Civil War Front Line #10 /w Spoilers

[Romelacca]

Writer: Paul Jenkins
Penciler: Ramon Bachs
Inker: John Lucas
Coloriest: Laura Martin
Assistant Editors: Molly Lazer & Aubrey Sitterson
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor in Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Can Buckley

Ms. Marvel gives secrets away to Sally and she is very amazed by what she hears. She calls Ben to tell him because she doesn't know how to handle the information she has just been given. Ben also has important news to tell her and asked her to meet him in Times Square. On his way there he stops by the Daily Bugle and Jonah that his is just found out the biggest story ever and he needs to quit because it is a story the bugle will never publish. Jonah says he understands and tells him if he ever wanted his job back he could have it. He meets Sally and she shares with him the information she has gotten from Ms. Marvel. He says he just come to this conclusion last night and if he had not thought of it last night he would have never believed her. Of course they do not tell the readers what these two have concluded. This story really had me on the edge of my seat. I want to know what they know. Of course I have my own conclusions but that doesn't mean that I am right. It would be really nice to know who is at the bottom of this. There has to be an ulterior motive. These stories would not be good if it was just about the top layer.

The guy that shot Speedball is in jail and Speedball comes to visit him. Speedball tells him that he is going to sign the Registration Act under one condition: that he gets to look the father in the eye and tell him that in exchange for his signature they are going to let the father go free. The father wines and cries and says you can't do that the only thing I have left is hate. If you take that away I will have nothing. Speedball says he doesn't care

Speedball burns his costume and a older fellow brings him a new costume. It has spikes on the inside to remind him of the tragedy at Stamfield. He becomes Penance.
I hate that Speedball felt so bad. What pain and agony and it is not even his fault.

Overall this was a really good issue. It made me feel anticipation as well as deep sadness for the characters.

Overall Writing and Art: A++

[sebzero11]

GYAH!
I thought Penance was a stupid character when they previewed him for Thunderbolts. The fact that this dark and unnecessarily pointy refuge from Marvel and Image circa 1992 is actually my beloved carefree silly Ditko-spawned Speedball is just appalling and insulting. Nice Message Marvel, fun-loving heroes should be tortured into self-mutilating, guilt ridden, soldiers.
I know, why not send another message that married life and caring for elderly relatives is boring and unexciting and have an assassin take out a heroes wife and aunt....oh, I see, you're working on that.

Speedball burns his costume and a older fellow brings him a new costume. It has spikes on the inside to remind him of the tragedy at Stamfield
It's that tailor guy who makes the costumes for 98% of the MU's heroes and Villains. Oh, and the inner-spikes aren't just there as reminders. Robby's new powers are generated by pain rather than kinetic energy. In the self-torute suit, every move he makes powers him up. It would almost be intersting if it was a new character and another "look I've changed a pre-existing character to make him all dark and gritty and 'realistic'.....and lame, and emo, and forgetable.



::sigh:: I'm gonna go put on my New Warriors inner-spiked jammies and dream my own story "What if Marvel never recovered from their bankruptcy in the '90's and instead was bought out by people who cared about the characters and legacy of a once great company."

[Romelacca]

Thanks for clearing that up about the spikes. I wasn't quite sure what was going on there. I couldn't agree with you more about turning fun loving characters into remorseful characters. We need more fun in the comics.

[willyd]

GYAH!
I thought Penance was a stupid character when they previewed him for Thunderbolts. The fact that this dark and unnecessarily pointy refuge from Marvel and Image circa 1992 is actually my beloved carefree silly Ditko-spawned Speedball is just appalling and insulting. Nice Message Marvel, fun-loving heroes should be tortured into self-mutilating, guilt ridden, soldiers.

Honestly, I think this will be a touchstone sequence: the new Women in Refrigerators moment for the 2000s, along with Sue Dibny's rape and murder. Speedball bleeding through his spiked suit will be reprinted for years in Wizard and online along with Batman holding a dead Robin, Azrael Batman, Aquaman with a hook for a hand, Spiderman slapping Mary Jane, Extreme Justice, Punisher/Ghost Rider/Wolverine team-ups, etc. as classic examples of "what they f#@$ were they THINKING?!"

