I never actually read super hero comics when I was a young kid– I was too busy reading stuff like Scrooge McDuck comics, or Calvin & Hobbes compilation books. I did watch the early Superman and Batman movies quite a bit, though, and I enjoyed them as most kids probably did, buuuut my first real comic-characters-fangirling can be attributed to my friends in, oh, 8th/9th grade or so, who introduced me to X-Men.
The movie was coming out right about this time and there was a Saturday morning X-Men cartoon that I started watching and all in all it was a great time to get into it. Beast was my favorite. I mean, seriously, a big blue fuzzy guy quoting Shakespeare. You can’t NOT love him. Then I got into Wolvie and Nightcrawler and finally, the ever-so-drool-worthy Gambit.
(As an aside, I just found “Steampunk Gambit” on Google Images, and the Fangirl Senses are off the chart. Anyways, moving on:)
There was one thing that was possibly cuter than Gambit, and that was Gambit/Rogue…
…because I’m a hopeless romantic and I was a 15 year old girl who liked to daydream about guys in trenchcoats. (Hmm, some things never change, do they… *cough*)
Gambit/Rogue is still one of my OTPs by the way, up there with Locke/Celes, Cloud/Aeris, House/Cameron (shut up), and ahhh, err… uh… Khadgar/Medivh. >_> Aaaaaanyways…
Then I got to about the end of high school and suddenly I fell in love with Spider-Man.
Spidey was appealing on a multitude of levels. First of all, he was a giant geek. Like me. Secondly, he was socially awkward. Like me. Lastly, the movie reboot made him exactly my age. In the movie, he was graduating high school the same year I was. I know it’s just a silly little detail, but it really sort of helped me to identify with him.
This picture says it all, really. Courtesy Kizer180 @ DeviantArt.
The Spider-Man myth was plausible to me in a way that other super heroes thus far hadn’t been (well, if you can get past the whole radioactive spider thing.) Peter Parker was just a normal kid with normal kid problems, who happened to become a web-slinging manifestation of awesome. I ate it up. He was my fave super hero for a while.
Then…
…
…then came the “cool exec with a heart of steel”:
IRON MAN.
So, let’s talk about Tony Stark for a minute. Let’s see here:
- Brilliant
- Handsome
- Rich
- Builds robots and robot suits in his basement
Yeah, um, what’s not to love?
The “brilliant” bit is the most important part, though. In a modern world where science and technology are built on the backs of huge teams of people, Tony Stark built something awesome “IN A CAVE! WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS!!” and that’s just hot. He, with his suit, represents the lone inventor changing the world– the one person making a difference– the individual guy inside the technology. I could probably write an essay on it, really, and get all philosophical, but ultimately it just comes down to Sheer Awesomeness.
Also, last night I had a dream that I went to Stark Industries and Tony Stark was showing me around and WHO ME, FANGIRL?
…man. I just wanna shake Stan Lee’s hand. Don’t you?
You know they’re coming out with a steampunky spider man video game, right?
http://hintoftruth.com/2010/04/spiderman-shattered-dimensions/
😉
@ Tami – Oh man… that made me squee… a lot.
“I just wanna shake Stan Lee’s hand. Don’t you?”
Oh, definitely. And if he were still with us, Jack Kirby’s, too. And I’d like to see Bill Finger get a little credit for Batman, too.
When I was little, I loved watching that X-Men cartoon. I loved watching the Spider-Man cartoon that Fox used to air. Even though Peter Parker was WAY too bulked-up in that one.
And Kevin Conroy IS Batman.
The funny thing is that for the longest time when I was little, I thought that the comic books were based off the cartoons, and not the other way around. [Facepalm] I had moments of sheer idiocy when I was little.
Then I heard about “The Dark Knight Returns”. People said it was good. I stumbled upon a marked-down collection of the four issues one day and decided to buy it. The rest probably doesn’t need to be said.
I’m more of a DC guy, myself, but I like the other stuff, too. As long as it’s a good story, there’s room on my shelf, even if I haven’t bought a new comic book in a while now. I still re-read “The Long Halloween” every now and then.
And ever since the movie, I’ve liked me some Iron Man. And finally hearing “Hulk smash!” in a theater? Come on.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go trenchcoat shopping… 😉
That is an amazing pic of rogue and gambit.
Gambit is amazing. As a trenchcoat-wearer guy myself, I heartily approve. The casting of him in the Wolverine Origins movie was fairly spectacular.. the bit where the cooling tower is collapsing on top of wolvie and he does that super-awesome leap to smash it is one of those scenes that stick with me.
And Tony Stark is pretty much amazing. Robert Downey Jr. is the perfect Stark.. he essentially IS Tony Stark, right down to the history of drug abuse and the being sexy like a sexy thing. I can’t wait for Iron Man 2, it is gonna be amazing. War Machine! yess!
Other supers I love.. Batman (or should I say, BATMAN) His sidekicks.. especially Nightwing. Supes. the tag team of batman/supes/wonder woman/.
