Seeing Characters for What We Want, Instead of Who They Are

 

“After much soul searching in his fortress of Basement Apartment, our defender of characters emerges pouring forth a topic he really wanted to talk about. It may be a while until our hero picks up the quill and parchment again, so enjoy what he has to say now!”

 

Hello fellow explorers,

It’s been a while. I didn’t know if I wanted to keep this blog up or not, but decided to give it another go. I think posting weekly will be a bit too hard to do so instead I am going to just do this when I feel like it as a way to relax. After all, thinking about this stuff is a lot of fun for me.

You know what else is fun? My roommate, Andrew. He has a blog all about manga (Japanese comics) that you can check out by just clicking this sentence! Andrew and I spend a lot of time together as we’re not only roommates but really good friends. We read each others comic books, we talk about a lot of cool (and sometimes rather pointless things) and we also watch anime together.

Here’s a fun fact: the term roommate has in its implication that the two people share a room, but usually for two heterosexual guys in their twenties, this is not the case as both of them would need a lot of privacy for all the sex they are having.

IN FACT, if two guys DID share a bedroom, people would consider them a bit more than friends and instead assume they are gay lovers. Case and point, this recent New Yorker cover portraying quite possibly the most recognizable roommates in western culture, Bert and Ernie, as a couple.

I want to put a joke in here, but I think anything I say will be tasteless and offensive. Sorry.

Unfortunately for the New Yorker, Bert and Ernie are, in fact, NOT GAY (those are two separate links, by the way)! They have never been gay, and hopefully never will be. Do I say that because I despise homosexual people and don’t want to see them on a show I haven’t watched since I was five? Nope. I do not harbor any ill-will to gay people.

“I’m holding out for someone who likes bubble baths and rubber duckies.”

I say that I never want to see them turned into gay characters because it takes away from who they are as characters. That is that they are two people who are very different, but manage to be the best of friends despite their differences. which, if you think about it, is a much stronger message for gay rights than making them into a couple. Because if those two can get along despite their differences, can’t we all do the same?

But this is a weird thing, right? In our culture, if two people are close, they are a couple. This is why when growing up if you’re a guy and you had a female best friend, you might get teased relentlessly for having a girlfriend, or why in high school if you don’t have a girlfriend (and especially if you have female friends) then again, you’re the object of ridicule as that means you’re gay.

But that’s just normal, right? I mean, no matter where you go in the world, if two people are always hanging out with one another, they are totally together even if they are guys. Like for real. There will never be a show anywhere in the world where two guys hang out, basically live together, love each other immensely, and are not homosexu…

I think they’re laughing at how narrow-minded some people are…

This is Gon (on the right) and Killua (on the left). They are the two main characters of the Japanese cartoon, Hunter X Hunter and guess what… there is absolutely no indication within the show that these two are lovers! They love each other, that part is fairly obvious by how they treat one another, but the way they treat one another also suggests that they are NOT a homosexual couple.

Before I continue, here’s a disclaimer. The comic book these two originate from (and as the cartoon follows the comic, the cartoon as well) is not done. It could be that older Gon looks to his white haired friend and professes his undying romantic affection for him. But I doubt it.

The funny thing is, this is NOT the only japanese cartoon that does NOT involve a romantic relationship. In fact, a lot of the Japanese cartoons that I have watched that do include a romantic subplot do not have it as its central theme. Some, like my favorite Japanese cartoon which is called One Piece, only has romance as a comedy bit. The creator has stated in the past that he does not plan for any of the characters to hook up. That’s weird, Japan… where’s your obsession with sex?

Here’s the thing. Japan is NOT as crazed about sex as people may think. According to this study, the average Japanese person will have sex 45 times a year which is a lot less than everyone else around the world. this study talks about Japan’s plummeting birthrate due to all the sex they are not having.

The reason I bring this up is that here, we have a problem with Bert and Ernie not being a couple and the reason (probably) is that our culture views sex as kind of an end point. In romantic comedies, it seems the driving force for the couple is the libido. Teen dramas are all about people hooking up and other things that also happen (but mostly people hooking up). Heck, the Transformer movies seem to be more interested in Sam Witwicky and his quest to get laid than those cars that Transform and protect the earth and stuff. In fact, if you look on the IMDb cast list, you’ll notice that the actual transformers aren’t listed until 73 other characters (one of which is only listed as “Moustache Man”) are shown.

“I know that my ancient civil war against the decepticons is important, but not as important as Sam getting to “park his car” in Mikaela’s “garage”… if you know what I mean ;) … I mean sex.”

“Yes, Optimus, we know. We get it.”

Is there life outside of the bedroom? Can two guys in our culture really just be roommates without people lobbying for their right to be married?

This is a heavy-handed topic that I would normally reserve for my other blog, "Walking in the Garden" but I am using this topic for this blog because I hate what this turns characters into. They are no longer themselves, but a walking pile of hormones looking for their next lay. First off, that says something deeply disturbing about our society. It says that, above all, sex is more important than the people having the sex. Should an action be prized above a person? I don’t think so.

Second off, it will get in the way of the narrative. For whatever reason, Sam’s relationship with Mikaela in the Transformer movies took front seat while the ancient robot civil war was pushed into the trunk. It was there because the name of the movie was “Transformers” and that is not because the plot revolved around it.

So I say no more. No more do I want to watch something that HAS to have a romantic subplot. If it has one, it has one and there is nothing I can do about that, but I want people here to know that it doesn’t need one and we should not be too quick to put romantic labels on something that is clearly not romantic in nature.

If you’re looking for something that doesn’t have a heavy-hand in the bedroom, the Scarlet Spider comic out right now has a romance in it, but it’s secondary to the plot which is more focused on kind of a big brother, younger sister relationship between Kain (the Scarlet Spider) and a girl he rescued in the first comic.

