Mystic Arcana: The Magical Makeover

[Colossal Spoons]

That part was stupid.

I'm cool with that. I'm not cool with the issue ending with Clint staring into "The Closet of "onfusion and Convoluted-ness."

 

[Tropico]

That Tarot mess comic thingy whatever that I haven't finished reading kinda indicates that what might be in the room might be Agatha Harkness. Or at least it's the way I see it since the last we knew of her was from that book and Wanda mentioning her and the next mention has been in the Marvel Arcana Tarot or whatever it's called. Some of the structure of the comic is kinda cool, but the rest...I really hate.

 

[The Question]

Dude!!! Don't you know?! He DID shoot 10 into her face! It wasn't arrows, though.

Ha ha. Semen.

 

[Tropico]

You. Are. SO. Immature. Chah, like, really!!

 

[The Question]

You. Are. SO. Immature. Chah, like, really!!

Really.



Semen.



Heh.

That Tarot mess comic thingy whatever that I haven't finished reading kinda indicates that what might be in the room might be Agatha Harkness. Or at least it's the way I see it since the last we knew of her was from that book and Wanda mentioning her and the next mention has been in the Marvel Arcana Tarot or whatever it's called. Some of the structure of the comic is kinda cool, but the rest...I really hate.

Way I see it, all this tarot stuff is just Marvel trying to be more like Alan Moore.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Seems like it's trying to ape the Books of Magic in the storytelling and setup outside of all the tarot references. Only the Books of Magic stuff was, like, good.

That Tarot mess comic thingy whatever that I haven't finished reading kinda indicates that what might be in the room might be Agatha Harkness. Or at least it's the way I see it since the last we knew of her was from that book and Wanda mentioning her and the next mention has been in the Marvel Arcana Tarot or whatever it's called. Some of the structure of the comic is kinda cool, but the rest...I really hate.

The Marvel Tarot annoyed me. They're intermingling mutants and magic way too much for my liking, and it seems like they went out of their way to completely neglect the godly realms. The magic of Earth's many pantheons is no longer part of the magic realm but half the mutants in the world are? Weak.

 

[The Question]

Seems like it's trying to ape the Books of Magic in the storytelling and setup outside of all the tarot references. Only the Books of Magic stuff was, like, good.

Yeah, there's dfeninately some Books of Magic in there. But the tarot stuff really reminds me of Promethea, which did all this crap better as well.

 

[Tropico]

Seems like it's trying to ape the Books of Magic in the storytelling and setup outside of all the tarot references. Only the Books of Magic stuff was, like, good.

The Marvel Tarot annoyed me. They're intermingling mutants and magic way too much for my liking, and it seems like they went out of their way to completely neglect the godly realms. The magic of Earth's many pantheons is no longer part of the magic realm but half the mutants in the world are? Weak.

Is that what it boils down to? Because if it honestly is, then I won't even think about picking it up again. I'll leave it for when I take my granma to doctors and use it as waiting room reading material.

Heh, and here I was dreading Corp posting what a cool artistic concept it was in how it was illustrated. That it separated from the rest of comics because it forced you to read it in ways you don't usually read.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Nah, the Marvel Tarot was just a pretty version of an OHOTMU/recap. It was a nice artistic concept, but it really just boils down to running with the theme that these are McNee's notes, scrawled on whatever is available and set atop a bunch of random mystical props. Now the Living Mummy back-up to one of the Legion of Monsters one-shots--that was some ****ing trippy art. I loved that.

Yeah, there's dfeninately some Books of Magic in there. But the tarot stuff really reminds me of Promethea, which did all this crap better as well.

It's not even like I honestly expect Sexton to match up to either of those, since, let's face it, they're by Gaiman and Moore, respectively. But the whole Mystic Arcana thing has just felt like such an inconsequential afterthought. Maybe if they'd released these four one-shots weekly instead of dragging them out for months...

 

[The Question]

It's not even like I honestly expect Sexton to match up to either of those, since, let's face it, they're by Gaiman and Moore, respectively.

Of course. But there is a difference between matching up to two of the greatest comic creators in the past twenty years and having a pretty good comic.

But the whole Mystic Arcana thing has just felt like such an inconsequential afterthought. Maybe if they'd released these four one-shots weekly instead of dragging them out for months...

I think incorperating aspects of real world occultism and spirituality into Marvel's quasi-lovecraftian mystical landscape isn't a bad idea (it at least makes everything a lot less random), but it certainly could have been more thought out.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It could've been more inclusive and not been made to seem like an ancillary X-event. 2 out of the 4 one-shots center on mutants, Storm's ancestor is in one of the comics, Dani Moonstar, Storm herself, the Phoenix Force, and various other mutant-related things and characters are referenced in The Marvel Tarot, etc. At this point, if Marvel tried to make a team like Shadowpact, they'd just wind up with another X-Men team.

