Sara: Hey peeps! Today we’re talking Star Trek Into Darkness. This conversation contains MANY SPOILERS for the film and franchise.

Jessica: Hello!

Caroline: Hi~

Sara: We ready for this super galactic jelly?

Jessica: Indeed

Caroline: Sure??

Sara: Sweet!

Caroline: Is that like Romulan ale?

Sara: Oh heavens no, I wouldn’t touch that stuff if my life depended on it!

Caroline: <3

Sara: So, to start us off, what is your background with Star Trek? Have you seen TOS? The old movies?

Caroline: I’m primarily a TOS girl. I watched the reruns as a kid, and I read books about the making of the show as well as old ‘zines. I’ve seen all the original cast movies except for 5, and I could talk about ‘Wrath of Khan’ all day. I actually read the ‘Wrath of Khan’ novelization by Vonda McIntyre years before I saw the film and that made a huge impression on my sixth grade mind.

Sara: THERE’S A NOVELIZATION?

Sara: My bad, sorry Jessica!

Jessica: Haha, it’s fine! I grew up watching TNG with my parents, and started watching TOS when I was a little bit older, so I was really excited for the 2009 movie when it came out. I went pretty Trek-crazy afterwards and went back and watched all of the old movies I could get my hands on.

Sara: Well I hadn’t even seen the first movie when I went to see the premiere of Into Darkness. Needless to say, Tumblr and pop culture left me pretty adequately prepared to understand the references, but I quickly ran home to watch the 2009 movie and spent most of the weekend devouring what I could of TOS and the movies. I recently watched Wrath of Khan and then saw STID again, so I have ~feelings~

Caroline: Wow, you really are a newbie! Welcome!

Jessica: It’s a great place to be

Sara: Thanks! I’m so happy I took the plunge. This series is awesome!

Sara: (I’m such a late bloomer with sci-fi. I didn’t watch Doctor Who until a year and a half ago!)

Caroline: So, Sara, I need to hear more of these ‘Star Trek’ first impressions!

Sara: I really, really adore team stories. Whenever I latch onto a TV/movie/book series, I immediately want to read all the team-bonding fics I can. Star Trek obviously satisfies those feelings for me. I got chills as I saw the crew working so flawlessly (ok maybe not flawlessly) together. When I watched the first movie, I was tearing up so bad as these people found each other. Love love love.

Jessica: Yeah. I really couldn’t take it when the team was split up, even for a minute, with Kirk and Spock on different ships. I died inside. It was so gratifying when they were back together again.

Sara:

Caroline: So I guess we’re all in it for the relationships? That was definitely what stood out to me about the new film — Spock and Uhura and Kirk especially. That scene when they are all together on the shuttle was just amazing. It just nailed what it’s like to try and have a conversation with an emotionally closed off person (Spock!) and then suddenly he is telling you way more than you maybe really wanted to know and some people (Kirk) don’t deal with that very well.

Sara: I LOVE THAT SCENE.

Jessica: Me too!

Sara: Visually, it was so perfect. Them in an equilateral triangle? Uhura stepping up to take on the Klingons? Spock pawning all of them with emotions? SO many layers to these relationships and that was one of the few scenes where we got that!

Caroline: It played off the earlier scene with Kirk and Uhura in the elevator where he realizes they’re fighting. “What’s that LIKE?”

Jessica: Yeah, One thing I like about the new movies is the update on social interactions, especially between young people.

Sara: THAT WAS SO FUNNY. Like, Kirk had a moment to go, “Oh that sucks” or “I’m here for you.” But, in a beautifully Kirk fashion, he goes, “What the hell do Vulcans do with relationship struggles?”

Caroline: He wants to know for science!

Sara: Oh, I’m SURE.

Sara: Alright, to my next question! How did we feel about Benedict Cumberbatch being Khan reveal? Expected? Not? Did other people in the audience gasp?

Caroline: A couple people in my audience gasped but it was a few days old by the time I saw it. My friend who saw it at a midnight show said a lot of people gasped. Which…was weird to me because I couldn’t have avoided the spoiler if I wanted to? I’m neutral on Khan being the villain. I’m genuinely annoyed, if that’s a strong enough word, that they cast a white dude, but I wasn’t surprised because I’d already seen references to it all over Tumblr.

Jessica: I wasn’t surprised, and I don’t think anyone else in my theater was either. I think all the secrecy before the film was a bit much, and the moment might have even been better without it, because it wasn’t a surprise anyway. Also because there would be no reason for people who weren’t ST fans but were seeing the movie to be impressed at his revelation. That said, I thought it was excellently delivered. I have mixed feelings over the fact that they cast a white guy as Khan.

Sara: Being a total noob, I had NO IDEA who the heck Khan was. I guess I finally understand my friend who has no idea who Ras Al-Ghul was during Batman Begins. However, a lot of people did gasp. Some people even started cheering. I figured Khan was a fan favorite and I understand after watching Wrath of Khan. Yeah, was not so happy after I realized the whitewashing that occurred with JJ Abrams. Not. Cool. Although, up until then, I was pleased with BC because he face got SO snake-like during some of Khan’s emotional monologues. Dude has the face of Voldemort, not gonna lie.

Caroline: One thing that occurs to me is that a Star Trek movie has a really wide audience. There are people like Jessica following all the chatter and casting spoilers, and then there are probably people who don’t have a thing to do with the Internet but might know a lot of classic Trek. Or else they just know that Wrath of Khan was a thing. Anyway, I think the ‘twist’ is in there for those people, not for the online superfans.

Jessica: I am a big fan of BC, but his casting is indicative of a bigger overall problem in Hollywood (and, you know, the world). BC has a lot of geek cred and is an excellent actor, but it’s not that there weren’t great Indian actors who could have done the role, it’s that it’s harder for them to get to that same level of fame in our culture. I am irritated that Star Trek is participating in that pattern when part of its original mission was to be progressive. I did see one Internet commenter that pointed out that it would have been playing into stereotypes of another kind to cast the terrorist as a person of color, especially in recent times. There is also the fact that the original actor who played Khan wasn’t Indian either…Basically society sucks any way you look at it, haha.

Sara: I just thought that the modern movies did an excellent job of preserving the casting of the Original series and was bummed that a person of color lost an opportunity to have some visibility.

Jessica: Definitely true. I did appreciate the fact that the movie seemed to try really hard to put diversity in the background Star Fleet members on the Enterprise, in gender, race, and even home planet, but it’s not the same as having a big main character.

Sara: Also, it’s becoming a trend with IM3 that we have these supposedly “updated” storylines that overlook racist ideals found in sci-fi and comic books from before, but, where I thought it worked for IM3, I think Star Trek could have pulled it off.

Jessica: Yeah, I think so too.

Caroline: I do think that making this exact same movie with an actor of color playing Khan would also be problematic. Because he’s a terrorist, because of his whole speech about ‘savagery.’ I have no idea if this was in whoever’s mind made the casting decision (I’m intensely curious how many different iterations this script went through, and how many of them did or didn’t involve Khan.) But at some point we start drowning in counterfactuals.

I do have to point out, it’s not as though the only characters of color in the film were in the background. Uhura has a major role.

Jessica: Right. I think they would have gotten flack for whichever way they had done it.

Sara: That brings me to my next inquiry: How were women treated in this movie? Were you satisfied? Or were you disappointed (like I was)?

Caroline: Well, first, Uhura was great. I have no complaints there. Her part in the first movie was good, but they really beefed it up here. The one thing that really bugged me was the lack of women in command roles — that Starfleet senior officers’ room was very male. I’ve seen some criticism of Carol Marcus, though, and I have to admit I loved her character to pieces.

Jessica: Anika pointed out to me the other day that the modern Kirk-Spock-McCoy is Kirk-Spock-Uhura, and she’s totally right. I’m sad that McCoy is more in the background, especially since Karl Urban is so great at playing him, but I do appreciate that they are giving Uhura a more empowering role. I agree with Caroline. I think she’s great. I think that Carol Marcus is a pretty good character, but we didn’t need to see her undress. Definitely I want more women in power, and less Kirk making out with anonymous scantily clad ladies. It’s not the best, but it could have been worse considering it’s an update of a show from the 60s.

