 |
| I actually kind of like that new Superman costume as seen here. That's just no good for nerd-rage. |
On the left, they said that was Deadman, Atom, Element Girl and Firestorm. I don't think that's Element Girl, I think that's Dr. Light. (That doesn't look anything like Element Girl, imho, and they put a dot of white in her eyes like, you know... light.)
In the middle, we clearly have Aquaman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Flash and Cyborg(!)
On the right they're calling it: Green Arrow, Hawkman, Powergirl and Mera. I don't think that's Powergirl, as much as I love me some Powergirl. I suspect that's Black Canary. I mean, it COULD be Powergirl, but with Wonder Woman on the team and Superman... it seems a bit redundant. And, of course, all of these characters (including Dr. Light) have longstanding JL ties. Certainly Canary has a much, much longer history with the JL than Powergirl.
So... we'll see, I suppose.
I'm getting the Mr. Terrifc comic and nothing else.
ReplyDeleteThat's too bad. I would recommend at least leafing through Morrison's "Action" and maybe seeing what happens with "All-Star Western".
ReplyDeleteI thought it was Dr. Light and Black Canary too.
ReplyDeleteIf it's a new version of Dr. Light, I would be very disappointed they don't bring back Kimiyo Hoshi as she was one of the few prominent Asian-American heroes in DC. Especially considering that they killed Ryan Choi and look to be bringing back Ray Palmer.
-NTT
Well, since I posted this, people are really insisting that is Element Girl (who I guess is a reboot and Asian-American, I think - I'm not following all the Flashpoint titles where the character has appeared). But Johns is saying "nobody has correctly guessed who the other woman is". So, no idea. he's saying she's not even blond, which totally throws me off.
ReplyDeleteI liked Ryan Choi, but felt Simone was struggling with writing him as Taiwanese instead of as Born in the USA. They went through so many hoops to explain his American-ness, that I kept wondering if they regretted that decision.
But... YEAH. I was pretty miffed they killed Choi. There was no sound reason for it (though I doubt he would have survived the ReLaunch or whatever the hell they're calling it).
Admittedly, I don't have deep knowledge of the DCU, but who the heck is that dude on the far right? Cyborg? No idea. I know all the primary members, and five of the eight pictured in the background, but no clue who Cyborg is. I had to look him up on Wikipedia. Does he really belong with Superman, Batman and Co.? More than Green Arrow, Hawkman, or the Martian Manhunter?
ReplyDeleteAm I a jerk, if I raise the question of political correctness here? I mean, it's not on the level of Black Vulcan, Apache Chief and Samurai in the old Superfriends cartoon, but come on. This guy's pretty obscure (and lame frankly) to be on the JL A-team. If they were looking for diversity, why not John Stewart or Steel? They are solid characters who are far more recognizable, aren't they?
Just wondering.
Digging your sight by the way.
That is, indeed, Cyborg. He's really not obscure at all, especially to DC readers. Not trying to get into a fight, but if you're a regular comic reader, I'm a bit surprised you don't know him but you know Steel.
ReplyDeleteCyborg was actually on Super Friends in the last season or two, and he's been a popular figure for DC readers since the early 80's, I think (I've known who he was for over 25 years, so obscure and lame don't really fit into my picture of Cyborg). He was a Teen Titan during the Wolfman heyday, and pops up in that title to this day. He also appeared in the semi-successful "Teen Titans Go!" cartoon. And, I think he had a toy in the failed Super Friends toyline from Mattel.
He way pre-dates modern personal computing, but I think he's the chance for the team to have a crazy techno-wiz on the team.
I don't see him NOT belonging on a current roster of the team(as part of the original JLA... I'll have to see about timelines as he's always been the same age as Dick Grayson).
I think they didn't want John Stewart of Steel as they already have guys with those logos on their chests on the team.
The bottom line is that they DO need diversity, and Cyborg is stand alone character who is as well known in the world as, say, Martian Manhunter. There's some iffy stuff to be read into bringing in a "sidekick" black version of a character, and I appreciate that DC thought that through.
I'm not sure why Black Lightning wasn't their first choice other than that the character's name and origin are pretty rooted in 70's cultural references.
I only time I followed DC was the late 90s when I was collecting a few of their books. I just never saw the dude. I can't believe I don't remember him from Superfriends. In any case, I bow to your wisdom as far as his place on the team. I just thought they were forcing it a bit. Glad I'm wrong.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree that they need some diversity. It's too bad there's been so few major stand alone ethnic character have been created or caught on. I can't even think of any Asian or Latino superheroes off the top of my head. Sunfire?
Just looked up Black Lightning and found an Alex Ross illustration of him. Very cool (but then again he could make the Smurfs look majestic). I'd like to see more of him.
All that said, the lineup looks solid, but what happened to Martian Manhunter?
Martian Manhunter is being moved over to Stormwatch in the New DCU. We'll see what happens there. I'm a MM fan, so I'd like to see more of him.
ReplyDeleteDC has routinely been trying routes to diversity enough over the past 10 years that I find criticism of DC's editorial on this front a bit disingenuous.
The newest Atom was Taiwanese. Mister Terrific is African American and getting his own title (he's obscure enough that I literally went back and re-read your first message to make sure you weren't talking about HIM). Blue Beetle is hispanic (and a Texan, so I'm excited about his inclusion in the New DCU). Static Shock is getting his own title. And, of course, there are more titles featuring women, too.
When DC does add these characters, online critics scream "tokenism", but if editorial DOESN'T try this method, the readers complain that the original JLA is all white. So... its hard to take the online critics too seriously. Especially when DC is usually responding to sales.
I don't know if the audience is simply so amazingly white that minorities can't find a place as characters or what... but I do know that its a small market and diversity is an uphill battle.