#it's also the reconciliation of comic book logic and real world logic

[vermillioncrown]

if you don't mind me asking, and if i just missed something again somewhere thatd answer my question, i am so sorry. but. it seems like even tho with the assumption that korvin is basically from our world, he doesnt know all that much about general comic book lore. so like. how aware is korvin that he was isekai'ed into the comic book world?

don't mind, will clarify.

let's think of it like this. at what point does it matter how much you know about the world you've isekai'd in? especially for a comic book world, in which canon and continuity are already loosely defined? what about it being so close to the real world for most of the time, and then jarringly different during the highest stakes?

are you willing to bet your life on assumptions?

korvin's not.

he knows of batman from the cultural zeitgeist but has my general...uh, disinterest and skepticism in the messiness and narratives of comics and superheroes stories.

and on his general mindset (my mindset): it's folly to walk into something assuming you have the ground truth. a lot of the work i do day-to-day is interdisciplinary aka working between specialties to connect them into a larger analysis. and by god i work with some of the most brilliant people... in their field that can't for the life of them understand and articulate their working assumptions that only WORK FOR THEM. knowledge bias is real and it's a barrier for this type of collaboration. so, i'm extra-wary about going into things treating it like it has to be some way. i rather rely on a more abstracted and fundamental set of first principles and adapt as necessary.

and so you get korvin.

[comicbookuniversity]

Avengers: Age of Aaron

So I’ve recently caught up with the new volume of Avengers by Jason Aaron and company- Ed McGuiness, David Marquez, and Sara Pichelli with Justin Ponsor. With such a stellar art team, does Jason Aaron, who has become one of Marvel’s biggest writers, live up to the promise of making what is probably the most well-known superhero team on the planet right now the most spectacular book out there? The answer is- mostly. Ten issues into this run, the book is really starting to find it’s stride after a bumpy start, and if this trend continues, Aaron may be entering the company of Buisek and Hickman as one of the best Avengers writers, which shouldn’t be surprising to anyone who has followed him from other books.

This new Avengers title started with there being no existing Avengers team, no SHIELD, and a big threat in the form of a new group of Celestials tied to a mystery that spans back to before the dawn of modern man. This central mystery is only gets a few answers in this first arc, but it’s tantalizing enough to keep things exciting. The team coming together starting in small groups and alone as solo heroes all responding to the same threat is a little rough, but this is reflective of how the characters themselves feel about this reformation of the team. This is either a cool writing trick or simply not good writing, and this answer will depend your enjoyment; but for me, I simply didn’t find the pacing to be as enjoyable as it could have been, despite recognizing the structural reasoning. The characterizations are all spot-on and the relationships dynamic, but the conversation in the first issue between the Avengers trinity is a standout moment. The moment standouts, because of the characters are voicing concerns of fans and commentators about the gains of diversity and how maybe it is time for the old guard to stand down for a new generation, but here as he has in previous titles, Aaron shows that no matter how much the world has changed that these characters’ cores are what make them continuously dynamic and exciting.

While the protagonists prove themselves to be continually exciting, the threat they face that unites them proves less so and this isn’t that surprising- to me at least. Being more familiar with Aaron from his Thor and Doctor Strange runs, rather than his X-Men work or even his Ghost Rider and Punisher work, I found the lack of awesome surrounding both the Final Host and The Horde to be normal for Aaron. I’m not sure what happens in the production of his titles, but his original villains like Gorr the God Butcher from Thor and Emprikul from Doctor Strange are both one step shy of being as great as they could be and the same proves to be true of the Final Host and the Horde.

For this newest creation, there is still time for Aaron to come back and further develop them considering they are related to a tale with the Avengers of One Million BCE that seems purposefully incomplete currently. But my fear is that their spotlight moment in the tale is over, and that both will remain underdeveloped. For all three original villains, the issues of the execution of their motivations come tantalizingly close to fully cooked, particularly with Gorr and Empirkul compared to the Celestials considering their long history of having no clear motivations. It could be my expectations compared to other areas of the story where I think Aaron does better, but my experience is that Aaron’s villains are cool premises who are so thoroughly dedicated to their missions that they never reach a level of sympathy or develop a good antagonistic relationship with the hero that pushes them into being a real character or the major level villain that they clearly have the potential to be. The Final Host and Horde, like Gorr and Empirkul, serve more as props to force important introspection on the protagonist’s part, which is always ends up being good, but I wish these villains didn’t suffer in service of this other journey.

