, is revenge. Just like her sensei, Jaeger-san, who wants revenge still. Which Jaeger, you ask? The answer is yes.

Situations have been reversed. The volunteers (and Onyankopon) are seated at the head of the table while the officers of the Garrison and Military Police that held them captive are under their thumb. Color-coded armbands are divvied out to the Eldian forces, juuuuust in case you forgot which period of history we’re sending up here. Armbands are assigned based upon when a person surrendered to the Jaegerists. Those higher ups (and Falco) that partook of the wine get their own special armband, because Everything Is Awesome!!

Then there’s this fucking guy. Before I revisited the world of epistemology, I had a much less astute take prepared about character psychology and the concept of the “Double Turn.” I may still write that as a separate post; it won’t do any good here. Reiner didn’t appear, firstly (even though it appears that he and the Warrior Unit are on Paradis), and the visage of a disembodied child using Titan Magiks to bring Zeke back from the precipice of death brings up some very real questions about how real the Curse really is. We don’t know how Ymir Fritz died originally. Given the way mythology tends to work, I’d say patricide is highly plausible.

As usual, all we can do is speculate. One thing that doesn’t need speculation is Pieck. As usual, she’s right on time. As expected, she’s exactly right.

 Stray Thoughts

- As I noted last time, Levi was sent flying into the river. Evidently, he had enough strength to make it back to shore, just not much more than that. I suspect he’s alive for now but, goddamn did he get messed up. Levi underestimated Zeke’s suicidal tendencies, just as Zeke underestimated Levi’s tenacity. For two fellas that spent months in direct contact with each other, they have almost no clue.

- Not to stir the pot here but, here’s an in-story example of Kantian Ethics in case you’re still not quite sure. On the roof in Shiganshina – if Kant had been there (lol) – he would have disputed Levi giving the serum to Armin. Not for the reason you think. Categorical Imperative is all about reason. The reason Levi chose to save Armin is because he refused to rob his loved one of their humanity and instead chose to let him rest as opposed to reviving him for the sake of continuing a senseless, endless war. As Momtaku has said before: Levi chose Erwin over Armin. This was a choice made on emotional, borderline selfish, grounds and thereby irrational, which in Kant’s eyes makes it immoral. Just a little extra nugget for you. Discuss, friends!

[studentsofshield]

5 Characters That Deserve a Spotlight in DC Rebirth

By Vincent Faust

(This was originally published on April 19, 2017)

The DC Universe: Rebirth one-shot came out in May 2016. Next month will make a full year of this fantastic era of DC comics.

Amazingly, not a single title has been canceled yet. All 32 books have been running fairly smoothly. Only three of those (Justice League of America, Super Sons and Batwoman) have been introduced since the initial planned waves, though one of which was teased from the start.

Compare that to Marvel’s recent strategy and results…

Not to diminish the magic that DC’s editorial staff and creators have been cooking, but comic fans love the speculation game. So, what character deserves to get a shot at an ongoing title in the Rebirth line? On top of that, can we match a fitting creative team to some of these hopes?

Let’s get a few things out of the way. We know something New Gods related is coming from Tom King soon. (Update - we know it is Mister Miracle and it looks awesome)

King has become the surprise wunderkind of the superhero comics world in the past year or two. He started off as the lesser known co-writer on Grayson. Then absolutely blew people away with his writing on the Kyle Rayner-starring Omega Men. Whose rabid fans saved from cancellation through yelling at Dan DiDio on Twitter. A quick skip over to Marvel and King wrote a dense Vision book celebrated by critics and fans alike. To complete his “King in Black” meta trilogy, the Vertigo Iraq war mystery Sheriff of Babylon comes in. So of course the man gets to write the flagship Batman book.

He’s been teasing what is clearly New Gods for the past few weeks.

Though this project will likely turn out to be the 12 issue miniseries with Mitch Gerads that the two have promised.

We also know at some point down the line that the Justice Society and Legion of Super-Heroes will show up in some way. Johnny Thunder made a brief appearance in the Rebirth one-shot, with Wally West urging him to find the JSA. A girl was shown in police custody with a Legion ring. These franchises are sure to pop up as the underlying Rebirth narrative continues. Jay Garrick, the first Flash, has already been shown on covers to the Batman/Flash “The Button” crossover. Which starts this week, so we may see our friends sooner than expected. (Update - sorta)

With those out of the way, who should DC pass the baton to for the next wave of Rebirth books? I’ve picked the following five and want to hear what you want to see in the comments below.

Booster Gold

Michael Jon Carter is a man from the future. He traveled back in time with future technology in order to exploit his knowledge of history to become rich and famous. Booster is an arrogant, egotistical narcissist. Or, rather he was in 1986. Michael has gone through hell and back (probably literally) in the years since. This Dan Jurgens creation has developed deep relationships with fellow heroes, evolved his morality and seen his best friend die in the line of duty.

The 2007-2011 second series of Booster Gold is one of DC’s most underrated runs. I mean, if Geoff Johns chooses to reboot a character, you know they’re special. The emotional rollercoaster of Booster dealing with the grief over Ted Kord’s death at the hands of their former leader Max Lord was powerful character work.

I’ve thought of two ways for DC to execute the return of Michael Carter.

He could get his own ongoing series. His creator and signature storyteller, Dan Jurgens, is back at DC continuing to do supreme work 30 years into his career. Hand the writing reins on a Booster Gold series to Jurgens himself. He is currently penning two titles, Action Comics and Batman Beyond. Superman is his other signature character and he’s doing well in forwarding that franchise through its evolution across Lois and Clark and Multiplicity. On the other hand, Beyond is not doing so hot. Its most recent issue settled in the bottom third of Rebirth sales. With Terry McGinnis’ adventures taking place in the future, its connections to the rest of the Rebirth line are tenuous. If Beyond got canceled, this would free up Jurgens to return to his favorite hero. There was a mysterious tweet from Jurgens in February possibly alluding to some work on the character. Wear your pajamas inside out for me.

