Green Lantern Corps

October 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Fictional group historyGuardians

Main article: Guardians of the Universe

The Guardians of the Universe are one of several races that originated on the planet Maltus, and were among the first intelligent life forms in the universe. At this time they were tall greyish blue humanoids with black hair. They became scientists and thinkers, experimenting on the worlds around them. In a pivotal moment, billions of years ago, a Maltusian named Krona used time-bending technology to observe the beginning of the Universe. However, this experiment unleashed disaster upon all existence. Originally, the experiment splintered the Universe into the Multiverse and created the evil Anti-Matter Universe. Following the retroactive destruction of the Multiverse, it was revealed that Krona flooded the beginning of the Universe with entropy causing it “to be born YOUNG”.

The male Maltusians argued about how to deal with the situation. One group decided to dedicate their eternal existences to contain evil; this group fractured into the Guardians of the Universe and the Controllers. The females, however, saw no need to involve themselves and, since the Oans were by then immortal and had no more need to reproduce, left their mates and became known as the Zamarons. Relocating to the planet Oa at “the center of the Universe”, the Guardians dedicated themselves to combatting evil and create an orderly universe. During this period they slowly evolved into their current appearance.

Manhunters-”Massacre of Sector 666″

Main article: Manhunters

In their first attempt to enforce their will and guard against menaces of all sorts, about 3.5 billion years ago the Guardians created a legion of robotic sentinels called the Manhunters. At first serving faithfully to enforce order, in time the Manhunters came to resent their servitude and the moral restrictions the guardians decreed of them. They were also found to be inherently flawed due to their inability to recognize or feel emotions. They rebelled against the Guardians and fought a millennia long war that culminated with an attack on the planet Oa. The Guardians overcame their android servants, stripped them of their power, and banished them across the universe. Eventually, the surviving Manhunters formed their own robotic society and pursued their own interpretation of their original mission (which often included interfering with and foiling the plans of the Guardians).

In the Martian Manhunter series, the Guardians first get the idea for an intergalactic police force from the Martians’ own Manhunters. They offer the Martian race the opportunity to be that force. The Martians turn it down, but the Guardians take the name for the androids.

In Green Lantern: Secret Origins, it is revealed that the Manhunters suffered from a malfunction in their logic. This led them to believe that order could only be achieved by eliminating all life. They rampaged through Sector 666, massacring trillions in the process. The only survivors banded together to form the Five Inversions, swearing revenge on the Guardians for the actions of their creations.

Creation of the Corps

Chastened by the failure of the Manhunters, the Guardians decided that their newest force of soldiers for good would consist of living beings, ones who had free will and strong moral character. To arm this new legion of celestial knights, the Guardians created the Power Rings, rings of inconceivably-advanced technology that allowed their wearers to project green beams of energy with which the bearer could conjure objects of any size or shape, limited only by their imagination and willpower.

Although the connection between the Guardian Oans and the origin of the Green Lantern symbol has yet to be clarified, it has been revealed that the lantern itself has its roots in the first life in the universe. Allegedly, the first life in the galaxy emerged on an unnamed foggy world, and when they developed a police force – the first in the universe – the constabulary carried a lantern lit with a green chemical flame, hence a corps of Green Lanterns. It is intimated that this idea was adopted and spread throughout the galaxy as a symbol for law and justice and its ability to pierce confusion and uncertainty, eventually resulting in the formation of the Green Lantern Corps, with requisite Power Rings and Lantern-shaped batteries along traditional lines. Initially consisting of only a few dozen agents at a time, the Corps radically increased its numbers approximately 1000 years ago. The Guardians sought to bring order to the planet known as Apokolips. Home to Darkseid, a galactic tyrant, Apokolips was and is a stronghold of evil. Green Lantern Raker Qarrigat sought to remove Darkseid from power, only to be humbled by Darkseid’s might. Raker returned to Oa, where he convinced the Guardians that taking Apokolips would require an army. Authorized to start a massive recruitment, Raker and his fellow Lanterns inducted thousands of new members, bringing total membership up to 3600.

Crisis and aftermath

Both the Corps and the Guardians suffered casualties during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. The Guardians’ failure to take appropriate action during the Crisis led to their decision to depart Oa in the company of their female counterparts, the Zamarons. Left to their own devices, the Corps underwent a major reorganization. A team of Green Lanterns led by Hal Jordan was stationed on Earth, and the system of assigning one Green Lantern to a sector was temporarily abandoned. The decision of the Corps to execute Sinestro resulted in the activation of a previously unknown fail-safe that depowered the rings of every Green Lantern except for Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, Gnort, and Ch’p.

The Guardians eventually returned to Oa and began the reconstruction of the Corps, assigning Guy Gardner to Earth, John Stewart to the Mosaic World, and Hal Jordan to recruit new members. Ironically, Jordan himself would eventually be responsible for destroying the incarnation of the Corps that he had helped create.

Fall of the Corps

The Green Lantern Corps patrolled the DC Universe for over three billion years. In that vast length of time, some Green Lanterns rebelled and turned against the Corps. A rogue Green Lantern, Universo, existed in the future epoch of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Two of the most important fallen Lanterns were Sinestro, the rogue Green Lantern, and Hal Jordan, who would unknowingly become possessed by Parallax, the ancient fear parasite trapped in the Battery. At the ruins of his home Coast City, Jordan was consumed by grief, which in turn allowed him to be overcome by fear&#8230 all the while not knowing that his fear was tainted by the creature Parallax. This was also being planned by Sinestro when he imprisoned in the Battery.

The Green Lantern Corps ranks were decimated by the Parallax-possessed Jordan. The Corps&#8217 power source, the Central Power Battery, was drained by Jordan; and Oa was destroyed, removing the original power source for the rings. One Guardian, Ganthet, survived Jordan’s onslaught, and chose a young artist, Kyle Rayner, as the sole Green Lantern of the Corps. Rayner would eventually becomes Parallax&#8217s arch-nemesis, and during their first battle, Rayner purposely triggered a chain reaction to Oa&#8217s core, causing the planet to explode.

After the fall of the Corps, other organizations tried to fill in the power vacuum left by the Guardians. Two organizations had initial notable successes: the Darkstars and L.E.G.I.O.N. However, neither ever achieved the power and reach of the Green Lantern Corps.

The Lost Lanterns

The Lost Lanterns were a group of Green Lanterns that tried to stop Parallax from reaching Oa. Parallax defeated them in space and after Parallax destroyed the Corps, they were assumed to be dead. Instead, they were captured by the Manhunters and taken to Biot, the Manhunter homeworld in Sector 3601. They were used in various experiments to design and power new Manhunter models. They were eventually found and rescued by the resurrected Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner. They rejoined the Corps, albeit with some difficult adjustment. Despite learning of Parallax&#8217s possession of Hal Jordan, many still blame him for their captivity and cluster to themselves when summoned to Oa.

First attempt of rebuilding the Green Lantern Corps

The New Corps: Kyle Rayner, Magaan Van’n Intraktus, Hammeroon, Anya Savenlovich, Garl Rathbone, and Sool. The cover of Green Lantern: The New Corps #1 (1999). Art by Scot Eaton.

When Kyle Rayner accidentally travelled through time to ten years in the past and met a young Hal Jordan, the Guardians were able to send Rayner back to his own time by using the power from the Central Battery after Jordan and Rayner defeated Sinestro together. However, while doing so, Sinestro commanded his Qwardian ring to force Jordan to Rayner’s time portal, in a bid to strand Jordan in Rayner’s time period. Upon learning his future as Parallax (however not knowing that his future self’s actions was the result of being possessed by a fear entity under the machination of Sinestro’s future self) and awares that the future needs him to return to his own time and allow future events unravels in the way it was supposed to and must forget everything he learned from the present, young Jordan gave Rayner a copy of his ring to restart the Green Lantern Corp in a bid to undo some of the damages he knew he was going to make once he return to the past.

Rayner then gave the ring to the elder Green Lantern Alan Scott’s daughter, Jennifer-Lynn Hayden, which she becomes the first female Green Lantern of Earth and followed her father&#8217s footsteps, after he made another copy with it. In Green Lantern: The New Corps, during his weeks long adventure in space, Rayner first recruited Magaan Van’n Intraktus of the planet Van&#8217n, Hammeroon, a bounty hunter from Ilskado System, Anya Savenlovich, a lieutenant colonel from the Soviet Air Forces who was in suspended animation after participated a space mission in 1964, Garl Rathbone, a miner from the debris belt over the planet Daffith, and Sool, a judge from Daffith.

However, the group later discovered Van&#8217n Intraktus was a traitor after they discovered that he enslaved his home planet with his ring and would begin an invasion on other worlds. The Green Lanterns eventually stopped the renegade after a battle, but at the cost of one of their own: Hammeroon. This made Rayner realize that he isn&#8217t the one who can properly choose to wear the rings, and taken all of the power rings back from the Green Lanterns until the time is right for the Corps’ rebirth. After erected a memorial for Hammeroon, Rayner returned to Earth. The former Green Lanterns, despite of being stripped off their rings, decided to continue their intergalactic adventures.

Rebirth of the Corps

In an attempt to redeem himself after his actions as Parallax, Hal Jordan sacrificed his life reigniting the sun, whereupon Oa and the Central Power Battery were completely rebuilt by the physical manifestation of Jordan dying will channeled through his old friend and confidant Thomas Kalmaku. Shortly thereafter, Kyle Rayner, having imbued with the vast power of Ion after his battle with Oblivion and Alexander Nero. As Ion, Rayner funneled the remaining energy left in the sun that was once the immortal Guardians back into the Central Power Battery, which allowed them to be reborn as children of both genders. After Hayden regained her Starheart powers and becomes the superheroine Jade once more, Rayner gave the ring to John Stewart. After Oa’s returns, Kilowog would eventually be resurrected. With everything apparently is in place, Ganthet, Kilowog, Stewart, and Rayner make plans to rebuild the Corps once more.

It was later discovered that Hal Jordan had been possessed by the living embodiment of fear, an ancient parasite called Parallax. Parallax had been imprisoned within the Central Power Battery for billions of years and is the mysterious &#8220Yellow Impurity” within the Corps&#8217 green light that leaves them vulnerable against yellow. Hal Jordan, upon learning the truth about Parallax, separated himself from it and was reborn as a Green Lantern once again. Jordan, with the help of John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, and Kilowog, reimprisoned Parallax. Upon Parallax&#8217s return to the Central Power Battery, the Guardians continued the re-construction and expansion of the Green Lantern Corps, strengthened with its power rings now able to directly affect yellow provided that a Lantern can face and conquer his or her fear. This new Corps, under the training of Kilowog, Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardner, and other veterans, was primarily composed of new recruits. Only a handful of veteran Lanterns remained in the ranks. Each sector has two Lanterns assigned to protect it (with Hal Jordan and John Stewart assigned as the protectors of Sector 2814). Due to an ancient pact with the Spider Guild, the Vega star system is off limits to all members of the Corps.

The new Green Lantern Corps presently lacks both the manpower and the political influence it once had due to its years-long absence from many sectors. This has left the Corps currently unable to intervene in situations it might have before Parallax destroyed the old Corps, including conflicts such as the Rann-Thanagar War. The Guardians remain staunchly uninvolved in what they see as a conflict that could destabilize many sectors, but that has not stopped Kyle Rayner and Kilowog from helping refugees.

Despite these difficulties, the Corps played a key role in defeating Superboy-Prime. Several Lanterns were killed slowing the renegade Superboy&#8217s advance on Oa, a sacrifice that enabled Earth&#8217s most powerful heroes to execute their plan to restrain him. Mogo, a sentient planet and Corps member, positioned himself to act as a final battleground between Superboy-Prime and two Supermen. Responsibility for imprisoning Superboy-Prime was undertaken by the Guardians who charged the Corps with its undertaking, incarcerating him inside a small red Sun-Eater with fifty Green Lanterns on constant guard duty. &#8220Prime Duty&#8221 is considered one of the lowlier functions of the Corps, and Guy Gardner was sentenced to a month of such duty for one of his frequent rules infractions.

