Evidentally I am Spider-Man. Who knew?

I am Spider-Man

Spider-Man 65% Hulk 65% Robin 57% Catwoman 55% The Flash 40% Superman 35% Batman 35% Green Lantern 35% Iron Man 35% Wonder Woman 25% Supergirl 25%

I am intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

Happy Christmas from Continuity Error!

Murry Christmas from Continuity Error!

Luthor must have a REALLY bad research team...

...either that, or 52 has some rather lazy writers.

Now, this may not be as lazy as Scott McDaniel's refusal to draw the lines of Green Arrow's bowstring, but it is real fucking obnoxious. When I saw this panel I immediately thought that Luthor's comment was about the fact that his researchers have filled their report with sa;olkda;lskdl;sakd;la keyboard doodling. It's not even random doodling, it's the same eight or so keys!

For a book that has four perfectly capable writers (one of which being a genius) it is pretty unacceptable for this laziness and scene killing crap to make an appearance. And this is not the first time, too! Nearly all background text is nothing but random letters.

This has to stop!

Green Arrow is dead meat

I predict that Oliver Queen will die in the next year to be replaced by Roy Harper as the key archer in the DC Universe.

Because Ollie is a retard.

The proof:
His bow has no bowstring! How stupid can he be to go into battle without a damn bowstring? He must be becoming senile in his old age.

Or it could be that Scott McDaniel's art has become progressively more sloppy and lazy.

Or maybe Roy just stole all of Ollie's bowstrings. He has one on the cover of JL0fA #4 after all.

Fangirls! Who is the comic book man candy?

Today I was surfing Comicvine, the new superhero wiki/internet crack, when I noticed that X-23 had been attributed with the "power" of Attractive Female. My initial response was offense, but that quickly changed to pity. You see, Comicvine has a cool ranking system for all of the powers given to characters. This is a ton of fun when you're voting on which characters could win in a fight but when it comes to ranking the Attractive Female "power", it would be nothing more than voting on which fictional character is the hottest. That's just fucking sad.

I made a bit of a stink on the forums about it, calling it ridiculous and asking why there wasn't a "Man Candy" power. Well, turns out there is! The only problem is that not too many people seem to be making much use of it. I wonder why.

So fangirls, I implore you to go to Comicvine, sign up, and let the world know who the hunks of comics are. I marked Batman and Nightwing as "Attractive Males" since I know both get more ladies than they can handle. But other than that, I have no clue who the fangirls (and plenty of the fanboys) out there are fawning over. So go set the record straight!

Correction: You don't even need to sign up to vote in the superhero beauty pageant.

More Christmastime joy with Batman

Batman questions Santa's superhero credentials.

Okay, so Nostalgia Week is over

I was going to make a post about Batman #410, an all-time favorite issue of mine, for my Nostalgia Week, but I've decided not to on the grounds that I plan reading all the Jason Todd era comics sometime soon. I also plan on blogging about those old stories, so in hopes of reducing redundancy I am canceling the final nostalgic post. Well, postponing it, really.

But before I get into reading old-school Batman, I'm going to be reading through my stacks of What If...? issues. Be ready for fist fulls of hypothetical situations and high body counts, because What If..? However Long I Take Getting Through Them is about to start!

Well, this is depressing...

I thought I was brilliant to use a digg-like content management system to create a user-run comic book news site. I called it Pull List and it was going to be teh next big thing. It didn't matter that no one, including myself, used it.

But now I see that someone has gone and done it better. ComicNe.ws is the very same concept but looks much better. And it has a bunch of passionate users and relevant news.

God, I'm depressed.

Tim didn't wear hot pants!

It's a good thing I've been taking my time picking up my comics or else I would have screeched out loud in the middle of the comic shop. Have the editors of DC lost their minds? Behold this great offense that is in 52 #31!

Tim did not wear the green hotpants! I mean, he did once when he first showed up to save Batman from Two-Face, but he wasn't officially Robin then. When he took down the Scarecrow he was wearing a ski mask! He didn't put the costume on again until Alfred put pants on it! For shame, DC editors, to forget a vital element of Tim's origin! In a retelling of his origin at that!

Oh, my God! What if this is one of those retarded changes for the Post-Crisis Post-Infinite Crisis New Earth? I let the Joe Chill thing slide, but this is intolerable!

On Spider-Man's penis

I wish to go on record that I don't give a shit about the silhouette of a penis that appears in Spider-Man: Reign #1. Seeing a penis does not scandalize me. I have one of my own.

Now, I would love to see this same kind of outcry* for every time the outline of nipples or labia graces the pages of a superhero comic. Of course if that happened, comic book shops would be burning across the nation.

I also want to go on record as saying I don't care if the story is just like The Dark Knight Returns. So is almost every other Batman story since 1986. Shit, every plot in a comic released this week is bound to have similarities to a dozen other comics released in the last seventy years. Fanboys, and I use this term in the most derogatory way possible, have a very skewed idea of what constitutes as originality. The differences between Spider-Man and Batman are enough to make Reign interesting in its own right.

And I like the artwork, too.

*Well, it couldn't exactly be the same kind of outcry since most of the objecting voices come from homophobic fanboys who feel violated at the site of a penis other than their own.

More holiday cheer with Batman

Batman will hunt Santa down like a dog.

Nostalgia Week: Betsy Braddock's Butt

This is not so much of a review as it is a look back at my introduction to the hyper-sexualization of women in comics. If talking about things such as gender politics, body image and exposure of sexualized content to children bores you, feel free to just look at the pictures of Psylocke's butt.

Before we get to looking at X-Men #31, I'd like to share one of my most vivid comic book memories.

Once, when I was ten years old, I was out with my mother and some other people. We stopped by a drug store and I requested that my mother buy me a comic book. I picked out a copy of Ultraverse Origins #1, which looked cool because the cover was packed with characters. And since it was only $0.99, my mother agreed.

Later, as my mother was busy running some other errand, I was sitting in the car reading the comic. I cannot remember much about it but one thing really stuck out and grabbed my attention. It was a panel of the character Mantra, nude in a mirror.

I was shocked and confused. I felt as if I had accidentally opened up pornography. In fact, I think I even called it that at the time. Looking back I realize that I was probably more afraid of the attraction I had to the image than the shame of having seen it. In any case, I wanted nothing to do with it.

