#anyway Jon resurrecting people might also be bad publicity because people might be like you weirdo no one else does that except the others

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

Can’t stop thinking about the possibility of Jon potentially gaining the ability to raise people from the dead in the future. It’s kind of out there but I don’t think it’s totally baseless, especially if he ends up being brought back to life by Mel (basically R’hllor magic). So the thing with the Last Kiss is that is involves breathing the fire of life into a deceased person, thereby reviving them. Thoros attributes this to his being able to resurrect Beric? And Beric then uses this to resurrect Catelyn Stark. But it’s like there’s a difference since Beric passed his entire life flame to Catelyn whereas Thoros only breathed life into Beric; also the idea of breathing life into someone gives some serious Judeo-Christian “and God breathed life into man” type stuff.

So anyway, if Mel uses red god magic to bring Jon back then it seems Jon might be similar to Beric in that he can also breathe life flame into someone else. There’s already enough parallels between them and it’s also possible that Jon might replicate Beric and create his own flaming sword, but his will be more like the Lightbringer that was wielded by Azor Ahai. But, I wonder if Jon’s ability to do this will have a much greater effect since he, unlike Beric, is an inherently magical being. And I also have to wonder if ice magic could play a role since Jon has both ice and fire; we have wights and possibly Coldhands as people brought back through ice magic.

There’s also another bit that just screams Christ-like ability to resurrect

She is Azor Ahai returned … and her triumph over darkness will bring a summer that will never end … death itself will bend its knee, and all those who die fighting in her cause shall be reborn …”

- Tyrion VI, ADWD

So this is obviously about Dany being AA, but the part about death bending it’s knee and Azor Ahai resurrecting people who fight his cause screams Jesus and some of the stuff said about the resurrection of saints to fight in Jesus’ cause. I’m personally a ‘Jon is also AA’ believer but the thing is that this also gives me Odin and the Einherjar vibes - fallen warriors who reside in Odin’s hall Valhalla and are poised to be reborn to fight in the god’s name during Ragnarok. There are a lot of similarities between Judeo-Christian apocalyptic imagery and pagan apocalyptic imagery, so Odin’s Einherjar mirroring Jesus’ saints isn’t surprising. And then we have Jon who has parallels both Jesus and Odin.

There’s also another bit that makes me think that there’s something about Jon bringing people to life - or rather reanimating dead people - as seen with his Winterfell crypt dreams.

Last night he had dreamt the Winterfell dream again. He was wandering the empty castle, searching for his father, descending into the crypts. Only this time the dream had gone further than before. In the dark he’d heard the scrape of stone on stone. When he turned he saw that the vaults were opening, one after the other. As the dead kings came stumbling from their cold black graves, Jon had woken in pitch-dark, his heart hammering. Even when Ghost leapt up on the bed to nuzzle at his face, he could not shake his deep sense of terror.

- Jon VII, AGOT

The Kings of Winter are recurring persons in several other dreams (e.g., Ned’s and Theon’s), but it’s only in Jon’s dreams where they actually come to life and leave their tombs. Jon even converses with them (and we don’t hear of that in either Ned’s or Theon’s inner narratives. It’s hard to tell if Jon is the one bringing them back from the dead, or if it’s something about him that causes them to rise. The interesting thing is that the Kings of Winter should have iron swords in their laps (possibly to keep their spirits at bay) but that doesn’t seem to work with Jon since they are reanimated anyway.

So considering all the evidence, I think it’s pretty likely that Jon could probably bring people to life, though it’s hard to tell how and with what magic (since he has a lot going on). Beric, who purposefully serves as foreshadowing for what mint happen to Jon is a good starting point. Anyway, both Jon and Beric for sure are like Christ-like figures. And Jesus has several instances of bringing people back from the dead which foreshadowed his own death and resurrection, most notably with his cousin Lazarus. Which leads me to the question, who’s going to be Jon’s Lazarus?

