Early Preview of Next DCIU Fanfic: Teen Titans Infinite

When there’s trouble, do you know who to call? Yep, once Justice League Infinite is finished (which recently had its fourth chapter uploaded), I plan to do a fan fic for Teen Titans set in the DC Infinite Universe that I created. Each member of the Titans will also function as sidekicks/partners to the members of the Justice League, much like how the original team was, and will also be getting training from the League, kind of like in the Young Justice cartoon. So, who are the members? Let’s take a look.

Mia, AKA Supergirl

As I’ve already mentioned, Supergirl’s design was created by Magnacide from DeviantArt. As such, I’ve decided to get permission to use designs from Deviant Artists for two more, which I’ll get to in a bit. Regarding Supergirl, though, she is roughly based on Cir-El, but with more than a few differences to both simplify her back-story and make her different in this universe. Specifically, her name is just Mia, and the terms by which she became a Human/Kryptonian hybrid will be explained soon enough. Her power levels are more akin to Superboy’s, as she’s clearly a level below Superman, but still incredibly powerful and a quick learner with her powers.

Garfield Logan, AKA Beast Boy

Garfield’s back-story will be slightly adjusted in that, instead of being found by the Doom Patrol, he was found by Poison Ivy on her travels. This is both so that he can act as a positive influence on her mission that always seems to be at odds with governments that fear and hate her, but also to make a sort of flora/fauna green team. lol Anyway, his design is based on his current appearance in Teen Titans, as drawn by Kenneth Rocafort, although I’m contemplating whether or not to give him the monkey tail he has in Young Justice. I dunno, lemme know if I should do that or not in the comments. As for his personality, he’s a bit less jokey than, say, his more well-known animated counterparts can be, and instead just a very warm, optimistic, caring individual, who has a knack for knowing people’s favourite animals and helping them cheer up when they’re down. Also, HEAVILY considering having him be a romantic interest for a certain little bird to be mentioned later, because I think that’d be ADORABLE.

Kyle Rayner, AKA Blue Lantern

I decided to go with a teenaged Blue Lantern version of Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern’s sidekick. Also, as you can see, his design is also done by a Deviant Artist, this time Jarein. And much like Jarein, my reasoning is simple for why a Blue Lantern: Similar powers as Green Lantern, only not to the same degree, and possessing plenty of side benefits that could assist him. With Kyle, of course, he’s the more artistic and technically sound of the team, able to overcome his power limitations on his own through more creative uses of his constructs.

Bart Garrick, AKA Kid Flash

Roughly based on the Bart Allen version of Kid Flash, with just a touch of Wally West for flavour, Bartholomew Wallace Garrick is Jesse Garrick’s little brother, having taken up the mantle of Kid Flash without her permission when she became The Flash. Jokey, impulsive, and a bit of a show off, he’s nonetheless a good person, and isn’t willing to sit idly by while injustice is being performed. As for his costume, I decided to go with the pre-Flashpoint Kid Flash costume he wore, though I may add red tinted see-through lenses to his mask, like the yellow ones he had as Impulse.

Carrie Kelley, AKA Robin

 

In this universe, Robin is Carrie Kelley, though she carries over several traits from the Ame-Comi universe in that she’s also Jim Gordon’s niece. Once again, I sought out permission from a Deviant Artist for this design, this time Bobkitty23, who gave her a look that combines the Ame-Comi uniform with Dick Grayson’s look in the Young Justice cartoon, which, despite the lack of green, I REALLY like. Plus, y’know, she’s got pants now, so there’s that. lol Anyway, this version of Carrie is a bit more openly resentful of her neglectful, apathetic stoner parents, and while she still talks in slang from time to time, it’s a bit more updated. She also possesses the trademark telescopic staff used by Tim Drake (and later Dick Grayson in several different animated shows), as well as the Stephanie Brown mix-and-matchable Batarangs.

Jackson Hyde, AKA Aqualad

Jackson Hyde in this story is already aware of his true heritage, that of being Black Manta’s estranged son, and while he was initially Aquaman’s partner, he’s recently been studying various mystical arts under Doctor Fate. He’s usually level-headed and confident, able to keep his cool even under the most dire of circumstances, but possesses a terrible grudge against Ocean Master and Circe for the murder of Aquaman. As usual, he wields the Water Bearers, which allow him to focus his hydrokinesis into various forms and weapons, and can channel electricity through his fingers like an eel. For his design, I pretty much just went with the version from the comics, but with the twist that his top has a more orange shade to it, and his leggings have a more teal shade, basically to make him look more like Aquaman.

Donna Troy, AKA Wonder Girl

 

Finally, for Wonder Girl, I decided to create my own design, which you can imagine in your head through the step-by-step guide above. And hey, if anyone wants to take a stab at sketching it, they’re more than welcome to do so. lol Donna will still have a sisterly, almost motherly vibe to her, but at the same time, she’s interested in the outside world away from Themyscira in a way that’s a bit different from Diana, as is reflected in her costume. She’s proud to be Diana’s sister, but, at the same time, wants to create an image for herself outside of just being Wonder Woman’s mirror duplicate as a teenager.

Anyway, that’s it for the sneak peek of Teen Titans. Be sure to check it out when it comes out, and comment below on what you think of the team. Ja né!

A Look At Wonder Woman & Mera From The Justice League Infinite Fanfic

Well, I announced earlier this week that I’m doing a Justice League fanfic entitled ‘Justice League Infinite’. As such, I’m going through all seven members of this world’s League, what makes them different from their counterparts, etc. So far, we’ve looked at Batman, The Flash, Poison Ivy, and Superman. So, for today, let’s go ahead and take a look at this world’s version of the Spirit of Truth, Wonder Woman.

Origin wise, this version of Diana of Themyscira is pretty much the classic sculpted-from-clay story. Not that I have a problem with Wonder Woman being a demigod, just that it taints her back-story in a bad way. She also has her sister, Donna, who is a mirror duplicate of herself as a child and a possible inheritor to the Wonder Woman title, AND THAT’S ALL. lol What’s different is that, not only was her mother Hippolyta the first Wonder Woman on the Justice Society (an idea that’s been tossed around on occasion), but recently, Hippolyta and Aquaman were tricked into entering a fight to the death, which was witnessed by Diana and Mera. As a result of that, and as a means of keeping their respective peoples from declaring war on each other, Diana and Mera married, becoming co-Queens of each other’s lands, and thus uniting the people of Themyscira and Atlantis (meaning Themyscira is no longer a land bereft of men). Of course, the two were already close friends, thus making their relationship a bit interesting now that they’re wives. In terms of personality, Diana is a compassionate, loving soul, but while she will try to negotiate her way out of a confrontation, she will fight with the ferocity of a lioness if necessary to protect the weak and defenseless. Likewise, while she will not bring death to humans, she has no such compunctions for demons, monsters, undead, and some aliens.

Regarding Wonder Woman’s costume and appearance, take her Earth 2 costume in the New 52 (only with gold replacing all the silver and red boots instead of blue), give her chest coverage that her Justice League War costume had and the ponytail (because I LOVE it, lol), and a red cape like she’s sometimes seen in on some of her more diplomatic missions. As far as her skill set goes, she has her usual package of super strength, speed, reflexes, durability, and stamina, tracking skills, and is a master of both unarmed combat and wielding a shield and sword. She’s also a highly skilled diplomat and negotiator, meaning that she can oftentimes avoid ever having to use such gifts in combat by putting an end to conflict before it ever even begins. She can also fly fast enough to keep up with Superman, but as a means of reserving energy, she mostly prefers to fly on the back of a pegasus. As always, Diana wields the unbreakable Lasso of Truth, which forces one to reveal their true nature, tell the truth, and even free them from brainwashing or other types of control. Finally, she has the Bracelets of Victory, which guard against all forms of attacks. When the bracelets are removed, however, most of her natural abilities increase to ludicrous levels, the likes of which even Superman cannot contend with. For all of these abilities, though, Wonder Woman isn’t invincible. Her stamina, while incredible, does have limits, meaning she will eventually tire out if a battle runs for too long. Also, while removing her bracelets doesn’t cause her to go into a berserker mode like in the comics, it DOES put a huge strain on her body. Just a couple of minutes is long enough for her to be ready to pass out in this state. Finally, while her compassion is a great gift, it also comes coupled with a sense of self-sacrifice, constantly causing her to put herself in harm’s way to protect others. Granted, she more often than not walks away without being too harmed, but when you consider the possibility of her leaving Themyscira without its Queen…well, hindsight is 20/20.

…So, that’s all there is to know about Infinite Wonder Woman, but what about her new wife? Granted, she won’t be joining the Justice League, but she will be making an appearance or two, so let’s look at Mera.

Again, Mera is very similar to the mainstream version seen in the comics: A princess/assassin from another dimension sent to kill Aquaman, but instead fell in love with the King of Atlantis and married him. She’s also become somewhat of a surrogate mother to Jackson Hyde, AKA Aqualad, due to his estrangement from his father, Black Manta. In this universe, she’s also a close friend to Diana, and accepted her proposal to get married for the sake of their friendship and their peoples (which is quite the twist from Flashpoint). While kind and loving, she is also known to fly into fits of rage when wronged. You know the old saying “Heav’n has no rage, like love to hatred turn’d, nor Hell a fury, like a woman scorn’d”? If William Congreve had lived in today’s society, he likely would’ve been talking about Mera. And yeah, I know, it can be something of a sexist comment, but it’s most certainly true of Queen Mera ‘Don’t You DARE Call Me Aquawoman’. While she understands that she SHOULDN’T kill, she at times has difficulty keeping the desire to in check.

