Paracelsus

It just occurred to me that the Skrull Empire( which of course first appeared in FF 3 back in 1962) has, consciously or otherwise a suggestive allegory for the late unlamented Soviet Union during the Cold War era.

Both societies were highly militaristic, aggressive and utterly ruthless in pursuing their objectives as well as given to Orwellian double speak such as when Skrull officials speak of spreading "peace throughout the galaxy"( the only peace they seek is is eivdiently on their own terms and involves the subjugation or extermination of all other planets/lifeforms).

I am aware that others have noted similar things about the Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, Borg, Dominion, Species 8472 in the Star Trek canon but it is certainly a school of thought worth pursuing.

Anybody think as I do?

It's possible I suppose-anything that encouraged America's -and by extension Earth's- superheroes to fight one another rather than the Skrulls is a good thing, from the point of view of the Empire!

Terry

All they can do is assume the physical appearance of someone(esp heroes)-with the exception of the Super Skrull and Lyja "Laura Green"( who could assume the abilities of all four members of the Fantastic Four and the blindness of Alicia Masters respectively) much like their Dire Wraith cousins and earth born shapeshifters like Mystique or the Chameleon-but not their powers.

Terry

I tend to agree- heroes should keep their headquarters a closely guarded secret(or at the very least as far from any populated areas as is practical- as the Russian superhero group, the Winter Guard, tends to do according to "Darkstar and the Winter Guard"; they use a converted Dire Wraith facility known as the "Citadel" in deepest Siberia. If concerned citizens wish to get in touch with them( the Guard that is), they can easily do so via their website/or email. Only the most reckless of thrill seekers would live anywhere next to Avengers Mansion/Tower/The Baxter Building due to the risk of it being attacked(sometimes on a daily basis) by super villains. Also, the group in question should have one or more backup locations in case it is compromised(accidentally or otherwise).

Terry

I'm not certain that Cap would make a good spy hunter- remember, like counter-terrorism nowadays, counter espionage calls for patience, sublety and tact- NOT the "wham, bang" of super heroics, besides, given that the Soviet Union has been defunct for twenty years this December, any "sleeper agents" will be pretty much comatose(ie become Americans in every sense)!

Terry

My advice to would be teen heroes/heroines is to wait until they are legally adults(in the US at 18, they can drink beer and join the military)before telling their parents(and presumably siblings) and"coming out of the closet"( I don't use the comparison to declaring one's sexuality by accident) and swearing them all to secrecy( you don't want Uncle Irwin having a few too many drinks at the office Christmas party and saying their nephew/niece/cousin is really(insert name of hero/heroine here)!

Terry

Firstly, I doubt very much if Bruce Wayne is the ONLY millionaire in Gotham City( the only BILLIONAIRE maybe) so that by itself is not proof positive of his identity. You try visualizing the society blade or mindless party animal as the grim masked avenger of the night( in the old "Wonder Woman" TV series, it was a running gag that nobody including Steve Trevor seriously thought that the frumpy/dowdy Diana Prince could possibly be the self same Amazon Princess)! Secondly as to DNA tests via blood as to our hero/heroine's identity, in X_MEN #159, after Storm is hospitalized after being attacked by Dracula, Wolverine notes that a mutant's blood contains factors not found in normal humans, so our hero (esp if a mutant) would be well advised NEVER to be a blood donor or have to seek medical attention(or if they MUST seek medical attention, find a doctor who can be relied upon to be discreet, preferably one struck off the State medical register) - my advice is as with Seraph in the novel I'm writing, she claims in her "secret identity" to suffer from an unnamed disease/illness that not only requires frequent travel for "health reasons", but means that she can not donate blood on medical grounds

(two birds with one stone- few want to be seen as bullying a woman who may be terminally ill but has an ironclad refusal to controibute to any Red Cross blood drives). Unfortunately, she inadvertently cuts herself whilst opening a tin and Sue Richards saves the blood stained tissue and brings it to hubby Reed for analysis, and her secret is blown!

Terry

I dunno- if you look back to the Marvel comics of the early 1960s( beginning with the FF/Hulk/ Daredevil/Spider-Man), you'll either chuckle or grit your teeth over the overt Cold War polemics often expressed by the stories or characters therein as well as the absurdly over-idealized version of American society( no people of colour or references to civil rights/segregation). It's been my experience that when people(esp on the conservative Right) complain about "politics" in comic books, they usually mean "politics of which we disapprove of"(pace the Tea Party, criticism of the Vietnam War, racial injustice)-the William F Buckleys, Pat Buchanans and Rush Limbaughs made no complaint about the "dastardly Reds" storylines in both Marvel and DC titles of the time any more than they did when Ronald Reagan or Arnold Schwarzenegger ran for public( both as conservative Republicans for the Governorship of California although Reagan was entitled as a native born American to seek the US Presidency)office- so much for the argument that celebrities should "stay out of politics".

Like beauty, what constitutes politics is arguably in the eye of the ideological beholder!

Terry

Can you imagine what Spidey or Cap or any of the X-Men/Avengers/FF would write in their diaries/journals- "Dear diary, today I travelled off planet/ backwards forwards in time/fought vampires/ saved all of creation from (insert super menace here)"?

Terry

What about Big Hero 6 or China Force?

Terry