# Ask the comic guy.. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 9, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415 "2003-01-09T01:53:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 41
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/801 "2003-04-12T13:26:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Payton’s Servant \* > \*\ ***Fenris** , or any of the other comic officianados, I’m wondering what you think of [this column by Michael Medved in National Review](http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-medved040403.asp) > > Does he have his head up his ass? More jingoistic, “_if you’re not with us, you are evil and the enemy_” type stuff? > > I didn’t read any of Captain America issues that he talks about, so ican’t really comment, but I’ll wager at least one of you can. \*\* Then why would you assume his head’s up his ass? Medved is usually pretty accurate with his facts in his reviews of movies and presents a fairly consistant outlook on which to judge the opinion part of his reviews. Yeah, he’s right of center, but I don’t see anything jingoistic in his review. Anyway, I’m going to answer this question by focusing on the comics in question in hopes that that’ll be it. I’m sick to death of politics taking over every f\*cking thread on the SDMB and I really don’t want this thread to morph yet another “the war sux/no it doesn’t” thread. It’s one of the very few threads on the SDMB I’m actually enjoying any more and it’s one of the few reasons I’m sticking around. (Thanks guys! 🙂 ) I think Medved’s overstating it but is generally correct. The Dresden issues of Cap were pretty obnoxious and WAY out of character for Cap. They were “hurl the book across the room” level bad. The current writer _is_ using Captain America as a mouthpiece for his anti-war opinions. Which would be fine to a point, but Medved is correct: there’s no one offering the opposing view. It’s as dully-two dimensional as the Neal Adams/Denny O’Neill Green Lantern/Green Arrow relevance issues where junior-highschool level liberal slogans were the basis of the book. And everyone agreed with them. The essense of a story is conflict. Green Arrow was a loud-mouthed, obnoxious liberal. Great! Fine! Put him with strong willed, stubbornly hard-headed conservative Green Lantern and you have the potential for a rousing good story as their beliefs and methods clash. Unfortunately, O’Neill couldn’t concieve that anyone could have a different opinion than his own and wrote Hal as a weak-willed semi-moron who burst into tears whenever a liberal said _anything_\*. This equals _boring_ stories. The same thing to a lesser degree is happening in Cap. The writer of Cap is also _boring_ me. A lot. NOTHING’s happening (th’ art is extremely pretty though.) I think it would have been far more effective, if he wanted to portray those attitudes (which represent a large enough group that they SHOULD be dealt with in the comic if they MUST go in the “relevancy” direction…which I wish they wouldn’t.) would be for Cap to team up with a new character who can represent the anti-war side and force them to work together: again, conflict is _good_. Moping around about how America sux is out of character for Cap. In any case, I’d much rather see Cap deal with Modok, or the Red Skull or AIM or The Seventh (and final) Sleeper, or etc… than to wander around the countryside talking non-stop. And while I think THE TRUTH is a stupid book (with very good art), I disagree with Medved on _why_ it’s stupid. It’s not that I don’t think things like the Tuskegee experiments have no place in comic books which can certainly deal with mature content or that it deals with the fact that America did some vile, evil things, it’s that it’s a bad concept that doesn’t fit Marvel’s continuity (at ALL) and it’s horribly written. I mean really, REALLY badly written. Y’remember the charactures of Japanese people in Golden Age comics? With fangs and squinty eyes and claws and such? They were written with more depth than the bad-guys in this book. Plus, the premise is just stoopid. The cartoon-racists who are behind the program would NEVER, **NEVER** risk giving super-powers to a black person. I mean, c’mon. It would be like a Ku Klux Klansman giving fully automatic weapons to the black people that they intend to terrorize. So overall, yeah. I think Medved’s about right. Cap doesn’t work well as a vehicle for a particular writer’s grievances or when he tries to be “relevant”. “Relevant” books suck in general, but because of the nature of Captain America, they’re particularly bad. And, on preview, what **Dr Fidelius** said. The first time was