As of the “One Year Later&#8221 timeframe, the Green Lantern Corps had increased its numbers, with many former trainees now full-fledged officers. A lack of truly experienced GLs remained an issue, with Guy Gardner being called upon often to assist the rookies.

Sinestro Corps

Main article: Sinestro Corps

Rogue Green Lantern Sinestro, working with the Anti-Monitor, created his own version of the Corps. Dubbed the &#8220Sinestro Corps”, it recruited beings capable of generating great fear. Armed with yellow Power Rings and Lanterns manufactured on Qward, the Sinestro Corps recently staged an attack on Oa, killing dozens of GLC officers, kidnapping Kyle Rayner, and freeing Superboy-Prime, Parallax, and the Cyborg Superman from the Corps’ supervision.

As the Sinestro Corps&#8217 campaign of terror spread, the Guardians, in desperation, rewrote the first Law of Ten in the Book of Oa, enabling the remaining Lanterns to use lethal force.

The Blackest Night

Main article: The Blackest Night

Hidden in the Book of Oa is the forbidden chapter of Cosmic Revelations, which contains a prophecy called the “Blackest Night”. In the prophecy, seven different colored corps are at war with each other, eventually destroying one another and the universe.

Following the Sinestro Corps War, Ganthet and Sayd are banished from the Guardians. Realizing that the &#8220Blackest Night” prophecy will come to be, they create a blue ring powered by hope. The remaining Guardians create the Alpha-Lanterns and reveal new laws they&#8217ve written to the Green Lantern Corps.

During the Blackest Night, the Guardians finally realize the accuracy of the prophecy and are imprisoned by Scar a rogue Guardian who launches an attack on the Corps by reviving deceased members as Black Lanterns. Command falls to Salaak, a senior Lantern holding the rank of Clarissi.

31st Century

In the future shown in the Legion of 3 Worlds miniseries, it is revealed that Mogo has been long dead and without him, there is no way to distribute the rings and thus no Green Lantern Corps in the 31st century. Rond Vidar was the last Green Lantern until he was killed by Superboy-Prime. Sodam Yat is the last Guardian of the Universe, living on the now ruined Oa. Previews for Legion of 3 Worlds #3 show Yat taking on several rings of the fallen Lanterns with a new oath:

“In brightest day, through Blackest Night, No other corps shall spreads its light! Let those who try to stop what&#8217s right, Burn like my power&#8230Green Lantern’s light!”

After aiding the Legions in defeating Prime and his forces, Yat realizes the universe needs to fight such threats. Going back to Oa, he sends rings across the universe to recruit a new Green Lantern Corps.

In the original Legion continuity, the Green Lantern Corps were banned from Earth, thanks to the actions of the Green Lantern who became the Legion adversary, Universo. With recent alterations to this future continuity, it is unclear if this ban still exists. Similarly, the Guardians were revealed as still on Oa in the original continuity their fate in the revised continuity has yet to be revealed.

Oath

The Power ring must be recharged regularly (though apparently not at the standard 24-hour period as was originally described) by touching it to its lantern shaped power battery for a period of several seconds. When recharging their weapons, some Corps members recite an oath. This oath differs from Corps member to member, but the most popular seems to be Hal Jordan’s.

In brightest day, in blackest night,

No evil shall escape my sight.

Let those who worship evil’s might,

Beware my power…

Green Lanterns Light!

al Jordan / Most Green Lantern Corps

Structure

The 3600 sectors

The Corps is an organization of 7200+ Green Lanterns (the old Corps was composed of 3600) who are chosen by the ring for being able to overcome great fear, with two assigned to each sector of space that require the protection of more than one Green Lantern (Earth, home to Hal Jordan and John Stewart, is in Sector 2814). Heavily-populated Sectors like 2814 can have several Lanterns. While the primary Lanterns of Sector 2814 are Hal Jordan and John Stewart, Kyle Rayner and Guy Gardner call Earth home, but are stationed on Oa, first as teachers, and then specially assigned to cases that are too difficult for the average GL. The official number of active Lanterns apparently does not include backup members who are kept in reserve to be called to active duty on short notice in

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Justice League: The Beginning

October 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Perhaps one of the better known Super hero teams belongs to DC Comics. DC created the Justice League of America, or the JLA. The team first appeared in The Brave and The Bold issue 28, published February 1960. Much of the concept of the comic series of JLA belongs to Gardner Fox. However, DC has made a lot of JLA spin offs. Each spin off was made by different writers in response to the reactions of the readers. The Justice League rose in popularity again because of its animated cartoon series.

Various heroes have since joined the league. However upon its creation, the league only had a handful of heroes handpicked by the creators of DC. The original lineup of superheroes that appeared in the first issue and succeeding graphic novels includes heroes of various origins.

Superman, or Clark Kent, is known as the last son of Krypton. Very few super heroes have the fan base following that he has. Dubbed as the man of steel, he is capable of fending off nearly any physical attack, though he gets hurt from magical ones. He has increased speed, flight, incredible strength, heat vision and an icy breath, which he owes to his Krypton origins.

The Martian Manhunter’s origins were unclear at first, but later Justice League issues disclosed his history as the last surviving Martian after the planet Mars was plunged into a civil war. His powers include telepathy, the ability to pass through objects and the power to change his appearance.

Batman is unlike the other heroes, having no special powers at all. However, his intellect, agility and skills have allowed him to face super villains such as Braniac, and leave unscathed. Many readers bought their comic books due to the Dark Knight being a member of the team.

Another hero is the Green Lantern or Hal Jordan. He was granted a glowing green ring by a dying Green Lantern. This ring allows him to create green energy constructs such as giant fists or hammers. The constructs could actually become anything he willed it to be. The Flash, Barry Allen, is a scientist who works for the police. An accident in the lab induced by chemicals struck by a lightning bolt leaves him with superhuman speed and reflexes.