[FatFreeMilk]

Dude.
Speedball?
Making him interesting?
For once?
Good.

The fact that we're even talking about him means that the people that get paid to write for the Civil War event are doing their jobs - Using their minds. Being inventive. Tradition and formula = BORING. I have Speedball's first appearance - it's a waste of space in my comic book collection.

It's nice to have somebody do something interesting to a worthless character.

Let's rewrite nostalgiac, unappreciative comic-book nerds who can't accept growth within the medium!

Let's see YOU, as a paid writer, make us talk about SPEEDBALL!

Good job, Marvel - seriously.

Speedball=Penance=making me want to pick up Thunderbolts?

I'll try it out because I'm curious.

I win.

[Grobbel]

Dude.
Speedball?
Making him interesting?
For once?
Good.

The fact that we're even talking about him means that the people that get paid to write for the Civil War event are doing their jobs - Using their minds. Being inventive. Tradition and formula = BORING. I have Speedball's first appearance - it's a waste of space in my comic book collection.

It's nice to have somebody do something interesting to a worthless character.

Let's rewrite nostalgiac, unappreciative comic-book nerds who can't accept growth within the medium!

Let's see YOU, as a paid writer, make us talk about SPEEDBALL!

Good job, Marvel - seriously.

Speedball=Penance=making me want to pick up Thunderbolts?

I'll try it out because I'm curious.

I win.


I fullheartedly agree.

[cyberv]

...Speedball... With spikes INSIDE his costume.

(rereads that sentence a few times, then slaps Joe Q)

BAKA!

[sebzero11]

Interesting to one is not interesting to all. If pseudo-depth and dark, forced, angst are your thing, great. Go to town. I hope they write lots of comics and create many characters that fill your needs. But why should they take a character that other people enjoy and alter him to fit that mold?
I liked the original run of The Authority. I like The Boys. I loved Supreme Power and the new Squadron Supreme before it went to $#!T. I also liked the Marvel Universe before and found the characters interesting, entertaining, and even well developed. All Civil War seems to have done is alter an entire existing universe to make it more like those others. In fact, after Civil War, Marvel should just add the word "ULTIMATE" to each and every title, 'cause this is no longer the "616" MU, anymore.
Characters change and grow. Good. But an entire universe pulling a 180...c'mon, that's just forced and fabricated.
::shruggs::
Oh, well. At least WonderMan's getting back in his leisure suit!
and PAD's X-Factor never fails to impress.
...and I'm lovin' New Universal.

See I tried to end on a positive note!:D

[CandidGamera]

Penance is the sort of character concocted by a twelve-year-old writing his first fanfic. "He's got a bullet near his spine that could kill him, and killed a whole bunch of people - and wears a suit with spikes inside that fuel his mighty powers! Kewl!"

I crafted the same sort of character as a joke in City of Heroes - fueled by his inner turmoil, Angst Overdrive serves the forces of light - who are forced to keep killing off his pets and relatives to boost his abilities so that he can achieve his goals. Played straight, as with Penance, it's even funnier.

Frontline had an excellent character arc going with Robbie up until issue #8 - with #9, it derailed and we ended up in the land of melodrama. It feels like the 90's all over again - how long til we see Penance on a holographic, polybagged, variant cover?

Not to mention the fact the fact that he stole the name from a Generation X kid. But I suppose he can just add a thumbtack inside the suit to make up for it.

[Ye Olde Iowa]

Civil War: Front Line # 10
Written by Paul Jenkins
Pencils by Steve Lieber and Ramon Bachs
Inks by John Lucas
Colors by Laura Martin
Letters by Randy Gentile for VC

Well, this was an intense one. Romelocca did a good job of summarizing the events of the story, so I’ll skip the synopsis and get right into the review.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve lost all interest in the Ben Ulrich/Sally Floyd “conspiracy” story. I’ve found the regular movement of the Civil War story to work just fine for me and I really don’t see the need to completely undermine the actions of the heroes on both side with a “true cause.” The inclusion of Damage Control as a war profiteer that kick-started the even by giving MGH (Mutant Growth Hormone) to villains, including Nitro, worked for me (see Wolverine’s “Vendetta” arc for more detail…you won’t regret it). By placing a greater hand underneath either side of the Civil War makes everything we’ve seen thus far seem shallow and pointless. Why would both sides fight so passionately if there was simply an ulterior motive moving everyone around? Yes, I know that this is generally how real wars work, but the storyline just doesn’t work for me anymore.

