#red tornado himself is more normal than tim

[phoenixkaptain]

Yo it is still so fucking funny to me that Red Tornado called Robin the normal one.

Robin as in Tim Drake Robin.

Tim Drake as in the rich kid who decided Batman needed to calm down and so he dressed up in the same outfit that the last Robin died in and saved Batman.

Tim Drake as in the kid who figured out who Batman and Robin were when he was nine because he was there the night Dick’s parents died.

Tim Drake as in the non-powered, regular human being who has his own fucking Rogues Gallery:

Tim Drake, this Tim Drake, this child who was willing to get into a fistfight with Superboy, he’s normal.

Okay, Red Tornado, whatever you say…

[timdrakequotes]

Hey! Was wondering if you could pull up some of Tim’s serious/inspirational quotes.

1.  ‘One of the things I’ve learned is that it gets bad for everyone sometimes. Superman, Batman–everyone. I remember I’m not alone. I remember things do get better. Sometimes on their own, most times when you work at them. And when I have trouble remembering those things, I find people to talk to. […] Your folks, an old friend, even a trained counselor you’ve never met before. Someone who has a totally different perspective because they’re not as close to the problems as you are. Maybe they give you advice, and that’s great…or maybe they just listen. Sometimes, that’s all you need. Anyway, that’s how I deal with it when things suck. And it works.’ –Tim Drake (Robin #156 – The High Dive)

2. ‘Get up. Get the hell up. You don’t get to quit!’

–Tim Drake to himself (Robin #167 – The Promise)

3. “You know what? You never made me Robin. I made myself.”

–Tim Drake on Batman (Robin #100 – The Price of Justice)

4. ‘All of us. We’re not the costumes. At the end of the day, we’re just a bunch of scared  guys trying to fight through the fear and leave the world a little better than we found it. People always ask,“Why Young Justice?” I’ll tell you why: Because we’re so damned glad that we found each other, that we hold on to each other like life preservers as the flood waters rise. We don’t get more complicated than that. We don’t have to.’

–Tim Drake (Young Justice #55 – I’ve Got A Secret)

5. ‘Maybe…maybe it was the pressure. When you’re fighting for what you believe in–for what’s right–you find out just how alone you are. Every time you face up to evil, you have to beat it. But you only have one life…and you can’t afford to lose it. It’s a knife-edge not many can walk. Sometimes…even heroes fall.’

–Tim Drake (Batman #466 – No More Heroes)

6. ‘I don’t like people putting us in a box. Telling us what we’re capable of. Telling us who we are. I chose to become Robin, nobody picked me.’

–Tim Drake (Teen Titans #4 – Breaking the Rules)

7. “I hear a lot of loose talk about “justice” these days. Maybe we should talk more about peace.”

–Tim Drake (Robin #26 – The Hard Lessons)

8. “Despite how cold and empty I actually feel, I go out of my way to keep it lighthearted. Because I’m not going to surrender to the void, no matter how attractive and comforting it seems. The all too welcoming abyss. That dark place where Batman lives.”

–Tim Drake (Robin #132 – Fresh Blood Part One of Four: Too Many Ghosts)

9. “I can feel it now, like Batman used to. Electricity and guilt, shadows and sadness, kinetic energy and hope. It’s my city now if I want it to be. Not Dick’s. Not Bruce’s. Mine. But to make it that way…to make it right…what will I have to become? So many choices…but what will be my decision…?”

–Tim Drake (Red Robin #26 – What Goes Around…)

10. ‘If I were no longer Robin…that would mean that no more innocent people are being threatened. No more criminals going around breaking the law. No one was living in fear of their lives. No more crime or wrongdoing. It would mean that mankind had entered Utopia, and I’d be happy for humanity. Because that would be the only circumstance under which I’d quit the game.’

–Tim Drake to Young Justice (Young Justice #7 – Conferences)

11. Robin: [to Jack Drake’s grave] I’m tired of pretending that not having you here isn’t killing me. That every time I lose someone else, it doesn’t take a little part of me with them. Before…before it happened, you told me it was all worth it. This life was all worth it, and that I should never question it. Well, I’ve been trying…please believe that I’m still trying…but every day I have to find another reason to put this mask back on. Sometimes it’s for Bruce. Sometimes for Conner, but a lot of times, I do it for you. Because you were brave enough to understand the man I wanted to be. And you lost your life because of it. If I was just some normal kid with some normal life, you’d be alive today. Maybe Mom would be alive today. Were your lives really worth all the others I’ve saved? God, how can I even ask that? Dad, I used the night of your death as a reason–no, as an excuse to turn into someone else…and I came here tonight to tell you it won’t happen again. I’ll never give up, Dad. Not while there’s a breath in our bodies–neither one of us will ever give up.

