scans_daily: Cringeworthy Comicbook Moment: A Page from the New Blue Beetle Series

espanolbot (

espanolbot) wrote in

scans_daily,
@ 2012-02-16 12:11 pm UTC

Entry tags:

char: blue beetle/jaime reyes, char: brenda del vecchio, char: paco tejas, title: blue beetle

Cringeworthy Comicbook Moment: A Page from the New Blue Beetle Series

Probably Spoilers, NSFW: Violence against women
Last time in Blue Beetle! Jaime continued to get dicked around by his DCnU scarab, which stabbed his friend Paco to death to hide his secret identity! To save his friend, Reyes forces the reluctant KhajiDa to heal Pacco with a technobug thing from the suit! Unfortunately although this cures Paco of his violent impalement, it also turned him into a red/black version of Jaime's suit! Also, he's evil now!

Now we're back with Jaime and Pacco meet with the third member of the BFF trio, Brenda, comes into the fray!

...God I hate the reboot of this series.

(Read 37 comments) - (Post a new comment)
(Flat) (Top-level comments only)

	no subject icon_uk 2012-02-16 12:50 pm UTC (link)
	I believe you're missing a LOT of the context for this scene. If Jaime/Beetle hadn't hit her, Paco/Scarab would have killed her. It was definitely a "lesser of two evils" situation. (Reply to this) (Thread) (Hide 17 comments) (Show 17 comments)

	no subject golden_orange 2012-02-16 12:54 pm UTC (link)
	Plus -- and I haven't been following this, so I could be mistaken -- I'm getting a distinct "possessed by something not-so-nice" vibe going on here. Which doesn't make it right or better, of course, just that it doesn't seem like it's Jamie proper here. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 3 comments) (Show 3 comments)

	no subject filthysize 2012-02-16 03:53 pm UTC (link)
	It's kind of obvious isn't it? Both the Blue and Red Beetle are talking about their "organic host," meaning Jamie and Paco. The suits themselves are sentient and doing these things, not them. I wouldn't even call it possession. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 2 comments) (Show 2 comments)

	no subject acton 2012-02-16 11:12 pm UTC (link)
	Spoiler Jamie is faking being "possessed" to trick Paco, who IS "possessed". (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject fleur_de_liz 2012-02-16 11:13 pm UTC (link)
	Jaime's doing it of his own volition. He's pretending to be evil to make Paco's scarab thing back off. He also yelled at his mother and told her that if she didn't let go of Brenda, he'd take Milagro instead. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject wizardru 2012-02-16 12:58 pm UTC (link)
	Well, that makes it better...but I'm still taking a pass on this series. The original was fun and light-hearted with poignant moments. This is just so tonally different, I don't have any interest. I don't envision this version of the comic ever ~~bringing ]a tear to my eye~~ causing my allergies to flare up. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 1 comment) (Show 1 comment)

	no subject icon_uk 2012-02-16 01:50 pm UTC (link)
	I agree that this series is on it's last chance with me, I've yet to see any of the charm of the original and the action, though good, isn't exceptional enough without that charm. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject batman 2012-02-16 09:17 pm UTC (link)
	Yes, because Jaime backhanding an abuse victim is so much better. Bedard could have not written this scene. He chose to. I refuse to give him a pass on a book where our hero backhands someone who has been beaten by her father. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 10 comments) (Show 10 comments)

	no subject randyripoff 2012-02-16 09:42 pm UTC (link)
	FWIW (IIRC), we don't know that Brenda is an abuse victim this time around, although it's likely. I don't think that's been established one way or the other. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 3 comments) (Show 3 comments)

	no subject batman 2012-02-16 09:45 pm UTC (link)
	Bedard said that she was in an interview back in October, which just makes this scene disgusting. We're put in a situation where people are able to say that Jaime hit her for her own good. That's an excuse all abuse victims hear from their abusers. It's horrible implications! (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 2 comments) (Show 2 comments)

	no subject randyripoff 2012-02-16 11:15 pm UTC (link)
	Fair enough. Didn't read that interview. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 1 comment) (Show 1 comment)

	no subject batman 2012-02-16 11:19 pm UTC (link)
	No problem! I figured that the people defending this scene hadn't read it, as I don't think anyone on scans-daily would condone abusing an abuse victim further "for her own good". (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject icon_uk 2012-02-16 09:42 pm UTC (link)
	Has she been beaten by her father in the relaunch? (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 5 comments) (Show 5 comments)

no subject

batman
2012-02-16 09:47 pm UTC (link)

Yes. This is from back in October.

CBR: Since you brought her up, this new Brenda seems very similar to the Brenda from the old series. While writing her, were there big changes to the character and back story (the abusive Dad, the scarily protective Aunt) that you wanted to make, or was Brenda one of the characters you really wanted to keep consistent between the two series?

Tony Bedard: I'd say Brenda is a lot closer to how she was in the previous book. She's a bit of a tomboy who is developing into a lovely young woman. She's tough and takes crap from no one, yet she is abused by her father. The best, most nurturing relationship in her life is with her aunt, whom she doesn't know is a cold-blooded mob boss.

Bedard wrote a scene where a reader is able to take away from it that hitting an abuse victim was for her own good and he did it because he loved her (as a friend but still). That's disgusting.

(Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 4 comments) (Show 4 comments)

	no subject lieut_kettch 2012-02-17 01:50 am UTC (link)
	I think you're underestimating the reader's ability to take things in context. What Jaime did to Brenda was probably not the optimum solution, but it was the only one a inexperienced teenager desperate to save his friend's life could come up with at the moment. It, in no way or form, condones abuse. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 3 comments) (Show 3 comments)

	no subject batman 2012-02-17 02:02 am UTC (link)
	Jaime hitting her is shown to be a heroic act to protect her from something else. Bedard chose to write that scene and to frame it in those terms. You can try to justify it how you like, but the scene is explicit: back handing Brenda is a heroic act and Bedard wrote it. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 2 comments) (Show 2 comments)

	no subject pyrotwilight 2012-02-17 02:11 am UTC (link)
	It's more of lesser of two evils in an awful decision Jaime's thrust in. It's not "heroic" even Jaime doesn't want to do it. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject icon_uk 2012-02-17 10:42 pm UTC (link)
	It's not shown to be "heroic", it's shown to be "pragmatic", a very different thing, and the story makes that clear. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

(Read 37 comments) - (Post a new comment)
(Flat) (Top-level comments only)