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[professoruber]

Quick Thoughts on Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2023-) #12

Spoilers for Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2023-) #12

Maps! As some might realise, I am quite the fan of Maps Mizoguchi. Gotham Academy was one of the first comics I read in great length and Maps herself is quite the fun character. So I’ve been looking forward to each part of her appearance in Brave and the Bold.

And let me say; #12 did not disappoint…

Maps is OFFICIAL Robin! Woohoo!

Maps is now an official Robin! Not only that but she also knows Batman’s secret identity. Interestingly though; Alfred is alive in this which means this all happened sometime before “the present”, which means chronologically she’d actually known this info for quite the while now.

Does kinda make me wonder what exactly she’s been up too during all the events between “the present” and her discovering Batman’s identity. I’ve seen it suggested on Reddit she might’ve been off looking for Olive; which would make sense since Olive’s whereabouts a very major hanging plot thread.

They made a point of starting this arc in #10 with a flashback to Olive; so that could suggest that a return to her plot line and what she’s been up to since the conclusion of second semester is being set up.

Overall though. I really loved this arc, and it was great to see Maps as Robin and even get acknowledged as such by Bruce. And I have enjoyed both seeing Maps in action as Robin and also her dynamic with Bruce.

Having Maps be skilled a researching monsters like Kappas and such has been a pretty neat reoccurring skill Maps has displayed in her appearances. Gotham Academy did tend to lean towards the more supernatural aspects of the Gotham setting and so it seems fitting for Maps to have this speciality.

Batgirls (2022-2023) #11

Also, while I'm not the biggest expert in comic book continuity and stuff; I think Batgirls probably takes place after Alfred's death, right? So that means Maps already knew Batman's secret identity when talking to Cass here. Kinda odd she's taking some random girl (from her perspective; since its later established she doesn't know Cass' surname and this is before Cass reveals she also has a Batman connection) to find the Batcave... although in hindsight, her having already visited the Batcave at this point would explain how she knows of its existence in the first place.

I do wonder though what Maps is up to in the present though.

Also…

Poor Isla MacPherson. Dating a billionaire with a playboy reputation is hard enough, but she got attacked by an infected Bruce in her own home and had her dog knocked aside. Granted, Gotham Academy has some strange stuff, but getting attacked in her own home (especially while being a normal teacher instead of a vigilante or anything) would be a special kind of terrifying.

And even if Maps is often involved with strange stuff at the school, her presence must be quite bizarre from Isla’s perspective. Maps just straight up broke into her house, saved her, and then nonchalantly explained the situation.

Gotta wonder if either of them ever mentions this night, or if Isla just tries to ignore that time her billionaire ex turned into some kinda vampire and got knocked out by her student.

#dc comics #spoilers #batman #maps mizoguchi #mia mizoguchi #gotham academy #gotham academy: second semester #batman the brave and the bold 2033 #batman the brave and the bold 2023 spoilers #Isla macpherson #bruce wayne #alfred pennyworth #olive silverlock

[professoruber]

Since Maps is also from a wealthy family; who wants to bet she took Damian's words to heart and spent who-knows-how-long searching ever inch of the Mizoguchi household for a hidden arsenal?

I believe that you would believe that Damian.

(Gotham Academy Second Semesterr 011)

#Gotham Academy #DC Comics #Damian Wayne #Robin #maps mizoguchi #Gotham Academy Second Semester

[professoruber]

Flamebird Analysis: The odd treatment of Bette Kane and her history/experience

Batwoman (2011-2016) #1

Okay so first of all, Kate; rude much?

Second of all... was Flamebird's costume really that impractical? Especaially when compared to Kate's costume.

While admittedly Flamebird's original costume was not exactly the height of practicality...

(Although she still seemed quite capable of holding her own in it)

Beast Boy (2000) #2

However she later does in fact get a more practical outfit which she also kickass ass in.

Beast Boy (2000) #4

And we do know that its Flamebird's second (more practical-looking costume) which Kate burns, as Bette ends up suiting up in her aforementioned spare after Kate fires her...

