newuniversal Discussion (Spoilers)

TheManWithoutFear

#1 reason not to join UC
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Summary:

Men and Women from around the globe start getting powers after a celestial event called the "White Light" occurs on Earth. There's an ancient tomb revealed and a giant robot.

The reason I'm not gonna delve into the summary is because that's pretty much it. I'm sure it's going to get more interesting but I'm gonna be frank about this...

I'm pretty tired of suddenly a bunch of random people get super powers. I mean it's good in the already established series but please tell me why they thought doing it again was a good idea?

You know what I want to see?

One.

One person gets superpowers and is the only human being on the planet to get them. I think at this point that kind've personal journey would be a lot more interesting and entertaining then the "World of Heroes" theme everybody's got going.

I'm not rating it because it wasn't bad, just it was what it was.
 
Re: New Universal #1 Discussion (Spoilers)

Summary:

Men and Women from around the globe start getting powers after a celestial event called the "White Light" occurs on Earth. There's an ancient tomb revealed and a giant robot.

The reason I'm not gonna delve into the summary is because that's pretty much it. I'm sure it's going to get more interesting but I'm gonna be frank about this...

I'm pretty tired of suddenly a bunch of random people get super powers. I mean it's good in the already established series but please tell me why they thought doing it again was a good idea?

You know what I want to see?

One.

One person gets superpowers and is the only human being on the planet to get them. I think at this point that kind've personal journey would be a lot more interesting and entertaining then the "World of Heroes" theme everybody's got going.

I'm not rating it because it wasn't bad, just it was what it was.

Watchmen has one person getting superpowers, and how he deals with it.

This, backm in the eighties, was a new idea when it was first introduced, and Warren had to keep the concept, or why would be bother calling it New Universe when it wasn't the New Universe.

And not everyone in the New Universe had superpowers.

I'm pretty sure Kicker's Inc. had no superpowers at all.
 
Re: New Universal #1 Discussion (Spoilers)

I pretty much agree with MWoF. Very little happens and what does is not really interesting. The art is amazing and I liked the dialogues, but still need something. Im gonna buy issue 2 and give it a try.
 
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Re: New Universal #1 Discussion (Spoilers)

One.

One person gets superpowers and is the only human being on the planet to get them. I think at this point that kind've personal journey would be a lot more interesting and entertaining then the "World of Heroes" theme everybody's got going.

I'm not rating it because it wasn't bad, just it was what it was.

Theres been a couple of those, damned if I can remember their names. One was pretty recent too, a guy survives a plane crash that kills everyone on board. It was supposed to be really good too...
 
Re: New Universal #1 Discussion (Spoilers)

Watchmen has one person getting superpowers, and how he deals with it.

Watchmen still had a multiple cast of people willing to go beyond. I'm talking something like if some joe blow normal guy got powers and had to deal with them himself and the rest of the world was still normal. No other superpowered humans just real tragedies. Sort've like a superman in world where real people faced real problems so where would his place be in it?
 
Re: New Universal #1 Discussion (Spoilers)

Watchmen still had a multiple cast of people willing to go beyond. I'm talking something like if some joe blow normal guy got powers and had to deal with them himself and the rest of the world was still normal. No other superpowered humans just real tragedies. Sort've like a superman in world where real people faced real problems so where would his place be in it?

Read my fanfic Blairwood

It features several people, but they all go through the same trails and tribulations.
 
Re: New Universal #1 Discussion (Spoilers)

Yeah, this was pretty boring. It has all the makings of getting better but as far as this issue goes, I just wanted it to be over while I was reading it. Honestly, there wasn't anything particulalrly necessary to this issue. The characters weren't really developed at all before the white event, with only a brief vignette each. It should've just started with the white event and went from there.
 
I liked it. Of course I haven't read Rising Stars, and those other comics, or watched Heroes, but it was alright.
 
Seeing as its basically the Ultimate New Universe, I wasn't expecting anything different, but it was a decent start. I'm curious what Ellis changes and adds to it. I mean, the original New Universe was around 8 books, I think. . .
 
