Comments on: On Ninja Girls, Dames, and War Games http://www.4thletter.net/2006/08/on-ninja-girls-dames-and-war-games/ we like talking about comics, and hopefully you like reading us talking about comics. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:03:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Nezumiiro http://www.4thletter.net/2006/08/on-ninja-girls-dames-and-war-games/comment-page-1/#comment-207 Nezumiiro Sun, 03 Sep 2006 21:21:47 +0000 http://www.4thletter.net/?p=89#comment-207 I wonder if Cass being bad falls into ye' olde "Battered Spouse Syndrone"... Where someone with bad habits, or in a bad situation will revert back to their old ways, or often fall back into bad situations, regardless of the level of support around them. I wonder if Cass being bad falls into ye’ olde “Battered Spouse Syndrone”… Where someone with bad habits, or in a bad situation will revert back to their old ways, or often fall back into bad situations, regardless of the level of support around them.

]]> By: JLG http://www.4thletter.net/2006/08/on-ninja-girls-dames-and-war-games/comment-page-1/#comment-129 JLG Tue, 01 Aug 2006 19:24:05 +0000 http://www.4thletter.net/?p=89#comment-129 I loved the noir Catwoman too, and it was the dive back into generic superhero/villain territory that just bored me into dropping it and never looking back. I think that might be a good example of why the Bat World just doesn't really fit into the larger DC universe - Batman worked best with the Timm/Dini noir-inspired crime series, notsomuch as a improbably powerful Joe among people with heat vision. The quirks of the hero and villains can work great in the loopy Rat Pack/<i>Oceans 11</i> mold, you can do cool and not be embarrassingly "meeow" campy, like the generic comic booky style can get. I'm still not so sure Cassandra turning evil works, unfinished storyline or not. It seems... defeatist, almost - you can't ever escape your "essential nature," you'll fail at being good and eventually turn evil, like Cass.Although it's been suggested Evil-Cass is a <a href="http://kalinara.blogspot.com/2006/07/musings-cassandra-cain.html" rel="nofollow">double</a>. I think it's especially hurting to her fans considering the wider context of awful things happening to women in the DCU. Cass has been demoted from having her own title and in a "big name" position to a villian of a sidekick. It seems like an uninspired choice for a character that seemed to have such a unique origin/premise. If you really wanted to, you could also get into some class and race issues (Tim/Bruce/Kate/Barbara: white, well-to-do socialite families vs. Cassandra: essentially a child soldier from Cambodia). Although maybe that's looking to much into it... :P I'll maintain that the OYL jump was a terrible thing to happen to <i>Teen Titans</i> - it had a ton of momentum going into IC with the Brother Blood arc, the Beast Boy/Raven romance, BB's developing role as a leader, Raven's new life, that dystopian future looming over them. Then Johns decided to kill a bunch of them and put them through hell, and pick up where things have become totally overthrown and flooded with angst. The severe lack of information may have sounded great, but abandoning certain teamates (gee, Geoff, are we ever going to see BB, Bumblebee, and Herald/Vox and the Doom Patrol ever again?) and the delays are helping kill it. I'm giving Runaways a chance with it's decision to kill off a teammate because, unlike Geoff, Vaughn seems to care more about character development and <i>everyone's</i> interactions, rather than dump a bunch of overblown shocks and only care about a select few (because why the hell should Titans fans wait till 52 Week 21 to find out what the hell happened to everyone not Tim and Wonder Girl?). But I'm a broken bad record. :P I loved the noir Catwoman too, and it was the dive back into generic superhero/villain territory that just bored me into dropping it and never looking back. I think that might be a good example of why the Bat World just doesn’t really fit into the larger DC universe – Batman worked best with the Timm/Dini noir-inspired crime series, notsomuch as a improbably powerful Joe among people with heat vision. The quirks of the hero and villains can work great in the loopy Rat Pack/Oceans 11 mold, you can do cool and not be embarrassingly “meeow” campy, like the generic comic booky style can get.

I’m still not so sure Cassandra turning evil works, unfinished storyline or not. It seems… defeatist, almost – you can’t ever escape your “essential nature,” you’ll fail at being good and eventually turn evil, like Cass.Although it’s been suggested Evil-Cass is a double. I think it’s especially hurting to her fans considering the wider context of awful things happening to women in the DCU. Cass has been demoted from having her own title and in a “big name” position to a villian of a sidekick. It seems like an uninspired choice for a character that seemed to have such a unique origin/premise. If you really wanted to, you could also get into some class and race issues (Tim/Bruce/Kate/Barbara: white, well-to-do socialite families vs. Cassandra: essentially a child soldier from Cambodia). Although maybe that’s looking to much into it… :P

I’ll maintain that the OYL jump was a terrible thing to happen to Teen Titans – it had a ton of momentum going into IC with the Brother Blood arc, the Beast Boy/Raven romance, BB’s developing role as a leader, Raven’s new life, that dystopian future looming over them. Then Johns decided to kill a bunch of them and put them through hell, and pick up where things have become totally overthrown and flooded with angst. The severe lack of information may have sounded great, but abandoning certain teamates (gee, Geoff, are we ever going to see BB, Bumblebee, and Herald/Vox and the Doom Patrol ever again?) and the delays are helping kill it.

I’m giving Runaways a chance with it’s decision to kill off a teammate because, unlike Geoff, Vaughn seems to care more about character development and everyone’s interactions, rather than dump a bunch of overblown shocks and only care about a select few (because why the hell should Titans fans wait till 52 Week 21 to find out what the hell happened to everyone not Tim and Wonder Girl?).

But I’m a broken bad record. :P

]]> By: Wanderer http://www.4thletter.net/2006/08/on-ninja-girls-dames-and-war-games/comment-page-1/#comment-128 Wanderer Tue, 01 Aug 2006 15:39:48 +0000 http://www.4thletter.net/?p=89#comment-128 "Writing is an occupation in which you must constantly prove your talent to those who have none." -- Jules Renard “Writing is an occupation in which you must constantly prove your talent to those who have none.”
– Jules Renard

]]> By: Ununnilium http://www.4thletter.net/2006/08/on-ninja-girls-dames-and-war-games/comment-page-1/#comment-127 Ununnilium Tue, 01 Aug 2006 10:42:26 +0000 http://www.4thletter.net/?p=89#comment-127 See, to me, the problem is, I didn't see Robin-- or Batman, for that matter-- being concerned about Cass herself, except for exactly one panel in #150 (the "Cassandra, this isn't you!" panel). That said, I'm liking Beechen's run for the same reasons. And everything I see points to the whole "evil Batgirl" thing as being some kind of fakeout, so... See, to me, the problem is, I didn’t see Robin– or Batman, for that matter– being concerned about Cass herself, except for exactly one panel in #150 (the “Cassandra, this isn’t you!” panel).

That said, I’m liking Beechen’s run for the same reasons. And everything I see points to the whole “evil Batgirl” thing as being some kind of fakeout, so…

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