Batman: [above Tim on a tree branch] No. We won’t.

Robin: We’ll get stronger. We’ll get faster. We’ll get smarter. We’ll honor you, and everyone else we’ve lose. We’ll die before this happens again. We won’t forget. And maybe some day… Maybe you can forgive us.

Batman: Goodnight, Jack. I’ll take it from here.

–Tim Drake with Bruce Wayne to Jack Drake (Robin #167 – The Promise)

12. ‘I don’t care if I am afraid–I can still act!’–Tim Drake to Scarecrow 

(Batman #457 – Master of Fear)

13. “Here’s the thing: no one can predict their own future. The best a guy can do is to look to those who’ve been much longer on the same path as him, and see what a life of walking that path has done for them. For me, those people are Bruce and Dick. 

You see what I’m getting at? Bruce has been on the job the longest. It’s slowly driven him madand eaten the human part right out of him. But what about Dick? Surely a guy like him can’t dedicate himself to this line of work and keep a level head on his shoulders? I wanna yell “He can!” But I can’t forget the glimpses I’ve seen recently of the same kind of monster eating at Dick, too. Little things that, looking back now, I can remember seeing in Bruce a few years ago. Should I call them “early warning signs”? Do I dare to assume it’s a disease I can’t catch with time?” 

–Tim Drake (Robin #100 – The Price of Justice)

14. ‘You can’t have a friendship without trust…nor a relationship…nor a teammate. Take Batman for example… He trusts me to keep his secrets, to cover his back. I trust him the exact same way. He knows that I’ll always consult him on anythinghaving to do with those secrets, and vice versa. Because of that implicit trust, our relationship works. And it’s unique.’

–Tim Drake to Secret and Spoiler (Young Justice #30 – Round Robin)

15. “No time for ego, hurt feelings, petty disagreements…it’s all in the past. I need help. I can’t do this by myself.”

–Tim Drake (Red Robin #9 – Collision: Part One of Four)

16. “Hesitation…second guessing…self-pity… Leave them behind. They’re death now. Use what you know. Remember what you learned. Be smart. Stay alive. Save the girl. Remember what Shiva taught you…what Ducard taught you. Remember how Dick moves so effortlessly. Remember Conner’s own special “techniques.” Remember what Bruce did. Use it all now. Win the next fight and the one after that before you get there. Remember everything your teachers gave you. Don’t be any of them. Be all of them.”

–Tim Drake (Red Robin #8 – Council of Spiders: Part Four of Four)

17. Tim: Robin is a symbol just as much as Batman is. It isn’t just a symbol of the law, it’s a symbol of justice. And Batman needs a Robin.

Batman: What I do is dangerous.

Tim: I know.

–Tim Drake with Bruce Wayne (Young Justice Secret Origins – 80 Page Giant: Little Wing)

18. ‘Of course we’re going to do this. I said it looked tough, not unbeatable.’

–Tim Drake to Secret (Young Justice Secret Files and Origins – Take Back the Night)

19. ‘“Never fight angry.” I didn’t know what it meant until tonight. He wasn’t talking about style or common sense. He was talking about weapons. Honor. Purpose. That’s what helps you survive and win. When all you bring to the fight is anger…you’ve already lost.’

–Tim Drake (Robin #25 – Sophomore Lethal)

20. ‘If you’re asking if I plan to continue as Robin, the answer is yes. I’m more determined now than ever before. But don’t for a moment think I’m now like you, Bruce. I’m not about to let these losses turn me into another copy of you–grim and vengeful and closed off from most of what keeps us human. Steph and Darla and my Dad died in a war worth fighting–made even more so because of the terrible price they paid, not in spite of it. I won’t squander their sacrifice by quitting again. So, if you’ll still have me, I’m Robin, and I’m in it for the long run.’

–Tim Drake to Bruce Wayne (Robin #132 – Fresh Blood Part One of Four: Too Many Ghosts)

21. ‘This is the deal. You want us to be part of the Teen Titans, this Tower has nomore rules. We get enough of them at home. We won’t sit on the sidelines. We won’t be treated like inferiors.’

–Tim Drake (Teen Titans #6 – War and Peace)

22. ‘We know we’re right, but what’s the point in being right if we’re not willing to fight for it?’

