#ill soon be posting dc stuff again | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

xmalereader · 5 years

Text

Jason Todd X Male Reader

|| Masterlist ||

@nightingales-posts

Requested: Hi, Hon💚 How are you doing? Could I please have a Jason Todd x Male Reader who is basically a Spiderman of DC Universe fic? (Ignore it if it sounds dumb😂)

Warnings: fluff, language, mentions of sex, mentions of rape, teasing, flirting.

Gotham was one of the most dangerous cites of all and yet people decide to move there. Even if they hear rumors about people getting robbed or things about the joker going crazy ( again ) and wanting to blow up a building full of people and such. People still came, already knowing the consequences. But for Y/n, he didn’t care. He used to live in Gotham for short while before his parents moved out, once he reached an appropriate age he decided to move back, his own mother tried to force him to stay in the small country house that they were living in, but Y/n had to talk his mother out of it and allow him to go on his own and that he wasn’t a child anymore and can take care of himself.

So, he packed up everything and moved out into a really cheap apartment on the bad side of Gotham, and like he told his mother. He can take care of himself and its true he can.

Y/n was born as a metahuman, his parents were normal human beings but somehow Y/n ended up as the odd ball in the family and his parents never knew why. They didn’t know that he had powers but they did know that he was different in some weird way. He kept is a secret for years and during his weekends he would learn new things about himself and keep notes on it. Wanting to make sure that he learns control and not do something harsht to somethign or someone.

As he moved into his new apartmart he was able to get adjusted to the neighborhood and people and was able to learn a few things from them too, Writing them down in case he had too use it against them. He’s been living in Gotham city for a few years now to know who Batman was, he was quiet impressed when he hears about the small familiar trio. Y/n wasn’t one for causing trouble but he always felt great everytime he swung around the city, humming softly to himself as he checked his phone at the same time. His sense alerting him about something up ahead, looking up quickly he noticed a batarang coming towards his way, cutting the line as he gasps and tumbles down on a roof. Groaning deeply as he placed a hand on his side. “Thats gonna hurt in the morning....” he whines out and adjusts his own mask on and puts his phone away.

He gets up from the ground and wobbled a little but quickly regains his balance, he’s fallen many times but this one came as a surprise which caused him to land on his side and Hurt himself. “Well the rumors are try, some freak trying to copy the bats huh?” Y/n looks up to see the famous red hood, gripping a knife in hand as he stands in front of Y/n with his hand on his hip. “I’m not trying out copy anyone.” Y/n groans out and glared under his mask.

Red hood tilts his head to their side with a frown, “Then why you wearing a mask?” He questions, grinning at the other male. Y/n dusts himself off and sighs. “I just need a suit to stay hidden because from what I heard, little Batman and his sidekicks don’t like meta humans—“ Redhoods eyes widen and was about to pin down this guy once he mentioned metahumans but was stopped when he felt something land on his hand, attaching itself to the balcony. “The fuck?” He mumbles out. “—before you do anything, let me finish.” Y/n approached red hood and looks down at his gloves, adjusting his own webbing. He webs red hood down and placed his own hands on his hips, mocking him. “I’m not like others, I’m not stealing and neither am I hurting anyone. I’m just getting adjusted to everything and letting myself get loose, kind of like walking or running when you are bored.”

“The hell is this stuff?!”

Y/n lets his head drop, letting out a deep sigh as he groans. “You aren’t listening, but yet you people never listen.” He matters through clenched teeth. Feeling a slight buzz on his hip, he reached inside his pocket and pulled out this phone. His alarm was going off telling him that it was curfew, yes he gave himself a curfew even though he’s twenty-five. “Thats me.” He puts his phone away once he turned off his alarm. “I have to go, the webbing will dissolve in an hour or two.” He explains, ignoring the others protest as he approached the edge of the roof and smirks, winking at him before jumping off.

Red hood was left on the rooftop, still stuck onto the roof. “I’m gonna kill him.” He growls out and calls for back up. He expected nightwing to show up but instead he got robin who only grinned and teased him. “I thought you were deadlier then me but somehow you got someone to get to you.” He bends down to cut off the webbing from his shoes, frowning he asks. “What is this stuff?” Redhood sighs and puts his blade away, bending down to take a sample of the webbing. “Some guy left me tied up here, best we take a sample and see what the hell this is.”

“Was that coming out of him?” Robin scrunched up his nose in disgust as redhood smirks at the younger robin. “Want to know what he did to me?” He wiggled his brows but robin only smacked him in the face.

—

It’s been three weeks since Y/n last ran into redhood, he was much more careful at nights now since he knew that they would go out looking for him. He would sometimes leave after the sun had set, giving him extra time to stretch out his legs and test out his new abilites. One night he was swinging down a building, landing on top he smiles at his success. “Yes perfect landing!” He tells himself before he’s being tackled down. “What the hell?!”

“Save spider boy.” Redhood was pinning him down, sitting on top of his back as he held y/n’s arms behind his back as well. “Oh god, if your going to rape me I swear—“ Red raised a brow, “What? No!” He exclaims, his grip loosening. Y/n took the opportunity to turn around and kick red off his back, doing a quick backflip he gets up from the ground. “Made you lose.” He teased, stepping back as Red groans from the ground. “You really are a pain in the ass.”

“Well no one told you to follow me!” Y/n shouts back, pouting in between.

Redhood rolls his eyes, “Just want to know who and what you are.” Y/n tilts his head to the side and hums. “Yeah no, you could’ve approached me like a normal human being but instead I get pinned down.”

“You were swinging to fast!!”

Y/n had his arms crossed over his chest as he thinks about this for a second before letting out a deep sigh. “You can call me scarlet or hex.” Red chuckled. “Seriously?”

“Just call me whatever you want okay?!” Y/n throws his hands in the air and exclaimed, groaning in frustration. Glaring at the other.

Red smirks and shakes his head. “Ill call you web boy since you can web people onto walls and such.” He teased which only earned him a glare from the other, he extends his hand out and webs red to the wall that he was leaning Against. “What—?” Red struggles agaisnt the webbing, once again. Y/n walks up to him and hums, reaching up to remove the res mask that he was wearing. “Oh smart, you wear a double mask under this thing?” Y/n says with a laugh and sets down the helmet. “You know, you’re quiet attractive but also and asshole.” He leans close to red.

Their faces were only inches away, “Don’t follow me again.” He held Redhood breath against his face before stepping away from the others personal space. “Remember, Wait two hours-“

“for two webbing to dissolve.” Red finishes for him.

Y/n smirks and picks up the others helmet, “Good boy.” He teases him before placing a kiss agaisnt the helmet and slipping it back onto reds head. “See you soon.” He calls out as he once again disappears into the night.

Jason sighs deeply, already having the hots for the other. He makes sure that his comms are on before calling the others for some backup. But this time everyone came to see Jason webbed up agaisnt the wall. “Again?” Damian raised a brow with a glare. “Sure your not pissing off this guy for no reason? Or just messing with him for fun Jason.” Says dick as he cuts him free. Jason grumbles at his brothers. “that’s none of your business.” He hissed out. Dick only smiles at Jason, “Looks like someone is flirting with the spider boy.” Tim coos out, shaping his hands out into a heart and smirking. “Your dead!” Jason shouts as he chased around the other robin on the rooftop.

#batman #bruce wayne xmale reader #bruce wayne x male reader #jason todd x male reader #jason todd #dick grayson #dick grayson x male reader #tim drake x male reader #damain wayne

583 notes · View notes

thenightling · 4 years

Text

Opinion on the rioters who dressed as The Punisher

Opinion on the Rioters dressed as The Punisher:

I recently found out some of the Capitol rioters were dressed as The Punisher from Marvel comics. Do I blame the character? No. However, i have become very cautious in regard to hardcore fans of the character and not merely over this.

First, I admit, I never really liked The Punisher as a character. I thought of him as an edgy byproduct of comics gradually shifting to being darker and grittier. He was one of the first heroes to not preach about justice and redemption but instead wanted to kill. He was not a protagonist. He started as a villain in the Amazing Spider-Man comics. Stan Lee had not liked the character. (This is a fact that is easily checked and Googled).

In the late 80s and early 90s he became very popular as comics became darker and so he was given his own comic and appeared more often and often as a protagonist anti-hero.

I never liked the concept of him. Sure, he had a sympathetic backstory but the “Killing is the only answer” never sat right for me. The lack of mercy he showed even to the repentant, it always bothered me. I got that he was supposed to be mentally-ill but in his own comics his behavior was, far too often, justified.

Other media tried to mimic the character. The Ben Affleck Daredevil behaved more like The Punisher than Daredevil. Instead of a defense attorney he was now a prosecutor. And if he lost a case he would hunt down the criminal and kill him, brutally. There’s one scene where he severs a man’s spine and then gloats as a train comes to hit him, as he lays paralyzed on the track. That’s not Matt.

Ben Affleck again played totally-not-Punisher in his portrayal of Batman. A gun-using batman that was loosely inspired by Frank Miller. And all the Zack Snyder Fanboys came crawling out of the woodwork, insisting that this was “realistic” and “more accurate to the comics” and “but look, he killed in these old comics!” They either were lying by omission or didn’t know about Crisis on Infinite Earths and how main continuity Batman had been anti-gun and anti-killing since at least 1985. The entire plot of Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke was based on this established lore.

There’s no doubt Punisher has had a serious influence on popculture and something I called Darkity, dark, dark writing or as others have named it: “Edgelord.”

It’s a sort of “dark and gritty” “realism” popular among boys between the ages of eleven and fifteen who genuinely think crime would end if we shot every criminal and don’t realize that most real world police officers have never drawn their gun, despite what you might see in the news. If murder truly was the norm, people wouldn’t still be horrified by it.

Now on to the fans. There are far too many Punisher fans who think he was and is in the right. They think he is an aspirational figure to admire and look up to. A “realistic” hero by Zack Snyder standards, because hope and mercy are what is apparently unrealistic in a world consisting of aliens, Greek Gods, witchcraft, and even the folkloric Sandman (That’s in DC, not Marvel though Nightmare is arguably the Marvel equivalent).

I used to be Facebook friends with a Punisher fan. He was equally obsessed with The Joker. At first i just let it be. You’re allowed to like edgy or dark characters. There’s no harm in that. But... he got creepy. He would quote the Joker in conversation about “SJWs” and “progressives.” He would say things like “My eyes were opened as yours soon will be.”

