The Alternate Origins

As characters have been altered and tweaked to fit the times, writers have taken opportunities to create interesting departures from the typical characters by doing "What If" stories featuring different versions of superheroes. Today I bring you some of the best departures with this, The Panel Biter's Top 5 Alternate Versions.

#5. Captain Thunder

In the DC Comics event "Flashpoint" the character of Captain Marvel was significantly altered. Traditionally, a kid named Billy Batson was able to become Captain Marvel by shouting "Shazam", but in this story six children must yell "Shazam" at once and fuse into the renamed Captain Thunder. Spanning race, background and personality, these six children are kind of like DC's Planeteers, if you remember that old Captain Planet cartoon. When "Flashpoint" ended and the character became Shazam for the current DCU, Billy once again became the soul vessel and the other five became supporting characters. This version of Captain Marvel appeals to me because it uses a type of team that's gone unused in comic books.

#4. Deadpool Killogy

Learning your entire existence is just entertainment for someone else can be a little shocking, just look at "South Park" and "The Truman Show". Considering that, the reality that Deadpool would seek to destroy all of creation is understandable. "Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe, Deadpool Killustrated, and Deadpool Kills Deadpool" are a series of books that follow a version of Deadpool who fully breaks the 4th wall and learns his entire world is a lie. It's not just his killing spree of the Marvel Universe, Multiverse and Classical Fiction that catches a reader's eye, but his commitment to end everything in the belief of its meaninglessness. It's a very human reaction for a work of fiction and uses original ideas for an otherwise juvenile character. And he killed Thor, which is pretty funny.

#3. Old Man Logan

When every hero is dead and you live in a world dominated by evil, it's easy to call it a life and give in. But the patience of an animal can only last so long. "Old Man Logan" told of Logan's downfall, how his life has divulged into simply living in peace with his family. As Logan treks through this twisted mirror he once knew as America, we see just how bad things could get in the Marvel Universe. A horrid, but fantastically detailed look at a possible future, this story presents a type of Wolverine we've never seen before and brings an interesting twist to everyone's favorite mutant. Soon enough this version of Wolverine is coming to the main Marvel Universe. An elderly superhero? Awesome!

#2. Spider-Gwen

To think one little change could effect so much: a radioactive spider bites Gwen Stacy, she becomes Spider-Woman, Peter Parker becomes a lizard and dies, J. Jonah Jameson uses Parker as a martyr and Frank Castle leads the police force-Officer George Stacy included-to hunt Spider-Woman down. For all the crap I give the main universe Gwen Stacy, I can admit this character who spun out of "Spider-Verse" brings some hope to Peter's first love. Her story of heroism is independent and bold, taking new looks at the traditional Spider-Story. In her universe she's also in a band called "The Mary Janes", which is neat. Spider-Gwen could potentially bring honor back to the name Gwen Stacy. But she's still a teenager while Peter Parker is in his twenties, so don't get any ideas.

#1. Thomas Wayne of Earth 2

A young man witnesses the death of his parents and takes it upon himself to seek vengeance and strike the cowardly lot of villains. We've heard that story, but in "Flashpoint" we see it change. Bruce Wayne is murdered and his father Thomas Wayne becomes a gun-slinging Batman, and Martha Wayne becomes a crazed psychopath calling herself The Joker. This version of Batman was used again in "Earth 2" who's relation to the Gotham's mob caused the assassination of himself and his wife, but Thomas survived and never faced Bruce out of shame for his lie. After that world's Bruce Wayne sacrificed himself as Batman against Darksied's army, Thomas Wayne used strength-enhancing drugs to be the next Batman. We don't get many stories like these, where our hero is older and more damaged, he has no son, no wife, no loyal butler. All he is now is a failed man trying to atone for what he's lost. He is an everlasting reminder that no matter how dark the night may be, there is always someplace darker.

With so many universes in comics, it was hard to pick out my favorites. Events like "Convergence" and "Secret Wars" want to wipe out these alternate characters and pretend they don't matter, but they always will. What if Superman landed in Russia? What if The Red Skull won World War II? As long as writers and creators ask these questions we will always see fun one-and-done tales of what could've been. Thanks for reading.

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Panic In The Skies

Phase Two of The Panel Biter's DC Cinematic Universe is wrapping up with another adventure for The World's Finest Heroes! With a new invasion on its way, these heroes will be tested in strength, wisdom and loyalty. This is it, the Pitch-It for "Justice League: Breached Earth".

The movie begins with Brainiac's origin: He was once a scientist known as Vril Dox from the planet Colu. This planet's citizens were classified by their intelligence and Dox underwent unlicensed experiments to further progress his knowledge. He came to the realization that he'd never know everything, that as long as the universe continued he wouldn't live long enough to be completely intelligent. He took the name Brainiac as on Colu it means "Record of Knowledge" and began using his technology to shrink and collect cities of planets before destroying the planets themselves. After his failed attempt to destroy Superman's city of Metropolis he began to move towards Earth.

The opening scene would have The Justice League (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter) trying to capture criminal scientist Professor Ivo and destroy his android Amazo. The fight would show the League is well adjusted to working in unison, but members like Batman and GL still have trouble getting along. After their victory, we'd learn of war threats between Kahndaq and Bialya, this causes debate amongst the team, but reestablishes that The League does not pick sides and they only get involved in war when innocents are caught in the middle. Overhearing this through hacking the League's satellite base, Brainiac uses the League's rules to his advantage. He sends his Thanagarian slave to attack Kahndaq under the guise of a League member, causing the League to battle this "Hawkgirl" and prompting the media to lash out against the League.
Batman is on The Watchtower during this fight and is helpless to stop the Watchtower's energy cannon from preparing to fire down on Star City's Peace Banquet, but he is able to adjust the target to an abandoned Star City mill. After locking Hawkgirl and suspected traitor Batman in cells, the League try to help Star City pick up the mill's rubble. Black Canary and The Atom would show up to help, as well as Green Arrow who was attending the Peace Banquet during the blast. Nobody knows about The Watchtower, but because Green Arrow doesn't believe in the League, he is still upset that they couldn't have stopped this attack. As the repairs finish up, Arrow and Canary refuse membership, but The Atom is welcomed to be a trail member. After Argus learns the blast came from the League's secret satellite, Maxwell Lord insists The League bring Hawkgirl to Argus and explain what happened.
While at Argus HQ, Amanda Waller reveals to Batman that she knows his secret identity and that if they are to work peacefully, Batman should start keeping containment plans on The League if they grow too powerful. Martian Manhunter remembers his decades of imprisonment in Argus and decides to read Hawkgirl's mind. She was a soldier on planet Thanagar and loved a fellow soldier, they believed their love would last lifetimes. One day on a scouting mission, she was captured by Brainiac's ship. He promised to spare her planet if she became his slave. After learning of Brainiac's involvement, The League break Hawkgirl out and escape Argus.
Brainiac begins his assault on Earth and uses a device called The Monitor's Head to control Manhunter droids that were hidden away by The Guardians of The Universe. Green Lantern calls in rest of The Green Lantern Corps-against the Guardian's orders-and a battle in space ensues. While the GLC is off planet Oa, former Lantern Sinestro breaks into Oa, steals some technology and plants a bomb to blow up the Central Battery. As Superman and The Flash go through Brainiac's ship and grab all of Brainiac's captured cities, The Atom shrinks down to find The Monitor's Head, which Brainiac shrunk to keep hidden. Brainiac would be believed to have died in combat, but this would be his robotic body. With the Central Battery destroyed, all of the GLC's rings start losing power and Hal (GL) is forced to use a mysterious yellow ring to bubble up the floating GLC members and send them into The Watchtower. Atom finds The Monitor Head and Hawkgirl destroys it, shutting down the killer robots. As Hal realizes the yellow ring is powered by fear, Sinestro appears and takes the yellow ring back. He claims to have made a deal with Brainiac: he gives Brainiac his yellow Absorbascon ring and The Monitor's Head in exchange for Brainiac drawing the GLC off Oa. Sinestro betrays Brainiac by taking the yellow ring back, refusing to help him and activating Brainiac's Phantom Zone Generator before escaping.
Superman finds Brainiac's real body, dying and sustained by machines. Brainiac attempts to crash his ship into Earth before the Generator sucks the ship into The Phantom Zone, but The League push the ship away from Earth. As they do, debris fall off the ship down to Earth. Brainiac wonder's if the Thanagarian beliefs in reincarnation are true before he is killed by Hawkgirl and she escapes with The League just as Brainiac and his ship are transported into another dimension. Hawkgirl and Atom are fully welcomed into The Justice League, and Hawkgirl admits that she'd be seen as a deserter back on Thanagar, so she'll be staying on Earth for the time being. When Hal and the rest of The GLC are teleported back to Oa, they find it destroyed. Hal is blamed by The Guardians, but the rest of the Corps agree The Guardians are at blame for not destroying the Manhunter droids and for cowardly ignoring Brainiac's first invasions. Hal orders some lanterns to repair the Oan city and others to begin repairing the Central Battery. He takes full control of the GLC and asks The Guardians what they know about "other colored rings". After the credits, we'd see Sinestro in a lab producing more fear-powered yellow rings and developing Lantern Batteries and a Central Battery for his own Lantern army. He is surprised to see that not only is The Monitor's Head reactivated, but that is feels emotion.

