Episode 245 of the Letters Page: Writers' Room: Virtuoso of the Void Vol. 2 #50

A hero turned villain.

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Okay, I definitely also forgot that Naturalist and Professor Pollution were an item before either of them was called either of those things!

…Who? Is this a fictional writer talked about in the History book or something?

Okay, I feel like I’m already getting a strong sense of what kind of person Guy Hampton is.

The Diamond Diva? Oh, I hate her already. But I do love how she looks like a combination of Emma Frost, Domino and Fox from Gargoyles.

Oh man, finally some art of Tyranorak! Wonder if he’ll get a deck in expansion 4.

I’m kind of glad it was a corruption thing, caused by another hero, and not just “I’m trapped in the Void and for some reason, starting to see things from the Void monsters’ perspective.”

Listening to this letter, I realize it’s something of a cop-out that they made a hero who crafted to make people angry in the first place. Her going villain was no doubt cathartic for some long-time Sentinels Comics readers.

“Viscount of the Void”, that’s real good.

Ah, the Principle of Graphic Design. Watch out for the major twist on that one!

The censorship has been a good running gag. This was a fun one!

This is the web episode to watch about Guy Hampton. It’s hilarious.

I was really interested in Adam’s points about how these heel-turns are often written as ‘character assassination,’ disregarding their established character to fit them into the story you want, or just to get them out of the way and make room for the character that the writer prefers.

The reason I enjoyed it so much is because I was actually talking to my wife about something similar last night - she’s been watching Gilmore Girls, and there’s a fairly early plot where they take Rory’s first boyfriend Dean, a sweet boy from the wrong side of the tracks, and turn him into an absolute scumbag. The OC did something similar with Zack, getting him out of the way for a preferred Seth/Summer romance, and I chafed at that too.

Anyway, the thing that connects all of these, in my mind, is writers ignoring characters’ personality for the sake of the plot. Obviously comics and tv are both written on some pretty tight deadlines, but it still feels lazy, and leaves a bad taste!

(Also, unrelated: Rambler is feeling more and more like Constantine, with his constant scamming and deal-making, the way he punches above his weight, and his short-term-victories that definitely won’t lead to more problems in the long run, don’t worry about it!)

An item I’ll note here from discussion elsewhere is that NightMist had to run into Diamond Diva when she went into the Void in the 90s to reestablished her powers.

I’m sad that a hero called Diamond Diva with a crystal flute was not a subtle Lizzo reference.

“Playing anti- music with her crystal flute” just made me think that they invented the Rhythm of War villain.

Bal’Taranerach: nothing on the wiki. I can’t even remember what episodes he’s referenced in. Is there no art even in Definitive Edition? I’m pretty sure I’ve seen flavor text attributed to him, but maybe a different spelling.

Void Stockholm Syndrome is a real problem.

They finally got to my letter from the last Editor’s Note recorded on St. Patrick’s Day, hence the schtick. I guess I’d forgotten it was going to be devoted to DE content.

Also, I don’t usually do this and know it’s particularly wrong in this case, but that cover has launched a ship in my mind.

He’s on the card art of Polyphonic Flare and quoted. They’re referenced in episodes 110 and 152. The first one as Bal’Teranerach and the second a brief mention just Taranerach

He’s on Polyphonic Flare? Good cripes.

And no, I have never known how to spell Ball-Terra-naur-ack :B