The recent return of Vibe kind of puzzles me.  On the one hand, Vibe is something of a one-note gimmick character, “the break-dancing superhero,” a street kid straight out of the youth center that Ozone and Turbo saved in ‘Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, with a limited power-set and some truly stupid stories in his catalogue.  On the other, I’ve always kind of liked him, and found his bravado and his original horrible Reagan-era puffy fashion victim costume to be kind of endearing, in a way.  Of course, there are a lot of really bad fashions in comics, anyway, what with Batman’s “trunks on the outside” (an affectation adapted from Superman, who took it from the carnival strongman costumes of the Great Depression), Storm’s early 80s punk phase (leather and a mohawk actually work for her, depending on the artist) and the various high-top fades of the 1990s.  (Bonus points if they shaved their superhero symbol INTO them!)  There’s a large chunk of late 60s/early 70s Supergirl and Wonder Woman comics that I only ever want to read to see what abomination they’ve stuck Kara Zor-El in this week, and perhaps imagine Michael Kors declaring her to be “a girl scout den-mother at a hooker’s funeral in Milan!”  (Supergirl’s Michael Turner jailbait suit should probably also get a name check, here.)

The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) will confer with you vis a vis those things that it is interested in and/or seeking, asking: What’s the most ridiculous fashion trend to affect pop culture?

There is a saying in Kansas, regarding seasonal change:  If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.  Never has that been more true than during the last week, where I went from 80 degree temps to slow flurries in a matter of days.  Still, with Kansas officially entering the season of Spring on Wednesday, my co-workers have already begun commenting on how it shouldn’t be cold anymore, as though we’ve crossed a meridian from lion to lamb and the weather patterns should be forced to comply.  Still, given that the warming months also bring with them severe weather (including our legendary tornadoes, so powerful they’ll knock your @$$ from sepia-tone to Technicolor), I have no problem dealing with a little more cool weather.  Still and all, part of my ever-analytical forebrain watches as the world around me transitions from snow removal to road repair, and anticipates the return of the sundresses and window-rollin’-down weather.

The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) had something clever to say here, but found that Sonnet 18 is all about a SUMMER’S day, which totally hoses the metaphor, asking: What’s the most wonderful time of the year in your eyes?

For those of you who follow my Twitter feed (@mightykingcobra), first of all, I apologize for whatever offended you, as the odds are I said something that did.  But, secondly, you will probably also be aware of and/or sick of hearing about my latest collection obsession, Bandai Ranger Keys from a television series that I shan’t mention because it always provokes mockery from Stephen.  As a comic book collector, I always found the real fun to be in the thrill of the hunt, haunting used bookstores and yard sales in the hopes of finding that elusive Action #374 or Hulk #161.  In the modern era of Ebay, I don’t even have to leave my Sofa Of Solitude to get a copy of Miracleman #24, which leaves me somehow saddened at change.  Still, I still get a thrill when I can find an item at a decent price, like yesterday’s acquisition of a Black Condor Ranger Key at less than 1/4th of the going (or is that gauging?) rate.

The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) hates the tricksy hobbitses, rotten tricksy hobbiteses all, who would steal his preeeciousssss, asking:  What item have you acquired (or would you WISH to acquire) as the crown jewel of your collection?

The Power Trio in pop culture is a force to be reckoned with, from the trinity of Ricky, Lucky and Ethel (Fred was a Sixth Ranger) to Kirk, Spock, McCoy and beyond.  The Widget’s recent fascination with Super Sentai has reminded me how many different variations on the theme there can be, from the Blonde/Brunette/Redhead combination to the Land/Sea/Sky to the Two Guys And A Girl combination (pizza place optional.)  When you look around the worlds of TV, comics and film, you see the interpersonal triangles everywhere, and I especially relish those shows (like ‘How I Met Your Mother’) where there are actually multiple triads with a central character in common.  Sadly, none of our podcasts fit the trope any longer, thanks to Young Zach being all, “I’m Zach and this is how I taaaalk!”  He does, however, make a great Michelangelo for our upcoming Ninja Turtles cosplay.  (Nobody is allowed to ask why Raph’s shell is so much bigger around than the others!)

The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) can’t decide whether Mother, Maiden & Crone beats Rock, Paper & Scissors, asking: What’s the greatest three-character-combination in pop culture history?

As a fan of Monty Python in the 90s, I always enjoyed the chance to read about the influences and heroes that Pythons most idolized, and was always fascinated by the stories of the late Marty Feldman.  These days, I’d wager that many viewers only recognize Marty from his role as “Eye-Gor” in the movie ‘Young Frankenstein; but Marty was a gifted writer and performer for years, even co-authoring the iconic Bookshop Sketch.  (That’s the one wherein he bothered John Cleese for nonexistent books, including a copy of “Ethel The Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying.”)  While it’s a shame that his work isn’t better known, it has to be said that he seemed perfectly suited for the job of playing Victor’s faithful-but-dim assistant, and the part was clearly written with him in mind (even though the man himself was quite intelligent and had ridiculously sharp comic sensibilities.)  Right off the top of my head, I can only think of one actor that I’d be better suited to a part, that being Jason David Frank in his portrayal of the athletic, charismatic yet scatter-brained Tommy Oliver in the American Power Rangers franchise.

The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) doesn’t always mind being type-cast, asking:  What actor or actress is the most perfectly visually suited for his or her role?

Often, I get a lot of static for my belief that the Invincible Iron Man has never looked better than he did between issue 200 and the end of the Armor Wars back in the mid-80s.  The usual complaints are that he abandoned the trademark red-and-gold armor colors (which I can understand, although there have been additional palette adjustments since then that are more drastic) and that the shoulder pads and gauntlets looked awkward and derivative of the Transformers.  In my mind, Iron Man looked like he was wearing an actual armored costume made of metal for the first time since he gave up his bulky gold suit back in ’65, and the additional bulk made him seem like a peer to Thor and the Hulk again.  Still, once the Armor Wars has run its course, the creators had made it clear what they thought about the Silver Centurion armor (note that it was NUKED in its final appearance) and now that iconic look is nothing more than the comic-book equivalent of aviator shades and a perm.  (Which, now that you mention it, Tony Stark was also rockin’ at the time of the S.C. armor.)

The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) makes you feel he’s a cool exec with a heart of steel, asking: What to do when a favorite character changes appearance and you don’t like it?

I was a little surprised, upon a recent viewing of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, to discover that Yoda’s trademark speech patterns were less mangled than in his most recent appearances.  (He still sounded pretty much like Grover, though.)  The little green Jedi isn’t the weirdest speaker in the annals of pop culture, though, as the Scissormen from Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol were as verbally disorienting as they were visually disturbing and the title character of V For Vendetta’s vernacular vaguely vexes vigilant viewers via voraciously variant vocabulary.  And imagine how much worse Ted Striker’s day might have gotten had Beaver’s mom not been fluent in jive!

The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) talks funny, but yo, I’m makin’ money, see, asking: The most strangically funniest pop-culture talking is from who, hmm?