The beautiful Wonder Woman or Diana Troy is known for her blue spangled costume, indestructible bracelets and her Lasso of Truth given by the Goddess Hestia. Because she is patterned from the legends of Amazons and Hellenistic Gods, she has Godlike powers of super strength, flight, invulnerability and great combat skills. Wonder Woman proved to be an invaluable addition to the comic book series as she was seen as a feminist icon and appealed to female readers. Male readers also favor her portrayal in comics as the most beautiful super heroine, with her blue eyes, raven dark hair and infamous costume.

Aquaman is the King of Atlantis. His powers work best in Aquatic environments. He possesses super strength and a capability to commune with animals.

The league was originally created to have only 12 members as writers of DC wanted it to symbolize the 12 Olympian Gods. However, later issues expanded the limit and various members have been added since. Know more about the Justice League of America by grabbing a copy now.

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The Transformers: Transforming Over the Years

October 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Transformers was originally a popular animated television series portraying two groups of giant robots that are at war with each other: The Autobots and the Decepticons. Each robot can transform into a different form, such as a vehicle, plane, tank and a variety of animals such as a cheetah and a scorpion. The series was written and recorded in America, and was animated in Japan and South Korea.

The Transformers series was inspired by the Japanese toy line Microman. This company released two lines of toys, Diaclone and MicroChange. Diaclone featured inch-tall humanoid figures, while MicroChange created toys that transformed into robots. During the 1983 Tokyo Toy Fair, the product developer of an American toy company known as Hasbro took interest in these interesting toys. His name was Henry Orenstein who presented a plan to George Dunsay, Hasbro’s head of R&#038D. Dunsay was enthusiastic with Orenstein&#8217s ideas and not long after that, Hasbro released Diaclone and MicroChange toys as a single toy line.

Liberalization of TV Advertising Paved the Way

The liberalization of American restrictions with respect to using toy promotions in children’s television programs eased the birth of The Transformers as a major type of toy in the U.S. Hasbro revived its previous marketing tie-up with Marvel Comics, and particularly after the success of the &#8220G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” project, Hasbro believed that another three-pronged venture would succeed.

This meant that &#8220The Transformers” could be marketed in the triple format of a toy, a Marvel comic book and an animated TV mini-series. In 1984, Bob Prupis, Hasbro VP for marketing, finally made the decision to work with Marvel in developing a new robot series called “Transformers”.

Autobots and Decepticons: The Transformers!

The initial work began with Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter devising a concept for the initial story. He conceptualized a war between two factions of robots which he called Autobots and Decepticons. The Autobots were conceived as the ‘good guys’ and the Decepticons as the ‘bad guys.&#8217 Shooter asked Dennis O’Neill, a veteran editor, to create names for the characters as well as sketch out profiles for the cast. Marvel, however, was not satisfied with O’Neill’s work, and the latter declined Marvel’s request to significantly revise them.

However, rather than give up at this point, Shooter presented the revision job to several other editors, but still no one accepted it. Finally, editor Bob Budiansky took on the job, revising the names and profiles to Marvel’s satisfaction. Immediately, a bi-monthly four-issue comic book miniseries and a three-part TV pilot came on-stream.

Shohei Kohara, a Japanese designer, took charge of designing the robot characters, making them more suitable for both comic and animated cartoon formats. Floro Dery later took over his position, when he simplified some designs and remained as lead designer for the series.

The leader of the Autobots was Optimus Prime, while Megatron heads the Decepticons. The original Autobots were named Brawn, Bluestreak, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Gears, Hound, Huffer, Ironhide, Jass, Mirage, Prowl, Ratchet, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Trailbreaker, Wheeljack, Windcharger, and Hauler. The Decepticons included Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Reflector, Soundwave, and Shockwave.

The Origin of the Battle

These “creatures” left the planet Cybertron when it was doomed to destruction (a common theme in many such comic book stories), and reached the earth after four million years of being stuck in the “Ark”. On Earth, the Autobots and Decepticons continued their never-ending war which was caused by Megatron going &#8216rogue&#8217 in his thirst for personal power.

The Decepticons are now trying to drain Earth of all its resources by converting these into Energon for their own use. The Autobots on the other hand are trying to prevent this and to protect the human race, which they regard as a primitive species but one that possesses unique qualities of love and justice (well, most of them!). After gaining a lead in the fight, the Decepticons tried to leave earth by building a space cruiser, but they were successfully stopped by the Autobots.

In 1986, Transformers: The Movie was released, making it a big year in the Transformers’ history. Although it did not do well in terms of box-office performance and even in reviews, the movie marked the turning point in the life of the series. Setting the “future” in the year 2005, new Autobots and Decepticons characters were introduced.

The Constructicons were featured in the Transformers second film, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Basically, Constructicons are Decepticons who turn into construction vehicles and into a large robot when they combine. Each of these robots was built to carry out engineering and construction jobs for the Decepticons. Once they transformed, they merge their minds and bodies to form the gigantic robot Devastator.

Enter the Constructicons and Dinobots

Individual members of the team have their specific job function. Scrapper is a construction engineer, leader of the Constructicons, and forms the right leg of the Devastator. He transforms into a wheeled front-load shovel. Hook is a surgical engineer, forms the head and shoulders, and transforms into a crane. Bonecrusher is equipped for demolitions, forms the left arm, and transforms into a bulldozer. Scavenger is for mining and salvage, forms the right arm, and transforms into an excavator.

Long Haul is built for transport, forms the lower torso, and transforms into a dump truck. The last member is Mixmaster for materials fabrication, forms the left leg, and transforms into a concrete mixer truck. The Devastator destroys anything and everything that gets in his way, without thinking.

Another addition to the Autobots group is the Dinobots. They transform into dinosaurs or similar prehistoric animals. The team leader is Grimlock that transforms into a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Second in command is Slag that transforms into a Triceratops. The third member is Sludge that transforms into an Apatosaurus. The fourth is Snarl that transforms into a Stegosaurus. The fifth member is Swoop that transforms into a Pteranodon.

