InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Speak slowly and enunciate."

sailorlibra (sailorlibra) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-10-31 16:21:00

Entry tags:

char: batgirl/oracle/barbara gordon, char: lois lane, creator: gail simone, creator: nicola scott, publisher: dc comics, title: birds of prey

When Babs met Lois Lane
From Gail's run on BoP comes one of my favorite Lois showings in a non-Superman book.

Context: Babs is in trouble with a government agent she used to know who is seeking to control her. While she's talking to Katarina--the government agent--someone interrupts them. (Note that the first two scans are from BoP 101, whereas the rest are from BoP 102, thus staying within the scan number limits.)

(Post a new comment)

starwolf_oakley
2009-10-31 09:10 pm UTC (link)

Even though she doesn't appear on panel in these posts, there was something about Katrina Armstrong I found... fascinating. Gail Simone said was going for a "female Jack Bauer" in Katrina, dedicated and/or obsessed with protecting America in a way all too familiar to anyone who spends time around Bruce Wayne.

I hope Katrina returns in one way or another. If Barbara is going to spend her time mentoring Stephanie Brown, maybe a newer "take" on Birds of Prey could take the field.

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	scottyquick 2009-10-31 10:54 pm UTC (link)
	I know what you mean. I thought it was interesting that she had all this clearance and a clear goal in her mind, one that was pretty noble in intention. She was a way better archenemy for Babs then The Calculator. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	parsimonia 2009-11-01 05:15 am UTC (link)
	I found her interesting because she's got the whole "mean girl from school" thing, and yet it didn't stray near cliché. In the end, despite the threats and bullying and attempts at usurping Barbara, Katarina actually wanted to do good, she just went about it in completely the wrong way. [edited for splelling] (Reply to this) (Parent)

	gailsimone 2009-11-02 08:44 am UTC (link)
	Katarina will return. Greg Rucka put her in a hole, I can give her a ladder! :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	warpedhand 2009-10-31 09:20 pm UTC (link)
	Because of this stupid community, I went back and saw the handlebars on the second page. Fortunately, I wasn't too far gone to enjoy how badly Babs underestimated Lois. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	scottyquick 2009-10-31 10:55 pm UTC (link)
	And what's weird is that there are any on the page following! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

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yaseen101, 2009-10-31 11:46 pm UTC

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scottyquick, 2009-10-31 11:47 pm UTC

	gailsimone 2009-11-01 06:40 pm UTC (link)
	My fault, I forgot to tell Nicola. I love how she drew this scene...two terrifying women and neither is quite willing to say what's really going on. Nicola rules. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	chains_of_irony 2009-11-03 12:04 pm UTC (link)
	handlebars? (Reply to this) (Parent)

	lencannon 2009-10-31 09:21 pm UTC (link)
	I think is good way of showing them as each masters at their field, but I don't like it. I think the assumption that Lois Lane is going to fuck over Superman's friends and a member of the JLA would never, ever occur to Oracle, ever. (Reply to this) (Thread)

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parsimonia, 2009-11-07 01:53 am UTC

	thebigapricot 2009-10-31 09:26 pm UTC (link)
	Oh, I loved this. But how real was the threat that Lois would expose her? Or was this Lois just warning her about Katrina? (Reply to this) (Thread)

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bluefall
2009-10-31 09:30 pm UTC (link)

Honestly, I always found this scene a bit... weird. Clark and Babs aren't precisely friends or anything, but they're definitely allies. If I'm Lois, I hear about this "evil hacker Oracle" who needs to be exposed, I do some digging on Katarina and Babs, I hit the Justice League connection, and I immediately turn to Clark and go "hey, you have a coworker named Oracle?"

Clark says "sure, yeah, she's one of Bruce's. Great with research, good friend of Canary. Why do you ask?"

And that's the end of it.

I mean, Lois is not going to go after one of the people who helps keep her husband safe. And Babs would be perfectly aware of that. So it's not an especially plausible scene to me as a reader - Lois is not a bad guy, and even if Barbara's fear and backpedaling made any sense to me, I wouldn't be able to sympathize with it in the least, because regardless of what she might think, it's obvious to me she's not in the least bit of danger here. And Lois tweaking Babs and messing with her head doesn't make much sense to me either - I can see her bringing up the evidence against Babs just to let her know what trails she needs to cover better, but I'd expect her to make her distaste for Katirina clear right out of the gate. As is, she's basically just being an inexplicable ass here to someone she knows is a white hat.

I mean, maybe she's got issues with some of Barbara's methods or missions, enough to feel she deserves to be messed with a little, but there's nothing in the actual conversation to suggest that, and it still wouldn't explain Barbara's freakout or give me the reader any reason to think Lois is a threat.

