Over at the Alpha Flight message boards there's speculation, mention that Northstar may well come back as a 'Hand' Ninja, as Elektra did all those years back.
Over at the Alpha Flight message boards there's speculation, mention that Northstar may well come back as a 'Hand' Ninja, as Elektra did all those years back.
Del
Driftwood: Well, I got about a foot and a half. Now, it says, uh, "The party of the second part shall be known in this contract as the party of the second part."
Fiorello: Well, I don't know about that...
Driftwood: Now what's the matter?
Fiorello: I no like-a the second party, either.
Driftwood: Well, you should've come to the first party. We didn't get home 'til around four in the morning... I was blind for three days!
Who knows? It's pretty unlikely that he'll stay dead, he'll just join the pantheon of dead Afers who just don't stay dead.
Looks like my optimism about good news from Ben/Phil is unfounded.
Now all we'll have to talk about is what to do to get AF v4 and what the WX miniseries will have for Afers.
Keep your stick on the ice.
Live it.
Step back yourself, sweety. If you don't consider a companywide policy that essentially says that it's absolute taboo to show any implication of two gays having made love, kissing, holding hands, or otherwise showing anything but platonic affection (addendum: exceptions to be made for superhot lesbians), but that it's perfectly OK to kill one off to be homophobic, then that's your concern, but I call it as I see it and I'm sticking the tag to this particular writer for being the hand that carries that policy through for sheer exploitation value. Yeah, 'homophobe' is an ugly tag, and killing off a severely marginalized comic book character is not on the same level of severity as, say, raping your lesbian daughter to show her how to appreciate men, but it's all from the same root.Originally Posted by DelBubs
That said, I don't think that the killing of a gay character is in and of itself a sign of bigotry; sexual orientation should not be a ward against equal treatment, positive or negative. Sunfire's death, for example, and the deaths of the X-Statix were appropriate to their books and characters. If Tieri, for example, had brought Northstar into the upcoming Weapon X mini on a quest to find his sister and had him die in that pursuit or if DeFillipes and Weir had him die trying to aid one of the students over in New X-Men, odds are I still would have been screaming, but it would have been along the lines of "Stop breaking my heart, you bastards!" The former has a storyline that Northstar has a logical reason to be there, and a book that has a reputation as a killing field. The latter two have demonstrated enough sensitivity and respect toward the character -- in and outside of the book -- that I'd accuse an editor of rewriting the script before I'd accuse them of pandering to a bigoted management, and I think that they'd probably move me to tears with the execution besides.
Millar has none of that credibility built up with me. I did not consider Apollo's rape to be a sign of bigotry -- on the contrary, I was intrigued when I heard about it. So far as I'm aware, that was the first -- and perhaps still only -- instance of male-on-male rape to be displayed in anything even resembling a high profile superhero book, and I wanted to see how it was going to be handled. The answer was 'disappointingly'; the story had no follow-through so far as the impact of the rape, just a 'revenge makes everything better' wrap-up. Hardly worth the hype, I thought, but what can you expect from a superhero book, right? Not everyone can follow in Ellis' wake. The second time it happened, I found it more disturbing. Yes, the entire Authority was subjected to a series of (admittedly) creative and humiliating tortures, but again, we were back to basics with beating and molesting the gay man. Even *then* I might not have thought too darkly of the whole affair, but the fact that Millar kept coming back to linger on Apollo's torture in specific made me think there might be something else there. The Batman and Robin stand-ins in "Wanted"...just ugh. That is the oldest fag joke in the industry, and it wasn't funny the first time. Almost worse, his being unable to resist inserting the joke got in the way of the one already in play. And then there's this. Northstar is being killed off because he's gay. Plain and simple. Because his being gay is a hassle for TPTB. Because in his quest to be as exploitively non-PC as possible and because he'll be allowed to get away with it, Millar zoomed in on and decided to kill off the last queer standing. Nevermind that it's a throwaway death. Nevermind that I can think of two or three unused but technically active characters at the mansion that he could have killed to better story effect and that would been both unmourned by the readership at large and *really* would have been shocking in their deaths because hardly anyone remembers them being around. Nevermind that Jean-Paul is a character that has never been used to his full potential and still had connection to a couple of ongoing plots. Under the current administration and with this writer at the helm, Jean-Paul's sexuality was his death sentence. The ***** of it is that this isn't even really very shocking, just maddening. This was half-expected on my part because even back when Teiri mentioned that Northstar would be guest-starring in Weapon X I was well aware that Northstar's death had the potential to benefit everyone involved the most out of all the possible choices. And so it has. Millar gets his hype and the Marvel staff have disposed of the double-edged sword of having The First Gay Superhero (tm), having decided that the progressive image gifted by said superhero wasn't worth the problem of actually having to figure out something to do with him besides make his sexuality the butt or jokes or the focal point for neutered, placating social commentary. I hate it when supposedly creative people live down to my expectations.
