Is It True…? Featuring Black Bolt (Vol. 1)

    Welcome to a new series on this blog called “Is It True” where I will be examining some wild claims by comic enthusiasts (or sometimes hardcore fanboys) using the very evidence they present to support their claim.

   I am an avid comic book debater, but I pride myself on being objective and letting the books present the evidence for the winner in any given contest as defined by the rules of engagement for that contest.

   Recently in a debate about Black Bolt versus Wonder Woman…a wild claim was made. Now, it stands to reason that the person making the claim should be able to back it up with evidence to support it. We will examine that evidence together here and see if it indeed was a wild claim, or a well thought out observation.

The Claim: “Black Bolt’s max shields are 13 times stronger than a straining Superman.”

   This claim was made by comparing two feats. The first was from Marvel Two-in-One Annual 4 wherein Black Bolt contained 13 mini-black holes with his magnetic shield. The second was from JLA # 77 wherein Superman contained a black hole with his hands.

   The supposition here is that Black Bolt’s feat requires power 13 times more powerful than the strength of Superman…but to make this claim, each of the 13 mini-black holes must be equal to the one Superman dealt with or else the feat cannot be 13 times more powerful.

   So, without further adieu, lets begin an objective, logical and microscopic examination of the two feats to see if the claim holds up.

   Firstly lets examine this scan and uncover some facts about the black hole Superman dealt with. We learn from this scan that the black hole is no bigger than a speck of dust. We can also see in the scan that the black hole even looks like a real stellar phenomenon you would see in deep space…emphasizing the claim by Atom that it is indeed a miniature black hole the size of a speck of dust.

 

   Next we see from this scan that when the magnetic containment is broken, the gravitational force of the hole acts upon reality….warping it briefly before Superman can contain it. Superman remarks that even a miniature black hole (remember, it is the size of a speck of dust) can cause a disaster of the first order (presumably that first order is the destruction of Earth). He is indeed flexing his muscles to contain the effects of the hole….as briefly seen in the third panel.

  

   Now in this scan we see in the first panel that the brief effects of the black hole disrupted the teleportation field of the teleporter and the sensors registered the gravitational effects. In the last panel we see Green Lantern using ALL his willpower to back Superman up as they head for a wormhole to dispose of the problem. The problem is significant enough that it cannot be dealt with on Earth and must be dealt with using another stellar phenomenon.

  

   In this final scan of evidence, we see Superman again remark about the gravitational force of the black hole, even with GL assisting him, he feels it will soon be too much for him to handle.

   Now…lets recap some major FACTS about the black hole Superman dealt with.

1.) It is the size of a speck of dust.

2.) It looks like a real black hole as seen in space.

3.) It exerts extreme reality warping gravitational force when left unconfined.

4.) It is so dangerous it has to be removed from Earth

5.) It’s gravitational force disrupted the teleportation field of the teleporter and the sensors registered it's gravitational effects…confirming the reality warping seen earlier.

6.) Green Lantern needed to assist Superman…already making the claim that started all this inaccurate, but I digress.

7.) It must be disposed of by using a wormhole (presumed to be the case by the JLA).

   In order for the original claim to be true….a single black hole that Black Bolt dealt with MUST be the exact same as the one we just examined. At the very least, and being generous, it must at least exhibit similar power and properties of the the one we just examined.

  

   Ok….looking at this first scan we can find some very interesting facts. Firstly Graviton says clearly that the things he is calling “minature black holes” are really “minute bits of my substance.” We can also clearly see that they are much bigger than a speck of dust. Secondly we see that they are able to fly through the air at the behest of Graviton’s desires. Black Bolt is able to dodge them (and if you look closely you can count there are 14 in that panel). In the last panel we count 18 holes…and observe Graviton’s own words concerning how these holes function (they need to touch to be effective and when they do will take a fragment of mass with them).

 

   In this next scan we can make even more observations. The Thing, heeding the words of Graviton does not want to be polka-dotted and in the second panel we count (again) 14 “black holes.” Black Bolt uses magnetic immaterial force to divert the course of the holes (notice Graviton is the only source to call them black holes, as the narration in the next panel just calls them “threatening voids”) and in the third panel, we see 13 go up into this force while one does not (presumably the other 4 counted earlier already were snagged by Black Bolts power?). The one that did not get snagged reaffirms that Graviton was telling the truth as it hits a wall…and takes a fragment of the wall’s mass with the  collision.

   Now…lets recap some major FACTS about the “black holes” Black Bolt dealt with.

1.) They are much bigger than a speck of dust.

2.) They do not look like real black holes as seen in space and indeed are said to actually be substance from Graviton himself.

