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Capes On the Couch - Where Comics Get Counseling


Jun 10, 2020

For Pride Month, we head north of the border to talk Northstar with Dr. Goku from GuardiansMH! A fascinating episode that covers impulse control, linguistic history, and how to handle trauma! Listen now!

SHOW NOTES:

  • Intro
    • Intro Dr. Goku, talk about Guardians
    • New patron - Angela
    • Shoutout to FriGay the 13th - Andrew & Matty cover horror films & topics with a LGBTQ perspective - frigay13.com 
  • Background (10:17)
    • Northstar (Jean-Paul Beaubier) created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne in Uncanny X-Men #120 (April 1979)
    • Jean-Paul Beaubier and his twin sister Jeanne-Marie are born to French Canadian parents in Montreal, but his parents die in a car crash and the twins are separated
    • Shortly thereafter, his adoptive parents are killed
    • Despite this tragedy, he becomes a champion skier until his mutant powers manifest in puberty - flight, durability, and super speed
    • Later joins the Quebec separatist movement, but renounces their terrorist tactics
    • He joins Alpha Flight, where he’s reunited with Jeanne-Marie
    • Working with his sister sours their relationship, and they are estranged for some time - they reconcile after fighting a villain that required the full force of Alpha Flight
    • After finding an HIV positive baby abandoned in a dumpster, he reveals himself as a homosexual to fight for HIV prevention
    • Recruited to the X-Men by Jean Grey to help save Professor X from Magneto, who imprisoned him on Genosha - later becomes a teacher at the Xavier Institute
    • Killed by a brainwashed Wolverine, and ends up resurrected by HYDRA, who brainwash him and his sister - they’re both mentally repaired by the X-Men
    • Returns to sports, using his invulnerability to become an extreme sports star
    • After the Mauraders brainwash the X-Men and kidnap his boyfriend Kyle, he realizes life is short and he doesn’t want to waste it, so he marries Kyle
    • Currently living on Krakoa with other mutants - no word on Kyle
  • Issues (25:02)
    • Impulsive and hot headed, seems to be a recurring theme among speedsters
    • Related to that, tends to be a bit of an extremist, especially in his youth (29:27)
    • Uses his personal, private information to advance a larger cause - potential for significant interpersonal conflicts (35:50)
  • Break (47:21)
    • Plugs for Sips Suds & Smokes, and We're All Mad Here, plus Chris Claremont
  • Treatment (49:21)
    • In-universe - Slow down and work on impulse control
    • Out of universe - (52:00)
  • Skit (60:09)
  • Ending (66:57)
    • Recommended reading: Alpha Flight #106, Astonishing X-Men #51
    • Next episodes: Erica Schultz interview about Forgotten Home, Raphael, Support systems in comics

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