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#sometimes it's just 'the writer is mediocre and more concerned with leaving their mark than adding to a story'
keensers · 6 years
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an incomplete list of things that tlj probably should have dealt with, as the middle movie in the trilogy and as a movie purportedly concerned with “characterization,” but chose not to (alt. title “i don’t regret buying a ticket for tlj but rian johnson is a mediocre writer and i could do it better @ lucasfilm pay me”):
poe got tortured like two days ago but tlj uh. never deals with that absolutely at all
literally why doesn’t holdo tell anyone anything. it’s not like poe is the only one mutineering! he wouldn’t be able to convince any of his friends if they weren’t also bewildered at the lack of communication! she doesn’t tell anyone shit! no good leader can lead alone!!!
finn at beginning of movie: I’m Gonna Go Find Rey vs. finn at end of movie: I’m Gonna Hurl Myself Into This Cannon After Having No Noticeable Character Development Because This Entire Movie Takes Place In 18 Hours
so like does rey actually do any training besides luke’s Three Lessons and slicing up a big rock or
lando calrissian where???
alright maya @productivity-is-irrelevant​ and i have been complaining about this but there are like 3 different tracking technologies happening for absolutely no reason. you know what would have been a better ~OH NO! THE FIRST ORDER CAN TRACK US...... THROUGH LIGHTSPEED!~ reveal?? if they’d been tracking the binary beacon. BAM! immediately ups the stakes on rey coming back AND on finn taking the beacon.
finn is force sensitive and that’s that on that
so like finn and kylo both start the movie injured (finn obviously moreso since he got lightsaber slashed in the back.... although his injury is treated with levity and kylo’s with seriousness............ I Wonder Why). EASY opportunity to parallel recovery / how finn heals with help and support from others and kylo constantly refuses that help and support, because he is a fuckwit asshole
fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me. fool me three times, you’re an enormous douchebag who thinks every “twist” is a good twist just because it’s a twist
the point of benicio del toro’s character (who i truly forget the name of because he was imminently forgettable) seems to be Injection Of Grey Morality which, okay, star wars could use a little more of. BUT! 1. rather than making finn and rose look foolish for trusting this weird grifter they met in capitalism hell planet prison, you know what would have been more impactful? having him genuinely help them and they STILL fail. sure, not everyone’s a good person, but part of the point of star wars is the point of all our great stories, which is hope and redemption and that there’s always some good in someone. 2. also, grey morality is all well and good, but perhaps when one of the sides is space nazis, we should be a little more critical of attempts to paint equivalencies between the sides rather than point the finger at the war profiteers selling them weapons in the first place as rose does (and subsequently Looks Silly For Doing Because Both Are Equally Bad)
knights of ren whom?
did phasma have a bigger role or like nah because would’ve been pretty cool to see some more finn vs phasma interaction / generally more closure for Finn, Former Stormtrooper
i’ve got more but i’m tired and i already know im going to start #discourse which i. ordinarily Fear but? it’s been 2 weeks and i’m still mad so
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sweetdreamsjeff · 5 years
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LAST GOODBYE the lost Jeff Buckley interview
One of the most revealing – and spine-chilling – interviews of Jeff Buckley’s short life was conducted for a fanzine with a small readership. Phil Smith resurrects it here, with thanks to Andrew Truth for the interview and extensive contributions
In 1995, fanzine journalism was giving the established music press a run for its money. Andrew Truth had been producing Plane Truth since 1988 but issue 15 (circulation: 500) was to be his last. It had interviews with the usual unusual selection of bands, some fondly remembered and some largely forgotten.
Lurking at the back of the fanzine was an encounter with Jeff Buckley, son of Tim and on the way to becoming a legend in his own right. Andrew had conducted the interview on 3 September 1994, before Buckley’s show at what was then The Hop & Grape (now part of Manchester Academy). Buckley had only just released Grace and started touring with a full band, which Andrew remembers him enthusing about. The album was yet to slow-burn its way into the hearts of millions. He had been recording a Mark Radcliffe session and playing Reading Festival and likened the part he played at the latter to being “a circus performer”. He was about to leave for the continent for further dates. His father’s reputation preceded him and for that reason, Andrew steered away from questions about family. They got on like a house on fire, Buckley rambling excitedly about his favourite music, playing live, his choice of cover versions, songwriting and immortality.
Buckley introduced himself by impulsively diving onto Andrew’s cafeteria table. He launched unprompted and with a distant air into part of one of his favourite interview topics, a solo LP by Deep Purple’s Jon Lord, as if transmitting thoughts from a superior galaxy and with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He dabbed sandalwood oil behind his ear while mimicking a cockney accent and singing jauntily: “‘Now we’ve made it, I’d like to do my orchestral piece called Gemini Suite about the signs of the zodiac.’ [Lord’s LP is] Great! It’s partly Bonanza, partly every horrible cliché. Like in Warner Brothers cartoons, Bugs Bunny music. It’s the funniest shit alive, all that 70s stuff. I can’t listen to it for long [though]. There’s a difference between indulgence and exploration.”
It had been Buckley’s questing approach in addition to his poetic soul and natural vocal talent that had drawn Andrew towards him at this early stage in his international career. Buckley settled into the interview, describing his nomadic upbringing as “a preparation and a curse, but everyone’s childhood is. It’s made it easier [for me to tour]. You’re the stranger constantly. People will find occasions where they’re readily accepted but other times, equally [the] weight of hostility comes towards you for no reason at all. I still attract the same things from childhood. People come to the shows and either run away screaming or really like it.”
Andrew expressed his contempt for middle-ground mediocrity in music. Buckley was more nuanced in his response, describing its fleeting effect: “Nothing [from the middle ground] comes to mind, that is ’cos I’ve forgotten it already. I’ve forgotten the effect and which art it was that gave me the effect. Either you remember Bob Dylan or you remember Michael Bolton.” Bolton was another Buckley interview hobby horse and appears to have been the bane of his life, and he was arguably a collective figure of hate for all alternative music fans at the time.
At the gig, Andrew described Buckley as bouncing about in a style that induced cries of “Kangaroo!”, his face dramatic and furrowed in anguish, seeming to curse injustices with disbelief. “People project tremendous amounts of personal low self-esteem and high self-esteem upon the stage, in equal parts sometimes. That’s the catharsis of going to a live show. If the performer is right, this is very co-dependent, but people go there to unload. There is this loud person who has come to a few of my gigs and her friends insist that she’s a very nice person but she can’t help but shout at me up on the stage. It’s something I just accept. It’s not like when Murphy’s Law played at The Plaza and four or five fights erupted within the space of 46 minutes. I don’t look out to see whether I’m connecting because it’s not up to me. I look out to see where the music should go. If the crowd is hot because their skin is hot due to the temperature, the set will be different. Or if it’s very cold outside and still, I’ll want to be the fireplace as best I can though sometimes I can’t accomplish it. I’m aware of the energy in the room. Moods and music fly about of their own will and they have no order and you can be either open or closed to them and that’s how the gig will go. Either from the stage or the audience, people open to emotions, movement, stories, feeling and dancing.”
Andrew asked Buckley about the unusually high number of cover versions on his first couple of releases. “It’s usually everything about [the song that attracts me], not just one thing. It’s different in the case of [Van Morrison’s] The Way Young Lovers Do. That came about because my friend Michael, who eventually joined the band, had a dream about me and him singing [it]. On a whim, I got it together and performed it one night. Then it became something else because the tempo I liked, the feel of it; the words and the song got into me. Any time I take a cover and wear it on my sleeve, it’s because it had something to do with my life and still marks a time in my life when I needed that song more than anything ever.”
Andrew expressed some shock at how good a rescue job Buckley had done with his Lilac Wine cover, as he previously disliked the Elkie Brooks version. Buckley said: “The version I’ve heard is Nina Simone’s. I’m not even sure who Elkie Brooks is. I don’t think it’s always a fair decision to have homogeneity for its own sake. I think that human beings contain many people… I do believe that there’s this one soul that lies directly through Edith Piaf and the Sex Pistols, I really know that exists: Joni Mitchell and John Cage; Billie Holiday and Bad Brains. An album in itself is a moment and the music may require for me to make an album that’s totally homogenised but not as a rule. It’s good to be varied because without knowing what sides there are to you, knowing your depths, you pretty much die. You never change and you stay in the same unbeatable format but, sooner or later, you become obsolete.”
Failure to evolve is to stymie yourself, suggested Andrew.
