Starfox Appeciation!

[MollyBarton]

Allrighty then!

"Sir Dane": All right, Starfox gets more spankings. What have you got, Cap?

*Cap strips and does several backflips*

"Sir Dane": Holy crap. Uh, I think I need a cold shower. You boys want to join me?

[CaTigeReptile]

This is really interesting. I had no idea the two were based off the Freudian example, though it does seem obvious. As for why it has never been explored, I would suggest that:

1) it has become, for some valid reasons, increasingly uncool to admit to an interest in Freudian thoughts, or to give them enough weight as to actually explore them and

Absolutely. Like I prefaced, Freud was a cocaine-fueled misogynist among other bizarre and eyebrow-raising things. This was apparently one of the things that he did after he got famous with the 'pleasure principle' etc stuff, and is thankfully not misogynist (though perhaps drug-induced). But it doesn't have to be brought up that it's Freudian in origin - blanket it in Greek mythos or something, or some other philosophy that's no doubt extremely similar from somewhere else. Freud himself never called the Death Drive "Thanatos." Or just don't mention it.

2) While modern audiences are considered a little more sophisticated, one needs to remember that Eros/Thanos were created back in the early 70s when storylines tended to be kept simpler and easy to digest. The love/death dichotomy may have been thought to be too obscure for the general audience. Instead, Thanos needed a rival/companion that (on the surface) made more sense, a champion of life,. While Eros could have supplied that, I think many would balk at the idea that love=life. Enter Adam Warlock, a man inextricably tied to the idea of the soul and it's eternal existence, in direct opposition to Thanos' desire for utter oblivion. At this point, Warlock and Thanos are so intimately connected, I can't see Eros supplanting Warlock as Thanos' opposite without a great push.

There's no need to supplant Warlock at all - because by definition Eros (the concept) is not strong enough to equal, and thus be opposite, of Than(at)os. He's just another relationship - the little brother relationship actually suits the dynamic quite well. In fact, on top of the allegory which could perhaps be a bit pretentious idk, there's the real-world-based dynamic of a problematic sibling relationship. That's always an interesting trope. OH, and how could we forget Cain and Abel? The whole "oh they weren't really close as kids" or "yeah they totally just lived in two different worlds" is such a boring cop-out.

Also: bonus points for understanding that eros does not automatically equal sex, although I might quibble and suggest that, while your definition of "a desire for love in it's entirety" can be correct, it is more correctly a desire to POSSESS something in it's entirety, a concept that has become wrapped up in love in some pretty warped and messed up ways. It can also be defined, if you are Socrates, as a desire to BE an entirety, a desire for the person (or thing) that will complete you. This definition is, in the case of Starfox, more intriguing, given the lifestyle he lives and the amount of loss he has suffered in his life. Is his hedonism merely a search for something he feels he is missing, and what is that missing piece?

Yeah, there's that (and apparently that's considered the sadistic/death-drive part of the Eros concept) - I think the Socrates version is better, like you said (+greece). Going back to the idea of reality there, it could be that even though, like, everyone else seemed to love and adore Eros growing up (and beyond), his brother probably didn't give him that kind of approval that younger siblings seek from their older siblings. I mean, as a little brother, there's no one cooler than your older brother, no matter what they do to you in terms of bullying or ignoring or what have you, and Eros was probably that little kid who goes and hugs strangers, so blind adoration would make sense. By keeping to one-night-stands and avoiding getting too close to people (since obviously terrible things happen when he does), it's a way to avoid rejection and loss/bereavement. Like you said, he has an awful track record of having people close to him: brother rejected him, bereaved of his mother, bereaved of everyone he grew up with, Elysius rejected him (kinda), bereaved of his best friend, bereaved of his "children." It's like every time he gets too close to someone, they either spurn him or they die. (Except his dad, which is probably why he's such a daddy's boy).

Not to mention that he's going to outlive anyone he gets close to anyway unless they're Eternal or otherwise basically immortal, which is probably why Titans/Eternals in general seem to keep to themselves as a whole. He (and Elysius) would have probably outlived Genis and Phyla anyway since they were part Kree. And this is outliving on a grand scale: your loved one, your children, your grandchildren, their children, etc etc until the fall of that civilization!

