Authority, when Revolution ends... (spoilers)

[Viking Bastard]

So Brubaker's Authority opus ends. The Authority defeated, members dead
and the Carrier destroyed. But from the ashes a new Authority arises. New
Jenny, new Doctor and a new Carrier. And a... uh... new Rose Tattoo.

Funny how we had one bald Alternate Universe Archnemesis here, while we
have another one over in IC.

Also funny is how this new incarnation of the team forms out of the madness
of Henry Bendix, just like the first one. Over his dead body, in fact, twice!


The New Authority. Authority 2.0. Ultimate Authority. Authoritah!

Hneh.


So I ask of ye:
- What did you think of Authority: Revolution as a whole?
- What do you think the future of the title will be?
- What would *you* like the future of the title to be?

[DouglasDanger]

Could you spoil Revolution for me? Who lives? Who dies? How?

please?

[DouglasDanger]

Anyone care to talk about this?

[Argonaut]

I'm willing if you are still here.

[Chris Thomas]

I thought the mini was awesome. great ending--very satisfying.

excellent art and writing clear through
spoilers:

the last doctor dies--rock and roll doctor and eventually is replaced. bendix dies. again. violently.

[Viking Bastard]

Could you spoil Revolution for me? Who lives? Who dies? How?

please?
Bendix manipulates Midnighter to split up the Authority and then steps in
the shadows and takes over America. Jenny Quantum is the only one that
senses that something is wrong but feels helpless about it. After The Doctor
is killed (supposedly by an overdoze, but really by Bendix) she hyperages
herself from 8 years old to fourteen and reforms and takes command of
the Authority. Bendix was ready for this and a long and hard fight ensues
where the Carrier commits suicide, Bendix dies violently and we meet our
New Doctor, an arab boy.

The Doctor dead, Bendix dead (again), Midnighter and Apollo split up (for
now), new Carrier, new member in the form of Rose Tattoo and teenaged
Jenny Quantum in command.

.

Do you know what this series felt like to me? Like a HBO series. So we
have now had a successful series of blockbuster movies, which went to
flopland and straight to video, only to be resurrected on HBO with 10%
the budget to great acclaim.

I felt that the series both gave the Authority new life as well as completely
failing in giving me a proper Authority story. Great Stormwatch story, but
lacked the proper 'Oomph!'. It did give the Authority a blank state, though,
scrubbing off the baggage from the Robbie Morrison run.

So now I want a new 12 issue miniseries with a new team (Joe Casey!)
with the right amount of 'Blam!'. Three x four issue arcs.

[AlterEgo]

the idea of the authority works best in mini-series form or graphic novels. the days of it being a monthly title are long gone...not enough interest anymore.

the revolution 12 issue series might actually have been a good move for the future. changes to the team is certainly a good idea. they also need to be depowered further if the characters are to be more interesting again. it's difficult to develop a good rogues gallery for (now that bendix is dead) when they are so massively powered.

[Viking Bastard]

they also need to be depowered further if the characters are to be more interesting again. it's difficult to develop a good rogues gallery for (now that bendix is dead) when they are so massively powered.I think this completely misses the point of The Authority.

[AlterEgo]

i disagree.

the overwhelming power that they have is what has turned the book into a snore-fest. millar was able to briefly build upon ellis' run because he turned it into a different focus but ultimately, it still wasn't sustainable. when dc canceled the book and then brought it back again, it was too late.

what challenges can possibly pose a threat to them when they have a doctor who can alter reality with a single thought and a jenny sparks who seems to have a limited ability to alter time on a personal level, who can tap into earlier incarnations of her spirit, and who seems to have other untapped powers yet to develop?

incredibly powered superteam books are *hard* to write for. jla manages to do it because the writers can draw upon a rich and varied rogues gallery and because the core team has recognizable iconic characters that have a strong following and long history. practically every opponent that the authority has faced, they've either killed or browbeat into submission. it gets to a point where readers just tune out.

time to smell the coffee and wake up...

[trofski]

thats was seriously one of the most violent deaths ive ever seen in comic. Nothin quite like seeing midnighter just rip henry bendix's head and spine out. Over all, i thought the issue was really good. This was the series that actually got my started on the authority and through that, stormwatch. I was glad that in this issue everything (finally) went their way. I thought the team afterwards was cool, though i will miss the doped up, rock and roll doctor. The cameo with Jenny Sparks was cool too. Anyone know when another authority story is supposed to start?

[Denyer]

Although ultimately I don't think the book is sustainable as an ongoing—and writing it as just another superhero-fest would destroy it, as it has already at points—there are stories from each era I've enjoyed. (The first two collections, Sparks mini, occasional issues such as Scorched Earth / Volume 2 #5, and now this.)

Didn't get a Stormwatch vibe on Revolutions, really... SW played the 'realistic heroes' card and was grounded in everyday realities (even—or especially—when Aliens show up.) Revolutions pushed concepts more, such as Jenny's version of an ancestral garden. The Authority's always been quite big on representational reality, even if it's just the Engineer explaining things in VR.

