#non comic book superhero

[bruciemilf]

Comic book writers who still make Bruce hit his kids even after years of mass criticism from fans who TELL you it's a bad creative choice that pushes them away from the fan base and comics in general,,, you did this for what?

#no bc like lets talk about it. if you hate robins that much. just. don't include them. but it's a very specific case of brain rot for comic #book nerds and writers -- MALE comic book nerds & writers -- that just. stops them from understanding #we're here because we love seeing bruce being a good father? we're here because we enjoy seeing a male superhero capable of #care and love after being so heavily traumatized to OTHER traumatized people? like. why. why is it so hard #to believe we love bruce more when he's a good father? ik the answer -- its bc these creators and consumers are #shitty men in general and they're incapable of understanding we might find healthy traits cooler than the machismo toxicism they've #been regurgitating since the fucking 90s #please just let a woman or a non shitty mam write bruce because this is so tiring #bruce wayne #dc #batman #bruce wayne is a good dad

[wingedarrows]

Me: I'm gonna write this fic that involves barry allen despite having never read any of his source material other than screenshots a friend has sent and watched nothing about him aside from that one lego movie because he'd fit into it well, is a blorbo-in-law, and I've learned a lot through osmosis from said friend and tumblr posts, and it's gonna be so funny to write a fic with a character I know the lore but not the details of

Me, five days later: -buying a hundred dollars worth of barry allen flash comics-

#self #basically I finished the impulse book I had and was like hm #this was good actually #and there's a local comic store that I know of #and actually reading the source material WOULD be helpful for the fic . . . #if you told me five years ago I would get into non-spiderman superheroes I would not believe you #the powers of friendship huh

[un-pearable]

oh yeah saw blue beetle last night and one million thumbs up. going into having heard it’s very tokusatsu and comic booky made it one million times better. goofy and stupid in fun ways. i’m so glad we’ve looped back around to comic book movies being like comic books: confusing chronologically and catered to fans willing to put up with wildly specific nonsense. also heck of a great job making a movie about gentrification and colonization out of the chaos of blue beetle lore and corporate blandification i genuinely had fun

#like it’s not the BEST done story about gentrification and colonization. but it’s a very interesting attempt at doing one in the dc universe #also ADORED how they did ted’s old tech i love love love that it was chronologically accurate and cheesy in the best way #of COURSE his tech is outdated he was a superhero TWENTY-THIRTY YEARS AGO!! #when mcu stuff went back in time they just retconned it to be cool futuristic sci-fi stuff too. i ADORE the idea that a) there WERE #superheroes in the last and b) time still passes! them being there shaped the world and influences the superheroes we have now!! #and SO glad to see DC finally capitalizing on their legacy heroes <- the one thing that stands them out from marvel #yeah this was a mediocre movie to the average fan. i think comic book movies should be. fuck blockbuster everyone movies #cbms should be wildly specific and about characters no one’s ever heard of to tell fun stories with them #also love the minimal level of integration with the rest of the dc movie verse #jaime went to gotham university and there was that one name drop of bruce wayne in an ad but SO happy no obnoxious cameos. #this is just another corner of the universe! it’s a coherent WORLD but that doesn’t mean the same individuals need to show up everywhere. #loved it. i know it’s not a great movie but i had so much fun from the moment i saw the intro talking about actual lore #it was 100x improved by what i already knew about jaime reyes and i know that’s a bad thing for non-aware viewers but fuck it. stop catering #to the audience that refuses to read comic books or put up with their tropes. cater to the people who are already here and love it #thank youuuuuuuuuuuu <3 also give people from the cultures superheroes represent more money to tell those superheroes stories . it’s great

[folansstuff]

god i love this panel

god i love this whole series

why cant all comics just be about b-listers doing cool shit

#spider-woman #spider woman #jessica drew #marvel #marvel comics #its something about non-a list female superhero books that just do it for me #x-terminators and this n she-hulk and laura wolverine for example #theyre so much more interesting and fun than following whatever is happening to spider-man rn

[magnificent-nerd]

The Sandman has been released on Netflix.

Today, day 4 of its debut, I typed in a search on twitter and noticed this result:

Image description: twitter search results for "thesandman" come up as "TheSandman" trending, "TheSandman gay", and "TheSandmanNetflix".

This is because fans are talking about all of the LGBT representation on the show.

LGBT rep from the main characters, who are integral to the plot. Characters who are interesting and who have depth.

Now for comparison, this is a search I made last year (October '21) after previews of the mcu movie Eternals release:

Image description: twitter search for "phastos", first result is "phastos", followed by "Phastos hiroshima".

I took this screen shot of one of my many searches in 2021 for the character name "Phastos", because I wanted to document fan reactions to the 'first openly gay character' from the mcu.

Well, let's just say that Phastos and his onscreen husband Ben didn't take the Internet by storm. And hardly surprising as they're both side characters, Ben is only a cameo, and as the popular search results show the most talked about point for mcu's 'first openly gay' character was apparently he helped humans make the atom bomb.