That brings me to another thing, though, which is maybe a bit of an argument against the "family issues" trope, which would be that if we're talking about beings who are thousands upon thousands of years old, would they still have these issues? Would they be beyond such things? But if we don't treat them as if their minds are on a human timescale, then we run into the problem of just we have absolutely no frame of reference for how an ancient being would think or feel and trying to figure it out would drive us insane.

????? ok armchair psychologist CaTigeReptile

But I think what you said about the easily-digestible part is the most important. These concepts might not be suitable for the comic book medium which as you said needs to be a bit more straightforward in order to work.

Still, you should be able to show some dynamic there: Englehart did their relationship some justice in Celestial Quest. I'd post it here but it's too long. I can't even really pick just one page to post. It was a talkfight, so action-lovers, dialogue-lovers, everybody wins.

Except Eros, of course. He lost. But Thanos spared him. Thanos also kept him, not their father, alive in Infinity Gauntlet so that he could torture him for eternity. I wonder if Thanos is, you know, idly curious bc u know he's Thanos he doesn't ACTUALLY care about anything really nuh-uh no he doesn't psshhhhh if he can fill Eros with hate/break him, in a sense.

I forgot where I was going with this.

Oh yeah, that both Thanos and Eros are looking for that Socratic love, but just going about it in basically opposite ways.

Or something. I think.

edit: And I guess after Infinity Revelation the point, on Thanos's looking-for-socratic-love end, is now moot. Wow, boring.

edit edit: oh god and as I was rambling, I missed the smut, I'm so sorry

[MollyBarton]

Dane, Eros, and Cap get into the shower and start soaping each other up andREST OF SMUTTY POST DELETED BY THE MODERATORS

Oh, dear. This is a PG-13 rated board, I believe.

(apologies to the mods, they didn't really delete anything, I just thought it would be too naughty to post here.)

[Hekabolos]

Absolutely. Like I prefaced, Freud was a cocaine-fueled misogynist among other bizarre and eyebrow-raising things. This was apparently one of the things that he did after he got famous with the 'pleasure principle' etc stuff, and is thankfully not misogynist (though perhaps drug-induced). But it doesn't have to be brought up that it's Freudian in origin - blanket it in Greek mythos or something, or some other philosophy that's no doubt extremely similar from somewhere else. Freud himself never called the Death Drive "Thanatos." Or just don't mention it.

There's no need to supplant Warlock at all - because by definition Eros (the concept) is not strong enough to equal, and thus be opposite, of Than(at)os. He's just another relationship - the little brother relationship actually suits the dynamic quite well. In fact, on top of the allegory which could perhaps be a bit pretentious idk, there's the real-world-based dynamic of a problematic sibling relationship. That's always an interesting trope. OH, and how could we forget Cain and Abel? The whole "oh they weren't really close as kids" or "yeah they totally just lived in two different worlds" is such a boring cop-out.

Removing Freud from the equation and instead going back to the Greek roots of Eros and Thanatos could actually work. In some of the earlier poets (and some of the more obscure philosophers) Eros is identified with both the Demiurge and the creative impulse. In that sense, Eros does become the equal of Thanatos: death balanced by creation (life). Of course, if the Freudian allegory is pretentious then referencing Orphic teachings most certainly is as well and it is in no way a version of Eros that most people are familiar with. It is definitely an interesting avenue to pursue, if someone really wanted to explore the relationship.

