From: mss2@quads.uchicago.edu (Michael S. Schiffer)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Re: Miracleman #23
Date: 31 Aug 92 23:00:37 GMT
Reply-To: mss2@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations

In article <1992Aug31.213202.26448@sunb10.cs.uiuc.edu> wesselak@suna0.cs.uiuc.edu (Erik Wesselak) writes:
>mkelly@lazy.helios.nd.edu (michael kelly) writes:

>>	Why give YM the same "miracleman" code word? Does he still have an
>>"abraxis" -I'm sure Gargunza gave him one originally. If there is a YM-MM
>>fight, will we hear "abraxis?"

	"Abraxis" should certainly have been the same word for all of
the originals, for a very simple reason-- Gargunza would have expected
the possibility that an emergency which required its use might involve
more than one of the Miracleman family, and if he had to spend the
seconds it would take for any one of them to kill him saying "Abraxis!
Alakazam!  Altair!"  he would be one dead Gargunza.  (As it happened,
of course, he died of stupidity-- the fact that Moore could write ten
times better prose than any of his contemporaries, and that comics
weren't expected to have that much plot logic to begin with tended to
mask the fact that the _plots_ of the early Miracleman stories have
holes you can drive a truck filled with plutonium through.  :-) )

>For that matter, I always wondered why MM gave YM his human body back at all.
>MM has sworn never to use his again; why would he assume that YM would want
>his?  Perhaps he feels that taking it away would worsen the shock of the new
>world on YM; his human body is his psychological escape device.

	MM won't use his human body again because Michael Moran didn't
want to live in the new world, not because he is opposed to it
(although the fact that any number of people would take advantage of
the opportunity to assassinate him is probably significant as well--
certainly I might, in that world, if I didn't realize that
Miraclewoman, the Qys, and the Warpsmiths were perfectly competent to
maintain the New World Order).  Young Miracleman hasn't had the
opportunity or the motive to renounce his humanity-- despite having
grown up in a one-dimensional fantasy world, he's the most human of
the lot on Olympus.

>As far as we know, Gargunza is the only one who knows the 'abraxis' word(s).
>That is why the Gargunzas are restricted to Mors' underworld, and why none of
>the Miraclefamily visit there.  This brings up the question:  Has/will MM
>ask Mors to remove his vulnerability to 'abraxis', or even 'kimota'?  It's
>something I'd expect MM to do.  (But that would take a lot of fun away from the
>book, now wouldn't it?)

	Also, he may trust the Qys with the fate of the Earth, but not
necessarily with the power to monkey with his brain.  "Hmmm... while
I'm removing this code word, why don't I just put some stuff in which
will allow the Qys to control him just in case the Qys-Warpsmith
cooperation breaks down and the war resumes?"  Also, _all_ the dead
are restricted to Mors' underworld, because Mors likes it that way.
(YM is an exception, but apparently the only one.)  However, you're
probably right that this is why the MM family don't visit him-- what
other tricks might he have up his sleeve, after all?

>Oh, now that I've thought about it, I'd bet that Dennis Archer is aware of the
>'abraxis' words.  But why was he not allowed to be restored when Gargunza was?
>Too much of a risk having both of them alive again?  Or perhaps MM has devel-
>oped some amount of affection or respect for Gargunza?

	I'd bet Archer doesn't, or he wouldn't have destroyed the MM
family with a flying A-bomb.  Convert them back with Abraxis and shoot
them instead-- it's easier to keep secret.  Remember the circumstances
under which Gargunza decided to insert the Abraxis code-- Miracleman
had almost awakened himself by realizing that he wasn't in reality.
Gargunza did _not_, I think, report that little incident, or Project
Zarathustra would have been cancelled a bit earlier.  And he might
well have wished to be able to use the MM family against Archer if it
became necessary.

>>	Given MM's penchant for retrieving lost characters, do you suppose 
>>he has tried to regrow/revive Young Nastyman from his skeleton? 

>Perhaps, although MM has no apparent motive for restoring YN.  He obviously
>restored YM because he desired an aide or an apprentice: a 'prince' if you
>will.  So why restore YN?  A tangible devil to complement the tangible god?
>No, Bates already filled that role, and MM established his supremacy in the
>eyes of the people by slaying the devil.

	He might do it on a lark, though, or to add a trickster god to
the pantheon (alter his perceptions first a la Big Ben, of course).  I
don't expect it, however.

Mike


-- 
Michael S. Schiffer, LHN, FCS	"Indeed I tremble for my country
mss2@midway.uchicago.edu	 when I reflect that God is just."
mike.schiffer@um.cc.umich.edu	 -- Thomas Jefferson, Notes on
mss2@usite-next.uchicago.edu     Virginia (1784)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc