Looking To The Stars: Devil In The Darkness (Or Why Brian Michael Bendis REALLY Doesn't Get Daredevil)

SPOILERS WARNING! The following article gives many details about the general history of Daredevil and the runs of Frank Miller, Kevin Smith & Brian Michael Bendis in specific. Read no further if, by some chance, you have not read any of these stories, but plan to after you move out of the cave you’ve been living in.

Most of us have had it happen: our favorite writer or artist announced they needed a change of pace and new management was taking over your favorite book. And the new team set about systematically tearing apart everything you loved about the book.

Maybe the art was now too focused upon cheesecake poses. Maybe all the subplots you had been following for years were now being ignored in favor of whole new subplots. Maybe your favorite character was booted off the team for being “useless” (according to the new creative staff, anyway) and would spend the next five years in comics limbo making occasional appearances in the big crossovers before being killed off in a footnote. I don’t need to name names. You know whom I’m talking about!

My point is that a new writer can completely and totally change the general tone and direction of a book. And few characters have suffered so many drastic changes in the general tone as the soon-to-be, big-screen star… Matt Murdock, also known as Daredevil: The Man Without Fear!

Now I’m going to let all you kids in on a little secret. See, a lot of you… all you know of Daredevil was written in the last three years or so. And all of those were very adult stories for big boys and girls to read. So you know I’m only telling you this because you’re big enough to handle it… ready? Okay…

Back when he was first created by Stan Lee, Daredevil was a silly book. A REALLY silly book. In fact, it was one of the few super hero books being published by Marvel back then that made it look like being a costumed vigilante was kind of fun!

Yes, back in the days of high angst “I’m so hideous I can only be called a Thing! , I can’t get the money to pay for Aunt May’s new hip” stories, a blind-man put on a silly costume and in the first ten issues of his solo adventures, fought against such dread evils as…

· The Owl: a fat mutant with a bad haircut and “gliding powers”

· The Purple Man: a lavender-skinned telepath, who was instantly likable.

· The Matador: a masked robber who confused his enemies with his cape (not a Hypno-cape mind you… an ordinary cape… a freaking ordinary cape)

· The Stilt-Man: ‘Nuff Said

· The Eel, who had a special suit that kept him from being held (ooh… someone has intimacy issues)

In all fairness, he faced down Electro and The Sub Mariner too, but most of the early Daredevil rogues gallery was definite Z-list material and quite quite silly. And things stayed that way for the most part through a succession of writers for a number of years… until an artist turned writer would come along and change the tone of Daredevil to something darker. The man who was “grim-n-gritty” before the term was ever coined: Frank Miller.

Now, Miller has taken a lot of flack in the past for being partly responsible for the beginning of the Dark Age of comics. And it cannot be denied that his work on Daredevil was an influence upon later writers and unlike anything that had come before or since, despite a host of imitators. But say what you will about Miller’s writing… everything he wrote had something at the core. A special something that most of the writers of the Dark Age forgot.

Hope.

Hope is the central theme of all true superheroic tales. Without the hope that good will win out, that evil will ultimately be punished and that no matter what bad things happen some greater good will come of it, there is no heroism to the tale. A hero must have the hope of triumph. A hero may taste defeat. In fact, it makes their victories all the sweeter later if they do. But the hope that they can win must be there.

Miller understood this and no matter how much blood, tears and tragedy went into a story there was always a hope that somehow Matt Murdock would persevere and come out on top. Consider how in his two stints on Daredevil…

· Matt lost college-sweetheart turned assassin, Elektra, to the hands of costumed sociopath, Bullseye. Evil ninja clan, The Hand, immediately set about bringing Elektra back as their mindless immortal slave.

· Matt wound up dropping Bullseye off the edge of a roof in revenge.

· Matt’s ex-girlfriend Karen Page was revealed to have become a heroin addict and a porn star and sold out his secret identity for a fix.

· Crime-boss Wilson Fisk (The Kingpin) found out said secret identity and set about ruining Matt’s life by framing him for corruption in his job as a lawyer, costing him his law license, beating him senseless in a one-on-one fight and then arranging a gruesome death and a frame for murder.

Pretty mature stuff, eh? And yet despite all this death, all the bad things that happened…

· Matt somehow managed to bring Elektra back from the dead and purified her tainted soul through pure blind hope and faith.