After defeating these new Celestials, who were aided by a mostly monologuing and underutilized Loki, and deciding to come together as team in a new base of operations, the book really starts to find it’s groove and each successive issue continues to build off the forward momentum that shows off one of Aaron’s greatest strengths as a writer- worldbuilding. What Aaron did in Thor with the Omnipotence City the cosmic citadel of the gods, Doctor Strange with the addition of Mahatma Doom- the lone surviving guilt-motivated monk of the temple where Doctor Doom learned magic, and from what I read of Wolverine and the X-Men, the new pre-teen board of the Hellfire Club are all great examples of Aaron’s ability to seamlessly add to a franchise in a logical, substantive, and cool way. An awesome new HQ in the form of a dead Celestial is a solid start, teasing that Robbie Reyes is a new and very powerful kind of Ghost Rider, and the political implications of Black Panther as chairman is perhaps the cherry on top. This might not be Millar’s Ultimates, with it’s skewered ‘realistic’ politics, but Aaron’s work over on Thor and now in Avengers prove that he blends just enough realism in the with the always ‘current’ Marvel universe to seem almost authentic in media and geopolitical response.

The build-up with Namor that results in the best issue so far in #10/700 brings out everyone’s A-game with great character work, fascinating set-up, and a titanic battle that is clearly just the first skirmish in a longer and exciting arc to come that will explore the Avengers place in the world that we haven’t seen since the film Captain America: Civil War, despite the differences in the universes. The emerging team romance should be fun with a blushing Thor seemingly in a new position of being on the other end of a crush; but on the other end of team dynamics, the relationship between Tony and Carol feels breezed over considering that they were on opposite sides of hero-on-hero battle in Civil War II. I don’t care for that story, because of its half-baked premise and how it goes out of its way to assassinate the good characters of both Danvers and Stark to fit them into an antagonistic relationship just so Marvel could have product synchronicity with the aforementioned film. I just feel like Aaron could have done more to make their reconciliation feel a little more earned.

I think that it’s also important to note that Aaron and company’s work with the Avengers is happening parallel to the other major and world-famous superteam also having a revival in the pages of the comics. Scott Snyder leads the charge over in a family of Justice League titles that is similarly aiming to restore a sense of grandeur with the well-known old guard of heroes that also started with a story about armored space giants threatening the Earth and beyond. I think it’s interesting that both of these revivals launched at the same time with very similar opening arcs. As Snyder pointed out in an interview, it’s a small community of creators, so it shouldn’t be that surprising that they talk with each other. Still, it’s fascinating that both companies managed to relaunch their biggest book with their some of their strongest creators to tell what are clearly long term (hopefully somewhat insular) stories, and that both titles are doing very well. It’s a good time to be a fan of both books right now.

With the teases of the back-up stories in #10/70, this volume of Avengers is shaping up to an exciting book. Here’s to hoping it can live up to last major Avengers run.

[kristallioness]

21 Questions about ATLA

I was tagged by @atypicalkataangist. Wow, thanks for including me in this quiz! I've seen others reblog a list of numbered questions similar to these, expecting to receive some asks that they could answer in return. But now I get to do them in one go.

1) Who's your favourite male character?

I'm unoriginal and gonna say it's Aang. Not only because of him being the main character, but also because he was the first boy in the show who I immediately started to like (Sokka was second, Zuko was third in the beginning since he was a villain and I grew to love him more and more along with his character development), the way he balances his carefree, childish personality with his more mature, responsible side, his back story and peaceful culture.. Most importantly, without him, there wouldn't be the second half of such a lovely couple like he and Katara are.

2) Who's your favourite female character?

Katara. She's not only my favourite female character, but favourite character of them all, right from the start and until the end. The moment I saw her I fell in love since she looked really pretty and she wore a braid, just like me. Seeing what a caring, motherly, fierce personality she had (like mine) only fuelled my love for her.

3) What's your favourite quote?

