One thing that makes Facades a meaningful story that's not just edgy or shocking or sad is how it illuminates one of the central themes of Sandman, the choice of whether or not to go on. I love the way the series shows so many compelling and sympathetic characters that decide not to go on, and others that do.
There's a scene in Brief Lives where Delirium tries to warn Dream that the Endless have to be careful about indulging their whims because everything they do deforms the universe (she obviously says it in her delirious way). Delirium does it herself when she convinces that poor guard he's covered in bugs, just to get past him. I think of Urania Blackwell the same way. In Gaiman's stories, gods play their little games and mortals pay the price.
It’s always nice to see people remember Element Girl, especially because of how she was largely forgotten by DC until the Sandman and then mostly forgotten again until the New 52 with Element Woman. I love the issue of the Sandman she dies in with the conversation between her and Death brining me to tears when I first read it. Ps. Love the Urania themed wig
Element Girl seems to be the prototype of characters like She-Hulk (Jen Walters) or She-Thing ( Sharon Ventura). Much like Jen, the Element Girl seemed to embrace her super powers. Metamorphosis is much like the Thing, with Sapphire as his Alicia, the one woman who accepts him. Element Girl becomes more like the She-Thing, who sinks into the dark side, due to bitterness at her mutated form, especially after Ben rejects her.
I feel like Gaiman’s version is a poignant story but it kind of feels off when compared with her seeming to embrace being a freak who has exciting powers. It’d be like if Fiona from Shrek just went depressive and was determined to kill herself just cause she didn’t like how she looked anymore.
I always took it as the length of time between when we last saw her embracing freakdom until Sandman was where she felt the full effects and weight of being said freak. The constant rejection and loneliness. That there was no taking it back. As her circle got smaller and smaller and depression consumed her.
@@andrewtaylor940 Agreed. I also think the "willing / unwilling" retcon also gives a new spin on the older stories - in short, she lied to Rex. She tried to mask (no pun intended) her real reaction to her transformation, and her self-loathing, by pretending to revel in it. But without a support structure, with only her own self-loathing to wallow in, she became the desparing, broken woman in 'Facade'. Looking at the same stories from a different angle, and it makes perfect sense.
It's interesting how sometimes such obscure characters have some of the most resonating stories. True meta tragedy of Element Girl 😢 Sidenote, elemental hussy is my new favorite insult 😂
I love, love, LOVE her story in Sandman. So depressingly beautiful. Wish they would do more with the Emily Sung version of her introduced during Forever Evil.
For a similar "forgotten female version of a male character" who was finally remembered so she could have a tragic ending, consider the tale of Nameless from the Metal Men, who was Tin's girlfriend. Her final story appeared in an issue of Brave & the Bold (I won't spoil it here). One of the things I find intriguing about this story is how Tin built her from a "kit". That raises so many questions. Tin can build robots? There are kits that let you build Metal Men type robots? My head-canon is that Dr. Magnus made the kit for Tin to build and tricked him into thinking he did it all on his own.
She got a happy ending for an immortal. A character that stays dead is so rare in comics, I'd hate to see it burned. Especially since, in this case, the death meant what the comeback usually means. The culmination of loss and desire undone.
My first introduction to this character for me was in sandman's portrayal of them and their comic. To me, that was always the most iconic development of their character. It was so grotesque yet incredibly human, their conflict. It's never been able to leave My mind, even now.
Honestly, I don't want that level of depression and all-too-real circumstances in comics. Well written and drawn, but just to much of a downer, and honestly cruel.
While it would not have improved the mini overall, one thing that could have been interesting for Heroes in Crisis was mentioning that Urania Blackwell's suicide was one of the inciting reasons for the creation of Sanctuary. It would have made her death actually mean something in the grand scheme of things by making the Metahuman community realize that mental health among them is a problem. The "straw that broke the camel's back" if you will.
Coulda even tied it into the relationship they've created (thanks to the unproduced BTAS episode and Dark Nights Metal) between Dream and Bruce. Have Batman say the idea was something that "came to him in a dream", with the implication that Death told Dream to tell Bruce. Tbh I like the idea of Daniel-Dream and Bruce being friends.
I didn't know about Element Girl until Sandman #20. I read an interview with Neil where he said that the main reason he wrote the story was to kill her off. If he didn't, she probably would have been in Crisis on Infinite Earths and died with the original Dove, Red Tornado and Supergirl. It was a "cleaning house" story after all.
I actually am glad you mentioned the contemplative mood. I have the same reaction to her and I had to go do errands. So I saw the thumbnail and title and went "Oh god no." Not when dealing with reality and other people. Watched it once home. I read the element girl end comic first but found her and element man's run later. I was disappointed she was relegated to girlfriend material as a kid because she was cooler than Rex to kid me. She was the hero. He just fell into his powers. I did like Sapphire as she loved him for real which amid comics is a rare example. Until Gaiman's character assassination she was actually a good example of someone loving you despite the challenges. As a disabled person who at the time of rereading was recently shot in the face and had some plastic surgery to reconstruct my face where we did not know the results were going to be perfection I was really vulnerable and seeing that example helped me open up about those fears. As I was raised to hide all pain or get beaten that was a step on mental health progress. I would have made it eventually but it's important to have characters that don't do toxic shit and claim it's love
It was weird Rex usually was more general in his "Imma monster!" feelings, more like The Thing. Element Girl we see really deal with abuse/bullying and severe depression.