· Daredevil visited an in-traction Bullseye in the hospital and proved, through a game of Russian Roulette, that he would not kill Bullseye and sink to his level.

· Karen cleaned herself up and patched things up with Matt.

· Matt was able to escape from the Kingpin’s deathtrap and after a few weeks of hiding and running warfare, he was able to expose Wilson Fisk’s illegal activities. Although The Kingpin escaped a prison sentence, Matt did cripple Fisk’s businesses and ruined his false image of a legitimate businessman. Matt also eventually regained everything he had lost.

For the most part, this tone held out through the rest of the First Series of Daredevil. Some writers leaned more towards the more carefree tone of the early books but most opted for darker stories that involved serial killers or drug dealers. Of course Frank Miller had dealt with these subjects before but very few of these stories approached the higher standard he set.

And then in the late 90’s, as Daredevil was started over in a Second Series, someone came closer than ever to stealing the throne. Kevin Smith, an independent film director, cut his teeth on comics for the first with an eight-part story called “Guardian Devil”. And what a story!

Smith built upon the characters and mythology created by Miller and kicked the darkness up a notch. In a scant eight issues, readers were treated to a nursery full of mysteriously killed babies, a church full of dead nuns, the possibility that Matt might have gotten AIDS, babies thrown off roofs (years before Michael Jackson’s attempts), Matt Murdock contemplating suicide and Daredevil savagely turning on Black Widow and breaking her wrist. And we can’t forget the death of Karen Page and the suicide of Mysterio, can we?

And yet despite this story- an even mix of Miller plotting and Dark Age style, Smith got it: a superhero story must have hope at the core. In fact, I have to credit Smith with phrasing my point in this little writing exercise perfectly. In the final issue, a depressed Daredevil pours his heart out to Spider-Man as they two discuss the deaths of everyone close to them because of their lives as heroes… and Daredevil asks for one good thing that had come of the entire mess. And Spider-Man says, quite simply “You SAVED that baby girl’s life, Matt. Think about it.”

Matt does think about it and in the rest of the story he looks for what he has to be thankful for. He loses a girlfriend but regains his independent law practice, thanks to her generous life insurance policy. He finds his long-lost mother and makes peace with her as a result of what has happened. And he finds a peace and new resolve to keep going forward in life despite all the bad things that have happened.

What concerns me, though, is that Brian Michael Bendis does not seem to understand this need. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve enjoyed Bendis’ work on Daredevil very much. But what he is writing, in my estimation, are “Law and Order” and “The Sopranos” episodes that occasionally feature a superhero. Why not paraphrase the very helpful summary that precedes each Daredevil issue now? (And much thanks to whoever brought back the “Previously Page”)…

Mr. Silke was a new member of the Kingpin’s crew. When his coup attempt against the Kingpin failed, he turned himself into the FBI. His wife, Vanessa Fisk, hunted down and killed his attempted assassins and set about dismantling his criminal empire. When the FBI refuse Silke’s request for protection he gives them the one piece of information the Kingpin had that he thinks will save him: That Matt Murdock is Daredevil.

The FBI decide not to follow up on the lead, but an agent with marital and financial troubles leaks the story in exchange for a hefty fee. On the next day, the cover of tabloid The Globe screams “Blind Attorney is Daredevil!” With his secret out, Matt files a 400 million dollar lawsuit against the Globe. Mr. Rosenthal, the owner of the paper, vows to go the distance because he knows the story to be true.

You could change Daredevil to almost any other nasty secret and this story could still work. (Blind Lawyer is Shoe-Fetishist!) In fact, a quarter of the issues Bendis has written (from 26 to the present 40) do not have Matt Murdock in costume at any point in the story and another quarter only have him in costume briefly (5 pages or less). And while I have to admit this saga has held my interest, it’s just not a superhero story!

But up until recently, the story still had the core of hope in it that things would ultimately work out. No more, I am sad to say, is this true with the conclusion of the untitled three-part story arc that ran from Daredevil 38-40.

In a bit of a side-track from Matt’s legal woes, we find out that long-retired, street-level vigilante The White Tiger was arrested on charges of murder. He was found clutching a TV and standing over the body of a dead officer, who had radioed for back-up as he was trying to stop a pawn shop robbery and was shot with his own gun.