A bit long, but JL2 poses new challenges to the League while only making their public image more controversial. It sets up potential story threads for Phase Three fan-thought films. I tried to include the most important pieces of my movie pitch. I hope you enjoyed Phase Two of The Panel Biter's DC Cinematic Universe. Thanks for reading!

The PBDC will be taking a one week break before moving into Phase Three, stay tuned and voice your opinions of The PBDC so far!

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Gwen Stacy's Dirty Little Secrets

Oh look, Gwen Stacy is headlining her own comic book series as Spider-Gwen/Spider-Woman. Good for her, but is it good for us? We all know Gwen as Peter Parker's first love and the death that motivated Spider-Man to become a better hero, but that's not all there is to it. Loyal readers, today I expose the wretched plot points writers have applied to this blond bombshell and reveal the tainted wings of this angel!

Gwen Stacy has been an important character in Spider-Man history since 1965, appearing in the thirty-first issue of the original "Amazing Spider-Man" comic book. She stood alongside Mary Jane Watson, Harry Osborn, Liz Allen, Flash Thompson and many other supporting characters in the life of Peter Parker. You see, Gwen hit on Peter when Aunt May was ill which made Peter ignore Gwen and she dated Harry and Flash to spite Peter, but it was after Peter first dumped MJ because of her shallowness that he and Gwen began dating, setting up Peter first legitimate relationship and the TV drama of Peter's life. Gwen seemed perfect, right? She was smart, beautiful, humorous, sensitive, she had it all. The only thing Gwen didn't have was a love for Spider-Man. Yes, Gwen didn't know Peter was Spidey, so when Doctor Octopus killed Gwen's father Captain George Stacy, she blamed Spider-Man while she loved Peter. Because he feels guilt for Cap Stacy's death, Peter ignores Gwen's obvious requests for marriage and Gwen vacations to London for a few months. She comes back realizing her mistake and getting back together with Peter. And then The Green Goblin throws her off a bridge, Spider-Man snaps her neck with a web, and we get a scene of Spidey holding Gwen's corpse and shouting, "Noooo".

Look out, a retcon! A 2004 story arc totally blemishes Gwen's character by filling us in on what happened in London. While she was in London, Gwen ran into Norman Osborn, the same man who would go on to become The Green Goblin and kill her. Osborn's "animal magnetism" intrigues Gwen and we find out this nineteen year old spotless gem of a girl had intercourse with a crusty psychotic man. Osborn's weird Goblin DNA causes their illegitimate children to age rapidly, so when she died they were already teenagers. Osborn convinced Gabriel and Sarah Stacy that their father was Peter Parker/Spider-Man and that he killed Gwen Stacy. Anyway Spider-Man defeats the twins and they go away and we find out MJ was the only person Gwen told about this affair and she kept it secret to protect Peter or something. The point is the writer of this arc totally threw Gwen under the bus and ruined her character. Originally this story was supposed to feature Peter being the twin's father, but Marvel Editorial scrapped that idea because having kids would make Spider-Man too old. You know, because teenagers stay the same age for sixty-odd years. You could've at least pinned this on one of Peter's clones.

Speaking of clones! If Gwen being an easily seduced bimbo wasn't enough, the story arc "Clone Genesis" sullied her further. When Gwen and Peter were in college together, they had an elderly professor named Miles Warren who was in love with Gwen and hated Peter. Miles went insane after Gwen died and he created two clones: a clone of Gwen Stacy to bang and a clone of Peter to beat up. But after he discovered the Peter clone had Spider-Man powers, Miles put two and two together. He became The Jackal and sent the Spidey Clone to fight Spider-Man, but the important part is that despite the Gwen Clone dying, Jackal would still have the resources to make as many Gwen clones as he wanted. Pretty sure he sold some as playboy bunnies to Deadpool.

So now you see my dilemma, since first becoming a Spider-Man fan I liked Gwen as a love interest more than MJ, I couldn't stand a character without humility. However no matter how annoying or unlikable as MJ might be, the misuse of Gwen Stacy has ruined her as a character for me. I understand this new Spider-Gwen is from an alternate world, she's younger and able to avoid sleeping with elderly men, but these events have not washed the dirt from her name. Her new comic book and her adaptation by Emma Stone only act has fresh coats of paint to hide the holes and cracks left behind by antagonistic writers. Gwen was ruined, MJ is bipolar, Black Cat is a thief, honestly Spider-Man may just need a Match.com account. Or he could fulfill the prophecy and date Silk, I'm down for whatever. Thanks for reading!

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The Dark Knightress

If it isn't apparent by now loyal readers, I am a HUGE fan of Robin. All four of them. Even Damian. Pretty sure I'm the only person on Earth who likes Damian. But for all the praise I give the Sons of The Batman, the Caped Crusader has had some little ladies don the pointy-eared cowl. Today we're talking Batgirl. All three of them!

First we have Barbara Gordon who was created in 1967 by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino. Barbara Gordon was the daughter of Commissioner Jim Gordon (Batman's loyal ally) and Barbara Gordon Sr (who divorced Jim and later got murdered by The Joker) and was the older sister of James Gordon Jr (who would grow up to be a serial killer). Babs was first portrayed as a pure and spunky young woman, she worked as a librarian and participated in academics and athletics as she followed her  father's long career of law enforcement. Babs once dressed in a Batman costume and attended a Costume Party, but after she spotted Bruce Wayne being kidnapped by the villain Killer Moth, she attempted to rescue the billionaire. This event inspired Babs to follow in Batman's example and become Batgirl, only occasionally working with Batman, but establishing a mutual respect between them. She was eventually welcomed into the Batman Family and learned the identities of her allies Batman and Robin and had a romantic relationship with The Boy Wonder. Years later Babs would retire from the Batgirl mantle, but become paralyzed after The Joker's assault on her family. But losing her legs only drove Babs further into stopping crime as she advanced her technological prowess and helped guide The Batman Family via communicators and computers as The Oracle. As Oracle she'd also found The Birds of Prey, rekindle her relationship with Robin (now Nightwing) and become one the greatest technological minds in the DCU. Then DC was rebooted and she recovered. Yep, she recovered from being handicapped. Comics everyone!

