The Big Picture: The Girl of Tomorrow

[Falseprophet]

Wow, this is why I don't much care for comics. So damned confusing. Is the New 52 less annoyingly confusing with less bullshit? Or is it just the same?

Yeah, it's why I could never really dive into superhero comics. I gravitated to creator-owned titles, Wildstorm Comics briefly (until they quickly got as convoluted as Marvel and DC, and now are part of the DC Universe), and DC Vertigo books. The only DC superhero comics I really got into were some of the Bat-Family books in the 1990s, especially Birds of Prey and Nightwing. Most of the characters didn't have superpowers, just awesome physical and investigative skills, and the villains were mostly the same, and stories tended to focus on Gotham, not saving the universe. Once in a while Superman or Wonder Woman might drop by, but you didn't need to be up to date on everything going on in their titles.

um... ok im lost do they acctually care about their characters it seems like one feeble plot contrivance after another, just to keep continutiy. what if something dosnt fit or if it is too contrived or just sucks waay too much then scrap it as non cannon. dont comeup with an excuse for getting rid of a crappy plotline tell every one oops and try again. i dont understand this need to link these things. jsut blank slate it

In their defense, we're talking about characters that have been around for up to 70+ years, most of whom had at least one, and sometimes several, comic books about them come out every month for many of those decades, and since the rise of the direct market in the last 30 years or so, have mostly been bought by the same hardcore group of 16-40 year old neckbeards who thrive on the continuity--and the vast majority of writers, artists, and editors come from the same group of fans. So what do you do? Appease the few thousand hardcores who are keeping you afloat, or try to branch out and risk failing utterly? Once in a while, Marvel or DC try to do both, which is where things like Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Marvel Ultimates line, and the New 52 come from. But generally, they stay the course and appeal to the existing fanbase, which isn't smart long-term thinking, but there you go.

The more successful movie and series adaptations of superhero comics tend to be those that jettison most of the continuity that only appeals to those few thousand hardcore fans, while focusing on the foundations of the characters, which have more universal appeal. E.g. teenaged nerd gets spider-like superpowers, fails to stop a criminal from killing his uncle, and now feels responsible for fighting crime. Really easy to understand. That same guy married to a supermodel, but in actuality a clone of himself, and he and his wife sell their wedded bliss to the Devil to bring his aunt back to life? WTF?

 

[btenkink]

This one definitely reinforces Bob's "MOVIES ARE WEEEIIIRRRD!" slogan. My head is spinning!

 

[DeadMG]

You know, I hate to say it, but I thought this episode sucked. Bob just seemed to be recounting Supergirl's Wikipedia page. I was like, "But why does all of this comic book character history actually matter?". The other two episodes on Supergirl seemed fine to me.

 

[franksands]

It's episodes like this that remind me that I'm not missing out on anything important from not reading comic books.

You should know that superhero comics (mostly DC and Marvel) are a small part of comics on the whole, there is a lot of great stuff with no capes or underwear over the pants. Check out some of the Image new comics like Saga or Chew.

 

[Loop Stricken]

That Fallen Angle cover, that's Illyria guest starring? As in, one of the greatest moments in the history of facepunch Illyria?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH-cfA30wl0

I miss Illyria. She was great. Amy Acker as a sexy monster-girl...

Next week: Supergirl

So I wasn't the only one thinking "That's a supiciously specific denial".

 

[franksands]

In their defense, we're talking about characters that have been around for up to 70+ years, most of whom had at least one, and sometimes several, comic books about them come out every month for many of those decades, and since the rise of the direct market in the last 30 years or so, have mostly been bought by the same hardcore group of 16-40 year old neckbeards who thrive on the continuity--and the vast majority of writers, artists, and editors come from the same group of fans. So what do you do? Appease the few thousand hardcores who are keeping you afloat, or try to branch out and risk failing utterly? Once in a while, Marvel or DC try to do both, which is where things like Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Marvel Ultimates line, and the New 52 come from. But generally, they stay the course and appeal to the existing fanbase, which isn't smart long-term thinking, but there you go.

The more successful movie and series adaptations of superhero comics tend to be those that jettison most of the continuity that only appeals to those few thousand hardcore fans, while focusing on the foundations of the characters, which have more universal appeal. E.g. teenaged nerd gets spider-like superpowers, fails to stop a criminal from killing his uncle, and now feels responsible for fighting crime. Really easy to understand. That same guy married to a supermodel, but in actuality a clone of himself, and he and his wife sell their wedded bliss to the Devil to bring his aunt back to life? WTF?

I think it's impossible to maintain a good coherent compelling story for more than 10 years. Five, if you cut the fillers and bullshit to a minimum. That's why I like the japanese model better: create one story, develop it, finish and be done with it. With rare exceptions, the japanese mangas never have sequels after it's done.

 

[Aureliano]

Now I'm kinda sad there wont be another episode on supergirl. It's not often we get to hear about a female superheroine who isn't Wonder Woman, Catwoman or whoever Scarjo was playing in Avengers. Unlike superman whose invulnerability just serves to play up his manness, it's kinda refreshing to have a female character who's the toughest dude around.

Also as a card-carrying supporter of 'team boobies' I give this three-part series an animated thumbs up.

 

[Ken_J]

"Made a pretty good movie" no it didn't.

 

[Lunar Templar]

so, a 4 part super girl phaze eh?

i'm down with it

 

[Jennacide]

The best part of this whole trifecta was that running commentary at the end. That made me smile so wide.

