Promethea: Difference between revisions

[[File:Promethea.jpg|frame]]

 

The protagonist, student Sophie Bangs, while researching a college paper discovers several references to a character named Promethea. These references are in a variety of literary works including epic poetry and comic books. Curious Sophie investigates and eventually finds Barbara Shelley, the wife of the now-deceased author of the latest incarnation of the character. Her attempt to interview Ms. Shelley is unsuccessful.

 

 

After they escape, Barbara tells Sophie how her husband's imagination made it possible for her to become Promethea. She explains to Sophie that in ancient Egypt a magician tried to save his daughter from the religious persecution that would kill him by getting his gods to preserve her forever as a story. Barbara further explains that some authors including her husband enabled her to cross back into the material world through the power of imagination as the superhero Promethea. Barbara warns Sophie that they have only managed to slow the [[Living Shadow]] down. She suggests that Sophie try and use her creativity to summon Promethea or they are both doomed. Sophie retreats and writes about the character, imagining herself as Promethea, and succeeds in fully embodying her. She manages to fight back the creature as it returns, but her troubles have only just begun.

 

 

The series has a heavy focus on the occult, and its related spiritual and psychological questions.

 

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* [[Action Girl]]: Most, but not all, incarnations of Promethea.

* [[All Myths Are True]]

* [[Attractive Bent Gender]]: {{spoiler|Roger and Bill}}

* [[Author Appeal]]: [[Alan Moore]] pretty much used the series to write about one of his favorite subjects, the western magic tradition.

* [[After the End]]

* [[Bad Boss]]: Mayor Sonny Baskerville, when {{spoiler|possessed by the Howling}}.

* [[Big Badass Wolf]]

* [[Bi the Way]]: {{spoiler|Grace.}}

* [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]]

** The Painted Doll is fond of addressing the reader, particularly after a murder.

* [[Clark Kenting]]

* [[Crossover]]

** An issue takes place almost entirely in Tom Strong's city.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Stacia, Barbara, Jack, Grace, Roger, agent Ball, the Doll, Boo-Boo, Sophie and Trish (sometimes)... actually, about half the cast.

* [[Ethnic Scrappy]]: The ''Little Margie'' strips spoof this with Chinky, a ridiculously racist Chinese caricature. The Little Margie comic started in ''1901''; realistically, it probably could have been much worse.

* [[Expy]] - The Painted Doll inevitably reminds one of the [[Batman|Joker]].

** The Five Swell Guys, the city's resident science heroes. One of them hasn't physically [[Gender Bender|qualified as a guy]] for quite some time though.

*** [[The Hero]]: {{spoiler|Bob, though more officially than in practice}}

*** [[The Lancer]] / [[The Smart Guy]]: Grace

*** [[The Big Guy]]: Barbara ([[Boisterous Bruiser]] variety)

*** [[The Heart]]: Bill (really is the nicest of the Prometheas)

*** [[Team Mom]]: Margaret

* [[Gender Bender]] - While Promethea is always female, one of the incarnations was actually male, and transformed when needed - the fact that he was a gay man was a factor in some unfortunate circumstances. There's also one of the Five Swell Guys, who seems to have suffered a [[Mandys Law of Anime Gender Bending|permanent one-way transformation to female]]

* [[The Ghost]]: the Night Queen is referenced repeatedly, but never actually appears.

* [[Hermetic Magic]]: it's by Alan Moore, what did you expect?

* [[Higher Self]]: Promethea herself is a higher self to the various people who embody her. The Angel Boo-Boo definitely is, {{spoiler|being the guardian angel and divine expression of the previous Promethea, Barbara Shelley}}.

* [[Ho Yay]] (mostly [[Les Yay]])

* [[I Am Legion]] - The Howling are a series of demons - who eventually all find an already troubled person to possess.

* [[I'm Mr. Future Pop Culture Reference]]

* [[Joker Immunity]]: The Doll ''seems'' to have this {{spoiler|which becomes a plot point later}}

* [[Kangaroo Court]]: Played with in "A Higher Court."

* Odd-Shaped Panel: Frequently used in the mystic realms.

* [[Painting the Fourth Wall]]

'''Hermes:''' Oh, you know. Hieroglyphics. Vase paintings. Whatever did you think I meant? }}

* [[Pieces of God]]

* [[Pygmalion Plot]]

* [[Pygmalion Snapback]]

* [[Passing the Torch]]

* [[Rule of Symbolism]]

* [[The Scrappy]]: Little Margie is an in-universe example. As the fictional creation of Margaret, she's stuck [[Tagalong Kid|hanging around]] for eternity in the Immateria with her and the other deceased Promethea hosts, and her ''[[Little Nemo]]''-like exclamations get on their nerves.

** Also references to everything from [[Conan the Barbarian]] (Stacia) to [[The Bible]] (Solomon).

* [[The Smart Guy]]: The Five Swell Guys actually have two of these, which later becomes a plot point.

* [[Super Gender Bender]]: One of the former Prometheas was a male comic book artist called Bill Woolcott.

* [[Tarot Motifs]]

* [[Transparent Closet]]: {{spoiler|Stacia}}

* [[Unfortunate Names]]: Lucille Ball. Not kooky, not a redhead, and snarking apart, generally not inclined to see the humor in anything, including her name. Also {{spoiler|(lampshaded by the character) [[Double Entendre|Trish Bangs]]}}.

* [[Unusual Euphemism]]: Chemise-lifters.

* [[The Verse]] - Shares a verse with other America's Best Comics works by [[Alan Moore]] like Tom Strong, [[Top Ten]] Splash Brannigan, Jack B. Quick, Cobweb and Greyshirt.

** His publicity is ''too'' good. {{spoiler|One of his incarnations gets mobbed to death by fans wanting to be killed by him.}}

** Also the Mayor {{spoiler|post-possession}}.

* [[Villains Never Lie]]: The Goetia.

* [[Your Mind Makes It Real]]: This seems to define how things are handled in the Immateria.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:The Nineties]]

[[Category:DC Comics Series]]

[[Category:Promethea]]