Batwoman (2011-2016) #3

While I am admittedly not an expert on combat outfits; Flamebird's second costume to me seems like it walks a good line between aesthetic and practicality. It has plenty of flair and style to it, but also appears quite flexible and overall not really too drastically different from Kate's Batwoman costume in this regard (rather hypocritical of Kate to say "you need a uniform" while she wears a long wig for no apparent reason apart from style).

If anything...

The "uniform" which Kate gives Bette kinda strikes me as being less practical for the situation compared to the Flamebird costume which she burned. Like Bette's mask seems to be just a piece of fabric tied around her face, which certainly feels like it should be looser and not be as sleek and flexible as the Flamebird costume.

Building off this, from what I've seen and looked over so far, the treatment of Bette kinda feels like it has a weird... juxtaposition at times between what's getting told and what's being shown, I guess.

Like on one hand...

It's shown by both Bette's comments here and the existence of her old Flamebird costumes that she has been experience vigilante for sometime. Longer than Kate I think, if I'm understanding the timeline all correctly.

There seems to be this odd case of both having Kate and the narrative treat Bette as an inexperienced rookie... while also having Bette and the narrative establish Bette as having been a Teen Titan, who has fought Deathstroke and presumably has years of experience.

Even Kate's codename for Bette indicates a rookie status...

However despite the references to Bette's past career and capabilities, and Bette's protests of being more capable than Kate gives her credit for, and Kate also immediately feeling quite shitty at how harsh she was when firing Bette...

The narrative still, from what I understand, kinda vindicates Kate entirely by having Bette get brutalised to the point of falling into a coma immediately after she defies Kate by heading out as Flamebird after getting fired... so I guess Kate was right? I don't know.

Like I said, I just find all of this quite of a weird portrayal. I've been curious about Bette lately on account of her being the original Batgirl (or rather, Bat-Girl), which is a very iconic mantle to the general "Bat-Mythos" even if Bette herself is far less remembered.

I guess one thing I find especially strange is how this is from the first issues of Batwoman 2011... meaning that this was right at the start of the whole New 52 Reboot stuff and so they could've presumably just retconned Bette's experience to make her an actual rookie sidekick instead of this weird half-measure where they both establish her past experience as canon while also otherwise ignoring it.

There's other stuff which I could go over; such as Bette's coma, her stint as Hawkfire, her enrolling in West Point... all of which probably has room for more detailed specific analysis by someone more familiar with both Bette and also the Batwoman comics (I've only fairly recently started looking into this stuff out of curiosity as I work my way through learning more comic history).

So I'll skip to a more recent appearance by Bette in 2017...

Detective Comics (1937—Present) #967

This whole exchange feels once again like Kate ignoring Bette's history, experience and capabilities. Especially the whole "pass second year in the top 99th percentile of your class and maybe I'll put in a good word with you to Batman" thing. No one else needed be top of their class at West Point, or attend West Point at all, to be a superhero. And it just seems strange to have Bette getting forced down that specific road.

Like; going by publication history, Bette was considered part of the original Teen Titans team due to debuting in the 1960s-1970s period. In fact she joined the team before the likes of Beast Boy, Raven, Starfire and Cyborg (at least in terms of publication anyway).

While I'm not entirely certain how her current age placement in the roster, they did still at least establish her as being a Teen Titan who fought Deathstroke and so presumably in the same generation as Nightwing (even if possibly a bit younger) and other core members. The from what I understand the Titans are currently considered senior and experienced enough to be the current "top team" of the hero scene in canon.

So all together this adds up to, as I keep saying, a strange contrast between Bette's stated/implied history and how she gets treated by the narrative.

DC's Legion of Bloom (2023) #1

Last year Bette did make a return as Flamebird (not Hawkfire). Which could mean one of two things...

Kate finally acknowledged Bette as ready/worthy/experienced enough to go out on her own

Bette went screw it and decided she didn't need Bette's permission

Honestly kinda hopping the later cause it brings to mind a bit of the Beast Boy comic which I quite liked...

