Why JLElite is Awesome, Part 2
Aug. 3rd, 2006 12:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shankieIn which I go on about why this series makes every member of the Elite totally awesome.
The books take a darker kind of take on the four former Justice League members, Mantiou Raven, Ollie, Booker, and Wally. Darker than their time with the League, anyway... they all got pretty gritty on their own at one point or another.
I don't think Wally's ever forgiven Booker for destroying Santa Marta, California while he was its guardian, Ollie's straight-up killed people, and Raven's introduction to the JLA was when he tried to kill them all just before and during The Obsidian Age. Comparatively, Wally's not all that dark a guy. So... what's he doing here?
Having a speedster doing covert ops is the coolest thing ever, that's why.
Clockwise from the bottom...
Wally West (Flash), Manitou Raven, Sonja (Menagerie II), Paul Booker (Major Disaster), Vera Lynn Black (Sister Superior), Kasumi (Cassandra Cain in disguise), Nathan Jones (Coldcast), Oliver Queen (Green Arrow).
Wally, as we saw in JLA #100, is fed up with the JLA right now. Not sure if he wants to even be a member anymore. His move to join the Elite reflects in a lot of ways, to me anyway, Batman's joining the Outsiders or J'onn forming the Task Force. It's an interesting move for him, and we get to see a whole other side of his talents in this series.
Raven in the JLA was mostly just mystic guy. You know, once he was forgiven for the whole "trying to kill them and eventually succeeding in aiding with the death of the entire League" thing. Here, they pump up the creepy and intense factor, along with his relationship with his wife. It's not the best. She wants to live in the modern world, and he's still stuck in ancient history.
Sonja's sister Pam was the first Menagerie, the one who tangled with Superman. Manchester Black lobotomized her for betraying him; she's alive, but not in good shape. Sonja's taken on the role in her stead.
Paul Booker's flipped back and forth from being bad, to good, to bad, to good. Simply put, his power made him insane. When Wally was temporarily banned from operating as the Flash in Keystone, he continued to live there, but operated out of Santa Marta. All was fine, until Booker came along and summoned a tidal wave that destroyed it. Since then, he's made up for all that... or at least tried to... with League work and general good deeds.
Vera is an interesting creature. Her arms, and much of the rest of her, are cybernetic and can be fitted with lots of fun weapons and technology. While she loved her brother, she thinks of his methods as having been wrong. She's one of the real gems of this book, as a character, witty, snarky, and willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done.
Kasumi is, as pointed out, Batgirl in disguise. This doesn't get revealed until later, but it's interesting for a few reasons. Firstly, that Batman has sent an agent to infiltrate a group that specializes in infiltration because he sees their methods as potentially dangerous. Okay, Bruce. You big crazy wanker. Also, she develops a relationship with Coldcast over the course of the series... despite the fact that he never knows who she is until near the end.
Nathan, or Coldcast, is the only member of the Elite that was also a member when Manchester was running things. He's kicked Superman's ass. He was a villain, all the way. And has had a total change of heart, even moreso than Booker. He's also pretty darn powerful, and cool, but I think that JLElite, his Action Comics appearances, and JLA #100 are the only times we ever see him.
Ollie's being here is so cool. He hangs out in a sweatshirt, jeans, and a mask. He hits on Raven's wife. He manages to make his moral ambiguity on sex a sub-plot that charges up the end of this series with more angst than you can shake a stick at. A superhero who has an affair with another man's wife on more than one occasion. If it wasn't for his skill and charisma, there's no way he could pull that off.
So that's our line-up, along with their leader, Naif al-Sheikh. Naif is an espionage expert, an Arab, and... he hates metahumans. He snarks at Western culture, smokes too much, and is a perfect contrast to the somewhat rowdy bunch that makes up the Elite in dry-witted stoicism.
Politics, morality, espionage, love, and superheroes. Long live the Elite!
The books take a darker kind of take on the four former Justice League members, Mantiou Raven, Ollie, Booker, and Wally. Darker than their time with the League, anyway... they all got pretty gritty on their own at one point or another.
I don't think Wally's ever forgiven Booker for destroying Santa Marta, California while he was its guardian, Ollie's straight-up killed people, and Raven's introduction to the JLA was when he tried to kill them all just before and during The Obsidian Age. Comparatively, Wally's not all that dark a guy. So... what's he doing here?
Having a speedster doing covert ops is the coolest thing ever, that's why.
Clockwise from the bottom...
Wally West (Flash), Manitou Raven, Sonja (Menagerie II), Paul Booker (Major Disaster), Vera Lynn Black (Sister Superior), Kasumi (Cassandra Cain in disguise), Nathan Jones (Coldcast), Oliver Queen (Green Arrow).
Wally, as we saw in JLA #100, is fed up with the JLA right now. Not sure if he wants to even be a member anymore. His move to join the Elite reflects in a lot of ways, to me anyway, Batman's joining the Outsiders or J'onn forming the Task Force. It's an interesting move for him, and we get to see a whole other side of his talents in this series.
Raven in the JLA was mostly just mystic guy. You know, once he was forgiven for the whole "trying to kill them and eventually succeeding in aiding with the death of the entire League" thing. Here, they pump up the creepy and intense factor, along with his relationship with his wife. It's not the best. She wants to live in the modern world, and he's still stuck in ancient history.
Sonja's sister Pam was the first Menagerie, the one who tangled with Superman. Manchester Black lobotomized her for betraying him; she's alive, but not in good shape. Sonja's taken on the role in her stead.
Paul Booker's flipped back and forth from being bad, to good, to bad, to good. Simply put, his power made him insane. When Wally was temporarily banned from operating as the Flash in Keystone, he continued to live there, but operated out of Santa Marta. All was fine, until Booker came along and summoned a tidal wave that destroyed it. Since then, he's made up for all that... or at least tried to... with League work and general good deeds.
Vera is an interesting creature. Her arms, and much of the rest of her, are cybernetic and can be fitted with lots of fun weapons and technology. While she loved her brother, she thinks of his methods as having been wrong. She's one of the real gems of this book, as a character, witty, snarky, and willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done.
Kasumi is, as pointed out, Batgirl in disguise. This doesn't get revealed until later, but it's interesting for a few reasons. Firstly, that Batman has sent an agent to infiltrate a group that specializes in infiltration because he sees their methods as potentially dangerous. Okay, Bruce. You big crazy wanker. Also, she develops a relationship with Coldcast over the course of the series... despite the fact that he never knows who she is until near the end.
Nathan, or Coldcast, is the only member of the Elite that was also a member when Manchester was running things. He's kicked Superman's ass. He was a villain, all the way. And has had a total change of heart, even moreso than Booker. He's also pretty darn powerful, and cool, but I think that JLElite, his Action Comics appearances, and JLA #100 are the only times we ever see him.
Ollie's being here is so cool. He hangs out in a sweatshirt, jeans, and a mask. He hits on Raven's wife. He manages to make his moral ambiguity on sex a sub-plot that charges up the end of this series with more angst than you can shake a stick at. A superhero who has an affair with another man's wife on more than one occasion. If it wasn't for his skill and charisma, there's no way he could pull that off.
So that's our line-up, along with their leader, Naif al-Sheikh. Naif is an espionage expert, an Arab, and... he hates metahumans. He snarks at Western culture, smokes too much, and is a perfect contrast to the somewhat rowdy bunch that makes up the Elite in dry-witted stoicism.
Politics, morality, espionage, love, and superheroes. Long live the Elite!
no subject
on 2006-08-06 11:41 am (UTC)no subject
on 2006-08-06 05:24 pm (UTC)