I showed the panel to my mother and asked her to take me back to the drug store so that I could get her money back. I tried to explain to the people at the store that I was offended by the content but they would not give me a refund. It was against their policy to accept magazine returns. I can't imagine what they thought of this ten year old little boy showing them a drawing of a nude woman and demanding his $0.99 back. I remember being very firm with them too. I ended up tossing the comic into the trash on my way out of the store, making a big show of it. My mommy was very proud of me.

In the same year that I was scandalized by Mantra's boobs, X-Men #31 was published. I'm not sure which came first, but I probably was never as scandalized by the X-Men comic because the women in it are never technically nude (even though a change in coloring is all it would take). The story, written by the oft verbose Chris Claremont, involves Psylocke and her mind swap with Revanche. Needless to say I didn't understand a damn thing back then. In fact, I didn't remember anything about the plot as I sat down to re-read this issue. And having read it I still am not quite sure what was going on. Thank God for Wikipedia.

I've decided not to bother with rehashing all of the extremely convoluted plot of this issue. I didn't understand it when I was ten and I barely get it when I'm twenty-three. I'll just set up the context for one of the more memorable panels in the issue. The story begins with Ravanche standing over a sleeping Professor X, about to cut his head off. It seems that she is under the influence of Spiral, who is watching the whole scene through transmitters in Ravanche's eyes. Spiral loses the feed as Ravanche tears out her own eyes. Later, Professor X has woken up and has taken the sword and note that Ravanche left next to his bed to Psylocke to consult with her. It's a basic 'Thank you for being nice to me but I'm out of here" note, but since Claremont wrote it it is considerably longer. But did I understand all this when I was ten? Hell, no! I was too mesmerized by Psylocke's butt.

During the 1990's Psylocke was perhaps the most sexualized character in the X-Men comics. That is until Emma Frost joined and Psylocke found some pants. Psylocke's costume was basically nothing but a purple bathing suit and her back was constantly arched and her breasts constantly thrust forward. It just doesn't make sense for a ninja or any warrior for that matter. And look at what she is wearing during her late night meeting with Professor X. Back then it was very enticing, but now I'm just confused by it. Assuming she just woke up, how does she sleep with that atomic wedgie? Isn't it a little unprofessional/inappropriate for her to let Professor X, who is basically her boss, see her like that? Does she not even own a robe? Seriously, this woman is sexualized to the point of absurdity, especially at the hands of Andy Kubert.

Later on in the story we find Psylocke in the Danger Room, in the middle of a training exercise.

Considering the lethal setting of the Danger Room and Psylocke's attire, I have come to the conclusion that Betsy must be suicidal. That is the only reason why I could see someone who knows the first thing about combat would willingly subject themselves to lethal force while wearing nothing but a swimsuit and random, useless straps of cloth.

Or, which may make more sense, it is that comic book readers are trained to ignore the impracticality of female characters' costumes. Instead we are told to focus simply on the "hotness" of the characters, never once questioning the absurdity of it all. This begins at a very young age, especially for male readers, and I find my rejection of Mantra and acceptance of Psylocke to be perfect illustrations of this. In the same year I was shocked by the sight of a clearly nude character, but a character who is just as sexualized, if not more so, is acceptable as long as she has some manner of clothing, regardless of how impractical it is. This is how readers can easily ignore the absurdity of costumes worn by Supergirl, She-Hulk and Psylocke.

This is no novel insight on my part, but at least I'm able to trace back the roots of this problem. I may be more conscientious of the sexism in comics now thanks to an education in feminist theory, but I still find myself ignoring arched backs, clenched butts and boob windows as things that are "just there." And this is a problem, not so much because boys like me come to expect women to live up to these ideals (we really don't) but that our eyes are trained to be blind to overt sexism.

While I know that I turned out all right, I find myself concerned about other ten year olds being exposed to the same hyper-sexualization of women. I have no problem with comic books being populated with attractive women, after all, no artist is going to want to draw page after page of ugly people, but there needs to be a change in what is considered sexy and desirable in comics. Katchoo and Francine from Strangers in Paradise both have realistic body types and wear realistic clothing, yet both are portrayed as being very sexy in their own right. Oracle doesn't need to be twisting around in her wheelchair in tight leather pants to be hot. She's a hundred times hotter when she's fucking up some villain's plans with her wit and intelligence. We don't need to ban sexy from comics, just make it less damaging.

Up next on Nostalgia Week: The comic I chopped wood for.

Jumping on the ComicSpace bandwagon

It looks like comic geeks now have their own answer to MySpace in ComicSpace. It's just opened and it pretty bare bones, but it might get cool in time.

I'm right here.

Nightwing is a dirty slut

Am I the only one that was really creeped out by Dick's come on to Ryan in Nightwing #127?

She's giving him a massage, which happens to be her job, and when she tell him she's done and to go get dressed, he asks why. Literary. He looks at her and says "Why?" I cannot help but read it like some sleazy frat boy counting down to a date rape. I'm surprised I didn't see a six-pack of Bacardi Raz in the corner.

I know Dick is supposed to be a stud and all, but this just comes off as slutty. He's only been flirting with this girl at best and suddenly he's ready to have sex with her at her job? He even spends some time thinking about all the other women he's bedded down in the past elsewhere in the issue. I suspected it when his first One Year Later appearance was in some strange woman's bed but this just confirms it.

Dick Grayson is a ho-bag.

Nostalgia Week: Superman, Man of Steel #37

I was 10 years old when the Zero Hour miniseries and its bajillion tie-ins were published in 1994, and come to think of it I don't even remember knowing what Zero Hour was when I picked up Superman, Man of Steel #37. I think it should be pretty obvious why I thought this issue would rock: Batman(s)!

Really, it was probably the inclusion of the Animated Series version of Batman on the cover that made this comic so desirable to me. Sadly, TAS-Bats does not actually appear inside. That was my first encounter with a deceptive comic book cover.

The story, which I remember being frustratingly inaccessible and confusing to by young mind, takes place after something has reduced much of Metropolis to ruins. Since I hardly ever read Superman, I have no idea what this could have been. We'll assume it was a giant robo-gorilla. Anyway, some guy with a pony tail is putting on a benefit concert. He talks to Lois and Clark about it, all while being a total dick to Clark, who also has a pony tail. Clark is about to beat the guy up before Lois defuses the situation. Disappointing really, since I would love to see Superman engage in a pony tail pulling match. As they are walking away, Clark gets all emo about not being able to save Metropolis from destruction (although the entire city has probably been destroyed and rebuilt a dozen times since Superman showed up) when he sees some flashes of light that are in Morse code. Clark changes to Superman and flies up to meet Batman on a roof.

