Into the Bronze Age

[BentonGrey]

Howdy folks, I've got another edition of Into the Bronze Age for thems-as-interested. 
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/2017/02/10/into-the-bronze-age-december-1970-part-2/

[HarryTrotter]

You think Aquaman is a High Noon or Rio Bravo type of person?
About the licence plate trick,if it works for Jason Statham...

[daglob]

Seems like I remember a discussion in the letter column as to how Aquaman was a western under the sea... It's so obvious, other than the shoot out with Thanatos. Jack Kirby did the same thing with Ant Man in the early days.

[BentonGrey]

Spade, ohh, if he's anything like me, I think he'd be a big fan of the Rio Bravo remake, El Dorado.  I have to think he's a fan of the Duke. 

Interesting DG!  I could see that, especially in the stories where Aquaman is living a semi-nomadic life, drifting from one adventure to another.

[HarryTrotter]

Well,Im sure movie nights at the Watchtower are pretty interesting.
Now,Batman is a High Noon person.Or not,depending how you look at things.

[BentonGrey]

Man, I would read a story with that premise.  In fact, I'm making a note right now for a base scene whenever I get back to the DCUG....

Anyway, you're totally right.  Batman would definitely be a High Noon guy.  That's very much him.  It's that, or The Searchers.  I see Hal and/or Ollie as being fans of McLintock.  Superman would definitely be a fan of The Quiet Man.  Hmm...Martian Manhunter, perhaps The Magnificent Seven, and the Flash.....maybe The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly?  I haven't a clue about WW.

[daglob]

Rio Bravo, Rio Lobo, El Dorado; it's all the same...

[BentonGrey]

Pretty much.

[HarryTrotter]

I think Olliver would go for High Plains Drifter.Or maybe the Shootist.
Some may also remember Outlands,which was High Noon in space.And surprisingly good for that kinda rework.

[BentonGrey]

Hmm, interesting, Spade!  I could see Ollie being into those.

I could see Hal definitely being a fan of Outland.

[BentonGrey]

Well, I've got another post for y'all, this one featuring some interesting historical connections:
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/2017/02/15/into-the-bronze-age-december-1970-part-3/

[daglob]

Anton Lavey's Satanic Bible as published in the late '60e, early '70s, and there was quite a bit of interest in Satanism at the time. Satanists were likely suspects in movies and TV shows quite often.

I found a copy of Levey's book at the used book store at some point. I had a paperback copy of The Necronomicon that made more sense. Sadly, the Necronomicon is long gone...

[BentonGrey]

Wow, that's fascinating, DG!  I was vaguely aware of LaVey and his nonsense, but I didn't make the connection to his publication of that book.  Interestingly, there was also a documentary that aired in 1970 on him and his 'philosophy.'  I'll add an addendum to the post.  Thanks for letting me know, man!

[HarryTrotter]

And these days satanism is an officialy recognized religion in the US. #Diversity
And btw,I kinda assumed Batman was an atheist.I guess its a different Batman,once again.

[daglob]

A kinder, gentler, Batman...

Not surprising for the time.  To have a super hero express anything but a Judaeo-Christian outlook would have probably been considered against the Comic's Code. Parents would have gone anthropoid excrement.

[BentonGrey]

Yeah Spade, and 'Jedi' is recognized in England.  I'm not entirely sure what that says about us.

DG is right, you really probably couldn't take a radically skeptical position with a hero.  Yet, I seem to remember some creators talking about Batman being a lapsed Roman Catholic, and that seems rather fitting to me, a man who lost his faith, but still has sympathies with it and secretly looks for a reason to believe, something like Matthew Arnold.

[HarryTrotter]

Yes,it is recognized;one guy once sued the police for discrimination because they wouldnt let him wear the cloak in public(or something like that).And won,ofc.Well,still makes more sense then scientology,I guess.
What I mostly remember is one story from the early 2000's where Batman claims he doesnt belive in the afterlife.Then teams up with Deadman.And is still left wondering.This is all ignoring the fact he has visited hell and knows an actual angel by that point.

