Great Lakes Avengers #1

[history79]

Comments

[cainofdreaming]

Is that Shriek back there? Huh. Carnage cheerleader was the last (well, maybe not exactly the last but nearly there) person I'd have expected in a GLA comic.

[captainbellman]

Y'all, I don't care how this shakes out, Big Bertha is super duper hot and I am finding it very difficult to handle it.

[halloweenjack]

That's what she said.

[reveen]

So is Bertha's new deal is that she's still heavyset in normal form, or is that cover just in a different atyle?

[vagabondprince]

Yeah, the comic calls her a plus sized model, so it appears she's always heavyset now, just to varying degrees.

[captainbellman]

Probably best, given that the older status quo for her was...not very friendly to people with eating disorders. The bit later in this issue where she tells Doorman "It's 2016, for God's sake" is significant.

[cyberghostface]

Not surprising that they'd do that given Marvel's current mindset but it seems like they're pretty much missing the point of her character in how people view her based on her appearance even if she's still the same person.

[jekylls_salvation]

Current mindset

Missing the point

Keep going...

[cyberghostface]

I think it's pretty clear what I'm saying. A fairly big part of Bertha's character was about body image and how people treated her differently depending on how she looked.

[captainbellman]

The point of it is that they're approaching it from a position of respect. Rather than a ghoulish joke about bulimia, this version comes from the idea that one can be fat, beautiful and confident. The aspect of the character that you're mourning only highlighted the problem; this version actively combats it.

[cyberghostface]

Has the bulimia gag been a part of the character from her introduction?

[malitia]

There wasn't much yet, but to me it read like she just never changes "back" (she officially changed her name to Bertha too apparently).

[byc]

I've always loved Flatman and Doorman.

[lbd_nytetrayn]

So they give up the name of the Avengers to become Avengers? Wha?

[locuatico]

They gave up ownership of the name in exchange of being an official branch.
This reads to me as the end of a lengthy legal battle that only got resolved because the avengers compromised and made this deal.
I don't know exactly how but it seems flatman had a strong enough case for him actually owning the brand that the avengers had to do this.

[cainofdreaming]

Maybe it's like a trademark. Only with much, much, shorter period until the name goes up for grabs. There was a short bit where there were no Avengers, so Flatman could've grabbed it then.

[vagabondprince]

In the issue they say that back when the Avengers sent a cease and desist to the GLA Flatman had applied for the "Avengers" trademark, which was already held by Tony Stark. But after the events of Secret Wars Tony lost the trademark, for undisclosed reasons, so it defaulted to the only other person who ever applied for it.