Beast Boy (2000) #3

Better gets a very stern reprimand from Nightwing (some she admires), and is told she's not cut out for this world and quits. This comes after she's spent most of her appearance in this run being kinda a comedic relief in the form of her repeated failures to bail Beast Boy outta jail (since she's never posted bail before and didn't know how)

But after this..?

Beast Boy (2000) #4

She comes back, with a new (more practical-looking, as I discussed before) costume and beats up several bad guys to help out Gar (who in turn really appreciates her arrival and assistance).

Batwoman (2011) #3

Making this post I've noticed an interesting similarity and contrast between Beast Boy and Batwoman comics in regards to Bette. Both times, Bette gets very sternly reprimanded and told she's not cut out to be a hero and ordered not to be one by someone she admires/values the opinion of.

Both times she defies them and goes out anyway, putting on the same costume both times in fact.

But while the Beast Boy comic portrays her as competent and capable, even having her involvement appreciated by Gar...

Meanwhile in Batwoman?

Batwoman (2011-2016) #4

Bette's defiance almost immediately ends with her horribly injured, and in turn accidentally helps the DEO work out Batwoman's identity.

Two events regarding the same character which that character reacts to in a similar manner but one ends with her vindicated and the other... very much not.

DC's Legion of Bloom (2023) #1

Moving back to Bette's recent appearance in DC's Legion of Bloom. West Point is 4-years in total, and when we last saw Bette she was on her second year at the latest. So with the nature of comic book time, I find it unlikely she'd already graduated.

Her return to Flamebird could also have something to do with Infinite Frontier (I don't fully understand how it works, but apparently everything's canon now again sort of?) re-canonising Bette's competence? That sounds like kinda an amusing thought tbh; multiverse shenanigans happen and Bette wakes up one morning feeling suddenly competent again. Good for her.

Anyway I hope this is a good sign for Bette's character. Even if she's unlikely to be a major player, would still be nice for her appearance to at least depict her as capable. Plus as I said, comic book time means if she does actually stick to West Point, then she'd unlikely to be graduating (and get allowed to be a vigilante) anytime soon. So at that point you might as well just let her go be rich and play tennis since its not like that's a route to her actually doing anything.

Bette seems pretty neat from what I've seen of her, so I wish her the best. Even if Legion of Bloom continues the running joke of her trying and failing to recreate Titans West.

#professoruber thoughts #bette kane #mary elizabeth kane #kate kane #katherine kane #batwoman #batwoman 2011 #dc's legion of bloom #hawk and dove #detective comics #beast boy #beast boy 2000 #gar logan #nightwing #dick grayson #hawkfire #flamebird #batgirl #bat-girl #plebe #bumblebee #dc's infinite frontier #new 52 #comic criticism #comic analysis #teen titans #titans west #comic essay #tw: blood

[professoruber]

it is quite interesting I think how Sera's paranoia regarding Hell and also her own... cowardice as resulted in all her plans coming to their opposite intention.

Regular Sinners were no threat to angels without angelic steel; something they only can acquire due to the Exorcists carelessly leaving it lying around.

While the exterminations may keep the population of Hell down, she is still (like you said) kicking the hornet's next and just building resentment from the denizens of Hell.

She clear distaste for the exterminations also means she has seemingly provided little to no oversight; giving Adam apparently free reign to do whatever he wants such as banishing Vaggie (something I doubt Sera would've approved of). The undisciplined nature of the exorcists means not only do they leave their weapons lying around everywhere, but Adam ends up spilling the beans in court cause he's never properly faced any kind of consequences.

She's basically allowed the creation of an entire caste of sinful angels who do evil stuff - not a good decision from someone suppose to be upholding the virtue of Heaven.

The exterminations getting exposed means she loses her moral high ground in the eyes of many angels (such as Emily); meaning if conflict ever arises now, Heaven can no longer be expected to provide a united front against demonkind.