Sara: I was disappointed because I felt that Uhura had more of a role in the first movie. 90% of the time I was watching exclusively male actors on screen, most of them white. I just got seriously tired of seeing the same thing over and over. I loved the movie, but I cannot take the lack of representation in mainstream media anymore. Uhura took a backseat role on the ass-kicking in this movie. She played the concerned girlfriend in the first scene and even her Klingon confrontation was undermined by the fact that Khan had to shoot them to help her survive. Carol Marcus was there as a way of emotional manipulating Admiral Marcus in an event anyone could have seen coming. I feel like she was there mostly so that we could get some female screamin’ up in that joint. The women were pawns in this movie, I needed them to be more.

Caroline: I’m not even sure how to respond to that except that I felt totally differently. Uhura is an integral part of the AWAY team, she uses her linguistic skills to negotiate with the Klingons, and she’s the one who actually saves the day and beats Khan at the end. I would have been fine with her having more time but that didn’t come across to me.

Jessica: I mean, I’m always up for Uhura to be doing more things, but I do think this was a primarily Kirk/Spock movie, playing on the relationship between those two characters for the fans. There’s also the fact that many of the most loved characters from the original show are dudes. It’s complicated because it’s sexist that the show was built that way to begin with, but it is what fans have come to know and love. I do think it was good that they introduced Carol as a new female force, since it seems like she’ll be sticking around for the next film. Also, since they’ve gotten the whole Khan story line off of their incarnation bucket list, I think they have way more flexibility to choose the story line for the next (and maybe final?) film. I do hope both ladies feature prominently in that plot (and not just as sex objects/girl friends/etc).

Sara: I agree about Carol coming back for the next film, but the looks between her and Kirk (as well as her backstory from Wrath of Khan) seem to indicate a more romantic relationship coming forth, which I’m down for, but I wish they could focus on platonic relationships, especially with newly introduced female characters. It would put a whole lot more weight on women being there for them, rather than for sex objects.

Sara: I think I would have been more fine with Carol if it weren’t for the naked scene. Gratuitous naked scene was gratuitous and so not okay for the supposedly modern re-telling of a show that had problems with women portrayals in general.

Caroline: OK, but, underwear scene aside—which I rolled my eyes at, but I’m confused at all the people who are talking as though that was the most cheesecake-y, gratuitous thing ever; they must not read Marvel/DC comics or watch HBO?—that aside, Carol was there in a non-love-interest capacity.

Maybe I’m reacting so positively because I was annoyed when she first showed up that she was introduced as a weapons specialist. “Wrath of Khan Carol was all about anti-militarism and responsible science,” I muttered. But then I realized she had snuck onto the ship on her own initiative to spy on her father. That’s a cowboy move worthy of Kirk, right there. Kirk should approve! Her belief that she could negotiate with her father was sincere, if misguided. And yes, she got beat up by Khan and screamed when he killed her father, why wouldn’t she?

People complaining she doesn’t get to kick ass in the end get my back up a little. Uhura gets to kick ass. Carol’s role is more complicated and I like that.

Jessica: I think I can agree with that.

Sara: I agree with the above, though. She reacted like I would have about 90% of the time. I thought it was awesome that she snuck on to the Enterprise and the scene with her and Bones and the missile showed a lot of her backbone as a character. I guess I wanted to see more of that Carol and less of the one we saw around Kirk. I love Kirk, but those interactions were slightly nauseating.

Caroline: I have to admit I didn’t even notice those. I think my key to enjoying this movie is pretty clear: selective noticing.

Sara: LOL, I need to develop that for most of my shows. Although even that wouldn’t help Glee… le’sigh

Alright-y then, how about this? What was your favorite part of the movie?

Caroline: I already said the three-way argument in the shuttle, so I guess I have to be a jerk and pick Kirk and Spock and the glass. I mean, yes, it’s extremely derivative of that scene in Wrath of Khan, but that’s really just window dressing in my opinion. Wrath of Khan is a movie about a hero dealing with aging and with unwinnable scenarios.

This is a completely different dynamic, Kirk and Spock still at the beginning of their friendship, but it’s totally earned by what we’ve seen in the movie. Kirk brings up what Spock said — in that earlier scene where you don’t think he’s listening — about turning off feelings. He admits he’s scared, Spock admits he doesn’t know how to turn off his feelings right now, they realize they’re friends, Kirk dies! Amazing.

Sara: I really loved that scene!

Jessica: Hmmm….I really liked when Uhura and Kirk talked in the elevator…and murderous rage Spock was thrilling. The glass moment is really designed to be the killer scene in this film, and it definitely worked for me.

Totes emotional manipulation but I’m fine with it, haha.

Sara: I have to say, I loved all the scenes that you guys mentioned, but my all time favorite part of the movie goes to Mr. Sulu and the “warning” to John Harrison, followed by Bones aptly summing up ALL of our collective feelings, “Mr. Sulu, remind me to never piss you off.” WIN!

Jessica: Haha, yeah, that was awesome

Caroline: Oh, God, yes. Sulu was great! Bones was great! Scotty was great! Tiny Chekov was great!

Sara: YESSSSSSSS

Jessica: I loved Scotty in the bar

Sara: We didn’t get to touch on them much, but for the record, I think I speak for all of us when I say that everyone on the Enterprise is the best.

Caroline: Sara, I have to ask. Not having seen Wrath of Khan, how did you react to the glass scene? Was it totally new to you?

Sara: YES! It TOTALLY was! When I watched Wrath of Khan, I was like, “Holy hell! This is the part where my soul was ejected out of my chest!”

My friend who dragged me to the movie in the first place was angry about the scene being obviously emotionally manipulative, but I was tearing up. I understood after watching WoK, but I still think the STID scene held its own!

Jessica: They had to put it in, and I think they did it well. It would have been a gaping hole if they’d left it out.

Sara: Agreed.

Caroline: I’m not sure if I agree it was necessary? But I thought it worked. I guess I can see why people were pissed off, though. There are people in fandom who are *very attached* to that scene. Not that they’re wrong but there are other things I dig in Wrath of Khan. The Kobayashi Maru is my favorite part, and they already did that in 2009. Then there’s the dinner where Bones buys Kirk a pair of glasses and a Dickens novel, bug in his ear Chekov, everything involving Saavik. Can we please have a moment of silence for how the timeline and the destruction of Vulcan pretty much guarantee we won’t have a reboot Saavik?

Sara:

But, I actually understood all those references. Thank Jeebus for Netflix!

Caroline: Wrath of Khan is not all about Spock and Kirk and the glass, is what I’m saying. They didn’t ruin it, they didn’t even remake. Also, notice that I didn’t mention the moment in the new movie where Spock yells, “KHAAAAAAAN!”? Selective noticing? (PS, Kirk yelling that in the old movie is stupid, too.)

Sara: Zachary Quinto looked exactly like Benedict Cumberbatch as he yelled that and I was momentarily confused, by the by.

Jessica: I just think that they are trying to hit the high points for fans with this remake, and it means so much to so many people that it would have been missed if they had left it out. Or at least had some kind of homage to it. They could have done it differently, but I didn’t mind it

Caroline: KHAAAAAAN!

Jessica: Ditto with that, but it worked less well and came off ridiculous. If it had come across it would have been awesome, but alas, silly!

Caroline: Somebody pointed out that when Kirk yells ‘KHaaan!” in WoK, it doesn’t really make sense for him to be that angry because at that point he’s bluffing. So basically Kirk’s Khan yell was acting, which really makes me want the fanfic where bored, deskbound Admiral Kirk goes out for community theater. Or maybe a Funny or Die sketch where Chris Pine takes acting lessons from Shatner.

Jessica: Hahaha, that would be great.

Sara: LOL, YES PLEASE!

Caroline: So do we want to say anything about, like, the plot of this movie? Or the themes? Did it have themes?

Jessica: I’ve read and agreed with some plot holes pointed out on the internet, but it didn’t bother me one bit while I was watching.

