#but I also know it's probably going to kill my Knightfall drive

[onewomancitadel]

Do you think canon Jaune still currently hates cinder like he did in V4 or do you think he simply sees her as someone who needs to be stopped?

That's an interesting question. I appreciate you asking me lol. (For the record, there’s an upsetting screencap from V8 of Penny’s death below).

Well, he knows it's her.

His first priority is to secure the civilians, so he's past his death wish.

(Kind of off-topic, sort of: it’s actually ridiculous how romantic I find this shot of Cinder revealing herself to Jaune with her obsidian projectiles. Hi, honey)!

I think that he's past the hatred, yes. At this point he's really just dismissive of her. Both aggression and dismissal of the anima are not the final answer... idk I have some thoughts on it as it stands in canon but also I'm trying to protect my heart and not get too attached. Sure I am content to hypothesise about whether the Indecisive King structure holds true but also in terms of immediate canon I'm like please don't hurt me lol.

Of course, now they're tied together through Penny's death, just like Cinder killed Pyrrha, and there's all sorts of fucked up/wonderful potential there (and as a shipper pre-V8, I lost my mind when this happened - so tragic).

I really like them both riding each other's shields but it's important to remember here he's specifically keeping her from Penny. There's both the framing of Jaune being 'the thing immediately in front of her' as well as her immediate obstacle to reconcile... remember he's her animus too. He's 'protecting' Penny at the same time as diametrically having hurt her... there's so much going on here.

Because there are two ways it could go. Cinder's stopped and that's the simple and clean answer, you gut her cleanly and get it over with. That, or the more complicated one, which is integrating anima and animus (like Salem and Ozma didn't). That could be platonic. Or not.

I think Jaune has also accepted his role as healer/more supportive (or classically 'feminine') characteristics in respect to their V5 confrontation but he's not done yet. Cinder's story is also really picking up momentum, so it could go any way now, virtually.

Also for fuck's sake, Jaune's new outfit and hair in V7/V8 is so laughable to look at. It's the one thing I sincerely cannot get behind in the new volumes. I prefer the more casual longer hair and I also haaaaaate the dudebro haircut. I can't tell if it's actually trying to do something thematically or if it's just stupid.

Not really the point of your ask but I can't really predict what will come next. I lean towards the pessimistic side because I don’t want to be hurt. I sort of took Jaune's redesign (more a modern idea of masculinity) as a cue WK is more likely because that's also more of a... very feminine/very masculine pairing, whereas Cinder embodies a lot of masculine and feminine characteristics (and I'm using these in a descriptive sense here, not trying to say people ought to be one way or another) which I find to be pleasingly balancing with Jaune-the-healer-and-pretty-boy lol.

In summary: I don't think he hates her, and I think that's actually still a problem, because when he was angry, he confronted her and challenged her.

This is specifically why I ship it. One of many, anyway.

So if there's not more conflict between them at some point, there's an issue - at the very least there has to be a reprisal from anger -> dismissal/rejection -> confrontation/acceptance.

That, or it's removed from her and the others offer him support for having to kill Penny. In that case, then I’m very, very wrong about story direction, or at least the importance of anima/animus (which seems to be a big deal, but who nose - the character arcs are not all treading the same ground, and it could just be that once he’s past Cinder he’s past Cinder, but again, she’s also very important as villainess protagonist, and and and... so much riding on this lol).

I also want to put a disclaimer if this post gets out of hand (I doubt it does), when I refer to Jungian psychoanalysis it’s explicitly within a story structure and the way the story uses to communicate ideas, and conceptions of self in a poetic manner. I don’t literally think people are composite parts, but I think the symbolic/iconographic method of storytelling is interesting because it’s all rich and intentional.

It’s a way to explore ideas of the self etc. and the kinds of personal and moral decisions you have to make about the world, not literally trying to be prescriptive about human psychology. I do think as a broad disclaimer the hero’s journey is limiting and absolutely not universal, but it is a major part of the language of Western storytelling, the same as Jung.

I also really like anima/animus, light and dark, equals/opposites, the things that define a thing as that-which-it-is-not is also what gives it meaning, that type of philosophy (sorrow is half of joy). So that’s the angle I come from. That’s why I think it’s important Jaune doesn’t run from it and dismiss it, and the same for Cinder.

[dontcallmecarrie]

Standing On the Edge

stress writer + extreme stress + writer’s block for the stuff I actually want to write = me realizing I made a mistake, when trying to think of the absolute worst day Ben Organa Solo could have.

Well, sort of. Here, have a shatterpoint, it’s been a while. Under the cut, because RIP mobile users otherwise.

Ben Organa Solo had Seen Things. Had seen a lot of things, had been running from his demons for the better part of his life, had gotten into bar fights on Canto Bight and shot at pirates in hyperspace and yelled at Force ghosts on Korriban and Malachor, had helped take down the kriffin’ First Order. By all rights, nothing should be able to surprise him by now.

Yet— 

This was a new one.

He swallowed hoarsely as he looked around and faces he’d only ever seen in his dreams, and bit back the urge to punch the wall, scream, anything.

Oh, come on.

Ben had long since been made aware of whose armor he’d apparently found, oh so long ago [it’d saddled him with that stupid, ridiculous name, how could he not?] but...

Well, he had already known the galaxy was still recovering from the fall of the Jedi. But it was one thing to be academically aware of something, and another to have said knowledge be forced in your face via the lightsaber he’d hastily had to deflect because— 

Purple lightsaber clashed against purple, and Ben took a nanosecond to process his shock before he ripped off his mask with his other hand before things could escalate even more because this was a nightmare and the absolute worst way he could think of meeting his heroes [the only heroes who had never disappointed him].

“Hey, hey, I know this looks bad but I’m not him!”

His Force presence was a roiling stormcloud, he had a purple lightsaber and the armor of the Revanchist on some godforsaken battlefield and Sithspit he had not thought this through. 

The only way things could be worse would be if—

A faint hum was the only warning Ben had before he ducked under the other lightsaber as he put his mask back. The other, annoyingly familiar blue lightsaber and kriff that was Skywalker.

...Ben could not kill him. No, he couldn’t kill the man who’d featured in the worst of his childhood nightmares, even if he wanted to deny any connection to the bastard he still wanted to be born and he must be really, really feeling like a Sith in the Force right now if the way they were eyeing him was any clue.

Do not screw with the space-time continuum, do not, do not— 

So of course that’s when a platoon of droids find them. 

Of kriffing course. 

.

Jedi General Mace Windu was very, very alarmed to see the newcomer, and it was only partly because of who he resembled.

Nor was it the way the stranger’s Force presence had darkened even more at the sight of Skywalker, or the color of his lightsaber. 

No, Mace Windu’s main concern was the ease with which he had turned to face the droids— his blood ran cold when he saw the figure outstretch a hand, and decimated them with an ease that spoke of years of practice and control. 

He recognized it immediately, of course. [How could he not, when he himself had been the only one of his generation to have possessed said ability as well?]

Shatterpoint.

.

Ben kept his shoulders squared and lightsaber at the ready, even as he lowered his hand. He did not like the way the Jedi were looking at him— Mace Windu[!!!] had ill-disguised shock in his eyes, while Skywalker had stiffened after the first of the clankers had started falling [the hypocrite]. In the distance, he could hear clone troopers approaching and registering the disturbance as well— they’d probably arrive in a few minutes.

So much for subtlety.

Rey was never going to let him hear the end of it. Ben could almost hear Finn’s laughter, too, and the pang of homesickness came on the heels of the realization of how strained their bond felt, stretched between time and space as it was. 

[He just wanted to go home.]

“Who are you?” Skywalker asked in suspicion, and Ben tamped down on what irritation he hadn’t managed to channel into his attack.

No need to escalate this, these were allies. 

He turned to address Mace Windu, out of spite. “General Mace Windu. May I trouble you in asking what the date is? I do believe I’m a bit lost.”

.

aka the one where Ben crash-lands the Clone Wars. Cue internal screaming.

On the plus side, his childhood dreams [and nightmares], plus his being a history buff, mean that he’s very much on the ball as far as politicking and tactics go. Plus whenever Anakin’s not in the picture, Ben is highkey fanboying over everything and everyone he meets [Mace Windu! The 187th! Obi-Wan Kenobi! The 212st! Plo Koon! The Wolfpack! Bail Organa! Mon Mothma!] because these were his childhood heroes, the people whose deeds and morals he aspired to emulate when he was at his lowest points. He’s seeing and interacting with people he’d only ever seen in his dreams, and for the first time in his life, he meets his heroes and they don’t end up disappointing him even once.

