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I assume everyone's heard about Amanda Waller being in the new Green Lantern movie? If not, uh, Hey, everyone! Amanda Waller's going to be in the new Green Lantern movie!
I am happy about this, because it means a live action Waller not written by the Smallville people! Even if Angela Bassett, who was cast, is not exactly my mental image of the Wall.
But I'm a little confused about the choice to put her in the *Green Lantern* movie. Have Amanda Waller and Hal Jordan ever had interesting interaction? I would have put my money on seeing her in one of the Batman sequels - she's a much better foil for Bruce Wayne.
See, Waller and Batman share an origin story: "My family has been brutally and senselessly murdered; I will prevent this from happening to anyone else by turning myself into something really damn scary."
But Waller never had the privilege of Bruce's romantic self-pity. She didn't have a billion dollars to fall back on, and pretty soon she didn't even have a place to live, and she still had three surviving kids to keep safe and get educated... and if you think doing that alone is easier than an overseas tour of martial arts styles I don't want to have a conversation.
And yeah, bats are scary. But Amanda, she knows what being ground under the weight of the System can do. A pointy eared cowl is nothing compared to a piece of paper stamping you *official*.
(When I googled to find a relevant news article, I came across someone on a message board declaring "Honestly, when you look at the character, her race really isn't a very big part of her." Which. *Really*, random message board fanboy? *Really*? The woman had her life destroyed in the Cabrini-Green projects, and her race is *surface details*?)
Batman will sacrifice a lot in the name of the Mission; his health, his happiness, his loved ones, his life. But he won't sacrifice the Mission itself, its precisely drafted moral angles. Batman doesn't kill, right? We all know that. Even when it seems like the only option that makes sense.
But Amanda Waller will do whatever's necessary, until she's half forgotten where the line was. What she's capable of scares her, when she gets a chance to think about it. There are people in the government machine who condemn her, but it doesn't stop them from sending her problems to solve. *Someone* has to the dirty work in the name of a brighter future.
Maybe Waller goes too far. Or maybe Batman doesn't go far enough. Or maybe that's a false dichotomy; but it has the potential to be an interesting question.
...Anyway, while I'm rambling, here is some pop psychology. You know the theory that Bruce is still stuck at eight years old in his soul, and that is why he collects Robins to play with and gets annoyed when they grow up and, like, is always building himself a (screwed up) family to replace the one he lost? And then cutting himself off from them?
Well, everyone's heard of "the Wall", but the people in Amanda's squad have been known to call her "Mama Waller" as... something like an endearment, to be used when she's not around to hear. And they're not imagining things. Waller really is a mother figure to the Suicide Squad, though one cranky and angry and who won't give you any sympathy you don't deserve and hardly any you do.
Waller collects supervillains and inessential government agents and aimless D-list superheroes; people considered *expendable* by society at large. (Like her son, dead from gang violence he had no part of; like her daughter, who wasn't offered justice; like her husband... oh, but I forgot. Race is *inconsequential* in this story.) Everyone in the Squad is fucked up and at each other's throats, but Waller keeps them mostly in line with ridiculous threats she'll follow through on and promises that aren't bullshit either. She'll protect her people, if it's appropriate. They're all one big dysfunctional family with machine guns. Then Waller sends the Squad on missions where chances are they won't come back.
And then she buries them. Again, and again, and again.
I am happy about this, because it means a live action Waller not written by the Smallville people! Even if Angela Bassett, who was cast, is not exactly my mental image of the Wall.
But I'm a little confused about the choice to put her in the *Green Lantern* movie. Have Amanda Waller and Hal Jordan ever had interesting interaction? I would have put my money on seeing her in one of the Batman sequels - she's a much better foil for Bruce Wayne.
See, Waller and Batman share an origin story: "My family has been brutally and senselessly murdered; I will prevent this from happening to anyone else by turning myself into something really damn scary."
But Waller never had the privilege of Bruce's romantic self-pity. She didn't have a billion dollars to fall back on, and pretty soon she didn't even have a place to live, and she still had three surviving kids to keep safe and get educated... and if you think doing that alone is easier than an overseas tour of martial arts styles I don't want to have a conversation.
And yeah, bats are scary. But Amanda, she knows what being ground under the weight of the System can do. A pointy eared cowl is nothing compared to a piece of paper stamping you *official*.
(When I googled to find a relevant news article, I came across someone on a message board declaring "Honestly, when you look at the character, her race really isn't a very big part of her." Which. *Really*, random message board fanboy? *Really*? The woman had her life destroyed in the Cabrini-Green projects, and her race is *surface details*?)
Batman will sacrifice a lot in the name of the Mission; his health, his happiness, his loved ones, his life. But he won't sacrifice the Mission itself, its precisely drafted moral angles. Batman doesn't kill, right? We all know that. Even when it seems like the only option that makes sense.