when Cap became Nomad to protest Nixon. Not one of Steve Englehart’s shining moments. The second time was during the big Kirby original art flap when there was a fear that Kirby might sue and take all his characters away. That’s why so many Marvel books of the period got the main character out of the costume, so that there would be a backup. If Cap got yanked, there was always “The Captain”. If Tony Stark got pulled, there was Rhodey. Spider-man’s costume was designed by Kirby, hence the black outfit. Etc. Fenris \*“Tell me, Mr. Lantrin, I hear you work for the blue folks, and you saved the orange folks from the red folks. Can you tell me what you done for the black folks?” Wrong answer: \< bursts into tears \> “No…\< sob \> I can’t!” Whereupon he and Green Arrow hug and share an herbal tea. (not really, but…) Right answer: "Me? I saved the world about a half-dozen times in the last week old man. Stopped Los Angeles from falling into the ocean. Stopped the sun from exploding AND from being stolen. Stopped the Queen Bee from making everyone on Earth, (even “the black folks”) into drones for her honey mines. The fact that you’re still alive and able to gripe is testament to all I’ve done. Now let’s talk about you. What the hell have you done for yourself except whine about how I haven’t done enough for you? Maybe if you’d get off your ass and stop snivelling about how everyone _owes_ you, you woudn’t _be_ in this situation. And by the way, if you try to burn down this building again, you’ll be in jail before you can say “honkey” Whereupon Green Arrow’s head should explode from hearing someone who dares to espouse any dissenting opinion and Poof! We’ve got Conflict! Tension! Drama! ---
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/802 "2003-04-12T14:47:06Z")
Tacking onto some of the sentiment– What frustrated me most about the article was that nobody assumed that Cap’s new status quo is temporary. Most controversial comics are. While I by no means am claiming that the Nomad saga, or even the post-9/11 material, is by any means Cap’s finest hour, neither do I expect it to last. Doubt and the “chink in the armor” themes are common and, dare I say, expected from Marvel characters. Spidey quits being Spidey every few years–it’s part of his struggle with responsibility. The Thing is always fed up with his appearance–you’d think that after 40 years, he’d have gotten over it. Iron Man still has alcoholism hanging over him, and while I don’t recall him having a heart condition in years, the writers always find some way to mention it. Cap has, for as long as I can remember (I’ve been reading Marvel since I was 5 in the early 80s) is plagued by doubts about the effectiveness about the American dream. This hasn’t happened OFTEN, but it does seem to me that if the American dream is the ideal Cap upholds (same as Spidey upholds responsibility, the Hulk stands for self-control, etc.), then every so often, he’s going to have to struggle with it. It makes sense, given that the character lived in the (perceived) black-and-white World War II era, but disappears and awakes in a world where the ideas are less apparent. The more that real time passes, the more we have to wonder how Cap awakening to an America with one president assassinated, another disgraced, another scandalized, etc. Meved’s article had a depressing sense of finality to me. It ignored the idea that sales and perceptions can alter a character’s perceptions. People will inevitably get bored with the political activist Cap. He WILL go back to being the Sentinel of Liberty, fighting the Red Skull and MODOK and all those other silly characters. I’d hope the current writer is dragging us through this hell of self-doubt only to bring Cap to a glorious return to idealism, but if not, some other writer inevitably will. Oh, and TRUTH sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/803 "2003-04-12T16:22:21Z")
The problem is that in the Steve Englehart “Nomad” storyline, A) it made sense that Cap, awakened in the '60s would be shocked by Nixon’s behavior in the '70s. (Not all that shocked. Other presidents have had other scandals. but still, it was a NEW idea and it sort-of worked), but more importantly B) There was a _story_ too. Yeah, he wallowed in self-doubt, but he was also fighting the Secret Empire with the X-Men. Stuff was happening. Ditto with the Gruenwald “The Captain” storyline. Yeah, there was some wallowing in self-doubt, but he was also fighting all these weird political super-villians (Flag-Smasher, Left and Right Winger, The Watchdogs of Liberty (or whatever the hell they were called), etc and it built to a _great_ conclusion when