...whenever he’s not scaring the crap out of them, anyway, because he refuses to remove his mask in case anyone spots the resemblance between him and Anakin. Which, combined with the armor he’s also not inclined to take off anytime soon [dude crash-landed in the middle of a war zone, what do you expect?], and you get a lot of heart attacks whenever he meets someone new. 

A lot of ‘oh shit that’s Darth Revan!’ moments, with the Jedi, and multiple kidnapping attempts from the Separatists because of that very same reason. Because Ben refuses to set foot on Coruscant as long as the Supreme Chancellor’s on it, and Palpatine is very...intrigued by these reports. 

Unfortunately for him, Ben takes one look at what’s going on, and goes “okay you know what? I didn’t want to make waves but clearly this is an alternate timeline so screw it, let’s see how much I can fix”.

If this universe doesn’t get a Ben, well at least they’re still going to be minus an Empire, so he’ll take it. 

Even if the Jedi are slightly horrified by how chill he is about the prospect, because what the hell. Made even worse as the story continues tumbling out, about Order 66 [by the way, turns out that Shatterpoint + chips = one less risk in a pinch] and Operation Knightfall and everything else that went down— and that Ben saw it in his childhood. 

The pièce de résistance, however, is the ‘my grandfather was a Sith Lord’ thing, hands down. [Geez. No wonder the guy’s Force presence was as solidly grey as it was.]

Ben doesn’t name names or remove his mask, but he doesn’t need to.

Not when everyone can feel just how little he likes Anakin Skywalker, whenever they’re in the same room.

Even if he hasn’t done it yet [ever, in this timeline], Ben will never forgive him for it. For becoming Darth Vader, for being the Emperor’s attack dog and casting a shadow so dark, Ben couldn’t fully escape it even after a lifetime of running. 

Which is a tragedy, actually, because if Anakin had been any other person, they would’ve gotten along very well. 

They have a similar protectiveness for their loved ones [the sacrifice Ben made to keep Finn and Rey safe would’ve spoken for itself], and similar experiences as Padawans [both experienced jealousy and fear because of their power]. Ben inherited Anakin's and Han Solo’s piloting skills, and Ben’s drive for justice runs in the family too. 

But because Anakin Fell in Ben’s timeline, because he featured in so many of his nightmares, was the reason Ben had struggled so hard to define himself, he just— can’t. Can’t help but raise his guard, whenever he sees Anakin. Can’t help but stiffen, can't keep his Force presence from darkening slightly. 

It’s painful to watch, even for the most distant of outsiders [...who are allies, anyway. Ventress just sits back and has popcorn, whenever they’re out in the field]. 

Especially because the more time passes, the more Ben lowers his guard around everyone else. He shows an excellent head for tactics in his talks with Obi-Wan and Yularen and the various politicians that crop up, banters with Ahsoka and the clones, and is...not exactly subtle with the way he fanboys over everyone. 

It’s...kinda adorable, actually. Ben tries to acts all professional and aloof and gruff, but then he’ll slip and geek out at the prospect of sparring with a Jedi, or he focuses so much on trying to impress Bail Organa that he completely misses the look in the man’s eyes when Ben offhandedly mentions his own efforts against the First Order.

The more time passes, the better read everyone has on the situation. 

And then Finn and Rey show up [”dammit Ben next time we’re the ones scouting the creepy Force cave”], and even more pieces of the puzzle come to light.

Finn and Rey, who are brilliant where Ben was a stormcloud. 

Finn and Rey, who openly, shamelessly give their own perspective on things too, and help fill in the parts that Ben left out.

By the time the trio leave, it’s with the hope of a brighter future, and the knowledge that that galaxy is in good hands.

[thecomicsnexus]

City of Bane, part 8

BATMAN #82 JANUARY 2020 BY TOM KING, MIKEL JANÍN AND JORDIE BELLAIRE

SYNOPSIS + REVIEW

We start the issue with Batman and Bane starting a final fight. Both of them promise they won’t get any kind of help. But early on, Catwoman steps in to help Bruce in the fight (who is also cheating with a pair of batarangs attached to his back).

Back at the mansion, Thomas punches the Ventriloquist (???) and demands to see his boy. He walks among the corpses? of the bat-family into the Batmobile, as the Ventriloquist drives him.

