WIP: Justice

Avengers Month continues with a WIP of Justice from the Busiek/Perez era of the Avengers! But not that monstrosity that he was wearing when he left the team. I mean, wow. Check this out from Avengers 30 something. He comes in with something that the Wasp wouldn’t dare vomit up; a low point most people didn’t think existed, mind you; and everyone has to give him lip service because he’s been the Little Avenger That Could for the past two years. And Quicksilver won’t take that crap, which is why more Avengers lineups need Quicksilver, who can be an ass whenever he wants because he’s the only guy in the publishing house with super speed.

Anyway, this custom is based off the Perez rendition of the costume, even if it was spurred by the news that Justice is returning to the look in the Avengers: Initiative book. Perez draws Vance like he’s just swimming in his cape. This is the core of the character: he’s got this huge idea for a name, like, his name is the same as Superman’s team; he’s got this big superhero costume with more pomp and circumstance wrapped up in that cape than Thor and Hercules put together, and the only reason it sort of works is that he’s so generic, in powers and background and everything. So at the core of all these superhero tropes is this little guy that can’t really back anything up that he presents. If he had about 50 more pounds of muscle and had glowing eyes, I guess, and went around lifting up skyscrapers with telekinesis, then we could talk, but in the Avengers, his point is that he’s a bit too small a fish for the pond.
Which is the point of the new costume, to tone things down so they fit a B-list hero. But it’s no excuse for this.

Have I talked about the toy yet? He’s a combination of Bullseye and Silver Surfer, to minimize paint rub and to keep him small. The cape comes from Dr. Doom, and the head and hands are from the X-Men series Angel. I sculpted the star on his chest to make it match the cape, although it’s never been raised in the illustrations I’ve seen.