Sera not doing anything to prevent Adam from attacking the hotel (despite it being the home of Lucifer's daughter and having barely any sinners living there) leads to Lucifer himself getting involved; considering up until now, Lucifer has apparently been mostly willing to play ball with Heaven and cooperate in preventing uprising - the very fact Sera allowed Lucifer to get provoked into attacking Heavnly forces was very stupid, she basically got her biggest threat out of his depressive isolation.

I think Sera's issue is that she allowed her fears to override her morals, but also still had strong enough morals to not find the exterminations "entertaining" like Adam does. So she half-commits to it all and essentially allowed Adam (who's not qualified at all to be quelling unrest) to handle it, because she doesn't want to get her hands dirty herself.

She wants Hell kept down, but because she's unwilling to do the work herself or burden Emily with the issue (and also is too overprotective of Emily), she delegates the entire thing to the worst possible person.

Her plan is stupid. There, I said it! It's stupid as fuck.

Sera's entire plan is to avoid war by -checks notes- murdering people. I assume to keep population down and the sinners scared. But that's stopped literally no one ever. If there's a way to Heaven, groups of sinners will be taking it to cause havoc because they're gonna die anyway, might as well make Heaven hurt too.

Sera really thought Hell got uppity and went "oh this'll stop it" before kicking the hornet's nest.

#Hazbin Hotel #Sera the Seraphim #Emily the Seraphim #hazbin hotel adam #hazbin hotel spoilers #lucifer morningstar #charlie morningstar #mandareeboo

[professoruber]

Quick thought on Barbara Gordon's role in the new Birds of Prey...

Spoilers for Birds of Prey (2023-) #7

....

Okay so; I am really, really happy that they actually told Barbara about the situation and what was going on this time. After the ending of the #6 I was kinda afraid they were going to do something like keep Babs in the dark while they chose the "Secret Barbara Gordon Defence Squad" route, so I have to say it was quite the relief when they instead went "Work with Oracle to solve this mystery" route.

I guess this fear was mostly due to how they excluded Barbara from the first arc, and kept her entirely in the dark about even the existence of the mission. And then at the end of #6 they made a point of showing that Barbara was indeed hurt by this and they only revealed the reasons after Barbara had already left the roof.

So it was nice to have Barbara immediately get brought into the loop. I've complained a bit about the first arc of this run; and I suppose the heart of my personal issues with it was I felt it was all a tad contrived, between excluding Barbara and having a hero vs hero conflict with the Amazons.

But in #7 not only is Barbara informed of the situation, but she's working alongside Dinah and also acting as Oracle.

Between all of the dead alternate Barbaras being shown wearing their Batgirl outfits and Barbara being dressed as Batgirl in the cover of #7, it was a pleasant surprise to find that Barbara was indeed taking the lead as Oracle instead Batgirl. In fact despite the cover art, she doesn't even use her Batgirl outfit in #7.

Still feel like they should've just told Babs all the way back in #1 and had her take the lead as Oracle back then, but I digress.

With contrived conflict and lack of communication being the main thing which I felt distracted my enjoyment of the first arc, the fact that this new arc is getting kicked off with significantly less of that has made me really enjoy #7 and am looking forward to more.

#babs as oracle ftw #birds of prey #birds of prey 2023 #barbara gordon #batgirl #dinah lance #dinah drake lance #professoruber thoughts #dc comics #spoilers #birds of prey spoilers #cassandra cain #cassandra wayne #comic review #comic thoughts #batman #birds of prey 2023 spoilers #oracle #barbara gordon is oracle

[professoruber]

More of the Role Reversal AU, angsty elder Charlie

[professoruber]

Mia "Maps" Mizoguchi Reading List

Last Updated: 24/4/2024

A list I have decided to make for the purpose of compiling the various appearances so far of Maps Mizoguchi; since she is a character I like whom has also been receiving some focus as of late. I will also provide some brief description/thoughts for each one.

Gotham Academy (2014-2016) - All Issues

Maps of course first made her original appearance in the first run of Gotham Academy.