Back to the fight, apparently, Bruce checked the script before going into this issue, and he knew Bane wouldn’t use Gotham Girl’s super-venom, because it would overload his system. The plan then was to inject the substance with the batarangs.

Then Bane and Catwoman fight, and she explains to him that he is an ignorant that always wanted to take the city away from Bruce, while all this time, the city belonged to her (???). She clearly pierces his eye at some point, but then the eye is quite well.

With Bane kind of defeated, Bruce does the “Bane move” to break his back (instead of killing him).

Heavy spoilers after the break...

Thomas arrives at the place and prevents Bruce from pulling a “Bane”, by shooting him in the abdomen. It’s two shots (the other went to Selina) and a final one on Bane.

With everyone on bleeding on the floor, Thomas says to the Ventriloquist “We’ve come to the end. Fetch the (psycho) pirate”.

And that last line is something to be feared. It’s a bit unlikely at this point that anything that happened (maybe since Knightmares) is real. And it is hard to tell, because the facts are conveniently hidden.

We don’t know for sure that Alfred is dead (at least, facts are contradicting), we do not know if the bat-family is alive (they looked pretty lifeless), we don’t know where the bullets hit on Selina and Bane. We only know that Bruce got a bullet to the abdomen... but I am under the impression that all of this was some kind of fantasy (via Psycho-pirate) or a simulation. On the other hand, it seems like this saga and Doomsday Clock will be ending at the same time (wink wink).

I am inclined to think that none of this really happened as we saw it. Furthermore, these characters are clearly not themselves. I know angry fanboys have been having issues with King’s interpretation and they have been complaining that Batman has become a “beta”. Well, I think that’s an annoying complaint. However... this guy is also not Batman. I know he went through a lot, but Batman wouldn’t break anyone’s back like this (I mean, technically, Bane was poisoned). Would he cheat? Maybe, it’s not honorable, but I could see it happening as a desperate measure.

I am also not sure why Selina thinks she owns the city. I mean, she left the city last year!

The odd writing is paired with a very ambiguous art. Very few things are certain in the art. It looks gorgeous, but how long are we going to be kept in the dark?

My other worry is that King will pull a “Mister Miracle” and leave the whole story up to interpretations. That approach wouldn’t work with this book.

So yeah, he painted himself into a corner. This story has been too long, and I am tired of writers re-doing Knightfall in one way or another. Knightfall was amazing in its own context, in 1993. Comics were different, and fans were seeing the story played out for the first time. If every single story involving Bane also includes someone’s back... then I’d rather the character to remain in the DC vault.

In any case, Thomas being a miracle surgeon will probably undo all the damage he is done. But I am inclined to think that most of the things we saw lately didn’t happen.

We’ll see.

I give this issue a score of 7.

[silvanoir]

bat-thoughts 5/22/2019

So Tom King is off Batman early, at issue 85.  Even after announcing that towards the end of the proposed 100 issue run he’d do something to change Batman forever.  Well, after seeing what he did to Wally West in Heroes in Crisis (glad I never bought an issue, sounded bad from the outset and after seeing recaps/reactions/scans, boy was it!) I think most of us are happy that big change won’t happen (my bet is that it probably would have been something stupid and EDGY, like having him using a gun to kill) .  There have been MOMENTS and issues I’ve really loved from King’s run but not the overall plot.  IMHO, I think he’s more of a moments writer.  Better used for one-shots than long arcs.  Also still sour over the BatCat wedding that wasn’t.

I haven’t been keeping up with the comics (I’ve stopped reading anything main continuity) but I guess people are outraged that Bruce punched out Tim.  But I can’t say I’m surprised since in the recent years they had him punch and knock out Dick’s tooth, and beat up Jason.  And then have it all forgiven not much later because nothing matters!

They cast the Twilight guy for an upcoming Batman movie and I’m NOT interested.  I wasn’t interested even BEFORE the casting because it’s clear they’re not interested in portraying the things I’m interested in... the sidekicks, the bigger world of Gotham and all its characters... I like Batman but often Bats himself is the least interesting thing about Batman, you know? How many times do we have to see his parents die in the alleyway, see him train and brood, drive around, beat up robbers... we haven enough movies of the basic Bat.  Try adapting a more unique story arc from the comics, PLEASE (go off the wall and adapt Knightfall, maybe?).