And that was about it for Phastos in the entire movie, which is a great waste of potential.

We knew nothing of his life with his husband Ben or their child; does Ben have super powers? Does their child? Do they know Phastos is immortal and will outlive them? How can brief cameos of one kiss (shot in the dark at night, compared to the much longer scenes of het romance shot in bright lighting and daylight) ever answer all of the questions we have?

And in fact, why should we even care about these characters when it's clear that the studio does not?

The mcu have pulled the same nonsense with the recent Thor Love and Thunder, after much self-hype for Valkyrie finding love, all that actually happened in the movie was she briefly mentioned a long dead ex-girlfriend, and briefly kissed a nameless Extra on the hand in one scene. All while the hetero relationship is taking center stage of the story, just like Eternals.

None of that is LGBT representation, Disney. And don't you dare try to suggest the rocks somehow make up for the lack of PROMISED LGBT representation onscreen.

It's actually appalling, and I wish fans would wake up and stop falling for this obvious baiting. Disney/Marvel Studios will keep taking your money while only providing mere seconds of half baked scraps onscreen, easily cut from the movie and not mattering to the overall plot.

Aren't you hungry for more?

Watch The Sandman on Netflix and be inspired to see yourselves be PART of the main story for once. With characters who have depth, and motivations, and spend more than brief seconds on the screen.

The Sandman has: many mlm and wlw characters, and also multiple androgynous characters including Desire played by a non binary actor (Mason Alexander Park):

Image description: an androgynous white character dressed in glamorous black clothes with feathers, wearing makeup on their face, reclines on a red chair.

The Sandman is a perfect example of how LGBT representation can look, what a studio is actually capable of providing with the right direction.

So please, watch it. See for yourselves.

Image description: Netflix poster for the Sandman showing a diverse cast of characters.

My review: The Sandman is a must watch piece of media.

This show of 10 episodes has the most LGBT representation onscreen together for any live action adaptation of a comic book that we've seen so far (August 2022).

The Sandman is a beautiful exploration of story, characters, visuals and dreams. Compelling and inspiring. A welcome breath of fresh air; watch it and feel inspired.

Together as fans we must say, this is what we want, and we demand more of it.

#representation matters #comic book adaptation #review #the sandman review #lgbt #superhero genre #marvel criticism #mcu #mcu critical #lgbt characters #lgbt actors #non binary actor #non binary #eternals #phastos #disney criticism #mcu criticism #valkyrie

[spacepunksupreme]

It’s funny to me the way some people have no perception of “art” as anything other than like realistic oil paintings or whatever. Sometimes I tell people I’m an illustrator then when I specify that I make comics they get super confused until I am forced to use the explanation “like Superman” and then they go ohhhhh, people do that?? Lmao

#thinking about this because I saw some family members earlier this month that I havnt seen in a fee years and in the middle of a #conversation realized that while they know Im ‘an artist’ they have absolutley no idea what I actually do. one of them started talking to #me about like traditional portrait painting as if I do that and then when I started talking about comics ive worked on one of them #got super confused and thought I was talking about comics as in stand up comedy lmaoo #the conversation didnt even reach a point where I could explain that non-superhero comic books exist because they were still confused by #the time we got to the superhero explaination lol #hannah is talking

[just-an-enby-lemon]

Sometimes I wonder what the comic industry - and the movie industry to a smaller extend - would be in a wolrd where the Comic Code Authority was never created. Or even just DC if the Corruption of Innocence was never wrote.

I wonder if I would even like comics in this wolrd (likely yes) and wonder what would I like in comics in a wolrd they are soo diferent from the ones I know (probably horror comics). Who would this characthers I love so much even be? And would the lack of censorship in comics had made it a more safe industry to woman, poc and queer people (both to work and to enjoy?)? Would my safe heaven be actually safe? Would comics be more used to subvert and criticize society in more direct and "extreme" (extreme compard to now days not really to extremism) ways?

#the code changed comics to an inconprehensible level #for instance both batman non kill rule and his partnership with the police exist because the code #the code forbid a negative depiction of cops #it's also likely the reason the villains are queercoded #as it forbid representation of queer people and that queercoded characthers were show as a deviance and punished #and that are just some rules #crime and horror comics were also more popular than superheros after ww2 but the code was extremely harsh on them #comic code of authority #censorship #comic book history #dc

[daydreamerdrew]