By the way, just like Bert and Ernie share a bedroom that has two beds and are best of friends, Andrew and I ALSO share a bedroom with two beds. Neither of us have sex (with others or each other) so we don’t really need one bedroom each. I suppose when you boil everything down, the REAL reason the whole Bert and Ernie thing irks me is that it takes me friendship with Andrew and puts it in a box that it does not belong in.

- Joy-Rider

“There you have it, fellow explorers! The issues of putting everything into a romantic setting AND no mention of Spider-Man (Scarlet Spider is NOT Spider-Man… he’s Spider-Man’s clone… he doesn’t count!). Who knows the next time Joy-Rider will regail us with a defense of a character. Who knows if it will be related to Tim Sale’s portrayal of Batman villains. I mean, I don’t… I’m just an announcer character made up by Joy-Rider… ANYWAYS! TUNE IN NEXT TIME (whenever THAT is).”

Defense of the Young Folk

“Where the crap is our hero? Where did he go?! I DO NOT UNDERSTAND! Joy-Rider, COME BACK!”

Hello explorers,

Woah that was a loooooong hiatus. So, for a while there I was sick… and in school… and doing ministry stuff… and working… and trying to have a social life. Now I am no longer in school (but all that other stuff is still there). I suck at keeping promises when it comes to this blog and I am very sorry to its loyal followers (meaning my roommate and precisely no one else currently… though that may change at one point or another).

My roommate wouldn’t appreciate me posting his real picture, so this is what he looks like in his soul. Also, he wouldn’t like me using this to represent him, but what is he going to do, smother me in my sleep? It’s not like that guy knows where I… oh… oh no…

Well, I’m back now. I guess I shouldn’t have taken on so much. That was immature of me, eh? I mean, only someone who was in Junior High or High School would be so immature! Man, adolescents should not be trusted with anything… ESPECIALLY the responsibilities of being a super hero. Good thing THAT never happened because otherwise it would probably suck.

Sorry, wait a sec. I just saw a picture of Batman with some scrawny guy beside him.

 What is the deal with the speedo? Is it swimming weather already?

Huh… apparently that guy’s name is Robin? Hold on… I’m going to go read a bunch of current comics that feature him and maybe watch a t.v. show or two that has him in it.

___

HOW DID I NOT SEE HOW COOL A TEENAGE SUPER-HERO COULD BE?!

Alright, so I didn’t actually need to read anything. My first exposure to Robin was two-fold. First, the Batman t.v. series from the sixties and second, the animated Batman series from the nineties. I liked both when I was a kid but had more of a heart for the cartoon version. He was like a kid (ok, a college student, but still)! I was a kid! Why shouldn’t I like him?

However, as I grew older I grew away from the teenage super-hero for the most part because I listened to people badmouth Robin a lot. I’m sure you have all heard the jokes. There have been jokes about Robin being Batman’s partner in bed more than his partner in crime, or how it’s stupid that Robin wears bright colors, or that he always gets kidnapped which makes him more of a plot device so Batman can have a story to tell.

“Correct, Dick… And by ‘repair’ I mean make-out with, and by ‘the batmobile’ I mean you ;) “

Yeah, if Robin was a template for what the teenage super-hero was, then man, the teenage super-hero is a stupid and awful thing… except… I mean… Robin wasn’t the only teenage super-hero. There was also this other guy who came a few decades later. He was also a teenage super-hero, and he wasn’t all that bad… in fact, well… it was this guy:

If I ever get sent to a hospital for broken legs and my arm ripped out of my socket, you can blame it on Stan Lee for helping to make such an awesome character!

Yes, Spider-Man! My favorite super-hero of all time is Spider-Man and he got his start when he was just a teenager! In fact, currently there are a few Spider-Man related comics out and one of them is set in an alternate universe where Peter Parker is dead. There, there is a new Spider-Man and he is only thirteen years old and to be honest, I LOVE THAT GUY!

Okay, so Spider-Man was a teenager once and there’s another Spider-Man who is a tween. Fine. Maybe some teenagers can be super-heroes. Maybe the whole problem with Robin (and a lot of other teenage super-heroes in the D.C. universe) is that he is a side-kick and therefore he’s a throwaway. Sure, he’s still in the comic, but really the comic is about Batman, so who really cares about Robin?

Here’s the thing. Up until a year or so ago, I really only thought of Robin in terms of the campy Batman t.v. show from the sixties and the animated series from the nineties that featured a college-age Robin who was not around all that often. That and also the Joel Schumacher Batman films.

Nanananananana, nanananananana BAT-NIPPLES!

And then I read the Batman and Robin comics done by Grant Morrison. Those comics star Dick Grayson (the original Robin) as Batman and Damien Wayne (the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul who was trained to be a very deadly assassin before he was old enough to read) as Robin. That, dear explorers, was a freaking awesome experience! Not only did the original Robin add a LOT when he took on the part of being Batman, Damien Wayne as Robin was pure awesome! I loved it!

The fact is, I have begun loving more and more teen super-heroes and I now love the idea of side-kicks to the point of wanting Miles Morales in the main-line Marvel Universe as a sidekick for Spider-Man. I think sidekicks and teen super-heroes in general have a lot more to offer character development than the adult super-heroes.

First off, being a teenager is a time of discovery no matter what. Are you defined by your music choice and therefore labeled a punk, metal-head, or gangster (or maybe even a ska-kid like I was/am) or are you going to choose a different identifier based on your interests (perhaps you’re in the school band or you’re a drama kid, or a book-worm)? Because people are discovering who they are, they’re usually not as comfortable with that yet and as such people go out of their way to hide who they are in an attempt to find out who they can and can’t be honest with.

