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| Darkhawk #15 |
Deathlok, Sleepwalker, Ghost Rider, Foolkiller, New Warriors... If they were ever on a Marvel "Rookie" Card- chances are; I love the fuck out of their comics.
Darkhawk by Danny Fingeroth and Mike Manley is no exception.
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| Darkhawk #7 |
I like how Darkhawk/Christopher Powell had to figure out what kind of hero he wanted to be. His origin was not just: Learn my powers effortlessly and then save the day. It's more: 'I want to do good, but in doing so- what am I capable of dealing with? And what ways will work better for me?'
Because "doing good" is not such a cut-and-dry thing... Being a "hero" would not be easy- especially in a world where other heroes could come after you for not thinking or doing things the same way they do.
Case in point... my favorite superhero... The Sanctimonious Spider-Man!
During a battle with the Hobgoblin (I guess, technically the Demogoblin- because this was when Jason Macendale was possessed) Chris realizes what any sane and rational person would:
'This guy... he does not deserve to live... like, at all.'
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| Why is Hobgoblin Mel Brooks all of a sudden? |
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| (((embiggen any page for reading))) |
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| Actual Spider-Man quote from this issue: "I'm too far away to save Hobgoblin!" dafuq, Spidey? |
Of course Spider-Man's interference allows Hobby to get away... as he vows: "You should have killed me- I know I won't rest until I've killed you!"
And then:
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| Darkhawk #3 |
Spider-Man/Peter Parker is very flawed... he complains about his lot in life constantly, he can be very hypocritical, he has anger issues, he's socially awkward... Often, over decades, I have thought to myself- while reading Spider-Man: "He's kind of being a jerk."
Whenever he interacts with another superhero who has been around longer than him; he tends to hero-worship a bit (Human Torch not included, of course).
When it's someone who has been around about the same amount of time; he'll treat them as equals to a point, but he does always think that his way is the best way...
BUT when he interacts with younger, newer heroes... oh, boy... he can really be a sanctimoniously preachy asshole with zero tolerance or patience!
I always come back to Carnage. Carnage exists because of Venom... Venom exists because of Spider-Man... Ergo Carnage exists because of Spider-Man. So how does ol' Pete sleep at night knowing he never did everything he could to put Cletus Kasady down permanently.
What do you reckon Carnage's body-count has been since Maximum Carnage? Because 100% of those deaths are on Spider-Man's head. ONE HUNDRED FUCKING PERCENT. Your precious moral code is worth all those lives? -And all the loss others have had to experience? -Get the fuck over yourself!
Okay, okay- rant over... he really is my favorite though!
Moving on...
1.) I like how he's so novice that he's just hitching a ride on a random family's boat.
2.) There is NO WAY I buy that kid would have ANY idea who Darkhawk is- in issue fucking FOUR!
3.) Again, such a real reaction. "These random people are terrified of me... I'm so awesome now!"
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| Bad guy is called Savage Steel, just in case you were wondering... |
I remember reading this series back when it was new each month- and they handled the mystery of the amulet, and more importantly- his face, so well!
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| Darkhawk #4 |
I won't spoil anything here... because it's an awesome reveal if you have never read it.
And if you don't want to read it but still have to know- you can easily look it all up online...
Great concept, genuine characters, awesome art that fits the tone of the book really well- I definitely recommend tracking these down if you don't have them already. It ran for 50 issues, and I think Marvel has even done a lot of cool things with the character since... Loners, War of Kings, Avengers Arena- all great stuff!
so K.o.T just save me some time and tell me what's up with Darkhawk's face. if you don't want to do it here then tell me at another blog you know i'm at.
ReplyDeleteAwwwwww- come on! You want it spoiled? Heh, that's no good.
DeleteAlright, alright... you could just check out the wiki- but that's not as cool. Let this posting sit a few days and I will spoil Darkhawk, for those not familiar, in the comments here...
fair enough.