Loved it. 4/5.

Not a lot happens? Well, yeah. It's basically the first 1/6th or so of an origin story. Be patient.

The art was great. Larocca's best work.

I never read any of the New Universe books and the summaries were pretty boring, so I wasn't expecting much out of this. But I enjoyed it.
 
For 2.99 I want more than 1/6 of a story. Every single issue should be an entire story, even if it's part of a larger storyline.
 
For 2.99 I want more than 1/6 of a story. Every single issue should be an entire story, even if it's part of a larger storyline.

well, be glad that you didn't pick up Authority #1

...

Why is everyone all of a sudden so intolerable of an issue that only gives you hints of what is going to happen next... Its a story! More than that, its an epic, largescale story that isn't going to have one-shot stories... this is a serial comic book. If you want a series of standalones, pick up Detective Comics or Fell.

Here's the summary for the uninformed...

We start off in space, setting the tone for the series as science fictiony, but with the shuttle we can tell that for the most part this world is like our own... just slightly more advanced. The two informational blocks tell us that the Chinese have space stations on the Moon, and by referring to the Soviets, tells us that the Soviet Union didn't die like it did in our world. There is an African Union, mirroring our world's European Union. The year is 2006. And as of March second, Universal time has been coordinated. (I'm sure people just sped through this bit of information, but it sets up a LOT about the world).

In New York City doctors are operating on a police detective, John Tensen, who has been rendered braindead by a bullet into the brain.

In Optima Down, OK, Kenneth Connell and Madeline Felix are flirting in a bar.

In San Francisco, Izanmi Randall storms out of a party, not liking her friend's choice of date

Back in Optima Down, Kenneth and Madeline are now drunk lying on the field near some sort of lake. "Maddy" says her dad refers to the moon as "The Chinese Moon" because they are all up there watching them, Kenneth calls her father crazy. It is revealed that her father is the sherrif and would likely shoot Ken if he knew the nature of their relationship.

A frame with Izanmi in bed tell us that the Chinese, Russian, and American early warning systems have gone down. The scene cuts to a New York skyline in which the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center are still standing. The News in John Tensen's hospital room reports his injury, and quotes a colleague saying the detective "lived for the force", before going on to mention that it is John Lennon's 66th Birthday, and that Paul McCartney was shot to death in Liverpool 19 years prior.

Then the White Event begins and the sky turns bright white. The Panels show the event occuring simultaneously across America and the World. A massive landslip occurs due to the event in Latvia.

Back in San Francisco, Izanmi is sleeping when a bright light pours out of her cheek and forms into a Moon and a small star with some stylistic flourish (it should be noted that the moon and the star is associated with the Chinese). She wakes up to a weird red and white flowing glow. above her, and beneath her a sea of faces of sleeping people. She see the reflection of the new marking on her cheek and declres out loud that this must be a dream. An otherworldly voice tells her that it is a dream, but that she is awake in it. There is a giant spaceship hovering over her talking to her and it tells her, "This is a paradigm shift. Everything you know has changed. Please remain calm."

Back in NY the White Event fades back into darkness before intensifying greatly. John Tensen begins to hover in his hospital bed, scaring the orderly looking over him. Tensen falls back down onto the bed, with a glowing white lightning bolt on his chest. His hair has also turned stark white. He sits up and tells the nurse/doctor that he can see him, and that he can see every bad thing he's ever done. He begins listing all of the murders the doctor has committed and the doctor freaks and tries to tell him that they were mercy killings. Tensen asks if the doctor was going to kill him too, and the doctor admits to it. The doctor asks if he gets points for being honest. Tensen replies no. A knife appears in Tensen's hand and the doctor begins to scream as he is stabbed to death. Tensen begins to recognize that he could see everything the doctor had done like a movie, and then writes the name "Justice" on the wall before leaving the hospital room.

