Justice League of America #40

[superfangirl1]

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She uses every last bit of her "I love my kids" pure light power, to disintegrate dr light and severed the ring connection.

Comments

[jlroberson]

Forever. I hope it's forever.

Oh, and Plas turns out to be alive.

[starwolf_oakley]

Every Black Lantern is a Hannibal Lecture in (decayed, rotting) form, aren't they? The only exceptions seem to be the Black Lantern children. *Shiver.*

[shadowpsykie]

yay, she kick's Mr. McRapey Rape's ass

[zechs80]

Hey that's Dr. McRapey Rape Melty Man's ass. :P

[shadowpsykie]

McRapey Rape does not deserve the title Doctor

[dreamreaver]

Kickass mothers?

FUCK YES MORE PLEASE!

[icon_uk]

Oh look, a retcon. She's been wearing this outfit for twentythree years (sometimes as a League member) and has never seen fit to explain the link to her father?

[sun_man]

great issue. Best JLA one in a long time. Finally we get classic Dr. Light back

[darkblade]

Comparing her to the Bloodpack. Thats low man. Real low.

[bariman]

Question: Does Arthur Light have an actual doctorate in something?

[icon_uk]

Yeah, it's not like she was a fairly randomly created character who appeared from nowhere as part of a multiple issue crossover, that no one has ever really known what to do with since, or anything like that.

Oh, wait...

[tacobob]

EVIL!

[tacobob]

They seem to pick whatever form that will mess with their victim's head the most.

[darkblade]

Yeah but the Bloodpack. I started reading comics in the 90s and I only know about them because of a certain internet comic reviewer.

[silverzeo]

Oh it on NOW!

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

I dunno about that. She was a key player in DCU's most important crossover, and had a long membership on Justice League Europe. She's hardly Captain Obscure.

[icon_uk]

As a concept, the Bloodpack were more interesting than a female Dr Light, metahumans using their unwanted powers (They had all been, effectively, killed by the aliens beast things to activate their powers) to try and earn a buck through sponsorship and reality TV. Not overly novel perhaps, and the execution was weird, but rife with potential IMHO. They at least had their own mini-series, which is more than can be said for Kimiyo (sp?)

[icon_uk]

Key? Was she? I recall her being created there ((by face-palming plot device moment) and being in it, but more by writers fiat than any actual "Gosh SHE was uniquely important to defeating the Anti-Monitor".

She was out of the JLI within four issues or so, and was she that long serving in JLE, which even then was hardly a high profile title? I'd say most readers seeing her would go "Why is Doctor Light an Asian woman now?" pretty much as much as they would go "Who were the Blood Pack?"

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

She blasted the Anti-Monitor with energy from a freakin' star. The only reason he got up after that was because he had to chow down on Shadow Demons (who were wisely poisoned). So yeah, I'd say she was important.

Modern readers might not recognize her, but so freakin' what? They also wouldn't recognize Oracle, Calculator, Robin, Batgirl, the list is endless.

She's had plenty of character work, has decent characterization and a fair amount of potential. There's no real comparison between her and one shot characters.

[icon_uk]

Fair enough, so she was a convenient plot device in CoIE, but was lacking in any actual character beyond "I'm bad tempered but not a villain". This is the first time we've seen any actual reason for her keeping the outfit, and it's only taken them over two decades (during which time she's actually CHANGED the costume so there goes that explanation, and then discovered she doesn't apparently even need it.

To suggest modern readers wouldn't know who Oracle, Batgirl and Robin are is a slightly odd thing to say, since all are still high profile within comics. Dr Light, a LOT less so. And remember the JLE ended sixteen years ago now and that was the last time she appeared regularly anywhere?

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

Well, I meant modern readers outside comics ;)

Why does her name even need to be explained? She was given it by the Monitor and used it when she saved the universe. I'd say she earned her stripes. The only change she ever really made to it that I recall was the color scheme (to yellow. Classy, DC). And hell, keeping the name and costume fits her character to a T.

And I think describing her as just a plot devise in CoIE is unfair. She had some interesting characterization, as someone who was powerful and short tempered but still recognized her limits and short comings. 'Course, only the short tempered was remembered...

[sianmink]

He didn't spend six years in Evil University to be called Mister Light!

[arbre_rieur]

Oh, come on. Are we really at a point where we can't give a yellow costume to a *light-based* superhero just because she's Asian?

