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hunters-heathen · 2 years

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how did you feel about the obi wan kenobi finale!!!! id love to hear ur thoughts

Let me tell you, it’s been several days (I think? Time isn’t real) and I still can’t even begin to compose my thoughts into something articulate

So instead I leave you with how I felt the entire time while watching:

Okay I lied here’s a chaotic list

Vader Vader Vader Vader Vader supremacy 🧎🏻‍♀️

I lost my marbles when Ben did his ~pose~

ThEn YoU WiLl dIe (plz just tear my heart out miss Chow)

^ he threw his whole Vadussy into that fight fr

Can we talk about how despite knowing they both live I was literally so tense the entire duel

BERU SUPREMACY she pulled out those guns and Owen said 😳 lmfaooo as you should king, she’s the top fr

^ I have a weird thing for the slight roughness/gravel in Owen’s voice though bye-

Also no freaking high ground comment??? Bye pt. 2

Vader literally getting pummeled with rocks I-

Vader wheezing

The way Anakin shown through and his face was lit with blue but then Vader came back & it was red

^ adding onto that I saw someone say how Ben had to watch his eyes turn Sith all over again and now I’m crying

^ adding onto that x2: saw comparisons about how Ahsoka opened the right, Ben opened the left, but only Luke could lift the helmet off completely and I have not stopped thinking about that since

I am not your failure, Obi-Wan

^ that’s it that’s the tweet

Then my friend is truly dead 🥲🥲🥲

Leia and Ben reunion 🥲 also I’m tired of him calling himself old / other ppl calling him that lmao (smash)

^ btw I LOVE Alderaan I wanna live there okay

I just think… I miss Padmé Amidala so much (Ben compared Leia to her parents and a homie was ~sobbing~)

Lowkey I wanted a Padmé grave visit by Vader but okay-

Also wish there were more clone wars flashbacks maybe? But I’m not one to complain, the duel flashback was far beyond what I expected ✨ plus perhaps we will get clone wars flashbacks in Ahsoka (this is really Hayden’s year, go king)

I lowkey wish Reva did have a villain arc of some sort but I’m glad they didn’t just kill her off. Mayhaps a spin-off is in order

^ on that note I’d also love to have a Vader spinoff. Or two. Or five thousand. There’s so much to do with him

Qui-Gon FREAKING JINN 🗣 love him but also all I could think about was the bts pics of Liam Neeson dressed as Qui-Gon under that umbrella lmao bye

Oh- THE BOYS HOLDING HANDS WHILE DUELING- 🗣🤌🏼

I like how Ben’s outfit at the end was like one of the ones from the comics

HELLO THERE

There’s been a lot of talk about Ben & Anakin being dyads bc of what was presented in the show and lowkey I’d be here for it

^ I think it’s an amazing and fascinating concept that wasn’t super properly touched on in the sequels so it’d be neat to see it again somewhere else as well

Ummm all I have to say in conclusion is that this show tore my heart out SO much and I literally cannot believe it’s already over. Hayden was incredible, Ewan was incredible, Vivian and Moses were incredible, ugh- I’m in love. Some shows I watch and then I’m like ‘okay I don’t think I need to revisit this’ but I’ve already watched the finale like 5 times (literally even just as background while I’m reading or something) so I’ll definitely be revisiting it

Some things could’ve been executed better, mostly the pacing and also some of the action scenes (let’s be real the Leia chase was ridiculous fkfkfk) but overall it’s been a wonderful ride and I really really am hoping for a season two or something of the sort. I’m simply not ready to let Ben go yet ✨

^^^^^ I know I have so much more to say but literally my head is so chaotic rn so this is all you’re getting 💀

#i am SO sorry this is terribly long #ezra time!!#kenzie answers #kenobi spoilers #obi wan kenobi

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vulcanhello · 2 years

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okokok discovery s3 thoughts

i LOVED IT. fr loved it. i really feel like discovery hit it’s stride this season. i have almost nothing negative to say about it i seriously ate this season up

michael is seriously the best character of all time ever and she means the world to me and i’m so so happy she’s finally captain. it’s what she deserves!! i love her and book, and her friendships with tilly and saru are so real and good. i wish she and tilly had spent more time together this season but what we did get i appreciated. i’m also glad that the bridge crew got their own mission in the finale! their individuality is finally coming across and i think i really like joanne owo and kayla detmer— i’d love to see them more together! and tilly leading their mission despite her failure as acting captain i think shows a lot of courage and character growth that girl is finally confident in herself as she should be!

the whole mystery of the burn was really interesting to me too, and i think the fallout of it was really well done. the orion leader i didn’t really care about but she wasn’t a terrible villain- in her peace talks at the end you can really see her point and the multitude of reasons why she operates the way she does. one thing i will say is that the andorian who escaped from her only to be killed in the final battle to reclaim the ship is never really mentioned again after the fact, which made me sad. i really wish this show spent more time on emotional fallouts / character interactions rather than interactions based soley on speeding the plot along.

sukal was probably my favorite of the new characters, and the scene in the finale where it shows him accidentally causing the burn made me cry a lil tbh! i think his story was perfect for saru’s character arc as a whole and i hope we get to see a little of them in season four! it would be cool to see kaminar and other worlds in this future. speaking of other worlds, i was disappointed we didn’t get to see michael’s mom or the leader of nivar again! that episode was probably one of the best this season and when michael made her distress call i was sure we’d get to see gabrielle again. maybe next season…

speaking of new characters i thought adira was fine but the whole thing between them and grey is a little boring to me. in the beginning i thought we were going to have a friendship between adira and michael be important but it was kind of dropped after they left the trill planet. also, stamets was annoying in the finale i’m sorry and i get it but no one has sacrificed as much as michael you don’t get to say these things to her!!! just trust her to find a way it’s not like she was going to let anyone die you know this!! i thought he was going to apologize at the end but he didn’t so he’s in my bad books. season four cold open is stamets 50min apology for pissing me specifically off or i will never watch again (real) (true)

overall this season was wicked awesome and really showed that michael is ready to be the best captain starfleet ever had. she always had the courage, the intelligence, the leadership, but i think after truly regaining her place among the crew and figuring out this mystery despite the setbacks and the mistrust solidified her as the best and only person for the job. she worked for that seat and she deserves it! you can’t say that about anyone else on the crew. michael is hope personified. captain doesn’t even feel like enough to describe her importance to the ship she is their heart and soul. i am so so looking forward to season four and seeing what she does next!

#sorry for feeling insane #it can’t be helped #michael has been thru insane trials and tribulations no one else compares #and she holds out! despite it all! she is optimistic and kind and caring and badass and unrelenting! she is everything anyone could aspire #to be like #next season better be the michael gets some shore leave and hangs out with friends season #she deserves a rest!#captain’s log #dsc

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hellzyeahwebwielingessays · 4 years

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Was Norman Osborn ‘flanderized’?

It has been said that over the years, particularly following his resurrection, that Norman Osborn became a caricature of himself. Does this accusation carry any weight?