it turned out that the Red Skull was behind ALL the groups, as well as the original problem Cap was having with rights to the name and costume The current Cap story is at least a year old and is just wallowing without any actual story to go along with the wallowing. Keep in mind, the current writer came from the Vertigo line where the slow introspective style worked on his wonderful Books of Magic series. It does _not_ work for Captain America. I think in part, this attempt was inspired by the very weirdly paced (and effective) Bruce Jones “HULK” storyline that’s going on at the moment (we’ve only actually _seen_ the Hulk in one issue in the last um…two? years.) But while it’s working brilliantly in The Hulk, Cap is just _boring_. And preachy. And relevant. In any case, I didn’t get a sense of finality from the Medved article, I got disgust at the current direction. As an aside, interesting factiod: Medved seems to be a comics fan from way back when. I caught a bit on his radio show a while back where he was listing his favorite Legion of Super-Heros storylines (he like the late Shooter Adventure Comics run IIRC, which shows GOOD taste! :D) and he discussed how much he liked the Earth 1/Earth 2 crossovers in Justice League. So he’s got some knowledge of the genre. And MODOK is NOT silly. He’s a giant floating head with vestigal arms and legs and a nasty telepathic zap-bolt and he’s filled with angst and enuii! How in the WORLD can you say that’s silly? Why if you call THAT silly, what do you call “Arms-Fall-Off Boy” in of the Legion Rejects? Or “Jimmy Olsen: Turtle Boy”? or Mopee? 😉 Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Payton\_s\_Servant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@Payton\_s\_Servant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Payton_s_Servant)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/804 "2003-04-12T18:12:14Z")
I didn’t mean to upset you Fenris, re: my saying that Medved has his head up his ass, it’s just that I recall when he was doing movie reviews for the Tv show Sneak Previews, there wasn’t any of the “_everything liberals have done, especially in Hollywood is evil and wrong and must be stopped_” that he spews out now. I had a couple of questions, one about the comic business asa whole, which is this: What caused the back-issue market to die off? I can remember going to a comic book store in my neighborhood where a good 3/4 (about 1200 square feet) of the floor space was devoted to back issues. Now, most comic book stores have their back issues off in one corner, if they have any at all. My second question is about TP’s and why an entire run of a series isn’t put out in TP form? I realize that it probably wouldn’t be a good move financially for DC to put out all of **Batman** in TP form, but why would you put out 4-5 TP’s of a series and then stop? I’m referring to **Hitman** which I first picked up in a Borders and read while waiting for a friend. I have all of the **Hitman** TP’s that have been published, but haven’t seen any new ones. I know the series ended, because I saw the final issue in a comic shop. But why put out 4-5 TP’s of a series and then stop? Just drives me nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/805 "2003-04-12T18:41:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Payton’s Servant \* > \*\*I had a couple of questions, one about the comic business asa whole, which is this: What caused the back-issue market to die off? I can remember going to a comic book store in my neighborhood where a good 3/4 (about 1200 square feet) of the floor space was devoted to back issues. Now, most comic book stores have their back issues off in one corner, if they have any at all. \*\* I think it’s because back issues are too damn expensive. When i started collecting, it cost me (I remember this clearly, because my parents had a major MAJOR explosion) $55.00 for Justice League of America #1. I don’t have an index of inflation chart or anything but $55.00 back in 1977-ish isn’t too terribly far off what it would be worth now. But now, that same issue of JLofA would be listed in the Overstreet Price Guide (at a guess) at $2000-3000 dollars. And, IMO that’s a ridiculously inflated price: the listed price seems to represent what A) The dealer would want for the book and B) what someone, sometime, somewhere once paid. If you check eBay, you can see that the Guide’s numbers have no bearing on what the actual market price of a book seems to be (I’m making the assumption that eBay is as close to an open market as possible) And at that highly over-inflated price, There’s no possible hope of a quick sale for it, it’ll represent