3.) They do not exert extreme reality warping gravitational force when left unconfined and must make physical contact to be effective.

4.) They do not appear to be so dangerous that they need to be removed from Earth.

5.) They fly through the air and change direction at the will of Graviton

6.) They only take a fragment of mass of any object they make contact with.

   CLEARLY….the black holes Black Bolt dealt with are not even remotely similar to the black hole Superman dealt with. The only real thing they have in common is being called “minature black hole.”

   Now…a counter argument was made that it was the artist fault (you know the position is weak when the artist is being blamed). Somehow he did not draw them correctly…but that has nothing to do with the observed properties of the holes, despite how the holes look, or the stated facts by Graviton of what they really are and what they will do.

  

   In conclusion…there is not a single shred of evidence that these two holes (specifically comparing the one that hit the wall for a 1 to 1 comparison) are the same or even similar in any way to support the claim that Black Bolt’s power is 13 times stronger than a straining Superman. Wait…my mistake, the words “minature black hole” were used in both instances, so we can ignore all the other FACTS of the case (sarcasm).

   Chalk this claim up to a fanboy gone wild.


Agree...disagree....? Please leave a comment below.

Hey DC !! What Are You Doing...?

   Am I the only person not thrilled about the direction my favorite comic titles and characters are headed…? Surely there are people out there that are seeing the same thing I am looking at when I look at the shelf of my favorite comic store and simply sigh.

   I have gotten used to the comic industry publishing some sort of summer “event” to boost sales. Marvel has, by far, been more creative on this front as DC has mostly had some sort of “crisis” happening. As much as I enjoyed the original "Crisis on Infinite Earths"….I think at this point they are beating a dead horse.

   

   Fast forward to the summer of 2015 (now) and Marvel has gone back to one of their classic events and are doing a new "Secret Wars." I can’t blame them for trying to capitalize on a previous success, lord knows DC has certainly cashed in on Crisis…and truth be told, the Secret Wars event looks to be very interesting. I wish I could say the same for DC. Thus far “Convergence” has been nothing but a let down as it seems to be no more than their version of "Contest of Champions."

   

   When I started reading the books and found out that it would be various heroes from various realities battling to see who gets to keep being published…I couldn’t have been more disappointed. At best it streamlined the DC Universe of characters not really being used (so what’s the point in streamlining?). At worst it was them getting rid of some great characters that any competent writer could find a great use for.

   In the wake of this foolishness, I started thinking about some specific characters and the changes they have endured (or will endure) and have decided to weigh in in hopes that I’m not the only one hurting from the laziness of the industry. Let’s start with one of my favorites….Dr. Fate.

   

   According to issue # 1451 of Comic Shop News, Dr. Fate will now be “An overwhelmed Brooklyn med student who’s been handed the Helmet of Fate, without an instruction manual.” Oh my…with that I just have to go out and grab a copy of Dr. Fate # 1 (sarcasm). I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m not the least bit interested in yet, another character having to “learn” the powers of Fate. Been there, done that, and it’s boring. I would much rather see Fate used as a supremely kick-ass character, the type that can walk into a room of fifty versions of Superman, and the whole room giving pause just by his presence. Ok, maybe that’s a bit too much, but the point is I’d rather see him as the bad-ass I grew up on than some clueless bystander being taken for a ride by the helmet. Simply put, give him the mantle he deserves, and use him accordingly.

   

   Another character DC seems to not know what to do with is Shazam (shame on them for losing the rights to call him Captain Marvel). Here we have an awesome character that was more popular than Superman when they both first came out, and DC has no clue how to really make him interesting. How many version of “the kid in an adult body” am I going to have to go through before someone figures out that great writing can revive this character….and to do that they need  to really put some effort into utilizing the “Wisdom of Solomon” (check out the write up to this power in the link...it's incredible). The “gosh” and “golly gee wiz” has run it’s course a long time ago and a Shazam that’s not some dumb kid, but wise beyond most characters would be very interesting. But that would require writers to actually come up with great stories and intelligent situations…so I know it’s just too much ask.

   

   Now it’s being reported on Den of Geek that Batman # 41 is going to debut a new Batman. ***Spoiler Warning*** Word is that it’s really Commissioner Gordon (yawn). So wait…an old cop in a suit of armor looking like something right out of Amine is going to get me to stop reading the leader in the industry of armored suits (Iron Man)? Probably not. There is really nothing about this revelation that excites me about continuing to read the Batman title. In fact, I probably will stop as it’s just not interesting to me to read about Gordon in armor fighting criminals in Gotham. I can pull out my old issues of War Machine if I really feel the need to see an armor laden with massive weapons causing mayhem and destruction. While I’m on the subject, I have never really been impressed with any Batman armor that he created himself without the help of the Justice League. For all of Batman’s knowledge and genius, he has never been a Tony Stark. I think DC should stop trying to make him one.

