Reading Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale – Act 3 Scene 3 (part 3)

Posted on June 26, 2024 by Mac McEntire

Re-reading Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale! Now that the business with the bear is over, act 3 scene 3 concludes as we find ourselves in a whole new play with new characters.

Antigonus has left the baby Perdita alone in the woods, only to be chased off by the play’s infamous bear. Now we meet two new characters, the shepherd and his son. But wait, who are these two? The Folger edition uses those names, but the Oxford edition names them “old shepherd” and “clown.” The Pelican edition and the RSC edition both split the difference with just “shepherd” and “clown.” OpenSourceShakespeare.com goes one step further on the characters list with the credit “Clown, son of the old shepherd.” Why these differences? As we all know, different versions of Shakespeare’s plays were saved in various folios and quartos and whatnot. I wonder if maybe the characters aren’t named because some well-known comedy duo of the time was meant to play them.

My son the clown.

Anyway, after the bear disappears, the shepherd comes on stage with a speech about how he wishes the youth could just skip the ages between ten and twenty-three. This is some funny foreshadowing, in that we’re about to have one such time skip in the next scene. He blames the youth for scaring away his sheep. The shepherd then spots the baby, calling it “the bairn.” More differences: The Oxford edition has a stage direction, “He sees the babe,” which is absent in all the other editions. Then we get some classic Shakespeare ‘80s teen sex comedy jokes, in which the shepherd assumes the baby is the result of a gentlewoman engaging in “trunk-work” and “behind-door work.” (Hehe, double entendre.)

Gary and Wyatt were all about behind-door work.

The shepherd’s son joins him, and I’ll call him that because I’m reading mostly from the Folger edition. The shepherd is about to show his son the baby, but then the son describes two sights he’s seen. First, he says he’s seen a ship just off the coast being swallowed up by the sea. This would be the mariner we met at the start of this scene, and his entire crew, being doomed. This is inevitable, though, so that little Perdita is truly alone in this moment, and she has nowhere else to go.

Ya burnt!

In an interesting detail, the son says the ship was “flap-dragoned” by the sea. The Pelican edition says this means “swallowed whole,” but the other editions have bizarre footnotes about a game where revelers at parties would try to catch raisins from flaming brandy. I had no idea what the heck this meant. It took a lot of googling, but I finally learned this was a Christmastime party game more commonly known as “snapdragon.” A large plate was filled with raisins or nuts, and then covered with brandy. The brandy was lit on fire, so it made small blue flames. Then partygoers took turns reaching into the fire and snatching out raisins without getting burned. The flames are mild enough so that players only got a slight sensation of heat, nothing more. A helpful Atlas Obscura article from December 2020 has all the details about how to play safely.

Shipwreck!

In a movie adaptation, would it be worth it to depict this shipwreck on screen? It’d be a big and complicated set piece for a simple plot point, but maybe it can be combined with Antigonus and the bear attack somehow. Like, the two tragic events could be edited to happen side by side, or the bear could chase Antigonus right onto the deck and then the bear brings the ship down. The possibilities are endless, except that the shipwreck isn’t really related much to the characters and the main story. It can’t be a distraction from the plot.

What if it was this shepherd?

Speaking of which, the son next tells us about a scene we didn’t see. He says he met an injured Antigonus in the woods, who managed to introduce himself before being chased off the bear again, and properly killed this time. Does this detail upset plans for anyone who wants to make the bear attack into a big theatrical moment? It would be easy enough to have the son witness the bear attack from the sidelines, or leave the grislier details up to the imagination.

So dramatic.

The shepherd then shows his son the baby, suggesting the child might be a changeling. Then they find the papers and the box of gold Antigonus left behind. The shepherd says it’s fairy gold. There’s a lot of magic/fantasy stuff to deal with here. “Changeling” refers to spooky stories about fairies stealing babies from their cribs, leaving evil fairy lookalike babies in their place. Other stories say that if fairies give you their gold, it could make you incredibly wealthy. But if you tell anyone where you got the gold from, then it will become cursed and bring you only misery.

At least it’s not this fairy changeling.

Does the shepherd believe in all this fairy talk, or is this mere playful wordplay? I think making him superstitious gives him a country bumpkin feel, in contrast to all the kings and lords we’ve been dealing with. Also, I’ve been considering a far-out epic fantasy version of this story with the Sicilians as devil/demon types and the Bohemians as angelic/heavenly types. Therefore, the baby could be something truly otherworldly from the shepherd’s perspective. But don’t worry – he describes the baby as beautiful more than once, and shows affection for her throughout this scene, no matter where she came from.

You know, something like this.

The shepherd and his son talk about finding and burying Antigonus’ remains, which the son says are scattered about in pieces. (Yikes.) Strangely, the shepherd doesn’t say outright that he’s adopting the baby. It’s understood that he’s taking the gold, that he will be sworn to secrecy, and he ends the scene by saying “We’ll do good deeds.” I suppose that’s enough.

Next: Rhyme time.

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Want more? Check out my ongoing serial, THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, on Kindle Vella. A man searches for his missing sister in a sprawling city full of far-out tech, strange creatures, and secret magic. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid full of action, romance, mystery, and laughs. The first ten episodes are FREE! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.

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Fantastic Friday: Franks and beings

Posted on June 21, 2024 by Mac McEntire

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Issue #574 gives us a party, as well as more than one glimpse of the future.