First things first, let’s define what the terms ‘flanderized’ and ‘flanderization’ actually mean. The most comprehensive descriptor can be found on TV Tropes. To quote an excerpt from them:

The act of taking a single (often minor) action or trait of a character within a work and exaggerating it more and more over time until it completely consumes the character. Most always, the trait/action becomes completely outlandish and it becomes their defining characteristic.

When it comes to Norman Osborn the accusations hinge upon his evolution into a villain who:

Just wants to kill Spider-Man

Is behind everything bad in Spider-Man’s life

Makes Spider-Man the point of all of his schemes

The latter point is often accompanied by referencing Norman’s original goal of taking over New York’s gangs. The idea being that originally Norman wanted to take over the gangs and then was ‘flanderized’ into being obsessed with Spider-Man.

To an extent these accusations carry merit, but not really the way detractors might think.

I’ll begin by addressing the two most obvious counterpoints.

Firstly, the idea that Norman’s vendetta and schemes against Spider-Man are ‘outlandish’ is a hollow critique in context.

Almost everything in super hero comic books is outlandish, even accepting the pseudo-science of super powers. The majority of super villains could make more money legitimately than as criminals.

Common crooks would be unlikely to go to jail if any masked vigilante beat them up. The world at large would never resemble the real world on any level if even one super powered being existed as it’d redefine what it meant to be human. Not to mention the confirmation of life on other planets, other dimensions, parallel universes, alternate timelines and the existence of deities and the afterlife.

So Norman Osborn’s schemes (the most ambitious of which was the ‘Clone Saga’) are only outlandish if we take it on face value. In context, it’s merely a large-scale version of super villain standard practices. After all, perhaps the two greatest Doc Ock stories of all time respectively involved him having secretly built an underwater base out of a James Bond movie and attempting to nuke New York City.

As for Norman ‘just’ wanting to kill Spidey, I’ve already addressed that in an earlier article.

Moving, on let’s talk about Norman’s schemes. Did they all revolve around Spider-Man? Well, even dismissing his post-OMD stories or stint as an Avenger, this is simply not true.

Osborn actually retained his gangland aspirations in the 1990s. In fact that was his primary concern in Europe between his ‘death’ and ‘resurrection’.

When he returned to America during the ‘Clone Saga’ it was revealed (through exposition provided by the Rose) that Osborn was still very much involved in acquiring power through the criminal underworld.

Spider-Man: Made Men #1 revolved around various gangland figures vying for power. Osborn was unsurprisingly among the figures depicted.

There was some follow up to this in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #95 when the Kingpin tried to assassinate Norman as a rival gangster.

So Peter was absolutely not at the root of all of Norman’s schemes.

Nor was he behind the majority of the bad things in Spidey’s life. Between 1997-2007 alone Norman had nothing to do with:

The Chameleon learning Spider-Man’s identity

The resurrection of Doctor Octopus

Mary Jane’s death being faked by her stalker

Spidey’s duels with Morlun

The Venom symbiote seeking out new and more violent hosts, including Mac Gargan

The destruction of Peter and MJ’s apartment and of Aunt May’s home

Peter’s failing health and death in ‘The Other’ arc

Aunt May being shot courtesy of the Kingpin

So when we look at the facts, Norman just doesn’t fit the definition of flanderization listed above. He’s far from a caricature of his early appearances. This is actually fairly uncommon in general among Silver Age characters. The vast majority of all characters who were around back then have developed at least some layers of complexity since then; if anything that’d be the opposite of flanderization if anything.

This is unquestionably the case for Norman Osborn. Through stories and issues like Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #14, ‘Revenge of the Green Goblin’, Spider-Man: Legacy of Evil #1 and ‘A Death in the Family’ Norman Osborn’s personality and psychology has been immensely expanded upon from what it was between 1964-1973.

But I do not deny the idea that Norman has changed and become more focused upon Spider-Man himself. Initially his primary goal was the conquest of the criminal underworld, through which the death of Spidey was a means to an end. But from the 1996-2005 (and arguably since Superior Spider-Man v1 #4 in 2013) Norman’s primary concern seems to have been his feud with Peter.

However, these accusations against the character seem to treat this change as unnatural. As though lazy writing simply kept exaggerating one trait of Norman’s and consequently made that the crux of the character.

In reality though this change in priorities was entirely organic. Norman grew gradually more and more frustrated with Spidey’s interference until he decided to just find out who he was and destroy him. Upon learning one another’s identities that was when Norman and Peter’s relationship fundamentally changed. It became less about gangland aspirations but far more personal. This didn’t occur due to lazy writing across time, it was an evolution during he same run that invented Norman. And it happened around 2 years following his debut.

From there Norman was integrated into Peter’s social circle and Harry was unwittingly caught in the center of their feud. After ASM #40 every time Norman remembered he was the Goblin he wasn’t going after Spidey to rule the gangs, he was pursuing a personal vendetta against him. ‘The Death of Gwen Stacy’ in particular displayed this as Norman sought revenge for Peter giving him amnesia and for the harm he felt he’d done to Harry.

So, Norman’s priorities had fundamentally pivoted within less than 10 years of his debut. And it wasn’t due to lazy writing that ‘drifted’ him in that direction. It was an entirely believable evolution of what had began as a practical consideration and then spiraled into a personal blood feud.

Detractors though might argue that Norman became a caricature upon his return in 1996.

Even if he was manipulative and at times nasty in the Silver Age, it wasn’t nearly to the same extent as his portrayal in the 90s and beyond.

This is perfectly true. And you know what, the same can be said of the impact he had upon Peter’s life. He became far more integral to shaping Peter’s life from the 1996 onwards than he’d ever been in the Silver Age.

On these counts perhaps it’d be accurate to argue Norman became flanderized.

At which point I must ask…why is that a bad thing?

Let me give you an example that’s a bit left field.

In the 2010 animated show ‘Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated’ the classic Hanna-Barbera meddling kids got a major update. The most starkly different character though was Fred Jones. In the original and majority of Scooby-Doo shows Fred had almost always been both the de facto leader and the guy who planned the traps.

He was also the single blandest character of the main five, even excusing the pretty simple personalities of the rest of the gang.* SDMI however outright flanderized him. He went from the guy who happened to be in charge of setting the traps to someone literally obsessed with traps.

And you know what? He became immeasurably more interesting as a result. Suddenly he had a role within the group as the eccentric, the strategist and his interest in mysteries had more specificity as he actively looked for chances to ensnare would be ghosts and ghouls.

Whilst it’s often not the case, SDMI’s take on Fred proves that flanderization is not inherently a bad thing.

This is certainly true in Norman’s case. His vendetta with Spider-Man, status as puppeteer and framing as the ultimate evil within the Spider-Man universe has been used to great effect over the years.

As a puppeteer and manipulator he was given greater scope to attack Peter and his loved ones, thereby making him a far more dangerous villain that Spidey couldn’t just knock out with a punch.

His framing as an ultimate evil also helps render Peter’s heroism in starker contrast. Everything that makes Spider-Man a true hero and champion for good is spotlighted whenever he confronts the sheer sadism and malevolence of Norman. Personally, I feel Peter Parker: Spider-Man #75 is the greatest example of this.

Call me crazy or old-fashioned but isn’t this an essential function of a villain in superhero fiction?**

And the emphasis upon the Parker/Osborn feud simply made their encounters more emotionally gripping. We all read Peter Parker’s adventures specifically for Peter’s character. We don’t want just any given person (spider powers or not) in the spotlight. We want to follow the ups and downs of his life, his relationships with his friends, family and colleagues, what job he’s working, where he lives, how he provides for himself and others, etc.

The Spider-Man story is in essence is the life of Peter Parker.

Having a villain who has a dramatic impact upon both halves of Peter’s life is more than creatively justifiable. It makes every encounter personal and if we read Spidey because we’re personally invested in his life then Norman’s vendetta renders him perennial relevant.

He is the villain who fundamentally tests the soul of our hero.

This isn’t to say that it wouldn’t be nice for Norman to be written with goals beyond Spider-Man. But my point is that making that his priority was never ever a problem in the first place.

In short, Norman Osborn was better for his flanderization.

*Noticeably Fred’s character has had the most reinventions over the years when you look at wider Scooby media.

He’s been a cool douchebag in the live action films, something of a conspiracy theorist in ‘A Pup Named Scooby-Doo’, a cameraman in ‘Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island’, etc.

The lack of uniformity to his character is very likely an indicator of how simple and bland he originally was; and has largely remained since.

On a symbolic level one could even argue that Norman’s elevation to this personification of evil was appropriate for an older and adult Spider-Man. As we grow up the world in general grows darker and more sinister, presenting challenges that test our inner resolve.

A great example from modern literature would be Harry Potter. Harry ages from 11-17 across the seven novels, each of which dials up the amount of pain, cruelty and death Harry must confront.

#Spider-Man #Norman Osborn #Harry Osborn #Green Goblin #The Green Goblin #Clone Saga #the Clone Saga #Peter Parker #Fred Jones #Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated #Scooby-Doo #Aunt May #May Parker

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guymaito · 3 years

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For the ask thing :3:

Top 5 animals? Top 5 fav/comfort movies? Top 5 fav cartoons/shows?

I’m honestly glad to know theres other people including you who actually like Pakku and his character :3 Yes he was a completely asshole at the start but he did change, it’s just that it was so subtle that not everyone saw it

Also random song associations with characters:

Fighter by Jack Stauber reminds me very well of Piandao, Pakku, and Jeong Jeong as their younger selves during the war.

Why do I associate Grace by Lewis Capaldi with Bumi? (the music video tho would give more context to why it might make sense)

Oh Klahoma by Jack Stauber reminds me of Piandao and his overall anxieties for his partners.

Consider some of these songs as sorta song recs? Idk but still :3

1. Giraffes!! the reason why their tongues look like That is cause of extra melanin and to prevent sunburn!!

2. Seals!! there are 33 different kinds of pinnipeds and there over 50 extinct pinnipeds

3. Dogs!! they can only see in shades of blue and yellow, so bright red roses look yellowish brown and lively green grass look dehydrated and dead

4. Crows!! a group of them are called a murder

5. Cows!! they’re actually colorblind, they can’t see red specifically, so male cows, bulls aren’t getting mad at the color, they’re getting angry at the movement

1. The Losers movie from 2010, it’s a action mystery movie about Clay and his team that are a part of an elite US Special Forces Unit and are approached by a mysterious woman to exact revenge on their handler, Max, who betrayed them and just,,,the characters, CHRIS EVANS, jake jensen and all of his kinda weird glory, THE ELEVATOR SCENE, also cougar!!

2. Captain America and The Winter Soldier movie, it’s a action movie, which makes me realize that a lot of my faves are prolly gonna be action something, but anyways, it’s about Steve Rogers, who now lives in the nation's capital as he tries to adjust to modern times. An attack on a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague throws Rogers into a web of intrigue that places the whole world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow, Natasha Romanov, and a new ally, Sam Wilson, Steve struggles to expose an ever-widening conspiracy, but he and his team soon come up against an unexpected enemy. oh my god,,,just,,,the fight scenes, the running scene at the beginning of the movie, steve meeting sam that way, just everything!! this was also my introduction to marvel so in my mind no other marvel movie can live up to this (other than spiderman away from home)

3. Spiderman Far from Home, again, it’s a action movie, i’m not gonna explain this cause the post is getting long, but!! mj and peter!! just,,,all of their scenes!! also jake gyllenhaal!! the fight scenes!! the soundtrack!! everything about it is amazing!!

4. Thunderforce, again, i’m not gonna explain, it’s an action adventure and comedy movie (ofc it is look at the other 3 🙄 /s), the relationship between lydia and emily!! the relationship between lydia and emily’s daughter!! the humor!! the fight scenes!! the soundtrack!!,,,,just everything about is good despite the bad ratings

that’s more like a top 4 than a top 5 but that’s like,,,,all the movies i genuinely like and will rewatch if given the chance and for that where’s a honorable mention: Hamilton (the movie version on disney+ that came out i think nearly a year ago), the soundtrack is amazing, the characters are better, got some funny moments and is mostly historically accurate, like yeah angelica did forget her name cause at the time of her meeting alex ham, she was married to a man named john church (or something church idk) so her last name was church but she introduced herself to alexander as angelica schuyler, not angelica church, so in satisfied she was telling the truth about forgetting her own name, but in the same song she said that her father had no sons even though the real angelica had 3 brothers.

1. Avatar the last Airbender, ofc or else i would have a blog (mostly) centered around it and it’s sequel /s but fr though?? it’s such a good show!! zuko’s redemption arc, iroh’s redemption arc (even though his more subtle than zuko’s) , aang!! love him and his character so much, especially when he gets to be a sassy little shit, sokka and his shit humor and brains, katara, toph, hakoda and HIS shit humor, the fight scene with hakoda (he fights kinda like a waterbender, using his opponent’s momentum against them), bato and his lovely, lovely voice, piandao, aang going ‘how about he get on YOUR back and you can fly us to the south pole’ or something like that to sokka after he complained about appa not flying higher, the boiling rock episodes, hakoda apparently being a good dad but a shitty prison riot starter (love that for him), just!! atla is such a good ass show, im not changing my mind. also!! i like the way they introduced ozai, not showing his face but still presenting him as not only a shit dad, but a shit person as well, like up until book three, we only saw him like, the neck down and in like, a flashback or two (i don’t really remember how many flashbacks ozai was in actually cause it’s nearly been a full year since i last watched it) and that’s it, so it made seeing his face for the first time all the more better cause you was already like ‘what the hell does this shitbag look like’ and then you see him and now ur like ‘oh!! THATS what he looks like!!’