And Doctor Strange. And Zatanna. And Nightcrawler (he can fight with three swords simultaneously. that dude is a legend). And Kitty Pryde, for having some of the best character development in comic book history, and for being adorable all the way through it all.
oh. And Cyclops. Lots of people think poor Scott is a dick. I think he’s amazing.
Oh.. also.. BATMAN! BATMAN! BATMAN! in the end, Batman is my favorite. Edging out Superman by the narrowest of margins. I play a pally in WoW for a reason.. and Clark and Bruce between them exemplify two extremes of the same belief; dealing with it so someone else doesn’t have to.
I went from TMNT to X-Men and then…
…no, I pretty much just stopped at X-Men.
Y’know how at weddings, sometimes the couple will pick out some sappy romantic or heavily religious speech to be read at a random time during the ceremony? And it’s something that relates really heavily to the couple, and some of their friends, but for the most part everyone just nods their heads and thinks “Well, that was nice”?
At my wedding, it was a full-page speech Gambit gave to Rogue in a special edition comic that I have from over a decade ago.
Gambit/Rogue forever.
“House/Cameron” WHAT. You are delusional OTP = Wilson/House I will not shut up >=|
idk I have to say I like DC more than Marvel. Largely because of The Goddamn Batman. The Killing Joke, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow/Caped Crusader, Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (Actually I don’t like that one much but I love the name xD). Not to mention Superman: Red Son! Stalin pretty much adopts Supes!
After the atrocity that was Civil War I just can’t bring myself to care about Marvel anymore. 🙁
(PS: None of these comics are a patch on Transmetropolitan. Spider Jerusalem makes Wolverine look like a wimp, Tony Stark look like a halfwit, and Gambit look like an ugly troglodyte. True story.)
@ Will – I haven’t had much of a chance to look into DC as much as Marvel. It’s on my “to-do list”, though. Also, I fully approve of trenchcoat shopping.
@ Vespers – Ah, trenchcoats. I think my affinity for wearing one was inspired by equal parts Gambit and film noir (starring Bogie, of course)… with a little cyberpunk tossed in for flavor. And I agree with everything you said about Iron Man 😉
@ Tchann – Okay, that’s awesome. *steals idea*
@ Mister Adequate – but, but, but… I like House/Wilson too! D=
Hehe … Gambit’s a bit before my time, but I definitely cut my teeth on the Marvel universe. A good friend of mine was a talented artist and taught me how to draw my own toons … though it really never took for me. Still … Spidey, Doc Strange, The Champions (are they still around?), Hulk, Avengers, and X-men were high on my rotation!
And wouldn’t it be Fscking awesome to interview for a job at Stark Industries. Just sayin’. 🙂
Was a big fan of Kitty Pryde back in the day. Not the early “stereotypical uber-nerd kid / Wesley Crusher in a trianing bra / Ariel” version, but the smart, determined Shadowcat she grew to be under Chris Claremont and Alan Lee’s writing. The young woman even Wolverine was willing to take orders from. The sweet pretty one who could kick ass, take names, and still rebuild your supercomputer.
No idea what’s happened to her in the decades since. Probably reverted back to some two-dimensional supporting cast member.
Pft, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Gambit / Tony Stark OTP.
I remember reading an X-Men from years ago where Magneto and Rogue had a thing going and he managed to do something magnetic with the molecules of air immediately surrounding Rogue’s body such that she was able to touch him without sucking the life out of him. Touching was immediately followed by kissing, and it was heartbreaking to know the Rogue/Gambit thing could never happen because they could never be physically intimate, yet one of the biggest, bad guys the X-Men ever faced was able to make out with Rogue. It just wasn’t right, not at all.
Slightly random and only vaguely on topic – have you read Girl Genius comics?
They are delightfully geeky, and I highly recommend them!
Two hurrahs for Vertigo Comics!
I’d have to say my favorites are “v” from V for Vendetta, and “Rorschach” from The Watchmen. I have a thing for masked hero/antiheros!
(Sorry this is a bit late.)
Comics! Another reason to like you! 😀
Y’see, my dad has thousands of comics (DC and Marvel) that he collected in his teenage years. I have read through all of the X-series (X-Men, X-Factor, X-Force, and the New Mutants) that he owned (there were quite a bit. The X-series is his largest collection, at about… five or six hundred). I have yet to read the other comics, though, being at college and busy and all.
However, I did read his Justice League International comics (hysterically hilarious). Not Justice League America, but Justice League International (with Guy Gardner the Green Lantern for one). Check it out. You’ll laugh and cry.
Also, if you liked X-Men, chances are you’ll like the New Teen Titans (notice the New – I’m referring to the 80s run by Marv Wolfman and George Perez). That series dominated the top charts for sixteen years straight on DC (the only comic that rivaled was Marvel’s X-Men).
Anyways, if you need/would like any more suggestions, just contact me (either through email or on DeviantArt – I’m Dragon-Titan), and I’ll be glad to fire away recommendations! 😀