Sara: Can I put forth a theory that this movie is a kind of microcosm of the “What if” scenario of “What if we didn’t invade Afghanistan post 9/11?”

Caroline: Wow, that got heavy really fast! But yes, I think they were definitely going for parallels there. Which is appropriate enough? There were definitely 60s episodes where the Romulans were the Russians…

Sara: I think the fact that the movie was dedicated to 9/11 veterans also helped form the parallels in my mind.

Jessica: I think that was a definite aim of the film.

Sara: It’s just triggering to see those kinds of terrorist attacks, but I liked how it made me think for days after the movie. That’s usually a good marker for a great movie for me.

Caroline: I do feel like people who say the movie is betraying “Star Trek’s idealism” by delving into those themes are missing the point a bit. Starfleet values win out in the end, and the movie seems to want us to recapture a bit of that idealistic spirit. I can see how it didn’t work for everyone, but there’s definitely stuff to chew over if you’re looking for it.

Sara: They’re missing the idea of sci-fi in general. It’s meant to delve into these concepts. Sci-fi is the most rooted in reality substance you can find on television. And I’m including the news in this generalization.

Caroline: One thing I’ve noticed is that everybody seems to bring their own ‘Star Trek’ to the table. How people react to this movie has a lot to do with what they’re looking for. And, really, that’s cool. Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations is an old school principle.

Sara: I like that a show has the capability to do that. It really is prolific.

Sara: Now, I do have an idea for a sign off question!

Jessica: Sounds good!

Sara: If you met an alternate universe, older version of yourself, how would they tell you goodbye?

Caroline: I say, “See you on the flip side” a lot. So that seems appropriate.

Jessica: I’d probably just be super-awkward about it. “Bye, I guess. Don’t be too anxious.” -awkward back pat-

Sara: I’d probably say, “Kick ass and always carry that lock picking kit of yours, it’ll come in handy.”

Caroline: That’s great! See you on the flip side (and prosper).

And remember:

When I arrived at MISTI-Con last Friday, I was a little unsure what the weekend would be like. I’ve been to cons before, but they are usually large commercial endeavors in big cities, with big-name celebrities and show floors with merchandise that seems to span for miles. MISTI-Con was something else entirely: a small convention devoted entirely to Harry Potter taking place over four days at a hotel in Laconia, New Hampshire. The conceit of the entire convention is that guests are attending the Ministry Interdepartmental Service Training Institute to qualify for a position at the Ministry of Magic. Instead of panels by bigwigs at Marvel or DC, all of the panels were taught by fans and ranged in subject from “Growing a Harry Potter Garden” to “Flying Fitness” (a pole dancing fitness class taught by a woman in an AWESOME Fawkes cosplay). The only celebrities in attendance were Ellie Darcey-Alden, who played young Lily Potter in Deathly Hallows, and her brother Joseph, who acted with her in a recent episode of Doctor Who, “The Snowmen.”

I ended up having a blast last weekend, and there are a number of factors which contributed to such an open and welcoming fan atmosphere. The first is printed near the very beginning of the MISTI-Con guidebook handed out to every attendee: an extensive anti-harassment policy. It was not tucked away in the back, or available upon request, but in the front of the book, before the list of panels and the password to the hotel wi-fi. And besides the policy being super-visible, it not only extends protection to guests on the basis of age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, and religion, but also fan specific issues like house affiliation, favorite ships, and favorite wizard rock bands. The policy gives specific instructions on who to contact if you’re being harassed, as well as offering escorts to anyone who wants one. I want to tear the policy out of the handbook and frame it. Objectification and harassment is often an issue at conventions, so often, in fact, that many fans feel like they simply have to accept it as part of the con experience. MISTI-Con established itself from the beginning as a safe space for fans to geek-out, and I love them for that.

Along the same lines, I was interested to observe that the overwhelming majority of con guests were women, and pretty remarkable women at that. Women held 11 of 12 spots in the grueling Harry Potter trivia game I watched (and a woman took first place), and 2 out of 3 winners for a physical and mental readiness challenge (the convention’s version of the Tri-Wizarding Tournament) were women, including the first place spot. But more than just dominating in challenges and representing an overwhelming majority of MISTI-Con guests, I loved the fact that women felt comfortable with themselves in this space. I’m not sure if it’s that a Harry Potter convention attracts women who are naturally confident in themselves and their bodies, or if MISTI-Con promoted an atmosphere that allowed women to feel less self-conscious about themselves, or if it’s some combination of the two, but it was refreshing to experience. Women of all shapes, sizes, colors, ages were dolling themselves up and decking themselves out, whether they were walking around the convention floor, dancing at the masquerade, and hanging by the pool. I wore a bikini to swim for the first time in my entire life. I wish every convention I went to was like that.

And that’s just the political stuff! MISTI-Con also offered tons of genuinely fun fan experiences. The detail that went into decorating for the convention and ensuring there were fun activities for guests was excruciating. There was not an inch of the hotel that hadn’t been decorated, from the long hallway of conference rooms that had been papered over to look like a sleek Ministry passageway to the decorated beach balls that were left in the pool to be the floating brains found in the Hall of Mysteries in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. My personal favorite was the Hall of History that had been set up along one of the hotel corridors, with display cases full of wizarding “history.” One cased housed a display called “Snitches Through the Ages”: the first artifact was a bird, the second a meticulously handcrafted snitch with feather wings, and the third our modern idea of a snitch. Another highlight was the Ministry Memo Scavenger Hunt. The organizers had created replicas of the Ministry of Magic paper airplane memos seen in the movie, and each one contained a riddle that could be solved by walking around the convention. When you solved one correctly, your prize was a pack of Slytherin wall clings. Love.

But better than any of the decorations was the community of fans that was palpable throughout the entire weekend. Many of the guests were online friends meeting in person for the first time or seeing each other again after a long separation. Everyone truly delighted in getting to spend time with each other, rather than just clamoring to be in the first row at a panel or hunting for the best deal on merchandise. When Ellie and Joseph gave their Q&A, the small room where the panel took place was only half full, not because those two kids aren’t awesome and have many interesting things to say, but because MISTI-Con attendees weren’t there to meet celebrities – they were there to celebrate themselves and a franchise they loved. Everyone spent the majority of their time hanging out and getting to know other guests at the convention. Even Ellie and Joseph, the stars, got to spend a lot of time hanging out with their parents and each other, for the most part having free run of the convention without having to worry about people constantly bothering them because they were actors. This was also really refreshing – although I’m always really excited to see my favorite stars at conventions, they often have a tired, harried look to them. And rightly so, with the schedules they keep, but it was nice to see the alternative: Ellie and Joseph running around having fun, politely and excitedly engaging with fans that approached them.

The culminating event of the convention was a masquerade ball held on Sunday night, and it was a fantastic way to close out the weekend. The cool cosplays continued – there was one Dark Lord entourage that actually frightened me. Voldemort was led in by a herald, surrounded by death eaters in masks and lackeys carrying flags. I’ve never seen a cosplay so good it actually disturbed me before, but looking over my shoulder towards the lake and seeing this coming towards me certainly did the trick. There was also a pair of life-size Potter Puppet Pals bouncing around the dance floor, and corsets and Renaissance gowns abounded. The bar had Harry Potter themed drinks (Sex on a Snape, anyone?) and Bellatrix and Voldemort danced to “Bad Romance.” The next MISTI-Con isn’t scheduled to happen until 2015, but I hope that when that time rolls around I’m able to go again.

Visit this gallery to see more pictures from MISTI-Con!

Anyway, comics! Five pulled this week, mostly solid. One new title in the mix. Here we go!

DC Comics

Justice League #20 
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Gene Ha, Joe Prado (Cover by Ivan Reis), Gary Frank (Shazam backup)

I am super excited for Trinity War, you guys. This issue of Justice League continues the prologue, and it ends on a really awesome note. In a related statement, I love the new 52 Atom, Rhonda Pineda. There have been some missteps with “casting” (or lack thereof) in the new 52, but she is absolutely not one of them. Also Element Woman reminds me a little of Delirium from Sandman, and that’s a really good thing in my book.

There were some revelations, some foreshadowing, and some action. Overall, a pretty strong issue for anyone who’s invested in any of the Justice League storylines.

