Marvel Unlimited: Squadron Supreme #1-5, Captain America #314

The Squadron Supreme made their first appearance in 1971 in The Avengers #85.  A superhero group from an alternate dimension, they were created as a parody of DC's Justice League.  In 1985, Marvel launched a limited series about the team.  

The stories address interesting questions about the roles and responsibilities of superheroes in the world at large.  While this, in itself, was not new ground for Marvel, Squadron Supreme took the questions further than most.  What would happen if such beings, even benevolent ones, were granted absolute power to shape society as they see fit?  What would be the challenges and pitfalls?  Indeed, what threats could the team's members present to each other along the way?

The lineup, along with their JLA equivalents:

Hyperion = Superman

Nighthawk = Batman

Power Princess = Wonder Woman

Whizzer = Flash

Doctor Spectrum = Green Lantern

Amphibian = Aquaman

Golden Archer = Green Arrow

Lady Lark = Black Canary

Tom Thumb = Atom

Blue Eagle = Hawkman

Arcanna = Zatanna

Nuke = Firestorm

My Recent Reads

Squadron Supreme #1

Originally published September 1985

Writer: Mark Gruenwald

Artist: Bob Hall

via Amazon

Squadron Supreme #2

October 1985

Gruenwald/Hall

Squadron Supreme #3

November 1985

Gruenwald/Hall

Squadron Supreme #4

December 1985

Gruenwald/Hall

via Amazon

Squadron Supreme #5

January 1986

Gruenwald/Hall

Captain America #314

February 1986

Gruenwald/Paul Neary

via Marvel Database

Star Trek: Redemption II

Episode: "Redemption II"

Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Season 5, Episode 1

Original Air Date: September 23, 1991

via Memory Alpha

The season-bridging story concludes.  The Duras family has the upper hand in their effort to usurp Gowron for the throne.  But the Federation, through some neat trickery by Data, exposes the Durases' Romulan backing, thus undermining the entire scheme.  

Many critics prefer Part II to Part I.  The Data story is an interesting one.  Picard, reluctantly, grants him temporary command of a Federation ship for the mission.  Data's first officer is not exactly thrilled with serving under an android.  The prejudice narrative plays out predictably but effectively.  It's a meaningful B plot, though structurally the episode has more of an A1-A2 form.  Interestingly, Michael Dorn (Worf) felt that the Data story was more deserving of its own episode and I agree.  I still think "Redemption II" is on the short list of best so far but I prefer Part I. 

Right, the Sela/Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) story.  Interesting.  But I think it's fair to say that it promised more than it delivered - in the end, little more than a gimmick.

Next week's, however, may be the greatest Star Trek episode of them all...

Acting Notes

via Wiki 24

Tony Todd played the part of Kurn, Worf's brother.  Todd was born December 4, 1954 in Washington, DC.  He studied at the University of Connecticut, the Eugene O'Neill National Actors Theatre Institute and the Trinity Repertory Company.  This is his third of four appearances as Kurn, third of six Trek appearances overall.

Big screen credits include Platoon and the Candyman and Final Destination franchises.  Beyond Trek, television appearances include a recurring role on Boston Public plus guest appearances on 24, Law & Order and The X-Files.

Squid Mixes: Ambrosia

In her book The Geeky Chef Drinks, Cassandra Reeder offers over 60 cocktail recipes inspired by various sci-fi and fantasy franchises.  Her Ambrosia recipe comes from Battlestar Galactica.  Ambrosia, a strong and expensive beverage, is brown in the original series and green in the reboot.  Reeder's recipe intends to create the latter, combining Navy Strength gin, melon liqueur, Triple Sec, lime juice and Angostura bitters.  The result was a melon Jolly Rancher flavor.

As you can see in the picture above, the color didn't quite work out.  For comparison, here's the photo in the book:

I know the problem: it's the bitters.  Angostura is intensely red.  Mind you, she suggested 1-3 dashes and I really like Angostura so I went with 3.  A single dash might not have had such a huge impact on the color.  Even so, if I were to create my own version, I'd swap it out for a more green-complimentary bitters - grapefruit perhaps.

I also went with a weaker gin since it's what we had on hand.  If I were to up the alcohol content (which my wife assured me is not necessary), I might swap out the Triple Sec for chartreuse.  It would add alcohol and also support the color.

State of the Blog 2021

Blogging Year 13, here we go!

It's going to be a big year for my family.  Our daughter begins her senior year of high school tomorrow.  Momentous occasions will abound.  Big decisions shall be made.  A year from now, we'll know the answers to many questions.  Big questions.  Suddenly, everything feels like a huge deal.