What Superman doesn't know is that this is not the normal post-Crisis Batman. It is in fact the Batman of the late-60's and early 70's, a.k.a "Neil Adams Batman." It's hard to tell right away since Adams was the shit and was years ahead of his time, so it very well could be plain ol' Batman. Of course, the reader can tell something is up once Batman gets to talking about how there is a "time anomaly" in Gotham with people from other time periods popping up. Louise Simonson does a great job imitating the dialogue of various writers, just as artist Jon Bogdanove succeeds in accurately replicating the style of other artists. Superman, on the other hand, doesn't catch on until Batman asks him what happened to his hair and if he was "going hippie." Superman replies, "WTF! Didn't you like break your back?" Adams-Bat tells Superman he has clearly been smoking pot.*

And I wish this issue was titled "Crisis on Infinite Batmans!"

Across town, the pony-tailed douchebag concert promoter is attacked by a huge group of visored thugs who look vaguely familiar. Who comes to his rescue but Batman! Make that The Goddamn Batman!


Now, as a twenty-three year old geek who has had the time to read many of the classic Batman stories, it was cool to see Frank Miller's Batman jump into action and beat on some Mutants. But when I was ten I had no clue who Frank Miller was, let alone have had the chance to read The Dark Knight Returns. So, instead of "Oh cool," I'm sure my reaction at the time was "Why is Batman fat?"

What follows is a cool page that looks just like it was ripped from Dark Knight Returns.

Once all that awesomeness is out of the way, the Batmen meet each other and complete each other's sentences. Adams-Bat is a nerd and The Goddamn Batman acts like a dick. They are totally in character.

It seems that the Mutants are really digging the destroyed Metropolis and aren't too keen on the concert raising money to rebuild the city. Because of this, Superman and the Batmen decide to hang out at the concert to protect the innocent people there, which happens to be half of Metropolis. They seem oddly nonchalant about the fact that there are two of the same person standing around, but I guess they've seen enough crazy shit in their lives that it's hard to get worked up over something like a time anomaly. As they are standing around they get a visit from yet another Batman, who we will call The Bat-Man.

The Bat-Man begins to give his obligatory lines on what is going on in Gotham, but instead of saying "time anomaly" he says "time mistake," which made me laugh for all its 1930's pulp diction. Adams-Bat tells The Bat-Man that he's an idiot and that we're using the term "time anomaly" during this adventure. Adams-Bat morphs into Kelly Jones' Batman mid-sentence.


Now that we have three Batmen together, it's time for the obligatory group-perch shot.


I love how The Batman looks like he is about to make a sweet spot on the carpet, just like he did in Detective Comics #27. And The Goddamn Batman and Comically Long Cape Batman are perfect representations of their original forms.

Okay, so the Mutants attack the concert and shoot the singer on stage through the throat. But it's all right because she's some kind of vampire. Superman and the Batmen beat up the Mutants, including their massive tank. In the end very few people in the crowd even knew they were under attack. Now that is what I call heavy metal! It was so loud that the people didn't even notice the tank exploding behind them. After the concert Superman takes the Batmen to some professor's laboratory where they deduct that they are from alternate timelines, not universe. I'm not sure how it is that the Bat-Man and the Goddamn Batman can be from the same world but different timelines when they look completely different. It's like that episode of the Simpsons when Homer came to the real world and was a 3D model of himself. Clearly he's from a different universe and not a world where people evolved to look like cartoons. But whatever, this is hypertime so it doesn't have to make sense.

The Batmen switch into other versions a few times before finally fading away. It's kind of funny when the Goddamn Batman morphs into the cartoony Gay But As In Happy Batman of the 1960s. After they are all gone Superman gets a signal and flies off to meet real Batman. Or specifically the "New Look" Means No Blue Panties Batman.

And why bother asking "What's up," Superman? Clearly he's here because there is a fucking time anomaly!

Now that I have some understanding of Zero Hour, it was fun to re-read this issue, especially since I get all the other references to DC history. I like comics like this, which are more about the DC's real world legacy than the in-comic continuity. The other Zero Hour tie-ins were cool too. We'll have to talk about those some other time.

Up next on Nostalgia Week: "Psylocke makes me feel funny. Down there."

*Okay, not really, but it would be much cooled than the actual dialogue.

Civil War is over, if you dream it.

We interrupt Nostalgia Week for this entry from Rob's dream diary.

Last night I had a dream about how Civil War (that would be the Marvel Comics event in seven parts) could potentially end.

In my dream all of the uncaptured heroes of the Marvel Universe gather together. This includes Iron Man and all the other pro-registration heroes. It seems that Spider-Man's deflecting to the rebel team got everyone thinking and they decided to sit down and actually talk things out. They must have had some sort of debate but I don't remember any. It was all very civil and no one punched anyone else through a wall. It was very out-of-character for every superhero ever.

So a consensus was reached and a plan was hatched but I did not know what it was at that point. What I did know is that everyone was friends again and Captain America needed me, my wife and her family to build all the superteams new headquarters. This massive construction project consisted of us sticking bushes into a sandy field and propping the bushes up with small wooden boards. I think I made a puddle next to mine with a garden hose. One of the Young Avengers (probably Hawkeye) complained about the new "headquarters" but Captain America just told her to, "Shut the fuck up and learn the Goddamn meaning of respect." Captain America was a grumpy grandfather in this dream.

After the new bush bases were constructed, everyone boarded a huge robot that looked like Iron Man. It was using this robot that they would launch the attack on the real enemy: the offices of Marvel Comics. Apparently the roof of Marvel Comics' building had been transformed into a concentration camp for superheroes and the company itself was responsible for all th troubles. Among the prisoners on the roof were miscellaneous X-Men (but specifically Gambit among them) and the kids from Gen 13. The dream ended with Captain America telling Marvel Comics over a loud speaker that he was going to "fuck them up."

What could it all mean?

Nostalgia Week: Batman #446

We are kicking off Nostalgia Week with the comic book which may be at the very root of my current level of geekdom. Batman #446 was published in April of 1990 and it was my very first Batman comic. Assuming that I came into possession of this comic the month it was printed, I would have been six years old when I first read this issue. And that would explain why I didn't understand a God damn thing that happens in it. Lenin is on the cover for Christ's sake! All I knew was that Batman was awesome, he gets beat up a lot in this issue and that made me sad.

