![]() ![]() That’s what you’re going to see, and we wanted to give a hint that he has a sense of self degradation going on, and that’s rooted in the fact that there’s a need that’s not being met, whether it be acceptance, love, fear, respect. So now the outside amongst outsiders is the man of power, he’s going to have an issue with those outsiders that made him feel that way. At the same time, it’s another motivator because of the way he was brought up - he was always the outsider amongst outsiders. So that of itself is a motivator, and motivates the master manipulator that I am on the show, as well as in the uniqueness of the outer appearance, which is so very unique. “Tobias started off as a politician / ruler of the underworld, and his corrupt dealings led him to no longer to be on the board of politics in the land of Freeland. Only looking at the first issue, it’s impossible to say exactly what point Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands will ultimately make, but this issue does suggest a rich array of political points it can choose from.On the set of Black Lightning here in Atlanta, Marvin “Krondon” Jones III spoke to me about playing Tobias, who he is on the television series, and his motivations: To me, the quality of a comic has everything to do with how clearly and effectively it makes its point - whether that point is political, emotional, or something else. Readers may disagree with - or even resent - the political attitudes reflected in a given comic, but that a comic is political is not a valid reason to dismiss it. More broadly, the relative cheapness of comics as a medium has long lent it to political advocacy. I’m not convinced any work of art could be apolitical, but superhero comics certainly aren’t - virtually every character, from Captain America to Superman, advanced very specific political opinions. It represents a profoundly ahistorical worldview that falls apart under even the lightest scrutiny. ![]() ![]() It’s remarkable how many comics fans claim their perceived politicization of superheroes is ruining the medium. Posted in Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands, Drew Baumgartner Tagged black lightning, Clayton Henry, Denise Simms, Jefferson Pierce, Miss Pequod, Queequeg, Tobias Whale, Tommi Colavito, Tony Isabella, Weathermen It demonstrates the storytelling potential of diverse characters, emphasizing perspectives, obstacles, and motivations that otherwise might never come up at the Big 2. But with Black Lighting: Cold Dead Hands 2, Tony Isabella and Clayton Henry make a strong case that they might be related - or more precisely, that the solution to both can be the same thing: Jefferson Pierce’s blackness lends the character to stories totally unlike the reheated adventures of other superhero faire. Those are both points that have been made to death, but are rarely mentioned in the same breath. Continue reading →įor as many superhero comics there are out there, it’s remarkable how little diversity there is - both in terms of representation and narrative variety. I hadn’t really been sweating Jefferson Pierce’s motivations - he’s a community-minded guy that happens to have superpowers, so I could believe him feeling some sense of duty - but Black Lighting: Cold Dead Hands gets specific, drawing from the real-world shooting of Tamir Rice as a kind of Uncle Ben moment. Police stories often get around this by somehow making the case at hand personal, but that personal connection can have a lot more resonance if it reaches back to the character’s past - perhaps the very thing that drove them down this path in the first place. But it does leave some personal investment on the table. That may seem odd, but it’s also how most police stories go - we don’t always need an explanation for why the protagonist became a cop in the first place. Not everyone has a well-known origin story, so we often just accept that a given hero is fighting crime without any further explanation necessary. Superheroes have become so ubiquitous, we sometimes take their motivations for granted. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |