oHOTmu or NOT Ep.82: Nekra to Nighshade

An angry cult priestess. The junior X-Men. A bamfing swashbuckler. A king in dreams. A secret scientist in a bikini. Which are Hot? Which are Not? Find out, as the Hot Squad continues to rate OHOTMU's 9th issue on how datable its characters are.

Featuring permanent panelists Elyse, Isabel, Nathalie, Josée, Shotgun, and Amélie.

Listen to Episode 82 below (the usual mature language warnings apply), or subscribe to oHOTmu OR NOT? on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!

Relevant images and further credits at: oHOTmu or NOT ep.82 Supplemental

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13 responses to “oHOTmu or NOT Ep.82: Nekra to Nighshade

  1. Fun show as always folks, with some clever and colorful insights per the usual. Not much to add this time, except on Nightshade. I think that overabundance of shading was a trope a lot of artists used for black characters up until the 70s/80s, and thankfully it’s fallen out of favor. I’m sure the intention was not at all malicious, but yeah…it’s kind of troubling now.

    I had to share this because I know the girls would get a kick out of it.

    Cap Nightshade dart gun

    One of the most ridiculous cheap rack toys ever made featuring a comic character stars Captain America on the package along with Nightshade! There are so many questions:
    1) Why is this a Captain America toy at all? There’s not even a sticker with his name or face on the gun!

    2) Why is Cap shooting at ducks?

    3) Why put the scantily clad Nightshade on a kids toy at all?

    And most importantly:

    4) Why is she white? Did someone make the call to change her skin color, or were they working from a black and white stat of the cover of Captain America #164 and just guessed?

    A puzzle for the ages.

  2. Was/were Night Nurse indexed under their civilian names or just left out? Between not remembering that far back in the show, not really remembering who was active in the middle eighties, and not understanding OHotMU’s rules for civilian versus assumed names I have no idea.

    1. She was not active. Millie the Model also doesn’t get an entry. It wouldn’t be until later when Night Nurse would be fully integrated into the superhero comics as medic to the heroes.

  3. Nightshade : At that time Captain America and Falcon were fighting a lot of black power activists, Harlem criminals and rioters reacting to the events of the civil right movement. So she makes a lot more sense in that context

  4. I can’t get the “What Extremity Is Touching Me?” song out of my head…

    I don’t think this is what is meant by teenage boys always having sex on the brain…

  5. Thank you all again for a great show!
    Nekra — I had the same response as the girls: This artist can draw real women, and Nekra is all the hotter for it.
    Nightcrawler — always loved him. There are lots of interesting and even admirable characters in comics, but few would make a better friend in real life than Nightcrawler.
    Nightshade, AKA Deadly Nightshade, AKA Dr. Nightshade — She’s a super interesting villain who’s been fleshed out more and even done some hero work in a comic called Occupy Avengers in recent years. Gabrielle Dennis portrayed her well on the Luke Cage TV show, and like nearly everyone on that show, no one had any question whether she was hot or not.

    1. I had no idea that was supposed to be the same character since they have hardly anything in common. Perhaps if Luke Cage had gotten another series, she would have evolved towards something more like Nightshade.

      1
  6. Thank you, Hot Squad, for another fun and thought-provoking installment of OHOTMU or Not! I won’t divulge the exact nature of the thoughts provoked by this show, suffice to report they are highly entertaining ones!

    I’m fascinated by a relationship between NEKRA and Grim Reaper. Given her penchant death shroud trappings (the name, Morticia Addams costume, voodoo, and Kali worship) I wonder if she fell for Grim Reaper thinking his skull chest emblem and scythe-hand made him a “bad boy”. I want to believe Nekra ditched him upon realizing she is way more hard-core than he. No wonder she’s so enraged!

    I think I unfairly snubbed The NEW MUTANTS back in the 80s. To me, the X-Men were the superhero team, so I didn’t see any purpose in this junior league. It’s only as an adult that I have come to appreciate these characters, especially Wolfsbane. I’m (eventually) looking forward to when the ladies cross her solo entry.

    I’m surprised Siskoid neglected a vital detail about NIGHTCRAWLER’S anatomy: his entire body is coated in a fine blue fur (inspiring the X-Men to nickname him “fuzzy elf). I imagine touching his bare skin would feel like the surface of ripe peach. I wonder if that detail would make a HOT character even hotter to the ladies…

    Has anyone else looked at NIGHTMARE (a dream lord with bone-white skin and an untamed Robert Smith haircut) and thought he resembled Morpheus from Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman”? Perhaps Morpheus once visited Steve Ditko in his sleep, and Nightmare is how the comic legend interpreted this encounter. Then again, Morpheus may enjoy “slumming it” on occasion and traverse to the Marvel universe to antagonize a supremely pompous sorcerer every now and again!

    Like our MC, I’ve never seen NIGHTSHADE “in the wild” as it were, but she seems intruiging! Discussions on the show like this one about Nightshade really serve to refresh my view of the Marvel universe, something I’ve been visiting for decades. Three cheers for secret science!

    Lastly, to extend a custom compliment to the Hot Squad: your discussions are so fascinating, ladies, that I could listen to you all night!

  7. Late to listening. Another great and fun episode.

    Nekra – talk about hot. There is something icily beautiful about her. The costume, or lack thereof, doesn’t hurt. I cannot believe there as no Nekra-philia comment! Talk about a crazy couple though- her and Mandrill. They’re the distant friend you have to but don’t want to invite to a party.

    Nightshade – hard to call her hot when she looks like she is 13.

    I do hope when there is time, Siskoid does a show comparing DC versions of Marvel characters with the same name to declare who’s hotter or not-er. Captain Marvel? Beautiful Dreamer? Nightshade? Sandman? It can be done!

  8. Huzzah! A new Hot or Not! This show always brightens up my day and all of you are fantastic and deserve all the thanks in the world! Now on to the entries…..

    Nekra – How? How does that stay on? I’m not complaining, but how?? Because I’m a clueless male, what is double sided tape? Is actually tape that you stick to your body? Wouldn’t that hurt taking it off? Wouldn’t the sweat break down the stickiness? I have so many questions……..

    New Mutants – If I wasn’t reading X-Men because of the over wrought drama, I REALLY didn’t read New Mutants because of the drama AND the childish whining. Having said that, Warlock is the best of all of them and I enjoy his stories. #whatsyourthing …….. I’m good at listening only to fantastic podcasts!

    Nightcrawler – Mein Fräuleins, Kurt was used fantastically in Excalibur. Considering I was somewhat against the X-Men, I don’t know why I gravitated to Excalibur, which I found a joy to read. I really liked Nightcrawler in that series and always felt bad for him because the public just assumed he was the devil. Fun fact, I learned what “epaulets” were thanks to reading about Nightcrawler.

    Nightmare – I never understood all that cross-hatching on his costume. Is that supposed to mean it’s webs? A net? Corduroy?

    Nightshade – I’ve never come across this character before but it doesn’t help the stereotype of comics when, in this issue, the two men are fully clothed and the two women are scantily clad. Though, I guess that’s how most entries have gone?

    I am your moon? Is it because I’m so cheesy?……….. ugh, even I don’t feel good about that one.

    Well done everyone! Keep up the great work!

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