So the story, which I definitely had zero grasp of back then, revolves around the NKVDemon wanting to kill off ten Russian officials he blames for the failure of the Soviet Union. When this issue opens, Batman is on the look out for the Demon at a Russian and American hockey game. Although the script seems to think that it is a soccer game for some reason. Anyway, the Demon wants to kill some guy in the audience but Batman can't figure where the attack will come from since the Demon is a master of disguise. Batman decides to check out the locker room to see if anything is amiss there. He finds nothing. Nothing that is, except a corpse stuffed into the shower drain!

That is fucking gruesome. And it is only the first of several images from this issue that have been burned into my head since I was kid. I probably have not read this issue for at least ten years and upon reading it tonight I found the images in my head to be exactly what was printed on the page. Talk about making an impression.

Back to the story. Turns out the Demon is on the ice in the goalie's uniform. When Batman finally gets out of the locker room, the Demon is already sending exploding hockey pucks into the stands. Batman prevents the Demon from assassinating his target but as the killer makes a break for it, the Demon goes totally batshit and starts shooting random people. While wearing a hockey uniform.

I don't think I would have seen any Friday the 13th movies at the point in time, but I probably knew who Jason was and that he had the habit of killing people. This is probably why I always remembered the hockey player in this comic to be so damn scary. I didn't remember what he was doing, killing innocent people in the street, but I knew he was downright evil.

Batman chases after the Demon, finally cornering him on a train. The Demon decides to stop being the creepy hockey player killing people in the streets to instead be the creepy hockey player who holds a knife to a poor old woman's throat.
Instead of risking the woman's life, Batman agrees to let the Demon go, but instead of leaping from the train in some awesome but safe way, Batman instead just jumps out. The results must have made little Rob want to cry.

But don't worry, Batman is rescued by Russian cops and taken to a hospital. Of course they keep his mask on in respect of his privacy. Totally makes sense to me. Batman is shown recovering in the hospital for about a page before he is back in action. This is one of the few elements that clearly was warped in my memory because I'd always remembered Batman being in the hospital for a long time and that his life was in serious danger. Turns out that he only had some scratches and after chilling out for a while was ready for action.

Which brings us to another part of the story that I grossly misinterpreted as a child. On the next page we find Bruce Wayne talking to the obligatory Russian guide/love interest. He comes up with some bullshit about Batman landing on him while he was waiting for a train. The whole while Bruce is covering his chest with bandages (which actually looks like only masking tape). His friend helps him put on his shirt and he grimaces in pain. At least now know it is pain. Before I was under the impression that Bruce was angry and was about to smack a bitch.

Now that I think of it, I'm sticking to my initial reading of this panel. Bruce is fucking pissed.

Batman and his Russian cop buddy are able to deduct where and when the Demon will attack next and set up an elaborate sting operation. It's a little too involved to explain in this review, but let's just say it involves Batman dressing up like a former Soviet official and then ripping off the disguise once the Demon makes his move. I'm not sure how Batman is able to hide his cowl underneath his old dude make-up (or hide the four inch points sticking out the top of his head) and I'm sure that I was even more confused when I was six years old.

Batman chases after the Demon, who gets an opportunity to change into his standard supervillain outfit, which is pretty cool. Batman chases the the Demon unto the scaffolding about the huge political function where the assassination was to take place. Batman and the Demon go at it, bound together by one of Batman's ropes. The Demon is able to get in some good blows, opening up Batman's wounds and successuly shocking baby Rob.

As if that was not enough, the Demon is able to get a hold of what appears to be a paint scrapping tool and thus faciliate an image that will be forever burned into my memory.

That is fucking brutal.

The issue ends with the Demon kicking Batman off the scaffolding and then cutting the line that Batman was hanging from. The final panel shows Batman's beaten body falling to the ground, a typical cliffhanger. Only, for six-year-old me, there was a very serious threat. I was really, honestly scared that Batman would die as I saw no possible way for him to escape death. I never was able to read the issue that follows and it haunted me for years without resolution. I still haven't read the next part of the story, and while I know that Batman does not die, I would still love to know how he manages to escape fate and beat the Demon's ass.

I may not have understood much of this surprisingly ultraviolent comic as a kid, but I'm sure it was instrumental in cementing Batman my all-time favorite fictional character. And I'm probably the total geek I am today because of my love for this issue.

Up next on Nostalgia Week: "Holy shit, that's a lot of Batmans!"

Starting tomorrow: Nostalgia Week!

Starting on Tuesday, I will begin a celebration of those comics that hold a dear place in my heart. Mostly, they are comics I loved as a kid but never really understood as my comprehension of concepts such as international politics, interpersonal relationships, space/time and words were severely underdeveloped when I first read them. This week I take a look back at those single issues that made me the geek I am today and see just how they hold up now that I'm older.

Nostalgia Week may be a wonderfully light-hearted stroll down memory lane or it may be a series of soul-crushing realizations that I was one stupid kid.

First stop on the Nostalgia Express is my very first Batman comic, the surprisingly brutal Batman #446

Getting in the Christmas spirit with Batman

Batman fucking hates Christmas.

I need help with my Batman geekness!

So I'm trying to put together a detailed reading list for Post-Crisis Batman and the only major obstacle I have left is placing the stories from Legends of the Dark Knight somewhere into continuity. I was wondering if you people could help me place the storylines so I don't have to read each and every one to figure it out.

(Yeah, I know that LotDK is not often considered "in continuity," but I'm a completest, so I can't help it.)

I have a few storylines placed already. For instance, "Shaman," takes place some time before and after "Year One." "Venom" occurs before "Long Halloween" (or any other Two-Face origin of your choice) since Harvey Dent is still DA. "Grimm" takes place while Dick Grayson is newly Robin.

So, if you have any suggestions where I can place the storylines loosely in continuity, please let me know. I don't need detailed plot outlines (since I will eventually get around to reading them) just clues (i.e. Dick is Robin, Gordon is Captain, Oracle appears). Stuff like that. If there are no hints to continuity other than a general time frame, such as being an "early years" Batman story, that's okay since I'm making a category for such ambiguous stories.

Thanks and any help will be greatly appreciated!

UPADTE: No more need for help. I was able to get some tips from the ever-helpful nerds at thebatsquad.net and newsarama.com. I was finally able to place every LotDK story line loosely into continuity and now I'm ready to move on to better, less obsessive endeavors.