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	jlbarnett 2009-10-31 09:55 pm UTC (link)
	see this makes me feel like Barbara's a very bad judge of character. And honestly, while they don't always have to get along perfectly about everything I think the Batclan and Superman Family should know each other well enough that everyone should know each other's identities. (Reply to this) (Thread)

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	mysteryfan 2009-10-31 10:21 pm UTC (link)
	The Joker comment surprised me. (Reply to this) (Thread)

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	wetstereorebel 2009-10-31 10:38 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, this art is gorgeous. That's the best looking Lois I've seen in a while. (Reply to this) (Thread)

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sailorlibra, 2009-11-01 04:08 pm UTC

	yaseen101 2009-10-31 10:59 pm UTC (link)
	A very good scene IMO, but some of the dialogue feels off for some reason. (Reply to this)

	retro_nouveau 2009-10-31 11:07 pm UTC (link)
	Did Lois stick Babs with the check? XD The eye colors make me very happy. (Reply to this) (Thread)

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jaybee3
2009-10-31 11:13 pm UTC (link)

I always thought this seemed off a bit. Either OOC or a complete desperation move on Babs' part. In fact, it's probably one of Barbara's worst moments EVER - in which she would trash the life of the hero (and his wife) to protect herself - and from what? If she had ever gone through with her bluff to put that photo on the web her credit with the rest of the super-hero community would have gone to zero overnight, she would have been finished - even with (dare I say it) Dinah, Dick and especially Bruce. Superman is the one they all look up to. You do not threaten Superman - ever. You do not try to blackmail Lois Lane (who has most heroes on speed-dial) - ever. Protecting "Oracle" would have been worthless to her if she had gone through with it.

Like I said this is one of Barbara's worst moments - and one of Lois's best. I could easily have seen Lois threaten right back (LL does NOT like being threatened - and no one threatens her man) and Lois would have much more ammunition. But Lois was come through it all, didn't even blink.

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jarodrussell
2009-10-31 11:26 pm UTC (link)

I think, deep down, it was this arc when my love of Oracle turned to hatred. The idea that after taking on countless government agencies, super-villains, and goodness what else, someone as glaringly inconsequential Spy Smasher could shake Barbara made me realize she wasn't up to playing on the same level as I'd fooled myself to thinking she was.

This story, which obviously didn't have her enlisting Lois to help her take down Spy Smasher in what might have been a pretty kick ass CMOA...Spy Smasher sits down to read Lois' expose on Oracle and finds her face, history, and pattern of abuse plastered on the front page, which gets her burn noticed and black listed...seems to be when Oracle stopped trying to out maneuver her opponents and started thinking she could use brute force to win her fights, such as calling in a two-page spread of guests to scare off a bad guy.

Call me wrong. Call me crazy. Call me whatever. However, in the years since this, watching Burn Notice and Leverage, I can definitely say for sure that Oracle isn't even close to the same league as Michael Westen and Nathan Ford when it comes to being a mastermind, and for my money...this scene kind of proves it. If you can't realize Lois Lane might be more interested in helping you bust a hyper-corrupt spy than blackmailing her husband's colleague, the GTFO.

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jarodrussell, 2009-11-05 11:07 pm UTC

	foxhack 2009-11-01 02:03 am UTC (link)
	I actually hated this scene when I read it. I couldn't stand it. It felt very out of place and out of character for both. (Reply to this)

lieut_kettch
2009-11-01 04:30 am UTC (link)

I have a feeling that the entire conversation was played out for any listening devices Katrina may have planted in the restaurant.

Lois would never, ever endanger anyone who keeps her husband safe from harm. Babs' inner monologue I attribute to residual Bat-paranoia plus the fact that she's still reeling from the double whammy of being taken over by Spy Smasher's operation and Dinah leaving ~~her~~ the team.

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	sxyblkmn 2009-11-01 05:48 am UTC (link)
	one of my favorite scenes :) (Reply to this)

	Ethical (Anonymous) 2009-11-01 06:38 am UTC (link)
	Am I the only one that thinks Lois Lane is highly unethical? Seriously, why is Lois held up as an example of a good journalist? (Reply to this) (Thread)

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sailorlibra, 2009-11-01 04:08 pm UTC

Re: Ethical -

bariman1987, 2009-11-01 10:45 pm UTC

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thirdblindmouse, 2009-11-02 12:15 am UTC

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bluefall, 2009-11-02 12:52 am UTC

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thirdblindmouse, 2009-11-02 04:00 pm UTC

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01d55, 2009-11-03 07:10 am UTC

salamangkiero
2009-11-01 04:25 pm UTC (link)

I think that this was a way for Lois to size up if she could trust Babs. It's not about Clark saying she can be trusted, but whether or not Her own instincts will tell her that the person in front of her can be trusted. It was also a brilliant game of "Go Fish," as she had to know how good Babs' info network was - the fact that Babs had a photo ready was proof enough for her of how extensive the Oracle Network is.

Given Lois Lane's stature, I expect no less than what she did. It may be a bitch move, but you simple sometimes have to establish exactly who you can trust, who you can throw off a cliff, and who you can trust even when both of you have knives drawn at each other.

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	parsimonia 2009-11-02 01:53 am UTC (link)
	I have to say, one of the thing I appreciate about Nicola Scott's artwork in comics is the fact that she actually has the characters wearing realistic and fashionable clothing. Unlike a lot of comic artists who can't get past 1995 and have every other woman wearing a belly shirt. (Reply to this)

	janegray 2009-11-03 12:00 am UTC (link)
	Well, I really liked this scene :) (Reply to this)