DeleteAh good ol' Darkhawk. He's been treated very inconsistently since his glory days, between The Avengers' version of the Hunger Games and DnA's War of Kings before that. Honestly, there really should be more love for the guy. Sleepwalker too.
ReplyDeleteAs for Spidey, yeah he definitely can come off as condescending a lot, especially to rookies, but I figure that's because he always wears the guilt over her Uncle Ben's death on his sleeve, so that's a good reason why he acts the way he does; he doesn't want anyone else making the same mistakes more like he did. I'd also add int he fact that he was and and still is to a point socially awkward. And lastly, but mainly, blame the writers and editors for turning Spider-Man into the official Mr. PSA of the MU. Something like that should be done in moderation, probably best left to Cap.
As for the moral dilemma over killing criminals like Carnage, well that's what the whole Pleasant Hill/Civil War Part Deux seems to be about...which never ends well.
I personally don't feel superhero comics are the place to have that dicsuions, whether or not it seems like a logical place or not, because this is superhero comics folks, by their very definition, superheroes are for the most part, vigilantes that work outside the law.
Otherwise leave it alone, since blending in real world issues like that don't always translate well in male/female fantasy settings like this one, unless, UNLESS they're extremely well-written and handled in such a way that isn't preachy or condescending towards the reader.
Now for me, criminals and repeat serial killers like Carnage should be dealt like this: You either use them and their abiliuties as work labor to contribute to the city and society they've attacked and offended, or you legally execute them. Because for guys like Carnage, there is no chance of rehabilitation unless you lobotomize them because they can't or don't want to be rehabilitated. That's it. So you do one or both of those options and call it a day. But that's just me.
An issue like this will never really be resolved because there's such a huge divide in opinion and morals for everyone to get on the same page.
But that's just me.
I think I remember Darkhawk's other body's face, and it's not bad, but defintiely fucking ugly.....like sloth from the goonies ugly.
Shit, you remember the Marvel Trading card, the one from 92, that actually talked about this?
See, Avengers Arena is one of my favorite comics of the last decade! I never understood all the hate it got. It was SUCH a fun read. Hunger Games??? -I think you mean Battle Royale!
DeleteOh, Spidey definitely has issues with guilt... He blames EVERYTHING on himself, not just Uncle Ben- though that is the crux. That is true, though- some writers turn him into "The Official Mr. PSA of The Marvel Universe", even Bill Mantlo is guilty of this...
I have not gotten to Pleasant Hill yet, I'm a few weeks behind on my comics because my tablet was, and always has been, a piece of shit- and one night I was drunk and got so fucking frustrated with it- I bludgeoned it to death with a hammer. (Felt damn good too!) I needed that push to actually buy a new one... I should have it in the mail tomorrow, actually.
I have some Punisher stuff coming up on the blog- this was working towards that. I know super-hero comics are a power-fantasy... but I do think comics do, and should, explore such themes. The ONLY thing I've liked from the Daredevil Season Two trailers has been The Punisher's speech- whether it's chopped up from several different scenes or part of a larger speech: "You hit them and they get back up- I hit them and they stay down. I think you're a half-measure, I think you're a man who can't finish the job. I think... that you're a coward. And you're one bad day away from being me."
And with someone like Carnage- that's my point: There is NO hope of rehabilitation. For all intents and purposes he is evil incarnate. Spider-Man's moral code in regards to dealing with him only costs precious lives!
-They HAVE lobotomized him! It didn't work! lol!
Sloth from The Goonies? "HEYYY YOU GUYYYYSSSSS!"
No I meant Hunger Games, because yeah even though it was totally a battle royal, it was ape-ing off the Hunger Games/Lord of the Flies thing, Marvel just didn't have the balls to admit it.