Obviously, I think a lot these days about things I want to be sure we do before she heads off to college.  I also project forward to the empty nest experience for my wife and me.  A few years ago, I told my wife that I don't want to be the sort of couple who waits for the kids to leave to get to know each other again.  I don't think we are that couple but I want to enjoy being that couple now.  So, as I think about how to spend my hobby time over the coming year, I think of new - and old - interests we should explore together. 

For instance, maybe it's time to give wine another try.  Mind you, it's still her default alcoholic beverage choice whereas I am a beer man.  Wine, particularly red, makes me sleepy.  That's not always a terrible thing but it's not what I want every night.  I also haven't been overly impressed by the classes we've taken.  Perhaps they at least taught us enough to do more informed exploring on our own.  Surely, there are compromises to be worked out here.  I don't know if I'll blog about wine again but you never know.

For now, I'm going to stick with the same blogging schedule...

Mondays: comic books

Wednesdays: family adventures

Fridays: Star Trek

As stated in yesterday's post, I am going to switch from Star Wars back to Marvel in comic books.  However, my Marvel Unlimited subscription runs out in January and I am not currently planning to renew.  So, I will probably move to a twice weekly, Tuesday/Friday schedule when that happens.

Family adventures posts will likely continue to focus on food, especially cocktails.  I will continue with Bitters of the Month as long as locally-available supply and shelf space allow.

As for Trek, I'm planning to continue as I have, beginning with TNG Season 5 right soon.  Deep Space Nine premiered during the middle of NextGen's sixth season so we should be able to explore that one together before long, too.  It will be my second time through DS9 as we binged it as a family this past year.  Without a doubt, it's my favorite of the NextGen era series.

As always, if you enjoy reading The Squid half as much as I enjoy writing it, we're all doing fine.  Keep in touch.

Squiddies 2021

The Armchair Squid turns twelve years old today.  It's time to hand out some hardware.  The Squiddy goes to...

Biggest Surprise: Chartreuse

Chartreuse is a liqueur which has been produced by French monks for at least four centuries.  There are two varieties: a sweeter yellow and a more intensely alcoholic green.  The flavor is wild, like psychedelia in a glass.  Different hints are emphasized depending on what it's combined with.  Sometimes anise prevails, other times mint, other times cinnamon, other times... I don't even know what.  It ain't cheap but on the bright side, a little goes a long way.  Without question, it was our most rewarding mixological discovery this year.

Biggest Disappointment: Chadwick Boseman's Passing

Actor Chadwick Boseman passed away last August of complications from colon cancer.  Only 43 years old, he'd already compiled an impressive film resume, having portrayed T'Challa/Black Panther, Jackie Robinson, James Brown and Thurgood Marshall among others.  May he rest in peace.

Best Read, First Time Category: Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

via Amazon

Yu's novel about the life of "Generic Asian Man" Willis Wu is written in screenplay format.  Willis is an actor - or is he a character? - on a cop show called Black and White.  The leads are a Black man and a White woman.  Willis and all of the other Asians are background characters.  Of course, it's all an elaborate metaphor for the ways race plays out in American society, especially for those of East Asian descent.  While the weaving in and out of "reality" can be a little confusing, that's sort of the point.  Even Chinatown itself is simultaneously the reality and the metaphor for the compartmentalization of Asian culture in the United States.

The time to educate ourselves about race is now.  I can't recommend Interior Chinatown highly enough.

Best Read, Re-Read Category: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling 

via Amazon

The penultimate volume of the Harry Potter series is an intensely emotional experience.  Our young hero confronts both loss and love with greater intensity and immediacy than ever before.  The stage is set for the amazing ending.  Good as it is, the final book suffers a little from pacing issues.  So, Year 6 gets my nod in this category.

Best Comics Find: Frank Miller's Daredevil

Daredevil is a fascinating character, one of Marvel's best.  Industry titan Frank Miller started drawing for the series in May 1979.  Eventually, he would take over writing duties as well.  It was his breakthrough gig.  Miller brought darker sensibilities to the medium, both literally and figuratively.  His style was a fine match for an emotionally remote protagonist and his gritty Hell's Kitchen world.

Athlete of the Year: Willie Mays

via Wikipedia

This summer, I read Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend by James S. Hirsch.  If I'd previously had any doubts about Mays's superiority over all other baseball players in history, Hirsch's book erased them.  Mays turned 90 years old in May.  He's a living national treasure.

Best Family Adventure: Zooming Christmas

This year, COVID circumstances forced (sensible) people to be creative during the holidays.  Thanks to the ingenuity of family and friends, we enjoyed several of what I hope will become new annual traditions.  English Prof hosted a reading of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens for over 30 people from her home in Massachusetts.  My sister and niece organized Jolabokaflod (explained here) for Christmas Eve including 15 people over six households, three US states (plus DC) and two countries.  My wife inspired an Æbleskiver Breakfast for three of those same households Christmas morning.  We connected with her family later Christmas day - five people, three states in that case.  Even under normal circumstances, coordinating any of those gatherings would have been challenging.  Zoom, for all of the headaches it brings, made it all possible.