Since Katara's my favourite character, then my first choice would be: "I will never, ever turn my back on people who need me!" Because that's sort of who I am and what I'm like, too. It's almost like a motto that I live by without thinking about it twice. I'm self-sacrificing and try to help my friends whenever they need it and as much as I can. I just remembered another good one, a quote that affected me on a more personal level. I'm pretty sure that only 0.0000000001% of the fandom would choose this one: "I don't care what I look like. I'm not looking for anyone's approval. I know who I am." The best part is, this is something that Toph says to Katara after she's been made fun of for her appearance by a bunch of prissy Upper Ring Earth Kingdom girls. How did this affect me? I started crying when I first saw this scene. Why? Because this was something that I'd been struggling with for years. I'd been bullied for my appearance at school. It used to make me feel worthless, unlovable, alone, probably also the reason why I turned into such a quiet person who doesn't know how to be around real friends. Hearing a blind, tomboyish, badass earthbender say what I needed to hear all along made me understand that it's not true - my appearance does not define my worth or who I am inside.

4) What's your favourite fight?

I knew you answered Katara and Pakku's duel @atypicalkataangist (and that one came to my mind, too, since it is one of my favourites because of reasons), but since I recently rewatched "The Serpent's Pass", I'm gonna pick Aang and Katara beating up that huge serpent. That was some awesome bending teamwork there! I went through all of the episodes in my head, and I gotta say that I also really like the duel between Aang and Zuko in "Bato of the Water Tribe". And one of the first ones where Haru and his father Tyro, along with the rest of the earthbenders, fight their way to freedom in the prison. The ending of that episode always leaves me with such a powerful feeling.

5) What's your favourite episode?

The big finale, "Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang". I sobbed practically throughout the entire episode when I first saw it. The soundtrack playing in the end is so beautiful to listen to and it still brings tears to my eyes. This episode concludes everything the show set up in the most unexpected ways possible. I mean, did any of us foresee Zuko being crowned the new Fire Lord (after you watched the first episode)? Did our hearts break into a million pieces when Katara and Aang kissed and became a couple in the end? Enough said.

6) From which nation would you like to be?

I'm not sure whether this is cheating or not, but since the story of ATLA continues in the comics and during Korra's time, I'd really love to be from the United Republic of Nations. I just love how it's a nation of mixed cultures, I am in LOVE with Republic City (as well as its 1920's aesthetic) and the capital reminds me of my own (Tallinn is also near the sea, has a marvellous silhouette, 4 seasons). Or if not, then my choice would definitely be the Water Tribes. I've explained it pretty well under the description of this drawing of mine.

7) Which element would you like to be able to bend and why?

Easy, I'd pick water since my 2nd choice when applying for university 5 years ago was to become a doctor. I'd like to use my healing abilities to cure people and my graceful waterbending to battle bad guys like Katara!

8) Favourite animal in the Avatar Universe?

I'm probably unoriginal, but I'm torn between the sky bison or the dragons. Oh, and the ostrich horses!

9) Who would you like to be your teacher and why?

I'm thinking it could be either Katara, Aang or Zuko, in this exact order. Katara and Aang would both be really supportive and I consider Zuko to be really wise (remember what he said to Korra before departing? he learned so much throughout the years).

10) What was the saddest moment in the show?

I have an entire list of the scenes/moments that made me cry, let me check.. *reads* Which sad moment made me cry the most, I'mma pick that one.. Okay, I can't decide because there are a few, let me name them: * the ones that stand out the most are all 3 finales * when Katara thought that her mother was alive in the swamp * when Aang enters the Avatar State and wants to kill the sandbenders, but Katara doesn't run away and instead grabs his hand and pulls him back down into her embrace and they cry together * Iroh singing the lullaby to his deceased son on his birthday (my parents have always said that one of the worst things a parent can live through is the death of their own child, so when I saw this scene, I understood what they meant and started crying) * Jet's death * Aang unlocking his heart chakra * almost the entirety of "The Awakening" (because everything seemed so hopeless and going the wrong way, when Katara and Hakoda talked), seriously, this is the most depressing episode in my book and that's why I love it so much * Sokka talking to Toph about how he's forgotten what his mother looks like and Katara is the one who's taken her place * when the invasion fleet was defeated on the Day of Black Sun and Katara knelt down beside Aang to comfort him * Zuko and his uncle Iroh's reconciliation and his speech to Team Avatar before they departed

11) What was the most shocking moment in the show?