I’m also really not a fan of the US-Atlantis war that is supposedly brewing. Much like the war profiteering storyline, the Namor storyline has been handled better elsewhere and we haven’t seen any indication of war from Namor in his only appearance in the Civil War proper series. Of course, this could just be a load of newsmedia hoo-ha, but we’ve seen too much buildup for it to be anything less than a seriously major situation. I’ve never expected every detail to gel, but this is something that should be a bit more major if its actually a storyline they want to pursue.

What I did like, however, is the new and improved Speedba—I mean Penance. While an angst-ridden character is not a new concept, I really like the idea of Baldwin punishing himself every time he uses his powers as a reminder for the destruction he believes he has caused. I never read much of New Warriors, so I don’t have much of an investment in the character, which is probably why I’m so excited about this new direction. From what little experience I’ve had with the character before Front Line #1 to now, I’ve seen so much growth in the character and I really like the way in which he has grown. The two sections concerning Baldwin were very well written, with strong dialogue that conveyed the proper emotions without being sappy or overdramatic.

Oddly enough, these were also the only sections where I actually enjoyed the art. This book has had its ups-and-downs artistically, but this issue is so dreadfully inconsistent, it really makes me sad that a character as cool as Penance would make his debut here. Thankfully the latter half is leaps and bounds above the first half, with better layouts, less muddled panels, and more consistent line work.

Story: C+/B+ This one really runs the gamut from amazing to craptastic. The first half of the book drags with an uninteresting storyline, but is then saved with the powerful “debut” of Penance and “death” of Speedball.
Art: C/B See my comments above, but pretend they are about the art and not about the story.
Cover: B- A pretty cool design that just doesn’t sit well with me. I think stronger, darker lines would greatly help this cover, as it wouldn’t appear quite as hazy.

[sebzero11]

Penance is the sort of character concocted by a twelve-year-old writing his first fanfic. "He's got a bullet near his spine that could kill him, and killed a whole bunch of people - and wears a suit with spikes inside that fuel his mighty powers! Kewl!"

I crafted the same sort of character as a joke in City of Heroes - fueled by his inner turmoil, Angst Overdrive serves the forces of light - who are forced to keep killing off his pets and relatives to boost his abilities so that he can achieve his goals. Played straight, as with Penance, it's even funnier.

Frontline had an excellent character arc going with Robbie up until issue #8 - with #9, it derailed and we ended up in the land of melodrama. It feels like the 90's all over again - how long til we see Penance on a holographic, polybagged, variant cover?

Not to mention the fact the fact that he stole the name from a Generation X kid. But I suppose he can just add a thumbtack inside the suit to make up for it.

The only things better than this post are your screen-name, avatar, and signature.:D
You, sir, rock!

[Beefy McHuge]

The first part of this issue was just crap. "Oh, here's a big revelation . . . but we can't spoil it until the next issue, so let's just talk around it the whole time!"

The last part was awful too, but was only a continuation of what they've been leading to: completely retooling their characters into angsty '90s models because they have no idea how to write them in their traditional forms.

[Mega Gear X]

Honestly, I think this will be a touchstone sequence: the new Women in Refrigerators moment for the 2000s, along with Sue Dibny's rape and murder. Speedball bleeding through his spiked suit will be reprinted for years in Wizard and online along with Batman holding a dead Robin, Azrael Batman, Aquaman with a hook for a hand, Spiderman slapping Mary Jane, Extreme Justice, Punisher/Ghost Rider/Wolverine team-ups, etc. as classic examples of "what they f#@$ were they THINKING?!"

When did Spidey slap MJ? What issue? And for what???

What they f#@$ were they THINKING?!

[CandidGamera]

The only things better than this post are your screen-name, avatar, and signature.:D
You, sir, rock!

Why, thank you, sir. Any fan of Blue Beetle is allright by me. Speaking of which, be sure to read Manhunter #27 - even if it probably is some kind of lame gimmick.

[Beefy McHuge]

When did Spidey slap MJ? What issue? And for what???