In 1999, a character named Cassandra Cain would be introduced as Barbara Gordon's apprentice. When Gotham was leveled from an earthquake and became a "no man's land" she saved Commissioner Gordon and was given the Batgirl persona by Batman and Oracle. Cassie was mute, therefor she had to communicate via sign language, being able to read people's motions helped her predict an enemies moves and she became the deadliest member of The Batman Family. However like her predecessor, Cassie would "recover" from her lack of voice and loses some of her fighting capabilities as well. I'm sensing a pattern here. Batman learns Cassie is the daughter of two assassins and when she was eight years old she was ordered to murder a businessman. Despite the knowledge of her past, Batman still accepted Cassie and allowed her to continue her redemption mission. Even after murdering her own assassin father, Cassie is given forgiveness by The Batman Family and becomes the first Batgirl to be adopted by Bruce Wayne, taking the name Cassandra Wayne. When Batman was thought dead, Cassie followed an order from him-in the event of his death-to pass the Batgirl mantle on and relocate to Hong Kong under the name Black Bat. I'd like to point out that this Batgirl is my favorite, she just seems much more deserving of the Batman-asthetic than others. Another thing to point out is the "I was raised by assassins to be an assassin" motif that Damian Wayne would later replicate.

The final Batgirl was Stephanie Brown, but she appeared in 1992 as The Spoiler. First acting as ally/love interest to Tim Drake/Robin, Steph was the daughter of a third-rate criminal known as The Cluemaster. She took the moniker of Spoiler because she'd spoil her father's plans and stop him from committing crimes. She later admits to Robin that when she was a child, her babysitter attempted to rape her and her father possible killed him, additionally she was pregnant from an ex-boyfriend and she was the first prominent teenage mother in comics. With Robin's help she worked up the courage to put the baby up for adoption. After this Robin traveled to Tibet and Spoiler trained with Batman, Batgirl and The Birds of Prey, further becoming a member of The Batman Family. Stephanie actually became the first mainstream female Robin after Tim Drake's father requested he stop being a superhero. Though it was believed the criminal Black Mask murdered her, Stephanie's death was only a ruse and she returned as The Spoiler once again. I mentioned before that Cassandra Cain passed on the Batgirl mantle before going to Hong Kong, she passed the mantle on to Stephanie Brown and she became a much more light-hearted Batgirl. After DC Comics rebooted their universe with The New 52, Babs took the mantle back and Steph would appear much later as Spoiler once again.
Other characters like Batwoman, Huntress and Misfit have a close relation to the Batgirl Lineage, but have otherwise served under different roles. Batgirl is one the earliest female superheroes and much like Wonder Woman and Supergirl are aimed to motivate young women into becoming successful members of society, not just by honoring their mentors, but by proving their self worth. The big difference between Robins and Batgirls is that Batgirls always seem more independent and only occasionally follow Batman's lead. The Batgirls have such different backgrounds, but find no reason for their pasts to decide their future's. Almost naturally, the Batgirls are enduring characters and I can say undoubtably that despite how these characters change and bend to the world we live in, their lesson remains: The symbol doesn't make you a fan, it makes you an example. Thanks for reading!

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The Cobweb of Spider-Girl

Just in case you haven't been keeping track of how many Spider-People are swinging around over at Marvel right now, there's like eleven. With the event "Spider-Verse" spinning new Spider-Women into their own titles, I wanted to backtrack to an earlier web slinger, this week's Z-Lister Mattie Franklin/Spider-Woman.

Mattie first appeared in "The Amazing Spider-Man #441" in 1998, Mattie grew up in New York City with her father who worked with Norman Osborn. Her father was asked to appear at Osborn's "Gathering of Five" but she took his place and was endowed with artificial superpowers that Osborn had intended on using on himself. Something to do with spider DNA and cloning. Even before gaining powers similar to Spider-Man, Mattie had an interest in the wall-crawler that became an obsession and an infatuation. During a time when Peter Parker was trying to retire, Mattie actually posed as the new Spider-Man by using her new powers and a costume that'd make her look masculine. After the real Spider-Man returned she became Spider-Woman, but ends up fighting other Spider-Women like Charlotte Witter, Jessica Drew and Madame Web. Witter attempted to absorb Mattie's powers, but this backfired and infused Mattie with the powers of the other Spider-Women, making her the only one.

Mattie moves in with her father's friends J. Jonah Jameson and Marla Jameson because her father was always too busy working to be home.

This is a Spider-Man character so JJ needs to involved in some way. During this time Mattie's absorbed powers return to their respective owners, which meant Drew's toxic immunity was unable to save Mattie Franklin from being slipped a date rape drug. A low-level drug dealer used Mattie's special spider-blood to produce a Mutant Growth Hormone which endowed regular humans with superpowers. The dealer kept Mattie under psychoactive drugs to keep her from escaping. Mattie was saved by former superhero/private detective Jessica Jones and his returned to the Jameson Family.
After counseling to rid her of her drug dependency, Mattie tracked down the dealers to LA and joined a teen superhero support group called The Loners. These youngsters attended this group to help them live without being superheroes, but Mattie planned on lying to the group and recruiting members Darkhawk and Ricochet, together they tried to bust the MGH ring in LA. There's also an unexplained B-plot to this story in which Mattie joined The Loners in order to learn the location of The Slingers, an obscure team of Spider-People and a team Ricochet formally worked with. In snooping around Mattie slept with Ricochet to keep him quiet and after Phil Urich and Chris Powell fought over the Darkhawk suit, Mattie decided to quit the team, claiming they took no pride in being superheroes. "Pride" isn't a word I'd associate with Mattie at this point. Mattie was later the first victim of a resurrection ritual to revive Vladimir Kravinoff, son of Kraven The Hunter. That was anti-climactic.

It would seem this character was created with the implication that she'd be instantly popular, obviously she had a small group of fans based on what she'd later become. A druggy, a liar, a sacrifice, its a real shame this Spider-Woman fell so hard especially now as we see characters like Spider-Gwen and Silk bloom their own more dignified stories. I'm not at all shocked this temporarily cool 90's character didn't translate, this is but another case of Marvel either steamrolling their lesser known characters rather than killing them off or ignoring them. It's almost as if the popularity of other Spider-Women hindered Mattie's image. Whatever the case, this Z-Lister remains to show us readers that no matter how tall the high-rise, the fall can still kill you. I hope Gwen doesn't consider that in bad taste. Thanks for reading!

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Bringin' Em' Back

Once and a while comic books come up with ideas that are never used to their potential, ideas that could spin out into more interesting stories. Since the comic book industry is all about reboots and reinventions, I have a few thoughts of what ideas could make returns. This is The Panel Biter's Top 5 Most Wanted Reboots!

#5. Men In Black

Bet you didn't know MIB was a comic first and a movie second! While the films did a decent job at following the adventures of the shadowy, nameless government figures as they watch over the alien population, I think bringing the comic back could expand on the elements that made the MIB fascinating. New characters, new cases, new looks into the confidential societies living among humans. If a point of view character is really necessary, why not use a young alien immigrant and pair him up with a seasoned agent? The antics of this new MIB could divert away from the comedy we once knew, and bring a fresh sci-fi crime drama instead. If all else fails we'll just reboot the films.

