The Immortal Joker

The Immortal Joker

The Joker, Batman’s longtime arch nemesis, consecutively faces death confronting Batman and repeatedly places himself in life-threatening situations. Batman's goal is to stop all the evil from happening, including killing The Joker, even if it may lead to more conflict in the future. It is a cycle that Batman has caught himself in when fighting The Joker, he refuses to kill anyone despite the plethora of harm they cause to everyone. Batman even goes as far as to save The Joker from his imminent doom. For example, during the video game “Batman: Arkham Origins” The Joker and Batman are standing on top of a tower and Bane shoots the Joker from a helicopter with a rocket launcher causing the Joker to willingly fall of the tower to his imminent doom. As seen here:

The surprising scene reveals the conflicting relationship between Batman and The Joker, where The Batman refuses to let The Joker die despite all the evil he has done. This realization reflects Batman’s superhero character and his one rule: never kill. This shows Batman’s ultimate good, where even the worst super villains in the city do not deserve Death. Despite this the argument can be made that Batman is consequently harming the city and himself by allowing such an evil character live. However, Batman always stops the evil acts of The Joker as soon as he is able to, and if he wanted to see The Joker wreak havoc throughout the city he would allow it for a time then stop him.

Batman and The Joker’s relationship is a complicated one, where one tries to only make the life of the other harder and to break his one rule. Batman will go as far to risk his life and save The Joker, who will continue his reign of mischievous acts, than allow him to die. This raises the perplexing question: Should Batman allow The Joker to die for the greater good?

Cliché ending

Welcome back friends, since it’s been a while since I last spoke about The Green Lantern, I decided it was about time to bring them back. In my last post I elaborated on the relationship between hero Hal Jordan and the villain Sinestro. Sinestro was once considered the greatest green lantern in the corps but was dishonorably discharged after he gave in to his desires and took advantage of his power. Once discharged, Sinestro swore revenge on the Corps and became a longtime nemesis of Hal.

Sticking to Hal Jordan, I decided to elaborate on his relationship with another villain, The Puppeteer (Green Lantern: volume 2 #1, the planet of doomed men). The Puppeteer, also known as Jordan Weir, was a scientist who created the "Hypno-ray". With this invention Weir had the power to force victims to follow his commands; hence the title "The Puppeteer".Commanding other criminals to do his evils for him and causing absolute chaos, Hal come to the rescue when Weir manages to take control of him as well, eventually Hal defeats The Puppeteer but not for good since he returns in future comics

In this cover picture of the comic, you are able to see The Puppeteer’s puppet in the center of the image on a much larger scale than Hal. According to Molly Bang in Picture This, “the center of the page is the most effective” (62). This scene adds excitement to the comic because the picture depicts The Puppeteer as in control and having power over Hal. Rather than thinking of the comic as “the hero always wins”, you are able to see where Hal is being challenged. With Hal flying toward the bottom corner of the image he is seen as more vulnerable showing he’s threatened and constrained. Knowing that The Puppeteer has the advantage in this battle, I find myself drawn to his character secretly routing him on. Throughout the comic I found myself more interested in their relationship being equal that I forgot all about the cliché: Good always defeats evil.

This alluring image kept my attention throughout the comic causing me to question if maybe, just this once, the villain could actually win. Unlike other comics with flat villains that serve no purpose other than to add another name to the long list of villains defeated, The Puppeteer pushed Hal to great lengths and tested his powers.

Wonder Woman and Genocide

Hello readers! Welcome back! This week I thought that discussing another Wonder Woman/villian relationship would strengthen my blog posts up to this point.  Today, I will be discussing a photo where, ironically, Wonder Woman is actually being defeated. I will be talking about Wonder Womans enemy, GENOCIDE. Genocide is a villain that was created to be stronger than those of the Justice League. Genocide has both superhuman strength and invulnerability, she is basically an unbeatable villain.

