lyssie: (Meggan is awesome)
lyssie ([personal profile] lyssie) wrote2007-03-30 11:34 pm

Oh, Meggan...

Every so often, I remember that most comic fans think women in skimpy clothing with big boobs are bimboes. And none of them were more quitessentially that than Meggan from Excalibur. And I'd agree... Except that Warren Ellis pretty much blew that assumption out of the water.

Under his reign she was smart, and sometimes, she did things like this.

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ext_5608: (Default)

[identity profile] wiliqueen.livejournal.com 2007-03-31 03:45 pm (UTC)(link)
I thought having a character who was a desperate hanger-on with no life of her own was what made Meggan a strongly unique character in the Marvel Universe.

Only insofar as her having that rock-bottom place to grow from. Starting that way made her different and interesting. Staying that way would have made her insufferable. While they could have gone somewhere else with her growth, there had to be growth.

As far as her power level, I'm going to have to say the writing was always on the wall. By the time I quit reading comics almost entirely in the early 90s, certainly Brian and to some extent the team as a whole operated on the assumption that her potential was far from reached.

[identity profile] samy.livejournal.com 2007-03-31 07:23 pm (UTC)(link)
I agree that growth is good and that's what keeps us interested in characters in the long term. However, growth can happen in two different ways. You can have seven very similar, basic, generic, two-dimensional characters, all of whom grow and branch out in different directions. Unified starting spot, seven arrows radiating outwards from the center in seven different directions. Or, you can have reverse the direction of the arrows and have seven different starting spots, with arrows all radiating towards the center. Seven different characters in different starting spots, all congealing into one unified generic stereotype over the long term. I feel that what Ellis did with Meggan was definitely the latter.
ext_5608: (unvarnished)

[identity profile] wiliqueen.livejournal.com 2007-03-31 10:55 pm (UTC)(link)
I honestly never read Ellis' run on Excalibur, so I can't say whether I would agree with that assessment or not. But there are definitely more than two ways available.

I do find it difficult (though not impossible, since again I wasn't there) to believe that Meggan or any other character no character traits other than power level and self-confidence.