|
Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2019 13:55:24 GMT -5
The Sinister Six
This has always felt incredibly weak because it's so powerful.
Seriously, if Spidey just barely beat some of these guys one-on-one how am I supposed to believe he, or any hero, can survive against *** SIX *** super-villains ?
That's always annoyed me.
You make an excellent case, but for me, Spidey's successes over the Sinister Six are all the more satisfying because of him overcoming tremendous odds.
|
|
|
Post by hondobrode on Jul 14, 2019 15:53:16 GMT -5
I just re-read Annual # 1 and I like it like a lot of the Silver Age stuff to a certain degree but it's more like the recent Gauntlet, which I didn't read but know about.
If these six decided to coordinate together and strike Spidey at once, they'd probably take him down.
It might've been good for one story one time but I don't know how you can write these 6 as such bunglers they can't take down one Neighborhood Spider-Man between *** 6 *** "super" villains.
|
|
|
Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 14, 2019 16:20:24 GMT -5
What is it about modern superhero/villian team names that irritates me? The Intelligencia, The Illuminati, etc. I think it's the intentional avoidance of joyfully preposterous adjectives in favor of bland modernity.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2019 16:37:32 GMT -5
You do make good points, sir.
I'd love to see the Sinister Six take on other opponents, canonical or otherwise. Imagine Iron Man VS the Sinister Six or Captain America VS Sinister Six.
|
|
|
Post by tarkintino on Jul 14, 2019 17:00:30 GMT -5
What is it about modern superhero/villian team names that irritates me? The Intelligencia, The Illuminati, etc. I think it's the intentional avoidance of joyfully preposterous adjectives in favor of bland modernity. Well, that's the point: since the 1970s, and real intelligence agencies and their activities came to the forefront (including those we were not supposed to know existed), fiction has tried to move away--slowly but surely--from the stereotypical "comic booky", Bond-ian type group names, which some believe sound childish to today's ears. Names don't matter as long as their purpose is believable and well written.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2019 9:48:25 GMT -5
In the TV series, The Professionals, the intelligence agency is CI5.
I think (I stress the word THINK) they may have been inspired by MI5, but given the characters were akin to law enforcement, used "C" rather than "M". Obviously, despite the way the media presents it at times, MI5 agents have no powers of arrest similar to police officers, although we all have citizen's arrest powers.
I remember thinking CI5 sounded credible, but also fantastical.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jul 15, 2019 12:53:39 GMT -5
In the TV series, The Professionals, the intelligence agency is CI5. I think (I stress the word THINK) they may have been inspired by MI5, but given the characters were akin to law enforcement, used "C" rather than "M". Obviously, despite the way the media presents it at times, MI5 agents have no powers of arrest similar to police officers, although we all have citizen's arrest powers. I remember thinking CI5 sounded credible, but also fantastical. CI-5 was chosen as it sounded vaguely like MI-5, but was different enough to justify the premise, which was that they circumvented police powers and were a sort of quasi-intelligence group, but dealing more in criminal matters. It came from the pen of Brian Clemens, who was one of the guiding lights of the classic years of the Avengers tv series. The department name is a sort of mash up of CID (Criminal Investigation Division aka the detectives) and MI-5. The premise was they report to the Home secretary and tasked with handling things beyond police ability, but which didn't fall under MI-5. Of the two main characters, one is a police detective (Martin Shaw, with a perm) and the other was a para (Lewis Collins, of many B-action movies and potential Bond replacement fame).
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jul 15, 2019 12:57:49 GMT -5
I like the Amalgam mash-up comics, I have twenty of the twenty four of them anyway, despite not having any of the 4 Vs. comics that frame it. I thought Spider-Boy Team-Up with variations of the Legion may've been the most fun, and Dr. Strangefate the best written. Amazon with Byrne and Austin was pretty cool, while some others were ruined a bit by that exaggerated '90s artstyle in vogue, so X-Patrol and Magneto and The Magnetic Men were only great in idea. The Man-Thing/Man Bat combo worked out to be pretty neat in Bat-Thing, and Super Soldier also worked out very well being a Captain America/Superman amalgam. Iron Lantern should've been a highlight too but Paul Smith and whoever else made it super bland. Amalgam was the only good thing to come out of Dc vs Marvel and most of them were still better than the official crossovers. I particularly liked Bruce Wayne, Agent of SHIELD, with both Sgt Rock and Sgt Fury working for him. Super Soldier was good for the Dave Gibbons art. As you say, Spider-Boy had the most fun. Karl Kesel was involved in writing both Spider-Boy and Spider-Boy Team-Up and he also had the most fun Superman titles, using things like the Kirby Jimmy Olsen characters, his other kid gangs and people like the Challengers of the Unknown.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2019 13:39:50 GMT -5
