Countdown: Arena

[TheCorpulent1]

There's an official website for Countdown: Arena, so I figured it deserved a thread of its own.

Right off the bat, now that they've gone ahead and confirmed he's a villain, I'm pissed at DC for making Captain Atom a villain. Way to squander a great character, a**holes.

 

[Fledermaus]

And they're letting the fans vote. Remember what happened last time?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, that was great until Winick came and ****ed it all up.

 

[Ultra-Herald9]

There's an official website for Countdown: Arena, so I figured it deserved a thread of its own.

Right off the bat, now that they've gone ahead and confirmed he's a villain, I'm pissed at DC for making Captain Atom a villain. Way to squander a great character, a**holes.

FINALLY!! I'm glad someone else is pissed at DC turning Capn' A into a villian!

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Well, yeah. They should've just given him to the Wildstorm universe full-time if all they were gonna do after they brought him back is screw him over.

 

[The Question]

DC hates Steve Ditko, don't they?

 

[yenaled]

FINALLY!! I'm glad someone else is pissed at DC turning Capn' A into a villian!

Most people here have been pissed off about that for a long, long time. Actually.

I don't really understand why he is a villain, I thought he was on the same side as - ugh - "Bob".

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, it'd be nice if they gave us some reason for why he went from cruising the Bleed to actively trying to exterminate all Monitors and blatantly manipulating Forerunner with half-truths. Knowing DC, however, it's unlikely we'll get one.

 

[Tropico]

Two stupid things DC should have left behind. Capt. Atom as a villain. Monarch. You should know that you're running out of GOOD material and delving into crap when you decide to use a 90's concept that all but failed (and had to be changed because it was found out).

 

[Kitsune]

Two stupid things DC should have left behind. Capt. Atom as a villain. Monarch. You should know that you're running out of GOOD material and delving into crap when you decide to use a 90's concept that all but failed (and had to be changed because it was found out).

It's not really Captain Atom, it's a clone.

 

[Harlekin]

The premise of this sounds fun, but it's bound to suck.

 

[yenaled]

I think it's just 4 issues in 4 weeks, so I think I'll pick it up.

 

[Tropico]

It's not really Captain Atom, it's a clone.

Uh-huh, right. A Skrull, right? That's the ticket.

Does anyone else think they're telegraphing who they're going to have as sacrificial lambs with the "new character created for Arena" thing?

 

[hippie_hunter]

The premise sounds cool, so I'll be picking this up. I'm just hoping it won't suck.

 

[Sakuraba]

The way he blew up Bludhaven was pretty awesome, so I'll wait until I see more.

 

[Kenda Man]

3 of each hero enters, one of each hero leaves. These are the rules of Thunderdo... I mean the arena. It will be interesting to see which versions of the arena survive, and to see how they will make it out going against the Earth 1 versions.

 

[WompuM]

Wouldn't it make more sense for Monarch to use all 3 versions of each hero? Like that episode where Dr. Robotnic throws Sonic back into the big bang?

 

[The Leaguer]

Has anyone in any of those interviews mentioned Captain Atom being Monarch at all? Other than that stupid Bludhaven miniseries, I don't think I've heard mention of it once. I even think I remember an interview from a month ago or so where the interviewee was being shady on who Monarch actually was.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Monarch was Captain Atom back in Ion, and he seemed to recall that meeting with Kyle in last week's Countdown. We have nothing to indicate that this isn't the same Captain Atom who blew up Bludhaven.

Granted, I'd be pretty happy if this turns out to be the anti-matter Captain Atom or the Captain Atom from the CSA's world or something.

 

[The Leaguer]

Was he in Ion? I don't remember that Monarch ever mentioning being Atom.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I thought they showed his face and it was all skin-colored, but then someone in one of the billion interviews Newsarama does with various DC people confirmed that there was a coloring error and that Monarch was Captain Atom.

 

[The Leaguer]

I don't remember that, but now I do think that I remember him recalling the events of Armageddon.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I don't remember that, but now I do think that I remember him recalling the events of Armageddon.

Well, it's not exactly what I remembered from some interview, but here's an interview with Marz after Ion #10 came out, which includes art from the issue of Captain Atom wearing the Monarch armor with the helmet off, clearly showing that he's Captain Atom. Again, could still be another universe's Captain Atom. I really hope it is, come to think of it.

Something more interesting, however, is this interview with Keith Champagne about Arena. Apparently, among the combatants that the Monarch is pitting against each other will be various universes' Captain Atoms:

NRAMA: About how many of the 52 universes does Monarch visit in this series and how many are represented among the competitors in the Arena?

KC: I think Monarch has gone through all 52 of the universes and when all is said and done, there's a character from every single one to be found in the pages of Arena.

I think my personal favorite is Quantum Mechanix, a giant, robotic version of Captain Atom.

Curiouser and curiouser...

 

[Aristotle]

FINALLY!! I'm glad someone else is pissed at DC turning Capn' A into a villian!

People like you ruined Monarch the first time around.

DC hates Steve Ditko, don't they?

He's an objectivist--who wouldn't hate him? Or did you mean his work?

I thought he was on the same side as - ugh - "Bob".

Hey, Bob's cool. But what side IS Monarch on? What is his goal?

3 of each hero enters, one of each hero leaves. These are the rules of Thunderdo...

Can't we just get...BEYOND THUNDERDOME?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Monarch's goal is the destruction of the Monitors. At least, that's what he claims it is in Countdown.