the ingenious new 52

Face Off

Well it seems that Marvel had or has a tiger manthing in their universe as well. Who knew that DC with their super creative powers would just take an old failed Marvel concept and put the new 52 spin on it and call it artistic spotlighted originality. Or in other words, the Bronze Tiger, even though the new BT looks just like Maneater with clothes on and a stupid over sized video game sword.

Anyway :(  Friday Face Off presents Maneater vs new Bronze Tiger.

May the stupidest design idea win.

Somebody tell me. Is Lycanthropy  an artistic story trope and or cliche 

that comic book writers and artist use when they can't get right?

Or is it just a formula that's plugged in cause geekdom is so hard up and desperate

that they can just put out trash and nerds lick it up?

Return of the Tiger

the complex equation

                                                   of an

International Operative

the DC comics site released the new 52 version of the Bronze Tiger to be debuted in Red Hood and the Outlaws. The amazing pencils revealed a meta human catman and well.....I lost it.  Betrayal, disappointment and controlled anger was the recipe that formulated my conversations and the immediate dropping of all comic book buying until I could see another color besides red. Yesterday the Reviewer told me that a human merc assassin named Ben is shown in a flashback training Jason Todd to become the Red Hood.

I said all of that to show you this picture of said assassin and see if we can break somethings down together. Let's see if we can attain the true identity of this guy and see what direction his story may go in.

1. His Teflon armor seems to be black and orange tiger stripes.

2. The Jewel he's holding seems to be the heart of Nanda Parbat. Seeing all the dead monks laying everywhere.

3. If that is monks of the temple, being able to fight on that level there's only a few folks in the DCU that are in that class and Benjamin Turner is one of them.

So could this be the Bronze Tiger before he becomes meta human? Could this be the beginning of an epic story. The epic I've been waiting on for years?  And if it is where will it be told from?

Me....I think  the Bronze Tiger should touch down in a mini series.  That's the only way to show and explain everything.  A real kick off would be an animated movie, oneshot combo pack. But Hell,  we all know that's just fan optimistic overflow. a damn Dream in other words.

Count down to Vertigo

Lace Up

Another drastic change on a DC classic character. When I first seen the new 52 concept I was like,  WHAT!?!  

Then my son looked at him and said

" They got him looking like MGK "

???    um mm.....who is that?

He's a Hip Hop artist. He flips open his laptop and shows me who MGK is.  I'm an Outkast,  Scarface,  Wu Tang kinda guy. But when I heard the kid rhyme it changed my whole outlook.  Wait wait wait..... For my man to make that cross reference and connect  the new outfit to what's currently going on right now  it made me think that maybe DC's attempt to make their characters current might not be to far off from right and what works for the new comic book readers out there.

I know your head is hurting right now like this guy. But right now the new younger ( out of character ) Green Arrow is pretty popular.  Dale and Gemini seem to like the show as well. So making Count Vertigo a younger different version might just connect this new 52 with DC's actual target audience.?.

For me,  the Young justice version has been the coolest version of the character yet. But that's just me. 

If they ( DC ) can make this new tough guy 52 Vertigo work I'm going to have to applaud this one. Cause what they did with my man Bronze Tiger's new look is criminal. I would have taken  new Vertigo's  outfit with a bandolier and broad swords to a fight every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

I'm still going Indy until the real BT comes back, but if we're still going to traverse this genre you better

Lace Up

Defamation of Character

Inglorious Bastards

I thought if and when DC re-introduced the Bronze Tiger back into comics it would be a weak watered down version of him, because they don't ever get him completely right; or it would be a reignited volcano of martial arts kick assery. However...I didn't see the full annihilation of the best African American character that they have / and he being burned in effigy. Why? I don't know, but I should have seen it coming. The over use of the tiger mask and the way most artist drew it to look like a real tiger head instead of a helmet or mask. The lack of exposure, inconsistent portrayals of Turner and his abilities and quite honestly not knowing what to do with a Black male character.

So the easy generic fix and blatant degradation of the character comes in the form of a catman. How could I not have seen it? What they've done is taken away everything that made him that one in ten thousand. They turned him into an animal, a full blown humanoid tiger.              I've been  contemplating whether or not to even cover this travesty.

Like the first Bronze Tiger comic book solo spotlight, that was so bad and spoke malice intention to the so called protagonist, this tigerman does worse.

I can hear Dutch laughing and the notorious racist / anti Semite HP Lovecraft might be getting ready to do the writing. Either way, DC has finally drove the message home (to me).

Being a man tiger has been done before.?. yeah in Batman the Brave and the Bold animated series and it was a damn good story. The episode was great, FOR A COMEDY. For a series that fused the campynesss of the sixties with the innovation and modernization of now, that always tended to get to silly.

From me it got a pass. 

This new 52 tiger appears to be something totally different.

Is this a more serious take on the powers of the Wudang totem?

Is this even Ben Turner and he's on a quest to regain his humanity?

Or is this an epiphany of eugenics that's hiding behind a personal creative spin.?.

Whatever the case, tigerman the Thundercat shouldn't have been how the best martial artist in the DC nation was re-introduced to comics.

That's what I get for misplaced loyalties.

Was this take to much like right

http://www.thebronzetiger.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html

http://www.comicvine.com/articles/bronze-tiger-heading-to-the-new-52/1100-146500/

http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2013/05/03/what%E2%80%99s-new-in-the-new-52-%E2%80%93-bronze-tiger

http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?452626-What-s-New-in-the-New-52-Bronze-Tiger