The weirdly competent Doctor
So! The Watchtower's Medical Bay is a hub of constant Activity. With the number of Heroes who work under the Justice League, there are always injuries, health check-Ups, and illnesses that need healing.
But with the amount of Variant Biologies that those Heroes have, it's always a guessing game as to how to help them best. Some Metahumans react positively to penicillin, but others react like it's their Kryptonite. Some Aliens have anatomy similar to Humans, others are so different you can't tell the Stomach from the Bladder.
So when they hired a New Doctor for the Medical Bay, they had to run him through an entire Course on Variant Biologies and how best to treat specific Heroes. It was long and difficult to remember fully, but it was necessary for him to know.
But then the new Doctor started correcting Them.
"Actually, Martian's react better to the Syrup of Eucalyptus Plants better than Penicillin, since Eucalyptus is very similar to a medicinal plant from Mars which they used in many of their antibiotics."
"I don't think just pumping double doses of sedative is the best way to calm down a Speedster, that could have adverse effects on their body. Perhaps try Psychic Intervention? Their minds move a Mile a Second, but if you can calm them down their bodies will follow suit."
"Of course you use Micro-Doses of Kryptonite to operate on Superman! What else would you do?! I don't know, maybe ask JLD to enchant your Equipment to make use of Kryptonian suseptiblity to Magic? The Kryptonite is just gonna give him Cancer!"
Of course the Doctors didn't take kindly to being rudely corrected by a newbie, and Fired him on his first day.
Then a few days later their usual Treatments don't work, and they decide to give those strategies the Quack Doctor gave them out of desperation.
And Lo and Behold, they work! Martian Manhunter is fully healed and feels much better than the previous times he has needed surgery. Apparently they used a different Antibiotic that worked better with his Biology. Which was incredible, how had they figured it out?
Another Doctor you say? One who was experienced on Martian Biology and Medicinal History? He would very much like to meet with the man!
...
What do you mean you fired him for talking back?!
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listen i just think that if your discussion of transmisogyny doesnt include race as one of the primary points of analysis it might just be possible that maybe you don't actually have anything that valuable to contribute to the conversation
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Chilchuck is such a fascinating character, because every time you learn something new about him, it’s like you’re being punched in the gut. Like, the first time you see him, you’re all “Aww, look at this lil’ guy. Isn’t he cute? Aw, he hates being treated like a kid. He’s probably already in his late teens or early twenties or something. One of those Older Than They Look type characters right?”
And then you find out that he’s almost thirty. He’s older than Laios. And you’re like, okaaaaay, that’s a little older than I expected, but that definitely explains why he hates being treated like a kid so much.
And then much, much later you find out that he has a wife and kids. And you’re just sitting there like, huh, okay. Okaaaaay. Well, this really, really, really explains why he doesn’t like being treated like a kid. He’s a dad. He’s experienced the ups and downs of parenthood. He’s the only character in the group that’s canonically had sex. Okay. Yeah. Wowza.
And then shortly after you find out that he’s his race’s equivalent of a middle-aged man, and it’s like, okaaaaay. That recontextualizes a lot of things. He’s a middle-aged man trapped in a twelve-year-old’s body. Okay. Yeah. Wowee. Gee willickers.
And you think that’s it. You think that nothing else could top that. And then the bicorn chapter comes rolling in with a steel chair and you find out that his wife left him and all three (count that, three) of his daughters are fully grown adults. And as you’re reeling back from all of this new information, they deliver one last final slap to your face.
Chilchuck was a teen parent.
But what makes this all so funny, so fascinating, is that Chilchuck arguably has the most normal backstory out of anyone in the group. And if he was literally any other race, tallman, elf, dwarf, whatever, this information would still be surprising, sure, but it wouldn’t hit the same way it does when he’s a half-foot. Ryoko Kui really said, You know what would be funny? If I made the party’s token grumpy middle-aged man, father of three, look like this:
And she's right. It's very funny.
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Something that I've noticed ever since the Smiling Critters were introduced is that they can so easily be paired off into complementary duos, ones that are specifically designed to teach children fundamental lessons about life and self-care from two different angles. It's really interesting to me.
Like obviously you have Dogday and Catnap, with their sun/moon, dog/cat dichotomy, that stress how important it is to have fun and get things done during the day, but also that it's important to wind down, relax, and get a good night's sleep.
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Bubba Bubbaphant and Craftycorn were introduced as a duo in the Smiling Critter show's intro, and their dichotomy is quite obvious. They are basically the right and left sides of the brain personified. Bubba is the left side of the brain, logical, analytical, focused on math and science. Craftycorn is the right side of the brain, creative and imaginative, focused on the arts and self-expression. They represent learning and academia in all its forms, the different ways people engage with and understand the world.
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Hoppy Hopscotch and Kickin' Chicken form the sportsmanship duo. They are both portrayed as enjoying sports and the outdoors, but in different ways that highlight the different ways sports can be played and enjoyed and also what it entails to be successful at them. Hoppy Hopscotch may be loud and impatient, but she is also a team player, shown in her willingness to slow down her fast pace to make sure none of her friends are left behind. Kickin' Chicken, on the other hand, is laid-back, relaxed, and chill, the described "cool kid" of the group, but he's also described as having a ton of perseverance, more of a "slow and steady wins the race" type of person.
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This leaves Bobby Bearhug and Picky Piggy as the last pair. Fittingly, these two are all about how to meet the fundamental needs of yourself and others. Bobby teaches children how to nourish themselves emotionally through showing and receiving care from others, while Picky teaches them how good food is important to nourish the body and soul. Depriving oneself of either of these things only makes oneself and therefore everyone around one miserable, because those fundamental needs are no longer being met.
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Like fr, this is some pretty genius marketing right here. You have enough characters that every kid will have their favorite, but not so many that any would get lost in the shuffle, because the lessons each one of them would teach would be integral to the group as a whole. It really makes me that much sadder we saw basically nothing of the Smiling Critters during the game itself, because Mob Games struck gold with this concept, only to ultimately do nothing with it. :/
But I guess that's what fandom is for, eh?
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