“That’s true. I’m not even that concerned with changing,” Jeff replied. “Just with discovery, because through discovering you may stay on one thing for a long time. Just evolving is important. Deliberately changing all the time is like making off with somebody who must change position in order to get into every [sexual] position and you never get anything started. ‘Would you please keep still, throw away the Kama Sutra and love my ass!’”
Buckley confessed to a couple of songs to which he would feel unable to add anything: “Parchment Farm Blues by Bukka White and Well I Wonder by The Smiths because I always end up doing it exactly like Morrissey does. The impetus for having covers was necessity. In the middle of a show taking people into a world that was completely my world, ‘boom’, right over there we’re into I Know It’s Over from The Queen Is Dead.”
In a segment of the interview which Andrew admits makes him a little queasy now, he picked up on Buckley’s Eternal Life and asked him if he desired immortality. Tim Buckley died young of a heroin overdose and his son was to tragically drown in 1997, only a few years after the Plane Truth interview.
“It is possible and it happens all the time, but just not in the way you want or expect it,” Buckley Jr said. “Beyond death, I know nothing but in human life… some people have a love for people around them that is so powerful and carries so many gifts with it that even when they die, people are still accomplishing things through this person’s love in them, because this person said, ‘I see you’re a writer. I see this postcard here and you’re killing me in this, you’re a great writer.’ And he’s saying, ‘I never thought about writing before. ‘But anyway, you’re a great writer and this is a great piece of work. I don’t even want to touch War And Peace, this is it,’ and, ‘boom’, he gets hit by a car and this person goes on to be a great writer or remembers that belief, against his own hope. It’s very strange, in that way, he’ll become immortal, he’ll always be remembered. He’ll be alive in people’s hearts, inside people.
“Then there’s books, records, movies, images. Here’s immortality in a nutshell: Marilyn Monroe, James Dean. They’re all around you but they don’t exist. That’s immortality in my cynical world. That’s Tinsel Town immortality, which is bullshit. They’ve lost immortality because they’ve lost their appearance as mortals. They’re symbols, gods, tools and puppets for people. There’s a fine line between being a god and a puppet...The Bible is used as a puppet and it’s untouchable and sacred but people use it as a pair of roller-skates or joke toilet paper with a psalm on every sheet. Being mortal and rooted in the earth is a very excruciating joy and not a lot of people can take it. Sometimes they just want to be famous, with no substance underneath, no work, no reason. To be famous and known and loved. They think it’s being loved but it’s just being worshipped and idolised and that’s not even being understood. It’s not even in the ballpark. It’s better to have people around you who understand you and when you come up to people in the street and talk about bagels and talk about the game, to have that connection there, it’s very important to me.
“If I wanted to be famous, I’d assassinate the President. There’s no life in it. There’s nothing wrong with being famous for something you do well or uniquely like if I invented the cure for AIDS, I wouldn’t mind being very famous. It’d be a great achievement. Or if I wrote a song that everyone loved, I wouldn’t mind that. It wouldn’t mean everything. That wouldn’t be the object or I’d be a junkie for fame, ‘I wasn’t famous for my orange juice song. It’s a great song but nobody likes it! I must suck!’ I have to be attuned to that and must have an everlasting relationship with this particular thing that there’s a public and then there’s me. At any given time, I am the public and Evan Dando [Lemonheads] is him and I understand that exchange. It’s a very strange arena and lots of people get thrown to the lions. Lots of people come away victorious for a time but then they’re out of the arena, that’s the end of it.”
Andrew ended the interview by asking about whether Buckley regularly wrote songs based on dreams, as Mojo Pin had been. “Dreaming, both waking and asleep, [is] a reservoir of mine. The thing is, there’s no difference for me between dream states and living. They both carry truth to them. I can read them both. I feel things in my dreams and I feel all the things that human beings’ lives bring them, except sometimes there are purple monsters or a chocolate dog trying to wake you up, but it’s still all very valid to me and I read situations in waking hours just like I read them in my sleeping hours, my sleeping hour, my lack of sleep world.”
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Let’s debunk this hot trash
“Part of the problem in front of Marvel Comics is the Marvel Universe is one long, mostly-unbroken line since its inception in 1961's Fantastic Four #1. There have been retcons, changes, tweaks, and cuts, but by and large it's a straight run. The universe has seen a number of resets, but it's mostly been returned to the state that long-time fans are comfortable with.”
Why is this a problem? Marvel is the highest selling comic book company in America and the long continuity is objectively not a problem.
It’s just something people incorrectly claim is a problem.
By the 1990s Marvel already had shittons of complicated continuity that had been going longer than most other long running franchise stories.
The readers back then jumped on ship just fine.
The AMOUNT of continuity you have is never the problem it’s how you manage it. In the days where every issue was treated as someone’s first and made accessible the amount of continuity was never a problem.
“Marvel Comics as a whole and the current creative stewards of its characters have to roll with 57 years of punches. They have to take the good and the bad. In the case of Spider-Man, the current writers, artists, and editors have to occasionally tackle the fact that Peter Parker hit his wife, made a deal with Mephisto to wipe out his marriage, or that Gwen Stacy had sex with Norman Osborn. ”
They don’t HAVE to deal with any of that.
They already dealt with the first of those things and simply SHOULD deal with the other two by erasing them.
But it’s also not like the presence of those things (sans OMD) is a huge hamper on the storytelling abilities or sales of the writers.
“Many of these are moments that readers and creators would simply like to forget, but they're a part of the fabric of the character. ”
Yes and welcome to ‘This is how a dramatic character on serialized fiction’ works.
“With Marvel's Spider-Man for PlayStation 4, Insomniac Games had the chance to start from scratch. They get to pick and choose what works for their version of Peter Parker and his alter-ego. The only backstory he brings to the table is that which Insomniac has carefully considered. This allows the team to drop the facets of Spider-Man that maybe didn't work and play around with some new ideas that might be better. And if Marvel's smart, they should steal some of what Insomniac Games did here.”
Why?
Insomniac already stole from Marvel.
Sales and storytelling potential for Spider-Man is NOT hampered by large continuity or even negative patches of it for the most part.
When bad stories happen so long as they are fixed then things get to move on. Even something as bad as Sins Past isn’t overly a drag because the story itself is so nonsensical it might as well not be canon, people have isolated and ignored it and the scope of the damage it can cause is fairly limited, it doesn’t really cut to the heart of the franchise. The time he hit his wife on the other hand was dealt with and moved on from.
So the existence of bad patches doesn’t really matter. Doctor Who has had no end of bad stories merely in it’s TV incarnation (to say nothing of it’s plethora of spin-off media which are all canon to varying degrees) and all those things still happened. But the show is still going strong and hit stratospheric popularity in the mid-late 2000s and early 2010s.
Hell the Simpsons is still going despite there being at least 20 years of mediocre-bad stories.
“I'm going to be honest. I'm not a huge fan of Mary Jane Watson. I don't necessarily have a problem with the character, but I've never really been a fan either. The marriage of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson was done on a whim and many writershated it at the time.”
Oy vey this shit again.
The marriage was not done on a whim. Stan Lee, the creator of Spider-Man wanted it to happen and EIC Jim Shooter decided to synch it up with the comics.
At the time Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz had been building up to Peter and MJ’s wedding with the intention of her jilting him.
But the build up from them, and other writers like Peter David, was still there.
Only the outcome changed.
As for this ‘many writers hated it’ thing, the article links to ONE writer’s opinion on the subject.
If we actually look at the majority of Spider-Man writers to have written for Spider-Man during and after the marriage we see most of them were okay or neutral on the subject.
David Michelinie wasn’t thrilled with it, but he came on side eventually. Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz were the same. Matt Fraction wasn’t too sure about it but wasn’t innately against it either. Nick Spencer clearly liked it. Howard Mackie has given statements indicating he was against it at a time but might over all be neutral. Roberto Aguirre Sacasa has never said anything on the subject to my knowledge but his work implies he’s supportive of it. Mark Millar has never said anything on the subject. J.M. DeMatteis, J. Michael Straczynski and Peter David have been outright supportive of it, as was probably Todd McFarlane, Jodie Houser and for sure artist Ryan Stegman.
Oh and Stan Lee the creator of Spider-Man. Let’s not leave him out.
Compared to that we have Roger Stern, Terry Kavanagh, John Byrne, Paul Jenkins, Gerry Conway and Jim Owsley who were against it.
Conway’s opposition was possibly due to his going through a divorce at the time. Stern’s opposition was based upon his idea of MJ being stuck in the Silver Age but he wasn’t innately opposed to Spider-Man marrying in general. Jim Owsley on his linked to blog (where he routinely lies, including claiming Ron Frenz was potentially suicidal when he never was) had a stupid sexist rationale for disliking the marriage. John Byrne is creepy shithead who would’ve preferred Spider-Man was dating underage girls anyway and along with Terry Kavanagh never wrote a good Spider-Man story in his life. In Kavanagh’s case he never even wrote a good story in his life.
So of all those people only Paul Jenkins dislike of it wasn’t unjustified. But he was an outlier.
Every other writer either liked it, was neutral on it, disliked it for nonsensical reasons or didn’t know about good storytelling in the first place to make citing them worth a damn in the first place.
And aside from aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall of this...does the author realize Peter and MJ’s relationship and MJ’s whole character doesn’t begin and end in the years they were married?
Like he talks about their marriage as though this being bad proves their relationship and her character is bad when there was 20+ years of MJ prior to that.
“I think Peter has had better love interests over the years, including Gwen Stacy. ”
And the author would be wrong.
Gwen Stacy is neither better nor more interesting that Mary Jane.
That’s why THEY KILLED HER!
“Part of that is giving Mary Jane something to do. She's been a model and an actress, but the books were always more concerned with the superheroics, so you never really got the chance to feel her drive there. She was a nightclub owner, but again, the same problem persisted. ”
Except Spider-Man stories ARE NOT MORE CONCERNED WITH THE SUPERHEROICS!
My God. How the fuck can someone have read any number of Spider-Man stories and not realized, oh yeah, the book is about Peter’s life over all and his normal life is as if not MORE important than whoever he is punching this month.
By this logic Harry Osborn, Aunt May, Flash Thompson and literally every supporting cast member who isn’t J. Jonah Jameson or like Ashley goddam Kafka, is a better supporting character than Mary Jane.
Mary jane doesn’t have to be involved in the superhero side of Peter’s life because the Spider-Man series isn’t about that. It’s about his life in general and sometimes one blurs over into the other but not always and frankly if you go by the classic stories not even most of the time.
That’s why on the occasions where such things did happen it was a big deal.
“Other than supporting Peter Parker, what did Mary Jane Watson really want? ”
To be an actress
To be taken seriously as more than a model
To support her sick cousin
To earn a psychology degree
To avoid commitment
“Sometimes she just wanted Peter to not be Spider-Man anymore, which is a downer of a conflict.”
This is another lie.
The ONLY times during which Mary jane didn’t want Peter to be Spider-Man were during the Clone Saga when she was pregnant, he’d retired and Ben Reilly was the new Spider-Man and new main character (meaning there was no issue there) or during the Mackie/Byrne reboot where she was being written deliberately out of character as an act of sabotage.
Unless the author meant like in specific stories where Peter was injured and she didn’t want him to go off and be Spider-Man at that moment or in that specific context, as opposed to wholesale retiring. At which point...how is this a downer conflict? It’s a starkly realistic and emotionally justified conflict in a series built off the back of realistic emotions because Spider-Man is a human drama and soap opera FFS!
“Sometimes, things are good... ...sometimes, they're not.
Go to the article itself and notice the second image the author uses.
If you’ve ever encountered similar lines of anti-MJ/anti-marriage argument before those panels, that artwork or stuff similar to it might strike you as familiar.
Why?
Because it’s from the exact same story. Maximum Carnage.
Every asshole who tries to make this argument uses Maximum Carnage, one of the worst Spider-Man stories over all to bolster their claims. The repetition of scenes from this story (and usually the same scene) is telling because it’s either cherry picking from a notoriously bad story and pretending like it represented a norm (and removes it from important context FYI) or...these people don’t know what they are talking about and just parrot one another with the same examples.
“Over in the Ultimate Comics line, writer Brian Michael Bendis would give Mary Jane a career choice that dovetails well with superheroes: journalist. See, the reason DC Comics' Lois Lane works is her driving motivation—to be the best investigative journalist in the world—puts her on a path to run into Clark Kent and Superman. ”
Yeah and the problem is that MJ worked as well for decades even when she wasn’t a journalist. Shit she worked for the majority of Ultimate Spider-Man’s run prior to her becoming a journalist!
Yeah, remember that tiny piece of vital information the author conveniently ignored. For MOST of Ultimate Spider-Man’s 10 year tenure with Peter Parker as the lead character Mary Jane wasn’t a journalist!
Shit, she worked for her school paper so the idea that it made her involvement in heroics more organic is pretty bullshit.
More importantly prior to her journalist job Ultimate MJ’s role and function within the narrative was strikingly similar to her 616 married counterpart!
“Her intense curiosity and lack of self-preservation makes her endearing; the audience knows what she wants and the lengths she'll go to get it.”
And MJ’s goofy deameanor at times, inner strength, sociable nature, insecutirs, struggles with guilt and commitment make her endearing.
“So Insomniac decided to take the Ultimate version of Mary Jane and play it up to Lois Lane levels. She's an investigative journalist at the Daily Bugle searching for more on the recently-arrested Wilson Fisk. Her own adventures put her on the path to meeting with Spider-Man. You get that moment where they're both asking, "What are you doing here?" and you realize there's old, unmentioned romantic history. MJ already knows Peter is Spider-Man and she's fine with that side of his life. ”
And it works great...in a video game setting where you truly are spending 90% of your time in the middle of action and the plot needs to be entirely in service of that plot.
But in the context of a comic book more about the normal lives of the characters than revolving around superheroics and starring the most famous character (who’s clad in red and blue) of one of the two biggest companies in the world MJ as a journalist would die on it’s ass because it WOULD just be derivative of Lois Lane.
I mean Jesus Christ people also deride Black Cat and Norman Osborn for being derivative of Catwoman and Norman Osborn even though they deviate in big ways. But if Spider-Man major love interest/wife literally also became an investigative journalist and primarily interacted with Spider-Man (at least within the context of the main plot) within that role it would literally just be Lois Lane.
“This Mary Jane's problem is one of equal partnership. She's a great, inventive journalist. Sure, she could die on an investigation, considering where she decides to focus her talent, but in her mind, that's no different from a police officer or firefighter dying in the line of duty. The truth is important. This flips the dynamic a bit; her problem is that Peter doesn't acknowledge that she's also right where she needs to be. She's his equal, even if she doesn't have fancy Spider-powers. ”
  MJ was Peter’s equal in the comics too.
 Being someone’s equal as a person doesn’t mean doing the same job as them, working in the same line of work or directly contributing to the superhero action.
 You just need to be an equal in your personality and agency which in-universe MJ has had.
 This is to say nothing of how by this logic Alfred, Batman’s FATHER FIGURE, is not his equal or how Ganke Lee in Miles Morales comics wouldn’t really be HIS equal either or how, again, Spider-Man stories do not innately codify the superheroics as MORE important than the normal life stuff.
  “It's a great change.”
 Yes it is, in the context of a video game.
  “This Mary Jane is funny, a bit headstrong, and leaps sometimes before she looks. ”
 You mean just like comic book Mary Jane.
 “ Comic Mary Jane has many of these facets, but it's tough to get a grasp on what she really wants outside of Peter. ”
 Unless you’ve literally read the issue immediately after Peter meets her where she makes it clear she wants to be an actress. Or read any comic in the interim where she wants to have financial security, be taken seriously, reconcile with her family, indulge in/get over her commitment issues, help her cousin, learn psychology, etc.
 “Journalism doesn't have to be the answer, but there needs to be one that intersects with the lives of Peter and Spider-Man. ”
 No there doesn’t. In the real world couples jobs don’t have to intersect. Many of Peter’s supporting cast members do not have jobs that intersect with his life outside of the fact that they are his friends and/or family. This is true of other heroes too.
 MJ being Peter’s friend/girlfriend/wife is enough of a reason for her to intersect in his life and be featured in this stories, beyond that she can be given subplots of her own just like many other characters had.
 Two of the best subplots in Spider-Man involved Flash Thompson. One of them was his and Betty Brant’s affair and the other was his struggles with alcoholism. These were problems that for the longest time Peter wasn’t even aware of but they were compelling and entertaining unto themselves because Flash was a great character and we cared because he was Peter’s friend. However these stories also at no point ever really involved Spider-Man’s life. It was strictly confined to the problems of Peter Parker’s world.
 MJ’s job can be much the same.
 MJ’s normalacy is in fact a MAJOR reason why so many fans love her so much and why so many people love Spider-Man himself.
 Why make her more like Lois and her dynamic like that of Lois and Superman, those two characters who famously are awesome but also not as relatable as Spider-Man and MJ!
  “With Insomniac's Mary Jane, everything just clicks into place.”