Gotham Academy: Endgame (2015) - #1

A one-shot comic which was one of several tie-ins made for the Endgame event which was going on at the time. Basically just shows what Maps and the GA crew were up to while Gotham was being overrun by Joker zombies.

Gotham Academy: Second Semester (2016-2017) - All Issues

The continuation of the Gotham Academy storyline, with of course has Maps in a major role.

Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy (2016-2017)

A crossover between Gotham Academy and the Lumberjanes, which I'm pretty sure is non-canon but still probably worth checking out. I have not read it, nor the Lumberjanes comics yet, although I do intend to do both as some point (due in part to ND Stevenson being one of the authors of Lumberjanes, and me really liking the She-Ra reboot and Nimona)

Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death (2016) - #1

Maps, alongside other Gotham Academy students (including Olive, Kyle, Colton and Pom) have a brief cameo in this first issue of this run. Maps and Olive each get one line each.

Batgirl (2011—2016) - #51, #52, & Annual 4

Maps (along with Olive) also showed up briefly during the Batgirl of Burnside run. My assumption is this is due to them sharing an artist and being published concurrently. I do know what Burnside!Babs isn't everyone's cup of tea so keep that in mind, I suppose.

My Video Game Ate my Homework (2020) - #1

Maps and Olive show up behind the main characters in the first page as a cameo... and that's about it. The comic seems fun though, for the record. Mostly including this because I'm just going through the list of Maps' appearances on the DC wiki.

Batman: Black and White (2021) - #4

One of the stories in this issue has Maps appear as Robin. Non-canon but still a very neat and fun appearance by her.

Batman (2016-) - #119, #120, #121

Probably Maps' first major appearance since the end of the Gotham Academy: Second Semester. These give some additional exploration of her home life and relationship with her parents. Has her dressing up as Robin to investigation the disappearance of another student.

Batgirls (2022-2023) - #11

Maps shows up here and has an adventure with Cass. This also means that Maps knows Babs, Cass and Steph. Which is neat. I do know that the portrayal of the Batgirls in Batgirls isn't everyone's cup of tea (namely portraying them as younger / less mature than they have been in the past) so that that's worth keeping in mind. Interestly, Maps' big brother Kyle has a larger role; appearing in #10, #11, #17, #18, #19 and the Annual as a possible love interest for Steph.

DC's Saved by the Belle Reve (2022) - #1 

A one-shot with several stories, including one which returns to the Gotham Academy crew and gives some information on what's happened since the end of Gotham Academy: Second Semester, along with a fun adventure.

Gotham Academy: Maps of Mystery (2023) - #1

A one-shot which acts a compilation of Batman (2016-) - #119, #120, #121, as well as Maps appearances in Batman: Black and White, and DC's Saved by the Belle Reve.

Birds of Prey (2023-) - All Issues

The newest Birds of Prey run has a surprise appearance by Maps. Which I think is a neat sign of her receiving some increased focus as of late. To get into some mild-ish spoilers... the Maps who appears is a Maps from the future. I have made a few posts/reviews of this run, which you can find on this blog, and I guess personally I am not the biggest fan of her portrayal in this comic. Still is neat to see her receive more focus. Do kinda also think it could've been neat if Present!Maps had shown up instead of Future!Maps.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2023-) - #10, #11, #12

Gotham Academy returns! As does Present!Maps. A fun ongoing story of Maps getting to team up with Batman once more.

#comic reading list #spoilers #dc comics #maps mizoguchi #mia mizoguchi #gotham academy #gotham academy: second semester #Batman: The Brave and the Bold 2023 #Gotham Academy: Maps of Mystery #Batgirls #Batgirl #Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy

[professoruber]

Maps Mizoguchi: Sword Fighter Compilation (Some Spoilers)

Gotham Academy: Second Semester (2016-2017) #11

Batgirls (2022-2023) #17

Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2023-) #10

Maps have an inclination towards swords is something which has been gotten mentioned a few times. With her having rather instantly preferring the katana out of all the weapons in the armoury.

Batgirls continues this by having Maps' absence in #17 get explained by her having fencing practice, something which we finally see in the latest issue of the current Brave and the Bold run.

