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danny-chase · 3 years ago

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Warnings: violence, blood, realism in comics, me mentioning things stans want to ignore to make a point, you don't have to consider them canon, I'm just making a point don't hurt me

Right. Been seeing dialog about Jason's decision to give up guns that i feel is missing a few points.

1. Bruce is traumatized by guns. Yeah he jumps in the line of fire every night but that doesn't mean he isn't scared of/triggered by them:

[Image ID: Oracle!Babs and Robin!Tim roll/walk through the clocktower. Babs: (about guns) Hates them. But doesn't fear them. Tim: Not the way he jumps in the line of fire night after night. Babs: Line of fire... Babs: I was afraid of them for a long time. I'd go faint at the sight of a gun on TV. Tim: You have reasons, Barbara. So does Batman. Babs: But I. worked through them. Babs: Maybe Bruce hasn't. Maybe he's not the rock we thought he was. Tim: He bought a gun as therapy? Babs: Look at the facts. He bought it just like any other citizen. Like he wanted to experience it as someone else would. Tim: I don't think- Computer: Keyword media search alert. Tim: What's that? End ID]

Birds of Prey (1998) #40

Bruce's opposition of guns is partially based in trauma - it's not completely a moral stance or completely logical rule. Jason giving up guns is for himself, but it allows him to be closer to Bruce and for Bruce to be more relaxed in his presence -> can make their relationship closer.

2. [X] weapon isn't even lethal. Getting cut/hurt + no health care = possible death from infection -> shooting a henchman with regular bullets in the foot can be lethal. Or cutting them with a batarang.

[Image ID: A girl walks home getting off the school bus. Girl: "Mama, I know you don't want to hear this, but --" She opens the door to an empty run down house. Girl: "Mama? Mama are you --?" She opens up the bathroom door, revealing her mother sweating and bleeding out on the ground, trying to press a towel to a wound on her side. Her mom is wearing a henchman outfit for the H.I.V.E. Girl: "Mama!" Mom: "Why -- Why are you home so soon?" The girl holds her mom in a sitting position. Girl: "This isn't the flu. You said you had the flu." Mom: "I -- I will be better soon. I just need to rest." Girl: "You need a hospital, mama." Mom: "No. If they find out -- they'll take you away from me. Send me back to Guatemala." The final panel shows a wisp of Ravens cape, the view zoomed out. Girl: "I know you want to protect me, but you need help now -- no matter what happens later." Raven: "Maybe I can help." End ID]

Titans: Titans Together #4

Similarly could ppl stop acting like rubber bullets are non lethal, everything the batfam uses can be lethal and cause scenes like above. Literally none of them can claim moral high ground they've all thrown batarangs in people's faces (off the top of my head, Jason nailed Dick with one in the face in BoC and Bruce got Jason in the neck in UTRH so there's the two characters at odds).

3. Jason/Bruce has never hurt an undeserving person. Jason isn't a mass murderer and you're slandering him. Bruce is the best dad ever you're an idiot for thinking otherwise.

...did you miss the times he tried to kill Tim? Or sprayed Dick with fear gas? Or shot Damian in the chest (not rubber bullets mind you). All of this happened in Battle of the Cowl. He poisoned 82 prisoners indiscriminately in Batman and Robin (2009) #23, went around killing random "thugs" in Brothers in Blood arc of Nightwing. Is it slander if he did it? Idk. If anyone can answer that lmk but everything is canon now so the point is moot.

And let me also say if everythings canon Bruce has also hurt/hit/abused his family (i don't have the specific issue numbers but runs that I've seen bad dad Bruce in are The New Titans, Batgirl (2000), Nightwing (1996), Tom Kings crap, RHATO rebirth, etc. I don't feel like going into detail but if hard pressed i will) don't try to paint me as a Bruce or Jason apologist/hater please

Also literally see the panel above 💀 the mom is an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala with an engineering degree she can't use because the US gov is literally fucking flaming garbage, so she had to take that job to provide for her daughter. Quit thinking extrajudicial murder/vigilantism is a woke take. No. Stop. Bad. Criminals have rights for a reason.

Can you choose to call the above things Jason and Bruce have done ooc and bad writing. Yep. Go ahead, be my guest. Just it's weird to me that ppl always seem to do it for one character and not the other. Like... that's not productive dialogue? And yeah both Jason and Bruce stans do this i just happened to see a post from a Jason stan so he got to be shamed first. If you think i think my fave is wrong, i literally made a post publically shaming him at one point, and wrote an entire fic dedicated to me pointing out why i think characters would hate him the most 🤷‍♀️ if someone read a comic that shows your fave in a bad light don't call them stupid for not liking that character just point them in the right direction and if you don't want to. Don't. Just block them. I'm tired of watching ppl act like their better than each other because they don't consider things canon (unless you stan a minority character and don't consider their racist/sexist writing canon in which case, same, you're the best ppl in this fandom)💀 or referencing fanon as canon and telling ppl to go read more comics 💀

Anyways the takeaways I've come out with are, this debate between the two is more than just morals, they've both wronged each other, and trying to simplify it down into victim and abuser is just - missing nuance and ignoring their full histories in my opinion and kinda just ends up flattening both characters and making both of them less relatable

#this post was brought to you by: I'm tired of seeing dumb takes on my reccomend dash #*screeches into the void* the whole batfam is problamatic it's literally fine #personally my take is jason giving up guns is ooc he's too dramatic for that shit #time to make the stans go brr #here we go have my unsolicited opinions #batfam #bruce wayne #jason todd #violence #blood #child abuse #negativity

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ty-talks-comics · 5 years ago

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Best of DC: Week of November 13th, 2019

Best of this Week: Captain Cold and the Rogues #82 (The Flash #82) - Joshua Williamson, Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, Arif Prianto and Steve Wands

We all thought the City of Bane was bad.

