If something on the Summers family Tree tied into the Tommy Westphall Universe, would you then include character relations from the rest of the universes that are in that? Because you're within like a hairs breadth away from intersecting with it as is.
I go as far as the family links take me. Alternate Universes aren't being counted unless they've spent enough time on Earth-616 to be considered resident, or the family link crosses universes.
The Tommy Westphall Universe relies on a cascading series of crossovers, but not necessarily family ties. I go as far as the family ties take me.
So the thing is, it's hard to come up with big, impressive lines in comics generally. You can have a good speech, you could have a repeated phrase that takes on new meanings over time (for Ewing this includes "Everything lives", "It's all up to me", "Then it's us", "As above, so below", etc.) But these aren't really the same thing as great lines to my mind. And Ewing, for all his love of long narrative tangents where the captions talk about Kabbalah and the nature of evil for five issues, isn't really someone who's writing really works outside the context of the issue and its surrounding scenes.
With the possible exception of Immortal Hulk #49, which replaces the standard comic format with a series of full-page illustrations captioned by sections of Jackie McGee's report on the whole incident. It is, to my mind, the finest thing he's ever written. If you want a list of other Ewing comics with great writing (and maybe even some great individual lines), I'd check out my list of Top 5 Ewing Issues. (Though really, Immortal Hulk #49 itself is an obvious choice that should've made #1). But while it won't have quite the same effect as seeing the issue itself, allow me to deviate from the prompt, and just give you Jackie's report as she goes with the Hulk to meet with the Fantastic Four:
THE ROCKET WASN'T A BOMB.
THE COUNTDOWN WASN'T A MURDER ATTEMPT.
THE SCIENTIST HADN'T KILLED HIS OWN FATHER.
HE HID NO SECRETS FROM THE WOMAN HE LOVED.
THE TEENAGER HAD NO SUBLIMATED DEATH WISH.
AND THE MAN WHO BECAME A MONSTER WAS THE FIRST TO SUGGEST HELPING HUMANKIND.
IN A LOT OF WAYS, THE STORY OF THE FANTASTIC FOUR IS AN ODDLY AMERICAN FAIRYTALE. FOUR PIONEERS, BREAKING THE RULES FOR A JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN.
WHEN THEY CAME BACK, THEY WERE AVATARS OF SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS, OF THE FAMILY UNIT, OF COURAGE AGAINST THE ODDS. AND IF ANY PART OF THEM LOOKED MONSTROUS FROM THE OUTSIDE, THAT WAS ONLY BECAUSE WE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND.
THEY WERE AMERICA AS IT LIKES TO SEE ITSELF—AS SYMBOLIC AS THE ROCKET THAT TOOK THEM TO THE STARS.
WHICH WASN'T A BOMB.
BUT AS ABOVE, NOT SO BELOW.
THE HULK WALKED, AND WE WALKED WITH HIM, THROUGH RAIN-SLICK STREETS SO EMPTY THEY FELT LIKE A DREAM.
I WAS THERE TO GET THE STORY, I TOLD MYSELF. AS IF THE STORY WAS SOMETHING I COULD FIND AND PACKAGE AND LET GO, INSTEAD OF SOMETHING INSIDE ME, PART OF ME, DRIVING ME ON.
THE OTHER HULK—JEN WALTERS, BRUCE BANNER'S COUSIN—HAD BEEN IN CONTACT WITH HER OLD FRIEND BEN GRIMM EVER SINCE THE FIGHT WITH THE AVENGERS. IF WE WANTED TO RESCUE BRUCE FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION, BEN HAD A WAY TO DO IT.
I WAS ANGRY. WHAT IF IT WAS A TRAP? DIDN'T SHE KNOW THE RISKS?
BUT SHE KNOW. SHE WAS OUR AMBASSADOR FROM THE RAREFIED WORLD OF THE SUPER HEROES, WHERE EVERY FIGHT IS A MISUNDERSTANDING, WHERE IT CAN ALL BE SMOOTHED OVER WITH A LITTLE TIME OR THE RIGHT WORD IN THE RIGHT EAR.
I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT WORLD. BUT IT EXISTS.
THE HULK JUST NODDED. HE KNEW WHERE HE WAS GOING, NO MATTER WHAT. WITH BETTY GONE, I DON'T THINK HE CARED HOW.
SO HE JUST WALKED, AND SO DID WE.
IN THE WORLD OF THE SUPERHEROES, WHEN SOMETHING SMASHES YOUR HOME TO RUBBLE, THEY JUST BUILD IT BACK AGAIN, BETTER THAN NEW.
NOTHING EVER REALLY CHANGES.
THE LOBBY WAS BEAUTIFUL, AS QUIET AND SERENE AS A CHURCH. IT WAS A PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO WAIT IN COMFORT—AND A LITTLE AWE—FOR THE ATTENTION OF THE MIGHTY. TO PRAY FOR THEIR AID.
AS WE ENTERED, JEN EXHALED. AND I COULDN'T TELL IF THAT WAS RELIEF OR SOME DEEP SADNESS. SHE WAS IN HER PLACE OF POWER, BUT SHE DIDN'T QUITE FIT THERE ANYMORE.
THE HULK DIDN'T FIT AT ALL. HE LOOKED WRONG HERE—SOMETHING PROFANE, AN UNHOLY THING IN A HOLY PLACE.
HE KEPT WALKING.
AND THEN—THERE THEY WERE. WAITING FOR US, FACES WREATHED IN JUDGEMENT.
THE SUPER HEROES.
JEN PUT HER ARM UP—A GREEN STEEL BAR, PADDED WITH MUSCLE. FOR A MOMENT, I FELT LIKE I WAS ON A ROLLER-COASTER, READYING FOR THE DROP.
THE HULK STEPPED FORWARD.
THE ROOM BRISTLED. HE MADE THEM ANGRY JUST BY STANDING THERE, NOT SAYING A WORD—AS IF THE ANGER WAS FLOWING OUT OF HIM AND INTO THEM.
HE DIDN'T SPEAK.
HE ONLY SMILED.
THE ROOM ERUPTED.
STEVE ROGERS TRIED TO CALM THINGS, BUT THE ANGER WAS FLOWING NOW—A FLOOD TIDE HEADING FOR US. THOR LAUNCHED INTO A SPEECH, BUT I COULDN'T HERE HIM ABOVE ALL THE OTHER SPECHES, ALL THE OTHER PROCLAMATIONS AND PRONOUNCEMENTS.
THE HULK KEPT SMILING.
I DIDN'T SEE WHO THREW THE FIRST PUNCH.
BUT THE FIGHT WAS ON.
MAYBE IT ALWAYS HAD BEEN. MAYBE IT ALWAYS WILL BE.
MAYBE EVERY FIGHT THE HULK HAS IS THE SAME FIGHT...
EVER SINCE THE BEGINNING. THE NIGHT BEFORE THE FIRST GAMMA BOMB TEST, BRIAN BANNER DIED FROM A VIOLENT ASSAULT IN THE GRAVEYARD WHERE HIS WIFE REBECCA WAS BURIED. IT WAS THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE DAY SHE HAD DIED.
BRIAN MURDERED HER.
HE FORCED HIS SON BRUCE TO LIE ABOUT IT IN COURT—TO BE COMPLICIT IN HIS OWN MOTHER'S KILLING—BUT THE TRUTH CAME OUT. SOMETIMES IT WORKS THAT WAY. BUT HE PLED INSANITY AND WAS COMMITTED, RATHER THAN JAILED, AND RELEASED INTO BRUCE'S CARE.
THE OFFICIAL STORY OF HIS DEATH WAS THAT HE WAS THE VICTIM OF A MUGGING—BUT FOOTPRINTS ON THE GRAVES MATCHED BRUCE'S SHOE SIZE, AND A PLASTIC STAR LEFT AT THE SCENE CAN ALSO BE SPOTTED HANGING ABOVE BRUCE'S CRIB IN FAMILY PHOTOS.
THIS EVIDENCE WAS IGNORED BY THE DAYTON POLICE—WHO WOULD HAVE KNOWN REBECCA, AND PERHAPS EVEN KNOWN HER BROTHER IN-LAW, SHERIFF MORRIS WALTERS.
SOMETIMES IT WORKS THAT WAY TOO.
SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T WORK AT ALL.
MAYBE EVERY FIGHT THE HULK HAS IS THE SAME FIGHT.