Starting December with a joke

Comic blog goddess Ragnell has asked her readers to put the words in White Tiger's mouth.

Here's my attempt. Click the image to get a better view.

Boy, am I glad November is over!

Yet another NaNoWriMo over and failed. Now that November is done,I can stop feeling guilty about how little progress I made on my graphic novel. Now I can just focus on the fact that I have some of it done.

November was a pretty slow month here at Continuity Error(!), although I don't exactly know why since I wasn't exactly punching out pages of my novel. By traffic stats for the month have up put me to shame. Well, December is another month. I've got some ideas kicking around my head, so if I just get to writing them, this should be a fun month.

Okay, let's do this!

I'm giving away books on BookMooch

Last night I got around to unpacking some books and upon placing them on my new, big cinder block and plank bookshelf, found that I have waaaaay too many books. Many of the books I was putting on the shelf were books that I have no intention in reading or didn't even like and when there is a big box of books I do like that is still yet to be unpacked, this is very troubling.

So it is time to do something I told myself I would never do, that is before I began sharing a one-bedroom apartment with my wife. It is time to get rid of some books.

Instead of attempting to sell my unwanted books on eBay, which has never worked well in the past, I'm going to give BookMooch a shot. BookMooch is a site that allows you to give away the books you don't want in exchange for credits, which in turn allow you to request books from others or donate to charities. The idea of getting rid of the biggest dust collectors on my shelf in exchange for books I really want (all for free!!!) is very appealing.

I already have a few books up. Most are horror novels and anthologies from my "horror fiction is the best thing in the world" phase. No comic books at this time and likely not ever, unless someone gives me a Thor comic or some crap like that. I'll be putting up more and more books in time, especially if this proves to be a success.

Check out my BookMooch profile and what books I'm giving away here. Take a look at what I'm giving away or looking for and if you sign up (which I highly suggest), add me as a friend.

The Worst Superhero Names

Lore Sjöberg has a new column up on Wired.com, this one tackling a few of the most poorly named heroes and villians.

She-Hulk
I guess I should be glad they didn't call her "Hulk Woman," or worse yet, "Hulk Girl." Still, female comic book characters deserve more than a half-assedly feminized version of another hero's name. They have to put up with those bust-lifting outfits, fighting in high heels, and that painful-looking pose where their lower spine forms a perfect "J," at the least they should get a name of their own.

Robin
It's easy to spot the good Batman movies; they're the ones without Robin in them. There are enough problems with being the kid sidekick of a billionaire vigilante, but when you're named after some wimpy little worm-eating bird? Clearly Batman just called his youthful colleague "Robin" to make himself look cooler by comparison. I'm surprised he wasn't called "Whoopty-Woo the Precious Bongo Boy."

Shazam and the Monster Society of Evil preview online

When I learned of the upcoming Shazam and the Monster Society of Evil miniseries, I was faced with a sort of conundrum. Firstly, this is a Captain Marvel miniseries and if there is one character in the DCU that I have no interest in reading about it is Captain Marvel. I have a hard enough time reading Superman than having to deal with the "Gee willikers" corniness of Shazam. So here's the problem: Jeff Smith is writing and drawing this thing and Jeff Smith is just as incredibly awesome as Captain Marvel is incredibly boring. So what do I do? Do I lay down six bucks for a prestige format book about a character I can't stand even though it is created by one of the greatest writers and artists ever? Or do I just wait for Jeff Smith to do something cooler?

These preview pages from Newsarama help seal the deal.

Actually seeing Smith's gorgeous art is a comfort, rubbing my back and telling me everything it going to be okay. Sure, they writing might be a little sub par (I mean, how exactly is Billy supposed to know that the creepy old man's magic word is an acronym?) but it's fucking Captain Marvel. I can only expect so much.

The joy (and creepiness) of Google Analytics

Maybe it was a mistake to title a post "Dr. 13: Incest for the kiddies," because it would seem that a lot of my traffic from Google is a result of searches for "incest" or variations of it. In fact, I've gotten 59 visits from people searching for "incest" and I can't imagine they were pleased with what they found.

Here are the top five things people have Googled to find my blog since I started it:
1. incest (59 visits)
2. incest comics (5 visits)
3. jla vs predator (5 visits)
4. dr. incest (3 visits)
5. nowrimo (3 visits)

While these search terms do creep me out, at least there are just as many people finding me for my views on the epic battle between the Justice League and the Meta-Predators as there are people finding me for my non-existent supply of incest-related comics.

Oh, so THAT'S what Sue heard!

I just got around to reading Fifty-Two #27 last night. Now I finally now that it was that Sue Dibny heard in her house just before she was killed, one of the more obnoxious plot holes of Identity Crisis.

It was just Ralph and Jean doing some time travel!

After reading the scene I couldn't decide if it was silly or just completely cheap. I told my wife that they were finally explaining the mystery sound and she just rolled her eyes and asked why Ralph didn't just stop her murder if he was able to travel back in time. That's a pretty good question considering his mental state. I'm surprised he was more concerned with punishing Loring than saving his wife, regardless of how bad it would screw up the time/space continuum. But maybe he just didn't want to fuck up the nice New Earth the DCU just got a few months ago.
Someone please, please tell me that someone at DC has claimed that this was "planned from the beginning" and was not just some quick, cheap and sensationalized clean up of a gaping plot hole that only served to distract the readers of the original mini-series. I would love to hear some editorial BS of the highest order.

Oh, and I don't like how the Question just suddenly has lung cancer. That is equally cheap. Boo!

Civil War #5: I approve!

Civil War #4 was a little rough for most of us. There was Clone-Thor (although it is now referred to as a cyborg, go figure), the red-shirt death of Goliath, Sue leaving Reed for the anti-registration side and then there was the unveiling of new all-evil Thunderbolts. There were a lot of angry voices out there in the blogosphere, but for me Civil War #4 was "The 'Meh' Issue."

Civil War #5, on the other hand, was "The 'Fuck Yeah!' Issue."

(Psst! This is where the spoilers start.)

The first "Fuck Yeah!" comes as Spider-Man tells Iron Man just where he can stick his we-need-to follow-this-rule-no-matter-what douchebaggery.


Of course, I was hoping Spidey would at that point proceed to beat the shit out out the Iron Sell Out, but at least he did knock him through a wall before making his escape. That's another "Fuck Yeah!" for the scoreboard.

