This scene is taking place on Capitol Hill. Carol is standing alone behind a long witness table in front of the Judiciary Committee, twenty serious-faced men and women, their glares sharp, expressions grim. The room is vacant of other onlookers. The Chairman, a silver-haired woman, a new character named Maria Southworth, has a slightly astonished look on her face; Carol's response (to the question on the previous page - see what I did there!) was not what she had expected.
MARIA SOUTHWORTH (1)
You - -
You admit to torturing Zebediah Killgrave?
MARIA SOUTHWORTH (2)
Burning him with your "photonic blasts?"
* Panels two to four are small head-shots displaying the reactions of both women *
PANEL TWO
Carol's expression is deadpan.
CAROL DANVERS (1)
Yes.
CAROL DANVERS (2)
(small)
Although nobody actually calls them "photonic blasts..."
PANEL THREE
Southworth snarls.
MARIA SOUTHWORTH
Thereby violating the Geneva Conventions by which this country is bound.
PANEL FOUR
Carol keeps her cool; replicate panel three.
CAROL DANVERS (1)
Thereby acquiring the intelligence that allowed the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D to prevent an attack on American soil.
PANEL FIVE
But Carol's words don't faze the Chairman. Shot from over Southworth's shoulder, looking down on the accused.
MARIA SOUTHWORTH (1)
Oh yes.
S.H.I.E.LD.
The Avengers.
MARIA SOUTHWORTH (2)
And yet, here you stand alone.
No Nick Fury.
No Steve Rogers.
No Spider-Man.
MARIA SOUTHWORTH (3)
(small)
Ha.
PANEL SIX
On Southworth, her glare intense.
MARIA SOUTHWORTH (1)
It wasn't the Avengers who tortured Mr. Killgrave.
It wasn't S.H.I.E.L.D.
It was you.
MARIA SOUTHWORTH (2)
You acted alone.
MARIA SOUTHWORTH (3)
And you will be held accountable.
Attacking a known dangerous supervillain with her superpowers to obtain information needed to save the world? What are the odds that the Committee is either trying to turn Marvel into a scapegoat or just using this as an example to toot their own horn?
ReplyDeleteThis page would fit nicely into the pre-Civil War timeline, because that whole event was about superheroes being accountable for their actions. Great page, Sime!
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy pieces that examine the fantastic elements of superhero comics through the lens of real-life. I think you've done a good job of that with your snapshot into Ms. Marvel's "trial".
ReplyDeleteMy one nitpick would be the moments of levity in the script. I feel like the tone of the script might be a little too serious for those small quips to fit in naturally. I'm especially thinking of the Spider-Man joke Southworth gives near the end. I know that she's new character (and one you created), but it sounds a little "off", if you know what I mean.
However, the rest of the piece is quite solid, and seems rather ominous as far as Ms. Marvel is concerned.
Sime, very strong page. Reads like a crime novel for supers, and that's a cool niche to fit into. I'm also a little skeptical on the humour asides but if these two ladies have been working against each other for the whole hearing it wouldn't be a surprise they were trying to undermine each other under their breath.
ReplyDeleteExcellent and topical, Sime, one of your best. I actually liked the moments of humour as they gave Maria's character a little sassy / sarcastic attitude and stopped her from becoming just another Washington dullard. Then again, I always like the jokes.
ReplyDeleteAnother strong page Sime, though the dialogue, whilst perfectly serviceable and with some good bits of humour, felt too openly expository.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what you could have honestly done to circumvent this though, especially as it's realistically what you could expect in the situation, so disregard this comment.