2. The Legend of Korra, again, ofc or else i wouldn’t have a blog (mostly) centered around it and it’s prequel, just,,,,korra’s arc from being hot headed to calm is fantastic but also sad considering the way she went from that to this, korra’s book 1 character!! for whatever reason i really like b1 korra, just,,her design, her hair style (even though she had it for nearly the entire series) just!!! book 1 korra <3, also the entirety of book 1!! just amon posing as a anti bender nonbender despite being a waterbender himself, the scene where tenzin and his kids nearly lost their bending, which would’ve meant that, if tenzin did lose his bending but his kids didn’t, that would’ve meant the strongest airbender would’ve been his 11 year old daughter, the gruesome way to end the season finale episode by doing a murder suicide which was dark as fuck for what?? a kids show??, also the villains in this show!! their good as hell!! the backstory of the red lotus and how and why they were created?? amon and his anti bending?? kuvira and her plan to basically rule the earth kingdom (idk i haven’t finished book 4), unalaq and his spiritual stuff and wanting to become a dark avatar and fusing with vaatu?? also!! the other disturbing scene of korra basically getting tortured near the end of book 3, i mean?? it deadass left her hella traumatized and unable to walk, again hella dark for a fucking kids show

3. The Walking Dead, even though i haven’t finished it or watched in like, 4-5 months, i just,,,the way the presented negan!! practically foreshadowing him the entirety of season 6!! him appearing at the very end of the season 6 finale and pretty much having an entire episode dedicated to him in the very beginning of season 7 (which is why some fans argue he was introduced in s7 not s6 cause of the fact that he didn’t show up until the very end of the s6 finale but had an entire episode with him in it in s7, while others say vice versa cause the very the first time we see him was in s6 not s7), the fact that the walking dead logo was getting progressively more and more decayed as the series go on?? the fact that the WALKERS (the zombies) are getting more and more decayed as the series go on?? dale’s death scene?? shane’s death scene?? negan’s relationship with rick’s daughter?? the fact that this show also has what?? 11, 12 seasons?? which reminds me that i’m still on season 9 of twd

4. Sabrina the Teenage Witch, just,,,salem and his sarcasm?? sabrina’s aunts?? sabrina herself?? just!! everyone is just so fucking funny in this show it’s unreal, specially salem!! a lot of my favorite scenes have salem in them, the ‘are you on a women’s chat room again?’ (or something like that) and salem saying ‘i like the attention’ in response, that one harvey and salem scene that i don’t know how to describe without turning this into a giant paragraph like the ones before this one

5. blue’s clues, it was my favorite childhood show and i love the reboot of it so much!! especially p for pride moment in that song i don’t remember the name of, blue themself!! steve leaving which was sad but getting an equally amazing host in the process?? amazing!! the scene where salt and pepper introduced their baby, paprika?? just,,,it’s such good show and i loved it when i was younger and i still love it now!!

#asks #moots #piandao was in what? two episodes?#but do i still love him? i do no doubt #oof i really need to catch up on twd #long post #this got long as shit oof

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tessatechaitea · 4 years

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The Invisibles #4

Is this how idiotic social beliefs are purged from assholes?

I don't understand the people who want less politics in comic books. We need more politics in comic books! Except what I don't really understand is using the word "politics" when they're actually angry about discussing social ills. Except I really do understand what they mean when they refer to social issues as politics. Certain people refer to being compassionate and kind and inclusive as "political correctness" because they can't imagine being compassionate or kind or inclusive until the cost of not being those things adversely affects them. So they think people only believe in being that way if it confers some kind of selfish advantage, usually in the political arena. And thus actually being a compassionate human being becomes political to them. Also, can we just stop arguing about how comic books used to be when they've always been about making the world a better place and there have always been comic book fans who found that political because they were terrible people? A terrible person reading a comic book where Batman stops some bank robbers can feel good about the story because they know they'll never rob a bank. But when Batman deals with some social ill, the terrible reader might see themselves reflected back at them in the villain of the story. Suddenly, to them, the story has become political. How dare the comic book company choose the other side which is just a political difference and not a basic human decency issue! And they never think, "Maybe, like Batman, I should also try to do better?" No, instead they send a letter to the publisher demanding that the publisher change the stories they tell so that they don't have to take a long, hard look at themselves. Ideas are political. If you think a story about Batman breaking the bones of The Joker's henchmen because The Joker is robbing banks isn't political, you're kidding yourself. You're just not looking deeply enough into the story and the systemic problems in Gotham that creates a demand for henchmen that are desperate enough to work for a maniac who could murder them at any moment while also having to worry about a man in a bat suit nearly killing them for working for the maniac. How is a billionaire going out at night dressed as a flying rodent to beat up poor and mentally ill people not political? How is any Superman story not political when it's about an immigrant to America embracing his new country and trying to make it a better place for everybody? If you actually think you want comic books to not be political, you're telling on yourself. You're just saying that you're the type of person who doesn't want to read criticism's about our world that might make you feel guilty about your selfish attitude. The Invisibles is an old comic book which came out 26 years ago and it couldn't be more political. But then it's dealing with magic and the irreality of reality, so if you're dumb enough, you can probably pretend it's not political at all.

This issue begins with a Books of Magic trading card.

At the end of the last issue, Tom told Dane they were going to climb to the top of the skyscraper with the magic pyramid on top and leap off. It was going to teach Dane about the finality of life and not really kill him. But when this issue begins, they seem to have put that off for the moment. Instead, they've stolen a sports car, driven it out to some sleepy little UK pasture, and begun a game of catch with a Frisbee. Tom starts rambling on about how his time is up and he's going to die because he's a warrior sorcerer and his time is up and he can see the shape of his life and it's super small and everything sucks but it also doesn't, you know? Dane barely listens to him because he's now full of life again and he just wants to do the things people who feel alive do. I don't know what those things are because I just sit in barely lit rooms reading terrible books from my youth and finding reasons not to begin writing my second module for my role playing game, Places & Predators. I should take a break and call my mother! I'm back! I also ate and watched an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation and an episode of Community and lay on the couch with Gravy.

Gravy's head is behind mine and not inside mine because we don't own a teleportation device and, if we did, we wouldn't be so careless with it.

The next day, Tom and Dane head off to jump off of a skyscraper. Tom will presumably be doing it for real because he's tired and he's done his part and he thinks Dylan Thomas is a fucking asshole who can't just let a person die in peace when they're ready to go. I mean, lay off me, Dylan! I'm fucking dying here! This isn't about you and your fear of death (which, ironically, is probably why you drink so much and why you'll be dead at 39). Dane smokes some blue mold which will probably allow him to fly or bounce or something. Sometimes I think about the angst of youth and then I think about how optimistic and embracing Quiet Riot was of the youth and youth culture and it just makes me fucking smile, man. That wasn't supposed to be a non sequitur. That was just a reaction I had to Tom telling some bystanders witnessing Dane's drug induced realizations, "It's drugs. Dope. They're all on it nowadays. With their computer games and violent videos and swear words. We had The Bible and a nice apple when I was his age." Tom is being smarmy and telling the adults what they want to hear. And, especially with reference to their video games, it made me think of Quiet Riot who didn't care what adults wanted to hear. They knew what the kids needed to hear. And it wasn't just "Being a teenager sucks and we get it and the world is garbage!" Their message was often "We see how things are different for you and how you cope differently than we did and we fucking get it man and we approve and you're going to be all right. Your doing good, kids." Most of you probably only know "Metal Health" and "Cum on Feel the Noize" so you're thinking, "What the fuck are you talking about?" But some of you also know "Winners Take All" and "The Wild and the Young" so you fucking know what I'm talking about.