It’s Franklin’s birthday, and Sue manages a surprise party by turning everyone invisible. Among the guests are three of the Power Pack kids, and mutant kids Artie and Leech. Reed has a chat with Alex Power, who says he’s started college but finds it boring and frustrating. Reed offers him a job. There’s also kid there named Bently, but who insists on calling himself “Thirty-Two.” He’s the thirty-second clone of the Wizard, one of the clone kids from issue #570. It’s worth noting that Dragon Man is here. He’s docile and friendly rather than monstrous, even though he was last seen in one of the Civil War books, locked up in Reed and Iron Man’s controversial super-prison. His presence at the party is likely due to his being friendly in Power Pack and in Fantastic Four annual 2001.

Ben announces a special guest of honor: Spider-Man! It’s a fake-out at first, with some random guy in a Spidey costume, only for the real Spidey to then show up. Spider-Man treats Franklin to a web-swinging ride around the building. Franklin then announces he’s prepared gifts for all the guests. He gives Artie and Leech a key to their own room in the Baxter Building, with his parents’ permission, as well as a device for Artie that recreates his image-projecting mutant powers he recently lost.

Later that night, the new Baxter Building’s computer warns of a “time quake” and then a mysterious stranger teleports into the building. The FF attack, and the stranger separates them from him with a force field, right outside Franklin’s room. He puts Franklin to sleep with a wave of his hand, and then he goes into the bedroom where he confronts Valeria. He tells her he was sent to find her with a warning, that the future must be avoided at all costs.

The stranger gives Valeria a message rife with foreshadowing: “There will be a war between the four cities. The dead must not be forgotten. The future man must return to save the past. And all hope lines in Doom.” She asks whether she can trust him, and he says she’s the one who sent him there.

The stranger prepares to depart, and Valeria tells him “Happy Birthday.” This confirms what the readers already figured out, that the stranger is Franklin from the future. He disappears and drops the force field. Valeria assures Reed that she’s not harmed.

Even later, Johnny reports that the building’s security logs didn’t register this incident, as if it never happened. Reed says he tested the kids (while they were sleeping?) and says he doesn’t see anything wrong. Alone in her bedroom, Valeria starts writing mathematical equations on the wall, just as Reed recently did in his secret thinking room. Franklin, alone in his room, has a flashback to his future self saying “Remember who you are,” and he creates a miniature universe, revealing that his reality-altering mutant powers are back.

Unstable molecule: Reed is drawn with prominent beard stubble throughout this issue. Could this also be the origin of today’s bearded Reed?

Fade out: Sue shuts up Reed before he can say out loud how old Franklin is. (The Marvel Wiki states that Franklin is “roughly twelve” for this birthday.)

Clobberin’ time: Spider-Man fakes out Franklin by hiding on Ben’s back. Is Ben that huge?

Flame on: Johnny personally selected the gift for Spider-Man, a book titled “A Loser’s Guide to Picking Up Women.” (For the record, Peter Parker was dating lady cop Carlie Cooper during this time.)

Fantastic fifth wheel: There’s yet another new H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot at the party. This one does not hover, but is on wheels, rolling around the floor. Freakin’ H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot.

Foundational: The big deal about this issue is that the first seeds are planted for what will soon become… the Future Foundation! Alex Power, Bentley Thirty-Two, Artie, Leech, and Dragon Man will all become regulars once that other FF gets up and running.

Four and a half: Franklin has a “Gunslingers only” sign on his bedroom door, showing he’s still into cowboy/Western stuff.

Our gal Val: Valeria calls Franklin the “R-word” twice during this issue, which seems pretty uncool for something published in 2010. Maybe they were going for some kind of Tarantino-ish edginess, but that doesn’t come across.

Trivia time: Reed says the Baxter Building would be better living conditions than where Artie and Leech are currently staying, but he doesn’t say where that is. Leech’s previous appearance was in Uncanny X-Men #491, where he was held prisoner by the evil Masque. It’s suggested in that issue that he’s living among the Morlocks in the NYC sewers.

Why does Artie no longer have his powers? He was one of many mutants who went powerless during the “M-Day” event.

Fantastic or frightful? After the messiness of the previous few issues, it feels like here’s where Jonathan Hickman’s take on the series really begins. I know not everyone likes the Future Foundation, but this new-ish mix of characters feels fresh and exciting.

Next: Mountains and molehills.

* * * *

Want more? Check out my ongoing serial, THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, on Kindle Vella. A man searches for his missing sister in a sprawling city full of far-out tech, strange creatures, and secret magic. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid full of action, romance, mystery, and laughs. The first ten episodes are FREE! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.

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Reading Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale – Act 3 Scene 3 (part 2)

Posted on June 19, 2024 by Mac McEntire

Re-reading Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale! It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for, in which Antigonus will… exit, pursued by a bear!!!

Where were we? Antigonus has left the baby Perdita in the woods, after a speech about the ghost of her mother, Queen Hermoine, and about how he believes he is doomed and that, “The chase is on.” Then we get the famous stage direction:

[He exits, pursued by a bear]

At least, the Folger edition says, “He exits,” while the Oxford and Pelican editions just state the more commonly quoted, “Exit.” The difference is small, but it’s noteworthy because The Winter’s Tale has the distinction of more descriptive stage directions that Shakespeare’s other plays. This is likely because the play was not written for the outdoor Globe Theater, but for Blackfriars, a smaller indoor theater that gave Shakespeare more control over lighting and effects.

Bear, or Ewok?

That brings us to the big question: How is this to be portrayed on stage? For a more low-budget production, the answer can be to light a silhouette of a bear shape onto the wall. Or, failing that, just have a bear’s roar come from backstage. You could always have an actor in a Halloween store bear costume run across the stage, but that could make this harrowing scene unintentionally humorous. Then again, The Winter’s Tale is listed among Shakespeare’s comedies, so if you’re going very, very broad with it all, then a cheesy bear suit could elicit intentional laughs. Others have taken a more abstract interpretation, by having dancers in bear masks surround Antigonus, for a balletic and/or pageantry take on the scene.

