NEW LONGBOX: "MY COMIC BOOK HIT LIST!"

[Type40]

Okay, I agree with Proto on MANY of these characters...but I have to draw the line on THREE of them!

Sorry Proto, but your usual infalliable comics wisdom has finally fallen woefully short!

GORILLA GRODD


When written correctly (see Geoff Johns' run on Flash), Grodd is a MAJOR BADASS! Think about it; he's a moral-less super-intelligent telepath, and a gigantic bloodthirsty bull ape! He's the comic equivalent of chocolate and peanut butter baby! With hair!

Grodd has NO QUALMS about killing a 'puny human' with his bare teeth, and almost did numerous times to the Flash during this run! And if that's not enough, during his prison breakout he grabbed Flash's friend Hunter Zolomon, lifted him over his head and casually SNAPPED HIS SPINE...basically for 'esses and gees'! He's the one Rogue that makes the Flash afraid (CANON FACT!), and that's saying something. Read Johns' run on Flash, then decide...that is, if you've actually read them. You got his origins totally incorrect, so I wonder...

CAPTAIN COLD


Another cool (pardon the pun) villain, pick up THIS ISSUE to see why. It'll change your mind faster than athe sledgehammer of truth that is Colbert.



APOCALYPSE


Okay, so you were right on this character...BUT ONLY WHEN NOT WRITTEN AND DRAWN BY WALTER SIMONSON WHO IS LORD FOREVER AND EVER AMEN! And that is all I have to say about that.

Don't get me wrong, Proto, I do love your columns. However, you were SERIOUSLY off base on these three...okay, on the first two. Do yourself the favor of reading the entire Geoff Johns run of the Flash. It was a great run, fleshed out the characters, and was from Johns' 'MAGICAL TIME'. That mystical period before he was lured off to write the editor-laided dog turd that is 'Infinite Crisis'...you know, when he was a GOOD writer.

[Protoclown]

Well, I suppose we all have our own opinions, eh? I'm admittedly "playing up" my hatred of some of these characters for the sake of the column, but by and large in most of the instances I've seen them, they've been portrayed incredibly lamely. Soooo many people love Apocalypse and talk about how "badass" he is, but he's one of those guys who if you really think about for more than a few minutes just seems really quite stupid.

Admittedly, I've seen very little of Gorilla Grodd and Captain Cold in action, having never been a huge Flash fan, and I pulled a lot of my Grodd info off of Wikipedia. Geoff Johns is one of those guys who can make just about any character seem awesome though...and I wouldn't say he's lost his writing talent at all. I've immensely enjoyed his run on the new Justice Society of America, Action Comics, and I hear he's doing great things on Green Lantern though I only read the first issue of the relaunch.

Would I ACTUALLY want to kill any of these characters if I ever got a writing gig at DC or Marvel? Probably not. I'd be more inclined to simply ignore most of them, or perhaps try my hand at making some of them seem cooler/less ridiculous than they've been in the past.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on these characters though. Perhaps I will check out Johns's Flash run to see what I've been missing.

[Type40]

Originally Posted by Protoclown

Well, I suppose we all have our own opinions, eh? I'm admittedly "playing up" my hatred of some of these characters for the sake of the column, but by and large in most of the instances I've seen them, they've been portrayed incredibly lamely. Soooo many people love Apocalypse and talk about how "badass" he is, but he's one of those guys who if you really think about for more than a few minutes just seems really quite stupid.

Admittedly, I've seen very little of Gorilla Grodd and Captain Cold in action, having never been a huge Flash fan, and I pulled a lot of my Grodd info off of Wikipedia. Geoff Johns is one of those guys who can make just about any character seem awesome though...and I wouldn't say he's lost his writing talent at all. I've immensely enjoyed his run on the new Justice Society of America, Action Comics, and I hear he's doing great things on Green Lantern though I only read the first issue of the relaunch.

Would I ACTUALLY want to kill any of these characters if I ever got a writing gig at DC or Marvel? Probably not. I'd be more inclined to simply ignore most of them, or perhaps try my hand at making some of them seem cooler/less ridiculous than they've been in the past.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on these characters though. Perhaps I will check out Johns's Flash run to see what I've been missing.

Heya Proto! Thanks for writing back.

Yeah, Apocalypse hasn't been used correctly since the Simonson run, and even then he was kinda lame (sorry Walter). The biggest issue I have is the fluctuating nature of his powers, the whole 'Cable Askani-Son' B.S. they foisted on the readers, and how he's become the 'Deus Ex Machina' of the mutant universe. Need a big bad? Need someone dead-and-or-resurrected? Call Apocalypse! Meh.

Geoff has always been GOOD at JSA, but his Flash run was when he was GREAT. Trust me, once you read his Flash run, you'll start wondering why he's been slacking on his other titles (IMHO, of course). Find the issues online or borrow them (can get kinda pricey if bought at once) they are worth reading.