Why is the Hood's gang so boring and unimpressive?

[The Overlord]

Am I the only who thinks the Hood's gang is really boring and unimpressive so far?

A lot of these villains are supposed to geniuses as well (like the Wizard) so why would they all serve the Hood?

It seems like these villains jobbing to the Hood to make him look cooler. Besides Hood and maybe Jigsaw, none of these villains have displayed any personality in this group. They all come off as minions, instead of characters with their own personality.

It be easy and far more interesting to give these villains some personality and have some group interaction. Some of the thug villains would be impressed with the Hood because of intelligence and the fact that he is a product of the streets, however others should have their own agendas:

Wizard could be the "starscream" of the group, secretly planning on overthrowing the Hood after he has done all the leg work, Purple Man as the scary psycho everyone kinda dislikes and who has only joined the group for kicks, Jonas Harrow as the one who is merely interested in pursuing his agenda of advancing his own bizarre experiments and stays loyal because he believes the resources from this group will help in this cause, etc.

This group should be far more interesting than the way Bendis writes them. This group is completely unimpressive.

 

[Dread]

Am I the only who thinks the Hood's gang is really boring and unimpressive so far?

A lot of these villains are supposed to geniuses as well (like the Wizard) so why would they all serve the Hood?

It seems like these villains jobbing to the Hood to make him look cooler. Besides Hood and maybe Jigsaw, none of these villains have displayed any personality in this group. They all come off as minions, instead of characters with their own personality.

It be easy and far more interesting to give these villains some personality and have some group interaction. Some of the thug villains would be impressed with the Hood because of intelligence and the fact that he is a product of the streets, however others should have their own agendas:

Wizard could be the "starscream" of the group, secretly planning on overthrowing the Hood after he has done all the leg work, Purple Man as the scary psycho everyone kinda dislikes and who has only joined the group for kicks, Jonas Harrow as the one who is merely interested in pursuing his agenda of advancing his own bizarre experiments and stays loyal because he believes the resources from this group will help in this cause, etc.

This group should be far more interesting than the way Bendis writes them. This group is completely unimpressive.

I don't disagree. The entire span of NEW AVENGERS seems to have a similar theme; Bendis introduces some ideas that, at least in theory, could be interesting, and then proceeds to write them in the least interesting way at best, or in the jack-stupid-******ed manner at the worst. It is for that reason I have said for months now that he would probably be a stronger editor than monthly writer. Other writers have actually made some of his ideas workable. Execution is everything, and on most mainstream superhero books for the past 3-4 years, Bendis' execution has been his hurdle and bane. Least in terms of quality.

I do like the idea of dusting off The Hood and using him as a crimelord; baddies need to be amped. I also like the idea of someone trying to successfully mobilize the villains, because that has been an area where Marvel has lagged behind DC for years. But I do agree that it is coming at the expense of plenty of other rogues who have led teams themselves and shouldn't be so quick to knowtow. I can't imagine the Wizard following anyone, even if Yu gives his costume a decent update. Bendis reinvented Purple Man so he likely feels he can do whatever he wants with Killgrave, even if it goes against prior stories of him as a mind controlling freak (maybe like Electro, he is too a-sceered of Luke Cage to not seek assistance). Why is Griffen there? Or only a single Blood Brother; shouldn't he be weak as **** without his bro? If Controller is there, that also doesn't make sense.

Heck, in some of their last gatherings, Bendis had characters there who didn't make sense. Constrictor is part of the Shadow Initiative, yet he was taking part in Hood's meetings (leaving it for some other writer, like Slott, to eventually have to go, "oh, that was undercover" or a Skrull or something). Foolkiller was also there once, and Foolkiller HATES criminals, and wouldn't attend unless he wanted to blast someone. Jigsaw is about to be in both P:WJ and NA at this rate and I am sure it won't gell with what Fraction is doing.

However, the Hood stuff is probably the best thing Bendis has done on NA in ages. Considering the errors and flaws, though, that says something.

 

[The Overlord]

I don't disagree. The entire span of NEW AVENGERS seems to have a similar theme; Bendis introduces some ideas that, at least in theory, could be interesting, and then proceeds to write them in the least interesting way at best, or in the jack-stupid-******ed manner at the worst. It is for that reason I have said for months now that he would probably be a stronger editor than monthly writer. Other writers have actually made some of his ideas workable. Execution is everything, and on most mainstream superhero books for the past 3-4 years, Bendis' execution has been his hurdle and bane. Least in terms of quality.

I do like the idea of dusting off The Hood and using him as a crimelord; baddies need to be amped. I also like the idea of someone trying to successfully mobilize the villains, because that has been an area where Marvel has lagged behind DC for years. But I do agree that it is coming at the expense of plenty of other rogues who have led teams themselves and shouldn't be so quick to knowtow. I can't imagine the Wizard following anyone, even if Yu gives his costume a decent update. Bendis reinvented Purple Man so he likely feels he can do whatever he wants with Killgrave, even if it goes against prior stories of him as a mind controlling freak (maybe like Electro, he is too a-sceered of Luke Cage to not seek assistance). Why is Griffen there? Or only a single Blood Brother; shouldn't he be weak as **** without his bro? If Controller is there, that also doesn't make sense..

