Ah just like the time Spidey watched someone commit suicide in front of him...wait what?!

[sigmund_droid]

First post evar! From White Tiger #6



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I was adorable and looked up to old "how to make sure scans daily doesn't yell at you" mod post so hopefully it all worked out.

As for this scan, this is one of the worst characterizations I've ever seen. I mean a room full of superheroes and they all just watch this man (albeit criminal) kill himself in a brutal manner. Let's go through the list:

Black Widow: Assassin, alright fair enough.
White Tiger: Overly tough agenda on crime, not completely out of character for her.
Iron Fist: A stretch for sure, I can see him wanting to honour culture and tradition though, so maybe.
Luke Cage: Big stretch IMO, but again maybe he's just respecting Danny's decision
Spider-man: OH COME ON! Really?! The guy who decided to devote his life to heroics because he didn't act responsibly is just going to let a man kill himself?!

Spidey's characterization has been driven through the mud lately...I...I need a good heroic spidey scan...

Comments

[funbox]

If I ever have time, I'm posting the Straczynski/ Romita Jr. run. It is what I think of when I think Spider-man

[skalja]

Count me in as someone who'd love to see that!

[funbox]

Thanks, I'll try to get it up over spring break :]

[myniamh]

It really is my favourite. I prefer the organic web shooters as well.

[mullon]

Where did you get your icon?

[sigmund_droid]

Oh man, It's like showing up to the party wearing the same dress!

Tbh....I cannot remember. Got it years back.

[k_red]

It's definitely a nice dress, though.

[ametti]

It's like, to me the writer's just taking the seppuku too lightly, almost making a parody out of it. Still, I would argue that someone would have at least shouted "NO!!" or lunged towardsthe guy.. or something to try and stop it.

[kamino_neko]

Iron Fist: A stretch for sure, I can see him wanting to honour culture and tradition though, so maybe.

On the other hand, in that case, I would expect him to pick up on the other part of the tradition - it was common to behead someone who was committing seppuku shortly after they began cutting - they'd barely get a chance to feel the pain. If a hero were going to let him commit seppuku, you'd expect them to at least include the 'minimize the dude's suffering' part.

[neev]

Yeah, I was thinking that too.

[bradhanon]

Also, Iron Fist could probably decapitate the guy with his HAND. And honestly, there's part of me that kinda wants to see that.

[neev]

I'm more annoyed at the complete fuckery that is this depiction of seppuku. That's...uh...not only NOT how you do it, the way it's drawn is physically impossible - there's no way you could actually slice your stomach open and have the blade end where it did. I realize the artist was going for a dramatic blood and guts things but there's plenty of angles that would have accomplished that and made sense as well.

Also I realize that Spidey is supposed to be turning away in distress in that last panel, but he really looks more thoughtful than anything else and it's kind of cracking me up.

[elita_5]

To me, it looks more like Spider-man's trying not to vomit.

[neev]

Well. Yes. Like I said, he's SUPPOSED to look like he's distressed/trying not to vomit/reacting appropriately to the situation, but the artist didn't really...get the body language quite right and it's amusing to me.

[valtyr]

He does look kind of 'hmm'.

[greenmask]

"Hmm. Hey kids, it seems there's something wrong with this picture. But can you help me figure out what it is?"

[fifthie]

Spidey says: NOBODY DIES

except when he's hanging out with the new avengers watching Wolverine murder mooks by the truckload

[glimmung]

What measure is a mook[TVTropes]

[nefrekeptah]

For a minute there I thought you were talking about this scene, and I was going to point out that this was written before OMD, then I looked closer, and realized you were talking about something else entirely.

So... did that happen in this book? If not, when did that happen? Because vow or not, that sounds really unlike any incarnation of Spider-Man that I've seen.

[bariman]

"Everybody lives, Rose. Everybody lives! Except that guy, fuck 'em."

[skalja]

I generally liked the White Tiger mini, even with its "first time comics writer" rough spots, but yeah, that note of characterization was really off.

[mynondw]

Not just watch him -- they tell him he has to do it. Not really my idea of "heroics", really.

[proteus_lives]

Yeah, they would have restain Spidey.

No way Peter lets that go down.

[bariman]

That would also damage those heroes' credibility with Spidey. They hold him back from stopping a guy from killing himself, Spidey would never want to work with them again. He'd probably beat them all up for good measure on his way out.

"Lately?"

[nefrekeptah]

What do you mean "lately"? This mini was written four years ago, and was set before that OMD nonsense.

And Spidey's been acting plenty heroic in recent issues; what with the 'no one dies" promise he made.

Re: "Lately?"

[sigmund_droid]

Sorry I meant Spidey's characterization in general, not specifically his vow to not kill and prevent deaths.

OMG uh I meant OMD was an example of this, a great deal of stuff after was Peter not spidey. Civil war was another example again, not super recent but recent nonetheless.

Spidey has been acting plenty heroic in recent issues, which I am glad for.

[mistervader]

Wait, what? Didn't Spidey just stop a guy from getting himself shot by cops in a recent Spidey comic? I mean, say what you want about BND, but that extreme devotion to "nobody dies" was a nice touch.

This one just completely runs against that.

[blackruzsa]

Damn.
Damn.
Although is it a bad thing that I thought "It's supposed to be spelled as 'otou-san' above "Oh crap seppuku/hara kiri".

Context, though, how/why did he kill his dad?

[tzipwich]

He was aiming for someone else.

[blackruzsa]

Oh.
Well damn.
Still, was there no sympathy? From the pages here, all I'm seeing is, "Why you have killed your father, and though by accident, you must kill yourself too."

Understandably, Japanese culture has ruling, but I'm not sure how well that works in a modern setting?

[selke]

The last panel makes it look like Spidey's trying to read his guts to tell the weather.

[wizardru]

WTF is this, exactly? Who are these dudes? Because unless they're Samurai, they shouldn't be committing seppuku. I'm assuming from the Oyabun reference, they're supposed to be Yakuza? Then there should be cutting going on, perhaps, but not ritual suicide reserved for samurai.

Generally, when a Yakuza commits patricide, he gets marked for death by his fellows. He can take it, if he wants...but there's not particular honor or bonus for emulating samurai in doing so.