money tied up in inventory that’ll just sit there. I was able to get an almost complete run of Justice Leagues over the course of about two summers of part-time jobs combined with working after school in the comic shop. No kid nowdays has a hope in hell of doing anything similar. The other problem is that there _aren’t_ many new kid fans. Older fans are dropping off slowly, and not being replace with new, younger fans. Marvel is making one hell of a valient effort with it’s Ultimates line and, from the reports I’ve heard from my friendly neighborhood comics shop, is actually gaining in new, young readers, but overall the trend has been that the comics audience is shrinking. The smaller it gets, the less people there are to buy the back issues. Frankly, I don’t think the industry is in very good shape, despite some recent hopeful signs. Finally, a lot of retailers got burned in the late-'80s with the “instant collectibles” multiple-covers/special editions scams and are gunshy about buying back issues. Can you imagine how many copies of McFarlane’s Spider-Man #1 there are sitting around in people’s back stocks? \*\* > [@](#): > > My second question is about TP’s and why an entire run of a series isn’t put out in TP form? I realize that it probably wouldn’t be a good move financially for DC to put out all of **Batman** in TP form, but why would you put out 4-5 TP’s of a series and then stop? > Just drives me nuts. \*\* I agree, and I don’t know for sure, but as a guess, they probably just didn’t sell well enough to justify continue putting them out. I think it’s a shame and it doesn’t foster a lot of trust in DC, but at the same time, I can’t imagine DC’s Trade Paperback editor being able to go to DC and say “Hey, we’re losing money on this series of TPbs, but we should do two or three more to finish the set.” Again, that’s just a guess though. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Payton\_s\_Servant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@Payton\_s\_Servant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Payton_s_Servant)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/806 "2003-04-13T03:32:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > > * * * > > The other problem is that there _aren’t_ many new kid fans. Older fans are dropping off slowly, and not being replace with new, younger fans. Marvel is making one hell of a valient effort with it’s Ultimates line and, from the reports I’ve heard from my friendly neighborhood comics shop, is actually gaining in new, young readers, but overall the trend has been that the comics audience is shrinking. The smaller it gets, the less people there are to buy the back issues. > > Frankly, I don’t think the industry is in very good shape, despite some recent hopeful signs. > > Finally, a lot of retailers got burned in the late-'80s with the “instant collectibles” multiple-covers/special editions scams and are gunshy about buying back issues. Can you imagine how many copies of McFarlane’s Spider-Man #1 there are sitting around in people’s back stocks? > \*\* Ahh, the days of the multiple covers to an issue. I myself am guilty of buying all 5-6?? different covers of **X-Men # 1** when it came out. Why do you think younger kids aren’t reading/buying comics? I think there are a couple of reasons: **1)** There are many more things that will hold a kids attention these days then having to actually sit down and READ something, even if it is in cool colors. \*\*2)\*\*Comics are written for a much more “_mature_” audience. Marvel withdrew from the Comics Code Authority and now I can pick up a book and see Nick Fury say "_Fuck"_ and **"motherfucker."** Great. \*\*3)\*\*My friend blames Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman for this, because he says that **Watchmen** was held up to be high and serious _art_ by some and college students did their senior thesis on it:rolleyes:. But because of the success of **Watchmen** and **Sandman** the comics have moved towards a much older reading level/group/maturity level. Also, the incredible success of the **Sandman** TP’s and the resulting explosion of TP’s seems to be leading towards the eventual disappearence of the single issue comic book. So, are my friend and I talking like men with paper assholes or what?😉 ---
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/807 "2003-04-13T05:49:10Z")
By the way, Free Comic Book Day is next month. May 3, IIRC. It’s the first Saturday, I know that much. I don’t know how much last year’s FCBD actually helped the industry, but the fact that they’re holding a second means…um…that I’m getting some free comics. ---