In this image of Genocide holding Wonder Woman, it is ironic how Wonder Woman is actually still alive! Genocide generally does not have mercy, but similar to what I discussed in my blog post "Female Heroes and Villains vs. Men?", I guarantee that because Wonder Woman is a girl the Genocide is giving her mercy. Another ironic thing about their relationship is that Wonder Woman's Lasso of truth is actually embedded into Genocide's arms, back, and shoulders. In my opinion, I think that Genocide is the "villain-version" of Wonder Woman. Although later in their career Genocide kills Wonder Woman, she holds back from killing Wonder Woman for as long as possible. I would not be surprised if Wonder Woman and Genocide teamed up, prior to Wonder Woman's death, and stood up for their roles as female heroes/villains. This image also shows Genocide stealing Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth, which makes me believe that Genocide looked up to Wonder Woman as a female with powers. I think that Genocide was trying to take Wonder Woman's place - that is why she killed her - but instead of promoting good, Genocide promoted bad. Genocide, in my opinion, was jealous of Wonder Woman.

Sources: http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Genocide_(New_Earth)

Who's the Villain

Hello readers, today we are going to refer back to the visual analysis post, and we're going to talk about how we can visually see different relationships between superheroes and villains. In the past post I analyzed an image of the flash with the reverse flash, and how the image shows there unique relationship. Today I am going to compare and contrast that image with an image of the flash fighting a different villain, so that we can see that each villain has a unique relationship with each superhero. In this image we see just captain cold, on his knees looking defeated and ashamed. Furthermore, he seems to be drawing power from the ice around him, but he looks regretful. The entire color scheme is blue and white and his body is at a slightly positive angle. All of these aspects tell us something about the character and his relationship. Just from the image we can see that he has been defeated and ashamed that he continues to loose, but he has also not given up. From the text we can see that Captain Cold truly sees the Flash as the villain, which is different idea than many villains. For example, the reverse flash in the previous image absolutely knew that what he was doing was wrong. Every relationship is different between heroes and villains and this is what makes a comic interesting, there can't just be a good hero or villain.

Asking Others

Asking Others

This week I interviewed my friend who likes to read comics about his opinion on certain Superhero and Villain relationships

1. Do you consider yourself as someone who knows a lot about comics? 

Yes, however, I know a lot more about the Marvel Lore and Universe as a whole, and I prefer story lines mention in Marvel, like Marvels Civil Was was one and the original Secret Wars.

2. What is your favorite comic? 

The Incredible Hulk, because he essentially has unlimited power that is only controlled by his rage. His character is also more in depth and complicated than other Superheroes, like Superman, that are too perfect and too bland for me. I prefer a character with a devastating story like the Hulk with his dreadful background of abuse from his parents.

3. Favorite superhero and villain? Why?

My favorite Superhero and Villain combo is the Batman and The Joker, because The Joker essentially exists only to conflict with Batman who is attempting to control all the chaos. The Joker is interesting because he is essentially the opposite of Batman, however, they share similar attributes such as planning and "cunningness". But their goals are entirely different and that's what makes them so unique and interesting. 

4. Do you think they have a good relationship or a bad relationship?

They have a good relationship in the sense that they work well against each other. The Joker only exists because of Batman, and without the Joker, Batman would have much less to do. 

5. Do you think a comic could survive without either character? Explain?

Yes because either way Batman would have enemies to fight and people to save, and without Batman The Joker would find someone else to terrorize such as Commissioner Gordon or Catwoman. 

6. Do you see yourself more in the hero or the villain or both? Explain.

I see myself more as the hero because he does what is right and I like to think that I would also do what is right given the situation of having superpowers. .

7. What makes a good villain?

It's all a sense of perspective between the hero and the villain, they could both be attempting to achieve a good goal but have different methods that may seem immoral in a certain light. One example, Ra's al Ghul, wants to save the environment, however, he does so by killing humans. So his goal is good but his methods to achieve his goals is not. So it's all a matter of perspective. 

8. What makes a good hero?

A good hero, and villain I forgot to mention, must be complex and different than all other Superheroes. Superman is way to perfect and invincible that creates for a bland story and no real sense of emergency when enemies arise because the reader knows that he will always come victorious no matter how powerful the enemy. Because it's Superman!

