Huntress #6: The Happy Conclusion (unlike the rest of Earth-2 right now...)

[aeka]

Forget what actually happens with Ibn Hassan, I'm just going to get straight to the scene that matters most in this series conclusion!








PEEEEEEEEEEEEEGE! Just like old times. ♥

She looks so majestic here, I don't think there's enough squee in the world to describe how happy this makes me. This especially made me smile:

"We've both been busy, haven't we...partner."

Tries not to read too far into that line. :3

Comments

[shadowpsykie]

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE

okay. i have to admit that was nice... still don't like that we lost helena B... not one bit... but i am not gonna lie and say this was not a GREAT mini, and can't wait for the other two seriesesses

[darkknightjrk]

I'm trying to figure out how I feel about this mini in general--on one hand, there have been some fun lines/moments, and HOT DAMN THAT MARCUS TO ART.

However...this mini eventually became very formulaic--sneak into a place, mess shit up, escape, sneak into a place, mess shit up escape, sneak into a place, mess shit up, escape, and so on and so forth. It's almost like Levitz had an idea for a one-shot that was awkwardly expanded into a mini-series.

Hopefully, Levitz doesn't follow such a strict formula for Worlds' Finest.

[aeka]

My experience reading Levitz' pre-Crisis Huntress stories is that he does conclude story arcs in a timely fashion and excels best when he write's character-driven stories. Since this was a mini and was given a fixed number of issues to write with a clear objective, he didn't really have much creative control here.

If he's given free reign on Worlds' Finest, I'm sure he'll do fine since he's always been great with characterisation. More than likely, his stories on Worlds' Finest will be more character driven than plot-driven like this mini was.

[darkknightjrk]

I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it--in fact, I would think having six issues would make him try to be creative and do something unique with each issue, something I don't think he really did.

[aeka]

To give you some perspective, if he had more creative control, he would've concluded this story in just three issues. But he had to write six issues, so he had to write some fillers. Or at least, I felt issues 2-3 were filler issues. :/

[darkknightjrk]

I think that almost makes my point more. If he had to spread out his story a bit more, couldn't he have at least done some different action sequences?

[aeka]

Not really.

[jaybee3]

Makes me wish Marcus To was drawing the World's Finest title. The man really knows how to draw pretty people with nice hair.

The Michael Holt (Mr.T) line would have worked sooo much better if "Karen Starr" hadn't been written so poorly and not even as a real love interest (basically as a cipher even and even without drawn a bit differently - skinnier and not as muscular as To's). In retrospect, I think they really dropped the ball with the Mr. Terrific title. The character deserved better. Maybe they can move him to Earth-2 too?

[darkknightjrk]

Totally agreed about Mister Terrific. I forget where I read it from, but someone mentioned a far better candidate for writing him--Sholly Fisch, who over in the Action Comics back-ups wrote a better African-American scientist in Steel in 40 pages then Wallace did in over 100.

But hey--maybe Levitz might pick up Terrific and start writing him over in Worlds' Finest. :)

[shadowpsykie]

yeah the Mr. T title was not at all interesting what so ever. it's a pitty really, The Writer is such a nice guy (met him at SDCC) but the series was seriously lackluster

[jlbarnett]

the writer seemed to want to make his atheism the most interesting thing about him.

And his revamped origin wasn't great.

Old DCU: I'm suicidal because I lost my wife, but thanks to meeting a superhero I realized I could still do a great deal and found the strength to carry on.

DCnU: I'm suicidal because I lost my wife, then I meet my son from the future so not only do I decide to live I decide to risk my life and this my unborn son on a daily basis.

[jaybee3]

The thing is Mr. Terrific completely fit into the JSA as a legacy character because his origin made so much sense - he was in the same situation (a man who had reached the peak of human abilities and was now contemplating suicide) as a man he had never met (Terry Sloane) but used the original Mr. Terrific's story to give meaning to his own life. It explained why Michael took on Terry's original cheesy slogan (Fair Play) and why he wore a "T" on his face (he was explicitly taking on a super-hero persona just as the original did). I had no idea what the rebooted Mr. Terrific's motivation was to be well...a guy who called himself "Mr.Terrific" and whatever reason the book did give it was never going to be as good as his previous one.

Just like with so many of the unnecessary costume changes (Mandarin collars for everyone, give Power Girl a "P" logo, have Superman wear armor, give "Shazam" a hood), the reboot of Mr. Terrific was just not as good as what DC discarded. You really get the sense that with the exception of the 4 Robins (which seem clearly a case of Editorial favoritism to me), the new DC despises even the idea of Legacy characters.

[darkknightjrk]

Oh. Oh, man. I just had an idea.

What if in the New 52, after the accident Michael was sent to the hospital to tend to his wounds, gets put in a room, and his roommate is a strangely verile old man named Terry Sloane, this 80 year-old man with the body of a man in his 40s, and the two get to talking--Michael about what happened, and Terry about being in the same place and using his skills to help people as an adventurer (not super-hero) nick-named Mr. Terrific, which inspires Michael to follow in his footsteps.

Not only do you get just about the same origin with little problem, but you also do it in a way that nicely subverts the old "magical negro" troupe.

[jaybee3]

This is a pretty good idea - better than the explanation they've come up with so far.

[aeka]

Makes me wish Marcus To was drawing the World's Finest title. The man really knows how to draw pretty people with nice hair.