 

[The Question]

It could've been more inclusive and not been made to seem like an ancillary X-event. 2 out of the 4 one-shots center on mutants, Storm's ancestor is in one of the comics, Dani Moonstar, Storm herself, the Phoenix Force, and various other mutant-related things and characters are referenced in The Marvel Tarot, etc. At this point, if Marvel tried to make a team like Shadowpact, they'd just wind up with another X-Men team.

Oh my god, Marvel is putting way too much focus on the X-Men? It's not like they've been doing that since the late 80s or anything.


Seriosuly, though, I'd think a Marvel tarot would be inclusive of a majority of the Marvel universe. Who was the Marvel Tarot made up of exactly? At least tell me that Thanos was Death.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

All the characters in bold are mutants or X-related characters:

Tarot Cards:
The Fool: Unknown
The Magician: Dr. Strange 9/10 times, Ian McNee 1/10 times
The Priestess: 1/3 Scarlet Witch, 1/3 Storm, 1/3 Agatha Harkness
The Empress: 10/10 Morgan Le Fey
The Hierophant: Modred the Mystic
The Emperor: 1/2 Naga(la), 1/2 Dr. Doom
The Lovers: Cloak and Dagger
The Chariot: Devil Slayer
Strength: the Golem
The Hermit: the Living Mummy
Wheel of Fortune: Margali Szardos (the Mother), Amanda Sefton (the Maiden), Destiny (the Crone)
Justice: 1/2 Valkyrie, 1/2 Magik
The Hanged Man: Brother Voodoo
Death: Nina Price (apparently a descendant of the Darkhold-tainted Grigori who became part-werewolf, part-vampire)
Temperance: Topaz
The Devil: Satana, Daimon Hellstrom
The Tower: Hellcat
The Star: Jennifer Kale
The Moon: 1/2 Sleepwalker, 1/2 Dream Weaver
The Sun: Janus (son of Dracula)
Judgment: probably Ghost Rider
The World: Man-Thing

Seven Names of the Serpent:
1. Set - Wrath
2. Apep - Greed
3. Ophion - Sloth
4. Tiamat - Lust
5. Lotan - Gluttony
6. Leviathan - Envy
7. Apocalypse - Pride

Also, I just thought it was lame that the Mystic Realms didn't include Asgard or Olympus or any of the godly realms:
0. Earth
1. The Crossroads
2. The Astral Plane
3. Avalon
4. The Serpent's Sea
5. The Flickering Realms
6. The Prismatic Bridge of Asbru
7. Crimson Cosmos
8. The Purple Dimension
9. Raggadorr
10. The Winding Way
11. The Citadels of Sephiroth (Asura (some symbol I don't know) Seraphim)
12. Dyzzak (The Dungeon Dimension)
13. The Veils of Valtorr - Watoomb, Cloudsea, Boreas
14. Otherplace (Magik's Limbo)
15. Splinter Realms/Dark Dimensions
16. Nightmare
17. Mindscape (Sleepwalker's Realm)
18. Munnipor (Moons of Munnipor)
19. Cinnibus (Suns of Cinnibus)
20. The Well Beyond the Worlds

 

[The Question]

All the characters in bold are mutants or X-related characters:

Tarot Cards:
The Fool: Unknown
The Magician: Dr. Strange 9/10 times, Ian McNee 1/10 times
The Priestess: 1/3 Scarlet Witch, 1/3 Storm, 1/3 Agatha Harkness
The Empress: 10/10 Morgan Le Fey
The Hierophant: Modred the Mystic
The Emperor: 1/2 Naga(la), 1/2 Dr. Doom
The Lovers: Cloak and Dagger
The Chariot: Devil Slayer
Strength: the Golem
The Hermit: the Living Mummy
Wheel of Fortune: Margali Szardos (the Mother), Amanda Sefton (the Maiden), Destiny (the Crone)
Justice: 1/2 Valkyrie, 1/2 Magik
The Hanged Man: Brother Voodoo
Death: Nina Price (apparently a descendant of the Darkhold-tainted Grigori who became part-werewolf, part-vampire)
Temperance: Topaz
The Devil: Satana, Daimon Hellstrom
The Tower: Hellcat
The Star: Jennifer Kale
The Moon: 1/2 Sleepwalker, 1/2 Dream Weaver
The Sun: Janus (son of Dracula)
Judgment: probably Ghost Rider
The World: Man-Thing

Seven Names of the Serpent:
1. Set - Wrath
2. Apep - Greed
3. Ophion - Sloth
4. Tiamat - Lust
5. Lotan - Gluttony
6. Leviathan - Envy
7. Apocalypse - Pride

That actually wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. It still could be much better (Thanos not being Death? Man-Thing as The World? And how the hell does Apocalypse represent Pride?), but I was expecting it to be over half mutants.