–Tim Drake to Red Tornado (Young Justice #18 – Revolting Developments)

[thedcdunce]

Phantom Stranger

“I steer, but I cannot lead. That has always been my fate.” - Phantom Stranger

Aliases:

Grey Walker

Gender: Male

Height: 6′ 2″

Weight: 185 lbs (84 kg)

Eyes: Black

Hair: Black/ Grey

Powers:

Immortality

Magic

Abilities:

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic)

Storytelling

Occultism

Weaknesses:

Non-Direct Interaction

Talkative

Equipment:

Amulet

Universe:

Earth-One

New Earth

Marital Status: Single

First Appearance: Phantom Stranger #1 (August, 1952)

Last Appearance: Superboy Vol 5 #11 (October, 2011)

Powers

Immortality: He has survived attacks that would kill mortals, including having his heart removed.

Magic: The Stranger almost never uses spoken spells or magical rituals more complex than a seance or a circle of entrapment. However, his magical prowess almost knows no bounds. When the Stranger is acting in his bailiwick, he is almost supremely powerful. If he is not taken by surprise and can plan and act, he can be baffled only by universal forces.

Dimensional Travel: He can travel at will among the magical dimensions, including the Realm of the Just Dead, the Antechamber of Souls, Heaven, Hell, Apokolips, and the realm occupied by the Quintessence.

Eldritch Blast: He can fire energy bolts of great force.

Spectral Sight: He can see spiritual entities and travelers invisible to normal sight; he can perceive magical events at a great distance.

Illusion Casting

Dispel: He can dispel magic and sorcery, especially magic of mental control or illusion and deception.

Transmutation: He can perform some feats of transmutation, such as turning fired bullets into flowers and sticks into snakes and back.

Oneiromancy: He can send dreams of omen, warning, or information, though possibly only with the permission of Dream of the Endless.

Reality Manipulation

Self-Sustenance: He can survive and even communicate in outer space, though he may not be able to travel of his own volition while there.

Mental Awareness: He has at least some telepathic abilities, and can ordinarily perceive truth and deception, good and evil.

Teleportation: He can mysteriously vanish and appear at will, suggesting magical teleportation.

Abilities

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic): He is a moderately skilled hand-to-hand combatant, often surprising with a punch someone who smugly thought their protection against magic rendered them untouchable.

Storytelling: The Stranger always comes onto a new adventure as a story. He thrives in it and even acts in it, manipulating the events how he sees fit. When an event seemed to be supernatural in nature he depicted it to be normal and vise versa.

Occultism: He displays vast and keen insight into cosmic, magical, and mystical forces.

Weaknesses

Non-Direct Interaction: The Stranger's most important weakness, if that is what it is, is the sharp limitation on his acting directly and overtly. Threats which he would presumably have the raw power to directly defeat he must instead warn others about, especially if those others have some particular responsibility at stake. Even his information he apparently cannot provide clearly and explicitly; in many cases his warnings or clues are cryptic. It might be, for example, that he is forbidden from removing the responsibility from humanity's shoulders; he definitely believes in free will, and the availability of a balance of choices to humans.

Talkative: A weakness of a different sort is his oft-noticed tendency to speak too much; but this may be related to his need to make those around him understand the consequences of their choices and the fact that they face choices. He must not act in their place, so he must make them understand what their actions mean.

Equipment

Amulet

Origin

The Phantom Stranger is a mysterious figure in the history of the world. His origins, nature, even his name, have never been revealed. Various stories about his origins exist, including:

One tale postulated that the Stranger was a fallen angel who sided with neither Heaven nor Hell during Satan's rebellion and thus condemned to walk the Earth alone for all time. This is also backed by The Word who said that the Phantom Stranger was a fallen one.

Another proposes the Stranger was originally a private citizen during biblical times and was spared God's wrath. An angel was sent to deliver him from divine wrath. After questioning God's actions, he commits suicide. The angel forbids his spirit from entering the afterlife, reanimates his body and condemns him to walk the world forever to be a part of humanity but also forever separated from it. He then discovered his divine charge, to turn humanity away from evil, one soul at a time.

In a variation of the Wandering Jew story, he was an adult family man named Isaac with a wife and boy at the time when Jesus Christ was a small child. When King Herod sent his army to kill all small male children the army slew his son and wife. Blind with anger, he spent the next 30 years in a rage against Jesus. As Jesus was being tortured, Isaac bribed a guard to assume his role in whipping Jesus. Jesus then sentenced him to walk away from his home and country; to be errant until Doomsday. Eventually, his misplaced rage expunged, he spent the rest of his time helping society, even declining God's offer to release him from his sentence.