Just thought this was a neat detail.

Hope to see more of Maps being an awesome sword fighter going forward!

#dc comics #batgirl #batgirls #maps mizoguchi #mia mizoguchi #gotham academy #batman brave and the bold 2023 #gotham academy: second semester #damian wayne #kyle mizoguchi #stephanie brown #cassandra cain #batman #dc comics spoilers #spoilers

[professoruber]

WFA Theory: The Identity of Gary

So in episode 110 of Wayne Family Adventures, the character of 'Gary' is introduced as someone Steph and Cass attempt to blame for the lost of a drone.

However I was re-reading some of WFA and in Episode 48 we're introduced to another character who I think kinda looks like Gary.

They look similar in terms of hair colour and style, and it would also not be the only instance of WFA introducing reoccurring original characters (Such as Damian's school friend, or the trio Tim Drake's kidnappers).

Both Gary and Cass' friend have similar hair, skin tones, and light freckles. And if he’s Cass’ friend it would also better explain why this random dude just happened to get involved in their mission and also why they know and refer to him by name as they do.

What does this mean? Probably very little, I just thought it was a possible neat little detail. Come back tomorrow; same bat time, same bat place, as I overanalyse another minor detail which few if any people probably care about.

Because why not.

#wayne family adventures #stephanie brown #cassandra wayne #cassandra cain #tim drake #jacob todd #Damian wayne #Gary #Wfa Gary #Wfa #professoruber thoughts #dc comics #Batman #batfamily #theory

[professoruber]

We’re out of money and food stamps! So until they get refilled on the 17th, I’m here to ask ya’ll to consider commissioning me or donating to my paypal or ko-fi! Any donations can be clocked in for commissions later! My paypal is [email protected]!

[professoruber]

I am gonna be honest while I'm not certain Emily is the perfect choice for this card she did seem to be seeking justice.

[professoruber]

Which Seraph do you think will become Fallen?

#hazbin hotel spoilers #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel heaven #emily the seraphim #sera the seraphim #fallen angel #hazbin hotel welcome to heaven #hazbin hotel poll

[professoruber]

We’re out of money and food stamps! So until they get refilled on the 17th, I’m here to ask ya’ll to consider commissioning me or donating to my paypal or ko-fi! Any donations can be clocked in for commissions later! My paypal is [email protected]!

[professoruber]

The Vees & Alastor: Reckless Ambition (Hazbin Hotel Thoughts/Analysis)

There's been a number moments throughout Season 1 which I think served to show that Alastor is not as different from the Vees as he may seem. I might go into more detail into these specific moments in another post; but the gist of my observations is that Alastor has been shown repeatedly to not be the enigmatic badass he presented himself as, at least not fully, and there's been a few allusions between them and the Vees.

This moment in particular near the end of the finale caught my eye in particular. Both The Vees ans Alastor are shown signing their own sections of the song independent of the rest of the cast; namely singing about how they will be the ones running the show soon.

Considering these segments are back-to-back, and also the other moments of similarities between the Vees and Alastor throughout the season, I kinda feel this might be intentional.

Ultimately they're all Overlords; power-hungry sinners who are much smaller in the grand scheme of things than they'd prefer.

I know there's been some debate on how Alastor will turn out, whether he'll be the big bad or not. And honestly...? I'm kinda leaning towards him not being the ultimate evil.

Because he is ultimately is just a sadistic serial killer with power-hungry ambitions. And just like how the Vees pick fights with those "above" them (Vox with Alastor, Velvette with Zestial and Carmilla, Valentino with Charlie), so does Alastor (Lucifer & Adam).

While Alastor's desire to 'unclip' his wings and be the one pulling all the strings is certainly rather sinister and foreboding, the scene is also a stark reminder of how human Alastor still is. He brought too much into his own hype, he seemed to get genuinely caught off guard by how Adam was able to beat him, and he only narrowly escaped death.