Thank you for your time on answering me these questions.

No problem I like talking about comics.

through someone else's eyes.

Hello, fellow comic enthusiast! Great to have you back! This week rather than telling you our opinions about the relationship between Heroes and Villains, we decided to shake thing up a bit and interview people not affiliated with this blog to see how other comic book reader felt about the topic. I will be asking a friend of mine, Sam, who has never read this blog and would therefore not be influenced by my ideas in any way. 

Do you consider yourself as someone who knows a lot about comics?

“I consider myself to be pretty familiar with comics since I was grew up in a school where it was expected for boys to idolize superheroes and know everything from their powers to their moral codes.”

Where did you get your knowledge from?

“I obtained my knowledge from comic strips, movies, and video games. Although I enjoy watching Marvel movies, DC had my favorite characters.

What is your favorite comic?

“Batman, definitely…by a long shot”

Favorite superhero and super villain? Why?

“Again, batman is my favorite and as you can imagine the joker was my favorite villain. Both of the characters were so extreme and I felt so attached to both of their characters I almost wanted the joker to win at times.”

How would you describe a superhero?

“A superhero is like an epic version of all of us. They have all the traits we wish we all had like the ability to control the world but the morality not to. They’re just all the best things you could think of hidden behind spandex and a mask.”

How would you describe a supervillain?

Super villains are just as cool. They are actually probably what makes superheroes cool because it gives them something fight for and they push the hero so much that they question themselves and their values. Also, we get to picture what it would be like if we let all our demands decide for us and the chaos that would accompany that decision.”

What makes a good superhero?

“A good superhero is one that has gone through something traumatic that drives him to think a certain way and act on those thoughts. Like they hate evil so they want to save the world from evil? I don’t know? And it doesn’t hurt for them to have like kick A** powers and a sick costume, you know?

What makes a good villain?

A good villain is one that is super crazy like the Joker. He like tempts you to be evil because his character is so believable and he tests batman so much! He’s just great!

Do you think they have a good relationship or bad relationship? Elaborate?

“I think they have a good relationship, like it’s not all hate. I think they need each other equally and Batman secretly likes him, I mean he’s saved his life a few times.”

Do you think a comic could survive without either character?

“NO! I think they both need each other equally and even the city needs them. Like Batman needs the joker so that he would have someone to fight but also someone who tests his values. And the joker needs Batman because just like any misunderstood trouble maker, he’s just looking for someone to correct him and give his negative behavior attention.”

Do you see yourself more in the hero, villain, or both? Explain?

“I see myself in both of them because I’m crazy and wild like the joker but also I have morals and I’m a good person like Batman. They’re just extreme versions of me.”

Favorite Hero villain relationship? Why?

“Batman and Joker, I already told you why!”

Villain hero relationship you liked the least? Why?

“Ummm, I don’t know... I can’t think of one. Probably one where the villain dies really fast or is defeated really fast and you don’t even care because you never really felt connected to him. I guess like just a generic bad guy type of villain? I can’t think of an example in comics but in general when the point of the story is just for the good guy to win and neither character effects the mindset of the other then it sucks!”

How do you feel about the Superhero-super villain relationship?

Talking with a Legend

Welcome back readers, for today's post I had the pleasure of interviewing one of the biggest authorities of comic books on the west coast, and a personal friend, Michael Byres. Michael has been the lead director of the Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC) since its inception until this year. The ECCC is the largest comic convention in the U.S. excluding San Diago obviously, and Michael owns a chain of comic stores through all of Seattle. Basically, he lives and breathes comics and I have the privilege of calling him my personal friend and our interviewe for today. So this is how the interview went.
Logan: "So question one, do you consider yourself knowledgeable about comics?"

Michael: "(chuckles) Yeah I'd say so."

Logan: "(chuckles) Okay, next, what is your favorite comic?"

Michael: "Favorite of all time, uh, The Dark Pheonix saga of X-Men."

Logan: "Okay, what is your favorite villain and why?"

