Lessons from the Spider-Verse: All Spideys are Valid

We all have in our heads what we want from Spider-Man.

We all know his backstory, the death of Uncle Ben, how his life is a perpetual cycle of struggle and loss. We all know the words, "With great power comes great responsibility". We all know the costume and the importance of a well-timed quip.

Never forget the hyphen.

Let's zoom in on the quips for a second since this is something I think that people misinterpret: why Spider-Man quips. Spidey wisecracks to mask his fears and insecurities, not to show off how great he is. He is not really trying to be funny or drop a witty one-liner, although he does at times. Rather, this is his response to high-pressure situations, his coping mechanism.

On this note, I can see why Garfield's Spidey didn't resonate with some people. His wisecracks are just a tad too snarky and sarcastic. They feel mean-spirited and he seems arrogant. Of course, this has a lot to do with tone and delivery but still that feeling remains.

Don't get me wrong, I do like Garfield's version of Spider-Man and the major theme of this piece will be getting into the joy of appreciating all Spider-Men. However, it's clear why the stark sincerity of Maguire and wide-eyed wonder of Holland resonates far more with people.

Actually, let's get into it. The reason I wanted to write this. The power of embracing all versions of Spider-Man, even if they are not perfect or fit exactly the idea of Spider-Man in your head.

Wait, what? I can enjoy different versions of Spider-Man?

*Before we go any further there will be SPOILERS for pretty much every Spider-Man movie made in the last 20 years so either go watch them or proceed having been warned. Spoilers ahead.*

One of the great joys of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is recognising that each version of Spider-Man (or Spider-Persona to be inclusive) has their own strengths and brings something unique to the concept of "person bit by radioactive spider and burden with responsibility following the death of a loved one (usually an uncle)".

And it got me thinking about how we determine certain versions Spider-Man as superior or more in line with the general idea of who Spider-Man is as a hero and what he stands for.

So who is Spider-Man? What defines him as a character or anyone who takes on a Spider-Persona? Because unlike Iron Man, who is Tony Stark, Spider-Man is not Peter Parker. Peter Parker is the original Spider-Man of course but the great conceit with Spider-Man is that once the costume is on, it could be anyone under it.

"I could be anyone under this mask. Anyone..."
"Interesting. Tell me more."

Superman's face is fully visible, we can all see Batman's Caucasian jaw-line but Spider-Man's costume covers his whole body and face. He could be any race, age, or nationality. And if his name wasn't literally Spider-Man, any gender. Anyone could be Spider-Man.

But wait, doesn't Iron Man's armour covers his whole body and face. Yes, yes, it does. However, Iron Man's entire thing revolves around Tony Stark. Iron Man isn't a symbol for people to emulate. Iron Man's heroism is about Tony Stark saving the day, not about him inspiring others.

I mean, the whole arc of Iron Man 3 (the best Iron Man movie by the way) is Tony realising that he is Iron Man, with or without the armour. The armour does not make the Iron Man. Tony does.

This is why the first Iron Man film ends with this declaration:

Note the lack of armour.

Now you might be yelling in the back, "The first Raimi Spider-Man movie ends with him declaring he is Spider-Man so you just don't know what you're talking about". Yes, Peter Parker does end that movie by saying he is Spider-Man. In his head. In an inner monologue. To the audience.

This isn't Peter declaring to the world that he is a hero to satisfy his ego. This is Peter internally acknowledging his responsibility and choosing to be a hero. Peter chooses to become Spider-Man in that moment. To sacrifice his own personal happiness in order to do the right thing.

On while we're on the subject, I want to discuss the Raimi trilogy for a bit. Since this leads back nicely to a discussion about what sort of hero Spider-Man is.

Now you can make fun of the campy elements of the Raimi trilogy but those movies were achingly sincere about what made Spider-Man a hero - someone who was willing to give up his dreams to do what's right.

Maguire's Spidey might not have been as quipy as other movie versions but he was one of the purest distillations of Spider-Man's heroism. His Spider-Man always tried to do what was right, even when it made his life more difficult, even when it cost him the things he wanted most.

"It's almost like the Raimi films had a central thesis. Something about there being a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride. Even though sometimes we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams... Nah, that's silly."

Because the thing that makes Spider-Man a hero is his humanity, not his super-heroism.

To quote Film Crit Hulk on Spider-Man 2 (both his and my favourite superhero film), "It's about the way adults come together to support each other in the nobler pursuits. It's about establishing all the reasons that the world is worth fighting for. And in its pursuit of this theme, Sam Raimi did not make me feel empowered, he made me feel human."

This is what makes Spider-Man 'Spider-Man' regardless of who is under the mask. His responsibility as a hero negatively impacts his personal life constantly in a way it often doesn't for other super heroes.

And I will say, this is something that Spider-Man: Homecoming understood expertly. Holland's Peter regularly has to decide between doing normal teenage stuff with his friends or being Spider-Man.

He goes to a party at Liz's house where he intends to later swing in as Spider-Man to impress her but instead decides to investigate a giant blue explosion. He plans to track the Vulture's crew to their base but Liz asks him to join their academic decathlon team as they sneak to the pool and we literally see Peter looking through the skylight at the fulfilling teenage experience he is deciding to miss out on.

Unrelated but I sincerely loved this moment in the film. Just putting it out there.

There is some criticism that Holland's Spider-Man is just Tony Stark's surrogate son or Iron Man Jr. but actually I think this allows for some interesting storytelling aspects in regards to both their characters. Tony recognises something of himself in Peter but also wants him to be better. And the reason that Peter can be better is because he has the same selflessness in him that MCU Captain America has.

As this wonderful video by Reality Punch Studios puts it, "Peter is an almost perfect mix between Steve and Tony. He's got Tony's guilt due to the death of his uncle but he's also got this unbreakable moral code that motivates him to do everything he can to help people as long as he has the power to." And because Tony sees something in Peter, he gives him consequences for making the same mistakes that Tony himself would, consequences like putting him in training wheels, making Happy his handler, and taking away the suit.

