tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12464833.post5229545017948657696..comments2024-03-09T13:14:56.299-08:00Comments on Silver Age Comics: X-Men #14-16: The SentinelsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12464833.post-68091648665830559602010-02-07T18:51:16.869-08:002010-02-07T18:51:16.869-08:00Niles Calder, "The Chief" was another DC...Niles Calder, "The Chief" was another DC super-genius and expert in any field that even sounded vaguely like science.<br /><br />It could be that "super-smart" just isn't a very exciting premise for a hero in the "spandex and cape" sense. I mean I like Reed Richards well enough, but the guy's as dull as dishwater next to just about any other Marvel character and a good deal of DC's. If there's anything more tedious than a guy who's physically omnipotent, it's one who's mentally so.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13840878272493564209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12464833.post-79953967266039944662010-02-05T10:11:54.344-08:002010-02-05T10:11:54.344-08:00Ah, but Blaze, you are forgetting the biggest scie...Ah, but Blaze, you are forgetting the biggest scientist of them all, Jor-El, who also probably qualifies as a major brain.Pathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060349239296193385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12464833.post-61515066395654328632010-02-04T12:34:13.644-08:002010-02-04T12:34:13.644-08:00I've always wondered why DC had fewer major br...I've always wondered why DC had fewer major brain characters than Marvel. The biggest, smartest, make time machines out of toasters scientist was Lex Luthor. A villain. Off the cuff, I'd say most of the inventors and scientists of note in the DC Silver Age were madmen who provoked the sad comment "If only they had used their genius for good."<br /><br />For A-List heroes, you've got Ray Palmer, and to stretch a point, Barry Allen, forensic technician-scientist. In the "B-List" we'd have Prof. Haley and Dr. Magnus. Sure, the rest of the heroes were dammed sharp (ie: Batman), but none of them put "Scientist" on their business cards.<br /><br />Over in the Marvel Universe, we're hip-deep in scientists on both sides of the morality coin. I shan't even bother listing them all.<br /><br />I wonder if DC felt that their readership was just too young to fully appreciate, understand or desire technobabble spouting brain heroes?Blazehttp://www.cafepress.com/DrButtonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12464833.post-17105258645696162282010-02-04T09:18:26.953-08:002010-02-04T09:18:26.953-08:00Hey, if we can have a real-life "evil psychia...Hey, if we can have a real-life "evil psychiatrist" like Dr Wertham, then why not a fictional "evil anthropologist." Here in the 21st Century, where Orwellian euphemisms are the norm, I guess I'm not that surprised to see "Anthropologist" and "Xenophobe" treated interchangeably.<br /><br />As for the seeming conflict between a respect for science and a fear of it in the SA, remember that even though the general feeling of the age was pro-science, comics were often created by old guys, who typically view new technology with a wary eye (and in this case, guys who were veteran creators, in the 50s, of tales of science gone horribly wrong). Also the same decade that gave us transistors, lasers and moonshots was also overshadowed by the threat of the H-Bomb and Soviet spy satellites, so I imagine most people had a love/hate relationship with scientists in general.<br /><br />Cool story that lays the groundwork for what would become a central theme in the X-universe in later years.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13840878272493564209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12464833.post-5634938833763129592010-02-03T14:17:07.264-08:002010-02-03T14:17:07.264-08:00Scientists in Silver Age comic books were often &q...Scientists in Silver Age comic books were often "generalists." I think this was a reflection of what you described as the "enormous respect" that many Silver Age writers had for science. Hank Pym was an entomologist who invented a shrinking gas and a cybernetic helmet on the side. Over at DC, Professor Ira West (Barry Allen's absent-minded father-in-law) was a theoretical physicist who invented a rocket fuel, a supercomputer, an advanced telescope, and a ray that enlarged fruits and vegetables. Reed Richards is probably the outstanding example of the omni-competent scientist, but Dr. Trask stands in that company too.<br /><br />The theme of robots rebelling against their human creators wasn't confined to the comic books of the period. It can be found in many science fiction stories, movies, and television shows as well, and you can trace it back to Karel Capek's play R.U.R. and Ambrose Bierce's story "Moxon's Master" (among many other literary works).<br /><br />JimAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com