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[QUOTE=Silvanus;210613]About the FB saying "death surrounds me," and Wonder Woman pausing and saying "it does, doesn't it?" and deciding to shoot a flaming arrow: I think it's worth pointing out that death literally surrounds him, since there are dead Autumn leaves falling in front of him when he says it, and we also saw a fallen tree trunk in front of him a couple of panels earlier. (It kind of resonates if you at all associate Autum--the harvest season--with the smell of burning leaves. It's the season of death as well as the season of life.) So "death surrounds me," however the FB intends it, could be taken to mean "dead plant life surrounds me." When Diana pauses (with an ellipsis, "...," in her word balloon) I think she's just realizing that there really is, even in Demeter's land of life, lots of dead, flammable stuff around the FB, and she can take advantage of that by plunging him into fire. And, yeah, along the lines of what Blacksun was saying, maybe the burning stuff will feed the soil and kickstart the process that Demeter was afraid the First Born has stopped for good.
After all, Ares taught Diana to use her enemies' weapons against them (that's how she beat the Minotaur in 0), and I guess anything associated with death could count as the FB's "weapons." Certainly his "burning hunger," which is part of what the fire represents, could be a weapon she's turning against him.
[B]The fire also seems to have a double meaning. The FB talks about not going into the dark alone, which seems ironic since the fire is bright, not dark. And pulling Diana into it--after admitting that he admired her, which was pretty much the first time he admitted to feeling anything but hate--could make the flames symbolize not just destruction but ardor (a word that at it's root means burning) or desire. This connects to what Eros was saying about hell being desire, and I think this all relates back to whatever Strife's plan is; somehow the FB's newfound desire for a partner is going to make him more vulnerable. I wonder if Diana already realizes this, and maybe even intended to be pulled into the fire with him..[/B][/QUOTE]
I found this part of the issue to be probably the weakest so far in this issue. Here we have FB who survived being torched by Apollo but now is scared of a bit of fire (even if it is blazing inferno - which the images don't really depict) saying "going into the dark" - for me that meant if he was going to die then he would take Diana with him - but would a mere fire even a magical fire really do anything besides make him crisper (as he is already quite burnt up) and what is it with this burnt up image - for me it is rather ridiculous - god and you can't restore yourself (he looks like a b-grade horror movie monster).
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[QUOTE=Silvanus;208906]Sure, by sane standards, it would be kind of pointless; but he's "kind of" psychotic--and psychopathic to boot. This is part of what makes him a scary monster; you can't rationally argue with him, even by appealing to his self -interest, because his only interest (except for maybe Diana, now) is in destruction. He said himself when he first took Olympus that he had realized he is nothing and he had come to bring nothingness--he's not the kind of conqueror who's interested in building the next great civilization on the ruins of the one he's destorying. He's not even like Perez's Ares, who was dissuaded from pursuing nuclear destruction when Diana and her lasso made him realize that it was against his self-interest, since it could leave no one alive to wage war. This wouln't have deterred the First Born; it would have encouraged him. Deeming himself "nothing," the First Born would probably think nothing of destroying himself, provided that he had destroyed everything else first.
[B]I don't think she was really taking the fight to him; she was just defending her people. It wouldn't have made sense to rush her army's preparations just to take them into a defensive skirmish; she'll need them to be fully prepared to take out the jackal men during the invasion of Olympus[/B].[/QUOTE]
How was she planning on leaving this place after delaying him? Can Diana now teleport with her godly powers? If so why stay and delay him as the giant hand delayed him long enough for everyone to escape? Plus he is king of Olympus - finding them shouldn't be that hard - really where can Diana go but home and even if she isn't there - you can attack the island to make Diana appear if he wanted to - plus as a god he can teleport as well I imagine so there was no point in delaying him if that is what she was doing?
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Delaying him for the gods to escape, regroup with the Amazons and prepare to attack. The gods already don't think Diana made it alive, so they will attack by themselves. She is capable of delaying him more than the hand. And it's what will happen, after all.
I want to see what Poseidon will do. He did struck the bargain with First Born that said he wouldn't attack Hell, even though they already knew the First Born would not respect that.