The Defenders (1972) #46

#I love how personal the Defenders feel #like in beginning the issue with a bunch of members deciding to leave #we’re left with the characters who are the most emotionally invested in the team #which I think was the right move for the book #because of its premise as starring a ‘non-team’ #where the characters are all outsiders/loners who come together but don’t like all live together like other teams do #it’s not just that there needed to be a serious threat that called them together #but often some kind of personal reason why they were willing to band together #and the fact that not every team member showed up for every mission kept each issue’s cast smaller #allowing for a portrayal of their team dynamics that I enjoyed #but over the past maybe like 10 issues the cast has grown #so this move feels like the book going back to its roots #best exemplified by the Hulk who isn’t really a traditional superhero #but is very protective of his friends and so will fight villains to help them #like it’s personal for the characters so I’m personally invested #marvel #bruce banner #my posts #comic panels

[luciferinn]

read the new ultimate x-men #1 and quite liked it peach momoko one of the best doing it for real and i'm excited to see where it goes

#thats my big 2 comic opinion of the month #haven't been reading much big 2 lately outside of keeping up on x-men and the new ultimate universe #getting into new superhero books just hasn't been high up on my brain i've read thousands of those and i really want to explore more #the best part is when i get so bored of superheroes and think i don't like comic i can just read a non superhero comic and be blasted #like wow i love this medium so much! #okay thats all byeeee

[misplacedfangirl83]

OCs but classic marvel comic book covers

Aaron belongs to @beileysnailz

#OC art #ocs #oc artwork #gay ocs #lgbt #lgbt ocs #superhero ocs #superhero oc #superhero art #comic book art #non binary oc #transgender oc #art #tradtional art #gay #my art

[locusfandomtime]

fake book covers based on Cub’s museum gift shop and the signs he posted with fake book titles! This was a lot of fun haha. I know there are more fake books, and now he’s getting signed books from hermits, so I plan on making more soon! May even make a Reddit account just to post these guys on the subreddit

design notes under cut!

The Diamond Pillar Saga: Hotguy(TM) Flies Again - this title evoked such a visceral image of something you’d find in a Scholastic book fair so I went for sort of pre-teen superhero action novel, the kind with a bunch of pictures and stupid chapter titles. I imagine in-universe Scar is trying to sell as much Hotguy merch as possible so whilst he has stuff for the adults (shirtless calendars) he’d also have comic books and novels for the kids. There’s a concorp logo because I like to think the Hotguy brand is owned by concorp and it was just a cool touch

Grian’s Theory of The Mind - have you ever seen books on like psychology and breaking habits and behaviour, that kind of stuff? They always look like this. There’s a yellow background, a simple abstract design, a bunch of book awards/reviews, and a single sentence hook. This one was the easiest and most fun to design!

Joe Hills: Transformative Poems - this was based on the “Joe Hills Poetry Corner”. Transformative poems is from “transformative works” meaning… fanfiction basically. Joe has written fanfic before and I thought an Iliad/Hermit crossover would be something he’d do. Joe made the cover himself so it has a dyed leather cover and a simple design. He tried to ask Cleo for a review so he could put one on the front but she was kinda mean about it and laughed at him so he wrote a fake one instead

Ren the King: A Complicated Legacy - this one had no explicit author but I decided Cleo made the most logical sense. Historical non-fiction books often have these B+W photo backgrounds with some dramatic, fancy text overtop, so I painted the Crastle and added then messed around with text. There’s a reduced sticker over Cleo’s name because this is Cub’s gift shop and he wouldn’t want to give her credit (but still wants to stock up his shop)

#posting this on the alt since this isn’t really my normal art #locus fandom time #hermitcraft #hermitblr #gtws #gtwscar #goodtimeswithscar #grian #Hotguy #crastle #Joe hills #hermitcraft fanart #book cover #book design #art #artists on tumblr #hermitcraft s9 #fanart #locus art time

[astermath]

“So? Whatever.”

pairing: dave lizewski x popular!fem!reader 

summary: The preppy girl that just about everyone admires has more in common with Dave than he expects. He doesn’t quite know how to handle this information, but it excites him nonetheless.

word count: 2K

♡ LANDING PAGE♡

notes: I haven’t written something like this in a good while, so please bear with me if I’m rusty or there are some mistakes here and there. Reader is referred to with she/her pronouns, I tried to be as non descriptive as possible about her appearance. I do love writing a bit of a mean reader like this, but don’t worry, she’ll warm up to him. This fic takes place in senior year for age purposes, I’m pretty much fully ignoring the timeline of the film. Comments and/or requests are super welcome btw!! Hope you enjoy!! <3

(ps this will get a part two don’t worry xx)

To Dave, girls like you were unreachable. You could hear about them, you could listen to them talk in the hallways, sneak a glance their way… But talk to them? Any single one of their group would consider that social suicide. The only reason any of them even looked in his direction was to ask him to do their homework. So why in god’s name were you at his locker? Why were you acknowledging his existence at all?

“What’s that?” You leaned against the locker next to his, pointing at the piece of a comic book panel he’d taped to the door. It pictured Spider-man putting on his mask for the first time, something Dave looked to when he needed some motivation for the day. 

He struggled to get basically any words out, still not fully registering that you’re within such close range. He could smell you… God that was really weird to think about, he felt like a creep already, but you just… Smelled really nice. Like vanilla, mixed with something sweet. He realized he hadn’t answered your question yet and was just staring in front of him like a weirdo. “O-Oh, yeah, that’s uh… That’s Spider-man. It’s this… This superhero I like.” He adjusted the strap of his backpack to keep his hands busy.

You smiled and rolled your eyes. “Duh, I know who Spider-man is, please.” You couldn’t help but think he was doing anything to avoid looking into your eyes, as if you’d turn him to stone if he dared to do so. Which, yes, was exactly how he felt.

“I wanted to know which comic that was from. The art style looks a lot different than the ones I’ve seen.” Now this part was pretty much making his teenage brain short circuit. He probably didn’t hear that right, there’s no way a popular girl like you read comics, right? This had to be some kind of elaborate joke, like you were trying to pull a prank on him by making him ramble about his favorite superheroes. However, he wasn’t close minded. Even if this was a prank, at least you were talking to him, right?

“Yeah, sorry, I uh… Forget he’s a pretty popular character sometimes. This one’s from a collector’s edition. One of the pages was kinda falling apart so I just… Taped my favorite panel to my locker.” Again, he tried to look anywhere else, but it felt rude not to be making eye contact with the person who’s trying to give you a chance at a conversation. His eyes met yours and he realised he hadn’t ever actually seen you up close like this. You were really pretty, he knew that, but he never noticed these particular things about you before. The way your hair framed your features so nicely, the little beauty mark that seemed to be somehow perfectly placed, or the way a dimple appeared on your right cheek when you smiled.

“Hopefully you didn’t pay too much for it, those things cost like, a fortune.” You followed, snapping him out of his haze as you twirled a piece of hair between your index and middle finger. Dave was much taller than you, so you had to look up to match his gaze, which was already hard since he kept avoiding your eyes. You never realized how much he’d matured since freshman year. He looked pretty cute… Really cute, actually. 

“S-So, uhm, I really don‘t wanna be rude, but…” He closed his locker before looking at you with a rather awkward expression. “Why are you here? Why are you… talking to me?” Honestly, not an unjustified question. Dave was often the subject of bullying, and the popular girls clique made no exception to that rule. He doesn’t remember you specifically doing anything, although... He has a vague memory of you being in the car with those jocks when they threw spoiled milk at him.

“What? A girl can’t talk to her fellow classmate? This is a free country, you know.” You pretended to be a little hurt by his assumption that you were probably just here to make fun of him. In all honesty he was still a little dumbfounded by this whole ordeal, and the fact that half the people that passed you were giving you two weird looks really wasn’t helping. “You know I sit behind you in English, right?” He responds by nodding. He is painfully aware of this fact, as your friends had expressed their empathy for you when your seat was assigned behind him, though you honestly didn’t mind. And also the fact that he got a fair share of gossip from you and your best friend always whispering to each other. “Well,” you flipped a bit of hair over your shoulder. “I saw you had a copy of Birth of Venom in your backpack, and I... Wanted to ask if I could borrow it...” You looked to the side, muttering the last part. As much as you tried not to care what people thought, you did have a bit of a reputation that you were stuck to. Liking comics wasn’t for you, you were a cheerleader, you went to parties, you liked shopping. Okay, you secretly liked comics.

Dave looked at you with a puzzled expression. “I-I’m sorry, can you repeat tha--”

“Can I borrow your stupid comic or what?” You interrupted him, clearly looking a bit embarrassed. 

“Oh!” His face was getting hot, this conversation was lasting way longer than he imagined it would. Usually he’d have his face shoved into his locker by now. “U-Uhm, sure! It’s a bit expensive, but... Well, just don’t damage it, please.” He took his backpack off his shoulder and was about to pull it out before you grabbed his arm. 

“Not here you dumbass! Just, like... Ugh, meet me at my car after school’s over, you can hand it to me then.” You were acting like this was some kind of illegal drug deal, but this truly was something important to you. Your dad had already made it very clear that he didn’t want his little girl becoming some kind of tomboy and have her mind run rampant with superhero stories. Especially with this Kickass guy running around...

The bell rang and you silently thanked it for doing so. “Look, I gotta go. White Corvette, by the vending machines.” You walked past him, and a waft of that lovely vanilla scent hit his nose. He damn near melted into the floor when your arm brushed against his. “Later, Lizewksi.”

You leaned against the hood of your car, scrolling on your phone as you waited for the brunette to show up. You couldn’t help but feel a little guilty that you were just meeting him in secret like this. It’s not like you were embarrassed to be seen with him, or that you didn’t like him, it’s just that liking comics and superheroes was just about the dorkiest thing anyone could be into. Especially with Kickass running around, and, well, kicking ass, people would probably be thinking you’d be into this whole vigilante business yourself. Sure, you thought it was cool that people were doing something about all the crime, but you’d rather die than mess up your hair beating some thug’s ass. 