A further later of real tragedy that struck me when you talked about Sandman 20 and the subject mattrr was that Malcolm Jones III sadly took his own life 6 years later
I first encountered her in "Sandman", and I'm glad you featured her in this video. Because of that, I now know her history. I think the way she was presented in the first issue she was in, that would make a fascinating character- someone whose ethics led them to sacrifice a "normal" life to stop the bad guy. Long-term, the elements that led us to the "Sandman" story could still be there, but overall I wish we'd seen more of her being a more active protagonist instead of chasing Rex. I think, even between those two appearances ("Sandman" and her initial issue), there's a lot to work with when it comes to creating a complex character.
That's actually Ma Kettle: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_and_Pa_Kettle who was played by the one and only Marjorie Main: th-cam.com/video/637Nu0Ykg2A/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the Elemental Overview--aside from "Facade", I had not encountered Urainia very much (I didn't even know she returned, post-52). I always felt that Gaiman and Doran's ending for her resonates in a way that the big, flashy (sorry, Barry!) deaths do not achieve. And, no, not all endings have to be Happily Ever After. 🖖♾
Not to mention Death eating a damn sandwich and leaving the outdated agricultural implement at home. About time for a new look. WHAT DID YOU SAY? Ah, nothing. Never mind. Lovely scythe you've got there. I THOUGHT SO.
Honestly, even if the story ends up being good, I can't really say I enjoy the idea of taking a fun character who became obscure or forgotten and then putting them in a story that either kills them off, edges them up or just overall puts them in a worse situation or light than what they were originally in. It just feels disrespectful to the character and whatever fans they may have. Maybe its just the mindset of "what if it happens to a character I care about" but in it just rubs me the wrong way. I say this is someone who didn't even know the character existed until now. Like I'd be pretty pissed if after failing to properly get off the ground post her initial run, some writer at Marvel tried to bring back Gwenpool as some mentally broken or depressed character after years of retconning herself or whatever someone might try to do. I get that not every character has a happy ending, but I feel like that point its just best not to even touch the character again, especially if god forbid that became their character going forward. It can work out, and maybe they may even come back with more fan, but it the character is THAT obscure you may as well just invent a new character.
Facade REALLY showcases the depth of Gaiman's writing. I had seen an old issue of Metamorpho with her on the cover before I ever saw it, but it REALLY made me FEEL for a character I had never even heard of before.
My first encounter with Metamorpho was in The Outsiders. Technically not Metamorpho since it was only a part of him who called himself Shift and his love interest was a future female Brainiac called Indigo
I while ago, I saw the scene from Sandman where Element Girl died on TikTok. I was so captivated by what was going on, this new character that was familiar but different. By the end of reading it, I was just sitting there in silence for a moment before moving on. I think I might've even cried.
The Facade comic I just find upsetting, and now the extra meta-narrative going on makes it feel worse. "Nobody cares about this character therefore no one will care that she kills herself." Ok, that's unfair. Obviously Gaiman still wants us to care that this happens, to empathize with her, but i mean that it doesn't sound like Gaiman was inspired to make this story based off Uranium. He chose her because she was recognizable enough to be interesting but ultimately disposable. He killed her because he could get away with it. I guess the Wednesday Comic implies he has a greater fondness for her character (or at least the Metamorpho series as a whole) than his quotes lead me to believe, but it's still feels ice cold. as for teh actual topic of suicide, I'm way out of my comfort zone to feel confident about commenting on it. All I cna say is it makes me feel uncomfortable and disturbed, which might very well be the point, but I don't like those feelings. (Rest of Sandman is pretty good though)
My only issue with this story is comes very very close to endorsing assisted suicide for people with disabilities. Like, that's obviously not literally what it's about, but it's not that far off is it? I don't doubt Gaiman has a lot of fondness for her otherwise he wouldn't have wrote the story at all
Originally I liked that after the Sandman Story they never actually tried to bring her back regardless of the reboots, but finding out that she was only around for a couple years after her debut really sucks. That character should be rebooted simply she was never given a real chance to thrive after the writers forgot about her. Her final story is still good, but it now knowing she was chosen exclusively because she was a forgotten character doesn't sit right with me.
Didn't know who she was before and now I'm floored how camp and so weirdly comedic/ dramatic her original title was, plus the turn Gaiman took her on. I'm obsessed and found about a short run of a character inspired by her called Eternity Girl; cool video!
Good episode; I get how sad Urania's story gets, but it is interesting that she was much more "free" and could have worked in the whole element of the more liberated Bond female type that probably didn't exist yet. It's a shame but...at least Gaiman got mileage out of how her story ends, I suppose.
When you mentioned Element Girl not making it into Who's Who I recalled her in an entry as part of a villan team connected to DC's Kobra group with teammates such as Planetsmasher and Zebraman. Might be worth looking into.
LOVE silver age DC! Great art, crazy stories and still for kids. The more comics focused on older teens and adult shut-ins the sadder and uglier they grew. Thanks for your shows focusing on this (and the golden age) eras. I was a kid of the bronze age and it was still pretty great. If you ask me, and most don't, DC really lost the magic with the Crisis on Infinite Earths and just collapsed entirely with Infinite Crisis/New 52. See, I can sound just as sad....great show though.
