Lack of Respect For Marriage in Comics

Warning: The Following contains spoilers from AvX #9 and more.

  Years ago, I went to my comic book shop and bought X-Men # 30, the wedding of Jean Grey and Scott Summers. For years, I would reread that very issue; merely enjoying the love of the characters had for each other and those around them. And then Grant Morrison's New X-Men happened and Scott Summers ended up having a psychic affair with Emma Frost, which became physical. Jean Grey died ... again and Scott moved on as he and Emma fell in love with each other.

Look at that. STAN LEE married Luke & Jessica! WTH Marvel!

  Fast forward to about 5 to 6 years ago. New Avengers were young in their first volume but Luke Cage's character rose. He and his long time love, Jessica Jones, tied the knot in New Avengers Annual # 1. They ended up having a daughter, Danielle, named after Luke's best friend, Danny Rand aka Iron Fist. They ended up buying the Avengers Mansion for a $1 ... I am not kidding. New Avengers Volume 2, # 1 for that one folks ... and they had become full fledged Avengers while Squirrel Girl became their babysitter.

  Go back about 7 years ago, during the time of Civil War where hero was fighting hero ... but the X-Men were out of it at this point. Captain America was on one side while Iron Man was on the other. The breather between the event happened to be the nuptials of T'Challa, long time Avenger Black Panther, and Storm, former leader of the X-Men. They had wed and became King and Queen of Wakanda. They also served a small stint on the Fantastic Four, allowing Reed and Sue to FINALLY have a honeymoon. The Watcher said they were gonna have children! The WATCHER! Freakin' Uatu! Said that T'Challa and Ororo would have CHILDREN! And they have been married since then ... UNTIL TODAY.

Black Panther's & Storm's Wedding

 Which gets to the bulk of my article. Marvel ... more so then any  Other comic book company, it seems, seem to not enjoy having their characters stay married anymore. And while I understand the divorce rate is 50% in the country of the United States and wanting to reflect society, some of these marriages desolving his troublesome. Now, motivations-wise, I can understand some marriage falling apart. Like Scarlet Witch and Visions.  Even Scott and Jean's I can understand.

 But there are some break ups that I'm just scratching my head over. Like Storm and Black Panther. THIS MAKES NO SENSE! Time and again, Storm has reached out to her husband and her husband is like I love you but I need to figure my way alone. Once I do,  I will come back to you. And Yet ... He annuls their marriage today. Why? I don't know?  Does he blame her for what happened or not telling him about the Phoenix? I don't know. And while in some cases, that translates to a relate-able marriage ... I do not believe that THIS would be true grounds for T'Challa to give up on his wife. Not after EVERYTHING they've been through together over the last several years. It just comes out of nowhere. Marriage counselling I see. Annulment? NO!

   Then, at the top of AvX, Jessica Jones decides to leave her husband, Luke Cage. Just 2 minutes before, he announced to the world that he wants nothing more than his wife and child. Granted, Jessica ran from him before but I figured that  1- Jessica knew what she was getting into when she joined the Avengers and married Luke Cage. 2- Even with a child, what makes her think she is REALLY any safer alone. Especially after having her face plastered on tv who knows how many times by now. So ... she ran. To take care of her child. Admirable. But still, logically ... she has a better chance WITH The Avengers than not. And Luke ... 2 minutes ago, you said you wanted nothing more than your wife and child ... on National TV .... but then you decide its important to fight the X-Men; when clearly ... the reason why is still kind of up in the air. Damn it Luke! You are better than that. *sigh*

  Oh. Marvel isn't the only culprit. Let's see ... ah yes. DC. Their reboot of Superman has brought so many new people to the book. And it is understandable ... to all but this.. . Lois and Clark had been married for nearly 15 FRELLIN' Years ... and that got all erased so they can have a new history. Sure ... we get to see Clark and Lois go through it all over again. But this time, there is no guarantee that they will end up together.

 And who can forget DC for breaking up Donna and Terry. Cause Terry suddenly decided, after them having a child, that super heroics was a no no ... even though Terry had stood by her as a hero for YEARS. Terry damn well knew what he was getting into when he married her. They had a child together. He even helped her with looking after the Team Titans (I know, obscure) but decided all of a sudden ... "Nope. Don't want to stay with you anymore after all these years."  So yay! Break up a marriage for convenience. Yay!

  And on top of that, let's go to the dozens and dozens of heroes and/or heroines who have had extra-marital or out of relationship affairs:  Omni-man, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Psylocke (twice), Gambit, Kyle Rayner, Havok, Kendra Saunders, Dick Grayson (how can you not know the person you are sleep with is not different when you have sex, even if they are a shape shifter), etc.

  But let me get to the easiest, most heinous of all marriage break ups that were pure and utter bullshit. Yes. I am speaking about THAT storyline. ONE. MORE. DAY.  And now, I have enraged probably half my readership by saying those three words. Yep. One More Day. The storyline that rebooted Spidey from long-time, happily married man, into the single man he has now become. Quesada has gone on print back when the storyline first came out stating that him being single will open more doors to Spiderman, storywise and him being married was holding him back. WHAT?! They were married for YEARS and you decided that that marriage couldn't work in upcoming storylines. WHAT?! They never even divorced. Spidey made a deal with the devil ... the freakin' devil ... to save Aunt May ... who had died before already. Sure, she was a clone but still ... save Aunt May for his marriage.

   What the frell?!

  While overall, some of these marriages coming apart are good and natural. There are these others that make me wonder what is on the minds of the writers and why do this. I understand divorce rate is 50% but it is looking like 80 to 90% in comics now. While life should be seen in multifaceted ways, this trend is starting to get REALLY disturbing. Makes you think about it, huh?

My name is Frankie Rodriguez and these are my thoughts.

The Top 10 Things I Want To See From the DC's New 52 . . . NOW!

  The New 52 have been out for a while and it has garnished a lot of attention and results. Yet, there are still things from the old DCU, Wildstorm and Milestone books that I would like to see pop up. Here are my list of the Top 10 things I want to see in the New 52.

by Frankie Rodriguez 


10 - STEPHANIE BROWN

     The Former Spoiler/Robin/Batgirl has been very much missed by fans since the New 52 began. She had a critically acclaimed series before the new 52 and people had just gotten used to her as Batgirl, being mentored by Barbara. But with Barbara back as Batgirl, Stephanie has not been seen . .. yet. Fans have clamored for both her and Cassandra Cain's return. Yet, it seems fans are speaking up louder for Stephanie. Will she return? DC says yes. I say ... it needs to be sooner than later.


9 - XOMBI

   David Kim had just come back about 7 months before the new 52. And it came back to much fan fare. Many of the original fans and new fans flocked to the book by John Rozum and Frasier Irving. What is even odder was that the book was a direct continuation of the original but with a time jump. With DC big on diversity and the Edge & Dark books doing so well (ie.Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Stormwatch) this book would fit right in. Heck. It does not need a reboot. Continue where it left off and fans would be happy.


8 - WILDCATS

    As much as Grifter is interesting and Voodoo is AWESOME, I still miss the rest of the team. Sure, I know that Warblade is gonna show up (as a villain) on Superboy and rumors are that Zealot is gonna appear soon, I'd love to see the WildCats come back together in the DCU in some fashion. I mean, where is Spartan? Where is Ladytron? Heck, Tao would make a great villain for not only the WildCats but for Batman and other members. I would just love to see the Cats back, maybe connected to an infamous DC company. Heck, Mr. Majestic and Savant would be welcome editions. I guess we will have to wait and see.


7 - STARMAN (other than Thom)

   I am sorry but we honestly can use a new Starman. I'd like to see a present day Starman. He's had such a great legacy. Whether it be one of the Knights or Mikaal, a Starman would be fighting and make a get edition to DC's cosmic universe or even Earth heroes. Mikaal had enjoyed some popularity before the New 52. It would be so much fun to see him in this new universe.



6 - L.E.G.I.O.N.

    Not R.E.B.E.L.S, L.E.G.I.O.N. Why? I know R.E.B.E.L.S. got cancelled but honestly, it just needed better promotion. And go back to calling it L.E.G.I.O.N.  We need to see Vril Dox in this universe to see how the bastard is doing. Plus, characters like Strata, Stealth, Captain Comet, Lady Quark, Adam Strange and more would all make a great collection of people in this book. To really tie in to the current DC cosmic landscape more, have one of the Lanterns join L.E.G.I.O.N. as well as possibly Lobo, who we have seen back.  Definitely a book that has a lot of potential.


5 -  ICON (& ROCKET)

    They just appeared on Young Justice. The title was the love child of the late great Dwayne McDuffie. A super powerful man on par with Superman who was also a lawyer can prove interesting in a day in age where Law & Order and spin offs were addictions for people for two decades. Apply it to the DCU, you have a book that can be versatile. Rocket always helped showed the way to Icon and vice versa. She is one of the strongest female characters that has ever been created and needs to be seen again. And with DC's objective to have diversity would make a great fit into this new world.



4 - SECRET SIX

    Suicide Squad is great and all but ... I want Secret Six back. I want Gail Simone writing it. I want Scandal Savage. I want Ragdoll. I want Catman being all bada**. And I want it now. Not tomorrow. Not in a year. NOW. Even with Bane, Deadshot and Harley not part of it, there are sooooooooo many characters that can be implemented into the Secret Six and make this team stand out in a new era. For the love, Simone made Bane cool again. Let her have her book back!!


3 - WALLY WEST

   There have been hints that Wally still exists. There have been drops that Wally will return. Yet, nothing. I want Wally West back. Sure, Barry is Flash and is awesome. Still, I want Wally there too. We need to see him. People love him. He doesn't need to be The Flash but bring him back. We still have Dick Grayson, we can do plenty with Wally. So much. Bring him back DC. Please. And if you bring him back, bring back ...



2 - DONNA TROY

    I know that Cassie got upgraded and Diana is now the daughter of Zeus. Zeus is a man-whore. Bring back Donna into the Wonder Woman mythos under Azzarello's control. We can make it interesting with Donna. She is such a beloved character that fans have asked about her as much as Wally West. Bring them both back would be amazing. Donna can always fulfill a new role in the DCU. I hope we get to see her.


1 - BLOOD SYNDICATE . . . & SNOWFLAME

  Yes. I could not choose between them or who I want more. So they both share the # 1 spot.

  Blood Syndicate was, without a doubt, one of my favorite books while growing up. It was my favorite Milestone book and I loved it cause it was so different. It was about a Super powered gang that was learning to survive in their world and keeping their turf  while being part of a bigger conspiracy. And you know what, they fight perfectly with the new 52. DC, you want Diversity ... this team is made up of so many nationalities that it makes the UN jealous. It can be gritty and dirty cause its about a gang so have it Teen +. Heck, if you can get the original writer Ivan Velez Jr. to write it and let him go off, that would be amazing. Even if not him writing it, allow the writers to let them play with this gang and the characters to build itself a new place in the DCU. I want this book ... NOW!


AND

 Snowflame was brought to my attention because of Linkara. A Super Villain powered by cocaine. Lord, what a glorious idea. Bring this man back. Make him an A Level threat. Let him being a cult figure like Brother Blood but more awesome. He is powered by cocaine; you can have everyone from Stormwatch to JLI to Superman to Batman fight this villain. He is insane. He looks like he's got a Santa suit. He's got super powers and he's powered by cocaine. He is EPIC! I WANT SNOWFLAME NOW!!!

  BOW DOWN BEFORE THE  SNOWFLAME. HE IS COOKOO FOR COCAINE!!!

Thanks To Linkara for producing such a fine video.


And these are what I like to see in the new 52. I enjoyed this list.

Coming Soon: Top 10 Things I want to See in Marvel NOW!