[thevindicativevordan]

My Superfamily Set-Up

By and large I’m fairly happy with the upcoming Infinite Frontier status quo for the Superfamily. Granted that’s in part because I’m still convinced Kara will get an ongoing or mini in 2021, probably to coincide with her show returning, and PKJ hinted at plans for Steel on Twitter. But Kon has escaped the Titans dumpsterfire for a little while, and I’ve heard good things about Thompson as a writer as well. Kenan is popping back up in a one shot written by Yang that will hopefully herald more appearances in Batman/Superman. Jon is still co-protagonist with Clark in the main books, Tanya is in the Future State Shazam book and also a candidate for the FS Justice League book, so hopefully she’ll be in Titans Academy, and Lois is poised to be a big player in the upcoming Checkmate mini by Bendis. So fingers crossed, all the core members of the Superfamily will be in stuff come end of 2021.

Now that said, were DC to suddenly realize that I alone can save Superman, and asked me what kind of status quo I would like (whether for a mainline or Elseworld book makes no difference to me), this is the basic set up that I would go with:

Superman - I’d do a traditional status quo. Superman is disguised as Clark Kent, mild mannered reporter, married to Lois Lane, etc. I’d have Ma and Pa go back to being dead since I still am not a fan of them being alive. Note that this isn’t a reaction against Bendis, I loved Bendis’ run, but I do want to play with the traditional status quo a little bit before diving into something different. Especially since so many Superman writers have traditionally completely wasted the potential of Superman’s status quo.

Lois Lane - Similar to Superman I’d go with a more traditional status quo at the start. She works at the Daily Planet, she and Clark are married, she’s the best reporter in town, etc. I would eventually have her take over as editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet from Perry, I thought that was a great idea the New 52 wasted, and I love the idea of her and Cat Grant being rivals with the Daily Planet and Catco competing. 

Jon Kent - I’d restore kid Jon and toss him back to the Super Sons, not because I think what’s been done with him has been bad, but mostly because I don’t want to write him as Superman, I want to write Clark. Jon seems to be being set up to be co-Superman, and I just don’t have any interest in writing that. To restore kid Jon without destroying Bendis’ run which I enjoyed, I’d explain that teen Jon is actually the “evil” Jon we saw from the Super Sons of Tomorrow future. He went back in time and rescued his kid self from Earth 3, and explained to him that he wanted to prevent that future from coming to pass, but that he needed to take his younger self’s place to do so. Kid Jon agreed, after all he was terrified of becoming evil in both Tomasi’s Super Sons of Tomorrow and Bendis The Man of Steel, and has basically been in hiding watching the events and also studying Hypertime so he can learn how to avoid ending up evil. 

Clark and Lois would blow up at the Jons for the lie when Teen Jon judges he’s changed things enough for his kid self to return, but both Jons could point out that both Clark and Lois have kept secrets when they deemed it necessary from each other and Jon. That would be a neat conversation to have, and a way to continue the untraditional family dynamic that Bendis set up. You could keep teen Jon as a time anomaly until Hypertime catches up with him and restores him to his timeline, with him continuing to be Superman as penance, while kid Jon goes and pals around with Damian in Williamson’s Robin or whatever.

Superwoman/Kara Zor-El - I like the idea of Kara “graduating” to the Superwoman name. It’s open right now given Lana’s retirement, and I think it would suit Kara. I would keep Kara in National, it’s her own little corner to play in, but I would keep that development from (I believe it was) Andrea Shea, where Kara gets fired from Catco because she’s a terrible intern due to always running off to be a heroine. She and Kal talk, Kara admits she doesn’t really want to be a journalist, and so she goes and interns at STAR Labs. I hate how DC keeps turning all the members of the Superfamily into Clark clones. It’s goddamn stupid and I want them to please STOP. Why the hell would Kara want to go into journalism anyway? We’ve never even seen a damn journalist on Krypton! It’s a stupid thing they did on the TV show because they wanted to swipe Clark’s stuff. Let Kara be the scientist of the Els, the one who carries on the family tradition. What form that takes is something I’m open too, I liked Venditti making her interested in history in his annual, maybe make Kara an anthropologist? That would be hilarious. 