You noticed someone approaching and noticed that Dave wasn’t alone. With a bit of a disgusted expression, you gestured to his two sidekicks. “I don’t remember inviting the entire geek entourage to come see me. This isn’t some kinda meet and greet, you know.” Todd and Marty seemed, just like Dave before, a little shocked that you were talking to them. 

“S-Sorry, they just uh...” Dave began.

“We didn’t believe him.” Todd followed.

“...believe what?” You questioned, crossing your arms.

“That a chick like you was into comics.” Marty said, before Todd smacked him on the back of the head. “Dude! Don’t say it like that!”

You got a bit flustered, and looked at Dave. “You told them!? What the fuck, Lizewski?”

“I-I’m sorry!” He held up his hands. “They were asking me what we were talking about, and... I panicked.” They were more so insinuating that he was flirting with her, and he didn’t want that rumor going around, in case your jock brother caught wind of that and beat his ass for flirting with his sister.

You sighed, looking down and pinching the bridge of your nose before waving your hand out in a dismissive manner. “It’s... whatever, just leave. Before I change my mind and throw a bitch fit.” His two friends gave him a suggestive look before heading out. “Those two better not snitch or I’ll cut off their shrimps.” He nodded, just a little intimidated by the threat.

He got out his backpack and handed you the comic. “I’m still surprised I uh... I never knew you were into this stuff.” His breath hitched in his throat when your finger brushed over his as you took it from him. You flipped through it, keeping your eyes on the pages.

“Yeah, well... There’s a lot you don’t know about me, as much as I’m sure you guys love to assume.” You realized you hadn’t even told him your name, so you looked up at him and held out your hand, introducing yourself. You know, out of courtesy. 

“I-I know your name, but uhm... I’m Dave.” Your hand felt so soft, your beautifully manicured fingers being a real juxtaposition to his. His hand was much bigger and rougher than yours. You wondered why his hand was so calloused anyways... He didn’t look like he did many sports.

“Wait... Your name isn’t Lizewski?” You chuckled. “Christ, my bad... I always thought that was just your first name.” Your feeling of guilt for the boy before you flared up a bit again. He was being really nice to you, offering you something personal of his that he probably spent a pretty penny on. And you didn’t even know his actual name before. No wonder some people thought you were a bit of a bitch, you thought to yourself. 

“Hey, uhm... I know you got a bunch of these, and my dad would kill me if he knew I was reading them. He hates vigilantes, and he thinks reading comics will get me into the whole thing. Stupid, I know, but... He takes it surprisingly seriously.” You put the comic away carefully. “So I have a proposition for you.”

His eyebrows rose a little. A proposition, alright. No big deal. Could be literally anything though. 

“Come to my house this Saturday, bring a bunch of these, and I’ll tell my dad you’re coming to tutor me for physics or something.” You tilted your head a little, your locks falling gently over your shoulders. “I’ll pay you. Money’s not a problem. It’ll be like I’m renting them from you.”

He thought for a second, but in all honesty... How was this not a total win/win situation? He got to be in a pretty girl’s room, read comics with her, talk about them and make money. What kind of idiot would say no to that? “Yeah! Sounds good to me, uh... What do you want me to...” His words trailed off as you pulled out a pen and reached for his hand, writing a string of numbers on the back of it. 

“I’ll text you the address, and which series I like. I’ll let you do the picking. Oh, and Dave?”

“Y-Yeah?” He felt like his heart was going to beat right out of his chest. This is the closest you’ve ever stood to him. 

Your grip on his hand tightens, and you look up at him with a death stare. “Not a word to anyone about this.” You followed with a cutesy smile. “Alrighty?” You let go of his hand and put your stuff away before pulling out your car keys. 

Dave stands frozen in place, a faint blush already spread across his cheeks. He swore you were going to be the death of him. He looked down for a second and realized that what you wrote down wasn’t just some random numbers. It was your phone number. It all just suddenly felt very real to him, he’d never gotten a girl’s number before. And you were just about the last person he’d expect it from too.

You got in your car and turned on your engine. “See ya on Saturday, Lizewski! Don’t be late or I’ll kill you!” You smile, before driving off at a totally normal and acceptable speed. 

He gave a nervous wave before he looked back down at his hand. There was a little heart scribbled behind the phone number. It probably meant nothing.

But boy did it make his heart flutter. 

#aster writes #dave lizewski x reader #dave lizewski x fem!reader #kickass x reader #kickass x fem!reader #kickass #kickass 2 #aaron taylor johnson #atj #aaron taylor johnson fic #kickass fic #dave lizewski fic #I think that's all the necessary tags lol #SO SORRY IF THIS IS ASS #THIS WAS TOTALLY SELF INDULGENT #my atj phase has been reactivated once more... #anyways thoughts are most welcome #and asks / requests too!!! #davemath #aster writes kickass

[iloveallmyocs]

bc im tired of batfamily members leading always leading their respective teams in crossover comics (even when there are perfectly mature, non emotionally stunted superheroes present), I thought Id list each each member (acc to age) and write whether or not theyd be an actual good leader.