Matt is reluctant to take the case, thinking that his involvement in anything involving superheroes at this point would taint the case and make his own lawsuit against The Globe more difficult. Still, after some heavy prodding from Luke Cage, he agrees.

The case against White Tiger is mostly circumstantial. There is no physical evidence that he fired the murder weapon and nothing that contradicts his own story that he arrived after the officer had been shot by two gang members. But the DA has his eyes on the Mayor’s office and is looking to ride the anti-vigilante feeling in the public there with a win on this case.

So the prosecution’s entire case hinges his painting a portrait of the White Tiger as a failure as a husband and provider, who turned to crime and murder in a desperate attempt to keep his wife from leaving. Matt, in turn, has to focus his efforts on keeping her from leaving him in the middle of the trial (he had promised her that he would give up heroism) and on emphasizing the lack of physical evidence like the lack of powder burns on a pure-white costume.

What we get in issue 39 is a look at how a murder trial might actually work in a world where guns can be fired telekinetically and where an expert on magical artifacts would not only be taken seriously but routinely consulted by the police. And in a treat for cameo fans everywhere, Reed Ricards, Dr. Strange, Luke Cage and Danny Rand and others take the stand as (respectively) an expert on superhero psychology, an expert on magical amulets and character witnesses.

Still things go badly when the White Tiger loses control on the stand under the DA’s brutal questioning and as issue 40 begins, we find Matt listening in on the jury deliberations. He finds that most of the jury is ignoring the evidence. He concludes that some of them are convicting The White Tiger to get at him, who should have been brought down in disgrace because of the scandal with The Globe.

It goes even worse at the sentencing when after being found guilty a panicked White Tiger fights the bailiffs, grabs a gun and flees the scene. He is gunned down on the courthouse steps, just as it appears he was about to drop the gun and give up. But in the commotion, Matt notices a hooded young man sitting in the courtroom who is not running away.

Following him, and appearing as Daredevil, Matt’s hunch proves correct: the young man is one of the two robbers but not the one who fired the gun. The two fled to Chicago, at the bullying instance of the killer, who later died of a drug overdose. The second robber returned, planning to clear White Tiger but turning chicken when he got to the courthouse. The issue ends with the young man turning himself in.

There is no justice here, no silver lining to the cloud. An obviously corrupt district attorney unjustly prosecutes a good man, who’s only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He dies needlessly, his true killer escaping true justice through his own death. And the only person left for justice to be served on is a scared teenager who didn’t kill anyone, didn’t want to kill anyone and who’s only real crime was wanting to steal a copy of Grand Theft Auto 3. (Oh, the irony!)

The only possible bright side to any of this, is that we are informed through a news broadcast that many now doubt Matt Murdock is Daredevil because of his taking this case. The logic here being that if Matt were Daredevil, he wouldn’t be associating with superheroes and risking raising such suspicions.

If that’s the case, and this entire three-issue digression was just to put Matt in a better position for the coming legal battle with The Globe, then all I can say is that this is very sad. To kill off a character for so weak an advantage as this, even a long-forgotten never-was like the White Tiger is just plain wrong. And Brian Michael Bendis should know better. Because while the hope may still be there for Matt Murdock, Hector Ayala has none left… and never really did when this story first started.

But that is where things stand now. I hope, in the next issue, that there is something more that may yet turn the tragedy of The White Tiger into a triumph.

Hawkman #11: A Review

They said it couldn’t be done, but these two have done it.

Geoff Johns and former Starman scribe James Robinson have brought back Hawkman. After handling a very messy resurrection in the pages of JSA, the two set about cutting through the complicated back story and continuity that crippled the character for years in the pages of this: Hawkman’s monthly book.

Even though it is Johns who has done most of the writing for the series, this series reminds me more of Robinson’s Starman than Johns’ work on The Flash or JSA. Perhaps, this is due to the sense of building a new saga from the pieces of an old one, which Robinson did when he took several heroes who had held the name of Starman and forged a connection where none had existed before.

A box at the start of each issue explains the origin of Hawkman and Hawkgirl as it was redefined by Johns. In short, an Egyptian Prince and his Princess discovered a ship from another world (The Planet Thanagar). They used a mysterious element that powered the ship (The Nth Metal) to give themselves various powers, including the powers of flight and protection from the elements. The two would be reincarnated, time and time again, destined to meet and fall in love throughout time and to be protectors of the innocent. In this lifetime, their souls have come back as Carter Hall (The Golden Age Hawkman, brought back to life by Thanagarian Magic) and Kendra Saunders (Grand-niece of the Golden Age Hawkgirl). They are now archeologists and adventurers, as well as the super-heroes Hawkman and Hawkgirl.

