I'm talking about the strange things that popped up and were never explained.
1. Jasons' Light Up Tattoos: Tynions' run had a LOT of WTF moments but this was one of the first. According to Lobdell DC wanted an end to his Untitled arc (the villains he created for the first arc of the series) even if he didn't write it. I'm not sure why Tynion wrote most of the things he did (more to come) but for some reason he wrote Jason doing magic. Or something. Like I said it was never explained. Lobdell had Jason passing a trial when he was younger with inked on tattoos (they weren't permanent) and while he has a nightmare he appears with these glowing markings in the dream. Tynion just has Jasons' chest glowing and doesn't explain this even after Roy asks point blank what was up. Later on Jason somehow pulls engery swords out which likewise is treated like no big deal.
2. Kori avoiding Dick: It was heavily hinted at Starfire's memory loss" having to do with Dick. Because she didn't want to deal with something. I thought it was because he left her broken hearted. Tynion implied she accidently hurt him. This--like everything else about Starfire--was forgotten in her solo series.
3. Jason being the Chosen One: Another Tynion addition. With Lobdell it was pretty much stated that Jason was the only one that could take on the Untitled by default. Not including Essence (or S'aru since we don't know if he can even fight) since he was the last remaining student of the All Caste. Tynion wrote that not only was Jason the Chosen One for the All Caste for contrived reasons...but also Talia Al Ghul? It seemed Talia--somehow against her fathers' wishes--made Jason the heir to the League of Assassins. This makes zero sense as she's never shown this interest before and previously only wanted Damian to inherit it. Yes this took place while Damian was dead but apparently she had this planned before she even met Bruce! There's many reasons this plot was ridiculous including the fact the LOA had to kidnap him to make him their leader.
4. Jason suddenly having Psychic Powers?!: After Tynion there was a three part arc done by Pfeiffer where Lobo took their ship while Roy was still aboard. Kori and Jason talk about possible means to track him. Out of no where Jason mentions setting up a backdoor psychic connection with his friends. WHAT?! This was never explained, makes no sense and apparently no one else online even commented on this. Granted it has been hinted at Jason having abilities (likely something to do with his rebirth) but so far it's tame stuff like seeing things others can't. And even that could be explained away. This? Was DC thinking of making Jason magical because of Tynion? Lobdell hasn't touched this or number 1.
5. Does Jason Have a Sibling?: In a flashback of Willis being arrested Jasons' mother is seen looking very pregnant. Two panels later (flashing to when she ODs) we see she's not. In this story we get Jason and Jokers' POV. Joker who claims to have created Jason by making him Robin doesn't mention it and neither does Jason. Both are unreliable narrators since Jason is sarcastic, defensive or evasive while Joker is...well Joker. It couldn't have been an artist mistake since the same artist showed her without the baby bump. So what happened? Did Jason lose a sibling? Did the baby die or get taken by social services?
Oh boy, this will be fun.
ReplyDelete1- The general sentiment I got from Tynion is that he just looked through RHATO's issue 18 and assumed that everything Jason did while within his mindscape where things Jason could regularly do.
2- The whole thing Tynion handled Kori gave me the impression that he was just pandering to Lobdell's critics by going "see? she totally remembers" but missing the whole point of Lobdell characterization and instead making her into a weak willed woman that was defined by the men in her life. A sad interpretation that seems to have carried over her solo title.
I fear what it could mean for Roy if he's taken from RH/A and brought into the Titans with his Titan's hunt characterization.
3- This was simply idiotic. By that point it was clear Tynion was just cherry picking stuff he liked from other sources and cramming them down into his scripts with no care for logic. The worst thing is that somehow some people over the net are bent on the idea that Lobdell was the one he introduced this plot because Lobdell's Jason is just "an special snowflake"
I simply can't
4- I read that as some kind of mytical bullshit tied to the whole LOA nonsense. Good thing this has been dropped.
5- I've talked with some Lobdell's collaborators and they confirmed Lobdell intention of giving Jason a sister whom would eventually become the N52 version of Scarlett. However, when Tynion took over the book this plans were scrapped and Lobdell has no plans to ever follow up on this plot point. Honestly a shame since Jason having a sister would've been a fantastic path for his character to take and it would've been amazing to see her interact with both Kori and Roy. I have hope that some of that interaction can see the light with Duela though.
1. I always got the impression Tynion either skimmed Lobdells' run and pieced it together in odd ways or just decided to do his own "better" version.
ReplyDelete2. The worst thing about that was Tynion had Kori lie to Roy and make him think she'd forget him if he left her. Which he'd already know was wrong but it makes her into a character I don't like. It is sad to see the same people that gave RHATO criticism for her supposed memory problem praise a series that dumbs her down to painful levels.
3. What happened with the All Caste plot was bad enough without jamming in the Al Ghul/LOA mess. Tynion was horrible on the series and it's why I don't want to read anything with his name on it. He couldn't respect the characters (Kori serious has no point besides her romance woes and the Essence fight was pointless) and couldn't even remember what he wrote.
4. I did too but it still made no sense because they never bothered to explain it. I remember Kori even seeming miffed by that.
5. I heard rumors that it would have been a sister but not the rest. It's odd because I recall Lobdell saying the Scarlett relationship was unhealthy which is why he didn't want to use her. I don't really care for the Scarlett take, wouldn't she be like four or five anyway? Having a sister would have been compelling especially since the sibling angle is never played to the fullest in bat stories.
Lobdell didn't got too far on the idea but he was thinking of the sister being around 16-17. Not that ages are a big concern on the current DCU anyways. At some point Lobdell even toyed with the idea of making Roy and Jason actual brothers.
ReplyDeleteI mean Lobdell worked with the X-Men where children are always aged up. Cable is older than his dad. But it would have bugged me if she was just a couple years younger than Jason when the story was set around the time Dick would have been Robin.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that would have bothered me. I don't want them to be actual brothers. It's a little too on the nose like the theories of Tim being his brother. Granted it's possible for Jason to have half siblings because of the set up with Willis but I'd like it to be a new character.