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[QUOTE=numberthirty;210989]Since quite a few elements of [I]100 Bullets[/I] have come into play, Strife = Cole Burns.[/QUOTE]
Perhaps ,if, in a way Zeus right hand?
Wouldn't surprise me if First Born is a Lono in this story, meant to corrupt and make everything to die from the inside.
[QUOTE=magisensei;211020]I found this part of the issue to be probably the weakest so far in this issue. Here we have FB who survived being torched by Apollo but now is scared of a bit of fire (even if it is blazing inferno - which the images don't really depict) saying "going into the dark" - for me that meant if he was going to die then he would take Diana with him - but would a mere fire even a magical fire really do anything besides make him crisper (as he is already quite burnt up) and what is it with this burnt up image - for me it is rather ridiculous - god and you can't restore yourself (he looks like a b-grade horror movie monster).[/QUOTE]
You don't think it was his tentacles getting cut off (due to the fire in the woods he was sucking the life out of) similar to #29? Where he also got "hit" by them getting cut off.
And it's quite obvious he's meant to be an evil that's both scary and at times ridiculous. To me at least, and I really like it that way. Especially since all my favorite monsters are, everyone from Dudley Liam Smith, Walter White to Leatherface.
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Read 31 and 32 together last night. For the first time in the series, I felt a little bored. Maybe I'm just in a hurry to see the foreshadowed showdown between WW and FB. The part when WW talked down the Amazon from killing Zeke should've been a more touching moment, but it felt a bit predictable and the tension seemed thin. I should've thought, "Great, Orion is here, awesome!" but instead my feeling was "This is going to drag out even longer now, isn't it?" It's perfectly fine, but it feels drawn out and too decompressed.
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[QUOTE=Hell-blazer;211108]Delaying him for the gods to escape, regroup with the Amazons and prepare to attack.[/QUOTE]
The FB had a sun explode in his lap, he's wooped the floor with every olympian in his way, but an army of backwater amazons armed with swords and spears is going to stop him?
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[QUOTE=Dr. Hurt;211563]The FB had a sun explode in his lap, he's wooped the floor with every olympian in his way, but an army of backwater amazons armed with swords and spears is going to stop him?[/QUOTE]
GOD-FORGED swords and spears. Probably god-forged armor, too. Not to mention, this may finally be the time to reveal that the Amazons DO, in fact have some other magical weapons lying in wait.
We know the Amazons have been trading their sons to Hephaestus for "weapons." That's a pretty broad category right there. For all we know, Hephaestus has been giving them turbolasers and deflector shields. Plus, we saw the Manazons arriving on Paradise Island with boats that appeared to be loaded with crates and stuff. Entirely possible Hephaestus brought more weapons from his workshop to reinforce the Amazons.
Plus? That army is supported by the Hera, Artemis, Dionysus, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, and Eros. That's quite a lot of firepower to concentrate against him.
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[QUOTE=Dr. Hurt;211563]The FB had a sun explode in his lap, he's wooped the floor with every olympian in his way, but an army of backwater amazons armed with swords and spears is going to stop him?[/QUOTE]
I assume the Amazons are more here to deal with the army of hyenas than with First Born himself.
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[QUOTE=numberthirty;210989]Since quite a few elements of [I]100 Bullets[/I] have come into play, Strife = Cole Burns.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=borntohula;211200]Perhaps ,if, in a way Zeus right hand?
[/QUOTE]
I was thinking more the right hand of War in the same way Cole was Graves right hand right up until everything went sideways. Once that happened, Strife seems to be on the same trajectory as Cole once he started to put the pieces together.
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[QUOTE=magisensei;211033]How was she planning on leaving this place after delaying him? Can Diana now teleport with her godly powers? If so why stay and delay him as the giant hand delayed him long enough for everyone to escape? Plus he is king of Olympus - finding them shouldn't be that hard - really where can Diana go but home and even if she isn't there - you can attack the island to make Diana appear if he wanted to - plus as a god he can teleport as well I imagine so there was no point in delaying him if that is what she was doing?[/QUOTE]
I would imagine she was planning to get out the way she got in.If I understood correctly,she arrived on her own, so she must have arrived on her own power. I don't assume she can teleport, per se, but Ares did show her-- in issue 17, if I remember right--how to travel to Demeter's realm, and Strife said in the same issue that the 12 Olympians (including War) are able to travel back and forth between the realms.