What they f#@$ were they THINKING?!
It was during the clone saga, I think Spectacular #126 in which Peter finds out he's the clone (obviously retconned later).

[avengingtitan]

I love fun comics and I love dark comics.

This however is the first time EVER that Speedball has been interesting. For once I can read something with Speedball and not want to shoot someone.

[The UG]

Writer: Paul Jenkins
Penciler: Ramon Bachs
Inker: John Lucas
Coloriest: Laura Martin
Assistant Editors: Molly Lazer & Aubrey Sitterson
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor in Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Can Buckley

Ms. Marvel gives secrets away to Sally and she is very amazed by what she hears. She calls Ben to tell him because she doesn't know how to handle the information she has just been given. Ben also has important news to tell her and asked her to meet him in Times Square. On his way there he stops by the Daily Bugle and Jonah that his is just found out the biggest story ever and he needs to quit because it is a story the bugle will never publish. Jonah says he understands and tells him if he ever wanted his job back he could have it. He meets Sally and she shares with him the information she has gotten from Ms. Marvel. He says he just come to this conclusion last night and if he had not thought of it last night he would have never believed her. Of course they do not tell the readers what these two have concluded. This story really had me on the edge of my seat. I want to know what they know. Of course I have my own conclusions but that doesn't mean that I am right. It would be really nice to know who is at the bottom of this. There has to be an ulterior motive. These stories would not be good if it was just about the top layer.

The guy that shot Speedball is in jail and Speedball comes to visit him. Speedball tells him that he is going to sign the Registration Act under one condition: that he gets to look the father in the eye and tell him that in exchange for his signature they are going to let the father go free. The father wines and cries and says you can't do that the only thing I have left is hate. If you take that away I will have nothing. Speedball says he doesn't care

Speedball burns his costume and a older fellow brings him a new costume. It has spikes on the inside to remind him of the tragedy at Stamfield. He becomes Penance.
I hate that Speedball felt so bad. What pain and agony and it is not even his fault.

Overall this was a really good issue. It made me feel anticipation as well as deep sadness for the characters.

Overall Writing and Art: A++

There was a lot of stalling in this book with the two reporters. Talk about annoying! What is the secret of Ironman? We know he's a villian, obviously, but what did he do? Why wasn't this answered? #$#% tie-ins.

Speedball's transformation into Penance. Holy Image Reject, Batman!

My annoyance for how he is treated reached new levels in this story. I understand that people would have a little anger towards him, but to say he killed the kids, when Nitro did the deed has always been illogical and downright stupid to me. The fact that we don't see Nitro punished for his deed irks me even more, and not even seeing one person mention the guy irks me the most.

Penance...i have a love/hate relationship with. On one hand, it seemed natural for Robbie to develop this dark persona, after all he's been through. On the other hand...the costume is too Image 90s/Ronin's cousin to me. This guy continues to recieve punishment while Nitro, the true killer, waltzes free.

Annoying!

[sebzero11]

Dressing like Anihlus's sadomasochistic kid brother is interesting?
His original power, if you think about it and how it worked, actually rates him as one of the most powerful figures in the MU. He can take a Hulk Level (or higher) punch and return a concussive force of equal power. That's freakin' sweet. The fact that no one has written him growing to control that and use in more interesting ways is NOT actually the fault of the character (he's a fictional creation) but the fault of the writers who've handled him. Someone could have had him taken in by an older hero or team, and properly trained. He could have experimented more on his own. That original power, focused and rehersed would have been both interesting and a force to be reckoned with.
Making him into an emo, self-pittying, sadomasochistic, cutter who blows things up with energy he collects by feeling pain is, while perhaps an intersting concept for a new character, completely unnecessary to make Speedball more interesting. If you don't like this character read someone else. If some of the writers at Marvel don't like the character then they shouldn't write him. I'd enjoy comics a lot more if more writers wrote about Characters they enjoyed, rather than made it their mission to "fix" the ones they don't like.

[The UG]

The first part of this issue was just crap. "Oh, here's a big revelation . . . but we can't spoil it until the next issue, so let's just talk around it the whole time!"

The last part was awful too, but was only a continuation of what they've been leading to: completely retooling their characters into angsty '90s models because they have no idea how to write them in their traditional forms.