#4. Damage Control

I've talked about Damage Control before, but essentially they're a work force that cleans up messes left behind from superheroes in the Marvel Universe. The Hulk tore down a building? Call Damage Control. Leaning more on the every-day-life side of entertainment, a new Damage Control comic book would revisit a part of the Marvel Universe readers don't often see, the view of the civilians. Maybe some employee gets infected by aliens, or another employee starts a petition against superheroes, maybe the billionaire funding Damage Control is a super villain? Really all I want is a comic exploring the people we don't see, the people who clean after our favorite heroes.

#3. Heroes For Hire

Before they were Avengers, Luke Cage and Iron Fist ran a small business called Heroes For Hire, if you paid the right price you'd get the services of two powerhouse heroes. Body guarding, crime solving, gang busting, you name it and they'll do it. Now these days those two have have bigger problems, so maybe a street level team of nobodies get together and open a new Heroes For Hire to use their otherwise dangerous skills to make some cash, all the while real heroes are berating them for charging people for their heroism. It'd be an interesting and modern balancing of responsibility to one's self and to their fellow man.

#2. Hitman

Hitman was a character in DC Comics who first appeared fighting one my favorite heroes, Etrigan the Demon. Hitman had his own series shortly after where he made a living assassinating heroes and villains. He was kind of like Punisher meets Constantine. A new Hitman series would not only bring a fresh idea to the otherwise traditional DC Universe, but it could also be a way for DC to "clean out" some undesired characters. Can't think of any more Mr Freeze stories? Bang! Want to kill Superman again? Bang! Want to sweep Wildstorm characters under the rug? Bang! Is there anything more confidence boosting than a normal guy killing superheroes? Maybe kittens.

#1. Dial H For Hero

In DC Comics, there exists an old-timey phone dial called The H-Dial. This mysterious device can transform its user into a random superhero. Since the 1980's this Dial has been used for good and evil, by one man and a group of kids, to become new heroes and to become preexisting heroes. Remember Ben 10? It's kind of like that. Now what the 80's series did was take suggestions from readers for superhero ideas and would use the best ideas in their comic, the Dial user would dial a number and become a fan-created hero. Great way to reach out to the fans while also creating interesting stories around one simple tool. This book's protagonist could be reoccurring or change by the issue, as long as the concept of the Dial is used to it's potential.

Hope you enjoyed this Top 5, I was feeling creative today. Really, if comic book companies want to wow us, they'd take some suggestions and try some innovative ideas. "Hero, villain, drama and repeat" becomes rather boring since we've seen it too many times. Regardless, maybe you have ideas of your own or maybe these ideas sound appealing to you. Hopefully there are some thinkers like us inside those concrete comic walls. Thanks for reading!

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Love Conquers All

The PBDC turns it's gaze to the next adventure of The Green Lantern. As Hal Jordan returns to his home city and rekindles old relationships, someone from his past will test his loyalty and redefine the term "tough love". This is the pitch for "Green Lantern: Reign of The Zamarons".

After saving the world from Starro and preventing the Atlantean assault, The Green Lantern has been busy reconnecting with Earth and handling his responsibilities to The Green Lantern Corps. Hal finally decides to return to his hometown Coast City, but he's surprised to learn that his secret identity has been outed. As if that's not distracting enough, Hal is being hunted down by a race of aliens calling themselves The Zamarons and their mysterious leader-The Star Sapphire-has plans for Hal. It will take all his strength and all his will to defeat The Zamarons and prevent them from laying waste to Coast City.

As told by The Guardians, there once existed a people called The Maltusians who were one of the oldest races in the galaxy. When chaos ensued throughout the universe, a group of Maltusians decided to protect the universe. This group became The Guardians, but what was not revealed to the GLC is that another Maltusian group of females decided they had no part in the matter and became a warrior-women tribe called The Zamarons. When their strength became too powerful, The Guardians ordered their robot soldiers to destroy The Zamaron's war base, but this accidentally killed their queen Agapo. Using their psionic powers, The Zamarons converted Agapo's power into a crystal and hid for centuries.
Back to Hal Jordan! Because GL's mask is so small, many Coast City residents recognized him on the news and someone leaked his secret identity, luckily he has no enemies on Earth to harm his remaining family. His rep as Green Lantern is tested though by Guy Gardner, a cop who grew up with Hal. Guy wants to use the ring, Hal's old buddies want to know about the League, Hal's family is upset because he disappeared those years ago without any warning and-according to everyone in Coast City-Hal Jordan's girlfriend Carol Ferris is dead. Carol was Hal's boss over at Ferris Aircraft when Hal was a test pilot, the two fell in love and dated for many years before Hal Jordan was brought the GL's planet Oa and began his career as a Lantern. While he was gone, Carol supposedly quit her job and drunkenly drove off a cliff into the ocean. Carol's father gives Hal a beating as he blames him, but it's not all bad because Hal's superhero gig gets him a lot more attention. He's even invited to the Ferris/Queen Merger: a gathering of employees of Ferris Aircraft and Queen Industries that solidifies Queen's buyout of Ferris Aircraft. That being said, Oliver Queen/Green Arrow would appear in this movie. The Zamarons first attack at this party and we see their leader-The Star Sapphire-can create light constructs like GL. Olli would suit up as Green Arrow to help in this scene, but after that battle he'd go back to Star City as he doesn't support The Justice League.
Green Lantern Arisia Rrab would join Hal at the request of The Guardians under the human name Elisa Rad. The Guardians send Arisia because they are aware The Zamarons only kill men. Towards the end of the film things start falling together, The Star Sapphire and The Zamarons are attempting to convert all of Coast City's women into Zamaron Warriors by killing their mates and igniting the remorseful love of all the widows. The Zamaron's psionic abilities don't just allow illusionary disguises (used to appear as Earthlings) but they also allow them to tap into the Pink Spectrum of Love in the same way The GLC uses the Green Spectrum of Will.
Carol Ferris didn't die, she was pulled from her car and replaced by a dead Durlan (an alien capable of copying any organism's physiology). Carol's love for Hal was so strong, The Zamarons chose her to be their new leader and infused Agapo's crystal into her, this corrupted her mind and after seeing Hal resurface as a Green Lantern, she turned the sapphire crystals into Pink Power Rings and started her attack on Coast City to grow her army and capture Hal Jordan. Carol's costume would first appear as it's typical comic appearance, but after the final battle it would convert into it's New 52 design and The Zamaron's would don similar costumes and power rings. Hal and Arisia would give a mean fight and it would all come down to Hal and Carol. Miraculously, Hal convinces Carol that what she's doing isn't in the vain of love, it is in the vain of spite. Still believing her place is among her newfound sisters, Carol agrees not to attack Coast City and she ushers in an age of peace for The Zamarons, they then return to planet Maltus and Carol kisses Hal goodbye. Green Lantern may have saved Coast City, but Hal Jordan just lost the love of his life.
The after credits display a meeting of The Guardians who concern over other Lights of The Emotional Spectrum being used and how consequential it could be. Their conversation continues over other brief scenes. One scene shows Sinestro flying his spacecraft into a skull-shaped ship, as he holds a yellow ring in his palm. Another scene shows a giant pink alien rising from a pool of blood, red ring in hand. The final scene shows a robed figure climbing a tall mountain into a hollow cave. The cave displays pictures of different colored gods clashing and from the wall emerges a Blue Lantern Battery. The figure is revealed to be a white stalky alien and he sits on the cliffside with the battery held above his head, as if he is praying. As a blue ring forms around the alien's finger, the camera pans out to reveal the entire planet. Surrounding this planet is a green light halo with a familiar symbol.
As Green Lantern's world grows ever larger, this movie aims to bring Hal Jordan back to humanity. Saving the world and having adventures have turned Hal into a confident wisecracker, but this plot serves to remind him of his own mortality. Conquering fear was his first challenge, but here he must conquer his own love. With no clear sense of who truly won, this experience molds Hal into a smarter hero, one prepared for the coming war The Guardians predict. Thanks for reading.
An old foe returns to cause some new trouble, loyal readers. Brainiac returns in "Justice League: Breached Earth".