Not a fan of the Sandman ending for reasons. I SEE that it was well-written and produced. I just disliked the embrace of her hopelessness. Had Urania not been a Silver-Age creation I think there are any number of projects that might have picked her up. A character with Rex's skill set, but without the supporting cast. Maybe the no-nonsense Wednesday Comics personality would have suited her then-future adventures, but, alas, not meant to be. (Betty Kane was likewise overlooked in the original Who's Who, BTW. Good thing Gaiman didn't notice!)
I'd agree keeping it her choice to become Element Girl. With her as a government agent and things not working out, she's kinda like a tragic Steve Rodgers. I'd like them to explore career as an agent - she could be a contemporary of Amanda Waller!
Way back in the day, Death of Element Girl, was my first "grown up" superhero comic. Blew my mind at the time. Still with me - especially her "trip out" 😥 very poignant.
@@kemmdog4444 Great googly moogly is pretty good too, albeit rather more modern - 1950 blues music IIRC. Also gadzooks, tarnation, H. E. double fishhooks (or hockey sticks if you prefer) and of course just plain blazes!
Fun trivia: Urania is named after the Muse of Astronomy (also mathematics and the exact sciences, like chemistry). Also, in Gaiman's version of her origin, she's empowered by Ra, who's literally a star.
This was the first issue of Sandman that I'd ever read. I was in high school at the time and had pretty much given up on comics until I came across this wonderful story. Afterwards, I started picking up all of the back issues of Sandman, as well as Shade the Changing Man, Doom Patrol, and plenty of other pre-Vertigo "mature readers" comics.
I had never heard of Element Girl or read the Sandman issue before watching your video. I was able to track it down and really enjoyed it. It was beautiful, sad, and very deep. So I thank you for hilighting this character and bringing the Sandman issue to my attention 😁
The page of Façade where Urania resolves to kill herself and then howls in pain at not knowing how is my pick for the single best drawn expressions in Sandman, right next to Morpheus response to, "You WANT them to punish you, don't you?"
I don't know when I first encountered Metamorpho. I had certainly been aware of him for a while. I think it must've been one of those Brave and the Bold issues with Batman teamups where I first saw him. I recall back in the day, one of the ads in a comic was someone trying to sell back issues of comics. Since my birthday had recently come, I had something like 10 or 20 dollars to spend, so I sent off for the list of comics I could buy. I nearly sent off for an issue of Metamorpho (I would've been picking one at random with no idea of what was in it or even what the cover looked like). In the end, I didn't because the comic-list-guy suggested that you send a list of "alternate" comics in case the one you wanted was already gone. I didn't want some alternate comic. I wanted the random issue of Metamorpho that I chose at random, gosh darn it! Thanks to B&B and even a reprint of the JLA/JSA/SSoV crossover (where Metamorpho plays a small but important part), I was fully aware of Metamorpho as a character and was intrigued by his membership in Batman and the Outsiders... but not enough to actually buy that comic.
Can you analyze Wally's struggles in Rebirth and what it took to finally get his happiness in Jeremy Adams run? Both in-story and what happened behind the scenes.
I read early issues of Metamorpho but just stopped short of the ones with Urania. That's why when I read the Sandman issue it came as a surprise that she even existed. I fell in love with the Sandman series around this time so this story has a special spot in my heart. One of the things I got from it was that Rex continues to go on because of his personality and the love he gets from Sapphire. Something that Urania never had, thus pushing her desire to not exist anymore. As usual you have enticed me to search out for those early appearances and want to read them. The writer must have done a lot of romance stories because it's sure poured on thick in these stories. Another great topic from you.
Façade was the issue that sold me on Sandman. It's such a beautiful, bittersweet, dark yet uplifting tale and so much of that has to do with the inherent sadness of a character like Element Girl, or Metamorpho, or Martian Manhunter, or The Hulk, The Thing, Vision, or even Deadpool. Someone who can neither live in the world (at least in their minds) and who are capable of outliving it.
@18:00 This aspect hits my hard. My brother was moments away from driving his car off a bridge, but because my dad picked up when he called at 2am and that convinced him to hold on one more day. The irony (which parallels this story) were TWO of the major problems that were driving him into his darkest part of his life ..... resolved THE NEXT DAY. These things he thought had no hope for, what he was going to end his life over, resolved less than 24 hours after nearly ending his life. Yes he still struggles with depression, but he suddenly had hope. Now he's much much better off
Sadly, I only read Metamorpho in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. I hope they bring out a Metamorpho Omnibus so I can read those tales about Element Girl. Keep reading letters. I still read the letters pages and Bullpen Bulletins (Marvel) and the different DC pages (Daily Planet, Watch This Space, etc.) It's fun to read them.
I heard about her death via Linkara's Sandman retrospective. Being one of my favorite of his vids I've kinda memorialized her death in my memory as apart of the story
I think if they brought Urania back, I think it would be good to play into the themes introduced in Facade where being abandoned and rejected is kind of a major fear for the Element Woman. It would be interesting if she started out as embracing her "freakyness" at first only to become more despondent about it after the one person who she thought would accept her for it (Metamorpho) rejects her in favor of Sapphire. Someone could go either way with that, with Urania either deciding not to go on like in Facade or accepting that rejection does not define her and choosing to live her life anew.
