#chatty jmc

[joeysmuttonchops]

i dont think u underatand how insane crystals lack of interest in her own personal boundaries or autonomy is. like Yeah Deadly Dandelion Sprites Possessing my neighbor, You Can Have My Body. even if she was trusting she would be saved thats a wild concession to make

[joeysmuttonchops]

New Teen Titans (1980) #4

honestly the Raven and Arella relationship is one of the most important and powerful ones in early NTT period. Raven acts as the driving force this early into the book, but Arella is representative of the forces driving Raven

theres something there, that its as Raven ages out of childhood and begins to move on her own she finds a struggle-and she goes to her family and she goes to the system to ask for help, only to find that the resources aren't there for her anymore. that she has to manage on her own now. because she's changed, because she won't follow the rules, because the rules don't work for her the way they worked for Arella

and all Raven does in these early issues is ask for help. over and over again, no matter how many times she's denied it. she asks her mother and the people of Azarath and they say she's lost her way, she asks the justice league and not only do they deny her they demonize and threaten her. its not until she asks her peers that she's able to get help. i cant help but compare it to Arella being denied help from state agencies before being offered a new community on Azarath.

its not until Raven's peers ask her to that Arella changes her mind. Arella isn't able to change her mind until she's confronted with immediate danger, and outside thought. And there's something there too, that Arella wouldn't help when it was Raven asking but did when it was someone else. theres an immense seperation between the two: with Raven driving herself beyond a reasonable point and Arella needing external input to move at all.

[joeysmuttonchops]

Manhunter (2004) #7

Lots of interesting things happening in Manhunter, but I'm taking particular note of who Kate thinks should be able to enact violence. Hawkman, whose criminal record was just mentioned, vs Superman, who has no such accusations. When compared with Kate's willingness to blackmail Dylan, a former criminal in witness protection, her extra-judicial killing of Copperhead, and this damning line:

Manhunter (2004) #4

I think we're provided a very insightful and cynical look into why she was drawn to a job in the justice system. A criminal is not someone who does violence, but someone you are allowed to do violence to.

[joeysmuttonchops]

anyone else get emo over raven being the one to resurrect joey?

like. she was the first one in the titans to learn ASL. he was the one who set off the Terror of Trigon. she only trusted him with her relationship with forrester. he found her mother for her. her ghosts are the thing that killed him. she was the one that brought him back.

[joeysmuttonchops]

[Wonder Woman (2023) #5]

if tom king did one thing for me it was these four pages. everything else ill kill him for, but these four pages DO hit.

Yara and Diana's relationship is more like Diana and Artemis' than it's like the other wonder girls. at this point Yara are Diana have only had a few major interactions: in Wonder Woman Rebirth #794-796, where Diana asks Yara for her help with Eros; in Trial of the Amazons when Diana gifts Yara with a new tiara (which she's wearing here), and in Wonder Woman Rebirth #800, in a dream sequence where they discuss sacrifice for the "cause". While its implied that Diana feels some responsibility for Yara, its only really because Yara is so much younger than her, and Yara doesn't return the kind of respect to her of a mentor, because she was never Yara's mentor. In many ways they see each other as equals. Or, if you have to interpret it through a hierarchy, as work friends with an age gap-an important and underutilized relationship.

which makes it interesting, how risky Yara's challenge is. Cassie and Donna's don't put either of them, or Diana, in harms way, but here Yara and Diana are, shooting each other. it could imply seriousness, that Yara is willing to risk this, or more of a measure of reality. Compared to Yara, both Cassie and Donna seem to be playing games (and Donna literally is). Even with Diana's line that Yara IS playing games, Yara ends up bleeding. It's also a major point for Yara, whose mythmaking is already a major character trait. Yara's challenge is by far the most cinematic, and it's impossible for her to have intended anything else.

i also want to point out that this is, essentially, four trick shots. meeting the first 6 arrows together means that one of them, if not both, were aiming for the arrows and not the other person for their whole conversation.

also "Modesty is not a virtue of the gods, nor of I," rips as a Yara line, even if you're making her talk old timey for no reason. why did you do that.

[joeysmuttonchops]

the thing is that Komand'r has both leadership experience and a WAY more forceful personality than any of the other titans. i think that in the rush and the chaos of the NTT's first mission, Kom could easily slot into a leadership position, and since that goes well maybe she sticks to that position after everyone finds out shes kind of insufferable

in these tags on my kom&tara post @disco-troy brought up the idea of kom keeping her past secret until after NTT #23-25, where she. well im not sure tricks would be exactly the right word, but where she has the titans fighting the gordonians (and kory?) on her behalf, as a wronged princess. its been long enough that she's their friend! yeah kom's a bitch, but she our bitch! kind of energy! and then theres this massive break in their perception of her, the before and the after knowing her history

it reminds me of titans 99, where vic is actually on probation under the titans after his villain arc, not a full member, but they dont tell him about it until he tries to leave. he thinks hes there of his own free will, being a hero like the rest of them are. maybe something similar would work here? 

but also—the titans are way less structured(or at least, theyre not going to be deputized by the government) at this point, and i dont think kom's accountable by any earth justice system, so the threat would be mostly social. it would affect her relationship to the other titans more than legally. maybe its the fallout of this arc where she's forced out of leadership

it couldnt happen in space i think because if it did shed just. leave in that moment. but if they make it back to earth and shes ready to keep doing what shes been doing, before the titans pull the rug out from under her... she used the spot to manipulate them so maybe this is a good chace to explore how that kind of manipulation costs trust, and in this case her control and agency too

[joeysmuttonchops]

i cant stop thinking about tara and komand'r in my titan!kom au. theyd be so crazy

[joeysmuttonchops]

anyways the only jason todd story id be interested in writing is one where he and sheila survive the explosion, but jason is still knocked out when batman arrives. so batman takes them both back to gotham, and when jason wakes up he has to decide what hes gonna do about her. he still wanted to protect her from the joker at the end, would he want to protect her from batman? after she sold him out? how would he do it?