Most Egregious Out of Character Moments

[Psy-lock]

Is that second one Secret Six?

It's from a Final Crisis tie-in.

[Lee Stone]

Maxwell Lord in Countdown to Infinite Crisis.
He was like a whole different character.

This was after he defeated the robot/ai that was manipulating him during the first year of JLI, was given a JL signal device and accepted into the team after J'onn mindscanned him to evaluate his intentions, and after he gained powers during Invasion! and fantasized about being a hero.
And after him confessing to L-Ron that he felt bad for spying on Booster when his ex-wife recruited him for her anti-JLI team.
Someone really didn't bother to do research and just thought it would be cool to shock readers.

I can imagine Max Lord coming up with some crazy plan to help the world that might use questionable tactics. But I also believe that he wouldn't get far before realizing the error of his ways. Because one thing his appearances in JLI had taught us was that under that tough exterior, he had a heart.
And killing Ted would've been something that Max would not do, no matter how much it would mess with his plans.
He's not Ozymandias, which is what DC was trying to turn him into.

[ducklord]

Maxwell Lord in Countdown to Infinite Crisis.
He was like a whole different character.

This was after he defeated the robot/ai that was manipulating him during the first year of JLI, was given a JL signal device and accepted into the team after J'onn mindscanned him to evaluate his intentions, and after he gained powers during Invasion! and fantasized about being a hero.
And after him confessing to L-Ron that he felt bad for spying on Booster when his ex-wife recruited him for her anti-JLI team.
Someone really didn't bother to do research and just thought it would be cool to shock readers.

I can imagine Max Lord coming up with some crazy plan to help the world that might use questionable tactics. But I also believe that he wouldn't get far before realizing the error of his ways. Because one thing his appearances in JLI had taught us was that under that tough exterior, he had a heart.
And killing Ted would've been something that Max would not do, no matter how much it would mess with his plans.
He's not Ozymandias, which is what DC was trying to turn him into.

The thing about the Max Lord situation is that it was a classic "retrofitting a character to fit the desired plot" situation (see also, Heroes In Crisis).

The story was originally pitched with Mr. Jupiter as the bad guy (which also would've been questionable, but probably wouldn't have caused as much head scratching). After he was deemed to obscure (which is true), they decided to go with Max Lord, even though they knew that it didn't make a lick of sense. Which is, y'know, infuriating.

[John Venus]

Is that second one Secret Six?

No that was from one of the Final Crisis tie ins.

This is Cheetah in Secret Six:

[John Venus]

The thing about the Max Lord situation is that it was a classic "retrofitting a character to fit the desired plot" situation (see also, Heroes In Crisis).

The story was originally pitched with Mr. Jupiter as the bad guy (which also would've been questionable, but probably wouldn't have caused as much head scratching). After he was deemed to obscure (which is true), they decided to go with Max Lord, even though they knew that it didn't make a lick of sense. Which is, y'know, infuriating.

Would have made more sense if it had been Snapper Carr.

You still have the 'former friend of the JLA betrays them' plot but with someone who could have more logically turned into a super villain.

[ducklord]

Would have made more sense if it had been Snapper Carr.

You still have the 'former friend of the JLA betrays them' plot but with someone who could have more logically turned into a super villain.

Snapper would've been tricky. Besides the difficulty of him having the resources to fund a complex organization, his recent outings in Hourman had put him solidly in Rick Jones territory. That said, he HAD betrayed the JLA twice, so there is something in his make-up that goes off the reservation every now and then. But would Snapper ever shoot Blue Beetle in the face?

The problem with genuine heel turns (as opposed to possessions, body swaps, etc) is that, to make them believable, you have only a few choices:

1) Use a character with a history so threadbare that you can convincingly weave a tale of background deception into their previous appearances (Mr. Jupiter)
2) Slowly build up the turn in plain sight via slights to the character, betrayals and whatnot (Triumph)
3) Create a character explicitly for the heel turn, so that you have complete control over the story (Terra)
4) Some approach I haven't thought of.
5) Not giving a hoot whether it makes sense or not (Max Lord)

[John Venus]

Snapper would've been tricky. Besides the difficulty of him having the resources to fund a complex organization, his recent outings in Hourman had put him solidly in Rick Jones territory. That said, he HAD betrayed the JLA twice, so there is something in his make-up that goes off the reservation every now and then. But would Snapper ever shoot Blue Beetle in the face?

The problem with genuine heel turns (as opposed to possessions, body swaps, etc) is that, to make them believable, you have only a few choices:

1) Use a character with a history so threadbare that you can convincingly weave a tale of background deception into their previous appearances (Mr. Jupiter)
2) Slowly build up the turn in plain sight via slights to the character, betrayals and whatnot (Triumph)
3) Create a character explicitly for the heel turn, so that you have complete control over the story (Terra)
4) Some approach I haven't thought of.
5) Not giving a hoot whether it makes sense or not (Max Lord)

I would just say he was recruited to the nascent Checkmate after the first time he betrayed the League. Maybe early on, he wanted to redeem himself but by the time Beetle finds him, he's gone full super villain. His previous heroic appearances were due to him using post hypnotic suggestion to try and better convince the heroes that he is good now.

[Buried Alien]

There's this hilarious moment from JUSTICE LEAGUE (current series) # 37. Just *how* was the Anti-Monitor, an otherworldly being, able to recognize the mundane sound of an earthly automobile horn?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

antimonitor2.jpg

[Lee Stone]

There's this hilarious moment from JUSTICE LEAGUE (current series) # 37. Just *how* was the Anti-Monitor, an otherworldly being, able to recognize the mundane sound of an earthly automobile horn?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

antimonitor2.jpg

LMAO.
That’s funny.

[SiegePerilous02]

When Cheetah was written as a femme fatale/sex predator. That was just beyond weird.

Rucka's writing of Cheetah pre-Flashpoint and in Rebirth is like night and day. I dunno what the hell he was thinking with these scenes. At least she isn't sleeping with Snapper anymore.

[Buried Alien]

LMAO.
That’s funny.

What's even funnier is that on the next page, Green Lantern (John Stewart) runs over him in Flash's (Barry Allen) Speed Force car. Kind of fitting considering what Anti-Monitor did to Barry back in COIE.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Lee Stone]

What's even funnier is that on the next page, Green Lantern (John Stewart) runs over him in Flash's (Barry Allen) Speed Force car. Kind of fitting considering what Anti-Monitor did to Barry back in COIE.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

This wasn't a Sergio Aragones comic?

[Buried Alien]

This wasn't a Sergio Aragones comic?

Hilariously, no...it was played straight, which made it even funnier.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[ERON]

Kyle Rayner suddenly becoming a devout Catholic who prays the rosary in Spanish in Tom King's Omega Men series was pretty jarring.

[Hol]

Tom King writing Wally West OR Booster Gold.
The man should NEVER be allowed within a 30ft radius of either character ever again.

Really?? I loved his Wally West in that DCeased issue where Wally evacuates everyone in Keystone to a different Earth. Where else has he written Wally?