Transformers III: Battles On and Off-Screen

The third Transformers film, released in 2011, was Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon. This latest of the Transformers live action was directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. The film’s story is set with the NASA manned mission to the moon as the backdrop. This time, the Autobots are portrayed as forces working for the NEST (Networked Elements: Supporters and Transformers) military force. The Decepticons on the other hand are still struggling to save their planet, Cybertron. They plan to enslave Humanity by using the new sophisticated technology, the Pillars.

Many of the previous Transformers film stars stayed with the last movie, including those who voiced for Optimus Prime and Megatron. Megan Fox, however, left after a fall-out between her and the rest of the cast and crew. The film was finally released on June 28, 2011, and was praised for its visual content, but was criticized for its length, writing, and acting.

Perhaps part of this was connected with the change of the main female lead, but irrespective of all of this, it did well in the box office, ending up as the fourth highest-grossing film of all time and the second highest-grossing film of 2011.

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The ThunderCats – Thundering Lessons to Learn

October 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The American animated television series ThunderCats debuted in 1984. It was based on the characters created by Tobin “Ted” Wolf and produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. This is the same production that created notable “masterpieces” such as SilverHawks, The Comic Strip and TigerSharks. The ThunderCats characters are cat-like humanoid aliens from the planet Thundera that take on the role of superheroes.

In the series created for television, the first story related how this unique team of superheroes originated. Much like Superman&#8217s origins, Thundera was a dying planet, and its inhabitants had to leave including the ThunderCats. A fleet of starships started its journey, but the Thunderean enemies, known as the Mutants of Plun-Darr, tried to destroy the entire fleet. The series presents several characters with a play of words in their name: see if you can recognize some, beginning with this paragraph!

The Sword of Omens

However, an artifact known as the Sword of Omens was believed to be held on one specific ship, and because this was very powerful, that starship was spared because the Sword must not be destroyed. The Sword of Omens holds the Eye of Thundera that gives power to the ThunderCats, and any other that holds it. Rather than destroy the ship and the Sword, the Mutants attempted to overtake and seize it.

They very nearly achieved this, but were driven back through the power of the Eye. Now the damaged ThunderCats ship can no longer reach its original destination, so the Third Earth was chosen as their alternate destination, even though it would take a considerably longer period of time to reach.

Jaga, the eldest among the ThunderCats, sacrificed himself for the sake of the group. He volunteered to pilot the ship while the other members slept in ‘time suspension’ capsules. Jaga he made sure that those who were left would reach their destination safely before he died of old age.

Reaching Third Earth

Finally, the flagship reached Third Earth. All other members survived, including Lion-O the young Lord of the ThunderCats, Cheetara, Panthro, Tygra, WilyKit and WilyKat, and Snarf. Lion-O discovered that he was older than he expected, because his suspension capsule only slowed down and did not suspend his aging. They immediately made friends with the Third Earth natives who helped them construct the “Cat’s Lair”. This became their new home and headquarters.

Jaga is based on the jaguar, and was once regarded as the greatest of the ThunderCats. Lion-O is based on the lion, the leader and “Lord of the ThunderCats”. The level-headed warrior Tygra is based on the tiger, the architect and scientist. Panthro is based on the panther, warrior, pilot and chief mechanic or engineer. Cheetara is based on the cheetah, having the “sixth sense” and is loving and caring. WilyKit and WilyKat have collectively been known as the “ThunderKittens”, and are the mischief makers. Of the five, Cheetara and WilyKit are the females.

“Return of the Mutants”

It did not take long for the Mutants find them on Third Earth, and they immediately headed for where the ThunderCats had been located. The arrival of the villains gave the demonic, mummified sorcerer Mumm-Ra the chance to use them for his own evil plans. He became very interested in the Eye of Thundera and persuaded the Mutants to work with him. Once he succeeded, he would destroy the ThunderCats and then take over as ruler of Third Earth.

In ‘ThunderCats Origins: Heroes and Villains’, it was revealed that the Third Earth was actually the planet Earth, with Mumm-Ra originating from Egypt. He was obsessed with acquiring tremendous powers and knowledge of the universe, and in exchange for these attributes, he enslaved himself to the Ancient Spirits of Evil.

The ThunderCats stories are combinations of science fiction and fantasy. There is always that element of good-versus-evil, plus the effective use of allies and villains that are ingredients of all good comic book stories. Another factor of note is the presentation of futuristic technology that displays outstanding imagination.

ThunderCats and Strong Moral Values

The consistent presentation of strong moral values in solving problems is a significant message to young readers, which adds both to the power and to the lesson of each tale. These are more than just fantasy tales, and like the Superman tales, portray the importance of the principles of good conduct and justice in the face of adversity. Each episode ended with a reflection by the characters on the personal and group values that contributed to their success.

In 1986, the first ThunderCats movie was released titled “ThunderCats – Ho!” Three new Thundereans were introduced: Ben-Gali, Pumyra and Lynx-O, depicted as those who survived when the planet “died”. Ben-Gali, based on the Bengali tiger, is a proficient blacksmith. Pumyra, based on the puma, is a talented healer and medic. Lynx-O, based on the lynx, is blind but possessing superhuman senses of touch, taste, smell and hearing. In that movie, Mumm-Ra was destroyed – or so we were led to believe.

The second series began in 1987, with an episode revealing that Mumm-Ra survived. It was during this season that another group of villains, the Lunataks, was introduced. Ultimately this group dominated the remainder of the series. A new team of ThunderCats with a new headquarters and other equipment and gadgets was also introduced.

The 1988 Transformation: The ThunderCubs

The third season in 1988 transformed the ThunderCats into children who were called ThunderCubs. Mumm-Ra was able to reconstruct Thundera in the hope of retrieving the Sword of Plun-Darr and the Treasure of Thundera. As Mumm-Ra continued to search for the treasure, the adventures went on, changing locations between New Thundera and Third Earth. One highlight episode showed the Ancient Spirits of Evil giving Mumm-Ra the last chance of destroying the ThunderCats. Having failed in his “mission”, the spirits banished him to the farthest corner of the universe.