In this way, Earthling Cinema notes, Homecoming inverts the traditional interpretation of "With great power, comes great responsibility" - that if you have power you have a responsibility to us it for the utmost good - by "questioning whether the young Peter is responsible enough to wield great power".

Peter starts the film out as impulsive and never thinks through the consequences of his actions. It's because of him that his favourite sandwich shop is blown up. It's because of him that his team nearly dies because of the Chitauri power core he gives to Ned blows up the Washington Monument. It's because of him that the Straten Island Ferry splits in half.

"Maybe I'm not really ready to wield this great power responsibly yet."

That's why at the end of the film Tony tries to give Peter what he (Tony) would have wanted - fame, recognition, a cool new suit. However, Peter rejects it because he sees being Spider-Man as a duty and a responsibility, something that he painstaking learns through the course of his mistakes in the film.

Cycling back to my earlier point, Spider-Man, in whatever iteration or reboot will always have to learn how to navigate his personal and superhero lives. This is not unique to Spider-Man since other heroes have similar struggles but it is an essential aspect of the character.

I mean, Superman's battles with Lex Luthor don't result in him missing a date with Louis Lane. Batman literally uses Bruce Wayne as a false face to the world, playing up the billionaire playboy. Steve Rogers is a man out of time and doesn't really have a life outside of being Captain America.

But Spider-Man's personal life is just as important to him as his superhero life. It is a sacrifice for him to be Spider-Man. Both Peter and Miles at the start of their superhero careers needed to juggle both their responsibilities at school with their responsibilities as Spider-Man.

From the get-go, becoming Spider-Man comes into conflict with Miles' ability to live a normal life.

This is what defines a Spider-Persona as much as cool spider powers. The struggle to manage their private and superhero lives, not to mention losing a loved one who teaches them the importance of using their powers responsibly to do the right thing, even if it means giving up what they want.

Which brings me back to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Firstly, everyone needs to see Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Honestly one of the most thrilling and engaging cinematic experiences I've ever had. It looks like nothing else. It's like reading the very best comic book but a film. Just unbelievably inventive and colourful visuals with a truly human story to match.

And while there are a lot of Spider-People in the film, it truly is Miles Morales' story. Right from his introduction singing badly along to Post Malone's "Sunflower", we understand what type of person Miles is and the internal struggle he is going through. He is artistic and bright, as well as empathetic but feels he doesn't belong. He wants to please his parents but at the same time wants to break free.

He's a sweet kid with a good heart, who is rudderless and trying to find his place. Pulled in two different directions by the two male role models in his life, his uptight cop father with whom he has a strained relationship and his loose, easy-going (and unbeknownst to Miles, criminal) uncle, Aaron who he looks up to. He is desperate for a mentor, someone to guide him, which is why he latches onto Peter B. Parker when he gets sucked into Miles' dimension.

However, the whole thrust of Miles' arc is letting go of his own self-imposed limitations and being better than either of his male role models or his mentor, Peter B. He becomes his own person who learns from his mistakes and overcomes his self-doubt by fulfilling the promise he made to a dying Peter Parker and learning to use his powers responsibly.

All of which leads to the most thrilling scene in the film as Miles fulfills his character arc by taking a leap of faith and becoming Spider-Man - his version of Spider-Man, one who strives to be better.

But more relevant to my overall point, as I said earlier each Spider-Persona in Spider-Verse brings something new or interesting to the concept of Spider-Man. However, here's the thing: each Spider-Persona is valid.

Peter B. Parker presents us with a tragic older Spider-Man burnt out from too many years of constantly saving the city again and again, stunted and unable or unwilling to grow, afraid of moving into the next phase of his life. Gwen Stacey shows us another side of the emotional toil of being a Spider-Person, following the death of her Peter, she refused to allow herself to make personal connections, saying she doesn't do friends.

Peni Parker loses SP//dr (her psychically-powered mech suit) in the climax and it is treated like a legitimately sad moment with pathos. Noir Spider-Man is a heavy drinker who wrestles with the moral ambiguity of his violent actions.

Hell, even Spider-Ham is treated seriously in the film despite the fact he is a literal cartoon.

"Miles, the hardest thing about this job is you can’t always save everybody."
This is something Peter Porker the Spectacular Spider-Ham says in the film.

From this, I started thinking about how we categorise the 'best' version of Spider-Man. Things like:

• Maguire was the best Peter Parker but his Spider-Man didn't quip or feel like the comic book.
• Andrew Garfield was a great Spider-Man because he quipped a lot but his Peter Parker felt arrogant and too cool. 
• Tom Holland felt like a teenage Peter Parker/Spider-Man but his story didn't have the same dramatic weight as Maguire or even Garfield. 
• Or whatever your critique might be.

There are arguments and counter-arguments for each of those statements of course, and I don't even believe each one, but my point is to highlight how even if there are criticism for each portrayal, they all have something to offer to the concept of Spider-Man.

Although I know The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has been relegated to the trash heap of superhero movies, let's cycle back to it since the triumphant score and cinematography of the web-slinging scenes are actually fantastic?

Now, it does takes seven and half minutes in the film for Spider-Man to show up but when he does, wow, what an entrance does he make. Even the movie seems happy he's here, using body-cam footage to show us what it's like to be Spider-Man and the score is just so joyous, you guys.

Like, some of these shots are truly gorgeous and seamlessly fluid in motion, just, ah - *chef's kiss*.

Also, I really like how Garfield's Spidey is a Spider-Man who tries to talk down his opponents before the inevitable fight. When he first meets Electro in Times Square, he spends a while trying to deescalate the situation, relating to Electro about how he is feeling and attempts to get him away from the crowds. It doesn't work due to a trigger-happy police sniper but the effort is still appreciated.