Drs. Leonard Carson and Hannah Ballad are in Latvia investigating the collapse in regards to the white event. Dr. Carson is seeking a connection between a 2600 BC Northern European country and the Sumerians in Ur at the same period. His basis is an old legend from the same period based on the story of Gilgamesh. He mentions that there isn't a lot from this ancient period because most written language was cut into sticks. An assistant runs over to tell them that the landslide during the event opened some sort of tomb. Buried in the tomb is a warrior in full armor with what will come to be known as the starbrand burned into his forehead.

Back in Optima Down its morning and Kenneth realizes something is wrong. Something burned all the skin off of Maddy's body and he's all alone. They were sitting directly in the middle of a starbrand carved into the field they were sleeping on. Kenneth seems unharmed. Later in the sheriff's office, they've apprehended kenneth and the cops are trying to convince the sherriff not to shoot Kenneth for killing his daughter, despite his claims of innocence. Just as the sheriff is about to fire, Kenneth notices the same starbrand on the palm on his hand, and it has started to glow.

...

Can somebody please explain to me why people are saying nothing happened in this issue?

Not only is Ellis doing a great job at introducing this strangely different and strangely similar World and the characters, he also accomplished a LOT to set up three of the primary characters of the original New Universe: Star Brand (Kenneth Connell), Justice (John Tensen), and Nightmask (originally Keith Remsen, but now Izanami Randall).

So far I am thoroughly intrigued, especially with the little subtle differences between their world and ours.

EDIT: Just finished reading through an old interview about the series, and thought i'd bring up a few things

Here are some character designs: Justice, Nightmask, Starbrand, and Starr the Slayer.

The first arc will also introduce spitfire (whom I'm guessing will be Dr. Hannah Ballad).... But we'll have to wait on that.

Once we're past the first arc he'll start introducing the other characters from the New Universe, but also some long forgotten or underused Marvel 616 characters (in the interview he hinted at using Cypher, or at least "a Cypher" whatever that means...) Also: Starr the Slayer is a character originally from an unused marvel pitch.
 
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Why is everyone all of a sudden so intolerable of an issue that only gives you hints of what is going to happen next... Its a story! More than that, its an epic, largescale story that isn't going to have one-shot stories... this is a serial comic book. If you want a series of standalones, pick up Detective Comics or Fell.

*applause*
 
Why is everyone all of a sudden so intolerable of an issue that only gives you hints of what is going to happen next... Its a story! More than that, its an epic, largescale story that isn't going to have one-shot stories... this is a serial comic book. If you want a series of standalones, pick up Detective Comics or Fell.

There are better first issues out there, with more actually going on. I said I would give a try with issue #2, but I thought nothing really hapenned.
Having said that I think I don't have the pacience i had before.
 
Why is everyone all of a sudden so intolerable of an issue that only gives you hints of what is going to happen next... Its a story! More than that, its an epic, largescale story that isn't going to have one-shot stories... this is a serial comic book. If you want a series of standalones, pick up Detective Comics or Fell.
Because they suddenly think we're back in the 60's. While it worked then and might work now and again in these times, doesn't mean it should be done all the time or anything.

Anyways, tradewaiting this most likely, and it sounds good.
 
I'm going to get it. It may be a Marvel version of Heroes, or vice versa. The concept though is a good one, perhaps overused, but still a good concept.

And the fact that it is 1/6 isn't that big of a deal. I mean, I do find it irksome that you have to wait half a year to get the whole story, but this isn't going to turn me off of it.

Also, though not alot happens in the first issue, it is what I call a placeholder issue, which means that it establishes the what, when, and who, and maybe even, though sometimes, the why. It also is dealing with a bunch of characters, so we have a few different stories within one story, and all the littler ones will tie together someway.

I think this will be good, and I'm hoping that they take the idea behind the Ultimate Universe, a good one IMO, and execute it in a better way.

As long as Bendis doesn't come on.:twisted:
 
Coming next year:

The 12-part mini no one dared ask for - newUltimatePowerZombies!

Brian Michael Bendis writes every issue! Greg Land introduces his new style, actual cut-outs from spank rags!

(I'd buy it anyway)
 

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