I loved the absolute hell out of Avengers, in almost every respect. I think I had two complaints, very minor. The first being that there wasn’t really an original theme I could hum when I left, like with Thor and Cap, but that was mitigated by the use of their themes in the movies rather cleverly. The other was the scene where Black Widow kind of huddled up and nearly cried after the Hulk attacked her. It frustrated me because I didn’t buy it. The character, as defined, is tough as hell, and even when Loki is POUNDING on her, she keeps her shit together, and then rather arbitrarily she has the scene where she falls apart after the Hulk attacks her, and then she has that moment with Barton where she suggested she was “compromised.” It’s not that I couldn’t see that happening, it’s that I saw it happen specifically to HER in a movie where she’s surrounded by guys who, in the face of death, do not cry, fall apart, or claim to be compromised. I wouldn’t say it was sexist, but it did give me a nagging feeling of discomfort I haven’t yet fully sussed.
I think there’s something up with Widow, character-wise… some button that the Hulk specifically was pushing. It wasn’t just the attack scene. We also saw it in her initial meeting with Banner. She seemed really spooked by his outburst. A lot more than she should’ve been. I think Whedon’s got something in the works there, in the background, to be revealed in the future.
That said, I’d say there’s still a vague undercurrent of sexism in the movie. It wasn’t as bad as I feared it’d be, but it was still there, and it wasn’t helped by having this particular flaw on this one character, who happens to be the only prominent woman in the story.
Still, Natasha’s a significant improvement over ‘woman whose power is to turn small, insignificant and annoying’. Hopefully, the ongoing evolution of the Avengers property will continue to move it further away from this legacy shortcoming.
He is certainly not in the narrative to be a Cousin Oliver. 🙂
This is the beginning of Squirt’s broader arc, and it also feeds into one of the other central mysteries of the book. Unfortunately, if I say anything more than that, I give away the game. Either way… the next few days are rad. Dex REALLY knocked out what I was going for, and I can’t wait for you guys to see what he did.
Oh, I know you were joking. My deadpan snark clearly does not communicate well over the internet.
All joking aside, I really thought Squirt was kind of an incidental, meant more to set up the idea of a younger Charlie, like Billie(Billy?) coming around, and to introduce time travel as an idea. Much like Charlene sets up the idea of a female Charlie and helps express the sheer diversity of Charlies that can be and are present, you know?
I didn’t think Squirt would have his own individual arc, especially because he is so MUCH younger than all the other Charlies. I would be just as surprised if Charlene or Nerd got their own them-centric arcs.
Leo has a clear arc, as does Charlene, as does Billie an Squirt. Nerd has one, but I’m not sure if it’s for the main storyline or a short story. It all depends on the Multifarious Charlie, who you’ll meet in about a year.
Squirt’s arc definitely involves time, power, and the consequences of mucking with it, but the same could be said of all the Charlie’s. There’s something special about Squirt beyond his age, though, as you’ll see.
Awesome page. Love the panel layout. Excellent work, Dex!
Thank you Kate!
I KNEW staying up for the release would be worth it. Holy crap, this is great. Dex, you keep outdoing yourself.
Thank you Stephen! 🙂
Beautiful layout work. No two pages are the same. I love it.
Thank you. More to come. 🙂
If possible, things just got even more interesting. This definitely reinforces my theory.
Just for my interests, if you don’t mind, what’s your theory?
*Grabs extradimensional translocator* “12:01 am Wednesday, 12:01 am Wednesday, 12:01 am Wednesday.”
In the first panel, Squirt looks very…real.
Neal, now that the excitement has washed away, did you like the Avengers and what was your biggest nitpick?
I loved the absolute hell out of Avengers, in almost every respect. I think I had two complaints, very minor. The first being that there wasn’t really an original theme I could hum when I left, like with Thor and Cap, but that was mitigated by the use of their themes in the movies rather cleverly. The other was the scene where Black Widow kind of huddled up and nearly cried after the Hulk attacked her. It frustrated me because I didn’t buy it. The character, as defined, is tough as hell, and even when Loki is POUNDING on her, she keeps her shit together, and then rather arbitrarily she has the scene where she falls apart after the Hulk attacks her, and then she has that moment with Barton where she suggested she was “compromised.” It’s not that I couldn’t see that happening, it’s that I saw it happen specifically to HER in a movie where she’s surrounded by guys who, in the face of death, do not cry, fall apart, or claim to be compromised. I wouldn’t say it was sexist, but it did give me a nagging feeling of discomfort I haven’t yet fully sussed.
I think there’s something up with Widow, character-wise… some button that the Hulk specifically was pushing. It wasn’t just the attack scene. We also saw it in her initial meeting with Banner. She seemed really spooked by his outburst. A lot more than she should’ve been. I think Whedon’s got something in the works there, in the background, to be revealed in the future.
That said, I’d say there’s still a vague undercurrent of sexism in the movie. It wasn’t as bad as I feared it’d be, but it was still there, and it wasn’t helped by having this particular flaw on this one character, who happens to be the only prominent woman in the story.
Still, Natasha’s a significant improvement over ‘woman whose power is to turn small, insignificant and annoying’. Hopefully, the ongoing evolution of the Avengers property will continue to move it further away from this legacy shortcoming.
Wooow…Squirt has something special going on, doesn’t he..? *on the edge of my seat, eagerly awaiting the next page*
He is certainly not in the narrative to be a Cousin Oliver. 🙂
This is the beginning of Squirt’s broader arc, and it also feeds into one of the other central mysteries of the book. Unfortunately, if I say anything more than that, I give away the game. Either way… the next few days are rad. Dex REALLY knocked out what I was going for, and I can’t wait for you guys to see what he did.
Forgive me for ever making the mistake of thinking he’d be a Cousin Oliver. I will never doubt you again.
That was me joking, not barbing, to be clear. 😉 I thank you for the kind words.
Oh, I know you were joking. My deadpan snark clearly does not communicate well over the internet.
All joking aside, I really thought Squirt was kind of an incidental, meant more to set up the idea of a younger Charlie, like Billie(Billy?) coming around, and to introduce time travel as an idea. Much like Charlene sets up the idea of a female Charlie and helps express the sheer diversity of Charlies that can be and are present, you know?
I didn’t think Squirt would have his own individual arc, especially because he is so MUCH younger than all the other Charlies. I would be just as surprised if Charlene or Nerd got their own them-centric arcs.
Ah! Prepare for surprise, then. 🙂
Leo has a clear arc, as does Charlene, as does Billie an Squirt. Nerd has one, but I’m not sure if it’s for the main storyline or a short story. It all depends on the Multifarious Charlie, who you’ll meet in about a year.
Squirt’s arc definitely involves time, power, and the consequences of mucking with it, but the same could be said of all the Charlie’s. There’s something special about Squirt beyond his age, though, as you’ll see.
WHAT.
That is really all I have to say about this, along with a certain amount of glee at being surprised yet again.