This is displayed beautifully in the relationship between Hulkling and Wiccan. These two guys show up in a team called the Young Avengers. They seem to be rather close. After reading the comic for a while, you finally see why. They’re actually a couple! It wasn’t something that was put out right away but there were subtle hints (that got a lot more obvious as the series progressed) that pointed in that direction until you finally knew for sure that, yes, they are a gay couple. That is a teenage thing to do. You hide who you are and maybe only let out subtle hints until finally, it’s discovered.

Be honest with yourself. If you saw this scene and did not already know about Hulkling and Wiccan, would you know they were together as a couple?

Another great way to see character development here is by the mistakes these teens make. When someone utterly fails, it is how they recover from that which determines what they do next. In an episode of Young Justice, the team of former sidekicks end up failing miserably in a simulation. The next episode you see the team each receive some one-on-one counseling. You find out that Robin doesn’t really want to be like Batman and Aqualad is so upset from the failure that he’s ready to resign. From this show of vulnerability, you also see what Kid Flash and Artemis truly think about one another, what truly drives Superboy, and how Miss Martian feels about her part in the previous episode (I don’t want to spoil it if you haven’t seen it, but she takes the whole thing worse than anyone else).

Superman is super. He is virtually impossible to beat. Batman is well trained and has been doing the superhero thing for years. When these guys make mistakes, it’s probably a lot easier for them to come back from the mistakes because they have the experience that will help them deal with the problem at large. The teenage counterparts? Well, Superboy has less of an intense power-set than Superman and Robin is just starting out on his own. While Batman and Superman are set in stone character-wise, Robin and Superboy are more like clay that is slowly taking shape before being put into the oven to harden.

Not only do these characters reveal a lot more about themselves, but they also add a lot more to their adult counterparts. For example, in an episode of Young Justice, you see the Justice League debating the merits of certain people being in the League. Captain Marvel is brought up because the League found out he was actually only ten years old and Batman is quick to come to his defense. Wonder Woman makes a snide comment about Batman bringing in Robin as a crime fighter “at the ripe old age of nine”. Batman mentions how Robin needed to bring his parents murderers to justice. Wonder Woman’s response is pointing out that Batman maybe wants Robin to become just like him, but Batman calmly explains that he invests in Robin so Robin doesn’t become like him. This brings up an interesting question… does Batman hate what he does? If so, why does he do it? Or maybe Batman hates himself which leads down a whole other path that is not good to get into right now.

This also allows for the adult super-hero to confront what they do or who they are. Captain America in the Ultimate Universe blames himself for the death of Peter Parker, so when he sees Miles Morales running around, his first thought and action is to stop him from being Spider-Man. This reveals more than Cap’s blame, though. It also shows how compassionate he is, that he learns from his mistakes, and that he can be sometimes be quite quick to make a decision. All of this from a very simple interaction.

Here’s the downside I have found with most teen superheroes. There comes a point when the writer just ditches subtle nuance or playing around with extravagant failures. These things happen sometimes in huge events and I think they happen because people don’t generally buy as many comics based off of younger heroes. As a result they go for the cheap reveal that doesn’t really make too much sense (like when Striker of Avengers Academy announced he was gay, it came out of nowhere with no real buildup at all). Or maybe they’ll kill someone off too quickly and not bring them back for unexplained reasons (like when Stature of the Young Avengers was killed a few pages after her dad was brought back to life via a time glitch that could have easily been used again but isn’t for kind of a dumb excuse).

Fellow explorers, I urge you to go to the stores and invest in some younger heroes so that maybe they can have the chance to give you some really good stories. After all, teen heroes have a lot to offer because they are teens. They are interesting because they have issues with growing up to go alongside their superpowers, they have to discover who they are while fighting evil, and Their failures are more harsh than an older heroes failures because they’re not used to failure yet and they may not know exactly what they want out of life.

I guess my overall point is this; if you truly want to have a story that will be loaded with character development or a story that will force you to pick up on subtle clues, then pick up a story about a teen superhero and be prepared to be surprised by how good it is!

Sincerely,

Joy-Rider

 

“Joy-Rider did it! He spoke very little about Spider-Man (though still perhaps a bit too much). He has made certain promises, however, about being more faithful to this blog! Can he do it? Will he bring up Spider-Man again? Will someone other than his roommate read this? Find out the answer to some of the questions next time on, “In Character”!”

Beginnings Part 2: Do Clothes Make the Spider-Man?

“When we last left our hero, he went in depth about Shepherd Book, a man who not only has a strong character, but everything about him speaks to his character. Now we look at a bit of a different side of character development… CLOTHING! Does the clothes a character wear help define him or her? What do our clothes say about us? Let’s see what Joy-Rider has to say about this topic!”

Hello explorers!

Holy late-post, Batman! Yes, yes… I wanted to do this weekly and it turns out, I fail. Please accept my apologies and this imaginary basket of goodies. What’s that? You want to know what’s in the imaginary basket of goodies? Well sure! I can tell you that!

Let’s see… what do we have here… some durian, some chocolate, a rainbow, two tickets to New York, David Bowie, a Spider-Man costume, a… what’s that? You want to know why I included a Spider-Man costume for your imagination? You do realize I also gave your imagination a human being… in fact I gave you a rock star. Also a rainbow and durian! Don’t you want to know about those things? No? You want to know about Spider-Man’s costume? Well ok… if you insist!

Before we get into it, I just wanted to do a bit of a disclaimer. Alan Kistler (Agent of S.T.Y.L.E) has already gone in depth with Spidey's costume, so I am not going to just copy and paste his work here. I linked both the archive of his blogs and the Spider-Man one in particular for a reason. Alan Kistler is amazing and he has done a great job of talking about what works as a Spider-Man costume and what does not.

MY main goal is to look at a few of the costumes (not most of Spidey’s costumes which Kistler did) and to talk about what these things say about Spider-Man. I will be borrowing a lot from Kistler (because his article was amazing) and I will try to at least reference him each time, but I won’t do what he has already done so well.

