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From: boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian)
Newsgroups: net.comics
Subject: re: Recent Changes
Message-ID: <3770@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 28-Sep-84 07:24:01 EDT
Article-I.D.: decwrl.3770
Posted: Fri Sep 28 07:24:01 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 29-Sep-84 10:04:47 EDT
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> From:	dartvax!johnfr           23-Sep-1984 23:27:01  
>	John Freeman
   
> But what I want to write about is something that I want to see
> if anyone else has noticed/would like to comment on...
> I am referring to the recent changes in some of the major DC
> and Marvel characters....for example:

Well, if you've been reading this newsgroup for a while, you must certainly
have seen that we've *noticed* these changes.

> b) Thor has lost the identity of Don Blake...this is a change I 
> whole-heartedly approve of, but it seems to make Thor far less
> vulnerable in many ways...and he has always been Don Blake, or so
> it seems to me...no more Don now...

Yeah, I never could quite understand this one. When Odin removed the enchant-
ment, I rather assumed that henceforth Thor would change to Don Blake *only
when he wanted to*, and not when he lost hold of the hammer for one minute. It
seems to me that Blake was too useful as a doctor to just up and get rid of him.

> c) the break-up of the (eternal) Justic League...during which, I 
> feel they lost about 75% of their raw power (and some of their
> effectivness maybe?)...I am not sure what J'onn Jonzz is still 
> capable of, so I am leaving them with some power...

You only give it 75%? As far as I can see, *either* Superman or Green Lantern
was as powerful as the whole present JLA put together. I can't see any
rationale whatsoever for disbanding the old JLA in order to increase effec-
tiveness. J'onn J'onzz is pretty damn powerful, probably second in strength
amongst DC's superheroes only to Superman, Supergirl, and Wonder Woman (not
counting the 30th Century heroes). And no, this doesn't contradict what I
said previously --- Superman is still a lot stronger than J'onn.


As for reasons why Marvel and DC are making these changes: I think the answer
for DC is obvious --- simplicity. The DC Multiverse has just gotten too com-
plicated and new readers are probably confused about what's what. The less com-
plicated the continuity, the room they have to play around.

Marvel? Well, I think the answer there can be summed up in 2 words: "Jim" and
"Shooter". A few years ago, their was a ruckus in fandom when the rumor made
the rounds that Shooter wanted to radically change the Marvel Universe around.
When the fans went up in arms, Shooter flatly denied that he ever contemplated
these changes. Two years later: voila! Many of the changes proposed ended up
taking place after all: Don Blake was eliminated, someone else became Iron Man,
et al. I just think that Shooter's obcessed with his own self-importance.

(And by the way, it's "Rhodey", not "Roddey")

--- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA)

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