Like I said the arc would have better if the villains had been better defined, this arc feels rushed, maybe Bendis should have cut down on the previous ninja arc.

You need to fill some important roles to make this group more interesting: the traitor who is interested in gaining control of the group (Wizard), the scary powerful psycho who is only there for kicks and that no one really likes (Purple man), the guy who is loyal because the group's agenda serves his own (Jonas Harrow). Not everyone needs characterization that is hard to do in 40 plus group, some interaction should take place.

I think Wizard is important member and there is a reason for him to join, perhaps he realizes that while he has book smarts, he lacks people skills and street smarts, which is why he isn't as sucessful as he should be. So he can see hood as useful pawn, but he wouldn't repect him. Wizard should treat the Hood like he is uneducated trash and he should talk like a pretentious drip not a slack jawed moron who asks silly questions and has "what" at random times. Wizard should be the Frasier Crane of super villains.

In fact this group should have sub groups in it, like what you see in prison: the brainiacs (who talk about arts, science and German philsophy) the thugs who talk about monster trucks and playboy and the psychos, who talk about hiding body parts and their latest crimes against humanity.

This group should be way more interesting then what we have seen.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Or only a single Blood Brother; shouldn't he be weak as **** without his bro?

I can at least give an answer to this one. The 2nd Blood Brother was killed by Drax in his mini just prior to Annihilation. As for his being weaker due to it... don't know. I don't know that much about them to know how that'd work.

 

[masteryoda]

I was thinking the same about your post.

 

[Anubis]

Maybe he took a page from Swordsman's book and made a Prince Albert from his brothers coxic bone.

 

[Dread]

Like I said the arc would have better if the villains had been better defined, this arc feels rushed, maybe Bendis should have cut down on the previous ninja arc.

Definitely. I mean, MORE ninjas? Did he care about repeating himself? The whole goal of that arc was Elektra being killed and being revealed to be a Skrull (as well as tying up the Echo subplot to get her on the full roster again). Surely there was another way to go about that without just having more Hand ninja. But, as Bendis gets praise automatically both internally and by most of the comic-covering media, he rarely has to actually try anymore, does he?

You need to fill some important roles to make this group more interesting: the traitor who is interested in gaining control of the group (Wizard), the scary powerful psycho who is only there for kicks and that no one really likes (Purple man), the guy who is loyal because the group's agenda serves his own (Jonas Harrow). Not everyone needs characterization that is hard to do in 40 plus group, some interaction should take place.

That is true, you need to have your "stars" of the gang. Jigsaw may have gotten the lion's share of the focus besides Hood I think. Quite a few got a line or two. But, I do agree.

I think Wizard is important member and there is a reason for him to join, perhaps he realizes that while he has book smarts, he lacks people skills and street smarts, which is why he isn't as sucessful as he should be. So he can see hood as useful pawn, but he wouldn't repect him. Wizard should treat the Hood like he is uneducated trash and he should talk like a pretentious drip not a slack jawed moron who asks silly questions and has "what" at random times. Wizard should be the Frasier Crane of super villains.

Wizard fails because he often pits his skills against Mr. Fantastic, who is arguably the smartest superhero in America, if not one of THE smartest. The guy's outwitted cosmic omnipotents. That, and yes, his poor people skills and sometimes boneheaded team tactics. I'm not sure I would describe Wizard as "Frasier Crane" because he was a sitcom character and not being able to take Wizard seriously, from his over-the-top lingo to his lavender armor, has been a serious problem for him. Wizard should perhaps be shown as a guy who if he wanted to do smaller time stuff, like rob banks or even museums, he could probably have been a success, but instead he pits his mettle the most often against Mr. Fantastic, a genius even Galactus might respect at times, so he sets the bar a bit high. I could imagine Wizard playing along until the Hood stumbles, then trying to take over. Sort of like how Luthor knowtowed to Grodd in JLU until Grodd screwed up.

In fact this group should have sub groups in it, like what you see in prison: the brainiacs (who talk about arts, science and German philsophy) the thugs who talk about monster trucks and playboy and the psychos, who talk about hiding body parts and their latest crimes against humanity.

This group should be way more interesting then what we have seen.

Without question. Although at this stage with many comics making hay about heroes killing each other, any move to mobilize the baddies is appreciated, even if it isn't handled terribly well. Or as well as Bendis' pedigree.

I can at least give an answer to this one. The 2nd Blood Brother was killed by Drax in his mini just prior to Annihilation. As for his being weaker due to it... don't know. I don't know that much about them to know how that'd work.