So Spider-Man. If you’re reading my blog, you’re probably someone who knows me and have me on your facebook. If that is true, then you probably have seen this as my profile pic once or twice:

Yes, Spider-Man. He is by far my favorite Super-Hero and he has a pretty awesome costume. I love every piece of it. I love the color scheme, the eyes, the patterns… I love it all!

Recently I watched a youtube video by Crazy Sexy Geeks. Check these guys out! They are awesome (and one of them is Kistler who I have already raved about)! From what I have seen on their channel, they look at different superhero costumes and comment on what works and what does not. One of their older videos features a whole slew of different characters (mostly from D.C.). They ended the first part of the video with Spider-Man and commented on three of his different costumes.

I highly suggest watching the video itself as it is worth your time, but I would like to say a few things here.

First, let’s look at a picture that shows this costume a little bit more:

This costume is kind of bizarre. I’m not sure how it works, but it does.  The bug-eyes, the web design. The red, the blue… it all fits so well together. The back is also simple. It just has a different (and much larger) red spider on a blue background. Here’s what that looks like:

In the video I posted above, Tim Gunn mentions how  this whole costume works together. He says that “you can’t imagine taking any component out of it” and it’s true. Everything about Spider-Man’s costume here is needed. But the question I ask here on this blog is, how does this relate to character?

I think the best way to answer this question is to ask what the colors are saying. The colors we choose to wear often say a lot about who we are. If you were to see someone walking around in all black, all the time, you might assume that they lead a very sad life because black is often associated with sadness.

Spider-Man is wearing mostly red and blue (as a lot of super-heroes do). So let’s talk about those two colors.

By the way. I am judging these colors on my own perceptions of what they mean because that is the way it should be interpreted. I am not saying that my opinion is the way that it should be interpreted, but that someone should use their own first-look impressions to judge a costume in order to find out what it says about the person wearing it. Their judgments may be different than mine and I hope anyone with a different opinion will tell me so in the comments but the point of a costume is to tell the passer-by what the hero or villain is about. Even Hulk’s torn pants will tell someone something about Hulk. The hero or villain needs to be able to pass that information along without relying on the passerby having enough education to discern the exact meaning. That’s why most heroes don’t dress in all black. If they did, they would more likely send a message contrary to the truth.

Red:

Whenever I look at red, I think about sacrifice because red is the color of blood and blood is usually involved in sacrifice. Because Spider-Man’s costume is mostly red, I think I would feel safe if he came onto a crime scene where I was the victim because I would understand that he would sacrifice a lot to save me. This is pretty basic so I don’t want to go into a lot of detail here.

Blue:

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about blue is creation. Even though Peter Parker is an inventor, I don’t think that is the reason Spider-Man wears blue. No, I think it has more to do with the second thing that comes to mind; Peace. Blue reminds me of a peaceful pond where the air stands still and one could enjoy a good book. It’s not hard to picture Spider-Man bringing peace. I think a more interesting question is, “who is he trying to bring peace to?”

Think about it. Spider-Man did not start out as a hero. He started out as an entertainer (more on that later). It was only after his Uncle Ben got shot that he started to take an invested interest in the citizens of New York. He blames himself for his Uncle Ben’s murder. In fact, this is a common trend with Spider-Man.

In a story arc that came out last year, J. Jonah Jameson’s wife was murdered while Spider-Man tried to protect her. Spider-Man took it hard. He had a dream in which everyone who he has ever let die or was somewhat responsible for their death appeared (Amazing Spider-Man #655). Everyone haunted him. Every death. The way Spider-Man deals with this is by vowing to protect everyone from now on. He built a new suit (another thing to talk about later) and went after a mass murderer. He defended everyone. He even defended the murderer when the police sniper tried to take the murderer out.

Why is Spider-Man working so hard to protect even a murderer?  I think it goes back to Spider-Man’s dream. The fact that he had the dream in the first place is very telling. He doesn’t want anyone’s death on his conscious. He’s not like Wolverine. He can’t just let someone die. In fact, in Amazing Spider-Man #595, Wolverine and Spider-Man have a conversation about whether or not it is a good idea to kill Norman Osborn. Wolverine advises Spider-Man to do it if Spidey gets the chance and Spidey agrees, but I think it’s clear from the context that Spider-Man would probably have to give it more thought.

All this to say that Spider-Man is probably very preoccupied with the idea of gaining peace even to the point of protecting a known killer or worse, not killing Norman Osborn! I think it is safe to say that Spider-Man does not want another death on his conscience. I think that Spider-Man’s version of inner peace only comes from New York City’s outer peace (a lack of crime).

In a way, this reveals a lot about Spider-Man. Even though he is so self giving, he seems a bit selfish in that one of the reasons he does these things is for his own state of mind. It’s like his selflessness comes out of his selfishness. Notice I said one of the reasons. I don’t believe that Spider-Man is completely selfish, I just think that may be a huge part of him. Also, I think having a desire to help people (no matter the reason) is a good thing. It may not be a noble thing, for example if the only reason you’re doing it is for attention, but Spider-Man seems to not be doing this for attention at all. Let us also remember that if Spider-Man was fully selfish, he would just forget about all the people in his life and wouldn’t care who lived and who died. No, Spider-Man makes a decision that no one dies on his watch even when it would be easier to let some people die. It’s not all about his peace of mind.

The Combination:

Want to know one of the things that comes to mind when I think of the combination of red and blue? I guess if you’re reading this blog, you do. Anyways:

When I first saw this picture in google images, the purple looked a lot more like blue. In fact, there is a lot of different images on google where red and blue are the most prominent colors. I chose this picture because of what it looked like on a smaller scale (like I said, I mistook the purple for blue) and because it was one of the first images on google when I looked up the word 'Jester’.