**Author:** ![Payton\_s\_Servant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@Payton\_s\_Servant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Payton_s_Servant)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/808 "2003-04-16T01:30:07Z")
I was reading Will Brookers **Batman Unmasked: Analyzing A Cultural Icon** and there is a bit in it where Frank Miller says that he was the first one who was offered **The Man Of Steel** before John Byrne was. Miller doesn’t say why he turned it down, but from his characterization of Superman in **Dark Knight & Dark Knight 2** he really seems to hate Superman. Is this true? If so, why does he hate him? Or is it a case of his feeling that DC dicked him around after the original **Dark Knight**? ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/809 "2003-04-16T02:08:33Z")
Dunno. I’ve read that he hates Superman as well, but it’s always been third (or worse) hand comments, so who knows. Judging by _both_ **Dark Knights** I agree with you **Payton’s**. And as much as I despise Byrne’s Yuppie of Steel, it’s still better than Miller’s would have been. Frankly, DC should just give the damn Superman titles to Mark Waid (who’s said he’d kill to write 'em…DC won’t let him as punishment for bringing back the Pre-Crisis Supergirl behind their backs) and Alan Moore. Let the two of 'em team up and bring the REAL Superman back, not this poseur of steel. Fenris, just a tiny bit bitter. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sithrider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/54ee81/32.png) [@Sithrider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sithrider)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/810 "2003-04-16T05:45:54Z")
Fenris and Brighteyes, It’s obvious both of you are educated in all matters of comicdom. I have some questions that I’d like to know the answers to. Help me out if you can. 1. When (what issue) did Aquaman return to JLA? What was the story behind his return? It seemed Imperiex had succeded in killing him. 2. In your opinions who was more powerful Parralax (sp) or Ion? I know both possesed the siphoned power from Oa’s battery, But Kyle was able to bring the Guardians back from death while Hal (to my knowledge) didn’t resurect a single soul. 3. In the Marvel universe (in terms of Raw physical strength) where would the Adult Colosus rank? Would he be in the top 10? In his Marvel Universe issue he was rated at 70 tons but was not at peak due to the fact that he was a teenager. I need an objective opinion on this cuz I’m biased. 4. Whatever happened with the Gambit/Rogue romance? 5. In a straight one on one no gadgets or sheilds, strictly on martial arts skill and physical prowess who would win…Batman or Captain Americia. (I personally beleive it’s bats.) Any help or enlightenment with these questions would be greatly appreciated. 317 ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/811 "2003-04-16T11:21:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sithrider \* > \*\*Fenris and Brighteyes, > > It’s obvious both of you are educated in all matters of comicdom. > I have some questions that I’d like to know the answers to. Help > me out if you can.\*\* Thanks! But I gotta warn you, my specialty is Silver-Age-Bronze age stuff. Your questions are generally more current, so… \*\* > [@](#): > > 1. When (what issue) did Aquaman return to JLA? What was the story behind his return? It seemed Imperiex had succeded in killing him. \*\* Um…I thought that storyline was utter gibberish, so I really can’t give a good answer. But it was in the last 10 issues or so. Something about Atlantis being trapped in the past or something. I dunno. \*\* > [@](#): > > 1. In your opinions who was more powerful Parralax (sp) or Ion? \*\* Ion. Easily. Parallax’s powers simply didn’t couldn’t work the way the writers said they did. We knew for decades that more rings did NOT mean more power; each GL had a limited, although very very large, amount of will-power to drive the rings–spread the willpower among multiple rings and each ring gets less will. It’s like saying that you’re gonna get a more powerful hose by poking holes in it so the water can come out more places. And the rings only hold so much Oan energy (they explode if you try to “over-fill” them). So Halactus was did the very tippy top of what a GL could do. Ion was waaaaay beyond that. Plus Ion’s story made sense. The Halactus story was just…well…dumb. Not that I have any opinions on the matter or anything. 