The last was a proposal that the Stranger is a remnant of the previous universe. At the end of the universe the Phantom Stranger approaches a group of scientists studying the event, warning them not to interfere in the natural conclusion of the universe. The story concludes with the Phantom Stranger passing a portion of himself to a scientist, the universe is reborn, and the scientist from the previous universe is the Phantom Stranger in the new universe.

A Stranger...

Early in his career, the Phantom Stranger would prove supernatural events to be hoaxes, saving many victims in the process. In later adventures, the supernatural events were real and the Phantom Stranger was given unspecified superhuman powers to defeat them. He later appeared in various other adventures, sometimes as a major participant; in others, the Phantom Stranger just appears and gives advice or warning to the featured heroes. Occasionally he serves simply as narrator. In some stories, he seems to be answerable to a mysterious Voice, implied to be God.

The Phantom Stranger played a major part in guiding Tim Hunter through time to show him the history and nature of magic. He has assisted the Justice League on numerous occasions, even being formally elected to the group. The Stranger also tried to foil Eclipso's plan to cause a nuclear war.

He also attempted to prevent Hal Jordan from uniting the resurrected body of Oliver Queen with his soul in Heaven. This earned him Jordan's wrath; indeed, the Spectre threatened to judge the Stranger to see whether God had "punished" him properly by refusing him access to Heaven itself. Nonetheless, the Phantom Stranger has assisted Hal Jordan during his tenure as the Spectre on numerous occasions as well, most notably in a short stint babysitting Hal's niece, Helen.

During the Day of Vengeance, the Stranger had been turned into a small rodent by the Spectre. He was still able to advise Detective Chimp, who sheltered him in his hat while he recovered his powers. He changed back using recovered energies and aided the Shadowpact, allowing them to see the battle between the Spectre and Shazam. That makes a point that the supernatural community generally regards the Phantom Stranger as invincible. The first reaction of some people to the Spectre's assault on magic is simply to presume that the Stranger will take care of it. Other adventures have shown the Stranger nearly as powerful as the Spectre. This however, is a recent interpretation. While others have never considered the Stranger as an easy foe to combat, given his unknown abilities, they also never considered him as invincible.

The Phantom Stranger's relationships with the other mystic heroes are usually a bit tense. The Stranger has no qualms gathering various forces in order to combat a certain evil, often invading those people's personal lives. However, he does not usually extend them that same courtesy. The Phantom Stranger has resisted such people as Doctor Fate in this, although Fate is in almost any incarnation an ally of the Stranger. Despite this, he does get along well with Zatanna; he appeared by her side to help remove the influence of Faust on Red Tornado.

Since he is ultimately an unpredictable force, others often meet the Phantom Stranger's appearance with distrust. Nonetheless, most heroes will follow him, seeing not only his immense power, but also knowing that the Stranger is in the end, a force for good. Notable though is Madame Xanadu, who has refused to join the Stranger on a few occasions, although she is a member of his Sentinels of Magic.

The Stranger also holds a unique relationship with the Spectre, as the two forces often come into conflict. He was responsible for gathering a group of mystic heroes in order to combat the Spectre, when its human host Jim Corrigan seemingly lost control of the Spectre. The Phantom Stranger participated in Jim Corrigan's funeral, when Corrigan's soul finally earned its rest and left the Spectre. The Stranger subsequently became one of the forces that stood against the Spectre when it went on a rampage without its human host, until the soul of Hal Jordan bonded with it. The Stranger occasionally took on an advisory role for this new Spectre. Aware that the Spectre now has yet another new host, the Phantom Stranger gathered a large group of magic wielders and mystics, including Nabu, Zatanna, and the Shadowpact, in an unsuccessful attempt to solicit the Spectre's assistance in the Infinite Crisis and later reforming the Rock of Eternity.

Fun Facts

The Spectre transforms the Stranger into a rodent, rather than killing him outright, because even the Spectre's power would be insufficient to kill the Stranger.

When the Spectre was defeated by a Black Power Ring, Black Hand could not comprehend the Stranger's true nature. Given that Black Hand is connected to Nekron, and can sense whether or not something is alive or a reborn being or an immortal, the fact is that the only description Black Hand can give the Stranger is "stranger than that".

Another possible origin of the Stranger, in which it was implied that Jonathan Kent, the future son of Superman and Wonder Woman, might grow up to be the Phantom Stranger. This also tied some of his abilities into the Hypertime concept, saying that he had the innate ability to enter other alternate timelines and to exist in the spaces between them. However, the adventure ultimately revealed this to be a red herring. The person in question had been deliberately placed in shadows to suggest that he was the Stranger; but when Wonder Woman finally saw his face, she said that she now realized he was not the Stranger.