 

[gphjr14]

Glad we're moving on, definitely didn't see Super Girl needing this much coverage but there you go...

 

[Mega_Manic]

So wait Christianity and Greek mythology both exists in the dc universe?
Did any writer ever do anything with that fact? Establish how that works?

Not really. Magic in the DC universe is kinda underutilized. That changed a bit with 52, but I'm not sure if they did anything with it.

And usually it's not chariot of the gods stuff. God is actually God, Satan is actually Satan, Ares is actually Ares and what ever. You'd think they'd screw around with it more but besides Zatanna there really aren't any consistently active magic users (to my dated knowledge).

 

[Eri]

Soooo... I guess that means it's too late to get into this? I mean, where do you start?

Seriously? And people say Metal Gear is convoluted... (it is, but this is completely off the charts in comparison).

Wow, this is why I don't much care for comics. So damned confusing. Is the New 52 less annoyingly confusing with less bullshit? Or is it just the same?

It's not hard to start. Start with the New 52, I did, and I love it so far. Plus 52 version of her looks awesome.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Ok, that got rather confusing quickly, which Supergirl's that came from the rocket (the one that's based from that animated film) is from well which version?
Also nice way to continue speaking when the credit roll.

 

[XDravond]

This explains a lot...
If you want to understand what is happening and every long time fan is talking about you better pile up the comics and start reading 70 years of backstory... And whilst at it you might consider a time machine and a moneyprinter while you're at it because it will eat a few decades of constant reading and buying to get all this... Or to shorten it down and lots of simplification supergirl exist due to super-boobies, more or less anyway.
How many times can they kill a character like supergirl before every reader abandoned them? or is it more of a how frequent they do it...?

I do have this feeling talking about supergirl could go on for quite a while with that ending it did however make me laugh for quite some time...

It's episodes like this that remind me that I'm not missing out on anything important from not reading comic books.

You should know that superhero comics (mostly DC and Marvel) are a small part of comics on the whole, there is a lot of great stuff with no capes or underwear over the pants. Check out some of the Image new comics like Saga or Chew.

I definitely second Chew there And anyone missed Atomic Robo it's hilarious..


But what many "I don't read comics because they are to complicated to get in to" people miss is that comics are way more than Marvel & DCs big characters and latest spin-offs.
One of my favorite comics that isn't really superhero etc is Gunnerkrigg Court, witch biggest resemblance with Marvel & DC is that it can be described as a "graphical novel", witch I think is just a finer name for comic.

I have never found superman et all interesting enough to be worth the time and effort, however the recent movies are short and self-explained enough so they actually appeal to the people who isn't long time fans of the series. So the comic giants probably understands that many feel a bit scared of the huge universes they have created and are trying to simplify things, before it seems it was just done by separate universes and killing characters..

 

[Shameless]

Finally, someone else who doesn't like Smallville !

 

[Mr_Terrific]

Thanks for explaining the Supergirl Cir-El of Superman+Batman. I own all of them and at no point do they explain who the girl with the "S" that's trapped...in a trap with Superboy. By the way...the animation is fine, but the comic is much much better.

As for Supergirl and Powergirl now...Supergirl is off to a decent start. She doesn't like or trust Superman or anyone aside from her one friend on Earth. Powergirl is a monthly excuse for anime style battle damage. Seriously, she's been partially naked every issue, but what's weird is how it completely makes sense. She's indestructible but her poorly designed suit is not. I was never a fan of Powergirl and this new book wont change that. It is, however, the only way to read Huntress so that's that. How they've both managed to avoid Superman/Supergirl and Batman so far is a mystery to me.

Anyway, as convoluted as Supergirls backstory is, she's no where near as bad as Capt. Marvel Carol Danvers (sound familiar?) or any number of DC and Marvel heroins.

 

[Aardvaarkman]

Comics are weird.

 

[Vausch]

Wow, this is why I don't much care for comics. So damned confusing. Is the New 52 less annoyingly confusing with less bullshit? Or is it just the same?

No, not really.

Essentially they're taking almost everything that ever happened in the last 70+ years and saying it all happened over a 5 year time period, leaving out certain parts (I'm guessing a few of the universe rebootings are getting left out), Green Lantern's mythos and timeline wasn't effected at all so there's still the original 4 Earth GLs plus a new guy who's mask I continue to laugh at, and some things just seem to have been ignored, erased, folded (Wally West doesn't seem to exist yet as a Flash despite getting his powers before Bart Allen was born and he was the fastest of all the Flashes).

And they re-wrote Wonder Woman's mythos so she's no longer a clay statue given life by the Greek gods because her mother wanted a child and given powers based on their own, now she's the result of an affair between Hypolita and Zeus. The same origin as Wonder Girl. Fail.

And last up there's the complaint I still have about Billy Batson being turned from a kind-hearted innocent boy scout into a rude little shit that insulted the people that were going to adopt him behind their backs and and acts rude toward people that are only trying to befriend him. Granted I did see hints of the old Billy in there when he stopped some bullies from picking on his adoptive brother but it still feels wrong.

Honestly if you want to read comics but are confused by the history, it helps to just read them near a computer. See a character you don't know but seems really important or interesting? Look it up on the Marvel or DC wiki. Bob wasn't kidding when he said comic databases tend to be the most well-kept and accurate pages.