The Shazam backup is rolling towards its conclusion. I’m a little mixed on the idea of a 21-issue origin story, but since it’s getting less page space than a main issue would, I’ll let it slide. It’s also been pretty good, but I’ve been a fan of Shazam since I was a kid. These last two have been more about Black Adam than Billy Batson, but that’s okay. They’re linked. The next issue is allegedly the conclusion, so I hope that means we’ll start to see the Marvel family getting involved with some of the other DC titles.

Favorite panel:

Superman #20
Writer:Scott Lobdell
Artist: Aaron Kuder

Hector Hammond invades Superman’s mind and hides out in all his hopes and dreams for happiness and peace. This sounds crazy, but it sort of works. But more importantly, Orion and Diana have a non-thing that makes Clark’s speech bubbles look frosty. I’m not even kidding, and it’s awesome. I really like the Clark/Diana relationship, which I’ve said a billion times before, because it’s a chance to tell some new stories for the characters. This felt like a bit of a filler issue, finishing off the one-on-one fight between Superman and Orion, and setting up some weird zombie!Lana (yep) something for the next issue. But it had some of the best comic book onomatopoeia I’ve seen in a long time.

Favorite panel(s):

The Green Team: Teen Trillionaires #1
Writers: Alt Balazer, Franco
Artist: Ig Guara (Cover by Amanda Conner)

With most TV shows, I give them 3 episodes to catch me before I drop. I have basically the same rule for comics, unless they’re really bad or really expensive. I’m giving The Green Team two more comics (to be fair, I feel the same way about The Movement).  I’m kind of wary of this whole “socioeconomic privlieged vs. downtrodden” thing they’re doing, which I’ve said before. But I get that rich people who use cool technology to fight crime and do justice are popular now (right, Tony?) so DC is giving it a shot. You know, besides the 50 Batman titles and stuff.

I don’t know enough about the characters to care about them yet, but I’m already intrigued by the villain(s). We’ll see how the next couple of issues go.

Favorite panel: 

Marvel Comics

Journey Into Mystery #652
Writer: Kathryn Immonen
Artist: Valerio Schiti

Um, I love this book. I’d never been a big Asgardian reader, but I started reading JIM when it started focusing on Sif, and I haven’t regretted a single moment. The art is awesome, the writing is awesomer still, and the book is just a lot of fun to read. The first arc was one of the best action stories I’d read in a long time, and since Sif dealt with her berserkerness, the story has settled into a really enjoyable tone and pace. This month’s issue had appearances by Jane Foster (yay!) and Tony Stark (he’s cool too, I guess). Also Beta Ray Bill showed up, and if you don’t like Beta Ray Bill, well. I guess we’re all entitled to our opinions.

Favorite panel:

Young Avengers Vol. 2 #5
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artists: Jamie McKelvie, Mike Norton

This was a nice end to the first arc of the new Young Avengers title. I like this team – the characters (for the most part) and the creators (totally) – and it’s been a solid title since it launched. It blends action, pop culture references, humor, and heart, which is a great way to become one of my favorite comics. This wasn’t my favorite issue, but it was still good, and I’m absolutely excited to see what this group gets up to in their next arc.

Favorite panel:

Book of the Week: Journey Into Myster #652 (Though Justice League #20 was a close one.)

See you next week!

The following analysis contains many spoilers for the film Star Trek Into Darkness.

Kirk, Spock and Uhura are the new Kirk, Spock and McCoy.

• The posters that feature multiple characters feature the villain, Kirk, Spock and Uhura.
• The intersecting relationships between these three take up the most screen time and are the most developed in the dialogue and story.
• They go together on the away mission to Kronos and have a heart to heart, that starts with bickering, on the way down. That’s a classic Kirk, Spock and McCoy move.
• When Spock dies in Wrath of Khan, Scotty and McCoy are there to support Kirk; when Kirk dies in Into Darkness, Scotty and Uhura are there to support Spock.
• Uhura tells Spock to give into his rage and go after Khan.
• Uhura beams down to assist Spock in capturing Khan and convey the message that Kirk could be saved.
• During Kirk’s speech at the end the camera pans to Spock, then Uhura, then everyone else in a group shot.
• In nearly the last shot of the film, when Kirk asks Spock where they should go first, Uhura steps into the shot just long enough to be framed as The Trinity.
• Zoë Saldaña has third billing in the cast list.

Kirk, Spock and Uhura are the new Kirk, Spock and McCoy and it’s awesome. It’s also important. It’s important because Nyota Uhura is a woman of color. If that sounds simplistic or insignificant to you, you are probably not a woman or an underrepresented minority (which in Hollywood is basically everyone who is not a straight, white male).

Uhura is a character who has had quantifiable importance to our society. She has fans in the space program, the entertainment industry, and the White House. She is more than a character, more even than an inspiration, she is a symbol of how far we can go. This is the next logical step.

Kirk and Spock

The rebooted Star Trek universe revolves around the love story of James Kirk and his Vulcan first officer. In the 2009 film the villain has a vendetta against Spock which results in the total destruction of his planet but Spock Prime puts the ghost of his friendship with Kirk ahead of any other agenda. Both Kirk and Spock tell Spock Prime that his word would have set Spock on the course of action they wanted him to take without necessitating an emotional breakdown but that wasn’t good enough for Spock Prime. From a vulcan point of view, it was not the most logical decision. But from a human point of view it’s easy to understand. Spock Prime lost everything; he failed his mission, he lost his family and his timeline, and then his planet blew up in front of him. He lost everything and he couldn’t fix it. But the universe sent him Jim Kirk and he could fix that. And in fixing it, he fixed himself, too, because their relationship was the most defining of his life.

The idea of family as something we create rather than something we are born to is a main theme in this second film and the relationship between Kirk and Spock takes center stage again. From the near death scene in the volcano to the death scene in Engineering, Kirk’s honest desperation for Spock to understand the depth and complexity — and simplicity — of their relationship bookends the action of the film. Throughout the history of these characters, Spock has embodied the struggle to accept and assert their true feelings. As a vulcan, his emotions are not supposed to be evident. But in this film Kirk has an even greater advantage: he melded with Spock Prime. He knows firsthand how strong those feelings are. Spock Prime told Spock James Kirk was his greatest friend, but Kirk got to feel it. When Spock tells Uhura and Kirk that he suppresses his feelings because they are too strong to feel, Kirk realizes it is the absolute truth.

Spock and Uhura

In the original series, Kirk and McCoy are already friends when we join them on the Enterprise. In the first rebooted film, Spock and Uhura are already a couple when we join them on the Enterprise.

Quite a lot has been written about whether or not her relationship with Spock serves the character of Uhura, or women in the Star Trek universe in general. These are valid questions. The romance takes away from Uhura’s status as an independent woman with no ties to a man or relationship. I do not agree with the opinions that the romance makes her less interesting, less important, more whiny, or too much of a girl (frankly, that last one is just offensive). But I understand the concern behind the complaints.

Regardless, the relationship is established, and it is important to both characters. Clearly, Uhura’s romantic relationship with Spock is different from McCoy’s playfully antagonistic relationship with Spock — however it is based in the same conflict of hidden emotion. Uhura wants clear communication of feelings and Spock was raised to avoid them.

Kirk and Uhura

I absolutely love the relationship that has evolved between Kirk and Uhura. It was cute in the first film, but it was based on Kirk’s conquest of Uhura (which is gross). Now he doesn’t see her as something to win.

After Pike’s death Kirk ordered Spock, McCoy and Scotty out of his sight rather than listen to their concerns about his mission and his state of mind. But he opened up to Uhura. And she was bolstered in turn to pull Spock into a conversation about their relationship with Kirk as witness. They have each other’s back without even realizing it. Like siblings they have organically developed a shared language that allows them to communicate with shrugs and pointed looks and half phrases. They bicker and they flirt and they bond because they love Spock. And they understand, without discussing it, that no one else loves Spock the way they do.

Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Along with the concept of found family, the value of feelings is a central theme of the film. It’s most clear in Spock’s story arc, but many characters struggle with and/or exhibit strong emotions. Harewood’s feelings for his daughter and wife lead to his complicity in Khan’s attack. Pike’s paternal feelings for Kirk lead to Kirk’s second chance. The loss of Pike drives Kirk to push away Spock, Bones, and Scotty in succession; Uhura’s acknowledgement of those feelings prompts him to open up to her. Carol appeals to her father’s feelings in her attempt to save the Enterprise. Tears fall down the cheeks of Kirk, Khan, and Spock. Kirk makes multiple impassioned speeches about trusting his gut feelings over any amount of logic or regulation.

But it’s most clear in Spock’s arc. An arc that starts with his peaceful acceptance of imminent death that requires a complete emotional shutdown and ends with a literal murderous rampage through the streets and skies of San Francisco. Which event best serves Spock and the story? The answer is transparent to anyone who cares to understand Spock: neither suppression nor surrender but balance. And it is through Kirk and Uhura, the two people there at each leg of the journey, that Spock finally accepts that truth.

In the end, three things are required for emotional balance, which is in turn a foundation for love and family: passion (Kirk), restraint (Spock), and communication (Uhura).

McCoy

Kirk, to Spock: You saved me.
McCoy: Uhura and I had something to do with it, too.

I saw Star Trek Into Darkness twice its opening weekend. I came up with this thesis after the first viewing and in the second I realized Dr. McCoy is a part of the Kirk, Spock and X trinity more than I’d thought. Still, my thesis was not derailed since the scenes most directly tied to the themes of the film (found family and the value of feelings) included Uhura, not McCoy — and if I didn’t notice or remember McCoy’s presence in certain instances, clearly those were not the instances of greatest significance.

That’s not to say McCoy is not significant. Certainly his friendship with Kirk is secure and important, and he got to banter with Spock and Sulu and Carol Marcus. His significance to the plot is obvious: he saved Kirk’s life. McCoy has not been tossed aside in favor of Uhura by either the characters or the narrative, but she has claimed the spot at the top, between Kirk and Spock.

Uhura is one third of the central trinity of Star Trek and that is important and that is good. But it is not quite good enough. Women are less than one-third of the central or background characters in Star Trek and by rights they should be half. So keep climbing, Nyota!

Flashback: Who is your favorite animal in comic books?

ALI

Power Girl’s cat. This sums up why…

JESSICA

Does Animal Man count? He fights for animal rights and vegetarianism, and eventually breaks the fourth wall and talks to his own writer. I haven’t actually read that many of his comics, but I love the concept and am forever interested in the comic’s story arcs. Also, Krypto the Super Dog.

MARIE

My favorite animal would have to be Shadowcat’s dragon, Lockheed. Because who wouldn’t want a cat-sized, fire-breathing, highly intelligent extraterrestrial for a companion?

So what about you? Who is your favorite animal in comic books?

This post contains the tiniest bits of spoilers.

I’ll never forget the first time I played Origins.

Granted, if one looks at the game as a whole, it could be said that there’s not much that separates it from other dark fantasy RPGs. In fact, the setup of the first game could be described as your run-of-the-mill Tolkien tale. Instead of Sauron and an army of Orcs, you have the Archdemon and an army of Darkspawn. But while it seems easy enough to draw those parallels, Origins still has that “special something.” You can see it in the enthusiasm of the game’s fans (myself included). Many of whom I’m sure are avid connoisseurs of the fantasy genre—so you know they’ve got good taste!

You can call it an X factor. I prefer call it good writing.

There were many characters from my entourage that will stay with me forever. This isn’t too much of a surprise, considering that Bioware did a good job of making me care about them. Even minor characters made a lasting impression: Knight Templar Cullen, King Cailan, and Duncan the Grey Warden just to name a few. But perhaps the one character I’ll always have a soft spot for is Alistair.

I could be incredibly biased since he shows up as one your first allies in the game. And I’m not going to lie when I say that he was also one of my favorite romance options. But from a storytelling point of view, Alistair was one character I felt had gone through the most changes.

Which brings me to the comic book series.

“The Silent Grove” and “Those Who Speak” chronicles the story of Alistair as he embarks on a journey to search for his father, King Maric. His companions are the dwarven marksman, Varric and the rogue pirate, Isabela. Incidentally, both characters can be chosen as party members in Dragon Age II. Both series can be purchased as bundles from Dark Horse Digital Comics at an extremely reasonable price (you probably spend more money on Starbucks lattes during the week). Considering the richness of the content, the deal is a steal and I would highly recommend opening an account and subscribing.

Fans will also be glad to know that David Gaider wrote the story for both series. Gaider has shown also his chops with other tie-in work like the novels, Stolen Throne, The Calling, and most recently Asunder. Chad Hardin has done wonderful work as the artist of the series, rendering familiar characters like Varric and Isabela fairly well. To be honest, Alistair looked a little odd to me. But I’ll give Hardin the benefit of the doubt, since we’re dealing with a version of Alistair that’s a little darker, moodier, and frankly a little more jaded. In fact, there are a few panels in which he looks downright menacing.

I also think that Alistair’s face is hard to transfer in other mediums. You even see inklings of that during his cameo in Dragon Age II. Although to be honest, no one who made a cameo in that game got off scot free, except for perhaps Leliana. Whatever the reason, it almost makes you wonder if the face that a million fangirls fell in love with can only exist in all of its adorkable glory in the first game. But really, it doesn’t matter in the end. He still hasn’t lost that sly sense of humor!

Overall, Hardin did an amazing job. The layouts are carefully designed and certain panels with action are set against a backdrop of red. These especially echoed the feeling that you were watching a game unfold. Another perk was to see his rendering of countries like Tevinter and Antiva, which were only mentioned in passing thus far in the games.

In “The Silent Grove”, it becomes pretty apparent that Alistair had hired Varric and Isabela to come along on this seemingly impossible mission (King Maric had disappeared sometime prior to the storyline of Origins when his ship was lost at sea). Perhaps the first question that comes to fans’ minds is, why them of all people? Why not any of the characters from Origins? Or evenThe Awakening expansion? Not that Varric and Isabela don’t bring their own particular brand of fun. Both characters are still remarkably saucy and you could tell that Gaider had a lot of fun writing their dialogue. Anyway, I’ll leave this particular mystery shrouded since it will be more fun unfolding it yourself.

Personally speaking, I’m glad that Varric and Isabela get to be featured in other work. This gives characters like Isabela, for example, to be more fleshed out. In the game, she always seemed tokenized as the ne’er do well tramp. In fact, most of her humorous quips are overtly sexual. At one point, one of your party members asks if sex was the only thing Isabela ever thought about. Only in “Those We Speak” do we get an actual glimpse into her backstory as a child that was sold by her mother to a cruel man. And to titillate you even further, Isabela isn’t even her real name. As far as Varric is concerned, I felt that as the sometimes unreliable narrator of Dragon Age II, his story wasn’t quite over yet. I’ll be excited to see if he makes another appearance in Dragon Age: Inquisition.

But back to the story of Alistair, who seems more determined than ever to find out exactly what happened to his father. The subtext seems to be tied directly to his role as the newly crowned King of Ferelden. Depending on your choices in Origins, Alistair is the very definition of the “reluctant king” due to his origins as a bastard son. Throughout the arcs of “The Silent Grove” and “Those Who Speak”, we see Alistair truly come to terms with this duty.

On a final note, I will have to say that one of the best perks is Alistair’s confrontation with Yavana, the “Witch of the Wilds” of Antiva. So yes, this confirms that Flemeth did indeed have other daughters besides Morrigan. It also presents entirely new questions that complicate Alistair’s journey even further. By the end of the “Silent Grove” we discover that Yavana has been guarding a nest of dragons (which had been hunted to near extinction prior to the game). Exactly what do these dragons have to do with a promise that King Maric made to Flemeth years ago? And how do these dragons relate with Alistair’s heritage?

Subscribe to Dark Horse and find out soon!

