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perpetual_motionOkay, look, I'm not gonna pretend like the lack of Ted in the new universe doesn't make me die a little inside. So much of Ted as a character has been used in the last five or six years to build up the whole universe. Booster's never-ending (heart breaking) devotion showcased so much of him in Booster Gold. And Jaime wouldn't have been half the Beetle he was if not for Guy telling him that Ted is the guy to emulate.
But for now, Ted is no more, and Jaime is back to the start, and I'm gonna catch you up on the basics. Spoilers abound, but mostly in terms of where-are-they-now and not so much the plot (which hasn't really launched out yet).
We will start, of course, with Jaime, who starts out the book talking about his junk and taking a ball to the head (not like that):
So, Jaime is about where he was in his first run, and I am good with that. He is still Jaime: awkward, hard working, funny, and sweet. There's a scene with his folks I didn't get a snap of that makes it clear the family unit is intact, so so far, no reason to send a shit in a hat so far.
Now, what's up with Paco?
Ummmm...I am actually very torn on this, because in the first Jaime BB, there were mentions of Paco nearly joining a gang and being on the verge of trouble a lot, so it's not out of the realm of possibility, but I wonder how this will play out, given that Bedard has mentioned that BB is going to be "darker," and Paco being in a gang while Jaime's gonna be a superhero feels like it could go to "and then Paco was horribly murdered right in front of Jaime's eyes" territory, and I don't want that at all.
But, back to that in a minute. Let's check in with Brenda:
Brenda is, thankfully, still Brenda. Way smarter than the boys but still their best bud. Her aunt is back to being the drug lord she was in the first BB run, and I am seriously starting to think that the only reason they rebooted Jaime was so they wouldn't have to talk about Ted. Yes, Paco's a banger, but even that could have been handled with a bit of good storytelling. Because what we have now is a very slght variation on the comic we got in 2006, which was damned good all by itself and could have easily stayed canon in the new DCU if they'd wanted to let Ted stay as well.
Sigh.
Anyway, a couple of other moments to round this out:
Paco's status as a gang member aside, it's nice to see the boys are a) still buds and b) talking shit like normal. It gives me hope that whatever happens to them in the new book will be interesting but not tear them apart.
And finally, the funny panel of the issue. Fucking LOVED the red guy's face here:
Kinda makes me want to hug him, but he's made of hot lava, so no.
Basically, if you skipped the scans, we're back to where we were the first time Jaime showed up on the scene with only one really noticeable change in everyone's characters. I do think they rebooted just to be able to wipe out Ted, and I am so not happy with that, but at the same time, I have always loved Jaime, and I do wonder what he'll be like without Ted's legacy as a guiding influence. But I wonder, will he and Guy have their student/mentor relationship if there's no Ted to talk about? I really liked that relationship, and I'll miss it if it's gone.
But, I will wait and see, because this was a strong first issue, and I have a lot of hope for this book.
But for now, Ted is no more, and Jaime is back to the start, and I'm gonna catch you up on the basics. Spoilers abound, but mostly in terms of where-are-they-now and not so much the plot (which hasn't really launched out yet).
We will start, of course, with Jaime, who starts out the book talking about his junk and taking a ball to the head (not like that):
So, Jaime is about where he was in his first run, and I am good with that. He is still Jaime: awkward, hard working, funny, and sweet. There's a scene with his folks I didn't get a snap of that makes it clear the family unit is intact, so so far, no reason to send a shit in a hat so far.
Now, what's up with Paco?
Ummmm...I am actually very torn on this, because in the first Jaime BB, there were mentions of Paco nearly joining a gang and being on the verge of trouble a lot, so it's not out of the realm of possibility, but I wonder how this will play out, given that Bedard has mentioned that BB is going to be "darker," and Paco being in a gang while Jaime's gonna be a superhero feels like it could go to "and then Paco was horribly murdered right in front of Jaime's eyes" territory, and I don't want that at all.
But, back to that in a minute. Let's check in with Brenda:
Brenda is, thankfully, still Brenda. Way smarter than the boys but still their best bud. Her aunt is back to being the drug lord she was in the first BB run, and I am seriously starting to think that the only reason they rebooted Jaime was so they wouldn't have to talk about Ted. Yes, Paco's a banger, but even that could have been handled with a bit of good storytelling. Because what we have now is a very slght variation on the comic we got in 2006, which was damned good all by itself and could have easily stayed canon in the new DCU if they'd wanted to let Ted stay as well.
Sigh.
Anyway, a couple of other moments to round this out:
Paco's status as a gang member aside, it's nice to see the boys are a) still buds and b) talking shit like normal. It gives me hope that whatever happens to them in the new book will be interesting but not tear them apart.
And finally, the funny panel of the issue. Fucking LOVED the red guy's face here:
Kinda makes me want to hug him, but he's made of hot lava, so no.
Basically, if you skipped the scans, we're back to where we were the first time Jaime showed up on the scene with only one really noticeable change in everyone's characters. I do think they rebooted just to be able to wipe out Ted, and I am so not happy with that, but at the same time, I have always loved Jaime, and I do wonder what he'll be like without Ted's legacy as a guiding influence. But I wonder, will he and Guy have their student/mentor relationship if there's no Ted to talk about? I really liked that relationship, and I'll miss it if it's gone.
But, I will wait and see, because this was a strong first issue, and I have a lot of hope for this book.
