Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the greatest artists of the High Renaissance period. In fact he was more than that; he was an innovator – the best example of the Renaissance Man. Not only was he an artist, but a scientist, mathematician and philosopher. One of his most memorable piece of work is the Vitruvian Man.

       The Vitruvian Man defines the perfect man. Artists often had trouble with creating a perfectly proportioned model. If you look at early works of art, oftentimes the figure’s heads are too big or their legs are too long. It was Leonardo who stated that man was perfect in the form of a perfect circle and square.

       Here, we have the Vitruvian woman, appropriately so as Wonder Woman. Not only does this cover pay homage to Leonardo, but it fortifies the stance that Wonder Woman is the personification of beauty and perfection. 

       This line of thinking is at the heart-center of most philosophical thinkers concerning notions of justice throughout history including the likes of Aristotle and Kant. It is argued that emotion leads one to stray away from pure justice filtering in one’s own bias. However, there is nothing tangible in the universe that dictates justice. Justice is an abstract idealized concept for which there isn’t really a definitive basis. In other words, there isn’t an absolute definition of justice that we can all agree on and carve into stone.

        Emotion as the adversary of reason is a recurrent theme even in comics of which the prime example is the guardians of the universe. These midget aliens sealed away all of their emotions, in order to bring about justice. A pure cause, yet, it has not been without failures. Even the atrocities of the manhunters did not faze the guardians.

       Even his treatment of the Bat-family is the same, whether it’s Dick or Steph or Terry, they all came to him while he is always opposed to the idea. In his vision of justice, he cannot involve others, for if he is alone he can control his emotions. This is very much even how he became Batman; although a happy boy it wasn’t until his parents were murdered that he silenced his emotions. It was then that he envisioned his method of justice and became the Bat.

       Although it may be that eliminating emotion amounts to a raw justice, it does not work for me. I think taking emotion out of the equation of justice cannot amount to the same justice. It becomes just a programmed procedure. There is no consciousness of justice if there is no emotion. Our ability to express emotion should be just as important as the ability to reason. They are like two sides of a coin. You can’t have the whole coin with one side missing. 

 Let me clear this first. I would have preferred that Bucky stay on as Captain America. Sure, I’m not a long time Captain America fan. In fact, I began reading comics, when Bucky was Cap. I caught up some of the important stories like Civil War and the “Death” of Captain America. I felt it was a natural progression of the character and liked Brubaker's writing. When Steve returned from his lost in time adventures, he motivated Bucky to stay on as Cap. Now with Brubaker restarting on Captain America in July, you wonder how much of what he has done with Bucky will matter. 
 

There are only a few reasons, I think, that would pull Steve to go back to being Cap. Currently, Bucky is in custody and Steve has primarily been concerned with getting him out. However, in the point one issue, we see a certain mysterious character (more on that in another blog) trying to force Steve’s hand to becoming Cap again. Currently with no one trotting around as Cap, the shield and the symbolism, the Marvel Universe must appear a darker place. It may be compared to the end of Civil War, the only moment in recent times, when there was no Captain America.

So now with the idea that there must always be a Captain America, the only salvageable reasons for Bucky to lose the mantle are:

1.        Bucky dies.

2.        Bucky is brainwashed and becomes the Winter Soldier again.

3.        Steve’s vision comes to fruition.

4.        Bucky cannot get out of jail and has to serve a long-term sentence.

   Invisibility is barely ever used in comics. The only characters I can remember of making use of it are Sue Storm, Nick Fury and Batman Beyond.
 
Although Sue Storm's hero name is Invisible Woman, she barely ever uses this power in a meaningful way. Usually, her contribution only involves projecting a force field. I can't remember the last time Sue used her invisibility in a meaningful way. Perhaps, invisibility doesn't work well in a team setting, of which she is always a part of. 
 
However, invisibility should be a game-changer for the other two individuals that have shown to use this power. Both Fury and Terry hardly ever find themselves in a team setting. Fury is the one that has probably made use of invisibility the most. Before the skrull attack and when he was in hiding, he sneaked in to S.H.I.E.L.D and kidnapped the then director, Maria Hill, in order to warn her that her agency was compromised. After the invasion, he sneaked into the White House, to warn the President, that the promotion of Osborn was an ill-choice. Although Fury isn't quite as active anymore, he still gets his hands dirty every now and then. However, Fury could do so much more through invisibility. He could sneak into Hydra and Leviathan basses and destroy them from within without too much risk or compromise to himself. Fury is also known to posses a great number of replicas of himself, the Life Model Decoys, to the extent that they are perhaps only surpassed by Dr. Doom's collection. Imagine a possibility of sending an army of invisible Nick Fury. That could give even the most threatening opponents sometime to overcome or well, escape. Regardless, invisibility would be a god-send in the works of espionage, which Fury inhibits.
 
The last, but not least, is Terry as Batman. Although Terry as Batman Beyond uses many new toys than Bruce as Batman, my favorite is his ability to turn invisible. It's right there, the centerpiece of his belt, the red button contrasting with all the black, and yet he hardly uses it. With it, he could do all the detective work so easily. Beat up villians before the villains even realize his presence.  It's almost an instant-victory button! 

Just announced Bendis will be taking over Secret Avengers after the Fear Itself tie-in starting with issue #15. Also, in his debut issue, there will be a change in the line-up? Who do you think will join/leave the team?

  I haven't drawn in a really looong while. Here's the result:

     Although Superman has had quite a few origin stories in recent times, not one of them dwells on why Clark Kent becomes a reporter. Clark Kent could have become just about anything from a professional athlete to a scientist to an actor, (if he could fool everyone that he's not Superman from just wearing glasses, then he could get far in acting!) and yet he settles on being a reporter. It's not even that his parents (they were alien scientists) nor his adopted parents showcase any profoundness for journalism. Then, we wonder indeed how it was that Clark came to work for the Daily Planet and develop his second passion? 
     In a cancelled project called Lois Lane, Girl Reporter, Dean Trippe focused on a young Lois as the main protagonist. However, the powers that be of DC Comics were not interested in this sort of thing. Although Trippe had planned out a few volumes, it seems that his boat couldn't get a sailing. However, for one of his pitches he mentions something that is almost a hidden jewel awaiting to be unearthed. In describing Lois, he writes:
" Here’s this girl fighting for Truth, Justice, and the American Way with no superpowers and no secret identity. Clark enrolls in his school’s journalism class the next day. That’s why Clark Kent is a reporter. Lois Lane is his hero." 
     Did you catch that? Lois Lane is Superman's hero. Clark reads about her accomplishments and immediately he is compelled to follow in her footsteps. I think this could be a fantastic reason why Clark decided to pursue journalism. I feel Lois never gets the amount of attention she deserves, well unless it's from Superman's villains.  
     So what do you gals and pals think about this one? Do you think Lois Lane is "worthy" to be Superman's inspiration, when she's even his wife?

 
In Brave and the Bold # 33, Wonder Woman, Batgirl and Zatanna danced to Beyonce's "Single Ladies" Song. It is also rumored to make an appearance in Wonder Woman's TV show. So, although Wonder Woman writers attribute the "Single Ladies" song to her, I disagree.