InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "alice says..."

thanekos (thanekos) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-09-11 23:26:00

Current music:	Akuma no Shocker - Sunny Singers
Entry tags:	char: despero, char: morgan edge, creator: karl moline, creator: tony bedard, title: r.e.b.e.l.s.

Our weapons are useless against Starro of Space!
so, Starro is a starfish who is from space and makes people his mind slaves.

Now, a lot of single-panel/page flash forwards, you can usually try and work out how that point is got to.

This one, though... in a thing about Legionnaires in the 21st century.. is kinda odd.

From Despero's gritting, to Morgan Edge's smile, to the concept of what's going on here... it's less a WTF, more " ... wait, what? Why? Okay, I guess. " I kinda wanna see how this plays out.

(Post a new comment)

	pyrotwilight 2009-09-12 04:43 am UTC (link)
	How'd Despero get free from Trinity? (not to mention How did Kanjar Ro get captured in GLC since Trinity, over in Green Lantern?" I'm wondering how much of Trinity's will actually be shown in other books aside from random Clara Kendall spotting. And seriously Despero's making deals with Edge? That's as silly as Luthor and Darkseid working together. But eh, comics. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	crinosg 2009-09-12 04:51 am UTC (link)
	wouldn't be the first time Despero has dealt with an Apokalyptian, remember Virtue and Vice when he used Doctor Bedlam to get close to Luthor? (Reply to this) (Parent)

	thokstar 2009-09-12 05:20 am UTC (link)
	How did Kanjar Ro get captured in GLC since Trinity, over in Green Lantern? At the end of Trinity, Kanjar Ro is a prisoner of the GLC. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	pyrotwilight 2009-09-12 06:22 am UTC (link)
	Actually he escaped saying how he'd sell the info he had. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	pyrotwilight 2009-09-12 07:20 am UTC (link)
	Oh wait. You ARE right. Though given how Kanjar Ro talks he made himself seem very confident on escaping, guess I just assumed he would/did. (Reply to this) (Parent)

Lost potential

01d55
2009-09-12 04:49 am UTC (link)

http://mightygodking.com/index.php/2008/04/02/this-is-not-my-fault-2/

And then Greg pointed out that we don’t know where Starro comes from, and that’s when I got the idea.

Why does Starro want to conquer, anyway? I mean, Starro is most terrifying when he’s so utterly fucking alien in motivation that he doesn’t bother explaining why he’s mind-controlling everybody with his starfish spawnlings. He just does it. Why would he do that?

(Reply to this)

	crinosg 2009-09-12 04:53 am UTC (link)
	Okay, so they retconned Starro into being some sort of crazy ass warlord? And the giant one eyed Starfishes were just his middle managment. I'm...On the fence about this honestly. On the one hand they're ruining probably the most iconic character of the Silver age: big silly mind controlling Starfish. on the other hand: STARRO THE BARBARIAN! Which may be even crackier. (Reply to this)

	zordboy 2009-09-12 05:03 am UTC (link)
	Honestly? Thumbs down on Starro the Barbarian. It seems to humanise a character that just doesn't need it. I don't think the giant alien starfish needs to be the grunt-troops of just another super-strong alien. I think the giant alien starfish stands fine on his/her/its own. Fuck you DC, and have a cupcake. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	sianmink 2009-09-12 06:37 am UTC (link)
	(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	zordboy 2009-09-12 08:45 am UTC (link)
	See, that's it, right there. The giant alien starfish is entertaining because he's a giant alien starfish. If Starro is retconned into being the pet-creature of Yet Another Conquering Humanoid From Space, that's just lame. And if people think the giant alien starfish doesn't make for a threatening villain, then they're reading the wrong stories. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	thatnickguy 2009-09-12 05:24 am UTC (link)
	Why is Skeletor possessed by Starro? (Reply to this)

	box_in_the_box 2009-09-12 05:25 am UTC (link)
	Feh. It doesn't hold a candle to Grant Morrison's take on "the Star Conqueror" in JLA. THAT was awesome. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	buttler 2009-09-13 07:13 am UTC (link)
	Yeah, that was a good reimagining of Starro. This? Feh. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	box_in_the_box 2009-09-13 07:14 am UTC (link)
	Appropriate icon is appropriate. :) And Jesus, aren't there LAWS against you and me agreeing on stuff? ;) (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	buttler 2009-09-13 07:19 am UTC (link)
	Heheh. It's been known to happen from time to time. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	box_in_the_box 2009-09-13 07:20 am UTC (link)
	OMG ADORABLE STARRO (Reply to this) (Parent)

	batcookies 2009-09-12 05:31 am UTC (link)
	This is Fail. Pure Fail. We need more aliens that are ALIEN. Fuck making one of the best and weirdest creatures out there into YET ANOTHER HUMANOID. (Reply to this)