Also give Lena to Supergirl, they can be best friends, enemies, lovers, I don’t care. But Lena is wasting away in a vault under Lexcorp last we saw, and that’s a damn shame considering how popular CW Lena is. I’d also add Natasha Irons (who I’d rename Mastersmith) and Tanya Spears (Powerhouse) to Supergirl’s supporting cast, they could play off each other as three supergenuis women).

Kon-El/Conner Kent/Scion - I’m really excited to see what Thompson is going to do with Kon on the Suicide Squad, but here’s what I would do with him. Kon would finally be able to shake off the Superboy moniker and leave that to Jon. Instead he’d take the name “Scion” as a reflection of his origins, and a tie-in to his new status quo. In the wake of Death Metal, Lex Luthor would abruptly step down as head of Lexcorp, stating that he needs time to redefine himself in the wake of his latest attempt to justify himself as the true hero by serving Perpetua, ending up with him needing Superman to save the day again. While he is away, he’s turned over complete control of Lexcorp to his sole heir: Conner. Conner is now head of one of the evilest megacorps in existence, and is one of the wealthiest men alive. Conner knows this is just another maneuver by Lex in his neverending crusade against Superman, but he’s determined to not just be another pawn. He accepts control, renames Lexcorp Superman, Inc. His mission will be to transform the megacorp into the force for good it pretends to be. Conner will have to take on not only Lex loyalists and traitorous underlings who would love to be CEO themselves within Lexcorp, but new megacorps who have flocked to Metropolis in hope of establishing themselves, now that the former Master of Metropolis has abdicated his throne. Threats within and threats without, but armed with the powers/morals of Superman and the charm/brains of Lex Luthor, Kon is just cocky enough to think he can handle it.

John Henry Irons/Steel - It will be a big year for John Henry Irons. His private company Steelworks is about to go public and make him a billionaire. Lana Lang has accepted his marriage proposal and they’re due to be wed. His niece Natasha has left the nest and is off working at STAR Labs. Irons is posed to finally resurrect the decrepit Suicide Slum and allow it to catch up to the rest of the City of Tomorrow. However there are problems: new megacorps are moving into the city in the wake of Lex Luthor leaving, people are disappearing from Suicide Slum with dark rumors are spreading about the reasons why, and the people of Suicide Slum are accusing Irons of planning to gentrify the borough. Making matters worse, weapons that Irons designed as a young man are appearing on the streets of Metropolis, attracting negative attention from the media and putting Steelworks at risk. Irons is going to have to suit up and take up the fight all over Metropolis, from the darkest levels of the Undercity, to the bright deceptive board rooms at the top of skyscrapers in the city’s heart. Irons will have to reckon with his past to secure his future, and confront the evil Metropolis would rather pretend doesn’t exist.

Kenan Kong/New Super-Man - Look just give Yang a damn Kenan book and let him go wild. Right now is either the best or worst time to give Kenan a book given the situation with Hong Kong, but if anyone is equipped to deal with it, it’s Yang. I’ll just add that I would love to see Kenan on a Global Guardians team, but I’d also love to see Justice League of China as a spinoff book of the main Justice League. Kenan is as close as DC has come to their own Spider-Man/Invincible take on Superman, Jon sadly hasn’t really differentiated himself from his dad while Kenan is VERY different. I would love to see Kenan pushed more and would buy a new book in a heartbeat. Also put out a damn New Super-Man omnibus Jim Lee, for God’s sake can’t you abuse your power to push the character you wanted created and is actually good unlike most of Wildstorm? You’re shoving Grifter back into everything but not Kenan? Christ.

So yeah that’s the Superfamily status quo I’d establish. Keeping my Clark and Lois ideas close to my chest for now, but I might go into more detail later.

[thelawyerthatwaspromised]

Jon Snow: Kill the Boy (S8)

JON: I need your advice. There's something I want to do, something I have to do. But it'll divide the Night's Watch. Bitterly. Half the men will hate me the moment I give the order. AEMON: Half the men hate you already, Lord Commander. Do it. JON: But you don't know what it is. AEMON: That doesn't matter. You do. You will find little joy in your command. But with luck, you will find the strength to do what needs to be done. Kill the boy, Jon Snow. Winter is almost upon us. Kill the boy, and let the man be born.