This in what is generally considered to be the worst Spider-Man film, and with good reason since there is a lot wrong going on structurally and thematically. Plot threads and character motivations are introduced but seem to have no real impact on Peter's arc, such as his promise to ghost Captain Stacey. However, even with its flaws there is quite a bit of Spidey stuff to love.

I mean, that film had the utterly sizzling chemistry between Peter and Gwen.

So I ask, is there any worth in debating who is the best version of Spider-Man? Or arguing about the best anything, really? We position 'best' as though it is somehow an objective descriptor when it is actually the most subjective thing.

Because we often conflate our favourite with best. If something is our favourite, surely it must be the best or why else would it be our favourite. But that's not how it works. Your favourite whatever can be your favourite for a multitude of factors, half of which you may not even be fully conscious of.

I think we need to take a step back and reason that favourite does not mean best, it just means favourite. i.e. the one which resonates with you the best. 'Best' doesn't even mean best in the way people tend to use it.

Best for what puprose? Best in what way? Since very few things are the best in every way but some might be perfect in some ways or in ways which resonate the most with certain people. I think 'best' is at best subjective, at worst unhelpful.

Rather than trying to quantify which is the 'best' and relegating the rest to the 'worst' pile, which is already a false dichotomy, we should recognise that sometimes things have worth even if they are not perfect. To understand that different versions might not be good in each aspect and still have aspects which work.

There are a number of coherent, concise themes in Spider-Verse but one that stands out is that “Anyone can wear the mask”. There’s room for so many Spider-Personas. The universe isn’t one thing. It’s many.

When we look at different versions of Spider-Man to see what each brings to the concept, we should break down what works and what doesn't, not to determine some objective 'best' but rather to gain a better understanding of what makes Spider-Man the hero he is, the humanity underneath the costume.

Since it just might helps us better understand the humanity within us all.

And I repeat - Never forget the hyphen.

References:

Film Crit Hulk SMASH: Spider-Man & The Marvel Fatal Flaw

Steve & Tony - Marvel's Big Picture Storytelling

Alien's Guide to Spider-Man: Homecoming

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse screenplay PDF

Family Ties in Legend of Korra - Book 2

Book 2 is often seen as the weakest season of Legend of Korra with some valid reasons. While it's not really the goal of this series of posts to examine the narrative or other elements of the show but rather to focus on the interpersonal relationships, I do want to address those critiques of Korra's second season and defend it a little.

Now, this might not be a popular opinion but I actually like Book 2 over Book 1. When I rewatched it, I noticed there was a lot more to be mined from a rewatch than when I watched Book 1 again. A lot of this has to do with the deepening relationships between the characters which I'll get into but also because Book 2 has some simply amazing moments.

The problem is that is an uneven season. The writers had written themselves into a bit of a corner with the end of Book 1 (since they didn't know they would get a second season) and started the season seeming with a number of interesting ideas, half of which they never explored.

They also had to dial back some of Korra's character development in the beginning of Book 2 becase of how they worked themselves into that corner, although as I have argued before

this is how real people behave. We expect and want our fictional characters to grow and develop, learning from their mistakes and developing, but often people in the real world don't. Not because they don't want to or can't, but because change is hard and habits of behaviour are difficult to break.

I understand that this a bit of honeypot on my part, trying to explain away a flaw in the writing but I still stand by it to some degree. Honestly on the rewatch, while Korra does appear to be just as brash as she was in the first season and reacts to things in a confrontational way, most of the time she is justified in the way she feels, if not in her reaction.

"My father and my mentor purposely lied to me because of their overprotective paternal desire to 'keep me safe' despite the fact I'm the Avatar, while my boyfriend is seemingly supportive but passive aggressively undermines me due to his own ego issues.
So yes, I'm a little pissed, why'd you ask?"

Korra is frustrated at the sense of betrayal and lack of trust from the father figures in her life who are more concerned with controlling or shielding her in the name of keeping her safe than they are about letting her become her own person.

Korra had spent her whole life up to this point believing that Avatar Aang had decided it was best for her to live and train isolated in the Southern Water Tribe with the White Lotus but learns it was actually her father and Tenzin who made the call.

Add to this her frustration at her inability to develop spiritually is misdirected at Tenzin's teachings, it is no wonder that she responds positively to the first male authority figure in her life who tells her that he has faith in her and treats her as an adult instead of a child that he must shield from the world.

The fact Korra doesn't pick up that he is totally evil from the first second she meets him is understandable in those circumstances.

People forget but Korra is around 18 at the time of Book 2, she's a young adult who wants to establish her own identity but feels as though she is still treated like a child by the men in her life, especially by her father. In that context, while she definitely reacts far too angrily at times, there is a real cause behind those emotions that I think is often dismissed.

Most criticisms of Book 2 revolve around the retread of character developments from Book 1, Tumblr blogger beccatoria argues that the show repeats those beats to first deconstruct and then reform them,

"The latter half of the series began to rebuild itself in new and fascinating ways, but it was here that the series made a radical, handbrake turn. This was where Korra’s queer origin and radical future were expressly clarified."

For the second season is when the interpersonal relationships and familial drama between characters becomes incredibly intertwined and complex. The foundations of those relationships were laid in the first season but Book 2 steps it up massively.

Now it doesn't always work and the narrative occasionally presents some unintentionally problematic relationships without realising it (which we'll get to), but when it gets it right, it is some of the most touching and effective storytelling on television.

Pictured here.

I'm sorry but every scene with Tenzin's family and his siblings Bumi and Kya is golden. While other aspects of the story might have been uneven or even annoying (like the incompetent dumb detectives who were supposed to be foils to Mako), the fact that Book 2 had the familial drama of Tenzin's siblings more than balances out the missteps elsewhere.

