Marvel has a character who... What?

by Mbast1 Tue Apr 23, 2013 12:52 am

I just read about a Marvel character. His name is Penance. He used to be Speedball, and was involved in the explosion that killed many people and triggered the Civil War storyline. He was presumed dead, found alive but powerless. It's found, when he's shot and in pain, that he has powers, and they work off his pain. So now, he's presumed mentally ill, and wears armor that STABS HIM to get his powers to work.
Ok, maybe I'm being weird about this, but doesn't this seem a bit, um, much, for a superhero? It sounds as if someone has been reading about too many medieval saints. Just bizarre.

by Spektre Wed Apr 24, 2013 7:29 am

Sounds like someone reading the New 52.
But yes that does not sound like a fun or interesting character.

by **tony ingram** Wed Apr 24, 2013 8:32 pm

"Fun" and "interesting" are not words I would associate with Penance. But then, I also wouldn't associate them with the original Speedball character. Penance was a desperate attempt to make a lame character edgy and cool. Unsurprisingly, it did neither.

by Lucy Ingram Thu Apr 25, 2013 7:06 am

Well, it may have made him edgey, but only literally.

by Mbast1 Thu Apr 25, 2013 6:32 pm

tony ingram wrote:Penance was a desperate attempt to make a lame character edgy and cool. Unsurprisingly, it did neither.

I don't know. I am someone who actually likes a lot of the "deconstructionist" superhero stories, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised or care, but this is mainstream stuff. It just seems too blatant an attempt to make him edgy, as you said, but it just seems creepy. Really creepy.

by Mbast1 Thu Apr 25, 2013 6:33 pm

Lucy McGough wrote:Well, it may have made him edgey, but only literally.

I don't know what this says about me, but as bad as this joke was, I liked it.

by Lucy Ingram Thu Apr 25, 2013 7:23 pm

Thank you

by Sam_Vimes Sat May 04, 2013 10:21 pm

Yes, three cheers for Lucy's joke. Top-notch, Lucy!

Oh, yeah, and Penance is awful. As one of three people who would call themselves a Speedball fan I was quickly and efficiently alienated.

by **tony ingram** Sun May 05, 2013 7:29 am

Speedball has fans? Shocked

I could understand being a fan of Neils the bouncing cat, but Speedball?

by Lucy Ingram Sun May 05, 2013 1:20 pm

Sam_Vimes wrote:Yes, three cheers for Lucy's joke. Top-notch, Lucy!

Thanks, Commander Smile

tony ingram wrote:Speedball has fans?

I could understand being a fan of Neils the bouncing cat, but Speedball?

Everybody has fans. Even Zauriel. Heck, there are people who cosplay as Aquaman.

by **tony ingram** Sun May 05, 2013 1:24 pm

Lucy McGough wrote:
Sam_Vimes wrote:Yes, three cheers for Lucy's joke. Top-notch, Lucy!
Thanks, Commander

tony ingram wrote:Speedball has fans?

I could understand being a fan of Neils the bouncing cat, but Speedball?
Everybody has fans. Even Zauriel. Heck, there are people who cosplay as Aquaman.

Yes, but I've always seen Aquaman fans as habitual supporters of the underdog.

by Lucy Ingram Sun May 05, 2013 1:29 pm

Underfish?

by **tony ingram** Sun May 05, 2013 1:30 pm

Lucy McGough wrote:Underfish?

Wasn't he Aqualad's little known sidekick? Razz

by Lucy Ingram Sun May 05, 2013 1:32 pm

I think you're confusing Aqualad with Disney's Little Mermaid, who did have a fish as a sidekick. Confusingly, the fish was called Flounder but wasn't actually a flounder.

by **tony ingram** Sun May 05, 2013 1:37 pm

Lucy McGough wrote:I think you're confusing Aqualad with Disney's Little Mermaid, who did have a fish as a sidekick. Confusingly, the fish was called Flounder but wasn't actually a flounder.

Ah, of course.

Aquaman and Aqualad had Topo the octopus and a couple of giant seahorses(!) called Storm and Imp (which they put bridles on and rode. Because that looks so much cooler than swimming).

by Lucy Ingram Sun May 05, 2013 1:40 pm

Storm is an awesome name for a seahorse. I want a giant seahorse called Storm.

by **tony ingram** Sun May 05, 2013 1:41 pm

Lucy McGough wrote:Storm is an awesome name for a seahorse. I want a giant seahorse called Storm.

Poor Imp never gets any respect...

by Lucy Ingram Sun May 05, 2013 1:43 pm

That's because it's a silly name. A noble steed should be called something like Silver or Thunderbolt.

by **tony ingram** Sun May 05, 2013 2:01 pm

Lucy McGough wrote:That's because it's a silly name. A noble steed should be called something like Silver or Thunderbolt.