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

The problem I had with it was that the yellow was the *only* thing she really changed. She replaced the white with yellow and black with white.

I'm feeling willfull today.

[3goodtimes]

This series has taught me that there are approximately five human emotions.

Much like the Jim Cunningham fear-love lifeline from Donnie Darko.

[cf105]

After Plas spent 3000 years on the bottom of the ocean separated into individual molecules do you really think these walking dead guys can kill him?

[espanolbot]

Yay! I made a meme... kinda. ^^

[ravenous_raven]

hm, can I see the scan of Kimmi completely owning Mr. McRapey Rapey (or whatever we're calling him now)? it will make up for the unnecessary costume-shredding....

Re: I'm feeling willfull today.

[jlroberson]

And if you feel any others, you're obviously deranged.

In other news, I find Dr. Light much easier to take if I hear him in the voice of the Monarch.

[jlroberson]

Yep, completely naked by the end. Oh, James Robinson, don't ever have taste or anything like THAT.

[ravenous_raven]

...I don't even know why I'm surprised anymore. oh, wait, I remember: how can Kimmi completely defeat McRapey Rapey if the last thing he sees is her nude? -_-' well, I guess she can, but he still gets a show before he goes out...

[autumn_lily]

Hell, DC's been doing some pretty crap-tastic things with some of their characters. They'd probably fridge Plas just to give more hype to Prometheus...

[cf105]

GRRRRRR! I hate it when the Batman described most dangerous person(possibly his Son as well) on the planet gets taken out like a chump. Yes Prometheus took out the League of Gods once but the ones he took out all have relatively easy weaknesses to exploit and even then all he did to Eel was throw Steel's hammer at him. Maybe the original thought up a way to hurt him but kill him? No way.

[autumn_lily]

History has shown that writers are capable of completely ignoring continuity.
I hope they take a break form that trend and have Plas be ok by the end of this. ( and everybody else too!)

[lamashtar]

She never explained the odd choice from the beginning.

[lamashtar]

I'm wondering if that helped her. If she decided to put on this suit which regulates light or something to help channel her power, maybe it was damping her. I mean, in raw power? She outshined Mister Rapey Rape. Doesn't make sense that he beat her all the time.

Seriously, she smacked the Anti-Monitor. She ought to be pretty handy against some lesser minions using his power. But somehow she only starts disintegrating them after her clothes get ripped off.

[beyondthefringe]

I read this issue and I actually felt dirty and skeeved out by it. WTH happened to James Robinson? It's rare that I feel this unclean after a comic book.

I miss the bumbling, ineffective Dr. Light who got rousted by Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys. :(

[jlroberson]

Maybe, but this whole story was just ugly. Which is Robinson's specialty on anything that's not STARMAN or LEAVE IT TO CHANCE. (I'm assuming the latter--I haven't read it) A bunch of confident superheroines reduced to scared little girls holding each other, except Zatanna, who's simply out of the story through most of it(and I'm glad--based on this, I do NOT want to know what happened between her and her dad). All the males conveniently taken out first. And the sexism. And the racism. I know it's coming out of the BLs. But I have to wonder if this is Robinson simply indulging himself.

And I'm sorry, but the issue-long stripping of female Dr. Light--disgusting. Simply disgusting. It amounts to prolonged emotional rape.

[jlroberson]

I thought CRY FOR JUSTICE was an anomaly, but now I see that this is his style now. It's pretty sad; I mean, I just don't think JUSTICE LEAGUE is an appropriate place for this kind of ugly crap.

The point of these events, partly, is to bring new readers that might not already read a book. They managed that with REBELS with me. No such luck here. I now know to stay well away from this book.

[lamashtar]

I wouldn't go THAT far. But yes, it was unnecessary and disgusting.

[ravenous_raven]

/please/ don't let D.C. here you say that, or she'll be nude from now on...

[zordboy]

Agreed.

I rarely touch the "Justice League of America" title these days, and although I am a sucker for big crossovers and I did buy this JLA-Blackest Night two-parter, I don't think I'll be making it much of a habit.

Remember when JLA was one of DC's flagship titles? It's just a bit trashy these days. And Robinson, what happened?

[jlroberson]

Robinson has always shown these tendencies, back to his days as a third-tier Vertigo writer(sorry, but he was). Think back to the GOLDEN AGE and you'll see hints of this, just not as gory.