A short Canadian. A cat-like Native American. A hero who kills. The Thing’s father-in-law. David Tennant. Which are Hot? Which are Not? Find out, as the Hot Squad continues its coverage of OHOTMU’s 10th issue and reveals how datable its characters are.
Featuring permanent panelists Elyse, Isabel, Nathalie, and Amelie.
Listen to Episode 89 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.89 Supplemental
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Puck: So…instead of giving us an actual hero who is a small person, Marvel lets a new writer retcon that away, and makes him a tall person cut down? Wow. Obviously representation wasn’t a concern of Marvel in the 80s.
Puma: During the cat discussion, slightly disappointed no one thought to say “IT’S NOT A PUMA!!!”
I bet his costume redesign was done because he did look WAY too much like Kraven. I think they leaned into that with his first cover appearance, but it was confusing, since the characters aren’t connected.
Punisher: During my “gritty” phase, I loved this character. Everyone has their Punisher phase. I have to say the Daredevil Netflix series made me remember there is still something to like there. The design is boss, either way.
Puppet Master: As you can see in the selected art, no one can seem to remember if he is supposed to ALWAYS look that creepy or not. Some people (like Gil Kane in several shots) draw him as just your average bald man, who looks a bit sinister. Then there’s the original Kirby look. YOWZA!!! I’m sure if he were designed nowadays, he’d be scarred under a permanently smiling, creepy doll mask, much like the Superman Animated version of DC’s Toyman.
Purple Man: Man, he does look very avuncular here, doesn’t he? I wonder if Brian Bolland had any idea who he was drawing? Still a great piece. Turning purple makes me think of Violet Beauregard in both adaptations of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. If I had to pick a color….hmm….a very light blue? Like a Star Trek Andorian?
Puck – I never liked the “he’s short because MAGIC”. Why couldn’t he just be short? On another note, as another Eugene (thank you for the praise on the name, ladies) I can tell you that there are those of us that do have hair on the inside of our elbows and who do not have hair on our knuckles. (Pictures sent to Siskoid.)
Puma – As a big fan of the DeFalco/Frenz team, I really enjoyed when The Puma showed up in Spider-Man. It gave Peter another foil, both on the hero-side and on the Secret ID side (when he briefly owned the Daily Bugle).
Punisher – I’ve never had much time for Frank Castle. Either he used “mercy bullets” in order to fit into the Comics Code or he’d kill people and, somehow, not have every superhero hunting him down. Like the X-Men, The Punisher works so much better in his own universe, like presented in the movies.
Puppet Master – The main problem with this character design is that he just doesn’t work if not drawn by Kirby or someone aping Kirby. If an artist tries to draw him more “normal” it turns out like this image. Not great, and I usually love Byrne’s stuff.
Purple Man – Nope. No thank you. Moving on.
Gene “The Avenger” Hendricks 😉
Another fantastic episode. This time was especially enjoyable for me thanks to so many favorite characters!
As a life long stan for Alpha Flight, the girls had me cackling with laughter about Puck and his giant “P”!! I wonder how the girls would feel about his facial hair as drawn by the talented Duncan Rouleau – my favorite look for the character. Maybe Siskoid can find a pic to show them?
Puma!! The “not ready for prime time player” of the Spider-Man family from the 1980s. I loved the look of the character and he always seemed to show up in comics I bought. And thank you for the education about what a “puma” actually is! I had no idea… and will promptly forget.
While in general I’m not a fan of the Punisher, this was the ideal era. His early comics were great at this point, and he was not overused. Glad to hear his classic costume was so well received! Ross Andru really designed a sleek one there.
Purple Man… another Alpha Flight nod! Well, Alpha Flight adjacent. As Siskoid mentioned, the Doctor Who fans in the group would be impressed by David Tennant’s version of the Purple Man. Every time now that I hear the name “Jessica”, my skin crawls. Tennant was just that good. And it was sort of fun to hear the girls immediate liking for his look, spiral into disgust for his behavior, and yet still defend liking his look. It was like those girls in high school that would say, “That guy has really nice hair… but he’s a total creep… but he’s drives a really nice car!”
Final comment about the previous episode, I agree with Dr Anj. Professor X’s reputation as a total creep was an unfair turn by writers desperate for “shocking” story material. Yes there was some ickiness in the early 1960s, which was quickly forgotten and swept under the rug. But in the late 80s/early 90s, writers really dragged the character through the mud. I prefer my Professor X as a nice guy and true mentor.
I am screenshotting Shag saying I am right …
The ladies make so many observations that once stated, cannot be unseen. Fortunately, they’re mostly wonderful, like Lilac Punisher.
Another fun episode.
Puck – I really knew nothing about the body-shifting, demon-possessed side of things. But the comments on just how hirsute he is, and where there is hair (the elbows is weird) is what stuck out. Does he manscape? Too much hair!
Puppet master – the face is so weird in the pic that I could recall it without looking up the page. There is a little too much mascara or eyeliner? And there is something odd about his look with the leather apron and gloves. It is just unsettling. I don’t think he needs to ‘play’ with the statuettes to control their movements, just concentrate. But even that is tough to conceptualize.
Purple Man – he just looks so chuffed with himself in this pic. This is a rare Brian Bolland pic in Marvel! I wonder how or why he got picked to draw this guy. I always thought the character was kind of goofy but Tennant’s portrayal was so creepy that I can never look at him the same way. Brrrrr …
As another hirsute person, even with hair on the inside of his elbows, I can assure you that manscaping doesn’t come into it. 😀
It’s another great day when I get caught up with the Hot Squad! Lots of great discussion this go around and fun headphone shattering laughter.
Puck – Great Can-con! I do have a soft spot for Puck, but it grates that every issue he was complaining how his love for Heather would always be unrequited. Go for it, dude! You never know!
Puma – That Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man honeymoon annual (and the Amazing Spider-Man wedding annual) were some of the first comics I after I decided to *collect* comics so I thought Puma was a huge adversary for Spidey and didn’t understand why he didn’t show up more often after that annual. I think he had a interesting back story and the transformation looked painful!
Purple Man – So smelly!
No need to even ask; the Hot Squad are super hot! And their compliment of me leaves them speechless! Which I hope is positive and not “I can’t think of one good thing to say about this person….”.
Thanks for all the joy you bring each and every time! Keep up the great work!
Who know women wanted a man who could handle a sweet potato!