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CPF WotS, Rd. 1: The Crow vs. The Spirit

The Crow

4 votes

The Spirit

8 votes

Edgy MD Jan 13 2015 06:19 PM

IN our first matchup of number 4 and 5 seeds, two heroes who could not be stopped by the grave tangle in the Indies: Occult/Fantasy Bracket of the DC/Indy Conference. There is no death for the loser, just an eternal life of shame. [fimg=255]http://th00.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2010/174/5/1/The_CROW_by_Katase6626.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=280]http://kinder83.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/eisnerspirit1.gif?w=450[/fimg] Name: The Crow Name: The Spirit AKA: Eric Draven; also Joshua, Iris Shaw, Michael Korby, Mark Leung, Vincent, Elorah, Jamie Osterberg, The Man, Carrie/"Curare", Salvador, Ashe Corven, Alex Corvis, Jimmy Cuervo, Hannah Foster, William Blessing, Jared Poe, Amy Carlisle, Stephen Lelliott, Dan Cody, Billy, Dren. Thar be a lot of Crows. AKA: Denny Colt Creator(s): James O'Barr Creator(s): Will Eisner Place of Birth: Too many folks take on the Crow persona to recount birthplaces. Deathplaces are more relevant Place of Birth: New York, NY, I guess How He Came to Be: The spirit of the Crow resurrects victims of murders, to empower them and allow them to seek revenge. Eric Draven (as perhaps the highest-profile Crow), was murdered along with his fiancee after their car broke down and they ran afoul of highway hoodlums. A year later, he was reborn, and it was a bad time for the bad guys. How he Came to Be: Denny Colt is a private investigator. Moving in on Dr. Cobra to prevent one of his nefarious schemes, his gun goes off and explodes a vat of Dr. Cobra's chemicals right in his very own FACE. He's pronounced dead at the scene, but those chemicals only placed him in a state of suspended animation. When he wakes up at the cemetery he creates a base of operations there, and it's a bad time for the bad guys. This is why you need to bury me above ground. Base of Operations: Again, too many to name. The Crow itself is based in the spirit realm, but his or her semi-corporeal partners (at least the ones with comic book accountings) have operated throughout the northern hemisphere. Base of Operations: New York, NY; Central City, OH; mobile; likes cemeteries, particularly Wildwood Cemetery Teams/Affiliations: I guess all the Crows are linked, but they tend to operate individually. Teams/Affiliations: Central City Police Signature Lines: "He was already dead......he died a year ago, the moment he touched her. They're all dead.....they just don't know it yet." Signature Lines: "I was once Denny Colt, now I'm called the Spirit. Because, you know, I'm supposed to be dead. I do what I can." Arch-Enemy: Top Dollar (Eric Draven's arch enemy) Arch-Enemy: The Octopus Sidekick(s): The Crow itself. Eric also later worked with a sidekick/partner called Razor Sidekick(s): Ebony White, originally a rather insensitive minstel-type racial caricature, who developed more nuance later. Paramour(s): Eric's fiancee was Shelly Paramour Ellen Dolan is the one he's sweet on, but he has some sexually charged encounters with P'Gell, Darling O'Shea, and Silk Satin Has Been Played By: Brandon Lee, Mark Dacascos. Luke Evans (Draven), Vincent Perez (Ashe Corven), Eric Mabius (Alex Corvis), and Edward Furlong (Jimmy Cuervo) Once Played By: Sam J. Jones, Gabriel Macht Could Have Been Played By: Eric was modeled on any number of goth/glam rockers, and could have been played by any number of them. But I'll go with Jared Leto. Could Have Been Played By: Matthew Perry Song I Think Of: "Burn" Song I Think Of: "I Got a Line on You" Supernatural Powers: "If you are reborn of the Crow, you are technically still dead, so you need not eat or sleep. You can also feel no pain (save for psychic pain). Your body nonethless is quick-healing, no matter how serious the injury. You have mystically super strength. Got a big strong opponent? Don't worry about it, there's always an untapped reserve of strength for you. If you are reborn of the Crow, you also have keen predatory senses, because you have come back for revenge. Super reflexes, jumping and fighting skills, deadly marksmanship... it's all yours. And, as dead as you may be, you better enjoy your invulnerability, because you got a big heap of it. You also have this cool familiar in the Crow sidekick, through whose eyes you can see, and who will intuitively help you when needed. Crow Rebornies are also clairvoyant, seeing things from their loved one's memories, and pickign up images from objects they touch. When they kill, they can also inflict the horrible memories of their dearly departed back onto the person of the victims of thier vengeance." Supernatural Powers: His only real superpower is that he came back from (seeming) death and he seems to have stopped aging. Non-Super Abilities: None. Non-Super Abilities: He's a kick-ass detective. He'll read the clues with his detection skills, track you down with his athletic skills, and then lay you out with a cross to the jaw. He's old school. He also has a debonair sense of sartorial splendor. Stuff: Has little need for stuff. Stuff: I'm not sure if he's got a car that turns into a plane or a plane that turns into a car, but it's cool. Weaknesses: If the companion Crow is killed, the person reborn of the Crow spirit is suddenly vulnerable. Vulnerability is also lost upon completion of the mission of vengeance. In one of the gothiest weaknesses ever, it turns out that Crow rebornies are NOT invulnerable to SELF-harm and self mutilation. So watch out for bad habits. Weaknesses: He's mostly just flesh and blood. Guys are creeped out by him, because he's already seemingly died once, but if they can get past the willies that gives 'em, they can ice him for good.

cooby Jan 13 2015 06:36 PM Re: CPF WotS, Rd. 1: The Crow vs. The Spirit

I love the band Spirit. But I love crows more. And thirdly I love the artwork on both of these.