My opinion of the overgrown twelve-year-olds running Marvel is a lost cause. Maybe I'll revise my opinion of Millar and chalk what appears to be bigotry up to the man holding everything and everyone equally irreverent when and if I do see him giving other minorities this kind of treatment -- admittedly a difficult proposition, as I decided to actively start avoiding the man's work with the end of 'Wanted'. Until then, I stand by my opinion. And if I had seen him all but squealing with glee over how many PC feathers he could ruffle if he was killing off Kitty for being Jewish, or Bishop for being black, or Dust for being Arabic, I can assure you my disgust would be just as deep as it is right now and any assurances of how much he liked the character would seem just as absurd. It just would have come as more of a shock, that's all.
Suzene
Wow suzene, I've never seen such a long post with so very very little to say. They killed a character you like. Get over it. The fact that he's gay had NOTHING to do with it.
Yah, I agree. They killed the least 'x-menish' of the X-men, he's an AFer after all. They wanted an impact death but not a central character (after all, they've "killed" Jean Grey, Colossus, and Psylocke recently and did silly stories to 'rebirth' them, Grey's 'return' won't happen for a while yet, I hope).
Still, I hold out out for another AF comic.
Keep your stick on the ice.
Live it.
Weak.
Suzene
No dear, "weak" was penning that 1000-word polemic on the mass right wing conspiracy to systematically murder gay crime fighters.
Honestly, if you think the character's sexuality factored that heavily in the decision to kill him rather than, say, Cyclops. . . Well, you need take step back and seriously re-evaluate your world view, if not just your. . . unique opinions on the comic industry.
Ok, so first, lets remember, we each have our own opinions, and expressing them is encouraged. Lets not make it personal, and let's attempt to be diplomatic with each other, and creators. I encourage opinions to be expressed openly, as long as it's not slanderous towards other. I don't feel that line has been crossed yet, but it's being walked.
That being said, I'll express my opinion on the matter, admins have them too.
The fact that Northstar is dead, sucks. In my opinion, Millar killing off NS was to bring Wolvie to a major mental crisis. He and Northstar go farther back than any other member of the X-Men, therefore killing him while under metal control would have a deeper impact on the character. I feel THAT is why the character was chosen. I don't like the fact that he is being killed, but at the same point, it does accomplis the means for the story. If you want to say someone is biggoted, or homophobic, how biggoted is it to choose NOT to kill him because he's gay? I do not feel he was chosen for his sexual orientation, I do feel it was because of his historical associatioin with Wolverine. To choose an other character, giving less impact, becase they are afraid of the backlash due to the character's sexulity, is a form of biggotry. From what I know of Millar, it is not in his nature to be homophobic. I've never met the man, but do have friends who have had drinks with, and chummed around with him, and from what I have heard, he is not like that in the lest. He wanted to make an impact with his story, and by God, he has.
I can understand being upset, and easily jumping to these condlusions, because NS is the only really openly gay character in the MU, but why fingers, or make any unfounded accusations without any basis?
My rant is done, you won't get it often from me.
Ben
Well said Ben.
The way I look at it, NO death counts until the story arc and its immediate ramifications are over. By this standard, I do not consider Hawkeye and Ant-Man truly dead until the Scarlet Witch is healed. I doubt either Hawkeye or Northstar will stay dead.
The historical link Ben mentioned could be a main reason for selecting Northstar, although I tend to think gutting Jubilee would have more impact on the character of Wolverine.
The arc is not over...the issue in question is not even out yet, so the fat lady has not sung, Northstar is not buried.
www.kozzi.us
recent publications in M-Brane Science Fiction and the anthology Things We Are Not.
Forthcoming stories in Breath and Shadow, Star Dreck anthology and The Aether Age: Helios.
~I woke up one morning finally seeing the world through a rose colored lense. It turned out to be a blood hemorrhage in my good eye.
Can't do in a character that has plot dibs, and with Jubs having her own book (or is it done?) they would choose her. He said he couldnt' kill the popular choise, Gambit, as somone had plans for him. No one was planning anything for NS, and of all availbable characters, he was most likely the one who would have the most impact on the story.
Ben
Yes, the Jubes book has been axed.
www.kozzi.us
recent publications in M-Brane Science Fiction and the anthology Things We Are Not.
Forthcoming stories in Breath and Shadow, Star Dreck anthology and The Aether Age: Helios.
~I woke up one morning finally seeing the world through a rose colored lense. It turned out to be a blood hemorrhage in my good eye.
Ok Just a question here. If Wolverine kills JP in his book then who's killing JP in this book? X-men The End: heroes and Martyrs see image posted in Assorted AF Images section.
How's this ?
Ben
I believe that's one of Marvel's "alternate timelines"
Ben
Ah well. Can't blame the man for trying with that one.
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