The point is that Spider-Man uses a lighter shade of both red and blue that may be more akin to that of an entertainer. In fact, as mentioned above, that was the first purpose of his costume… to entertain people. Before Parker’s Uncle died, Spider-Man was only an entertainer, using his powers to bring in some cash. What’s great about this is that Spider-Man never really stops playing the jester. Whenever he is fighting someone, he jokes around with them. Part of it is so he can distract his enemy, but another part of it is so he can hide his fear (we’ll talk about that in a bit as well). Regardless of why Spider-Man jokes around, he does it! He is a bit of a jester at heart! Spider-Man’s humor is a big part of his character and this costumes helps to illustrate that!

Alright! So we have covered a LOT of ground here! But there is one last thing that is common to all of Spider-Man’s costumes that we have to look at before moving on to the symbiote suit (and a couple others). Spider-Man’s suit covers everything!

As mentioned in the video I linked to above near the start of this blog, anyone could be under Spider-Man’s costume as long as they had a similar body-type. Spider-Man could be a fifty year old black man. He could be a fourteen year old Hispanic. He could be a twenty-five year old Asian man. If I had a smaller gut, Spider-Man could even be me! No one knows just who Spider-Man is, which is fortunate because really, until he was a bit more established, Peter Parker was a nobody as well!

My first (and only) bit of fame was when I appeared in a video on youtube for Grace Randolph’s Think about the Ink. This may be a very good show, but it is on youtube and only viewed by just over 10,000 subscribers and anyone who has had one of her videos shared with them.

What I’m trying to say is that I am by no means famous. If I were to gain spider-powers and became a masked vigilante, and some guy yanked off my mask in the middle of a battle, as long as I got away, I don’t think there would be much of a chance of that guy finding me. After all, I am a nobody.

Being a nobody can be quite impactful to who somebody is. There can be kind of a self defeating attitude in being a “nobody”. Spider-Man has a bit of this going on. Because he’s a nobody, it sometimes surprises him when people who are more like celebrities take advice from him. For example, at the beginning of the Big Time story arc, Iron Man asks for Spidey’s advice and Spider-Man responds by saying, “Wow! Iron Man’s asking me for tech support? Pinch me.” (emphasis not added) (Amazing Spider-Man #648). Spider-Man has a bit of a low self esteem and other people pick up on it. In fact, a little bit after the previous dialogue, Wolverine says, “Taking orders from Parker. Never gonna hear the end a’ this.” implying that it may be a shameful thing to take orders from a guy like Peter Parker.

The reason this “nobody attitude” is important to the full body suit, is that the full body suit (as mentioned before) hides Peter completely. When Peter wears his suit, nobody knows who he is. He is completely hidden. If there was shame or self-esteem issues that someone was struggling with, the first thing they may do is try to hide themselves as best they can.

Now I am not saying that was always Spider-Man’s intentions. Remember, he started out as an entertainer. Back then the suit was used to hide his boyish face so he could make money without letting people know who he is. However, a death of someone close can change a person a lot. Especially if you blame yourself for that death.

Spider-Man may have started out by hiding his boyish face, but he probably kept hiding himself because of the shame he felt over the death of his Uncle.

The Symbiote:

Alright, now let us take a look at Spider-Man’s most famous alternate costume. Here it is in all its glory:

As Alan Kistler pointed out in his article, this was not the first appearance of Spider-Man’s black suit, but it is the origin of the suit which is why I chose this image. When Tim Gunn of Project Runaway saw the suit, he said he did not like it as it was “too literal”.

Personally, I like the black suit on Spider-Man and here’s why.

Black is often associated with evil, and when someone wears the symbiote, the symbiote influences the way they think and act. Now Alan Kistler did mention how when the symbiote was first introduced, it did not affect how Spider-Man behaved at all. It just made him fight crime in his sleep and tried to take him over. I want to make it abundantly clear that I do not disagree with Mr. Kistler on that point. HOWEVER (as Alan himself points out) it was later decided that the symbiote does in fact influence the personality of  the person who wears it!

In other words, this aspect of the suit was a retcon (an alteration of previously established facts in a fictional world). This means that if the stories involving Spider-Man’s black suit were ever told again, it would have to include the suit changing Spider-Man’s behavior to match the later additions to the suits character. Incidentally, this means that when the symbiote is portrayed in the movies or tv shows and is shown to change Peter’s character, those shows should be considered more accurate than the comics themselves! (That has nothing to do with character, I just find it funny that one aspect of Spider-Man 3 was more accurate than the comics despite it being a terrible movie).

With that in mind, let’s look at the way Spider-Man and Peter Parker act when the symbiote shows up in the amazing show, The Spectacular Spider-Man! Coincidentally, I chose this rendition of Spider-Man because I feel that the symbiote arc in the show is the closest thing that comes to the truth of the whole matter. No other medium, not the films, not the first appearance of the symbiote, not the Ultimate Universe comes close to really getting to the heart of who this symbiote is and why it’s such a big deal (I may talk about that in a future blog post… we’ll see).

The first thing we see of the symbiote influencing Spider-Man’s personality comes from the last little bit of episode ten of season one. Spider-Man is talking to Captain Stacy when Stacy mentions that the police will catch whoever stole the alien from Doctor Connor’s lab (referring to the symbiote). Spider-Man responds by beginning to tell the truth, but then “he” thinks to himself that he needs the suit to help people. It is unclear if this is the symbiote forcing himself on Spider-Man or if this is the suit posing his thoughts as Spider-Man’s own thoughts. Later it becomes a bit more clear it was the symbiote talking in Spidey’s head. But later on, as the symbiote takes more and more control, Peter starts to act a lot differently. Peter becomes such a huge jerk to his friends, that his biggest bully at school, Flash Thompson, has to talk some sense into him.

There’s another point in the episode entitled Group Therapy (season one episode eleven) where Spider-Man does in fact go out while sleeping to take care of the Sinister Six. Although this is Spider-Man sleeping and so it is expected, I want to talk about how Spider-Man is silent throughout this whole fight. I think it’s safe to assume that the symbiote is in full control at this point, but still, the cold silence of Spider-Man while he is beating the tar out of his enemies is quite disturbing. No longer is this the fun-loving Spider-Man. This is a completely selfish Spider-Man. All he cares about at this point is self preservation. In this sense, I think I would disagree with Alan Kistler when he says the suit does not reflect Spider-Man’s fun-loving personality, I think the suit perfectly matches what the ret-conned story would have been if it was written.

Later on in the series, Spider-Man puts on a cloth version of the black suit. The first time he does it, he’s doing it because the Black Cat basically asked him to, which was stated in Alan Kistler’s article. Kistler then went on to talk about how Spider-Man wore the suit again after the events of Civil War where everyone knew who Spider-Man was, he was wanted by the police, he was being chased by people who hate him, and his Aunt May had been shot! Basically, Spider-Man was in a dark place, and he was a dark man in these times as well. For example, he threatened to kill Kingpin for organizing the “hit” on Peter Parker that led to Peter’s aunt being shot (Amazing Spider-Man #542). By the way, this threat was delivered after Peter Parker (he took off his suit for this fight) beat Kingpin to near death in front of all of Kingpin’s fellow prisoners. Yes, Spider-Man broke into jail, beat some of the crap out of Kingpin, took off his costume, beat the rest of the crap out of Kingpin, and then threatened to kill Kingpin in an excruciating way. He then issues that threat to anyone who would dare come after anyone Peter loves. This is a dark man. This black and white suit matches his character quite well in these moments.

So I have talked about Spidey’s first costume, and then I have talked about Spidey’s second most famous costume, so now let’s talk about a couple of Spider-Man’s latest costumes.

The black suit made a comeback at the end of Civil War, but Spider-Man wore a distinctive suit at the beginning of Civil War as well! This other costume was at least well received enough for Marvel to use it in their terrible Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon. And while the cartoon remains a black eye on the Spider-Man franchise and should not be considered when looking into his character, the suit should be looked at. So without any further stalling, I give you, The Stark Armor:

Remind you of anyone? If anything, the name should at least ring a bell. This armor was designed by Tony Stark for Spider-Man and it paves the way for Civil War. In Amazing Spider-Man #536 we find out that Tony Stark put a fail-safe in the suit in case Spider-Man ever went against Tony (which Spider-Man did). The reason I bring this up is because it shows what the relationship between Tony and Peter was. It’s less like a friend relationship and more like a father-son relationship with Tony being an overbearing father and Peter being a dutiful son. In fact, in Spider-Man #544 Peter is in an argument with Tony and Peter remarks how Tony was like a father to Peter.

I like how that relationship is seen because it makes a lot more sense when Peter blindly follows Tony into the events of Civil War. I talked earlier about one of the reasons why Spider-Man probably hid every physical feature he could, but there is another more basic reason for Peter hiding himself. to protect the people close to him.

I mean, his Aunt May raised him alongside his Uncle Ben. Not only that, but he took care of her when Uncle Ben died. Peter loved his aunt a lot and it would probably destroy him if anything ever happened to her which is probably why the character has not died of old age yet!

Peter cares deeply for his Aunt May and for the other people in his life. A good way for a superhero to protect those around him is to cover up his identity in order to make sure nobody goes after him or anyone he loves.

Because Peter cares so deeply for his aunt, his friends, and his wife (at the time) there would be no way he would ever reveal his secret identity to anyone… that is of course, unless Stark asked him to which is exactly what happened at the end of the second issue of Civil War.

Peter’s new Iron-Spider suit (or the Stark Armor as I called it earlier) makes Spider-Man looks like Iron Man Jr., and just like the son Iron Man never had, Spider-Man was willing to do something he would normally never do because Tony asked him to. It is a great symbol of what is actually going on inside Peter’s head.

Next, let’s look at the costumes Spider-Man designed to fight off various people:

In Amazing Spider-Man #650, Spider-Man is seen wearing this costume:

In Amazing Spider-Man #656, he is wearing this costume:

The reason I show these costumes is because they are more reminiscent of Spider-Man’s black and white suit, but only the second one (with the yellow spider in front) caries with it an attitude that matches the suit. When he is wearing that suit, he is not playing any games. He is serious. He wants to take down the bad guy and do it without anyone dying. When he’s wearing the other suit, he is joking around as usual. I really love the first suit because I think it looks really cool but I like how the second suit is introduced more. Both these suits were created only for specific functions (the first one for Spider-Man to sneak around and cancel out Hobgoblin’s sonic laugh and the second one so that Spider-Man has bullet-proof protection). Because they are only used for certain events, Spider-Man goes back to the original suit after those specific suits have served their purpose. The reason why I like the second suit’s introduction a bit more, is because, as I said before, Spider-Man carries with that suit the attitude that matches it. His character while wearing that suit is well demonstrated when he is in that suit!

It’s a dark, more serious design (look how sleek and menacing those eyes appear to be) and at that time, Spider-Man has a darker, more serious outlook. Remember, this is around the same time when Peter was struggling with the death of J. Jonah Jameson’s wife.

Another alternate suit that has been seen this past year is the one Spider-Man wore for the Future Foundation (the new Fantastic Four team sans the Human Torch). Take a look at this one:

Oh man. What I would give to hear what Tim Gunn has to say about this monstrosity! This thing is ugly and Spider-Man does proclaim his disdain for it in Amazing Spider-Man #658. Although this suit is butt-ugly (and, according to Spider-Man, makes him look like a super-villain) it does say a few things about Spider-Man’s character (and the goals of the Future Foundation).

First off, white is a color of purity and Spider-Man has a pure desire to be a part of the Future Foundation. Peter Parker also has a pure desire to gain in knowledge. By the way, when I see white like that, I sometimes think light, and light is sometimes also linked to a pursuit of knowledge.

