# 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:** 42
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/821 "2003-04-17T17:09:21Z")
Well, I have to disagree about **Our Worlds at War** Fen. I thought it was pretty good. I also think that some of the Superman stories lately have been among the best ever, and I’ve been reading the guy since 1970. Mind you, not every story is good, and I hated the _Electric_\* Superman arc, but there have been some exceptional issues in the last few years. ---
**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 17, 2003, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/822 "2003-04-17T17:18:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Max Carnage \* > \*\* > > 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. \*\* One of the Marvel issues has Megs changing form during a fall so as not be buried in snow. It doesn’t say _how_ he loses mass. But, it does say that he does lose mass rather than his mass simply being compressed. ---
**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 17, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/823 "2003-04-17T18:50:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > The Kitty/Colossus thing ended after Secret War 1 (X-Men 183) Well, not really. She still had a crush on him for a long time after that. And then after he started freaking out in X-Men (circa what, 4-5 years ago?) and they sent him to Muir Island to cool off for a while, he sorta developed a thing for her again. Enough of a thing to put Wisdom in the hospital when he saw them kissing, at least. Man, that was a good run. I loved that damn book. ---
**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, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/824 "2003-04-17T23:09:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by White Lightning \* > \*\* > Man, that was a good run. I loved that damn book. \*\* Of Excalibur? Yeah, I agree: It was Warren (Stormwatch/The Authority) Ellis. ---
**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 18, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/825 "2003-04-18T00:23:36Z")
> [@](#): > > 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. Oh, that’s right. Thanks for correcting me. The whole thing confuses me. > [@](#): > > 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. I don’t recall if this is offical, but it’s generally agreed upon that the Transformers have access to another dimension called “subspace.” When someone like Soundwave or Megatron transforms, the extra mass is transfered to their little area of subspace until they transform again. ---
**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 18, 2003, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/826 "2003-04-18T03:36:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by \*\*Fenris \*\*\* > Of Excalibur? Yeah, I agree: It was Warren (Stormwatch/The Authority) Ellis. Yeah. I followed that book from day 1 (Alan Davis… drool), and it went through a rough patch for a while, but Ellis really brought it back to life. Then I stopped buying comics (went to college) and they got rid of it, the bastards. I really loved those characters. I had a complete run from issue 1 through 100 something. ---
**Author:** ![Asylum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@Asylum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asylum)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/827 "2003-04-18T05:07:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\*Of Excalibur? Yeah, I agree: It was Warren (Stormwatch/The Authority) Ellis. \*\* I’m glad somebody else dug that run, I thought I was the only fan of those books. Ellis’s run on it was the best in the entire series IMO (although my collection is admittedly spotty). Back in those days I didn’t pay quite as close attention to the writers, but the moment Ellis left I noticed: Wisdom went from being a likeable bastard with a heart and one of my favorite comic book characters to a complete prick in one issue. Gah. ---
**Author:** ![FabioClone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5f8ce5/32.png) [@FabioClone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FabioClone)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/828 "2003-04-18T06:11:22Z")
Question about a Spider-Man artist: He began on _Amazing Spider-Man_ right around when they first introduced Carnage and left during the neverending Clone Saga. I really liked his work but I can’t remember who he is. Who is this man? What has he worked on since? What’s he doing now? ---
**Author:** ![Asylum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@Asylum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asylum)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/829 "2003-04-18T06:40:55Z")
Mark Bagley? Wizard lists him as being the artist on the first appearence of Carnage, which was in ASM 344 and he was on it for a few years after that, at least until the end of the clone saga. His style’s changed some over the years and he’s currently the artist on Ultimate Spider-Man. One of my personal faves. Trivia: Remember the Marvel Try-Out Book from the eighties? Bagley was the winner and it was his break into comics. BTW, Batman could mop up Da Bears. ---
