Comments on: The New Avengers #57: A Medical Review

By: Marcus

Marcus — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:06:05 +0000

This seems Very Similar to the Alpha Flight Diamond Lil story where she has a growth in her breast, but she has unbreakable skin and no one can do a biopsy to tell her if it’s malignant. I think they ended up having aliens invade who just happened to have a laser that could cut her skin.

By: David Fromberg

David Fromberg — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:23:33 +0000

Hello,

Just stumbled upon your site thanks to the link at the bottom of the House MD wikipedia entry. I am in medical school and also enjoy watching house and reading comics in my free time (very little).

Why not take a crack at the latest Justice Society of America treatment of Mr. Terrific (#30 and #31) after getting stabbed multiple times. I think Dr. Mid-Night and Green Lantern work on him…

Great site, I will bookmark it! :]

By: Seth Finkelstein

Seth Finkelstein — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:15:31 +0000

Wouldn’t it be a good idea for a practitioner of superhero medicine to have a few adamantium IV needles and scalpels, for just such contingencies?

By: Cattleprod

Cattleprod — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:53:53 +0000

“Why, if his powers were negated, would Cage still have unbreakable skin?”

He was no longer under the effects of the power negator. The debate at the end was whether or not they should turn themselves in to get him back under the effects so they can treat him.

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:05:11 +0000

There’s something wrong with the comic’s pacing when a fight scene — where pretty much everyone just lies down and does nothing — takes three issues to resolve.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:41:04 +0000

Wasn’t that point (about Ronin and Mockingbird being affected by the power disrupter) made last issue? Specifically, wasn’t Mockingbird still up and kicking butt, and she wondered internally why Clint was down, since he, like her, had no powers? I thought it was Bendis planting a mystery, like something is up with Ronin, precisely because he was affected by the disrupter.

It clearly didn’t affect Bobbi, since she left to get the plane, and wasn’t shown lying there at the start.

No idea why Cap was down, though. She may have mentioned it last issue as well.

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:22:14 +0000

Steven,

Good points.

Other thoughts — if it was a genetic disruptor — or even a super-power disruptor — why did it affect Captain America (bionic arm) and Ronin and Mockingbird (no powers)?

You’ll notice I never said it was a good comic, just that I liked the medical aspect…

By: Kat

Kat — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:32:07 +0000

@Rob: if I remember correctly, it’s around the same time, and he wanted to give Jim a blood transfusion to save him from AIDS, since he was immune to it or something like that.

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:32:21 +0000

The Hulk never had AIDS. However, there were a couple of stories in the Nineties about his former partner Jim Wilson and his battle with AIDS. I also distinctly remember the Hulk punching himself in the face to give a blood sample. This was around the same time period as the story above, but I don't remember the exact context.

By: Steven R. Stahl

Steven R. Stahl — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:33:07 +0000

There are two basic but related problems with the material: Why would the power negation cause Cage to have a heart attack? Why, if his powers were negated, would Cage still have unbreakable skin? The negation wasn’t selective, after all — and “genetic disruption” isn’t easily reversed. There is no reasoning underlying the use of the power negation. Maybe it’s magic?

There are other problems with the storyline treating the power negation concept as something wondrous and new, when such devices have been basic equipment for supervillains for decades. However the worst thing about the use of the idea is that taking away powers was taken to its limit in the AVENGERS/THUNDERBOLTS miniseries.

SRS