Yeah, there's that (and apparently that's considered the sadistic/death-drive part of the Eros concept) - I think the Socrates version is better, like you said (+greece). Going back to the idea of reality there, it could be that even though, like, everyone else seemed to love and adore Eros growing up (and beyond), his brother probably didn't give him that kind of approval that younger siblings seek from their older siblings. I mean, as a little brother, there's no one cooler than your older brother, no matter what they do to you in terms of bullying or ignoring or what have you, and Eros was probably that little kid who goes and hugs strangers, so blind adoration would make sense. By keeping to one-night-stands and avoiding getting too close to people (since obviously terrible things happen when he does), it's a way to avoid rejection and loss/bereavement. Like you said, he has an awful track record of having people close to him: brother rejected him, bereaved of his mother, bereaved of everyone he grew up with, Elysius rejected him (kinda), bereaved of his best friend, bereaved of his "children." It's like every time he gets too close to someone, they either spurn him or they die. (Except his dad, which is probably why he's such a daddy's boy).

I think there is almost certainly an element of approval seeking in the brother's relationship. I also think that it goes both ways. While it makes sense for Eros to seek the approval of the older brother that never loved him, I've always gotten the sense that Thanos feels similar about him. After all, everything he's done has been out of love of Mistress Death (until Infinity Revelation wiped that out). As you said, in Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos saved Eros, ostensibly to torture him. He spends very little time torturing him however, instead leaving him to sit there and watch as Thanos conquers everything, as though wanting to show off for him. I suppose that is a form of torture in itself, but it could also be argued that he wanted to show the lengths he would go to for love, albeit a sick, twisted love.

Not to mention that he's going to outlive anyone he gets close to anyway unless they're Eternal or otherwise basically immortal, which is probably why Titans/Eternals in general seem to keep to themselves as a whole. He (and Elysius) would have probably outlived Genis and Phyla anyway since they were part Kree. And this is outliving on a grand scale: your loved one, your children, your grandchildren, their children, etc etc until the fall of that civilization!

This is a point, not exclusive to the Eternals, that I wish would be explored more. Every once in a while you'll see Thor get a little down over the fact that his friends are all going to die, but otherwise, no one has ever really looked at the fact that for a good number of heroes, being an Avenger, Guardian, Defender or whatever, is just a diversion in an incredibly long life. How much do they allow themselves to actually care for their teammates?

Oh yeah, that both Thanos and Eros are looking for that Socratic love, but just going about it in basically opposite ways.

Or something. I think.

Yes. In a lot of ways, the brothers are mirror images in that sense.

[CaTigeReptile]

Re: When I talked about pretentiousness - I forgot another reason why this is a great character/relationship to explore: Thanos & friends as a topic do get a lot more leeway when it comes to allegory and philosophy and 'pondering,' and so by association if any characters could be explored this way, those two would be more likely than, say, Clint and Barney.

I'm gonna go see GotG again right now so I'll catch up with the response later.

[CaTigeReptile]

Removing Freud from the equation and instead going back to the Greek roots of Eros and Thanatos could actually work. In some of the earlier poets (and some of the more obscure philosophers) Eros is identified with both the Demiurge and the creative impulse. In that sense, Eros does become the equal of Thanatos: death balanced by creation (life). Of course, if the Freudian allegory is pretentious then referencing Orphic teachings most certainly is as well and it is in no way a version of Eros that most people are familiar with. It is definitely an interesting avenue to pursue, if someone really wanted to explore the relationship.

Not only what I said before about if any characters could get away with being more sophisticated in terms of allegory it'd be them, but also the fact that it's not what people are used to when they think of Eros is a point for it instead of against it, because the most charming among us are often the most well-hidden.

Not only that, but the Greek mythology could be fun for just random stories. I know that Stern tried pretty thoroughly to retcon Eros being, well, Eros (cupid), but it's just so much more interesting and fun if he actually was back in ancient Greece. I mean those are basically his first lines ever:



Plus, if he isn't, like . . . why would he be named Eros?

So my understanding of Greek mythology is not very comprehensive, but the first person recorded to mention Eros was Hesiod, right? That could be a story - when a young Eros left Titan, he went to Earth to see his cousins (since that origin was modified so that they all knew they were Eternals all along etc which is also more interesting - speaking of which, my knowledge of Eternal/Deviant canon is really quite out of date, too), ran into Hesiod, there was a language barrier as he tried to tell his story, and it ended up sounding like what Hesiod wrote. Maybe he accidentally ended up at Olympus instead of Olympia, and Aphrodite kind of took him in and gave him the bow and arrows (since it's the golden arrows that made people fall in love). The child of Aphrodite and Ares could have been named after him and then took up his role when he left (in fact, took up that role when still a baby. Hence, winged baby Cupid during Rome).

