The Big Picture: Super Single

[Therumancer]

Hmmm, well I don't think Wonder Woman and Superman is a bad pairing, I could see them trying to make it work given the long-term association of the characters. Wonder Woman always struck me as being Bi-, and to be honest from a certain perspective someone like Superman might be the only man she considers worthy of her.

As a storyline, them getting together, having it work for a bit, and then breaking up due to the differances might be interesting. Especially if Wonder Woman has a lot of girl lovers and this is revealed as something that had been going on for a while. Especially if sex is kind of a political thing for her as much as anything.

An interesting sidestory might be if in the midst of them realizing that it's not going to work you had Wonder Woman apparently killed, in such a way that leaves Superman as the king of a certain mystical island that has long standing issues with the idea of superpowerful men due to a guy called Hercules. Given that Superman is a giant boyscout, and the Amazons might have trouble dealing with that... complete with attemps to murder him, while he continually saves the island along with the rest of humanity, there is some story potential there as a temporary thing... and it's resolvable when Diana comes back from where ever.

Maybe not that evolution of things paticularly (it's an off the cuff idea) but the point is that there is some story potential behind a Wonder Woman/Superman relationship that lasts more than a few issues. It's not something that has to last forever, but simply exploring the reasons why it might happen, and why it probably wouldn't work would be... interesting, and the pressure Diana most likely being a Bi-gal puts on the relationship, preventing it from staying in the backround as much as before could be the catalyst to bringing it out there.

Other than that, I'm more miffed with Superman apparently renouncing US citizenship than the whole breakup of his marriage. I understand the reasoning for it, but when it goes so far as actually making a point over having him do it formally in the comics... I think it's tasteless political posturing. It's more about the writers wanting to make a point than anything, and to me this kind of garbage is what has derailed things like Marvel's "Civil War".

 

[Souplex]

You mention the whole spiderman married/single debate, but honestly; we all know Spiderman works best as a teenager.

 

[Xenominim]

Darn, I was hoping this one would be about our new Black Spiderman. I wanna hear more about Marvel's decision to kill off peter parker.

They're not killing off Peter Parker though. They're killing off the 'Ultimate' version of Peter Parker which is basically an alternate universe version that was made up 10 years ago or so. The regular Peter Parker from the 60's is still alive and well.

 

[JasonBurnout16]

While I really enjoy these videos shortening the stories of the comics down, it does make me sad to think that most of these comics and characters have such a massive backstory, that I'll never understand it all.

 

[bladeofdarkness]

he named TWO big results of the reboot, and then talks about the one that is LESS interesting.

what about Barbara Gordon being able to walk again ?
does this mean she was never shot by the Joker ?
if so then this means :

A)No Oracle
B)No Birds of prey
C)No Cassandra Cain and (by extension) Stephanie Brown as Batgirl.

Congrats DC...
You just managed to erase 3 of my Favorite Elements in the DC universe from existing.
Bravo.

the Batgirl thing in praticular annoys me because, while i like Barbara Gordon a lot, she doesn't have all that much setting her apart as Batgirl.
as Oracle, she's a force to be reckoned with in the DC-verse.
but as Batgirl... she's diminished
she doesn't have the more interesting elements that make the follow on Batgirls unique.
she doesn't have Cassandra Cains insane combat skills and weird communications issues.
she doesn't have Stephanie Browns entire "she's basically the biggest screw up of the Batman family who is trying to redeem herself" angle that makes her so endearing.
hell, one of the best parts of the Newer Batgirl series is the fact that BOTH of them have a complex mentor/apprentice relationship with Barbara (especially Stephanie).
as Oracle, Barbara Gordon is an amazing character, and probably one of my top 3 characters in the DC-verse.
as Batgirl, she's just another masked crime fighter in a city where you can't throw a stick in the air without it landing on a masked crime fighter.

and they are having Gail Simone do the writing for the new series, which to me seems like a hail Mary pass.
they knew that this would be problematic
aside from erasing the characters i named, it also means removing what is probably the DC-verse prime example of a disabled person who is nevertheless a superhero.
having Gail Simone writing Barbara Gordon as batgirl seems like a dream come true on some levels...
but i can't help but feel that the price is too high.

 

[Okysho]

Darn, I was hoping this one would be about our new Black Spiderman. I wanna hear more about Marvel's decision to kill off peter parker.

They're not killing off Peter Parker though. They're killing off the 'Ultimate' version of Peter Parker which is basically an alternate universe version that was made up 10 years ago or so. The regular Peter Parker from the 60's is still alive and well.

Regardless (how is that different from superman hooks up with wonderwoman in an alternate universe anyways?) I still would like to hear how Marvel reached this decision. I'm not going to try and understand what the point of the alternate universes are for (especially not after reading marvel zombies) I'm just curious, besides it'd make a good episode.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

I don't agree with removing the red underwear Bob. Weren't you the guy who advocated going back to the old school Batman costume in the films instead of the bulky power armor?