I agree. _____stalling. Why introduce the idea of a big reveal without going through with it. That's forbidden in storytelling!

The Penance thing will lead to a 12-part New Avengers arc featuring a team-up between him, Ronin, and that crazy Sentry.

[The UG]

Dressing like Anihlus's sadomasochistic kid brother is interesting?
His original power, if you think about it and how it worked, actually rates him as one of the most powerful figures in the MU. He can take a Hulk Level (or higher) punch and return a concussive force of equal power. That's freakin' sweet. The fact that no one has written him growing to control that and use in more interesting ways is NOT actually the fault of the character (he's a fictional creation) but the fault of the writers who've handled him. Someone could have had him taken in by an older hero or team, and properly trained. He could have experimented more on his own. That original power, focused and rehersed would have been both interesting and a force to be reckoned with.
Making him into an emo, self-pittying, sadomasochistic, cutter who blows things up with energy he collects by feeling pain is, while perhaps an intersting concept for a new character, completely unnecessary to make Speedball more interesting. If you don't like this character read someone else. If some of the writers at Marvel don't like the character then they shouldn't write him. I'd enjoy comics a lot more if more writers wrote about Characters they enjoyed, rather than made it their mission to "fix" the ones they don't like.

Well said!

It amazes me that how, in the present day, readers are willing to accept and applaud a radical change of a character...without really getting to see the character explored in depth. That information you've posted makes him more interesting to me than him trying on Ronin's spare costume and becoming a posterboy for the 90s.

[sebzero11]

There was a lot of stalling in this book with the two reporters. Talk about annoying! What is the secret of Ironman? We know he's a villian, obviously, but what did he do? Why wasn't this answered? #$#% tie-ins.

Speedball's transformation into Penance. Holy Image Reject, Batman!

My annoyance for how he is treated reached new levels in this story. I understand that people would have a little anger towards him, but to say he killed the kids, when Nitro did the deed has always been illogical and downright stupid to me. The fact that we don't see Nitro punished for his deed irks me even more, and not even seeing one person mention the guy irks me the most.

Penance...i have a love/hate relationship with. On one hand, it seemed natural for Robbie to develop this dark persona, after all he's been through. On the other hand...the costume is too Image 90s/Ronin's cousin to me. This guy continues to recieve punishment while Nitro, the true killer, waltzes free.

Annoying!

I agree with most of that. I think Nitro got his in an issue of Wolverine. I don't read it, so I'm not sure, but I believe Wolvie and Namor beat the crap out of and/or killed him. Or something fun.

Your other points still stand.

[Romelacca]

In the Wolverine comics Nitro does get his just desserts and Namor has kept him in Atlantis. This probably be explored in later in the Namor series. I have to agree with everyone about Speedball but no one has talked about Speedball for years until now and after one issue he has been talked about more then any New Warriors except for Nova. I kinda wished they could have kept him fun and loving but you have to say you had to see this coming from the first issue of Front Line. I am happy that Marvel did not kill him because it gives hope that he can be redeemed and brought back from his "Penance".

[Ex-Villian]

1st...just cuz people talk abut something doesn't mean its always good. I think some fans do complain too much, but no one has to agree with every idea these writers commit to paper. And sometimes the occasion arises that an idea is just BAD (that statement has no weight on how I feel about this Penance thing).

I did groan when I got to the end of the Sally/Ben part. It felt like wasteful filler. We already knew they found out something crucial, so the eending was more frustrating than enticing.

On Speedball ... the costume makes sense as pain now fuels him. I like that basic idea of that as a character, but I can't help but think about how corny that is since it stems out of the current events. Feeling pain from the Stanford incident, and now thaat is represented physically, associated with his new powers? A bit contrived. Maybe for me, those elements just don't work together. I'm not sure yet.

And drop the person off a cliff who thinks this will last. All that tech in the MU? Just examine these changes:

-Chamber lost his powers after M Day, expossing his open upper parts, but now has his chest and jaw back.
-Sabertooth clawed through Maverick's chest AND dropped him off a cliff before Weapon X "fixed" him back up again
-Banshee's throat was slit by Mystique and he was rendered mute before wailling his way to death in Deadly Genesis
-Don't know the full details, but wasn't Bullseye paralyzed at one point? He got better.
-Professor X's current body is a clone of his original
- And so on and so on...