MAYBE EVERY FIGHT THE HULK LOSES IS THE SAME FIGHT TOO.
JEN WAS SHIELDING ME, YELLING AT THEM ALL—HER COMRADES IN HARMS, HER FRIENDS—TO STOP, TELLING THEM I WAS A CIVILIAN, THAT THEY WERE PUTTING ME IN DANGER.
I DON'T KNOW IF THEY HEARD HER OVER THE NOISE. THE SOUND OF THEIR FIRSTS AND THEIR ENDLESS WEAPONS. THE SOUND OF THE HULK'S BONES BREAKING AND KNITTING BACK TOGETHER.
IT WAS A CACOPHONY. IT FELT LIKE THE END OF EVERYTHING, AND IT FELT LIKE IT'D NEVER END. MAYBE IT NEVER WILL.
BUT HE NEVER FELL.
SOMETHING IN HIM WOULDN'T LET HIM GIVE IN. I THINK THAT WOULD'VE BEEN TRUE EVEN IF THEY'D KNOCKED HIM COLD, KILLED HIM, SAWED HIM IN PIECES, PUT HIM INTO JARS... HE'D STILL NEVER FALL.
BECAUSE IF HE DID, HE'D NEVER GET UP AGAIN.
I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE IT IN MY TO FORGIVE HIM. BUT I KNOW HIM NOW BETTER THAN I DID. AND THAT PIECE OF HIM, I RECOGNIZE.
DID THEY SEE THEMSELVES IN HIM AS WELL?
WAS THAT WHY THEY COULDN'T HELP ATTACKING? BANNER SAW THE HULK IN MIRRORS, BUT THE HULK IS A MIRROR TOO—A REFLECTION THAT REFLECTS BACK AT YOU. AND THESE WEREN'T GAMMA PEOPLE—DID THE HULK SEEM LIKE A CONTAGION TO THEM? WAS HE UNCLEAN?
WE'LL NEVER KNOW.
THE NOISE STOPPED. THOR'S HAMMER KEPT FALLING, BUT IT ONLY HIT SILENCE. AN INVISIBLE SPACE AROUND THE HULK TOOK SHAPE, AND WIDENED.
THE SHOUTING AND YELLING FELL TO GRUMBLING, THEN TO NOTHING. MAYBE THE FORCE-FIELD WAS BLOCKING WHATEVER EFFECT THE HULK WAS HAVING. OR MAYBE IT WAS JUST DOING WHAT THEY ALL WANTED—KEEPING THE HORROR AWAY FROM THOSE UNTOUCHED BY IT.
THE DOOR OPENED BEHIND US.
I'D ONLY SEEN THE FANTASTIC FOUR ON TV. UP CLOSE... THEY WERE DIFFERENT.
REED RICHARD'S BODY MADE LITTLE ALIEN SOUNDS AS HE STRETCHED INTO THE ROOM.
JOHNNY STORM'S FACE WAS HIDDEN IN FLAME. HE COULDN'T SEEM TO TURN IT DOWN, OR OFF.
AND SUE RICHARDS STARED AT AND THROUGH EVERYTHING, SEEING SHAPES IN THE AIR NOBODY ELSE COULD GUESS AT—AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE, I FELT WE MUST HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON.
MAYBE THE HULK WAS RUBBING OFF ON THEM TOO. MAKING THE FAIRYTALE AMERICAN FAMILY SEEM STRANGE AND UNKNOWABLE. OR MAYBE THEY'D BEEN LIKE HIM ALL ALONG.
MAYBE THERE WAS SOMETHING PRIMAL IN THEM, FROM SOME OTHER PLACE.
IT WAS BEN GRIMM—THE THING—WHO LOOKED THE MOST HUMAN. "WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YA ALL?" HE SAID, GENUINELY AGGRIEVED. "DID THEY HURT YA, PAL?"
THE HULK LOOKED ALMOST SAD WHEN BEN SAID THAT.
BUT HE DIDN'T TAKE BEN'S HAND.
HE NEVER SAID A WORD AS WE LEFT THE WORLD OF THE SUPER HEROES BEHIND US. HE HADN'T BEATEN IT, IN THE END.
BUT IT HADN'T BEATEN HIM, EITHER.