DC Comics

Supergirl #20
Writer: Michael Allen Nelson
Artist: Mahmud Asrar

I’ve been reading Supergirl off and on since the relaunch, mostly for the H’El on Earth event. I picked up last month’s issue for the Supergirl/Power Girl team up, and that continues this month. And this month is awesome. The Kara/Kara banter is great, Sanctuary is GLaDOSesque, and the art is soooooooooooooo much better than it used to be. This was a genuinely good Supergirl character story, and I hope this trend of awesome continues in future issues.

Favorite Panel:

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #2
Writer: Keith Giffen
Artist: Pop Mhan

Okay, issue one I picked up for the nostalgia factor (it’s the same reason I read the surprisingly good Battle Beasts limited last year). But Teela was kind of cool and sassy, and apparently everyone knows Prince Adam is He-Man now, so he’s drawn in a much less annoying, purple-wearing-as-code-for-wimpy way. The big reveal at the end was ruined by the solicit, but I enjoyed the issue.

So I picked up issue 2, and it’s pretty great. I’m pleasantly surprised by how much fun I had with this comic. There are some great jokes, Teela is really awesome, and Adora (She-Ra, to her 80s fans) is, despite being the villain (for now!), kind of butch and badass. This isn’t just an action comic, it’s an action comic with some wit, which is basically my favorite kind of comic. There’s some kind of connection with Teela and Adora, which we’ll find out next month, but naturally that sort of tease will get my brain going.

Naturally, Teela doesn’t wear much. But I have to say that it bothers me less in He-Man than it would elsewhere. Because He-Man doesn’t really wear much, nor do any of the other male heroes. Everyone sort of wears a stupidly small amount of armor on their chest along with chainmail or fur bikini bottoms. And Adora is actually fully clothed. Would I rather her shirt didn’t also act as a push up bra? Yep. But it’s not so bad that it takes me out of the story.

Favorite panel:

Marvel Comics

Avengers: The Enemy Within #1
Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick
Artist: Scott Hepburn

This is the beginning of the well-teased Enemy Within event, focusing on Captain Marvel and involving all of the Avengers. This was a great first issue for the event, pulling in the important backstory from Captain Marvel (but you should be reading Captain Marvel because it’s awesome) without banging us over the head with it. I love Carol’s interactions with her teammates and friends, and I love the way the comic book Avengers feel as a team (if that makes any sense, which it should after the heart-to-heart towards the end of the book).

I love Kelly Sue’s Carol, and I love that Carol is now such a prominent, central part of the Marvel universe.

Favorite panel:

Oni Press

Helheim #3
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Joelle Jones

This is a bit of a cheat; I read all three issues of Helheim today. This morning I asked twitter how it was, since I’m currently on a Cullen Bunn kick. He retweeted me, and a bunch of people recommended it, so here we are.  I definitely like the book, and the mystical Viking witch-feud story.  But the introduction of Kadlin in this month’s issue has locked me in. She’s super interesting already, and I can’t wait to see her as a sidekick of Death!Rikard.

As an aside, since I’m enjoying the art, something that’s occurred to me throughout has been how strange (in a good way) it seems to read a violent, bloody book that’s drawn by a woman. Does that happen often? I can’t think of any offhand. But Joelle Jones’ art is right up my alley.

So thanks for the recommendation, twitter. I’ll keep tuning in. (And yes, The Sixth Gun. But I have a small comic budget, so there’s too much to catch up with right now.)

Favorite Panel:

Book of the week: Supergirl #20

That’s it for this week. All four of my pulls were really solid, and I enjoyed them all. Weeks like this make me super happy to be a comic reader.

See you next week!

Flashback: What comic-based television series would you like to see?

ANIKA

I thought so when I first saw it and I still think so:

DREDD would make a great television series. It didn’t work as a film for me, but as the pilot for a television series that wasn’t picked up so they said ‘screw it, let’s add a bunch of nonsensical 3D and call it a movie’. . . it worked too well. I just really wish my hypothetical network that passed on “Dredd the Series” actually existed so I could bang on their door and shout WHY!

Seriously, hypothetical television network, make this!

GABBY

Well, one of my answers is already coming to life on the small screen.

As for the others, for a long while I wished Fables would become a TV show, but Once Upon a Time kind of ruined that. Not to say that OUaT isn’t good… it’s just not what I think Fables could have been. I’m also holding out hope for an Alias series, and it seems like the rumor mill agrees with me.

The TV show I would *most* like to see, though, is a Sandman series.

A series centered on the Endless siblings, it could also have an episodic quality. We could see, for example, Death interacting with various humans about to die, or Dream venture into people’s nightmares. I think there is a huge potential to exploit the sibling dynamics between the 7 Ds, and would love to see it unfold on my screen.

Superheroes are great and everything, but The Endless? They kind of rule.

MARIE

My choice has technically already been a television show, but was unfortunately canceled during its prime. Greg Weisman’s Gargoyles was an animated series that debuted in the 90s and was one my favorite shows of all time growing up. The show aged pretty well too. Looking back through the DVDs, you could see that it had plots that were well-rendered, characters with deep inner-conflict, and great dialogue that could be enjoyed by both kids and adults.

Unfortunately, Weisman left the show during the third season due to internal conflicts. By then, the show had taken a completely different direction and most fans agreed that it was non-canonical. The comic series, however, picked up where the second season left off, and answered a lot of those burgeoning questions that the third season so clearly failed at handling.

Still, while I found the comics immensely satisfying I still wish that they had actually been animated. If not Gargoyles, then at least some of the spin-off comics that Weisman had also planned like Gargoyles: Pendragon and Gargoyles: Timedancer .

My runner-up choice? Runaways. Oh my Grod, Runaways.

SAM

Last summer I took a screenwriting workshop, and for my main project I wrote a loose adaptation of Kate Spencer/Manhunter as a sort of pilot episiode teleplay. I think a Manhunter series would be a perfect mix of procedural and ass kicking martial arts bad assery.

There are reasons I think Kate Spencer would make for good TV. Besides her day job as a criminal attorney (I think prosecutor works better than defense attorney, for drama), she’s a single parent with a precocious kid, has an ex-husband who’s still involved in her life, is an on-again-off-again smoker, and has some anger issues. Basically she’s complex and, in the hands of the right actress, that would be pretty great to watch.

Of course, I know it’ll never happen. It would have way too similar a feel to the already-popular, male-driven show Arrow (which I gave up on halfway through the season). And Manhunter is even less well known in the mainstream than Green Arrow and his rogues galleries. Plus we all know how well the Wonder Woman thing went… But in a perfect world, Kate Spencer would be kicking some ass on my TV every week.

So what about you? What comic-based television series would you like to see?

Anika: Today we’re talking Iron Man 3. This conversation contains MANY SPOILERS for the film and franchise.

First, did you like it? How much? What grade might you give it?

Ali: I hate the grading system because… I just do. I always make up arbitraty numbers or letters. Like, I give Iron Man 3 a banana because it’s really good but it’s not my most favorite fruit.

Sara: I really, really enjoyed this movie. It exceeded my expectations and I spent such a long time after the movie ended remembering parts that made me happy or gasp out loud or really appreciate the genre that this movie is a part of. Iron Man was the first to kick off the Marvel Cinematic Universe and RDJ has shouldered a lot of weight since the beginning. He’s risen to the occasion and with Iron Man 3, he gave more depth to a Tony we all know well from the comics. I guess I give it an A- because I loved it, but there were weaknesses. And I am totally not as clever as Ali, forever sad about it.

Ali: Bananas aside, I agree with Sara. This installment gave Tony a LOT of depth. And I liked it for that.

Tony has a special room to display his issues.

Anika: I have to agree, this Tony Stark was my favourite Tony Stark other than the one that exists in my head … because he basically is the one that exists in my head. In every previous encounter, including Avengers, Pepper has been my favourite but in this one it was Tony. And it has a lot, if not everything, to do with his anxiety (you are not surprised) — what did you think of that arc?

Ali: I LOVED the panic attacks.

Sara: Tony was on top of the world at the beginning of the Avengers. He had the girl, the renewable energy source, the Iron Man suit, and a arc reactor that wasn’t turning his insides into sludge. He had nowhere to go but down. I really enjoyed his interactions with reality via the panic attacks.