Michael: "Dr. Doom, because he's not a 'bad guy' because he truly thinks he's doing the right thing, and that he's the right guy to rule the world."

Logan: "Can a comic survive without a villain?"

Michael: "In general you need a super villain to drive sales, some smaller marginal books exist without one, but Marvel and DC need villains."

Logan: "What is your favorite villain hero relationship?"

Michael: "Batman and Joker, because for the longest time no one, not even Batman, could figure this guy out. Only now are we beginning to see there true relationship."

Logan: "What makes a good villain?"

Michael: "They must be relatable, so the reader can realize that they are doing what they think is right."

Logan: "What makes a good superhero?"

Michael: "Its almost the opposite, they must show faults and be so selfless that they will save people even if it's against there personal morals."

An Outside Source for Some Extra Insight!

Hello readers! For today’s blog post, I have some insight from an outside source in order to show you what another person might have to say about the blog topic, “Do Villains Generate Heroes?”. The person that I interviewed is my boyfriend, Roberto Bejar, who is currently an 18 year-old college student. I decided to interview him because he is somewhat knowledgable about comics, but he is very interested in superheroes. Although he has not read that many comics, as a child he would watch the Justice League: Unlimited, Static Shock, Batman: The Animated Series, and Teen Titans.

Q: Do you consider yourself as someone who knows a lot about comics?

A: No, but some comics interest me. It depends on what comic it is and what superheroes/heroes are involved in the comic. 

Q: What is your favorite comic?

A: My favorite comic is "old man Logan" because it has multiple characters such as Wolverine, Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America, the Black Widow,Spider-Man, and Red Skull.

Q: What is your favorite hero and villain relationship? Why?

A: My favorite superhero/villain relationship is batman and the joker because they are similar yet so different. Everything went wrong in both of their lives, but they dealt with it in different ways. The joker solved his problems through insanity while batman chose to deal with his problems and fight for justice.

Q: Do you think they have a good relationship or bad relationship? Elaborate!

A: I think that from batman to joker, they have a bad relationship, but from joker to batman they have a good relationship. Batman hates the joker because the joker kills people and batman doesn't stand for that, but on the contrary, the joker needs the batman in order to operate - the joker needs some type of opposition.

Q: What is your least favorite hero and villain relationship?

A:  I don't have a least favorite hero/villain relationship because in all of the comics I've read, the relationships are very thought out and make sense.

Q: Do you think a comic could survive without either character? Explain?

A: No, a comic cannot survive without each other because it's like a cat and mouse relationship where they need each other in order to survive and live out their full potential.

Q: Do you see yourself more in the hero or the villain or both? Explain?

A: I see myself more in the hero because if it boiled down to a bad situation, i would choose to do good over bad.

Q: In your opinion, what makes a good villain?

A: A good villain is defined by their motives, power, leadership, and ability to perform.

Q: In your opinion, what makes a good superhero?

A: A good hero is the exact same thing, just their motives are good instead of bad.

Q: What is a villain?

A: A villain is someone who had devoted his life to crime and opposes the hero.

Q: What is a superhero?

A: A hero is someone who has devoted his life to fighting crime and keeping people safe.

Q: Do you know who Wonder Woman is? If so, do you know any of her villains? 

A: Yes I know who she is - but no I don't know any of her villains.

Q: Do you think she's as important as the male superheroes? Why or why not? 

A: No because she's not advertised enough and seems more like a sidekick rather than a superhero independently. 

Q: Why do you think that is? Do you think that women should get more credit in comics? 

A: Honestly, because she's a woman. But yes, because she can do just as much as superman.

what if?

            Glad to have you back, this week rather than focusing on the villain and what the villain adds to the plot I thought I would discuss what a superhero means to the readers in order to further elaborate on my claim that heroes and villains are equally important. While idolizing heroes, most people think of extraordinary people with incredible powers. While this is true, readers overlook the fact that many of characters we’ve grown to idolize are wishful figments gathered into a pair of tights and a cape. In his article, Superheroes in the history of philosophy, Daniel Garber asserts that there is a certain pleasure in imagining such characters that not only protect us, but to function as models for our own lives.

