I'm a big fan of foresight. Y'know, the concept of planning ahead, trying to cover all the bases. It would not be far off to say that I've lived my life by the concept.
So yeah, big fan.
Yesterday, I mentioned that I thought that Marvel's dispensing with the character of Ben Reilly, AKA the Scarlet Spider was a mistake. Especially given recent events within the Spider-Man titles these past two or three years.
The whole clone thing wasn't anyone's favorite story. It was a terrible mess, in terms of plot, script and editorial mismanagement. But it produced some interesting results. Basically, we had the old Spider-Man back...a Spider-Man free of marital entanglements or convoluted continuity, but with an interesting supporting cast to provide drama. And we had the other Spider-Man, the one with a wife and a daughter and solid supporting cast. Two Spider-Men for the price of one, both of whom are essentially the same character.
So, of course, one of them had to die.
Now, while editors have changed since then, and creative teams and such, imagine, if you will, if the Scarlet Spider had still been around for the One More Day/Brand New Day storylines, which were put into play solely (according to the Marvel EiC, at least) to remove the obstacle of the dreaded Spider-marriage. Now, whether you agree with that decision or not (and I think it was a bad one, but not for the same reasons you probably do), you have to admit, if the Scarlet Spider had still been around, this wouldn't have been necessary.
You simply have the characters switch identities once more, with Parker taking over Reilly's life and moving his family somewhere out of the line of fire and Reilly taking over for Parker. Then, you add in some sci-fi hand waving (Reed Richards invents a thingamajig that alters memories-hey, it worked for the Sentry!-wiping out the public knowledge of the Peter Parker identity), and hey-presto-problem solved. Single Spider-Man, no baggage, Aunt May in place.
But, of course, that couldn't happen, because the Scarlet Spider had to die.
Why was that, I wonder?
I've read various explanations, mostly along the lines of 'two Spider-Men are confusing to readers' or 'movie coming up, we need Peter Parker back in costume'. Basically, decisions which make sense from a corporate standpoint, i.e. devoted to protecting the brand, but which could have been handled in a much more resourceful manner by the creative teams authorized to enact them.
Instead, they let a potentially viable character get killed in order to illustrate the return of Norman Osborn (another decision which, to me, seems ill-conceived, though again, probably not for the same reasons as those of you reading this). I may talk about that tomorrow, actually.
The Scarlet Spider could have simply been quietly shuffled offstage via injury or personal drama (he was a clone after all-or was he?), then brought back when needed. Such as in the case of a desire for a return to the 'loose-and single' Spider-Man.
...
Foresight. Never kill someone when you might need them later.

Daredevil annoys me.
Not the character, mind, but his portrayal in recent years-
No, I lie. The character annoys me as well. He's a super-hero whose power is that he's not quite blind. I mean, depending on the writer, his power vacillates between "guy who can see good in the dark" and "I just heard a mosquito fart". Is that even useful?
He's basically the Black Bat without the .45s and the hard-on for mayhem. Really, he's ridiculous. A blind man who hits people with a stick. Then, afterward, feels bad about it.
I suppose that's why they ladled the drama on him. The whole Catholic guilt/gangsters/ninjas/dead love interests thing that works sometimes but mostly just seems like the same song over and over again. How many people know Matt Murdock is Daredevil now?
How many people care?
Better question-why does the Kingpin care? I mean, I get the sadism angle, but really...it's just excessive. Blind man. Stick. Not exactly the FBI there, is he?
I mean, is the evidence gathered by Daredevil admissible in court? Bendis did something with that, didn't he? Or Brubaker? And then Mr. Hyde ruined everything. Because he's a jerk.
And why ninjas? Why does every street hero in Marvel have to fight ninjas? Are ninjas the new muggers? Was there a ninja explosion I'm unaware of, scattering ninjas far and wide?
Maybe it's all the same ninja. Ninjas. Ninji. What's the plural of 'ninja'?
Another thing-between Daredevil, Electra and Wolverine shouldn't the Hand be severely undermanned by now? It's not like there's an infinite number of ninjas (I'm going with ninjas) out there. They're not a renewable resource.
Well, I suppose they are, but only in the loosest sense.
Man, think about their training budget...somewhere, poor Hattori Hanzo is trying to balance the books, and saying, "For God's sake, stop dying! We can't afford it!" And why can you kill ninjas, but not other people? Is it like zombies or Nazis? I hate ninjas, but come on. They're people too. Unless they're zombies. Or cyborgs.
Great title? Zombie Nazis vs. Ninja Cyborg-in 3D. You'd watch it. Admit it. I wouldn't, because I hate ninjas. Except for American Ninja...whom I loathe.
Who decided Daredevil should be a ninja? Was that Frank Miller? Can we blame him for that? Maybe not. We can blame him for Nuke, though. God almighty, Nuke. Hey, it's Eighties Action Movie Cliche guy and he's killing everyone. Awesome.
I kid. I love Nuke. He's like a Bizarro Captain America, and if there's one thing we need it's another evil opposite number for Captain America. And hey, let's tie the whole thing into Wolverine, because, y'know, Wolverine.
I hate Wolverine.
Not hate-hate, but, y'know, I dislike him as a character. Unless he's getting punched through a wall, because when is that not funny? He's like a hairy, hockey-loving punching bag.
What was I talking about?
Daredevil. Right. Man he annoys me.

Yeah, okay I know it's not really Pixar, but hell, look at that. That is exemplary. Man that looks good!

I was going to write a lengthy post on what Derrick Ferguson's newest book, Dillon and the Legend of the Golden Bell, today. It's the second day of the week-long blog tour celebrating the book's release, but I was stumped for words. It's hard to write about a friend's work and not come off sounding like a shill. And I, my friend, am no shill. Buy my stuff. Then, going through some old papers, searching for inspiration, I came across this little number.
It-and several supplemental items I won't go into here-was delivered in a padded envelope by a private courier to my London flat soon after I moved in. No return address. No idea of who it was from or why it was delivered to me beyond a signature of 'C.S MD'. Then, I get a lot of packages like that. At least this one didn't try and bite me.
At any rate, here's a section of the manuscript in question:

I first made the acquaintance of the man called Dillon on an island called Tosegio. It was a brief thing. He was going one way, I was going the other, but I resolved to learn more about him.
Then came the sinking of the Goliath, and Odin. That caught my attention, let me tell you. Do you recall where you were when the Voice of Odin sounded for the first time? I do. By the time I had arrived, the problem had been sorted out in a satisfactory manner.
And, just when I thought I'd heard the last of Dillon, the recent upheavals on the tiny nation-state of Xonira have brought him once more to my attentions. I was on one of the nearby islands, conducting my own business at the time, but afterward, Lord C'jai assured me that Dillon had performed admirably well, considering the circumstances.
It is an interesting thing, to see a character like Dillon from this side of the mirror, as it were. In my day, I never gave thought about how my own exploits looked to those not involved. Neither, I suspect, does Dillon.
In any event, I look forward to seeing how he faces future challenges. For there will be such. They never stop. The enemies of mankind march ever on, and we who stand between them and their chosen prey can but hold our ground, take the pain, and return it twice-over.

It stops there. Mostly it was just pictures in the envelope. A few write-ups. Notes. A detailed anatomical illustration of something called a 'senrast' that couldn't possibly exist this side of Mars. Through the help of some contacts (yes, I have contacts) stateside, I tracked the package to a nondescript brick structure on the banks of the Hudson River. It had formerly been a import/export company of some kind back in the Thirties, but had since become private property. The trail ended there.
Whoever C.S. is, I can't say I blame him for keeping track of Dillon. I know I intend to. And so should you. Go buy the book.