Mera is more or less exactly like the mainstream version of her in both appearance and powers. Like Aquaman, the Queen of Atlantis is perfectly capable of surviving in a kingdom at the bottom of the sea, meaning she has the strength, durability, and enhanced sight of someone who lived in a place so dark and having such constant pressure put on her. She’s also an extremely fast swimmer, and possesses a leap out of the ocean measuring at approximately 1000 feet. Mera also possesses telepathy, able to send messages to someone’s mind and receive replies, though she lacks skill in terms of digging deeper into a person’s thoughts. Her trademark ability, however, is her skill in manipulating water. She can shift water around to her will, form hard water weapons, and launch concussive blasts. Also, get her REALLY mad, and she could conceivably warp the water molecules inside of someone to hurt them from the inside. Ultimately, her greatest weakness is her anger, as it can blind her in combat and cause her to make mistakes. Also, while she’s durable enough that bullets would only scratch her skin, she is by no means invulnerable.

Anyway, that’s it for Wonder Woman and Mera. Next time, we wrap up our look at the Justice League Infinite with Green Lantern and Doctor Fate. Ja né!

Spider-Gwen Announced – THANK YOU, MARVEL! :’D + News On Upcoming Wonder Woman Books + The Difference Between Marvel & DC

No, your eyes do NOT deceive you, Marvel has in fact listened to the fans and decided to give the Gwen Stacy Spider-Woman her own book. Apparently, it’ll be launching in February, under the name Spider-Gwen. Now, the name of the book is a little weird, but I’m guessing it’s because they already have a Spider-Woman book coming out, and unless they name it ‘Gwen Stacy: The Insert-Cool-Sounding-Adjective-Here Spider-Woman’, it’s gonna confuse people (actually, I think that would be the most awesomely hilarious name for a book EVER). So, I don’t mind the name.

What’s hilarious about this is that this news broke at the same time as myself and a group of my friends on Twitter were ranting about a cover advertised for an upcoming Wonder Woman book, as drawn by David Finch, where she looks…well, look.

…Yeah, pretty dumb, huh? And really shows why the Finchs are probably people that shouldn’t be doing Wonder Woman, because they don’t get the character. Although, on the flip side, check out the cover for the upcoming Wonder Woman ’77 book, drawn by Nicola Scott.

Pretty frakking epic. Really shows the difference between DC and Marvel. DC has these AMAZING digital first books that people love, and they take ZERO advantage of them, instead pushing the bleak as all heck New 52 books. Marvel sees that something sells well, they go “Hey, we’ve got a new product that sells great! So, let’s roll with it!” And maybe it won’t do as well as they hope, but the point is they’re giving it a try. They’re giving Silk a shot too. So we’ll have, on the Marvel side of things, female led books like Storm, Captain Marvel, Silk, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Woman, Ms. Marvel, Adjectiveless X-Men, Squirrel Girl (…no, seriously, it’s happening, lol), and so many more. In DC’s main line, their female led books are Supergirl (has been kind of a confusing mess lately), Batgirl (new team doing the book does awesome work in my opinion, but I’ve noticed that reaction to the new book is pretty divisive online), Gotham Academy (looks cool, but not my cup of tea), Harley Quinn (ruined Poison Ivy in the New 52, has an upcoming drug-scented book), Batwoman (was forced out of getting married and turned into a vampire anti-hero), and Wonder Woman (see above image, and the God awful relationship with Superman). Meanwhile, they have a HUGE roster of women they could push in their books! Aside from the ones I mentioned already, they have Raven, Wonder Girl, Troia, Stargirl, Spoiler, Bluebird, Poison Ivy, Mera, Aquawoman, Jesse Quick, Jade, Huntress, Power Girl, Fury, Equinox, the list goes on and on! And yeah, some of them are in books currently, but they’re hardly marketed by DC. They don’t know how to market their products, unless said product is involved with Batman, and they don’t know how to get people pumped for new stuff.

But anyway, I just wanna thank Marvel Comics, Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez, and everyone else involved in Spider-Gwen for bringing this to us. Lemme know your own thoughts on this upcoming book, and we’ll see how awesome this gets when it hits in February. Ja né!

Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 DC/Marvel Team-Ups I Would LOVE To See

So, the days of DC/Marvel crossovers kinda feels LONG past, where we’ll likely never see them again, save for one company buying out the other, or someone obtaining the rights to both. But, if the two companies ever DID manage a crossover, there are some characters I would LOVE to see team up. Now, because we’ve already seen some characters interact before, I’m gonna try to keep this list devoted to ones that never have before, but I might let one slip that either I didn’t know about or just wanted to see so badly that it overrode that. And, me being me, expect a lot of superheroines. lol So, let’s not waste any time and get the obvious one outta the way…

#1 – Spoiler and Spider-Woman

Yeah, zero surprises with this one, huh? And yes, I HAVE seen the fan-art of Gwen with Batgirl, don’t worry, we’ll get to HER in a sec. For now, I just feel from a personality, fighting style, and equipment standpoint, these two are probably a tighter match. Hell, their costumes are even really similar, and they’re both blondes. The only major thing throwing off their combo is that only Gwen has superpowers, but as seen when she teamed up with other superheroes, that doesn’t do much, if anything, to hold Steph back.

