The Twelve Days of Who's Who! Part Six: from Quakemaster to Scarecrow (1985-1989)

[about_faces]

Today's batch is coming much later because apparently I had a lot to say about several characters here. I've been going through waves of feeling totally burned out interspersed with MUST TALK ABOUT MY OPINIONS ON THIS CHARACTER'S ENTIRE HISTORY and then crashing again. Thankfully, tomorrow's group is almost entirely made up of some serious Z-

Comments

[about_faces]

Oh! I have that trilogy. All I remember is Shiva's stuff, since O'Neil's Shiva was awesome.



Also, my favorite lines of hers: "I believe in letting people do as they wish, as do I myself. Sometimes, of course, what I wish to do is kill them and they do not wish to die. This gives life interest."

O'Neil's Question is a series very worth reading, flaws and all. I wish I could also recommend Grell's Green Arrow from that same era, but I haven't gotten into much of what I've read beyond The Longbow Hunters. Still, I highly recommend O'Neil and Adams' GL/GA just for historical purposes, as well as crack. Ollie's a great character. He's an utter bastard.

Yeah, Charlie Adlard didn't do Ozzie any favors in that story from what I recall.

[psychopathicus]

I think Shiva works best when she's written this way, as a mysterious character whose motivations are obscure at best, and who you know could kick your ass, because she could kick ANYBODY'S ass. She's become far too relatable of late, and people are BEATING her. That is WRONG. You do not freaking BEAT Lady Shiva in hand-to-hand combat - or if you do, it should be as the result of a truly awesome, drawn-out battle that has readers holding their breath and going 'Ho. Lee. Crap.' Otherwise, what the hell is the POINT of such a character? If she's the untouchable best, then let her be the untouchable best!

[about_faces]

She's become far too relatable of late, and people are BEATING her. That is WRONG. You do not freaking BEAT Lady Shiva in hand-to-hand combat...

This, this, this. Man, I rag on O'Neil a lot here (most of it affectionate ragging, I hope!), but it seems like he's the only writer who has ever understood her. There are very few other comic characters who are best when written by their original creators, but Shiva's definitely one of them. Unfortunately, she had to be offered up the The Villain To Beat in Batgirl, and I think it's been downhill for her ever since. But heck, even around the time of that wonderful panel I posted, Shiva's guest appearances in things like Starlin's A Death in the Family didn't sound, act, nor even LOOK like the same character at all.

She's the untouchable best. That's exactly who she is, and who she's supposed to be.

[psychopathicus]

Well, Batgirl KINDA made sense. She'd already been made out to be this incredible badass at the time, and she did have a family connection with her, Shiva being her mom and all, so that one does sort of work. But it should have been the notable exception to the rule, not the start of a landslide. Batgirl? OK - ONCE. Batgirl, Robin, Prometheus, all within (I think) a few months? NO, NO, and NO.