And then there was the ultimate highpoint for me. Spider-Man, already severely wounded, is getting beat up by too third-tier villains (Jack O' Lantern and the Jester) whom I have never read in a comic before, when he is saved by the ultimate badass/psycho of the Marvel Universe: The Punisher.

(I'd just like to take a moment to say I totally called that the ski-mask guy was none other than Frank Castle. I knew it! Although, I was afraid he would have been on the pro-registration side but it's good to see him working with the good guys... uh, I mean, working with the resistance.)

Seeing those white boots and black tights was cool, but seeing him burst in on Captain America's hideout, holding the bloody and broken Spider-Man made me yell out, you guessed it, "FUCK YEAH!"

The final moment of pure awesomeness comes as Daredevil is being ushered to his jail cell in the Negative Zone. Iron Douche somehow thinks he can convince Matt to join the sell-outs, even offering him the leadership position of his own super hero team. Daredevil, the supreme badass he is, has a gift for Tony: a silver dollar. When Stark asks what it means, Matt remarks that Tony now has thirty-one pieces of silver. DAMN! I didn't know Daredevil had fire powers, cause Tony just got burned! And with a Biblical reference. Fuck yeah!

Of course, not everything was explicative and affirmations. There were plenty of awkward moments in the story.

Firstly, anyone who is not reading Amazing Spider-Man (which is more of a Civil War companion book than Frontline) would not understand the sudden confrontation between Spider-Man and Iron Man. This is going to suck for anyone waiting for the trade.

What is the deal with Tigra? Is working with the Punisher so bad that she would narc on her team mates and switch sides? Is Tirga the new Sue Richards? Now I understand why the other heroes didn't want to work with the guy. He's crazy. But it just doesn't make sense for Tigra to betray the entire team over it, even before Cap decided on working with Castle in the first place. Or maybe she's just ordering pizza.

I really hate how the phrase "final battle" is being used. Maybe it's supposed to be somewhat metatextual, but it just reminds me of describing the plot structure of Star Wars when I was ten.


Another weird part is the explanation of the Fifty States Initiative. A superteam for every state, funded by taxpayer money? Firstly, this pretty much gives it away that the registration side looses because there is no way Marvel is going to add fifty more teams to the Marvel Universe. Although, I'd like to see who would get stuck on the Alabama or North Dakota teams.

Overall I really liked this issue. It was fun where the others were awkward. Or maybe I'm just too much of a Punisher fan-boy to know better. I'm looking forward to the next issue and Punisher War Journal now that Frank is back in the picture.

Hey, let's do some quick reviews!

Haven't done this for a while. Let's do a quick run-down of my week's picks. And because I don't care if you've read this stuff or not, SPOILER ALERT!!!!

Y: The Last Man #51 - The best series I've read since Bone and now I'm finally caught up to buying the monthly issues. Brian K. Vaughan brings pulls all the stops with this issue. It's one "WTF-I-can't-believe-it!" revelation and "OMFG-what-happened?!?!" plot twist after another. My only real criticism is that the theory on the plague's origin presented in this issue had best not be the truth, because that would be silly.

Batman #658 - Well, that was anti-climatic. Maybe I didn't read the right issue. Someone tell me that this "highly anticipated storyline" did not just come down to superhero baby mama drama. You're on notice, Morrison!

Teen Titans #40 - I can't help but find these One Year Later issues of Teen Titans incredibly confusing. So we've got a story about a traitor that revolves around a half dozen characters we've never met before. Since when is there a Captain Atom, Jr.? Why is there a Captain Atom, Jr.? Same goes for mini-Zatanna. But I do like Miss Martian. She's cute. And really ugly. In any case, I just want this story to be over so we can get on to the Teen Titans East arc.

Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways #4 - Okay, I'm only half way through this one, but I must ask how it is that the villain, who is an expert on the aliens of the Marvel Universe, did not know that breaking a Skrull's neck wasn't going to work? I can list my Skrull-starring comics read on two hands but even I know that snapping a shapeshifter's neck is never going to work. Seriously. Oh, and I love how this comic really only has one passing reference to Civil War. That's cute.

Doctor Strange: The Oath #2 - Brian K. Vaughan rules over all. Somehow he has made a character who I never gave two shits about into a really cool guy. This is definitely the best book I read this week, beating Y only because I didn't like all the zen crap. But vague occult mumbo-jumbo? I can eat that right up just as long as BKV is putting the spoon in my mouth along with his brilliant literary airplane sounds. Why is this only a mini-series?

Looking to '08

Now that the midterm elections are behind us, let's look forward to to the next big political race.

Vote or Batman will humilate you

Just a reminder...

Just taking some time to once again plug Pull List, the social bookmarking site for comic book geeks. We've gotten a few more members, but not enough to make it viable. Check it out and help make it awesome.

Scott McCloud really needs to take his own advice...

This morning, the dawn of NaGraNoWriMo, I was checking out the amazon.com page on Scott McCloud's Making Comics as it may come in handy this month. Glancing through the reviews I found this gem:

I have to agree with a previous reviewer --- Scott is mostly known for his entertaining educational comics series, but he hasn't had any REALLY successful comic books, so, although this new book is interesting and somewhat educational about comic book creation, I'm not sure he really has the authority to tell people how to make a successful comic. I mean, if Jim Lee wrote such a book, or Frank Miller, or Alan Moore --- I would believe their tips/secrets/advice wholeheartedly. I think I'd have more confidence if Scott were able to create a very successful comic book based on his own advice. I haven't seen this happen yet (I hope he does).

Maybe it doesn't count because it's so "educational" but isn't Understanding Comics one of the most universally revered graphic works of all time? I've had it suggested to me by several English professors when ever I've began spouting off my theories on the graphical nature of prose. Understanding Comics has never been out of print. I'd go out on a limb and say that it is the most successful non-fiction comic book ever (second only to Maus).

It really saddens me that someone would sooner take the advice of Jim Lee (whose creations are usually just X-Men rip-offs) than a proven comic scholar like McCloud. Maybe Zot! needs a Saturday morning cartoon.

Halloween geek party!!!

Me as Two-Face, Gary as Batman, Clara as Black Canary, Joe as the Joker (as played by Caesar Romero) and Jessica as Robin (Stephanie Brown).

Happy Halloween!

Happy Ghost Day! Here's a awesomely gruesome Vault of Horror cover to celebrate with.


Boo!