He just wants his picky-nick basket.

If you have money to spend, there’s all sorts of ways to do the bear. You find lots of images online of elaborate bear puppets constructed for this scene, some of them very scary looking. Some are designed to move realistically, while others are more abstract, rising from under the floor until they look gigantic, towering over the helpless Antigonus. And obviously, a movie version can go nuts with production value and special effects, creating huge bear attacks like the ones in The Edge or The Revenant.

Bear 2: The Rise of Bear.

There are more. A 2018 Globe production brought out an oversized bear skull on stage to have it represent the animal. Another version from 2009 replaced the bear with a ghostly creature made entirely of pages from torn books. I’m not quite sure what the symbolism is there (representing the collapsing of Leontes’ kingdom, perhaps?) but it’s a striking visual. In a 1976 Royal Shakespeare Company production, the bear was replaced with Father Time, who we’ll meet a few scenes from now. By having Time himself kill Antigonus, it emphasizes the inevitability of Antigonus’ forewarned death.  

The book bear!

The next question is, what about putting a real bear on stage? That leads us into places rather ghoulish. In Shakespeare’s time, so-called “bear-baiting” was a semi-popular form of entertainment. A captured bear was put into a pit with a bunch of hungry attack dogs. Crowds would delight in the bloody violence as the animals battled it out. Allegedly, both King Henry VIII and Shakespeare’s BFF Queen Elizabeth were fans of bear-baiting. This crossed over with live theater, as traveling acting troupes would include bear pits alongside their comedies and tragedies. All the academic Shakespeare blogs and sites I follow are quick to point out that there’s “no evidence” of Shakespeare using a real bear in The Winter’s Tale, and that it “probably” never happened. This careful wording, however, suggests there’s some possibility that it might have happened. Despite everything we know about Shakespeare, there’s still a lot we don’t know, which part of why we still talk about him today.

How civilized.

And a bigger picture question: Why are people so drawn to this one stage direction? On the page, this adds a burst of excitement after the long trial scene. But in modern times, “exit pursued by a bear” has become something of a comedy punchline, shorthand for anything random or unexpected. I don’t believe it is random, because the scene leading up to this establishes that Antigonus is in a harsh wilderness, and that he believes he is doomed. Beyond that, though, I can’t fully explain it. When people think of The Winter’s Tale, they think “It’s the one with the bear.” Nothing wrong with that.

Next: My son the clown.

* * * *

Want more? Check out my ongoing serial, THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, on Kindle Vella. A man searches for his missing sister in a sprawling city full of far-out tech, strange creatures, and secret magic. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid full of action, romance, mystery, and laughs. The first ten episodes are FREE! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.

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Fantastic Friday: Not so Nu

Posted on June 14, 2024 by Mac McEntire

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Issue #573 takes us back to Nu World, where we all learn a lesson about how sometimes you shouldn’t want to go back.

Following the previous storyline’s subplot, Johnny and Ben are off on vacation to Nu World. Remember that this is a recreation of Earth located in an alternate dimension that is currently home to 100,000 refugees from an apocalyptic future. What Johnny and Ben don’t know is that Franklin and Valeria have secretly stowed away on the trip with them.

We begin in a futuristic setting where a man and robot are on the run. Through their dialogue, we learn the man is Ted Castle, the mega-billionaire who financed the creation of Nu World. The robot is powered by a human brain, and this is Alyssa Moy, super-genius and Reed’s ex-girlfriend who married Ted. Ted rants about unnatural progress and evolutionary acceleration on Nu World, saying this is not how things were meant to be. The robots chasing them say it’s because they’ve violated Ultron’s territory. After fighting them, Ted and Alyssa look over a ridge to find Ben, Johnny, and the kids emerging through the portal from Earth.

After fighting off the robots, Ted reveals that years have passed for him and Alyssa, while only a short time has passed for everyone on Earth. The sun over Nu World is collapsing, making the portal back home unusable. More robots attack, so Ben fights them off while everyone else escapes. He gets help from Lightwave and Psionics, two of the New Defenders from the future who came to be Nu World’s superheroes.

Ted leads everyone to an underground chamber. He explains that Nu World was a paradise at first, but war broke out over resources once the star collapsed. Alex Ultron of the New Defenders is now just Ultron, using the telepathy of Natalie X to mind-control the populace. Ted takes everyone to a hidden city where there’s some business about people jet-packing into the collapsing star as if it’s a portal. Then Ted leads them into the center of the planet.

At Ultron’s fortress, we see that he’s working alongside Psionics and Lightwave. Psionics believes Valeria has the genius needed to reopen the portal to Earth, but Ultron has moral issues about abducting a child. Psionics doesn’t worry about, saying they’ve taken Ben hostage, so the FF will come to them anyway. Inside the fortress’ holding cells, Ben discovers that Hulk Jr., also formerly of the New Defenders, is locked up down there as well.

In the center of the planet, Ted shows Valeria a device called the Wheel, and he explains that one of the reasons they can’t reopen the portal on their side is because they lack a power source. Valeria shows him the device she swiped from the Baxter Building last issue and says, “So what’s the other thing we need?” Outside the fortress, Johnny and Alyssa plan the attack, only to spot all the robots leaving. All alone in whatever chamber she’s in, Natalie X wakes up and says, “They’re coming.” At the Wheel, the power source works, and Valeria gets work on the complex calculations needed to chart a course back to Earth.

