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7 Soldiers: Frankenstein

 
  

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Aertho
18:12 / 27.04.06
Final issues are protagonist versus thematic antagonist.

shining, honorable Ystin versus the dark queen of corruption Gloriana

Jake versus his role at the newsmagazine

Zatanna versus the higher powers, aided by language and books

Klarion versus damning authority

Shiloh versus the expectations of life - still iffy about that one...

Alix versus her image


Frank fights "an enemy", but not alone.
 
 
The Falcon
21:18 / 27.04.06
See the flaw in Neh-Buh-Loh? Is that one of these fugue things Grant does, when you lay it down beside Omega & Shiloh?

Really quite enormously gratifying to see my wiki page on Nebs/Qwewq* ratified, I must say.

Love GM alterna-horror-futures; echoes of Rock of Ages, but with proper art. Funny to see Sheeda using trucks and helicopters, eh?

*p.s. search function seems fucked.
 
 
miss wonderstarr
22:22 / 27.04.06
I've been holding this question back cause I didn't want to seem dooopid. But it must be asked!

NB. not looking at my comics here, so forgive me if I make a blunder.

Qwewq is the infant form of the cosmo-sapiens, right?

Nebular Man is the teenaged form.

Neb-u-loh is the adult form.

Soo... Nebular Man's been around in the DCU for some time, presumably evolving into Neb-u-loh. Soo... how did the JLA and the Ultramarines engage with the infant form of the cosmic being, if the teenager version was the currently-active form? How have the Ultramarines always been inside Neb since the baby version, unless JLA Classified involved some back-in-time shift I've forgotten?
 
 
Mario
22:33 / 27.04.06
Clearly, at some point post JLA:C #3, Qwewq was captured by the Sheeda, and sent through time. Rememeber, Iron Hand _summoned_ the Huntsman. He wasn't just hanging out.
 
 
miss wonderstarr
22:46 / 27.04.06
But how was Qwewq (the baby) around at all circa JLA:C, if his "teenage" incarnation was the existing DCU character?

Other than that, it makes sense (to me) in that Nebular Man would have matured into the cosmic huntsman Neb (adult form) by Summer's End, and then been sent back through time just as the Sheeda go back.
 
 
Imaginary Mongoose Solutions
23:02 / 27.04.06
Obviously Nebula Man-era Huntsman was summoned through time.

Present - Baby Universe
Little Farther in the future - Nebula Man
End of time - Neb-u-loh.

Besides, Neb-u-loh has already been shown to be able to travel through time under its own power anyway. Remember his going to the 31st century to snag a telepath to stand in for Misty?
 
 
Mario
23:19 / 27.04.06
Well, this is how I understand the timeline, from the perspective of Qwewq.

1. Somehow, the JLA acquires Qwewq and stores it on Pluto.
2. JLA:C 1-3.
3.At some point in the future, Qwewq will be captured by the Sheeda.
4. Qwewq grows into it's Nebula Man form at Summer's End (OBYL).
5. 40 years ago, Ramon Solomano, the Iron Hand, summons the Nebula Man, who is defeated by the 7(+1) Soldiers of Victory. Nebula Man escapes back to Summer's End.
(5a. There was a re-appearance by NM in Stars & STRIPE a few years ago that may not be in continuity.)
6. In Seven Soldiers #0, Solomano's nephew, masquerading as Blue Boy, summons the now-adult Ne-Bu-Loh from Summer's End.
7. Since then, he's been part of the Harrowing.

Note that at no time did he spend more than a short period in the present until very recently.
 
 
miss wonderstarr
07:13 / 28.04.06
I like it, Mario ~ and it makes me laugh a little the way these explanations begin "clearly" and "obviously"! ~ however, I have one quibble. (Of course it doesn't really matter, but I assume we all enjoy this sort of making sense of pseudo-myth.)

.At some point in the future, Qwewq will be captured by the Sheeda.
4. Qwewq grows into it's Nebula Man form at Summer's End (OBYL).
5. 40 years ago, Ramon Solomano, the Iron Hand, summons the Nebula Man, who is defeated by the 7(+1) Soldiers of Victory. Nebula Man escapes back to Summer's End.
(5a. There was a re-appearance by NM in Stars & STRIPE a few years ago that may not be in continuity.)
6. In Seven Soldiers #0, Solomano's nephew, masquerading as Blue Boy, summons the now-adult Ne-Bu-Loh from Summer's End.