This would be a great point to leave things, in my opinion. The last title, saved for the final page, sums it up for me: (full of) sound and fury, signifying (nothing). I'm a sucker for stuff that feels timeless, which is one of the things I like about the end of the Sparks mini.

Having said that, the decisive changes (putting Jeroen out of his misery, even if he's still around as a potential occasional character due to the way the Doctor archetype works) and quick concretisation of the new Doctor as a character who'd rather build than lash out... yeah, I think there could be some mileage in that. Jack's reactive and heavyhanded style of leadership after Jenny's death never really appealed, so some redemptive character work on him would be pleasant to see.

(Yes, there's Human on the Inside for a bit of that. Which I enjoyed to a certain extent, though the fact a major plot point revolves around Jack forgetting that he regenerates in cities relegates it to the same pile as The Colonel's Authority storyline for "too wacky to bother reconciling with continuity" to my mind. It happened, just like the Kev stuff, but I don't plan on spending much time thinking about it...)

With two carriers now around, I think it's time to hear the original's story—that's something I've long been curious about, which I think could be handled interestingly by a good enough writer.

On the subject of JLA, the reason I don't like many of those stories is because the team doesn't do much to effect change—recurrent villains being a part of that. It's something I've always disliked about Batman in particular... too 60s TV. Yes, Bats feels responsible for the Joker, Dent, etc. I'm thinking after the third or fourth time they escape from Arkham and kill further people, even his mentality might change.

[Viking Bastard]

i disagree.
They're supposed to be all powerful. That's the point. They're the anti-JLA.

I do agree they are hard to write for and I think they'll work better as a series
of mini-series with rotating creative teams than as an ongoing.

And that's ok.

It's all a concept book and bogging it too much with typical superhero trappings,
when the whole point of the book was to escape those trappings seems more
harmful than helpful.

[UniqueFrequency]

i actually quite enjoyed the whole Revolution arc, especially after the bad series we've been having over the past few years. Finally, an authority i enjoy!

I didn't quite like Rose Tattoo's addition to the team, but hell did i enjoy seeing Midnighter ripping bendix's head and spine off!!

hopefully we get another mini (or maxi) series soon, with equally good results!!

[Melissa]

I'm with Viking Bastard.

I think the trick (and it's one thing to identify it, another to perform it) is to create smart opponents who outwit these guys. Sure, The Authority are mega-powerful, but they're dumb as a box of hammers. And the villain needs to play on their weaknesses - the previous Doctor's cowardice, for example (this one's inexperience and tentativeness?) or Hawksmoor's horrible temper.

The other thing is that just because they're off the scale, doesn't mean their enemies can't be also. I see The Authority as being so powerful that they're essentially made up every time they appear - and when you throw the geometric scale out, then there's no reason why any given thing (Three-Willie Seth, for example) can't be also stupidly powerful.

I can't see them as a monthly though. They're an event. Those of us who caught them first time around were lucky.

[Rich L]

Haven't picked up the Authority since the early days of vol #2 - I wanted to pick this up but never got round to it.

I do have a question about this second Carrier though...is it the one that was featured in an early ish of Planetary?

[Viking Bastard]

No. It was a new one Bendix aquired through interdimensional alliances of some kind.

[Hipnautik]

I enjoyed it, hate to think that was the last one..... :(

[seaflower]

Why did Midnighter and Apollo split up ?

[Strannik]

From the February 2006 Solicitations:

http://www.newsarama.com/dcnew/Feb06/wild/CaptAtomArmageddonCv5.jpg

Two words: Kick Ass.

[tiredcaballero]

Two words: Kick Ass.
:eek:

q4t... i was hoping we wouldn't have to wait too long for some new authority!

[Viking Bastard]

Whose pencils is he painting there?

[Grazzt]

Why did Midnighter and Apollo split up ?

Revolutions Spoilers:

Simple version, Bendix manipulated Midnighter into thinking that if he and Apollo stayed together, it would wreck the world.

[Strannik]

Whose pencils is he painting there?


From Wildstorm.com:

CAPTAIN ATOM: ARMAGEDDON #5 (OF 9)

Written by Will Pfeifer; Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Sandra Hope; Cover by J.G. Jones

Captain Atom finally comes face-to-face with the Authority — and discovers, to his horror, how hands-on the WildStorm Universe "heroes" really are! And Majestic and the Wildcats learn that Nikola could be the key to what's happening — including the ticking bomb that is Captain Atom!

It's supposed to come out on February 8th.

[DOVETAILS]

OKay.. This is good.

But I thought that whole thing(ending of revolution) took place "three years" after the team break-apart.
Three years comicbook time, too? Yikes.. Their world would be a smoldering rock if that were true! :eek:

I'm just saying this whole captain A thing's gotta be "present day". But who cares, right? ;)

[Viking Bastard]

I thought about that when reading Revolution. Post-Ellis, the WSU has been pretty
faithful to real-time. While in most cases it hasn't been very noticable, characters
have aged and reference past dates freely.