Johnny and Alyssa find Ben’s cell inside the fortress. Just as they’re about to break him out, the dome atop Alyssa robot body shatters and her brain goes spilling out. Psionics steps out of the shadows and kills the brain by stepping on it. (!) She boasts about how her telekinesis has gotten far more powerful, and she demands that Valeria help her open the portal instead of Ted. Before she can finish her villain speech, Hulk Jr. busts out of his cell and kills her with a single punch. Johnny and Ben escape, but Hulk Jr. stays behind to deal with Lightwave.

Throughout this issue, Franklin has been relating all this to Sue via narrative captions. At this point, the issue flashes forward to them having this conversation. Franklin says Ted had to stay behind to manage the portal, so Ben, Johnny and the kids could get back home. Ted’s fate, as well as Hulk Jr. and Lightwave’s fates, remain unknown. It’s nighttime, and when the clock turns 12, it’s officially Franklin’s birthday. Sue wishes him happy birthday and then he goes to sleep.

Fade out: Sue is pretty chill about the kids going on this post-apocalyptic adventure. She says the best thing about their family is that you never know what exciting thing will happen next.

Clobberin’ time: We’re not shown how Psionics and Lightwave managed to capture Ben. Perhaps Psionics’ increased powers did it. We’re also not told why Ben can’t use his awesome strength to escape from his cell. I guess if these cells can hold a Hulk, they can hold him.

Flame on: It’s only barely acknowledged that Psionics is Johnny’s ex-girlfriend. She jokes about him not returning her calls, and another character wisecracks about them once dating, but that’s it.

Four and a half: There’s a fun bit where Franklin has a sandwich he brought from home, and he shares it with Ted.

Our gal Val: Valeria boasts about being even smarter than Reed. It’s unknown at this time if that’s true or if she’s merely bragging.

Trivia time: The brutal deaths of Alyssa and Psionics are final. Neither character ever appeared again. Ted and the surviving New Defenders will be back during the Heroic Age crossover.

Fantastic or frightful? How do issues like this happen? They’re revisiting the Nu World storyline, which was fairly recent, only to wreck it? And kill off two supporting characters. I get that Alyssa and Psionics were no one’s favorites, but the characters had potential. With their personal history with the FF, a good writer could have done anything with them and made them interesting in all kinds of ways. But no, we’re killing them for no good reason. I’ve enjoyed Jonathan Hickman’s writing elsewhere, but his FF run is not off to a good start.

Next: Let me be Frank.

* * * *

Want more? Check out my ongoing serial, THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, on Kindle Vella. A man searches for his missing sister in a sprawling city full of far-out tech, strange creatures, and secret magic. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid full of action, romance, mystery, and laughs. The first ten episodes are FREE! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.

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Reading Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale – Act 3 Scene 3 (part 1)

Posted on June 12, 2024 by Mac McEntire

Re-reading Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale! Act 3 scene 3 takes us to a new setting, a turning of the tide, and one of the bard’s most evocative speeches. 

With the drama of Hermoine’s trial over, we now pick up with Antigonus, who has charged to take Hermoine’s baby into exile in Bohemia. He arrives with a mariner, or a sailor, who has brought him here. They’ve landed on the shores of a wilderness, rather than some port city. While this isn’t the big shift in tone the play is about to have, this would be a good place for a filmed version to go big with a lush outdoor location, a chance to take a breath after the lengthy trial.

What if it was this mariner?

Antigonus and the mariner discuss how a big storm is on the horizon, and how the mariner can’t stay for long. The conversation begins with Antigonus asking “Art thou perfect” that this is Bohemia. My Folger edition states that “perfect” means certain in this context, but I wonder if this is classic Shakespeare wordplay, in that their situation is, in fact, far from perfect.

Perfect!

Antigonus sends the mariner back to his boat, saying he won’t be long. Does the mariner know what Antigonus is up to with the baby? It’s possible. He says the heavens are angry, adding the phrase “In my conscience.” Also, this is more Heaven and Hell imagery in the play. I’m envisioning a far-out fantasy version of the play where Leontes’ people are hellish demonic types and Polixenes’ people are heavenly angelic types. In this space, a storm-swept wilderness, can be a weird barrier-type setting that characters must pass through to get from world to the other. And yes, in some foreshadowing, the mariner also warns Antigonus of dangerous wildlife in the area.

Something like this.

Antigonus then goes into an excellent speech. I’m surprised this isn’t considered one of Shakespeare’s all-timers, because there’s all kinds of great stuff here for an actor to work with. He talks about spirits of the dead walking among the living. He tells the baby he saw a vision of her mother Hermoine, who instructed him where to leave the baby. In this vision, he says, Hermoine named the baby Perdita. The footnotes all agree that Perdita means “She who is lost.” Hermoine’s ghost also tells Antigonus he’ll never see his wife Paulina again.

A ghostly vision?

Antigonus’ description of the ghost is highly evocative, with her in white robes and head tilted to one side. (Does this mean Hermoine hanged herself? That could be one interpretation.) He says the ghost’s eyes are like “spouts.” None of my five books have a footnote for spouts, though I’m pretty sure we can interpret this as her tears. But in a far-out fantasy version, this could be glowing or fiery eyes.

Eyes like sprouts.

That leads to a bigger question of how the ghost is portrayed. Should we see this ghost on stage? She could appear on a balcony above Antigonus as he says this, in spooky lighting. In a filmed version, we could cut to a flashback with his voiceover, seeing ghostly Hermoine appearing in his cabin with some cool horror movie effects. We could have Hermoine say her lines from the part of this speech. On the other hand, if we see her walking and talking now, that could take away from the impact of her return at the end of the play, and instead focus on Antigonus as he speaks these powerful words.

She shrieks!