Bruce: No. He's the kind of person in a group project would do all the work but would leave the presentation to someone else. (what im trying to say is he has good planning but poor communication skills. unfortunately thats a necessary skill for a team leader)

Babs: no. she can be a good mentor and a cool guy in chair, but I cant see her leading a team.

Dick: YES. There are any instances in the comics that prove this. He is the kind of leader who could do both. He could be stern when issuing commands but could also take his team out to dinner after a mission done well. hes like the popular student council member that everyone actually likes.

Cass: no. lmao. (although dc hasnt made her lead a team yet tho. i think)

Jason: NOOOO. Jason shouldn't have been the 'leader' of the outlaws team (the first one). Roy and Kori were were much more experienced in the hero business. Jason is smarter than most people give him credit for but he is never leading a team. especially not one with the second oldest comic book sidekick ever and a literal warrior alien princess.

Steph: I'm not saying she'll be good at it, but I kinda do want to see her take charge. for funsies.

Tim: I have conflicted feelings about this. As long as everyone in the team is as weird as him *cough* yj *cough* I think he's good.

Duke: I mean he did lead a child gang, so... (I havent read any solo duke media so I dont think I am the judge of this)

Damian: surprisingly, yes. I know he is still a child but ive read and seen many futures with a slightly more well adjusted damian turning out to be a good leader, like in the justice league apocalypse war dark movie.

EDIT: angered Babs stans. read first paragraph.

#bruce wayne #batman #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #barbara gordon #cassandra cain #stephanie brown #duke thomas #damian wayne #nightwing #red hood #robin #batfamily #batfam #dc comics #shit forgot kate

[artbyblastweave]

Hey so, thought exercise, how do you think Taylor would fare if she got dropped into the invincible universe? For the sake of mechanics let's say she literally gets dropped in via doorman portal or something.

So one thing about Invincible is that I think it's setting is protagonist-centric in a way that Worm's isn't. To the extent that Invincible's setting has worldbuilding- worldbuilding that isn't, like, ported in from the books's early association with the confederated Image Comics shared universe- it's worldbuilding that exists to convey the impression of a big-two-flavor universe. Here's our spin on the undersea kingdom, here's the riff on the Martians, here are our riffs on SHIELD, on Gotham, on Themyscira, on 70s blaxploitation-adjacent heroes, and so on. This is the entire ethos underpinning the Guardians of the Globe in particular- piggybacking on pre-existing audience affection for the Justice League to convey that it's a Big Fucking Deal when the guardians get blendered in issue 7.

You have flashbacks demonstrating that there was capital-S Superhero Stuff going on in the seventies and eighties, or as far back as the thirties with Immortal, you create the impression of a status quo, a big pond in which Mark is a little fish. And to Kirkman's credit, some effort clearly went into making sure that the non-Mark capes are sufficiently fleshed out that you can believe that they've got other stuff going on in their lives. But at the end of the day, it's the Invincible universe. You don't see a lot of people talking about the Guarding the Globe spinoff. Many of the most interesting characters- Cecil being a big example here- are interesting because of the ways in which they bounce off Mark specifically, the ways in which he chooses to deal with them. The universe is less of a character in the story the way that Earth Bet is- it's just the place where Mark's story, specifically, is happening. If there's a codified setting bible, I'll eat my hat.

Now of course the world of Worm is, in many ways, equally Taylor-centric, because that's what it means to be the protagonist. But owing in part to the themes of the story, and in part to the sheer number of false-start protagonists Wildbow played around with before settling on Taylor, it's very good at conveying the idea that there are many stories happening in this setting and Taylor's is just the one this particular work happened to focus on. There's an actual point to doing OC worldbuilding for what the superhero scene looks like in Wormverse Denver or Seattle or whatever- whereas you can come up with superhero teams for Invincible-verse Denver, but what actually ties them to that universe? What are you getting out of putting them in Invincible specifically, that you wouldn't get from whipping up a barebones MASKS setting to support your OCs? Anyway. This is a really long way of getting to my real point, which is that I think the question is less "how does Taylor bounce off the Invincible setting" and more "How does Taylor bounce off Invincible the character, around whom the setting orbits even when it pretends not to."

This I'm unsure of, because where do you stick her in his life where you get an interesting dynamic? One thing that's interesting here is that Mark's overall character arc already involves learning a lot of taylorisms- the strategic ruthlessness, the shift from a good-evil dichotomy to a helping-not-helping dichotomy-so what about his arc is going to change if they spend time together? Why would they spend time together? Given the different power levels on display, what would differentiate her, in his experience, from the dozens of filler capes that exist for him at the level of "vague acquaintance?" This is assuming she's active as a cape at all, which she might not be if this is Post-GM. Mutual association through Cecil and the Global Defense Agency might be a hook- maybe they're paying for her new arm or something- but would she latch her cart to Cecil's wagon in the first place, barring some obvious crisis situation? Hard to say. If she's depowered, and present in his life somehow in a civilian context, well, that's a fast-track to not being part of the story anymore either, given how Mark's civilian connections slowly fading away was kind of a quiet plot point.