He was convinced liberals tried to ruin The Joker movie and posted pictures of the Joker dancing down the stairs with “HAHAHAHAHA! Suck my dick, Progressives!” in at least two of the facebook groups I run. It got embarrassing that when people would search for my Horror Comics group, the sample post Facebook gave was that one.

He kept talking about how both The Punisher and The Joker are right. His facebook picture would alternate between the two characters depending on his mood. He would post memes “explaining” why The Punisher is right.

He would post articles about this or that criminal being arrested and refer to them as “it” and “thing” and how “it should be tortured four hours before someone kills it.” things like that, about various people who did things that were (admittedly) horrific and reprehensible but he would go into graphic detail about what he wanted to do with them Very sadistic, Saw-like tortures before “Mercifully” killing them.

He once casually told me how he wanted to kill all progressives. I gently reminded him that I have liberal leanings and I got a “You’re different” sort of response.

As his behavior got more fanatical and disturbing, the more uncomfortable I became. After the progressives threat I made the mistake of telling someone who was mutually friends with us both that I felt threatened. Needless to say the one I have just described to you called me a liar, insisted he never said anything threatening. And accused me of being “one of them.”

I told him he had been acting increasingly strangely and needed to stop posting the pro-Joker stuff. And it wasn’t just the film The Joker. It was the version from Gotham (TV series) he tried to emulate and praised. A woman celebrity he didn’t like was soon being called “It.” Then some feminist (I didn’t agree with this person) was saying how The Mandalorian didn’t have enough female characters or diversity and should be canceled. It was some stupid opinion piece published by a site like Buzzfeed or Io9 during the first season of Mandalorian.

This guy was very conservative but had a bad habit of seeking out fanatical articles like this to make himself angry. The only time I ever agreed with him on the matter was when he came to my defense for not liking the 2016 Ghostbusters. Someone in my own Gothic Horror Facebook group had decided to call me a self-loathing misogynist and insisted the only reason I didn’t like it is because the characters were women. No, I don’t like slapstick comedy. I didn’t like that they didn’t bother to use real parapsychology or theoretical physics (as the original had done). I didn’t like that the “genius” of the group licked her proton blaster and that was the common promo image for the film. I didn’t like that people who praised the film entirely forgot that there was a diverse team lead by a woman in the 90s. (Extreme Ghostbusters). I didn’t like that they destroyed ghosts instead of trapped them. That violates the law of conservation and most spiritual beliefs as even being possible. It was just a bad movie.

I agreed with him on that one but when this anti-Mandalorian article came out he went too far. He insisted the woman who wrote it should be dragged out into the street and shot. He called her “it” and “thing” and said she didn’t deserve to live . I told him he was going too far, and she couldn’t take the show away, that he was over reacting.

He then blocked me. I thought it was done and over with, then the Pandemic hit.

When the Pandemic happened he unblocked me and in a revisionist history of events insisted he had blocked me because I had “lied” and said he threatened me. No, he had told me he wanted to kill all progressives, knowing that I am one. And that was not why he blocked me. It was because I disagreed about his death threats about the writer of a Mandalorian article. He wanted to fight. He alternated between insulting me and trying to show how good he was to come to me during a world crisis, like he was doing me a favor. I blocked him this time.

That night my Facebook account was disabled. Someone had reported my account as not being a real person, and Facebook wanted photographic proof that I’m real. It was re-enabled as soon as I sent in a photo but as I don’t have a smartphone (I live in a deadzone) and I’m visually impaired it was a little bit of a pain. This was not something that had ever happened to me before. And I had witnessed this Punisher fan report accounts of those he wanted to “punish” before.

And now I find out some of these rioters were wearing Punisher shirts. So yes, I keep my guard up around Punisher fans.

Do I blame the character? No. Not really. If not him they would have found someone else to try to emulate and idolize. Getting rid of the character won’t get rid of this mentality. I never liked the character but I don’t want him banned. I would be happy if less people were obsessed with him. I would be happy if those obsessed with the character didn’t all remind me of the man I described here. I would be happy if fans of the character were more likely to say that they don’t agree with the character’s actions, they just like his story.

There’s nothing wrong in liking a character with problematic behavior. But if you can’t acknowledge that it’s wrong and instead glorify and romanticize the actions of the character, that’s the problem. I love lots of characters who do bad things. I love Count Dracula. I don’t intend to drink blood and sic wolves on people. And I have absolutely no interest in impalement.

I think far too many Punisher fans don’t realize he’s in the wrong, instead want to be like him, and have trouble separating fiction from reality. I do not blame the character. They would have found someone else if not him. But unfortunately, I AM starting to view hardcore / obsessively being a fan of The Punisher as a bit of a red flag considering how many of them behave this way...

#The Punisher #Marvel Comics #MCU #Marvel Cinematic Universe

5 notes · View notes

aion-rsa · 4 years

Text

13 Best Blumhouse Horror Movies Ranked

https://ift.tt/3pr9EwE

Has any single person had a greater impact on horror this century than Jason Blum? The one-time Miramax executive struck out on his own in the 2000s when he founded Blumhouse Productions, a company where he remains the CEO. And in the ensuing years, Blum’s production label would define, and redefine again, the trends of horror movies and thrillers.

Operating on the philosophy that a horror film with a micro-budget will almost always turn a profit, Blum frequently allows directors broad freedom to make what they want within the genre, and in the process has kept multiplexes perpetually spooky. In 2009 Blumhouse helped reinvent the found footage horror aesthetic, and in the 2010s, the modern phenomenon of talent-focused horror gems began with Blumhouse’s gambles.

Working with filmmakers like James Wan, Scott Derrickson, Ethan Hawke, and Jordan Peele, Blumhouse Productions’ title card is now a promise of something different, if still eminently commercial and entertaining. It even paved the way for the controversial modern discourse around “elevated” horror, with Peele’s Get Out being the first chiller to win an Oscar for screenwriting since The Silence of the Lambs.

So with a new Blumhouse horror movie in theaters this Friday the 13th, we thought it a good time to count down the 13 best Blumhouse efforts that paid off with a bloody good time.

13. Hush

At the bottom of our top 13 is this taut thriller from Mike Flanagan, director The Haunting of series and Doctor Sleep fame. Flanagan and his co-writer and star (and also wife), Kate Siegel, wanted to make a horror movie with little to no dialogue. So they came up with this concept of a deaf-mute woman (Siegel) in a remote house, who is stalked by a killer with a crossbow. Hush is at its peak in the first 20 minutes as the masked man (10 Cloverfield Lane’s John Gallagher Jr.) realizes his quarry can’t actually hear him and begins to play games.

Movies

Doctor Sleep Director Mike Flanagan Teases Future Stephen King Projects

By John Saavedra

Movies

A24 Horror Movies Ranked From Worst to Best

By David Crow and 3 others

The pair’s relationship with sound makes an interesting dynamic in this tense home invasion movie, though the cat and mouse chase does grow somewhat repetitive and generic as the film progresses. Still, a fine performance from Siegel and an indication of what Flanagan could do on a small budget make this very much worth checking out. – Rosie Fletcher

12. Happy Death Day

The Groundhog Day formula where an odious person is doomed to relive the same day countless times has proven remarkably flexible. And Happy Death Day is no exception with its horror-comedy blend of Punxsutawney hijinks and ‘80s slasher movie clichés. Starring a ridiculously game Jessica Rothe as Tree, the sorority girl who is constantly waking up with the hangover from hell, Happy Death Day follows the typical “Queen Bee” slasher archetype, and forces her to relive the same horror movie again and again. Until she can figure out who her masked killer is, and maybe how to be a better person, she’s condemned to die in increasingly preposterous ways. Worse still, she must also wake up in a dormitory afterward.

It’s derivative in a million different ways, but delightful in many more thanks to a cheeky atmosphere from director Christopher Landon and a very savvy, self-aware script by Scott Lobdell. Most of all though, it benefits from Rothe’s comedic talents on full display, as she backflips between initial verbal bitchiness and constant physical comedy. She even manages to find a little pathos, one stab wound at a time. – David Crow

11. The Visit

The Sixth Sense may remain M. Night Shyamalan’s masterpiece, but it was an oft-referenced moment from a different film that became key to Blumhouse pulling him back from the brink of irrelevance.

Having made four objectively terrible movies in a row, including the notoriously bad wind-smeller The Happening, Shyamalan seemingly decided to use what he’d learned from a very effective part of 2002’s Signs, where Joaquin Phoenix reacts to a tense home movie of an alien sighting, and took the next logical step: What if the director put together 90 minutes of unsettling home movie moments just like that?

Your mileage may vary with the handheld, mockumentary style of The Visit, but it’s hard to argue that this brisk, low-budget tale of two young siblings staying with some very, very odd grandparents they’ve never met before could play out more wildly than it does here. And Shyamalan certainly doesn’t pull many punches when it comes to putting those poor kids in peril during the film’s climax. – Kirsten Howard

10. Creep

No, not the one set on the subway, this Creep, directed by Patrick Brice, written by Brice and Mark Duplass, and also starring them both in a tense two-hander, is an altogether more unsettling affair. Brice plays Aaron, a videographer who answers an ad posted by Josef (Duplass), the latter saying he’s dying and wants a video diary made to leave to his son. But Josef’s behavior is weird – exactly how weird is too weird is the challenge faced by Aaron.

At just 77 mins long, this is a compact, unusual, often funny movie which picks at male relationships in the modern day, and how far kindness and politeness can override instinct. Duplass and Brice are incredibly natural in a film that’s extremely unusual, steeped in unease but not really like a traditional horror, with laughter and tension relief keeping you on your toes throughout. There’s a sequel which is good too, though if you can watch the first without spoilers it delivers a particular kind of dread that’s hard to replicate. – RF

9. Upgrade

A couple of decades ago, there were plenty of films around like Upgrade. You didn’t even have to move for fun sci-fi action movies, really! But the glory days of never having to wait for the next Equilibrium, Gattaca, Cypher, or even Jet Li’s The One are long behind us. It’s pretty tough to get a slick little concept movie made when you’re expected to compete with huge action tentpoles at the box office—unless you’re Leigh Whannell, one of Blumhouse’s integral puzzle pieces.

