The Amazons (Demon Knights 9 Spoilers)

[CagedLeo730]

Demon Knights is one of the new books I've been enjoying a lot. Like others have said, I like the ensemble D&D aspect of the book.

As far as I can recall, they haven't addressed the reason for her exile. Whether it was her own choice or not remains to be seen.

My own speculations is that she could be Antiope. Pre-DCnU, she was Hippolyte's sister and the second queen of the Amazons.

Are the Amazons still immortal in the new52?

[SteveGus]

Are the Amazons still immortal in the new52?

They are; it was mentioned in #3.

[Outside_85]

Ystina was there too. So?

Unlike Ex, Ystin(a) does have some notions of valor and honor to uphold as a knight (even if its only herself/himself that terms it that way) and he/she is on something of a quest. He/She does have reasons to be in a tavern that doesnt involve food or drink: gossip.

Food? Local hangout to see what's going on? I don't recall her seeming drunk in #1.

She couldnt even get served back then and argued quite loudly over it when her future associate couldn't get his order taken eiter (where she spoke the now infamous line about castration).
Also, she could very well have been drunk at that point, just not as heavily as she obviously was this time.

[slvn]

She couldnt even get served back then

Actually, she doesn't have any trouble getting served. When she hears Al Jabr being told "we don't serve your kind [i.e., Moors]," she asks, "do you serve MY kind?," and the barkeep says, "Of course, Madam!" And he looks enthusiastic--no threatened yet.

It's then that she points out how much more foreign than Al Jabr she is. So she's picking a fight only on Al Jabr's behalf; I think that this suggests that she has a sense of justice, even if it also suggests that she's spoiling for a fight. She doesn't look drunk at all to me.

Really, it would have surprised me if she HADN'T visited the tavern upon visiting a new town. Savage refers to as an "Inn," and she might want a place to stay. And besides food (and yea, sure, some drink, why not?) , she probably also wants company.

[slvn]

I don't think the one that was crying because the child was taken away could have been Ex; at least, I gathered from that sequence that particular event related to the ship raid, on a coal or diesel burning, steel hulled ship. That would appear to be an anachronism, unless the Amazons also possess time travel technology: and if they had that why would they bother with ship raids?

Good eye. Maybe you're right. I didn't necessarily read the scene with the mother and child as coming from the same time period as the raid on the previous page--just as an illustration of the next part of Heph's tale, which was really a tale about what the Amazons do regularly, not the tale of one incident.

But I'd like it if that was a different woman and if Ex also rebelled against the custom--this would help to show that not all Amazons were happy with their way of continuing the race.

[SteveGus]

Good eye. Maybe you're right. I didn't necessarily read the scene with the mother and child as coming from the same time period as the raid on the previous page--just as an illustration of the next part of Heph's tale, which was really a tale about what the Amazons do regularly, not the tale of one incident.

On the other hand, if we're operating on the assumption that Heph's tale of the ship raids is distorted or half-truth at best, it may be that not every raid ends in the deaths of all the men aboard; it may be nothing like he says at all.

And I see DK as being a book more akin in spirit to Secret Six than anything else. None of the Knights are particularly innocent, with the possible exception of Shining Knight: all have secrets and agendas of one sort or another, and we know less about Ex's than we do about some of the others. She may indeed be guilty of something truly awful, like leaving the toilet seat up.

[Auguste Dupin]

On the other hand, if we're operating on the assumption that Heph's tale of the ship raids is distorted or half-truth at best, it may be that not every raid ends in the deaths of all the men aboard; it may be nothing like he says at all.

And I see DK as being a book more akin in spirit to Secret Six than anything else. None of the Knights are particularly innocent, with the possible exception of Shining Knight: all have secrets and agendas of one sort or another, and we know less about Ex's than we do about some of the others. She may indeed be guilty of something truly awful, like leaving the toilet seat up.