Second, this suit also tells me that its purpose is not to fight crime. White is a terrible color to fight crime in! Can you imagine how dirty it would look by the end of one fight? Blood stains, dirt, grass… I would hate to get the dry-cleaning bill for this suit. No, the suit looks futuristic, and part of exploring is to seek out the future. Even though one should also not wear a white suit to go exploring (or after Labor Day) it is easier to associate this suit with exploring than it is for fighting crime, which is a good thing seeing as the Fantastic Four have traditionally been explorers instead of crime fighters. Yes, yes, they also fight crime, but the origin of their powers even comes from exploration.

Anyways. There have been other Spider-Man suits, but as you can see, I was already able to say a lot about the suits that I did mention and I don’t think I even covered everything (for instance, what do the bug-eyes say about Spider-Man’s personality?) The truth of the matter is, when you have a great character like Spider-Man, there is a lot you can say about him. What is really great is that his various suits help tell that story. Is Spider-Man sacrificial? Well, he is wearing red! Could Spider-Man be ashamed of himself? Well he is hiding all of his body!

I hope, dear explorers, that you have thoroughly enjoyed this (extensive) talk about the relationship between clothing and character! I’ll try to be back next week with something new. For now two things:

First, leave a comment telling me what you agreed/disagreed with and what you might want to see from a future blog post!

Second, go to your local comic store, pick up a copy of your favorite super hero, read it and think about what that character’s clothing might be saying about her or him!

Sincerely,

Joy-Rider

“Joy-Rider certainly had a lot to say about Spider-Man, but can he keep up with this kind of in depth look for characters he is less familiar with?! Tune in next time… same Joy-Rider website, same Joy-Rider update!”

Beginnings Part 1: The Good Shepherd

“When we last left our hero, he had introduced himself as a champion of character! Now, he aims to take on Joss Whedon’s character, Shepherd Book from the popular one-season t.v. show, Firefly. Will Joy-Rider find something good about this character? Or is Shepherd Book really a wolf in sheep’s clothing? Read on, dear explorers to find out!”

 

Hello all!

First off, I need to know what to call you people. In the blurb above, you were called explorers. Is that good with you? If you’re reading my blog, it probably means you want to explore character a lot better so maybe explorers is the best word for you… for now, that’s what I am going to call the readers of this blog. So… yeah…

Hello explorers!

As mentioned above, today we will be looking at Shepherd Book from Firefly. The reason I wanted to tackle this character was because of how Christians are normally portrayed in media. I am a Christian and I have seen a lot of Christians portrayed in really two different ways. In V for Vendetta, Christians are portrayed a power-hungry government control freaks. Although this portrayal is seen in real life (Just check out Rick Perry’s terrible Strong video on youtube… clearly a “Christian” who is trying to force his view of morality on others) I feel like it is an unfair portrayal of the average Christian. No, to find a fair portrayal of the average Christian, you have to go to the movie Easy A starring Emma Stone. In it, she runs into a group of “Christians” who are overly judgmental and have no problem with being sinful because, well, they have God on their side. This attitude is seen most often in fringe groups like Westboro Baptist Church but I have also seen it in famous preachers (who I will not name) who lead thousands of people in their congregation. I have also seen it in students at the Christian college I go to. Students, by the way, who are studying to be pastors and missionaries.

I put the word “Christian” in quotes because I do not believe these people represent what it means to be a Christian. They may say they are Christians, but they do not act like Christians. They think the best thing to do is to force their ways on others or to judge people harshly even though they don’t know them. They feel sin is perfectly acceptable because they have a relationship with Jesus (something I would question because of their actions).

Then you have Shepherd Book. He is the type of Pastor I want to be when (if) I graduate. I could tell you all the reasons I love Shepherd Book, but this is a character study and so instead I am going to look at how Christianity affects the way Shepherd Book acts in certain situations. After all, no one really refers to his first name even though he has one. His connection to Jesus is so prevalent to his character that everyone just refers to him by his title (Shepherd is used in place of the title “Pastor” or “Minister”). I’m going to look at a few different things about Shepherd Book (the way he looks, the way he acts, etc.…) in order to flesh out how this is influenced by his Christianity. So let’s jump right in, shall we?

Appearance:

What we look like and how we talk is often a great reflection of who we are inside and it is also the first thing we notice about people. I wear a lot of green and use a lot of green when I present myself because I am all about regeneration and life. Green is often associated with trees and other plants which usually have a tendency to grow back and live after being torn down.

Take a look at Shepherd Book. What do you notice?

His smile and eyes give him away quite well. The smile is only slight. It is neither big nor extravagant. It tells me that he is a simple man. His eyes show a mixture of joy and forethought or wisdom if you will. I think it could be safe to assume he is at peace, but he has a lot of experience, He has a past. Beyond that, his clothes are simple. Grey is a very neutral color and he is often seen wearing it. He is also seen standing up for what’s right instead of what others may perceive to be right making grey the best color for him to wear.

Overall, Shepherd Book looks like a man who yearns for peace and has some of it as well. The other examples of Christians I listed above seemed to have a flare for the extravagant. It shows in some of the things they wear and in the way they act. Although (according to the Bible) Jesus was pretty a pretty extravagant guy, He was always humble and preferred a simple way of life. He also encouraged others to live a simple life. Everything about Shepherd Book’s outfit and face says that about him He’s not dumb, but he is simple and wants a simple, peaceful solution to any and all problems he comes across.

Behavior:

Obviously, the most important part of someone’s character is not so much what they look like but how they act on a day-to-day basis. Shepherd Book may look like a peaceful man with tons of experience, but if he doesn’t live that way, what good is it?