Whannell paid his dues at the production house for 15 years as both a writer and helmer before unleashing his sophomore directorial effort, Upgrade. The film, which follows ludicrously named technophobe Grey Trace after he loses his beloved wife in a violent mugging, sees a paralyzed hero get implanted with a chatty chip that allows him to regain the use of his whole body. Soon Trace become virtually superhuman—imagine an internal K.I.T.T.—but all is not as it seems.

It shouldn’t be as delightful as it is. Admittedly, the whole thing isn’t too far removed from an elevated episode of The Outer Limits. But if you miss old school sci-fi nonsense and feel nostalgic for a time when smart sci-fi projects didn’t end up as eight drawn out episodes on a major streaming service instead, Upgrade really scratches an itch.

Of course now might be a bad time to mention that an Upgrade TV series is in the works… – KH

8. Halloween

In resurrecting one of horror’s most enduring—yet stubbornly uneven—franchises, director David Gordon Green (working with screenwriters Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley) made the smartest move he could: He stripped away the ridiculously convoluted and nonsensical mythology the franchise had built up over decades. Instead he simply made a direct sequel to Carpenter’s 1978 masterpiece.

Movies

Best Modern Horror Movies

By Don Kaye

Movies

Halloween: A Legacy Unmasked

By David Crow

The result was easily the best Halloween movie since the original itself, bringing the characters and the story into the present while reverting Michael Myers back to the enigmatic, unstoppable, unknowable force that was so terrifying in the first film. Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, and Andi Matichak as three generations of Strode women bring healthy feminine empowerment to the proceedings while the intense violence and uneasy psychological underpinnings give this Halloween a resonance that has been lacking for so long. – Don Kaye

7. Split

As the movie that suggested M. Night Shyamalan’s renaissance was real, Split is still a surprising box office win for the eclectic filmmaker. With a grizzly premise about a man suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly known as split personality) kidnapping teen girls to hold in a zoo, this could be the stuff of ‘70s grindhouse sleaze. While there is a touch of that to Split, more critically the movie acts as a buoyant showcase for James McAvoy at his most unbound.

Playing a character with 24 different personalities, a shaved and beefy McAvoy is visibly giddy bouncing between multiple alters that include a deceptively sweet little boy, an OCD fashion designer, and a bestial final form. The commitment he shows to each also becomes its own special effect, causing you to swear his physical shape is changing with his expressions.

Similarly, scenes with theater legend Betty Buckley as his psychiatrist also rivet with the energy of a stage play, and suggest a sincere sympathy for mental illness. A rarity in horror. Nevertheless, the movie still comes down to his alters’ obsessions with their kidnapped prize (Anya Taylor-Joy), a young woman who hides demons of her own. When these true selves finally cross paths in a genuinely tense finale, Split is maniacally thrilling. – DC

6. Sinister

An unsettling entry in the horror subgenre of writers who destroy their families, Sinister marked director/co-writer Scott Derrickson’s (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) return to horror after he detoured with an ill-fated remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Thus Derrickson and co-writer C. Robert Cargill concocted a unique, if somewhat scattershot, mythology about a pagan deity that murders entire families in the ghastliest ways imaginable.

Movies

M. Night Shyamalan Movies Ranked

By John Saavedra

Movies

Best Horror Movies on Netflix: Scariest Films to Stream

By David Crow and 2 others

True crime writer Ethan Hawke discovers the extent of those murders in a box of 8mm films left in the attic of his new home (where the last killings took place), and it’s the unspooling of those films—along with long sequences of Hawke moving through the shadows and silence of the house—that provide Sinister with its sickening core and palpable dread. Derrickson sustains the film’s foreboding mood for the entire running time, making the movie an authentically frightening experience. – DK

5. Oculus

The film that brought much of the world’s attention to Mike Flanagan, Oculus turned out to be a preview for the horror filmmaker’s interests. It also remains a truly unnerving ghost story. Not since the days of Dead of Night has a film so successfully made you scared of looking in a mirror.

Officially titled the Lasser Glass, the mirror in question is the apparent supernatural cause of hundreds of deaths, including the parents of Kaylie Russell (Karen Gillan) and her brother Tim (Brenton Thwaites). When they were children, their mother starved and mutilated herself before their father killed her. But now as an adult, Kaylie is convinced she can prove the antique glass is the true culprit, and she’ll document its evil power before destroying it. But the funny thing about evil mirrors is they have ways of protecting themselves, and wreaking havoc on a sense of time, place, and certainly self-image.

The Haunting of Bly Manor: Mike Flanagan Discusses Standout Eighth Episode

By Alec Bojalad

The Haunting of Bly Manor: The Poignant Tale of Hannah Grose

By Louisa Mellor

With the movie’s near masterful blending of events occurring 11 years ago and in the present, Flanagan revealed a knack for dreamlike structure, and stories about the past damning the future. These are ideas he’s gone on to explore in richer detail with The Haunting of Hill House and Doctor Sleep, but Flanagan’s ability to juxtapose childhood trauma with a nightmarish present was never more potent, or tragic, than in Oculus’ refracted gaze. – DC

4. Paranormal Activity

It may take some mental gymnastics, but if you can take a step back and ignore all the sequels that followed in the wake of this surprise 2009 blockbuster, then you’d remember Paranormal Activity is a stone cold classic. It is also the movie that put Blumhouse on the map. Already mostly finished when Jason Blum saw a DVD screener of Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity, this $15,000-budgeted terror is arguably the most evocative use of found footage in all of horror.

While Peli is obviously influenced by 1999’s The Blair Witch Project, that earlier movie is as famous for its shaky disorientation as it is its scares. By contrast what occurs in Paranormal Activity is excruciatingly clear. Seriously, the camera barely moves! Instead we’re asked to sit back and watch in near slow motion as an unwise couple (Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat) meddle with forces that were better off left undisturbed.

Movies

How Jason Blum Changed Horror Movies

By Rosie Fletcher

Movies

The Best Horror Movies to Stream

By Alec Bojalad and 1 other

It begins when Micah brings a home video camera into their house to track apparent ghosts in the dark; it ends in a demonic rush of violence. Everything in between is tracked by a disinterested lens, which usually sits statically in a corner or on a tripod, capturing the tedium of everyday life in its everyday natural lighting. Only occasionally does the horned shadow on the wall manifest. But then Paranormal Activity is chilling in its isolation. – DC

3. Insidious

As the fourth feature film directed by Australian filmmaker James Wan, Insidious follows a couple named Josh and Renai Lambert (Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne), whose son inexplicably falls into a coma and becomes a vessel for malevolent entities from a dimension called the Further. The family enlists a psychic named Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) in a battle involving astral projection and demonic possession.

Following an era of horror films that were more torture porn or police procedural (including Wan’s own Saw), Insidious was a return to the kind of horror filmmaking that was dependent on atmosphere, suspense, and what you don’t see lurking in the shadows. And Wan seemed to imbue that creepiness around the edges of every shot. Using actual adult characters and developing them (as opposed to the hipster teens that infested nearly every horror movie for at least 10 years previously) also set the film apart as a serious attempt at a genre that had been too often exploited in a tossed-off fashion.

Movies

Universal Monsters: The Invisible Man Shows Life After Dark Universe Death

By David Crow

Movies

Blumhouse Horror Movies Update: Halloween Kills, Insidious 5 and More

By Don Kaye

The world-building of Insidious left the door open for sequels, of course, and while the three produced so far have had their moments, none has matched the sheer invention and terrifying fun of the original. – DK

2. The Invisible Man

Leigh Whannell’s reimagining of the classic Universal Monster, the Invisible Man, was as much of a surprise when it hit screens earlier this year as the titular villain himself. As a smart social commentary on domestic abuse and gaslighting, while also being enormously effective as a straight up horror, this was a highly fresh take on an old standard.

At the core was the terrific performance of Elisabeth Moss as Cecilia, a woman stuck with her controlling boyfriend Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) in their high-tech, high security fortress of a home. When Cece finally manages to escape and Adrian appears to take his own life, she hopes her ordeal can finally be over. But in fact it’s just beginning.

Movies

How Leigh Whannell Made The Invisible Man Scary Again

By Rosie Fletcher

Movies

How The Invisible Man Channels the Original Tale

By Don Kaye

Playing on the true horror of not being believed, Whannell’s Invisible Man is as harrowing at times as it is thrilling. Yes, there are some extraordinarily shocking set pieces – the restaurant scene of course stands out – but it’s the increasing desperation of Cece, whose world is falling apart at the manipulative hands of a man who won’t let her go, which stays with you.

The Invisible Man is a thrilling horror, for sure, with a feel good ending (if you want to read it that way…), but it’s something altogether more exciting than that too: a fresh, relevant take on a classic, expertly directed and boasting star power delivered on a moderate budget, which flexes exactly what horror can do. – RF

1. Get Out

More impressive than any awards it won, Jordan Peele’s Get Out encapsulates the essential draw of horror: through entertaining “scares,” it unmasks truths folks might find too horrifying or uncomfortable to acknowledge. In the case of Get Out, it is the despair of Blackness and Black bodies still being commodified by a predatory American culture.

Wearing influences like Rosemary’s Baby and Stepford Wives on his sleeve, Peele pulls from classic horror conventions for his directorial debut, but gives them a startling 21st century sheen. His movie’s insidious conspiracy is neither an obvious coven of witches or the openly racist heavies of a period piece. Rather Peele sets his story about a Black man (Daniel Kaluuya) coming to meet his white girlfriend’s parents in a liberal conclave of wealthy suburbia. Written during the final days of the Obama years, Peele casts these parents (Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener) as genial and welcoming, shielding cries of racism behind fashionable political correctness.

Yet once Peele moves past that trendy veneer, he finds a potent allegory in which the ghosts of slavery are still alive and well, even in Upstate New York. Peele also packs anxieties about interracial relationships, culture clash, and childhood trauma into a film that is nevertheless gregariously funny. Ultimately though, its final effect is triggering in the best way. Get Out offers an opportunity to confront real dread, one uneasy laugh, and then sudden jump scare, at a time. – DC

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The post 13 Best Blumhouse Horror Movies Ranked appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2Uqblw1

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

5 notes · View notes

swiftiemcdibbles · 4 years

Text

Where have I been?

Hey guys! I know it's been a while since I've made, posted anything on here. ((I did FINALLY start a @taylorswift fan based Instagram, it's the same handle, SwiftieMcDibbles, but even that was very recent)) So, not like anyone cares, here's a life update I guess.