**Author:** ![Asylum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@Asylum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asylum)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/830 "2003-04-18T06:43:22Z")
Oops, didn’t do the ol’ double check fast enough. ASM 344 was the first appearance of Cletus Kasady, but ASM 361 was the first appearance of Carnage. ---
**Author:** ![FabioClone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5f8ce5/32.png) [@FabioClone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FabioClone)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/831 "2003-04-18T06:57:57Z")
Yes! That’s who I’m thinking of. Wow, he’s doing Spider-Man again? I’m going to have to check that out. Very cool, thanks. And Batman couldn’t mop up Zan from the Wonder Twins. ---
**Author:** ![Asylum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@Asylum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asylum)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/832 "2003-04-18T07:29:56Z")
Actually you can read Ultimate Spider-Man online. Go [here](http://www.marvel.com/minisites/index.htm?family=spider-man), scroll down to dotComics and click on the dark gray Spider-Man comics box and select Ultimate Spider-Man. You have to sign up, but hey, it’s free. Unfortunately they only let you see the first three issues and a few others now (it used to be all of them), but it’s still a good intro to one of the best super-hero books on the market. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/833 "2003-04-18T08:22:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\*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…) > \*\* Well, there are a couple of reasons not to go that way. First, Karate Kid is stuck on some lost planet in the 31st century. (Has he even been to the 20th in this incarnation?) I was sticking with present day characters. Second, the KK that beat on Superboy (a very neat fight) was definitely not the same one that is now in the Legion. That one was much older and experienced than the present KK. Third, I forgot all about him. :smack: 😃 Hey, he is stuck in the middle of nowhere! Lok ---
**Author:** ![Suzene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7cd45c/32.png) [@Suzene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suzene)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/834 "2003-04-18T11:04:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Asylum \* > \*\*I’m glad somebody else dug that run, I thought I was the only fan of those books. Ellis’s run on it was the best in the entire series IMO (although my collection is admittedly spotty). Back in those days I didn’t pay quite as close attention to the writers, but the moment Ellis left I noticed: Wisdom went from being a likeable bastard with a heart and one of my favorite comic book characters to a complete prick in one issue. Gah. \*\* I adored Excalibur pretty much from day one. Yeah, it had rough spots, but it was low-profile enough that Marvel mostly left it alone for a while and it was just _fun_ for the most part. Then Ellis showed up and it got to be an honest-to-God super-hero book with real stakes without losing its sense of lightness… …then Ellis left, Claremont came back and said he wanted Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and the Tin-Man back in the X-Men, TPTB gave Excalibur to some poor shlub named Raab to let it die a slow lingering death so that no one would care when it was canned. When Claremont got his hands on the old toys, Kurt’s suddenly a priest, Kitty was 15 again and likely had a hymenorrhaphy done when no one was looking, and Piotr is dead (OK, I don’t think that one was Claremont’s fault, but yeesh!). I about cried. Suzene ---
**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 18, 2003, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/835 "2003-04-18T11:07:19Z")
Several quibbles, **Lok** (because comic-book-geek quibbles _rule!_ 😃 😉 ) 1. The question was “…who is the best martial artist in the DC universe?”, and the Legion has ALWAYS been considered part of the DC universe (as opposed to, say, CAMELOT 3000 or WARLORD\* ) 2. You’ve got it backwards: the original Karate Kid in his first appearance in Adventure #346-7 (circa 1965) threw Superboy across the Legion Newbie Tryout room a couple of times and was much younger than the current Karate Kid. Fenris \*I know what you’re thinking. But you’re wrong. Repeat after me: It. Didn’t. Happen. No. Don’t _even_ start. **It. Didn’t. Happen.**. Travis Morgan has NEVER met Power Girl. You’re imagining things. BAD things. ---
