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Tag: comics

  • November 17th, 2012 2:50am

    luanna255:

    Just a friendly canon reminder that Dick and Babs liked Jason.

    No. Really. I have no idea why this is so hard to remember, and yet not only does fandom seem to struggle with this seemingly straightforward concept, canon writers are apparently completely incapable of comprehending this as well (Scott Lobdell, I am looking at you. I am looking at you so hard.)

    I think the confusion seems to come from two major misconceptions that have been perpetuated in the years since Jason’s death:

    (1) That Jason, in his role as “the bad Robin”, was so abrasive and unlikable that he never got along with the rest of the Batfamily, and was disliked by all.

    (2) That Jason was clearly “doomed” from the start, and the other Batkids never saw him as fit or capable of carrying on the legacy, but knew right from the beginning that he would never succeed.

    However, the bottom line is that both of these ideas are complete, utter, 100% nonsense.

    Jason had some issues as a kid, sure. But contrary to what some people would have you believe, he did not actually go around antagonizing people just for the heck of it. He was angry at people who deserved his anger, not at the entire world. He was a sweet, lovable kid much of the time, and he had no problem getting along with others. Once everyone got adjusted to the idea of a new Robin, he got along perfectly well with both Dick and Barbara. They liked him. He liked them. They genuinely cared about him. End of story.

    Am I saying no one ever accused Jason of being angry or impulsive? Not at all. Those qualities were there, and the rest of the Batfam worried about it. But you can’t define Jason, or his relationships with the rest of the Batfam, solely by that. Yes, he could be angry and impulsive. But he could also be kind, clever, determined, sweet, funny, lovable, and brave. And when Dick and Barbara looked at him, they saw all of that. They didn’t see some bad seed who was sure to meet a bad end. They saw a kid who had some issues, but who also had outstanding qualities. Someone they fully expected to succeed as Robin.

    And he was someone they both loved, very much. They were shocked and horrified by his death, because it wasn’t inevitable. Because whatever story DC tries to sell you now, Jason Todd was not a doomed, angry misfit right from the very beginning. He was a a nice, likable kid (issues and all) who was like a little brother to Dick and Barbara. He could and did get along well with others, and the other Batkids were devastated when he died.

    Why is this so hard to understand?

    ^

  • November 16th, 2012 12:33pm

    I would like to rant for a moment, if I could, about one of DC’s most underrated and most awesome characters, Matthew Ryder, AKA Waverider. Ryder first appeared in the pages of DC’s ‘91 major crossover event, Armageddon 2001. When the story begins Ryder is a scientist and family man in the year 2030, living in a totalitarian world ruled by the ruthless Monarch. Now, Monarch used to be one of Earth’s heroes, but something changed. Monarch’s identity and the circumstances surrounding his shift to evil are unknown. 

    Ryder becomes increasingly unhappy with the world he lives in, even going as far as buying forbidden discs from a black market shop that show images of heroes from the past (any information regarding the past or heroes is considered politically dubious and is forbidden, punishable by death). This creates conflict between Ryder and his family, since his daughter is the equivalent of a police officer and believes in Monarchs world. 

    Ryder finds out that Monarch is experimenting with time travel to make sure that his spot in history is secure. The problem is each one of Monarch’s test subjects disintegrate upon entering the time stream. In this, Ryder sees an opportunity to change history and rid the world of Monarch. Through extensive research Ryder realizes that the test subjects don’t survive because they lack will enough to make it. He believes that his will/hate of Monarch will be enough to secure him through the time stream.

    He destroys a statue of Monarch to get the tyrant’s attention, which works. He then fools Monarch into believing that his love for his family is so strong that he wouldn’t do anything in the past to endanger their existence, which is actually the opposite of the truth. Ryder’s increasing desire to rid the world of such tyranny has created such a rift between himself and his family that he is easily willing to give them up for the greater good. 

    He survives the journey through the time stream and emerges in the year 2001 a completely different person. The unknown effects of the time stream transform him and give him special abilities, which aid him in his quest to find out which one of Earth’s heroes becomes Monarch. He adopts the moniker Waverider and the story continues. 

    One of greatest characters that DC has ever come up with, and such a fantastic story. Definitely recommend it! *Please excuse any and all typos, I’m rapidly typing this up before work lol.