Of course, because monthly comic books are so slow moving yet flexible, gettin' back
on track takes no time.

I'm gettin' a bit confused with the whole WSU timeline, now, though. Majestic vs.
3.0 vs. Revolution vs. Armageddon. A lot of major stuff overlapping, here.

Not a big deal, but still.

[Strannik]

OKay.. This is good.

But I thought that whole thing(ending of revolution) took place "three years" after the team break-apart.
Three years comicbook time, too? Yikes.. Their world would be a smoldering rock if that were true! :eek:

I'm just saying this whole captain A thing's gotta be "present day". But who cares, right? ;)

Actually, it's two years. I think...

Authority took power on February 2004. They ruled United States for about three months. Then, they went their separate ways, reuniting about two years later, which would put them around spring 2006, which is about the time the issue featuring Authority will come out.

Works for me.

Edit: Checked my copy of Authority: Revolution Book 1. It's three years after all. Crap... And I had it all worked out.

[DOVETAILS]

I didn't really think on it too much, too used to comictime not really moving forward... But yeah, they do seem to age properly, what with Jenny aging and such. Awesome! But yeah, forgive me, I am still pretty new to this "universe" :cool:

I like how we're like.. Oh, that's ok! As long as the story is good.

[fuaak]

- What did you think of Authority: Revolution as a whole?
Sucked hardcore. Brubaker, as talented as he otherwise is, is as wrong a writer for this series as you can possibly find.

Not only was the story frightfully boring and incoherent, but it was wrongheaded to begin with: Authority, more than any supersquad anywhere, should NEVER sit around musing about the justification of what they do. They are hardcore left-wing super-fascists with a completely black-and-white "Might makes right, as long as it's our might" philosophy.

It also completely messed up the "Jack Hawksmoor is Rose Tattoo, and has been ever since he killed the previous one, explaining why he suddenly turned from a pacifist into a bloodthirsty psycho and his eye turn red, the same one that RT was missing" plot that Ellis set up.

There were a few worthwhile things about this story - Jenny Q and the new, politically incorrect Doctor, but they could have been told in a story that sucked less.

- What do you think the future of the title will be?
Radical new (and by "new" I mean "old", Ellis-old) direction or limbo.

- What would *you* like the future of the title to be?
Back to basics. Ultra-powerful bastards do bad, bad things, and the Authority MAKES THEM PAY BECAUSE THEY CAN.

[DOVETAILS]

Just noticed "rose tattoo" ain't on that cover. Hmmm. Maybe Jenny said no? We never saw her answer.. I guess the french kiss thing was too much for her ;)

[MichikoS]

Brubaker titled his 12-issue storyline "THE ETERNAL RETURN" and called the last chapter "Sound and Fury, Signifying." It's pretty clear he didn't have any intention of changing the status quo. And he didn't, really. Nothing happened.
Heck, the title of the series is Authority: REVOLUTIONS. "To revolve" is to move in a curved path round a center or axis, i.e,. to follow a defined path and return to a starting point. A nice literary conceit, but not a very good Authority storyline, I'm afraid. I was disappointed overall with all the sound and fury.

BTW, Here's the source of that title, in context, from Shakespeare's play MACBETH:

MACBETH
She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

Michi

[Viking Bastard]

If anything, what he did was restore the old status quo.

He set things up for a return to former greatness.

[Leelan]

I thought the mini was awesome. great ending--very satisfying.

excellent art and writing clear through
spoilers:

the last doctor dies--rock and roll doctor and eventually is replaced. bendix dies. again. violently.

Do they get back together?

[slam]

It also completely messed up the "Jack Hawksmoor is Rose Tattoo, and has been ever since he killed the previous one, explaining why he suddenly turned from a pacifist into a bloodthirsty psycho and his eye turn red, the same one that RT was missing" plot that Ellis set up.


I. Never. Realized. This. :eek:

I am a moron.

[Strannik]

It also completely messed up the "Jack Hawksmoor is Rose Tattoo, and has been ever since he killed the previous one, explaining why he suddenly turned from a pacifist into a bloodthirsty psycho and his eye turn red, the same one that RT was missing" plot that Ellis set up.


What Slam said.

In all fairness, on his (currently defunct) forum, Brubaker mentioned that he consulted Warren Ellis before he wrote Authority: Revolution.

[generalbradicus]

With Revolution and Kevin wrapping up I thought they put out a new ongoing. I was hoping Kevin join the team too. Just because it be nice to have another psycho on the team. Anybody know anything on whats next?

[Melissa]

It's pretty clear he didn't have any intention of changing the status quo. And he didn't, really. Nothing happened.

I've gotta disagree. It's a Seinfeld kind of 'nothing' (ie, lots) New Jenny, New Doctor, New Rose Tattoo (and member), tie-up of plot threads dating back to the very first issue, new life back in the Authority.

Viking Bastard nailed it: He's set them up for a return to previous glory. Prior to revolutions they were a washed-up spent force. Now, they're ready to go again, in the hands of the right writer.