Marvel Comics ’ Necrosha launches this week , join DC ’s Blackest Night , Marvel ’s own Marvel Zombies and Dynamite ’s Super Zombies on the crowded superhero zombi laughable stands . But is n’t there something … wrong with the idea of superpowered zombies ?
I ca n’t help it ; I know that zombies are / were the big matter , but there ’s something about the current drift for undead superheroics that pass on me more than a little blase . I ’ve got nothing against genres mixing and matching , but the original Marvel Zombies – with its horror picture system of logic and common sense of humour , and its lack of need to have to deal with regular continuity allowing it to actually act as a complete story as oppose to something that reasonably much need to readjust to the condition quo by its finish – aside , there ’s something disappointing about this exceptional take on the walk ( and vanish , and running at superspeed ) dead . Namely …
None Of Them Are Real Zombies
Again , Marvel Zombies leave out , the animate in Blackest Night and Necrosha are n’t really zombi , on the dot ( Something that Blackest Night ’s creators , to their course credit , keep saying in audience . Even so , predict them Black Lanterns feels like a dodge , because they ’re deadened eccentric add up back to life-time as undead monsters – They ’re so distinctly zombie spirit - influenced that the actual name does n’t matter ) . They ’re magically reanimate by the power of dying itself , or by a psychical vampire ( Do n’t take ) , or whatever , and they do n’t adapt to what we ’d consider zombie rules : They ’re not slow , they do n’t eat brains , they ’re well-informed – and , in fact , generally have the personality of their sustenance selves – and they ’re all under the control of some fundamental intelligence operation or drawing card with a specific mission . What sort of zombies are that get up , you might enquire yourself ? Which brings us to …
We ’ve Seen This All Before
The dead being bring back as pawns to utilise against our brave hero ? previous lid for superhero comic strip – In fact , Marvel even has multiple characters based around this conception ( the Grim Reaper , the Black Talon … You could even argue that Brother – now Doctor – Voodoo would have some indecorum on the subject ) . The only thing that ’s young about this latest wave is the overwhelming scale of the risings … which is one of the few thing legitimately taken from zombie culture . Which remind me .
Enough With The Magic Cures Already
Zombies should be pretty gentle to beat . If Simon Pegg and Nick Frost can take tutelage of some , after all , how severely can it be ? But not these superhero zombies ; no , they ’re not only gifted with magical regenerative powers that somehow do n’t take them to a full regenerated state , but they also have very specific way to be defeated , evidently : bollocks their heads off ? Not go to work , it seems . Setting fire to them ? Well , it keeps them busybodied for awhile , but otherwise … Nah . But keep unagitated and show no signs of emotion and they shut down ( All of that from Blackest Night , which , in its defense lawyers is not only a fun superhero story but , in Blackest Night : Superman and Blackest Night : Batman has some really slap-up examples of superhero comics ripping off some well - known horror movie cliches – If you ’ve not seen Martha Kent be chased through a corn field at dark by an undead Lois Lane , or Commissioner Gordon practice a double - barrelled shotgun against an United States Army of the undead while impart his lame daughter over his berm , you ’ve miss out on some wonderfully enjoyable over - the - top moment of late comics ) . gravely , comic creators : what ’s that all about ?
expiry Is Never The goal In Superhero Comics , Anyway
Ultimately , the problem with superheroic zombies is that the rules of death do n’t work the same way in superhero comic strip as they do in almost every other fiction . We ’re used to Resurrection of Christ in superhero strip , and that works against the story from the very beginning ; Blackest Night , for example , has to not only make the reader consider that the dead revolt is not only a horrific thing , but also an strange one – Which , considering that Superman , Green Lantern , Flash , Green Arrow , Hawkman and Robin have all “ die ” and been resurrected at some spot in their careers , is a pretty tricky thing to do ; Necrosha takes place in the X - Men series of titles , which has become so full of resurrected quality that characters within the history joke about the pearly William Henry Gates having been replaced by a revolving doorway . Without the feeling that death is the remainder – that it intend that the person or grapheme is move and will never be seen again – the very estimation of an ground forces of the undead is weakened , because the possibility of a return is always there , and in many cases , expected to happen .
Mixing zombi with superheroes does n’t mechanically mean nonstarter – Despite all my “ I lie with you ’ve say they ’re not zombies and they ’re not acting like zombies , but come on , they ’re unearthly zombie - esque wight , just admit it ” problem with Blackest Night , it ’s full enough of melodrama , derring - do and humor to make me kind of dear it – but of all the repugnance writing style to bring superheroes into , it ’s one of the most problematic . I can get why comic publisher would want to rise onboard the bandwagon , but … Are n’t there other horror monsters better suit to this form of matter ? I mean , Marvel : Paul Cornell gave you Dracula on the moon . That ’s a great natural endowment right there …
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