#he ends up also owning supermans soul and has an existential crisis over it

[theelkmaiden]

So I've been thinking.

If Captain Marvel is the Champion of Magic, does that mean he has to play by the rules of all magic? Demon, fea, pixie etc.? Because if you owe something to one of those, things tend to go wrong. Fae can take your children, pixies can make your life hell, demons can literally take your souls.

So what if Billy Batson, being the sweet boy he is, keeps doing people favours? Now, he'd never take a child or cause someone chaos, as that means actually interfering, but souls? That boy could definitely be having people sign their souls away to him and he has no idea.

The first time he did someone a favour after the wizard granted him his powers, Billy was overtaken by a surge of tingles that tasted vaguely of rotten eggs. The feeling only lasted a second, but he couldn't stop thinking about it for the rest of the day. All he did was help Old Linda from the block over carry a bag of food to her place of residence. That was it. But after the tingling, Billy felt like he was connected to her in some way, on a deep and intimate level that didn't make sense.

And then it kept happening.

Helping to paint his neighbours room. Helping a girls cat from a tree. Letting a lost child sleep in his abandoned apartment overnight.

And later, bringing Batman a coffee after a long mission. Teaching Green Arrow the basics of pickpocketing. Spotting Flash on his running form.

Anytime someone said "can I ask you a (quick) favour" the tingling and eggs would come and Captain Marvel had no idea what it was or why it happened.

That is.

Until Old Linda died.

It had been a long patrol for Captain Marvel. There was a crime wave almost every year around July, like clockwork. Mainly teenagers getting in with gangs and trying to prive their worth now that school was out (or, at least, that was Cap's theory).

He was just touching down near his building to transform when he felt an entirely unique sensation. The tingling he was so familiar with came crashing over him in a wave so intense the demigod found himself wobbling where he stood, garnering a few concerned stares by citizens. The part of him that had been connected to Linda had snapped into place and, without even having to doue check, Billy knew for a fact that Old Linda was dead.

He also knew where to find her.

Drawing on his magic, Captain Marvel opened a portal to a corner of the Rock of Eternity ans stepped through.

There, on the otherside, stood the kind old woman who would often give him food if she had any left over.

"Excuse me, sir?" She asked, looking rather fearful, "would you mind telling me where I am?"

With eyes already misting, Marvel closed the portal and stepped towards her with his arms out in a calming manner.

"Linda. I'm so sorry. You're in the Rock of Eternity. You shouldn't be here but I think it's my fault you are," he was swallowed thickly, putting every ounce of self control he had to the test to bit show how distraught he was with this development.

Clearly seeing his distress, Linda calmed and gripped the Captains arm in a consoling manner. "I'm sure it's quiet alright, dear. Why don't you tell me what happened and then you can return me home. And then you can explain to me all about this place, hmm?"

Her small smile fell when the captain did not immediately react to her request.

"Miss Linda," Billy tried, not feeling very much like a superhero at that moment I time, "I'm so so sorry! I shouldn't have helped you with the food. But I just wanted to do something good. And now you're stuck here forever and I don't know how to free you and there's so many people that are going to come here and I didn't mean to!"

The hulking form of Captain Marvel was now a kneeling, sobbing mess as the twelve year old realised what he had done. The feeling of rightness that sang in his magic at Linda standing within the Rock of Eternity. The pull of what he now knew to be souls pulling him in different directions. The fact that he had only been trying to help.

"Now dear," Linda kneeled next to him, patting his shoulder in confused concern, "I assure you I have no idea what you're going on about. I've seen you flying overhead and fighting monsters, but we've never met officially past today. But if I'm stuck here forever, then at least I'll have company. Now, come, dry your eyes and get up. You need to explain to me what's going on." The mum of four in her seemed to have taken over as she dragged the massive man up to his feet and the stood on her toes to wipe his cheeks with the sleeve of her cardigan.

Taking a deep breath, Captain Marvel nodded. "Miss Linda. You are dead. I'm sorry. I accidently own your soul and I don't know how to release you to go somewhere better. And you're only the first person that's going to arrive here. This is completely new for me and I'm not sure what to do. This place is my home so you are welcome to explore and make yourself comfortable. But it's not much."