 As would it for comic book MJ if you bothered to pay attention.
 “The problem here is Marvel never sat down and explained how this worked. Again, Peter's death was the impetus for Miles becoming Spider-Man. In the Ultimate comics, he had the powers long before he actually put on the costume. Miles' creator Brian Michael Bendis never sat down and explained the new backstory before he jumped over to DC Comics. We don't know the specifics of why this version of Miles took up the mantle, the question of his motivations always remains a bit fuzzy.”
  No it isn’t. Miles wasn’t REBOOTED into the 616 universe. He was integrated in with everyone’s memories altered around.
 His backstory was the same as in the Ultimate Universe he just literally, physically migrated over.
 Miles motivations were thus the same albeit undermined from a creative POV.
 “When the title of Spider-Man was passed on in the Ultimate universe, that made sense. But the question the Prime universe needs to answer now is: Why do they share the title? ”
 Because that was Miles’ chosen title and Peter gave his blessing for it and on a meta-level it is intended to represent how anyone can be Spider-Man.
 “Peter has offered it to Miles, but why does this version of Miles want it in return?”
  Because Ultimate Peter died and Miles wanted to honour him.
 It isn’t the case of he just ALWAYS existed in this universe. You cannot time travel back like 15 years into the 616 Marvel universe and locate baby Miles Morales He literally, physically doesn’t exist there.
 “That's really why these new versions of the characters work. I can see what they offer Peter and what he offers them in return. ”
 Comic book MJ offered Peter a human connection, a friend, a confidant, someone to support him and companionship.
 Why does she need to offer any more than that when in real life no one is hinging their deeper relationships upon the basis of what that person does for them in terms of their jobs or hobbies.
  “And that facet is sometimes missing in the Marvel Comics iteration. ”
 No it isn’t.
 “I see what they offer Peter, but sometimes it's hard to see what they get out of the relationship.”
 MJ gets a friend, companion, someone who understands and supports her, someone who helps emotionally fulfil her and make her a better person and sometimes someone who can help her in times of emotional and physical crises.
 “Great artists steal, Marvel. The comic publisher is already bringing Insomniac's Spider-Man into the the universe with the upcoming Spider-Geddon crossover (shown below). Now it's time to steal certain facets of the storytelling for the universe. Marvel Comics is stuck with the millstone of continuity around its neck, but that doesn't mean there aren't new directions the company can move Spider-Man and his amazing friends toward. ”
 Marvel has never rebooted it’s history since 1961.
 DC has done so in varying ways 5 or 6 times.
 Marvel outsells DC.
 Of all iconic characters owned by DC, Batman’s history has altered the least from one reboot into the next.
 Batman outsells every other DC character.
 In the 1980s Marvel fans had no access to the internet, few information books or other resources and few reprints with which to catch up upon the 20-25 years worth of history for the characters and of the few resources they did have not everyone had access to them.
 Marvel comics sold more physical copies back then than they do now.
 The highest selling Marvel titles of the 1980s and 1990s were the X-Men related titles which had objectively the most complicated, convoluted and least accessible .
 So STFU about too much continuity oh my God!
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Daughter Series - Genji
The final bit of the series is here! As you likely know, I created this whole endeavor from @i-am-not-daredevil‘s fantastic Overwatch headcanons that I requested - they can be found here. I also want to give her and @zarcake-writes a huge shoutout for encouraging me throughout this process. They are both wonderful people and wonderful writers that I am very lucky to have connected with. You’re the best!
A huge virtual hug to all the people who have taken time out of their day to read this series. It means the world to me. I’ve never shared my work like this before, and having this feedback has been magical. I can’t thank you enough. 
Now, back to Genji. Here are 5,178 words worth of father-daughter meeting with a break in the middle. Hope you enjoy! 
More Daughter Series: Hanzo, Roadhog, McCree, Reaper, Soldier 76
Genji Installments: pt 1
masterlist
News that the Shimada clan was active again had worried everyone in Overwatch, but Genji, of course, had been the most shaken. By far. His mostly metallic body didn’t respond to fear the same way it had when he was a younger man, but his hands instantly went together, one thumb drawing circles on the opposite palm. This nervous tick had stayed with Genji all his life, even after he’d been rebuilt. He took a slow, deep breath while reminding himself that he and his team had brought down the Shimada clan once before. They could do it again. What’s more, this time Genji had his brother at his side, rather than against him.
The moment Winston said the brothers’ family name, Hanzo was infuriated, rage obvious in the way his face darkened. He was going to fly off the chain. And Genji was going to have to clean up after him. Again. Having his older brother join Overwatch was certainly not a bad thing, but having the sour man mope about the base had been . . . trying. The archer’s utter lack of social skills managed to wear on everyone’s nerves. Hanzo was going to be even more testy until he had more information on their family’s resurging criminal empire. Wonderful.
In the end, Genji had convinced everyone but his brother that he should be the one to investigate the recent Shimada activity. Hanzo insisted that he should come along. Genji insisted that he was too heated. The following argument had been long and exasperating, but Hanzo ultimately gave in, storming off like a stormcloud. Unfortunately, when Genji agreed to allow Zenyatta to provide support on his mission, Hanzo was pissed all over again. The cyborg had reached the end of his patience – he would deal with his brother’s pouting when he returned to Gibraltar.
“Hopefully Hanzo will be of calmer mind when we return,” Genji sighed.
“He is a man of tightly held beliefs, but all things change with time,” Zenyatta mused.
The two operatives had been cooped up in their surveillance spot for going on five days, and Genji’s hope was beginning to dwindle. He was usually more patient than this after years of training with Zenyatta, but this was proving to be too much. The idea of facing the people who had turned from being his family to being his attempted murderers had put Genji on edge. Perhaps if he could make some semblance of sense out of the information Overwatch had gathered on the Shimada, he would feel more at ease, but the intel was baffling.
All the signs pointing toward weapons dealing and extortion were unsurprising, but the continuous string of Shimada sightings in seemingly random towns scattered throughout the Eastern coast of North America were bizarre. Some of the locations were major cities, which was reasonable enough, but other places didn’t even scratch the 20,000 population mark – a few were home to less than 2,000. There was no apparent connection or pattern on the map before Genji, despite the fact that he had spent hours staring at it. He’d memorized it. He could see it when he closed his eyes. He could name each town in order of Shimada appearance, forward and backward. This map was haunting him.
“Genji,” Zenyatta said softly, “if analyzing that diagram is indeed helping you, then, of course, continue to do so, but I think we both know better than that.”
The cyborg begrudgingly looked up to his mentor and eventually groaned. “You are right, as usual, master.”
Zenyatta gave him a quick glance before turning back to the window. Overwatched had been tracking the Shimada clan’s financial records and it seemed this was the next stop on their strange road trip. “I know how important this is for you,” Zenyatta said quietly, “and I know you can fixate on the things that matter most to you. You are passionate, and that is admirable, but sometimes I believe it gets the better of you.”
Rolling his neck, Genji pushed the intel away. “I suppose I will keep a lookout then, perhaps the night air will do me some good.”
“Very well,” the omnic said floating away from the balcony. A movement from across the way stopped Genji in his tracks. Zenyatta turned back around quickly. “What is it,” he asked quietly.
“I recognize that movement,” Genji said keeping his eyes focused. “We need to move. Stay close, and out of sight.” They scaled down the side of the building silently, following the tiny flits of shifting shadows. This little town was empty this late in the evening, completely still in the crisp night air aside from the three figures darting through the rooftops. Somehow Genji and Zenyatta managed to not draw attention to themselves. Either the Shimada clan was sending out a mediocre a member to test them, or this was a trap. Genji’s brow furrowed as his target stopped beside an old apartment complex and unsheathed his weapon.
“How should we proceed,” Zenyatta asked just above a whisper.
“Continue to watch. Engaging is not our best – ” Genji began to respond, but shrill scream cut him off.
“Perhaps now we should . . .” Zenyatta trailed off, concern fraying his voice.
“Whoever, that was,” Genji replied gravely, “they are likely already dead. Our time will be better spent if we follow the assassin to – ” Glass shattered and a figure was tossed out the window above them.
“Are you shitting me?!” An enraged shriek out before the small body on the fire escape leaped back into the building.
“Well then,” Zenyatta murmured. It wasn’t often he was at a loss for words. The sounds of fighting continued.
Genji jolted out of his confused stupor. “We should help. Now.” The two Overwatch agents clambered up the fence fire escape to the third floor. Before they could enter the building to assist, a masked ninja was launched past them, grabbing a piece of the railing at the last second. He likely would have broken something important if he’d continued to fall like that. As soon as the attacker regained his composure, he slipped out of sight.