Everyone remembers this scene. Jon Snow seeks Maester Aemon’s advice with regard to bringing the Wildlings south of the Wall into Westeros. He knows it will be controversial and he knows he will face scorn. 

Aemon concludes that Jon must do what he believes to be the right thing, not matter what.

I believe this serves as a perfect mirror to Jon’s navigation of the alliance with Daenerys and the moral dilemmas he is sure to face in Season 8 with his family, the North, and Daenerys herself.

Let’s examine how it perfectly parallels political!Jon:

The Setup: In both circumstances, Jon Snow must leave the relative comfort and safety of his “base” of operations. In Season 5, Jon was a newly elected Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. He had made moves to reinforce his authority by having Janos Slynt beheaded for his repeatedly refusing to follow orders. In Season 7, Jon was newly chosen as King in the North. There, too, he made moves to reinforce his authority by mending alliances with the Karstarks and the Umbers.

The easy thing to do is stay there where he’s relatively popular (even if not universally) and also relatively safe.

The Conflict: In neither scenario does Jon WANT to leave. It’s a matter of what he MUST do. He must go towards danger to gain allies in the hopes of positioning the realm better against the WW threat.

In Season 5, Jon feels he must go to Hardhome to bring the Free Folk back south despite centuries of war between the Night’s Watch and the Free Folk.

In Season 7, Jon feels he must go to Dragonstone to bring the Targaryen army back North despite the fact the Mad King killed his uncle and grandfather and the North fought to overthrow the Targaryens.

The Setting: Jon, unique from every other character, is routinely presented as the most democratic political leader on the show. The High Sparrow talked like a populist but made unilateral decisions. Daenerys, Cersei, Stannis, etc. have all had councils to advise them but have ultimately never had their feet put to the public fire like Jon. Daenerys tried when she had Mossador beheaded, and it caused a riot.

Jon is different.

He answers concerns. Some of the other leaders on the show would consider many of the earnest opinions from his subordinates treasonous. No one allows people to speak out against him like Jon does. Part is his temperament, part is his undervaluing his own abilities, and part is his upbringing. 

In Season 5, it’s at Castle Black with all the other brothers of the Watch having their say. It doesn’t mean Jon will be swayed by their opinions, but he will listen.

In Season 7, it’s at Winterfell. Some of his most important supporters speak out against him. 

The Inner Struggle: In both situations, Jon knows that one course of action is right, even if it causes people to hate him.

That’s part of letting that man be born. Aemon wasn’t saying that you have to be ruthless to rule. He was saying that you WILL be faced with choices where both options are bad and people will be hurt but leaders are in their positions because they are required to do difficult things.

Some of those things might include leaving home. Leaving loved ones. Putting yourself in danger.

In Season 5, Jon’s most difficult disagreement comes with Edd. 

In Season 7, Jon’s most difficult disagreement comes with Sansa.

However...Edd stuck by Jon and is basically the biggest reason why the mutineers were unable to destroy Jon’s body before he could be resurrected.

Similarly, Sansa stuck by Jon while he was gone by refusing to usurp his power, focusing on the WW threat on Jon’s word that it was more dangerous than Cersei, and eliminating Jon’s biggest (current) political problem by sentencing Littlefinger to die.

*SIDENOTE* All this talk about the Northerners (and Jon) so focused on the threat from beyond the wall that they’ve not yet understood the threat on the other side of the Wall.......... Ice and Fire ........ anyway...

The Decision: In both instances, Jon is forced to make an unpopular decision.

In Season 5, he makes his final pleas for understanding, not for permission.

In Season 7, he does the same thing. It’s interesting that when Sansa decides to speak, the camera emphasizes an unbroken and prolonged period of direct eye contract between Jon and Sansa whereas the other criticisms focus much more on the rest of the room. The cinematic reason is to show that essentially this became an intimate conversation between Sansa and Jon.

The difference in Season 5 has Jon at a super close up showing that the scene is primarily about him and how he is dealing with this situation. Before Sansa speaks, it is about Jon primarily. However from the time Sansa speaks, it shifts to equal zoom shots of both Jon and Sansa and it’s as if they see only each other.