Edgy MD Jan 13 2015 06:50 PM Re: CPF WotS, Rd. 1: The Crow vs. The Spirit

Did you click that link? That's a 1984 lineup for Spirit, but it's like three or four bands are on stage at once. How did they divide up the money (such it presumably was) when they had three lead guitarists and five or six percussionists/backup singers? Amazin'.

cooby Jan 13 2015 06:54 PM Re: CPF WotS, Rd. 1: The Crow vs. The Spirit

Ha I did not even notice that link! But I've seen that video before and you're right; it's like a megaband. But what a song! That guy from Doobie Brothers on guitar; I forget his name. OE: Skunk! I was thinking it was a animal...lol

Vic Sage Jan 13 2015 07:08 PM Re: CPF WotS, Rd. 1: The Crow vs. The Spirit

while Will Eisner is a legend, and the Spirit is one of the all-time classics, i have never thought much of the character. The Crow, however, is born of O'Barr's pain and is a black & white cry of the heart. And it's one of the best superhero movie adaptation ever, while The Spirit is among the worst. And the curse of the Lee men struck Brandon down in his prime. That in itself should earn Mr. Draven my vote.

Mets – Willets Point Jan 13 2015 07:30 PM Re: CPF WotS, Rd. 1: The Crow vs. The Spirit

Who avenges the death of Brandon Lee?

Edgy MD Jan 13 2015 08:28 PM Re: CPF WotS, Rd. 1: The Crow vs. The Spirit

I went for the Spirit. I'm old school that way. He's got a great collection of funny book characters and paraphernalia, with a noir-like milieu. Speaking of spirit, isn't it against the spirit of the enterprise if you vote based on the quality of the film adaptation?

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 13 2015 08:47 PM Re: CPF WotS, Rd. 1: The Crow vs. The Spirit

Mets – Willets Point wrote: Who avenges the death of Brandon Lee? In the intervening years... like, a million sullen teenage boys. (Criminy, that movie is 20 years old.) Innovative/old-school versus searing/suprisingly-resonant. I've got no real dog in the fight, and-- deep down-- I'm probably a little more baroque-pop than punk, sensibility-wise, so I'll go Eisner.

MFS62 Jan 13 2015 09:22 PM Re: CPF WotS, Rd. 1: The Crow vs. The Spirit

Some of the text on the right side was cut off. The top line of "how he came to be" reads,"Denny Colt is a private inv" Is it my browser (Chrome) or a formatting issue? Later

Edgy MD Jan 14 2015 07:18 AM Re: CPF WotS, Rd. 1: The Crow vs. The Spirit

I would encourage you to drag the right side of your screen open a little more. The table can shrink with the browser window size, but it can't shrink any more than the width of the images inside it allows.

Vic Sage Jan 14 2015 09:56 AM Re: CPF WotS, Rd. 1: The Crow vs. The Spirit

Speaking of spirit, isn't it against the spirit of the enterprise if you vote based on the quality of the film adaptation? i don't think it is. As i understand it, we're looking for the "best" comic-book superhero. That is the best superhero created for comic books, based on a series of head-to-head match-ups. Which begs the question of how does one define "best". We left the criteria totally open to the voters (like mvp and hof balloting), to allow for a wide-ranging response. Some voters are voting with their emotions, some with their intellect and some with their nether-regions (all of which is totally fine). One of my criteria is not only the portrayal of the character IN comics, but also its ability to resonate to wider audiences in other media, including film,tv,theater, music, and merchandise. A character's growth can be charted past its 4-color (or b&w) origins inside pages panels. That matters to me. It may not matter to you. which is also fine.

Zvon Jan 14 2015 02:37 PM Re: CPF WotS, Rd. 1: The Crow vs. The Spirit

There are way too many Crows. The Spirit moves me.

RealityChuck Jan 14 2015 08:16 PM Re: CPF WotS, Rd. 1: The Crow vs. The Spirit

The Spirit was one of the greatest comic book heroes of all time. Will Eisner, who created him, may be the most talented comic book creator ever (the highest honor in comic books is not named the Eisner Award for nothing). He created the graphic novel, among other things, and the Spirit was the best-written comic of its time, and still holds up pretty well today. His A Contract with God is still one of the top ten graphic novels of all time. Eisner wrote stories, and never got stuck in the superhero rut. Each issue was a short story, and Eisner's art still looks pretty good today; he experimented with art and storytelling in ways that still impresses. Considering the Spirit as a superhero alone, he was great. He had no superpowers except the ability to take a punch and keep coming (he got beat up more than anyone else). He was witty and was as intent on Justice as Batman. The comic is not well known (and never was). It was distributed as a Sunday newspaper insert, not on newsstands, and died out (with a couple of minor revivals plus reprint editions). It looks like DC tried to revival a few years ago. Another issue is that of the Spirit's assistant, Ebony White. Eisner wanted to portray him with some dignity, but the drawing of him is very much a racist stereotype. Also, others who worked on the strip when Eisner was in the army were more prone to go directly into stereotype. I have to tell you, I got a line on the Spirit.

Edgy MD Feb 04 2015 06:47 PM Re: CPF WotS, Rd. 1: The Crow vs. The Spirit

This one is an upset. Mostly forgotten golden ager takes down the goth dude the kids are all crazy about.