	escherichiacola 2009-09-12 06:00 am UTC (link)
	He has defeated us numerous times, what makes him think he can do it again? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	blakeyrat 2009-09-12 06:06 am UTC (link)
	Crank... whore? (Reply to this) (Parent)

	ashtoreth 2009-09-12 06:03 am UTC (link)
	It's the quasi-philosophy that makes me want to claw my eyes out. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	khamelea 2009-09-12 06:41 am UTC (link)
	To take a cue from TvTropes: the fauxlosophy? (Reply to this) (Parent)

	daso 2009-09-12 08:16 am UTC (link)
	Since you posted four previewed pages from the R.E.B.E.L.S. annual, does that mean only two more pages can be posted once the annual releases? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	kingrockwell 2009-09-12 09:44 am UTC (link)
	If it's only 18 pages. It's an annual, though, so it's likely to be twice that. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	thanekos 2009-09-12 02:25 pm UTC (link)
	like I said, I'm totally willing to delete the post 'round October 1st. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	galateus 2009-09-12 03:39 pm UTC (link)
	You can always just edit the scans out of the post, so we don't lose all the comments down the memory hole. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	thanekos 2009-09-12 03:42 pm UTC (link)
	... actually, that sounds like a better option. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	philippos42 2009-09-12 08:21 am UTC (link)
	Yeah, this is too anthropomorphocentric. Bleh. (Reply to this)

	icon_uk 2009-09-12 08:47 am UTC (link)
	This just redefines unnecessary. Starro as alien starfish is a magnificent Silver Age creation, he's a giant sodding starfish for heaven sake, that was a viable threat to planets. He simply... WAS. Now he's just another humanoid warlord thing along the lines of Despero or Mongul or (upping the power levels a bit) Imperiex, Darkseid or Trigon. BO-RING! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	cmdr_zoom 2009-09-12 03:37 pm UTC (link)
	Motto. (Reply to this) (Parent)

ex_stig213
2009-09-12 09:41 am UTC (link)

Everyone keeps forgetting that this Warlord has another Starfish attached to the front of his chest with its tentacles wrapped around his muscles. Bedard has already explained the pecking order for the Starro Drones:

Face-Starros = Mindless Slaves/Worker Ants
Back-Starros = Loyal Bodyguards With Minds Intact/Queen-Guarding Soldier Ants

If it's structured more like an anthive, couldn't we extrapolate that the HUGE Starfish are like the larger Soldier Ants...and this Warlord is the Queen Ant, possessing a particularly powerful body and ready to move on when it dies?

If anything, this all reminds me of Doug Tennapel's excellent "Creature Tech".

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	kingrockwell 2009-09-12 09:48 am UTC (link)
	Yeah, even if they're playing this as the One True Form, the Starro on its chest is always an out. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	zordboy 2009-09-12 10:43 am UTC (link)
	Fingers crossed. With the nature of the guy, as long as there's a starfish near him, there's an out. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	comicoz 2009-09-14 06:42 pm UTC (link)
	Good call, I like your thinking. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	cmdr_zoom 2009-09-12 03:38 pm UTC (link)
	Locutus of Borg. Sometimes a faceless collective needs a face. For whatever. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_stig213
2009-09-12 03:51 pm UTC (link)

"This unit is hungry."

"Irrelevant. All Borg units are hungry."

"Pizza is good."

"Irrelevant."

"Irrelevant. Yes, it is."

"We should order some pizza."

"Irrelevant."

"Not so."

"Explain."

"Pizza boys are often organic, therefore they can be assimilated."

"Plus, if we fly out a bit, it won't be here in half an hour and we eat for free."

"Irrelevant."

"Fine. Who's going to order?"

"Explain?"

"We're all one collective mind. Who's going to order? Who's going to open the cube?"

"Problem. Hmm..."

*One Well-Written Episode Later*...

"So that's ten thousand Margharita.."

L: "I Am Locutus Of Borg."

"How many with anchovies?"

L: "Guys?"

*Hands raised"

L: "Six thousand one hundred."

"Cash?"

L:"...Yes."

(Reply to this) (Parent)

alschroeder
2009-09-12 09:56 am UTC (link)

I agree with most of the posters above.

There are enough humanoid aliens. One reason the GL Corps appeals is that, though there are a lot of humanoids, there are some non-humanoids. Starro as a giant starfish can be silly, but can also be awesome, as Grant Morrison and even Keith Giffin proved (his appearances in Justice League Europe were quite serious and awesome.)

