Silver Surfer

The Devaluation of a Hero

/ / Comics

The Silver Surfer is one of my favorite Marvel characters. Sometimes I lement that he goes long stretches without a monthly comic on his own, but then I take solace in the understanding that not everyone can write a good Silver Surfer story. And when the character is done poorly it’s excruciating to read. Take this comic as an example.

Writer Greg Pak’s “Devolution’ strips Marvel’s most noble hero of his adamantium skin and then shoots him several times in the chest. Honestly, I can’t imagine a worse Silver Surfer story, and I’ve read Ron Marz‘s take on the character. And we’ve got four more issues!

Pak’s writing comes off like someone who has read Silver Surfer stories in the past but didn’t understand them. In essence what he’s done here is given the Surfer the Michael Bay Transformers treatment. (And if you find a way to take that as a positive I hate you.)

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Silver Surfer: Requiem

/ / Comics
  • Title: Silver Surfer: Requiem
  • Comic Vine: link

“My name is Norrin Radd.  The Silver Surfer.  Wielder of the Power Cosmic, former herald to Galactus, Devourer of Worlds.  I have travelled the galaxy, seen more than other eyes could hope to behold in a hundred lifetimes.  And I am dying.”

“As he rose into the sky, I thought..how sad that we did not know him better.  How sad that his voice was heard so little, when he had so much to say.”

In four issues J. Michael Straczynski weaves a heart-wrenching tale of the final days of the Silver Surfer.  A speck has appeared on outer covering of his body, and is growing.  The shell which has kept him alive through space and inside suns has begun to break down.  As it fails, so will Norrin Radd’s nervous system, providing a painful death for our hero.

The first two issues, and the beginning of issue three, deal with the realization of the Surfer’s condition and his final moments on the planet Earth, visiting the people and places he has come to love.  In these pages we get Reed Richards’ frustration, Sue‘s despair, Doctor Strange‘s final gift, and Spider-Man offering comfort.

The third issue deals with a sacred war between two neighbouring planets which has lasted for 50 generations.  The last big effort of the Surfer is to single-handedly end the conflict, and, as always, promote tolerance, peace, and understanding.  Although not as moving as the rest of the book it does allow the hero one final big moment before his voyage ends.

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Not Craptastic, but Far From Fantastic

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
  • IMDb: link

“All that you know is at an end.”

rise-of-the-silver-surfer-posterI love the Silver Surfer. He is one of my favorite Marvel Comics heroes (though not my favorite Marvel character).  When news broke that the team that created the suckfest known, at least by me, as Craptastic Four was getting a chance to ruin this character as well I started stocking up on ammunition.  The film is far from the total desaster I imagined, and in truth the makers have made some great strides from the first film (this one is actually watchable without raising my blood pressure to dangerous levels).  I guess I could give it a pass just on improvement and effort, but although it’s not craptastic, like its predecessor, it’s far from fantastic.

Things pick up some months (years?) after the last movie.  Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) and Sue Storm (Jessica Alba) are preparing to marry, Johnny (Chris Evans) is still a media-whore, and Ben (Michael Chiklis) is still made of what appears to be orange spray-painted foam.  To be fair, the look of the Thing is an improvement from the last film (they must have spent at least $50 on his costume this time), but what is up with Jessica Alba’s eyes?  Is she a scientist who can turn invisible or some weird alien creature?

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