Same, I love the way he draws women. If I had to change one of the artists on Worlds' Finest, I'd replace Kevin Maguire with Marcus To. Nothing against Maguire, but the way he draws women's faces always look so strange to me. :/

Much motto on how poorly Peege was handled on Mr. T's book, though iirc, I believe they're moving Mr. T over to Justice League when his solo series concludes. And truthfully, considering the kind of Earth-2 James Robinson is writing, Michael is FAR better off staying where he is now. :(

[darkknightjrk]

"I believe they're moving Mr. T over to Justice League when his solo series concludes"

Really? Do you remember where you heard that? I don't remember hearing that at all. I know they've said they're going to try to get a lot of the cancelled characters into other books--OMAC in JLI, Static in Teen Titans, etc., but hadn't heard that one.

[aeka]

I'm pretty sure it was on the DC Source back when the cancellations were first announced. They did say that the heroes in the books that were being cancelled were going to appear in other books, and I'm pretty sure it was stated Mr. Terrific was going to join the Justice League.

[mrstatham]

I'd imagine it was planned for him to join anyway; Was he part of that big spread of heroes that they showed a while back, with all twelve League members? I can't remember, but characters who haven't joined yet, like Green Arrow, were definitely on there.

[darkknightjrk]

Here's the pic you're talking about it, but Michael isn't part of it.



Though, to be fair, I'm not sure if I see many of those characters becoming part of the team fairly soon (Ryan, GA, Element Woman and Mera, probably--Firestorm, not so much).

[mrstatham]

Firestorm has pretty much crashed and burned as a title, so I agree with you there, but Johns and Lee have already confirmed that there will be a larger lineup than their big Seven, in time. Lee designed Element Woman, anyway, so there's bound to be at least some favouritism there, and Johns was bound to put Mera on his team anyway, given the positive reception to her in Brightest Day.

[jlbarnett]

I honestly wondered if she wasn't supposed to be a real love interest. Like they were friends who appeared at social gatherings together instead of getting actual dates.

[auggie18]

Okay, this is the first picture of DCnU Power Girl that I think looks good. The preview pics, her role in Mr Terrific...


I know art is a luck of the draw thing, but still. Nice to see that some people out there can still draw a nice looking PG.


Plus, adorable BFF. I love Bat/Super friendships.

[atom_punk]

Heh. I like how the police officers are on the roof in the bottom left of the last page.

One has his hands on his knees panting, while the other is pushing up the brim of his cap as if to say:

"Yup. Those are two extremely attractive, fashionably dressed women flying away in defiance of the laws of physics....I'm not even gonna try to shoot them. Instead I'm gonna head back down, grab a coffee and forget this ever happened." XD

Also, not to repeat what has already been said but THAT ART!!!

[terabient]

I am going to read ALL the things in that last line. ;o NO REGRETS.

And I am always happy to see comic book ladies wearing fashionable and sensible clothing.

[thatnickguy]

Karen arrived chest in time!

...

Just! Just! I said just!

[darkknightjrk]

It's okay, and I agree--Peegee came in at a boobtiful time. :D

[q99]

Wow, that is totally Power Girl :)

[swatkat]

FINE I'LL READ THIS

[sunaya]

Can Marcus To just draw everything forever? Pleaaassseee?

[liara_shadowsong]

Well, the art is pretty, I love Peej, and I am damn well going to read as much into that last line as I want, LOL. Me likey.

[mrstatham]

"Michael had a few good points - His book wasn't one of them."

O-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[mrstatham]

Joking aside, and as pleased as I am to see a proper Power Girl as opposed to just the lazy use of her in Mr Terrific, that has to be one of the laziest fucking endings to a series EVER.

I mean, I know DC is hoping that people who read this will go on to read World's Finest, but seriously.

[filthysize]

Yeah, what the hell? The cute banter doesn't erase the fact that they concluded a series by putting the hero into a chase scene and then in the last page have another hero deus ex machinad out of nowhere to bail her ass and deliver an advertisement for another series.

[mrstatham]

Yeah. On the one hand, Levitz writing Karen/Kara has given me way, way more faith for decent treatment on her behalf in the DCnU in one page than the writer of Mister Terrific ever could, but on the other, that's the single lousiest bailout I've seen in years. It just reeks of the notion that DC decided to throw Karen and Helena together for WF about midway through Huntress being done as a mini.

[gerardotejada]

Isnt that how things work around DC since Didio started as an Editor in Chief

[mrstatham]

Umm. No. One or two things aside, DC has had relatively good coordination during Didio's tenure and things do seem to have developed fairly organically. The New52 reboot has defied that.

[gerardotejada]

Things has gotten worse but during Didio there was no planing, to include Identity Crisis as part of Infinite Crisis was thought after the relase of the first, Countdown was planed months before It started, cordinations of Final Crisis and Blackest Night didnt existed, the Flashpoint series was thought in the midle of Geoff run, etc.

Things were planed maybe one or two months earlier, even the whole planing of Infinite Crisis was changed in some aspects at last hour. One or two months of preparation is nothing. Since Didio´s supervision editorial planing has been desapearing slowly.

Editorial planing doesnt just mean "hey I have an Idea" but serious work, the whole act of the DC Nation column to make everything see as It was "planed since the begining" makes nosense when you see what were they publishing at the time.

Changes in script and artist at last hour were all over Robinson´s run on Justice League as in many other books.

And If they was any cordination there was no comunication, not good comunication at least.

But if by organicall you means that they have developed as they go, then I completly agree.

[gerardotejada]

Bravo DC, you just sinked both Huntress and Power Girl by linking them to Mister Terrific´s series. Is like linking the whole Sandman to Countdown.

This is strike two, please let World´s Finest be Awsome, you have more than TEN YEARS OF ARCHIVES oh I forgot, this days authors dont do research because they are to lazy to do real work or good writing.

But this is Levitz, and he did a perfect work in Adventure Comics with Phil Jimenez.

Was becasue both or just because of Jimenez? Cause the new Legion kind of Sucks.