I thought it was funny that of all the heroes assembled to bring down the Secret Six, it was Booster Gold who was dismissive of the threat the Six posed. Specifically, he said 'This is silly. Catman? We're talking Catman here? Hell, I'll take them all out myself.'
It's interesting Booster would single out Catman as the one he's least concerned about. They've both been considered jokes at one point, and they've both worked to be better (in different ways) than those who dismiss them would expect. Booster's been a bit more quiet about it, since the knowledge of his time exploits aren't well-known, but he at least recognizes that he's changed, even if the other heroes aren't as aware of it.
Booster's not the sharpest tool around, but I'd think he'd be more careful not to underestimate someone because of what they used to be (or were perceived to be).
Showing posts with label catman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label catman. Show all posts
Friday, August 26, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Blake Lacks The (Cat)Guts To Do The Right Thing
'Are you to be the worst hero on this planet, with a conflicted heart and no allies on either side. . . Or the world's deadliest free man?' - Bane, to Catman, Secret Six #35.
'No one elected Batman, or any of those bastards. I don't want to live in a world where those people make the rules.' - Catman, to Deadshot, Secret Six #36.
Catman could be a hero. I think he wants to be. But he won't commit, and blames it on the people who are being heroes. He could be a hero. Use his tracking skills to find abducted children, then his abilities with blades to slaughter their abductors, if he felt like it. Knowing Blake, he would feel like it. This would cause problems, because heroes in the DCU tend to be less accepting of that sort of thing than in the Marvel Universe*. Batman or someone would hunt Blake down eventually**, and there'd be trouble for Catman.
But so what? Being a hero isn't about being loved, or even respected. It's about doing the right thing, regardless of the consequences to oneself. The members of the Justice League don't do what they do to be loved. Even the members of Section Eight understood that. Eventually Catman would get caught, and pummeled, and thrown in jail. But until that happened, he could do a lot of good, if he chose to.
Instead, he opts to try and destroy someone who does try and help others, because he doesn't like how Batman and his ilk go about it. That's what Bane knew about him, that Blake wants to be a hero, but doesn't have the fortitude to go for it. I think it's more likely he's afraid of failing, but it could also be what Bane suggests, that Catman's afraid he'd be alone. The heroes wouldn't accept him, and I can't imagine the rest of the Six are going to be his best pals if he's consistently playing do-gooder (though they might, as long as he didn't get in their way). Whether he admits it or not, he found a place with this group, people who care about him, and it's harder for some people than others to throw that away on a plan that may never pan out.
That's the difference between the heroes and the rest of us. The heroes do their best to try and make the world better. The rest of us sit around complaining about how the world isn't better, or how the people trying to make it better are doing it wrong.
* Though heroes at Marvel are kind of picky about it. Killing marauding Skrulls, OK. Killing Norman Osborn or Dr. Doom, not OK.
** If the amount of time Tommy Monaghan ran free is any indication, it wouldn't be anytime soon.
'No one elected Batman, or any of those bastards. I don't want to live in a world where those people make the rules.' - Catman, to Deadshot, Secret Six #36.
Catman could be a hero. I think he wants to be. But he won't commit, and blames it on the people who are being heroes. He could be a hero. Use his tracking skills to find abducted children, then his abilities with blades to slaughter their abductors, if he felt like it. Knowing Blake, he would feel like it. This would cause problems, because heroes in the DCU tend to be less accepting of that sort of thing than in the Marvel Universe*. Batman or someone would hunt Blake down eventually**, and there'd be trouble for Catman.
But so what? Being a hero isn't about being loved, or even respected. It's about doing the right thing, regardless of the consequences to oneself. The members of the Justice League don't do what they do to be loved. Even the members of Section Eight understood that. Eventually Catman would get caught, and pummeled, and thrown in jail. But until that happened, he could do a lot of good, if he chose to.
Instead, he opts to try and destroy someone who does try and help others, because he doesn't like how Batman and his ilk go about it. That's what Bane knew about him, that Blake wants to be a hero, but doesn't have the fortitude to go for it. I think it's more likely he's afraid of failing, but it could also be what Bane suggests, that Catman's afraid he'd be alone. The heroes wouldn't accept him, and I can't imagine the rest of the Six are going to be his best pals if he's consistently playing do-gooder (though they might, as long as he didn't get in their way). Whether he admits it or not, he found a place with this group, people who care about him, and it's harder for some people than others to throw that away on a plan that may never pan out.