This reminds me of The Last Temptation of Christ.

The problem with books that revolve around Jesus is that I truly can't tell if they're making a statement about secular life or if they're truly reinforcing the opinion that Jesus was the son of God and the only truth you need to know about Jesus is that he was resurrected. Was Jesus preaching about being good on Earth because it was the salvation of your soul and your way into heaven? Or was Jesus literally trying to tell everybody to give unto Caesar what is Caesar's because this shit don't matter, bro. Fuck Earth and Earthly conceits. Should every action taken on Earth be concerned with your spiritual self and your relationship with God and getting into heaven? Because I'm tempted to see The Last Temptation of Christ as a parable for secular life. Are we all Christ in the desert being tempted by the devil away from our true calling? But if all the regular trappings of society are illusions and lures away from whatever it is we should do, what is there really? What would a person do if they didn't have a career? Or a spouse? Or a mortgage? Or a child? Not falling for those temptations isn't enough, right? So what's the next step? Sacrificing your own desires for the common good of the world? But what common good would that be if people aren't supposed to fall for any material temptations?! What are we striving for if we aren't striving for everybody to equally fall for the same societal illusions?! What is the magic asking of us?! To just burn it all down to prove that we weren't fooled by any of it?! How is waking up outside of The Matrix better than living within it?! Show me my fucking cards before you ask me to jump off the top of a skyscraper is what I'm saying! You know what? I think that's what Jesus asked God the night of the Last Supper! Jumping off of a skyscraper to get Dane to pierce the illusion of reality and see what lies beneath is way better than giving him a red or blue pill. The Matrix pussed out, even though it had this scene from The Invisibles as a perfect example of what it was doing. Dane survives the leap and finds himself in a four color comic sci-fi pulp novel cover. The world has changed and he's not sure what to do. So he goes to the address of the Invisible College that Tom gave him. He's finally ready to report for duty. Dane meets the other Invisibles: King Mob, Ragged Robin, Boy, and Lord Fanny (which would have gone right over my head in 1994 and possibly only made it into the comic book because the editors didn't know quite enough British slang). As far as drag names go, Lord Fanny is proper good. Meanwhile, some shadowy guy answers a phone call from Orlando (probably exactly the Orlando you're thinking of because why not? He/she was good enough for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). They discuss raiding an Invisibles safe house they've discovered. But the non-Orlando guy on the phone can't direct it because he's got British politics to do.

Back in 1994, I also wouldn't have understood what this door with the 10 on it was telling me about the person on the phone.

Dane decides to stick with The Invisibles as Jack Frost and they make their getaway before Orlando and the Prime Minister's Myrmidons break into the safe house. All they find is a chalkboard that reads, "Big Brother is watching you. Learn to become invisible," and a pink grenade with the word "smile" printed on it in ransom letter letters. And that's the end of the first story arc. The Invisibles #4 Rating: A. I'm seriously getting angry at my 23 year old self for not continuing to purchase this series. It's hard to remember exactly where I was at that time in my life that caused me to stop reading it. I'm sure I liked it. Maybe I just had trouble remembering it from month to month. Or maybe I just missed Issue #6 at the comic book store (I never had anything put on hold. I'd just show up on Wednesdays (unless it was Thursday back then? I can't even remember that!) and pick up my books (I didn't even ask the store to hold a copy of the Death of Superman for me. The clerk, Jeff, just happened to hold one for me anyway. He probably thought I was super cool or something)) and so just forgot about the series. Maybe I'll pick up the collected edition whenever my local comic book store reopens. Although if I show my face in there, they may try to get me to buy comics that were placed in my pull box after I cancelled my pull box. See, they weren't getting comics from Diamond for over a month and I just decided it was as good a time as any to stop buying new comics. So I cancelled my pull box. But what if, in their mind, I was still on the hook to buy all the comics for the weeks that Diamond didn't ship?! That would be fucked up and, knowing me, I'd instantly cave and say, "Oh yeah! Okay! Sorry! Sorry! I'll purchase all of this shit I don't want anymore just so we don't continue this awkward conversation!"

#The Invisibles #DC Comics #DC #Vertigo #Grant Morrison #Steve Yeowell

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hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger · 7 years

Text

Once upon a time a certain big name within the Spider-Man fandom spoke upon issue #500 and how it wasn’t a good issue, specifically talking about the ending involving Uncle Ben and how it was ‘banal’.

This is my rebuttal to that.

First lets look at the scene in question and give a little context. It’s Spider-Man’s birthday and he’s spent his time on a trip through his life.

He’s seen a possible future where his identity has been compromised, where he’s wanted by the law and where he is ultimately killed in a last stand with the authorities. Then he’s witnessed his origin as a teenager and had to essentially sporadically hop to random points along his timeline in order to get back to where he started and avert a demonic invasion.

In typical Spider-Man fashion the moments of his life he finds himself returning to are far from pleasant ones as he finds himself in the midst of his battles with various foes, or trapped under machinery in Doc Ock’s underwater base, or even at the Brooklyn Bridge trying and again failing to save Gwen Stacy.

All of this is courtesy of Doctor Strange who inspires Spider-Man to keep on fighting after the latter incident.

And when I say he has to keep fighting...I mean he has to do all of this:

Bad ass.

Anyway by the end of the issue Spider-Man opens up a box from Doctor Strange with a note saying he has just five minutes. And its a doozy!

Okay so the main points of contention from this particular Spider-Man fan, when commenting on this issue, boiled down to:

1) This was underwhelming for a 500th issue of a historic title, with ASM #600 being better on that front

2) It’s almost like another Doctor Strange story because Spider-Man is up against Dormammu and Doctor Strange is involved

3) You expect a big ass battle, perhaps with all of his villains as the cover depicted

4) You never feel like its a personal enough story for Spider-Man because its cluttered with other stuff

5) The conversation between Peter and Uncle Ben is banal and says nothing of importance, not addressing Peter’s role in Ben’s death. Particularly this Spider-Man fan notes how if his father was alive again their conversation would be a lot more substantial.

So let’s address these criticisms one by one.

1) This was underwhelming for a 500th issue of a historic title.

I don’t entirely disagree with this.

For a $3.50 comic book in 2004 that was almost (despite the cover’s claim to the contrary) double length the story was mostly just a clipshow. For an issue which is a milestone amongst milestones (being halfway to issue #1000) something more seismic should’ve been in order. As was though the issue was something of a clipshow comic book which isn’t really acceptable when you consider other centennial Spider-Man issues have had stuff like a rematch between Spidey and the Burglar, the death of Harry Osborn, the death of Aunt May or even in ASM #700’s case a big status quo shift. Okay it was shifting into a bad status quo but that’s not my point.