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They're All Just Heroes, Right?

Welcome to What's The Difference, where I take two comic book characters of similar looks, themes and abilities and explain what makes them total opposites. To start this segment off I'll be tackling a broader set of characters, hero teams of separate publications. Justice League. Avengers. What's The Difference!?
(By the way, is Batman supposed to be Jesus down there?)

Beginning with The Justice League who first formed in "The Brave & The Bold #28" in 1960. DC took their Silver Age headliners and built them into an unstoppable team consisting of Superman: The Man of Steel, Batman: The Caped Crusader, Wonder Woman: The Amazonian Warrior, Aquaman: The King of Atlantis, Martian Manhunter: The Last Martian, Green Lantern: The Emerald Knight, and The Flash: The Scarlet Speedster! For fifty-five years The Justice League has gone through name changes, roster rotations and world-ending story arcs, but no matter how different the team might be, they all believe in same things: Truth, Justice, and Peace. The Justice League are notorious for being seen as Gods, above Earth's jurisdiction. They've been targeted and monitored by the US government since they formed because The League acts as its own organization, unwilling to work alongside any government unless it is for the benefit of the world. For example, if The League existed in our world they would not help fight the US' war in the Middle East or vice versa. They'd keep innocents from being caught in the crossfire and prevent terrorist attacks, but The League aims to stop wars rather than choose a side in war. Rather than always working together, The League works on a "ask for help" system, that way dangerous areas of Earth can still have their defenders and heroes won't feel helpless or alone when facing a threat. Guys like Superman could probably clean up Gotham, but Superman's respect for Batman's work prevents that. If Batman ever faces a challenge too large, he's fully able to call in backup. The recruitment process is usually held by either the original seven members or by Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Things like abilities, psychology, criminal records and reputation are always kept in consideration, and often someone-usually Batman-keeps a record of strengths and weaknesses on all Leaguers to either estimate their abilities or defeat them if need be. Early recruits included The Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary and Green Arrow, all B-List heroes at the time of their membership. The League have a democratic way of making decisions, coming to a vote of conceivable options before acting. While they don't have official branches, The League always has reserve members on standby if a situation grows to large, additionally they have all types of heroes (techs, mystics, aliens) for all manner of challenges.
Now on to The Avengers, first formed in "The Avengers #1" in 1963 and included The Invincible Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Mighty Thor, and Ant-Man & The Wasp! Captain America: The First Avenger would join in "The Avengers #4" and become a staple member. Where The Justice League was an All-Star lineup, The Avengers was more of a second chance for characters who weren't insanely popular, members of the team usually had few readers or cancelled titles. When other lesser known characters like Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Black Widow later joined, they too became more prominent characters in this team book rather than solo characters. Additionally, this team book reinvigorated characters like Iron Man and The Hulk and later took them off the team to continue their growing solo titles. Marvel's more popular characters like Spider-Man, The X-Men and The Fantastic Four wouldn't join The Avengers early on because the book focused more on minor characters. All these minor characters together essentially made one fascinating character, The Avengers! While the roster was always changing, The Avengers had sub-teams like The Secret Avengers and The Young Avengers to take on different threats. The Avengers were much more down-to-Earth, having their base located in one of Stark's Mansions in New York. Everyone was in New York, luckily The Avengers travelled via jets to take on distant threats. Later on, The New Avengers would live in Stark Tower and be given rooms there, further enforcing their more unified, street-level status. Cap and Stark are usually in charge of recruitment and they've gone about it in multiple ways, but because The Avengers have a history of recruiting outcasts, it's not too difficult getting in. This has always been odd to me because despite their more clubhouse membership system, The Avengers have been more integrated with government factions like SHIELD, often having liaisons like Nick Fury, Ms Marvel and Spider-Woman. The Avengers don't often vote, as most of the time they either follow the current leader or agree on a plan. Similar to The League, The Avengers work on a "ask for help" system too, but they're more open to offering help. However, The Avengers don't usually have time to help out one single hero because larger threats are always awaiting them.
The Justice League and The Avengers differ on their operations, their relationship with Earth's governments and their membership processes. The Justice League is every DC heroes final goal and The Avengers are every Marvel heroes' shot at reinventing themselves. The Avengers are heroes' of the people and The Justice League are watchers above Earth. These teams both fight for the same goals, rank equally in members, and are noted as their respective universe's greatest protectors, but they are two sides to the same coin: To be part of the world, or to preserve it. That is the difference. Thanks for reading!

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Migrating to Comics

For all the great comic book characters we have these days, there are some characters who didn't even appear in the comic to begin with. If an original character is interesting enough, they might find themselves written into the ink-splattered pages! Let's meet this class of characters.

One of the earliest original characters to be invented outside the comics was Jimmy Olson, Superman's best pal! Jimmy is a long standing Superman supporting character, being both an ally to The Man of Steel and to mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent. Jimmy's first appearance was on the 1940's "Adventures of Superman" radio show, the same radio show that helped take down The KKK, if you loyal readers remember. Jimmy was invented by the show's writers so Superman could have a character to talk to, the same way Robin was created in the comics so Batman had someone to talk to. In 1941, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster wrote Jimmy into the Superman comics and he's been a part of the Superman mythos ever since. Another Superman character created outside the comics was Lex Luthor's personal assistant, Mercy Graves. Created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini is the 1996 cartoon "Superman: The Animated Series", Mercy was depicted as the leader of a street gang in Metropolis, she stole from Luthor and was captured, but Luthor was so impressed by her ruthlessness and wit he offered her a job. He cleaned her up and turned Mercy into the perfect bodyguard. After that animated series, she'd appear in the comics as Luthor's Amazonian bodyguard as well as temporary member of Infinity Inc under the guise of "Vanilla". She also appeared in the "Young Justice" animated series where she was yet again Luthor's silent assistant. Only that time she had a cybernetic arm cannon! Speaking of non-comic Superman elements, Superman was originally unable to fly in the classic comics. He could only "leap tall buildings in a single bound", his power to fly was created in the 1940's Fleischer cartoons because drawing him flying was easier than fully animating him jumping around or running. Now let's talk about Harley Quinn. Because everybody loves Harley Quinn. But how many of you knew she didn't start out as a comic book character? Harley Quinn was created to be a comedic henchwoman to The Joker in 1993's "Batman: The Animated Series". She was so well received, Bruce Timm and Paul Dini kept bringing her back into various shows and in 1999 she got her first comic mini-series "Batman: Harley Quinn #1". Thanks to her animated popularity and appearances in "The Arkham Series" Harley Quinn has earned her own solo series and a live action portrayal in the upcoming film, "Suicide Squad".
Another character who started on a Batman cartoon was Batman, or more accurately, Batman Beyond. Batman Beyond was a show created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini after the previously mentioned Batman cartoon became a success. Warner Bros asked the men if they could retool the show to feature a teenaged Batman instead and rather than mussy up their universe, they added on it by setting Batman Beyond fifty years in the future. In this future, Old Man Wayne mentors a former street punk named Terry McGinnis into being The Batman of New Gotham. This show was so well acclaimed it worked its way into the comics, video games and other animated series. Why, Batman Beyond was almost the next Batman movie after "Batman & Robin" before Nolan brought Batman back onto the movie screen.