What you have there is a cosmic being taking One Billion Years to grow from infancy to adolescence (Q --> NM) and then 40 years to mature from adolescence to adulthood (NM --> NBL).

But fine really: he could have matured to adolescence after half a billion years, and then have been on the cusp of adulthood when he was summoned by Iron Hand.

-------------SORRY I HAVE ANOTHER QWEQSTION-------------

Why did the "flaw" in Neb (stunted size... inbuilt feeling of "awe"... the "awe flaw" I suppose) mean that Frankenstein's second shots killed him, whereas the first had no apparent effect?
 
 
LDones
07:20 / 28.04.06
It didn't take him 40 years to grow from one stage to the next. The length between his appearances in linear time are pretty much meaningless since he can move from past/present/future at will.

----

On your second point, I don't think the flaw made Frank's later shots kill him. Superman beat Neh-buh-loh by punching him. Frank's shot to the face is, I suppose, intended to be Seriously Harsh. Uzi shots to the back have been shown to *hurt* him before, so he's certainly not invulnerable. He just took the first shot like a man.

The real answer is that it served the emotionbal beats of the story to have Neh-buh-loh get trounced by the 'stein later, rather than sooner.
 
 
miss wonderstarr
07:27 / 28.04.06
It didn't take him 40 years to grow from one stage to the next

Well, do we know that Nebular Man was summoned from Summer's End anyway? Or could it have been from any point in the future, once Qwewq had matured?

Anyway, I think I get it now ~ thanks everyone. I pity the fool without a Barbelith to help them explain these kiddy comic books.
 
 
Mario
11:38 / 28.04.06
Well, in Bulleteer #2, we saw how Iron Hand summoned the Nebula Man initially, and his nephew used the same method to summon Ne-Bu-Loh, so I think simplicity suggests that they both access the same place/time, his "distant and horrible homeland".

And yeah, I don't believe that simply because he was summoned 40 years later, he's 40 years older. There's a precedent for time passing differently in the Sidhe Lands.

BTW, Papers et al: Great call that the tomb in the beginning of the book is that of the Unknown (Seventh) Soldier.
 
 
Hallo, Paper Spaceboy
00:36 / 29.04.06
Incidentally, double-vibe on Frankenstein #4 with regard to Neh-buh-loh, via Mahnke: the monster-mountain of Fantasia (Night on Bald Mountain segment) & the devil-figure in Legend (faery-Tom Cruise flick). Especially on page 3, panel 1. Yes? Yes?
 
 
LDones
03:06 / 29.04.06
I can dig that, yeah, Papers.

I got a Kevin O'Neill vibe off of Mahn-Khe-Loh's sexual-grotesque calves and barrel-chest. Victorian hyper-potency physique-image.
 
 
The Falcon
13:35 / 29.04.06
I really dig the Wing burial-ground, too; 's also Gorias, with Neh-Buh-Loh eating some of the Pegachi home-guard, I guess, the rest having headed to pick Zatanna up from SF to fly to Manhattan for the final showdown.

Frank has shot out Nehbs' special third lazer eye out there, so maybe that's something to do with him evaporating.
 
 
Imaginary Mongoose Solutions
17:06 / 29.04.06
I can't believe I missed Ystine's appearence in this issue on my first read-through. That, and it looks like one of the winged horses on the opening page has the image of a rider on it... most likely making it Zatanna and Misty.
 
 
Mario
17:29 / 29.04.06
Hard to tell. I think it could simply be the horse's tail or mane
 
 
Imaginary Mongoose Solutions
17:31 / 29.04.06
Yeah, but still... it makes sense. It is very indistinct, though. This makes me wonder what Ystine was up to between SK#4 and here.
 
 
Elijah, Freelance Rabbi
16:02 / 01.05.06
Did anyone else pick up on the hint at what time period Frank is taking place in?

When FT says that "Hurricane Gloria is tearing up the east coast like its programmed" or something like that (at work without ref mats right now).

Hurricane Gloria took place in 1985, so unless there is another, fictional Gloria wrecking up the east coast (which could be the answer, since the final battle is taking place in the NE of the USA) Frank is wrecking shop in the 1980s.

Any ideas on how exactly that could be worked out, even with the time travel ideas, that seems a bit problematic, but odd that he would use a real hurricane name rather then a fictional one also related to the Sheeda Queen's name.
 
 
Mario
16:38 / 01.05.06
I think that's a dead-end. Hurricane Gloria has been part of the Seven Soldiers storyline since the beginning, and is likely an oblique reference to Gloriana, and Castle Revolving.
 
 
Elijah, Freelance Rabbi
19:54 / 01.05.06
me = dun told.

The more I thought about it the internet porn Alix's husband is into wouldn't have been around in 85. I must have missed the other Gloria mentions in the other series. I just moved so now I want to dig out the issues and read them through.
 
 
Mario
20:12 / 01.05.06
No problem. Most of the references are in the latter half of Guardian and MM
 
 
The Falcon
21:59 / 01.05.06
Yeah, I think that's basically it, going a nice arc from LA - Honduras - Florida - NYC.
 
 
The Falcon
22:00 / 01.05.06
Although, hum, did this hurricane coincide with the original Crisis on Infinite Earths?
 
 
Mario
22:06 / 01.05.06
Crisis was half over by then. Crisis #1 shipped in April of 1985, and Gloria was in September.
 
 
The Falcon
22:11 / 01.05.06
Well, I guess hurricanes are kind've perennial in SE America anyway, and I rather suspect Grant rerouted Gloria for extra 'whoah! synchronicity!' power after the event, but it's still not a bad wee coincidence*.

*Except if you live(d) in an area affected, obvs, in which case it's fucking terrible.
 
 
Regrettable Juvenilia
22:41 / 01.05.06
Can I just say that I am going to start ending far too many things by saying:

"All in a day's work... for Frankenstein!"
 
 
Aertho
22:50 / 01.05.06
I think Hurricane Gloria is Frank, returning from the future. He'll manage to slow down the spinning just as the hurricane reaches New York City.
 
 
Elijah, Freelance Rabbi
13:21 / 02.05.06
Oh hey.

Did Frank climb aboard one of the time ships and wait/take a billion years to plant all the bombs he needed? Since the Gloriana he confronts is old it would seem like the ships didn't jump forward to OBYL, but Frank hid out for that long.

Even if that is not the case thats how I will forever think about it.
 
 
Mario
13:41 / 02.05.06
When you get down to it, Frankenstein is the "good parts" version of an action comic. He shows up on Mars, or in Tibet, or OBYL, and we never actually see how. We just know he will kick Sheeda butt when he gets there.
 
 
Quimper
14:53 / 02.05.06
Cassandra, your prediction sends joy through me.
 
 
Hallo, Paper Spaceboy
15:32 / 02.05.06
It would neatly get around how obvious it is to have the hurricane turn out to be Castle Revolving. A bit of misdirection would do well.

For one thing, why does Gloriana need to start the harrowing anywhere specific? Why not just pop up wherever automatically and get the harrow on?

Thought: the Seven Soldiers can never meet as Seven again, after #1; nor can they ever allow themselves to be recorded in history for their actions, because then there's this record lying around for the Sheeda to find in the far future and try to change history...
 
 
Mario
15:34 / 02.05.06
I think part of the 7UM's plan is THAT the Soldiers never actually meet as a team. Hence, no record, no way to plan ahead.
 
 
Aertho
15:39 / 02.05.06
Do you doubt my powers, Papers?
 
 
Hallo, Paper Spaceboy
16:07 / 02.05.06
Mario: I think part of the 7UM's plan is THAT the Soldiers never actually meet as a team. Hence, no record, no way to plan ahead.

Tragic, really. I want them to have wacky adventures together! With a Satellite headquarters! And be cooler than the Justice League! Frankenstein drinking dirt-cheap whiskey and regaling the Soldiers with tales of his days on Venus, Pluto, and Devonshire! Frankenstein in the Old Age Home! Seven Soldiers with Veteran license plates!

Cass: Do you doubt my powers, Papers?

Um, no, I was saying the opposite. Hurricane Frank from the Future would be brilliant with Castle Revolving as misdirection.
 
 
Aertho
16:12 / 02.05.06
Oh. Well. Carry on.
 
  

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