Bringin' Onslaught Back

I may not listen to enough pop radio to fully appreciate this, but I do know it's silly.

Next month = Na(Gra)NoWriMo

Okay, so I am one of those poor nerds/suckers who will be participating in National Novel Writing Month but I’ll be doing it a little differently. Inspired by Dave at Yet Another Comics Blog, instead of writing a 175-page novel, I will be writing the script for a 175-page graphic novel. This doesn’t exactly follow the rules of NaNoWriMo, but I’ve accepted my ineligibility for the No-Prize of winning the real NaNoWriMo.

There are several reasons why I’ve decided to tweak NaNoWriMo this year. First, I’ve been kicking around this idea for a story for over a year (maybe two) but I’ve never actually written it down. Since I believe that this story would only work properly in graphic novel form (especially since I can’t afford to film a blockbuster scifi/action epic on my paycheck) I knew I’d eventually have to write a script for it. And since NaNoWriMo is all about finally getting that novel written, I thought it only make sense to use the month to motivate me to finally get my shit together and something on paper.

Also, I’m not in the place, creatively to write long prose. It’s really shameful, but I really do not read much prose anymore. I’ve mostly only been reading comic books lately. Now, I’m not going to make a broad generalization about how prose is somehow superior to comics, but when you’ve been reading more Ms. Marvel than Kafka, tackling a 50,000 word prose novel is not a good idea. You’ve got to write what you know, and right now I know comics.

And writing a comic script, I think, will just be easier. Of course, I may actually end up writing close to 50,000 words by the end of the month (but most likely I won’t come close) but it just seems so much easier to structure a page of panels than it is to structure a page of paragraphs, especially since most of the writing in NaNoWriMo ends up being improvisational. I tried to write a novel last year and failed miserably because of the demand of one-the-spot prose writing at high quantities. I may be cheating and doing something apparently easier, but at least I’ll get something done.

I’ll be sure to post some on my progress next month. Wish me luck!

Update: Dave has set up a blog especially for NaGraNoWriMo. Any comic bloggers up to the challenge should check it out.

Dr. 13: Incest for the kiddies!

Inspired by this post at Comic Book Thoughts, I found a copy of Tales of the Unexpected #1 and read the backup Dr. 13 story to see what all the fuss was about.

The good doctor is hot for his daughter. Real hot.

Now, I have no problem with the theme of incest being addressed in literature, including comic books. I don't even mind if it is the main character who is struggling with incestuous impulses, like Dr. Thirteen is. I do, however, object to the lighthearted approach and flippant attitude towards incest that this comic contains. I believe, because this comic is a "general audience" title and not a Vertigo book, that the writers and editors refuse to examine the true horror of incest for the sake of making decent sales.

Let's first get the incest out on the table so people reading this don't think I'm just "reading into it" too much.

• First, the doctor dreams of his teenage daughter leaning over him as he lays shirtless in bed. She addresses him as "Daddy" and accompanying a close up of his seductive daughter is a word balloon saying "amazing." Thirteen then wakes up, screaming and in pajamas. The fact that he actually wears clothing to bed appears shirtless (perhaps nude) in his dream adds more to the sexual nature of the scene.
• Later, in his narration, Thirteen says, "Doomsbury Mansion, our in -- uh -- ancestral home." He was going to say "incestral," a Freudian slip that proves that incest is very much on his mind.
• Again, in his narration, Thirteen lingers on the fact that his daughter is accompanying him on his investigation. There is clearly a fixation on her, emphasizing their father/daughter relationship.
• After a conversation about cannibalism, including a passing mention of the creation of "fantasies," Traci asks her father if he would ever consider eating her. Thirteen is startled by the question, suggesting that he gave the girl's innocent question a specifically sexual double meaning.

Let's not fool ourselves. Dr. Thirteen wants to bone is daughter.

Like I said, I have no problem with incest as a theme, especially as a major character flaw in the main character. Clearly Thirteen knows his desires are wrong and I object to anyone suggesting that Traci is doing any manner of seduction. This is all in Thirteen's fucked-up head. The problem is that, rather than confronting the awfulness of incest in a mature and constructive way, this comic uses incest for some easy laughs. It doesn't help that this is also a mainstream, in-continuity, general audiences title. In other words, this book is totally open to the kids.

I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that this is not a Vertigo title. Doctor Thirteen, a semi-obscure mystical character, seems pretty much perfect for Vertigo, and because of the lack of limitations on mature readers books, the theme of incest could have been addressed in a much more realistic and legitimate way. I would not mind reading about a parapsychologist who is being torn apart by guilt for his seemingly uncontrollable incestuous impulses. That would make for a good story. Hell, even a pitch-black comedy about the same theme would be better. But this isn't black comedy. This is a "kid friendly" adventure story.

I am convinced that this story is not appearing as a Vertigo title due to the editor's hopes to make a buck. Superhero comics sell much more than Vertigo books, which have been stigmatized as being "too smart" for most comic fans. Perhaps to cash in on some of the popularity of Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers Zatanna miniseries, in which Thirteen is killed, this rather unremarkable, obscure character is given a backup story in what is essentially a Specter miniseries. Now, I don't think too many kids will be picking up Tales of the Unexpected since they would rather be reading about characters with recent blockbuster movies or TV shows, but some very well could having seen the Specter all through Infinite Crisis. This leads me to believe that TotU was made into a non-Vertigo book only to appeal to adult superhero fans but because kids might pick it up, the maturity of the story had to be drastically scaled back.

I think it is now time for an episode of "Hypothetical Fly-on-the-Wall Theater!"

Editor: So you want to do a Dr. Thirteen story, huh? He was just in Zatanna! Why don't we make it a backup for the Specter miniseries?

Writer: But my proposal involves incest. Don't you think that is a little inappropriate? I mean, I was thinking this would be a Vertigo book. Should I take it out?

Editor: No! We've got to appeal to the capes fans. Only snooty English majors who only call comic books "graphic novels" buy Vertigo titles. We need to make money on this. Just lighten up the incest stuff. Don't make it so serious.

Writer: But a kid might read it...

Editor: No, they won't! They're too busy figuring out their Identity Crisis trades.

I don't know if I'm giving the writer too much credit or just demonizing the editor, but the fact remains that PG-rated TotU is the wrong place to address a R-rated theme. Why this isn't its own Vertigo miniseries and the Specter story not the only feature in TotU will forever boggle my mind.