[daglob]

Batman has teamed up with Deadman several times over the years (although those have probably been retconned out of existence). He has also met The Specter who is basically an avenging angel. Or The Spirit of Justice or The Right Hand of God or something.

[HarryTrotter]

Batman has teamed up with Deadman several times over the years (although those have probably been retconned out of existence). He has also met The Specter who is basically an avenging angel. Or The Spirit of Justice or The Right Hand of God or something.

And lives in the same town(and knows) Etrigan.And like I said,knows Zauriel.Hey,there is another character we haven't see since a few reboots ago.But then again,I guess having an angel as a member of the JLA would fly today.Pun intended.
Okay,he was in Forever Evil.

[BentonGrey]

Haha, good points, both of you.  There's really no justification for a position of radical skepticism in the DCU, at least as a member of the League.  If you had contact with the Specter, Deadman, or any of a number of characters, then being an atheist would just be silly.  Heck, associating with the Specter provides an implicit conformation of the basics of Judaeo-Christian, or at the least, Judaeo-Christian/Islamic mythology.

Zauriel, he was an interesting character, and part of some good stories.  While I'd always prefer to have Hawkman, he was a good addition to the League for a time and arguably fit in better in that version than his pinioned-predecessor would have.

[spydermann93]

Yeah Spade, and 'Jedi' is recognized in England.  I'm not entirely sure what that says about us.

Another trivial fact (I read this in a paper years ago): In Russia, you can legally claim to be a Martian on their census.

[HarryTrotter]

I think that in every country there are pranksters who claim to be Vulcans on the census.They probably feel very stupid once they get IDs.
Funny you should mention that,Benton.In Ostranders Spectre,him(well,them) dealing with different systems of belief is a plot point.
On the other hand,they havent done much with Hawkman either.I think there was Death of Hawkman recently,and he was in JLUnited,but less said about that,the better.

[BentonGrey]

Haha, that kind of stuff has to drive census bureau folks nuts.

Spade, I could see that being turned into material for good stories.  You could work around the restrictions imposed by the existence of these characters, but it would require some narrative gymnastics.

Well, poor Hawkman...one of the many characters that I hoped would benefit from the New 52 relaunch.  Unfortunately, the version they created was completely uninteresting for me.  I would have loved to see a fun, adventurous Atom/Hawkman book.  Heck, I still wish that brief glimpse we got of the Silver Age Hawks in that big event a while back had gone on to be something bigger.

[HarryTrotter]

CoughLiefeldCough...
There was also Hawkworld by Ostrander,great series,but due to continuity problems it created,DC kinda buried it.
To get back on topic,Im not sure if that's important,but Rose/Thorn later showed up in Birds of Prey.
I think I mentioned all of this before,anyway.

[BentonGrey]

Hey, what do you know about that?  I've got another post to share!:
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/2017/02/17/into-the-bronze-age-december-1970-part-4/

Yeah Spade, that had a LOT to do with it.

I've heard good things about Hawkworld, and I love Ostrander...but I love the classic Hawks so much, I hesitate to pick it up.

Neat, I didn't know that.  Thanks, Spade.

[HarryTrotter]

Well,Tannarak ended up appearing a few more times in the more magically oriented book.Like Books of Magic.
I cant really remember anything else from today's batch that made it to more modern times.

[BentonGrey]

Neat!  I had no idea he would become an ongoing character, Spade.  Thanks, that's really interesting.  I did a little looking just now, and I see that he's actually destined to come back in this very run of Phantom Stranger.  That's great, because he does have some nice potential as a villain.

[BentonGrey]

And this officially puts an end to 1970!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/2017/02/20/into-the-bronze-age-december-1970-part-5/

Check out my final thoughts on the year and December itself. Thanks for reading and commenting guys!

[daglob]

In most of the panels in Kirby's 4th World stories, Al Plastino re-drew Superman and Clark Kent's face(es) or at times the whole figure (at least it looked like it to me).

[Deaths Jester]

Correction: End of 1970 DC comics. :-P