By all means it is, because Bane is a maniac, but at least Gotham’s infrastructure is still mostly intact. Central City, however, is a wasteland of snow, crime and Doom thanks to Captain Cold (now going by King Cold, totally not a Dragon Ball reference) and to a lesser extent ��Apex” Lex Luthor. Captain Cold has taken over the city, divided it up amongst his fellow Rogues and they’ve finally won! So now the sole question is: What happened and where is The Flash?

The book begins with a gun fight between former Central City Police, now owned by King Cold, in a firefight with insurgents, seeming to consist of regular good people and other cops that Cold couldn’t buy. Rafa Sandoval does a good job in making Central City look absolutely wrecked. Cars and debris function as ramshackle barricades, fire and explosions ring all over the city as we see a wide shot of it from above and we even see Iron Heights Penitentiary, now renamed Ice Heights. It’s become a stronghold guarded by tanks with mortars, giant protruding ice spikes and Cold Soldiers with the Symbol of Doom overlooking it all. It’s a badass shot.

It’s a disturbing dystopia made even worse as the sky as been blackened, disrupting the weather which concerns Weather Wizard. He, Heatwave and Mirror Master sit in a meeting with King Cold to discuss a recent string of break ins in Central City that have been giving off strange power signatures. When one of his aides questions if it’s the work of the Flash, Cold answers that The Flash is “dead.” It seems that between the events of the last issue and this one, the relationship between the Rogues has gotten strained with all of them blowing Cold off, saying that this petty crime is a non-issue.

It’s strange because the Rogues are supposed to be a family and Snart only took Luthor’s Offer if he could share the fruits of it with his buddies. Together they managed to take over Central City in The Flash’s absence and it’s alluded to that Snart’s sister, Golden Glider, has also gone missing. There’s a high chance that whatever happened to her might have contributed to the divide and combined with Snart’s more murderous tendencies coming out after his time with the Suicide Squad, it’s likely also hardened the hearts of the rest of the Rogues as well.

When another energy spike is detected, King Cold decides to go himself, saying that no one steals from him. He shows up to see citizens fighting, they seem to be some petty criminals claiming part of the city for themselves and get absolutely terrified when Cold shows up. Cold tells them how he used to live by a no killing code unless absolutely necessary, but things have changed, of course. As he goes to freeze them to death, he is stopped by Commander Cold, Flash’s partner from the far future. This is a conflict I’ve been absolutely waiting to see for a while! Much like Citizen Cold from the Flashpoint timeline, Commander Cold is a good, vigilant hero and is almost as capable and skilled as Leonard Snart in the use of Snart’s own Cold Tech. Key word: Almost.

Sandoval continues to amaze with an actual good fight between the two Ice-Men. As Commander Cold tells Kid Flash and Avery to escape, Snart creates giant, ice (hulk) fists and tries to pound all of them. Commander Cold repels him with his cold gun before it gets knocked away and then he creates a little bomb made from just a snowflake and it sends King Cold crashing into his tank. Snart, for the first time in a seemingly long time, smiles as the blood drips from his mouth. He laughs and says the fight is exactly what he needed!

Though, as Commander Cold recounts Snart’s own history to him, the former Captain reminds him that the tech he’s using is still his and that he’s the true master of it and freezes Commander Cold in a solid block of ice, winning the fight as Kid Flash and Avery get away with what might be one of Mirror Master’s mirror tech pieces. It’s actually really difficult to watch King Cold descend into what he’s become. I thought his time on the Suicice Squad would be similar to Harley’s or Deadshot’s, but every team he was saddled with left him as the only survivor and his heart became his name. This rings ever more true as we reach the absolutely horrific ending to this issue.

Snart remarks that people are trying to return the world back to the way that it was before the sky went black with Doom. He laments that his friends don’t see things the way that he does, especially after he bargained to give them their new gifts. He even asks himself if he should be out there trying to fix things, but then he’d lose Central City and be a loser again. It’s sad that The Rogues winning is ultimately what’s causing his melancholy. The only thing that’s been an upside was the fight with Commander Cold that he had earlier; it made him feel like himself again.

He chuckles and remarks to an unseen character that “he only kept him alive to show him that he won” and that if he tried what Commander Cold did, the same fate would befall him as he throws the decapitated and still frozen head of the hero into the cell to the shock and horror of the still living Flash. I used to think that Cold was redeemable, but after this, I don’t know if that’s at all possible anymore.

Joshua Williamson has seemingly been taking Leonard Snart on a roller coaster of a ride in his characterizations since he first appeared in DC Rebirth. He’s been almost an anti-hero, then a smart but bumbling villain, to a killer and finally just a man without remorse for his actions. He’s betrayed what the Rogues used to stand for and he’s dragged almost all of them down with him.

He’s truly become a monster and Williamson has done an excellent job in writing his descent into Doom and evil. He almost used to be admirable for having a code and just wanting to be better than the Flash, but he let his greed and hatred get the better of him like his father before him, becoming what he never wanted to be.

Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona and Arif Prianto never cease to be an amazing team. Sandoval’s style is arguably why he’s my favorite Flash artist right now because it all flows so smoothly. His lines are thick and distinct and he gives clothes so much sway and movement. Even rips and tears in costumes look amazing. Everything feels so high energy, epic and dynamic in his hands.