Anika: Do you think that plotline reached a satisfactory conclusion?

Sara: Um, no. But I don’t think it was supposed to. I think that is best left up to Avengers 2, where Tony is going to have to make the concious decision to join up with the people that put him in the position of being lost in space. (I know nothing for sure, this is my guesstimation about what will happen in that movie)

Ali: I mean, it’s a bit tidy at the end because it’s a movie and it has to be. But I like that he’s having a panic attack on his way to fighting the bad guys. And I like that they show him learning to pull himself out of it.

Anika: I agree with both these points. (1) It has to be tied up for the movie but (2) the MCU is an ongoing drama . . . Just like the comic books it’s based on! Imagine that!

Sara: Word.

Ali: I like that while he’s having he first attack, he refuses to believe that’s what’s happening to him. I love Tony for his confidence and his brashness–he permantently has that youthful “I’m invincibleness”. And in this movie, he’s learning that that’s SO not the case anymore. It’s a very basic and very real lesson of growing up. And that’s really what Tony starts to do in this movie.

Anika: Which is interesting because it’s what he thought he was doing in the first movie but “coming of age” is a long journey.

Ali: It’s like Iron Man is “look at me being responsible and shit! I AM AN ADULT”, Iron Man 2 is “I AM AN ADULT YOU GUYS! I DRINK AND BLOW THINGS UP” and Avengers is “fine, I will work with you because I AM A GROWN UP NOW.” and then Iron Man 3 is “holy shit I’m an adult… this sucks.”

Sara: Yes. This movie was Tony in his late twenties.

Ali: Which I love because he should be well beyond that at this point!

Sara: I feel like Tony was in his “college years” for most of his life.

Anika: That’s what happens when you live without boundaries. Which is a great segue into Tony’s boundaries: Pepper and Rhodey. I want to start with Rhodey because I cannot say enough great things about him.

Ali: I love Rhodey. And I love Don Cheadle. But it’s like when Jim Henson passed away and the Muppets all sounded wrong.

Anika: I sort of felt that way in 2, but not here. Here he owned it.

Sara: What? Why?! I vastly prefer Don Cheadle to Terrence Howard!

Ali: I keep expecting Terrance Howard and Don Cheadle seems to be doig a psuedo impersonation of Howard and it’s weird to me.

Sara: I think Don Cheadle really pulled off the wry and dry comedy that is needed for the role of Rhodey. And the scene with Rhodey and Tony in the resteraunt was everything I ever wanted for a post-Avengers Tony.

Ali: That restuarant scene was perfect.

Anika: I don’t have a preference for Howard or Cheadle — I wasn’t really invested in the character in the first two films. Only in his relationship to Tony. But in this film, well, Rhodey Rox!

Sara: I love how, like Cap, his patriotism and some what old school brand of heroism comes off as sincere and admirable, rather than douchey and two dimensional.

Ali: Yes!

Sara: He’s a perfect foil for the flashy and grandstanding rebel that is Tony and it’s why he works so well in this movie. This narrative was about Tony falling to pieces and needing something to hold onto. Rhodey (and Pepper) is that stability. He is steadfast and true and so very necessary to Tony’s development.

Anika: Now Pepper.

Ali: PEPPER FREAKING POTTS

Sara: Bless GP, that woman is flaw-free.

Ali: At the end? With the fire ninja stuff? She’s just the best ever.

Sara: My precious, kickass Pepperpot.

Anika: Y’all know I love Pepper. Pepper has been my girl since the first movie. But…

Ali: I love how at the start of the movie Tony’s all “I have to protect you because I can’t lose you.” And Pepper’s freaking Pepper. She’s capable and can take care of herself AND Tony. And I love, love, LOVE that they let her save him, in a very physical way, not once but TWICE.

Sara: “Got you.” I think that broke me so many times.

Ali: She is the very opposite of a damsel in distress.

Anika: But but but…. she was already. She was that in the first movie. In both the first and second films she literally runs INTO distress to save the day. Everybody loves kickass fire ninja hardcore Pepper and I’m over here all SHE WAS ALREADY PERFECT.

Sara: That’s the thing. Whether she’s in 4 inch Louboutins or overheating in spandex and sports bras, Pepper has always been HBIC. Because, so unlike Tony, she knows that her emotions (her worries, her grasp of reality) are not something to be avoided or buried. They are there to make you strong and that’s why she’s always been a HBIC and she’s always been Tony’s rock, even while she is tearing up or teetoring over the edge of some building. Pepper Potts is a woman that won’t let anything stop her from doing what needs to be done.

Ali: She was and she did. But I think with the other movies, it’s not as apparent to Tony.

Anika: I disagree, in the first she’s the one he counts on and in the second he gives her his company.

Ali: Like she’s saving the day and putting herself in danger, but she’s helping Tony. In this movie, she’s saving Tony.

Sara: Physically, maybe. But I think Pepper is a huge reason why Tony hasn’t expired in a pool of his own vomit. Or why he got up in the morning and did real people things. Pepper has been saving Tony ever since he met her.

Anika: I do love the ‘Got you’ scene but I didn’t love the end as much. “That was really violent” was maybe my favourite line reading in the whole movie but it WAS really violent which felt kinda off.

Sara: It was terrifying.

Anika: Though it may be all tied up in my general dislike of Killian as a villain. For me, the scene plays better in the rewrite in my head…

Ali: Did anyone notice his dragon tattoos? I was totally distracted by them.

Anika: Yeah, they popped out at the end there. I guess because he’s the real Mandarin??

Sara: Ooooooh, I didn’t get that from before.

This is the best image of the tattoos I could find. To make up for it Caroline sent me Guy Pearce unbuttoned with tiger cubs.

Ali: Like, were they there the whole time? Why don’t they blend in with the general fireness of his skin? Do you think he got them when he was still all pimply? Or did he get them because he got all bad ass?

Sara: I’d guess the latter.

Ali: I think he got them right after the roof-top incident. “I’ll show you Tony Stark! Look at my bad-ass dragons!”

Anika: Ahahaha, that is my headcanon now.

Sara: Same.

Anika: So, how strong did you find the villains? Killian, Maya, “Mandarin”?

Ali: I loved the twist with the Mandarin. I thought it was brilliant. Well, I thought Ben Kingsley as Trevor was brilliant.

Anika: I started to suspect something when they were discussing “the Master” but I really enjoyed that, yes.

Sara: This is just the most brillant of analyses and everyone needs to read this at some point. It says anything I want to say about it.

Ali: I was kinda bummed Maya ended up being Team Bad Guy.

Anika: That’s in my rewrite-the-ending too! There is no reason for her to be dead. And she cared about Tony AND Pepper. I wanted and expected her to come back for the final battle.

Ali: I mean, she wasn’t a bad guy-bad guy. And I can see how she ended up there. But still. I had a sad. I think her getting killed goes back to the “really violent” thing. Killian is REALLY violent. Just insanely so. So I guess that went into establishing that?

Anika: I didn’t get Killian. Or I wanted him to be better I guess. I think the drama was that even Killian 2.0 was not a good enough foil for Tony Stark… But I wish that was more explicit or they played with it more or Tony realized it?

Sara: Charisma is a poor substitute for genius and that is what Killian tried to pull over on everyone.

Ali: I’m kind of glad he wasn’t that great a foil. Because I think we got to see and appreciate more of Tony’s struggle with Tony. I think if they developed Killian and Mandarin more it would have competed too much.

Anika: I don’t think I want more development, I just thought the themes that I was drawn to were too vague? So I don’t know if they were intentional? Which usually doesn’t bother me, but it does here.

Sara: I agree. I kept waiting for a bigger plot or bigger bad, I guess. As it was, I never understood what Killian was getting at.

Anika: Yeah, what was he even trying to do?

Ali: He was evil and trying to take over the world, duh.

No one can grasp my evil plan.

Anika: I must assume the VP plot is on the cutting room floor somewhere because it was super random. Also, unrelated, why did this movie come out in May and not for Christmas?

Sara: To sell the DVD for Christmas?

Ali: Ha! I was thinking the same thing – with all the holiday stuff.