I DID have to end up selling my Lover Fest West tickets, and cried about it in the dark for a couple of nights. I feel like I broke a promise to my son, I did explain why to him and since he is the most understanding, sweet boy he was a little disappointed but understood. I have full faith I will take him to see her live one day. It is crushing though to know that because of financial problems I couldn't deliver, I knew we couldn't afford a trip from South Carolina to California, with hotel costs, food, etc. So I had to do it. And that's that. And no, I did not make any money off of them, I sold them at the price I bought them, I can't believe people think its normal to buy tickets for a couple hundred dollars and then re-sell them for THOUSANDS literally, it's kind of gross so just don't do it.

So when my fiance was deployed, about 4 months in we decided for me to stop working. I've gone back to school to become a lawyer and between that and suddenly being a "single mom", while he was gone, was just too much. I have, yes I've been diagnosed for years now, Socialized Anxiety Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar 1(which is WAY different than Bipolar that people think they know). On top of that, my other illness is also an invisible one and that is Rhuematoid Arthritis, which is an autoimmune disease/deficiency. So A LOT of my days are filled with pain and worry and panic. I take my medications as well as natural remedies but it can only do so much, there is no cure. As I've gotten older, I'm 33, the Rhuematoid keeps getting worse. I'm quarantined now, because my immune system is at risk with the Coronavirus. So, since mid March, I've been at home with a Kindergartner, trying to home school and stay healthy. I'm extremely concerned about Coronavirus, and that people are not taking this seriously. I wish it would not be compared to other viruses or illnesses, but it is. Please, I beg you stay home. If you stay home, you're not spreading it. And you could save lives.

The real kicker in this too, is RIGHT before this pandemic, back in February it became apparent I needed to go back to work. My fiance made more while overseas, which is why I stopped working. And it was always just until he got home and settled. I was AGGRESSIVELY looking for a job in my field, then started looking for any job. It then became clear that COVID-19 was more serious than initially thought so guess what? No one is hiring. Bills are piling up, and accounts are dwindling. I've had to ask my parents for help a lot and they have when they could but they are feeling this economy as well.

So now, I'm cleaning houses when I can and doing anything to get through. Probably start selling some stuff soon. It's really rough right now, but we will pull through. All of us will. My son's birthday was March 26th and thank God we bought stuff for him over time so that we weren't having to spend money we don't have for him to have a good birthday. However, his party was set for tomorrow. At a local lake that has a big park and two big docks to fish off of, because he wanted a Marvel vs. DC fishing party(the mind of a then 5 year old boy is always wonderous). So yet again, he had to be told something we planned for was either postponed or not gonna happen. Once again, he's fine, so resilient. I hope it's just postponed because its paid for and with all the parks closed I can't get in contact with anyone there to see what the deal is. We could use that money!

So yeah, life is rough. I'm homeschooling my son while taking courses online myself. I'm going stir crazy, my depression is pretty bad at the moment. I just feel like I'm not holding up my side of things. All the financial burden is on my fiance and I feel terrible for that. He's considering selling his truck, that he JUST got in January because he NEEDED a new car, well it's a 2012 but new to us. I will literally die before I let him do that, this man works so hard. He's National Guard so he works a civilian job and then has to drill. The way his schedule works is he is LUCKY to get 2 SATURDAYS a month off, and that's it. So of course, I feel worthless which makes all the mental health issues I have way worse.

So yup, that's where I've been. In a dark place I'm really hoping will lighten up soon.

I truly hope everyone is doing ok. I know times are scary and hard but just be patient and do what your leaders are telling you to do as far as the Coronavirus is concerned. Love you guys! If you get too down, just throw on a Taylor album and escape for a minute, it's what has helped me.

@taylorswift you are an inspiration right now, and all the time. What you're doing to help those in need is remarkable and you have stayed the epitome of class throughout the entire past 4 years when basically half the world thought you were a liar. And instead of rejoicing in your victory, you took the spotlight away from that call and put in on The World Health Organization. Way to go! Hope your anxieties are not too bad right now, hope your Mom is doing well, everyone else too. Ok, I'm done now lol.

#taylor swift #swifties #taylurking #swiftie4life #swiftie4ever #taylornation #taylorlurking #lover #coronavirus #quarantined #immune deficiency #rhuematoidarthritis #national guard #support the troops #taylor was telling the truth #we stand with taylor #taylor was right all along #life update

2 notes · View notes

anti-tony-god · 5 years

Text

(Sorry kinda long) Cass Cain!! I love her! She has her own series: Batgirl (2000)! The problem is Cass’s education was neglected, so she doesn’t know anything at first. Then she gets magicked and knows words, but can’t speak. Then she can speak, but in broken English. She can’t read either, even pretty far in. I am iffy on Bruce’s part because he sucks and reteaches her to fight, he’s her adopted father but uhh this is before that and while he does worry for her like all his protégés it feels a bit like white knight to me (mostly cause I hate Bruce and Cass should be able to kick his ass at any point in time). Barbara Gordon takes her in, too. Idk if that’s a turn off for you. Shes like 16 so she needs someone looking after her anyway.

I’m going to warn you the art is…… well someone definitely drew that. But it gets better further in. Onyx Adams is there and doing amazing!! Cute Cass/Steph moments!! The end is disappointing and the amount to black villains has me a bit concerned but it’s not 100% and there are black good guys so I’m not going to throw down the racist card.

#30-32 has Connor Hawke in it

Kinda bloody. Suicide, murder, the works. Cass can really kick butt and she’s super sweet but she lets Bruce get in her head when she should be letting Barbara in instead. I actually don’t mind that part, it’s kind of interesting to see even if it does make me mad.

The thing I do absolutely love about her is that she speaks in movement, which is poetic and beautiful. I just wish there was more of it. She had a rough growing up and finally got the family she deserves (except Bruce he sucks). I hate that they make reading body language a power or secret weapon of some sort that can be taken away. I’d have loved it if they kept that.

Batgirl (2008) starts off rough, the other batfam members start off acting like dicks, I know that the first intro of a character makes me judge them afterwards (why I hate black widow) so idk if you think that’ll ruin them for you. She still speaks brokenly but it’s revealed she took an esl class, so it’s better. This is definitely something you read if you want to see more Cass, you run into a bunch of characters but don’t get into her as a person enough except for that part she gets a bf. It’s Cass on a deeper level (talking about her trauma, seeing her sister). She is on a mission and it shows. 2000 is a lot lighter, not as serious.

2009? Cass upgrades to her ultimate form and says fuck Bruce Wayne and then leaves. Unfortunately, that’s the most you’ll get from her. Stephanie Brown (blonde white girl) then becomes batgirl. Which, now that I think about it, is kinda fucked up.

Don’t read any batgirls past that, it’s Barbie Gordon and she sucks (I will find you)

Here’s a rec list for her if you still want to see stuff on her, she probably speaks brokenly (really brokenly or somewhat brokenly depends on the time) or not at all in them. She didn’t have any speech problems in batgirl: convergence but Steph is batgirl in that, she’s black bat. In rebirth she’s known as ‘orphan’ which is worse than ‘signal’ so uhh I don’t know shit about that and never will. Also she respects Batman which is sad :( https://fyeahcassandracain.tumblr.com/recs

Don’t read One Year Later

Connor Hawke!! Oooo I hate Oliver Queen and you will see why but Connor? Connor is my baby!! But all black DC characters are because I’m black and I said so.

He originally had a temper (“angry black man” but also Uhhh Oliver Queen’s son) he was picked on as a kid since he’s mixed (¼ Korean, ¼ black, ½ white) he has the occasional white washing too. His mom would kick your ass if you started making fun of him.

Nothing else I can think of I don’t read him much, sorry

https://www.google.com/amp/s/lornahs.tumblr.com/post/95199039664/where-to-start-reading-connor-hawke-lets-first/amp

Ok I did Connor Hawke: Dragon’s Blood and don’t fucking read it he’s whitewashed in the first part then kissed his fucking half-brother’s mom noooooo

People like Connor and Kyle Rayner together plus it’s outside of the Arrow Fam so none of that shit will pop up probably (hopefully) they don’t have a run together but I did run into them a couple of times, they’re so cute!!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/lornahs.tumblr.com/post/156635510974/kyle-raynerconnor-hawke-recommended-issues/amp

I’m kinda traumatized so no I will not sample any of those for you. Also he respects Oliver which is sad :(

Duke Thomas!! I did like the little glimpses of Duke I got before he moved from background to foreground, but I never read him much. 1. Because I hate Bruce (BATMAN & the signal) 2. Because his new name sucks if they just called him Lark like everyone was voting for I would maybe do it 3. Because it was new 52 and I couldn’t care less about Robin War

I am curious about Duke too tho, I will never read Robin War (nothing immoral about it I don’t think, I just don’t give a shit and it sounds boring also respect for Batman which is sad) but I did get into Batman & The Signal

Writer attempts to console the audience about having too many batfam members while showing us said batfam members, one (or two if you count nightwing) of which is whitewashed, another that is ablewashed, and the PoC and Jewish ones are put in the corner (but to be fair, they’re trying to center the more popular ones and THATS why I hate this fuckin fandom).