I know Penance choose to do this to himself, but you mean to tell me that no one could get this boy some Doc Samson therapy and use some kind of tech to remove the bullet fragments and heal or replace his spine? There goes a logical end to this story.

[sebzero11]

I have to agree with everyone about Speedball but no one has talked about Speedball for years until now and after one issue he has been talked about more then any New Warriors except for Nova. I kinda wished they could have kept him fun and loving but you have to say you had to see this coming from the first issue of Front Line. I am happy that Marvel did not kill him because it gives hope that he can be redeemed and brought back from his "Penance".

I agree to an extent...
whenever a character is killed lately the defense is always "no one talked about this character for years but listen now" or "How come no one cared before they died"
But that's total crap! (Not to fight with you Romelacca, just using yer quote as a spring board for my point).
Speedball had lots of fans. I've supported everything he's been in. I know others who have. Hell, Kirkman's multi-timeline Marvel Team-up crossover was a great handling of the character. And what what about Spidergirl's spin-off A-Next, they had a mature Speedball leading the Avengers. There was a fan base and there was (as I posted earlier) a lot of untapped potential in the character. Heck, an unusual, immature, teenager with bizarre powers and a love him or hate him fan base...give him a series written by Peter David and watch it burn up the charts.
Same for DC's Beetle and Booster. I can't believe it's not the Justice League & Formerly known as the Justice League had great sales. JLA Classified never sold so well. Fans clamoured for years to get a "Blue & Gold" series. They never gave us one. Then they kill them both and tell us it's out fault for not communicating that we wanted this characters. Screw that. Hell even now, if the creators took the time to read chatboards like this they should see it being all typed out "Fans WANT to buy books featuring such-and-such a character." But no. Instead we Storm and Black Panther on the Fantastic Four. Do you think that's based on Fan demands, or just Marvel trying to shove that "arranged" marriage down our throats until we accept that as a natural and wonderful thing. Instead of brining back the various DC characters fans keep asking for, we get the unsolcited return of Mute Titan, Jericho. HIS fan base has been as silent as he is! What the hell prompted that return?
It just seems to me that comics today are more like "FanFic". Everyone is writing stories for themselves instead of the readers.
And supporters shout "You'd do the same," but I wouldn't. If I wrote comics I'd write stories about the characters I cared about and try to infuse enough energy into them to make you care as I did. Are there characters I don't like and even hate? Yes. But I would not write them, and if I did, I would not take out my personal dislikes on them.

None of this is to be read in an angry or even preachy tone. I'm just stating what I'm thinking on the matter. If you like things that I don't I do not begrudge you that, and I'm glad you're finding something you enjoy. I just resent people telling me to sit back and accept what I don't like. You don't take another kids favorite toy, tell him it bores you, break it and change it 'till it suits you, hand it back to him, and expect him to thank you for it.

'zall I'm sayin'.

[CandidGamera]

Here's the other bit : Penance's powers? Not original. See Wildstorm's *Excellent* Sleeper minis for a well-developed take on a person with this power-set.

[Romelacca]

Subzero, I totally agree with you about Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, and the mini series Formerly Known as the Justice League. The point I am trying to make is I am happy that they are keeping Speedball alive. I wish people would have cared more about the New Warriors such as Night Thrasher and Nomorita. I mean these are great characters. I feel like they are forgotten and I know this is comics and they can be brought back at any time but why are we not more upset about these characters that are lost to the fans. We have no hope of them ever returning. I agree that we should not be sitting down and taking this lightly but I talked to a guy at a local comic book shop that was buying DC and hated every issue after the crisis. I asked him why he was doing it. He told me he kept buying because he didn't want mess up his run of the series. That got me thinking and I decided that I am writing to Marvel and DC to voice my feelings on the books. I am not saying that you all have not done this ( I hope you have) because when we start having a voice and we don't buy the crap it makes a difference. Maybe just maybe they will get the hint. This is why I am glad that they did not kill off Speedball so that one day he will go back to the basics (as Marvel would put it).