Star Wars Comics: Mara Jade #6, Crimson Empire II #4-6

It's time for me to move on from Star Wars comics and back to the Marvel line.  Mind you, I always enjoy my explorations of the galaxy far, far away but, frankly, talking about Marvel is more engaging for my readers.  And that is the whole point of this blogging thing, right?  Anyway, a few parting thoughts...

1999 is a natural jumping off point anyway.  The Phantom Menace was released in May of that year, significantly expanding the narrative possibilities for the comic books for the first time in 16 years.  To that point, I am considerably impressed with how much the comic creators had been able to expand upon three (admittedly extraordinary) films and a smattering of novels.  

Big picture, I think the biggest contribution the Dark Horse comics of the '90s made to the overall franchise was the development of its ancient history.  Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy introduced the holocrons, essentially the Jedi and Sith bibles, in their Dark Empire series.  Then Veitch (and others) went on to explore the material that might be contained within the holocrons in the Tales of the Jedi series, a mythology within the mythology.  While these were not my favorite series from the era, they were certainly the ones with the strongest legacy, perhaps most significantly in the Knights of the Old Republic video game line.  

Dark Horse is also to be commended for the many strong female characters developed during this era - less so for the obligatory tight-fitting costumes of same.

  

Here are my actual favorite series from the pre-Phantom Dark Horse era, along with the most interesting, morally-ambiguous character featured in each:

X-Wing Rogue Squadron - Baron Fel

Crimson Empire I and II - Kir Kanos

Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand - naturally, Mara Jade

My Recent Reads

Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand #6

Originally published February 3, 1999

Writers: Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole

Artist: Carlos Ezquerra

In-story Timeline: 4 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood #4

February 10, 1999

Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley/Paul Gulacy

11 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood #5

March 10, 1999

Richardson and Stradley/Gulacy

via Wookieepedia

Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood #6

April 14, 1999

Richardson and Stradley/Gulacy

via Wookieepedia

Star Trek: Redemption, Part I

Episode: "Redemption, Part I"

Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Season 4, Episode 26

Original Air Date: June 17, 1991

via Memory Alpha

The Klingons are on the brink of war and as ever, the Enterprise crew is caught up in the middle of the fracas.  Gowron, the current chancellor, calls upon Picard for assistance.  Meanwhile, the plot thickens for Worf.  With Picard's urging, he takes the situation as an opportunity to see his family's honor restored.

On top of all that, Denise Crosby is back, revealed in the final scene in the form of a mysterious Romulan woman.  But we don't know who she is yet.  All will be revealed in the next episode - pretty good season-ending cliffhanger.

As previously stated, I love the Worf story.  I'll take it over the Data story any time.  Apparently, Gene Roddenberry didn't see Worf as a primary character and argued against having him play lead in such an important episode.  I'm glad other voices won out on that one.

*****

Thoughts on Season 4

General Impressions

We're cooking now.  With four seasons, NextGen now exceeds the original series's three.  For many fans, TNG became the flagship series of the the franchise.  Wesley is jettisoned - a strong move.

Favorite Episode: "The Family"

The unofficial Part 3 of the Best of Both Worlds arc, "The Family" begins the story of Picard's recovery from Borg abduction.  In the long run, I feel it's the most interesting aspect of what is arguably TNG's most important (if not necessarily best) story.  For the first time, we see the captain as a vulnerable human being.  Plus the secondary narrative about Worf's parents is sweet.

Least Favorite Episode: "Night Terrors"

The premise isn't bad.  The crew is all suffering from sleep depravation except for Data (of course) and Deanna Troi.  The latter can only have nightmares.  But the pace is glacial and the end result just plain dull, the unforgivable sin of science fiction.  

Favorite Recurring Character: Guinan

This title is hers until someone knocks her out.  Barkley made a good run at her but she's still the queen.  Every story gets better when she turns up.

Favorite Blast from the Past: Lawrence Dobkin

Dobkin played the role of Klingon Ambassador Kell in "The Mind's Eye."  While Dobkin never appeared on screen in the original series, he did direct the first season episode "Charlie X."

Favorite Guest Actor, One-Shot: David Ogden Stiers

In as clear a sign as any that NextGen was trending in the right direction, the quality of guest stars improved considerably in Season 4, including legends of stage (Theodore Bikel), screen (Jean Simmons) and both (Bebe Neuwirth).  Trek was cool again and association with the new series was no longer a risk.  Stiers was the biggest treat of all.  The former M*A*S*H regular brought impressive range to a demanding role in "Half a Life."  

Onward

Season 5 is NextGen's zenith.