And his reaction to his near death experience brought on by biting off more than he can chew... is to affirm his intentions to be even more ambitious and high-reaching.

Alastor wants to guide Charlie's potential. Which is potential to be someone much more powerful than Adam, the guy who gave Alastor a very near death.

Look, I'm all for having ambitions and upturning power structures. But Alastor's desire to upheave the status quo seems solely to put himself at the top.

I think that Alastor's desire to be a puppet-master of everything is going to backfire on him. He keeps testing his luck, and even after his luck almost ran out he's seemingly not changed his plans.

Subsequently though; the Vees should not be written off as a threat. Just like how Alastor was once an overlooked nobody before he did something big... the Vees are looked down upon by the older Overlords as "smug wannabes", but may very well still manage to accomplish something big.

And off course, these people are all still Overlords; very ambitious ones at that who have little issue in rather recklessly antagonising those stronger than them.

Maybe its a wild guess at this point; but I think all of Hell (and perhaps even Heaven) is going to pay the price for their reckless desire to be the ones on the top of the food chain.

Because the introduction of Evil into Earth because of Lucifer and Lilith showed how even a well-intentioned changes to the status quo can have disastrous consequences; what will happen when self-serving and evil overlords seek to upturn the status quo to place themselves at the top?

Probably something which isn't good for anyone, the Overlords in question included.

#professoruber thoughts #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel spoilers #the vees #alastor the radio demon #the show must go on #charlie morningstar #lucifer morningstar #hazbin hotel theory #hazbin hotel analysis #spoilers #vox #valentino #velvette

[professoruber]

Thoughts of Birds of Prey (2023-) #6

Spoilers for Birds of Prey (2023-) #6

So the newest issue of the current Birds of Prey comic has recently come out and I guess since I took the time to make multiple fairly long-ish posts about this run, I should go over my thoughts here.

To sum things up... I thought it okay but also not really too big of a fan by the end of it. I didn't exactly dislike it, but I guess it left me with too many questions and felt a bit too contrived. It was enjoyable enough, but kinda felt like my enjoy-ness of it decreased with each subsequent issue. It wasn't bad, but I guess that's my knee-jerk fresh reaction.

Of course, it still possible that there is more to the story than there is now and that future issues will reveal new information which might clear up some of my issues more, I'll be discussing that as well...

Note again that I am a novice in comics, and Gotham Academy was one of the first I read fully so perhaps I'm biased in that area. But to go over my thoughts for why I kinda feel slightly disappointed in more detail...

What was the point of Meridian?

Warning of future doom, apparently. So as it turns out, the real reason that Barbara wasn't include was because she died eleven times already

(the fact that this was far from Meridian's first attempt was foreshadowed last issue with her noting where the last battle "always is"). So someone is out to get the Birds of Prey, and they're possibly using Future Maps time travel tech to do it.

While this does somewhat answer the question of why Barbara was specifically excluded; still doesn't explain the secrecy.

Like, all these visions of Barbara dying have her in her Batgirl outfit, so couldn't she just have been informed she'd die and asked to oversee the mission as Oracle? Or does that also somehow lead to her death?

Being kept in the loop would also presumably have greatly helped avoid awkward feelings like this. And from what I know of Barbara, her tactical mind is probably more valuable than her martial art skills. But I guess whatever evil time traveller is targeting the BoP would've found a way to get to Babs anyway? (also on a side note; Barbara getting hurt by not being included was at least one thing I kinda predicted. My other, more thougt-out predictions though... well I'll get to those in a bit)

It also confirms that Dinah indeed did not apparently get any explanation for why she had to exclude Barbara until after the mission was complete and.... that feels weird?

Like I said, I'm a novice on comics (although I am now definitely adding more Birds of Prey stuff to my to-read list) so I'm not the biggest expert on these characters. Nevertheless it feels that Black Canary here would've agreed to attack Wonder Woman and her people while excluding Oracle all on the word of a time traveller she's likely never met before (and in the present is a teenager who she's likely never met before either) without even demanding a damn good explanation first.