Antigonus adds more ghoulishness to the scene by saying the ghost shrieked as she melted into the air. He says he now knows that Hermoine is not only dead, but innocent according to the oracle. He places the baby on the ground with some items. The first, he says, is “thy character.” The Folger edition states that this means some letters describing where the baby came from, and that “character” used to refer to writing in general. I think this more clever wordplay, as we’ll see where Perdita goes from here. He also leaves her “this,” which the stage description says is a box. The Folger footnotes elaborate that the box contains money for when (or if?) someone finds the baby.

Bye-bye baby.

Antigonus concludes his speech with a sense of doom, saying that he is cursed, and unable to offer the baby a proper lullaby. He says he sees the heavens dim, for more Heaven/Hell imagery, and he finally says, “The chase is on.” But who’s chasing him? Why it’s… oops, ran out of time. We’ll get to the big moment next week.

Next: Let’s boo-boo.

* * * *

Want more? Check out my ongoing serial, THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, on Kindle Vella. A man searches for his missing sister in a sprawling city full of far-out tech, strange creatures, and secret magic. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid full of action, romance, mystery, and laughs. The first ten episodes are FREE! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.

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Fantastic Friday: Love is a battlefield

Posted on June 7, 2024 by Mac McEntire

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Issue #572 has a battle raging throughout the multiverse… and within the human heart.

In his newfound drive to solve everything, Reed has discovered the interdimensional Council of Reeds, whose science and achievements are beyond even his. Just as he’s volunteered to join them permanently, the Council’s headquarters is attacked by godlike Celestials. As this issue begins, the Celestials kill a bunch of the Reeds, saying that “this place” leads to other worlds and the Celestials are claiming it for their own.

One of the Reeds who has an Infinity Gauntlet accesses his own universe through a portal in the chest of another Reed (comic books!). This grants him the power of the Infinity Gems, localized to his own universe. This knocks back the celestials but does not defeat them. The Council’s leader gives orders to five other Reeds, including our own Reed Richards, to return to their home universes and find a solution. Reed returns to the Bridge, his portal to our universe, just as one Celestial reaches for him. Reed makes it back to Earth, severing the Celestial’s hand and bringing it with him.

Back at the new Baxter Building, Johnny and Ben take off to their vacation to Nu World (a recreation of Earth in yet another parallel universe that’s home to refugees from a disastrous alternate future). Franklin and Valeria were not invited to join them, so they stow away by riding this weird robot horse thing that’s attached to the Fantasticar.

While Reed is alone in his so-called “thinking room” with his calculations written all over the walls, Sue speaks to him through the intercom. She apologizes for their fight earlier. Not because she was wrong, she says, but because she forgets what it’s like to be him, that he sees crises to be solved that everyone else isn’t even aware of. She tells him to take all the time he needs, and she’ll still be there for him when he’s done.

Reed returns to the Council, where the Reeds manage to drive back another Celestial. Then we learn it was a new weapon invented by Reed that managed to do this. One of the leaders reports that five Celestials escaped through Bridges, chasing other Reeds to their home universes. Our Reed is asked to stay behind and take care of the wounded. One of the other Reeds wants to keep fighting, but our Reed tells him there’s more to life. The injured Reed says none of the other Reeds have wives or families, that they gave up those things to join the Council. He argues that Sue and the others will eventually lose patience with him. He says, “The cost of solving everything is everything.” Reed refuses to accept that, but the injured Reed says, “You always come back.”

Then it’s another flashback to young Reed. His father Nathaniel says he’s leaving, and he can’t where or for how long. For a final word of advice, Nathaniel says the world is an ugly place, but Reed should never compromise what’s in his heart. In the present, Reed gives an order inside his thinking room to erase, and the walls instantly go blank. He has more flashbacks to Sue and his family. He opens the door to find Sue waiting for him, as the memory of his father’s voice says, “Reed, be a better man.”

Unstable molecule: The Marvel Wiki reports that Reed officially quits his membership in the Council of Reeds this issue, but we’re not done with the Council yet.

Fade out: Why is Sue kneeling on the floor when Reed steps out of the thinking room? Are supposed to think that when she said she’d wait for him, she meant it very literally?

Clobberin’ time: Ben says it’s a one-hour flight from New York to the Nu World portal, which was last seen at the Earth Trust, near the North Pole. I’ll let you figure out the math of how fast the Fantasticar is, then.

Flame on: Johnny is looking forward to all the women of Nu World not knowing who is, so he can make a big impression. But shouldn’t they know who he is from their history?

Fantastic fifth wheel: As the flashbacks progress, Nathaniel is more like the world-weary time traveler we know him to be. This includes his distinctive facial hair.

Four and a half: Even though he’s depicted as older now, Franklin continues to be into cowboys and Western stuff, as he uses a robot horse and lassoes a ride onto the Fantasticar.

Our gal Val: Valeria brings a high-tech device with her while stowing away with the Fantasticar. She says this is “insurance.”  

Trivia time: One of the alternate universe Reeds wields the power of the Star Brand. What is this? It’s a living all-powerful bio-energy weapon that’s able to bond itself to one inhabitant of a planet to act as that world’s planetary defense system. But, like the Beyonder, the origins and purpose of the Star Brand have been re-written and retconned many times over the years. The comic series Star Brand was meant to be the flagship of Marvel’s doomed yet fascinating New Universe experiment. All the New U characters were eventually brought into the classic Marvel Universe, and the Star Brand was a big plot point in Avengers recently.

Fantastic or frightful? This storyline ends so abruptly that I wonder if it was originally meant for several issues and had to be shortened for some reason. The Celestial attack ended up not mattering, just an excuse for some action scenes. The real story of the issue is the drama between Reed and Sue, but it’s unclear whether this is meant to be a happy ending, or if we’re left to wonder what will happen next. I can see why the Council of Reeds was controversial among fans, because I’m forced to admit this issue is a frustrating read.  