I’m going to choke this writer, speech bubbles and boxes are two different things I don’t care if he’s talking to both the audience & the people around him it’s confusing and I hate it how am I supposed to know when it’s in his head or not

“No good names left” I’m so mad there are so many birds that exist do you even know how disappointing it is to hear Duke is getting to be part of the batfam everyone’s so exciting making stuff up for him “oh Lark this Lark that” and then his name is fucking SIGNAL what’s he do make bird calls whenever the bad guy is outside??? “Oh uhhh there’s crime Duke hit the button for the batsignal” fucking SIGNAL

Him trying to figure out his powers is boring as hell I DON’T CARE literally “Jason Todd Death Joke” “Someone Gets His Name Wrong” “I’m A Mystery” “I’m The New Guy” this writing is so lazy ahhhh

Black “blue” dude with a big ass nose that’s the bad guy

I got bored again and skipped panels then found a disabled Asian woman, I am interested again… Wow I want a comic on her she’s more interesting than Duke lmao

I SCROLL DOWN TO SEE IF ITS REDEEMABLE AND SEE A WHITE WOMAN WITH DREADS BYE “but it’s ok ‘cause she’s part robot or whatever” I’m not reading anymore especially since Barbie is there probably preying on another young black guy to not be racist with

https://www.google.com/amp/s/lornahs.tumblr.com/post/155680034759/where-to-start-reading-duke-thomas-his-first/amp

Rec list, he’s mostly in batman sorry fam *F* also he respects Batman which is sad :(

If you decide to stay away from batfam please take me with you

If you decide to stay away from DC PLEASEEEEE take me

I should probably explain this since I keep throwing it onto you without explaining what it is Barbie Gordon: Barbara Gordon (second batgirl, most popular) was attacked by the joker and was paralyzed from the waist down. This was an extremely sexist comic that was complained about by all sorts of straight white able-bodied feminists even after DC turned that trash-fire into a glorious fireworks display

She was amazing as Oracle! She was a genius, badass, wheelchair-bound asskicker!! Even the justice league wanted her!! She was so reliable and strong mentally, physically, and emotionally! She was one of the only people to step up during No Man’s Land! She took in Cass and didn’t give up on her when she took Bruce’s stupid advice over her wisdom! And she lost her respect for Bruce which is great! She had more respect as Oracle than she could ever dream of as batgirl. She realized Bruce was bitch and became twice the man he could ever be. She didn’t let that moment define her, and she decided she wouldn’t let anyone hold her back anymore. She didn’t have Bruce’s “huh they look like they can beat someone down hard 🤔🤔🤔” view of worth, she saw people as they were and did what she could to help them improve. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

But with enough whiny bitches DC will do anything, and Barbara was given back her legs, her respect for Bruce, and her wisdom while also gaining a black boyfriend that had no business being there (MY Luke??? I appreciate the bowtie pics but FUCK YOU) that she would soon dump for her light-skinned ex, and a victim complex.

She lost both her dignity and everything great about her.

No one hates Barbie more than me. No one. If I find out that you even glimpsed at her I will hunt you down.

Also recently they made a new Oracle, since she mostly deals with computers it’s sort of a robot thing and it’s STILL FUCKING ABLE BODIED THE POINT FEW PAST THEM AT A THOUSAND MILES AN HOUR

THE MADDEST I’VE EVER BEEN

–

Thank you so much for all this! Idk what a lot of it means since ive literally never read a dc comic but ill keep it in mind when I start reading!!

#dc #long post #suicide mention #submission #save

9 notes · View notes

20thcentutygeek · 5 years

Text

5 Comics that would make GREAT TV shows

Mainstream premium TV shows are getting more genre based all the time. More than that they are become weirder, more adult and more ambitious. HBO has been leading the charge with Game of Thrones and West World, but we have had a bevy more. We now live in a world with Shows like Preacher, The Boys, American Gods and Good Omens, and that’s just from Amazon Prime. Throw in The Handmaids tale, Stranger Things, Legion as well shows coming soon like The Witcher, Sandman, Watchmen and His Dark Materials and you have a sea of content that will keep even the most discerning nerd happy. However, there is still so much great source material to be mined that would make great TV shows.

Here is our top 5 Comics that would make great TV shows:

Transmetropolitan (Writer: Warren Ellis / Primary Artist: Darick Robinson / Running 1997 - 2002). Ellis doesn’t have the most optimistic opinion of the future. He explores where we are and where we’re going as well as almost all of our faults in this 60 issue satire. The story centres around Spider Jerusalem, a future gonzo journalist or Ellis by way of Bill Hicks and Hunter S. Thompson. He’s angry about pretty much everything and he wants to expose the hypocrisy of the world. The overarching story becomes the sage of Spider vs. the person he sees as the embodiment of what is wrong, politician and eventual president, The Smiler.

The future cyber punk world is brought to life by the excellent art of Darick Robertson. It captures the essence of the zany, dirty, corrupt and relevant world. This is another piece of sci-fi that becomes more relevant as time goes by. The politics of the book are reflective of the time, but the corruption runs deep and I’m sure Spider would role his eyes in a post Trump world, shaking his head at the rhetoric and chest beating on both sides of the isle.

The world needs a live action Spider Jerusalem.

Planetary (Writer: Warren Ellis / Primary Artist: John Cassidy / Running 1998 - 2000). Where Transmetropolitan is a dark cynical Ellis, Planetary is his desire to explore the world of conspiracies and secret organisations. It’s centres round a mystery that runs through the ,majority the 27 issues, while many of the issues are actually one and done stories. The first arc introduces a world that is alive with analogues of the Fantastic Four, Godzilla and Doc Savage. It’s loaded with homages and Easter eggs, without ever being pandering or overly referential.

The titular Planetary, is a secret group that collects information of the weird history of the world. They start as bystanders and observers but become more entwined in the events at the story progresses.

Again Ellis is partnered with the perfect artist for the material, John Cassaday. His detailed, shadow filled art wonderfully fills the world with character and life. His art is measured for each scene. The intimate feels character driven and focused, while his splash pages are awash with crazy details. It’s a feast to enjoy on every page.

The potential to expand this and explore so many ideas, not just sci-fi but all genres and ideologies, world be amazing. This is an untapped well of potential that could rival the best cutting edge show.

The Invisibles (Writer: Grant Morrison/ Primary Artists: Steve Yeowell, Chris Western, Philip Bond / Running 1994 - 2000). We’ve recently had Doom Patrol from DC which used many of the ideas from Morrison’s run in the 90s. It’s weird, surreal and challenging while still being an action adventure. We’ve also had Legion which has challenged the reality and mental state of a primary character. These shows challenge the viewer to accept a lot of absurd things. This could be kicked up a gear in a live action take of The Invisibles. A group of reality rejects that are fighting an inter-dimensional war, possibly. It’s twisty, violent and weird in the best possible way. Morrison used this comic as a meta commentary and source of chaos magic for his life (seriously, check out the story of how he caught an illness he had given the character King Mob in the book, only to be cured when he cured King Mob in the comic).

The art in the book is provided by several artists across the volumes. Each brings something different to the series but all bring Morrison’s world to page, realising some bizarre stuff that has been mimicking to never bettered since.

This is one of those comics that has been placed on the ‘unfilmable’ pile. However, I’m convinced that the right team could produce something that would challenge viewers with its content, and how we interact with TV shows and it’s story lines.

Saga (Writer: Brian K Vaughn / Primary Artist: Fiona Staples / Running 2012 - on going) The others on this list are loaded with adventure, violence, intrigue and imagination but Saga brings those and heart. Primarily the story of a couple, warriors from opposing sides in an intergalactic war, and how they struggle to raise their child and settle to start their family. It grows from there to become an epic story spanning planets and years, and doesn’t scrimp of the sci-fi weirdness.

The expansive story telling is rounded out by Fiona Staples art. Staples has a realistic style which captures emotion and expression perfectly. Many of the characters have human faces and her style captures the nuances of emotions and relationships. However, it also means that when alien and weird elements are introduced they stand out but never feel cartoonish. Vaughn May have thought up the world but Staples realised it.

This would work excellently on TV as a character driven series. The comic forms a great foundation to work from, however Vaughn and Staples have created such a rich and textured world that more stories could be explored. This could be as complex as Game of Thrones and as much of a sci fi fantasy staple as Star Wars.

American Vampire (Writer: Scott Snyder / Artist: Rafael Albuquerque / Running 2010 - on going) The stereotype of the classic vampire is Eastern European nobility, usually looking like Bela Lugosi. Scott Snyder decided to examine the idea of what world happen if vampires were more influenced by the country they are from, what would be the American Vampire? The series starts in the old west and progresses through the 20th Century following the lives of several key vampires, providing an alternate take on some key events. However this isn’t a stale history lesson, Snyder brings the horror and the gore in spades. This idea and story is realised on the page with the art of Rafael Albuquerque. His scratchy gothic art style balances the detail and abstract to provide an perfect vision of this horrific under world, just a step away from the norm.

Being based around an alternate take on real history this story could explore so much. Yes, this would be a kick ass vampire horror tale, but it could also be used as an analogue to comment on modern issues; the immigrant experience, bigotry, mental illness etc. The potential for this show is awesome.

#Comics #tv #Superheroes #Horror #scifi #Pop Culture

5 notes · View notes

violetsmoak · 6 years

Text

No Safety or Surprise [Part I - Excerpt]

Summary: A haunting broadcast reveals the Joker’s final act and sets off a chain of events that will destroy the world. Terry finds himself collaborating once more with the estranged members of Bruce’s former team. As the end nears, however, he and the other Bats are faced with hard choices about survival—and forgiveness.

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything to do with Batman. I don’t make any money off this. It’s just me playing in a sandbox. (And I’ll put a better disclaimer on this at some other point.)

Author’s Note: First fic in the Batman universe, yay! (Well, second, but the first one was high school ago and was a blatant self-insert lol). I’ve been toying with this idea for a while now. It’s taken some in-depth planning, but I finally have something to show for it. This is only one part of a very large first chapter, but I thought I’d throw it out there into cyberspace and see what people think. I’ll post it here in mini excerpts, but eventually I’ll put it on FF.Net and Ao3, once it’s all shiny and edited.

Spoilers: Everything in Batman Beyond until but not including the “Rewired” storyline or anything afterward. Also, references to events and characters present in the DC ‘verse up to the New 52 (after the “Robin Rises” story arc) but before Rebirth. (And JFC do I hate keeping all these timelines straight!)

Warnings: Leading up to canon-divergence; eventual main character deaths (except not really, because timey wimey stuff); a few minor original characters; multiple POVs

Timeline: Takes place after the events of 10 000 Clowns but before Terry McGinnis graduates high school.

Bruce is beginning to wonder if a Lazarus Pit might not have been a better idea than the liver transplant. Of the methods for artificially prolonging life, at least with the Pit, he would eventually start to feel like he was recovering.

After the madness subsided, at least.

On days like today—when it’s damp and chilly, and there’s nothing going on in Gotham to keep him glued to the computer screen in the Cave—it’s hard to remember the arguments he’s always made against using the restorative powers of a Lazarus Pit. He body protests with every movement as he eases it through several slowed kata variations. Part of his physical therapy, as suggested (ordered) by his doctors.