The 1989 Season 4 brings back Mumm-Ra again! In “Return to Thundera”, the ThunderCats were now back to New Thundera and were starting to restore their society. Believing that it would be effective, the ThunderCats destroyed Mumm-Ra’s pyramid before leaving Third Earth. This made the Ancient Spirits of Evil so angry that they brought Mumm-Ra back, this time putting him right on New Thundera. And so the battles and adventures continued between the ThunderCats and the villains besides Mumm-Ra.

The 2011 Theme &#8211 Good or Bad?

Warner Brothers Animation brought back the ThunderCats television series on Cartoon Network. It started in July 2011, with the animation carried out by Japan’s Studio 4oC animation production. The theme of this new series is far too much divorced from the previous series, let along the original idea that has now seemed to have been forgotten.

Here, it is made clear that the ThunderCats are already on 3rd Earth. Even the latest use of the term “Thundera” is confused whether it refers to a planet or a kingdom. In some of the promotional materials for the new series, the traditional ThunderCats members such as Lion-O, Cheetara, Panthro, and Tygra, were presented in new designs, and at the London Toy Fair, the Sword of Omens and vehicles were also redesigned.

Whether this will harm the concept of the ThunderCats or not is debatable, since much time has passed since the original animated series. What is sure is that ThunderCats 2011 is not that of 1984, but is entertaining nevertheless: let’s hope that the moral message being presented is maintained and not lost in the fight for ratings.

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The Teen Titans and Its Other Names

July 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Teen Titans is a team of superheroes from DC Comics. It has been known by other names, such as the New Teen Titans, New Titans, and Titans during different periods of the team’s “incarnation”. As its name suggests, the group is composed of teenagers, the first unofficial members of the team being Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad, then known as ‘junior justice league’. These are familiar characters who are sidekicks of Batman, the Flash, and Aquaman, respectively. The team was later joined by Wonder Girl and they first appeared under the name Teen Titans in “The Brave and the Bold” issue no. 60. Aqualad was later replaced by Speedy, the sidekick of Green Arrow.

From its inception, the team took on the adventure series with modest success. The most common theme throughout the series was that of teenagers learning to take on their roles and responsibilities as adults. Current issues were occasionally used a theme, though not dealt with deeply. Examples of these issues were the 1970s’ inner-city racial tension and protests against the Vietnam War.

In one of the issues, the Titans had to deal with the accidental death of a peace activist. It affected them so much that they had to abandon their superhero identities and worked as ordinary powerless civilians. However, this sudden shift of storyline was as quickly abandoned. In February 1973, the book had its 24th and last issue.

The series briefly revived with issue no. 44 in November 1976. However, the storylines did not have a clear direction. The African-American superheroine Bumblebee was introduced, along with other teen heroes like Bat-Girl, Golden Eagle and Joker’s Daughter. This revival lasted only until issue 53 in February 1978, which included the founding story of the Teen Titans.

Writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Perez successfully revived the team in the 1980s. Giving it a new name, The New Teen Titans, the two re-launched the team with the characters in their young adulthood. The team members were Robin, Kid Flash and Wonder Girl. Wolfman very effectively made use of her style of complicated storytelling and character exploration. DC had not been previously known for this type of work, which was the probable reason for the great popularity of the new series. It was looked on as DC’s answer to Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men, who was also gaining in popularity at that time, with its all-original new team.

Later, new characters were added – Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy who was a former member of Doom Patrol. However, Beast Boy’s membership turned out to be a guest appearance when he was ultimately rejected due to his excessively young age. Wolfman went so far as to have the team encounter Hyperion several times, a character from the original Titans of Greek mythology. In April 1984, the series was retitled Tales of the Teen Titans. Artist George Perez had to leave in 1985 , DC Comics having earmarked him for another assignment. The team’s name was again changed to simply &#8216The New Titans’ in 1988. After releasing 130 issues, DC released the last of the series in February 1996.

With respect to changes in writer and artist, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez took over as writer after George Perez left. Lopez’s stint did not last long and he was followed by Eduardo Barreto who carried out a fairly lengthy stint. When Wolfman took a break, Paul Levitz wrote the Brother Blood saga – a number of lengthy yet unpopular stories. Perez returned later with issue no. 50, with the team’s name as The New Titans. The &#8220Teen&#8221 was dropped as the characters were not teenagers anymore. His work was not restricted to just writing since he occasionally looked after the layout and also sometimes the cover art.

Now that the team were no longer teenagers, the stories were departing from their original ethos of a team of teenaged superheroes, and after eight months of &#8220rest&#8221, the team was reconstructed and relaunched as Teen Titans in October 1996. It was composed of all-new members with Atom, a young teenager, as mentor. However, the series lasted only 24 issues and it finally ended in September 1998.

In March 1999, Devin Grayson took the helm as writer. This gave way to The Titans which debuted with Titans Secret Files as issue no.1. This time the team was composed of Nightwing, Troia, Arsenal, Tempest, the Flash, Starfire, Cyborg, Changeling, Damage, Argent, and one new member, Jesse Quick. The series ran until issue no. 50 in 2002.

After a year or so a new Titans series began in September 2003, titled Teen Titans whose members were Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven. They were later joined by the teenaged versions of Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, and Superboy (the clone of Superman).

In the later months of 2003, writer Geoff Johns launched his Teen Titans series. The team was a mix of new and previous members. Johns wrote the first forty five issues of the book then turned over the writing to Adam Beechen. The latter wrote issue numbers 46 to 49 (4 issues), then another writer, Sean McKeever, wrote issue numbers 50 through 71. Two more short-lived writers took over – Bryan Q. Miller (#72-#74) and Felicia Henderson who wrote #75.

The team’s membership under Johns was very similar to that of Marv Wolfman’s New Teen Titans. There were the veterans Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy, Robin, Superboy, Wonder Girl, and Kid Flash. Static Shock was intended to be added as a member, but this was not possible due to legal issues although some characters, such as Raven and the new Speedy, made guest and short appearances. In the new series, the team’s headquarters had transferred from New York City to San Francisco, another new development being the addition of the Titans Tower, which has a memorial hall that is home to statues of fallen Titans.