BEN GRIMM'S VOICE SEEMED TO COME FROM FAR AWAY. "YER, OKAY, PAL. YER OKAY."
IT WAS A VOICE WITH ALL THE DEEP GRAVEL OF THE HULK'S AND MORE—BUT WARMER SOMEHOW. I THOUGHT OF MY GRANDFATHER, AT MY MOTHER'S FUNERAL, HE'D SPOKEN OF THE LAST DAY, WHEN GOD WOULD CALL THE SOULS OF THE DEAD. CALL THEM AND JUDGE THEM.
"YER OKAY, PAL. YER OKAY."
WE WALKED DEEPER INTO THE BUILDING, PASSING THROUGH CORRIDORS OF FLASHING LIGHT AND SOUND. SECURITY SYSTEMS AND STRANGE EXPERIMENTS. WONDERS AND PORTENTS.
UNTIL FINALLY, WE CAME TO THE GATE.
THE FOREVER GATE. IT WAS A PORTAL TO WHEREVER YOU WANTED TO GO, BEN SAID. A JUNCTION TO ANYWHERE. THE KIND OF CASUAL MIRACLE THE FANTASTIC FOUR DEALT WITH EVERY DAY.
DR. RICHARDS TRIED TO EXPLAIN IT. HIS VOICE FALTERED AS HE SPOKE OF PARTICLES, WAVES, FREQUENCIES, GAMMA AND COSMIC RADIATION—AS IF HE WAS TRYING TO SPEAK IN THE ONLY LANGUAGE HE KNEW, OF THINGS EVEN HE HAD NO WORDS FOR. EVENTUALLY, HE FALTERED, SHOOK HIS HEAD AND LET BEN TALK FOR HIM.
IT WAS SIMPLE, BEN SAID. THE GATE WOULD SCAN THE HULK, EVERY CELL OF HIM, AND USE WHAT IT FOUND IN HIM TO FIND WHERE WE WERE GOING. IT MIGHT NOT BRING THE HULK TO THE LEADER'S DOOR, BUT IT'D AT LEAST TAKE HIM TO THE LEADER'S BACKYARD—AND MAYBE THAT WAY, HULK COULD SURPRISE HIM. IT WAS A FAIR CHANCE—NOTHING MORE, NOTHING LESS.
WHEN HE SAID IT, IT MADE SENSE. WE WAITED FOR THE HULK TO SAY SOMETHING BACK.
THE MACHINE BEGAN TO HUM.
THE HULK LOOKED INTO THE GATE.
AND THE GATE LOOKED INTO THE HULK.
AS THE MACHINE ANALYZED THE DATA, SEARCHING THROUGH POSSIBILITIES, IMAGES FLICKERED AND FLOWED IN THE CRACKLING RED PLASMA.
FOR A MOMENT, I SAW FOUR FIGURES TAKE SHAPE——A BIG-HEARTED SCIENTIST AND HIS LOVING WIFE, A GRUFF EX-MILITARY MAN, A CAREFREE TEENAGER. A FAMILY OF FOUR. YOU COULD SEE THE LOVE BETWEEN THEM ALL.
THEY'D NEVER TRIED TO KILL EACH OTHER.
THEY WERE WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN, IF THE ORDER OF EVENTS HAD BEEN JUST A LITTLE DIFFERENT, IF THE COIN HAD LANDED THE OTHER WAY UP.
SOMEONE HAD TO FLY THE ROCKET.
SOMEONE HAD TO BUILD THE BOMB.
THE HULK SAW THEM TOO.
HE KEPT STARING, AS THE IMAGES MERGED BACK INTO STATIC. HE DIDN'T SPEAK.
BEFORE, HIS SILENCE FELT STUBBORN, SINGLE-MINDED—BLOODY-MINDED, EVEN. NOW, AS THE GATE OF HELL YAWNED IN FRONT OF HIM... IT WAS SOMETHING ELSE.
SOMETHING LIKE FEAR.
BEN SPOKE, GENTLY. THE FOUR WOULD BACK THE HULK UP WHEN THEY COULD, HE SAID—BUT THIS GATE, RIGHT HERE AND NOW, WAS JUST FOR HIM. HE'D OPEN IT WHEN HE WENT THROUGH, AND HE'D CLOSE IT BEHIND HIM.