Since his procedure, he feels the exhaustion much more keenly. It’s a bone-deep fatigue that seeps into every muscle, emphasizing the way his bones creak and grind against each other, cartilage worn away from age and decades of abuse. It’s the way his energy levels drain so much faster no, to the extent that even his usual ability to will himself into action seems to wane every day.

Not that he really had a choice in the matter. He was in end stage liver failure, and the nearest Pit is in New Cuba. He’d just been lucky that there was a suitable donor in the hospital at the right time.

‘Luck’ is one word for it. ‘Cruel irony’ might be a better phrase.

Douglas Tan is one of the names he’s going to carry on his conscience for the rest of his life; or, at least on his liver.

Terry still makes jokes about Batman having a piece of a Joker inside him, but then Terry tends to use humor to cover up when he’s worried. Dick always did that, too; and Jason.

Bruce scowls, bothered by the direction of his thoughts, as well as the raggedness to his breath. He isn’t even moving very fast, but it’s taking him every bit of strength to keep at it.

Ace is curled up in his usual spot in the cave, watching Bruce with what seems to be narrowed eyes. As if to say, don’t overdo it or I will knock you over.

He knows the dog is smarter than most people.

Ace is one of the reasons the doctors were willing to leave him to pursue recovery on his own and not under some beady-eyed nurse in hospital. Money isn’t as much an incentive as it once was, with so many legal and health standards in the way; the older he gets, the less likely people are to trust his ability to make decisions, lawyers or not.

He tolerated a private nurse for about a day while having Terry make other arrangements and manufacturing a piece of paper saying Ace was a certified service dog. He’s not, but Bruce has no doubt the dog would activate the medical alert button at the computer if something were to happen. And Terry has an alarm set up, keyed into the surveillance and motion sensors in the Cave. If anything were to happen, he can be here faster than any ambulance.

Old age has fed into long-buried fears, and it gives him an embarrassing sense of relief knowing there’s someone to look in on him. It has always bothered him, being dependent—being weak.

Some days he’s more accepting of it; some days he wishes he had Kryptonian DNA.

Which is usually the point at which he forces himself to occupy his mind with other things, because envying Clark Kent can only lead down a dark, frustrating path of self-pity. One he’s determinedly avoided ever since meeting the other man.

After another fifteen minutes of forcing himself to think about nothing but the movement of his limbs, Bruce finally finishes his exercises. Sweat coats his back and his limbs ache with the same burn as if he just spent several hours grappling through the Gotham skyline. Even if it took less challenging movements to reach this point, that burn is comforting.

Familiar.

And that’s a word that’s been cropping up more in his thoughts lately. History tends to repeat, after all, but it’s still strange to experience. Terry’s been an excellent example of that.

Like Bruce, the McGinnis boy started out with nothing but a suit and an old man’s voice in his ear. Now, he’s got a network. Friends who he trusts and who will keep his secret. A steadily growing list of allies in the field.

The Police Commissioner. The Justice League.

And a Catwoman too, for Christ sakes.

He wonders what Selina would think about that.

Bruce just hopes the kid won’t make his mistakes. Forty years is a long time to rack up regrets.

At least Dick’s back in contact now.

Sort of.

He showed up the second night that Bruce was recovering from his procedure at the hospital; he’d managed to convince Terry to go out on patrol instead of wasting his time watching an old man sleep.

“Batman doesn’t get a day off.”

Bruce had dosed for a bit, but not deeply; it wasn’t difficult to discern that he wasn’t alone.

One minute the room was empty and in the next, Bruce could feel that familiar presence—the one of a man who had carried the mantles of Robin, Nightwing and Batman—and somehow lived to tell the tale. Then his estranged son was stepping out of the shadows, glaring down at him, muscles in his jaw working and fists clenching and unclenching.

“I know what you’re going to say,” Bruce had croaked, wishing he had thought to ask for ice chips before the nurse left. “I’m too stubborn to die.”

The silence hanging afterward was filled with everything he couldn’t say yet. For once, Dick didn’t call him on it.

“You’re more stubborn than God,” his boy countered.

(He’ll always be a boy to Bruce, grey hair and eye-patch be damned.)

And yet, he sat, arms crossed and spine stiff for the rest of the night. Still angry, but there nonetheless. He stayed until morning rounds without saying anything, and then left.

They haven’t seen each other since, but sometimes Bruce can hear feedback on the comms when he’s directing Terry’s patrols. The tinny whisper of signals crossing from the bug he pretends he doesn’t know Dick planted on the underside of his medical ID tag.

It’s not much, but it’s something. The opening of the possibility that at some point, he’ll come around.

Barbara did, after all.

Mostly because of Terry, but afterward Bruce started making the effort. They can have conversations alone now that don’t end with her yelling at him (or punching him, on one or two memorable occasions). Bruce forgot how much he enjoyed her sense of humor and intelligence—how much he enjoyed their friendship—from before they slept together.

(That might be one of his life’s biggest shames. Oh, he has regrets associated with all of the family for one thing or another, but this is the one that still wakes him up at night feeling dirty.)

In a way, it’s easier with Tim, and that’s a bridge Bruce thought had been obliterated long ago.

Granted, he’s leaving Gotham again—the last incident with the Joker army rattled him enough that he put in for a transfer to the Chinese division of Wayne Enterprises—but he stuck around long enough to collaborate with Bruce on a subdermal antitoxin deployment implant against Joker venom.

(None of them want to be caught unawares again.)

It’s in the prototype phase, with only five of the devices in existence; he, Tim and Terry are testing them personally. It’s not exactly something the FDA is going to approve for human testing anytime soon, not with all the new legislation, but with the state of Gotham, it’s unwise to wait on it.

(He sent one to Barbara and one to Dick but doesn’t know if they’ve bothered to activate them. At least they haven’t sent them back.)

If the implant works, Bruce is seriously considering modifying the tech for the Wayne Enterprises medical division. There are a lot of illnesses and viruses out there which require regular dosages of medicine to keep them under control.

Maybe that’s the next project, after CAIN, he muses, grabbing his towel from where he draped it over one of the computer processors.

His global Clean Air Initiative Network is something he’d been working on before stepping back from the company. It was shelved almost immediately by Derek Powers when he took over, but since Bruce has been back, he’s been revisiting a lot of old projects.

Lucius’ boy did most of the technical work on it, and Foxtecha will have joint ownership of the patent when it’s ready for public consumption. Bruce would have asked Tim, but he knows how determined he is to get out of Gotham. He can read it in the tone of his emails, which have thankfully lost the stilted, formal business tone they’ve had since he returned to the company.

(Bruce mentioned paying a visit in the future, and Tim didn’t say no, so he counts that as a win.)

It’s a little disconcerting how the family is coming together again; disconcerting but welcome.

He’s received a vid call last week from Cassandra expressing concern over his surgery, and then a short, gruff email from Duke all-but ordering him to get better. There’s even a letter from Stephanie—or Eurus, as she goes by these days—smelling of dust and desert sun and incense found only in Nanda Parbat. Her messy, looping scrawl, echoed Dick’s sentiment about Bruce’s stubbornness and alluded to its genetic inheritability.

(That said more than if she had actually mentioned Damian outright.)

Bruce lost track of her not long after his son’s short and brutal stint under the cowl; it had surprised him to find out she ended up in Tibet.

It also relieved him. Because no matter how dark a path his son wandered, there would be someone to challenge him. To not obey without question. To give him a link to the life he once had, to being human and alive.

(Bruce very carefully doesn’t think about Jason—doesn’t wonder if things had been different, if he wouldn’t have reached out as well. Even after so many years, that wound is still raw.)

The whole thing is a stark difference from the last few times he ended up in the hospital, including when he was dosed on Joker venom several months ago. He didn’t hear anything from them at that point, which makes him think someone really thought he was dying this time and reached out.

Barbara, maybe. Or Dick. However much tension there is between himself and Bruce, he does keep in touch with the others.

Hell, it might even have been Terry. The kid doesn’t know the rest of them personally, but he’s gotten adept at navigating the computer in the cave. And he’s always been curious about his predecessors.

Bruce’s first family.

Or maybe just the first phase of the family.

Bruce shies away from that secret bit of knowledge he has about Terry, and his brother Matt. What he discovered the first time the kid returned to the Cave with bloody gashes that needed stitching up. The files and medical information buried beneath every firewall he could fashion, so the boy never stumbles upon it accidentally.

The most he’s allowed himself to acknowledge it is an amendment in his will setting aside trust funds for both boys.

As if triggered by his thoughts, the screen of the Bat-Computer flickers to life. He rolls his shoulders, expecting an alert on some heist or robbery going on in the city; another case to add to the docket for Terry to investigate after school (depending on the severity).

Bruce doesn’t expect the Cave to suddenly fill with a jaunty, haunting carnival tune that makes his entire body seize in recognition. And yet, he already knows what’s coming even before the words HA HA HA coalesce upon the screen.

TBC

8 notes · View notes

aquarad-a · 7 years

Text

I’m back with another long meta post about Garth! This time about Atlanteans in general actually, in terms of their biology.

Like my last rant, it’s also going to be pretty much entirely canon with a few headcanon things thrown in (and I’ll make the distinction in text) based on all information given before New 52/Rebirth. Some of it might still apply to Rebirth, though there are some things that may be different. I tend to only care about Preboot biology because it has so much more information to draw from.

Probably the biggest aspect that makes Atlanteans unique is their ability to breathe underwater! Luckily, there is a canon explanation, so we don't have to sit around and try to figure it out ourselves. Gills? You won't find them on most Atlanteans. The exceptions might be Tritonians, maybe, because they mutated separately than the more human-looking Atlanteans. But this isn't confirmed. They may still breathe like the rest of Atlanteans. ( For those who might not be familiar with other underwater cities in DC canon, Tritonians look like mermaids. They still don't have visible gills, though, nor do a lot of mermaids in DC. That may be artistic choice. However, Atlanteans are confirmed to not have gills by several different comics and eras)

Atlanteans breathe through their pores. Yup. As water passes over their skin, it absorbs oxygen. It goes directly into their bloodstream. It's similar to gills, but they are all over their body and they're microscopic. There's no way to tell if somebody is Atlantean by their skin.