In the TV series, The Professionals, the intelligence agency is CI5. I think (I stress the word THINK) they may have been inspired by MI5, but given the characters were akin to law enforcement, used "C" rather than "M". Obviously, despite the way the media presents it at times, MI5 agents have no powers of arrest similar to police officers, although we all have citizen's arrest powers. I remember thinking CI5 sounded credible, but also fantastical. CI-5 was chosen as it sounded vaguely like MI-5, but was different enough to justify the premise, which was that they circumvented police powers and were a sort of quasi-intelligence group, but dealing more in criminal matters. It came from the pen of Brian Clemens, who was one of the guiding lights of the classic years of the Avengers tv series. The department name is a sort of mash up of CID (Criminal Investigation Division aka the detectives) and MI-5. The premise was they report to the Home secretary and tasked with handling things beyond police ability, but which didn't fall under MI-5. Of the two main characters, one is a police detective (Martin Shaw, with a perm) and the other was a para (Lewis Collins, of many B-action movies and potential Bond replacement fame). I think it's a good name. I never liked vague-sounding agencies like "The Company" in the fourth season of Airwolf. Or the vagueness in The Equalizer (great show, though!). I'd prefer either they use a real agency, and stand by that, or create something credible-sounding like CI5.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jul 15, 2019 23:33:58 GMT -5
CI-5 was chosen as it sounded vaguely like MI-5, but was different enough to justify the premise, which was that they circumvented police powers and were a sort of quasi-intelligence group, but dealing more in criminal matters. It came from the pen of Brian Clemens, who was one of the guiding lights of the classic years of the Avengers tv series. The department name is a sort of mash up of CID (Criminal Investigation Division aka the detectives) and MI-5. The premise was they report to the Home secretary and tasked with handling things beyond police ability, but which didn't fall under MI-5. Of the two main characters, one is a police detective (Martin Shaw, with a perm) and the other was a para (Lewis Collins, of many B-action movies and potential Bond replacement fame). I think it's a good name. I never liked vague-sounding agencies like "The Company" in the fourth season of Airwolf. Or the vagueness in The Equalizer (great show, though!). I'd prefer either they use a real agency, and stand by that, or create something credible-sounding like CI5. Well, "The Company" is a euphemism for the CIA; so, it fit. The Equalizer was alluded to be the CIA, though the name Control was taken from Le Carre. Edward Woodwords organization in Callan was even more obscure, as all we knew was that he reported to Hunter and the name of his department is secret from just about everyone. Based on th work he did, it would fall under counter-intelligence, which is MI-5; but, you always got the impression that this was a secret sub-group, who handled dirty tricks that could be disavowed. Kind of like the IMF, in Mission Impossible, since they reproted to "The Secretary" and handled intelligence, counter-intelligence and domestic criminal intel and counter-intel. I kind of like how Kim Newman uses the Diogenes Club, in his stories. He used the idea from Billy Wilder's The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes that Mycroft's Diogenes Club is British Intelligence and Mycroft is the head. Newman takes it a step further that the Diogenes Club handle all of the weird stuff that needs dealt with, similar to some of the wilder Avengers episodes (whose department was never named and Mother was only introduced in the crossover to Tara King). Me, I always liked a good acronym, like UNCLE, ICE or SHIELD. I prefered SHIELD, though, when it was Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law Enforcement Division over Strategic Hazards Intervention Espionage Logistics Directive (or the movies' Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Directive). The original sounded like a quasi-spy/security organization; the others sound like glorified truck drivers. Logistics is about supply and transportation; makes it sound like SHIELD spends its time running inventories and filling requisitions (which is what I used to do in the Navy, as a supply officer). "Col Fury, HYDRA is threatening the president, we need to send a response team!" "Not right now; I have to fill these DD-214s. Tell them to put in a requisition and we will get back to them in 6-8 weeks!"
|
|
|
Post by beccabear67 on Jul 15, 2019 23:54:39 GMT -5
With the butler from Upstairs-Downstairs in charge you know these guys mean business!
|
|
|
Post by Reptisaurus! on Jul 16, 2019 3:54:05 GMT -5
That makes sense... it's definitely true comics sales have no impact on any bottom lines for those companies. I'm not sure I agree about the marketing of the shared universe though... if that was their goal, wouldn't continuity be tighter? The best selling books each month are the books that promote the shared universe, i.e. the cross-over events books. Not always. DCeased (*eyeroll*) is out of continuity, and was the # 2 direct market book in June and the # 1 direct market book in may. Batman: Damned (also out of continuity) was the # 4 best selling book, and the second strongest seller for DC. (Somehow the # 1 book was a Black Cat relaunch and the # 3 book was Silver Surfer. I do not understand the direct market at all.) Also how is Spawn in the top 20?!?! Anyway, what's selling for DC right now seems to be Grim 'N Gritty, not continuity intensive crossovers.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2019 9:58:35 GMT -5
|
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,396
|
Post by shaxper on Jul 16, 2019 11:19:49 GMT -5
The glossier the cover, the more sure I am I won't enjoy the interior. There, I said it.
|
|
|
Post by kirby101 on Jul 16, 2019 12:59:05 GMT -5
Can we assume the superintendent is a "good Christian"?
|
|