More Marvelous: The Mystery of the Black Armor
Jan 3, 2016 19:57:11 GMT
voice, Melisandra, and 2 more like this
Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2016 19:57:11 GMT
So unlike a famous author we all know, I have actually been working behind the scenes on my magnum opus – not making a ton of awesome progress, but hey, at least it’s not the Sad Puppies!
One of the cool things that’s come out of this trip through the Marvel wormhole is the realization that, in addition to all the, ahem, striking similarities in written/divulged plot, there are some things that bubble to the surface that have me going “Will he? Hmm..I wonder. Is he…?” with regard to future unwritten/undisclosed plot. I see certain shared elements between ASOIAF and Marvel, but the difference is that this element is/becomes a big deal in the Marvel world but isn’t so much in the ASOIAF world….or at least not yet.
The following is a great example. I stumbled upon this while plugging through some Origin Arc-anery and thought, “Well, shit. I see the series counterpart; is this Marvel arc predictive of something to come that we’ve all ignored?”
Note: Although this is related to Origin Arc and Modern Arc , it’s only peripherally so – so thankfully you won’t really need to understand the background of those two arcs in order to digest this one.
Also, about the characters – as you may have noticed in the Great Arc, we don’t always have a 1:1 correlation between book and comic players. Dr. Strange can be associated with both Bran and Jon, for example. The converse is also true, and that’s really apparent when we get into the Modern Arc and all the really well-known characters – somebody like Jaime might actually display traits/storylines of a couple of Marvel guys. So, when you read below, you’ll probably figure out what the associations are, but keep in mind these not be the ONLY associations…more will come later.
OK, so I want to talk about armor. Specifically, Rhaegar Targaryen’s trademark black armor with the rubies and dragon helm. As we know, this is the armor he wore when he won the Tourney at Harrenhal, and is the armor he would die in at the Trident. Much has been speculated about Rhaegar and each of these events – was it really him wearing the armor? Was he glamored? Did he really die at the Trident? How was he cremated “as is custom for fallen Targaryens” if he died in the Riverlands, on enemy territory, after losing to the rebels?
And…WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DAMN ARMOR? (Burning question for no one but me, really.)
We know the rubies went into the Trident. Where’s the rest of the suit? There is still some Targaryen armor lining some hall in the Red Keep, but no mention of whether Rhaegar’s very specific (and very caved-in) plate is among the rows.
That being said, let’s talk about:
THE DESTROYER.
Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, the Destroyer is featured in over four decades of Marvel continuity. It’s not a person - it is a suit of Asgardian armor, animated by magic, which first appears in Journey into Mystery #118 (Jul. 1965) and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
A Class 100+ weapon, the enchanted armor created by Odin/Zeus/Brahma (aka The Skyfathers) that contains portions of the gods’ energies was intended to be the force capable of doing battle with the Celestials in the upcoming Fourth Host (visit by Celestials to Earth, to judge the quality of humankind). *Side note: the armor was to be supplemented by the Odinsword, Odin’s magical weapon that goes by the name of/is foretold to bring about Ragnarok.
The gods created the armor after the Third Host, during which a contingent of all major gods “challenged the Celestials' right to interfere in Earth's affairs. The outcome of that encounter was that all of the major races of gods swore to forego their active involvement in the destiny of mankind.”
(Note the magic number 3 here – a third appearance by some wacky deity-beings (whom I will cover very thoroughly in Origin Arc; they will not be detailed right now) from eons ago that will come again to test the fate of man for a final time.)
Destroyer is made of an unknown metal superior to adamantium (think Wolverine's claws) and even Uru, the magical metal of Asgard.
(Sidebar: Fun description of Uru, the magical metal that is used for many famous weapons the Marvelverse, in particular Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, Odin’s spear Gungnir, and Captain Amercia’s reconstructed shield:
Uru is non-sparking and is a highly immalleable metal, often requiring extreme methods to forge it (for example, the heart of a star, or an enchanted forge). Albeit very difficult to forge, weapons and items built in Uru, especially the enchanted ones, are resilient to most forms of damage. With a natural affinity to magic, Uru is not only easy to enchant, but also absorbs magic like a sponge, redirecting it and enhancing the natural attributes of his wielder. The symbiotic relationship between Uru and its wielder works both ways: a mystical user, such as Thor, can lend to the Uru in his weapon his own strength, in the process making the metal stronger and more resilient.
