How a Superhero Should Be

Bill Willingham who writes the Fables series (which I hear might become a TV series on ABC), recently wrote on Big Hollywood how comic writers have been eroding superheros (poor Captain America). I just read a comic that’s just like I always wanted a hero to be, though: War Machine. The author, Greg Pak, said if you liked the scene in the Iron Man movie where Iron Man kills all the terrorists in the marketplace (my favorite scene), then you’d like War Machine. Judging from the first issue, that’s pretty true. Basically, you have Rhodes — who is a soldier, not a superhero — with a lower-tech version of Tony Stark’s armor and more weaponry deciding to go to all the hot spots in the world and kill all the bad people — basically the Punisher on an international scale. I think that’s a great premise for a comic. The first issue opens with a bunch of people about to be executed while the U.N. watches and is unwilling to do anything, and then War Machine swoops in and kills all the bad people. No moralizing, no worrying about American hegemony — the important thing is to kill the bad people before they kill innocent people.

Anyway, I thought I should mention it because if you like IMAO and like comics, I think it would be right up your alley. It’s not Watchmen, but it looks like nice escapism.

11 Comments

  1. I grew up as a wee las reading two things, Super Hero comics and MAD Magazine. The Super Hero comics taught me not to be a homo and MAD Magazine taught me to be a smart ass. I spent many an hour in detention and after school trying out lines I learned from MAD on my teachers in Junior High and High School…

  2. Are you reading the Marvel version of War Machine or is this through their offshoot MAX? If it’s MAX then you NEED to read their Nick Fury comic writen by Garth Ennis. One of the best comic serries Evah! They’re a couple of years old but you should be able to find them.

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