Cartoon Network ran a Teen Titans animated TV series from July 2003 to January 2006. Inspired by this series, two new comic book titles were born, titled Teen Titans Go! and Tiny Titans respectively. The team has enjoyed a lengthy life, and who knows when the last series will finally be laid to rest.

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The X-Men: Marvel Superheroes

July 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The X-Men are Marvel superhero characters that first appeared in 1963. They were original products of the duo Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. These characters were mutants under the care of Professor Charles Xavier during a period when people outwardly showed their dislike to mutants. It was related that the professor secretly trained young mutants to use their powers for good. He wanted to prove that mutants could be heroes rather than objects of hate and derision, and he used his Westchester mansion, the Xavier Institute, as their headquarters.

Several versions of the origin of the term “X-Men” have been offered, one of which said they were given that name because they have the ‘X’ gene, not found in normal humans and the result of exposure to radiation. Another version concerned an &#8216X&#8217, or &#8216extra&#8217 gene, that gave them special powers and abilities.

Irrespective of how or why they possessed such properties, the first X-Men presented to us (even though some were females) were Cyclops, Iceman, Angel, Beast, and Marvel Girl. Apart from these original recruits, other mutants that later became X-Men were Wolverine, Colossus, Storm, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and Rogue.

The most ubiquitous and powerful of the team’s enemies was Magneto, who has been depicted as their archenemy for several decades – ever since the first issue. Aside from him, there was also his Brotherhood of Mutants, some of its members being Quicksilver, Mastermind, Scarlet Witch, and Toad. Other villains included the Sentinels, Mister Sinister, Apocalypse, the Hellfire Club, and Weapon X. All powerful adversaries, and worthy enemies of the X-Men.

The &#8220evil force&#8221 in Magneto was later revealed to be a manifestation of his unhappy experience in a Nazi concentration camp. He developed hatred for normal humanity, thus his obsession to wipe out mutants in any way he can.

Most of the stories had the theme “good versus evil&#8221 and “the good always triumph&#8221. After several issues twists began to appear in the story lines, including some topical issues (at the time) such as racism and prejudice. However, the stories began to become repetitive and succeeding themes appeared to be variations of the former ones.

In the latter half of the 1960s, the X-Men comic series did not perform well in terms of sales compared with other Marvel titles. An attempt was made to improve its market performance in 1969 by writer Roy Tomas and illustrator Neal Adams. Two new characters were introduced: Havok and Polaris. However, the attempt was unsuccessful and Marvel stopped the development of new storylines and instead resorted to issuing reprints of older comics.

This continued for a while until new writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum came up with “Giant-Size X-Men” in attempt to rock the readership and drive it back up to the heights it reached in the early 1960s. In 1975, they introduced a new team, this time composed of mature characters originating from different countries. Teaming these new members together resulted in the &#8216all-new X-Men&#8217, this time well-versed in using their powers and combat skills.

The leader of the all-different X-Men was Cyclops of the original team, other members including Colossus from the Soviet Union, Storm from Kenya, Nightcrawler from West Germany, Thunderbird of America, Banshee from Ireland, Sunfire from Japan, and Wolverine from Canada. In later issues, Wolverine became the most popular X-Men character in terms of comic sales and appearances.

The series received critical acclaim during the days when Chris Claremont was writer, and eventually he became the longest-running contributor. Among the storylines that were produced during this time were the death of Thunderbird, the comeback of the Sentinels and the appearance of Phoenix. There was also the saga of the Starjammers, the resurrection of Garokk the Petrified Man, the first appearance of Alpha Flight and the Proteus saga.

The Dark Phoenix Saga opened the 1980s and became the comic’s best-known story arc. This concerned the illusionist, Mastermind, manipulating Phoenix. In the end Phoenix was corrupted and became the power-hungry and destructive evil Dark Phoenix. Other popular storylines of the 80s were Days of Future Past, The Trial of Magneto, the discovery of the Morlocks, the saga of Deathbird and the Brood, and others.

With its good sales performance, X-Men made it as Marvel&#8217s top-selling title. This upsurge in popularity brought with it an increase in comic specialty stores, initially kicked off by the increasing fame of the Uncanny X-Men. The so-called “X-Books” was introduced that included The New Mutants, Alpha Flight, Excalibur, and Wolverine, who was given a solo title in response to his growing personal popularity. There was a time when crossovers became popular, also known as X-Overs. These made use of storylines that overlapped with X-Books.

The original team was brought back including Professor Charles Xavier in 1991, coinciding with Marvel’s revision of the lineup of X-Books. Two strike forces were introduced, with Cyclops leading the “Blue Team&#8221 and Storm the “Gold Team&#8221. Chris Claremont wrote the first issues with Jim Lee on the artwork. Claremont left Marvel after a controversial plotting issue with Lee, and was replaced by John Byrne, then by Nicieza and Scott Lobdell. Lee also left Marvel together with some other of the company&#8217s artists to form Image Comics. Later, Lee’s X-Men designs were used in the X-Men animated series, figure lines and video games.

There were several drastic changes in the 2000s. There was the so-called Morrison era when Grant Morrison was writer. He added a new character named Xorn. There was also a change in the characters&#8217 uniforms, using black leather street clothes instead of bright spandex costumes. The Xavier Institute was destroyed in The Messiah Complex, in which the X-Men team was disbanded. The Messiah War also occurred, which was a crossover between X-Force and Cable.

Several other crossovers were completed with different X-Men characters and the prominent figures of the team. However, Magneto surfaced again in 2009, this time not as a villain but as member of the X-Men. Many of the team members did not agree with this and some left the team.

Over several decades, X-Men have been characterized as fighting against a variety of villains including mutant thieves and galactic threats. There is consistent use of modern state-of-the-art technology, one example of this being Professor Xavier who was given a device known as Cerebro. He uses this to enhance his powers and to track down mutants. Marvel Comics has enjoyed a great deal of mileage from the X-Men characters, and they will continue to capture the imagination of their followers for many more years to come.

