Planetary: Difference between revisions

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[[Comic Book]] series written by [[Warren Ellis]] and drawn (mostly) by John Cassaday, focusing on a team of "mystery archaeologists" employed by the eponymous "Planetary" ~~organisation~~, who were on a quest to expose the secret history of the [[Wildstorm]] comic book universe and harness the fantastic technologies and advances that had been hidden by various malevolent forces. The main characters were:

[[Comic Book]] series written by [[Warren Ellis]] and drawn (mostly) by John Cassaday, focusing on a team of "mystery archaeologists" employed by the eponymous "Planetary" organization, who were on a quest to expose the secret history of the [[Wildstorm]] comic book universe and harness the fantastic technologies and advances that had been hidden by various malevolent forces. The main characters were:

* '''Elijah Snow''' -- A reclusive and grumpy "Century Baby"; a super-human born at 0 Midnight on the 1st of January 1900 which, as with others sharing that birthday, had granted him virtual immortality and special abilities -- in his case, the ability to freeze things with his mind.

* '''Jakita Wagner''' -- A beautiful and easily-bored superstrong speedster who worked with the ~~organisation~~ primarily because it stopped her from getting bored (by, among other things, giving her the opportunity to beat up various monsters, aliens and giant ants).

* '''Jakita Wagner''' -- A beautiful and easily-bored superstrong speedster who worked with the organization primarily because it stopped her from getting bored (by, among other things, giving her the opportunity to beat up various monsters, aliens and giant ants).

* '''The Drummer''' -- A mad technophile who had the ability to ~~visualise~~ any and all forms of information and to communicate with computer systems and other forms of technology.

* '''The Drummer''' -- A mad technophile who had the ability to visualize any and all forms of information and to communicate with computer systems and other forms of technology.

* '''The Fourth Man''' -- A major mystery in the comic. He funds Planetary and hand picked the field team, but remains behind the scenes.

In their exploits, they were opposed by The Four, a quartet of super-powered ex-astronauts who were at the ~~centre~~ of a deep [[Government Conspiracy|under-government conspiracy]] to keep the various wonders and marvels of the universe hidden from the population, and who bore a [[Alternate Company Equivalent|disconcerting resemblance]] to a certain [[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|family of superheroes]] who can be found in the [[Marvel Universe]].

In their exploits, they were opposed by The Four, a quartet of super-powered ex-astronauts who were at the center of a deep [[Government Conspiracy|under-government conspiracy]] to keep the various wonders and marvels of the universe hidden from the population, and who bore a [[Alternate Company Equivalent|disconcerting resemblance]] to a certain [[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|family of superheroes]] who can be found in the [[Marvel Universe]].

The series is essentially Ellis' exploration of popular culture, and the "real-world" ramifications of many of the more far-out concepts that could be found within a century's worth of [[Speculative Fiction]], comic books and popular culture, as seen through the distorting-mirror lens of the Wildstorm Universe. As such, as well as the alternate versions of the Four, an entire back history is composed linking the pulp fiction heroes of [[The Roaring Twenties|the 1920s]] and [[The Great Depression|1930s]] (including versions of [[Doc Savage]] and [[The Shadow]]) with [[The Silver Age of Comic Books]] and, eventually, [[The Modern Age of Comic Books]], with tangents into [[The Fifties|1950s]] sci-fi movies, [[The Sixties|1960s]] spy movies, Japanese monster movies, the [[Vertigo Comics]] of the [[The Eighties|1980s]] (including versions of [[The Sandman]] and [[Hellblazer|John Constantine]]) and countless more besides. In fact, pretty much the only appearing characters who ''aren't'' based in some way on existing characters are the main characters themselves (except for a special issue which featured different versions of ''[[Batman]]'', and a ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen|League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]'' homage which, wittily, used the ''actual'' [[Sherlock Holmes]], [[Dracula]], [[Frankenstein's Monster]], and so on).

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* [[Decompressed Comic]]

* [[Deconstruction]]: In some cases just outright demolition.

** Even Deconstructions are deconstructed; the ~~widescale~~ [[Darker and Edgier]] trend in superhero comics in the 1980s and 1990s is deconstructed with the appearance of a former [[The Cape (trope)|Cape]] who, having apparently suffered one of these during that period and angrily blaming the [[Hellblazer|John Constantine]] [[Expy]] for it for whatever reason, angrily rants that he didn't want or need such a deconstruction just for the hell of it and liked his former, more innocent life perfectly fine, thank you very much.

** Even Deconstructions are deconstructed; the wide-scale [[Darker and Edgier]] trend in superhero comics in the 1980s and 1990s is deconstructed with the appearance of a former [[The Cape (trope)|Cape]] who, having apparently suffered one of these during that period and angrily blaming the [[Hellblazer|John Constantine]] [[Expy]] for it for whatever reason, angrily rants that he didn't want or need such a deconstruction just for the hell of it and liked his former, more innocent life perfectly fine, thank you very much.

* [[Deconstruction Crossover]]: The Planetary universe as a whole.

* [[Deconstructor Fleet]]

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* [[Eye Scream]]: The way they torture {{spoiler|William Leather}} in the final volume.

* [[Flash Step]]: John Stone has his [[Sharp-Dressed Man|Blitzen Suit]] which enables [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v418/Wonderfullabs/junque/blitz1.jpg short-range teleportation].

* [[Flying Brick]]: William Leather clearly won the superpower lottery on his team: speed, strength, flight, [[Made of Iron|~~durablity~~]] and [[Playing with Fire|pyrokinesis]].

* [[Flying Brick]]: William Leather clearly won the superpower lottery on his team: speed, strength, flight, [[Made of Iron|durability]] and [[Playing with Fire|pyrokinesis]].

* [[Genre Shift]]: Planetary #3 is [[The Spectre]] done as a [[Heroic Bloodshed]] story.

* [[Gilligan Cut]]: In ''Night on Earth'', after he sees what the issue's antagonist is capable of, the Drummer announces that this time he's going to stay in the base where it's safe. Turn the page, and the next panel is him out in the field with Jakita and Elijah, complaining loudly.

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* [[Karmic Death]]: {{spoiler|Dowling and Kim.}}

* [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]]: {{spoiler|Not telling.}}

* [[Lawyer-Friendly Cameo]]: Of course, these alternate versions, whilst ~~recognisable~~, are entirely distinct from the originals.

* [[Lawyer-Friendly Cameo]]: Of course, these alternate versions, whilst recognizable, are entirely distinct from the originals.

* [[Legacy Character]]: Again, Jakita Wagner.

* [[Lightning Bruiser]]: Jakita Wagner is durable enough to survive being defenestrated from a ~~skycraper~~ without harm, strong enough to "...''drop-kick a rhino over the Grand Canyon''" and fast enough to out-run trigger-pulls.

* [[Lightning Bruiser]]: Jakita Wagner is durable enough to survive being defenestrated from a skyscraper without harm, strong enough to "...''drop-kick a rhino over the Grand Canyon''" and fast enough to out-run trigger-pulls.

* [[Locked Out of the Loop]]: See [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]], above. All the other regular characters know what that character's forgotten, but have their respective reasons for letting the situation continue.

* [[Luke, I Might Be Your Father]]: {{spoiler|Elijah was romantically involved with Jakita's mother around 8-11 months before she was born. Several people have confirmed that Elijah is not the father, but they may have been lying.}}