[erikthered25]

I agree to an extent...
whenever a character is killed lately the defense is always "no one talked about this character for years but listen now" or "How come no one cared before they died"
But that's total crap! (Not to fight with you Romelacca, just using yer quote as a spring board for my point).
Speedball had lots of fans. I've supported everything he's been in. I know others who have. Hell, Kirkman's multi-timeline Marvel Team-up crossover was a great handling of the character. And what what about Spidergirl's spin-off A-Next, they had a mature Speedball leading the Avengers. There was a fan base and there was (as I posted earlier) a lot of untapped potential in the character. Heck, an unusual, immature, teenager with bizarre powers and a love him or hate him fan base...give him a series written by Peter David and watch it burn up the charts.
Same for DC's Beetle and Booster. I can't believe it's not the Justice League & Formerly known as the Justice League had great sales. JLA Classified never sold so well. Fans clamoured for years to get a "Blue & Gold" series. They never gave us one. Then they kill them both and tell us it's out fault for not communicating that we wanted this characters. Screw that. Hell even now, if the creators took the time to read chatboards like this they should see it being all typed out "Fans WANT to buy books featuring such-and-such a character." But no. Instead we Storm and Black Panther on the Fantastic Four. Do you think that's based on Fan demands, or just Marvel trying to shove that "arranged" marriage down our throats until we accept that as a natural and wonderful thing. Instead of brining back the various DC characters fans keep asking for, we get the unsolcited return of Mute Titan, Jericho. HIS fan base has been as silent as he is! What the hell prompted that return?
It just seems to me that comics today are more like "FanFic". Everyone is writing stories for themselves instead of the readers.
And supporters shout "You'd do the same," but I wouldn't. If I wrote comics I'd write stories about the characters I cared about and try to infuse enough energy into them to make you care as I did. Are there characters I don't like and even hate? Yes. But I would not write them, and if I did, I would not take out my personal dislikes on them.

None of this is to be read in an angry or even preachy tone. I'm just stating what I'm thinking on the matter. If you like things that I don't I do not begrudge you that, and I'm glad you're finding something you enjoy. I just resent people telling me to sit back and accept what I don't like. You don't take another kids favorite toy, tell him it bores you, break it and change it 'till it suits you, hand it back to him, and expect him to thank you for it.

'zall I'm sayin'.

Um I don't think anyone is asking you to accept what you don't like. Although you and the numerous people have supported Speedball and various other character like him, your support wasn't enough to sustain a monthly. It's really not enough to sustain a mini-series. I don't think speedball as a character would work in an ongoing solo book because he's not that popular. When it comes down to the dollars and cents the majority rules. We need to realize the comicbooks companies are the business to make money. Meaning that in order to justify to their shareholders, boss, CEO's etc or whomever they justify things to, a character has to be able to sell over a certain amount of units. They don't care if the storyline is great, or ground breaking, or horrible. The bottom line is that if no one is buying it then stop making it. If they are buying it then continue with it and in the future maybe we can launch a few spin-off's.

The writers job is to not only write stories that the fans want but write stories that challege the fans and to put a different spin on an established character that the fans have not seen or thought of before or have thought of before but had no one had written about it yet. Sometimes the spin the writer puts on it isn't to yours or my liking, it happens.

We're not asking you to accept what you don't like. We're asking to instead of complaining about it. Get mobilized. Start the save speedball petition online or something like. Or just pretend as if this incarnation of speedball doesnot exist. Or you can just go with it and see how the storyline develops further and voice your opinion instead of having a kneejerk reaction about 1 issue. Who knows Marvel just might win you over man. :D

[sebzero11]

We're not asking you to accept what you don't like. We're asking to instead of complaining about it. Get mobilized. Start the save speedball petition online or something like. Or just pretend as if this incarnation of speedball doesnot exist. Or you can just go with it and see how the storyline develops further and voice your opinion instead of having a kneejerk reaction about 1 issue. Who knows Marvel just might win you over man. :D

My reactions are far from "knee-jerk" and I don't mean to come across as whiney and preachy. I hear what you're saying and agree with you. You are not part of the "we" I'm addressing. This board is for fans to react, review, and respond to the comics coming out. That's all I'm doing. My opinions are not intended to be thrust upon anyone, I'm just posting what I'm thinking. My grievance is with people who snap a response of "accept it," which clearly, is not you, so no attack intended.

