Before I go on with another challenge, I'd like to say that this is by no means a diss of your work. You have crafted a *universe* that not only tweaks canon but builds on it, making what should have been a warped reality a very scaringly logical one. In another pair of hands, this scenario would have fallen like a house of cards.
More than the consistency and the characterization, the powerful way by which you tug at our heartstrings, exquisitely painfully, sets a high standards that only few can match. I mean that.
What I ask or write now are questions and scenarios that do require some answering precisely because you have set the bar. It's like the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films. Jackson created a masterpiece - that any flaw (andit had many) was immediately spotted by adoring fans, not to brign down what he had creatd, but in a way said noticing was a complement because it meant that the fans exacted on themselves and on his work those same high standards that Jackson had first of all imposed on himself.
I'm not sucking up. I'm just saying my truth.
What can I say, guys? You make me think - and think hard.
Now here's my crit (beside the overwhelmingly positive ones):
I get it that Slade manipulated Dick's guilt over the death of Blockbuster and now Canary's guilt over the mind-wiping to go "over to his side." I do. These heroes may not see any way out and Slade is offering them a path to some kind of redemption.
Now here's the first question: how long will it last?
I posted this before. How long will it take for Canary to realize that by sparing Lian's life, she's actually paving the way for her grand-daughter to enter an even second death, the life of an assassin? How long before Roy sees that - and is Dick's love stronger than his love for a father? How will these two react if they learn that Slade is eyeing Lian for apprenticeship under Shiva, to be molded as the next greatest assassin-cum-marksman of the next generation.
These heroes value life, yes. But time and again, they've been willing to sacrifice their lives for a Higher Truth to prevail. Is Lian a living assassin much better than a dead but innocent little girl?
True, Rose is sweet, charming, smart - but she's lethal. She kills. This teenager kills. How long before Canary realizes that she's molding her grandchild into a teenager that kills?
Second question: Dick will now have every reason to hate the JLA especially after laernign what they've done to Bruce. This disillusionmetn may even make him think he's right for following Slade, and mayeb Slade is capitalizing on that. But what about the other heroes who haven't compromised? Especially the Titans.
Dick said it best: "The Titans aren't just the JLA saving the world. We're here to fight each other's nightmares." Can he honestly live with himself, knowing that he has become the living Nightmare of his former proteges?
In the Technis imperative, Dick and the Titans fought against their mentors who were willing to "stop" or terminate Cyborg because they believed in their friend. The Titans is more of a family than the JLA ever was. Can Garth and Wally especially do less for their friend who had gone over to the dark side? They might see him as another victim, not necessarily a villain, ruined by evil programming the way Cyborg was.
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Date: 2006-09-23 01:55 pm (UTC)More than the consistency and the characterization, the powerful way by which you tug at our heartstrings, exquisitely painfully, sets a high standards that only few can match. I mean that.
What I ask or write now are questions and scenarios that do require some answering precisely because you have set the bar. It's like the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films. Jackson created a masterpiece - that any flaw (andit had many) was immediately spotted by adoring fans, not to brign down what he had creatd, but in a way said noticing was a complement because it meant that the fans exacted on themselves and on his work those same high standards that Jackson had first of all imposed on himself.
I'm not sucking up. I'm just saying my truth.
What can I say, guys? You make me think - and think hard.
Now here's my crit (beside the overwhelmingly positive ones):
I get it that Slade manipulated Dick's guilt over the death of Blockbuster and now Canary's guilt over the mind-wiping to go "over to his side." I do. These heroes may not see any way out and Slade is offering them a path to some kind of redemption.
Now here's the first question: how long will it last?
I posted this before. How long will it take for Canary to realize that by sparing Lian's life, she's actually paving the way for her grand-daughter to enter an even second death, the life of an assassin? How long before Roy sees that - and is Dick's love stronger than his love for a father? How will these two react if they learn that Slade is eyeing Lian for apprenticeship under Shiva, to be molded as the next greatest assassin-cum-marksman of the next generation.
These heroes value life, yes. But time and again, they've been willing to sacrifice their lives for a Higher Truth to prevail. Is Lian a living assassin much better than a dead but innocent little girl?
True, Rose is sweet, charming, smart - but she's lethal. She kills. This teenager kills. How long before Canary realizes that she's molding her grandchild into a teenager that kills?
Second question: Dick will now have every reason to hate the JLA especially after laernign what they've done to Bruce. This disillusionmetn may even make him think he's right for following Slade, and mayeb Slade is capitalizing on that. But what about the other heroes who haven't compromised? Especially the Titans.
Dick said it best: "The Titans aren't just the JLA saving the world. We're here to fight each other's nightmares." Can he honestly live with himself, knowing that he has become the living Nightmare of his former proteges?
In the Technis imperative, Dick and the Titans fought against their mentors who were willing to "stop" or terminate Cyborg because they believed in their friend. The Titans is more of a family than the JLA ever was. Can Garth and Wally especially do less for their friend who had gone over to the dark side? They might see him as another victim, not necessarily a villain, ruined by evil programming the way Cyborg was.
More on part 2.