He's the Pvt.Pyle
Now heres how I see it Slott is playing with us, he knows the dangers of creating another Penance, but the difference between a Slott and a Jenkins is the Slott knows these character in and out back and forth.
Look the guy repowered She-Hulk without breaking a sweat, gave hope to Squirrel Girl in reference to Speedball, called out the asshat writing of guys like Jenkins and Bendis oh so non-subtly within the comics themselves, seemlessly intergrated WWH in A:TI in such a way that it added more layers to Hardball and it played into the Ironman vs Hulk brawl...etc..ALL in continuity and within the plausibility of the Marvel U!
This guy is Marvel comics, Slapstick is gonna be alright its almost impossible for Dan not to pull this off.
Wow, you seem to have more faith in Slott than even I do, and that is a considerable feat.
But, I generally agree with this, although I wouldn't say it was "almost impossible" for Slott not to err. Even the best writers sometimes muck up. Still, the finale certainly got me to pay more attention to Slapstick and hopefully he doesn't drop the ball.
If I remember correctly it was Jenkins that said that (Marvel said) there was room for only one happy go lucky character in Marvel and that's Spider-Man. Yes, Spider-Man.
Anyway, I really don't know much about Slapstick as a character; mainly that he was one of what could have been a 90's boy band of alterna-body heroes. I also don't remember him being in the actual NW comics. He was an honorary member like Ultra Girl. That's the sore point with me, if you're going to make him violent to the extreme then make it for something reasonable instead of ragging on the NW. I see an out for him not being the culprit...for all we know he said "You had to be there" because he was imagining it and no amount of explanation can carry that across.
In regards to "the added depths and dimensions" this gives the character...it's getting to be a one note thing. Is that all we truly see as growth? Acting negatively out of character? Bah. We already saw Cloud-9 do the same, almost kill a guy. So, to me it's more like a sample of what
training these people like soldiers leads to instead of training them to be heroes. Or is that something that can be trained? Slapstick's outburst is just a another step in the stair that The Initiative is building toward a clear example of the consequences Cap feared. Or, at least I hope that is where this is leading.
Cloud 9 is a newer character, so technically what is and what isn't "out of character" for her isn't completely known. Obviously she has shown some fear of what she is becoming in the program and Trauma wanted to help her through it. She doesn't like doing some of those things and wants to work to avoid it.
By "added depth", maybe I should clarify. Usually it seems to be that characters defined as "funny comic reliefs" often aren't allowed to get angry in stories because it is out-of-character. Most times they're just in there with the funny, regardless of how high the stakes are or who the enemy is. And sometimes even in the best hands, that can get old. Anyone can be pushed too far. Changeling, the "funny one" of the Teen Titans, once busted Deathstroke out of prison and all but wanted to murder him in cold blood over what happened during the Judas Covenant affair. Some could call that out of character, although I'd easily agree that Gauntlet is no Deathstroke. But you had a character who normally did nothing but be funny, suddenly displaying a willingness to kill when pushed too far, which made it even scarier. It was actually interesting.
Slapstick teamed up with the New Warriors in a MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS story after his own series ended, and it was presumed that made him a de-facto member, or at least some sort of reserve member like anyone who teams up with the Avengers seems to be.
I added the bold part because that nailed the core dilemma within A:TI. The program trains metahumans to be soldiers, not heroes, and sometimes the two aren't the same. Technically, Gyrich should know; he spent years allied with the Avengers and saw them fight no end of threats without resorting to "ends justify the means" murder, even of underlings. But, I guess Stamford made everyone a hard ass. Even the fact that the camp is named after an andriod hero gives off a stern impression; "heroes can be made". Which is how Gyrich seems the cadets, as robots, or "big guns" to be controlled like puppets and the moment they express some sort of free will or hesitation, they're treated worse than any super villain (who is immediately entrusted with a badge if they make any token effort to "work as an agent", although this has been true for at least 20 years). Plus, the majority of those with real power in the program themselves have no powers and thus really can't relate. Gauntlet is a cyborg who could remove his arm at any time. War Machine is a guy in armor who a few months ago was leading SENTINALS. Gyrich is an agent. Even Yellowjacket to some degree spent 2/3rd's of his existence needing to take his "Pym Particles" to gain power and only in the late 90's was it revealed that his body absorbed enough of 'em to produce the effect naturally. Justice relates the best as a mutant and he has little sway in the general program, and even Yellowjacket has limitations.
Part of what makes the book so riveting to me is this internal turmoil, between those who see superheroes as soldiers and those who don't. Slott could have very easily made this a superhero paradise where everything is hunky-dorey and any negative sides to these ideas or CW were cast aside, like in MIGHTY AVENGERS where someone like Ms. Marvel who happily exploited Cap's death to entrap Spider-Woman and the rest of her allies is treated as heroine to root for. Instead Slott has chosen this approach and I am sure it is very deliberate. Perhaps what happened to Gauntlet leads to some sort of discussion or change or shift in the program, or the hints of it. And that was part of why slamming the NW's was even more insulting; the Initiative has been far more reckless and bloodthirsty than they ever were, and all the people involved are paid very well for it; how ARE they any better? Because the fed says so?
That's the point I think Dan is getting at that the Initiative is training these kids to be killers.
So I'm with Slott in what he's trying to get across.
Exactly.
" or something like that. Shutting you up by beating you up just gives more validity to whatever the person you beat up is saying. Were his words so true that you had to shut him up with fists? I don't think we'll agree on this.