“Aw, son of a – ” A young woman sprang up beside them, peering over the ledge frantically, feet lifting off the ground as she leaned over the side. Genji almost reached out to pull her back, but she plopped back to a standing position before his hand touched her. “This is bad. Really bad,” she whimpered.
“I beg your pardon,” Zenyatta said curiously.
“They’ll be back,” she moaned, “With friends. I gotta go. I gotta go! Now.” She retreated back into the dilapidated old apartment. As she jumped over the windowsill a stray piece of glass sliced her leg, making her falter. Blood spread across her palm as she pressed her hand to the wound.
“That looks deep,” Zenyatta worried, floating right over the shards and settling next to her. “Are you in pain?”
The young woman gave the omnic a wary glance. “Um, yeah, but I’m okay. But I need to leave. I need to get away from here.”
“We are here to help, I assure you. Should anyone return to harm you, you will not have to face them alone. However, if you feel you need to flee, I won’t stop you,” he said soothingly.
Something about that synthesized tone had always calmed Genji, and it appeared to have the same effect on this short, frightened girl. “I mean,” she said slowly, “I just – there’s probably going to be a whole mess of those guys here in a sec, but . . . it might be nice to have some help for once.”
“Here,” Zenyatta moved his hand to gesture above the young woman’s head. A harmony orb glowed above her, and she was instantly fascinated. She swayed from side to side, watching the golden orb bob along with her. Her giggle was light and soft. Genji crossed the threshold and joined the two of them, wondering why anyone would put a target on the back of such a pleasant young woman.
“That feels a lot better, thank you,” she said with a smile. “Who are you – OH SHIT!”
Genji heard the rustle behind him too late. Something came whizzing past his head and Zenyatta was tossed across the room. The young woman produced a fighting staff from thin air, ready for a fight. Her motions were practiced, as if combat was second nature. Genji followed suit.
Four assassins bombarded the two Overwatch operatives and their new acquaintance. Evidently, the Shimada ninjas were still quite skilled. Incredibly so. In the cramped room, Genji found himself unable to gain an edge over the pair of assailants that continued to charge him. Zenyatta was floating about more erratically than usual, launching his orbs of destruction as fast as they appeared above him. The girl, much to his surprise, was holding her own quite well against the agile killer that towered above her. With a swift whip of her hand, she caught the opposing ninja in the throat and a desperate noise sputtered from him as he collapsed to the floor. The assailant rushing Zenyatta saw his comrade fall and instantly unleashed a brutal attack, blasting the omnic straight in the processing unit on his head. A disturbing metallic thud caused Genji to freeze just long enough for his own attacker to knock him off balance. Before he could react, the cyborg was pitched into the air tumbling back toward the street. He climbed back up the wall in a few swift jumps to see Zenyatta was still lying in a crumpled, blinking heap. He’d never seen his mentor like this. It was terrifying. Taking advantage of Genji’s momentary hesitation, all four Shimada clan members descended on the young woman pinned in the corner.
“No,” Genji howled, reading his katana, but a sudden flash blinded him. Once his eyes and accompanying visor adjusted to the light, the cyborg stayed rooted in place.
Determination sprawled across her face, the young woman brandished her weapon with deadly accuracy. She was a force of nature, just like the yellow dragon snarling alongside her staff. Each time she struck an attacker, the dragon tore sunk its teeth into him as well. When someone tried to come from behind her, the writhing beast clawed the ninja’s throat. As the last Shimada hitman tried to flee the dragon slipped away from its young master to wrestle the man down. Something snapped as dragon and ninja met. Everyone was still, but not all were breathing.
Now that the threat had been eliminated, the ethereal yellow creature casually drifted back to the girl’s side, coiling around her shoulders happily. The young woman nuzzled the dragon’s nose with a thin smile before it dissipated.
“That was quite the skirmish,” Zenyatta said slowly as he shifted into his usual cross-legged position before rising from the ground. “Are the two of you alright?”
“Master!” Genji rushed to the omnic’s side, “Have you been damaged?”
“I will be just fine, my good student,” Zenyatta assured him. “What occurred to me was the equivalent of being knocked unconscious momentarily. I will perform a more thorough check of my system once we have completed our mission. In the meantime,” he said turning to the young woman, “I believe thanks are in order.” Genji looked to her as well, a strange feeling of confusion and anxiety making the hair on his neck prickle.
She shrugged, timid now that there was nothing trying to kill the three of them. “Oh, you don’t need to thank me. It was the least I could do after you guys swung in to help me in the first place.” Her cheeks turned red as Zenyatta approached her.
“Nonetheless, without your assistance my student and I could have met our end today,” he said bowing his head to her.
The girl giggled gently, “Happy to help. But, hopefully, we won’t be doing this again anytime soon.” She flipped her wrist toward the ceiling and her staff condensed until it was small enough to fit in her hand, much the same way an umbrella shrunk in length. “Guess I better get going,” she sighed, “Nice meeting you!” Zipping her coat, the young woman headed to the fire escape with a slight limp from the gash on her leg.
“Wait,” Genji called after her, coming to his senses, “how did you do that?” Shock caused his voice to come out hoarse and high pitched.
“Do what,” she questioned turning back with a frown.
“You summoned a dragon,” he gaped. “I – I do not understand . . .”
“Right,” she said laughing awkwardly, “about that, I don’t really know how it works. It just sort of happened one day and now my crafty little friend appears whenever I really need her.”
Genji folded his arms across his chest and frowned at the floor, eyes searching the worn linoleum for an explanation. Only those of the Shimada bloodline could call upon dragons in that way, no matter how formidable a ninja in the clan became.
“What is your name,” Genji asked hesitantly.
She frowned skeptically at him, leaning toward the exit. “Why?”
“Forgive me,” he stammered, “I do not mean to pry. I am simply . . . curious.” He wasn’t sure how much he should say. Bubbly persona aside, the Shimada clan was still trying to kill this girl and had poured an immense amount of resources into doing so. There must be some reason for it.
“My colleague and I were sent here to investigate the activities of the Shimada clan,” Zenyatta said, revealing more than he probably should have. “I hope you will understand if we have a few questions since our target appears to have taken an interest in you.”
“Wait, you two know who these guys are,” the young woman said incredulously gesturing to the fallen men around her.
“Did you not,” Zenyatta asked tilting his head to the side.
“No!” Her shoulders slumped as she ran her hands over her face. “They started coming after me a few months ago, and I’ve just been running ever since. Every time I think I’ve shaken them, they pounce again.”
“Months,” Genji repeated, brows raised behind his visor.
“Yeah,” she sighed dejectedly.
“Impressive,” he muttered honestly.
“I imagine you don’t know why these people have been coming after you either,” Zenyatta asked thoughtfully. She shook her head. “Unfortunate.” The orbs around him whirled as he drummed his metal digits on his knee.
“What did you say these jerks were called?” She nudged one of the fallen ninjas with her foot, making sure he was really down for the count.
“The Shimada clan,” Genji replied.
“Well that might have something to do with it,” she said pursing her lips.
“What do you mean?” Genji’s thumb began drawing circles again. Something in the way this girl scrunched her over expressive face, spoke with her arms, and smiled easily in the face of danger felt familiar. And unsettling.
“My last name’s Shimada,” she said not looking up from the broken ninja. Genji cringed for less than a second, but Zenyatta still noticed.
“Is that so,” the omnic said slowly looking away from his student.
“Yup.”
“And you’ve never had any other sort of deals with the Shimada clan,” Zenyatta asked. “Your parents weren’t involved with them?”
“I’ve never even heard of them until now, and I was raised in an orphanage until I busted out of the system. Since then I’ve been on the streets,” she replied.
“So you are unaware of who your parents are?” The orbs around Zenyatta swirled slowly, as if mimicking the omnic’s thought process.
“I know their names, but not much more,” she said toying with the end of her tight black braid.
“May I ask you parents’ names? Perhaps if we can determine why you are being pursued, we can find a way to keep you safe.”
The girl squinted at Zenyatta doubtfully for a long moment. “I don’t know if I can tell you,” she eventually said, rubbing her arm and looking at the starry sky. “You two seem nice enough but . . . This could just be a trick. I’ve been almost killed so many times recently that I’m just not up for trusting anyone. I appreciate you trying to help – if it's genuine – but, no. No.”