The other route to take for Booster is to reunite the classic Blue and Gold. His friendship with Ted Kord Blue Beetle is among the greatest in the medium. Their playful antics and heartfelt moments were the emotional core of the Justice League franchise for the entire International era of the 1980s and early 90s. As mentioned, Ted’s death in the lead up to Infinite Crisis was a tragedy felt by all fans and especially Booster.

Many of those classic stories were written by the all-star duo of Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis. Are they writing a book right now? Why yes, they are. And that would be Blue Beetle. Whereas Batman Beyond’s sales are iffy, Blue Beetle has been the lowest selling Rebirth title from its launch to today. Reuniting the Blue and Gold to mentor Jaime Reyes just might be the special sauce needed to reinvigorate this book.

Shazam

Yes, I know the character is Captain Marvel. Phew, what kind of heathen do you think I am?

Allegedly Warner Bros. wants to make a Shazam movie. And a Black Adam movie. The comics sector at DC really ought to start promoting this beloved character. Billy Batson will always be a bit of a mess. DC didn’t originally create the franchise, rather acquired it. Though that hasn’t stopped DC from publishing Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman and the Atom, which were originally published by All-American Publications before the 1944 merger. The Marvel Family has legal mumbo jumbo though, which disallows DC from titling books after the actual starring character. Oh well, make it happen.

The Marvel Family had their most recent reboot back in 2012 near the start of the New 52. Geoff Johns and Gary Frank did a Shazam backup in the pages of Justice League. Personally, I am not a fan of their take. Billy Batson is portrayed as a mean spirited kid and the costume design is horrendous.

DC need look only one place to assemble their perfect book. The ever-underrated Jeff Parker and Evan “Doc” Shaner worked together on two tie-in issues for the 2015 event Convergence. This tragically brief book showcased everything fans of the World’s Mightiest Mortal have been wanting for years. The art beautifully captures the old school optimism and fun so linked to the character.

Both Parker and Shaner have shown a deep respect and love for the characters in interviews. Shaner particularly references artistic influences from CC Beck to Don Newton.

Question

Here’s an underrated character. The Question has always been a unique hero allowing for gritty crime drama and exploration of political themes. The character was famously created by the enigmatic Steve Ditko at Charlton Comics. Ditko used him as a cipher to project his objevtivist views through, before creating his own independent Mr. A.

Over the years, the mask has been reinvented. Denny O’Neil and Denys Cowan crafted an influential late-1980s run. That book ran alongside spiritual companions (and sometimes crossover accomplices) like Mike Grell’s Green Arrow, Grant Morrison’s Animal Man and John Ostrander’s Suicide Squad. Rick Veitch had a short take in 2005 that reinterpreted Question as being a shaman-like figure using hallucinogens to “communicate” with cities.

The original Question Vic Sage died of lung cancer in the weekly 52 series while training his successor in GCPD officer Renee Montoya. Though we’re in the post-Flashpoint, post-Rebirth era. Anything can happen.

My pitch – The Question starring Vic Sage. Written by Gail Simone. Co-starring the Huntress aka Helena Bertinelli.

The two crimefighters were depicted as romantic partners in the second season Justice League Unlimited episode “Double Date.” That was written by the very same Gail Simone. The relationship was hinted at in the 2000 comic Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood. Simone clearly has an affinity for this pairing and is the undisputed signature writer for Helena thanks to her years on Birds of Prey.

Adam Strange

Marc Andreyko has quietly been tracking the adventures of Adam Strange for a while. Through the Rann-Thanagar War spiritual sequel Death of Hawkman and a surprise continuation in the Adam Strange/Future Quest crossover special.

Why not give this character a dedicated spotlight. Without an attention grabbing creative team, perhaps DC isn’t confident in a solo book. Maybe this is the perfect opportunity to bring back the backup feature. DC had some success with co-features in the pre-New 52 era with characters like Jimmy Olsen, Captain Atom, the Metal Men, the Atom, Ravager and Manhunter.

Going back decades, DC’s legacy is built on anthology titles. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and so many others debuted in multiple feature titles like Action Comics, Detective Comics and Sensation Comics. For most of the Silver and Bronze Age, these books continued to contain several stories. These were a perfect opportunity for more obscure characters to continue having their tales told.

Adam Strange himself first appeared in the anthology Showcase. DC can use this history and tie it into the overall tone of Rebirth in their marketing.

Slot an 8 page Andreyko and Aaron Lopresti Strange feature behind Justice League of America, one of the Green Lantern books or the struggling Cyborg.

Swamp Thing

Last but not least is one of my favorite characters. Swamp Thing has been polarized by one character and career defining run. Alan Moore truly created a masterpiece, leading to the entire wave of Vertigo and the infusion of those themes and tones to the genre and medium at large.

However, Swampy has been great before and after that fateful era. It is clear that DC fans and Rebirth creators love this mysterious avatar. Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason recently used him in their first Superman annual. Tom King teased and teased, finally revealing that Batman #23 will be titled “The Brave and the Mold.”

Swamp Thing survived almost all the way through the New 52 in his own title. Initially thanks to a praised (and beautiful) streak by horror master Scott Snyder. Who was writing Batman alongside it (aye, King, there’s a legacy to fill). Charles Soule then arguably surpassed his predecessor by taking the book to new heights. Swampy’s second series lasted an incredible 171 issues from 1982 to 1996 and “his” New 52 series went 40 issues. Plenty of support for another kick at it.

And there’s my list of the characters I most want to see featured next in DC’s Rebirth initiative. Let me know what you’re most excited for.