Believe it or not, that is the short version. The long one is worse.

In fact, this story jumps right into one of the details of the long version. The Egyptian prince and princess were killed by an evil priest during an attempted coup, and it was the combined properties of his magical curse, a dagger of the Nth metal and their love that combined to cause their never-ending reincarnation. It is this priest, in his newest body, who has the Hawks cornered as the story begins.

The biggest and most obvious flaw with the book is that... well, it is involved. There is no way to discuss it without giving a Hawkman history lecture to explain who the bad guy is, who the man the Hawks are searching for is and so on. If you have the patience for it, it’s one of the best books you can spend your change on but I can see this book being very difficult for someone who hasn’t been here since issue 1. Or at the very least, since issue 10, this being the second part of a three-part story.

The writing style is pure super heroics with a little bit of pulp thrown in. Most of the stories so far have dealt with archeology and have a feel similar to all the Indian Jones books I read as a kid. Lost temples, magical artifacts and even a tribe of yetis are just as likely to figure in the story as spandex-clad super villains.

Speaking of the Silver Age, there is a cameo in this issue by a character who was a mainstay of the Silver Age, and it is just PERFECT. I won’t say whom, except to say that while I should have seen his appearance coming sometime in the book, I was surprised and delighted to see him here.

The artwork is nice, having a darker film noir feel to it while still holding true to the pulp tradition of big gestures and detailed forms. In fact, it is easy to tell the characters apart: something that can be difficult without masks with some artists.

Overall, I liked this issue. It had all the quality I’ve come to expect of the book. But I really can’t recommend it for a first time reader of Hawkman. There’s just too much back-story needed to enjoy this issue.

If you aren’t reading Hawkman, but want to see what you are missing without being so confused, go pick up the JSA: The Return of Hawkman Trade Paperback and see where it all began.

Looking To The Stars: Pleased To Meet You

Please allow me to introduce myself. I’m a man of wealth and taste. I’ve been around for a long, long time. Stolen many a…

Well, that’s not really true. But I’m on a Stones groove this morning

I’ve stolen nothing other than a few hearts. I’ve been “around” this business for about five years. And all the wealth I have is more spiritual than financial. But apparently, being here now, I do have taste.

As some of you may be aware, in the past I wrote a little column called "The Mount" for a little publication known as Fanzing. Fanzing was devoted towards showcasing fan fiction and art, reviews and news relating to the properties of DC Comics. And "The Mount" was devoted toward my sermons upon many matters related to the comic industry: from the signs of a bad comic book shop to reviews of superhero-themed video games and movies, with the occasional bit of satire thrown in. Note the emphasis upon “in the past” and “was”.

For time was not kind to the editors and most of their free time was spent working upon the magazine. And lo, the cost of said webzine was growing ever higher. Thus it was decided, with heavy heart, that they would bring their great works to a close before a closing was forced upon them.

And there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth, for many a writer now found themselves without an outlet for their creative energies. And such a writer was I…

Until one day. One magic day, He passed my way. And while we spoke of many things, fools AND kings, this He said to me: “The greatest thing for you, young Stars, would be to write for me.”

The He, in this case, is Ben Morse who is editing this whole little section of web site and will be doing a darn good job, I’m sure!

I’m sure you can all guess what my answer was since you are reading these words right now. True, there was much heavy negotiating over my salary and benefits. I insisted upon a penthouse office, a fully stocked bar of fine sipping tequilas and as many stripped and shaven wenches as my poor, little, innocent (ha!) eyes could stand.

Well, after Ben was let out of the hospital for the heart attack brought on by a “severe bout of uncontrollable laughter”, we talked again and came to an agreement. I would have total freedom to write about anything in the comic genre and they would publish it, for as long as the readers kept reading.

The handle is Starman Matt. Also Know As: Starman Matt, Stars Morrison, Unca Stars and for a brief period before an injunction by Stan Lee’s lawyers, Spider-Man Matt and Spider-Matt. No distinguishing marks, scars or tattoos.