However, I'm not worried. This will later be retconned to say that Starro the Barbarian--with a starfish on him, obviously controlling him---is in turn being controlled by "real" Starro. That the real Starro figures it will take a super-strong humanoid to defeat other super-strong humanoids, and is using Starro the Barbarian as a ploy, a walking target. When Starro the Barbarian is defeated, we'll eventually find he too is being...controlled.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	ex_stig213 2009-09-12 03:55 pm UTC (link)
	I presumed the "Real" Starro was on his chest. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	daso 2009-09-12 01:50 pm UTC (link)
	When Hal Jordan/Barry Allen returns, scans_daily hate it because DC is trying to bring back the silver age. When a writer of a criminally underselling title tries to put a new spin on a Silver Age creation, scans_daily hate it. What does scans_daily like? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	cainofdreaming 2009-09-12 02:16 pm UTC (link)
	What scans_daily likes. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	cmdr_zoom 2009-09-12 05:25 pm UTC (link)
	See, I think L.E.G.I.O.N. is selling as much as it deserves, if not more. If I had my way, it'd have been cancelled ten years ago along with the rest of the ill-conceived 90s spinoffs and tie-ins. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	khamelea 2009-09-12 06:04 pm UTC (link)
	The logical conclusion is that the commenters here don't hate every single thing that came out of the Silver Age. (Reply to this) (Parent)

lesquide
2009-09-12 07:07 pm UTC (link)

Scans Daily likes a lot of Silver Age motifs, ideas, and yes, even characters.

They don't like modern characters with more upwards of a decade of development being killed, tossed aside, or ignored to bring those older characters back.

Some times, because they liked those Silver Age motifs or ideas, they -also- don't want a particular character to come back because...they died a good death/went out with a bang/deserve their rest.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

daso
2009-09-12 08:26 pm UTC (link)

Thank you for your answers.

See, I think L.E.G.I.O.N. is selling as much as it deserves, if not more. If I had my way, it'd have been cancelled ten years ago along with the rest of the ill-conceived 90s spinoffs and tie-ins.
Why? It's a good book with fresh stories that you haven't seen a million times before. Yes, it even has aliens that doesn't look human or humanoid (look up a Gil'Dishpan in an old LoSH book). But you aren't reading it, are you?
If I were to nitpick, the book is called R.E.B.E.L.S. and I hardly think you can call it a "90's spinoff" since before the retitling during Zero Hour, it had been published since 1988. Points for trying though ;)

The logical conclusion is that the commenters here don't hate every single thing that came out of the Silver Age.
My take is that scans daily likes to bitch, and are slamming the writing team for bringing back the 70's to go on to moan about how much better comics were when Young Justice was being published, and Batgirl was Cassandra Cain, and Ted Kord was Blue Beetle! It just seems very hypocritical to whine about this kind of thing when at least 75% of scans daily would spontaneously ejaculate if DC announced a Young Justice series, or Cassandra Cain as Batgirl - you know, it's not "writers being lazy" that is the issue as "the writing team aren't bringing back the characters we want them to bring back". Fan entitlement.

Scans Daily likes a lot of Silver Age motifs, ideas, and yes, even characters.

They don't like modern characters with more upwards of a decade of development being killed, tossed aside, or ignored to bring those older characters back.

Some times, because they liked those Silver Age motifs or ideas, they -also- don't want a particular character to come back because...they died a good death/went out with a bang/deserve their rest.
I don't believe this for a second. Bart Allen and Conner Kent both went out heroically, but scans daily peed it's collective pants with joy when they came back. My take is that it's all about fanboy (or fangirl) entitlement issues.
That said, as long as you aren't buying books like R.E.B.E.L.S. or Blue Beetle that offer a fresh take on old characters (and are well-written to boot), you're convincing DC to stick with the tried and true characters - e.g. Barry Allen and Hal Jordan over Wally West and Kyle Rayner. I think I wrote this before, but you're not getting the comics you want - you're getting the comics you deserve.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

galateus
2009-09-15 01:21 pm UTC (link)

If you want to convince people it's such a great title, feel free to scan some issues and make a post of it. That's how it works. 'Cause what little's been posted so far hasn't impressed, obviously.

People will bitch about what they don't like, and squee about what they do like. Bitching != entitlement. And have you seen the posts for Incredible Hercules or Marvel Adventures or Blackest Night lately?

Talking about how great the old days were is fun. But actually trying to resurrect those old days usually ends up badly received, 'cause wishing something hadn't ended isn't the same as wishing current continuity would get derailed to shoehorn in the old stuff. A lot of people like Jaime Reyes; getting rid of him to actually bring back Ted Kord might actually be worse than doing Kord's punk death in the first place. (And you realize Blue Beetle's title has been cancelled for months, right?)

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	buttler 2009-09-13 07:10 am UTC (link)
	Boooooooo on Skeletor Pseudo-Starro! That is some sheer balderdash right there. (Reply to this)