I think there is almost certainly an element of approval seeking in the brother's relationship. I also think that it goes both ways. While it makes sense for Eros to seek the approval of the older brother that never loved him, I've always gotten the sense that Thanos feels similar about him. After all, everything he's done has been out of love of Mistress Death (until Infinity Revelation wiped that out). As you said, in Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos saved Eros, ostensibly to torture him. He spends very little time torturing him however, instead leaving him to sit there and watch as Thanos conquers everything, as though wanting to show off for him. I suppose that is a form of torture in itself, but it could also be argued that he wanted to show the lengths he would go to for love, albeit a sick, twisted love.

I can sort of see where you're coming from perhaps in that Thanos wants to prove something to Eros, but I disagree that it's to receive some kind of approval or acceptance in a more literal sense: I think he wants to prove he's right, and that Eros is wrong in ever being joyful or loving/caring. Perhaps as you said he wants to prove that his love (for Death) is better, nobler, purer and more real than Eros's love (for everyone). I also still think he wants to make Eros suffer and become bitter and hateful and never smile again - or even better, to long for death and never get it because death belongs to Thanos. I think there's perhaps an element of mutual jealousy, too - just a smidgen: Thanos has always been incredibly powerful and talented and intelligent and capable of great things whereas Eros is not (or most likely believes he is not); Eros has always been incredibly beautiful and lovable and charming and carefree whereas Thanos is not (at least not attractive by the standards of his own species).

I did think in IG that Thanos was trying to torture Eros by forcing him to helplessly and silently watch all of his friends get brutally slaughtered one-by-one. There's definitely also an element of just pure ol' sadism there, probably - no doubt Thanos just enjoys making Eros suffer, probably in no small part because of his innocence/joy. It's like kicking a puppy. Whether or not this also translates to a form of warped possessiveness has never been explored.

This is a point, not exclusive to the Eternals, that I wish would be explored more. Every once in a while you'll see Thor get a little down over the fact that his friends are all going to die, but otherwise, no one has ever really looked at the fact that for a good number of heroes, being an Avenger, Guardian, Defender or whatever, is just a diversion in an incredibly long life. How much do they allow themselves to actually care for their teammates?

I know there's that one storyline where Sersi's mind is taken over and the Eternals think she has the "Mahad Wy'yr" I think it's called, which is when Eternals go insane because of how long their lives are. But definitely - and it would just be so interesting to see stories from a thousand years prior, or for them to talk about who they thought was the "love of their life" from three millennia prior. How do they even keep track? Do they think of their lives as having different 'eras?' It would fun to see an exploration of this, I agree.

Yes. In a lot of ways, the brothers are mirror images in that sense.

Absolutely! It's so -- oh wait, not anymore because of Infinity: Revelation, because Thanos is now literally everything he's ever wanted to be and has everything he wants. But I suppose that could be a continuation of the whole irony/imbalance concept of Eros being all about love and being so beloved but having no "true" love, whereas it's Thanos who gets to have it.

I find that a lot weaker, though, but what are you gonna do? In the reality of the franchise, Thanos is The Bestest And The Mostest.


P.S. Molly that was a beautiful and titillating story. Thank you for gracing us with it

[Dermie]

LOL. I was away for the thread for a day or so, and when I come back and look over the last page or two of the thread I see these very thoughtful and insightful analyses of Eros from an academic perspective...alternating with posts of silly erotic smut. LOL. Quite the odd combo there. Jeez, this thread is fun...

[Hekabolos]

Not only what I said before about if any characters could get away with being more sophisticated in terms of allegory it'd be them, but also the fact that it's not what people are used to when they think of Eros is a point for it instead of against it, because the most charming among us are often the most well-hidden.