😉 On the other hand, your example doesn’t work either. Halactus brought Green Arrow back to life, and if he’d won in Zero Hour, he’d have brought back the infinite earths and who knows how many near-infinite people. Does _anyone_ understand why the characters had such a fuss over Hal’s proposed reboot in Zero Hour? Remember he wasn’t trying to wipe out the Post-Crisis universe, he was just trying to bring back all the others too. So why did anyone oppose him? \*\* > [@](#): > > 1. In the Marvel universe (in terms of Raw physical strength) > where would the Adult Colosus rank? Would he be in the top 10? > In his Marvel Universe issue he was rated at 70 tons but was > not at peak due to the fact that he was a teenager. I need an > objective opinion on this cuz I’m biased. \*\* A) The word “tons” from the Handbook of the Marvel Universe apparently didn’t actually mean “tons” as in 2000 lbs…the guy who wrote the Handbook made a number of really stupid gaffes that showed he thought “Tons” meant “heavy” (IIRC, didn’t it say that Nick Fury or some other normal human could lift a “ton”? IIRC there were a number of screw-ups like that. Please.) As far as I’m concerned, the only real guide is what happened in the actual issues. B) I wouldn’t put Colossus in the top 10, even if you’re ignoring the cosmic types like Galactus or Odin. Sorry. You’ve got Hulk (“Hulk is strongest one there is!”) Thor Abomination Absorbing Man (he can fight Thor to a standstill, QED) A bunch of other Thor villians Silver Surfer Terrax Maaaaybe Firelord (probably Firelord) Hercules Maaaaybe Sub-Mariner (be a damned close fight, but I’d vote for Subby) Maaaaybe Thing (probably not, though) Iron Man (he knocked out a pissed off Big Dumb Green Hulk once) Bunches of other pure muscle bad-guys. Bunches of other second-bannana Asgardians/Olympians/Etc. Top 20? Sure. Easily. Top 10? Not so much, IMO. \*\* > [@](#): > > 1. Whatever happened with the Gambit/Rogue romance? \*\* I dunno. I think Gambit kissed her and got zapped. Then there was something about her falling in love with a clone of Magneto or something. \*\* > [@](#): > > 1. In a straight one on one no gadgets or sheilds, strictly on martial arts skill and physical prowess who would win…Batman or Captain Americia. (I personally beleive it’s bats.)\*\* I’d say that it depends on the environment. Dump 'em in a stadium or something, Cap wins hands down. Dump 'em in a city, ANY city, Bats wins. Cap (IMO) is better at hand to hand combat, but Bats is the better guerrilla fighter. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/812 "2003-04-16T11:34:21Z")
Last I heard, she abandoned him in the arctic after discovering that he had a role in the creation of the Reavers. Remy attempted to explain why he helped Mr Sinister, but was not given the chance. He only agreed to help Sinister in exchange for a mysterious vial. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/813 "2003-04-16T15:50:40Z")
Oooh, wars have been started over lesser debates. I’ve a friend who says it’s Batman hands down cause “Batman always finds a way to win.” But you know, that’s not a power. It’s not like he has a “victory aura” so Bats can be beaten (and have his back broken to boot.) Cap is the ultimate a human can be without venturing into superhuman. Peak strength, agility, endurance, speed. He was created to fight and to win. He does not give up until the fight is over. The man talked DOWN to Thanos, for crap’s sake! He’s a born leader and an inspiration to those who know him. His main problem with fighting Batman though…Batman will cheat. Bats will go for the nut shot if he’s outta baterangs or what have ya. I have to agree with Fenris. If Batman has 10 minutes to prepare, I think he probably could beat Cap. If Cap gets the drop on Batman, it’ll be over before you can say “with liberty and justice for all.” ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/814 "2003-04-16T19:49:33Z")
I haven’t picked up a comic book in a few years so I’m not current, but I can shed some light on the Gambit/Rogue thing. They finally kissed, which I think was when the storyline with all the revelations about his past was just getting rolling, he sorta got zapped but professed not to care because he loved her, and then she freaked out and took off. That was when Joseph, the Magneto ‘clone’, was being introduced, and she ran into him and they had some adventures, and she was strangely attracted to him. That’s basically all I know, and my timeline may be screwy as it’s been a long time. I also never stuck around long enough to find out what the deal was with the Gambit/Sinister connection, or where Joseph had come from, although wasn’t it pretty much a given that it had something to do with the Onslaught thing? And didn’t he sacrifice himself to save some people or something like that? I don’t know. As far as Cap vs Bats, given the parameters of the conflict as outlined by **Sithrider** , it’s not even debatable. No gadgets, no shield (I assume that means no chainmail suit either, if Cap’s even still wearing that thing), nothing but personal combat, there’s no way Batman can win. Sure, he would hypothetically ‘do what it takes,’ but Cap’s got (near-)superhuman strength, speed, agility, etc. His training is equal to or better than Batman’s, and he’s got the Super Serum. Put them both in fighting mode (ie. with weapons and all) and you’d have a fair fight. Take away Batman’s main selling point and it’s not even an argument. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/815 "2003-04-17T04:38:32Z")
Fenris, Mark Waid and Alan Moore on Superman? I would start buying it again in a flash. I wouldn’t mind seeing Peter David take a swing at him either. I would have to go with Batman in 7 out of 10 fights. He is supposed to be in the peak of human physical condition, plus he is one of the top 5 martial artists in the DC Universe. While Cap is also at the peak of his potential, and an accomplished hand to hand fighter, he does not have the same level of ability as Bats. So in a straight up, hand to hand, no weapons allowed, Batman’s fighting knowledge would put him on top. Most of the time. Lok ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/816 "2003-04-17T06:00:43Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. When (what issue) did Aquaman return to JLA? What was the story behind his return? It seemed Imperiex had succeded in killing him. Issue #75, I think. For some reason that essentially makes no sense, Aquaman didn’t die during Our Worlds at War, but was rather sent back in time, along with the whole of Atlantis, btw, except for Tempest, to the year… I don’t know, something B.C. Aquaman befriends the queen of the ancient Atlantis, but is tricked (!) and imprisoned in a pool of water (as some kind of water elemental) while his subjects are forced into slavery. This goes on for about 10 years. I never realized how convulted this storyline was until I tried to explain it now, btw. So, the JLA meets up with a couple of metahumans from ancient Atlantis who were sent forward in time to… see how powerful the JLA was or something because the evil queen of Atlantis has some kind of premonition that they’ll end up toppling her empire. The JLA goes back in time with the aid of Tempest and Zatanna, leaving a substitue JLA behind. To make a really long story short, the JLA doesn’t fare too well in the past and are brutally slaughtered by their ancient counterparts. However, thanks to Magic!, the substitute JLA and Zatanna are able to cook up something that ends up with the real JLA ressurected in our time after a big battle with the monster evil queen. I don’t remember how Aquaman got seperated from the pool of water, but I’m sure Zatanna did it. However, he and his subjects are back and their Atlantis is restored. Aquaman, though, is looked at as a traitor to his people for befriending the evil queen, and is sentenced to death by his people. This is where his solo series kicks off… ---
**Author:** ![Sithrider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/54ee81/32.png) [@Sithrider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sithrider)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/817 "2003-04-17T06:55:30Z")
Thank you fellas…you’re help is much appreciated. Fenris…I think you’re basically right about all your answers. The Ion and the Colusus answers were right on the money (even though I am partial to the big rusky). I’m Iffy with the Bats and Cap question cuz again I’m a little partial to the Bat. Lok had some good points. In the end I think with the right writer (Waid maybe) it would a be an awesome fight. But I digress…see if you can shed some light on these for me fellas. -If it isn’t Batman who is the best martial artist in the DC universe? Shiva? Green Arrow? I’m still relatively new to the DC universe. What do you fellas think? -I just found out the other day that Colosus is dead. (I know what rock was I under). Has he remained dead or has he already been brought back? What of the Kitty/Colosus relationship? I was told that he exsists in “Ultimate X-men” But in the normal time line he is dead. -I was reading the “our worlds at war” (Graphic Novel) and I beleive it was the first part of that story. as superman was flying he was pondering how advanced some technology was…even as advanced as his prosthetic arm…what was that about? I didn’t know his arm is a prosthetic. When did that happened or am I reading wrong? In any case guys I beleive that’s all I have for the moment. Again any enlightenment would be so appreciated. 317 ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/818 "2003-04-17T07:13:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by shy guy \* > \*\*Aquaman, though, is looked at as a traitor to his people for befriending the evil queen, and is sentenced to death by his people. > > This is where his solo series kicks off… \*\* Not quite. He was condemned as a traitor because in order to defeat the bad guys, he had to sink Atlantis. For some reason, his people 3,000 years later are upset that he had to sink their home in the past to save them from slavery and death. Of course, if he hadn’t they wouldn’t even have existed. Seems kind of strange to me. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sithrider \* > \*\*-If it isn’t Batman who is the best martial artist in the DC universe? Shiva? Green Arrow? I’m still relatively new to the DC universe. What do you fellas think? > \*\* It kind of varies, depending on circumstances. I would put it in this order, most of the time: [list=1] [li]Richard Dragon[/li][li]Batman[/li][li]Lady Shiva[/li][li]Connor Hawke (Green Arrow)[/li][li]The Question[/li][/list=1] But you also have Batgirl, Nightwing, Black Canary, Terminator, and several others that are not very far down the list. And who can probably take one of the top five on a good day. Lok ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/819 "2003-04-17T11:03:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sithrider \* > **-If it isn’t Batman who is the best martial artist in the DC universe? Shiva? Green Arrow? I’m still relatively new to the DC > universe. What do you fellas think?** With all due respect to **Lok** , I disagree: Karate Kid could easily kick all their butts. Hell, Karate Kid was able to toss the Earth-_one_ Superboy around a couple of times. (Then Superboy whumped on him, but still…) \*\* > [@](#): > > I just found out the other day that Colosus is dead. (I know what rock was I under). Has he remained dead or has he already been brought back? What of the Kitty/Colosus relationship? \*\* The Kitty/Colossus thing ended after Secret War 1 (X-Men 183?)\*, and as for their current relationship, y’can’t have a relationship with a corpse (within the Comics Code anyway…😉 ) And Kitty’s last relationship (with Peter Wisdom in Excaibur) was made weird and creepy when Claremont briefly returned to X-Men and reverted her to age 15 or 16. Eeew… Claremont sucks. \*\* > [@](#): > > I was reading the “our worlds at war” (Graphic Novel) and I beleive it was the first part of that story. as superman was flying he was pondering how advanced some technology was…even as advanced as his prosthetic arm…what was that about? I didn’t know his arm is a prosthetic. When did that happened or am I reading wrong? \*\* I dunno. **Our Worlds at War** was a steaming load of crap, (although a couple of the one-shot tie-in books were ok) that made no sense, so \< shrug \> who knows? Regardless, Superman doesn’t have a prosthetic arm. Fenris \*Micro rant: that issue was so excrutiatingly stoopid that I cringe to recall it: In Secret Wars, Colossus (and everyone else) vanished for a year (their time) and were returned about 15 minutes after they left. Regardless, during that year, Colossus decided he didn’t love Kitty and fell in love with someone else: remember, Colossus was MAYBE 17 and Kitty was about 15. So as soon as he was back, he told her as gently and humanely as possible. For some reason, this pissed Wolverine and the rest of the X-Men off. A lot. Since Kitty had saved Colossus’s life, said Wolvie, Colossus was obligated to stay in a loveless relationship with her. Then Wolvie let Juggernaut beat the crap out of Colossus (without helping) to teach Colossus a lesson. Apparently the lesson was “Wolverine’s insane and not too bright”. Claremont’s clear message in the book was “Lie to people you care about and stay in loveless relationships because it’s ‘honorable’.” Idiot story. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/820 "2003-04-17T14:49:46Z")
Damn, I love this thread. Who knew it’d stay so popular. Especially considering our banned thread originator didn’t konw much on the subject to begin with. Anyway, in **Transformers** , the comic (Marvel or Dreamwave) or the cartoon, was it ever explained how Megatron would go from a giant honkin’ robot to a handheld gun? I know Starscream would fire Megatron from time to time, but even then it seems Meg would have to lose some mass. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415.md?page=40) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415.md?page=42)