Marvel Progeny Propagate!
Yet another post with Marvel progeny? I can't help it! I keep telling you this is a trend and thus it continues.
Here's a clip from Hawkeye & Mockingbird #2, by Jim McCann and David Lopez. Let's watch:
Her name is Jaime Slade, and here she:s claiming that she is the daughter of Carter Slade, the minor hero known as the Phantom Rider. Of course, Carter is himself the ancestor of the original Phantom Rider of the Old West, Lincoln Slade, who thanks to time travel became the archenemy of Mockingbird. Apparently, old grudges die hard, and perhaps Jaime's interest in archaeology has exposed her to the legacy of Lincoln Slade.
Here is another example, this time from Avengers Academy #2, by Christos Gage and Mike McKone.
Finesse is Jeanne Foucault, with the "power" to pick up any talent after a brief exposure to its performance elsewhere. If that sounds familiar, it's because that is similar to the so-called "photographic reflexes" that the criminal Taskmaster exhibits. And it does sound familiar to Finesse, so much so that she questions her own parentage. Of course, Finesse's powers also make her unable to pick up on social cues and mores, so the comic also entertains that likely that she's completely misreading the situation.
So, what can we learn from these examples?
Granted, the first example kind of works, as the original character this progeny comes from was from the Old West. The comic seems to suggest that the character is as much a resurrection of the spirit as much as she is a progeny. (Her partner Crossfire even throws out the term "resurrection" but it kind of just hangs there.) Still, what does it say about the age of the Marvel world if we have Carter Slade operating as a hero in the Southwest AND having a daughter old enough to be an established archaeologist in her own right?
The second one kind of works too, but in a different way. Finesse is supposed to be a teenager, so at least she's younger than Jaime Slade, and she doesn't necessarily believe that Taskmaster IS her father, just that she shares a lot in common with him. Perhaps the writer isn't seriously considering this connection but uses it as purpose of comparison with a character that fans are likely to know already.
But put them together and once again we see that, in the Marvel universe, superheroes and villains are nothing new. What was once a world were "marvels" were rare, but now they are at least one generation away from everyone. Marvels are now so common that it's a feature of our lives as second-nature as microwaves and cell phones, making it that much harder to come with "magic" in the world. Say it with me, Scarlet Witch, before this becomes a genie loosed from its bottle: "no more progeny characters."
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