In making this claim, Garber is corroborating that the role of these characters are more valuable to us than we think. Superheroes are able to answer all of the “what-if” questions that we ask ourselves. “What if I had superpowers, would I have pure intentions?” “What if people were not corrupt” “what if I could accomplish everything I set out to do” “what if I had the power to save people, would I?” “What if…” In comic books and films many of these questions are answered, we idolize these heroes for their unrealistic abilities and pure intentions as they fulfil a life style that is unattainable to us all. As a prominent philosopher Garber puts it, “Superheroes are superhuman individuals, who have a simple philosophy of life that motivates their every action. Of course, there are no such people in the world. But even so, there is a certain pleasure in imagining a world in which such titans walk the earth not only to protect us, but to function as models for our own lives”. I agree that super heroes are wishful figments, a point that needs emphasizing since so many people believe that a comics only purpose is to entertain.

To tie this into the theme of my blog, superheroes characters that live out the life we dream of. In a strange way, villains portray our wishes just as well. Born to be bad but held back by society, we keep ourselves from acting out on our corrupt thoughts. Just as much as we wonder “what if I could save the world” the question lingers in the back of our heads, “what if I could rule the world?” Fascinated by the corrupt nature in the villain, we fulfil the temptations to be evil but still hope for the Hero to save the day.  

These characters are valuable to more than just the plot, these characters are extreme examples of what could happen if our wishes were granted. They play out both sides of our wishes and feed off of each other to create a balance in the story similar to the balance of purity and corruption in ourselves.

Welcome back readers. For this post I will be analyzing an artical found in the CSUN library database. The artical, "Holding Out for a Hero: Reganism, Comic Book Vigilantes, and Captian America" brings up many points but I will be focusing on his claim that Superheroes (and Regan) are Renegades. If heroes are truly renegades, then that would in fact make them villains. It is true that many Super heroes act according to their own moral code rather than the law, and so in the eyes of the law, they would be villans. However, can acting in the interests of the greater good be truly classified as evil?
 I disagree with the notion that Superheros are renegades, and therefor by extension villains. For example, if we look at a typical day for the Flash we can see him beat up bad guys, drop some people off in prison, return stolen goods, maybe even defeat a super villian. All of those acts are objectivity good things and benefit the public, so how can it be framed as evil acts? In order to be classifiy someone as a villian is to look at the result of their actions. If everything they do is self centered and not in the interest of the greater good, that's a villian. If they act in the best interests of the public, then they are a hero.

Female Heroes and Villains vs. Men?

Hello readers! Welcome back! After taking a break from Wonder Woman last week, I am excited to tell you that she is back! Now, one of the biggest controversies that people had regarding Wonder Woman was the fact that all of the other superheroes were men, therefore she was treated differently. Wonder Woman tried to show that she could be “tough and manly,” while still acting like a lady. In an article that I read, the author discusses the history of superheroes, in specific, Wonder Woman and her enemies . The author, Katherine G. Aiken, talks about how when Wonder Woman was created, women were treated differently. Aiken claims that “writers were never really comfortable with a woman superhero, and Wonder Woman's career demonstrates that clearly” (46). Aiken argues that as a superhero, Wonder Woman was treated differently because she was female, therefore the men did not think that she could do as much as them, but Wonder Woman proved them wrong. Aiken also says that “In Wonder Woman comics, the strongest characters, even the villains, are women” (46). Aiken explains that Wonder Woman values other woman, regardless of who they are sometimes because if they do not stick together, then they will all be brought down. 