She tried to leave again and Zenyatta rushed over to put a hand on her shoulder. “Please, give us a chance,” he pleaded. When Zenyatta took an interest in someone, his determination knew no bounds. He’d do almost anything to help those he felt needed him. “I can only imagine the strain you must be under. Your feelings of fear and suspicion and foreboding are entirely justified, but unless you are willing to allow people to help you, those feelings are unlikely to change. If you decide not to allow us to assist you, I understand. We will not force you, but please know that we mean you no harm, and anything you tell us will stay confidential. You have my word.”
The young woman wavered, stealing glances at Zenyatta, Genji, and the way out in turn. She rocked from side to side making a desperate little nose before swiveling back to Zenyatta. “I mean, you did try to help me against these guys. And you’ve been really nice to me. And . . . and I know I can’t keep doing this by myself,” she all but whispered. “I’m so tired of running.” She rubbed her temples as her eyelids drooped.
She looked exhausted, and a wave of sympathy rolled over Genji. He’d done enough running from his former clan to know how she was feeling. The student joined his master beside her, trying to mimic Zenyatta’s welcoming air. It was times like this he regretted that his face was concealed. He was giving her a warm-hearted smile, but the girl had no way of knowing. “We will help if we can,” Genji said softly.
“Alright, alright,” she said beginning to smile again. “Dunno what it is about you two that seems so genuine, but I’ll give you a shot. It might have something to do with the fact that I’ve always had a soft spot for anyone who likes the color yellow as much as I do,” she grinned, nodding to Zenyatta’s uniform.
The omnic let out a jovial laugh. “Color can be a strong subliminal influencer! Not that I have any intention of coercing anyone,” Zenyatta backtracked.
Both Genji and the girl smiled. “I believe you,” she assured him. “And I’ll tell you my parents’ names if you think it will help.”
“I appreciate your vote of confidence and any information you can give us,” Zenyatta replied.
She took a deep breath before speaking, “My biological mother’s name was Juliette Grace.” Genji instantly felt lightheaded, and his biotics began working faster, as if he were under attack. “My biological father’s name was Genji Shimada. I guess I got the last name from him.”
A few of Genji’s steam vents puffed out a jet of air, releasing the tension building up in his mechanical system. If only relieving his racing mind was as easy. For the first time since he’d been rebuilt the man felt as if his knees might fail him. His jaw was clenched, and his heart felt as if it would leap through his throat and scuttle away.
He swallowed hard and looked to Zenyatta, trying not to shake. Zenyatta was hardly moving, a sign that he was shocked as well. The omnic was the first to look back to the girl.
“Um, is everything still okay,” she asked. No one responded, and she tried to shrink into the wall, “You’re starting to scare me,” she admitted tentatively.
“There is no need to be afraid,” Zenyatta said quickly. “We were just . . . surprised, is all. I was thinking that perhaps you are an unknown child of Shimada Sojiro, not – ” He hesitated, turning back to Genji.
“Do you guys know my parents or something,” she asked almost breathlessly, her voice somewhere between hopeful and scared.
A long silence fell between them as Genji scrambled for something appropriate to say. He was at a complete loss.
“I believe Genji is most suited to answer that question,” Zenyatta finally filled said, “why don’t I give you a moment alone.” He began to head for the door and Genji spun around in a panic.
“Wha – no! I do not believe that is a good idea,” he squeaked.
Zenyatta simply chuckled and patted his student’s arm, “You will be fine.”
“Do you have to go,” the girl whimpered from behind, and they both looked back to her. She clearly didn’t like the idea of being alone with Genji. It made him feel guilty.
“I am asking for your trust just a little bit longer,” Zenyatta said peacefully, “I am confident it will be worth your while. However, if it will put your mind at ease, I will promise I will stay close by. If you need me, you need only say so.”
“Okay,” she said with a nervous nod. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” Zenyatta drifted away, and Genji slowly turned back to the girl.
“Are, uh,” she began after a few seconds of Genji trying to make a cohesive sentence, “are you alright?” She laughed roughly. “Seems like you’re more freaked out than I am, and that’s saying something.” She muttered this last bit under her breath, but Genji’s enhanced ears still picked it up.
He cleared his throat and forced himself to stop being cowardly. “Forgive me, I was . . . overwhelmed. I hope I did not add to your stress too much.”
She shrugged, “I’ve been at max stress level for a while now, everything just spills over the top at this point.” Part of her rosy lower lip went under her teeth, giving the pale girl an uneven smile. “I would appreciate some explanation though. Feels like I’ve been running around like a chicken with its head cut off.”
“I am sorry to hear that,” he said lowly. “I know how that feels.”
“You do,” she said looking up to him. She was just a few inches shorter, but seemed much smaller with the way she held herself.
“I have spent many years avoiding the Shimada clan as well,” he explained. “I know how relentless they can be, and how deeply that can affect you.”
“Why are they looking for you?”
He hesitated, but believed honesty was his best option, as it usually was. “I used to be a part of the clan. After I . . . left they continued to come after me.” It was more of a half-truth. Or maybe three quarters, but he certainly hadn’t just ‘left’ the Shimada empire.
“What made you decide to leave?”
“I was raised in their ranks, but after years of disappointment, the clan finally sent someone to kill me. I could not go back after that, even if I had wanted to.”
“They raised you,” she frowned.
“Yes,” he said wondering why she looked so confused.
“Wa – wait. Are you . . . are you not an omnic?”
Genji’s head jolted back a bit at the unexpected question.  “I – no. No, I am not,” he answered sheepishly.
“Oh,” she said holding the vowel a long time. She suddenly went bright red. “I’m so sorry,” she yelped. “That was really rude wasn’t it?! I shouldn’t have asked that. And I shouldn’t have assumed either. I’m so sorry! I – I was just confused, and I’m trying to figure things out, and – ” She continued to stammer nervously until she finally turned away and pressed her head into her hands.
Without thinking, Genji laughed lightly, moving so he could see her face peeking through her fingers. She peered back at him, completely still. She was an adorable little thing. “Please, there is no need hide like that,” he said still chuckling, “you need not feel so embarrassed.”
“I didn’t offend you,” she asked, still hunched.
“Not at all,” he said with a broad smile.
“Well, I’m still sorry,” she insisted putting her arms behind her and rocking on her heels. “And I’m sorry to hear that people have been trying to kill you, too.”
“Oddly enough, being almost murdered was not all bad,” he said only somewhat joking.
She sputtered out a disbelieving laugh, “I mean . . .  Good?” They stood there, close together, but no longer surrounded by tension. “Do you really know my parents,” she asked eventually, eyes wide and worried.
“I – well, yes. In a way.” He wanted to tell her, he did, but he was terrified to see her reaction. She continued to look at him expectantly. He rubbed the back of his neck for a moment and turned his head away, unable to look at her as he told the truth. “I am Genji Shimada.”
She stayed entirely still for what seemed like ages. Then her hands raised to a defensive position and Genji began to sweat. She leaned away and took a small step back. He felt cold.
“You’re serious, aren’t you,” she said almost inaudibly.
“Yes.” He had to say it twice, his mouth too dry to make a proper noise the first time.
“I, ah, I don’t know what to say,” she murmured.
“Neither do I,” his thumb all but boring circles into his palm again.
“Did you not know about me?” When Genji found the courage to look at her again, her arms were pressed close to her chest, fingers clasped tightly together, shoulders near her ears.
The question left his brow pinched in confusion. “Of course not,” he replied.
“Oh,” she said, sounding less wobbly, “I always figured you did.”
“Why would you think that?”
“My mother signed off on the adoption papers, so she decided to give me up. I guess I just assumed you were okay with it, too.”
“No,” Genji protested louder than he meant to, “I had no idea. If I had I never would have – ” He stopped himself before blubbering out all the regrets boiling over in his mind.
“What would you have done?” The dreamy tone in her voice was sweet and somehow encouraging.
“I can not say exactly what I would have done,” he said choosing his words carefully, “I was a very different man back then – and young – but, I never would have left you alone. I would have made sure you were safe and happy. You would have been loved, even if you weren’t with me.”
The words settled around them heavily and Genji began to worry he’d said too much, too soon.
“Thank you,” she said with a sniffle, wiping her eye and blinking.
“I did not mean to make you cry,” Genji said approaching her worriedly. She didn’t pull away this time.
“It’s fine,” she said with a wry laugh. “I cry easy – I’m kind of a sap. Sorry,” she said bashfully.
“There is nothing to apologize for,” he said with a gentle tilt of his head.
“No one’s ever said anything like that to me before.” Her cheeks were still red, but her smile was wide.
“I wish I could have told you sooner.”
“Me, too. But, um, what do we do now?”