My point is a centennial issue should carry weight to it. it should either be the culmination of something or the beginning of something that’d matter going forward. ASM #500 was the end of a three issue arc that had only one consequence thereafter, the setting up of another short arc involving Loki. Really the story was fairly skippable which for a centennial issue isn’t good enough.

However that being said the story should be evaluated unto itself and not just on the basis of how it marks a milestone.

2) It’s almost like another Doctor Strange story because Spider-Man is up against Dormammu and Doctor Strange is involved

Arguably, this point might be true of the three part story overall. However it is not true of ASM #500 in isolation.

Yes the main impetus is to stop Dormammu and yes Doctor Strange is involved and the one sending Spider-Man on his journey down memory lane.

However they are nothing more than the excuses to get the story going. The story being a highlighting of Spider-Man’s struggles, the cost of the costume and how Peter feels about that at the end of the day.

That’s what the story is really about and it’s not only squarely based on Peter but it is also most definitely by it’s introspective nature a Spider-Man story.

Really Dormammu and Doctor Strange could’ve been switched out for Doctor Doom and Reed Richards and it would’ve amounted to the same thing. Stopping Dormammu is the destination Doctor Strange is the vehicle getting us to that destination but the story is about the guy in that vehicle and his journey to reach that destination and what he feels about the journey once it is over.

3) You expect a big ass battle, perhaps with all of his villains as the cover depicted

We got that. See the splash page above. More poignantly seeing Spider-Man be thrown into all of his old battles at random with little respite and endlessly fight and fight and fight some more, triumphing over each of them and getting back home to help save the whole damn world is a pretty big feat of Spider-Man’s strength and willpower. It’s yet another ‘lift the wreckage off your back’ moment but done differently.

4) You never feel like its a personal enough story for Spider-Man because its cluttered with other stuff

See my rebuttal to point 2) and also take another look at those conversations I posted between Peter and Doctor Strange and Peter and Uncle Ben, not to mention these scenes.

This isn’t personal?

Also amongst the 38 pages of this issue do you know how many feature the Mindless Ones, Dormammu or none Spider-Man characters (exempting instances like the Juggernaut) and have mostly not been about Spider-Man’s main personal journey in the story? 7 tops. And two of those was setting up the mechanics of the story to allow Spider-Man to return to his own timeline.

So the story is cluttered by all those things being in...less than 19% of the story? So...egregiously less than even ¼ of the overall story?

Okay.

This is probably my biggest bone to pick for various reasons because it speaks to frankly looking at the story far too superficially and also allowing personal life stuff to cloud your judgement. And also because, as you will hear me repeat going forward, this scene was ingenious.

First of all let’s get a little messy here and talk about the commenter and their father. I do not know the commenter very well and know even less of their father. But I do not need to in order to make my point because it is incredibly basic and obvious.

The commenter isn’t Spider-Man, their father wasn’t like Uncle Ben and their relationship with one another wasn’t like Peter and Ben’s.

I know this because

a) No one in real life is like Spider-Man or Uncle Ben

b) No one’s life experiences is like Spider-Man’s, not even police officers who have maybe the closest equivalent to Spider-Man’s life (and from what I know of the commenter they have never been a police officer)

c) No two people are identical on this earth in their personalities which by definition means no two people’s relationship will be identical to any other two people’s relationship. Especially when it comes to a relationship between a parent and child which is about as personal as you could get.

All of which renders the criticism that they would’ve said something different or more substantial to their briefly resurrected father entirely invalid.

Frankly, anyone seeking to truly analyze the scene or critique it should not be asking what THEY would’ve done in Peter’s position and instead be asking what made sense for Peter in the context of his life, personality and history would do. And at the same time what BEN would’ve done, something the commenter entirely neglected.

Which is in fact the real genius of the scene. It flips the script quite a bit to instead of having Peter seek a lot of answers from Ben, it actually shows us that Ben has somethings he wants to ask Peter.

Which is ingenious because after 40+ years we are entirely aware that Peter misses uncle Ben and wants to see him again. But the scene in ASM #500 makes the point that actually Ben would miss Peter too and would need to get a certain amount of closure from him, which I will get into a bit more shortly.

I think if Uncle Ben returned we’d all expect Peter to want to confess and ask Ben for forgiveness for his part in Ben’s death. And the thing is...he did that, or rather he tried too. Because JMS opted to take things a step further. He had Peter begin to ask Ben for forgiveness and for Ben to cut him off before specifics were said.

Which is again ingenious. Let’s be real here, based upon everything we’ve ever known about Uncle Ben (and putting aside how the Ben in this story clearly is aware he’s dead), he’d obviously forgive his nephew for his lack of action when he was 15 years old, especially in light of all he’s done since.

What JMS did was subvert that expectation and have Ben not forgive Peter, but go so far as to say that he doesn’t even consider what Peter did as something his nephew needs forgiveness for, not from him anyway. In one stroke Ben conveys to Peter and the reader that Peter is not atoned for his original sin but rather he never needed that atonement in the first place. Which had writers really paid attention, should have ended any BS guilt tripping Peter visited upon himself going forward when you think about it.

So off the top the issue not only addresses one of the major points of discussion everyone would’ve envisioned for this sort of scenario.

In fact, really as far as Peter is concerned what else is there really to talk about with Ben?

Remember by all accounts Peter and Ben had a very positive and fulfilling parent/child relationship. Peter and Ben’s last interaction wasn’t an argumentative or negative one from what we know. So there is no ‘unfinished business’ left to settle between them like there was between Harry and Norman when either of them were depicted to have died.

What else does Peter, within the mere five minutes he has with Uncle Ben, really got to say to his Uncle? Especially when you consider from his experiences with this stuff Ben is probably able to know or observe the stuff that goes on in Peter’s life. Like Peter really doesn’t have to tell Ben he’s married, or that he’s a teacher or even that he’s Spider-Man.

What else from a storytelling perspective does the specific character of Peter Parker (not you, me, the commenter or anyone else) need to say to Ben once the issue of his guilt over his death has been addressed? The answer is nothing really, at least nothing that we the readers really need to see him saying.

Returning to what I said above, JMS further subverts the expectations in this scenario by having Ben be the one who asks the questions. Cleverly though the focus is still on Peter. Ben is shown to be the one with concern for his son but in asking the questions we get to examine Peter.

Now this is not only brilliant for the reasons I’ve outlines, but because it is also touchingly realistic despite the fantastical scenario.

Whilst there are some shitty parents out there, most parents love their children, regard them as the most important things in their life and make their well-being their top priority.

In this issue we have a man who was the adoptive father of this kid who involuntarily had to leave his son when he was just 15 and still in need of parental guidance as he grew up. Now for a mere 5 minutes he gets the chance to see his son again when he’s all grown up. Even ignoring how he’s literally dead, Ben’s window of opportunity to raise and shape Peter, his son, closed a long time ago.

