When His Tax Problems Clear Up...

Wesley "Blade" Snipes can play...

BLACK MANTA!

232, 285, 312, 362...Dammit 405!

So, Saturday I played for the first time and to say I got spanked would be greatly unfair. Due to time constraints, I was prevented from being spanked. So what was I doing most of Sunday?

Trying to build a better 400-point team. Which is hard when you barely have a mid-level comprehension of the rules.

Anyway, without getting into the deep levels of points and powers, I put together this team (by the way, HeroClix comes in four levels: Rookie, Experienced, Veteran, & Unique):

Rookie Supergirl from the Unleashed line

Rookie Lobster Johnson from Indy

Rookie Intergang Agent from Hypertime

Rookie Two-Face from Unleashed

Experienced Doctor Octopus from Ultimates

Experienced Venom from Critical Mass

Veteran Cosmic Boy from Cosmic Justice

Even though I collect the Clix (because I thought they looked cool), I was hesitant to actually play the game because, well, it reek of D&D geekness. And I just couldn't go there. But, apparently, most of the guys at Big Monkey play the game (4 out of 5) and a bunch of other cats walked in looking for sport. Plus, I made friends with a soon to be Marine D&D player, so I just went in and had some fun.

Thanks to everyone who put up with my ignorance of the rules and I hope to get better, and KO more than Robotman.

Here's Why Claremont Sucks

He thinks this is a disguise a trained covert operative would choose:

The Avatars

I don't fit in very well. Anywhere.

Not at my job where a coworker actually called me "House."

Not with my family, because they're really outgoing people who make others comfortable, and well, someone told my brother I have a way of making others feel stupid. I was shocked at this, mainly because I rarely talked to that person.

And with my friends, I still feel like the odd man out. I'm with them, but...

I started thinking about this, and as with most other things I think about, I started to think about comics, and what kind of character that would make me. I would have similar goals as all the other heroes, but something about my nature or my methods would make me an outsider.

In Marvel, Punisher would come to mind first but Punisher doesn't have the same goals as the heroes, he wants all criminals dead. And Hulk doesn't count, he wants to be left alone.

Only this guy fits the bill: Known by all, but people keep their distance. And he couldn't care one way or another.

In DC, it's harder. There's a place for everyone. It was racking my brain to think of a DC character who wanted to help but was ostracized by the hero community at large. I thought I would have to refine my parameters to just someone though with a team occasionally, never truly connected with others.

My mind grazed Phantom Stranger, but I know myself well enough to realize I'm not as cool as he is. The only person I could think of was a guy who was sent to the Titans on work release, had to take a leave of absence for emotional problems and joined the Justice Society because he had no other place to go. I'm: People try to make me feel accepted, but I'm not there. And while I haven't experienced the same level of crap as Grant has been through, sometimes I feel as though everyone is better adjusted than I am, like every JSA member must seem to Grant.

I invite you all to think about yourselves and which comic character you relate to.

Mmmm, That's Good Metatextual!

From:

Ms. Marvel: "Some days, the rug just gets yanked right out from under you...and it seems like there's nothing you can do to set the world right again.

"I call those days "Wednesday."

Also, we just wrapped the second Big Monkey Podcast and I must say, I probably come off as a complete jackass, so it should be fun for all. Once Ben and Brian the Tech Guy get done editing and polishing, they'll be posting and you can be listening.

Countdown to Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen '08

Despite my many concerns with Countdown, the one thing that keeps me coming back every week is the fact that the main character of the series, the one tied into the two main plot lines is

The Goddamned Jimmy Olsen!

I don't know when Jimmy stepped up as one of my favorite characters. I wasn't into Superman books growing up, just occasionally picking up Bryne's Action back issues and anything that looked cool. And back then (just around the 80's I should say), Jimmy was a furniture piece, a prop to need Superman's help or say how cool Superman is.

I think it was in the 90's that Jimmy started to get some of his Silver Age moxy back. He would be working with Cadmus, being targeted by mad scientists and wearing science suits. It was great. Especially when rendered by Tom Grummet.