You answered the same way: Aang getting shot with lightning. It came out of nowhere. When I saw Katara's face full of hope I thought that now they were going to make it since Aang had the power to face the Dai Li as well as Zuko and Azula. In a split second, everything changed and took a turn for the worst.

12) What was the funniest moment in the show?

There are so many good jokes, how do you expect me to pick just one??? Okay, umm.. when Sokka tried to fight against the villagers who believed too much of Aunt Wu's fortunes with logic and rational thinking (I can relate to him, poor Sokka).. How Aang messed up and unintentionally made Katara upset by insulting her instead of giving her a compliment when they were lost in the caves. Or the time Sokka and Katara had to pose as Aang's parents to go to the principal's office after school.

13) What was the most unforgettable moment in the show?

Maybe the whole scene before Zuko's coronation starts, "Peace" playing in the background, we see friends and family reunited, happy, alive. We witness something few of us could've predicted: the last person we ever thought, who went through and learned so much, is crowned the new Fire Lord. It's such a victorious moment and never leaves me without emotion.

14) Which one is your favourite book?

I have a weird system concerning this. Book 1 was sort of like the start of their journey, the world was slowly being built and introduced to us. Book 2 became much more serious, the characters gained more depth and the stakes began to rise. When I thought it couldn't get any better, I was proven horribly wrong. Book 3 became far more emotional than I ever could've imagined. So it's like my love grew with each book, and I kind of love the last one the most for this reason.

15) Who had the greatest character development in the show?

Everybody developed so much, but I'd definitely say it was Zuko. At first, I didn't really care much about him. Just another villain trying to capture someone for his own personal gain, I figured. But that all changed when I saw his back story in "The Storm". I started to look at him from a completely different angle. I began to understand where he came from, why he was doing this. I saw how much he struggled, how many wrongs he committed. The climax was when he faced his own father and told him: "No! I've learned everything! And I've had to learn it on my own. Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history and somehow, the war was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was! The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation! They don't see our greatness, they hate us! And we deserve it." This is what he learned by spending time as a refugee in the Earth Kingdom, by witnessing firsthand what his nation, what this war was doing to others. And he was determined to set things right by joining Aang and his friends, teaching him firebending and stopping his own homeland from going down this path.

16) What do you love most about Avatar: The Last Airbender?

The story that Bryan and Michael came up with. I have NEVER cried so much, laughed at so many original jokes, heard such gorgeous instrumental music made by Jeremy Zuckerman, the raw emotion behind the voice actors.. every little bit is what makes this story and this series so amazing, fulfilling and perfect.

17) What do you hate most about Avatar: The Last Airbender?

I don't hate anything about the show per se, perhaps more about the way the fandom can act sometimes.

18) With which character do you identify most?

Like I answered in question 2, Katara. Her personality reflects mine the most, we share similar values in life, I love her family (Hakoda and Sokka) because they have such loving relationships with each other (Katara and Hakoda made me emotional several times, and they only had a few scenes together!).

19) Is Avatar: The Last Airbender your favourite cartoon/anime?

Ever since I discovered it, and I think it'll remain as my favourite cartoon for the rest of my life. Nothing can ever impact me as much as Avatar has.

20) Would you want to be the Avatar?

Thinking just how messed up our own world is right now, how my aggressive eastern neighbour has occupied parts of 2 independent countries, how helpless and angry I feel that I can't do anything about it - Y E S. I want to bring peace and balance back to our world, too. And if I had my own loving, supportive partner (like Aang) by my side, I'd do it again in a thousand lifetimes.

21) What's your favourite ship?

I personally ship everything that has been or is currently canon. My OTP is obviously Kataang, though I'm also one of the few friendly multishippers out here. Which means that I don't mind seeing beautiful stuff about Zutara either, for instance. (Seriously, you should check out my tag, there are so many lovely gifsets there, be it romantic or platonic.)

To sum up, thank you once more for tagging me! I'm not gonna tag anyone specific, but if any of you would like to do this, too, then go ahead! It was really fun to reflect back on why I love this show so much.