It’s pretty cool. But why does that matter on a narrative level?

If both situations look so similar, doesn’t that bode poorly for Jon? He was murdered for his actions regarding the Wildlings. If he’s to become deeply unpopular from bringing Daenerys back (and he will, that’s why the show paralleled the Wildling scenario) - isn’t Jon’s death basically a guarantee?

My answer: No, due to one key difference.

The Difference

Sansa is the difference for Jon. Whether you think it will become romantic or not (I happen to think it will) the fact of the matter is that Sansa represents the exact opposite to Jon that Aliser Thorne represented in his absence. 

Thorne represented the knife in Jon’s back that Littlefinger refers to as the more dangerous enemy in the books. While Jon SHOULD have earned his trust by naming him First Ranger, he instead plotted to have Jon killed. 

Conversely, Sansa has worked tirelessly to maintain Jon’s political support. She has refused to entertain usurping his political power. She grew his army (if you think the number of men referenced by Jon and Sansa means anything) and she’s taken measures to make sure their fed (unlike a certain Dragon Queen who would prefer to burn the food). She’s juggled Bran and Arya’s returns, each with their own difficulties for her on a personal level - and yet the North remains intact upon Jon’s impending return with Daenerys.

When Jon was killed in S5/E10 he had no support system to fall back on once he returned. He granted Samwell's request to leave for the Citadel to protect him, Maester Aemon died, and he was left with no one to watch his back. Whether he got lured to the gate by Olly or not, his days were numbered.

When Jon faces political scrutiny, first for bringing a Targaryen back to the North and seemingly giving away his kingdom to her, THEN when it’s found out that he actually IS a Targaryen himself...there will be trouble. And the only person positioned to protect Jon in a way that he couldn’t be protected at Castle Black is Sansa.

It’s very possible he will be “unnamed” as King in the North - or his crown will only be allowed to stay with him on the condition that he “prove” himself to be loyal to the North. Those are possible scenarios. 

Season 7′s Mr. Honesty will be the most disliked character in the North for a time. Daenerys is bound to have her suspicions regarding his loyalties and if there comes a rivalry with Sansa over Jon’s affections, it’s also possible that will factor into her mistrust of the Northerners as a whole. The Northerners, on the other hand, will find out that their king is the son of the man who caused a destructive war. They’ll learn that his grandfather is the one that killed Brandon and Rickard Stark. Even if he hasn’t lied, his existence will be seen as a lie - - unless someone whom the Northerners DO trust is there to pick up the pieces...and that person is Sansa.

A choice is coming for Jon. He will be faced with the prospect of losing either the support of his own people and severing his identity with House Stark or be faced with the scorn of his new ally (who also happens to be in love and/or infatuated with him) and risk imploding the alliance that he believes is the only way to save the world from the Night King.

If R+L=J is a problem for Jon from the Northerners AND with Daenerys...it puts Jon in a vulnerable position. It makes narrative sense that the only way in which Jon can survive this turmoil is for someone to be able to fix the problem for him.

Sansa Stark is that person. A marriage with her solves his issues with the Northern lords. It does NOT solve the problem of Daenerys’ scorn and suspicions. The alternative is Jon staying with Daenerys, embracing his name but not his claim, and severing his relationship with the North. If the Northern lords won’t back a Targaryen, it’s irreparable with regard to his relationship with the Starks.

That’s the nexus of the Dance of Dragons 2.0. Jon CAN’T serve two queens. There’s too much incompatibility between the Jon, the North, and Daenerys.

Jon cares about his home. Jon cares about his family. Jon cares about his people.

Daenerys wants to rule his home. Daenerys wants his family to be politically subservient. Daenerys wants to subjugate his people.

For Jon, it’ll be no choice at all. 

There’s a reason they’ve shown Sansa to be Jon’s partner in a way that positions her as a wife rather than a sibling/cousin. She’ll be at his side because she’s already been at his side since they reunited.

His choices have already been difficult. He faces one more tough one in Season 8. I’m pretty sure I know what his choice will be. It will cause fallout and the fallout will be his song.