But Amanda Waller will do whatever's necessary, until she's half forgotten where the line was. What she's capable of scares her, when she gets a chance to think about it. There are people in the government machine who condemn her, but it doesn't stop them from sending her problems to solve. *Someone* has to the dirty work in the name of a brighter future.
Maybe Waller goes too far. Or maybe Batman doesn't go far enough. Or maybe that's a false dichotomy; but it has the potential to be an interesting question.
...Anyway, while I'm rambling, here is some pop psychology. You know the theory that Bruce is still stuck at eight years old in his soul, and that is why he collects Robins to play with and gets annoyed when they grow up and, like, is always building himself a (screwed up) family to replace the one he lost? And then cutting himself off from them?
Well, everyone's heard of "the Wall", but the people in Amanda's squad have been known to call her "Mama Waller" as... something like an endearment, to be used when she's not around to hear. And they're not imagining things. Waller really is a mother figure to the Suicide Squad, though one cranky and angry and who won't give you any sympathy you don't deserve and hardly any you do.
Waller collects supervillains and inessential government agents and aimless D-list superheroes; people considered *expendable* by society at large. (Like her son, dead from gang violence he had no part of; like her daughter, who wasn't offered justice; like her husband... oh, but I forgot. Race is *inconsequential* in this story.) Everyone in the Squad is fucked up and at each other's throats, but Waller keeps them mostly in line with ridiculous threats she'll follow through on and promises that aren't bullshit either. She'll protect her people, if it's appropriate. They're all one big dysfunctional family with machine guns. Then Waller sends the Squad on missions where chances are they won't come back.
And then she buries them. Again, and again, and again.
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When Queen Latifah exists?
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lack ofheight.) I learned who Angela Bassett is a couple days ago via Google image search, and it was like... I *see* what you did thar.BUT WATCH ME BE HAPPY ANYHOW.
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People who say things that fit the pattern "[Nonnormative characteristic] is not a big part of [character with said characteristic]" make me want to kill them.
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(I *also* like how the poster is like "I don't think of her as black, I think of her as having this list of human personality characteristics!")
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I've read enough canon for the both of them that I can say no. Unless it happened *very* recently, I suppose.
But I pretty well agree that they're not capable of it. Hal is definitely good at playing Oblivious White Privilege Boy, but not in a way that would interest Amanda particularly. Well, except for the ring; Hal's useful.
(And for the record, I hadn't actually heard--I tend to pretty much avoid comic book movie news.)
*ponders* I suppose it's *just* possible that Hal in "OMG what have I done?" Parallax mode could wind up under her influence--not likely in the Squad, but she's certainly good at playing guilty heroes. Not that playing Hal is hard otherwise, but if he was doing the Guilt thing it would fuck with Hal's head harder, and giving Amanda someone who had crazy cosmic powers and who'd just Gone Too Far with them...
...well, I wouldn't do it. But it could theoretically be interesting.
And I'm pretty well positive the movie's not going to go there.
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I assume they added her as a transparent ploy to get me into the theatre.
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Theory: Amanda is going to have a small role in this movie, which happens to be the one they currently have in production, to either test the waters or advertise for a potential Suicide Squad movie. (They were talking about one last year, so it's theoretically possible.)
The woman had her life destroyed in the Cabrini-Green projects, and her race is *surface details*?
He probably doesn't think Amanda's backstory is an important part of the character (if he even knows what it is). He's still wrong, of course. Especially since it sounds like he's arguing "Her race is not important and therefore it would not be a big deal if she was played by a white actress."
And then she buries them. Again, and again, and again.
Interesting, so you think she's subconsciously re-enacting her trauma?
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Huh. I should be more excited; That sounds like the sort of thing I would want. Maybe if it was more than rumours? We never got that Magneto film.
Dude is so wrong, they had to invent a new word.
so you think she's subconsciously re-enacting her trauma?
Honestly? Not really. But I think it's an interesting possibility, and it probably feels that way to her sometimes.
From: (Anonymous)
love the Wall in this article!
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Re: love the Wall in this article!
She's more of a behind the scenes person than an action hero - she sends the people with superpowers out for that. But she's been known to pick up a gun and jump into the fray, or enter the field as
baita distraction... or stand up to evil characters even more powerful than Superman without blinking.From:
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From: (Anonymous)
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Batman's connection with Waller makes sense thematically, but I don't think she has enough "name appeal" for a Batman movie. They can throw her into Green Lantern because, frankly, no one cares about any of his villains (in pop culture terms). No one outside of comics fandom is chomping at the bit to see Sinestro, etc.
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Ahem.
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Re: Ahem.
Amanda hasn't done badly for herself; she's been in the JL cartoon, and now Smallville. (And the comics and direct to DVD cartoon, but as you say.) I don't think she'd work as a title Batman villain, but she'd be useful for adding some depth to the world.
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