#2 – Birds of Prey and Fearless Defenders

Really, I think THIS is where Babs is best suited: With the Birds of Prey, teamed with The Most Fabulous Fighting Team Of All, the Fearless Defenders. My God, the awesomeness of this team-up would be AMAZING, but more than seeing them kicking ass and taking names, I would love to just see them doing some post-battle chillaxing at someone’s pad or something. Also, while they aren’t in the picture, of course I’d want Huntress in there on the Birds side of things, and Dani Moonstar and Elsa Bloodstone with the Defenders.

#3 – Superman and Hulk

Okay, I know for a fact these two have met, but I don’t know if they’ve ever actually teamed up. That said, I have an AMAZING idea for why they would team up: Basically, Superman and Hulk have to go and save Sakaar, which has been taken over by Brainiac…I’ll leave ya with that thought. XD Now, this next one is another team-up of teams, but the second isn’t really so much a “team” as…well, you’ll see.

#4 – Teen Titans and Hawkeye, Ultimate Spider-Man, Nomad, Ms. Marvel, and X-23

Why these five heroes with the Teen Titans? Well, because they’re all simultaneously younger heroes and successors to previous heroes, which is what the original Teen Titans were made up of. Granted, one of them is from the Ultimate Universe. Still, I just think it would make a nice team-up of the younger heroes from both worlds in this crazy world that’s seemingly out to get them.

#5 – Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel

I don’t know if this team-up has ever happened before or not, but if it hasn’t, it NEEDS TO. lol Seriously, the leading ladies of DC and Marvel. I would thoroughly enjoy watching these two interact, not to mention kick the asses of anyone foolish enough to try to take them on. Hell, I would FAR sooner read a book about these two teamed up than frigging Superman and Wonder Woman, which focuses primarily on their relationship that I have no idea why it’s still going on, if for no other reason than we’ve clearly established it is leading to bad stuff happening.

So, that’s my list of team-ups. Who would YOU like to see in a DC/Marvel crossover? Lemme know in the comments below, and I shall see ya’ll next time. Ja né!

I’m Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! :D Teen Titans #2 Review – What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and Light-Hearted Heroes?

…So, yeah, it’s been a while since I posted something new, huh? I mean, I’ve been reblogging stories I’ve found online, but I haven’t written anything new on here for a while. Suffice to say, this year hasn’t exactly been the greatest, and on top of that, there’s some stuff that I’m afraid I’d talk a bit too much about with an open mic to say whatever I wanted that I’m not really ready to talk about yet. But looking back recently, I realized how much I missed this, so here I am. Won’t be doing much right away, but for now, I will be posting my comic reviews that I’ve been posting on Comic Vine as of late, starting with the newest one I’ve posted for Teen Titans #2. So, while it’s been a while since I did this, I DO believe it is Wednesday, and I did go to a comic book shop, so let’s take a look at…

I won’t be talking about EVERY comic I bought this week, just the one(s) that I have something to say about and feel like giving a review of. With that said, let’s take a look at Teen Titans #2.

Okay, so yer probably wondering about the title? Well, it’s for a couple of things. First off, something I failed to mention with the review of Teen Titans #1, Manchester Black is in this book as an antagonist. If you don’t know who that is, either watch Superman vs The Elite, or read the book it’s based on, What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?. The other is in regards to the two Titans featured most prominently in this issue: Bunker and Beast Boy, or Plan B as I’m calling their duo from now on. And right away, I gotta address something kinda controversial: The change in Bunker’s attitude. As much as I HATE to give Scott Lobdell a positive, one of the things I really liked about his run on Teen Titans was the character Bunker and how he was written, being a gay Latino teen who was the light-hearted optimist of the group in spite of some issues in his life and some of the insane shit they went through. Here, he’s written with a bit more of an edge…though I THINK I get the reason why.

In the original run of the Teen Titans in the New 52, Beast Boy was neither on the team nor a very light-hearted character. In fact, his usually green fur was changed to red. Basically, he had almost zero resemblance to the original. So, to compensate for that, the character of Bunker was made the optimist who cracked jokes on occasion and kept things from getting too frosty…with varying levels of success, mind you, but he tried. However, with Beast Boy getting put back on the team (and turned green again at some point that I still have yet to learn when it happened), I think Will Pfeifer wanted to make him the optimistic goof off and have Bunker’s character changed to confront certain homophobic viewpoints that still exist in society today. At least, that’s what I think is going on. And if so, I DO understand it. Still, it kinda bugs me to see Bunker acting this way.