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The Avengers – Avenging Once More

March 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, The Avengers are labeled as “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes”. Published by Marvel Comics, this team of superheroes made its debut in September 1963 as The Avengers Issue 1. The team originally comprised Ant-Man, Wasp, Thor, Iron Man, and the Hulk, who appeared in many of the magazines published by Marvel, gaining their own followers and fans that continue follow them to this day.

The original team maintained a rotating roster of membership on its “missions”. It is consistent in maintaining its commitment to fight “the foes no single superhero can withstand”. Superhero fans will remember the team’s famous battle cry, “Avengers Assemble!” Its enemies included, and still do, humans, robots, aliens, mutants, supernatural beings and several other imaginative creations. The team’s prestige and power has earned it the reputation of taking on any form of criminal during its crime fighting adventures. The Avengers are best known for devoting themselves to protecting the planet from dangers beyond the capabilities of the usual authorities.

The original team joined forces for the first time to fight the menacing power of Loki the Asgardian. This started with a call for help from teenager Rick Jones, Hulk’s partner. The team’s name “The Avengers” was coined when the members decided to stay together and combat crime as a team. Ant-Man’s (Dr. Hank Pym) partner Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) suggested calling themselves “something colorful and dramatic, like . . . the Avengers!”. This started the legendary adventures of the team, known by the same familiar name for almost 50 years.

The finance behind the group was provided by the super-rich Iron Man, who also provided the essential high-tech equipment for which the Avengers are famed. Also known as the rich industrialist Tony Stark, he donated his Manhattan block-sized residence for use as the team’s headquarters. They named the HQ ‘Avengers Mansion&#8217, where members of the Avengers team stayed when they had the need to, and it also contained the group&#8217s arsenal.

It was looked after by Edwin Jarvis, Stark’s butler and the group’s valued friend, confidant and advisor. The Fantastic Four also stayed here for a while after their original headquarters, the Baxter Building, was destroyed. The Avengers Mansion was eventually destroyed by the Masters of Evil in Avengers: Under Siege.

The team’s effort to gain identity as a group was initiated by Stark by drawing up a charter and by-laws to guide them. However, together with the request for A-1 security clearance, neither the authorities nor the public were keen on this being provided, largely due to the presence of Hulk in the team. Ultimately, Hulk walked out in Issue 2 due to some unexplained rage over something that upset him. It was likely due to the fact that other members of the team neither liked nor trusted him!

Fortunately for the group, Hulk’s absence made way for another new chapter. The original Captain America appeared in issue #4 of the magazine. He was found frozen in a block of ice, was revived and joined the team. Since the beginning, the team maintained a rotating list of heroes, each given an important role as main character. Eventually, Captain America became an inspiration to the Avengers. As a long-lost war hero, his presence in the team dramatically improved the group’s image. It was he who was largely responsible for the Avenger’s being given A-1 security clearance status, and The Avengers finally emerged as the most respected superhero team ever.

During Captain America’s reign, the team underwent a number of tests that ultimately forced the other members to retire from active duty. The reason was more on the personal side, the individual members no longer being able to maintain their bond as a team. This left Captain America “helpless”, forcing him to recruit new teammates. Ironically, he found Hawkeye, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch who were former criminals. Hawkeye was an outlaw archer, while the other two were mutant terrorist twin siblings. With the help of Iron Man, these outlaws were successfully rehabilitated, resulting in them joining the Avengers.

There were several other changes in the group members’ roles over the years. The list includes Thor, Iron Man, Pym and Wasp who had different periods of service. Pym was known for undergoing a series of identity changes, also serving as Giant-Man, Goliath, Yellow Jacket and Doctor Pym. These four exchanged positions as team leader, which later demonstrated that they could be leaders in their own right. The most impressive leaders of the Avengers included Captain America, Wasp, Hawkeye and Iron Man.

During the early years, new recruits included the Swordsman, Hercules, the Black Panther, the android Vision, and the Black Knight. One of the team’s staunchest partners during the cosmic Kree-Skrull war was the alien hero Captain Mar-Vell. The Black Widow also appeared and later joined the team. Swordsman was reformed and rejoined The Avengers together with Mantis, his lover. Swordsman died while protecting Mantis during a fight against Kang, and later, leaving Earth, Mantis fulfilled her destiny to become the Celestial Madonna.

The other members who joined the team later on a reserve status were Moondragon, Hellcat and Two-Gun Kid. A fourth reserve member, Beast, also joined but ultimately refused to work on a reserve status. Although not considered official members, Whizzer, Wonder Man, Jocasta, Ms. Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy all helped the team. This was during the days of the mad man-god villain Korvac.

When Henry Peter Gyrich took over as the team’s new government liaison, he changed some policies regarding membership of The Avengers. He imposed reductions and modifications, but two new members joined in &#8211 Falcon and Ms. Marvel. However, Gyrich was unable to hold the position for long due to him being reassigned, his place as liaison being taken by Raymond Sikorsky who was able to establish a smooth working relationship with the team. However, his conspiracy against the Vision and lifelong Avengers fan Duane Freeman ended these happier days. In the hope of redeeming himself, Gyrich then returned to his former post of liaison to the United Nations.

Some other new members were added much later. They were Wonder Man, Tigra, She-Hulk, a new version of Captain Marvel, and Starfox. One of the team’s recruits included Monica Rambeau who later was known as one of the more formidable and respected members of The Avengers; the second Captain Marvel.

The Avengers’ magic lives on. From graphic novels to films and comic books series, the characters have been featured in several incarnations. A number of successful movies have been made featuring the groups and also individual members. For example, Robert Downey, Jr. portrayed the role of Iron Man in the successful action film Iron Man (2008). The 2012 upcoming film, The Avengers, will reunite Downey with the role of the superhero, with yet another sequel, Iron Man 3, penciled in for 2013.

There are few doubts that The Avengers were the epitome of a superhero group, and irrespective of what the future has in store for them, the heroes will live on in the minds and hearts of those that loved from Issue #1.

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