   Before I close out my rant (cause if I don’t I will be writing a small book), I want to quickly touch on the New 52 version of Lobo. In a word, he sucks. I collected the book and waited, like Sean Connery in “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,” to be impressed. It never happened. I see where they wanted to go with the series, but I also saw where they were falling short. If they wanted to make him the baddest and most dangerous bounty hunter in the universe (in all of comics really) then they needed to stop playing around with all the stupid gadgets and get back to him being simply unstoppable. I can see wanting to get away from the biker image, but they could have easily made him a cold calculating genius that brutally gets to the point. Heck, they could have even kept the gadgets, but with the mantle of being the “best” they should be gadgets with power enough to deal with any threat, even a fully powered Kryptonian…and when they failed (or our hero somehow escaped/survived), then we should be treated to a real show of why Lobo is so dangerous. Lobo has never regained his status from the days of going to the Fortress of Solitude and straight up beating the crap out of Superman….and that’s a shame.

   I firmly believe that DC can do better…but what I believe and what they are actually doing seem to be two different things. With all that said, don’t even get me started on the ongoing cinematic war (or more accurately the clubbing of DC like a baby seal by Marvel)….that will have to wait for another post.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_on_Infinite_Earths

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Wars_(2015_comic_book)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergence_(comics)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Super_Hero_Contest_of_Champions

http://shazam.wikia.com/wiki/Shazam

http://www.denofgeek.us/books-comics/batman/244499/batman-41-promises-all-new-batman

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0311429/

Comic Book Debating 101

Recently I've seen discussion and debate reduced to irrationality and offense. It makes no sense for reasonable people to reduce themselves such…so I've decided to inject some logic in hopes that future discourse can remain civil and enlightening.

Firstly…there should be some kind of debate decorum that is reasonable and adhered to. I will not use the word “rules” since every person is free to express as they see fit, but if reasonable people come to an accord, it makes it much harder for those seeking only to be disruptive, to do so.

Canon

Let’s start with “What is canon?” Canon is whatever happens in the Prime Universe for DC, and the 616 Universe for Marvel. Prime Earth was established with the New 52, and although the New 52 is…new, it is the current continuity for DC, and thus, canon. Anything that happened prior to the New 52 is no longer canon (although at the time of publication, it was) unless DC specifically states that such events carried over into the New 52 (as happened and stated for Green Lantern). There really should be no confusion about what constitutes “canon” as it seems rather obvious, but complete clarity helps establish true reason.

Proof

What is the highest source of “proof?” In debating comic characters, what proof should carry the most influence? It seems to me, that the comics themselves are the highest source, since it’s where we get everything from in this genre. The characters we love and hate, the reason we debate them, all come from comics. Within that, we will have comics that are canon and those that are not…and it should be obvious that canon remains the highest source. Some try to establish the wishes and thoughts of character creators as more valid than the current iteration of the characters they created, but what sense does that make when you really think about it?

Take for example the Blue Beetle. Should we ignore the current version because the creator intended him to be a  man with bulletproof armor that gained powers from "Vitamin 2X?" Superman flies…should we ignore this power completely since the creators intended him to jump instead? How about the Hulk? Do Stan Lee’s intentions trump what Marvel publishes monthly as his current state? Was Batman ever intended to be what he has become when he was created in 1939? I dare say that most characters have very much strayed from the intentions of their creators…and ignoring what they are now, in deference to what they were intended to be, for the purposes of reasonable debate…is not logical.

Talking about sources, what do we do about Wiki? Most comic book debaters know Wiki is not perfect and sometimes has mistaken information since fans can have access to the posted material. Should we accept Wiki as a source, or ignore it altogether? Is attacking the credibility of Wiki in general a valid rebuttal to information sourced there? It seems to me the logical approach is to source it when necessary, but invalidate it when possible. If it says something you think is untrue, then invalidate it with a higher source (comic). The information on Wiki comes from the books (mostly) and if something has been copied wrong or is outdated, then referencing the book as evidence rectifies the issue, and validates the debate point.

