Thursday, July 27, 2006

Rescue Me: The Hijacker

The first time I saw the Hijacker in a comic, it was in that supervillain clusterfuck from "Marvel Two-In-One" #96. I had no idea who he was. Apparently I wasn't alone, since Marvel's editors had no problem with offing his padded, gas-spewing ass. In a crowd scene, yet. At least the Bug-Eyed Bandit only had to share his last panel with Clayface II.

So what, precisely, is wrong with the Hijacker's outfit? Easy. It's boring. It's gray and boring with a stupid gasmask that makes him look like the lovechild of Roy Orbison and a baleen whale. Let's pep that shit up! At least he'll have something nice for his funeral. Assuming it's open-casket.

myhijacker

I knew I didn't want to keep his costume gray, but I puzzled over what color to make it. I wanted something kind of industrial or toxic, so I settled on an acid yellow. The lines and dots are circuitry built into the suit that allows him to hack into computer systems. And he has a nice big backpack - lightweight, natch - to hold his knockout gas. The logo on his chest is supposed to be a combination of an "H" and a "J" with the "J" resembling a fishhook. Although I have a feeling I didn't draw the barb on the correct side. Oh well.

Tomorrow: Rescue Me: The Human Fly!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmm...I like the helmet and the color scheme. I'm not so sure I like the backpack. For one thing, he can't turn his head to see if The Thing or whoever is coming up behind him. Also, when I think of a Hijacker, I think of a guy who can stow away pretty easily and also access the inner machinery of vehicles pretty easily. That'd be pretty hard for him to do with that gigantic backpack. Maybe make it look like a scuba-diving tank? He could also benefit from a utility belt of some sort and some pouches. A guy called The Hijacker actually might have a use for storage compartments on his costume (Unlike, for example, Cyclops or Cannonball).

Not trying to be overly critical, otherwise it's a neat design, true to the original concept (such as it was) but given a modern spin. I can't wait to see what you do with the Human Fly...I hope you resisit the urge to Jeff Goldblum the guy, though.

On a side note, how many of Scourge's victims have had a successor? The replies to your entry about Cyclone got me thinking. I think there was a second Cyclone and a second Ringer (Yes, of all the villains Scourge busted a cap into, Marvel chose to make a new version of THE RINGER. No, I can't figure it out, either) but have any of the others inspired a second version? I'm surprised Marvel hasn't brought back The Melter and Basilisk concepts, for two.

Anonymous said...

I think it's pretty cool. I kind of see what anony is saying about the backpack, but that's a minor detail that would likely fluctuate with different artists.

I like the face on this one, too. Freaky! In a good way. The intent behind your color choices is sound, as is the execution.

Nifty.

Jeremy Rizza said...

Anonymous: I grok your criticism about the backpack. I figure he'd still have his giant truck with the magnet inside it that can grab smaller vehicles. His truck would have specially designed seating, i.e. a stool. (OK, you caught me. I just drew it like that 'cause I thought it looked cool.)

Chawunky: And with Liefeld, the size of the backpack would fluctuate with the same artist!

Anonymous said...

Heh heh. Ya got dat right.