The first thing that really impressed me about how Shepherd Book lives is the way he treated Inara. While Malcolm Reynolds treated her like a common whore (she was a prostitute, but she was also a bit more than that according to the culture they all live in) Shepherd Book treated her like a human being and an equal. In fact, his second meeting with her was when he brought food into her shuttle, Inara commented to Shepherd Book visiting her by saying, “So… would you like to lecture me on the wickedness of my ways”.

Shepherd Book responds by saying, “I brought you some supper, but if you prefer a lecture, I have a few very catchy ones prepped. Sin and hell fire. One even has lepers.”

Of course you lose something when it is written out like that. You lose the sarcasm. Shepherd Book was being playful with someone who (according to the book he follows) is beneath him morally. He is more concerned with showing her love than showing her contempt or judgment. He brings her food and shows love to her. It reminds me of the story of the woman caught in adultery. After Jesus told the people hurting the female adulterer that only someone without sin could cast the first stone, everyone started walking away. When Jesus and this woman were alone, Jesus (eventually) told her to go and sin no more. He didn’t excuse what she did, but he didn’t hold it against her either.

Because nothing extreme has happened yet (there were only introductions at this point… no fighting) we can only conclude that Shepherd Book acts like this on a regular basis. This is his go-to stance. See someone, love them. That is who Shepherd Book is.

Extreme Situations:

Shepherd Book at one point quotes a warrior poet from 208 b.c. who says something along the lines of, "Live with a man forty years. Share his house, his meals… speak on every subject… then tie him up, and hold him over the volcano's edge. And on that day, you will finally meet the man.” The meaning of this is quite clear; you don’t know a man until you’ve seen him in the most extreme situation.

Luckily, being a sci-fi action show, there are plenty of extreme situations in the first episode!

*SPOILERS*

So, there is a part in the first episode where they find a traitor on board. The traitor ends up being a government official looking for two other passengers on board (not the crew, but passengers). Shepherd Book warns the captain of this betrayal but he also protects the government official despite the possibility of Shepherd Book being killed by the crew of the ship. All he is, after all, is another passenger and one they have only just met. Why should they spare his life? Shepherd Book lays his own life on the line for someone who is quite possibly a terrible enemy. One does not have to stretch their imagination too far to see Jesus doing this for someone else. After all, Jesus did tell people to love their enemies!

*END SPOILERS*

There are many other circumstances where Shepherd Book shows he is a man who knows what the right thing to do is even if it looks like the worst thing to do. If I had not rambled on so much earlier, I could tell you, but if I did that, then you may not watch the show (which you really should do). Shepherd Book is willing to suffer and die so that the right thing can be upheld.

All in all, Shepherd Book is the best representation of Christianity I have ever seen in pop-culture. He is simple, loving, peaceful, and willing to sacrifice. He is truly a great Christian.

But is he a good character? Well, I would say, yes, he is. A good character should remind us of ourselves so we have a connection to them. Even a villain has to remind us a bit about ourselves if the villain is to be a good character. For example, the Joker. In The Dark Knight, the Joker is not presented as a bumbling fool. He is presented as a criminal genius who wants to spread anarchy. As sick as this is, I’ve felt that way before. I’ve wanted anarchy, or at least a watered down version of it. Back in my high school days, I smoked pot and did not understand why it was illegal. I was willing to break the law, because what is the law good for if I can’t get high? A great example of this is the law against distracted driving. It causes accidents and the lives of innocent people, but a lot of people do it. Why? Because they don’t think the law should apply to them. The Joker is the most extreme example of this that I have seen, but it’s the same idea, really. He reminds us what anarchy is and he reminds us that we do at times desire it.

Shepherd Book does the opposite. He reminds us that good is worth fighting for. He reminds us of our nobler spirit. The one that tells us to buck up and do the right thing! It’s easy to look at a prostitute and not agree with what she’s doing. It’s a lot harder to look at one, not agree with what she’s doing, and then offer her food without forcing your beliefs on her. Shepherd Book is well thought out. He has dimensions to him. He doubts his faith and actions at times, but he stays true to who he is.

Joss Whedon didn’t just make a great character, he made a great Christian character. He made up someone who is loving to everyone but discerns the best way to show that love. He dresses according to how he acts, and he acts in a way that speaks to how he presents himself in every other regard.

Shepherd Book is a wonderful character.

Well, that is my first attempt at looking critically at a character. Let me know, oh fellow explorers, what you think about Shepherd Book. Also, let me know what I should do in the future. Stay tuned next week (or whenever I decide to write another one of these) for another look In Character!

Sincerely,

Joy-Rider!

 

“Who will Joy-Rider look at next? Will it be a friend, or foe? Find out next time in: IN CHARACTER!”

Introduction: Our Hero Steps Forward!

Hello to everyone reading this!

My name is Joshua but on the interwebs I go by Sir Joshua: The Joy-Rider! I have another blog where I talk about spiritual stuffs but this blog is something I have been considering for a while. You see, a lot of people (I find at least) don't really get the idea of good character and what makes a character someone worth watching. With the popularity of the Transformer movie franchise and with shows like Ultimate Spider-Man coming out, I felt it was time to lay in my two cents on the subject of quality. Remember, just because you enjoy something, it doesn't make it good. Last night I thoroughly enjoyed watching Snakes on a Plane starring Samuel Jackson. Is it a good movie? No way! Is it fun to watch with a bunch of friends? You bet!

This blog aims to understand what makes a character great and what makes a character lousy. I hope to look at things that may not be things most people look at when they consider a character. For instance, I may look at a word associated with a character or maybe a device they use. These things on their own may seem insignificant, but they could reveal something very true to who a character is.

I hope to mostly focus on comic book characters but as I am a bit of a sci-fi and video game nerd as well, those things are not off the table. Also, I have watched a movie or two outside those genres so I will probably go all across pop-culture to explore characters in any setting. Stay tuned, oh readers, for this will get interesting!

Sincerely,

Joy-Rider