Of course, without Arif Prianto’s colors and Jordi Tarragona’s inks, it wouldn’t be quite as amazing. Prianto has a way of giving everything a smoothness and shine that feels appropriate for this story, especially given the nature of Flash’s stories. Though his work on the colors of backgrounds, especially the snow, is amazing to look at. Tarragona, as well, does excellently in appropriate shadows that cut right into the darkness of the situation.

I absolutely loved this issue of The Flash, mostly because the TV show really got me into the Captain Cold character. His criminal motivations have been interesting and I’m even tempted to read more of the New 52 stuff as The Rogues were very prominent during that run. I’d always put him off as being a lame Mr. Freeze because of Super Friends, but recent years have been extremely kind to Captain Cold.

I love this dark path that he’s going down and I can’t wait to see how the Flash will reconcile with this and how he’ll finally take Leonard Snart down. High recommend!

#dc comics #comics #the flash #captain cold #leonard snart #commander cold #barry allen #the rogues #year of the villain #joshua williamson #rafa sandoval #arif prianto

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kob131 · 5 years ago

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https://sokumotanaka.tumblr.com/post/185075585017/chill-disscussion

Ah yes, because the guy who shat himself in rage because RWBY ended up in the same game as Persona is such a reliable source....

So with death battle’s upcoming Mitsuru vs Weiss match I wanted to talk about, mostly nerd out about mitsuru, look regardless on weather you like rwby or not weiss isn’t on mitsuru’s skill level.

Spoiler Alert: he uses numerous conflicting examples and sources to effectively inflate Mitsuru as a fighter.

(I mean she fought two gods and lived to tell about it.)

Neither of which she is confirmed to fight. That’s the issue with feats like these: they rely on possibility. And it's equally likely that Mitsuru did nothing. Only Makoto is canonically confirmed to fight the Nyx Avatar.

In fact, the closest thing to a canonical representation of the battle was the P3 movie Winter Of Rebirth...where Mitsuru is fighting Shadow hordes, not Nyx who is getting soloed by Makoto. And since Makoto is a Wild Card user. he would be VASTLY more powerful than Mitsuru.

As for Erebus: Again, only one person (Aegis) was required in the fight. So we don’t know.

So let’s talk about mitsuru and then weiss as combatants. Both women fight on teams and manipulate ice in some way. They both summon things That’s about all I can compare, why? cause I took a deep dive into both series, and I’ll be frank, mitsuru fighting gods and monsters that can cause nukes is a feat enough.

That was enough for ‘Yu Vs. Jotaro’...

And again: That’s not confirmed. The only god you could be talking about here is Erebus-

And you know what? I’m just gonna preemptively go full Autism on you.

here’s Erebus’ stats according to the Megami Tensei wiki:

STR: 80 MAG: 75 END: 90 AG: 60 LUC: 70

And here are the stats of all the party memebers in Persona 3 at Level 99:

Junpei: 82 44 69 56 53

Yukari: 50 91 55 55 53

Akihiko: 69 70 55 63 47

Mitsuru: 55 85 52 61 51

Aigis: 61 58 84 56 45

Ken: 55 66 58 70 55

Koromaru: 58 56 58 82 50

Notice something?

The so called ‘mountain crusher’s’ STR stat is LOWER than the best physical attacker and Junpei’s never seen cracking any mountains.

Not just that but Mitsuru also has average agility (which dictates speed and hit rate with physical attacks) and average luck (dictating the success of status attacks) alongside the LOWEST END stat in the game meaning she wouldn’t be able to keep up with Weiss, she’d most likely fail using status attacks since they have a base success rate of 25% and one solid physical hit would do serious damage.

So right there are reasons why Weiss would have a chance if we follow your apparent standards of using gameplay.

But mitsuru is the team’s tactician and well studied in her academics despite fighting monsters, she’s top of her grade, she’s a great fighter and when she returns in persona 4 arena/ultimax she’s kinda insane as a fighter. (going through the full story in both’s massive text walls would take ages But I played through both a few months back and the things they write them capable of doing is insane)

yeah, like saying a monster can crush mountains but is weaker than an above average baseball player?

Then we have a little issue of; she’s not the tactican. Makoto is. Mitsuru is just the boss.

Yeah and? Can see use it in the battlefield?

Most death battle fighters are great fighters.

Also so now we’re using Arena as an example? Does that mean you accept her moveset in that game as canon? Meaning No status moves and no Diarahan?

so I decided to come up with a post (originally a power point before it crapped out) as to why mitsuru at her current skill is just too much for weiss.

So we’re using gameplay as a basis with Mitsuru’s P3 stats and her P4A moveset, judging how you’re talking.

Let’s talk about mitsuru first

Mitsuru kirijo:

Feats/Abilities/skills:

Mitsuru is top of her grade, she’s so good the school often ask her to make speeches for assemblies that rouse the school so much, the principal tried copying them word for word out of jealousy.

And? So is Weiss so which school has higher standards? Also speech giving ability Is not the same as tactical thinking.

Despite also studying for school, she leads and runs S.E.E.S as a tactician (a chairman actually has the final say on everything but she leads them in battle) Her persona is both good for combat and sensory support (meaning she can sense her allies and other people, persona and non persona users)

On and off mind you as you’re only required to go into Tartarus occasionally and extended time in Tartarus will wear out a Persona user.

Meanwhile, Weiss’ studies ARE fighting since she needed to qualify for Beacon so her life has been revolving around being a good fighter.

