achilles140
02-25-2008, 03:15 PM
We've seen some noise that can be taken either way as to whether there will be one, but let's put that aside and assume there will. What would be important things that a Power Girl series would need to accomplish in order to work for you?
For me, there are a number of important things that need to be addressed in any prospective Power Girl ongoing. Obviously there is the question of just where will her adventures take place. Not in New York, where she is currently based. Far too many heroes there to legitimately need or use someone like Power Girl. For DC, this question usually means a (fictional) city of the character's own, sometimes with a few lesser heroes and/or villains already there. It would be a nice touch if such a city would include the Daily Star as a nod to Earth-2 and the Golden Age Superman, and that an extremely wealthy character such as Karen Starr have some connection to it, (though not Clark Kent's reporter connection), perhaps as owner.
So she needs her own city. What else? Obviously, both supporting cast, and a rogues gallery of her own. I'm not at all against her using the occasional villain of some other hero, (in her case Superman villains come to mind both for the Superman family connection, and because many of them provide opposition of the scale a Kryptonian hero needs), but they should make very few appearances. So she needs her own villains, developed just for her. They should be both actual physical threats to a character of her power levels, and they should also provide other types of threats, (Lex Luthor would be one type for example).
A supporting cast is also a must. She already has some of those that any writer who does any research on the character could mine. Earth-2's Andrew Vinson could be brought back on New Earth in some form. The previous Firestorm's mother served as head of Starrware, and presumably still is. There are other example, but not only should previously existing characters be used for supporting cast, but new ones need to be created.
One thing that any writer should do is to think about the character long and hard before putting pen to paper so to speak. What is it about her that constitutes her core appeal? Physical characteristics aside, there are some parts of her character that have distinguished her from otherwise similar characters.
When she was first introduced, she was a rather different character than the one you see now. She was bold and brash, self confident, but for a reason---she was plainly put almost as good as she thought she was. She was the smart member of the JSA in her first All-Star appearances, the one who drove the action and saw that there was more going on then perhaps the other JSAers thought.
A series of her own is the perfect place to regain this long-ignored aspect of her character. While I like that Johns has rescued the character from oblivion, and has put togther some good stories about her, they represent in many ways a new sort of Power Girl, one who questions herself and feels self-pity, one who defers questions of leadership to others---in short, a much meeker Power Girl.
Another thing to look at is Power Girl as comedic character. While the potential for that has always been there, it took Giffen, who had previously been involved in All-Star as an artist, to bring it to the fore, and make it the defining characteristic of HIS take on her in JLE/JLI. This move certainly brought her new popularity, and got her off the shelf, perhaps saving her as a character.
So which is the correct take? The self-confident and very competent hero of All-Star? The milder and self doubting version of the current JSA? Or the Giffen League broad comedic foil to Captain Atom and Flash?
My opinion is all three provide facets to her character. In other words, while I would prefer her to be mostly self confident and brash, with the actual power and competence to match; she should also be on rare occasions unsure of herself, and feel self-pity. She should also be more than just a straight dramatic character, capable of issues that are comedic in tone. This to me is a character equally suitable to tragedy, comedy, and complex character driven stories, as well as straight out action arcs.
Which brings me to something else that I think a series would need to accomplish. We know that she's the leader of the JSA, and one of the most respected and powerful heroes in the DCU. What we don't know is why. Sure, we know that she's powerful, but we almost never SEE it, not in any unambiguous way. We never SEE her do anything especially impressive; we never SEE her beat anyONE especially impressive. She's supposed to be one of the most powerful and capable heroes in the DCU, but why this is so has really never been shown. This is something s monthly will have to correct.
Her leadership powers? Well, we plain haven't seen them yet. Why would anyone follow what she wants them to do? We know why they'd follow Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman. A series needs to establish why she'd make a good leader, perhaps by showing her lead a disparate group of people who are not necessarily inclined to follow her as the JSA was.