There is so much to get into that it's hard to know where to start but I suppose a good place is with Aang. Aang, the beloved bald protagonist of The Last Airbender, wasn't a good father. He wasn't a terrible father but he wasn't there for all his children the way a good father is. And that is important.

It's a nice deconstruction of the idealisation of fatherhood, which is an important narrative to tell. Not in a "I never knew my father!" way, or even in villainous "he was an arsehole" way, but rather showing that although Aang was the protagonist of the previous season, he had aspects of his personality that didn't make for a great father.

Which was a bold move for the writers to make simply because of how much Aang was as a character, not to mention as the hero of the previous series. It would have been easy for them to depict Aang as a perfect dad. But his failures as a father are clear in the obvious favouritism he had towards Tenzin as his only child who could airbend, something which caused lingering resentment from Bumi and Kya.

Pictured here.

This isn't mentioning just how heavy Aang's legacy as the Avatar weighs down on his children. It affects each of his children but let's spare a tear for Bumi. As Aang's oldest child he felt a massive responsibility to uphold his father's legacy but as a non-bender he felt he let his father down.

I think LoK Gifs & Musings put this better than I ever could so I'll just quote her here,

"Bumi may well be one of the most tragic characters in the show. Though Aang and Katara likely wanted children, I’m sure given Aang’s status as the last airbender, they also felt a great responsibility to do so. Though I am sure Aang or Katara loved Bumi, the fact that their eldest was a nonbender had to have been a bit of a blow for them. And even though they seemed to let Bumi be free to follow his own passions (joining the military and drinking a lot of cactus juice, from what I can tell), there was a part of him that internalized the guilt of not being “enough” for his parents." 

Bumi's juvenile behaviour (especially for a man into his 60s) is his way of standing out even though he can't bend. Considering both his siblings are benders and formed bonds with their parents that he couldn't, it's no wonder he plays the clown to mask the internal sense of inadequacy he feels.

All of which is crystalises in the scene where Bumi talks to Aan's stature.

"Uh, hey there, dad. You're looking well.. Look, I'm sorry I didn't turn out to be an airbender like you hoped, but I've tried my best to make the world safe. Hope I made you proud." - Actual, heartbreaking, dialogue.

I think we have to move on to Tenzin now. Tenzin may be Aang and Katara's youngest child but as the only airbender, he felt a particular responsibility to uphold his father's legacy, even more so than Bumi.

Tenzin was so dedicated to preserving Aang's legacy as the Avatar that he created an idealisation of his father which glossed over Aang's real flaws as a parent. Also, this dedication meant he focused all his attention on being like his father instead of accepting that he is his father's son, not his father.

I don't want to go into this too much since LoK Gifs & Musings basically covered everything I want to say in her "I Am Tenzin" article. The only thing I will say is how Tenzin's journey to let go of his internalised guilt as a failed spiritual leader is combined with learning to let his daughter Jinora come into her own as the spiritual leader he couldn't be is something else. He escapes the spectre of his father at the same time that he, as a father, allows his own child to grow.

Awww...

I don't want to seem like I'm neglecting Kya but she isn't given as much attention in the narrative as her brothers. That said, she has to deal with the emotional baggage of their less than ideal childhood as well and actually seems the most bitter of the siblings despite her empathetic caring nature.

For example, she is the one who snaps at Tenzin for idealising their father. While Bumi was definitely upset by the special attention Aang gave Tenzin, Kya seems genuinely hurt by it and became defensive as a result.

She tried to escape her family's legacy in her youth, travelling across the world while Bumi joined the military and Tenzin join the council in Republic City. However, she then went back to the Southern Water Tribe to look after their elderly mother after Aang died, which is something she chastises her brothers for failing to do.

On the other hand, after Bumi has his confessional moment talking to Aang's statue wondering if his father would be proud of him, Kya overhears and immediately says that of course Aang would be proud. She then gives him a hug as Bumi tells her she always knows when he needs one. It's a touching moment.

Sibling huggery.

Jumping back to Tenzin for a second, in light of the emotional journey that he goes through over the course the season  it's not surprising how constricting he is as Korra's teacher in the beginning of Book 2 and why she bristles against that.

I covered in my previous Korra post how the differences in their personalities make them the perfect teacher/student combination but only by adapting to each other. Now, although I can totally see where Korra is coming from, at times the anger she flashes at Tenzin seems unfair in light of his transgressions.

Regardless, their reunion in the second half of Book 2 and the fruition of their relationship as it blossoms by the end of the season is completely worth the (only) slightly contrived nature of their parting of ways in the beginning of the season.

Did I mention that Tenzin is the one who helps Korra complete her spiritual journey?
With hugs!

But before we celebrate the wonderfulness that is the familial drama of Tenzin's family and the blossoming of his relationship with Korra, I mentioned there were some problematic relationships in this season, so let's look at the most problematic - Bolin and his love interests, Eska and Ginger.

There's no other way to say this, Bolin is in an abusive relationship with Eska. She forces him to do things he doesn't want through intimidation, fear, and the threat of violence, isn't interested in his well-being, only in how he can better serve her. He isn't her boyfriend, he's her victim.

And yet the show presents this as something funny in a 'Oh, look at how Bolin can't get out of this abusive relationship, isn't it hilarious how Eska, a girl, dominates him and he just whimpers?' way. It's not like they ever examine the destructive nature of their relationship in a meaningful way, it's only depicted as a gag.

The fact they immediately follow this up by having Bolin sexually harass his co-worker Ginger on the set of their movers (old-timey film reels) is rather tone deaf, especially for a show that gets so many other things so right.

And let's be clear, Bolin is sexually harassing her. They're at their workplace, she told him that she wasn't interested and that he is confusing "Ginger the actress with Ginger the character" but he still continues to flirt inappropriately and make unwanted advances.

The difference between their facial expressions says it all.