Sara: Yeah, Aldrich even kind of rhymes with the Grinch. If I were more clever, I would rewrite the song with appropriate and funny lyrics. But, alas.

Ali: Look, every bad guy can’t be Loki.

Anika: Hey, I’d settle for Justin Hammer.

Sara: Marvel villians aren’t good enough for me.

Anika: There are two more supporting characters to discuss, Happy and Harley. Aside: Everyone in this movie has a crazy name.

From the junior novelization.

Sara: It’s hilarious to me that with Jon Favereau’s demotion from director also had Happy demoted to even less screentime.

Anika: He had more to do though.

Ali: I was gonna say, Happy actually did stuff in this one!

Anika: He was pretty lovable.

Sara: Happy is always lovable and Tony described him as his best friend. Adorbs and totally insulting to Rhodey. Just what Tony strives in life to do.

Anika: And I liked the kid. I liked that Tony basically treated him like one of his robots, which really is more affection than he affords the average person.

Ali: Ha! He did! The kid took the place of the robot!

Harley is the Tin Dog.

Sara: I loved that comic relief. So needed!

Ali: I love how genius that kid was.

Anika: I liked how normal the town was, too. Like it wasn’t dumbed down or full of freaks just because it was small town Tennessee instead of New York or Malibu. I think the crux of it is I really loved all the details in this movie, but the big picture not as much.

How about we wrap up with favourite moments?

Ali: Pepper and Maya being all serious talking about life and real stuff. I saw it and I was like OMG BECHDEL TEST!

Anika: Passed!

Sara: YESSSSSSSSSSSSS

Ali: HURRAH!

Ali: I was so excited!

Sara: It’s sad how excited we get because it almost never happens.

Ali: I think that’s why I was so upset she ended up being a villain because she had this really great moment with Pepper.

Anika: I am convinced she had a change of heart because of Pepper.

Sara: Her death was just so stupid.

Ali: Joss Whedon TOTES would have killed her.

Sara: Yeah, but in a better way!

Ali: I think Maya was totally honest and real in that conversation. She wasn’t just trying to manipulate Pepper.

Anika: Right! And Pepper surprised her by understanding. And then she sees Killian hurting Pepper and using her… it’s not faith in Tony that changes her mind, it’s Pepper.

Near death experiences change a person.

Anika: Also, I ship it.

Sara: Lol, of course.

Anika: I think the rest of her story was cut too. But she can come back. I will start a petition to put her in an Avengers film.

Sara: Where do I sign?

Anika: Other favourite moments:

Ali: Ummmmmmm……giant bunny?

Sara: Barrel of Monkeys.

Ali: Good one! Puppy dog eyes not working?

Anika: When Tony had empty armor walking around and Pepper did not bat one eyelash. She didn’t even look at it.

Ali: Ooh! Ohh! Trevor and the stinky bathroom!

Sara: I was so distracted by Pepper’s abs and Rhodey’s arms for the entirety of that last scene.

Anika: Tony going back for DUM-E. I could cry.

Ali: SCIENCE BROS and the after-credit scene!!!!

Anika’s Rewrite:

Pepper whacks Killian with the pipe.
Tony: I got nothing.
Pepper engages Killian in a debate… “Why are you DOING this? This isn’t YOU?”
Killian: Exactly!
He starts to monologue about his cray idea that anonymity is power and he can be anything and anyone even Tony Stark!
Pepper: You’re nothing like Tony Stark. You chose to be nothing.
Killian: *rage*
Tony: Come on, Pep, he’s not worth our time.
Killian: *RAGE*
Killian goes in for the kill on retreating Tony and Pepper.
Maya appears and blasts him out of the sky.
Pepper: That was really –
Tony: Hot, yes.

Maya Hansen for Avengers 2!

First, I listened to some feedback and I’m going to start listing writer(s), and artist(s) for each title. So please keep feedback coming in, because it helps me make this a better experience for everyone.

Second, I have a pretty small pull list this week.  But since last Saturday was Free Comic Book Day, I’m going to throw in a few of the titles I picked up via Comixology.

That’s it! Here we go.

DC Comics:

Justice League of America #3
Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils Brett Booth, Inks: Norm Rapmund

The main reason I started reading JLA was because I’ve been enjoying the Justice League book, really liked the way they handled Steve Trevor, and wanted to follow him to his new title. I haven’t really been disappointed.  I like pretty much everyone on the team (my issues with post-reboot Green Arrow aside), and I like that they’ve been explicitly set up as a counter-Justice League, in case those big scary superheroes ever go rogue… which we kind of know they’re going to do.

This issue was part resolution and part set up, and I like that that set up includes Catwoman (including the focus of the Martian Manhunter backup).  I only read a couple of issues of her post-reboot title, but I always enjoy a good female antihero.  There aren’t enough of them out there. Plus I really like the team dynamics, which they’re continuing to flesh out.  I hope they let Stargirl kick some butt sooner rather than later, at the very least so there’s more than one woman in the “field”. I get setting her up as the face of the JLA, but the face should at least throw a few punches.

Is it weird for me to say I’m surprised by how solid the two Justice League titles are? I expect Marvel to be better on the team books, but JLA remains pretty good in issue 3, and I’m interested in where it’s going.

Favorite panel:

Marvel Comics

Fearless Defenders #4
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Arist: Will Sliney

This will come as absolutely no surprise to anyone who follows me on twitter, but I love Fearless Defenders.  This is another one of those “I didn’t expect to but I love it” titles, and sits pretty firmly in my top five favorite ongoing comics list. I’ve read some critiques of the art, and… yes, it does suffer from a few of the classic, sadly still-used tropes of drawing women in comics, but I really think the story surpasses those occasional lapses.

I had three “laugh out loud” moments in this month’s issue, and I will always appreciate a comic book – or anything else, for that matter – that can balance humor, drama, and action.  I appreciate the revelations about Valkyrie’s past, and that the story didn’t take three or four issues to inform us.  I also appreciate that they seem to be building up whatever’s happening between Annabelle and Valkyrie; it wasn’t a one-off silly crush thing, but it’s also on a slow burn path.  Perfect. The chemistry – romantic, platonic, and rival… ic – between the characters is awesome, and I’m super excited for some of the upcoming cameos (Jess Drew!).

Favorite panel:

Free Comic Book Day!

I didn’t go out on FCBD this year, but I browsed through Comixology’s offerings, on the hunt for something new and different, preferably with a strong female character presence. Of course, I can only judge the book by its cover and brief description, but I think it turned out fairly well.

Aphrodite IX v2 #1
Publisher: Image Comics (Top Cow)
Writer: Matt Hawkins
Artist: Stjepan Sejic

So this is a post-apocalyptic fantasy where there are two warring groups of humans, one that uses cybernetics to enhance themselves and one that uses genetic engineering to enhance themselves.  Naturally they hate each other.  Then one of them stumbles upon a stasis chamber, and Aphrodite IX (who’s genetically engineered and cybernetically enhanced to be an assassin) falls into his lap.

Literally.

I like the art and I really like the idea of this world, but so far… I mean, literally into his lap.  And he’s got a wife who is immediately jealous of her. I’m not sure I like what it’s setting up, at least as far as the female characters go. I may check it out for a few more issues. Hopefully that’ll improve.

Favorite panel:

Molly Danger/Princeless
Publisher: Action Lab
Writers: Jamal Igle/Jeremy Whitley
Artists: Jamal Igle/Emily Martin

This is actually two stories in one, both of them starring girl superheroes. Molly Danger wears a ton of pink, has pigtails, and rides in something called the Mollymobile. Princeless is about Princess Raven Xingtao, who’s been waiting for a prince to rescue her from her tower, but instead Adrienne Ashe and her friend Bedelia show up, because “no girl deserves to be locked in a tower.”

Molly Danger was successfully funded on Kickstarter, I guess. And there’s already a six-issue first volume of Princeless.  Which I will now start reading regularly. I’d never heard of either of these titles before, but now I’m interested.  Success, FCBD!

Favorite panels:

Book of the Week: Fearless Defenders
FCBD Favorite: Molly Danger/Princeless

And that’s it for this week! Yay comics!