One thing that hasn’t changed about Bunker, though, is his sense of heroism. As soon as he and Beast Boy find out there’s a fire at STAR Labs, all it takes is a look and they jump into action. Even the danger of the fire setting off a blast that could destroy Manhattan doesn’t stop Bunker, nor does the appearance of Ladytron. Once again, Titans save the day, and I could never complain much about a book where the good guys save the day and everybody lives. Well, with the exception of a survivor from the bus incident from last issue that gets killed off by mysterious circumstances while Red Robin was trying to get info from him. My guess? Black.

As for the other Titans, as I mentioned, Red Robin was trying to learn more about who was behind the little Speed recreation from Teen Titans #1. Raven decided to go to a concert by some band named Dark Mistress, which’ll apparently be important next issue. And just as a side note, even as someone who hates the new Teen Titans Go! show, if Rachel is the owner of the pony poster back at the Titans’ pad, that’s frigging hilarious. As for Wonder Girl…she may or may not be encouraging teenage girls to dress up as Wonder Girl copycats and beat up thugs with baseball bats. It’s a little unclear.

So yeah, other than changes to Bunker, not really anything to pick on with this comic. Not really much else to say that’s good about it, but again, heroes jump into action and save the day, everybody lives. Nothing too remarkable, but nothing that I consider all that terrible either. And considering a certain other comic that came out this week that I am NOT talking about, at least not on here, it could be a lot worse…Oh, and I love the selfie cover for this issue. There’s just something about Raven photo-bombing that I find too cute for words (have I mentioned she’s my favourite Titan? lol).

So yeah, that’s my review for today. If you wanna see my other reviews on Comic Vine, click here, and I will see you next week. Ja né!

Infinite DC – Who Is On The Justice League? (FEEDBACK REQUESTED)

So, as I’ve mentioned in the past, several of my Infinite DC fanfics are eventually leading up to a Justice League story, in particular the ending to Man of Tomorrow. Now, while the main plot of this story is pretty much decided in my head, one thing that keeps changing bit by bit is who I want on the Justice League. Five members I know for a fact will be on the team are Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Batman, and Green Lantern. The sixth slot will go to either Martian Manhunter or Cyborg, the seventh slot is still completely up in the air, and now I’m beginning to wonder if I really wanna do the standard Magnificent Seven with the group, or include an eighth slot for whoever didn’t get the sixth.

As you can see, I’m in need of feedback. Before you give it, though, let’s talk about the seventh member. The criteria for the hero that fills seventh slot is as follows:

1. They have to be a woman. I don’t want Wonder Woman to be the ONLY superheroine on a team full of dudes.
2. She cannot be a member of the Birds of Prey: Dark. Ergo, she can’t be Black Canary, Huntress, Raven, or Batwoman. There will EVENTUALLY be mingling between the two teams, just not yet.
3. She cannot be part of the extended hero teams of the other members, so not Power Girl, Batgirl, Wonder Girl, Jesse Quick, or Miss Martian.
4. She has to have some sort of power or ability that is unique to the team. So, no one who is just a strong woman who can fly.

Anyway, with that said, here are some of my most considered options for the seventh hero, as well as reasons why I might not choose each one. Keep in mind, I’m aware I could change the stuff that gives me pause to add them, but some of these things lend to possible stories I can tell later, so I don’t know that I’d want to change them.

Beatriz da Costa, AKA Fire

Fire was one of my first choices, in fact the one I’d initially decided on, for a number of reasons: Her ability to turn into and control fire, her characterization being in stark contrast to Wonder Woman’s, her Brazilian heritage giving further international flavour to the team, and the fact that, while she’s served with extended versions of the Justice League and the JLI, she’s never really been on THE team of 7 or so heroes. This would give her a unique presence to the team. Reasons why I wouldn’t want to add her is generally due to the fact that she’s known nowadays for being a tag team of sorts with Ice, so having one on the team without the other might feel odd, and her name is sadly HORRIBLY generic, not to mention can be confusing when there are other heroes with ‘Fire’ in their name, like Starfire or Firestorm.

Kendra Muñoz-Saunders, AKA Hawkgirl

Hawkgirl was again another obvious choice, given her repeated presence on the Justice League (in particular being part of the Big 7 in the DCAU League), and her incredible strength in both armed and unarmed combat. Like with many things in Infinite DC, I’d want to make her a mixture of the more commonly known Hawkgirl and the Hawkgirl from the New 52‘s Earth 2. She’d probably wear the Earth 2 costume, but rather than wield a Nth metal mace or her crossbow blaster, I’d giver her an Nth metal crossbow blaster that turns into a mace. Why? Because mêlée weapons that turn into guns are awesome. Reasons why I might not add her is just how typical it would be, and an admitted temptation to have her be on the Birds of Prey: Dark instead.