Al Jabhr seems to be an incredibly good guy, that said. He probably has some troubled past (with his name not being his real one and all), but from all the Knights, he competes with Shining Guy as the Cape of the group.

[Outside_85]

Ystina was there too. So?

Actually, she doesn't have any trouble getting served. When she hears Al Jabr being told "we don't serve your kind [i.e., Moors]," she asks, "do you serve MY kind?," and the barkeep says, "Of course, Madam!"

Didnt she just smash his counter before she said that?

It's then that she points out how much more foreign than Al Jabr she is. So she's picking a fight only on Al Jabr's behalf; I think that this suggests that she has a sense of justice, even if it also suggests that she's spoiling for a fight. She doesn't look drunk at all to me.

Would say that not all drunks stagger about and speak like they have a foot in their mouth's. Possibly she just wasn't on the same stage as he got to on the ship, which is one of the later stages according to what my old biology teacher told us about alcohol:
Stage 1: Functionally normal albeit a bit more loose than normally. (Issue #1)
Stage 2: Loud-mouth, to anyone who's had less this is a really annoying stage where the person shouts a lot. (Savage...all the time)
Stage 3: Bum, more or less the stage people get to before they pass out...will definitely be sick the morning after. (issue #9)

Really, it would have surprised me if she HADN'T visited the tavern upon visiting a new town. Savage refers to as an "Inn," and she might want a place to stay. And besides food (and yea, sure, some drink, why not?) , she probably also wants company.

True and while Savage is a loon it is a valid point, and Inn's and taverns were the place where people gathered back in the day for just about everything non-work related and it was automatically the place strangers would head to, to get as said food, drink, shelter and information about the area they were traveling and any news that had reached those parts.
As for company...I am actually not sure that is a reason why Ex would go there, it would only really serve to let her see men in the light her people think all men are all the time....'course she could have gotten immune to it.

[Dr. Hurt]

I think you're reaching. At no point till now did we see her drunk. Also, everyone was in that tavern it doesnt mean that they are drunks.

[Outside_85]

I think you're reaching. At no point till now did we see her drunk. Also, everyone was in that tavern it doesnt mean that they are drunks.

Perhaps not, but chances are pretty damn high in an age where fresh water was a rarity.

[slvn]

Didnt she just smash his counter before she said that?

No--she's leaning forward, hands on the counter, knuckles down, but the counter doesn't look smashed, and there are no lines to show motion or impact.

Would say that not all drunks stagger about and speak like they have a foot in their mouth's.

Right--not all drunks look or act drunk. But if she doesn't look or act drunk and we don't see her drinking, there's not much reason to think that she's drunk. It seems to me like she probably just arrived, or just came down from her room; "do you serve my kind?" would be an odd question, even rhetorically, if she had already been served.

As for company...I am actually not sure that is a reason why Ex would go there, it would only really serve to let her see men in the light her people think all men are all the time....'course she could have gotten immune to it.

Well, she is a warrior; "company" for her might entail a nice, relaxing barroom brawl. Got to stay in fighting form somehow!

[slvn]

On the other hand, if we're operating on the assumption that Heph's tale of the ship raids is distorted or half-truth at best, it may be that not every raid ends in the deaths of all the men aboard; it may be nothing like he says at all.

Possible. My guess is that it's something like what he said; I thought Azz would have put it in only to completely or near-completely retract it in the forseeable future. I just think there's probably another side to the story--a side Heph may not even know about.

And I see DK as being a book more akin in spirit to Secret Six than anything else. None of the Knights are particularly innocent, with the possible exception of Shining Knight: all have secrets and agendas of one sort or another, and we know less about Ex's than we do about some of the others. She may indeed be guilty of something truly awful, like leaving the toilet seat up.

Yep, that's true. Ex seems like a basically good-hearted person to me, but she has a temper. Her crime could have do with the raids and still be a rash act that she feels justifiable guilt about--for example, when her son was taken away, she lashed out in anger and killed several Amazons who really weren't responsible for her loss.