Oh, and I predict that all the incest stuff is coming from a demonic influence on Thirteen and is not a genuine character flaw. Someone let me know as I'm not going to bother reading any more of this crap.

Robbie luvs She-Hulk

In semi-recognition of Ragnell and Kalinara's Beefcake/Cheesecake Appreciation Week, I thought I would share some comic book hotness, albeit with a twist. Instead of posting select panels of cheesecake, I'll instead focus on a single character that I almost consistently find insanely hot. She is the the Savage Supersexy She-Hulk.

Damn, girl!

Um, where was I... oh yeah! You see, normally I have a very hard time talking to people once they begin spouting off about how hot a character is. It's typically the artists who are responsible for a character's apparent sexiness, on account that superheroes aren't real people. Whether it's Catwoman, Power Girl, Jean Grey or Black Canary, the "hotness" of characters is almost always just a matter of how they are drawn or presented in a particular instance. I say "almost" because, for me, there is one glaring exception.

It's hard for me to put a finger on exactly what I find so attractive about She-Hulk. She's a successful lawyer and she can beat the crap out of pretty much anyone. Those factors are both sexy on their own. She also doesn't have a distractingly ridiculous costume like Psylocke or Wonder Woman*. Of course, I can't really pull a finger on what her costume is since she is almost always in a bathing suit, but this isn't a post about complaining over the absurd oversexualization of female heroes. This is about the cheesecake. And yes, the green skin is part of the appeal.

And here is where I make a shameful confession (as if drooling over a fictional green lady isn't pathetic enough). I've only read a handful of She-Hulk comics. They really aren't that good, so while I love She-Hulk, I've only really read a couple of stories that feature her. The current series is alright, but nothing to write home about. The original series, now criminally collected in a colorless Essentials book, was written by Stan Lee. Given Lee's record for writing strong female characters (he doesn't), it's safe that I will never be picking it up. I wonder how She-Hulk feels about Stan Lee?

Don't take that from the old douchebag, Shulky! I would love to see Stan Lee brutally beaten by one of his female creations. Or just throw him through a wall, for that matter.**

For now, it seems that She-Hulk will remain my guilty pleasure of pure eye candy. Hopefully some day I will be able to write something about She-Hulk's personality or how awesome she is outside of the realm of hotness, but not this week.

Okay, so that's my cheesecake appreciation post. I know it's stupid and sexist but I can't deny my hormone-fueled love for that green-skinned hottie. I will now go back to writing about stupid comic books and how I hate Virgin Comics advertisements, never to mention She-Hulk again at risk of looking like a complete pig.

But before I end this, there is room for one last, gratuitous bikini-clad She-Hulk.

Yikes.

*I should clarify that while I find Wonder Woman's costume to be silly looking, I still think she is awesome. And so do plenty of other She-Hulk fans considering all the WW/She-Hulk femslash fanart I found in creating this post. Psylocke, on the other hand, is just stupidly slutty.

**I mean, "Stan Lee is an incredibly creative man and is responsible for the best characters in comics." Yeah...

I hate this Virgin Comics banner

Every time I see this animated banner ad for Virgin Comics' 7 Brothers, I am first confused and then annoyed. I must voice my disapproval.

My issue with this banner stems from the tagline "Comics will never be the same again." What ticks me off about this is that each time I see this add I automatically think that it is for some upcoming Marvel comic because the characters shown look EXACTLY like older, well established characters. Ripping off character design is nothing new to comics.

First there is the dude who looks just like Wolverine sporting his trusty, if not nonsensical cowboy hat. Really, do many Canadians wear cowboy hats? Anyway, it looks just like Wolverine, right down to the gritty, inky and intense action pose. If the character's hands were in frame, I would expect three foot-long claws sticking out of each.

And then there is the guy who is all leather and spikes, and I can't really say that it looks like any Marvel character. It looks a bit like one of DC's Female Furies as drawn by Amano Yoshitaka. Certainly a pale S&M enthusiast for a villain is nothing new.

And then Dr. Strange shows up! The first time I saw this banner I had to have it cycle through several times before I realized that it was not Stephen Strange at the end. All the text indicates that the banner is for 7 Brothers, which most people know is for Virgin, but they someone who looks exactly like Dr. Strange is in there. It blew my mind. The guy has a flowing red cape with a tall, horned collar, short black hair and possibly a porn star mustache. And he's being all mysterious and mystical. That IS Dr. Strange.

Every time I see that frame I forget what this banner is for and begin to wonder what Dr. Strange story Marvel is trying to promote. (Other than Brian K. Vaughan's kick ass Dr. Strange: The Oath miniseries.)

Curse you Virgin Comics! I thought ripping off characters from the two major publishers died with Youngblood!

Oh yeah, Trajectory died.

Yeah, so I finally got around to reading 52 Week 21 last night and I finally got to see what all the controversy was all about. Trajectory, a throw-away character from a throw-away team from a throw-away storyline in a book that I am sometimes wanting to throw away all together, was killed. She was a girl.

Now, I do understand that women have gotten the short end of the stick for fall too long in comics. Actually, they've mostly gotten the business end of laser guns, axes, refrigerators and Dr. Light. Comics have an awful history of brutalizing female characters where the male characters almost always come out clean and heroic. In comics, when a man dies, he is a martyr. When a woman dies, she is a plot device.

But I don't think this really is the case for Trajectory, the speedster of Lex Luthor's Infinity Inc. who had her neck twisted (off?) by some random villain being called the "new Blockbuster." She was clearly always meant to be killed off (murdered by Luthor, in fact) which is a bad sign, but she also, with the exception of Natasha Irons, was the most fleshed out character in the new Infinity Inc.

Of course, it is very sketchy that her career highlights were being hooked on drugs and being murdered, but we also knew her motivations and personality, which is more than we can say about the other members of Infinity Inc.. I can't even list the other members of Luthor's little troupe.

Now, I think it's pretty obvious that all of the members of Infinity Inc. is going to loose their powers by the end of 52. That would mean that even if Trajectory wasn't killed (let's say whichever one came from Gary, IN got his head ripped off), she till would have fallen victim to depowering and then obscurity. My point is, all of the characters of Infinity Inc. are made to be forgotten, so why should people be upset that the one who is given the spotlight but is also killed happens to be female? Would it have been better if she had remained in the background only to be depowered and tossed aside?

But then again, other than the well-established Natasha Irons, Trajectory was the only female character on the team (I think?). What were the odds she would be the one to be brutally killed?