Small rant on Sapphire Lanterns

[Miss Webb]

As much as I find parts of the technicolor sparklefest wars interesting, some parts are just, I dunno. First off, some of these "lanterns" don't even represent emotions. Avarice and Hope are not emotions. Emotions are primal, born from instinct. You learn avarice, and hope comes from faith and emotion both. I think they're straining to find a niche for all of the spectrum. By these standards, where are the GRAY LANTERNS OF INDIFFERENCE/APATHY? The BEIGE LANTERNS OF BOREDOM?

Willpower is a state of mind, not an emotion. I would make Willpower, Avarice and Hope the fulcrums of the spectrum, with the emotions as the joining point.


And yeah, let's kind of wrap up this BL stuff...I'm tired of lookin' at ugly, decayed stumblebums from dead city. We get it, already. Art is spectacular though, and I relish it for that alone.

Now my sapphire rant.

It gets tiresome the pink/girly/emotion trope. Someone save us females from the hell of pink symbology! Yeah, its's sexist and silly. They remind me of rubber play dolls instead of a corps. And all the t/a exposure is ridiculous in battle. What's to stop an enemy from punching those boobs and kicking exposed butt? If you're stupid enough to show it, then pay the price of injury. They don't get their hands dirty in battle, (unlike members of other corps) they just point their toys and fly around in latex. Even Wonder Woman seems to have lost her battle skills and just points her trinket. Conveniently there are no male sapphires because as we all know, irrational emotion and love is PINK AND A GIRLY THING. Cripes, what a load of bull. And do they have the lamest oath ever? Frightened hearts? Sheesh!

Carol has reverted to mooning for Hal, despite the fact she turned him down in REBIRTH and said she was happily married. Now, she has no life and is empty except for her hopeless love for Hal. And the old childhood airfield pictures are as overdone as Batman's crime alley/pearls flashbacks. It's the classic "woman defined by her love life/trapped by emotion" bit. Funny how Hal loves her back, but isn't mooning, lonely and depressed. 'Cause that's a dude thing. Men don't obsess about the past and relationships, only womens. Duh. Who writes this 1780s shlock?


Mera on the other hand is crazy as a plaid rabbit, but she means buisness. She'll burn friends, enemies, husbands, and babies. While again the boob thing is unecessary, at least she looks like a real corps member and warrior. And her costume has a cool design and real theme. Like Hal, she can make constructs even in rage (but no one noticed, unlike the blue lanterns did for Hal). So apparently her willpower is great also.

Can you imagine Hal, Guy or John in crouching poses with ass out and half exposed pecs? Thigh high boots? Just sayin'.

 

[Drz]

I can only dream for some male Star Sapphires. =*(

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Regarding the willpower 'emotion,' I think the metaphorical intent behind it is that green is sort of like the control for the emo spectrum. The outer edges are the most potent emotions and they get weaker and more subject to reason as you move inward, culminating in green at the center, which is the entirely unemotional willpower.

Also, the Sapphires are violet, not pink. But other than that, I agree; they're ridiculous (except for Miri).

 

[WompuM]

So 1 out of the 2 sapphires they are showing?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Miri, Carol, Fatality, and I'm pretty sure there are some others we've seen. Only Miri's seemed even remotely sane. Carol's all over the place because she maybe/kinda/doesn't/but does/but doesn't/(but really does) love Hal, Fatality's f***ing crazy, and the other Sapphires are like psycho hippies.

 

[Watson]

The thing that bothers me the most is that the only love that seems to come up is romantic love. That and the uniforms. But there are some other awful female corps uniforms out there. Indigo-1's loincloth is barely there. They need to reign in the cheesecake IMO.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, I'm sure they'll get right on that, just like they've been doing for the past 20 years or so of comics.

 

[Watson]

Any day now Corp!

 

[The Question]

The concept of the rainbow lanterns in general irks me. It just seems like Geoff Johns is Waluigi-ing the DC Universe. And the idea that rings are powered by emotions (which as it has been stated WIllpower is not) and that's why you need strong willpower to use a green ring is one of the more obnoxious retcons I've ever seen. Up until this point, it's been pretty plainly stated that willpower isn't a prerequisite for using a power ring because willpower metaphysically powers the rings, it's a prerequisite because creating a detailed giant robot with your mind while controlling it in a combat situation while flying while making sure the force field containing your personal atmosphere isn't breached requires an enormous amount of concentration and resolve. I don't understand how being really really angry has the same effect.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

In fairness, the Reds don't really create particularly complex constructs (other than Guy, who had a green ring at the same time anyway). They mostly just vomit molten plasma on people.

 

[Miss Webb]

One can always hope. The sapphires show so much meat they don't even have chest symbols, just follow the bouncing boobs! For those of you who don't know what these things are, they're round and hang off a woman's ribcage! Sex sells! Beat you over the head with it! See the boobs! See the butt! Run, buy the booooook!!

I wonder at the emphasis on just romantic love, too. Wasn't WW supposed to have this great love of everything? Nah, just wear pink/violet rubber and it all goes to pot. 'Sa bout da booty.

Corpy, I know what you mean about the violet, but it's tinted to pink depending on the colorist. Doesn't help, remember the term purple passion?

(Carol said her costume was ugly at first then proceeds to prance and crouch in it. Hence the comments about her looking good in purple. Another desperate bid for attention from Hal.)

If the majority of women are bubble chested crouchers, what's the point? At least if you're going to be sexist, learn how to do costume design that highlights cleavage instead of always showing it. There's no way in hell anyone's fighting with boobs falling out/hanging out/exposed to injury. It's just plain stupid.