And so we come to Mako and Korra. I discussed before how their relationship had a sense of contrivance to it since there never seemed to be any reason for them to get together aside from the fact that they were the male and female protagonists.

However, there is a lot wrong with Mako's behaviour and how he treats Korra that I didn't notice until this rewatch. The reason I didn't notice it the first time around was that I used to be a lot like Mako in terms of the type of boyfriend he is.

Therefore, I didn't see anything wrong with his actions despite the fact that they are only superficially supportive and actually quite defensive in nature. For example,

Korra: What do you think I should do?
Mako: I guess you should do what you think is right. I support whatever decision you make.
Korra: Oh thanks. That’s a big help.
Mako: I thought you wanted me to be supportive? Now you want me to tell you what I think? Make up your mind!
Korra: Just forget it.

I originally sided with Mako in this argument because it hit home with what I would likely would have said in the same position but then I realised that he isn't being supportive by withholding his opinion, he's avoiding conflict. Korra expressively asked him for advice and his response was to give an empty declaration of support for fear of her disapproval.

Like Mako, I wanted to place myself as the protector and feel useful to, or even needed by, the person I was with. This is something that's subsided now and I don't feel that same need to be a 'protector'. because I figured it's not necessary, and even more than that, it's infantilizing. If you see your partner as someone who needs to be protected constantly, you're not treating them as an equal but like a child in your care.

She really doesn't need anyone's protection.

However, I didn't have the same anxiety Mako has in regards to being dominated by Korra since I came more from a "white knight" place and didn't feel threatened by the accomplishments of my partner. Because Mako's ego does bristle at the fact Korra is the Avatar, with more responsibility and power than he will ever have.

At one point before their break up, Korra apologizes to Mako for her inconsistent behaviour and blowing up with him due to the stresses of her role as the world's protector,

Korra: By the way, I'm really sorry for being a total pain. Things were really stressful and pretty confusing. It's hard being the Avatar.
Mako: (jokingly) It’s harder being the Avatar’s boyfriend.

Mmmhmm, really? It's harder being the boyfriend of the most powerful person on the planet with the weight of innumerable political, social, spiritual, military pressures than being that person? I know, Mako's cracking a joke here but it does seem to indicate where his head's at.

I mean, he doesn't offer any substantial response or support to address the stress that Korra's feeling, he just makes a joke about how hard things are for him.

"Yeeeaah... not quite the supportive response I needed there, Mako." - Korra, probably.

So yeah, its't not at all surprising that once they get back to Republic City and Mako is able to go back to his job as a police officer that even his pretense of support for Korra kinda evaporates. It's like as soon he is back into his role as a 'protector' in an official capacity, he's freed himself from having to support Korra.

He practically blames her for the civil war between the Water Tribes even though in the previous episode he helped her break her father out of prison, an inciting incident for the war in the first place. After Korra visits the President of Republic City to ask for his help in the war and he refuses, she complains to Mako who agrees with the President.

He eventually betrays Korra's plan to get the Republic fleet without the President's permission which leads to their breakup. All because he felt his job was more important than their relationship due to the insecurity he felt at being 'dominated' by Korra. While he loved her as a person, he couldn't accept her role as the Avatar.

This is more obvious when later in the season he is willing to risk his job to be a protector for Asami, setting up a sting mission without proper approval. Unlike with Korra, Mako doesn't feel threatened by Asami's power (she is a wealthy industrialist after all) in the same way and therefore doesn't need to hold on to his official police officer role as 'protector' with her.

To be fair to Mako, I would want to protect Asami as well if she looked at me like this.
Then I remember that she is a highly intelligent and capable person who holds her own in a team of benders.

In regards to the whole Mako/Korra thing, I'm glad they showed the dissolution of their relationship. It really seems like a deconstruction of the 'inevitability' of them getting together in Book 1 simply because they were the male and female protagonists and highlighted why they shouldn't be a couple.

I'm going to have to end it here but again there were things I didn't get to touch on, like the retread of brother vs brother with Unalaq and Tonraq, Korra's relationship with her parents, the dynamics of Tenzin's children, or Bolin and Asami's wonderful bromance.

This gif is everything.

Oh, well. Maybe next time.

Book 3 in this series will come out whenever I manage to finish the season. I should probably get on to that.

References:

The Legend of Korra: Deliberately Deconstructed - beccatoria

Korra's Relationships - Avatar Wiki

Bolin's Relationships - Avatar Wiki

Meta: Mako’s Castration Anxiety - LoK Gifs & Musings

Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin: Analysis - LoK Gifs & Musings

I Am Tenzin - LoK Gifs & Musings

Family Ties in Legend of Korra - Book 1

Alright, I've finally settled down to write on Avatar: Legend of Korra. This is something I've been wanting to write for a couple of weeks but couldn't seem to get started. I'm not sure why, it just is one of those things where I just needed time to get my head around what I want to say.

I have already written about Legend of Korra before looking at its steampunk inspirations, its narrative and character development (up to Book 3), and how it functioned as a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender. However, I wanted to focus on something a little different here, family. Specifically I want to trace all the familial relations through Legend of Korra book by book.

This includes all the relationships Korra forms throughout the series as well as other family dynamics like Aang's children, Tenzin, Kya, and Bumi, and those of the antagonists like Amon. I might have bitten off more than I can digest but there's nothing like rushing headfirst into something when it comes to Legend of Korra.

Yeah, I got this.

In my previous post on Korra, I discussed the much maligned love triangle between Korra, Mako, and Asami. Now for anyone not aware, the love triangle is a depressingly common trope found in television and movie writing.

For a succinct definition, please see TV Tropes,

Alice is in love with Bob, but Bob is in love with Charlie, while Charlie is in love with Alice. Well, that's one of them. A Love Triangle commonly involves three people, love, and decisions. It can be dramatic, or it can result in Wacky Hijinx. Sometimes a fourth person is brought in to make it right, sometimes somebody might be kicked out.