DR. RICHARDS LOOKED QUIETLY APOLOGETIC. HE'D DONE HIS BEST.
RED PLASMA BOILED IN FRONT OF US. BRUCE BANNER WAS WAITING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF IT. SO WAS THE LEADER.
SO WAS THE STORY.
THE STORY THAT WAS PART OF ME. THAT HAD BROUGHT ME FROM ARIZONA TO THE EDGE OF SPACE, THAT HAD BROKEN MY LIFE AND BECOME IT. THE ANSWER TO ALL THE QUESTIONS I COULDN'T WALK AWAY FROM.
SO I REACHED OUT...
...AND THEN I STEPPED THROUGH WITH HIM.
IT WAS BREAKING THE RULES. AND... I CAN'T LIE.
THE MOMENT—THE SPLIT-SECOND DECISION TO MAKE THAT JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN—IT WAS EXHILARATING. A RUSH OF ADRENALINE AS I TOOK MY LIFE IN MY HANDS FOR WHAT I COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT.
IIRC, the reason Kamala Khan's powers were changed in the MCU is officially to give her more connection to the Marvel Legacy. Both Carol and Monica have Energy based powers, so they gave Kamala the ability to make light constructs, which could be used to replicate some of her comic abilitys like the big fists. Of course, another factor in the change was probably the fact that her comic power set is imfamously hard to pull off in live action, at least in a way that looks decent
I would bet money that the "hard to pull off in live-action" thing was the primary consideration. It's not like her connection to prior Misses Marvel were particularly deep; this isn't a Dallon-Pelham Torment Nexus situation.
It would be possible, mind you. Monkey D. Luffy's powers are similar, but if anything even harder to pull off (since Kamala Khan doesn't get quite as cartoony with her powers, and also they're supposed to look kinda offputting). But Netflix's One Piece pulled it off, despite all the unrelated budgetary strain that Oda's art imposed on other parts of the production.
But I'm not surprised that, when given the choice to either adapt Kamala's intentionally weird powers or give her something easy to animate, they found an easy-to-animate power.
Reverse Unpopular Opnion: Gundam (any part of it you've seen)
79 struck gold with Ryu. There's the obvious factor of him being a fat teenager whose size is completely incidental; just having a character like that who actually gets to be a full character instead of "the comic glutton" or "the jolly one" is all-too-rare. But more than that, he's just a really great addition to the crew—more level-headed, considerate, and frankly deserving of respect than Bright, but sharing some of his unfortunate military tendencies towards using aggressive discipline as a go-to solution for whining teens. Having someone who served as almost a go-between for Bright and the more rebellious young soldiers of the White Base, standing behind different people at different points, really helped keep the series from getting stale.
Zeta was something of a high point in mecha designs, with the Qubeley in particular being one of the only things in my adult life that has made me want to buy an action figure.
The first few episodes of ZZ are uncomplicatedly good. Switching into that sort of zany tone after the end of Zeta is a frankly satisfying whiplash.
The Jist of the Buggy thing is that yesterday Tumblr put live ction buggy on the side of everyone's dashboard on Desktop. People naturally complained (especially those who are afraid of clowns) and st this point he's been replacedwith his crew's Jolly Roger
Okay so what I've learned today is people complaining about "the clown" were not discussing the clown-themed icon I got yesterday morning but were referring to an entire actual clown. I'll be honest that makes the complaints make a lot more sense.
From what I've been able to find, Hagsequad seems to refer to the older characters who used to go to Hexside. Eda, Lillith, Raine, Alador, etc. And since I've explained that, I might as well ask about number 6
6. Favorite Hagsquad member?
Ah, that makes sense, thank you! Out of that list of characters, I think I have to choose Raine. Even with how little screen time they were able to in season 3, I still love what we were able to learn about their character. I love that they're a quiet and shy person who still consistently exhibits extreme bravery, a trait I feel is more commonly attributed to more extroverted characters. In fact, I would call them one of the bravest characters in the series, with how they are willing to completely sacrifice themself to stop Belos while simultaneously trying to protect everyone else from getting hurt in that process. Their sheer willpower in their final fight with Belos is incredible and heartbreaking to watch. Plus, I can't pass on some of the best (and only) nonbinary rep I've ever seen in a show aimed at kids.