The Blood Brothers got stronger & tougher the closer they were to each other, and weaker the farther they were. Their peak was 50 ton strength class in full "tag team" proximity, and they were tough enough to give Thing & Iron Man a mighty struggle. If far enough apart, though, their strength dwindles to under 5 tons, as U.S. Agent was able to TKO one of them that way. They also need to drink blood to survive.

So, unless he has pulled a Swordsman, the remaining Blood Brother should be feelin' mighty weak and probably wouldn't mind some sort of alliance.

 

[Darthphere]

Why is this thread so boring and unimpressive?

 

[Anubis]

Why is it nobody seemed to take notice of my Penis piercing with a family members body part joke?

 

[Darthphere]

Everybody hates Thunderbolts?

 

[Anubis]

All the more reason to laugh at the situation of a character that has done such a massive 180 from a massive 180 to begin with.

 

[Darthphere]

I don't even know who the Swordsman is anymore.

 

[Anubis]

He had a crush on the Celestial Madonna, then got killed by Kang.

 

[Darthphere]

Random.

 

[Anubis]

yet true.

He was also a member of the Circus of Crime, and really dug those micro mustaches that porn stars liked to wear during the 70's.

 

[Darthphere]

They don't call him the Swordsman for nothing.

 

[Blader5489]

Everybody hates Thunderbolts?

This "Everybody" person must have terrible taste.

 

[Darthphere]

This "Everybody" person must have terrible taste.

No, not at all.

 

[Anubis]

uh oh.

 

[The Overlord]

Definitely. I mean, MORE ninjas? Did he care about repeating himself? The whole goal of that arc was Elektra being killed and being revealed to be a Skrull (as well as tying up the Echo subplot to get her on the full roster again). Surely there was another way to go about that without just having more Hand ninja. But, as Bendis gets praise automatically both internally and by most of the comic-covering media, he rarely has to actually try anymore, does he? .

Bendis is a good niche writer, take him out of his niche and the title suffers.

That is true, you need to have your "stars" of the gang. Jigsaw may have gotten the lion's share of the focus besides Hood I think. Quite a few got a line or two. But, I do agree.

Jigsaw is pretty well a character that is being put to good use here, it makes sense that he would back him. Ditto with the Wrecking Crew and most of the thug villains, they would respect that he is a product of the streets. The brainiac villains however would see that as weakness and would treat him like uneducated trash. You can even have a class division within the group. Not mention some the psycho members have got to be trouble, what with their bloodlust and desire for wanton violence. Wouldn't the female members be concerned about a psychopathic rapist like Purple man being on the team?

Wizard fails because he often pits his skills against Mr. Fantastic, who is arguably the smartest superhero in America, if not one of THE smartest. The guy's outwitted cosmic omnipotents. That, and yes, his poor people skills and sometimes boneheaded team tactics. I'm not sure I would describe Wizard as "Frasier Crane" because he was a sitcom character and not being able to take Wizard seriously, from his over-the-top lingo to his lavender armor, has been a serious problem for him. Wizard should perhaps be shown as a guy who if he wanted to do smaller time stuff, like rob banks or even museums, he could probably have been a success, but instead he pits his mettle the most often against Mr. Fantastic, a genius even Galactus might respect at times, so he sets the bar a bit high. I could imagine Wizard playing along until the Hood stumbles, then trying to take over. Sort of like how Luthor knowtowed to Grodd in JLU until Grodd screwed up.
.

When I say he is the Frasier Crane of super villains, I mean he is snotty, pretentious drip, even amongst super villains. He has ego that lets writes checks he can't cash. He so seems like kinda guy who read up on some obscure knowledge just to lord it over everyone else. But he does make the best starscream for this group. He is arrogant and intelligent enough to betray the hood, not too powerful as too refuse joining the group in the first place. Seriously how times can he pull that Frightful four stunt before he realizes it doesn't work and tries something else. Letting Hood use his street smarts and people skills to create this group, so he can take control later, would be the most intelligent thing he has ever done.

Without question. Although at this stage with many comics making hay about heroes killing each other, any move to mobilize the baddies is appreciated, even if it isn't handled terribly well. Or as well as Bendis' pedigree.

As noted the idea isn't bad, its just the excution that fails.

 

[The Overlord]

Why is this thread so boring and unimpressive?

Because you are no fun.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

This "Everybody" person must have terrible taste.

I'm not one to put down anybody's taste but I'm enjoying TB a lot right now

 

[Darthphere]

I'm not one to put down anybody's taste but I'm enjoying TB a lot right now

Tuberculosis is cool!

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Mycobacteria help me sleep at night

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Gross. I think it's time for another intervention.

Anyway, the Hood's gang didn't impress me much either. Personally, I think they suck because they're being led by the Hood. Self-respecting villains who can actually stand on their own two feet wouldn't be caught dead with that punk-ass loser.