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mandolin*flails*
*flails some more*
I called it. I didn't expect my predictions to come true. DAMMIT I HATE BEING RIGHT.
Major spoilers beneath the cut.
Yes, this incoherent ramble took two days to write, I blame trying to write this in intervals during training class. Which is also why it's not that concise.
So I was all set to either flail or be disappointed after the Newsarama preview was posted.
...I wasn't disappointed.
Getting the few criticisms out of the way: When I saw the panel that showed what a "real" Reach infiltrator was supposed to look like, I laughed. I couldn't help it. I suppose the yellow neck-thing caused by the power ring didn't help, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't the intended reaction. And I'm not sure what to think about the random Green Lantern who automatically assumed Jaime was evil. Cape misunderstanding, done to death, and a lot funnier back in #18. Although the lines I quoted did amuse me.
Now for what I did like:
1) An unexpected amount of insight into the scarab. I'm not just talking the convenient info dump we got in the pages that were previewed, either. The big difference between Jaime's scarab and the rest is not merely that it's separated from the Reach programming - the only "will" they give it - but that while the rest are a hive mind, the scarab has achieved self-awareness and free will. And thanks to the trip into Peacemaker's head (which is awesome in itself), it's pretty much proved that it wants to keep its free will. It doesn't want to be controlled by the Reach. The propensity for violence is still there, of course - old habits die hard - but IMO, there's a lot more hope for the scarab than previously thought if it'll go up against one of its own kind to help Peacemaker break free.
On the other hand, character design mockery aside, the glimpse of what a proper infiltrator was supposed to be like was a bit disturbing. I mean, even though the issue established that the scarab doesn't want to go back to being a tool of the Reach, there's no guarantee they won't be able to mess with it. The notion that the programmed scarab overwrites the host's mind, for one thing - I wonder if that's really the case for all infiltrators, or if they just think they do. Either that or it doesn't happen immediately.
2) Jaime figuring out that Peacemaker was still in there in spite of everything. He could have just decided that Peacemaker had to still be in there due to Heroic Optimism or whatever, but no, he pieced it together based on the way the infiltrator was behaving. Thinking back to Ted's notes was a nice touch.
3) The trip into Peacemaker's head. Okay, damn. "Therapy. We're going to get him lots and lots of therapy." *snerk* Goes without saying that Peacemaker has Issues, and the fact that he still blamed himself for what his father did and what he did was why the ring went after him made sense.
Loved how Jaime's scarab manifested as well. This issue made a big deal of the fact that the scarab, unlike the rest of its kind, has realized self-awareness and developing an identity. So instead of simply looking like its dormant form, or what a "proper" infiltrator should look like, it ended up taking the form of faceless armor, almost the same shape the armor takes for Jaime. It may have achieved self-awareness before bonding with Jaime, but it's only started to realize its own identity through him. (Or it was just drawn that way to make it easier to draw it attacking the infiltrator. I like my rambling explanation better.)
4) The ending. Well, "liked" isn't quite the right word; my initial reaction to those last few panels pretty much lined up with Jaime's - and his horrified and heartbroken expressions made it even more painful. Come on, he made the potentially fatal trip into his mentor's head to snap him out of it only to watch him die anyway. Given that Peacemaker actually got control again, I wonder if Jaime didn't have a point, and that it could have been dealt with.
But you know - as much as I flailed, I couldn't help but remind myself that Peacemaker's decision, insane, hardcore and suicidal as it was, was in character. He'd suspected Jaime of being the monster, hounded him for a while and then discovered it was in him instead. While I honestly couldn't see him being able to go through with killing Jaime - despite his early claims to the contrary - I can see him sacrificing himself if he suspects he's that dangerous. I'm not saying it wasn't a reckless decision, there's something to be said about the fact that he was in control and the scarab has been able to impart self-awareness to others like it, but only Peacemaker would figure the best way to deal with the scarab in his spine was to rip it out of himself.
Looking back on this, and looking at the preview description of the issue on the DC comics site (especially with the cover), I wonder if they changed focus and that the ring was going to be initially offered to Jaime's scarab. Or if they made the previews seem that way to throw us all off. Probably the latter, though, considering the irony and that they were hinting at this at the end of issue 13.
Either way, Jaime's without a mentor and the only other person who could see the Reach's military technology, and it looks like #22 and #23 are going to be an uphill battle.
I haven't wanted to hug Jaime so much since the end of #17. Poor Jaime. Poor Peacemaker.
As I said, the above would be more concise if I hadn't composed it in between intervals in training class while trying not to go completely insane. Discuss?
*flails some more*
I called it. I didn't expect my predictions to come true. DAMMIT I HATE BEING RIGHT.