So instead (as discussed above) he does assuages Peter’s concerns and proceeds to do what frankly MOST parents in that situation would do. He seeks reassurance. Not for Peter’s sake but for his own.

He asks Peter two questions, the first of which boils down to

Have you tried to live a meaningful life?

Now granted Peter somewhat lies in his answer because when Ben asks if he ever walked away from what he believed ‘even once’ he says he never has when ASM #50 and ASM #100 alone are proof that that isn’t true. But then again earlier on Ben did comment that we all stumble and I suppose when you get right down to it, it’s more important that Peter kept coming back to his responsibilities as Spider-Man than the fact that on occasion he walked away from it for, at most, like a few months.

So Peter’s life is reaffirmed as one of meaning, which is a poignant question for a parent to have answered of their child. And also a poignant one for anyone to have to dig deep and answer of themselves as Peter did in that moment.

However it is not as poignant as Ben’s second question, one which goes to the heart of essentially every human being who’s ever lived.

Are you happy?

Let me break that down for you a little bit.

Uncle Ben is a man who never got to finish his job as a parent to his son Peter and never got to see the specifics of how his life unfolded.

Now in a very brief window of time he has the chance to find out first hand from his fully grown son if his efforts as a parent paid off.

And more pressingly he has the opportunity to know the thing virtually EVERY parent across the planet and all time has wanted to know.

Is my child happy?

Is the person whom I love more than anyone in my life or in the whole world, the person whom I can’t help anymore after years of trying to help them, are they happy?

Can I go back to where I came from, where I can’t see them or interact with them, with my mind at ease knowing that they are okay?

This is an entirely realistic thing for Ben to ask and something that fans probably considered a Hell of a lot less than Peter’s side of the scenario.

But the real brilliance of the scene is not in the fact that Ben as a parent would ask the question. But that it makes Peter ask it of himself.

Keep in mind the context of the scene.

Peter has just relived his life, or rather all the crazy super hero parts of it, i.e. the parts which have caused the most pain and problems in his life. The parts which do mostly amount to violence that’s gotten under his skin and threatened to break him. The parts which he has recently learned might possibly lead him down a dark path where he is falsely accused of a crime and killed by the very forces of justice he’s striven to help throughout his career.

And now Uncle Ben, his father, the man who’s death set him down that path which has cost him so much, the man whom miraculously he can see again for a mere five minutes and whom he would deny almost nothing to is asking him this question. The same question which, if you take a look back above, Doctor Strange was hinting at.

And it’s a question I think we’ve all asked of ourselves at one point or another. Hell you could go so far as to say it’s a question which hits right at the heart of life itself.

And in this milestone issue set on the anniversary of his very birth, Peter Parker tells the one man he could never lie to (and by extension the readers as a whole) that...yes.

Actually, despite all his suffering and talk of the ‘Parker Luck’, he feels he is very lucky and ultimately happy.

And that my friends is why the commenter was so very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very wrong in his assessment of this scene being unimportant and banal.

How on Earth could a scene which forces Spider-Man to take a hard look at his life, a life which he’s just revisited the worst highlights of, a life which has been published across 40+ years, and emerge saying that he is deep down happy and content, be meaningless?

How could it be anything even resembling banal?

That my friends is why for all it’s flaws and despite maybe not being enough of a milestone, Amazing Spider-Man #500 is most definitely a GOOD Spider-Man comic.

#Spider-Man #Peter Parker #uncle ben #ben parker #marvel #marvel comics #Doctor Strange #stephen strange #Dormammu #mindless ones #j michael straczynski

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megacarapa · 3 years

Note

What are your thoughts on the recent manga developements? Like the climax of the vs stanley arc and the suika mini arc etc, idk ive just been loving the recent chapters and wanna hear more talk about it and your rants so far have been really entertaining ^^

ANON FCGB;;;😳

WELL i did make an entire playlist based off those 3 suika chapters so i guess you could say i’ve been enjoying the current arc gfgfh. ok here are my VERY extended thoughts on the last 10ish chapters under the cut (manga spoilers obv) (LUCY DON’T READ THIS ONE FR) (also cw for like.. discussion of diseases and stuff tho i dont go too much into detail, i’m not an actual doctor obviously dfgdfg)

this ended up being way longer than i expected so i tried breaking it into a few sections and adding images to make it easier on the eyes, i’ve really loved the south america arc as a whole but these last few chapters have been especially amazing

vs stanley climax

first of all, i gotta love how you called it the "vs stanley fight", and i mean, you're technically right since he is the antagonist of this arc, but it's interesting how they never have a direct faceoff with stanley, it's more like stanley and his troops attacking super one sidedly in a way the kos can't really fight against, so they use communication between their different teams to trap stanley & co in a situation they can't run away from and win in the long term

i love that dr stone "fights" are most often won strategically rather than in a straight up 1v1 brawl, in fact those more standard fights are most often used as a way to keep the enemy at bay until senku & co can figure out a way to actually win, also it's just really cool that the team that delivered the final blow was thousands of miles away from where the actual fight was taking place, or even hundreds of thousands if you count whyman as the "person who delivered the final blow"

stanley theorizes at the end that the kos will probably keep his statue as a hostage to make xeno work for them on the rocket if he wants stanley back (lmao gay), but considering their track record of letting past enemies join the crew, i have a feeling we’ll have both xeno and stanley (and the rest of the americans) back rather than just xeno

the only antagonist so far that hasn't been redeemed is ibara, who is just being kept as a stone statue somewhere, but you could tell that would be the case based on his design alone, he just screams *irredeemable villain*

xeno and stanley, while antagonists, are also clearly designed to be likeable characters, so i don't see them getting the same treatment

the only problem would be keeping a constant watch over xeno to make sure he doesn't do any Side Projects™ and develop firearms again, but it could also be that xeno was actually convinced of senku’s philosophy in their last talk before the beam hit, so maybe he will be willing to help even without having stanley be a hostage, but i guess we’ll just wait and see

as a side note, whyman periodically sending the petrification command was basically a chekhov's gun now that i think about it, so it makes sense in a meta way that a second worldwide petrification would happen, why establish it if it wont come into play later in the story? i actually felt kinda dumb for not seeing it coming fgdfg

aftermath/suika chapters

the first strategy they had for defeating stanley was a good one, but it wouldn't really make for good storytelling if it just Worked and they won just like that, it would be pretty anticlimactic after running from him for almost 20 chapters, so it makes sense then that what they had to go with in the end was the same strategy, but on a much bigger scale

suika being the one to be depetrified first and have to save everyone is also a good choice both thematically and to make sure the victory isn't too easy

having someone like senku or chrome who understands the platinum method to make revival fluid and then have it done in less than a day, or having suika simply find some extra revival fluid lying around like she was initially planning would, again, be anticlimactic, it would've lacked impact after everything they've been through

these 3 chapters also nicely bring back the theme of science not being exclusive to the “pros”, everyone can use it as long as they have the proper steps to follow, the most impressive example before this was the corn city crew managing to make a diamond by following senku’s instructions despite not having any scientists on board (and before that, gen and the villagers making a telescope)

and now suika is even more impressive, being a literal child and all, even though she wasn't able to understand the more complex methods, there was still a way for her to succeed, all she needed was to be patient and diligently go at it step by step, i adore these 3 chapters and i love suika so much now it's insane

suika being the one to get revived serves another purpose as well...

