So, NEWS ITEM - an upcoming solicitation for an issue of Green Lantern Corps says that Ice will propose to Guy Gardner. Some of you out there might recall that I really do like those crazy kids and may suspect that this nuptial news makes me pleased as punch (although really, how pleased can punch be? It's a goddamn fruit drink).
Nevertheless, the accompanying visual - all about the new Star Sapphire-y Love Ring Corps - makes me the cynical part of me think this is all just some nasty Pink Ring Brainwashing scheme that won't last the arc. I really am torn between "SQUEEE!" and "Ooh, You Bastards."
You guys remember the last relationship I talked about? How I went on and on about how much I loved complicated, messy love affairs in fiction? WHATEVER. C'mon, I never said I was consistent, people. So, with that in mind, I will now describe the adorable, often hilarious and altogether charming love affair of . . .
I'm not alone in my love of Guy Gardner and Tora Olafsdotter, by any means. These two crazy kids met back in one of my favorite series, Keith Giffen's comedic run on the Justice League. Guy was a grade-A jerk and Tora was hilariously naive. Still, rather than going the expected route and having a somewhat crass Guy take advantage of Tora's naivety, he fell in love with her so soundly that it changed his character forever. Ice saw a side of him nobody else did. She even turned out to be just about the only person who Guy would listen to whenever he was in a rage and, on rare occasions, vice versa.
(Okay, maybe not so rare occasions. This is what happens when you don't vent, Tora)
Guy's personality flipped-flopped from milquetoast to alpha male but Tora loved him all the same. Their relationship, more than any other, provided me with the most glee in the Giffen-era JLA. Only Tora and Guy could make a whole issue of going to the Ice Capades together compulsory reading. Hell, I even loved reading about them just talking about their feelings.
Now, Ralph and Sue Dibny very nearly made this list but I changed my mind at the last second. This was mostly due to the heinous, disgusting storyline called Identity Crisis and what they ended up doing to Sue. Even the awesome story of Ralph's journey in 52 couldn't redeem what they'd done unnecessarily to the Dibnys. Plus, unlike Sue, Tora has been subsequently raised back from the dead (thanks, Gail Simone!). Let's take a gander at what happens when two old lovers reunite after a small case of death, shall we?
Seems like Guy's getting the cold shoulder for now but I refuse to give up hope. This is the only loving relationship to survive from my favorite DC Comics run of the JLA and I'm darned protective of it. Let's hope that they find their way back from this Superman Returns moment -
all the way to this Say Anything moment -
In any case, thanks to Keith Giffen and everyone who made Tora and Guy happen. Some days I just want to read a sweet, simple romance tinged with comedy. Most days, however, I want explosions and kick-ass alien fights. Luckily, with Guy and Tora? I almost always get both.
In a recent e-mail to Occasional Superheroine, I got pretty high and might about why I preferred Marvel to DC. Marvel has the characters I care about, I said, the damaged messy ones that piss me off or make me laugh. DC just had the icons and the big stories.
I stopped and thought about this today . . .
The last time I was furious about a character dying besides Layla Miller was when Big Barda went out without a fight in a kitchen. Before her, it was Knockout and before her, it was Sue Dibney and before her, Ted Kord.
The last time I got really annoyed at a character's new direction was Catwoman, then Wonder Woman (no longer - thank you Miss Simone), then the dissolution of the Secret Six.
The last time I cheered at a character's return - actually pumped my fist in the air and said "Fuck, yeah!" - was Ice. I also misted up at her reunion with Fire.
No character infuriates me or makes me quite as happy in terms of pure character arc as Batman and his passive-aggressive relationships with his Batfamily.
Yes, Emma Frost, Deadpool, Jamie Madrox, Jessica Jones and Spidey are the ones who are my favorites. They'll always be my top five.
But I think I definitely owe DC an apology.
Or at least need to send a retraction to Occasional Superheroine.*
*That and I forgot to include Y: The Last Man on my list of must-reads . . . but that's another kettle of fish.