**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 18, 2003, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/836 "2003-04-18T11:17:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Suzene \* > \*\*When Claremont got his hands on the old toys, Kurt’s suddenly a priest, Kitty was 15 again and likely had a hymenorrhaphy done when no one was looking, \*\* Which was creepy as hell: it’s not a big deal for 21 year old Kitty Pryde to be boinking (and they were CLEARLY boinking) early '30s Peter Wisdom. It’s deeply creepy for 15 year old Kitty to be doing the same. Possibly one of the two biggest stupid screw-ups Claremont ever made. His other one leads to a question: In Uncanny X-Men 227 (or so) the X-Men went through the “Seige Perilous” which was supposed to give each X-Men “Their heart’s desire”. The characters who went through then vanished into their “happily ever after” worlds for about 15 issues. When the characters showed back up again, many of them had been f\*cked up: Betsy (Psylock) had become an Asian woman who was a sex-slave to a ninja cult, Storm had become a 12 year old, Peter had become a really dumb art student and so on. I’d been reading about Betsy Braddock since Alan Moore was writing Captain Britan…(I think…I’m pretty sure she was there at the time…anyway) I can pretty categorically state that strong, independant, powerful, self-confident Betsy Braddock was NOT interested in becoming a Ninja-bimbo-vixen. Was this screw-up ever explained? Fenris ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/837 "2003-04-18T11:48:56Z")
Superman could have been thinking about Dr. Emil Hamilton’s prosthetic arm. Dr. Hamilton is… er. Crazy smart guy in comic. Good Mad Scientist. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/838 "2003-04-18T11:52:18Z")
Oh! And yes, Fenris. Was something done by the Hand, Betsy is in someone named Revanche’s body, and Revanche is in her body. I don’t pretend to get the rest of it. ---
**Author:** ![Trion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Trion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trion)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/839 "2003-04-18T11:52:53Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\*In Uncanny X-Men 227 (or so) the X-Men went through the “Seige Perilous” which was supposed to give each X-Men “Their heart’s desire”. The characters who went through then vanished into their “happily ever after” worlds for about 15 issues. When the characters showed back up again, many of them had been f_cked up: Betsy (Psylock) had become an Asian woman who was a sex-slave to a ninja cult, Storm had become a 12 year old, Peter had become a really dumb art student and so on. I’d been reading about Betsy Braddock since Alan Moore was writing Captain Britan…(I think…I’m pretty sure she was there at the time…anyway) I can pretty categorically state that strong, independant, powerful, self-confident Betsy Braddock was NOT interested in becoming a Ninja-bimbo-vixen. > > Was this screw-up ever explained? > > Fenris \*\* Once again we turn to [The X-Men FAQ](http://www.faqs.org/faqs/comics/xbooks/main-faq/part7/section-1.html) for an answer to your question. Or at least as much answer as you can stand. I wasn’t reading the book at this time and it’s a little confusing to me. Anyway, after going through the Seige Plotdevice … > [@](#): > > — Psylocke, Revanche, Kwannon, Betsy Braddock … help? > > The two Psylockes are an unusual matter. After the fun with the Siege Perilous, Betsy Braddock was caught by the Hand, a bunch of techno-demonic ninjas, and apparently turned into an Asian woman (UXM #256), for reasons too vague to go into here. While odd, and apparently mainly an excuse to draw Betsy in a bunch of tight-fitting quasi-Asian outfits, it was still accepted that Psylocke was Psylocke. She just looked… different. > > Then Revanche entered the scene (X-Men #20). She looked just like Betsy’s old body, but had an Asian name (Kwannon). Confused yet? In another retcon, the unconscious Betsy apparently was discovered by the original Kwannon after tumbling out of the Siege. Kwannon, who looked just like the new Betsy’s Asian form, touched her and got psychically zapped by Betsy, somehow passing both Betsy’s powers and personalities > to Kwannon, while passing Kwannon’s personality to Betsy. > > Enter the Hand. The head of the Hand, Matsuo Tsurayaba, was in love with Kwannon despite her belonging to a rival ninja clan. Now, apparently the original Betsy was not turned into an Asian, but the Asian body of Kwannon was brainwashed by the Hand into believing that she was Betsy. In this they had help from the demonic dancer of Mojo, Spiral. Meanwhile the original Betsy’s body was programmed by Spiral, behind the scenes, to still think it was Betsy but remember that it was Kwannon once, just to bug Matsuo. All of this was sorted out in X-Men #31-32. Also, according to the FAQ, Storm did **not** go through the Seige. ---
**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 18, 2003, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415/840 "2003-04-18T14:42:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\*Several quibbles, **Lok** (because comic-book-geek quibbles _rule!_ 😃 😉 ) > > 1. The question was “…who is the best martial artist in the DC universe?”, and the Legion has ALWAYS been considered part of the DC universe (as opposed to, say, CAMELOT 3000 or WARLORD\* ) > > 2. You’ve got it backwards: the original Karate Kid in his first appearance in Adventure #346-7 (circa 1965) threw Superboy across the Legion Newbie Tryout room a couple of times and was much younger than the current Karate Kid. > > Fenris > > \*\* I submit the best martial artist in the DC Universe is… The Nemesis Kid. Correct me if I’m incorrect, but Nemesis killed the Karate Kid. Of course, as I understand it, he only had those abilities whilst fighting KK, but he did beat him. BTW-Where does Merryman fit into the rankings? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415.md?page=41) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-comic-guy/147415.md?page=43)