Tatsu Yamashiro, AKA Katana

Okay, I’m kinda breaking my own rules here, but I feel that Katana isn’t necessarily part of the Bat Family team, or is at least independent enough now that she could be a member. Heck, she IS a member of the Justice League of America in the comics these days, and she would bring international flavour to the team, along with that frigging badass sword. Reason why I would be hesitant to having her on the team is because she’s one of the DC characters who is probably a bit more prone to slashing people, which could conflict BAD with some of the others on the team.

Zatanna Zatara

Zatanna, because hey, the Justice League could use a little magic, right? Not to mention fishnet stockings. lol But yeah, Zatanna would be the magical expert of the team, wearing her usual stage-magician attire, and minus her relationship with assface, I-I mean Constantine. Reasons why I might be hesitant to let her into the Justice League are because, like Hawkgirl, I’m tempted to make her a member of the BoP (especially since she was a member of the Justice League Dark in the New 52, which is where Birds of Prey: Dark gets its name), and because having to write her spells backwards, while not the worst thing in the world, could be a bitch to spellcheck. XD

Mera

*GASP!* Mera and not Aquaman?! Can this be?! Well, I kind of have plans for Aquaman later on that require him to be off the team, but that doesn’t mean Mera absolutely cannot be on it. Her ability to control water, no matter where it is, would make her a major player in the Justice League, a team that I don’t think she’s ever formally joined, despite having worked with them several times. Oh, and to be clear, she would just be Mera. Not Aquawoman, not Water Woman, and the one I find most insulting, not Aquawife. Reasons why I might not include her is due to her trademark anger issues and shaky history with Wonder Woman.

So yeah, vote which of these women you’d like to see in my Justice League below. Or, if there’s one not listed who fits the criteria and who you’d like to suggest, feel free in the comments. Also, lemme know if you think Cyborg, Martian Manhunter, or BOTH should be members, and we’ll see what happens. Ja né!

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How Would I Rebuild The DC Universe From Scratch? – Teen Titans (Robin, Wonder Girl, Bunker, And More)

Well, welcome back to my own personal Put Up Or Shut Up moment for comics, How Would I Rebuild The DC Universe From Scratch. Granted, I may not be the best person to make such judgements, since apparently DC Comics is meant for 45 year olds, but this is just my own personal take on it. This time around, I thought I’d take a closer look at the members of one of my favourite superhero teams of all time, who I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up writing a fic about in the future…

Now, because a lot of these are known primarily for being Teen Titans, and/or for being sidekicks to other superheroes, not all of ’em have logos, so I’ll be using pictures. With that said, let’s start with who is usually considered the leader…

Robin

As I mentioned before, I’d naturally start with Dick Grayson as Robin. However, following his eventual transformation to Nightwing, I’d probably do as the Young Justice cartoon apparently did and skip over Jason Todd in favour of probably my favourite Robin of all time, Tim Drake. Now, that’s not to say that I would never involve Jason Todd, just not as Robin. Why? Well, for starters, I’m not exactly a huge fan of Jason Todd and what DC continues to try to do with him. Second, like I said, I prefer Tim Drake as Robin (and yes, he WAS Robin, I don’t care what anyone says. I don’t even mind calling him Red Robin, I just hate that DC insists he was never Robin). Now, would I put the mantle on others like Stephanie Brown and Damian Wayne later on? I dunno yet. Either way, though, Dick would be the leader of the team, though would often-times confer to this next individual…

Cyborg

I already covered most of what I’d do with Cyborg, but at the same time, I think I’d want him to act as a sort of mentor to the Titans. He’d be in charge of training them, putting together their base and equipment, etc. He might occasionally butt heads with Robin over leadership decisions, but otherwise would be friends.

Wonder Girl

Yes, I know that’s Donna Troy. Sorry to Cassie fans, and I MIGHT eventually show her some love too, but frankly, I just prefer Donna. As for her origin (hoo boy, Donna Troy’s origin), I’d probably just go with the story where she’s a mirror duplicate of Wonder Woman as a teenager, though I’d put her in the black costume with the blue stars. It’s just my personal favourite look for her. Otherwise, her role would be something similar to what Superboy’s was in the Young Justice cartoon, though with a better relationship with her counterpart. Finally, I think I’d want her to have a silver lasso as opposed to Wonder Woman’s golden lasso.

Bunker

Y’know, much as I like to rag on Scott Lobdell from time to time, one thing I can thank him for is for intentionally making Bunker and his back-story completely angst free. And trust me, you have no idea how much I appreciate that, given the status quo of DC Superhero angst these days. So yeah, Miguel’s personality? Perfect. His powers? Pretty awesome. The only thing I’d change about him is his costume’s colour-scheme. I’d change it to violet and some other colour, like green or black. I just don’t like that sort of reddish-purple that goes down the middle of his mask and across the right side of his costume. Maybe it just bugs me because, in the comics, he’s on a team brought to you by the colours red, yellow, and brown, but it’s always bugged me.

