I loved the freedom team trapping AZ in a group photo.
Yeah, trolling Frost never gets old, and the Haka/Tempest photobomb just makes it better.
AZ strikes me as the kind of person who only pretends to hate it. It's easy to let a tragic past be your shield against the world, but just like Wolverine has a strange but fatherly soft-spot for mutant girls (OR NOT SO FATHERLY, ULTIMATE UNIVERSE I'M LOOKING AT YOU AND JUDGING), I think ultimately AZ goes along with the heroing not because he's being blackmailed or anything, but because all those much more happy-go-lucky people he works with remind him every so slightly of good times. But someone like that needs to have the frivolity introduced casually- ergo practical jokes that he can groan about but secretly enjoy.
It's a valid and cool take on the character, even if it isn't mine.
(At least, not at first. Being around the Freedom Friends will certainly push him in that direction over time... as it did Wolverine, come to think on it.)
Ironic
I agree as well. I think Absolute Zero is the Eyeore of the group; he's usually down all the time, but sometimes he gets a broken baloon and a pot to put it in, and he starts feeling alright, at least until his house gets blown down.
And the Scholar is Pooh.
After the assored Sentinels of the Multiverse rush off to stop the forces of evil, The Scholar ruins the Parsons' vegetable patch, and steals all their honey. "For crucial alchemical research," reads the note left behind.
I'm always wondering about Ra's personality, and I keep thinking how much of his personality is Blake Washington Jr. and how much is the god what resides in his soul. Some of the cards have him acting like the king of the gods should (Wrathful Gaze, Inferno, Flame Spike), while some have him playing more like he was Nathan Drake or something (Adaptive Plating Subroutine, Inconcieveable Obstruction). Do Ra and Blake talk to each other like the two halves of Firestorm, or are they completly fused? I think having Ra talk to himself would be interesting to be sure, but there is no evidence that backs it. Maybe it's like the Avatar (of Last Airbender fame) where he can channel the Ra to get memories of past staff-wielders? I don't know. Could be interesting.
Ra is the designated Tsukkomi.
is Fantaic the Boke, then? I don't think she'd take a paper fan to the head very well…
I'm fairly sure that's the premise of the Baptism by Fire comics, though Ra might have dispensed with the paper fan for reasons of health and safety.
Please tell me someone else got the Irony of the Argent Adebt's initials...
He's called AA, he was a bartender...
Yeah, I got it. I think he'd be a great sponser too!
I KNOW WHAT I AM GOING TO DRAW TONIGHT
Taking up the discussion from earlier about which heroes have killed, and the perception of their actions...
"The team was killed by an angry human with wings and a sword. It was awful!" - Gene-bound soldier, Freedom Five #536 (from Sanctifying Strike)
So, Fanatic kills humanoid alienswho are intelligent enough to speak and to feel upset about it.
While this does demonstrate the sentience/emotions of Voss' minions, I would argue that any of them that get killed while stopping Voss don't really "count" against a hero's "good guy rating". After all, you have to remember that Voss' whole schtick is that he invades planet's, enslaves the populace, and genetically twists them to his own nefarious purposes before moving on to the next target. Killing his minions is no different than killing enemy soldiers on the battlefield. Sometimes, the enemy (who is likely just as "human" as you, with hopes/dreams/family/etc.) has to die in order to protect a higher justice, even if the one who is really to blame temporarily remains safe.
Apparently, Chrono-Ranger is also willing to kill humans - seing as how he's Cowboy Cable, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised
I don't know from Cable, but Jim Brooks seems to me like a time-traveling John Wayne. His bio says he was one of the fastest guns in the West, protecting Silver Gulch until a Time Portal transported him to the Final Wasteland (Duh duh duhhh duhnnn! Duh duh duhn duhn duhnnn!). So while he probably doesn't hesitate much at dropping any dangerous criminals (read: super-powered villains, anyone armed and endangering innocents), he also comes from a culture on the fringe of society, where the strong preyed upon the weak unless someone like him was there to stop them. Secondly, he is busy hunting down all the weird monsters from history to prevent the horrible future that he ended up in, so he doesn't have a lot of time to waste on "normals" that won't even be around later on. Thirdly, he is, technically, a member of law enforcement. (His office may have expired, since he's from 1883, but he WAS the Sheriff before he disappeared.) Sometimes, the cops have to shoot criminals to protect innocents.
Also, I seem to have forgotten to mention ealier that Expatriette shoots a human between the eyes in her bio.
Said "human" was a telekinetic that was using his powers to rob an armored car (with some help from his gang of thugs). Right between the eyes may be a little on the "dark" side, but he was definitely no innocent bystander. And he definitely won't be killing or torturing anyone anymore.
P.S. - Does everyone else sing/hum that song everytime they mention that environment? You know which one I'm talking about.
I actually spoke with Christopher at Kantcon about Fanatic's personality. Apparently she projects a lot of pomp and righteousness when she is in public, displaying no doubt that she is sent to do the work of the Heavens and strike down any evil that opposes her. However, she actually has a lot of doubts about her cause and whether she really is in the right or not, and feels a great deal of shame because of it. So, while she may have a grandiose and hyperconfident demeanor when out hero-ing and reacting to the public, she is just as unsure of life, the universe, and everything as we are.
EDIT: Yes we do, Scholars Aide.
...
IT'S THE FINAL WASTELAAAAAAAAAND!!!
Interesting… This adds another layer to Fanatic that I didn't necessarily think of. She is probably my favorite in terms of deck mechanics although I've struggled defining her personality.
Is her doubt based on whether or not the cause is right, or whether it is her cause? Does she doubt her calling or what she is called to?
I could see this going several ways: One she doubts herself, whether or not she has lived up to her calling, and tortured by her perceived failures. Two she actually has doubts as to whether her cause is right, like maybe she isn't serving who she thinks she is. Three could be the classic how can god allow evil trap, especially with her nemesis being so similar to her, you have to ask why he even exists.
It sounds like doubt over whether anything she believes is right. The same doubt lots of people experience with faith, philosophy, or ethics. I think what Christopher was talking about is that she has doubts about her cause, and she is ashamed because she feels she shouldn't have any at all considering all that has happened to her. His focus wasn't so much on what her doubts were as much as the fact that she doubts her cause and is ashamed that she holds these doubts.
The shame is probably a key aspect here. That is a pretty heavy thing to deal with. Its bad enough to have doubts about something you believe in, but to burden yourself with shame on top of that…it makes sense that when she finally does go into battle that all of her shame and doubts would lead to her being even more vocal and zelous, to the point of brinking on anger, not just anger at whatever evil shes fighting, but anger at herself.
Thats probably why Apostate beat her in their first encounter. A few choice words about how she's killed in anger, and how she's even worse because she's convinced herself that its "right" when she does it...anything to widen the cracks, knock her off balance, sow doubt, and bring that shame to the surrface.
Maybe the "Redeemer" angle is as much about her OWN redemption from the evils she has caused as the redemption of her enemies...