Episode 106 of the Letters Page: Fall of the Prime Wardens

I liked the part where Haka is perfect and has no flaws. ;_;

Also Apostate's "It me!" XD

Brian Jewett definitely needs a Funniest Letter nom at the end of the year.

This is the sort of storyline I really enjoy, I find.  I like a big superhero punch-up as much as the next guy, but I find that I really enjoy characters that have pathos, flaws, and don't always act rationally:  characters that are fundamentally human, even as they demonstrate how inhuman they can be or have been.  It's likely why Cap 3: Civil War is still my favorite of the Marvel movies, and why I'm still in awe of Tom King's run on The Visions.

I'd never really considered Captain Cosmic as a 'cowardly' individual until now, but the concept really does fit.  He seems to be the sort of person who absconds any degree of real, personal accountability in favor of flashier heroics:  someone who's playing at being a hero, rather than saving his brother, saving Galactra, or making Earth a safer place.  It definitely casts him in a whole new light...

Thanks!

I'd been wondering who that is! :D

I liked all of these flaws, I think they’re really interesting ways to take the characters, and they make a lot of sense! I’m actually ambivalent about stories like this in general (because if they aren’t done well they can feel really...artificial sometimes?) but this one I’d love to read.

Argent and Tempest’s flaws are both sort of things that we knew about them - it’s funny how they’re almost opposite ends of a scale, with Argent caring too little and Tempest maaaaybe caring too much. Fanatic having the trouble where she believes things on the face of them really gets made worse by her power, for sure. But yeah, Cosmic and Haka were the ones I thought were most interesting. CC constantly getting freaked out when stuff gets too intense and bugging out (and then not being able to when his brother backs him up during OblivAeon? Delicious) and always going off to deal with something else rather than facing up to what’s in front of him, it’s a really interesting take.

And Haka. Always being the grownup, relying on himself, and so making these terrible decisions without talking to anyone, even when it might really affect them. It’s really paternalistic, but I can also totally understand it given his perspective?

Which does not mean I wouldn’t want to give him a clip around the ear hole, mind. Giving immortal superpowered blood to a vampire seems like a Bad Idea and I think the team might have pointed this out. And that’s not even getting into the whole FILTER thing!

Adam makeing the job interveiw joke about strengths and weaknesses really hit me, I had just done an interveiw 20 minutes before listening.

This was my favorite episode in awhile.

It hurt, and it was icky in a lot of ways. But it made sense, and added a layer of depth and pathos that is fantastic to see in a character. I actually grew a lot closer to Haka reading this, because even though what he did was egregious, it still added to his character far more than it "took anything away" from it.

Wife: "I'm guessing you didn't listen to the Fall of the Prime Wardens yet, because you were at work all day."

Me: "Right."

Wife: "It's rough. There's a bit where they list all the flaws of each member, and then they talk about how each of them gets--"

Me: "Haka has no flaws."

Wife: "You better not listen to this one!"

#HakaDidNothingWrong

Against my wife's advice, I listened to the episode. And, like many of you, I also enjoyed it!

As it happens, before I listened I was thinking about Haka. Haka is interesting because his personality and history really doesn't come through in his deck at all. He's supposed to be a wise, supportive teacher - but his deck makes him into more of a solo bruiser. This episode actually helped the two gel in my mind: he's acting like a bruiser because he's taking it all on himself, and that's maybe not a strength as much as it is a weakness. And then, his Prime Wardens power makes a ton of sense: he's not being a support hero in the "regular" sense where he just creates a supporting effect for everyone; instead, Haka does his own thing - a haka - that then buffs a specific hero target in a specific way that he chooses. Because Haka knows best...

To bring it all full circle, with Haka learning from his experience in the fall and reformation of the Prime Wardens, plus his experience in the mist-gates, I now really, really, really want the Prime War version of Haka to be a "lead from the front" Legacy type.

I'm happy that my letter was used as a foundation, in my own selfish way.

And yeah, this was a great episode too. I was not innitially sold on the idea of making the prime wardens mistrust each other but this episode did a very good job in making me think that yeah, this would be a big victory for Apostate and it works for the different characters. It also lays down some nice story threads for potential later episodes.

Also, Haka seems to have that arrogance that is seen only in older people, ones who think that simply because they are older means that they know best and can make decisions without talking to the other people involved. I did have that moment when Haka offered his blood to the countess that made me go "Are you nuts!? You know she will find a way around your agreement." I still love the character but it feel like he should have spoken with someone about it first.

I also have much more respect for Fanatic as a character now because when the whole Court of Blood deal thing came out she tried to convince Haka of the folly of his actions instead of outright disowning him as a friend, or even worse attacking him. I honestly expected her to storm off on him but she was a lot more understanding than I would have given her credit for.

Good point about Fanatic. Maybe she is learning to mellow out over time?

Honestly, that would be a great thing, because as this episode describes, her power is her greatest weakness. Basically, her super power is that what she believes becomes true, right? So the reason Apostate is such an effective nemesis for her is not that he lies, it's that he can get Fanatic to believe things. Then, her own power works against her. Probably it would be good for her to try to talk things out first!

This was an enjoyable episode with some cool story and insight into the characters. That said, I’m not sure I entirely buy into the premise that Captain Cosmic is a coward. I totally buy that he runs away from his problems and that emotionally he’s pretty flighty, but he’s both a barrister and a space adventurer, so while I can accept that when things look tough, he doesn’t stick around, it seems like he puts himself in a lot more dangerous situations than would be necessary...

Looking forward to some follow up questions from this one in the next editors note!

Precisely that.

It's easy to 'look' like a hero when you're saving a bunch of aliens on a far-off planet; they don't need to know you're petrified of committing to your space-girlfriend, having to deal with your brother's mental illness, or having to work as a team with 'real' heroes on Earth.

Yeah, a coward is someone who doesn't face their fears.  Hugh just isn't as afraid of aliens and monsters as he is of relationships.