Not only that, but the Greek mythology could be fun for just random stories. I know that Stern tried pretty thoroughly to retcon Eros being, well, Eros (cupid), but it's just so much more interesting and fun if he actually was back in ancient Greece.

I think the cosmic world in general gets a lot of leeway in dealing with deeper themes than the usual superhero stories. When you frequently deal with large abstract concepts like Eternity and Chaos/Order, I guess it's kind of unavoidable.

I agree in that I've always thought it weird that Stern wanted to divorce the Eternals from myth. My only theory on that is that, given his work with the actual Olympians later in his run, he may have wanted to develop them into a thing, in the way that the Asgardians are? That's pure guessing though.

So my understanding of Greek mythology is not very comprehensive, but the first person recorded to mention Eros was Hesiod, right? That could be a story - when a young Eros left Titan, he went to Earth to see his cousins (since that origin was modified so that they all knew they were Eternals all along etc which is also more interesting - speaking of which, my knowledge of Eternal/Deviant canon is really quite out of date, too), ran into Hesiod, there was a language barrier as he tried to tell his story, and it ended up sounding like what Hesiod wrote. Maybe he accidentally ended up at Olympus instead of Olympia, and Aphrodite kind of took him in and gave him the bow and arrows (since it's the golden arrows that made people fall in love). The child of Aphrodite and Ares could have been named after him and then took up his role when he left (in fact, took up that role when still a baby. Hence, winged baby Cupid during Rome).

Yes, Hesiod is the first to mention Eros. Starfox as Eros would work well in your scenario, as Hesiod is explicit (and alone for a long time) in describing Eros as existing prior to the other gods and as being far more powerful than them.

I can sort of see where you're coming from perhaps in that Thanos wants to prove something to Eros, but I disagree that it's to receive some kind of approval or acceptance in a more literal sense: I think he wants to prove he's right, and that Eros is wrong in ever being joyful or loving/caring. Perhaps as you said he wants to prove that his love (for Death) is better, nobler, purer and more real than Eros's love (for everyone). I also still think he wants to make Eros suffer and become bitter and hateful and never smile again - or even better, to long for death and never get it because death belongs to Thanos. I think there's perhaps an element of mutual jealousy, too - just a smidgen: Thanos has always been incredibly powerful and talented and intelligent and capable of great things whereas Eros is not (or most likely believes he is not); Eros has always been incredibly beautiful and lovable and charming and carefree whereas Thanos is not (at least not attractive by the standards of his own species).

I did think in IG that Thanos was trying to torture Eros by forcing him to helplessly and silently watch all of his friends get brutally slaughtered one-by-one. There's definitely also an element of just pure ol' sadism there, probably - no doubt Thanos just enjoys making Eros suffer, probably in no small part because of his innocence/joy. It's like kicking a puppy. Whether or not this also translates to a form of warped possessiveness has never been explored.

Yes, I think there is an element of mutual jealousy between the two brothers. It's interesting, as each is sort of everything the other one hates, yet also everything they want to be.

Thinking back to IG (which I haven't read in forever), I think you're right; reading Thanos as seeking approval may be stretching a bit. I do think he was showing off though, to prove himself the better brother. I seem to remember the no mouth thing being explained as Thanos not wanting Eros to use his powers, but that doesn't seem right, as I don't know that speaking is an integral part of their use. It is more likely a sadistic desire to make him watch, without having to listen to him get upset about it.

I know there's that one storyline where Sersi's mind is taken over and the Eternals think she has the "Mahad Wy'yr" I think it's called, which is when Eternals go insane because of how long their lives are. But definitely - and it would just be so interesting to see stories from a thousand years prior, or for them to talk about who they thought was the "love of their life" from three millennia prior. How do they even keep track? Do they think of their lives as having different 'eras?' It would fun to see an exploration of this, I agree.

I remember that story. I believe it was partly her age and partly having been away from the Eternal hive mind for so long, which they use to ease the stress of their long lives. In the end Dane is forced into a mind link with her, in one of the worst developments ever. Then they leave for the Ultraverse. So.