Great video as always! However, I have to know... what is up with the headless Galactus! Did he make the mistake of going to Sleepy Hollow to start eating Earth or something? LOL!
I think that there could have been a good in-between of her going to the temple. Have it be the job telling her to go, but have her have no strong feelings towards it, positive or negative. That way, she wasn't necessarily wanting to go, as it was a mission, but not have her being forced into it as she just thinks of it as another assignment.
Metamorpho was one of my favorite characters growing up, at least while he lasted. I was pleased/dismayed to read Neil Gaiman's take on Element Girl. I agree that it would be better to keep it that she chose to gain element powers rather than being told to by the CIA. But there have been so many reboots since then that a writer could choose to do a new take on the character and disregard Gaiman's ending (which references the ignored final two issues of the original comic, so it's kinda been retconned anyway). If it were semi-in the spirit oif the original comic, I'd read it.
Every time Element Girl had a line about freaks all I could think of was that episode of Lower Decks: "Freaks united are freaks no more! Freaks fight back! Freaks fight back!"
Have to admit I'd never heard of Element Girl/Woman until you showcased her. I wouldn't mind seeing her return but not as a possible love interest for Rex- good friend perhaps, or maybe even a rival as to joining the Justice League.
With comics and their clones/multiverse/WizardDidItStuff, it would be interesting perhaps to see the original take on Element Girl return while treating her as a seperate version from Sandman's take. I'd honestly wonder what she'd make of the tragic story.
While I do agree The Death of Element Girl was a swan song ending for her and I remember reading the 2009 comic with her in it. In hindsight I did not like how she and Sapphire was written. Part me feels like she deserves another chance. This time in a better and likable light. Nothing one note or mean-spirited. Something that's more focused on her and her journey of being a great hero and self individual growth. Whatever that issue maybe.
You weren't kidding about that first letter being unhinged! I can only hope that whoever wrote that letter wrote it as a troll letter because otherwise, it raises a lot of questions and concerns about the mental well-being of the teenager who wrote it.
I ran into Metamorpho first ... with the first issue of whatever he showed up in. I only vaguely remember Element Girl ... although the visuals are very familiar in the older comics. I haven't read any of Neil Gaiman's stuff. I always liked the fact that although they made his girlfriend seem very superficial at times, she really wasn't. They were breaking molds and making us think, even when people who didn't understand comics thought they were trash. Yeah, I'm much older than most of your viewers.
Element Girl would be fun in the upcoming Batwoman/Batwing Outsiders book, I think. They are apparently going adventuring through the universe for artifacts. Maybe they could bump into Ra out there somewhere. I just hope this Outsiders book goes better than Kate's own "Unknowns" (say that three times fast) arc
Which character did you encounter first Metamorpho or Element Girl?
Metamopho. I remember reading Justice League Europe when he was a member.
Element Girl, but I knew of Metamorpho before.
I’ve heard of the Element Girl, of course, but I don’t think I have any specific comics with her in it.
Metamorpho was the first one I encountered... btw I think you are really going to enjoy Episode 7 of My Adventures with Superman.
Metamorpho because of JL TV. Much later on till I got Sandman.
One thing that makes Facades a meaningful story that's not just edgy or shocking or sad is how it illuminates one of the central themes of Sandman, the choice of whether or not to go on. I love the way the series shows so many compelling and sympathetic characters that decide not to go on, and others that do.
There's a scene in Brief Lives where Delirium tries to warn Dream that the Endless have to be careful about indulging their whims because everything they do deforms the universe (she obviously says it in her delirious way). Delirium does it herself when she convinces that poor guard he's covered in bugs, just to get past him. I think of Urania Blackwell the same way. In Gaiman's stories, gods play their little games and mortals pay the price.
It’s always nice to see people remember Element Girl, especially because of how she was largely forgotten by DC until the Sandman and then mostly forgotten again until the New 52 with Element Woman. I love the issue of the Sandman she dies in with the conversation between her and Death brining me to tears when I first read it.
Ps. Love the Urania themed wig
I think Death is Gaiman's most enduring character. Possibly also his favourite.
Element Girl seems to be the prototype of characters like She-Hulk (Jen Walters) or She-Thing ( Sharon Ventura). Much like Jen, the Element Girl seemed to embrace her super powers.
Metamorphosis is much like the Thing, with Sapphire as his Alicia, the one woman who accepts him. Element Girl becomes more like the She-Thing, who sinks into the dark side, due to bitterness at her mutated form, especially after Ben rejects her.
I feel like Gaiman’s version is a poignant story but it kind of feels off when compared with her seeming to embrace being a freak who has exciting powers. It’d be like if Fiona from Shrek just went depressive and was determined to kill herself just cause she didn’t like how she looked anymore.
I always took it as the length of time between when we last saw her embracing freakdom until Sandman was where she felt the full effects and weight of being said freak. The constant rejection and loneliness. That there was no taking it back. As her circle got smaller and smaller and depression consumed her.
@@andrewtaylor940 Agreed. I also think the "willing / unwilling" retcon also gives a new spin on the older stories - in short, she lied to Rex. She tried to mask (no pun intended) her real reaction to her transformation, and her self-loathing, by pretending to revel in it. But without a support structure, with only her own self-loathing to wallow in, she became the desparing, broken woman in 'Facade'. Looking at the same stories from a different angle, and it makes perfect sense.
@@andrewtaylor940
So the dream of her pleading to Ra that she didn't want the Gift was that...
Only a Dream based on a Regret?
It's interesting how sometimes such obscure characters have some of the most resonating stories. True meta tragedy of Element Girl 😢
Sidenote, elemental hussy is my new favorite insult 😂
I love, love, LOVE her story in Sandman. So depressingly beautiful. Wish they would do more with the Emily Sung version of her introduced during Forever Evil.
@9:40 was totally expecting another segue to the Hal Jordan "We're the same, you and I" panel 😄
For a similar "forgotten female version of a male character" who was finally remembered so she could have a tragic ending, consider the tale of Nameless from the Metal Men, who was Tin's girlfriend. Her final story appeared in an issue of Brave & the Bold (I won't spoil it here). One of the things I find intriguing about this story is how Tin built her from a "kit". That raises so many questions. Tin can build robots? There are kits that let you build Metal Men type robots? My head-canon is that Dr. Magnus made the kit for Tin to build and tricked him into thinking he did it all on his own.
Ultron built a bride...
@@uranuslad9855 2 separated times...
She got a happy ending for an immortal. A character that stays dead is so rare in comics, I'd hate to see it burned. Especially since, in this case, the death meant what the comeback usually means. The culmination of loss and desire undone.
Her Sandman story gutted me in the best ways. It was so heartfelt and tragic. I think they should bring her back. She has so much to give still
My first introduction to this character for me was in sandman's portrayal of them and their comic. To me, that was always the most iconic development of their character. It was so grotesque yet incredibly human, their conflict. It's never been able to leave My mind, even now.
Honestly, I don't want that level of depression and all-too-real circumstances in comics. Well written and drawn, but just to much of a downer, and honestly cruel.
Going to TV Tropes to see if there's something for "We have the same superpowers - therefore, we must bang."
The letters to the editor is quickly becoming my favorite part of the video! It is a fun time capsule!
While it would not have improved the mini overall, one thing that could have been interesting for Heroes in Crisis was mentioning that Urania Blackwell's suicide was one of the inciting reasons for the creation of Sanctuary. It would have made her death actually mean something in the grand scheme of things by making the Metahuman community realize that mental health among them is a problem. The "straw that broke the camel's back" if you will.
Coulda even tied it into the relationship they've created (thanks to the unproduced BTAS episode and Dark Nights Metal) between Dream and Bruce. Have Batman say the idea was something that "came to him in a dream", with the implication that Death told Dream to tell Bruce. Tbh I like the idea of Daniel-Dream and Bruce being friends.
Problem is, is it even canon?
I didn't know about Element Girl until Sandman #20. I read an interview with Neil where he said that the main reason he wrote the story was to kill her off. If he didn't, she probably would have been in Crisis on Infinite Earths and died with the original Dove, Red Tornado and Supergirl. It was a "cleaning house" story after all.
I actually am glad you mentioned the contemplative mood. I have the same reaction to her and I had to go do errands. So I saw the thumbnail and title and went "Oh god no." Not when dealing with reality and other people. Watched it once home. I read the element girl end comic first but found her and element man's run later. I was disappointed she was relegated to girlfriend material as a kid because she was cooler than Rex to kid me. She was the hero. He just fell into his powers. I did like Sapphire as she loved him for real which amid comics is a rare example. Until Gaiman's character assassination she was actually a good example of someone loving you despite the challenges. As a disabled person who at the time of rereading was recently shot in the face and had some plastic surgery to reconstruct my face where we did not know the results were going to be perfection I was really vulnerable and seeing that example helped me open up about those fears. As I was raised to hide all pain or get beaten that was a step on mental health progress. I would have made it eventually but it's important to have characters that don't do toxic shit and claim it's love
oh element girl
It was weird Rex usually was more general in his "Imma monster!" feelings, more like The Thing. Element Girl we see really deal with abuse/bullying and severe depression.
Element Girl: "We're the same you and i"
Vampire Hal Jordan liked that
A further later of real tragedy that struck me when you talked about Sandman 20 and the subject mattrr was that Malcolm Jones III sadly took his own life 6 years later
I first encountered her in "Sandman", and I'm glad you featured her in this video. Because of that, I now know her history.
I think the way she was presented in the first issue she was in, that would make a fascinating character- someone whose ethics led them to sacrifice a "normal" life to stop the bad guy. Long-term, the elements that led us to the "Sandman" story could still be there, but overall I wish we'd seen more of her being a more active protagonist instead of chasing Rex. I think, even between those two appearances ("Sandman" and her initial issue), there's a lot to work with when it comes to creating a complex character.
As a man that's ONLY seen her while looking through Sandman, it was a real emotional surprise.
That's actually Ma Kettle: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_and_Pa_Kettle who was played by the one and only Marjorie Main: th-cam.com/video/637Nu0Ykg2A/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the Elemental Overview--aside from "Facade", I had not encountered Urainia very much (I didn't even know she returned, post-52). I always felt that Gaiman and Doran's ending for her resonates in a way that the big, flashy (sorry, Barry!) deaths do not achieve. And, no, not all endings have to be Happily Ever After. 🖖♾
This was so sad 😢. Like Pulp Era Sandman became Goth Endless Sandman, 60’s Era Element Girl become Emo 🖤 themed story for visit by the Endless Death.
