Two Transcripts from Fearsome Foursome
Nov. 22nd, 2011 08:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jadedgiantessSo, I made my monthly pilgrimage to my local comic book shop today and had a moment of weakness. I try not to follow big Marvel events unless they focus on one of my favorite characters, and given that they killed off Bullseye in the last one, I've been resisting Fear Itself. Plus, I'm horrible at reading team based series because I have a tendency to skip over the bits that don't have the character I'm reading it for in. But it was a Jen fix without a red hulk, so I got it.
Parts of it were meh. I mean, Jen's the fear based equivalent of Bruce. In a fear infected world she'd be terrifyingly strong and/or completely out of control. Instead, she's the voice of reason who gets her ass handed to her, repeatedly. But there were two scenes made the four issues worth it. So, I wrote them out because they make me happy:
[Fearsome Foursome #3]
Jen hits the grey Hulk in the jaw with no effect. It isn't her Bruce, just one that had been pulled through the interdimensional nexus by the Man-Thing, but he still had that ability to shut down the part of her brain that could plan effective strategies against any of his old foes. No cat and mouse games or clever uses of her surroundings. Just trying to take him down with words that never worked and strength that was somehow not reacting to the fear in the air. He hits her with a telegraphed punch to the jaw and she sails up and over three city blocks, never questioning why she didn't dodge as he bellows, "HAVE A NICE TRIP, SIS!" Instead she thinks about why she's here it at all.
I never dreamed of being a superhero. So many of us get here by accident, and not coincidentally, by tragedy. But what should have killed us made us stronger -- stronger than our wildest dreams.
The familiar feel of hitting concrete with impossible velocity pauses her thoughts, but not much more. She has been here, time and again, and it's losing some of it's impact. She shakes it off with a quick unconscious quip, "Talk about a wake up call!" as she pulls herself out of the depression in the ground and gets ready to fight again.
She looks at the destruction that the drenching, destroying fear in the air has done to the city. The heartbreak of it forces her thoughts forward. So we pledge that strength which saving grace bestows-- to defend the world from nightmares...with great power comes great responsibility.
She feels the crack as much as hears it. The twisted and damaged boards that have been keeping a water tank up on the top of a building are giving way. What happened here? A boy wearing a Captain American shirt and clutching a Thor action figure stands under the shadow of the falling structure. Where were the heroes? She answers her own question with feet that are already in motion. Don't think. She has seconds to get the boy out of the way and her timing is vital. Act.
The impact of her body startles the paralyzed boy, scaring more than the threat of the falling water tank. He drops his Thor figure even as she tries to comfort him even though she never stops moving, "I've got you!" Heroes Always do the right thing. So I've learned that as long as I do something, justice will ultimately prevail. It's a test of faith... With one free hand she strikes the giant metal drum, pushing it away from the boy she's protecting. ...A trial of strength... She slingshots the boy free, using most of the momentum to catch and keep the the still full water reserve from crushing the gathering crowd. ...I just have to hold on tight and wait for the dust to settle.
She balances the incredible weight on her back, just holding it and catching her breath from the fights and the fear. The first brick hits her square in the temple. More follow as someone in the crowd yells, "Get out and go back to where you belong, monster!" The boy runs to the waiting crowd, calling her a monster again and again. Still she holds the barrel and keeps them safe.
"Stop! I'm a good guy! I was an Avenger, a Defender, a member of the Fantastic Four!" She yells back, feeling the sting of old connections that haven't reached out to her.
"'Good guys'?! Who do you think caused this? The Thing was a 'Hero' Before he did this!" screams one angry voice from a quickly growing mob.
If she lets this go on, they will attack her and eventually she will have to hurt them. So she does the one thing she knows that will send them away and destroys the giant barrel in a flurry of water, steel, and wood. Even over the sound of the destruction is the utterly commanding sound of her voice telling them "ENOUGH!" They flee.
Maybe Hulk is right... She thinks, standing alone and drenched in the rumble, panting with a barely controlled mix of fear and anger. Her face is contorted in a snarl and every muscle in her body tensed for a fight. Maybe these were the days when heroism fails. And everything I stand for comes crashing down. Her hands clench again, though there is nothing in them for her to crush this time. ...I should go back where I belong.
Her allies are losing the fight against the alternate Hulk, Spiderman, Wolverine, and Ghost Rider. The evil man who controls them prepares to steal the abilities of the Man-Thing. False heroes gather around their master as he prepares to use an ultimate device. That isn't doing anything. "It ain't doing nothing!" complains Logan. "It doesn't--but I will," answers a voice from above, just a moment before she hits them from the air like a bomb.
Wolverine and Ghost Rider go flying. Jen catches Spiderman in a choke hold before he gets out of reach. The grey Hulk recovers first, charging her and telling her, "Shouldn't'a come back."
In the middle of what might be her last chance to fight the good fight, Jen gives the only answer she has, "I had nowhere else to go!"
________________
[Fearsome Foursome #4]
In order to use the ultimate weapon, the four heroes have to master their fear. This isn't new to Jen, but this time is something different. Alone, in her head, but in the nexus, too, Jennifer is just Jennifer Walters, no green, crying at another gravestone. Why did it come to this? The field of vision pans out, expanding to show that it isn't one grave, but an entire graveyard full.
Thor, Cap, Tony, Thing, Matt Murdock, Sue, Reed, Peter, the X-Men, every hero she has ever known or loved is dead. There are no more heroes, just a grave and a gravestone waiting for her. My worst fear come true--we met our match and the age of heroes is snuffed out. ...Except for me. I'm the last one--and what can one hero do?
"No." With that one word she stands, fists clenching, body growing until she is the She-Hulk, rejecting the waiting grave. As long as there is one hero left standing, there's hope against every horror that threatens the world. And I'll never give up the fight, no matter what the odds.
Parts of it were meh. I mean, Jen's the fear based equivalent of Bruce. In a fear infected world she'd be terrifyingly strong and/or completely out of control. Instead, she's the voice of reason who gets her ass handed to her, repeatedly. But there were two scenes made the four issues worth it. So, I wrote them out because they make me happy:
[Fearsome Foursome #3]
Jen hits the grey Hulk in the jaw with no effect. It isn't her Bruce, just one that had been pulled through the interdimensional nexus by the Man-Thing, but he still had that ability to shut down the part of her brain that could plan effective strategies against any of his old foes. No cat and mouse games or clever uses of her surroundings. Just trying to take him down with words that never worked and strength that was somehow not reacting to the fear in the air. He hits her with a telegraphed punch to the jaw and she sails up and over three city blocks, never questioning why she didn't dodge as he bellows, "HAVE A NICE TRIP, SIS!" Instead she thinks about why she's here it at all.
I never dreamed of being a superhero. So many of us get here by accident, and not coincidentally, by tragedy. But what should have killed us made us stronger -- stronger than our wildest dreams.
The familiar feel of hitting concrete with impossible velocity pauses her thoughts, but not much more. She has been here, time and again, and it's losing some of it's impact. She shakes it off with a quick unconscious quip, "Talk about a wake up call!" as she pulls herself out of the depression in the ground and gets ready to fight again.
She looks at the destruction that the drenching, destroying fear in the air has done to the city. The heartbreak of it forces her thoughts forward. So we pledge that strength which saving grace bestows-- to defend the world from nightmares...with great power comes great responsibility.
She feels the crack as much as hears it. The twisted and damaged boards that have been keeping a water tank up on the top of a building are giving way. What happened here? A boy wearing a Captain American shirt and clutching a Thor action figure stands under the shadow of the falling structure. Where were the heroes? She answers her own question with feet that are already in motion. Don't think. She has seconds to get the boy out of the way and her timing is vital. Act.
The impact of her body startles the paralyzed boy, scaring more than the threat of the falling water tank. He drops his Thor figure even as she tries to comfort him even though she never stops moving, "I've got you!" Heroes Always do the right thing. So I've learned that as long as I do something, justice will ultimately prevail. It's a test of faith... With one free hand she strikes the giant metal drum, pushing it away from the boy she's protecting. ...A trial of strength... She slingshots the boy free, using most of the momentum to catch and keep the the still full water reserve from crushing the gathering crowd. ...I just have to hold on tight and wait for the dust to settle.
She balances the incredible weight on her back, just holding it and catching her breath from the fights and the fear. The first brick hits her square in the temple. More follow as someone in the crowd yells, "Get out and go back to where you belong, monster!" The boy runs to the waiting crowd, calling her a monster again and again. Still she holds the barrel and keeps them safe.
"Stop! I'm a good guy! I was an Avenger, a Defender, a member of the Fantastic Four!" She yells back, feeling the sting of old connections that haven't reached out to her.
"'Good guys'?! Who do you think caused this? The Thing was a 'Hero' Before he did this!" screams one angry voice from a quickly growing mob.
If she lets this go on, they will attack her and eventually she will have to hurt them. So she does the one thing she knows that will send them away and destroys the giant barrel in a flurry of water, steel, and wood. Even over the sound of the destruction is the utterly commanding sound of her voice telling them "ENOUGH!" They flee.
Maybe Hulk is right... She thinks, standing alone and drenched in the rumble, panting with a barely controlled mix of fear and anger. Her face is contorted in a snarl and every muscle in her body tensed for a fight. Maybe these were the days when heroism fails. And everything I stand for comes crashing down. Her hands clench again, though there is nothing in them for her to crush this time. ...I should go back where I belong.
Her allies are losing the fight against the alternate Hulk, Spiderman, Wolverine, and Ghost Rider. The evil man who controls them prepares to steal the abilities of the Man-Thing. False heroes gather around their master as he prepares to use an ultimate device. That isn't doing anything. "It ain't doing nothing!" complains Logan. "It doesn't--but I will," answers a voice from above, just a moment before she hits them from the air like a bomb.
Wolverine and Ghost Rider go flying. Jen catches Spiderman in a choke hold before he gets out of reach. The grey Hulk recovers first, charging her and telling her, "Shouldn't'a come back."
In the middle of what might be her last chance to fight the good fight, Jen gives the only answer she has, "I had nowhere else to go!"
________________
[Fearsome Foursome #4]
In order to use the ultimate weapon, the four heroes have to master their fear. This isn't new to Jen, but this time is something different. Alone, in her head, but in the nexus, too, Jennifer is just Jennifer Walters, no green, crying at another gravestone. Why did it come to this? The field of vision pans out, expanding to show that it isn't one grave, but an entire graveyard full.
Thor, Cap, Tony, Thing, Matt Murdock, Sue, Reed, Peter, the X-Men, every hero she has ever known or loved is dead. There are no more heroes, just a grave and a gravestone waiting for her. My worst fear come true--we met our match and the age of heroes is snuffed out. ...Except for me. I'm the last one--and what can one hero do?
"No." With that one word she stands, fists clenching, body growing until she is the She-Hulk, rejecting the waiting grave. As long as there is one hero left standing, there's hope against every horror that threatens the world. And I'll never give up the fight, no matter what the odds.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-11-26 06:33 am (UTC)Good scenes though!
no subject
Date: 2011-11-26 05:01 pm (UTC)I was really happy about them.