Next: Out with the old…

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Want more? Check out my ongoing serial, THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, on Kindle Vella. A man searches for his missing sister in a sprawling city full of far-out tech, strange creatures, and secret magic. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid full of action, romance, mystery, and laughs. The first ten episodes are FREE! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.

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Reading Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale – Act 3 Scene 2 (part 3)

Posted on June 5, 2024 by Mac McEntire

Re-reading Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale! The lengthy act 3 scene 2 comes to a close, with two characters facing life with new attitudes.

We’re still in the middle of Hermoine’s trial. Young Prince Mamillus has died, Hermoine has fainted and been carried off stage, and Leontes has had a sudden repentance. If that wasn’t enough, then Paulina enters the scene. Remember that she’s one of the ladies of Leontes’ court and is married to Antigonus, who will soon…. exit, pursued by a bear!!! Paulina unleashes a long list of insults at Leontes before finally revealing that Hermoine has died.

The Perils of Paulina.

Here’s a fun question: Why does Hermoine faint, only to be dragged offstage and then die minutes later? Why does she not collapse and die on stage, in front of the audience, for maximum drama? Maybe attitudes toward violence on stage had changed so Shakespeare could no longer do the big murders that he’d done in the likes of Julius Caesar and Titus Andronicus. Or, maybe, he didn’t want to dilute the impact of Hermoine’s reappearance at the end of the play.

No Ides of March for you.

Paulina makes with more foreshadowing, daring Leontes to bring Hermoine back to life. She uses the phrase “heat outwardly,” predicting Leontes’ line “She’s warm” at the end of the play. But just as Leontes had a sudden change of heart, so does Paulina. She begs forgiveness. She calls herself a fool, and she promises never to speak of Hermoine again. It’s possible that she’s being duplicitous as she says this, and that would be an interesting way for an actress to play it, but more likely she’s just wracked with change and tragedy as the rest of the characters are at this moment.  

Heating outwardly.

In his final (for now) speech, Leontes speaks very plainly. He orders that Hermoine and Mamillus be buried in a single grave, with their causes of death carved onto the tombstone. He swears that someday he will visit the grave, and “tears shed there shall be my recreation.” Again, more foreshadowing for the magical ending of the play. Note that Leontes also says, “Nature will bear up with this exercise.” This is also foreshadowing… we’ll get to that next week.

“What do you want on YOUR tombstone?”

Next: Into the woods.

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Want more? Check out my ongoing serial, THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, on Kindle Vella. A man searches for his missing sister in a sprawling city full of far-out tech, strange creatures, and secret magic. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid full of action, romance, mystery, and laughs. The first ten episodes are FREE! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.

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Fantastic Friday: Councilmen

Posted on May 31, 2024 by Mac McEntire

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. The so-called Council of Reeds is a controversial subject among fans. In issue #571, we get to know them and learn what their deal is.

After the crises of Civil War, Secret Invasion, and Dark Reign, Reed has created a device called the Bridge, which allows him to see how his theories do and don’t work as they play out in alternate timelines. This is all in his new drive to, as he puts it, “solve everything.” Through the Bridge, Reed is contacted by a group of other Redes who tell him they can help him reach his full potential.

This issue begins with all the Reeds on another Earth, in battle against Galactus. The next morning, Reed joins the family for breakfast as they go over the guest list for Franklin’s upcoming birthday party. Sue gets Reed alone and fusses about how he’s spending so much time in his work. He says he won’t apologize for the work he does, but then he breaks down and asks her to give him one more week.

In another universe, one of the other Reeds shows off an entire planet used to grow wheat, to feed the hungry on his own Earth. He and the other Reeds encourage our Reed to think bigger, saying “Pretend there is no horizon.” Three days later, our Reed helps a wizard-like Reed fight an alt-universe Dr. Doom. Wizard Reed says the big decisions require necessary evils, and he demonstrates this by using a device to destroy Doom’s higher brain functions. This leads to an underground cavern called the Hole, where all the mind-wiped Dr. Dooms from across the multiverse are kept. Wizard Reed says he knows how Doom thinks because a small part of Dr. Doom’s DNA was spliced into his.

On day four, Reed and another alt-universe Reed grow to giant size, towering over stars and planets. They perform surgery on a star, saving the lives of 8 billion people on that universe’s Earth. Back at the Reeds’ HQ, the giant Reed asks our Reed, now that he’s seen what they have to offer, if he’s ready to join them and solve everything.

Back home, in the middle of the night, Reed can’t sleep. He has a flashback to his childhood. He’s upset because the other kids think he’s cool. He takes this as a sign that he’s different from the rest. Reed’s dad Nathaniel encourages him to use his talents to help people and change the world for the better.

On day six, Reed tells the other Reeds that he’s ready to join them. But then an alarm sounds, as invaders are breaking through the Bridge. One of the Reeds admits that people he thought were gods got into his mind and made him reveal everything the other Reeds were doing. Then we see these gods are the Celestials, who break through the bridge and attack.

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: As seen in the last issue, some of the Reeds have Infinity Gauntlets, complete with all six Infinity Gems. But the gauntlets are useless outside of their universe of origin. This detail was established in the landmark JLA/Avengers miniseries, so I guess that’s canon after all.

Fade out: Reed says that despite all his great accomplishments, Sue is the subject he’s studied most of all. This is what prompts him to ask her to give him one week on this “project.” Her response to this remains ambiguous.

Clobberin’ time: Ben is only in one scene, joking about how Reed looks like he needs coffee. He then encourages Reed to make good with Sue so the whole team doesn’t suffer.