This is why any liquid splashed on an Atlantean will help if they're suffocating -- if you read Aquaman comics, you probably already know that even since the Silver Age they claim to only need to be in contact with water to survive. It’s incredibly consistent. Aquaman and Aqualad are seen using milk to rehydrate, or having water simply drip onto their faces ( the face is probably the best place for this, if they are in big trouble, as they need oxygen to get to their brain! ) They do get dehydrated easily, but just drinking water isn't going to help them breathe. If you're not familiar with Aquaman comics but have read TT:YO, you’re probably still familiar with the concept: Garth is having trouble breathing, but drinking water just makes him vomit it back up. It’s only after he sits in a pool of water that he recovers.

But Atlanteans can and do drink liquids. Garth drinks soda in cans through a straw like a fucking loser, by the way. And Arthur and Garth have been shown to drink beer together, amoung other things.

(side note: puking up water in TT:YO is more a reference to the fact that Garth canonically gets physically ill when he’s nervous or upset. No Atlantean has been shown to get sick after drinking water in any other comic, unless the water itself is poisoned. But I’ll get to that later!)

(additional side note: Human Anton Geist developed a serum that caused humans to grow gills, which is pretty darn convenient for when San Diego fell into the sea. These mutated humans are not Atlanteans. However, though “Sub Diego” does house many Atlantean refugees. Since I’m speaking about actual Atlantean biology, adapted human biology doesn’t really fit into things here.)

Now, let's talk about suffocating... Atlanteans all possess lungs that are able to filter air like humans can. So, why do Atlanteans need to rehydrate? Because their lungs aren't designed to breathe air long term. Why would they? Atlanteans adapted to living underwater completely. Their lungs are smaller and can only function continuously for a short period of time. Untrained and "under-developed" lungs can last about an hour before they either stop filtering carbon dioxide or stop working altogether. After about an hour, your typical Atlantean still start to go into respiratory failure.

Exposure to air can extend an Atlantean's durability. Aquaman seems to have no real issue out of water in later comics, and Tempest is able to draw moisture from the air to breathe on land (but still needs to rehydrate at intervals). Similarly, the humidity of an area can affect how long any Atlantean can breathe out of water. After a period of recovery, Atlanteans are able to use their lungs again. Recovery time depends on each individual.

You'll notice that some Atlanteans, when injured on land, are put into a water tank. Others (Garth, notably) can just put on pure oxygen. Water tanks should be a preferred method, as long as the water is pure. Tula died because she was in poisoned water and absorbed poison along with oxygen directly into her blood. (Tempest later specifically learns how to draw poison out of somebody’s body through their pores and uses this ability to save Arthur's life later on)

Garth, during Sword of Atlantis, loses his ability to breathe underwater for a period of time (he also lost his memory, his powers, his family, and had some seizures so this was not a good time for him overall) but that was magically induced.

(Don't worry, he got better...and then he died.)

Now let's move on to the magical world of the senses!! Atlantean senses are all connected, and they use different ones depending on if they are or land or sea.

Eyesight:

Atlantean eyesight is stronger than humans, and obviously they are much more suited to see underwater than on land. Their eyes refract light at the same angle as the water around them, giving them clear vision underwater. Atlanteans have incredible close range vision, but their ability to see well begins to diminish at about 100 feet. They are particularly adapted to see well in low light (there's no light underwater, don't you know) However, they cannot actually see in pitch black darkness (about 1000 feet below) That's when they rely on their other senses to get around.

Garth is partially colorblind. He can see reds, oranges, and yellows. Blue, green, and black are nearly indistinguishable.

On land, Atlanteans have a film that covers their eyes, though it’s barely noticable. This filters light differently, giving them the ability to see on land as well. In fact, Garth is able to see father and focus more on land than in the water.

Eyesight isn't always important underwater, but it's incredibly important on land. And to understand why, we have to take a detour and talk about...

Hearing

Like their eyesight, Atlantean hearing is much more advanced than a human's. Underwater, they can hear somebody speaking in a soft tone from 1000 feet away if they were about 2 fathoms down. Atlanteans have two sets of three semi-circular canals in each ear that help with orientation and balance. They use them to detect direction and speed while swimming.

On land, Atlanteans are particularly affected by the speed of sound. Sound travels almost 4 times faster underwater. Garth has trouble determining the source of sounds while on land, and has trouble determining which direction sounds are coming from (things sound like they are coming from all directions, all at once)

This also causes problems in an Atlantean’s ability to process sounds. On land, it’s difficult for their brains to process and identify sounds, even if they have heard them before. On land, Atlanteans rely heavily on their sense of sights to help interpret audio signals.

This does explain why Garth appears skittish and anxious ...don’t get me wrong, Garth also Has Anxiety and other mental health problems, but that’s a rant for another time. On land Garth tends to act slightly less confident in himself, even as Tempest. Essentially land is a terrifying place for Atlanteans, with every single sound being strange and overwhelming. Atlanteans would be constantly checking their surroundings as they try to figure out the world around them.

Smell

An Atlantean’s sense of smell is particularly strong. An average Atlantean can smell particular odors 1,000 feet away while underwater. On land that distance increases to 2,200 feet. Garth can actually identify people based soley on their scent, even if they’re standing 100 feet away and he has no other sensory cues to who they are.

My personal headcanon is that Garth can also determine if you’ve changed shampoos or even hand soap and as a kid/teen would call people out on it (i.e. saying “your new shampoo makes you smell worse” instead of greeting somebody...he soon learned that saying such things is rude af)

Taste

Again, it’s stronger than humans (have you noticed a theme here?) Atlanteans can sense sweet, sour, salty, and bitter foods. But they also detect fatty and amino acids. They can detect differences in recipies or brands or if food has been tampered with/spoiled.

If you read Rebirth Titans, they do confirm that Garth can detect poison in foods! So maybe the other senses will follow preboot canon too?

(I recall a comic where Arthur states he prefers Hydrox to Oreos so that is really the only proof you need that they have advanced taste buds....also I want to say that was a JL comic but if anybody can find the source I’ll love you forever)

Temperature Regulation and Other Fun Stuff

So the ocean is, like, cold. Very cold. Luckily Atlanteans have amino acids in their blood stream that is similar to glycoprotien and it keep body fluids, well...fluid. The amino acids essentially keep everything in a liquid form and prevent ice crystals from forming and preventing cell damage. This happens automatically depending on the depth the Atlantean is swimming in.

Atlanteans usually have a consistent body temperature (and they run warmer than humans do) However, swimming particularly deep will make moving slightly more difficult as the body focuses more on making sure its blood doesn’t freeze than it does maintaining that temperature.

The ocean isn’t just cold, though. The deeper you go, the more pressure is put on your body. Atlantean body tissue is filled with liquids and dissolved gasses that are compressed in a way similar to sea water. They push out while the sea pushes in. Their bodies also have certain fluids that adjust buoyancy in water. Garth can apparently descend to 3,400 feet with no problem.

Atlanteans have particularly dense bodies, making them heavier than humans and less susceptible to injury.

Garth, in particular, can swim 97.75 knots per hour (about 85 mph) with bursts of about 30 minutes at a time. He can also lift 8 tons on land. This is stated as canon, but also seems low considering Aquaman has lifted blue whales or ships while out of water which is like.......20,000 tons lmao.

Okay so! A lot of the stats came straight from the Tempest mini-series, and from various other Aquaman comics from around the same time (late 90s-2000s) if any wonderful Aquafans have anything to add or any questions, I’ll be happy to add/answer!!!

also I probably forgot a lot and will add to this later!!! I didn’t include “powers” here because not all Atlanteans have telepathy/magic/etc and honestly that stuff deserves its own post!!!

#headcanon #but not really this is again.......entirely canon #except like 2 things lmao

29 notes · View notes

comic-book-gal · 7 years

Text

November 1961 to August 1962 in Marvel Comics

Note: I’m not a native English speaker. If you find mistakes or errors in my writing, please do tell me. Also, everything I've written here is my own interpretation and my own opinion. You don’t have to agree with anything I’m saying.

This synthesis references the following comic book issues:

[1161] Fantastic Four #1 (Fantastic Four)

[0162] Fantastic Four #2 (Fantastic Four)

[0162] Tales to Astonish #27 (Ant Man)

[0362] Fantastic Four #3 (Fantastic Four)

[0562] Fantastic Four #4 (Fantastic Four)

[0562] Incredible Hulk #1 (Hulk)

[0762] Fantastic Four #5 (Fantastic Four)

[0762] Incredible Hulk #2 (Hulk)

[0862] Amazing Fantasy #15 (Spider-Man)

[0862] Journey into Mystery #83 (Thor)

Here’s the thing: if you’re like me and want to get into super hero comics and don’t really want to follow some shady reading order list on some equally shady website that claims you should skip over two decades of comic history, but prefer reading the right way, following the publication order, you’re going to be surprised at how unclear everything is at first.

When I started reading Marvel comics I was very lost, reading the beginning of a series, only to find later that it hardly makes sense and it’s not, in fact, the beginning. I remember I followed one of those reading order list on Thor, after reading some expert’s claim that you should read only what you like, and I liked Thor so I decided to start with Thor #1 (1966) only to find out that what I’m reading makes no sense. After some research I found out about Journey into Mystery and how Marvel liked playing around with their titles and I began reading that, however, nothing got clearer. In fact, I was getting more upset to find out I can’t really get invested in the story when every other issue there is a cameo from some other super hero or villain that I know nothing about and I feel completely left out, like I’m missing something big.

So I started reading everything in the publication order, and so far it works. I’m not saying you should too; this has worked for me and made my comic book reading experience far better than it was before but that doesn't mean it will do the same to you. Most people will stick to what they believe is mandatory for understanding the story, to only a certain series and will follow perhaps one or two superheroes and that is okay. I realize reading every issue Marvel had published is very, and I mean very time-consuming and to some might feel pointless and I totally agree. Instead, what I’d like you to get from my little story is that you should keep an open mind. If you see something like a cameo in the comic you’re reading that piques your interest a little bit, perhaps you could try and go back a little and find more. For example, I’m not a big fan of Hulk, like, at all and I wasn't to happy to read it, but I was surprised how much I enjoyed Incredible Hulk #1 & #2. I did not expect that at all, and I would probably overlooked it had I kept my old way and that’s a shame.

Now, going back to the actual comics, the reason I decided to group this then issues together is because they have a lot in common, presenting the origin stories of some of our favorite characters, but also because the publication pattern up to Fantastic Four #6 was rather inconsistent. If you look at the list I made and the dates corresponding each issue, you’ll see they were not released every month, and some of them won’t make any significant appearance any time soon. Once Fantastic Four #6 is released, there is a little bit more order in publication, so I’ll most likely do these post by month. Now I decided it would be best to group them together and make a big post on origin stories.