Mitsuru’s persona can conjure ice in an instant and is completely unaffected but any ice type attacks done to her, she doesn’t even react at all.

She can also heal and is a pretty good healer in battle (When she isn’t casting marin karin! Regardless there’s no rule in death battle that says they can’t heal, the only rule was outside help and with the last handful of death battles some of them had healing factors)

She can also charm her enemy or cause them to go into panic

Yeah and she’s super weak to fire.

And-wait a minute. Why are you referencing Diarahan and status attacks in the same post as the one where you try citing feats from Arena? Are you just picking choosing what Mitsuru gets?

Mitsuru doesn’t need to use her evoker and can actively summon her persona in the real world. (This is also mentioned in persona 4 arena and shown in battle as mitsuru states she only uses it out of habit.) This is also stated by when she calls her persona in both the game and manga she doesn’t use her evoker.

Bullshit.

This is from Mitsuru’s first battle in Persona 4 Arena.

And even IF she does summon her Persona without her Envoker here: She’s in a different world. Same in Ultimax.

You’re just lying at this point.

Also: That ice spear doesn’t look very impressive when you remember Weiss summoned an ice WALL that fast in Volume 1. Yeah, if you’re gonna use outlier feats, so will I.

She is able to again as I said snap second conjure ice within seconds in any shape she deems necessary

Proof and no, the ice mirror from P4A doesn’t count.

Non persona users can’t see persona (one guy remakes on how he sees a silhouette but only cause he’s standing next to her, another character natsuki walks into a battle and can’t see the others persona from the distant she’s at.

And yet in Persona 4 Yosuke reacts to seeing Yu’s Persona awakening.

Her persona Artemisia has a whip that can reach long distances and instantly freeze her opponents, she can also make floating and homing projectiles.

A. That whip thing: proof

And B. Only in Arena which you pick and choose which to use.

Mitsuru herself is remarked as moving faster than the eye can react when others watch her fight her shadow, this is also reflected in her normal combots where she moves faster than the eye can see and can hit a person over 15 times (don’t believe me? watch her combo video)

https://youtu.be/fw-2yn_vKG0

Pretty sure the same thing happened in CTB with Weiss-Point is?

And at one point while fighting naoto a person with a gun who is also a persona user is able to disarm and disable in two fluid motions.

Disarm who? When? under what circumstances? Also a gun shoulding matter if Mitsuru can tank nukes right?

Need I stress mitsuru is incredibly smart, she has to run a magic C.I.A and outsmart a bunch of idiotic men in suits who think she can’t handle it, and had to at one point outsmart detective naoto, which is a feat in itself.

https://sokumotanaka.tumblr.com/post/185075529807

A. She runs it with help

B. You said ‘idiotic’

and C. Your post proves nothing

Weaknesses:

Fire is mitsuru’s weakness and while that sounds like an easy solution remember when weiss’s weapon starts burning with fire, mitsuru is either gonna back off, or disarm her.

That being said it’s her only weakness.

She also has average agility, less versatility, unreliable versatility, no debuffs or buffs aside from Mind Charge, limited mobility, a reliance on her Persona for big attacks and Mitsuru is never shown disarming someone so thee fire weakness is still major point. Especially by P3 standards which would cause her to be dazed and buy Weiss time.

That might seem bogus as being it but mitsuru has a lot of “human” weaknesses that won’t come into the death battle.

as a fight she is the superior, not just because I prefer her but because she’s been doing this longer and has to manage a fighting lifestyle and being a normal woman dealing with people who probably think she’s breaking the law for speaking out of turn with them.

Like what? Are you afraid they’re gonna bring up how Mitsuru and other Persona users tire out in places where they can use their Personas?

Also most of what you said doesn't pertain to Death Battle.

Up’s:

(this here is the things each fighter has against the other in terms of the fight.)

Persona is invisible to weiss

Persona and her ice magic have the superior reach

Mitsuru is older and more experienced

Mitsuru is smarter as she was the tactician of a team while also juggling high school.

Wrong

Unproved

Unsubstainated and unreliable

Unproven

Great upsides

Weiss schnee:

Feats/abilities/skills:

Weiss on the other hand doesn’t have much going for her. (let’s list these first)

Weiss’s semblance

Weiss’s fire dust (albeit finite)

Weiss’s speed glyph

Ignored how her glyphs can be used to leap and jump in air

Ignored how fast her glyphs can make her (stunning Flynt)

Ignored her Wind, Ice and Earth dusts

Ignored her Time Glyph which gave Blake the ability to slice lazer beams in order to cut down missiles in mid flight (outlier feat I know but has that stopped Soku?)

Ignored her Armor Gigas which is shown to be incredibly durable and powerful, slicing apart a Grimm that tanked several boxes of Dust exploding on it without a scratch

Ignored her Queen Lancer giving her projectile attacks, aerial mobility and backup

Ignored her Ice Wall which historically held the stringer of a complex sized scorpion in place for several minutes.

Wow you ignored a lot.

Weaknesses:

Weiss drops her weapon, alot, it happens often.

When weiss is surprised, she freezes up

weiss doesn’t have the experience to fight off mitsuru.

weiss hasn’t fought against opponents on mitsuru’s level or fought against gods/god tier monsters.

Example

Unproven

Neither has Mitsuru

Up’s:

Fire dust

Speed glyph

Summon size change.

