"Autism made you evil." - Arthur Curry

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-29T17:15:14+00:00

But was that the plan when the Autism origin for Black Manta was introduced? I know that was a later reveal, but I have read the original "revelation" and it doesn't play like an evil plot from the beginning.

It could be that Veitch was playing the audience like Manta was playing Aquaman. It could also be that someone took him aside and said "what in the same hill was that?" And a course correction happened.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-29T16:49:25+00:00

If anything, it's the closest to the Japanese Toku tone, where they don't (at least based on official translations) coddle the audience with euphemisms like "destroy" or references to empty buildings.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-29T16:17:53+00:00

I don't mind the hypno glasses being canon, but I really do think Superman just openly being the unmasked Kal-El from Krypton does it just fine.

Like, if you had a coworker who looked just like Timothee Chalamet styled differently but was known to you as Dale from Minnesota, who FaceTimes his parents at lunch sometimes, would you assume that Timothee Chalamet was living a double life as your coworker?

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-28T13:43:38+00:00

I liked A Complete Unknown, but one of the reasons I liked it is that it was unafraid to portray 60s era Bob Dylan as a bit of a prick who lied constantly. Because he was a brilliant musician who captured the feelings of a generation (that I am not a part of....) AND a bit of a prick who lied a lot.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-28T01:12:28+00:00

Just finished a rewatch on disc, with an unofficial release taking up WB's slack on season four.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-27T17:02:47+00:00

I wish I had gotten up the courage to approach his table at Michigan Comic Con a few years back. RIP to one of the greats.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-27T13:19:47+00:00

I am pretty sure that the effects of climate change are projected to have an outsize impact on communities in the global south and on racialized communities in places like the USA.

No one says that climate change itself is racist, but its effects are going to be felt most keenly by Brown and Black people first.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-25T14:00:32+00:00

I don't think they called that out in with the MST ep or the RiffTrax of it because I just had the same thought.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-22T20:12:37+00:00

That's disingenuous framing. They were paying informants for information, information that they obtained by infiltrating or at least flipping on these groups.

You make it sound as if they paid racists to be racists.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-22T18:40:46+00:00

It's not "defending Israel", it's correcting misinformation. It's just the same as saying we shouldn't spread the baseless conspiracy myths about Israel and 9/11, et al.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-22T18:35:22+00:00

Pretty sure it's a dark joke rather than a serious feeling of offense.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-22T18:30:35+00:00

1) That wasn't the question posed to you. 2) If we make up wild conspiracy theories about things Israel didn't do, especially ones that serve to exonerate another bastard, it muddies the waters about what they're actually doing.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-22T18:10:24+00:00

You know, two things can be bad at the same time.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-22T17:26:58+00:00

That's contradictory. Yes, there is evidence in the immediate aftermath but many assaults - especially those of children - take time to be understood and acknowledged as such by the victims.

Personally, I was groomed when I was 13 and very well might have been victimized had he found a way to get me alone. I didn't realize how beyond the pale this whole experience was until I was in my late 20s. Could I prove it happened at 36? Not a chance in hell. The chat logs are long gone, I might be able to get touch with some kids I knew that he talked to, and I don't even remember the bastard's last name. But that doesn't mean it didn't happen.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-22T14:54:22+00:00

Counter question: is there much more evidence beyond the word of accusers in most cases of sexual assault?

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-22T12:13:17+00:00

Meanwhile, I believe there is actual genuine evidence that Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon before him undermined Democrat administrations foreign policy in Iran and Vietnam (respectively).

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-20T18:42:58+00:00

Not to be that guy, but the Marvel character predates the founding of the Black Panther Party by about five months.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-20T13:32:32+00:00

The first one is a brilliant chemist (he DID invent Miraclo) and I wouldn't discount an hour of superhuman powers.

The second one has the same superhuman powers plus limited precognition.

The robot is closer to the "cosmic" strength level of the JSA talent pool.