The silence that followed was deafening as Linda contemplated her situation. It stretched on until a look of resolve made its way onto the old souls face.

"Okay."

"Okay? Is that it?"

"Well you are obviously very distressed so it was definitely an accident. But I am not staying somewhere that looks so dull for the rest of Eternity. You and I are going to be doing some redecorating. How big is this place?"

"Infinite."

"Then this shan't be an issue. We can build a lovely garden where we can all stay until you get this figured out. Besides, it'll give me something to do."

So, he did. Captain Marvel (who Linda learned to be Billy Batson) got to work and transformed a large section of the Cave into a garden, with strict directions from Linda.

Over time, more people joined and Linda took it upon herself to greet the newcomers and explain what had gone on. Many people were unhappy, but soon settled into their afterlife and making friends.

After awhile, Billy took Linda aside and granted her a Boon. One of her choosing. She chose "to be the peacekeeper of this little afterlife. I want to help comfort those here who miss their old lives. I try, I do, but a little magical help wouldn't go amiss." And so she became the Peacekeeper.

In the outside realm, when Captain Marvel explained to Batman, Green Arrow, and The Flash that he accidently owned their souls, well, let's just say that shitshow lasted a while.

[natsubeatsrock]

10 Things I Enjoyed in 2020 that Aren’t Fairy Tail

Well... it’s almost over? With all the crazy stuff that’s happened this year, it’s hard to remember that there were some good things to come from this year. So instead of 7, here’s 10 things I enjoyed throughout this year.

#10. Sonic the Hedgehog

Not unlike many people, this would be the last film that came out this year I would see in theaters before everything shut down earlier this year. While I have gone out to watch movies throughout this year since, this happens to be the only movie I’ve been looking forward to that came out this year. Since the release of Detective Pikachu last year, the fraught history of video game movies has started to look a lot better. For all intents and purposes, I think this film is better than that one, and I’m a much bigger fan of Pokemon than Sonic. If certain spoilers are a sign of anything, a future sequel will be interesting to see and greatly anticipated.

#9. Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia

One of the blessings-in-disguise of being locked down with extra money is the ability to get and enjoy things you haven’t gotten the opportunity to before. In my case, I was able to play through some of the Pokemon games I’ve been waiting to play through. My favorite of the bunch has been the second installment of the Pokemon Ranger series. The Ranger games have been greatly underrated and overlooked by fans. I was reintroduced to the original last Christmas and believe it to be a solid game, but this easily blows it out of the water. While this year also marked the sad end of the 3DS cycle, I’m glad that this game came my way.

#8. 42

With the unfortunate passing of its lead actor, Chadwick Boseman, and the racial tensions which came to a head after the death of George Floyd, it makes sense theaters would reopen with this movie. Jackie Robinson’s story is one that’s interested me as the talks of integration and racism have gone on this year. He became the first African American MLB player because of both his talent on the field and his character off it. He wasn’t just skilled in stealing bases. He didn’t allow the anger he rightly felt towards racism control him.

#7. Bakuman

The famed writer and artist duo behind Death Note teamed up to deliver another smash hit manga for Weekly Shonen Jump. This time, about... a writer and artist duo who team up to make a name for themselves by delivering a smash hit manga to Weekly Shonen Jump. As I read Bakuman, I was struck with the genius of its construction. It’s one thing to read the information about Shueisha and WSJ this series shares in a book. It’s another for that information to be shared within the confines that the series itself describes. Special shout-outs go to Ayakashi Triangle and Phantom Seer which started in WSJ this year.

#6. Power Girl: Power Trip

Oh? Were you perhaps expecting to see some other female character owned by Detective Comics Comics who graced the silver screen take this spot? Well, maybe next year, depending on how things go. I love my comic book heroes with healthy doses of snark and existential crisis. While I might have gone in expecting the former, I wasn’t expecting the latter as much. If you know about Power Girl, you may know about her famous “boob window“, which is in lieu of a real symbol. It turns out that she was originally thought to be Superman’s cousin, but has recently been proven to be otherwise. I’m not so against DC that I’m unwilling to admit when they make books that I like.