And the stunning coming from Fire Dust

And The ice wall giving her a time borrowing option

And the Armor Gigas being stronger physically

And The Queen Lancer being agile, flying and having built inprojectiles

And her Time Glyph giving her a powerful ranged option

And her glyphs giving her far greater mobility

And her speed glyphs giving her a blitz option.

Funny how if you explain shit and pay attention, you see things are actually very even. But hey, Soku’s never been honest when it comes to RWBY so why start now?

Real talk?

Weiss in her one on one fights has lost to all her opponents. White fang lieutenant, Flynt, And Vernal.

All powerful close range combatants. Something Mitsuru is not.

The third whom I must stress is a normal bandit, she doesn’t summon things herself, use magic, she’s not a god trapped in a human body, she’s just a normal woman, and she beats weiss down, while weiss struggles to get afoot and she loses this bout as well.

Let's just ignore how vernal is technically stronger than a complex sized scorpion and was posing as a demigod at the time....

Now I know it seems like I’m only glossing over negatives, which I must stress I’m not doing out of dislike, I took a deep dive-

Bullshit. One look at Persona then RWBY shows you doing the bare minimum for RWBY while giving Mitsuru the best versions of all her elements.

For example super and goku one which has insane feats that the other will never reach, hench each one literally ending with clark winning.

superman just has feats that are too insane.

Superman lifted infinity. Mitsuru help weaken one giant Shadow that was aid to be strong enough to destroy a mountain and yet it's strength stat is weaker than Junpeis. (And before you complain about me using gameplay on a supposed non gameplay feat-Erebus HAS NO non gameplay feats.)

They are nowhere compatible, even in the comparison range.

Weiss can kick some grimm ass, but we’ve yet to see her have a decisive victory against an opponent single combat.

where as we get to see/play (depending on weather you read the manga or play both arena/ultimax (both are canon because it’s the same thing but contextualized as a comic) mitsuru fights people with the same skill as her and comes out on top.

A. By the same standards, Mitsuru is in the same boat as Weiss

B. You’re using Arena as your line for feats but not moveset (or even consistently as feats since you still quote P3)/

And C. Np she didn’t. The investigation team is LESS experienced than Weiss so logically they’d be easier if we accepted your interpretation.

The winner should be Mitsuru with all due respect.

And yet you feel the need to lie about Mitsuru and completely gloss over and lowball Weiss.

God, now i’m scared because not only does this scream ‘Ben and Chad, do as I say or else’ but since you’re lying, it makes it seem like Weiss will WIN in a fair fight.

Word of warning Soku: I will tear you verbally into shreds if you so much as glare at Ben and Chad. And god help you if Dudeblade recognizes your bullshit.

#sokumotanaka

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aion-rsa · 5 years ago

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What Comes Next for The Flash?

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With Year One now complete, Joshua Williamson tells us about what's next for Barry Allen and The Flash.

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This article contains spoilers for The Flash up to issue #75.

Ever since DC kicked off their Rebirth initiative in 2016, The Flash has been one of the best superhero comics on the market. Writer Joshua Williamson and an assortment of brilliant artists have steered Barry Allen's adventures for the last three years, mixing "traditional" Flash villains with new creations, introducing new and wild elements to the very nature of Barry's powers and his relationship to the Speed Force, and exploring his origin in more detail than ever before. And from the sound of it, that's only the beginning.

We caught up with Joshua Williamson at San Diego Comic-Con, where he revealed some of the secrets of the recently concluded Flash: Year One story, and told us what's next for Barry Allen, his friends, and (perhaps most importantly) his foes in the book's future. There might even be a Crisis on the way...

Den of Geek: So what's been the feedback on Flash: Year One?

Joshua Williamson: Oh, it's been great. It's been really awesome. A lot of positivity about it. I mean, I was never worried about stuff, but when you're trying something different, you get out there and it's interesting because when you say, "I'm going to do a Flash: Year One" everyone kind of in their head, even with the TV show or the comics, like "I know what that is. I know what that is." And we were doing something different because we were doing something that was Flash: Year One mixed with Dark Knight Returns.

In the original Showcase #4, which is the first appearance of Barry Allen, there's two stories in there. There's one story about how he got his powers and he goes up against the Turtle, the first villain he ever fought. But then there's a backup story about him traveling to the future for the first time. I knew there were some people who were hardcore Flash fans that were going to be like, "I see what you're doing." And it was interesting. I was at a panel once and somebody came up and I was keeping the future stuff super secret. It wasn't ever on the covers. We weren't going to talk about it. And then somebody went up there and said "You know, in Showcase #4 he travels to the future for the first time," and I was like, "Shush. Stop talking. Shush."

But the feedback has been really great. I think once people saw that it was going to be a little different than they expected, I think it caught their attention. They could see that it really is a love letter to the Flash mythology, to Barry Allen and the history of the Flash. If somebody is coming in and they want to know about the Flash from the TV show or the movie and they've never read anything, we've been able to create something that is easily accessible for them. It starts at the beginning and you can dive right in with that character.

read more - The Secret Origin of The Flash: Year One

The feedback's been really good. It's been really awesome. And I think a lot of it has to do with how import the art is. I think this is the best work of Howard Porter’s life. I think he's the best Flash artist of all time and the stuff he's doing is just amazing.

So let's talk spoilers about the end of The Flash #75…

There's all kinds of teasers in there. You know that part where we cut back to the present day stuff drawn by Scott Kolins and there's that one page where it's Barry running and talking about positivity, but also talking about how he recognizes that there is a lot of challenges ahead of him, but he's not afraid of running to them. And then we present all these little teases, all these things that are coming. And yeah, I'm really excited about all that stuff. There's all kinds of little stuff in there that is, if you're paying attention, you can see all the clues of what's coming in the book.