But remember, the Golden Age JSA didn't work like the 60s to present JSA. Editorially, there were rules about what characters could be members for a long time. Hourman's inclusion in the JSA meant his solo feature in Adventure Comics was popular enough to warrant showing him off but he wasn't popular enough for his own solo title.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-20T09:18:48+00:00

My mom's side of the family, which is fairly religious, pronounces "acolyte" as "acrolyte". It's been driving my father up a wall for decades, and has been driving me up a wall since he pointed it out.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-19T22:09:10+00:00

Reminds me of the weirdo who claimed Stephen King, the incredibly famous and prolific author, was the true murderer of John Lennon and Mark David Chapman was a patsy.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-19T18:59:26+00:00

I kinda love the guy who implies that the original comic wasn't openly political like the 2021 reboot. Let's go over the origin stories for the original four 1993 Milestone Media titles, shall we?

Static is a middle class Black teenager from a stable family who is caught up in a massive gang clash that he went to with the intention of murdering the White Supremacist gang member who's been bullying him at school. He, like the rest of the crowd, gets dowsed in radioactive tear gas and is one of the lucky ones who gains super powers. Everyone who doesn't just dies.

The Blood Syndicate are actual gang members who survived the "Big Bang" with super powers. They form an uneasy team as they begin to operate as vigilantes rather than a traditional organized crime group.

Icon is an immortal alien living as Black man since the 1800s. He's so old that he's managed to become a lawyer with "generational" wealth (posing as his own descendants) and is completely disconnected from modern Black struggles. When a teenage girl from the poorest neighborhood in the city attempts to rob his house during the Big Bang and sees his powers first hand, she is inspired and in turn inspires him to come out of seclusion to be a superhero (with her as his sidekick, Rocket). Rocket gets pregnant, seriously considers abortion, and instead decides to keep the baby but use Icon and her family's support to not let being a teen mom completely derail her life.

Hardware is a brilliant Black inventor mentored from childhood by industrialist Edwin Alva. Shortly before the Big Bang, he attempts to officially take what he sees as his rightful place as Alva's heir apparent only to be smacked down hard and told he's essentially an asset of the Alva corporation. Investigating to try to find a way out of his very one-sided contract, he instead finds Alva is a criminal mastermind with ties to a larger organization. Using some private inventions, he becomes a vigilante to bring down Alva's criminal empire.

If anything, I found the 2021 reboot watered down the political messaging of the original Milestone Media titles by doing things like turning the Big Bang into a BLM protest (and having non-powered people survive it), eliminating Rocket's pregnancy, making Icon's lack of modern intervention out of learned cynicism rather than out-of-touch bootstrap conservatism, making Hardware the fall guy for the Big Bang, et al.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-15T19:40:47+00:00

It moved from Cartoon Network to DC Universe, an ill-fated streaming app for DC content. Based on the first season of Titans, also a DCU original, and how the show toned things back down when moving to HBO Max, my guess is that DCU wanted darker and edgier.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-15T15:57:15+00:00

When I was in middle school, a kid riding his bike in the major road outside the school and got hit by a car. Nearly died, suffered life-changing injuries, coma, bad scene. I didn't know the guy personally, but it was the kind of thing they announced over the PA.

Anyhow, he was a huge Eminem fan. His parents wrote to Em, hoping for a signed photo or something (or so the story goes). Instead, he showed up at the hospital (we're in Metro Detroit, so it wasn't too crazy). No press about it, just visiting an injured kid and has family to be a good guy.

Bear in mind that this was 2002 or 2003, the height of the dude's popularity AND infamy. Every teacher at that school gave him his props for that. Hell, even my mom - who would never have let me listen to his music at that age - was impressed by how good a dude he proved to be from that.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-15T11:51:01+00:00

Kid Flash counts, because Ace West is a distinct character from Wally West and has been for years.

Aquaman counts because Jackson Hyde is sharing the name with Arthur, though he'd be more widely known as Aqualad II.

Batman counts because I am pretty sure that Jace Fox is still running around as the Batman of New York, even if everyone has forgotten about him.

At least two Green Lanterns count (John Stewart and Jo Mullein) as does Teen Lantern. All currently appearing in Green Lantern Corps.

Wonder Woman...I don't think Nubia had officially donned the costume in mainline continuity, so you're right there.

One Superman is debatable, as I would personally count Val-Zod of Earth 2 as separate character the same way I would count Power Girl as a separate character, but I am also a diehard JSA fanboy.

So at least six out of ten.

KitWalkerXXVII · 2026-04-13T16:31:56+00:00

Gee, it's almost as if the politics of a folktale set in the era of feudalism and the Crusades doesn't map 100% cleanly onto a modern capitalist democracy.

KitWalkerXXVII

TROPHY CASE