Besides, it's a lose/lose situation. If readers like myself don't complain (on message boards or in petition, which are largely ignored by most companies) we are told we should have spoken up. If we do voice our displeasure we are called nitpickers and trolls.

Again, for those of you loving these stories, more power to you. I had some great runs of things I loved in the 80's and early 90's, so I guess it's someone else's turn at the top.
Hopefully, after this, when changes lean back my way, I'll be more understanding towards people who preferred it another way.

Peace, love, and comics, my unkown friends!:)

[sebzero11]

Subzero, I totally agree with you about Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, and the mini series Formerly Known as the Justice League. The point I am trying to make is I am happy that they are keeping Speedball alive. I wish people would have cared more about the New Warriors such as Night Thrasher and Nomorita. I mean these are great characters. I feel like they are forgotten and I know this is comics and they can be brought back at any time but why are we not more upset about these characters that are lost to the fans. We have no hope of them ever returning. I agree that we should not be sitting down and taking this lightly but I talked to a guy at a local comic book shop that was buying DC and hated every issue after the crisis. I asked him why he was doing it. He told me he kept buying because he didn't want mess up his run of the series. That got me thinking and I decided that I am writing to Marvel and DC to voice my feelings on the books. I am not saying that you all have not done this ( I hope you have) because when we start having a voice and we don't buy the crap it makes a difference. Maybe just maybe they will get the hint. This is why I am glad that they did not kill off Speedball so that one day he will go back to the basics (as Marvel would put it).

I hear ya, man, and I hope you're right!
Your keyboard to God's monitor, man! :)

[the hungry w]

I found it quite funny that they went to all the effort to explain every little detail of the suit and how it works and the location of every signle pin etc...but never bothered to mention how he can see in the damn mask thingie, i -for one- saw no holes in that thing.

The first part of the story was so bad it hurt, with the third time Sally metioned "i found out something big about Stark" without revealing what that thing realy is, i realy wanted to punch someone, i know thats taking fanboyosim too far, but i cant help it.

And hell, i wont pre-judge, but since every other writer (including jenkis himself) is anti-reg and do their damnest to show the pro-reg side as the devil's spawns, then this big reveal is probably gonna show the pro-reg side in an even worse light than before (and you thought that wasnt even possible).

Geez...

[BatWolverine]

...I don't mean to come across as whiney and preachy.
You don't need to 'try' at that (whiney and preachy) m'man. That's just who you are. ;)

...btw, Happy New Year!! :D

PS: You pulled/have any socks on? 'cause Manhunter #27 must've knocked 'em off fer ya.

[The Guvnor]

This story really had me on the edge of my seat. I want to know what they know.

I hate that Speedball felt so bad. What pain and agony and it is not even his fault.

Overall this was a really good issue. It made me feel anticipation as well as deep sadness for the characters.

Great detailed review, Romelacca. Good job. I agree with the points that you said.

I found this issue to be rather good. The first story gave a glimpse of how crazy it is when the superheroes are fighting. I also liked the Jonah Jameson/Ben Urich scene with Jonah showing a nice side to him in that he respects Urich, wishes him luck and will welcome him back in the future.

My only annoyance is that we still don't know who the traitor is that is playing about with Osborne. In my opinion they are playing it up too much that it is Stark, so I'm ruling him out. I only hope they don't cop out and say it was Hulkling in disguise such as in Civil War.

To second story did well to show Baldwin's emotions and you had to sympathise with him in that he will go through all of this pain. It was also good writing by Jenkins to detail all the specific points of pain that are on the body suit.

Great stuff all round. Although I think everyone is missing the main point...NO wasteful, filler Correspondence story. Now that is a result.

[khumpleetist]

Just bought this issue for the origin of Penance (Robbie Baldwin). The first story got my hopes up for a big reveal but I turned it down because they never revealed what's going on with Stark.

Penance seems to be a good take on Robbie. I've heard a lot of people complaining about making the character dark when the guy is considered by many to be goofy. Well, anyone who has 612 deaths in his/her hands would turn like this even if you're an ordinary person much more for a superhero (even if it's a goofy one) who has an 'abnormal' life.