Outside of cartoons, characters from live action adaptations have also stuck around, for better or worse. Felicity Smoke and John Diggle briefly appeared in the Green Arrow comics after their debut on CW's "Arrow" television show. Ironically, the comic's writer at that time was also a writer for the show. Hmm, must be a coincidence. On to a better live action character, Agent Phil Coulson! Coulson first appeared in "Iron Man" as an uncredited agent of The Strategic Homeland Interv-Shield, okay? He was a nameless agent of Shield. I'm not playing your stupid alliteration game, Fury. Anyway he must have made a good impression because Clark Gregg portrayed Phil Coulson in "Iron Man 2", "Thor", "Avengers", "The Consultant", "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Thor's Hammer", and "Agents of Shield". Oh, and he voiced his character on "Ultimate Spider-Man", but he, Stan Lee, Drake Bell and J.K. Simmons are more imprisoned than featured. Coulson and his fellow TV agents starred in their own Marvel Comic's series, Shield.
Anyone who knows me knows I'm a sucker for good superhero shows. Any character written well enough to fit into a comic universe deserves a chance to be part of one. Odds are I'd probably prefer Fish Mooney in a comic book rather than a TV show. I don't like "Gotham", you guys. But the characters I've mentioned have a place in comic book history, a reminder that characters aren't defined by where they come from, they're defined by their actions and their importance to the overall story. Thanks for reading!
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The A.I. Next Door

What is it with robots in comic books? They're either killing machines, emotionless slaves or gullible androids made to look like attractive women! You know, if you're one of those guys who finds blue skin and pink hair attractive. What do they call em'? Otakus? Retreading some familiar land, The Panel Biter would like to introduce you to Brainiac's disfunctional descendent, Indigo the Z-Lister.

First appearing in "Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day #1" Brainiac 8 was created by Brainiac 6 in the distant future to ensure his domination of Earth. How far in the future? Nobody knows, so nobody asks. The important part is her mission: to integrate into the superhero community, develop an alternate identity, and kill former Wonder Girl, Donna Troy, who Brainiac feared could disrupt his plans in the future. What ensues is a Terminator/Betrayal/Blade Runner story that begins when Brainiac 8 is sent back to the present and-in seemingly damaged condition-confronts Cyborg of The Titans. She begs Cyborg to aid in her repairs, but accidentally harms Cyborg and is attacked by Young Justice and The Titans. She tries to defend herself, but is forced to shut down due to added damage. However before shutting down, Brainiac 8-who's identity and mission are not yet revealed-activates one of Superman's robot duplicates.

Side Note!

You're probably asking a lot of questions: Who're Young Justice? What happened to Brainiacs one through five? When did Superman have robot duplicates? I'll answer the latter because it's the goofiest. So way back in Superman history, The Man of Steel created a batch of robots who look just like him. These robots guarded the Fortress of Solitude, acted as bodyguards for Superman's loved ones, he would even program a robot to appear next to him while he was Clark Kent to throw off suspicion that Clark Kent and Superman could be the same person. While most of these robots were decommissioned and held in the Fortress, The Titans just so happened to have one in their base at the time.

Back to the story!

After being reactivated and corrupted by this mysterious android, the Superman robot attacks the Titans/Young Justice and kills Lilith and Donna Troy before Roy Harper/Arsenal reactivates the android and orders her to destroy the Superman robot. Once she does, Harper shuts her down again. Some time later when Harper reforms The Outsiders, he claims ownership of the android and recruits her into the team under the name Indigo. With no memory of her life before reactivation, Indigo adapts to human society and grows a personality, taking pleasure in simple things like bowling and silent movies. She even falls in love with fellow Outsider and accidental Metamorpho clone, Shift. It is later revealed that while Indigo has taken a new personality, her identity as Brainiac 8 still exists in her programming and takes control of Indigo. After defeating both The Titans and The Outsiders, Indigo is able to take control back for a few precious moments. In those moments, Indigo feels great misery for the deaths she has caused and begs Shift to kill her before Brainiac 8 can resurface. Brought to tears like his artificial lover, Shift uses his powers to turn her organs into rejected replacements and she dies an merciful death. After her death, Shift returns to his "brother" Metamorpho and melds into him, thus ending his existence and his depression.

There will always be stories like hers, the question of what makes human truly human. The question of duty over desire. The question of free will. Indigo is not the only robot to live this life, both in DC Comics and Marvel Comics a fair share of human-like machines must face the challenges of being what they are and testing what they could be. Her distant relative Brainiac 5 overcame his programming and became one of the most reliable members of The Legion of Superheroes there is, but not all birds fly in the same direction. Although Brainiac 8 was a weapon, a destroyer, a instrument of one of the universe's greatest threats, she was also an Outsider, she was a hero, she was Indigo. Thank you for reading.

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The Rantings Of A Panel Biter

Alright, this may sound shocking to all of you, but I need to admit it: There are some things in comic books I don't like. Gasp! What!? Oh, the humanity! My leg! I know, I know, total Game of Thrones-like twist. But yes readers, there are some characters, powers and ideas in comic books I just don't like. So let's talk about five of them, The Panel Biter's Top 5 Comic Book Gripes.

#5. Superhero Monikers

Did anyone else think it was stupid when Tim Drake went from being Robin to being Red Robin? Ignoring the obvious restaurant reference, Red Robin is a terrible name to by because it's literally one word away from being another character's name. Maybe I should blame Kingdom Come. Black Bat is kind of lazy, too. Scarlet Spider gets a pass because its more wordy than Spider-Man. Whether a character is connected to a preexisting character or original, it's important to take names into account, especially when putting them in the same universe as characters who already have a similar name. I'm looking at you Cyborg Superman. And that one X-Men "M". And enough with characters named Atom: The Atom, Captain Atom, Atom Smasher, Adam Strange, Black Adam...I'm losing track.

#4. Time Traveling

Do I really have to explain this? Time travel may come in handy if you're trying to make an interesting story, but when you start doing Reverse-Flash origins and rewriting the entire universe, that's when it starts getting hairy. Batman was a caveman and a pirate for crying out loud! I mean after the 60's X-Men were brought to the present you'd think they're would be more repercussions. Then some nerd with too much time on his hands draws a graph of time travel and, oh, that's me. I'm that guy. Time travel is confusing, especially when it pours into a couple other gripes on this list.

#3. Erasing Events

You know what was neat? When Barbara Gordon was still helping superheroes even after The Joker put her in a wheelchair. You know what was cool? When Spider-Man married MJ and started acting more like an adult. You know what was cool!? When Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were the children of Magneto! Oh, what's that? You want to tell cool stories under different conditions. Well that's find we'll make them stories that happened before this and, oh, you're just going to ignore all this important stuff. I don't know if-wait, that character is supposed to be in a wheelchair. She recovered? What the hell do you mean "she recovered"? She was crippled! Retconning for the sake of freshness is an perfect way to piss off readers.

#2. Hero Fights

We've all asked "who would win a fight" before, right? Superhero A vs Superhero B, how entertaining. Under circumstances like mind control, differing ideals and alignment disruption, I can comply to the hero vs hero setup. But when one hero meets another hero and they fight out of miscommunication, it sucks. In the New 52's "Justice League", Superman attacks Batman because he thinks Batman is in cahoots with alien invaders. Yes Clark, this man in a silly bat costume is working with aliens. Not every alien looks like a human, you know! And Avengers vs X-Men? Mutant racism I understand, but mutant heroes and non-mutant heroes have worked together for decades without some big war happening like that. Cyclops is suddenly a testosterone-fueled anarchist just so The Avengers have an excuse to fight them. All that aside, a fighting game based on AVX would be dope.