#5. Carole and Tuesday

Carole and Tuesday holds a special spot as becoming the latest 10/10 anime I’ve seen. This is easily one of the most diverse anime that I’ve ever seen. It’s not just a matter of showing people of different walks of life, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. It’s also showing artists different music styles from folk to jazz to rap to electronic to new age to operatic rap. And none of it feels forced or unnatural, though some of it might come off as offensive. If you’re on as big a planet as Mars, you’ll expect to see all kinds of people and hear all kinds of music as long as you’re willing to listen. Shinichiro Wantanabe is one of anime’s best directors and this might be his best work yet.

#4. Lupin III: The First

If you told me a few years ago that one of the best anime movies would be a fully CGI film, I would have looked at you like you were insane. Nevertheless, this movie exists. I was skeptical about the idea of a fully CGI movie for a character like this. But when I saw a clip from the movie, I could tell they knew what they were doing. This movie is by no means anywhere as good looking as Spiderverse, but it looks amazing in its own right. Content wise, this serves as a great heist film for anyone regardless of proximity to the series. Arsene Lupin III makes  It makes a fine introduction to the world of one of anime’s most longstanding series, and a good launching point for his earlier antics. Props to Weathering to You for keeping this slot warm. (Ironic considering things...)

#3. John Byrne’s run on Sensational She-Hulk

So I wasn’t going to say this talking about Power Trip, but I need to say this here. American comics are at a weird spot. In attempts to reach a wider audience, they’re not doing a great job of keeping the fans they have. Or make actually new ones. The current run of Savage She-Hulk has been no exception to this. Though it wasn’t always like this and John Byrne’s runs on Sensational She-Hulk is proof positive. Byrne took Jennifer Walters with more fun than I’ve seen any author write any comic book with. This especially shows in one of the more notable abilities of She-Hulk, breaking the fourth wall. I was very worried when I heard Marvel Studios was going to do a series with Shulkie. But with this as inspiration, maybe there’s hope for this project after all. (Please be good!)

#2. Burn the Witch

Tite Kubo is back, baby! This spot doesn’t go to any of the sets of chapters to be published in Shonen Jump. Rather, his collaboration with Studio Colorido is my choice for anime of the year. Burn the Witch tells the story of a different Soul Society than Bleach fans may be familiar with. It’s almost cheating to compare this mid-length film to the other shows to come out this year, even if it was broken up into three episodes for streaming sites. However, film or otherwise, no other anime grabbed my attention as much as this did. This also marks the best anime from WSJ I’ve seen this year. Surely I’m not forgetting anything big to come out recently in saying this, especially from this year with everything that got delayed. Honorable mentions go to TONIKAWA: Under the Moon, Bofuri, BNA, Keep Your Hands off Eizouken!, and Misfit of Demon King Academy for nearly taking my spot.

#1. Skullgirls

This year has been a tough year for a lot of people, companies, and fandoms. Though, I’d be hard pressed to think of a fandom that has had a worse year than this indie fighter. One of its founders was revealed to be terrible, one of its parent companies went under, and a prime opportunity for the spotlight in EVO Online being cancelled, it wouldn’t be a mistake to say things aren’t going well. Thankfully, the fans and dev team have done everything they can to keep this game alive before and that didn’t stop this year. It feels somewhat on-brand for this series to have survived the kinds of situations that would normally kill a game off. This game would have made the top spot by virtue of being the most fun game I played this year. I’m proud to put it at this spot knowing everything that’s surrounded it this year.

For extra honorable mentions, Pokemon’s seventh generation of games, especially the Ultra versions, were fun to finally experience and they have the best stories of the 3DS era of Pokemon. Cobra Kai was a fun series and almost definitely would be here if I were more emotionally attached to the Karate Kid series. I rewatched Neon Genesis Evangelion and it’s better than I remembered originally. Finally, I’d move heaven and earth to add Oregairu or Hilda on this list, considering new seasons came out this year, but I know better.

As usual, check my list for EZ, which also has 10 things, and be glad we’re almost done with this year. See you!

[totesmccoats]

Batman: White Knight #1

We open on a familiar scene. The Batmobile races towards Arkham Asylum, the driver hops out and goes inside to meet an inmate. Only the inmate is Batman, and the person in the Batmobile is Jack Napier, the Joker.

Flashback to Batman chasing Joker though Gotham in the Batmobile, careening over rooftops and through active construction sites until he corners Joker at an FDA facility. And, as Nightwing, Batgirl, Gordon, and the GCPD watch in protest, Batman – seemingly snapped – forces unknown pills down Joker’s throat until he stops breathing.

Batman’s gone too far; and Joker, having survived and now seemingly sane, plans to sue Gotham for letting the Batman continue to operate despite the damage he causes.

It’s a familiar meta-textual idea, “what if Batman is truly to blame for the chaos in Gotham?” done with impeccable execution by Murphy and Hollingsworth.

Murphy introduces his conceit very carefully, showing us a more Miller inspired rendering of Batman in the cold open that will remind those familiar of the decidedly more fascist Batman of The Dark Knight Returns, and impress a brutishness even on fresh readers. And during the chase, Murphy pointedly shows how much more dangerous the Batmobile rocketing through Gotham is compared to Joker on a hoverboard, and even has Batgirl and Nightwing comment on how Batman is being more reckless than usual. As we later discover, there’s a reason he’s on edge.

And when he’s finally caught Joker gives an actually convincing monologue regarding his relationship to Batman; that he allows Batman to exist by continually providing Gotham with a bigger threat than Batman himself. That, if it weren’t for Joker, Gotham wouldn’t tolerate Batman’s reckless vigilantism. And in universe, even Batman supporters don’t have many better arguments for his continued acceptance other than Joker being worse.

Its an interesting experiment for Murphy to finally put to paper, to say the least. Can Batman exist without his villains?

  All-Star Batman #14

Briar and the Black Knight have defeated Batman, and it’s up to Alfred to rescue his son.

This is the comic that Alfred has deserved for the longest time. A comic that shows us what the man who raised the Batman is truly capable of, and oh my goodness does he shine! It’s an issue where Alfred gets to scare Batman for once, shooting down planes and dueling a better-equipped man who managed to outfight Batman. Any time anyone tries to convince you that Alfred isn’t the MVP of the Bat-family, just show them this issue.

The backup pulls its weight too, delivering striking visuals of Batman running through explosions, his silhouette cast against red and yellow flames – again, recalling Mazzucchelli and Lewis’ art in Year One. And the story wraps up with a final twist of the knife and a neat tie into the main arc. This is the final issue of All-Star, and it ends with a bang.

  Batman #32

The War of Jokes and Riddles ends with Batman, Joker, and Riddler in a room together, and Batman making a decision that could cost him his soul. And Selina finally answers Bruce’s proposal.

This is a two beat issue, and to discuss either one of them in more detail than I already have would be spoilers. But, as promised, a still young-ish Batman is pushed to a breaking point; and the War does end with him having gazed into that abyss. There is also, maybe surprisingly, a clear winner – ideologically if not materially, one of the villains gets a win over Batman than he can never reverse, one that haunts Bruce to the present day.

If anything, King has proven that he’s great at dismantling his characters. If Snyder gave Batman depression and made him face existential crisis after existential crisis; then King gives him a massive case of PTSD and makes him face all he’s done, or almost done, in the name of his war on criminals. Thankfully though, he’s not cruel or torturous about it.

And Janin illustrates this perfectly, with Bruce Wayne, a huge man made of rippling muscles, who is nonetheless vulnerable, sitting in his underwear, clearly broken, and hoping that the love of someone he loves can somehow redeem him.

  Superman #32

This issue has an actual “faster than a speeding bullet” moment in the first two pages, and it almost immediately won me over. I love anything that reminds me of what makes Superman such an important figure – he can do the impossible, and he can save everyone. I’m a sucker for it.

