Podcast 124: Reviews, Theater Talk and Movie Casting

4 Comments

1. #1 – What about Glenn Jacobs as “The Christmas Creature?” 🙂

2. Wow. That guy went kinda crazy over the “racism” topic….seriously. =/
   While I honestly thought Norah could be a fun edition to the cast, I lost a lot of love for the character pretty fast while Joe Kelly was writing her.
   Dan Slott has not written her in such a way yet so he’s not to blame for her ignorance like that dude was making him out to be. He turned a lot of his assumptions into fact on that blog. I have a problem with Dan’s defense of the Norah character, but whatever.

   I may not approve of his actions on the net, but the man is on fire right now.
   Peter Parker is in character THAT is what I have desperately needed for SO long.

3. 2 things.
   1. I have never thought of comic book characters in the same terms as wrestling. but i do see your point. kinda blew my mind there.
   2. I agree with everything that Kevin said on the podcast.

4. I’m listening to the podcast right now. A couple of notes:

   A. Yes, there is at least one person of African descent who is upset about the perceived racism of Norah Winters.

   http://arsmarginal.wordpress.com/2010/12/23/dan-slott-we-are-sick-of-your-shit/
   The author there calls Norah a “Grand Wizard in Training.” (For those of you who are too young to know – a “Grand Wizard” is a reference to the Ku Klux Klan, not Dr. Strange.)
   That said, I’m somewhat on the side of people who don’t think it’s a big deal, for the same reason I’m on the side of those who don’t approve of the latest attempt to “clean up” the Twain classic “Huckleberry Finn” by replacing all uses of the “n-word” with “slave.”

   B. There *is* some sense to having one villain kill another.

   In the world of professional wrestling, it’s called “putting him over.” In other words, if you pit two guys against each other, the one that wins probably looks better – especially if it’s a pinfall, submission, or knockout. So, in order to build up new characters, you have them battle existing characters and win. That’s what builds their credibility. Truth be told, this is a lesson that comic books should spend more time on – in the past, when they have introduced new villains, they have neglected to “put them over” – say, give ’em a win over a hero or another villain – and then the publishers wonder why said villains aren’t accepted.

   Yes, there are other factors. A crap character is a crap character, now matter how much you put them over. Just ask Glenn Jacobs, aka “Kane” of the WWE. Right now, his character has enormous credibility with fans – not just because he’s huge and talented, but because he has a record of defeating champions like the Undertaker (his half-brother), the Big Show, etc. And even when he loses, he doesn’t go out like a “bitch” – another problem with the recent Hobgoblin transition. HOWEVER, the same performer was not quite as successful under other gimmicks – notably faux-Diesel (long story) and Isaac Yankem, DDS. (Yes, he was a frickin’ evil dentist.)

   And before anyone says anything…yes, “professional wrestling isn’t real.” Although “real” is a very subjective thing in this case. But that’s why it applies – it’s another form of fiction and it is a useful way of learning and teaching about character development.