You can see this trope used relative well in things like The Hunger Games or terribly forced like in Twilight and it nearly always revolves around a choice where the primary protagonist has to decide between two love interests.

This dilemma is supposed to be dramatic but often is just boring since the decision is usually obvious (Edward, of course she's gonna pick Edward, everything screams Edward!) so the 'drama' created is pandering at best.

Asami isn't in for that pandering nonsense.

I had said that the love triangle in Book 1 was very high school teen drama, which I stand by. These are teenage characters so it makes sense that they would behave like teenagers, even if that behaviour is frustrating to literally anyone who is not a teenager.

Unlike a number of people, I don't have that much of an issue with it. Or at least, it doesn't distract too much from the overall narrative. But something I always wonder is why people forget this love triangle started out as a love square with Bolin in tow.

People often dismiss Bolin but I think this underestimates his role in the group dynamic. His levity and amiable nature offers a contrast to Korra's brashness and Mako's brooding. When they first met, Bolin was quite smitten by Korra and wanted to go out with her. They even went on a date where they had a great time and seemed to have perfect chemistry.

However Korra just isn't attracted to Bolin that way and while he didn't react to seeing Korra kiss Mako all that well, he quickly accepted that Korra wasn't in to him and remained her friend with no animosity towards her. When I first watched Book 1, I was always a little disappointed Korra and Bolin didn't date since they did seem to be perfect for one another.

Like seriously.

But then I realised they made much better friends than they would have as romantic partners. They're too alike in a number of ways, both are friendly but struggle to read people and often rush into things without thinking.

They work as friends since they share the same sense of humour and are there for each other but as LoK Gifs & Musings puts it, "their similarities allow for a mutual understanding, they don’t provide the emotional support or the push towards growth that either one needs".

On the other end of the spectrum, we get Mako and Asami. Now I honestly can't tell why Asami is dating Mako. They do have a nice meet-cute when she nearly runs him over with her moped which leads to a date that she orchestrated but I never understood just quite why she had a thing for him aside of the fact he was there and like, oh so hot, you guys.

I mean, just look at the man brood. He's got some serious brooding game.

There's almost a kind of contrived inevitability that they have to end up together because she's the spunky rich girl with a fabulous head of hair and he's the brooding good-looking jock. It seems to more a relationship of societal expectations than a real romance.

To be fair, Asami is real supportive of Mako and cares for him. Once they are in a relationship, it is obvious that she has feelings for him and when she finds out that he likes Korra, she is legitimately hurt. On his end, Mako seems to really like Asami and play the masculine protector role for her, a role she is happy to let him play.

However it just seems to be taken for granted that they would be dating after their meet-cute and so they are, even though I couldn't say why they would have started a relationship aside from the fact they are both young and attractive.

I wasn't joking about her fabulous hair.

But moving past that, Asami finds out that Mako has feelings for Korra (he was doing a terrible job of hiding it) and while she is hurt by the betrayal, she's such a classy lady that she doesn't flip out on him, although they do break off their relationship for obvious reasons.

However, I agree with Tumblr user beccatoria that the best thing about the love triangle subplot is that "Asami’s character was not demonised, and that the show specifically allowed her to reject the idea that she should blame Korra". Instead of Asami becoming catty towards Korra for 'stealing her man', she instead is rightly angry at Mako for his open attraction for another person when they are supposed to be in a relationship.

I'll get to Mako and Korra in a bit but as I'm sure you're all aware, at the end of the series, Korra and Asami get together and there are the slightest hints of attraction between them in Book 1. At least on Asami's end. She thinks Korra is amazing right from the get-go and wants her to like her. Korra for her part initially see Asami as a romantic rival but is shortly won over by her confidence and class.

What can I say, Korra likes a lady who can handle fast cars.

There isn't anything necessarily romantic between the two but they are quite attracted to each other as people and don't let the love triangle nonsense ruin their attitudes toward each other. Which I really like since so often the two 'rivals' in  love triangle are pitted against each other so this is a nice change.

But then we come to Mako and Korra. I'm going to analyse this relationship in more depth with Book 2 but here even more than with Mako and Asami I have no idea why these two would start a romantic relationship. To be fair, it's clear from the second episode after they meet that Korra has developed a crush on Mako and why not? He's good-looking and brooding after all.

However kinda like how Mako and Asami get together because it seems the thing to do by societal expectations, Mako and Korra seem to get together because of narrative convention.They are the male and female leads so they should get together, right? The fact Korra had more chemistry with Bolin, someone she wasn't interested in romantically, should speak volumes about how this doesn't quite work.

And if we're being really real here, Mako is kinda selfish and insecure. His primary focus is on himself and what is best for him. This is why he continues to be in a relationship with Asami while harbouring feelings for Korra. He says he is confused but really what he should have done was break it off with Asami until he sorted his shit out.

Let's move on to Tenzin.

I'm gonna put it out there for full disclosure, I love Tenzin. He honestly might be my favourite character in Legend of Korra. Firstly he is a badass Airbender and just a badass period. So often when the gang is getting taken down by a bunch of bad guys, Tenzin is nearly always the last man standing. And the fact he is voiced by an unrecognisable J.K. Simmons is just the cherry on the top.

I'll get into this more as the series progresses but Tenzin's relationship with Korra is fascinatingly complex. They both learn so much about each other and themselves through their relationship. Tenzin is not only a mentor and teacher to Korra but a surrogate father-figure away from home. Similarly, Tenzin sees Korra as much as a daughter as he sees her as his student or charge.

Tenzin's controlled and stoic demeanor belies his sometimes controlling and anxiety-ridden manner, which is something Korra, just by being her stubborn headstrong self, bristles. Tenzin has a lot of internalised anxiety in regards to upholding his father Aang's legacy as well as being the father of the next generation of Airbenders.