Let's talk about those six panels in Flash #75. How far into the future of your run do those six panels take us?

I would say to the end. I think there's a couple of little things that will happen throughout, but really there was enough in there. I was trying to say I have a lot more stories to tell. I have a lot more things I want to do with this character. There's been things we set up in the first arc that haven't paid off yet. Little things we've been seeding throughout. But really that was me showing you there is a lot of stuff coming.

read more: Everything You Need to Know About The Flash Season 6

I have an idea of where I want to be at in the story when I get to the end. I know what I want the closing pages, the last pages, to be when I eventually get there. I don't have an issue number. Because really it's always ... we shouldn't think about the numbers. It's about the story. And it's very much about what is best for the story. And so I know the story, I know the beats, I know the things I want to build to get there and I tease pretty much all of it. There's a couple of things, but pretty much all of it is in that page.

Is this a situation like Tom King had with Batman who had always said he had roughly 100 Batman issues to tell his story? We're at Flash #75…

Yeah, I've written up to #82. I'm pretty far out and I know what's happening for a while in the book. So it depends. It has a lot of factors, but it always comes down to do I have the stories to tell. And I think if I ever hit a moment where I'm like, "I'm out. I'm out of stories." That's the time to leave. So we'll see. And DC really responds well to that. They respond well when you come and say, "I have a story to tell."

Within that story, we know that at some point in the middle of all that there's going to be a Crisis.

Maybe.

Okay. But we're a year after, when we were here last year, we were talking about the last page of “Flash War.” Which said the magic word.

Yeah. It did. Hey man, listen, I play the long game.

Yeah. Clearly!

I'm all about the long con. So you just got to see. It'll all add up eventually. That villain in particular, he's also in that issue. There's a tease of him with Godspeed in #75. We're slowly getting there. I am really building this gigantic story. I just don't like to talk about it like that as much. But yeah, there's a lot of fun stuff coming.

So I guess we should just start then for what we know is coming next, which is “Death of the Speed Force.”

That starts in The Flash #76. It's immediately after, and that is a big part of my plan for the next year. I think what will happen is you'll see it kind of breaks up, because it's going to be a roller coaster ride of a story. The beginning part, you're going to think it's one thing and then it kind of quickly turns into something else. It's very tied into Year of the Villain.

Barry is dealing with the idea of the Speed Force dying and he has to make a decision. Does he save the new Speed Force users or does he save the Speed Force? He's Barry so of course he's going to save the new Speed Force users, but there's a problem and there's conflicts there. How do you save these people as you feel you’re losing your powers? It's like do I go save my powers then save them? There's all kinds of other things brewing that are coming at the same time and one of the biggest problems is the Rogues. Now Captain Cold has help from Lex Luthor with the Year of the Villain stuff. So you have the subplot of Captain Cold and the Rogues running through “Death of the Speed Force.”

“Death of the Speed Force” is a six part arc, but it's really the beginning of a major story that's going to carry over the next year. This is the first chapter of it. And the ramifications of that story will impact not only Barry but a lot of other speedsters. And once we get to the end of that then you know you've got the Rogues. So there's a lot coming.

“Death of the Speed Force” is something I wanted to do for a while and I'm really excited about it. I mean Rafael Sandoval is doing most of the issues and he's doing amazing work. We actually just sent the first issue to press and it looks awesome. It's really exciting. We've actually been able to hide the fact that a major character is returning in that arc and hasn't been seen in The Flash book in, I don't know, maybe 10 plus years. He's in that arc and he's not on any of the covers. He's not on any of the solicits. Somehow we were able to hide it so when people read this arc there's going to be some surprises in there. You're going to see some stuff that I think people will be surprised by.

Is he one of the speedsters that we see in that one panel in Flash #75?

No comment.

Okay.

I'll tell you a little thing if you didn't notice it, but in #75 you have all those Speedsters, right in the forefront. If you look close there are three silhouettes in the box. You see him? That was on purpose. That's part of the story. I was curious if people are going to notice that it they're going to be like, "Oh man, this is really awesome. Who are these three silhouettes?"

It's interesting that you’ve chosen Captain Cold as your focal point of Year of the Villain. I feel like it's been a while since Snart has been kind of a traditional villain in the DC Universe.

One of my goals from the outset when I got the job was to bring the Rogues back to being villains. Because for a long time they were anti-heroes and I don't see them as that. They're the Rogues. All they care about are themselves and each other. I've been building this story for a while of this dynamic of them recognizing that they need each other and that they're better together.

We've been building to this and I feel like this is going to be the biggest Rogues story that anyone has ever done. When we eventually get to that story, the big Captain Cold and the Rogues story that will be after “Death of the Speed Force,” I feel like that's the biggest Rogues thing that anyone has ever done. It gets pretty crazy. It won't be my last year on the Rogues, but it'll probably be the last big Rogues story that I get to do. There's other things that I'm going to do with some of them, but for the most part that'll be like the really big Rogues story and it'll be part of the “Year of the Villain” stuff that we've been building to.

For so long, Thawne and any Reverse-Flash, has really taken over as just the ultimate Flash villain. But I feel like there's almost more to be said with Snart in some ways.

There is a lot to say with Snart. There's a lot of things about his character I found very interesting because if you want to get deep into Snart, it's the idea that Snart is a family man, right? Just a different version of it. And Barry is a family man, right? Different version of it. And if you look at how Barry looks up to his parents and to the values that his mom and dad had and he wants to be like them. He looks up to the advice they gave him. Whereas in Leonard looks up to his father and is like, "My father is a loser and I never want to be him." So it's this interesting contrast.

read more - The Flash Season 6 Villain Explained: Who is Bloodwork?

But they both had the same end game without the same end result. They both became very concerned about family, they have just different versions of it. I like playing with that contrast with both of them. They're both family men, but just have very different ideas of it.

There might be some Captain Cold fans out there that are like, "He's the number one villain! " I almost feel like it's different. There's something about him that kind of puts him to the side. He's still a major villain but he's not Thawne. Thawne is definitely the main one. Eobard is easily the arch-nemesis.

Are we any closer to seeing Jay Garrick?

I knew you were going to ask me! It's in that spread.

I know, but that's not what I'm talking about!

I have a plan. You know Scott and James are going to be using him in Justice League. There’s more stuff that's coming up and I have a plan. So my answer to you is: soon. I can't say exactly when, but soon.

We'll have more from Josh Williamson on The Flash, Batman/Superman, and the rest of the DC Universe soon!

Read and download the Den of Geek SDCC 2019 Special Edition Magazine right here!

Mike Cecchini is the Editor in Chief of Den of Geek. You can read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @wayoutstuff.

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Interview Mike Cecchini

Jul 31, 2019

DC Entertainment

The Flash

SDCC

SDCC 2019

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wayneooverton · 7 years ago

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Diving the Solomons Islands Onboard the Bilikiki

There are some dive trips you dream about for years before you take them, and some liveaboards so famous that it seems like you’ve already sailed. Diving the Solomon Islands onboard the Bilikiki was just such an experience for me. The boat was the first liveaboard in the Solomons, operating here since 1989. Its melodious name comes from one of the islands’ most distinctive birds, the “Beach Thick Knee,” or as locals call it — the Bilikiki bird.

Though I never see its namesake bird on land, I’m beyond excited as we approach the Bilikiki from the harbor in Honiara, the Solomon Islands’ capital. I’m about to embark on a 10-night trip that will visit the Florida Islands, the Russell Islands, the isolated Mary (Mborokua) Island, and the world-famous Marovo Lagoon. And I can’t wait to board.

The Bilikiki

Before its rebirth as a dive boat in 1989, the steel-hulled 125-foot (38 m) long Bilikiki plied these waters first as a fishing boat and then a cargo ship. The dive boat refit looks to be top-notch as I board on the spacious dive deck, which can accommodate 20 divers and plenty of gear. There will be plenty of time to get my stuff set up later. First it’s time for a brief tour of the boat and to meet the other guests and crew.

There are three levels, with all the cabins below. The salon, kitchen, eating area and dive deck are on the middle level. A deck up top features plenty of chaise lounges for catching some sun as well as a small photo room. The salon is decorated simply but comfortably, with big blue sofas and pillows hugging one wall. A wet bar and camera table occupy the other side of the room.

In the covered eating area outside all my fellow cruisers wait, as eager as I am to get underway. There’s a big group traveling with a dive shop in Hawaii, including my roommate (who’s actually Scottish). A few more folks from the U.S. and another Scottish couple round out the group. Pro tip: If you’re ever on a dive boat with three Scots, don’t try too hard to understand them when they speak to each other, especially after a few cocktails. Just nod and smile.

There are 14 crewmembers on the boat, including our chef Wilson, who’s been working the galley for 24 years. Dive guides Tina Gauer and Oli Burle have been on the boat since July 2016, and take turns conducting dive briefings. We’ve each got a station with under-seat storage and tanks are filled in place. Happily, this means you must set up your gear only once.

“The punishment for not using the name-tag board is three tablespoons of vegemite,” Tina says, walking us through safety procedures. Needless to say, we’re all vigilant about marking ourselves on or off the boat all week. There are four dives each day and one each night. Tina, Oli, and Andy, a Solomon Islands native who’s working on his divemaster certification while I’m there, take turns guiding the dives.

After our initial boat briefing, we head downstairs to check out our cabins. My roommate (and newly assigned dive buddy) and I have one of two cabins with twin beds rather than a double. Our en-suite bathroom’s not large, but it’ll suffice for the week, and we have no problem stowing all our stuff with storage under the beds, on a shelf above the bed, and in a compact closet. After getting comfortable, we head up to the dive deck for our first briefing.

Diving the Solomons

“I can guarantee you one thing,” Tina says, “you will always be diving alone on the sites.”

Bilikiki regularly dives between 40 and 50 sites on a 10-day trip, depending on weather, guest abilities and requests, and dive guides’ knowledge of the day’s best sites. And since there’s only one other dedicated liveaboard in the Solomons, Tina’s right: on our trip, we’ll never encounter another diver. Diving takes place from two tenders, which the crew adorably calls “tinnies,” since they’re little metal boats. As it’s time to dive, either Tina or Oli call out, “tinny one, ready to board!” Trips to dive sites are short, with none lasting more than five or 10 minutes.

Since the Solomons anchors the bottom eastern point of the Coral Triangle, we’re spoiled for choice. Walls? Check. Fields of coral? Check. Drifts? Check. Sharks and rays? Macro? Check, check and check. We sail west out of Honiara, stopping first at the Russell Islands. I’ll cover the top dive sites in a forthcoming article, but suffice it to say, we are not let down.