Flame on: Franklin asks Johnny if he can invite Spider-Man to the birthday party. Johnny says he, as the Human Torch, will be there instead. Franklin says he thinks Spider-Man is cooler than Johnny.  

Four and a half: Franklin’s other birthday guests include Jack and Katie Power, two his former teammates from Power Pack, and Artie and Leech, two precocious kid mutants from various X-Men comics. Franklin befriended Artie and Leech during the Daydreamers miniseries.

Our gal Val: Valeria is in only one panel, giving Reed a hug as he shows up for breakfast.

Fantastic fifth wheel: In addition to working in Reed’s lab, the H.E.R.B.I.E. robots are also at work in the kitchen, serving food and doing the dishes. Freakin’ H.E,R.B.I.E. the robot.

Trivia time: Who are the Celestials, again? Godlike beings – or gods, if you prefer – who have been around since the dawn of time, and who create and cultivate life on other planets. In the original Eternals series, they were responsible for the creation of the Earth, although I don’t know how close Marvel holds this to canon. The Celestials are often depicted standing motionless in space, lost in deep contemplation, and only jumping to action when absolutely necessary.

The family is seen eating a “Hulk Smash” breakfast cereal. There really was a Hulk cereal, made in 2003 to promote the Ang Lee movie.

Fantastic or frightful? I’m tired of the whole multiverse/alternate realities thing, and yet I’m aware that this is what Marvel Comics is now – and this won’t change any time soon. Also, once again I thought we had resolved the thing about Reed spending too much time in the lab than with his family. But we’ve got a new writer on the series now, who’s using this as a starting point for Reed’s development. I suppose we’ve reached the point in Marvel history where there’s less character growth over time, and more keeping characters at a certain consistent familiarity. Or maybe I’m wrong. We’ll see where this goes.

Next: Worlds gone mad!  

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Want more? Check out my ongoing serial, THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, on Kindle Vella. A man searches for his missing sister in a sprawling city full of far-out tech, strange creatures, and secret magic. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid full of action, romance, mystery, and laughs. The first ten episodes are FREE! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.

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Reading Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale – Act 3 Scene 2 (part 2)

Posted on May 29, 2024 by Mac McEntire

Re-reading Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale! Here’s the second part of act 3 scene 3, the midpoint of the story, and the point of no return.

As Hermoine’s trial continues, she says whether she lives or dies is based on Leontes’ wild imagination. He seems to agree with her, saying, “Your actions are my dreams.” He describes dreaming she had a “brat” with Polixenes, and that the child was cast out. Is this the baby from act 2 scene 3, who will soon grow up to be a main character, or is all this happening in Leontes’ increased madness? It can be played either way.

On trial.

Hermoine says to spare his threats, because the “bug” that he’s using to frighten her is better than the reality of her situation. The footnote on my Folger edition says “bug” means bugbear. I thought those were made up for Dungeons and Dragons, but I guess they go back to olden days. My Pelican edition goes one step farther in its footnote, saying bugbear is another word for “boogeyman.” My Oxford edition’s glossary entry for bugbear says “terror, bogey.” In D&D, bugbears are 7-foot-tall humanoids related goblins, bred solely for the purpose of battle. If we’re staging an epic fantasy retelling of The Winter’s Tale, would it be worth it to portray a bugbear in person, somehow menacing Hermoine? I don’t think so, because it would take away the intensity of the actual bear that’s going to show up soon.

Exit, pursued by a… bugbear?

Where were we? Hermoine gives another great speech about all the things she’s lost, listing them one by one. This is another good one that a talented actress can really run with. She concludes by saying she will leave her fate to what the Oracle said. The lord character who’s been hanging around throughout the play calls for the Oracle’s messengers. Here’s where Hermoine mentions her father, the deceased Emperor of Russia, and how heartbroken he’d be to see this. This speaks to a whole other backstory for her we don’t get to see.

What if Hermoine pulled an Anastasia to become queen.

An officer shows up with Dion and Cleomenes, the two messengers from the oracle. There’s another “swear by the sword” moment, though I imagine this one would have to be less dramatic than the one from earlier. In a low-budget staging of the play, the lord and the officer can easily be combined into one character. The two guys read the message from the oracle, which states Hermoine is chaste, Leontes is a jealous tyrant, and “the King shall live without an heir until that if that which is lost be not found.” If we’re going to have the oracle appear in person, this would be the part to do it. On stage, she can pop up on the balcony under a spotlight, as if stating these words as an apparition projected from far away. In a film, we could cut to a flashback of her saying this to the two messengers.

And maybe Pythia can look like the DC Comics version.

Leontes confirms that the message was read correctly, and then he says, “There is no truth at all” and “This is a mere falsehood.” When staged, I imagine there should be a long pause before he says this, as if he’s considering the oracle’s words while everyone else waits breathlessly to see how he will respond. The film version can do a slow and quiet push in on the actor’s face before he says these lines. Everyone else on stage can react with fear.

The madness of the king!

Then there’s more drama, and it happens fast. A servant rushes in to report that Mamillus, Leontes and Hermoine’s beloved son from the start of play, had died! Hermoine faints and taken off stage. Leontes has an immediate change of heart, thinking this is the god Apollo seeking revenge for denying the oracle, and for his treatment of his wife overall. (Remember that the Oracle of Delphi represents the Temple of Apollo.) The timing of this would indicate that if it’s not the gods, it’s at least fate that has brought about the boy’s death.

Leontes wouldn’t want to anger these guys.