Not to mention Death eating a damn sandwich and leaving the outdated agricultural implement at home. About time for a new look.
WHAT DID YOU SAY?
Ah, nothing. Never mind. Lovely scythe you've got there.
I THOUGHT SO.
Honestly, even if the story ends up being good, I can't really say I enjoy the idea of taking a fun character who became obscure or forgotten and then putting them in a story that either kills them off, edges them up or just overall puts them in a worse situation or light than what they were originally in. It just feels disrespectful to the character and whatever fans they may have. Maybe its just the mindset of "what if it happens to a character I care about" but in it just rubs me the wrong way. I say this is someone who didn't even know the character existed until now. Like I'd be pretty pissed if after failing to properly get off the ground post her initial run, some writer at Marvel tried to bring back Gwenpool as some mentally broken or depressed character after years of retconning herself or whatever someone might try to do. I get that not every character has a happy ending, but I feel like that point its just best not to even touch the character again, especially if god forbid that became their character going forward. It can work out, and maybe they may even come back with more fan, but it the character is THAT obscure you may as well just invent a new character.
Facade REALLY showcases the depth of Gaiman's writing. I had seen an old issue of Metamorpho with her on the cover before I ever saw it, but it REALLY made me FEEL for a character I had never even heard of before.
Long ago, the four lived in harmony. But everything changed when-
...but I believe Element Girl can save the - whoops, no, I guess she can't.
My first encounter with Metamorpho was in The Outsiders. Technically not Metamorpho since it was only a part of him who called himself Shift and his love interest was a future female Brainiac called Indigo
I while ago, I saw the scene from Sandman where Element Girl died on TikTok. I was so captivated by what was going on, this new character that was familiar but different. By the end of reading it, I was just sitting there in silence for a moment before moving on. I think I might've even cried.
I was hoping there would be more discussion about the new Element Woman who was briefly showcased in Justice League.
The Facade comic I just find upsetting, and now the extra meta-narrative going on makes it feel worse. "Nobody cares about this character therefore no one will care that she kills herself."
Ok, that's unfair. Obviously Gaiman still wants us to care that this happens, to empathize with her, but i mean that it doesn't sound like Gaiman was inspired to make this story based off Uranium. He chose her because she was recognizable enough to be interesting but ultimately disposable. He killed her because he could get away with it.
I guess the Wednesday Comic implies he has a greater fondness for her character (or at least the Metamorpho series as a whole) than his quotes lead me to believe, but it's still feels ice cold.
as for teh actual topic of suicide, I'm way out of my comfort zone to feel confident about commenting on it. All I cna say is it makes me feel uncomfortable and disturbed, which might very well be the point, but I don't like those feelings. (Rest of Sandman is pretty good though)
What a weird take.
My only issue with this story is comes very very close to endorsing assisted suicide for people with disabilities. Like, that's obviously not literally what it's about, but it's not that far off is it? I don't doubt Gaiman has a lot of fondness for her otherwise he wouldn't have wrote the story at all
Originally I liked that after the Sandman Story they never actually tried to bring her back regardless of the reboots, but finding out that she was only around for a couple years after her debut really sucks. That character should be rebooted simply she was never given a real chance to thrive after the writers forgot about her. Her final story is still good, but it now knowing she was chosen exclusively because she was a forgotten character doesn't sit right with me.
Didn't know who she was before and now I'm floored how camp and so weirdly comedic/ dramatic her original title was, plus the turn Gaiman took her on. I'm obsessed and found about a short run of a character inspired by her called Eternity Girl; cool video!
Element Girl should be given another chance, by someone who can tell her story well. But then again, I want that for every comic book character
Good episode; I get how sad Urania's story gets, but it is interesting that she was much more "free" and could have worked in the whole element of the more liberated Bond female type that probably didn't exist yet. It's a shame but...at least Gaiman got mileage out of how her story ends, I suppose.
O.K. Sasha why did you just ignore the elephant in the room …that STINGAREE looks exactly like Marvel’s Scorpion with a cape !!! Lol 🖖🏾
"By Gadfrey!" really hits different if you've just been reading the G. Gordon Godfrey storyline in early Byrne era Superman.
Well there goes my good mood.
Poor thing😢
When you mentioned Element Girl not making it into Who's Who I recalled her in an entry as part of a villan team connected to
DC's Kobra group with teammates such as Planetsmasher and Zebraman. Might be worth looking into.
One of my favourite wigs!
Always love hearing your videos on lesser known characters. Love the random henchmen just doing stuff in the background
Chemical Doll sounds like an awesome name! Tho it sounds more like a 90s band than a superhero name.
I've seen a part of the death of element girl on TikTok. But whoever uploaded didn't include the panels where lady Death answers the phone
That final story seemed so different and meaningful to me when I found it in our school library.
Thanks for sharing it with more people.
LOVE silver age DC! Great art, crazy stories and still for kids. The more comics focused on older teens and adult shut-ins the sadder and uglier they grew. Thanks for your shows focusing on this (and the golden age) eras.
