Ung! I feel that shit, man! -I have an interview TODAY!
-And there is a lot to be proud of as far as personal cleanliness is concerned... People be GROSS.
Anyways, that's Ronnie Raymond, aka one-half of Firestorm: The Nuclear Man, and he may have some relatable job troubles... but the dude is a little detached:
This is all from 1985's issue # 32 by R.J.M. Lofficier and Alan Kupperberg. -With a cover that touts "Just when you thought you'd seen it all... The Fury Of Firestorm: The Nuclear Man Vs The Phantom Stranger!"
Shocker/spoiler... but the cover is a lie.
-Firestorm ends up being overtaken by the spirit of 'that gangster "Shoe" Shine' who possesses Martin Stein (the other half of Firestorm) and THAT'S who The Phantom Stranger is really fighting...
Two things here:
1.) Ronnie, at one point, is sharing a body with the guy who killed his Mother and there is no conflict here, no anger, rage (or fury), or wanting of revenge or justice at all... He's just so aloof about the whole situation. Is that bad writing or is Ronnie Raymond just a sociopath?
2.) He's kind of a fucking idiot. -The nightmare was sent by The Phantom Stranger as a warning... and it just goes right over his head. So now The Phantom Stranger has to show up in person to warn him- and even spells out exactly what not to do to him. -Not only does Ronnie realize the situation is similar to his dream, recognize who The Phantom Stranger is (and knows he's a good-guy who he should listen to), but he also has Nobel Prize-winning physicist Martin Stein agreeing with The Stranger in his head... And he still goes- "Nawww, fuck it, I don't care." like he's in Time Of The Apes and does it anyways- thereby fucking EVERYTHING up!
-It's still a fun issue and all, it just kind of makes me hate the main-character... The Phantom Stranger does too, I'd wager, because he has to actually step in to fix everything his own damn self:
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-Yeah, you don't fuck with The Phantom Stranger!
hope that interview went well. probably the best Phantom Stranger story I ever read was from Swamp Thing Annual 2 (1985) written by Alan Moore of course.
ReplyDeleteIt went as well as they go... I can't stand the rhetoric of those things- and hate lowering myself to it. "Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond to get a job done..." Ugh, shut up. I show up on time and do the job I'm paid to do- the fucking end.
DeleteI do not have that issue- don't think I've ever read it either... Something to keep an eye out for. I was just watching a Robot Chicken episode the other day where they were spoofing Cabin In The Woods: At the part where they are in the basement, and the item they choose signifies what will destroy them- there's a copy of Watchmen and it says "If he opens that book- Alan Moore will be VERY unhappy!" and he comes down through the ceiling, roaring, and kills them all with his tentacle-beard.
Oh, I found the clip online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-bhDzJJUrM
Classic.
I never quite got the Phantom Stranger. And I've tried. I really like Dr Fate, Deadman and Spectre, so he seems like a guy I'd get to warm too, but as yet de nadda.
ReplyDeleteFirestorm though has always been cool. When DC don't mind having a hero that does dumb sometimes that is.
So mr - on to the real world, how did the job thingee go??
Honestly- for me: It's his look. The Phantom Stranger just looks awesome! I don't really know that much about him either- not like Dr. Fate, Deadman, or Spectre- whose origins and adventures I can recite by memory... I only have a handful of comics with him. He is just one of those characters, though- I see him on the cover and I'm sold.
DeleteMan, I used to have a bunch of Fury of Firestorm comics back in the day- I don't remember him being such an idiot. Is that really a defining character trait of his???
Interview went okay, like I was telling Shlomo- I think they are largely a waste of time: "So, why do you want to work here?" Because you are hiring, I'm qualified, and I need a fucking job- why the fuck do you think???
Yeah, how'd it go?
ReplyDeleteDoesn't seem too bad, other than Ronnie being even more thick-headed than he was usually portrayed. Damn, is that dude fucking dense or what.
@Shlomo: I got that annual too! Damn good art, and really creepy read if you think about it.
Went as well as they go. Dumb questions and all... "What would you say is your biggest weakness?" -Having to sit here and legitimately answer this tripe.
DeleteYeah, I had no idea he was THAT fucking dense... I had a lot of issues from back in the day- but I guess I never picked up on it then. But according to you and Dan- it's how it is. I mean- I get it, to an extent. He's paired with a physicist- you want that dynamic. But this issue was overboard, he was downright unlikably-dumb.