When it comes to proof, some of it is quantifiable, and some of it is subjective. Countering quantifiable proof with subjective proof just doesn't work. As an example, let’s look at a recent Superman feat and some evidence currently being used to refute it. Superman has essentially benched pressed the Earth (see Superman #13) which is a quantifiable feat as the Earth weighs 5.972 sextillion metric tons. The rebuttal to this feat is that he could not break the grip of a Kryptonian dragon (see Superman # 13 again). Now, without having to point out the obvious (the dragon was KRYPTONIAN), the strength of the dragon is unquantifiable. We don’t know how strong the dragon is, so not breaking its grip can’t possibly be used as a measure countering Superman lifting 5.972 sextillion metric tons. Indeed, we can infer that the dragon is VERY strong since Superman could not break its grip.

Feats

Durability, speed, strength…are typical attributes found in comic debates and many of the feats associated with them are quantifiable…we can find a hard number for them (or at least a good scale comparison as with durability). But when we find a feat that requires some math, how should we go about it?

Let’s look at Aquaman’s feat of lifting 10 thousand tons (Justice League # 10). Why has it been settled at 10 thousand tons? How do we know this is accurate? Can he lift more? Aquaman lifted the back portion of a cruise ship over his head. We can find the weight of real cruise ships pretty easily, but without knowing the exact size of the one he lifted, we’ll go with the smallest cruise ship around, weighing in at 30 thousand tons. Lifting the back third of the ship puts Aquaman at a 10 thousand ton lift. Understand, this is a conservative calculation, but accurate to what we now know he can lift. We don’t use an “average” sized cruise ship or the largest because…what if he really is lifting the smallest one in the world? Calculating on a heavier vessel then puts some doubt on what we estimate he can lift (since we don’t know the size of the vessel), but if we use the smallest….then we are safe in our calculation because it’s the lowest calculation possible. It’s very possible he can, or is lifting, more…but we will have to wait for another quantifiable feat with a heavier object to make that determination.

Using the smallest possible calculation when there are no other specifics known is the best way to get an answer that leaves no doubt. Namor is a frequent opponent for Aquaman in comic debates, and has some feats regularly seen in these debates, although not always accurately tallied. Namor has been shown smashing a WW2 destroyer into Attuma. It has been hailed as a 2000- 3000 ton feat….and that would be pretty accurate, if it were a German ship. Namor calls it a “destroyer built by villains,” so it could be German, or Japanese. Of the two, the Japanese made the smallest destroyer clocking in at 770 tons. We now know for an indisputable fact, that Namor can lift at least 770 tons.

These are just examples of how to conservatively calculate feats, and thus come to a figure that is indisputable, because there can be no smaller measure.

Rebuttal

Debates are a series of points and counter points, good ones are anyway. Sometimes this simple dynamic is lost. When people start posting memes and scans that have nothing to do with the debate subject, it just shows they have no counter point…and can make no valid case for their position. As an example, I was once in a Hulk/Superman debate, and out comes a scan of Superman on a stretcher after a fight with Muhammad Ali…as if it was “proof” Hulk was stronger. The problem is in that story, Superman was robbed of his powers for his fight with Ali…and the fight has absolutely nothing to do with Hulk at all. Not to mention the scan is now non-canon as it was 1978, and we are in the age of the New 52 now. If the point had been made that Superman has never fought Ali, then the scan would be a relevant rebuttal to prove that they did indeed fight (although it still would not apply to the current iteration of Superman).

A rebuttal either disproves a point of proves a counter point.

In a Flash debate, someone once said he cannot run at the speed of light without being taken into the Speed Force. Posting a scan of him fighting Mirror Master with Mirror Master unable to fire his weapon because the light beam was already being outpaced by the Flash, put an end to that.

A rebuttal either disproves a point of proves a counter point. It’s really just that simple.

Here and Now

I love going down memory lane. The problem with that it in a comic debate is often doing so is not relevant to the points being made. Comic characters go through so many changes and unless the terms of the debate specifically call for a character of a certain time period, the most accurate assessment is the current iteration of that character.

In some cases, it is impossible to debate the current iteration of a character as is the case currently with Captain America. He is currently an old man, no longer having the abilities he’s known for (as of this writing). Obviously any debate using him has to be before he came to be in such a state, or else he just automatically loses (and that’s no fun).

Posting outdated, and sometimes, non-canon scans may seem like a way to further your point of view…but if they no longer apply or agree with current evidence, they are just irrelevant. Stay current.

Common Sense

I’d say always use your common sense, but that is often impossible to do for those people that are such fans…ridiculous is a comfort zone. There are those that will utilize none of the suggestions above and despite any evidence, canon or not, will continue to put their favorite character first above whomever. We shouldn't be too hard on them, after all…without them, where would comics be?

Week of December 26th

This is what happens when a review is late. Stay tuned for a new format in 2013!!

Week of December 19th

Late review is against the law!

Week of December 12th

They're coming for the review...

Week of December 5th

Don't fight! The review is on the way...