After our check dive, our next stop is Leru Cut in the Russell Islands, which is just as its name implies. This narrow cut is much like an underwater slot canyon, seemingly cleaving Leru Island in two. We enter single file, careful to keep our fins off the bottom. Light streams in from above, giving the canyon an ethereal feel. At the end, we surface to see sheer walls covered in jungle vines, and on the way back out, we see clouds of butterflyfish, angelfish and parrotfish waiting in the blue.

The week progresses with one fantastic dive after another. At Ben’s Point on the uninhabited Mary Island, we can hear the boom of a nearby volcano rumbling underwater every few minutes. At Kicha Island in Marovo Lagoon, we have a smorgasbord: first we hook in and watch reef sharks hunting in the current, then sweep along a wall covered in swirling jacks, snapper and groupers. We end with almost 40 minutes in one of the most beautiful shallow coral gardens I’ve ever seen.

On the way back to Honiara, we stop for the second time in the Russell Islands at White Beach, called the “million-dollar dump” because it’s the final resting place of so much WWII materiel, including trucks, a crane, a Caterpillar, and ammunition. In the 73 years it’s been underwater, the rusting wrecks have become perfect homes for lots of macro critters, but just seeing all the history on the seafloor is spectacular. And finally, we take a spin on Devil’s Highway, an adrenaline-charged drift dive over the edge of a coral wall where we wait, tucked out of the current’s wrath, and watch manta after manta glide by, feeding in the current.

Time for Dinner

It would be remiss not to mention the food onboard Bilikiki. Like any liveaboard worth its salt, the mantra onboard is eat, sleep, and dive, and Wilson keeps us well-fed all week. When the Bilikiki began sailing in the late 1980s, they had a hard time keeping enough fresh produce on board. So, in a stroke of genius, the cruise directors provided the local villages along the boat’s route with seeds to plant a variety of fruits and vegetables. When it’s ready for harvest, the villagers sell back the fully grown produce to the boat as it sails. This keeps the guests in fresh bananas, salad, pineapple, greens, etc., and villagers eat the rest themselves. Each season the villages are supplied with new seeds, and the cruise director negotiates the produce sale.

After 10 nights on board and dozens of dives, my dream of diving the Solomon Islands on Bilikiki has finally come true. And unlike many long-anticipated adventures, my time onboard manages to not only fulfill all my pre-trip fantasies of deserted islands and teeming dive sites, but to exceed them.

The Details

With 10 cabins, the boat can accommodate 20 guests. Cruises run from seven to 14 nights; longer itineraries like ours visit Marovo Lagoon.

How to get there:

The Bilikiki sails from Honiara, the Solomons’ capital city. Getting there from the United States will usually require a stopover in Australia.

Qantas operates daily flights to Brisbane from LAX, landing at around 6 a.m. Depending on when you land, you can catch a Solomon Airlines flight to Honiara the same morning at 10 a.m.. Note that they only depart from Brisbane on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights back to Brisbane are scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. You can also fly to Honiara from LAX via Nadi, Fiji, on Fiji Airways.

When to go:

The diving is great in the Solomon Islands year-round, so when to go is a matter of personal preference. Just a few degrees below the Equator, the air temperature is consistently warm and humid year-round. Expect a bit of rain, averaging between eight and 12 inches per month. Water temperatures are fairly consistent as well, ranging from around 82 to 87 F (28 to 30 C). You should be fine in a 3- to 5 mm full wetsuit. The boat is in dry dock for maintenance and crew vacations from mid-January to early March to coincide with the rainiest season.

What to bring:

You’re diving in a remote location, so make sure your DAN or other dive insurance is up-to-date. Nitrox is your best bet on the boat with so many repetitive dives, so don’t forget your cert card. It does cost a bit extra, but it’s well worth it. Although there’s a stock of rental gear onboard the Bilikiki, it’s best to bring all your own, as well as a few spare parts just in case. And finally, bring a bit of cash (USD) on the cruise for souvenirs. You’ll stop at a few local villages during the week to peruse intricate wood carvings and you’ll need cash at the end of the week to settle your tab with the cruise directors, who pay the village chief on your behalf.

Where to stay:

You may need to spend one night in Honiara before boarding the Bilikiki and perhaps one after the cruise as well. There are a few good, central options, including The Heritage Park, The Solomon Kitano Mendana and the Coral Sea Resort, the island’s newest hotel. Each has at least one good restaurant as well.

Special thanks to Solomon Islands Tourism, the MV Bilikiki, and photographer Matt Smith. Join him in 2018 on a 10-day photo safari on the Bilikiki.

The post Diving the Solomons Islands Onboard the Bilikiki appeared first on Scuba Diver Life.

from Scuba Diver Life http://ift.tt/2BRXi7X

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mrbobgove · 7 years ago

Text

Diving the Solomons Islands Onboard the Bilikiki

The Bilikiki

Diving the Solomons

“I can guarantee you one thing,” Tina says, “you will always be diving alone on the sites.”

Time for Dinner

The Details

With 10 cabins, the boat can accommodate 20 guests. Cruises run from seven to 14 nights; longer itineraries like ours visit Marovo Lagoon.

How to get there:

The Bilikiki sails from Honiara, the Solomons’ capital city. Getting there from the United States will usually require a stopover in Australia.

When to go:

What to bring:

Where to stay:

Special thanks to Solomon Islands Tourism, the MV Bilikiki, and photographer Matt Smith. Join him in 2018 on a 10-day photo safari on the Bilikiki.

The post Diving the Solomons Islands Onboard the Bilikiki appeared first on Scuba Diver Life.

from Scuba Diver Life http://ift.tt/2BRXi7X

0 notes