ReplyDeleteAs for those themes, my reasoning is this, it'll never be resolved. Never. Again, there's just too much of a debate on both sides of the issue for their to be a resolution...much like in the real world. And while sure, you should and could present the issue to make the readers aware that the characters are aware themselves of the situation, they're won't be an easy fix it-all answer to wrap it all up in a nice, tidy bow. Now sure, you can't do that with a lot of topics, and the mere fact that you bring it up for people to thing about is cool and all, but again, it really all boils down to how that information and situation is presented.
Yeah, carnage sure was, but that damn pesky symboite saved him, so he'd have to straight up get executed.
No, the film Battle Royale. -That's what it was an homage to (and what Hunger Games stole from). And they were not trying to hide it- the cover to issue one was the Battle Royale poster.
DeleteI know it's a fictional world, and putting logic into it is not something one should do... But logically- someone should just kill Carnage already. If there was a real guy in real life with that body-count he'd be dead a hundred times over. By any means necessary. Spider-Man likes to throw his morals, and what's right and what's wrong in other hero's faces- but this guy is out there because of him and Eddie Brock is doing more to stop him! That's fucked up, is all I'm saying...
Didn't they give Carnage "the chair" once too? I swear it was either that or lethal injection that he somehow lived through... Maybe I'm remembering it wrong- I think it was in Scarlet (Kaine) Spider's book.
¡SPOILERS!
ReplyDeleteOkay, for those wondering about it; but unwilling to commit to reading such a fantastic series: Christopher Powell finds a mysterious amulet. -This amulet enables him to get a super-powered armored suit: making him Darkhawk! Awesome.
Chris assumes- he's still Chris; just with armor on. Because why wouldn't he? But when he takes off his helmet- he finds that is not the case at all...
When he's Darkhawk- he becomes all fucked up looking! -Basically he looked like "an avocado had sex with an older, more disgusting avocado." Naturally, this raised some concerns- what if one day he was unable to change back? He'd be stuck looking like that!
The slow-burn reveal was that when he was Darkhawk- he was not himself, so to speak... The amulet transported his physical body to a ship located in Null Space- placing it in suspended animation. And sending down one, of a batch of many, lifeless "android", zombie, soldier things that his consciousness then controlled. This is why if he was ever hurt as Darkhawk- when he changed back to Chris Powell- he was unharmed.
In my opinion: Darkhawk is one of the coolest characters Marvel has ever put out. The story is perfectly paced, and written. And all the follow-ups to his series have been fucking great. Seriously, you need to read these for yourself.
Now I know it's been a long while since I read that reveal, but I don't remember that other body being an interchangeable alien-droid thingy. I thought he switched bodies with an alien, a race of intergalactic Darkhawks I believe they were.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read DnA's War of Kings series which heavily featured Darkhawk, but wasn't that race of people mentioned in it? And weren't they being hunted by the sh'air at the time, but only because Gabriel Summers had taken over as the head of the Sh'air? I gotta' look it up, but I'll definitely agree with you on the Darkhawk series being required reading. Sure like a lot of his peers and contemporaries, he borrowed heavily from the timeless Spider-Man playbook/formula, but he had enough unique bits about him to make him stand out and successful enough to merit a very long-running series. Shit, not a lot of books these days featuring 2nd/3rd-rate characters last as long as DH's series did, making it to #50. Trust me folks, that's a hell of a feat you won't likely see repeated.
Well, it was an alien crime-lord that had commissioned two alien scientists to create the technology for him to use; but they rebelled.
DeleteThey kind of made adjustments to that origin as time went on... as they do. War of Kings did a parallel to The Nova Corps called the Fraternity of Raptors. The original run, Loners, and Arena are my picks. War, and Realm, of Kings are fun... but they try to change too much.
"In my opinion: Darkhawk is one of the coolest characters Marvel has ever put out. The story is perfectly paced, and written." Ditto from me. Beyond Thunderdome ditto. Maybe even beyond two Thunderdomes.
ReplyDeleteHey there, Dan-o! Thanks for dropping by.
DeleteDamn straight; two ThunderDomes!!!
I want a team-book of all Nineties-legacy-characters NOW!!!