I guess it was more dramatic from a story perspective for Meridian to reveal this stuff now and set up the next arc. But it still just feels contrived to me. Maybe I'm overlooking/overthinking something though?

Meridian's Motives

So I've gone over a theory before that Meridian was in fact evil and possibly even connected to Megaera. That theory was not confirmed, or overly supported, by this. And it does seem like Meridian is probably on the up-and-up.

Perhaps I'm a tad biased/sunk-cost fallacy right now since I spent a decent amount of time on the theory of Meridian being evil, but still worth noting that this mission ended up Megaera possessing Sin, albeit with Sin in control (and presumably actually in control because Megaera said Sin was in control while Sin used the lasso on her).

There's still quite a few similarities between Meridian and Megaera which are a bit difficult to overlook (you can check out the link I placed above where i went into more detail into that).

Its worth noting as well that Meridian mentioned that whichever evil time traveller is targeting the BoP, they're using her technology most likely. An interesting detail, and one which raises q

Could it be Meridian is hiding something still? All the information we know about the future and her motives comes from her after all.

Or could it be she's being controlled without her knowledge? Or a second Meridian is up and about?

Perhaps it seems like I'm still focusing a disproportionate amount on Meridian, but she still remains the driving force behind all this issues of the narrative which have somewhat hurt my enjoyment and given me questions.

And to repeat what I've said before. Meridian seems like a strange direction for the character of Maps Mizoguchi.

As I've alluded to before, I'm probably quite biased in this area because I've read Gotham Academy years ago before I really got into comics like I have recently and it was one of the first runs I've finished and stuff.

Maps is a character who wants to be Robin. And that's the path which she seems to have been developed upon during her fairly recent return.

Given how still early she is in her storyline of becoming Robin (or some other kind of vigilante) it just still feels like a strange choice for Maps Mizoguchi of all people to show up as a time traveling hero with a persona and skillset which seems in stark contrast to her every prior appearance.

Meridian does not appear to be a martial artist, Maps doesn't appear to be a tech genius. Magic would seem like a more likely 'superpower' than super-tech for Maps considering the more supernatural focus of Gotham Academy.

Maps has been established with a preference for swords while Meridian is only shown fighting using a fancy taser.

Am I thinking too deeply into it? Probably, yes.

But still feels like an overall strange decision to introduce Future Maps in such a manner. Especially when Present Maps has only returned to semi-focus in recent years and still hasn't really developed too much in her own current goals (such as being Robin).

So taking a character who's still in need of a bit more focus and development and then giving them a future persona which is at contrast to their current development chain? Seems odd.

Also at first i just assumed Meridian comes from a post-apocalyptic future which would be retconned out of the timeline by this arc. But Meridian's comments about how she doesn't take time travel lightly and is trying to right the timeline suggests she does not in fact come from a post-apocalyptic timeline.

So does that mean Maps is destined to become Meriden?

Again, this is probably my bias due to Gotham Academy nostalgia. But I'm not sure if I'm too much of a fan of this direction for her.

Especially, as I keep noting, Present Maps has only barely gotten started on working on becoming Robin (or any-kind of vigilante); but Meridian seems to suggest Maps is going to drop her current direction and go in a completely different direction at some point in the future.

Well those of my thoughts I guess. I suppose I'll see how things develop from here.

While I did find the Birds of Prey quite well-drawn so far and fairly enjoyable. All this thoughts I've gone over and the general feeling this arc was a tad contrived has all somewhat mitigated my enjoyment.

#professoruber thoughts #dc comics #birds of prey 2023 #birds of prey 2023 spoilers #birds of prey #bop #comic review #comic criticism #maps mizoguchi #bop meridian #mia mizoguchi #dinah lance #dinah drake #dinah drake lance #megaera #sin lance #barbara gordon #batgirl #oracle

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Emily's Age

#hazbin hotel #charlie morningstar #poll #hazbin hotel poll #hh poll #lucifer morningstar #emily the seraphim #sera the seraphim #hh emily #Hazbin Hotel episode 6 #just curious I guess