I think that Aiken’s argument is both logical and reasonable. She uses specific examples from the comics that exemplify the fact that female comic book characters were not treated equally. I think that Wonder Woman’s feelings regarding inequality made her feel somewhat “less of a woman” and motivated her to do her best when fighting enemies. The ironic thing is that basically, all of Wonder Woman’s enemies were woman just as well. Because they were all women, I believe that she might have had more sympathy for them than if she was fighting a male. Wonder Woman wanted to promote women power as best as she could, therefore she probably would do her best to not kill her female enemies or else the number of strong, courageous women would constantly be decreasing.  I think that Aiken presented this specific topic in the article very well because she was able to make a connection with Wonder Woman, considering Aiken is a woman herself.  I agree with the fact that women heroes being treated as “less of a hero” is wrong, because they are just as important.  The only question that I would have for Aiken is: if Wonder Woman got to a point where she hated the discrimination so much, would she team up with any villains to fight the discriminatory men?

(Aiken, G. Katherine. Organization of American Historians. "Superhero History: Using Comic Books to Teach Us History." 2010. Web. 8. Oct. 2015.)

I Think You and I Are Destined To Do This Forever

“I Think You and I Are Destined To Do This Forever” said the Joker, hanging down from a building after being saved by Batman at the end of the Dark Knight. Michael Nichols adds further insight into this quote and the ongoing relationship between The Joker and Batman in a journal article he named after The Joker’s quote in the last scene of the movie. Nichols, in his article, creates connections between the two characters, Batman and The Joker, and the idea of the combat myth, which raises an interesting comparison of modern day characters and an ancient story. He begins his article by describing the combat myth, of the dragon and a divine being one trying to cause chaos while the other trying to stop it. Furthermore he continues to describe the backstories between Batman and The Joker and how they can directly represent the two characters from the combat myth. He furthers his discussion by providing symbolism in the stories for both of them that correlate directly to the Combat Myth story. Nichols concludes that after reading the comics and watching the movies with the perspective of the “Combat Myth Narratives”, Batman and The Joker are a revival of an old religious story.

My own view is that Batman and The Joker do generally resemble the ancient story, however, what makes them different are their specific characteristics and attributes. Back when the Combat Myth was a popularly told story, everyone aspired to be seen as a noble, heroic character, while in the contemporary world, some may see that as “fake” or an impossibility. Batman more thoroughly reflects a modern take on the Combat Myth, where the Divine Hero is not completely divine, they contain flaws like all humans do. The Joker also reflects this because he refuses to kill Batman, the hero, because “he’s too fun” as he commonly refers to Batman. This cynical and cruel relationship between both of them appeal to their audience by providing them with something new that has not been done before in old folklore, an imperfect hero due to his vengeance and an imperfect villain due to his self-entertainment.

Kamandi and His Savage Enemies

"Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth" is an invigorating story after the apocalypse, caused by "The Great Disaster", that eliminates nearly all humans and the rest are forced into savagery by much more intelligent and evolved animals. On the cover of the 12th issues, released on the 12th of December, Kamandi is seen holding onto a rope as he is being chased by enemies and hanging from an alien like creature's mouth, as seen below.

Taken by Oscar Cruz at the Jack Kirby Exhibit

Kamandi's main enemy is the extensively evolved race that now roams around Earth. A scientist invented a drug prior to the apocalypse that began affecting and mutating animals that run rampet after the apocalypse. Kamandi now has to use his skills and wits to defeat the animals to remain alive on Earth. If it was not for the human aspect of the story Kamandi would never had had to fight any of the savage animals. Kamandi appears nearly barbaric, wearing only shorts and shoes, bare necessities, having his long golden hair and inhuman strength and agility, like a caveman. His barbaric character appearance reflects his enemies who also appear like prehistoric animals that were much larger than they are now.

This correlation reveals that Superhero and Supervillain, savage enemies in this case, must be related, if not at first then, in the end when the hero triumphs over the villain. Even in such a short running series like this, there is always a direct relationship between the beginnings and the character of the hero and that of the villain or enemies.

What Do Villains Look Like?

Hello readers! Welcome back, today we are going to do something a little different than usual. I had the oppritunity to attend the largest Jack Kirby exhibit in the world recently and this inspired me to look at how Villans are portrayed visually. One of the panels that struck me was a beautiful penciled original of an old "Thor" cover. In the image we see right smack in the center a dastardly villain punching though an asteroid to hit Thor.

