You can listen to the episode by clicking: Episode 42.
As we crack (see what I did there) into this final episode of the Power Pack Crack Saga, we realized we needed help. So, we called a doctor! We are pleased to have Dr. Osvaldo Oyola from The Middle Spaces website. And boy are we glad he is on hand to untangle this comic with us.
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Jeff and Rick Present 
John Figueroa also wrote comics for Marvel. He wrote the second half of the 80s Wolfpack series and came back to write the early 00s Marvel Knights series that teamed up various characters from the Marvel Knights line.
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Huh…I did not put that together. Thanks!
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Great discussion on a rough issue. It never sat well with me on the cover’s version of Garbage Man. I can believe it being a gaffe somewhere in the production process, but sadly, awareness (and backlash) about such things wasn’t as great as it is now.
About Garbage Man as a character though, he vocabulary raises interesting thoughts. Maybe he does have problems in his past that lead him down this path, like you all discussed. Or maybe he’s trying to come off as smarter than he actually is. With just one issue, there’s really no time to explore further, but the set up is there for possible stories. But yeah, that didn’t happen.
For diverse teams in comics, I always approve of the representation, because heck yeah, it’s overdue in American comics! But like Garbage Man, two issues isn’t enough pages to delve into the characters of Trash, and teams in superhero comics are relatively small, so shortcuts (or tokens, ew) is a way to get the audience up to speed quicker. But no, it’s not a great way to create “positive” representation. (What was I saying earlier about trying to sound smarter? Hmm.)
But for contrast, let’s look at the lineup of the new characters that debuted in Giant-Size X-Men #1:
Big Russian guy.
Irish guy wearing green with the most Irish name ever: Sean. Cassidy.
Native American wearing feathers stuck in a headband.
Japanese guy whose powers are like the sun (land of the rising sun).
Black woman. Two demographics in one.
German guy who looks like a LITERAL DEVIL. (Remember WW2?)
And a Canadian who’s super nice and friendly to everyone. Before he claws yer face off, bub! (ok this one doesn’t fit the pattern, but you get the idea)
It took a year or so, and also a new writer (Claremont), before the characters really started to become individuals and not cliches. Without that time, those X-Men could easily have fallen into obscurity as a misstep for the series. But they were given the chance, and diversity for its own sake paid off, even when done clunkily.
Wait, I forget, what comic is this again? Power Pack? OH RIGHT! Sorry.
I’m going to add only one thing: Julie taking out Razorcut. That was AWESOME! She had to know it would hurt, but it wasn’t that bad last time, but she knew she had the best chance to take the most dangerous opponent out before he could hurt any of the Pack, and she did it. And oh, the panel of her right after, tears streaming down her face, cuts all down her legs, oh my god, it gets to me every time. Incredible artwork by Bog-man there.
Well done, Pack-men and Osvaldo!
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Yeah, the cover is very problematic isn’t it. I think the fact that we now have such immediate and visible ways of communicating with people is the main reason that backlash happens so much more. During the age of this comic you would have to write a letter and find the proper address to send it too. Didn’t mean you knew if it get there or was seen though. Now, shoot off an angry, see it posted in real time. Scary how far we have come in such a short time.
I like your thought that Garage Man is trying to come off as smarter than he is. He kind of reminds me of Errol Childress from True Detective when he was imitating an actor on a movie he had watched while walking thru the house. Maybe he is intelligent, maybe he is a monster…hard to tell. My assumption is that he is a character that no one will ever pick up in the future with a storyline for as kind of hinted at in the last thirty odd years.
About Julie taking out Razorcut…it was indeed awesome! Also awesome about it is the fact that that is the most messed up we have seen one of the Pack get. It looked horrendous and I know that I for one would have reacted the exact same way…but probably no where near as stoically as she did (meaning there would be even MORE crying and screaming on my part).
Glad you liked the episode, it was great getting to spend some time with Osvaldo to talk about it.
-Jeff
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Julie is hardcore. Broken arm in the first arc. Pulling a giant snake alien by the tail. Knocking out superpowered Snark with a 2×4. Now this. All the wow.
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Yeah, Julie is Da’ Bomb!!! Wait, no…that is actually the name of a hot sauce. Still, she is pretty great. I still think that Katie has been more broken than her (on Snarkworld when she fell Balrog style) but Julie has had some nasty ouchies. Hmmm, Jack has had a mess of head traumas resulting in unconsciousness which will probably be a problem in his later years though. Man, these are some knock about kids. That said, Julie with a 2X4 is a total win!
-Jeff
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Yep, I’d thought of all of those things with my last reply! Sympatico, mi amigo! Katie’s big fall was haaaaaarsh. But hey, healing powers!
My head canon is CTE doesn’t exist in the Marvel Universe, or there’d be hordes of mentally incapacitated criminals, thugs, and super-villains, and the government would be mandating protective headgear for all criminal activities to offset the skyrocketing health insurance costs. So Jack getting knocked out has no long-term effects, except for making him more Jack-ish.
“Julie with a 2×4.” There’s a song in there somewhere.
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Welcome to the Sinister Six, now put on your mandatory helmet and neck brace before we plan out any crimes.
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