This is still all happening during the trial. Leontes then admits all his plots in front of the lord and officers, including the plot to murder Polixenes and then Antigonus’ reasons for leaving. He pleads for innocence for them both. Leontes’ change of heart happens so fast. How do you stage and perform this? The actor would have to have a true breakdown at this point. On the other hand, The Winter’s Tale is categorized under Shakespeare’s comedies, so this could be done to make Leontes look buffoonish. Or, in a film version, we could do some edits to show the passage of time, and then set the rest of this scene in a new location, visually illustrating Leontes’ change of mind.

All the drama.

But the scene’s not over yet, with even more drama to come. We’ll get to that… next time.

Next: Pawn takes queen.

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Want more? Check out my ongoing serial, THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, on Kindle Vella. A man searches for his missing sister in a sprawling city full of far-out tech, strange creatures, and secret magic. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid full of action, romance, mystery, and laughs. The first ten episodes are FREE! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.

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Fantastic Friday: Hicksville

Posted on May 24, 2024 by Mac McEntire

Reading the Fantastic Four comics from the start. Issue #570 has a new writer and artist, and yet another far-out new concept for us to wrap our heads around.

This is the first issue of Fantastic Four for writer Jonathan Hickman, one of the biggest stars of modern Marvel. Hickman writes big, sprawling epics that influence Marvel continuity in huge ways. This includes the 2015 Secret Wars, which took over the entire Marvel line for a bit, and the years-long Krakoa storyline in all the X-Men books, which just recently wrapped up. Artist Dale Eaglesham has worked in comics steadily since the 80s. He’s best known for DC’s Villains United, and Justice Society of America.

We begin with a flashback to young Reed and his dad, where his dad encourages him to make a big jump from a treehouse, saying Reed will never know the outcome if he doesn’t try. Cut to the present, where the FF is in the middle of a battle against a giant robot who says it has been programmed for one purpose – to destroy the Fantastic Four. They defeat the robot, and Reed deduces that it was piloted clones of the Wizard. In his base, the Wizard makes speeches about “the failure of creation” and fathers being disappointed in their sons.

Reed uses a teleporter to follow the Wizard’s signal to his HQ. They have a brief debate about playing God with science, all while the Wizard is surrounded by his clones in the form of infants and young boys. Reed apprehends the Wizard. Cut to later, when Reed is telling the story of this to Franklin and Valeria before bedtime. Franklin asks what happened to the little boy clone, and Reed says people are at work finding him a new home. Franklin drifts off to sleep asking if Reed will help the boy.

Johnny offers Ben a gift of a vacation, to get Ben’s mind off his recent breakup with Debbie Green. The vacation is he and Johnny spending three days in Nu World. You’ll remember this an artificial Earth constructed in a parallel reality that is now home to refugees from an alternate dystopian future. (Comics!) Reed and Sue worry about Valeria getting smarter and smarter. Reed flashes back to his conversation with the Wizard, who says he’s made the same calculations Reed has, and he’s seen that a world-ending disaster is imminent. Reed tells Sue there’s some things he needs to deal with.

Reed goes to his private thinking room, the one with the writing all over the walls that we’ve seen off and on since Civil War. Reed reflects on the Bridge, his device that shows how events played out in other universes. And he muses on his 100 ideas for improving the world, with “Solve everything” being idea number 101. He goes into yet another secret room, where the Bridge is once again functioning and operational.

Reed activates the Bridge, which is more like a Stargate-ish portal, and three mysterious figures appear. Reed asks them, “How do I solve everything?” The figures step through the bride, and it’s three alternate versions of Reed. One is wearing some futuristic armor, and the other two have Sue and Johnny’s powers. The armored one tells Reed, “There’s something you need to see.”

The other Reeds take our Reed to a large building floating in space, that they describe as a construct, described as a construct inside a fabricated pocket of reality. They go inside to see the building with all kinds of alternate reality versions of Reed. The Reeds are working on stopping a Galactus attack on another world. Then three more Reeds show up, each one wielding an Infinity Gauntlet with all six Infinity Gems each. They say they’re the ones who built this place, and it’s time for our Reed to reach his full potential.

To be continued!

Unstable molecule: For unknown reasons, artist Dale Eaglesham has drawn Reed incredibly muscular and wide-shouldered. Perhaps this is so we don’t lose sight of him when he’s surrounded by other Reeds.

Fade out: Reed warns Sue that Valeria will someday be even smarter than Reed is, and this is of great concern to Sue.

Clobberin’ time/Flame on: Johnny’s game for Ben is to pick a vacation from one of three sealed envelopes. After he makes his choice, Ben opens to other two envelopes to reveal they’re all the same.

Fantastic fifth wheel: One of the H.E.R.B.I.E. robots can be seen working on the Bridge. Freakin’ H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot.

Four and a half: Franklin and Valeria waited out the robot battle inside an interdimensional panic room in the top floors of the building. (Is everything going to be alternate dimensions/realities/universes in this comic from now on?)

Our gal Val: Valeria gives her age as three years old in this issue, though she’s drawn almost the same height as Franklin.

Trivia time: The Marvel Wiki has the complete list of all the alternate Reeds, if you want to be bothered. Some of them have names like “long-haired Reed” or “cape-wearing Reed” so I don’t think a lot of these new characters will last long.

Fantastic or frightful? Instead of a fresh new start with a new creative team, writer Hickman is picking up where previous writers left off, taking the Bridge concept from Dark Reign and taking it to its next step. I know this business with all the different Reeds is controversial among fans, but as of this issue I’m interested in seeing where it’s going.

Next: Councilmen.

* * * *

Want more? Check out my ongoing serial, THE SUBTERKNIGHTS, on Kindle Vella. A man searches for his missing sister in a sprawling city full of far-out tech, strange creatures, and secret magic. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid full of action, romance, mystery, and laughs. The first ten episodes are FREE! Click here for a list of all my books and serials.

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