 As we know from Molly Bang's "Picture This" we know that whatever lies in the center of an image is interpreted as the most important. Clearly in this panel the villain has all of the control. Next, I wanted to analyze what he was wearing. It appeared to be some sort of heavy battle armor mixed with a space suit. These invoke feelings of fear strength and perhaps even mystery. This got my mind thinking and I realized that many Villans sport battle armor or some sort of heavy suit. For example we can look at, Doctor Doom, Lex Luthor's battle suit, Loki, and the list goes on. So from this image we can extrapolate that a villain usually has control and some sort of way to convey strength, frear, and fighting.

A picture worth a thousand words!

Welcome all Readers, Comic book enthusiast, and lost online surfers! This week I had the honor of visiting the Jack Kirby exhibit in the CSUN art gallery and see for myself original art, printed comics, photographs, and more from Kirby’s career. If you’ve ever read an X-men, Thor, Hulk, or Fantastic four comic then you’re likely familiar with the creative genius. Although my contribution to this blog is predominately focused on green lanterns and their villains, the overall purpose is discuss the role of villains and super heroes and what they add to the plot both individually and collectively. As I wandered the exhibit I came across a comic book cover that reminded me of the blog. I felt obligated to share because I takes great talent to portray a villain as a three dimensional character in just a picture since so many comic creators are incapable of doing so with words.

As I’ve mentioned numerous times in my previous post, a superhero and villain are equally important to the plot. Villains don’t solely exist as some foe for heroes to vanquish, a villain is meant to challenge the hero and push that protagonist beyond his limits. In most successful comic books and movies, there is a balance in the opposing characters and they have an equally alluring and moving back story that motivates them to behave the way they do. In the Thor #155 comic book cover this balance of characters is evidently displayed through the use of lines and shapes, contrast of pointed and curved images, picture placement, dark back drop, and sizing.

In her book, Picture this, Molly Bang’s maintains that lines and shapes are capable of implying feelings. Horizontal shapes give a sense of stability, vertical shapes imply excitement and energy, and diagonals convey tension. If this is true, which I think it is, I am able to get a sense on tension and high energy between the two opposing characters. According to these findings, the diagonal tilt in Thor’s arm and Mangog’s shoulders imply that there is obvious tension between the two. Rather than feeling that Thor’s intentions are purely to hurt Mangog, the tension in his arm seems as though he is resistant to hurt him. It seems that while he does want to protect Odin he is hesitant. I would assume that this is because not only does Thor fear Mangog but he also seems to want to understand him. Mangog is the very embodiment of an entire race that once fought Asgard, Odin killed off the race and trapped their combined hate into Mangog body. When looking at the character placement on the cover, it seems as though Jack Kirby intended for Mangog to be the focal point rather than the battle itself.

While Mangog being the center and much larger image on this cover implies that he is stronger and more important, Kirby restores balance by placing Thor’s energetic upward hand in front of Mangog. In Bang view, images that overlap “pierce or violate the space of the other, but this also joins them together into a single unit” (86). In other words, the placement of Thor’s hand makes Mangog slightly vulnerable and less intense. This could possibly be because in the story Mangog does not intend to destroy everything but instead seeks revenge on Odin. Thor is not who Mangog is after but he is in danger because he stands in his way, you can get a sense of this danger by looking at Thor’s hand on the bottom corner on the cover.

This image seems to be more focused on Mangog himself rather than a battle between a hero and a villain. As we just previously established, the characters are currently balanced in importance however Mangog’s character is more intimidating and alluring. As the obviously larger and stronger opponent in this battle, Mangog is a brighter hue placed on a darker backdrop. As the purple in the back implies danger and vulnerability like being unable to see in the night sky, its contrast with Mangog’s yellow surface forces us to focus on Mangog while the back fades away as a minor detail. Kirby seems as though he is trying to emphasize the importance of Mangog not as a scary villain but an intimidating character with a story worth listening to. Kirby chose to round off all of the villain’s edges making him in a way softer but managed to still portray him as a threat by emphasizing on placement, color, shape direction, and size.