The Stranger has some unique abilities like the ability to break the fourth wall and address the reader directly.

The Phantom Stranger is also known as the Brotherless One.

[neverwatchedonepiece]

438: A Paradise in Hell! Impel Down Level 5.5!

Ahh... it’s good to be back.

As soon as I heard the OP kick in, I felt right at home again. Back on the Thousand Sunny like I’d never left.

Though I was grateful for the recap, I remembered more than I thought I would. Magellan had defeated and poisoned Luffy, and Bon-chan, who couldn’t help fight due to his crippling fear of the Warden, had dragged him across the icy wasteland of floor 5 in search of an antidote.

I had forgot what Buggy and Mr 3 were up to.

These two are hilarious, I swear. Creeping round Impel Down like Solid Snake under a box. Except if you call stealth being followed everywhere by a pack of wolves like a neon sign that says: HERE BE CRIMINALS! A pack of wolves that are smarter than them.

What is the deal here, though? I thought Buggy could fly? Why isn’t he able to at the moment? He could let Mr 3 jump on and they could leave the wolves on the ground. Have I forgot something important?

Honestly, if these doofuses survive, never mind break out, I’ll be impressed.  And they are doofuses. lovable doofuses. Accident-prone, lovable doofuses who attract trouble like the American mid-west attracts tornadoes. Thanks for the laughs, guys. It’s nice to have comic relief when the other two are dealing with more serious stuff.

Oh, I loved this moment. I don’t normally like shounen main characters but Luffy is an exception. Gon from HxH is the other. They’re similar, actually. Like most shounen characters, they’ll dredge the depths of hell for their friends, but Luffy and Gon both have a selfish, morally grey streak that I like.

Here’s another instance of Luffy fighting tooth-and-nail for a friend. He’s been beaten, poisoned (dat red eye) and can barely stand but when Bon-chan is about to be mauled by wolves, he finds strength - just enough - to fend them off. Luffy used the ability (Emperor’s Something? King’s Something?) that only certain pirates have that can make lesser beings keel over on sight (I forget what it’s called). Luffy’s intensity in these moments is pure gold. You really feel his exhaustion and fury here. Good job, animators.

Got to say, though, that some hero points must be given back to Bon-clay. I totally understand his fear of Magellan now. Really, he was being sensible. The guy beat Luffy. If Bon-clay had rushed in, they might both be dead right now, because what could he have done to help?

Bon-chan is blaming himself, though, because - even though he’s not as strong as Luffy - he’s an honourable person and fierce friend. Hence hauling Luffy across a frozen wasteland in a Left Hand of Darkness/Captain Scott-style trek in search of Ivan-san (Emporio Ivankov?) It’s a pretty brutal level, tbh. That shot of the inmates abandoned and frozen in their cell was harsh. Oda’s good at adding those little details.

Now... Ivan-san.

I took a lot of notes on Ivan-san because there were loads of obvious cultural references going on here. Even then, I’ve probably missed a lot.

The inmates kept talking about prisoners going missing, being ‘demoned away’, being taken to hell. Turns out, the missing ones aren’t dead. They’re having the time of their lives in New Kama Land: a secret paradise in the middle of Impel Down hell carved out by Ivan-san, whose design is an obvious homage to Tim Curry’s Dr Frank N. Furter from Rocky Horror.

Ivan-san had been referred to by other inmates as ‘that queer’, ‘that weirdo’, etc. so I’m guessing homosexuality and gender fluidity on the Grand Line is received in pretty much the same manner as in RL with varying degrees of acceptance (Sanji isn’t keen, now I think about, it but then he’s as flamboyantly straight as Ivan-san is gay. Is Ivan-san gay? I’m not actually sure. Bon-chan mentioned the God of Queens and the Queen of Kamabakka Kingdom, so I guess?)

Anyway, I saw New Kama Land in Impel Down as something like an underground gay club that nobody else knows about: a little slice of heaven where queer people can be themselves, hidden from the harsh eyes of society. Like in RL, the prisoners have carved a little space of their own and formed a community within it.

Interesting that Bon-chan doesn’t feel like one of them (he called them ‘perverts’ hentai(?)) I kind of like that Oda did that. Just because Bon-chan has a flamboyant personality, it doesn’t mean he’s automatically attracted to that kind of scene, or that he approves. Everyone’s different.

Can’t wait to see where Oda goes with Ivan-san. A miracle worker in hell? Sounds intriguing...

I see you shiver with antici...