Major spoilers beneath the cut.
Yes, this incoherent ramble took two days to write, I blame trying to write this in intervals during training class. Which is also why it's not that concise.
So I was all set to either flail or be disappointed after the Newsarama preview was posted.
...I wasn't disappointed.
Getting the few criticisms out of the way: When I saw the panel that showed what a "real" Reach infiltrator was supposed to look like, I laughed. I couldn't help it. I suppose the yellow neck-thing caused by the power ring didn't help, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't the intended reaction. And I'm not sure what to think about the random Green Lantern who automatically assumed Jaime was evil. Cape misunderstanding, done to death, and a lot funnier back in #18. Although the lines I quoted did amuse me.
Now for what I did like:
1) An unexpected amount of insight into the scarab. I'm not just talking the convenient info dump we got in the pages that were previewed, either. The big difference between Jaime's scarab and the rest is not merely that it's separated from the Reach programming - the only "will" they give it - but that while the rest are a hive mind, the scarab has achieved self-awareness and free will. And thanks to the trip into Peacemaker's head (which is awesome in itself), it's pretty much proved that it wants to keep its free will. It doesn't want to be controlled by the Reach. The propensity for violence is still there, of course - old habits die hard - but IMO, there's a lot more hope for the scarab than previously thought if it'll go up against one of its own kind to help Peacemaker break free.
On the other hand, character design mockery aside, the glimpse of what a proper infiltrator was supposed to be like was a bit disturbing. I mean, even though the issue established that the scarab doesn't want to go back to being a tool of the Reach, there's no guarantee they won't be able to mess with it. The notion that the programmed scarab overwrites the host's mind, for one thing - I wonder if that's really the case for all infiltrators, or if they just think they do. Either that or it doesn't happen immediately.
2) Jaime figuring out that Peacemaker was still in there in spite of everything. He could have just decided that Peacemaker had to still be in there due to Heroic Optimism or whatever, but no, he pieced it together based on the way the infiltrator was behaving. Thinking back to Ted's notes was a nice touch.
3) The trip into Peacemaker's head. Okay, damn. "Therapy. We're going to get him lots and lots of therapy." *snerk* Goes without saying that Peacemaker has Issues, and the fact that he still blamed himself for what his father did and what he did was why the ring went after him made sense.
Loved how Jaime's scarab manifested as well. This issue made a big deal of the fact that the scarab, unlike the rest of its kind, has realized self-awareness and developing an identity. So instead of simply looking like its dormant form, or what a "proper" infiltrator should look like, it ended up taking the form of faceless armor, almost the same shape the armor takes for Jaime. It may have achieved self-awareness before bonding with Jaime, but it's only started to realize its own identity through him. (Or it was just drawn that way to make it easier to draw it attacking the infiltrator. I like my rambling explanation better.)
4) The ending. Well, "liked" isn't quite the right word; my initial reaction to those last few panels pretty much lined up with Jaime's - and his horrified and heartbroken expressions made it even more painful. Come on, he made the potentially fatal trip into his mentor's head to snap him out of it only to watch him die anyway. Given that Peacemaker actually got control again, I wonder if Jaime didn't have a point, and that it could have been dealt with.
But you know - as much as I flailed, I couldn't help but remind myself that Peacemaker's decision, insane, hardcore and suicidal as it was, was in character. He'd suspected Jaime of being the monster, hounded him for a while and then discovered it was in him instead. While I honestly couldn't see him being able to go through with killing Jaime - despite his early claims to the contrary - I can see him sacrificing himself if he suspects he's that dangerous. I'm not saying it wasn't a reckless decision, there's something to be said about the fact that he was in control and the scarab has been able to impart self-awareness to others like it, but only Peacemaker would figure the best way to deal with the scarab in his spine was to rip it out of himself.
Looking back on this, and looking at the preview description of the issue on the DC comics site (especially with the cover), I wonder if they changed focus and that the ring was going to be initially offered to Jaime's scarab. Or if they made the previews seem that way to throw us all off. Probably the latter, though, considering the irony and that they were hinting at this at the end of issue 13.
Either way, Jaime's without a mentor and the only other person who could see the Reach's military technology, and it looks like #22 and #23 are going to be an uphill battle.
I haven't wanted to hug Jaime so much since the end of #17. Poor Jaime. Poor Peacemaker.
As I said, the above would be more concise if I hadn't composed it in between intervals in training class while trying not to go completely insane. Discuss?
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no subject
Date: 2007-10-26 07:34 pm (UTC)I wasn't sure whether Peacemaker died or not in the issue. But if you say he dead, then I believe you. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-10-26 10:20 pm (UTC)ETA: Never mind! Peacemaker's not dead. John Rogers confirmed this.