[tessatechaitea]

New Titans #101

Dick Grayson probably should have been smart enough to realize Starfire would have taken the term "jerk-off" literally.

Kelly Jones should, contractually, only be allowed to draw Killer Croc and Swamp Thing.

I read Knightfall but I don't remember Azrael sucking Bane's cock. It seems like something I would have remembered. Starfire struggles with what Raven did to her and, to help her fight the trauma of Raven's rape, Phantasm forces his way into her mind. I guess it's like when you're afraid of spiders so some smart-ass therapist sticks you in a box full of spiders to cure you of your fear. Although it seems like being stuck in a box full of spiders would be the cause of my fear of spiders. Also, I might have just made up that scenario and nobody has ever been shoved in a box full of spiders except on Fear Factor. But I feel like I've heard about fighting phobias with phobias, so I'm guessing everybody reading this has heard an anecdote or two about it as well. Also I think it was in the Bible. Anyway, it's a really exciting scene because Starfire is naked on every page! But only sickos and pervs thought it was sexy. I can't believe anybody can have a boner while reading this! Although it's true that my penis doesn't understand context as well as I'd like it to. But I can't totally blame my penis for enjoying inappropriate images! Comic book artists need to stop drawing dead females as if they were sexily waiting for sex! After everybody watches Phantasm rape Starfire to help her cope with her rape, they rush in and hug her because she's cured! Although she's probably still pregnant with a demon from Azaroth. This issue is called "Aftermath" and it's broken up into chapters so we, the reader, can get a handle on all the relevant plots that will be dealt with post issue #100. I hope one of those plots is not Cyborg getting his mind back because I've got to admit that I find him more entertaining as a mindless automaton. At least he doesn't shout "Booyah!" every other page. I also would have hoped that the next chapter wasn't about Arsenal but I already turned the page to discover that it was about him.

Arsenal invented the Pocket Chaps for 80s heroes trying to transition into the 90s style.

The government wants Roy Harper to become leader of the Titans because the Titans are practically a terrorist group. Roy is all, "No! No! It's not the Titans' fault that the minister exploded! It was Raven's fault! And, yes, I know she's a Titan! But we thought she was killed when her father attacked New York! Which technically wasn't the Titans' fault either! Yes, yes, I know they also battled Jericho's dad and Changeling's dad and Starfire's sister and Wonder Girl's son from the future. But it's not their fault they were too busy dealing with family problems to actually do any good!" But the government was just too insistent. They just wouldn't back down from getting Roy to lead a team that was a complete hazard to New York because the only other alternative would be to shut the team down. And that wouldn't do anybody any good, especially DC Comics! When Roy tell's Dick that it's best for the team if Dick took some time off, Dick attacks Roy because, as he says, "Friends don't turn on friends!" Newer comic book fans often find it hard to believe there was a time that Dick Grayson was the worst character in the DC Universe. But then they don't realize there was also a time that Dick Grayson was mostly written by Marv Wolfman. Roy and Dick both keep using the pronoun "us" when arguing about the government's desire to control "metagenetics." These two privileged fucks! They don't have one metagenetic gene between them! Chapter three is about Changeling, or Beast Boy as he was previously and postviously known, once everybody realized that "Changeling" was a stupid fucking name. Not that Beast Boy is going to win any Pulitzers. Fuck, hardly any superhero names are any good, really. Superman? Batman? Spider-man? I guess they didn't get good until the 90s when everybody had to have a name composed of two of the following words: blood, death, shot, and kill.

Big deal! One Titan possibly saved one life in 101 issues! I've saved more lives than that (if you count all the people I haven't killed (which is a lot more than you'd imagine)).

Changeling can hardly turn into animals at all anymore. Now he more easily turns into Lovecraftian nightmare creatures that drive people insane. But nobody needs to worry about that. He saved one cop! New Titans #101 Rating: The Titans mostly just fight among themselves this issue. The world isn't much better off for their existence. Two cops may have been saved (although their car never explodes so it's more like zero cops were saved if you want to be a cynical asshole about it (and I do)) but four criminals were driven insane. I guess if you're a Republican, that's a pretty sweet trade off. But if you're not a monster, you might still think the Titans are more of a hazard than a benefit to society. Hopefully things will change around for them in Issue #102 when they get a leader who isn't a self-obsessed prick with a severe Batman-daddy complex.