Also, I just thought it was lame that the Mystic Realms didn't include Asgard or Olympus or any of the godly realms:
0. Earth
1. The Crossroads
2. The Astral Plane
3. Avalon
4. The Serpent's Sea
5. The Flickering Realms
6. The Prismatic Bridge of Asbru
7. Crimson Cosmos
8. The Purple Dimension
9. Raggadorr
10. The Winding Way
11. The Citadels of Sephiroth (Asura (some symbol I don't know) Seraphim)
12. Dyzzak (The Dungeon Dimension)
13. The Veils of Valtorr - Watoomb, Cloudsea, Boreas
14. Otherplace (Magik's Limbo)
15. Splinter Realms/Dark Dimensions
16. Nightmare
17. Mindscape (Sleepwalker's Realm)
18. Munnipor (Moons of Munnipor)
19. Cinnibus (Suns of Cinnibus)
20. The Well Beyond the Worlds

Maybe Asgard and Olympus fall under the catagory of th Splinter Realms. As in, they're made up of all the different Heavenly Kingdoms and Demon Dimensions.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

There wasn't any mention of that in the book. All they said about any of the godly realms in that section was the the guy who built Bifrost, the rainbow bridge to Asgard, was somehow involved in creating the Prismatic Bridge of Asbru.

I'm guessing Apocalypse represents pride because he believes his race is stronger and worthier of survival than the human race.

 

[The Question]

I'm guessing Apocalypse represents pride because he believes his race is stronger and worthier of survival than the human race.

Yeah, I guess I could see that.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It sort of fits. Even though Apocalypse has always purported to be a true Darwinist, I don't think he honestly believes the humans would be stronger than the mutants. At least, it fits in the square peg/round hole sort of way most of the other connections Sexton is drawing fit.

 

[The Question]

The sad thing is, it's not like it's especially dificult. I mean, with a pre-existing universe as massive as Marvel, it's not hard to match up the Major Arcana, the Seven Deadly sins, or anything, really, with any character near perfectly. The only problem (or, at least, the only major problem) would be picking The Fool. Whoever The Fool is, the implication would be that they are or will be right in the thick of whatever's going on in the MU. You know, be a central but not deciding figure in it. The only two candidates I can think of are Mr. Immortal (since he has some kind of wacky destiny thing going on), or, much much more likely, Spider-Man. 'Course, I'm not sure if Spider-Man fits in any other respects. The Fool is supposed to be care free, and while he sometimes acts like it, Pete's never been care free.

 

[Tropico]

It seemed to me like The Fool might be himself and that's why he can't see who it is. A fool for thinking he knows all these things, or rather has the information right in his face, and can't see the truth.

 

[The Question]

It seemed to me like The Fool might be himself and that's why he can't see who it is. A fool for thinking he knows all these things, or rather has the information right in his face, and can't see the truth.

That would make sense. The Fool is some times used to represent the personal journy of the person being read.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

But McNee is the Magician 1/10 times. Can one character be more than one tarot?

Deadpool would be a good fool. That's one X-character I wouldn't mind seeing in this. He's already had run-ins with magic characters, too.

 

[The Question]

But McNee is the Magician 1/10 times. Can one character be more than one tarot?

Perhaps. Some people look at the Major Arcana as a story, and that, for example, the Hanged Man represents The Fool's metaphorical or physical death (which leads to his later metaphorical or physical rebirth). The Magician could be some one The Fool meets a long the way, or he could be some thing The Fool becomes.

Deadpool would be a good fool. That's one X-character I wouldn't mind seeing in this. He's already had run-ins with magic characters, too.

That might not be a bad thing. But, as I said, some people perceive the Major Arcana as a story of The Fool's journey. So a possible implication is that, whoever The Fool is, he is or will become a central figure in the MU wether he knows it or not. So, my bet's on Spidey.


Another thing I don't get why Thor isn't The Chariot. I mean, the symbol of The Chariot is Thor in the Viking Tarot.

 

[sandwraith]

Nova should the The Star. Seriously.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Jennifer Kale works for me. She has ties to practically every magic user in the Marvel universe.

 

[Galact-Gal]

Has anybody else read the Scarlet Witch issue? Can anybody tell me what the point of that story was?