Let's see, some crotch peek cutouts would work, teasing male packages. Maybe a teaspoon of genital hair poking out? No cup male heroes? How bout it, DC and Marvel? Let's all be idiots together.

Hmm...I may put on my red ring of rage and do some male sapphire pics. I feel inspired!

 

[Miss Webb]

In fairness, the Reds don't really create particularly complex constructs (other than Guy, who had a green ring at the same time anyway). They mostly just vomit molten plasma on people.

The only ones I've seen do constructs are Guy, Hal, and Mera. Wonder if once they wear the rings awhile they learn to do more than spit (which is pretty lame for so much rage).

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I figured the Reds are just too angry to think well enough to make constructs. Like how the Hulk is too angry to employ proper grammar.

 

[Watson]

One can always hope. The sapphires show so much meat they don't even have chest symbols, just follow the bouncing boobs! For those of you who don't know what these things are, they're round and hang off a woman's ribcage! Sex sells! Beat you over the head with it! See the boobs! See the butt! Run, buy the booooook!!

I wonder at the emphasis on just romantic love, too. Wasn't WW supposed to have this great love of everything? Nah, just wear pink/violet rubber and it all goes to pot. 'Sa bout da booty.

Corpy, I know what you mean about the violet, but it's tinted to pink depending on the colorist. Doesn't help, remember the term purple passion?

(Carol said her costume was ugly at first then proceeds to prance and crouch in it. Hence the comments about her looking good in purple. Another desperate bid for attention from Hal.)

If the majority of women are bubble chested crouchers, what's the point? At least if you're going to be sexist, learn how to do costume design that highlights cleavage instead of always showing it. There's no way in hell anyone's fighting with boobs falling out/hanging out/exposed to injury. It's just plain stupid.

Let's see, some crotch peek cutouts would work, teasing male packages. Maybe a teaspoon of genital hair poking out? No cup male heroes? How bout it, DC and Marvel? Let's all be idiots together.

Hmm...I may put on my red ring of rage and do some male sapphire pics. I feel inspired!

I don't mind some cheesecake female costumes. WW's costume isn't really practical is it? But it's iconic and at the very least a majority of her boobs are covered. But the SS costumes ignore any functionality of an outfit. They don't even make sense physically, unless they were glued in.

Someone at a blog I follow posted this manip with the costume adjusted

http://www.4thletter.net/2009/03/star-sapphire-needs-a-revamp/

That looks SO MUCH BETTER, and it is still sexy.

 

[The Question]

In fairness, the Reds don't really create particularly complex constructs (other than Guy, who had a green ring at the same time anyway). They mostly just vomit molten plasma on people.

That's true. Still, the idea just strikes me as unnecessary Silver Age cheesiness that dilutes the Green Lantern mythos instead of enriching it. The Sinestro Corps was enough.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

The amount of retconning Johns had to do to make the emo-spectrum fit is what bugs me. He's shouting the praises of the GL mythos during Rebirth, and then he spends the next year or two taking a big ol' hacksaw to said mythos.

But whatever. It's almost over. How many more issues of Blackest Night do we have left again? 1 or 2?

 

[NightBeetle]

Two more issues

 

[BrianWilly]

I've ranted enough in the past about Carol's sex crime of a costume, so I'll just say...

Real star sapphires are blue, not violet.

Oh and I love NightBeetle's avatar.

 

[Hush]

I honestly just think Carols costume is Sexy and rarely read her dialogue cause its usually worthless.

 

[Watson]

I honestly just think Carols costume is Sexy and rarely read her dialogue cause its usually worthless.

You know what? You're right. This is basically all I can figure Johns wanted to do with this corps. And it sucks.

Mera only slightly makes up for it.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

If that's the case, you certainly can't accuse Johns of not playing to his audience.

 

[Hush]

Well thing is Corp its not like we are buying the Issue for HER if there is a GL arc hat deals soley with the Violets I will not be buying it but she seems to just be there for eye candy and im ok with that you know?

 

[Watson]

If that's the case, you certainly can't accuse Johns of not playing to his audience.

But he could have had a sexy character who still was smart and had an actual contribution to the story. The two aren't mutually exclusive. And as Hush said, people aren't buying the comic for the sexy women. To me it just seems lazy. I think more fans-male and female-would appreciate a corps that was more than eye candy.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Well thing is Corp its not like we are buying the Issue for HER if there is a GL arc hat deals soley with the Violets I will not be buying it but she seems to just be there for eye candy and im ok with that you know?

I'm not. It irks me when women exist in comics solely to be eye candy. It was bad enough back in the '60s, but then it started to get better slowly until Image came along and sold boatloads with women wearing the superhero costume equivalents of pasties and thongs, and the whole medium just backslid. Granted, we're still better off than we were in the '60s thanks to Gail Simone and Greg Rucka and others, but geez, it just gets so boring to keep seeing that kind of s*** over and over again.

 

[Hush]

I'm not. It irks me when women exist in comics solely to be eye candy. It was bad enough back in the '60s, but then it started to get better slowly until Image came along and sold boatloads with women wearing the superhero costume equivalents of pasties and thongs, and the whole medium just backslid. Granted, we're still better off than we were in the '60s thanks to Gail Simone and Greg Rucka and others, but geez, it just gets so boring to keep seeing that kind of s*** over and over again.

I get your point, I'm just younger and literally have kinda just seen things thise way for the past like 10 years in comics so its really not that bad for me. I guess i need to read Ruckas wonderwoman. I wish the Violets had more to do than what they are doing but I think thats more Johns fault than anyone else.