Jesse Quick

Yeah, with enough characters in other colours, I can let Jesse Quick keep her normal red and yellow. 🙂 Also, as far as why I picked Jesse Quick over Bart Allen, it’s two-fold. One is that I already picked Wally West over Barry Allen to be The Flash, and two is that I’d want a more diverse team. After all, Jesse can not only tap into the Speed Force, but she also inherits her mother’s enhanced strength and stamina. As for her back-story, pretty much the same, minus the affair with her mother’s younger fiancée, because oh dear GOD that was stupid. Speaking of which, she’d also have the costume she wore in the earlier issues of The Titans, AKA Lewis Lovhaug‘s favourite comic book series ever. I just like it a lot, and find her other costumes to be kinda…eh.

Aqualad

No offence to Garth (in fact, far from it, I think I’d rather have Garth as Tempest), but Kaldur’ahm would be the Aqualad of this team, likely in his Young Justice TV show appearance (although I’d change the shade of red to a more orange tone) and power-set. However, to keep things from getting overly repetitive, I think I would kinda want him to be the sort-of Sixth Ranger member of the group (look it up on TV Tropes). Still, Kaldur would be the serious one, and would pretty much play designated driver to some of the antics the rest of the team might occasionally get up to.

Anyway, that’s it for the Teen Titans. Next time, I talk more about the villains, specifically who faces whom. Ja né!

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How Would I Rebuild The DC Universe From Scratch? – The Justice League, The Teen Titans, And More

Here I am, once again, talking about How Would I Rebuild The DC Universe From Scratch. ‘Cuz hey, you never know. I might decide to do a fanfic about one or more of these characters, or be a creative consultant for a web series, something like that. No way to know what the future might hold, y’know? So for this time around, I thought I’d talk about what I’d do with some of the landmark teams of the DC Universe. The Justice League, the Teen Titans, and so on. So, let’s start with…

Justice League

For the main team, I’d wanna take it back to being the Justice League of America, or the JLA. Of course, they would refer to it as the Justice League for short on occasion, but it’d be the JLA. As for what I’d do with it for a story, probably go back to Starro the Conqueror, except that it would be about Starro invading and the Big 3, the Trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman not being enough to stop the invasion, and thus some of the new heroes (in this continuity, that is) would come to their aid, like The Flash, Green Lantern, or Cyborg. I’d probably include others, like Aquaman, Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, Black Canary, or Green Arrow, and have the book mostly focus on them stepping up to be on the same level as the Trinity while also fending off threats like The Legion of Doom, the Royal Flush Gang, the Black Lantern Corps, and Darkseid.

Teen Titans

Teen Titans would probably go back to its roots a little bit as a team of mostly teenage sidekicks who band together to form a superhero team that responds to calls from teens in need. Obviously, Robin would be a must, as would Donna Troy as Wonder Girl. As for the others, Bunker would be a nice choice for the international flavor, his optimism, and his position as an openly gay teenage superhero. I think I’d wanna change his costume from purple and red to purple and green, though. Just looks better in my head. Jesse Quick would be a neat option too, especially as someone brilliant enough to tap into the Speed Force on her own. Other choices would likely include Aqualad (either one, really), Danny Chase, Hotspot, Bumblebee, Beast Boy, Argent, Damage, Starfire, or Artemis. Also, to reference his time spent with the team in The New Teen Titans, Cyborg would be acting as a mentor to the team as they battle the likes of Doctor Light, The H.I.V.E., Deathstroke, Harvest (only done smarter than in The Culling), and the Brotherhood of Evil.

Justice League International

I’d probably go with the standard government-controlled Justice League here, but with some changes. Specifically, the JLA decides they don’t want the government to be afraid of them, so they elect one of their members to join. Of course, unlike the New 52 Justice League International, I think I’d want Wonder Woman on the team, representing Themyscira. Vixen would represent Africa, Congorilla would represent Scotland, Katana would represent Japan, Fire would represent Brazil, Ice would represent Norway, Booster Gold would represent Canada, Vibe would represent America, and Mera would represent Atlantis. They’d fight foes like the Injustice League (would have different members than The Legion of Doom).

Birds of Prey

With the Birds of Prey, I’d wanna combine them with the idea of the Justice League Dark. Basically, an all-female team that deals with supernatural threats. As such, members would be a combination of the two groups: Black Canary would be acting leader, Raven would join seeking to bring together a group to stop her father, Zatanna would become a member to try to track down her father, Batgirl and Spoiler would team up with them from time to time, and Pandora would join to try to find information leading back to her box…Not even close to what I mean, pervs. lol Their enemies would include Trigon’s Sons, Vandal Savage, and Morgaine le Fey.

