Thursday, October 16, 2014

The Angel of Love...and Horses?

Today's Weekly Z-Lister is a transgender, bisexual stand-up comedian who is made up from two different people and can transform into a flying alien centaur. Brace yourselves.


Originally a jockey named Andrew Jones, Andrew was trampled by horses during a race and was "rebuilt" by an organization called The Stable. After being given his powers by The Stable, Andrew escapes the organization and begins operating as a superhero named Comet. On one of his first missions he is tasked with rescuing a woman from an avalanche. He fails to save her and dies along with her. However, thanks to his vague powers Andrew merges with the woman and she becomes the new Comet. The woman's name is Andrea Martinez, a bisexual stand-up comic who happened to be friends with Supergirl (circa 1997).  Being titled "The Angel of Love" Comet has the ability to make people love him. Or her, I really can't decide. Other powers include flight, super speed, control over ice and the spectacular ability to transform into a human male, a human female, a flying centaur and a horse. Just a horse.
Obviously Comet is much more of a gimmick than a character. The idea of an angelic centaur doesn't set me off, but emphasizing this character being bisexual, gender swapping and fooling people into loving him (Her? It? Horse?) really makes me feel this character was created for the wrong reasons. A character who is bisexual or transgender is perfectly fine as long as their sexual preference isn't the main focus of the character. Oddly enough, this character wasn't completely original, it was inspired by Comet the Super-Horse. The first Comet was a shapeshifting centaur from Ancient Greece, how familiar. It just goes to show you that a character's real impressions aren't given through name or appearance. It's only until we truly learn the character's origin do we form a stable opinion. Stable, get it? Horse jokes.

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