There is also the Thor story where Fandral is revealed to be the original inspiration for Robin Hood. He tells the story of Maid Marion and says she was the love of his life, whom he still mourns on...her birthday? Or the anniversary of her death. One of the two. I believe that is why he sleeps around so much: he doesn't want to get that attached again. It's a truly interesting element of the immortal (or immortalish) heroes that often gets overlooked. They must all have little coping mechanisms like that, but they are very rarely touched on.

P.S. Molly that was a beautiful and titillating story. Thank you for gracing us with it

Your story truly has been a masterpiece, Molly. I hope there are many sequels to come.

LOL. I was away for the thread for a day or so, and when I come back and look over the last page or two of the thread I see these very thoughtful and insightful analyses of Eros from an academic perspective...alternating with posts of silly erotic smut. LOL. Quite the odd combo there. Jeez, this thread is fun...

That's the only way to live.

[MollyBarton]

I shall endeavor to write more silly erotic smut masterpieces.

*the boys dry themselves off and get dressed*

Starfox: What shall we do for an encore?
Dane: Dunno. Strip poker?
Cap: Sounds good to me.

I just won a Starfox figure on ebay. So I may have to sort-of illustrate the dialog!

I remember that story. I believe it was partly her age and partly having been away from the Eternal hive mind for so long, which they use to ease the stress of their long lives. In the end Dane is forced into a mind link with her, in one of the worst developments ever. Then they leave for the Ultraverse. So.

Ah, yes, the Gann Josin. Poor Dane. And being stuck in the Ultraverse, where he had extremely bad 90s hair!

[CaTigeReptile]

LOL. I was away for the thread for a day or so, and when I come back and look over the last page or two of the thread I see these very thoughtful and insightful analyses of Eros from an academic perspective...alternating with posts of silly erotic smut. LOL. Quite the odd combo there. Jeez, this thread is fun...

I'd say it sums up Eros pretty well! Also definitely sums up most of his fans that I know!

I agree in that I've always thought it weird that Stern wanted to divorce the Eternals from myth. My only theory on that is that, given his work with the actual Olympians later in his run, he may have wanted to develop them into a thing, in the way that the Asgardians are? That's pure guessing though.

A retcon that's just as easy to undo because unless you read really carefully you're gonna miss it and think he's cupid anyway because it's the logical conclusion. I think the contributors to this thread should be his character editors. Just bombard them with Eros/Titan pitches. B)

Thinking back to IG (which I haven't read in forever), I think you're right; reading Thanos as seeking approval may be stretching a bit. I do think he was showing off though, to prove himself the better brother. I seem to remember the no mouth thing being explained as Thanos not wanting Eros to use his powers, but that doesn't seem right, as I don't know that speaking is an integral part of their use. It is more likely a sadistic desire to make him watch, without having to listen to him get upset about it.

It was to stop Eros from using his power, which he tried to do - which is interesting because that implies his power usually works on Thanos, though later Englehart suggested that it has never worked on Thanos (or at least that Thanos was able to find a way to guard against it), which is more interesting to me. Anyway, yeah, he tried to use it. The art implies that it works based on his smile. We've seen that before in that Cap sausagefest as well as in the first time we see him use this "mystery power" on the bank robber. Though later Byrne seems to suggest that it's through his eyes - Nebula says "damn your eyes!" which I think 'wears' better, so to speak, since the classic trope leans more towards eyes being the source of psionics, etc.

But Eros's powers just make someone feel good/calm/painless/high/etc. It's the combination of that with his silver tongue and way with words that makes the villains lay down their weapons. So if he can't talk, his powers aren't going to do anything that will help him.

. . . But Thanos had the Infinity Gauntlet. It would go without saying that he'd be totally and completely immune to Eros's powers in that state anyway. So yeah, it was further torture. And also to show Eros how powerless he is. (and probably also 'always have been and always will be against Proud Thanos, the Better Brother')



I mean. I just. Poor kid. (To be honest this panel also strikes me as vaguely sexual which would add an entire other layer of disturbing horror to the whole thing. I want to say I'm reading too much into it, though.)