#1. Resurrections

I don't know if I'm too far off by saying this, but EVERY comic book character has died and come back to life. Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, Nightcrawler, Phoenix, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Colossus, even Gwen Stacy! Alternate dimension be damned, they brought Gwen Stacy back to life. Jason Todd gets a pass, but hasn't the death of characters only made comics more interesting. Dick Grayson becomes Batman, Bucky becomes Captain America, Miles Morales becomes Spider-Man, the legacy of characters go on despite their death or rebirth. I know we're supposed to feel like comic books are timeless, but history is what makes these characters feel tangible. The reason Dick Grayson is my favorite character is because he got to age, evolve and not have to be worried about being resurrected or aged backwards. If comic book writers really want to undo death, be smart about it. Be aware of your playing field. But the way comic books work, nobody stays dead forever. Just until they're popular again.

I'm sure I have more gripes, but those are the cogs that grind my gears. I'm sure you have some grudges, right? Retcons and resurrections? Cancellations and rebrands? Seeing as how the X-Men movies are dealing with time travel and the Marvel movies have played the fake death card before, I can only assume the cinematic comic universes will become all the more loyal as time goes on. For better or worse. Thanks for reading!

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A Tavern of Talkers

Hey, folks! I guest starred on another episode of DistractionMedia's Tavern Talk! We talk about movies and stuff! Come listen!

PS: Booster Gold is awesome

PSS: Don't worry, I'm working on my own podcasts.

PSSS: This post is mad short!

http://thedistractionspodcast.podbean.com/e/tavern-talk-5-webby-reels/

United We Withstand

In the modern day we see Comic Books being adapted into movies and television, film studios attempting to cash in on the new craze and build entire universes of their own while comic book companies catch along the coattails and change their entire layout to fit the public's perception. But in the modern age of comic books, what matters more: Creativity or Continuity? 

Comic Books. You know many years ago admitting your interest in these ink-cascaded issues was something you'd get teased over. But as soon as Batman and Iron Man took the movie screens the escalation jumped for the comic book genre. Now everyone and their mother-my mother included-is gaga for Tony Stark! Everyone thinks Captain America is cool and people actually know who The Black Widow is. Characters like The Flash and Green Arrow are getting attention by people unaware of their existence beside Batman and Superman. These days if you admit you like superheroes, you're welcomed into conversation instead welcomed into the inside of a locker. Guys like me who bury their nose in comic books now won't have to worry about people teasing Aquaman or misunderstanding how Superman's powers work. It's a great age we live in! Isn't it? For as popular as these movies are, we comic book fans can't ignore the obvious pandering to the film industry from our favorite comic book companies. Wolverine didn't die because he lost his healing factor, he died because the company distributing his comics can't put him in their movies. More than ever we are seeing an age where the consistency of comic book companies are becoming a dangerous factor. How can Marvel brand Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver as Inhumans when they've been mutants for so many decades? How can we have an old Hank Pym in the movies if our comic book Hank Pym doesn't look like Michael Douglas? Comic book fans: our world is changing. All of them. DC Comics just killed off the universes of every story we've ever read before The New 52. And look at Marvel, I may have been wrong about "The Fox Segregation" but how wrong was I? Johnny Storm is joining The Inhumans, we're getting a new Wolverine who isn't Logan, characters like Vision, Black Panther and Ant-Man are getting more attention not for their credit as characters, but solely for the reason of their cinematic appearances. And how is Marvel Comics explaining this "All-New Marvel Universe"? With an event called "Secret Wars". Homages and callbacks made simply to excuse their movie-branded reboot. Oh and it is a reboot, no matter how you slice it. If you were going to write this event off as "a new chapter" why end the first issue of "Secret Wars" with a tombstone that says, "The Marvel Universe 1961-2015, The Ultimate Universe 2000-2015"? When you kill one universe and replace it with a new one, it's called a reboot.

Now I've been thinking about this over and over, guys. Deciding if DC Comic's claim to be more about story than universe is a good idea. While I do factor story beyond all else when reading a comic book, the world at large lends to the story. Sure, maybe I want to know what happens when Bruce Wayne becomes a New God, but I'd also like to know who's going to look after Gotham as Batman? Oh, Jim Gordon? Okay, what does Batgirl think about her father being Batman? Will she tell Tim Drake? Will this event effect Tim Drake while he's on The Teen Titans? You can't just drop a jar and not expect glass to get everywhere! Stand-alone stories are all fine and good but when you've been pitching a shared universe for some seventy years and you've "revamped it" numerous times you're not just going to wash away fan response by saying "oh well! Do-over".When the first issue of The New 52's "Teen Titans" came out, they confirmed that the old-school team (Dick Grayson, Wally West, Donna Troy and others) never existed, we also saw Starfire appear in "Red Hood & The Outlaws" confirm to Roy Harper-who was also an original Titan-that she has no memory of her fellow Titans despite the older Teen Titans never existing. And of course upon complaints of this, DC Comics edited the book and took that dialog out. If comic book companies really want to make a shared universe without the worry of misplacement or inconsistency they should just do this:

Draw up an encyclopedia of your characters and have a few close employees manage it. Every time an important event happens to a character, add it to the character's bio. Before any writer decides to use a character, they have to check the encyclopedia, read what the character has been up to and adjust the character to include those events. If a writer wants to do something with a character unrelated or within a different version, write it off as "What-If story" that has nothing to do with the main universe. You want Iron Man in your new Avengers book, fine. But you'll have to read how Writer #1 gave Iron Man a new cybernetic limb and include that so this ties together. Is it a simple solution? Yes. Is it necessary? No. But when your story isn't just your story, you have to be willing to make acceptations and respect the toys your borrowing.

Comic book companies think that ditching connectivity, dishing out good stories and using their best-known assets is a good strategy, and for a business it is, but not every comic book fan is a new reader. Some readers have been by their sides for decades, through every universal reboot, through every crossover event, they've been there as loyal as when they came. And they deserve recognition for their commitment. It wasn't just the movie industry that launched comic book characters, it was the fans behind the books who said, "No, this is a cool character". Making things simple for a new audience may be a clean idea, but comic book companies can't erase the past in which they were nothing but comic books distributors standing on one leg to stay in business. You can't erase that past, especially when every comic book store in the country has that past inside long, white, cardboard boxes. Continuity and creativity should stand hand-in-hand despite criticism or hardship, instead of submitting to a less-than-interested target demographic. Comic books aren't about branding, they're about another world. And this new world of comic books shouldn't be old or new, it should be ours. That is what the modern age should be. Thanks for reading.

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Sibling Rivalry

Diving back into the world of Atlantis, we witness a corrupt king wage war on another world. To prevent his two homes from striking against each other, Arthur Curry must put his allegiance on the line. The next PBDC movie pitch is here, "Aquaman: Throne of Atlantis".

Once the most teased superheroes in America, Aquaman's fan community has risen up in support of the royal hero. It is thanks to his newfound popularity that Aquaman has been able to drum up support for his treaty between the US and Atlantis, a treaty that has both lands divided in opinion. His brother King Orm reluctantly backs the treaty until torpedos launched from a Navy submarine destroy a portion of the undersea kingdom. Orm takes this as a sign of war despite US officials claiming it was a system malfunction. Taking responsibility of the surface and the sea, Aquaman and Mera must solve the mysterious torpedo case, before any more lives are sunk.