I was a kid of the bronze age and it was still pretty great. If you ask me, and most don't, DC really lost the magic with the Crisis on Infinite Earths and just collapsed entirely with Infinite Crisis/New 52. See, I can sound just as sad....great show though.
Urania Blackwell, the great names continue.
Java eating a whole chicken at 20:21 my life is complete
Not a fan of the Sandman ending for reasons. I SEE that it was well-written and produced. I just disliked the embrace of her hopelessness. Had Urania not been a Silver-Age creation I think there are any number of projects that might have picked her up. A character with Rex's skill set, but without the supporting cast. Maybe the no-nonsense Wednesday Comics personality would have suited her then-future adventures, but, alas, not meant to be. (Betty Kane was likewise overlooked in the original Who's Who, BTW. Good thing Gaiman didn't notice!)
I'd agree keeping it her choice to become Element Girl. With her as a government agent and things not working out, she's kinda like a tragic Steve Rodgers. I'd like them to explore career as an agent - she could be a contemporary of Amanda Waller!
Way back in the day, Death of Element Girl, was my first "grown up" superhero comic. Blew my mind at the time. Still with me - especially her "trip out" 😥 very poignant.
Having read Dream Country a few weeks ago this was the most moving of the anthology there and damn did I t break my heart
So glad you touched on Element Girl! Thank you!
and... OMG! Where did you get that bookcase!!!! I want!!!
Loves the green wig to match! 😁
That’s it, I’m bringing back “By Gadfrey!”
I use "gads!" and "egad!" all the time. People don't seem to struggle to understand what it means.
@@richmcgee434 Odds Bodkin’s is another good one.
@@kemmdog4444 Great googly moogly is pretty good too, albeit rather more modern - 1950 blues music IIRC. Also gadzooks, tarnation, H. E. double fishhooks (or hockey sticks if you prefer) and of course just plain blazes!
Fun trivia: Urania is named after the Muse of Astronomy (also mathematics and the exact sciences, like chemistry). Also, in Gaiman's version of her origin, she's empowered by Ra, who's literally a star.
This was the first issue of Sandman that I'd ever read. I was in high school at the time and had pretty much given up on comics until I came across this wonderful story. Afterwards, I started picking up all of the back issues of Sandman, as well as Shade the Changing Man, Doom Patrol, and plenty of other pre-Vertigo "mature readers" comics.
That cover of Metamorpho fighting Element Girl is pretty awesome actually. Especially for the time.
Wow, Mike Allred is such a perfect choice for a Metamorpho story!
I had never heard of Element Girl or read the Sandman issue before watching your video. I was able to track it down and really enjoyed it. It was beautiful, sad, and very deep. So I thank you for hilighting this character and bringing the Sandman issue to my attention 😁
The page of Façade where Urania resolves to kill herself and then howls in pain at not knowing how is my pick for the single best drawn expressions in Sandman, right next to Morpheus response to, "You WANT them to punish you, don't you?"
I don't know when I first encountered Metamorpho. I had certainly been aware of him for a while. I think it must've been one of those Brave and the Bold issues with Batman teamups where I first saw him. I recall back in the day, one of the ads in a comic was someone trying to sell back issues of comics. Since my birthday had recently come, I had something like 10 or 20 dollars to spend, so I sent off for the list of comics I could buy. I nearly sent off for an issue of Metamorpho (I would've been picking one at random with no idea of what was in it or even what the cover looked like). In the end, I didn't because the comic-list-guy suggested that you send a list of "alternate" comics in case the one you wanted was already gone. I didn't want some alternate comic. I wanted the random issue of Metamorpho that I chose at random, gosh darn it!
Thanks to B&B and even a reprint of the JLA/JSA/SSoV crossover (where Metamorpho plays a small but important part), I was fully aware of Metamorpho as a character and was intrigued by his membership in Batman and the Outsiders... but not enough to actually buy that comic.
That story of Urania asking and achieving death really touched me....
Can you analyze Wally's struggles in Rebirth and what it took to finally get his happiness in Jeremy Adams run? Both in-story and what happened behind the scenes.
You explained the context of a dark and haunting Sandman story. Thanks.
Garman's description is why I love him so much
"Terribly sad"
Yep. I'd say so.
This video reminded me of the DC character Eternity Girl. Would you ever consider making a video on her?
I read early issues of Metamorpho but just stopped short of the ones with Urania. That's why when I read the Sandman issue it came as a surprise that she even existed. I fell in love with the Sandman series around this time so this story has a special spot in my heart. One of the things I got from it was that Rex continues to go on because of his personality and the love he gets from Sapphire. Something that Urania never had, thus pushing her desire to not exist anymore. As usual you have enticed me to search out for those early appearances and want to read them. The writer must have done a lot of romance stories because it's sure poured on thick in these stories. Another great topic from you.
Façade was the issue that sold me on Sandman. It's such a beautiful, bittersweet, dark yet uplifting tale and so much of that has to do with the inherent sadness of a character like Element Girl, or Metamorpho, or Martian Manhunter, or The Hulk, The Thing, Vision, or even Deadpool. Someone who can neither live in the world (at least in their minds) and who are capable of outliving it.
That is a lot of shelf space you have hidden off to the side there...