Justice Society of America

Basically, the Justice Society of America, or JSA for short, would be the first superhero team, existing prior to Superman and the others. Their members act as inspirations for the current crop of heroes, and in some cases, direct predecessors. They would consist of characters from the original JSA, the All-Star Squadron, and some of the other Earth 2 characters to appear since. The original Flash, Jay Garrick, hence why Wally chooses that name for himself. The Atom, Al Pratt, would be the father of Damage, and would have his atomic punch, the ability to turn giant like Atom Smasher, and the ability to shrink like the modern Atoms like Ray Palmer. Liberty Belle, Libby Lawrence, would be Jesse Quick’s mother, and Jesse would get her increased strength and stamina through her mother’s genes. Batman, Thomas Wayne, would be Bruce Wayne’s father who was a member EXTREMELY briefly. Others could include Doctor Fate, Hippolyta, Zatara, Sandman, Hawkman, or Doctor Mid-Nite.

Anyway, that’s all for the superhero teams. Next up, the villains! Ja né!

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Tales of Dumbassery – What Is Iconic In Comic Books?

Once again, dear friends, I hope you have anaesthesia on hand, as we are about to dive into…

Y’know, a word that gets tossed around in comics a lot lately is ‘iconic’. Specifically, what characters qualify as iconic. And I don’t mean their aliases, I mean the people behind the masks. It seems to be used to justify a lot of decisions made with the New 52. Like, “Hal Jordan is the Green Lantern serving on the Justice League because he’s the most iconic Green Lantern”, or “Barry Allen is the only Flash because he’s the most iconic Flash”, or “Barbara Gordon was made Batgirl again for the New 52 because she’s the most iconic Batgirl”…Well, okay, I should be fair, it’s not JUST the New 52 that does this. Take Injustice for example. Barry Allen is The Flash, Hal Jordan is Green Lantern, and guess who just got confirmed to be in the game as DLC?

Based on what I can tell, iconic in this sense means they were the first to serve as these aliases in the modern DC universe, and by that, I mean what was previously known as New Earth (created through the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths) and is now Prime Earth (created through the events of Flashpoint). My guess is that this means they’re the ones most people are most familiar with as these heroes. I’m sure that a lot of people feel that logic is justified, and I can definitely see how they would think that…despite how wrong it is.

Okay, bear with me here: You guys know how my favourite Batgirl is Stephanie Brown, right? Well, while she’s my favourite, I don’t know if I’d really call her the most iconic. For me, and this is just me personally, I think the most iconic Batgirl would be the one who has made the most impact by her presence, and when I think that, I think Cassandra Cain. And why do I feel she made the most impact? Well, aside from her uniqueness as a character, how she operates as Batgirl, and also that her costume is VERY different from Steph and Babs’, she was also the first Batgirl to get her own solo series that lasted longer than a single issue. In fact, Cass’ Batgirl title lasted 75 issues. Steph’s didn’t even make it half that amount.

But there are other reasons I consider the logic of the “this character was the first to be this hero, and that makes them the most iconic” to be wrong. As I said, I think the reason for that is because they’re generally the one people are most familiar with…except that’s not always the case. Depending on what comics you read and when, you might be more familiar with John Stewart or Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern than Hal Jordan. Or say you got into comics through the cartoons. In that case, you were likely more familiar with Wally West as The Flash than Barry Allen. Or perhaps you only started reading comics with the New 52. Under that situation, you’re probably more familiar with Damian Wayne as Robin than Dick Grayson or ANYBODY else who came before him. God help you if you got into comics through the Joel Schumacher movies, though. Then you’d think Mr. Freeze was an Austrian who spewed ice one-liners, and Bane was some random thug they stuck in a luchador mask and pumped full of crap that made him a mindless brute.

There is a third reason I find that logic to be bunk, specifically as it pertains to the New 52: If the characters were chosen based on their iconic stature of being the first to assume the mantle of certain heroes, then why is Bart Allen in Teen Titans as Kid Flash? Now before anyone suggests this is an attack on Bart Allen, you can relax, I have no issues with the character whatsoever. I’m just wondering why it’s him to assume the position of Kid Flash instead of Wally West. Or heck, why is Cassie Sandsmark operating as Wonder Girl instead of Donna Troy? Again, nothing wrong with Cassie, I just find that the meaning behind these choices is very warped and confused when you consider her presence here.

Do you see where I’m going with all of this? Basically, the word iconic is used to explain certain character choices, but the meaning behind iconic is constantly changed to mean whatever the individual(s) in charge want it to mean. And honestly, if yer going to go that route anyway, why not just say “We picked who we liked”? Because I get it, you had a limited number of spots to utilize with the massive roster of characters you had available to you, you got overwhelmed, and you knew that no matter who you picked to get into these stories, you’d piss somebody off. So why not just tell the truth and say you’re sorry? I don’t get that.

Anyway, that’s my two cents on this particular matter. Feel free to add your own, and I will be back later today with my vlog from Free Comic Book Day and my latest What I Bought Today. Ja né!