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| GRITTY. REALISM. |
Back in the day Marvel was as devoid of ideas for new villains and driven to whatever place of madness that also drove DC to create "Terra-Man".
You Millenials won't remember this, but there was a time and a place before January 1, 2000 when "turn of the century" meant the change from 1899 to 1900 and was several decades in the past. Apparently on a bet or because someone had a deadline they'd forgotten about, in the pages of Captain America a new villain was born: Turner D. Century!
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| yes, that's Spider-Woman creeping up to give Turner D. the beat down |
A ragtime dandy, Turner rode around on a flying tandem bicycle with a dummy (because... sure), and had a flame-throwing umbrella. LIKE EVERYONE HAD IN 1900.
He was absolutely driven to convince people to go back to living in an era of doilies, barber shop quartets and when Gary, Indiana was something you wrote about for the Music Man, not a depressing, burnt out mid-western hell hole. And he was out to achieve this with small scale violence and property damage. And we try very hard not to think about his relationship with that dummy on his bike. And we really try not to think too hard about his views on race relations.
But, here in the glorious future of 2013, replete with flying skateboards and Mr. Fusion on our Deloreans, the phrase "Turn of the Century" isn't used so much as it refers to 13 years ago. Now we just say "a few years back". Or: "When Britney Spears hadn't overstayed her welcome".
So, I'm curious.
Here's your weekend assignment: Turner D. Century is introduced in 2013. He is based not on the old turn of the century, but on our most recent turn of the century, from 1999-2000.
- What does he wear?
- What are his accouterments?
- What is he railing against in modern life that he thinks was way better in 2000 than now?
- Who does he fight?
- Is he still relying on flame throwers?
Please let us know in the comment section all about this all-new version of Turner D. Century!
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