And the rest of the fight between Superman and Deathstroke is great, too, which each testing the other’s limits; Deathstroke testing how far he can bend Superman’s moral code, while Superman is careful not to break the limits of Deathstroke’s tech and accidentally kill him. And that tension, the pushing of Superman’s limits, becomes the main focus of the story as Deathstroke continues to put Lois in danger and offers Superman the choice to end his life to save hers and thousands of others.

Unfortunately, the issue weakens Lois in order to tell that story. She’s still nominally strong, choosing again to run towards danger rather than away from it, but it still results in her needing to be saved by Superman. And I get that that’s how Superman has worked for the past eighty years give-or-take, but the last issue was so good at having Lois be the agent of her own story, and I just wish this issue followed through on that instead of damseling her.

  Black Bolt #6

Black Bolt leads his new friends to the heart of the living prison they’ve been trapped in, but will even the full strength of his voice be able to defeat such a powerful foe?

Leave it to Ahmed to find a way to add a wrinkle to the trite “the ghosts of your loved ones are just illusions” trope by having the characters own guilt be what the villain is after rather than to trick them. Because all you need a reminder that you did something wrong to feel guilty about it, it doesn’t have to be a believable recreation of events. And after the heartwarming reunion between BB and Lockjaw last issue, this one finds one last heart-wrenching sacrifice before letting our heroes loose. Don’t worry, the dog lives.

Ward goes all out with the colors in this issue, delivering an explosion of cosmic psychedelic energy on every page, as though Black Bolt’s voice were tearing reality itself asunder. He really was an inspired choice of artist for this series, allowing a character who cannot speak in words to speak in shape and color instead.

  Hawkeye #11

Kate confirms some bad news before the breaks out of Madame Masque’s prison, that her father is to blame for her mother’s death. However, that gives her enough rage to knock all of Masque’s guards unconscious and make a beeline for Masque herself, still in a clone-Kate body.

I think that “cathartic” is the best way to describe this issue, if bitterly so. Kate finally gets closure from her father, and gives Masque the beating she’s been asking for since 2012. And when Masque tries the “we’re alike, you and I” shtick, Kate has none of it. Kate puts another solid win in her book, defeating Masque, proving she’s not destined to become a villain like her father, and even getting a really good mini-donut joke in for good measure.

But as one chapter ends, another begins, and Hawkeye is starting this one with a new ripple in her friend group, and a promise to find her mother – if she’s still alive to be found.

  Paper Girls #16

ALERT! ALERT! PAPER GIRLS HAS GONE FULL EVA! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! THAT WOULD BE GURREN LAGANN!

Tiffany is separated from the group as the girls all warp from the stone-age to the distant future, the year 2000. Tiff immediately gets picked up by a cop, who gives her a ride back home; and the other girls follow the only lead they have to someone who may be able to help them – the funnies. Oh, also, the future people (who may be from the past) resort to the nuclear option to take the girls out, resulting in the town is being attacked by giant robots – hence the EVA warning.

The series is as much as a nostalgia trip as it’s ever been, with this issue crammed full of references to Y2K and 5-inch deep flat-screen TVs, and balances it with the novelties of a giant robot fight looming over small-town Ohio; but doesn’t naturally find a place for it’s emotional hook, wedging it in as a flashback. But, as incongruous as it is with the rest of the plot, it is effective, showing us a young Tiffany on Christmas receiving a gift from her adoptive parents on her first night with them. And as they tell her that she’ll likely never hear from her bio-parents again, she sinks into her new game of Asteroids on the Atari 2600.

Lastly, the girls seemingly begin this arc with the best idea of the plot they’ve got themselves wrapped up into yet, actively taking steps to find their way back to normalcy by working on the information they’ve already gathered. They’re growing from delivery girls to reporters, yet – and it’s also goes some way to showing us how Erin becomes who we see her as in 2016.

Comic Reviews for 10/4/17 Batman: White Knight #1 We open on a familiar scene. The Batmobile races towards Arkham Asylum, the driver hops out and goes inside to meet an inmate.