I think the point of Diana's coming got Demeter's realm, initially, was to save the lives of Hermes, Eros,Artemis Demeter. She seems to have succeeded at that, for the moment. I assume the FB could follow them, but unsurprisingly, he took the bait of fighting the only one he considers willing and able to give him a decent challenge.
Besides keeping the FB occupied and off the trail of Hermes and those who were travelling with him, the other point of Diana staying behind seems to have been to prevent the FB from completely and finally despoiling Demeter's realm. It seems to be an important realm, from which life comes in the cycle of the seasons. The FB claims to have already snapped the cycle of the seasons, and if the realm is left in his hands, this may be more likely to be true. Burning it down, so that it might be able to grow back, is better than leaving it in the FB's hands.
[QUOTE]what is it with this burnt up image - for me it is rather ridiculous - god and you can't restore yourself (he looks like a b-grade horror movie monster).[/QUOTE]
I agree with borntohula that he's supposed to be ridiculous as well as scary, and I would also say that he's not interested in restoring himself. He said a couple of issues ago that he found his path in being "nothing."
[QUOTE] Here we have FB who survived being torched by Apollo but now is scared of a bit of fire [/QUOTE]
I don't think he's particularly scared; as you say, he went through the same burning "night," so to speak, when Apollo burned Olympus down. He's just saying that this time he's going to take Diana with him--and she might not be as happy about being reduced to "nothing."
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Strife is a brilliant troll:
talking to First born she discovered that he has a soft spot (lol) for WW. the soft spot is not really that nice since I'm speaking about First Born. So he will destroy everything? and not share it with somebody? why not take WW with you?
Is some really strong hate for WW, that will be interesting see it play out.
that was genius, Strife is a great character.
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[QUOTE=Auguste Dupin;212001]I assume the Amazons are more here to deal with the army of hyenas than with First Born himself.[/QUOTE]
This - I foresee Super-Omega Baby taking care of the FB personally.
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[QUOTE=Hell-blazer]I want to see what Poseidon will do. He did struck the bargain with First Born that said he wouldn't attack Hell, even though they already knew the First Born would not respect that.[/QUOTE]
Yeah--somehow I forsee Sea trying to make another deal--this time not just a non-aggression pact, but an alliance (just because he'll want to be on what the expects to be the winning side, if only to buy himself a little time). The sea god would be a fearsome enemy for the people of an island--in theory he could probably just have the waters swallow Paradise Island and Diana's army in one horrible gulp. And next issue is billed as "Paradise Lost"....
Or, if Poseidon doesn't go straight to the FB's side, he may show up on Paradise Island to argue over who should lead the Olympian resistance while Diana is considered possibly lost. I still think Athena will at least be mentioned as one who might be "just" enough to rule the Olympians, and she may even finally show up.
[QUOTE=Gaelforce]Here's a theory...
Diana and Strife are working together.[/QUOTE]
I though it was interesting that there was a Strife/FB scene right before the scene where Diana charges Aleka to protect Zola and Zeke--which in turn reminded me of the time (issue 25) when Diana trusted Strife to take care of Zola and Zeke. We still haven't quite seen why that was a good idea, but this juxtaposition made me think we're still going to. I don't necessarily think Diana and Strife have a deal yet--though it's an interesting thought, and I agree that we can't rule it out--but I do think Stride is going to be of help to Diana's side in the end.
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8 minutes 30 seconds to read, and that's with pausing on some pages to check out the art.
The art was just okay.
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[QUOTE=brettc1;217665]8 minutes 30 seconds to read, and that's with pausing on some pages to check out the art.
The art was just okay.[/QUOTE]
I will never understand this obsession you have with how long it takes to read an issue.
It's a comic book. Not a novel.