So sometimes he loses his cool.

Tenzin initially imposes strict restrictions on Korra since he sees structure and discipline as key to teaching. However he didn't give much consideration of the best way to adapt his teaching technique to nurture Korra and help her learn considering her rebellious nature.

However he eventually realises that by giving Korra the tools she needs and letting her use those tools in a practical setting she thrives. He also offers support for her emotionally, telling her he is always there if she needs to talk. He is truly proud of Korra, not only as his student but for who she is and as the Avatar.

For her own part, Korra is resistant to Tenzin's style of teaching and takes a lot of the frustration she feels at not being able to Airbend out on him. She also doesn't take well to his slightly patronising paternal instincts and desire to protect her at the cost of her freedom. But at that same time she respects him greatly as a mentor and confidant, eventually opens up to him about her fears.

Her complex feelings towards Tenzin sets up a breakdown in their relationship in Book 2 that blossoms into something truly wonderful by Book 3 but we'll get there when we get there.

We've got some bloodbending brothers to talk about in the meantime.

The antagonists of Book 1, Noatak and Tarrlok, have a complicated sibling rivalry. In "Skeletons in the Closet", the penultimate episode of the season, we learn from Tarrlok that Amon, the Equalist leader and Big Bad of the season, is actually his brother Noatak and from the Northern Water Tribe like himself.

He then goes into their tragic backstory. They are the sons of Yakone, a bloodbending crime boss who was escaped from Republic City after Aang took away his bending. When their father finds out that his sons are both Waterbenders, he starts training them in the taboo art of bloodbending. His training is intense and harsh as he wants to use his sons as a means to get back the criminal empire that was taken from him.

Tarrlok doesn't like bloodbending because of the unease he feels forcibly manipulating living creatures although Noatak is a prodigy. Throughout their training Tarrlok and his brother drift apart as Noatak becomes increasingly detached. Eventually Noatak turns on their father and leaves.

As an adult, Tarrlok makes a decision to go to Republic City, not to control it the way his father did through crime but lead it through legitimate channels. He works his way onto the City Council and sets up the task force charged with taking down Amon (who he doesn't know is his brother yet).

It doesn't go that well for him.

The Brothers Bad offer an interesting examination of the perils of parental pressure. Yakone pushes his sons to excel in a field he has chosen for them with little to no consideration of their own desires. He envisions who they want to be in order to vicariously get his own vengeance on Republic City.

Both of his sons reject what he wanted them to become. However due to their own ambitions, they end up becoming exactly what their father wanted anyway- the antagonists of the story instead of the heroes they wanted to become.

This is clear in Tarrlok's apology to Korra (for the whole bloodbending and kidnapping her thing),

"Avatar Korra. I am truly sorry for all that I did to you. I thought I was better than my father, but his ghost still shaped me. I became a soldier of revenge, just like he wanted me to be. And so did my brother."

So he decides to end their sad tale with murder-suicide. You know, for kids.

Now I've only begun to scratch the surface of the network of relationships within the series. I didn't get to mention Asami's highly complicated relationship with her father (who turned out to be an Equalist and not at all the man she thought he was), Tenzin's family and his wife Pema, or even Lin as Tenzin's old flame and her interactions with Korra.

Legend of Korra didn't always handle things perfectly. It made missteps here or there where the wider implications of the story they were telling wasn't considered and some elements didn't quite work but it did present a rich and varied text full of complicated and nuanced interpersonal relationships worth exploring.

The next one of these Korra posts will come out once I finished Book 2 so don't hold your breath since it might be a while. Don't worry though, I'm sure I'll find something else to write about in the meantime.


References:

Love Triangle - TV Tropes

The Legend of Korra: Deliberately Deconstructed - beccatoria

Korra's Relationships - Avatar Wiki

Borra: The Greatest Bromance Ever Told - LoK Gifs & Musings

Bald Mentor Appreciation Day - Nerdswole

Tarrlok's Relationships - Avatar Wiki

Attack on Titan: In Defence of the Wall

About a month ago, I finished watching Attack on Titan, the massively popular anime series feature terrifying monsters called 'Titans' which have nearly wiped out humanity, the remainder of which hides behind humongous walls built to keep Titans out. It is brilliant.

Once an episode finished, my girlfriend and I were left in such a state of anxiety and desperate excitement to know what would happen next that we had to watch the next episode. This led to some serious binge watching.

I mean, just look at that.

Everything in the show is set to eleven. The stakes are absurdly high for one - humanity is on the brink of extinction and the battle the protagonists fight is against an unrelenting unstoppable enemy, one which they aren't equipped to face. They are hopelessly outmatched and know it.

The drama is so intense, it could be accused of being melodramatic if the high stakes hadn't already been so well-established. The characters' emotions are exaggerated, the reality of their situation warrants their dramatic outbursts.

This is apparent just from the show's original opening theme song. An insanely awesome tune which is equal parts over-the-top camp and pure adrenaline pumping. Everything is designed to ramp things up, thrashing guitars, heavy metal drums, bombastic orchestra, piercing choir, unrelenting vocal. It is nothing short of epic.

That is Attack on Titan in nutshell. A ridonculously epic show. There is barely a moment to breathe, particularly in the first several episodes as you're thrust into this world and events unfold so quickly and so shockingly that you can scarce believe what you're watching. The pace is relentless. The spectacle gripping. The story compelling.

And I realise I haven't done a good job so far summarizing the story or describing the show at all. Since I want to address some analysis and weird theories about the show, summarizing the plot might be in order. Alright, before we get into this, for everyone who hasn't watched Attack on Titan yet...

This Post is Full of SPOILERS, Seriously Dude Don't Touch It

Spoiler 1: The Titans breach the outer wall protecting humanity in the first episode.

As previously noted, Attack on Titan is set in a world where humanity lives inside cities surrounded by enormous walls due to the Titans, gigantic humanoid beings who devour humans.

As per Wikipedia,

The story follows the adventures of Eren Jaeger, his adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman, and their friend Armin Arlert, whose lives are changed forever after a Colossal Titan breaches the wall of their home town. Vowing revenge and to reclaim the world from the Titans, Eren and his friends join the Scout Regiment, an elite group of soldiers who fight Titans.

In the first episode, Eren's mother is eating by a Titan before his own eyes as he is being taken away to safety. There is really a feeling through the series that anyone can die, that no one is safe. This is an enemy that can't be reasoned with since they only live to eat humans and not for nourishment, they can survive without food. They eat humans just because.

This is Thomas Wagner. He was a cadet with Eren and a character we get to see grow over the course of several episodes.
He is the first cadet in Eren's squad to get eaten by a Titan but not the last.

I bring this up because in a post on Fandom Following about Plot Armour, Attack on Titan was brought up as an example of how not to use plot armour. For the uninitiated, "Plot Armor is a narrative device which allows any character to survive anything (as long as the writers consider them important enough)." Essentially how the bad guy's bullets seem to always miss the good guy.

According to the Fandom Following writer, while Attack on Titan tries to do the 'Anyone Can Die' thing, it ultimately fails since it establishes who the main protagonists are and doesn't kill them off, using the example of Eren. And that's where this argument falls flat for me. The Fandom Following post criticizes the fact that Eren seems to die but is brought back "shortly afterward none the worse for wear, with special powers to boot".

This kinda misses the point. I have this idea that just because people are aware of the tropes which exist in storytelling they apply them to situations which might fit the trope in isolation but with no concern for the wider context of the story being told.

This is where Eren is eaten by a Titan and for all we knew had died.

When Eren 'died', it was a complete system shutdown moment. My girlfriend and I stared at each other in disbelief, they could have killed off the main protagonist could they? And he isn't brought back shortly the next episode like some cheap emotional trick.

He comes back three episodes later, emerging from the body of another Titan, a Titan body he was unknowingly controlling. See Eren's return from death wasn't an example of plot armour in action. Rather it was an important narrative development and thematically significant. It signaled how little we, and the characters, know about the Titans and who Eren is, as well as seeding things for later in the season.

The revelation that Eren can turn into a Titan isn't a glib "oh, now the protagonist has special powers" empty twist. It raises questions and is treated with suspicion by the rest of the characters but also offers them the first glimpse of hope they've had in long time. It has narrative purpose and isn't just a lazy way to write a character back to life or avoid death.

He uses his new Titan body to pick up a big rock and use it to plug up a hole. It's more awesome than it sounds.

And really, the Fandom Following post missed an excellent opportunity to use a perfect example of plot armour in action from the show, Armin. While Armin is quite bright and able to think up clever strategic plans for attacks on the Titans, he is a so inept as a fighter due to his crippling fear of the Titans that he often just freezes when confronted by one of them. If any character has plot amour, it is Armin.

Armin was literally about to be eaten by a Titan only for Eren to miraculously pull him out of the Titan's mouth at the last moment and sacrifice himself instead. That's how Eren died. He was Armin's knight in shining plot armour.

Don't get me wrong, Armin is important to the plot but the way he has survived numerous situations where he surely would have died if he wasn't a main character are pretty obvious. This is the difference between just applying a trope without context and examining how the context of the show fits the trope applied.

[Full Disclosure: I love Fandom Following and think it's a great site but this writer kinda dropped the ball here.]

This is Dot Pixis. Note his appearance, this will be important later.

Moving on, one thing I had heard about Attack on Titan was that it was Japanese propaganda. This was something I was aware of going in but didn't really catch at all while watching. At first I thought it might be because of cultural dissonance, I wasn't able to pick up the element of propaganda so I decided to research after I finished the first season.

And from what I can tell, essentially the propaganda theory is based on two things. First is the fact that Dot Pixis, a high ranking general in Attack on Titan, had his appearance based on General Akiyama Yoshifuru, a war hero in Japan who committed several atrocities against Korea and China. Second is that Eren and the rest of the characters are in the army and sacrifice their lives for the rest humanity.

That's about it. From that, it is argued that Attack on Titan is Japanese imperialistic military propaganda. Because one character's physical design was based on military hero/criminal and the fact that the characters are part of an army. Since of course, by basing a character's design on someone infamous from history, you fully endorse that person, regardless of whether the character's personality is completely different.

Also, the fact that the only way for them to fight the Titans is as part of the army isn't discussed, nor is it raised how the characters mistrust the high command and are mostly working outside of command to get things done. 

No really, it's kinda a major theme of the second half of the season. The Scout Regiment, which Eren and co are part of, face off another human-Titan and suspect the higher ups in the military of a cover up so they essentially go rogue to root out the conspiracy. But nope, still military propaganda.

Couldn't possibly be a metaphor for the inevitably of death considering how the Titans are near unstoppable and kill everyone, could it?
Also, could possibly be about seeing giant monsters fight, I dunno.

The thing is, I'm not going to argue there isn't a lens through which you could argue the show has a xenophobic angle (they built a wall to keep out an invading race which is mindless and wants only to kill the normal people inside the wall) but the propaganda theory just doesn't hold water for me.

That was pretty much all I had to say about Attack on Titan, for now at least. Well that's not quite true since I did want to talk about other things but they can wait for a later post.

And I think a good place to end is by saying that I really enjoyed Attack on Titan and can't wait for season 2 to come out... what?! it's been pushed out to 2017?! Not cool.

References:

List of Attack on Titan Episodes - Wikipedia

Plot Armor and Narrative Interest - Fandom Following

ATTACK ON TITAN Will Probably Be the Cause of World War III - TwitchFilm

Attack on Titan: Inspiring Post-Apocalyptic Adventure or Japanese Military Propaganda? - Women Write About Comics