I had never heard of Element Girl before this video. I'm glad it's because she wasn't used at all. I was thinking I'd missed someone well-known.
That letter asking Element Man for a date... what the actual hell?!?!?!
Didn't know about Element Woman. The only other Metamorpho related character I knew about was Shift
@18:00 This aspect hits my hard. My brother was moments away from driving his car off a bridge, but because my dad picked up when he called at 2am and that convinced him to hold on one more day. The irony (which parallels this story) were TWO of the major problems that were driving him into his darkest part of his life ..... resolved THE NEXT DAY.
These things he thought had no hope for, what he was going to end his life over, resolved less than 24 hours after nearly ending his life. Yes he still struggles with depression, but he suddenly had hope. Now he's much much better off
Well that got dark, I hope Urania gets to come back and get a happy ending. Also nice Element Girl wig, I like it when your wigs are on brand lol
I litterly just read the Sandman for the first time. I never heard of her before and I was really confused. Thanks for the video.
I read the issue of Sandman where Element Girl dies just this morning.
Sadly, I only read Metamorpho in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. I hope they bring out a Metamorpho Omnibus so I can read those tales about Element Girl. Keep reading letters. I still read the letters pages and Bullpen Bulletins (Marvel) and the different DC pages (Daily Planet, Watch This Space, etc.) It's fun to read them.
I heard about her death via Linkara's Sandman retrospective. Being one of my favorite of his vids I've kinda memorialized her death in my memory as apart of the story
I think if they brought Urania back, I think it would be good to play into the themes introduced in Facade where being abandoned and rejected is kind of a major fear for the Element Woman. It would be interesting if she started out as embracing her "freakyness" at first only to become more despondent about it after the one person who she thought would accept her for it (Metamorpho) rejects her in favor of Sapphire.
Someone could go either way with that, with Urania either deciding not to go on like in Facade or accepting that rejection does not define her and choosing to live her life anew.
Great video as always! However, I have to know... what is up with the headless Galactus! Did he make the mistake of going to Sleepy Hollow to start eating Earth or something? LOL!
Lol my daughter stole his heads for a game
1:37 is the scorpion!?🤔 so he was fighting metamorph and Spiderman and the girl all at the same time! Now thats dedication to over time 👍
I don't really like how she was killed off. It feels like a sudden thing to so and feels like a rejection of the silver age.
I think that there could have been a good in-between of her going to the temple. Have it be the job telling her to go, but have her have no strong feelings towards it, positive or negative. That way, she wasn't necessarily wanting to go, as it was a mission, but not have her being forced into it as she just thinks of it as another assignment.
I hope these Metamorpho family deep dives also lead to a video about Shift!
Metamorpho was one of my favorite characters growing up, at least while he lasted. I was pleased/dismayed to read Neil Gaiman's take on Element Girl. I agree that it would be better to keep it that she chose to gain element powers rather than being told to by the CIA. But there have been so many reboots since then that a writer could choose to do a new take on the character and disregard Gaiman's ending (which references the ignored final two issues of the original comic, so it's kinda been retconned anyway). If it were semi-in the spirit oif the original comic, I'd read it.
Every time Element Girl had a line about freaks all I could think of was that episode of Lower Decks: "Freaks united are freaks no more! Freaks fight back! Freaks fight back!"
I would like to see more of forgotten characters like maybe those characters who died fight in the afterlife in order to come back to life
We need another Element Girl series! Call it the "Element Girl Periodical"!
I see what you did with that beautiful green wig! E-girl yourself!
Have to admit I'd never heard of Element Girl/Woman until you showcased her. I wouldn't mind seeing her return but not as a possible love interest for Rex- good friend perhaps, or maybe even a rival as to joining the Justice League.
I never saw any of this as I was out of comics at that time.
With comics and their clones/multiverse/WizardDidItStuff, it would be interesting perhaps to see the original take on Element Girl return while treating her as a seperate version from Sandman's take. I'd honestly wonder what she'd make of the tragic story.
While I do agree The Death of Element Girl was a swan song ending for her and I remember reading the 2009 comic with her in it. In hindsight I did not like how she and Sapphire was written.
Part me feels like she deserves another chance. This time in a better and likable light. Nothing one note or mean-spirited. Something that's more focused on her and her journey of being a great hero and self individual growth. Whatever that issue maybe.
You weren't kidding about that first letter being unhinged! I can only hope that whoever wrote that letter wrote it as a troll letter because otherwise, it raises a lot of questions and concerns about the mental well-being of the teenager who wrote it.
I ran into Metamorpho first ... with the first issue of whatever he showed up in. I only vaguely remember Element Girl ... although the visuals are very familiar in the older comics. I haven't read any of Neil Gaiman's stuff. I always liked the fact that although they made his girlfriend seem very superficial at times, she really wasn't. They were breaking molds and making us think, even when people who didn't understand comics thought they were trash. Yeah, I'm much older than most of your viewers.
I wouldn’t mind if they did a Metomorpho comic run set when he originally debuted readpating the og run
Element Girl would be fun in the upcoming Batwoman/Batwing Outsiders book, I think. They are apparently going adventuring through the universe for artifacts. Maybe they could bump into Ra out there somewhere. I just hope this Outsiders book goes better than Kate's own "Unknowns" (say that three times fast) arc