Arthur would act more as a diplomat for Atlantis, appearing at UN meetings and discussing politics with his brother. You would think this pressure would shake him, but Arthur is surprisingly happy about all of it. Before becoming Aquaman, Arthur spent his time wallowing in a lighthouse, but now he is the bridge between two worlds just as his parents wanted him to be. Plus, being in a loving relationship with Mera cheers him up, too. Although they disagree, Arthur has gotten along with Orm as well thanks to royal advisor Valko's interventions. Arthur has also been given an assistant of his own, Kaldur. Kaldur is a young Atlantean trained in combat, mysticism and eidetic, making him very quiet and timid. Maxwell Lord would appear after threats of war are placed between the US and Atlantis and he'd question who's side Arthur would protect when it came to war. When Atlantean spies begin invading the country, the US organization ARGUS would try to capture Arthur and label him as a traitor. Arthur, Mera, and Kaldur use biologist Dr. Shin's technology and Lord's connections to access the sub's records, while Orm-taking the title Ocean Master-would focus his troops towards the surface and lock Valko in the dungeons for his misplaced judgements. When Ocean Master attacks the surface he brings not only Atlantean soldiers, but he also brings sea monsters like The Trench (see "All Hail The King" for more info). Arthur and his two Atlanteans venture back to Atlantis after learning the torpedo launch was a hacked order from Atlantis' master operation system, a machine used to power machinery and technology within the mostly magic-based city. The Justice League would appear to help stall Ocean Master's army. They wouldn't be the only heroes having a cameo as characters like Green Arrow, Black Canary, Firestorm, The Atom, and a few other heroes in the background would assist. In order to access the room where the AMOS is stored, Arthur must rescue Valko from the dungeon to punch in a code, but Valko reveals there are two codes, one known by him and the other known by Orm. Against his better instincts, Arthur must make a deal with Black Manta. At this point Manta is a prisoner of Atlantis and with his advanced hacking prowess he could unlock the AMOS door, in exchange for his freedom. Manta shares a brief interaction with Kaldur, one that DC fans might pick up on. After the AMOS door is unlocked, Manta locks the group inside and escapes from Atlantis. Arthur learns the activation command was not made by Orm, but was actually made by Valko. After breaking out of the AMOS and locking Valko up, Aquaman and Mera join the war and bring it to an end when Aquaman defeats his brother in unarmed combat. Orm is locked in prison for his acts of war and Valko claims that Arthur lacked the motivation to become King, like his mother always wanted. So Valko set up the entire war with hopes that Arthur would seize command and lead Atlantis towards peace, or rather, domination. With Mera as his Queen and Kaldur as his new Advisor, Aquaman would become the new King of Atlantis. After the credits, we open to a barren wasteland where an army begins to gather. A small liquid portal opens and the army's leader Nereus proclaims, "Mera, my love, we will take Atlantis back".
This story serves to show the condition the PBDC world is in, to be constantly fluctuating between admiring heroes and fearing their actions. It is less a tale of a prince proving he can be king, but is actually an outsider proving his loyalty is not divided. In a sense, Aquaman's response towards the surface and the sea during this event mirrors the unaligned nature of The Justice League, as they too do not choose national sides. Aquaman represents union, loyalty and resourcefulness in this movie pitch adaptation of one his best stories. Thanks for reading.
Love is in the air in Coast City, though it may be tough love. "Green Lantern: Reign of The Zamerons" is coming next!

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The Panel Biter NOW!

Readers new and old, young and mature, human and anything other than human, thank you for supporting your host and this new world we've created! It's because of all you sorry saps I've been motivated enough to continue this blog and expand it day by day! As congrats I'd like to open the origin book one more time to invite even more readers! So if you have a friend who likes superheroes even the slightest, tell them about this blog! And without further stalling, allow me to reintroduce this world! Loyal readers and newfound friends...

Escorted by The Panel Biter's most popular post personalities, Misfit from "Mis-Fitting In", Starfox from "Sex Offenders....In Spaaace!" and Hercules from "Oh, My Various Gods!". And they're not the only titular faces around here, but we'll talk about that more later! I created The Panel Biter last September and it seems like it's been forever since it began with my childhood Halloween photos. I was Cyclops, by the way. Over the months The Panel Biter grew in readers, especially after I established it's Facebook and Twitter pages sometime later, this allowed many of my own personal friends to follow my ridiculous ramblings! I introduced segments like Rant & Recommend, Top 5's, Pitch-It, The Weekly Z-Lister, and Predictions Panel between all my Single Issue posts. I wanted to establish a flexibility here, being engraved in comics enough to know the lore, but kind enough to simplify comic books for fresh readers. After all, that's how The Panel Biter began, as a source superhero fans could visit to educate themselves on comic book history. Sometimes that means explaining stupidly complex comic book events, describing both known and obscure characters, and giving my own opinion of the media's depiction of comic books. Now we see a time in which The Panel Biter evolves further!

Sometime ago I met a man named Webby. Well, we all call him Webby. Webby is a member of The Distractions Media, another pop culture savvy podcast group featuring D&D games and Top 3's and Star Wars-themed discussions. A group of fellow geeks like Austin, Anthony, Jon, Robert, Quigley, Jake, Sabrina, Devin and Colin. If you're reading this guys, I'm happy to have met you all! And if we haven't properly met, I look forward to meeting you! I guest starred on two of their podcasts (Three Worst Things and Tavern Talk) and I can assume I'll appear on more. Unless they're upset about me raiding their fridge. Regardless! I am grateful to be invited into their podcast world, so grateful I've picked up the podcast bug! Two episodes in and The One-Shot Podcast is getting it's footing, footing that struggles to step around the laws of Apple, but still standing! Although I've played solo two times before, I can assure you I have guests coming to join my talkative tour through comic book media! In fact, you just might meet a few new faces on The Panel Biter's upcoming video series, Comic Buffet! This show will be my first video appearance and with me I'll bring some old friends and you'll enjoy the reactions they have when I tell them the freakiest and coolest of comic book stories. It's like what I normally do when we hang out, but on camera.

Doing this blog and especially The Weekly Z-Lister has allowed me to meet and reconnect with so many under-the-rug characters! Moon-Boy & Devil Dinosaur, Comet, Mogo, Detective Chimp, Dex-Starr and so many more. Too many, some would say. Oh, I almost forgot Forget-Me-Knot! See? There are so many comic book characters, spanning from now to the 1940's! Eighty years of lore can seem overwhelming, but you learn so much about a decade by the characters that come out of it. You think Carnage could've worked in the 50's? You think Captain America wasn't meant for the days of World War II? Hell, some of my favorite characters are allegories for world views and cultures, and we look at these colorful characters just for their cool powers, but not often do people explore what went into these characters. Another perk to writing The Panel Biter! I feel more connected with world views by looking into these characters and have found no demographic has gone untouched in the superhero community. Muslim? You got Ms Marvel. Handicapped? You got Oracle. Gay? Here's Northstar. Gay and amused by violence? Midnighter, folks. Anti-superhero and amused by violence? Punisher, baby! Amused by violence? Every comic from 1989 to 1999. Anthropomorphic duck? Howard The Duck! It's an endless market, covering westerns, crime noir, comedy, science fiction, horror and so many other tones! Even romance, if you dig deep enough. Don't dig too far though, you might end up on 4Chan.

Every day I fall on my bed and think, "What I could do next". What could I do to bring more readers enjoyable content? Produce independent comics? Become a Youtuber? Intergrade The Panel Biter's software into Skynet? My entire life, reading and writing were the only things I never got tired of. I want to be a comic book writer. I think of myself as a comic book guru. But, in reality, I'm another comic book reader. Another fan. Just like all of you, the only difference being that I've set out to share my comic book interests with everyone. That and I'm secretly a Skrull. I am truly grateful for all of you who read and if you could share this post or tell your friends about The Panel Biter I'd be far more appreciative for your help. Come on loyal readers, let's build The Panel Biter higher up together! I hope you enjoy your time here on The Panel Biter and I hope you continue to read! I hear it's healthy. So have a wonderful day, I will talk to you again soon, and as always...

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