honestly, already around 188/189 i was starting to get really worried about how the story would handle the emotional aftermath

shonen jump manga has a tendency to just gloss over the psychological consequences of traumatic events (one moment i remember finding really frustrating was in bnha, when kirishima gets really fucked up during the overhaul arc but the next time we see him he’s just joking around about looking like a mummy because of all his bandages🙄), so i was worried they wouldn't treat the aftermath of an event like this with the gravity it deserves, (i think LITERALLY DYING could be considered a traumatic event but i'm no psychologist🤔)

suika’s time alone shows a nice contrast to senku, while senku is definitely not emotionless, during his time alone before taiju was revived he is still very cool and collected, not showing any emotional weakness like the king of repression he is

suika is a whole different story, she’s a kid, she doesn't repress her emotions like senku does, so during her time alone she is scared and lonely, especially at the beginning, we see her breaking down into tears multiple times, imagining her friends statues talking to her, hugging kohaku’s statue for comfort etc

this really provided the emotional catharsis i was hoping for, through suika, the audience is genuinely able to feel the gravity of what has happened

i do wish more of the older characters could be allowed to show emotional weakness like this, but i guess having suika serve as a proxy for everyone works well enough

on that note, senku was alone for only 6 months and even then its implied in treasure island that he may have a problem with loneliness

suika on the other hand was alone for YEARS, i can only imagine how that affected her mental state, tho honestly i can't say i expect the story to delve into something like that too deeply (or at all) since this is a shonen manga after all..

immortality

i’ve seen some people interpreting hyoga’s resurrection in 197 as “they can revive somebody that died from an injury, but people will still die eventually due to old age”, but i don’t think that's really the case, people don’t just die from “old age” by itself, they die because their body slowly degrades over time, which makes it harder to fight against numerous diseases, one of which will eventually get you and kill you

but dr stone (aka the combination of medusa+revival fluid) can nullify that degradation and bring your body back into a healthy state, we’ve already seen this with kaseki on treasure island where senku explains that dr stone healed his arthritis, a disease which probably would have lead to his natural death sooner or later

while we already know kaseki was in better shape than most people his age, it’s still surprising to see an old man like him jumping around so energetically, thats how much the restoration improved his health

we also know it healed mirai who was brain dead before being revived, so i think it's a pretty safe bet that it can heal other brain related diseases such as alzheimers

if so, then dr stone can heal injuries, diseases and even death as we’ve seen with hyoga, i think it’s pretty accurate of senku to say that humanity has gained immortality with it

honestly this development has been a long time coming, the idea of dr stone being able to bring back the dead was introduced as early as the first arc when tsukasa killed senku but taiyuzu were able to bring him back, but it really does seem like such an out there concept so i’m interested to see how they will base it in science... (and also how they will handle the whole… moral dilemma of immortality but i ain't ready to even attempt to think abt any of that)

my favourite theory that has sprung up from this is that if people really can live forever thanks to dr stone, it could be that whyman is actually a normal human who has been continually petrifying and reviving themself to live for 3700 years

wat will happen nixt?

back when 196 came out it kinda dawned on me just how much the crew has been set back in the progress they've made so far that it was giving me anxiety for real gfgdfg

seven years have passed, and in that time a lot of the tools they've made must have degraded, along with that, everyone they've revived so far has been turned to stone once again, there was nobody to upkeep the wheat fields and sundial and basically everything they've left in japan, and after all this time even the perseus must be in bad shape and in need of repair, as chrome suggests

how long will it take them to repair the ship? to repair all the tools they've lost? their original plan was to go around the world building cities where they can get all the materials to work on that rocket they’ll be making eventually, they already kinda started up corn city, but that has been out of commission for a while now, they were planning to build superalloy city in south america and have barely started on that

so they need to keep building these cities but also need to go back and revive everyone if they don't want their progress to go to waste, how will they go about this?? will they just tackle it one by one or split into teams, so one team can stay behind and work on superalloy city and the other can go back and revive everyone? who knows?? ryusui certainly made it sound way easier than how i've been imagining it dfgdfg

other than that, i gotta wonder are the kingdom of science really the only humans left on earth now that there's been a second worldwide petrification, or has some other group revived somewhere during the timeskip, OR maybe there might be another group out there who also devised the revival formula and was able to escape the 2nd petrification, which would then give them 7 more years to develop while senku n co are just stuck in stone 🤔 dr stone has always had some human antagonist so i wonder who’s next now that xeno and stanley have been dealt with

honestly my favourite arc has always been age of exploration precisely because it doesn't have any human threat and the characters are just left to craft and work on rebuilding society without the pressure of a looming war or a crazy american hunting them down, so honestly i'm hoping we will get another arc like that now, i think the crew definitely deserves it dnjd

random bonus ramblings

-using poop and shells to create nitric acid and it being a process that would take a long time is something that has already been mentioned multiple times in the series, so it’s really cool to see it actually utilized in the story rather than being random throwaway info

makes you wonder what other seemingly throwaway lines could actually be foreshadowing...

😬😬😬

-since joel managed to fix a medusa im very excited for him to be revived so we can learn how he did it and how the petrification works in the first place!! (and for joel and kaseki to finally meet in general)

-drst has a habit of introducing a character in one arc and having them be Just kinda There for some time until they finally have their time to shine in a later arc, examples being minami and of course yuzuriha, so i'm wondering if the same will happen later on with some of the americans, charlotte seems like a good contender for this (the girl that suika saved in 185, i gotta wonder how she felt having to shoot down the people who saved her life)

-on that note i feel like matsukaze also still hasn’t had his time to shine or contribute in any unique way yet (other than exposition gdvdj)

-i was also really liking dr brody as a character so i was kinda disappointed that he just blindly decided to kill everyone in corn city instead of talking and trying to come to an agreement w them like he has been up till then (though i guess it was necessary for the plot🙄), interested to see what they do with him as well

-i wanna see stanxeno on screen makeout sesh 🙄!

-will senku not losing his petrification cracks be explained? if he still has them, will xeno, stanley, luna etc still have theirs too? (honestly i hope so, i don’t wanna have to stare at xeno’s big shiny forehead for the rest of the series gsdhgfd)

ok i feel like i've finally exhausted all the numerous thoughts i had sdfdfd thank you for giving me an excuse to ramble on for so long and congratulations if you've managed to make it til the end <3

in conclusion

#it's good stuff!#sorry i really used this ask as a springboard to rant abt whatever tf i want huh #asks #anon #deadass it took me 2 days to write this finally i can go back to my diys #dr stone #drst #long post #VERY long post #come closer i am a normal drst fan #drst rants

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