I shall endeavor to write more silly erotic smut masterpieces.

*the boys dry themselves off and get dressed*

Starfox: What shall we do for an encore?
Dane: Dunno. Strip poker?
Cap: Sounds good to me.

I just won a Starfox figure on ebay. So I may have to sort-of illustrate the dialog!

Excellent. Eros would totally use his empathy to cheat at strip poker.

Oh god yes with action figures! Ah that reminds me I need to, uh, sell the rest of the IG figures and the gauntlet itself. Bc ngl I only wanted Eros

[MollyBarton]

I actually know nothing about poker, strip or otherwise. So I have no idea how to write the game. Let's just say Dane ended up naked first. And that Cap and Eros liked what they saw.

[Hekabolos]

I just won a Starfox figure on ebay. So I may have to sort-of illustrate the dialog!

YES.

Ah, yes, the Gann Josin. Poor Dane. And being stuck in the Ultraverse, where he had extremely bad 90s hair!

Ugh. Everything about that era was bad for Dane. The bad hair, the entire affair with Sersi nevermind the Gann Josin, the even worse affair with Crystal, in which he became a party to adultery...all of it. I even think there was an earring at one point? Horrifying.

A retcon that's just as easy to undo because unless you read really carefully you're gonna miss it and think he's cupid anyway because it's the logical conclusion. I think the contributors to this thread should be his character editors. Just bombard them with Eros/Titan pitches.

Agreed. Given that their role in human history is so very rarely referenced, it is easy to just associate the Eternals with their corresponding counterparts in myth.

It was to stop Eros from using his power, which he tried to do - which is interesting because that implies his power usually works on Thanos, though later Englehart suggested that it has never worked on Thanos (or at least that Thanos was able to find a way to guard against it), which is more interesting to me. Anyway, yeah, he tried to use it. The art implies that it works based on his smile. We've seen that before in that Cap sausagefest as well as in the first time we see him use this "mystery power" on the bank robber. Though later Byrne seems to suggest that it's through his eyes - Nebula says "damn your eyes!" which I think 'wears' better, so to speak, since the classic trope leans more towards eyes being the source of psionics, etc.

But Eros's powers just make someone feel good/calm/painless/high/etc. It's the combination of that with his silver tongue and way with words that makes the villains lay down their weapons. So if he can't talk, his powers aren't going to do anything that will help him.

Huh. Now that it is pointed out, Eros is always smiling when he uses his powers. I always just assumed that it was because he was amused by the effect they had on his opponents.

I actually know nothing about poker, strip or otherwise. So I have no idea how to write the game. Let's just say Dane ended up naked first. And that Cap and Eros liked what they saw.

I approve.

[MollyBarton]

Too bad the action figures' clothes are painted on...If I were an artist, I would draw the aftermath of the game. But alas, I can't draw to save my life.

Ugh. Everything about that era was bad for Dane. The bad hair, the entire affair with Sersi nevermind the Gann Josin, the even worse affair
with Crystal, in which he became a party to adultery...all of it. I even think there was an earring at one point? Horrifying.

Yep. An earring. UGH. bad hair dane 3.jpg

He and Crystal never really had a full blown affair, IIRC. Never had a chance, unless they managed a quickie while prisoners of the Kree. Still wasn't okay. Affairs of the heart are as bad as screwing around.

[Dermie]

He and Crystal never really had a full blown affair, IIRC. Never had a chance, unless they managed a quickie while prisoners of the Kree. Still wasn't okay. Affairs of the heart are as bad as screwing around.

Correct, they never actually had an affair. They only had one passionate kiss, really. Things didn't end up going further than that, since Crystal was trying to decide whether her marriage could still be salvaged, or whether it was time to call it quits and then pursue something with Dane.

[MollyBarton]

And Dane had Sersi in his head. If he had been screwing Crystal, Sersi would have been along for the ride. Not the kind of threesome you'd want!

*back on topic* Eros, on the other hand, would probably go for that.