 

[GiantRaven]

Does nobody realise this isn't a complete reboot? DC has stated again and again that they aren't restarting from zero. A brief glance at the Batman and Green Lantern books will tell you that. Whilst there are some tweaks to previous continuity (from the looks of things - Justice League, Superman, Teen Titans), it isn't as widespread and pervasive as most people seem to be thinking. The biggest thing about this relaunch (yes, 'relaunch', not 'reboot') is mostly the costume redesigns and a more diversified book line, coupled with a synchronised point at which any person can jump in reading. This isn't about erasing old continuity, it's about bringing in new readers.

Of course, whether or not it will succeed is open to interpretation.

What about the marriage of Green Arrow and Black Canary ? that was stable.

You're fuckin' kidding, right?

 

[CatmanStu]

I always thought a good way to deal with comic book marriage was to have the "regular" half of the couple develop a drinking habit to deal with the constant worry and stress.

If Mary Jane had become an alcoholic at least it would have given Spidey something else to keep harping on about every ten issues. Instead of "boo hoo, I killed my uncle; I can never relax again" or "boo hoo, I killed my girlfriend; I can never love again", we could have "boo hoo, I put my wife in rehab; I can never have anything to do with anyone ever again."

I loved the character and the comics for a long time (still like the character at it's core) but damn, the writers do like to make him a whiny ***** sometimes.

OT: As far as Superman and Lois being split up; I can see the arguments for it, but it just seems like something that would make him less connected to humanity to me.

 

[ManupBatman]

Bob are you familiar with The Sentry? Pretty much Marvel's early 2000s ultra realistic version of Superman that has a cooler concept then most writers can handle if your not. Though more on topic, they show how the most powerful person in the world probably gets along with marrying a normal person, and that is not well. Not well at all.

And I hope they keep Supes single for a while and play the field a bit. Nothing says "internal strife that you simply solve by throwing it in the Sun" like a woman, am I right fellas?............. Yeah I'm totally right.

 

[Draitheryn]

I'm enjoying all of Bob's videos, even though big picture is 50% comics and I've never read them, I still find them interesting. Keep up the good work.

 

[Sabrestar]

Good and convincing arguments, Bob. I went in disagreeing with you and I think I still do, but your points are sound and well argued. (I also haven't read comics in twenty years, so I'm not really in a position to comment fairly on them.) Good job.

 

[protogenxl]

Wonder Woman + Superman = A-ko

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Bob are you familiar with The Sentry? Pretty much Marvel's early 2000s ultra realistic version of Superman that has a cooler concept then most writers can handle if your not. Though more on topic, they show how the most powerful person in the world probably gets along with marrying a normal person, and that is not well. Not well at all.

And I hope they keep Supes single for a while and play the field a bit. Nothing says "internal strife that you simply solve by throwing it in the Sun" like a woman, am I right fellas?............. Yeah I'm totally right.

And then Sentry devolved into an invincible, boring, irritating character nobody liked. Nobody at Marvel knew what the hell to do with the guy.

 

[Farson89]

he named TWO big results of the reboot, and then talks about the one that is LESS interesting.

what about Barbara Gordon being able to walk again ?
does this mean she was never shot by the Joker ?

Nope, all that stuff happened, she was Oracle, Cass and Steph were Batgirls and BOP happened. Babs is getting 'fixed' somehow.

Regardless (how is that different from superman hooks up with wonderwoman in an alternate universe anyways?) I still would like to hear how Marvel reached this decision. I'm not going to try and understand what the point of the alternate universes are for (especially not after reading marvel zombies) I'm just curious, besides it'd make a good episode.

The basic point of the Ultimate Universe is to tell stories that simply can't happen (mostly because of the inevitable fan bitching) in the regular Marvel universe, such as Peter Parker dying a heroic death and inspiring another young man to take up the Spidey mantle.

The reason they decided to tell this particular story is that the various writers and editors thought it would be a good story, simple as that.

 

[ryo02]

on a kinda related note Sonic the hedgehog should get a fricken girlfriend allready.

as for superman and wonder woman "project A-KO" its hinted at that they are Ako's parents and it looks like they retired from the super hero thing.

 

[Aisaku]

what about Barbara Gordon being able to walk again ?

You're not alone there... even if there is going to be a Birds of Prey series, Oracle is nowhere to be seen. Even if for some reason Barbara got the use of her legs back, how would that make sense for her to go back crimefighting as BatGIRL? *facepalm*

As for the video... I disagree. I understand the real world parallel of army wives but still knowing their spouse is going to be in constant danger does not prevent them from getting married, does it?

It does boil down to what was said above, running out of ideas, and trying to make sense of a world where time does not lapse and things have to stay the same and still appealing. They're just stirring the pot just to keep reader's attention, not by the quality of their work but by ticking them off. *shrug*

 

[hermes]

What are we going to do with all those "Superman is the only man who wears his underwear over his pants" jokes?

 

[ComicsAreWeird]

I think that putting Clark through a dating process could be entertaining. Usually Superman stories are fun, but his alter-ego is dull. This could be just what the comic needs.

 

[Little Duck]

Could we have an alternate universe where the superheroes armour of choice isn't latex?