Yes.

Or Dennis.

by Lucy Ingram Sun May 05, 2013 2:15 pm

Nobody should be called Dennis, (sea)horse or human.

by **tony ingram** Sun May 05, 2013 2:44 pm

Dennis Potter was called Dennis, and he was a great dramatist.
Dennis the Menace is called Dennis, and he's an iconic character.
Dennis O'Neill was one of the best Batman writers
and Dennis Nilsen was a very successful..erm, well, he was very successful in his chosen field.

Many very notable people have been called Dennis.

by Lucy Ingram Sun May 05, 2013 3:05 pm

Dickens has a character called Dennis, in Barnaby Rudge. He's a hangman who ends up being hanged himself for taking part in the Gordon Riots.

by **tony ingram** Sun May 05, 2013 3:30 pm

Well, there you go, then! A hangman, a serial killer, an iconic juvenile delinquent and the bloke who wrote The Singing Detective! What more proof do you need that Dennis's are an asset to society?

by Mbast1 Mon May 06, 2013 5:28 am

tony ingram wrote:Well, there you go, then! A hangman, a serial killer, an iconic juvenile delinquent and the bloke who wrote The Singing Detective! What more proof do you need that Dennis's are an asset to society?

Yeah, sometimes I become sorry I start these conversations...

by **tony ingram** Mon May 06, 2013 8:10 am

Mbast1 wrote:
tony ingram wrote:Well, there you go, then! A hangman, a serial killer, an iconic juvenile delinquent and the bloke who wrote The Singing Detective! What more proof do you need that Dennis's are an asset to society?

Yeah, sometimes I become sorry I start these conversations...

You're just jealous because there are no famous hangmen called Mike.

by Mbast1 Tue May 07, 2013 11:29 pm

tony ingram wrote:You're just jealous because there are no famous hangmen called Mike.

Well, yeah. But I don't see what that has to do with anything!

(This is weird, but I was in a used bookstore yesterday, and there were two people there talking about exactly the topic I brought up here, Speedball and Penance. Both thought it was an odd thing to do to a character. I didn't join in but I thought it was a funny coincidence. )

by **tony ingram** Wed May 08, 2013 6:55 am

This is the company that made a minor costumed thief called the Scarecrow into a demon possessed serial killer and a long running Spider-Man supporting character into a double amputee bonded to a hostile alien who became a covert government agent. Not to mention turning almost all of the Hulk's supporting cast into Hulks. Marvel have never been known to let good taste or common sense get in the way of a story. Razz

by Sam_Vimes Thu May 09, 2013 12:32 am

I actually rather like Flash Thompson as Venom, I have to admit.

by **tony ingram** Thu May 09, 2013 7:07 am

Sam_Vimes wrote:I actually rather like Flash Thompson as Venom, I have to admit.

I just didn't like the contrived way he ended up like that. One day he'd just come out of a coma he'd been in for months and was having therapy, and the next he had apparently rejoined the Army, done a tour of the Middle East and had his legs blown off, apparently between issues!

by Sam_Vimes Mon May 13, 2013 9:07 am

Well, they don't want to BORE us with that kind of stuff, now, do they? Wink

by **tony ingram** Mon May 13, 2013 9:24 am

Sam_Vimes wrote:Well, they don't want to BORE us with that kind of stuff, now, do they?

Sounds to me like Flash had a pretty interesting couple of weeks, actually!

by MajorHoy Sun Jul 27, 2014 2:13 am

Mbast1 wrote:I just read about a Marvel character. His name is Penance. He used to be Speedball, and was involved in the explosion that killed many people and triggered the Civil War storyline. He was presumed dead, found alive but powerless. It's found, when he's shot and in pain, that he has powers, and they work off his pain. So now, he's presumed mentally ill, and wears armor that STABS HIM to get his powers to work.
Ok, maybe I'm being weird about this, but doesn't this seem a bit, um, much, for a superhero? It sounds as if someone has been reading about too many medieval saints. Just bizarre.

Next thing you know, we'll have someone who has superpowers that only become activated during orgasms. Rolling Eyes

by Mbast1 Sun Jul 27, 2014 8:37 pm

MajorHoy wrote:Next thing you know, we'll have someone who has superpowers that only become activated during orgasms.

I swear I almost wrote, without thinking it through, "You know that's coming...".

I have issues.

by Lucy Ingram Sun Jul 27, 2014 8:45 pm

We all do, mate — that's why we're on here.

by MajorHoy Wed May 23, 2018 4:44 pm

tony ingram wrote:This is the company that made a minor costumed thief called the Scarecrow into a demon possessed serial killer and a long running Spider-Man supporting character into a double amputee bonded to a hostile alien who became a covert government agent. Not to mention turning almost all of the Hulk's supporting cast into Hulks. Marvel have never been known to let good taste or common sense get in the way of a story.

Especially after they recently introduced a character who has the superpower to recreate stuff he sees by . . . regurgitating it out.

Marvel has a character who... What? 23wtt1y

Marvel has a character who... What? 23wtt1y

Marvel has a character who... What? Qrc21k

by **tony ingram** Wed May 23, 2018 4:49 pm

MajorHoy wrote:
tony ingram wrote:This is the company that made a minor costumed thief called the Scarecrow into a demon possessed serial killer and a long running Spider-Man supporting character into a double amputee bonded to a hostile alien who became a covert government agent. Not to mention turning almost all of the Hulk's supporting cast into Hulks. Marvel have never been known to let good taste or common sense get in the way of a story.
Especially after they recently introduced a character who has the superpower to recreate stuff he sees by . . . regurgitating it out.

Ummm...where is that scene from? Just so that I can avoid it...

by MajorHoy Wed May 23, 2018 4:57 pm

tony ingram wrote:
MajorHoy wrote:Especially after they recently introduced a character who has the superpower to recreate stuff he sees by . . . regurgitating it out.

Ummm...where is that scene from? Just so that I can avoid it...

I believe that was in an issue of last year's Secret Empire series (the one that featured Hydra Captain America).

Well worth avoiding. (I bought/read very little of it myself, and only when they brought back the real Steve Rogers at the end.)

by **tony ingram** Wed May 23, 2018 5:11 pm

MajorHoy wrote:
tony ingram wrote:
MajorHoy wrote:Especially after they recently introduced a character who has the superpower to recreate stuff he sees by . . . regurgitating it out.

Ummm...where is that scene from? Just so that I can avoid it...
I believe that was in an issue of last year's Secret Empire series (the one that featured Hydra Captain America).

Well worth avoiding. (I bought/read very little of it myself, and only when they brought back the real Steve Rogers at the end.)

Ah. That makes sense. I suspect I missed that.

by Lucy Ingram Sun May 27, 2018 2:35 pm

Love a duck...

by MajorHoy Sun May 27, 2018 4:00 pm

Lucy McGough wrote:Love a duck...

Marvel has a character who... What? Howard10

by **tony ingram** Sun May 27, 2018 4:29 pm

MajorHoy wrote:
Lucy McGough wrote:Love a duck...

Beverly Switzler did indeed love a duck...

by Lucy Ingram Mon May 28, 2018 6:22 pm

I have to say, I enjoyed his cameo in the second Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

by MajorHoy Mon May 28, 2018 8:43 pm

Lucy McGough wrote:I have to say, I enjoyed his cameo in the second Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

Hopefully he looked better than he did in his original 1986 movie.

Marvel has a character who... What? Howard-the-Duck

by **tony ingram** Mon May 28, 2018 10:01 pm

MajorHoy wrote:
Lucy McGough wrote:I have to say, I enjoyed his cameo in the second Guardians of the Galaxy movie.
Hopefully he looked better than he did in his original 1986 movie.

Hey, I liked that movie!

(yes, I know I'm the only one)

by MajorHoy Tue May 29, 2018 12:47 am

tony ingram wrote:
MajorHoy wrote:
Lucy McGough wrote:I have to say, I enjoyed his cameo in the second Guardians of the Galaxy movie.
Hopefully he looked better than he did in his original 1986 movie.

Hey, I liked that movie!

(yes, I know I'm the only one)

Oh, Tony . . . Rolling Eyes

by **tony ingram** Tue May 29, 2018 8:49 am

I own the DVD. Embarassed

by MajorHoy Tue May 29, 2018 4:02 pm

tony ingram wrote:I own the DVD.

I paid good money to see it in the movie theater when it was originally released and that was more than enough for me!

by Mbast1 Tue May 29, 2018 10:11 pm

tony ingram wrote:(yes, I know I'm the only one)

No, actually you're not. I liked that movie, found it on VHS years ago.

by MajorHoy Wed May 30, 2018 1:24 am

Mbast1 wrote:
tony ingram wrote:(yes, I know I'm the only one)
No, actually you're not. I liked that movie, found it on VHS years ago.

Marvel has a character who... What? Htd-01-waugh

by Mbast1 Wed May 30, 2018 6:59 pm

MajorHoy wrote:

FoWled up.

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