Finally, we need to get to know her. What does she like? What does she want? What does she think of others in her life?
Those are my thoughts on the subject, how about yours?
For me, there are a number of important things that need to be addressed in any prospective Power Girl ongoing. Obviously there is the question of just where will her adventures take place. Not in New York, where she is currently based. Far too many heroes there to legitimately need or use someone like Power Girl. For DC, this question usually means a (fictional) city of the character's own, sometimes with a few lesser heroes and/or villains already there. It would be a nice touch if such a city would include the Daily Star as a nod to Earth-2 and the Golden Age Superman, and that an extremely wealthy character such as Karen Starr have some connection to it, (though not Clark Kent's reporter connection), perhaps as owner.
So she needs her own city. What else? Obviously, both supporting cast, and a rogues gallery of her own. I'm not at all against her using the occasional villain of some other hero, (in her case Superman villains come to mind both for the Superman family connection, and because many of them provide opposition of the scale a Kryptonian hero needs), but they should make very few appearances. So she needs her own villains, developed just for her. They should be both actual physical threats to a character of her power levels, and they should also provide other types of threats, (Lex Luthor would be one type for example).
A supporting cast is also a must. She already has some of those that any writer who does any research on the character could mine. Earth-2's Andrew Vinson could be brought back on New Earth in some form. The previous Firestorm's mother served as head of Starrware, and presumably still is. There are other example, but not only should previously existing characters be used for supporting cast, but new ones need to be created.
One thing that any writer should do is to think about the character long and hard before putting pen to paper so to speak. What is it about her that constitutes her core appeal? Physical characteristics aside, there are some parts of her character that have distinguished her from otherwise similar characters.
When she was first introduced, she was a rather different character than the one you see now. She was bold and brash, self confident, but for a reason---she was plainly put almost as good as she thought she was. She was the smart member of the JSA in her first All-Star appearances, the one who drove the action and saw that there was more going on then perhaps the other JSAers thought.
A series of her own is the perfect place to regain this long-ignored aspect of her character. While I like that Johns has rescued the character from oblivion, and has put togther some good stories about her, they represent in many ways a new sort of Power Girl, one who questions herself and feels self-pity, one who defers questions of leadership to others---in short, a much meeker Power Girl.
Another thing to look at is Power Girl as comedic character. While the potential for that has always been there, it took Giffen, who had previously been involved in All-Star as an artist, to bring it to the fore, and make it the defining characteristic of HIS take on her in JLE/JLI. This move certainly brought her new popularity, and got her off the shelf, perhaps saving her as a character.
So which is the correct take? The self-confident and very competent hero of All-Star? The milder and self doubting version of the current JSA? Or the Giffen League broad comedic foil to Captain Atom and Flash?
My opinion is all three provide facets to her character. In other words, while I would prefer her to be mostly self confident and brash, with the actual power and competence to match; she should also be on rare occasions unsure of herself, and feel self-pity. She should also be more than just a straight dramatic character, capable of issues that are comedic in tone. This to me is a character equally suitable to tragedy, comedy, and complex character driven stories, as well as straight out action arcs.
Which brings me to something else that I think a series would need to accomplish. We know that she's the leader of the JSA, and one of the most respected and powerful heroes in the DCU. What we don't know is why. Sure, we know that she's powerful, but we almost never SEE it, not in any unambiguous way. We never SEE her do anything especially impressive; we never SEE her beat anyONE especially impressive. She's supposed to be one of the most powerful and capable heroes in the DCU, but why this is so has really never been shown. This is something s monthly will have to correct.
Her leadership powers? Well, we plain haven't seen them yet. Why would anyone follow what she wants them to do? We know why they'd follow Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman. A series needs to establish why she'd make a good leader, perhaps by showing her lead a disparate group of people who are not necessarily inclined to follow her as the JSA was.
Finally, we need to get to know her. What does she like? What does she want? What does she think of others in her life?
Those are my thoughts on the subject, how about yours?