Comics reviews

[selenak]

My local comicstore finally gave me the third issue of the Serenity comic (you know, the one set between show and movie, and hence readable for this pining German fan who doesn't get to watch the BDM until late November), a well as Astonishing X-Men #12.

Ye Firefly Tale: came to a predictable conclusion, which I don't mean negatively. I think the scenes I found most intriguing in these three issues were the ones with Book. Throughout the later episodes of the show, you could see him be increasingly willing to use force and join the crew in their less than legal endeavours, which was amped in the comics by having him steal to save everyone's butts and lose his temper with Mal - under dire provocation, but still - by punching him. So his reason for leaving Serenity made total sense to me. That short exchange with Mal at the end, Mal saying that the punch didn't matter to him, and Book saying that this is why he needs to go, because pretty soon, it won't matter to him anymore, either, was just perfect. The show gave us several strong hints that Book had a violent past; I was somewhat reminded of Eastwood's character in Unforgiven here, which fits the Firefly/Western connection. Of course I'm curious whether or not Book's secret will be revealed in the movie, but if that should be the case and anyone tells me what it is, (s)he is going to end up in that very special hell for child molesters and people who talk in the theatre. I want to see this movie unspoiled.

AXM: Intriguing, yet frustrating at the same time. Now I do know that the Hellfire Club was the villainous organization Emma used to belong to, and that there was a mind-control guy similar to Jason Stryker in them, but that's about all I know of them. Which means I didn't get the full emotional impact of the final panel which long-term readers obviously would get. Anyway, I'm just glad that it promises the next storyarc will feature lots of Emma, because the Danger one featured too little. I don't care whether she's truly back to the Dark Side of the Force or playing a double game with it (still my guess), I want more Emma, whom I seriously fell for in the "Gifted" arc.

Otherwise, the revelation that Xavier knew Danger (or rather, the Danger Room, but same thing) was sentient and still exploited it as a tool because he needed to train the X-Men was of course a thunderbolt, but not an unprepared one. (See his dialogue with Danger in the last issue re: "Do the X-Men know what you really are?" "I like to think that Jean knew, knew and understood".) It also makes Danger's hate for him, and for the X-Men, motivated by far more than the usual "am a newborn supervillain, must kill heroes!" fare or even the already introduced parental issues, and I'll reread the entire arc now again with that in mind. Now whether or not Xavier being that ruthless fits with his comicsbook characterisation, I'll have to ask andrastewhite or alara_r, the experts. As Scott and the others point out, it's the same thing that was done to Colossus, it's the same thing that was done to the mutants by the sapiens, and it's absolutely a Magneto thing to do. Otoh, if Charles Xavier were a nice simply an idealistic nice old man sans ruthlessness and pragmatism, he'd hardly be still around, so from my very limited canon knowledge, I can see him go there, in a Giles-killes-Ben fashion. This being said, I want fallout, and given that Joss included the dialogue "but you do expect us to forgive, you think everything is going to be like it was before" I guess I'll get it.

Comments

[kathyh]

Which means I didn't get the full emotional impact of the final panel which long-term readers obviously would get.

No, I didn't either. It was a bit of a "huh" moment, which was a shame as up until then I'd been able to follow along reasonably well.

I don't care whether she's truly back to the Dark Side of the Force or playing a double game with it (still my guess)

Mine too *g*. Just going back to the Dark Side would be a waste in my view, much more fun if everybody thought she had (including Scott) when she hadn't. Unfortunately Joss won't tell us for a while.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Just going back to the Dark Side would be a waste in my view, much more fun if everybody thought she had (including Scott) when she hadn't.

I was reminded of the cliffhanger ending of Conversations with the Dead in this regard.

[skywaterblue.livejournal.com]

I didn't get as much out of the Danger reveal as I did OMG HELLFIRE CLUB. Now that, that last panel? That's fucking awesome.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Pray fill me in on the details. As I said, the only thing I know about them is that they existed and Emma used to be a member.

[skywaterblue.livejournal.com]

Keep in mind that AXM is basically my return after years and years of not reading the comics? The Hellfire Club is a group of mutants who run a secret society that is into S&M and world domination. (Of the Council on Foreign Relations/Trilateral Committee type, not the Magneto in flashy costumes type.) To get in, you have to have some sort of power and be uber uber wealthy and dedicated to reshaping the world in your own image.

For many years, Emma was not only a member, but she was in the leadership of the Hellfire Club as 'White Queen'. This is what people are mostly referring to when they mention her days as an evil supervillian.

In any event, they play a crucial role in the Dark Phoenix Saga because one of the members gets the bright idea to brainwash Jean Grey into loving him/using her powers for evil, which is what made her snap in the first place.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Ohhhh. Now that sounds very promising indeed.