Wanted by 411mania.com for amusing and enlightening the general populace of the world with his humorous and educational writings on current trends and specific stories in the comic book genre.

If you should see this man, do not confront him. He is unarmed except for the most sarcastic wit this side of Peter Parker and should be considered dangerously esoteric.

Tune in Next Week: Same Matt Time. Same Matt Website. Until then, may your clerks be friendly and your comics unbent!

The Mount - I'm Telling You For The Last Time

Okay kiddies. Closing time. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.

But before we lock the doors and turn out the lights, I've got one last thing to say. Something I feel the need to share after an extended philosophical conversation I had a few nights ago. Something that may set more than a few of you on edge. But I've never been one to shy away from controversy.

The other night, some fellow geeks and I got to talking about some political matters in addition to the usual shop talk and this question was raised: what side of the political spectrum do you think most superheroes come down on?

Now, there are a few obvious gimmies. Hawkman is an old-fashioned conservative, with old fashioned taking a whole new meaning with a guy who's been steadily reincarnated since the Egyptian dynasties. Green Arrow? FDR/Kennedy liberal with no party affiliations. The Question? Ayn Randian Libertarian.

Of course it's easy for second-tier heroes to have a distinct political identity. Many is the time a writer has used a lesser-known character as a mouthpiece for his own opinions. But honestly, how many readers are going to be seriously offended if Green Arrow calls for Richard Nixon's head on a platter or if Hawkman makes comments against single people who live together?

But the big guns of the DC Universe? The major icons that everyone knows about? Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman? Well, that's a whole other story. Editorial mandate has kept politics out of their books for the most part, for fear of offending the readers who might just stop buying comics if they thought that Superman were a bleeding-heart liberal or Batman was a stone-cold conservative.

Still, occasionally the writer can slip his own opinions into a story. For example, consider how Superman went from a reluctant executioner (John Byrne, during the whole General Zod saga) to being very anti-Death Penalty years later in the 90's. Compare the stories where Batman pimp-slaps the thug who dares to pull a gun on him and talks about the inherit weakness of those who use them to the Chuck Dixon penned story where Batman lectures Robin about the importance of gun safety while giving him a marksmanship lesson.

Well, the debate has gone on from chatroom to chatroom, message board to message board for years and years. And having thought a while about it, I'm ready to give you a very simple thesis.

Superheroism, by its very nature, is a liberal act.

Think about it: we have a person who goes out and gives of himself or herself, often times risking their life. They do this for no reward, no expectation of gratitude purely because of a personal moral code: because they have abilities that make them greater than everyone else and yet use those abilities to help those in need. Reword that a bit and it sound a bit like one of the more famous Karl Marx quotes: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."

When you put it that way, it makes Superman sound like a Commie Pinko, doesn't it?

And Batman? Talk about the poster boy for gun control. It's been shown before that Bruce Wayne has a deep, near pathological hatred of guns. Now Bruce Wayne, in terms of the drunken playboy persona Batman uses as a mask, is probably not openly political, what with moving around some very conservative circles. Still, I'd be deeply amazed if any of the Wayne family fortune were going into the campaign war chest of any politician getting money from the NRA. Also, it's been shown that the Wayne Foundation does a LOT of charity work, putting money into the local shelters and offering jobs to the needy. See the excellent Batman: War on Crime by Paul Dini for a very detailed look as to how Batman fights crime without throwing punches.

And Wonder Woman? Classic feminist. Woman from an island populated by only women, saying they have created a paradise without men, made amazing scientific advances and achieved a lasting peace for several thousand years. I mean, just think of the political subtext here. Ignoring the obvious lesbian issues (And don't think most of us haven't!) it still doesn't look like Diana is going to be meeting with Liddy Dole or baking cookies with Laura Bush anytime soon.

And yes, I know Bush isn't president in the DCU universe. So please don't write in saying that she'd actually be baking cookies with Lana Lang.

Actually, you can't write in at all, will you? 'Cause I'm done. Or am I?

You may be pleased (or horrified) to know that I've just been picked up as a writer for the comics section of the upcoming website www.411mania.com. You can read my new regular weekly column, Looking To The Stars, as well as the occasional comic review.

It's been a blast, folks. Before I sign out, I'd like to thank some people.