Genji looked around him, remembering they were still surrounded by the bodies of men who wanted to murder his daughter. He had to get her away from this, all of this. He had to protect her. “I would like to take you someplace safe,” he said decisively, “I have some friends who can help me keep the Shimada clan away from you.”
She beamed. “You want me to come with you?”
“Nothing would make me happier.” He adored the way she giggled back at him. “Let’s go find Zenyatta and we can be on our way.”
The floating omnic was staring peacefully at the moon, turning to greet Genji and the girl as they approached. “I trust all is well,” he asked.
“It is,” Genji nodded.
“I am glad to hear it,” Zenyatta said cheerily. “And you are feeling alright as well,” he asked the young woman.
“Yes,” she said firmly, “I haven’t been this good in a long time, actually.”
Zenyatta chuckled. “You have a very lovely smile, young lady, I feel fortunate to be seeing it.”
“Aw, thanks,” she said pushing her hair behind her ear shyly.
“She is coming with us,” Genji informed his companion.
“She is?”
“Yes. I – I will not leave her on here own.” Genji had shared much with his mentor over the years, but it was different to speak with Zenyatta about his daughter. The feelings he had toward her were like nothing he’d ever experienced – overpowering and incredibly deep. He just wanted to stare at her while asking a million questions. She was beautiful. Her playful smile reminded him of his own, but without the scars. The dark green eyes that sparkled even in the dark street were poised under a pair of brows that were just as wild as his had once been. Her exuberance made him long for a time when he had been that happy. More than that, he wanted to do everything in his power to keep her happy.
“I suppose a proper introduction is in order then,” Zenyatta said turning to fully face the girl. “I have yet to hear your name.”
Genji frowned, “Neither have I.” A twinge of shame crept up on him as he realized he didn’t know his child’s name.
She laughed it off easily. “We have been rather preoccupied up until now, what with the multiple assassins and unexpected family revelations on our hands.”
Genji grinned at her quip. She was wonderful.
“My name is Mona Shimada, well, Desdemona Shimada, but please, please, just call me Mona,” she said wrinkling her nose.
“As you wish,” Zenyatta said. To anyone else, the omnic probably sounded just the same as he always had, but Genji knew him better than most, maybe better than anyone. Zenyatta was amused. He liked her. It made the father’s heart swell. With his hands centered in front of him, the former monk bowed his head to her. “I am Tekhartha Zenyatta, and it is a pleasure to meet you, Mona.”
“Likewise,” she said, respectfully repeating the motion.
“Come,” Genji said gesturing to the town behind them. “Let us find a place to take shelter and call our team. They will be expecting an update.”
“You have a whole team,” Mona questioned.
“Yes,” Zenyatta answered, “we are with Overwatch.”
“O-Overwatch,” she stammered excitedly. Genji nodded. “That is . . . awesome,” she laughed.
“They are going to love you,” he said walking alongside her. The two stayed close to one another as they meandered down the sidewalk, Zenyatta bobbing along behind them, considering giving them each a golden orb, but they already seemed to be in almost perfect harmony.
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infectedworldmind · 6 years
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On a fine day last week month in New Haven, I was talking comics on twitter with some friends while waiting for my train to move. The topic was DC Comics’ decision to reintroduce the Huntress (a female vigilante) as a woman with brown skin. If you’ve been following DC’s rebooted New 52 universe, you’ll know that the Huntress was originally re introduced as the daughter of Batman and Catwoman from a parallel universe. This new version of the character is an updated take on Helena Bertinelli, the daughter of a mob boss familiar to both fans of the DC universe that preceded the new 52 and fans of the Arrow television show.
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Meghan Hetrick-Murante’s Huntress
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Helena Wayne Huntress (George Perez)
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Classic Huntress (Thomas Castillo)
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Arrow Huntress (Jessica de Gouw)
This decision closely followed DC’s decision to reintroduce Wally West (a character who was Caucasian in earlier incarnations) as an African American. During the conversation, a good friend of mine expressed some concern about DC’s decision to fundamentally change existing characters and mournfully noted that reboots mean that no one ever exists anyway. The comment reminded me that I’ve felt disconnected from DC titles since it’s recent reboot, which led her to suggest that we still feel an emotional connection to the characters even though we all say ‘follow creators not characters’.
On a recent episode of Wait, What?, Graeme and Jeff discussed Jeff’s superhero/adventure comic ennui. (Editor’s Note: This is the best comics podcast since that other one. Become a patron via Patreon.) During the conversation, Graeme suggested that one of the reasons that Jeff found it hard to maintain interest in superhero and adventure comics not published by Marvel and DC was that he didn’t have an emotional/nostalgic connection to the characters in the book. Although Jeff’s lack of interest seemed to be driven by evolving genre preferences and his concern that the superhero/adventure books were part of a broader brand marketing strategy designed to separate readers from their cash, something about Graeme’s suggestion resonated with my own experience. I enjoy a number of the superhero and adventure books published by Image, Dark Horse, Valiant and Dynamite, but I tend to drop (or lose interest in) these titles far more frequently than lesser titles published by Marvel and DC. I love Fred van Lente and Jeff Parker, but frequently have to remind myself to pick up their non-big two superhero books.
Since I became a regular superhero comics reader again in the mid aughts, I’ve been more interested in creators and creative teams than individual characters. I’ve also banged the ‘creators over characters’ drum to everyone I knew who read superhero books. At the same time, I have to admit that I would be more entertained by a great story featuring a Superman analogue if it actually featured Superman. I’m more likely to buy a pretty good X-Men book than a fantastic issue of Harbinger, Valiant’s answer to the X-Men. Does this complicate (or undermine) the idea that creators should be more important than characters?
I don’t think it does. First, I don’t think that my interest in Superman stories necessarily implies any loyalty towards ‘Superman’ as a character or brand. I respect people who love the characters as characters, but sometimes that love looks an awful lot like simple brand loyalty. If someone is into Spider Man because the character’s story and values resonate with something in their lives, that’s great for them. It’s not the equivalent of self-identifying as a Cap’n Crunch super fan. But it’s hard to ignore the fact that the media conglomerate that owns Spider Man views people who identify as Spider-Man qua Spider Man fans as the “fiends they’re accustomed to serving“.
When I say I love Superman, I’m expressing fondness for stories featuring the character that explore the themes we associate with the Superman narrative. I’m interested in how stories by Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder or Geoff Johns and John Romita, Jr. resonate with earlier stories by creative teams as varied as Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, Mark Waid and Leinil Yu, John Byrne or Elliott Maggin and Curt Swan. I don’t care if “Superman” is married or single. I don’t care if “Wolverine” dies, but I am interested in how a story by Paul Cornell and Ryan Stegman build on a prior story by Jason Aaron and Ron Garney and an even earlier set of stories by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller in a fictional universe with tighter continuity. When I’m faced with a choice between X-Men and Harbinger, I don’t think that I’m simply expressing loyalty to my favorite brand if I choose X-Men.
I value those stories, but also recognize that the people behind them are more valuable.
An Aside: I guess that’s why I was surprised by my general lack of interest in DC’s most recent reboot. I’ve always been able to roll with the punches in the past, but there’s something about this one that leaves me cold, and it’s not just because most of the books aren’t any good. I know that all reboots are driven by a mix of commercial (expand the audience by making the books accessible to new readers) and creative (give storytellers opportunities to tell stories unburdened by decades of continuity) reasons, but the New 52 (which was preceded by two other recent reboots) just felt like more of a pure marketing campaign, the end-result of an ambitious junior executive’s corporate synergy strategy.
When I tell people to value creators more than characters, I’m trying to express a simple idea: people are more important than property, even if the property is entertaining. It’s not supposed to serve as a blanket condemnation of readers who enjoy books featuring their favorite Marvel or DC character or who have some emotional connection to the characters. It’s more of a friendly (and easily misunderstood) reminder that storytellers are more important. A nudge to get readers to think more about creators and question the degree to which we’ve aligned our perspective on the art form with that of media corporations and become shareholders with no equity. But I’m not sure that’s a good enough explanation. What do I really mean when I argue that creators are more important than characters?
A. You Should Buy This, Not That: The ‘creator over character’ credo is intended to guide consumer behavior in a ‘positive’ direction by encouraging readers to sample unfamiliar work and in a ‘negative’ direction by suggesting that they refrain from buying and reading books that they don’t like. The latter is the tougher sell. Telling people to buy something new is just a recommendation, but advising that they stop buying a book sounds more like bullying or nagging. It’s also asking readers of superhero comics to abandon the time-honored practice of reading books they hate featuring characters they love. I say ‘they’, but I can just as easily say ‘we’, because it’s taken me a long time to break the habit of reading books after the great creative team that brought me to the book either leaves or breaks up. I’ve stuck around on books after the artist half of the creative team that first attracted me to the title departed and after great writers were replaced by a series of journeymen. When I was a kid, I persevered because I wanted to keep up with the things that were going on in the imaginary lives of my favorite fictional characters. I loved the good stories but tolerated the bad ones as a plot development delivery system. I never had a problem with picking up unfamiliar projects by my favorite creators, but I found it difficult to drop books about characters I loved after I lost interest in the writing and/or the art. I was the one who kept reading Fanastic Four after John Byrne left and Daredevil after Ann Nocenti departed. It was a joyless exercise that made me a “well informed” reader with ambivalent (borderline cynical) feelings about the genre.
My dilemma was typical for readers of my generation of readers, who were known for borderline obsessive-compulsive collecting habits. Some bought everything for reasons similar to mine, and others did so because they wanted a complete set of a particular title (or group of titles) or because they viewed the books as an investment. In traditional narratives about the comics industry, these habits eventually destabilized the market place and led to the infamous speculative bubble in the direct comics market during the late 1980’s and ’90’s. This story rests on the assumption that the marketplace was ever particularly stable, but that’s a discussion for another day. Anyway, I got older and my interests broadened. I couldn’t afford to keep buying books that I didn’t really enjoy. As I went through the process of pruning my pull list, I came to the pretty obvious realization that my views on the state of the genre and the medium improved when I limited my purchases to books that I like by creative teams who were doing interesting work. It’s like any medium – when you cut out the mediocre pap (however you choose to define that), everything feels like a new Golden Age. I’ve always suspected that the market for superhero comic books was distorted by the buying habits of consumers who picked up books that they didn’t like, and it would be very interesting to see how the market responds when/if consumers reveal their true preferences.
The only thing that complicates the idea of telling people to stop buying books they don’t really like is that some readers are simply more interested in Marvel and/or DC’s vast narratives than comic books. I used to get annoyed by this, but its just what happens when the two biggest comics publishers are primarily interested in transmedia brand management. Marvel is (understandably) focused on building an audience for the different versions of the Marvel Universe, whether in comic book, video game or film/television form. DC is… I don’t really know what DC is doing. In any event, there’s some nontrivial portion of the readership for both publishers that aren’t actually comic book fans. I still think that subgroup would have a better experience if they followed the creators that they liked in their fictional universe of choice, but I imagine that they have become comfortable with viewing the storytellers as interchangeable cogs. If you don’t mind Branagh departing the Thor franchise, you’ll probably be okay with Warren Elllis and Declan Shalvey exiting Moon Knight.
B. You Should Think Differently About Superhero Comics: We spend too much time talking about the plot of superhero comics and too little about the creative choices made by the storytellers. We still compare runs on an individual title when we should focus more of our attention on the dialogue between a creative team’s run on a title and other work by members of the team. I think that the relationship between Brian Bendis’ run on the X-books and Bendis’ previous work with John Romita jr. on the Avengers or between Bachalo’s work on X-Men and his collaboration with Zeb Wells on Amazing Spider Man is far more interesting than the one between Bendis and Bachalo’s book and the preceding run by Kieron Gillen, Carlos Pacheco, Greg Land and Nick Bradshaw.
If the average consumer identified storytellers as the source of meaning and value in superhero comics, we might be more inclined to think and talk about structure, rhythm and theme instead of plot developments. We might spend more time searching for the artistry in a book and less speculating about plot twists. Sometimes we criticize critics for not helping audiences understand the unique visual vocabulary of comics, but if audiences viewed superhero titles as more than delivery systems for the adventures of their favorite characters, the demand for that kind of discussion might increase. It would be a response to the limits of the now-standard critical approach of viewing Marvel/DC titles as components of a vast narrative, which tends to set the product line (or even a family of titles) as the boundary of the story instead of the individual series or issue. It’s fun to explore how large scale collaborative authorship is practiced in Marvel and DC, but that focus can sometimes lead us to deemphasize the individual comic (or run by a specific creative team) as a discrete creative product.
C. You Should Recognize That People Are More Important Than Property: This is the simplest and most important reason why we should value storytellers more than characters. It’s the refrain that came to mind every time I read comment threads (I know, that’s my own fault) on articles about publisher/creator disputes or about retired creators who had significant financial and/or health care issues. Although some would express support for the creators involved, there was always a contingent of commenters who used the thread as a forum to cosplay as free market quasi-libertarian economists. They would argue that creators should be satisfied with the compensation that they received at the time the character was created, regardless of whether the contract was adhesive or unconscionable or whether the creator (believed that they had) retained reversion rights. They would argue that a creator’s heirs were being selfish for pursuing claims on behalf of the estate. I wasn’t bothered by their ignorance of economic theory and contract and intellectual property law. If we silenced everyone who talked about things they didn’t understand on the internet, there would be very few conversations. It was the lack of empathy, the ease with which people dismissed the sins of the past and the struggles of retired storytellers. These readers were primarily concerned with getting their superhero comics fix and afraid that a successful lawsuit would interrupt their supply or that hard-luck stories about creators would sour their reading experience.
My disgust at these comments is offset by the sense that publishers have contributed to this mindset. Every time someone wished that the heirs of the Siegel or Kirby estate would just go away, I was reminded that most fans’ views on creators rights and intellectual property are perfectly aligned with the financial interests of the industry’s largest publishers. It’s the natural result of the companies’ strategy of convincing fans that the people creating the projects they love are superstars and interchangeable. Publishers will give storytellers ‘fun’ nicknames, refer to them as architects and spin elaborate tales of happy bullpens, but creators are replaceable (especially if they’re the penciller, inker, colorist or letterer. Why yes, comics are a visual medium, why do you ask?). They want us to think that the team working on our favorite books are the greatest until they depart and are replaced by another team that is the greatest. A reader who cares more about the publisher’s characters than the people who tell the stories is a more loyal customer. If that same reader valued the storytellers more than the publisher’s brands, it’s less likely that their perspective on the industry will be perfectly aligned with the large publishers.
Why I Might Be Completely Misguided (Avoiding Epistemic Closure): I’d love to believe that a fanbase that adjusted the comparative value of creators and characters would be more willing to engage with the realities behind the production of their favorite comics. The problem is that this idea relies on the assumption that we (the community of readers) share a common set of prior beliefs. The community of readers is politically diverse and includes economic conservatives and libertarians who are naturally inclined to embrace a media corporation’s perspective. These readers are less likely to sympathize with the plight of an older creator with health concerns or be troubled by the sordid history of superhero comic publishers. Adjusting the comparative value of characters and storytellers may make some difference, but it isn’t a panacea.
I also can’t ignore the possibility that my expectations are unreasonably high. Most consumers of culture don’t spend much time thinking about the artists who create the culture or the conditions under which it is produced, particularly if it is created through a collaborative process and is owned by a media corporation. We talk about the cult of the show runner in American television, but no one talks or cares about (and I’d bet that few even know the identities of) the show runners behind the most popular shows like the Big Bang theory or one of the interchangeable CSI shows. I’d bet that few people even know who they are. Some people want their entertainment to be the amusing/stimulating stuff that fills the gaps of their lives. Would it be fair to expect them to do more? Maybe not. Maybe the best that we can do is to occasionally remind them how the sausage is made and offer an alternative way of looking at the industry/culture.
If you don’t read superhero comic books, I could understand why you’d feel like the superhero books published by Marvel and DC have never felt less relevant to the future of comics culture or the conversation about comics. That might be true, but the superhero books published by Marvel and DC account for a significant share of the direct and digital market and many of the high-profile creators that help make the ‘independent’ scene economically viable got their start (or are still working for) one of the ‘Big Two’. Both publishers and their respective readers still matter, and adjusting the perspective (and buying habits) of the readers is a necessary component of industry reform, whether we’re looking for more diversity or better deals for creators.
The bottom line? Whether you’re a fan of superheroes as media properties or cultural symbols or vast narratives or simply as a genre of comic books, you should recognize that the books are a product of the creative vision of those who make the book, not the company that publishes it and that we should value them more. And readers like me need to do a better job of stepping outside of our comfort zone by buying Harbinger instead of X-Men.
  Storytellers Up, Characters Down (If Superheroes Can’t Swim, They’re Bound to Drizown…) On a fine day last week month in New Haven, I was talking comics on twitter with some friends while waiting for my train to move.
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