Amalgam Annotations - Legends of the Dark Claw #1
John Nevins
(corrections/additions to my errors/omissions are welcome)
Again, I apologize if what I'm about to say is obvious - but I'm sure there
are Marvel and/or DC fanboys out there who just don't know these
things.....
What we've got here is a combination of DC's Batman - surely I don't have to
explain him - and Marvel's Wolverine - another character who needs no
explanation. The title of the book, though - die-hard Marvel fans may
not be
aware that there's a DC Comic out there called "Legends of the Dark
Knight."
This, obviously, is riffing on that.
p 1 Dark Claw's costume, though...it's supposed to be a combination of
Batman and Wolverine, obviously, but it just doesn't work for me. I
don't mean the color scheme, garish though it is. I mean things like
the helmet - ornamental, yes, but not functional at all. And Dark
Claw's claws - you'd think that the Marvel Weapons Expert, Larry Hama,
the writer of this book, would know this, but you _never_ _never_
_never_ put those sort of hooks on knives - at least, not the ones you
intend to use on other people. Yes, they do rip the flesh more
efficiently, but they also get caught on flesh and bone - far too easily
and far too often, as a matter of fact. American sergeants in every war
of this century have removed those sawtoothed knives that fresh GIs
brought over and replaced them with the simple bayonet. Why? Because
bayonets work, and sawtoothed knives get stuck in people's bodies. It's
as simple as that. (End Lecture Here)
p 2 "The Hyena" - as in _Dr. StrangeFate_, the writer here took the
efficient route of combining the Marvel and DC's heroes' arch-enemies
into one person. The Hyena has the face and the patter of the Joker -
Batman's arch-enemy. The Marvel contribution threw me at first - then
I realized saw the Hyena's claws and realized that, obviously, he's
based on Marvel's Sabertooth - Wolverine's arch-enemy, a mutant mass-
murderer and originally Wolverine's father before they retconned that
away.
p 3 The "mutant healing factor" Dark Claw mentions here is an essential part
of Wolverine's makeup.
"Sparrow" - a combination of Batman's sidekick Robin - gotta have
a Robin, after all, complete with a Robin uniform - and Marvel's Jubilee
- a pal of Wolverine and a member of the X-Men.
"Frolic Frags" - cute. Very Joker-ish.
p 5 The "Comedy Channel?" I guess Amalgam Universe hasn't seen Comedy
Central, then.
p 6 I _know_ the Joker hasn't had assistants who look like this, and I don't
think Sabretooth has, either. So I'm assuming that Hyena's "Pack" is
new to the Amalgam Universe.
p 7 The Dark Claw Copter - a standard part of Batman's arsenal, of course,
being the Batcopter.
The "SHIELD Helicarrier" - well, more on that in the
annotations to
Bruce Wayne, Agent of SHIELD.
p 8 We'll get to know this figure in a few pages. But she's breaking into
the apartment of "Logan, techno-wizard, painter, sportsman, and walking
enigma." Well, Logan is Wolverine's real name (we think - as much as any
part of Wolverine's past can be certain). Painter? I don't remember
Bruce Wayne or Logan painting. Same with being a techno-wizard or a
sportsman. Now, it's _possible_ that Hama was hearkening to another
millionaire vigilante, who also happened to be a sportsman - Paul Kirk,
DC's Golden Age Manhunter. But I don't think that likely...
p 9 Okay....*deep breath*....
Logan, like Dark Claw, was (as far as we know) raised as an orphan
in Canada. Batman, like Dark Claw, had parents in Gotham, and was a
child of affluence. Logan, like Dark Claw, seems to have been a member
of the Canadian armed forces. Logan, like Dark Claw, was active in
Vietnam (I think). The "Creed" who Logan is seen in a picture with -
well, we'll find out about the Amalgam Creed; in Marvel continuity
Sabretooth's "real" last name is Creed. And, like Dark Claw, Logan knew
Creed from long before. (confused yet? I am...)
The blonde woman goes on to mention a "Mr. Creed H. Quinn" and a
"Project." We'll learn more about the Project soon enough; as for Creed
H. Quinn...well, that's an amalgamation (sorry) of Sabretooth's name and
one of the Joker's aliases - Harley Quinn.
p 10 "The Huntress - aka Carol Danvers." Carol Danvers is a Marvel character;
she was originally Miss Marvel until a lame storyline stripped her of
her powers. Then Carol Danvers was given a spy/secret agent background
and was made into a pal of Logan's. The Huntress - well, there was a
pre-Crisis Huntress who was the Batman's daughter on an alternate Earth
and worked as a female version of the Batman. I haven't a clue about
what the post-Crisis, post-Zero Hour Huntress is about. (y'know,
sometimes I read what I've just written and realize just how goofy these
things can be...)
The line about the Huntress going rogue from some super-secret gvt
agency - I don't _think_ that's a part of Marvel Continuity Carol
Danvers' background. I don't know about DC Continuity Huntress,
though.
p 11 Again with the mysterious Project. Keep reading.
"Professor Carter Nicholls" - now, they may have brought back
Professor Nicholls recently, but if not this is a piece of true DC
arcana - way, way back in the 1940s & 1950s, Professor Carter Nichols
(only one "l") was the pet scientist of both Batman and Superman, and
was always the one they called upon when they wanted or needed to get
some cutting-edge technology or wanted/needed to go time-travelling.
There might also be a Professor "Nicholls" in Wolverine's past, too...
"Professor Cornelius" is the man, in Marvel Continuity, who (at
least so far) was chiefly responsible for creating Wolverine, at the
Project. (of course, Marvel might retcon that all away...)
I don't know who "Hines" is - if she's the woman shown on this
page, I think she was also a part of the Project, in Marvel Continuity,
which created Wolverine.
p 12 So the Canadian gvt project - which in Marvel Continuity was the Weapon
X Project (I think) which created Logan and Sabretooth - here created
Dark Claw and the Hyena. Okay, that works for me.
p 13 The "Barrow," rather than the ClawCave? well...okay...I guess...
The giant coin and the dinosaur in the case are straight out of
Batman's past - the giant coin is a souvenir of a battle with Two-Face,
and the T-Rex a souvenir of a battle with robot dinosaurs.
Dark Claw's parents were shot by a burglar - just like the Batman's
- and then he was sent to Canada and eventually raised by the state -
just like Wolverine.
p 18 Dark Claw mentions that his claws are made of "adamantium" - in the
Marvel Universe Wolverine's claws are (or were, until he lost them) made
out of adamantium, the hardest metal known.
In summation: enh. Hama writes _Wolverine_ - or did, for a while. Sad to
say, that influence shows here. This is all personal opinion, of course,
but...I'd have liked to have seen a lot more Batman-style detecting and a lot
less more-or-less-pointless Wolverine-style slugfest. I like reading weapon
names and kewl military terminology as much as the next person, but I don't
really think it should take the place of, oh, characterization, plot and
style.
jess
John L Jakala
> Amalgam Annotations: Legends of the Dark Claw #1
> p 1 Dark Claw's costume, though...it's supposed to be a combination of
> Batman and Wolverine, obviously, but it just doesn't work for me. I
> don't mean the color scheme, garish though it is. I mean things like
> the helmet - ornamental, yes, but not functional at all. And Dark
> Claw's claws - you _never_ _never_
> _never_ put those sort of hooks on knives - at least, not the ones you
> intend to use on other people.
When I originally saw Dark Claw (on the cover of "Previews") it was almost
enough to scare me away from the whole Amalgam line. (The mask reminded
me of something from a movie called "Deathstalker and the Warriors from
Hell" recently parodied on MST3K.) But then I thought about how
influential (both in positive and negative ways) a particular artist can
be...sure enough, Dark Claw actually looks pretty cool over in "JLX"
(rendered by Porter), but it his own book he just looks silly. Could this
be at least partly because (I think) Balent can't draw worth crap? Hmmm...
As for the claws: Come on, give them some leyway: they have to work in the
"bat fringe" motif as many times as they can on one character!!
> p 6 I _know_ the Joker hasn't had assistants who look like this, and I don't
> think Sabretooth has, either. So I'm assuming that Hyena's "Pack" is
> new to the Amalgam Universe.
Well, the Joker has certainly had his share of henchmen. Here Balent just
'soups them up' to look 'Sabertoothesque' or something...
> p 8 We'll get to know this figure in a few pages. But she's breaking into
> the apartment of "Logan, techno-wizard, painter, sportsman, and walking
> enigma. Painter?
And how about those paintings, huh? Did he just dip his claws in paint
and go to work on those canvases???
> p 10 "The Huntress - aka Carol Danvers."
> The line about the Huntress going rogue from some super-secret gvt
> agency - I don't _think_ that's a part of Marvel Continuity Carol
> Danvers' background. I don't know about DC Continuity Huntress,
> though.
That line made me think of Marvel's Mockingbird, who used to work for
SHIELD but went 'rogue' (I think). But we've already seen her over in JLX
(Just called 'Canary'? (I hope not 'Mocking Canary'..) Wouldn't
'Blackbird' have been a better amalgamation?)
Overall, this one was ok, but I should've passed and waited for bargain bins.
--
John Jakala
jja...@gslink.com
John Nevins
>John Nevins wrote:
>>
>> Amalgam Annotations: Legends of the Dark Claw #1
>>
>> (corrections/additions to my errors/omissions are welcome)
>>
which diatribe was that? :)
>> p 2 "The Hyena" - as in _Dr. StrangeFate_, the writer here took the
>> efficient route of combining the Marvel and DC's heroes' arch-enemies
>> into one person. The Hyena has the face and the patter of the Joker -
>> Batman's arch-enemy. The Marvel contribution threw me at first - then
>> I realized saw the Hyena's claws and realized that, obviously, he's
>> based on Marvel's Sabertooth - Wolverine's arch-enemy, a mutant mass-
>> murderer and originally Wolverine's father before they retconned that
>> away.
>>
>I kinda guessed the combination was this because Hyena=laughing=Joker and
>Hyena=carnivore=Sabretooth. It just clicked for me one day...
ahh...a more efficient route than I took, and quicker, too.
>> p 5 The "Comedy Channel?" I guess Amalgam Universe hasn't seen Comedy
>> Central, then.
>
>So? Neither have I.
Comedy Central used to be the Comedy Channel, but then it changed
ownership & names. Hence my comment.
>> p 6 I _know_ the Joker hasn't had assistants who look like this, and I don't
>> think Sabretooth has, either. So I'm assuming that Hyena's "Pack" is
>> new to the Amalgam Universe.
>
>This is simply consistent with Joker leading a gang of thugs.
Yeah, but they look a bit more high-tech than most of Joker's gangs...
>> p 18 Dark Claw mentions that his claws are made of "adamantium" - in the
>> Marvel Universe Wolverine's claws are (or were, until he lost them) made
>> out of adamantium, the hardest metal known.
>>
>I guess the point was to make Dark Claw as action packed as possible. I
>guess we should remeber that this was written with cliffhangers and stuff,
>as if the book was continuing.
Yeah, but I think they could have written it with action and cliffhangers
_an_ plot and metatext.
But perhaps my standards are too high...
jess
Randy Lander
> Amalgam Annotations: Legends of the Dark Claw #1
>
>(corrections/additions to my errors/omissions are welcome)
>
>Again, I apologize if what I'm about to say is obvious - but I'm sure there
>are Marvel and/or DC fanboys out there who just don't know these
>things.....
>
These annotations were great. I got a lot of what happened in the
Amalgam books, but you caught some things I didn't. Great work.
>What we've got here is a combination of DC's Batman - surely I don't have to
>explain him - and Marvel's Wolverine - another character who needs no
>explanation. The title of the book, though - die-hard Marvel fans may
>not be
>aware that there's a DC Comic out there called "Legends of the Dark
>Knight."
>This, obviously, is riffing on that.
>
> "Sparrow" - a combination of Batman's sidekick Robin - gotta have
> a Robin, after all, complete with a Robin uniform - and Marvel's Jubilee
> - a pal of Wolverine and a member of the X-Men.
A little more Robin would have been nice. This character was almost
all Jubilee.
>p 8 We'll get to know this figure in a few pages. But she's breaking into
> the apartment of "Logan, techno-wizard, painter, sportsman, and walking
> enigma." Well, Logan is Wolverine's real name (we think - as much as any
> part of Wolverine's past can be certain). Painter? I don't remember
> Bruce Wayne or Logan painting. Same with being a techno-wizard or a
> sportsman. Now, it's _possible_ that Hama was hearkening to another
> millionaire vigilante, who also happened to be a sportsman - Paul Kirk,
> DC's Golden Age Manhunter. But I don't think that likely...
>
I think this was made up out of whole cloth. But it felt right and was
a neat addition to the character, IMO.
> The blonde woman goes on to mention a "Mr. Creed H. Quinn" and a
> "Project." We'll learn more about the Project soon enough; as for Creed
> H. Quinn...well, that's an amalgamation (sorry) of Sabretooth's name and
> one of the Joker's aliases - Harley Quinn.
>
Missed this, and me being such a Harley fan. I'm ashamed.
>p 10 "The Huntress - aka Carol Danvers." Carol Danvers is a Marvel character;
> she was originally Miss Marvel until a lame storyline stripped her of
> her powers. Then Carol Danvers was given a spy/secret agent background
> and was made into a pal of Logan's. The Huntress - well, there was a
> pre-Crisis Huntress who was the Batman's daughter on an alternate Earth
> and worked as a female version of the Batman. I haven't a clue about
> what the post-Crisis, post-Zero Hour Huntress is about. (y'know,
> sometimes I read what I've just written and realize just how goofy these
> things can be...)
> The line about the Huntress going rogue from some super-secret gvt
> agency - I don't _think_ that's a part of Marvel Continuity Carol
> Danvers' background. I don't know about DC Continuity Huntress,
>though.
>
I think this was a cute reference to Carol Danvers' personality being
part of Rogue after she stole her powers.
> I don't know who "Hines" is - if she's the woman shown on this
> page, I think she was also a part of the Project, in Marvel Continuity,
> which created Wolverine.
>
Yep, Hines was an assistant on the Weapon X project in Marvel
continuity.
>In summation: enh. Hama writes _Wolverine_ - or did, for a while. Sad to
>say, that influence shows here. This is all personal opinion, of course,
>but...I'd have liked to have seen a lot more Batman-style detecting and a lot
>less more-or-less-pointless Wolverine-style slugfest. I like reading weapon
>names and kewl military terminology as much as the next person, but I don't
>really think it should take the place of, oh, characterization, plot and
>style.
>
Yeah. Fun ride, but at the end of the book, that's all there was. When
I closed it, I realized that other than wearing the bat-costume, this
had read exactly like a Wolverine story. Of course, I'd pay good money
for a Carol Danvers-Huntress solo story.
rwla...@io.com<*>
My Home Page:http://www.io.com/~rwlander
This Post contains the opinions of one Randy Lander.
Had it been the biblical truth, your bushes would be
on fire.
David R. Henry
>> p 10 "The Huntress - aka Carol Danvers."
>> The line about the Huntress going rogue from some super-secret gvt
>> agency - I don't _think_ that's a part of Marvel Continuity Carol
>> Danvers' background. I don't know about DC Continuity Huntress,
>> though.
>
>That line made me think of Marvel's Mockingbird, who used to work for
>SHIELD but went 'rogue' (I think). But we've already seen her over in JLX
>(Just called 'Canary'? (I hope not 'Mocking Canary'..) Wouldn't
>'Blackbird' have been a better amalgamation?)
Ahem. C'mon, folks. Carol Danvers, going _rogue_? C'mon, slap some
synapses, generate heat, express discovery and surprise!
--
Why vote for the LESSER Evil? Go Cthulhu Again '96! The Stars Are Right!
Still Looking For A Proper Darkness / All You of Earth are IDIOTS! - P9fOS
Fight evil: alt.religion.scientology / Support Good: Read the BlackList
What was the question? - Kate Bush\D. Shadow Henry * dhe...@plains.nodak.edu
John Nevins
Amalgam Annotations: Legends of the Dark Claw #1
(corrections/additions to my errors/omissions are welcome)
don't have to explain him - and Marvel's Wolverine - another
character who needs no explanation. The title of the book, though
- die-hard Marvel fans may not be aware that there's a DC Comic out
there called "Legends of the Dark Knight." This, obviously, is
riffing on that.
of Batman and Wolverine, but it just doesn't work for me. I
don't mean the color scheme, garish though it is. I mean
things like the helmet - ornamental, yes, but not functional
Claw's claws - you'd think that the Marvel Weapons Expert,
_never_ _never_ _never_ put those sort of hooks on knives - at
they do rip the flesh more efficiently, but they also get
caught on flesh and bone - far too easily and far too often,
as a matter of fact. American sergeants in every war of this
century have removed those sawtoothed knives that fresh GIs
brought over and replaced them with the simple bayonet. Why?
Because bayonets work, and sawtoothed knives get stuck in
people's bodies. It's as simple as that. (End Lecture Here)
the efficient route of combining the Marvel and DC's heroes'
arch-enemies into one person. The Hyena has the face and the
patter of the Joker - Batman's arch-enemy. The Marvel
a mutant mass-murderer (and mass-murdering mutant) and
originally Wolverine's father (before they retconned that
away).
p 3 The "mutant healing factor" Dark Claw mentions here is an
essential part of Wolverine's makeup.
gotta have a Robin, after all, complete with a Robin uniform
- and Marvel's Jubilee - a pal of Wolverine and a member of
seems to have caught, a strong hint of the Robin from Frank
Miller's _Dark Knight_ epic.
"Frolic Frags" - cute. Very Joker-ish.
superseded by Comedy Central in "real" life.
p 6 The Joker's assistants here look a little too distinctive - as
if they were meant to remind us of someone. They don't
resemble any of the Joker's gangs that I've ever seen, and
Sabretooth has never worked with flunkies. So I'm assuming
that Hyena's "Pack" is new to the Amalgam Universe.
gang might also be the Amalgam version of the X-Men villains
the Reavers. Although Sabretooth only worked with the
Marauders, the Amalgam Hyena's Pack does somewhat look like
the Marvel Continuity Reavers. Or they could be the Amalgam
version of Marvel Continuity Silver Sable's gang of mercenary
henchmen - the "Wild Pack."
p 7 The Dark Claw Copter - a standard part of Batman's arsenal, of
course, being the Batcopter.
both Marvel and Amalgam Continuity, of SHIELD, the
international police organization. We learn more about them,
and about the Helicarrier, in _Bruce Wayne: Agent of SHIELD_
#1.
p 8 We'll get to know this figure in a few pages. But she's
breaking into the apartment of "Logan, techno-wizard, painter,
name (we think - as much as any part of Wolverine's past can
be certain). Painter? I don't remember Bruce Wayne or Logan
painting. Same with being a techno-wizard or a sportsman.
Logan, like Dark Claw, was (as far as we know) raised as
an orphan in Canada. Batman, like Dark Claw, had parents in
Gotham, and was a child of affluence. Logan, like Dark Claw,
seems to have been a member of the Canadian armed forces.
Logan is pictued with "Creed" will become significant soon;
And, like Dark Claw, Logan knew Creed from long before.
(confused yet? I am...)
Quinn" and a "Project." We'll learn more about the Project
Sabretooth's name and one of the Joker's aliases from the
Golden Age - Harley Quinn (harlequin, get it?) There is (or,
pre-Crisis, was) also a DC Continuity character called The
Harlequin, who claimed to be the Joker's daughter - but she
was a heroine, and I think the "Harley Quinn" reference is
more toward the Golden Age pseudonym than anything else.
p 10 "The Huntress - aka Carol Danvers." Carol Danvers is a Marvel
storyline stripped her of her powers. Then Carol Danvers was
given a spy/secret agent background and was made into a pal of
on an alternate Earth and worked as a female version of the
Batman. I haven't a clue about what the post-Crisis, post-Zero
Hour Huntress is about.
Marvel Continuity Carol Danvers. (As David Henry pointed out,
the "rogue" line is a _joke_ - in Marvel Continuity Rogue
stripped Carol Danvers of her powers. I feel dumb for having
missed this originally)
John Jakala also muses that the Huntress here might be
influenced by the Marvel Continuity heroine Mockingbird, who
(like Amalgam's Huntress) was an agent of SHIELD before she
went rogue.
Kevin Wong points out that in DC Continuity Batman and
Robin both know the Huntress' civilian identity, just as the
Amalgam Dark Claw knows the Amalgam Huntress' civilian id.
p 11 Again the mysterious Project is mentioned. Keep reading.
"Professor Carter Nicholls" - unless DC has used
Professor Nichols recently, this is a prime piece of true DC
arcana. Way, way back in the 1940s & 1950s, Professor Carter
Nichols (only one "l") was the pet scientist of both Batman
and Superman, and was always the one they called upon when
they wanted or needed to get some cutting-edge technology or
wanted/needed to go time-travelling. There might also be a
"Professor Cornelius" is the man, in Marvel Continuity,
who (at least so far) was chiefly responsible for creating
Wolverine, at the Project. (of course, Marvel might retcon
that all away...)
Continuity. (thanks to Randy Lander for confirming this)
p 12 So the Canadian gvt project - which in Marvel Continuity was
the Weapon X Project (I think) which created Logan and
extrapolation.
Kevin Wong points out that Dark Claw mentions that there
were 5 members of the Weapon X project; in Marvel Continuity
the other subjects besides Wolverine and Sabretooth were
Silver Fox, Maverick, and Kane and/or Deadpool; the other 3
subjects in the Amalgam Universe go unnamed.
p 13 The "Barrow," rather than the ClawCave? well...okay...I
guess...
The giant coin and the dinosaur in the case are straight
"Penny Plunderers" case - thanks to a person whose name I
didn't get for correcting my original error about the Coin -
and the T-Rex a souvenir of a battle with robot dinosaurs.
Dark Claw's parents were shot by a burglar - just like
the Batman's - and then he was sent to Canada and eventually
raised by the state - just like Wolverine.
in the Marvel Universe Wolverine's claws are (or were, until
he lost them) made out of adamantium, the hardest metal known.
Elayne Weschler-Chaput, Kevin Wong and everyone else whose name I
didn't get for their comments and corrections.
jess