Sound like another metal we know?) :::
Anyway, back to Destroyer. (Continued in next post.)
One of the cool things that’s come out of this trip through the Marvel wormhole is the realization that, in addition to all the, ahem, striking similarities in written/divulged plot, there are some things that bubble to the surface that have me going “Will he? Hmm..I wonder. Is he…?” with regard to future unwritten/undisclosed plot. I see certain shared elements between ASOIAF and Marvel, but the difference is that this element is/becomes a big deal in the Marvel world but isn’t so much in the ASOIAF world….or at least not yet.
The following is a great example. I stumbled upon this while plugging through some Origin Arc-anery and thought, “Well, shit. I see the series counterpart; is this Marvel arc predictive of something to come that we’ve all ignored?”
Note: Although this is related to Origin Arc and Modern Arc , it’s only peripherally so – so thankfully you won’t really need to understand the background of those two arcs in order to digest this one.
Also, about the characters – as you may have noticed in the Great Arc, we don’t always have a 1:1 correlation between book and comic players. Dr. Strange can be associated with both Bran and Jon, for example. The converse is also true, and that’s really apparent when we get into the Modern Arc and all the really well-known characters – somebody like Jaime might actually display traits/storylines of a couple of Marvel guys. So, when you read below, you’ll probably figure out what the associations are, but keep in mind these not be the ONLY associations…more will come later.
OK, so I want to talk about armor. Specifically, Rhaegar Targaryen’s trademark black armor with the rubies and dragon helm. As we know, this is the armor he wore when he won the Tourney at Harrenhal, and is the armor he would die in at the Trident. Much has been speculated about Rhaegar and each of these events – was it really him wearing the armor? Was he glamored? Did he really die at the Trident? How was he cremated “as is custom for fallen Targaryens” if he died in the Riverlands, on enemy territory, after losing to the rebels?
And…WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DAMN ARMOR? (Burning question for no one but me, really.)
We know the rubies went into the Trident. Where’s the rest of the suit? There is still some Targaryen armor lining some hall in the Red Keep, but no mention of whether Rhaegar’s very specific (and very caved-in) plate is among the rows.
That being said, let’s talk about:
THE DESTROYER.
Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, the Destroyer is featured in over four decades of Marvel continuity. It’s not a person - it is a suit of Asgardian armor, animated by magic, which first appears in Journey into Mystery #118 (Jul. 1965) and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
A Class 100+ weapon, the enchanted armor created by Odin/Zeus/Brahma (aka The Skyfathers) that contains portions of the gods’ energies was intended to be the force capable of doing battle with the Celestials in the upcoming Fourth Host (visit by Celestials to Earth, to judge the quality of humankind). *Side note: the armor was to be supplemented by the Odinsword, Odin’s magical weapon that goes by the name of/is foretold to bring about Ragnarok.
The gods created the armor after the Third Host, during which a contingent of all major gods “challenged the Celestials' right to interfere in Earth's affairs. The outcome of that encounter was that all of the major races of gods swore to forego their active involvement in the destiny of mankind.”
(Note the magic number 3 here – a third appearance by some wacky deity-beings (whom I will cover very thoroughly in Origin Arc; they will not be detailed right now) from eons ago that will come again to test the fate of man for a final time.)
Destroyer is made of an unknown metal superior to adamantium (think Wolverine's claws) and even Uru, the magical metal of Asgard.
(Sidebar: Fun description of Uru, the magical metal that is used for many famous weapons the Marvelverse, in particular Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, Odin’s spear Gungnir, and Captain Amercia’s reconstructed shield:
Uru is non-sparking and is a highly immalleable metal, often requiring extreme methods to forge it (for example, the heart of a star, or an enchanted forge). Albeit very difficult to forge, weapons and items built in Uru, especially the enchanted ones, are resilient to most forms of damage. With a natural affinity to magic, Uru is not only easy to enchant, but also absorbs magic like a sponge, redirecting it and enhancing the natural attributes of his wielder. The symbiotic relationship between Uru and its wielder works both ways: a mystical user, such as Thor, can lend to the Uru in his weapon his own strength, in the process making the metal stronger and more resilient.
Sound like another metal we know?) :::
Anyway, back to Destroyer. (Continued in next post.)