There's some configuration of these pieces that could be interesting, but I'm not quite sure what they are. Soliciting input here.

#parahumans #worm #wildbow #invincible #taylor hebert #mark grayson #thoughts #meta #ask #asks

[vintagegeekculture]

So even though it's kind of the Marvel line, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby didn't really quite reignite Superheroes, the Flash was around a good bit before. But nothing would have been the same without Marvel breathing new life into the genre. What state do you think comics would have been in if instead of writing the Fantastic Four Stan Lee had quit to go sell used cars? Was it inevitable someone would have paired with Jack to do it? What would comics and pop culture look like now instead?

I'm a Marvel True Believer first and foremost, but I think you're underselling how enormously successful Justice League of America was from 1960-1969. Marvel books, especially Fantastic Four (at the time, the "flagship" Marvel comic of the 1960s) regularly topped the polls as favorites for the serious fans in 60s fanzines like Alter Ego, but they were not top sellers until 1970, when Marvel acquired their own distributor. Prior to that, Marvel published their books through DC, who made sure Marvel's runs were lower. They also limited the amount of books that Marvel could print, which is why books like Tales of Suspense had two characters in them (Captain America and Iron Man shared a book). As soon as Marvel got their own distribution, they pushed DC out of the top selling lists.

Justice League of America was a huge success when it came out, for a reason that may surprise people: nostalgia. Essentially a revival of the 1940s heroes, it was a huge hit because the adult audience bought it.

It's interesting how nostalgia itself as a cultural concept with actual power is a kind of recent phenomenon. Prior to the 1980s, there were huge volumes of books aimed at old people like Hallmark's "Remember When?" books.

I do think the single greatest what-if of the Marvel Age is one you didn't mention: what if Joe Maneely had lived to work on the Marvel Universe?

Whenever Stan Lee was asked who the greatest artist he ever worked with was, his response was unexpected: Joe Maneely, a name that even some serious fans of the Silver Age may find unfamiliar. But Joe Maneely worked with Stan extensively in the 1950s in Marvel's non-superhero comics like Black Knight and Yellow Claw. He was a beautiful artist, a professional who was always punctual, and even more so, he understood and developed the "language" of comics, and had an even better relationship with Stan than Jack Kirby did, who, by all accounts, was a genius artist but was, interpersonally, a difficult, sullen wound collector who had difficulty keeping friendships (as his Captain America co-creator Joe Simon can attest; he and Jack had a "breakup" long before he ever met Stan).

Meanwhile, contrast all those interpersonal problems with the difficult to get along with Kirby, with how Joe Maneely used to draw him and Stan holding hands and walking through the park together and so on.

The downside is that Joe Maneely died at a young age, 1958, in a tragic accident where he fell between railway cars, all 3 years before Fantastic Four. He was the biggest Atlas-era Marvel artist to never work on the Marvel Universe.

A Marvel Universe with Joe Maneely as the major creative force alongside Stan Lee is a change so deep and fundamental I have no idea what it even would look like.

#marvel #dc #silver age #1960

[theresattrpgforthat]

do you have any recommendations for games with interesting superpower mechanics? bonus points for a clear love of superhero comics as a genre

THEME: Superpowers

Oh gosh do I have some recommendations for you. I have likely spoken about pretty much all of these games before, but I feel very strongly about them and I can’t help myself from talking about them again!

Exceptionals, by Bramble Wolf Games.

Exceptionals is a game inspired by X-Men about and for the spaces and communities marginalized peoples make for themselves. Play as a Geno, one of little less than 0.5% percent of the population that has gone through a mysterious process called Claremont-Simonson mutation, as you try to navigate a world that won’t make room for you. Exceptionals is a game about what the mutant metaphor means to you and the different lenses through which we view it. Punch back and build something of worth together in this narrative tag-driven tabletop role playing game.

What Exceptionals does differently than the other games mentioned here is that it ties all of your character abilities to descriptive words or phrases. You’re not just heavily armoured, you have bone spikes and you’re exceptionally good at resisting extreme temperatures. Your powers can just as easily be things that slow you down and get in your way as they can be handy weapons or powerful resources. Not only that, but your character is also defined by their role in the community. Are you excellent at socializing and often called on to provide a distraction? Or are you good at noticing details, and therefore asked to investigate local mysteries? Each answer gives you a tag you can use to improve your chances of success.