That's the difference between the heroes and the rest of us. The heroes do their best to try and make the world better. The rest of us sit around complaining about how the world isn't better, or how the people trying to make it better are doing it wrong.
* Though heroes at Marvel are kind of picky about it. Killing marauding Skrulls, OK. Killing Norman Osborn or Dr. Doom, not OK.
** If the amount of time Tommy Monaghan ran free is any indication, it wouldn't be anytime soon.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
The Reasons Behind MacQuarrie's Manipulations?
This is a few months late, but somehow I kept forgetting to discuss it. The Secret Six arc from issues 19-22, where Mr. MacQuarrie hires people to kidnap Cheshire and Catman's son, why did he drag Catman into it?
I understand having the child taken. He wants Cheshire to suffer, because she's responsible for the death of his wife and daughter. But he hires the Six to save his son, while having her son taken. Then they try and have Catman kill his teammates to extend his son's life. Catman refuses, tracks the three abductors down, and kills them before reaching MacQuarrie again, who had appeared to shoot himself fatally in the head, but it was apparently only a flesh wound. Then MacQuarrie tells Catman the child's been adopted by some other couple, and he admits Catman was supposed to be killed during the course of all this.
There's certain things that don't make sense. Why try and make Catman kill his teammates? Why bother to drag Catman or the Six into it at all? Is it guilt by association? MacQuarrie hates Cheshire, Thomas Blake had a child with her, so he needs to suffer, the Secret Six work with Blake, so they have to suffer as well? I was thinking this was a contingency plan, one MacQuarrie wouldn't implement if the Six saved his son from the cult, but he told the Six the cult left his boy to bake in a metal box, which indicates he already knew his son was dead when he hired them.
Maybe involving Catman was about how painful it is to have hopes dashed. By alerting Blake to what's happening, MacQuarrie provides Cheshire with hope her son will be returned. It's something she can hold onto, until, if things went as MacQuarrie planned, Blake was killed, which she'd have heard about somehow. As it turns out, Blake survived, but he ended helping destroy her hope, so it hurts her even worse. It still doesn't explain trying to make him kill his teammates, since that would have ended things before Cheshire could even find hope.
I wonder if MacQuarrie had learned of Blake's childhood, with the abusive, domineering father who Blake stabbed, if not killed. If he understood that's were Blake came from, then he may have been banking on it to drive Blake's decisions. That Thomas Blake, having experienced life with a "well-meaning" but ultimately evil parent, would agree that it's better to get a child away from that? Thomas' mother could never quite work up the nerve to do that, and she and Thomas both suffered for it. Is he giving Blake the opportunity to do what MacQuarrie would consider the just or heroic thing, because he knows Blake's mother didn't do the same for him*?
It's possible MacQuarrie was simply doing what he described in #19. He said he has the money to feed five nations, but spends it on vendettas instead. Contrary to what he tells Blake, maybe he knows he's not a hero, he's just a bitter man striking back at the person he blames. And if he can make others suffer as well, then so be it. He refuses to suffer alone, everyone should be in as much misery as him. He has the money to manipulate all parties involved, so he does. I don't think, though, that he did all this as he did because he could. Trying to make Blake kill his closest friends, then having him brutally slaughter three men, only to present him with the opportunity to rip Cheshire's heart out (metaphorically)? It feels too purposeful, but at the same time, it seems so complicated it would have been easy for things to go awry. Blake tries to kill his teammates and dies before he can ever give Cheshire hope of even revenge. Deadshot reacts to MacQuarrie drawing a gun and puts one between his eyes, killing him right then. What if Blake won't make the call, and still demands to know where his son is? Would MacQuarrie tell him, let Blake damn his son to a dangerous life**, or just laugh at him, unafraid of anything Blake could do to him?
* While we're at it, I think breaking Cheshire by making her believe both her kids are dead may not have been smart. Now lots more people are going to die because MacQuarrie had to have revenge. Is that just, their families die because his did as well?
** Though with the way supervillains have been destroying cities lately, living with one might be safer. They'd be more likely to know if Prometheus is about to blow up a city than an average person.
I understand having the child taken. He wants Cheshire to suffer, because she's responsible for the death of his wife and daughter. But he hires the Six to save his son, while having her son taken. Then they try and have Catman kill his teammates to extend his son's life. Catman refuses, tracks the three abductors down, and kills them before reaching MacQuarrie again, who had appeared to shoot himself fatally in the head, but it was apparently only a flesh wound. Then MacQuarrie tells Catman the child's been adopted by some other couple, and he admits Catman was supposed to be killed during the course of all this.
There's certain things that don't make sense. Why try and make Catman kill his teammates? Why bother to drag Catman or the Six into it at all? Is it guilt by association? MacQuarrie hates Cheshire, Thomas Blake had a child with her, so he needs to suffer, the Secret Six work with Blake, so they have to suffer as well? I was thinking this was a contingency plan, one MacQuarrie wouldn't implement if the Six saved his son from the cult, but he told the Six the cult left his boy to bake in a metal box, which indicates he already knew his son was dead when he hired them.
Maybe involving Catman was about how painful it is to have hopes dashed. By alerting Blake to what's happening, MacQuarrie provides Cheshire with hope her son will be returned. It's something she can hold onto, until, if things went as MacQuarrie planned, Blake was killed, which she'd have heard about somehow. As it turns out, Blake survived, but he ended helping destroy her hope, so it hurts her even worse. It still doesn't explain trying to make him kill his teammates, since that would have ended things before Cheshire could even find hope.
I wonder if MacQuarrie had learned of Blake's childhood, with the abusive, domineering father who Blake stabbed, if not killed. If he understood that's were Blake came from, then he may have been banking on it to drive Blake's decisions. That Thomas Blake, having experienced life with a "well-meaning" but ultimately evil parent, would agree that it's better to get a child away from that? Thomas' mother could never quite work up the nerve to do that, and she and Thomas both suffered for it. Is he giving Blake the opportunity to do what MacQuarrie would consider the just or heroic thing, because he knows Blake's mother didn't do the same for him*?
It's possible MacQuarrie was simply doing what he described in #19. He said he has the money to feed five nations, but spends it on vendettas instead. Contrary to what he tells Blake, maybe he knows he's not a hero, he's just a bitter man striking back at the person he blames. And if he can make others suffer as well, then so be it. He refuses to suffer alone, everyone should be in as much misery as him. He has the money to manipulate all parties involved, so he does. I don't think, though, that he did all this as he did because he could. Trying to make Blake kill his closest friends, then having him brutally slaughter three men, only to present him with the opportunity to rip Cheshire's heart out (metaphorically)? It feels too purposeful, but at the same time, it seems so complicated it would have been easy for things to go awry. Blake tries to kill his teammates and dies before he can ever give Cheshire hope of even revenge. Deadshot reacts to MacQuarrie drawing a gun and puts one between his eyes, killing him right then. What if Blake won't make the call, and still demands to know where his son is? Would MacQuarrie tell him, let Blake damn his son to a dangerous life**, or just laugh at him, unafraid of anything Blake could do to him?
* While we're at it, I think breaking Cheshire by making her believe both her kids are dead may not have been smart. Now lots more people are going to die because MacQuarrie had to have revenge. Is that just, their families die because his did as well?
** Though with the way supervillains have been destroying cities lately, living with one might be safer. They'd be more likely to know if Prometheus is about to blow up a city than an average person.
Monday, April 05, 2010
Meandering Through Catman, The Six, And His Son
First off, I need to mention I was wrong about something in my review of Secret Six #19. I said Catman would only earn his son one year of life if he killed his entire team. Upon rereading, it turns out he earns his son one year for each team member he can kill in the next five minutes. Potentially six years for his kid.
A couple of points. This might have worked better if there had been any indication in the series up to this point that Catman cared about his son, or hell, even had a son. I was vaguely aware of it, somehow, but I can't recall it having been mentioned once in the series so far. He and Cheshire were even in the same room briefly during the opening arc and it never came up (though Blake was probably more concerned with not being poisoned anymore). Cheshire told Jeanette she had a baby, but she didn't say it was Thomas'. I suppose if you've read the earlier mini-series (or have read people discussing them like me) you know the score, but it does come out of the blue. Of course, there's no guarantee Catman will play ball. He really might not care about his son.
Say he does, I started thinking about how many of his teammates he could kill. Given enough time to pick them off one at a time, I suppose he could take all of them. In five minutes, I'd suggest he go for Alice or Floyd. She's potentially the most powerful, but also the most likely to freeze up, which would leave her as a completely human, and easy target. Other than her (say she swipes Misfit's powers and 'ports out), Deadshot strikes me as the easiest. No super-powers like Jeanette, no regenerative ability like Scandal, not extraordinarily strong like Bane, or already accustomed to mutilation and injury like Ragdoll (who didn't show much ill effect for having fingers cut off by his sister). The trick with Deadshot obviously being one has to get close enough to kill him before being shot.
Then I realized even those aren't practical options. He goes after Alice, Ragdoll will wrap him up, and vice versa. Alice might not do it a smart way, but yeah, I think she'd try and fight Catman if he attacked Ragdoll. If he went for Floyd, Jeanette would probably scream him down, or simply toss him across the room, and Floyd might shoot Blake if he attacked Jeanette*. Certainly if he goes at Bane or Scandal, the other will attack him instantly. Which is the point when it dawned on my that Blake is somewhat isolated on the team, at least in the sense there's no one he's close to. Scandal and Bane have their daughter/father thing. Floyd and Jeanette their on again, off again, then on again relationship**. Now Alice and Ragdoll have their puppy love creepy thing. Catman is on the outside. I don't think Blake dislikes any of his team members (perhaps Bane), but I'm not sure how much he likes them, or how much they like him. He and Floyd have whatever it is they have. Blake lets Floyd borrow suits, they pick up ice cream and smokes together, maybe that's friendship amongst the Six. It's a mutual understanding, at the very least***. I'm not certain it trumps what Floyd and Jeanette have going.
Combine this with Bane's statement earlier in the issue about the value of a sacrifice and I wonder if this will be the point Catman steps out of the group. It seems unlikely, but he's always been the team member who has the most crises of conscience it seems. The one who worries that maybe he went too far with those poachers in Africa, who may be thinking about doing better for Huntress.
* Though she's the team member I think would need the least assistance, Blake could try and cut her near the neck, see if she starts flashing back to her execution as she did during The Depths. That seemed to incapacitate her for a time.
** The off portions being whenever Floyd shoots her, which has happened a couple of different times so far.
*** I think Blake understands Floyd, and I think Floyd understands Blake as well as Blake understands himself, which is not terribly well, but it's something.
A couple of points. This might have worked better if there had been any indication in the series up to this point that Catman cared about his son, or hell, even had a son. I was vaguely aware of it, somehow, but I can't recall it having been mentioned once in the series so far. He and Cheshire were even in the same room briefly during the opening arc and it never came up (though Blake was probably more concerned with not being poisoned anymore). Cheshire told Jeanette she had a baby, but she didn't say it was Thomas'. I suppose if you've read the earlier mini-series (or have read people discussing them like me) you know the score, but it does come out of the blue. Of course, there's no guarantee Catman will play ball. He really might not care about his son.
Say he does, I started thinking about how many of his teammates he could kill. Given enough time to pick them off one at a time, I suppose he could take all of them. In five minutes, I'd suggest he go for Alice or Floyd. She's potentially the most powerful, but also the most likely to freeze up, which would leave her as a completely human, and easy target. Other than her (say she swipes Misfit's powers and 'ports out), Deadshot strikes me as the easiest. No super-powers like Jeanette, no regenerative ability like Scandal, not extraordinarily strong like Bane, or already accustomed to mutilation and injury like Ragdoll (who didn't show much ill effect for having fingers cut off by his sister). The trick with Deadshot obviously being one has to get close enough to kill him before being shot.
Then I realized even those aren't practical options. He goes after Alice, Ragdoll will wrap him up, and vice versa. Alice might not do it a smart way, but yeah, I think she'd try and fight Catman if he attacked Ragdoll. If he went for Floyd, Jeanette would probably scream him down, or simply toss him across the room, and Floyd might shoot Blake if he attacked Jeanette*. Certainly if he goes at Bane or Scandal, the other will attack him instantly. Which is the point when it dawned on my that Blake is somewhat isolated on the team, at least in the sense there's no one he's close to. Scandal and Bane have their daughter/father thing. Floyd and Jeanette their on again, off again, then on again relationship**. Now Alice and Ragdoll have their puppy love creepy thing. Catman is on the outside. I don't think Blake dislikes any of his team members (perhaps Bane), but I'm not sure how much he likes them, or how much they like him. He and Floyd have whatever it is they have. Blake lets Floyd borrow suits, they pick up ice cream and smokes together, maybe that's friendship amongst the Six. It's a mutual understanding, at the very least***. I'm not certain it trumps what Floyd and Jeanette have going.
Combine this with Bane's statement earlier in the issue about the value of a sacrifice and I wonder if this will be the point Catman steps out of the group. It seems unlikely, but he's always been the team member who has the most crises of conscience it seems. The one who worries that maybe he went too far with those poachers in Africa, who may be thinking about doing better for Huntress.
* Though she's the team member I think would need the least assistance, Blake could try and cut her near the neck, see if she starts flashing back to her execution as she did during The Depths. That seemed to incapacitate her for a time.
** The off portions being whenever Floyd shoots her, which has happened a couple of different times so far.
*** I think Blake understands Floyd, and I think Floyd understands Blake as well as Blake understands himself, which is not terribly well, but it's something.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
If He's This Stupid, He Certainly Couldn't Replace Batman
A few weeks ago, when I was reviewing Secret Six #11, I commented to the effect that I couldn't believe any of the Six were cool with providing security for the construction of a prison for every criminal in the world. I didn't even mean in terms of the fact that slave labor is being used. Sure, I find that disturbing, moreso than all the killing they've done in the series up to this point* somehow, but the Six are pretty blase about the horrible things people do to each other, so they're indifference wasn't entirely unexpected. As Ragdoll pointed out, Smyth's probably not any more evil than their previous employers**.
Still, this is a prison, for every criminal in the world, and the Six all have criminal records. So the odds they'd be tenants are pretty fair. Having given it some more thought, I can understand a couple of them. Deadshot really doesn't care about anything, including whether he's alive or dead, so I imagine a horrible prison doesn't concern him much, though it would be interesting to see if circumstances could be so awful he actually would begin to care. Ragdoll's an loon who had his body pretty much torn down and rebuilt for greater flexibility, so he might enjoy prison.
Catman's the one I can't figure. Set aside the crap about how the team took a job and so they have to see it through. They didn't actually deliver the card to the Mad Hatter, or Tarantula for that matter, so that's a bunch of bunk. Part of the point of the Six as a concept seems to be their lack of scruples, so I can't figure breaking a contract is really going to prove the line in the sand they won't cross. If it is, well, it's a really odd place to draw a line.
It just feels like Catman has to have a better reason. Is he on one of his guilt phases, where he feels bad about the ugly things he does, and so he'll make sure a prison he'd eventually be thrown into is finished? That would be funny, because by the time they finish, I imagine he'll be out of that phase, and it'll be time for a rousing game of "What the hell was I thinking?" Does he honestly believe he'd never be caught? Because he's struck me as a little more realistic about situations in the past***, to the point I can't see him as that delusional. Unless this is a delusional phase.
* I'm guessing that's because they had, until Deadshot killed the fleeing Mina in #10, restricted themselves to killing villains and varying degrees of scumbags.
** Unless it turns out Smyth's conviction that the righteousness of what he's doing validates all actions leads him to even darker places than their earlier employers. And if he believes that, well he might want to talk to Beta Ray Bill about whether noble ends make noble means, provided one even considers his goal noble.
*** His recognition that the Six didn't really stand much of a chance against Cheetah, considering she's powerful enough to fight Wonder Woman hand-to-hand, is one example.
Still, this is a prison, for every criminal in the world, and the Six all have criminal records. So the odds they'd be tenants are pretty fair. Having given it some more thought, I can understand a couple of them. Deadshot really doesn't care about anything, including whether he's alive or dead, so I imagine a horrible prison doesn't concern him much, though it would be interesting to see if circumstances could be so awful he actually would begin to care. Ragdoll's an loon who had his body pretty much torn down and rebuilt for greater flexibility, so he might enjoy prison.
Catman's the one I can't figure. Set aside the crap about how the team took a job and so they have to see it through. They didn't actually deliver the card to the Mad Hatter, or Tarantula for that matter, so that's a bunch of bunk. Part of the point of the Six as a concept seems to be their lack of scruples, so I can't figure breaking a contract is really going to prove the line in the sand they won't cross. If it is, well, it's a really odd place to draw a line.
It just feels like Catman has to have a better reason. Is he on one of his guilt phases, where he feels bad about the ugly things he does, and so he'll make sure a prison he'd eventually be thrown into is finished? That would be funny, because by the time they finish, I imagine he'll be out of that phase, and it'll be time for a rousing game of "What the hell was I thinking?" Does he honestly believe he'd never be caught? Because he's struck me as a little more realistic about situations in the past***, to the point I can't see him as that delusional. Unless this is a delusional phase.
* I'm guessing that's because they had, until Deadshot killed the fleeing Mina in #10, restricted themselves to killing villains and varying degrees of scumbags.
** Unless it turns out Smyth's conviction that the righteousness of what he's doing validates all actions leads him to even darker places than their earlier employers. And if he believes that, well he might want to talk to Beta Ray Bill about whether noble ends make noble means, provided one even considers his goal noble.
*** His recognition that the Six didn't really stand much of a chance against Cheetah, considering she's powerful enough to fight Wonder Woman hand-to-hand, is one example.
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