Then came Metropolis , a miniseries dealing with the Brainiac 13 tech that had taken over Metropolis. Lots of shenanigans were going on, people coming back from the dead and supervillains being bonded together and such, and investigating the story was Our Hero, James Bartholomew Olsen. His signal watch used as transceiver for the intelligence in the tech (Lex Luthor's daughter Lena, to be exact), Jimmy went through harrowing ordeals while keeping his laid back cool and making time with the cyber-Lena.

Then Gail Simone was writing Action Comics, and Jimmy was rushing headon to take pictures and save people. And it was shortly thereafter that I found blog posts about Silver Age Jimmy and his antics, while very weird, cemented Jimmy's position as one of my top favorite DC characters. And he's in august company with the likes of Tempest, Brainiac 5 and Lar Gand.

Just something I wanted to share.

Countdown To Challengers Of The Unknown & Other Theories

I read Countdown #48 today and some thoughts are congealing in my head and I just wanted to get them down and see what everyone thinks.

As far as where Countdown is heading, what it will mean long term for the DCU, I think they are setting up the New Earth Universe as the 'meeting spot' for all the other universes. It's long been the general opinion that Crisis On Infinite Earths came about when too many alternate universes were mixing together and in the exit interviews from the writers of 52, the universes of the new Megaverse are supposed to be independent of each other.


But New Earth is riddled with apparently extraneous characters from the multiverse, characters who were here from before the Megaverse was created. I think when all is said and done, The Monitors will designate New Earth to take the brunt of any mutiversal instability, with the new Challengers of the Unknown (Jason Todd, Donna Troy, Ion and some other displaced characters, probably) to deal with any problems that arise. From the promos for the new Booster Gold series, Hunter and the Carter Boys will be handling the Megaverse and time, and it kind of makes sense that a team in the present deals with threats rooted in one universe.


As for the events in Justice League and Justice Society, namely the scene from Justice League of America #0, I think that is New Earth's Justice League. In the picture, the Big Tree are looking at the computer display of the two Earths, the picture of the JLA and JSA is in the background. Batman says they have seen alternate universes and a full-on multiverse, and only one Earth has seen a full-on multiverse: New Earth. In the last issue of Infinite Crisis, the JSA make note that they not only remember their New Earth past, but remember a time when Batman and Superman were members of the JSA. Since the Megaverse is new, those universes haven't been in contact each other yet, making New Earth the only possible place for a Justice League with that photo in their base.


As for the "Legion Lost", a friend from the comic store has pointed out to me that Sensor Girl could not exist alongside Karate Kid, at least if they went out on a mission at the same time. Sensor Girl was Princess Projectra after she returned from sabbatical. Why was she on sabbatical? Because her husband, Karate Kid, was killed by Nemesis Kid. What I don't get is, if the Legion already know about the parallel Earths, why do they keep talking as if New Earth is their past? I get that Superman's Legion past was written back in during IC, but Waid's Legion is clearly the Legion of New Earth's future.


Speaking of Meltzer's missteps, this aside is about Amazons Attack! #2. I appreciate Pfeifer's commitment to continuity, but if I have to read one more series with the Justice League standing around calling each other by their first names, I'm going Dark Horse for the rest of my life.

Back to Countdown...Jimmy's encounter with Lightray makes me think the Infinity Man may make a reappearance. He was this super-powerful being that the Forever People could summon with their Mother Box. If Devon is correct, and this Jimmy is displaced, he and the other Challengers may summon him to take on Darkseid, whenever the Kilted Menace makes his play. Or it could be this guy , who was an honorary Legion of Super-Heroes member that gained power of space and time, but lost them during the original Crisis. Maybe he's the "last Legionnaire" Dawnstar and the others are looking for, because Lightning Lad is still in the future, apparently. Then again, Scip has a point about this, too.

I can't wait till the week of Aqua-Jimmy, to tell you the truth. Olsen has been exposed to more powers than Peter Petrelli.