Panels of Awesome!

Seems as if DC doesn’t really own Superman anymore, meaning that Superman (and all other supporting characters) is up in the air, ready to be bought by another company, IF DC cannot pay for the rights of Superman. I am actually pretty concerned about this: I don’t want Superman owned by any other company. I want Superman to be owned by DC. I mean, say if Marvel bought Superman, that would be so weird for me. I’m thinking if Marvel are going to buy Superman or not. Though it’s not just Marvel buying Superman; it’s other publishers as well, though I’m not sure how those smaller companies will stack up against Marvel. DC and Marvel have always competed against each other, rushing to release the latest and greatest stories so that’s why I’m thinking that Marvel will buy Superman. Why eliminate the competition when you can get it on your side? Though one part of me says that Marvel won’t buy Superman, but I think that part of me is just in denial about Superman not being DC anymore.

Another problem is fitting Superman into their history and universe. Fitting all of this history, so it runs parallel with other characters will be really problematic. Even if editors take the route of fitting his history into the whatever comic publisher’s universe he will be bought by, there could be some things that will conflict with each other. There have been great moments in Superman’s history. One example would be the storyline, The Death of Superman. That arguably could be one of the best “up there” storylines in comics history, but it would be a real downer just to have that taken away from him, or to be changed, just to fit [enter comics publisher]’s history.

This means quite a lot to me. Superman was the first hero exposed to me, which manifested into the love and appreciation of comics I have today. Without him, I would have never branched out and discovered the other great comics of today (*cough* Wonder Woman *cough*). I had somehow managed to watch the first Superman movie on TV when I was very young, and I’m pretty sure my mother had something to do with leading me to watching the movie. I really liked the movie; it was the whole “saving the world/helping people out” kind of thing which I got a kick out of. I have to admit, some of the values, views and morals I have today is because of Superman. While Superman was knocked off as my number hero by Wonder Woman, I will always have a deep respect for him; a different kind of respect I have towards Wonder Woman. It’s hard to explain, but I’m pretty sure most Superman fans will understand what I’m talking about. I’m just afraid they’ll change Superman into something that he’s not. His character is what made him the Superman we see today. To have that changed would be just so devastating.

Though I think in the end I’ll be okay with this. Most of the times I am very wary of change, though it’s inevitable and I should just really accept it. As long as solid stories and character development are still being churned out under the name of Superman, I’ll be happy.

And now onto something involving Wonder Woman. In Wonder Woman #18, some fans found her courting Nemesis to be beneath her and didn’t like it. Personally, it didn’t affect me that much, mostly because it didn’t rub me the wrong way. But since people have been putting their two cents into it, I thought I should probably write a bit on it.

Okay, I’m fine with this. I don’t mind Wonder Woman having a loving relationship. She is in good hands now - in Gail Simone’s hands - and I totally have faith in Simone. She is a great (great is an understatement) writer and to have her pull off a relationship like this will definitely go down in comics history as one of the greatest writing moments ever (in my opinion, at least). In the issue, Wonder Woman courts him by giving him a necklace and bracelet of some sort, which signifies that the whole courting thing is going on now. While Nemesis has been portrayed as, shall we say, “douche-y” with the earlier issues of Wonder Woman, he can be written well if the writer wants to write him well. Wonder Woman, coming from a race which follows the lifestyle of ancient Greeks, you would expect Wonder Woman to be sexually liberated, though much has not been explored about her relationships and such. Some people assume that just because she has not had a relationship, she is a virgin, as a woman who has no idea about sex and as a woman who is a working stiff. I’ve got to disagree there as anything that doesn’t happen on-panel doesn’t mean it’s not official.

If you compare this to her other parts of her love life, this is definitely an improvement. This time, she is the active participant in the pursuing of a relationship. You of course have the whole girly-crush which Wonder Woman had on Superman, and also other supporting male characters who have had crushes on Wonder Woman. However, none of those were really followed up and it’s good to see that Wonder Woman is pursuing something. I will admit that Nemesis is definitely under Wonder Woman; what he has done as an agent is small potatoes to what Wonder Woman has achieved, but then again, which man is worthy for Wonder Woman? But like I said before, the fact that Wonder Woman is pursuing is an exciting thing (at least for me), and, well, Wonder Woman sees Nemesis as worthy so we should probably just leave it at that. Besides, Superman is married to Lois Lane, so does that make Lois unworthy? Of course not, as Lois may have been a role model for Superman when he started his journalism career.

And the last piece of news:

It quite possibly could be Stephanie Brown, but I’m pretty sure it is. If is really is her, then I expect some kind of solo series thanks to the hype and tension of her coming back. Though I’m glad she’s back! She may not have been the best Robin, but I think she certainly did have qualities as a superhero that were right; she did good things because she was good. That’s it, really; you don’t need an explanation.