Besides that, we got a lot of alien invasion - the Skrulls, the Toad Men and the Stone Men from Saturn try to conquer the Earth in just about an issue each and I’m not gonna lie to you, it’s kind of bad. More of that soon.

Fantastic Four #1 is considered to be the issue that marked the beginning of the Silver Age of comics (at least for Marvel - I know nothing about DC). Here we learn about the origin of the team and follow their very first adventure versus the Mole Man (undoubtedly, a very strange villain). To summarize it, we learn that Dr. Reed Richard has built a ship that is supposed to take the Americans into space, but he’s eager to do it before the communists, despite not knowing a lot about cosmic rays. Nevertheless, he embarks into the ship along with Dr. Ben Grimm who is totally against it (it’s weird seeing the Thing being the only reasoning one in the team for once), his girlfriend, Susan Storm and his little brother, Johnny Storm. Just as Grimm predicted, they are hit by the rays and crash back to earth, finding out they now have weird but super cool powers: Johnny has became a human torch, Sue can get invisible, Reed is elastic and Ben Grimm is now a very powerful but fugly thing. They decide to form a team in order to help mankind from whatever threats come up and call them Fantastic Four. I’d go over the battle versus the Mole Man but there isn't any point in it - he’s a weak villain even for the Silver Age. If you decide to read this issue, the origin story is enough.

The following year in January, Fantastic Four #2 is published. This time we learn that the team is already known through all of country and deeply respected by the people. That’s bad considering they have to deal with four impostors who commit ill deeds under their names. Apparently, they are shape-shifting aliens called Skrulls that plan on conquering the earth, but before, they have to get rid of their only obstacle, the Fantastic Four. The team infiltrates into their ship and dissuade the aliens from landing their ship and carrying on with their plan and everything’s good. Reading this is not really mandatory, but from what I gathered the Skrulls will make a comeback sometime so you might want to know where did that come from (hopefully they would be worthy villains then).

In Tales to Astonish #27 we get a prelude to what’s gonna become the Ant Man, with Henry Pym discovering a serum that can change anything size. He tests it on himself and gets trapped in an ant colony, almost getting killed by the insects but also being saved by them??? At the end, he deems the serum as too dangerous for humans to use so he destroys it. It’s a cute and easy to read story so you might want to check it out.

The events in Fantastic Four #3 lead to the team fighting the Miracle Man who doesn't actually perform miracles, but is a very talented hypnotist. The only reason this issue is important is because it introduces the Fantasticar, their new headquarters and some colorful and recognizable costumes Sue made for the team, making this evil fighting business seem more official. Also, in this issue Human Torch gets fed up with the Thing and decides to quit the team. Obviously, it won’t last but until the next issue, Fantastic Four #4 when Johnny, running away from the Fantastic Three who are trying to persuade him to rejoin the team, discovers the Sub-Mariner in the form of an amnesiac hobo. He regains his memories and gets pissed when he learns the humans destroyed his underwater home so he decides to take revenge on all mankind. A little excessive if you ask me. Eventually, he agrees to calm down if Sue marries him but is stopped by Johnny who is now part of the team again.

A side note: The Sub-Mariner is a character mostly present in the Golden Age. He was a part of that time’s super hero trio along with Captain America and the original Human Torch. However, super hero might not be the best way to describe him; he’s not necessary a one, but rather an antihero, allying himself with various villains through the years. Apparently, he did stuff during WWII, but to be honest, I don’t care enough to read his old comics considering how atrocious I find Golden Age stuff. The thing to remember: he lives underwater in a kingdom called Atlantis, can talk to dolphins and he isn’t a very likable guy.

Hulk also makes his first appearance around this time in Incredible Hulk #1 where the readers get to know his origin story. Dr. Bruce Banner is going to test a gamma bomb of some sort and ends up being exposed to it when he saves Rick Jones, a teenager that somehow got into the ray of action of the bomb. The gamma rays make him turn into this brute creature that will later be named Hulk at night. Hulk’s very first adventure, accompanied by the very indebted Rick Jones is his confrontation with the Gargoyle, some very smart but ugly (and I mean hideous) Soviet scientist whom Bruce Banner helps get a more human appearance, burning the smart out of his brain in the process so he’s no use to the Soviets anymore. Definitely recommend reading this issue.

Next up we are introduced, in Fantastic Four #5, to one of the most influential villains in the Marvel history, Doctor Doom. We he traps the team in their tower and takes Sue as a hostage we learn that he and Reed Richards were colleagues at the University and the guy, as smart as he was, was pretty deranged. Doctor Doom is awesome, don’t get me wrong, but this particular issue doesn't do him justice. His great plan is using his time traveling machine to send the Thing, Mr. Fantastic and Human Torch to the past and have them get Blackbeard’s treasure. Yeah. We learn that there are some magic gems that will aid Dr. Doom in his future plans but that doesn't make it less stupid. Anyways, the team brings back the chest but there’s no way they’ll let Doom have the treasure, so they fill it up with old and rusty chains. Doom gets angry and tries to kill the trio, but they are saved by the Invisible Girl and escape the villain’s castle. The story is not the best, but Dr. Doom is to great of a villain not to read this one.

Next, we get another alien invasion that Hulk has to deal with this time in Incredible Hulk #2. The story is rather confusing but goes like this: The Toad Men want to conquer Earth but are not sure what level of technological advancement the planet has reached so they kidnap the smartest man they can find, Dr. Bruce Banners to find the necessary information from him. While on their ship, Bruce becomes Hulk and smashes things. Because of that the ship crashes and the aliens escape before the humans arrive, leaving Bruce behind. He’s accused of treason and locked up, but escapes once the night falls and he becomes Hulk. While Hulk smashes things, the aliens let humans know of their presence and their plan to use some magnetic ray to bring the moon closer to the Earth if the humans do not surrender. Later, Bruce uses his gamma ray in order to pulverize the alien ships from Earth’s orbit and saves the planet, being cleared of his accusations.

One of the most beloved superhero in history makes his debut in Amazing Fantasy #15. Peter Parker is very smart teenager, but lacking social skills. His only friends are his aunt and uncle who spoil him plenty. When he goes to a science exhibit, he gets bitten by a spider who before that, was right in the ray of a radioactive ray gun that was being used at the exhibit. Because of that, he develops special abilities, but is rather immature in using them. He then makes his costume, his web shooters and creates this persona of Spider-Man in order to appear on TV and get famous. One day he sees a policeman chasing a burglar and does nothing to stop the later. A few days pass and when he gets home he learns that his uncle has been killed by a burglar. He chases him, finding out he’s the same one he didn't stop that time. At this point, Peter Parker learns that with great power comes great responsibility.

The last comic I’m gonna talk about is Journey into Mystery #83, the very first appearance of Thor. In this comic we deal with yet another alien invasion when the Stone Men from Saturn come to Earth, somewhere on the coast of Norway. As proof that everyone is a doctor and bourgeoisie is going strong, we are introduced to Dr. Donald Blake who happens to discover the aliens. When running away from them he finds himself trapped in a cave where he finds an old cane. When the gets a hold of it, both himself and the cane transform, and Dr. Blake has now the powers of Thor, God of Thunder and his mighty hammer, Mjolnir. He fights the aliens in about two pages and they get scared and run. This issue presents the origin of Thor, but it’s far from great (more of that later). Nevertheless, you might want to read it.

Now that we’re over with summarizing stuff, I’d like to point out a few things:

The writing is not great, even for comic books. This is mostly present in Hulk, where the events presented in the stories don’t really lead up to anything. A lot of stuff could have been left out and the story would make sense still. Hulk is indeed Banner’s alter ego, but in those two issues he does absolutely nothing except being salty and punching random people. Of course, this is what Hulk does and one might argue that we’re being shown this for the sake of character development, but there isn’t any. Hulk walking aimlessly in the woods and the town, scaring the crap out of everyone doesn’t show us something we haven’t figured out from the beginning: he’s a brute and he hates mankind. Instead, we get little to no Banner time, only to find out Banner is the guy who actually saves people through his intellect and not through Hulk smash. It is certainly interesting to see how he deals with his dual existence, with this part of him that he cannot control and I understand that this is about Hulk, but I think things could have been handled better.

Another thing I figured out is that Stan Lee liked alien invasions, as much as to have three different super heroes or teams fight them. I like me some alien invasions, I think they’re epic, but considering the format they are delivered it, it was rather lame. Thor stops an entire alien civilization invading Earth in about six pages and that tells us a lot about how these stories were handled.

Now, there is another reason why Thor is worse compared to other comics released before; it’s not written by Stan Lee but by this brother, Larry. It’s not bad writing per se, but I feel like had Stan handled Thor as a character, it would have received a very different start. In his very first couple of issues, he’s dull and brings nothing new except for a very peculiar costume.

Another thing I want to talk about is Susan Storm, the Invisible Girl. Most of the times, I’ve seen, he’s not taken seriously by Fantastic Four’s enemies. At first, that bugged me a little; I’m not too big on the feminist thing (and I’m taking into consideration this was written in the 60s), but considering she’s the only woman in the team, there seems to be a logical explanation. As I read more I understood that her not being taken seriously is a rather good thing for the team. She’s seen as weak and fragile by the villains and they often underestimate her. I could see this the best when Dr. Doom took her as a hostage, completely forgetting about her at some point, considering her to be too weak to do anything. She sees this as an opportunity and saves the rest of the team. I don’t know if this was made on purpose, but I see it as a great detail.

What you should read:

Fantastic Four #1 for the team’s origin story, Incredible Hulk #1 for Hulk’s origin story, Fantastic Four #5 for Dr. Doom’s introduction, Amazing Fantasy #15 for Spider-Man’s origin story and Journey into Mystery #83 for Thor’s origin story.

You might want to check out Fantastic Four #2 for the Skrull invasion story.

That was a lot. I’m glad I found the time to read and enjoy these comic issues and actually writing something about them. I’d like to keep writing these things and find a schedule. I probably won’t read everything, but I’m pretty happy to summarize and talk about what I do read.

#1961 #1962 #fantastic four #spider-man #hulk #thor #ant man

1 note · View note