Our Midnight Garden

How does Dr. Fate's design evoke such ethereal and magical feelings, even though he wears a regular superhero bodysuit? The color scheme is one way. Because the base color of the costume is blue, and it has big yellow/golden regions, he has the same color balance as a blue sky with a heavy yellow or gold sun, which provides Fate with a heavenly and superior quality. He even has a little sun on his chest with his yellow, disc-shaped amulet. Fitting, since Fate comes from Egypt, and in Egyptian mythology, the sun god Ra is prevalent. This sense of aboveness and superiority is increased because of how many design elements are pointing downward. The bottom of the helmet points down, the collar points down on either side, and the lines of the necklace point down, as if Dr. Fate is dominating us from above. But there are also the round yellow pieces around his armpits which are pointing upward. These make his shoulder-frame seem larger than it is, so he seems even...

Sgt. Rock may be a steady, unfazeable tough guy, but what makes him unique is the intention behind his attitude. Rock is not steady in the face of danger because he's just written to be "cool", or because he's a hyper-efficient soldier, or because he's compensating for insecurities. Rather, he's tough and stable so he can emotionally support the people around him when they're breaking down. Early Sgt. Rock stories make it extremely clear that he was named "The Rock of Easy Company" because he's the "rock" of the unit in emotional terms (the way that a spouse is referred to as a "rock"). Thus it makes sense that we often see him with his shirt open: you'd think it's just to show off his strong, manly chest, but it actually means he has an open heart and is emotionally available. Possibly my favorite example of Sgt. Rock's emotional intelligence comes in just his fourth appear...

I think Barbara Gordon and Dinah Lance both represent self-empowerment. Each character has had external sources remove their ability to do something they want to do, and they've each taken the initiative to create their own agency in response. Barbara Gordon: Disempowered physically and prevented from fighting crime by being shot and crippled by The Joker. Empowered herself by mastering technology, becoming an expert capable of helping the entire superhero community. Dinah Lance: Disempowered by her mother preventing her from becoming a superhero. Empowered herself by training in secret and becoming Black Canary anyway. Disempowered by the trauma she suffered during Longbow Hunters -- torture is an extreme example of powerlessness, and it also literally depowered her by removing her Canary Cry. Empowered herself by continuing to fight crime by using gadgets (Canary Bombs) to replace her ability. I would also add that the general notion of disempowerment turning into empowerment i...

I believe Orion of the New Gods embodies the universal drive to be better than our parents. The battles between Orion and his father, Darkseid, are really conflicts about progress vs stagnation -- the bold, futuristic design of Orion vs the rocky, rigid, and therefore stagnant appearance of Darkseid. The power of Orion's conflict comes from the fact that every human being faces the same one, on some level. Your parents may not be as bad as Darkseid, but they make mistakes, big and small, and it's up to you to avoid making the same ones if we're going to create a better world. If everyone can just be better than their parents, society will constantly move forward; but when we repeat their mistakes and perpetuate their cognitive distortions, society stagnates. So when Orion battles the forces of Darkseid, behind every blow is the power of you defying a negative impulse that you inherited from your parents. Where the conflict becomes more complicated and realistic is in the s...