First, thanks to Michael Hutchison for having had the sheer insanity to give me a chance writing here. We may not have always agreed on everything, Hutch... but you've always tried to respect me even as we argued like Carter and Ollie. And I think I've returned the favor.

Thank you to David R. Black, who handled most of my writing during the last year and was always polite enough to remind me when a deadline had passed and I had forgotten to e-mail my last article without beating me up too badly.

I'd like to thank the friendly staff and my ex co-workers at Lone Star Comics, who always made sure I'd have something to talk about in my writing.

I'd also like to thank all the fans who have sent me e-mail to thank me for saying what they thought and thought they were alone in thinking. I'd even like to thank the few people who wrote me to question my lineage and my mother's virtue.

Finally, thanks Michele. For listening, even when you had no clue what I was talking about.

Now, and for the last time... may your clerks be friendly and your comics unbent.

The Mount - Looking Back

As I write this, I stand a few days away from receiving my Bachelors degree. I have finals this week, was in danger of failing a few classes, still have to take a test for Graduate school... and I am looking for a job so I have some spare money, assuming I get into Grad school. As such, I haven't had comics on the mind that much this past month.

Looking back though, it's funny how comics are tied into my college life. I got back into reading comics my freshman year... nigh unto five years ago. I was working in a bookstore and saw an issue of Green Lantern on the magazine rack. Surprised by the unfamiliar youth in the robotic mask, I read it... and went on-line that night to find out what had happened to Hal Jordan, who I remembered from the Superfriends cartoons of my youth.

A year later. Sophomore. I was addicted. I bought all the Batman books, everything relating to a JLA member and was slowly getting into Vertigo. I was reading fan fiction and got into some weird little fan magazine for DC books... you might take a guess which one.

Year Two. 2^nd Sophomore year. Started reading an odd DC title called Starman. Also submitted a piece to this fan magazine I loved so much, not expecting anything to come of it.

Year Three: Junior year. After a year of submitting random pieces, I get my own column in this magazine which will remain nameless. Going against all my DC prejudices, I pick up a book called Daredevil, because some movie maker I'm a fan of wrote it. Don't expect much. Put it on my subscription list the next week.

Year Four: Senior year. Said movie maker is now the patron saint of my two favorite art forms. I rename myself, in reference to my favorite comic. Everyone now swears I am Jack Knight incarnate. Reading more Marvel books and some independent works. The Batman books dip in quality and I drop them.

And now here it is... Year Five. And what has changed in the comic industry since I got into? Well, Kevin Smith... the unknown filmmaker who wanted to write a few comics is a big dog who can do pretty much whatever he wants. My favorite comic book ever ended its run. I joined a Rocky Horror cast in my hometown and became known to my fellow actors, technicians and fans as "Starman Matt", after my Yahoo ID. My pull list now numbers an even mix of DC, Marvel and Indie titles, since I decided to read books based on writers and characters not just which universe I liked better. (On that note, if you aren't reading Mark Waid's take on the Fantastic Four, just because it's a Marvel book... kick yourself). I've written "The Mount" for longer than I ever thought possible. I even got a job at my comic book store over the summer and found a new look at the industry and how things are done.

But most astonishing of all, this year, I rediscovered an old hero. Thanks to a new movie, a new book, a new batch of writers and a new editorial direction, I found myself thrilling again to the exploits of a character I had long thought past FUBARed. This hero, who got me into super heroes in the first place, with a little help from his amazing friends. The hero who taught me that you didn't have to be the best or the strongest in the world. That it was enough for you to try your best and hope things would work out. Even when everything in life told you that was about as likely as the pretty red-haired girl accepting your invitation to go out. The guy who gave me hope for my own lack-luster love life when he DID get the girl. The guy who was, like me, a geeky wise-cracker with brown curly hair, glasses and a desire to do the right thing all the time even if it made him miserable. The guy that I dressed up as for Halloween, inspired by my sudden weight loss over the summer and a childhood dream.

Sorry Jack. And sorry to everyone who can't believe a writer at the biggest and best DC fanzine there is, is saying this... Peter Parker is back at the top of my list of heroes.

Things change. That's the way of life. But wherever I go, I'll always remember these things... Knowledge is Power. With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility.

And With Great Knowledge, Comes Great Big Student Loan Bills.

One more to go before we close up shop, kiddies. Come back next month for the final shoot-out before I mount my horse and ride into the sunset.