If you have some experience with Fate, you might find Exceptionals to feel pretty familiar, with the biggest difference being in the dice used. The system itself uses 2d10, with modifiers applied through tags, the environment around you, and social bonds. Your bonds are crucial to improving your chances, and that is why Exceptionals champions community. If you want a game that cares deeply about the media it’s drawing from, then I recommend Exceptionals.

Spectaculars, by Scratchpad Publishing.

Spectaculars is a tabletop roleplaying game where players create their own comic book universe, craft heroes and villains to populate that universe, and then play through full-length campaigns to tell incredible stories of heroism and villainy in a world of their own creation.

Spectaculars has different decks of superpowers depending on the kind of genre you’d like to play in, but you can also mix and match if you’d like. Your superpower options are dealt to you randomly, with five basic superpowers always available if you don’t like the options you’ve been given. You get five unique cards, out of which you can choose up to three. I really like this because it prevents analysis paralysis, while still giving you a good number of unique options!

Your superpower ability is usually tied to a percentile - 80 being your best power, 70 being the second best, and 60 being the tertiary (should you choose to take all three). Rolling under that number means you succeed, and you can also roll advantage or disadvantage dice to determine extra details - like whether your move sets up another superhero really well. Each superpower could have up to two different effects, using situational limitations or time tokens to debuff anything that is extraordinarily powerful.

So for example, the Corrosion power gives you the ability to reroll any advantage dice you roll once, as long as you are trying to corrode non-living matter. However for Light Manipulation, you can make whatever light effect you evoke last for longer if you put two time tokens on your card, and you can allow yourself to use your power and do something else at the end of the round by adding four time tokens to the card. At the beginning of your turn every round, you get to remove a time token. This is a great game for folks who love tactile play, as the tokens, dice and power cards give you a lot to handle.

If you want a more in-depth review of Spectaculars, you can check out this summary by Deeper in the Game.

MASKS, by Brendan Conway, at Magpie Games.

Halcyon City has had more than its fair share of superheroes, superteams, supervillains, and everything in between.

Your team of young supers must forge your own path amidst the pressures of a world full of people telling you what to do and who to be, and kick some butt along the way!

Masks: A New Generation is a superhero tabletop roleplaying game full of action, youthful angst, and dazzling bravery. Take on the roles of members of the latest generation of superheroes, young adults trying to figure out who they are and what kind of heroes they want to be.

I am remiss if I don’t talk about MASKS, the first game I would turn to if I wanted to replicate Young Justice, Teen Titans, or anything from the Spiderverse series. This game is often cited as one of the definitive examples of what a Powered by the Apocalypse game can do, and for good reason. The superhero powers are present as picklists tied to each playbook, while what separates the playbooks is the inherent struggle of the character. Are they trying to hide their mundane identity? Are they struggling with feeling like a freak? Do they have a legacy to live up to?

I think these thematic elements show a deep love for the superhero genre, and I also love that the chances of success aren’t tied to what your abilities are, but rather your reasons for using them. If you are trying to protect someone, you’re rolling Savior, but if you’re trying to do damage, you roll Danger. In either situation you could be using your powers, but it’s intent that matters - and then you describe how you want to do it in order to give us an idea of what success or failure would look like.

FASERIP, by Gurbintroll Games.

FASERIP is a neo-clone game of super heroes, based on a classic 1980s role-playing game. The game contains a flexible yet streamlined super power system, and a completely new character generation system which keeps the fun and unpredictability of the original game’s random character generation but tempers it with an emphasis on balance and player choice.

This is a retro-clone from another superhero game that has since gone out of print - I think perhaps Marvel Super Heroes? Unfortunately I’m not familiar with the source material, but I can tell you that this version is free!

FASERIP is pretty granular in your ability level, ranking characters and difficulty levels from Zero to Infinite. Your superpowers in this game have a few important factors - source (how you got the power), rank (how effective it is), and boosts (how flexible your abilities are. Powers are determined randomly in FASERIP, with roll tables used to determine what kinds of powers you get and how many boosts you get. If you’re a fan of older rules systems and random power generation, I recommend checking out FASERIP.

Those of Us Who Know Better, by C.J. Linton.

Those of Us Who Know Better is a tabletop roleplaying game about transgender superheroes whose powers come at a price. Civilians by day, in community every other Thursday evening, and heroes by night, the players use their powers to problem solve and offer protection and support around town. These powers must be used sparingly, however, because every use of a superpower demands a specific and costly remuneration.

For some reason or other, your characters are under a contract that gives them powers. How that contract came to be and how it functions is up to you, but the result is this: every time you activate your superpower, you must pay a price. If you do not pay this price, your character is immediately subjected to intense physical pain.

The book has a short list of some common superpowers, such as flight, fire manipulation, and super senses. It also has a short list of consequences - with options such as get an animal to bite you, run for five minutes, and take a shot of alcohol. The book has some basic guidelines for what to consider when creating your own powers and prices, so I think the world is your oyster with a game like this.

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #dnd #game recommendations #asks #superheroes