Fire: The DCU's Most Under-Appreciated Friend

So I was thinking about Bea today when I was thinking about JLI pairings, and it occurred to me: Bea is actually a really awesome friend. And not just to Tora, either.

It's pretty obvious how much she cared about Tora, though I think the most telling thing about their relationship was the fact that Bea took her under her wing in the first place. Tora barely spoke any English at all, and certainly no Portuguese, so it can't be that they had a lot in common to talk about in the beginning! We didn't actually get to see any of this interaction, of course, but Bea had to have just sort of... stepped in and took over teaching the poor girl stuff. And sure, she could be a little bossy and tended to expect Tora to just follow along, but that was more just her basic personality coming out. She's the leader, the one with the ideas, and Tora is just more comfortable as a follower (which is not a bad thing at all). At any rate, they hardly ever fought on-panel. Even when it came to Guy, it was more Bea expressing disapproval and Tora just sort of ignoring her. I know of one instance when they out-and-out argued about it, and there was a story in an issue of Justice League Quarterly when Bea said something that really hurt her feelings, but for the most part, they seemed to get along well.

If there was a failing to be had, I'd say it was the fact that Bea didn't always seem aware of Tora's feelings (or perhaps that Tora didn't always share her feelings). It was obvious from time to time in later issues that Tora was feeling particularly unhappy or inadequate, and Bea always seemed surprised. I suspect that most of the problem was that Tora isn't the type to complain much... and what does a good best friend say when you mention that you're feeling ugly or stupid or just plain not good enough? "Are you crazy? You're a wonderful person! Don't be so down on yourself!" So yeah, I can see why she wouldn't necessarily have confided in Bea about that as much as she would have about other things. It's like your mother telling you that you're beautiful -- well of course she would think so. It's no surprise, so it doesn't make you feel any better.

But she tried. And Bea has always been one of the best when it comes to keeping in touch with old friends. When Booster and Guy were ready to avenge Ted, Bea was a step ahead of them -- she was already researching Ted's finances and finding out what was going on. When Booster was acting like an idiot during 52, she showed up to give him a piece of her mind. It wasn't exactly a friendly visit, but she was obviously concerned about him. And who was it that kept calling poor lonely crazy Ralph, urging him to meet with her or talk to her and asking him how he was doing? Yep, it was Bea.

She really seems to keep an eye on her old crew. And she's not afraid to step in and try to drag them up by their bootlaces, either. It's one of the things that I think she and Guy have in common... and I'd even go so far as to say that the two of them are probably the most nostalgic for the old days, even when they won't come out and say so. They'd make a good mommy and daddy for a team of rookie heroes, if only they would recognize those qualities in each other. (And if the rookies actually called them Mom and Dad and pointed out that they act like a married couple sometimes, it would be hilariously awesome because they'd get so mad.)

Let Me Be Shallow (More Than Usual) For A Moment

I walked up to Target on my lunch break today and finally came across one of the elusive JLU 3-packs with Fire, Ice, and John Stewart in it. My co-workers ridiculed me for coming back and declaring that I had discovered Hotness in a Box, but it's okay -- who has need of the esteem of others when one has Hotness in a Box? Certainly not I.

I'm not a huge fan of the figures themselves, small and cute as they are. They're wonderful likenesses of the characters as they appear in the cartoon, but they're just too short and non-poseable to appeal much to me. And I do have at least three other John Stewart toys. But Bea and Tora! I have plastic Bea and Tora! Tora has an upside-down iceberg-shaped boob window in her costume! Yay?

And it reminded me of this mighty craving I have, that maybe only me and four other people share. I still want Fire and Ice: Year One!

Of course it'll never happen. They're not popular enough characters to financially justify any mini, let alone a flashback one, and I can just imagine what folks would think of a supporting cast consisting largely of the Global Guardians, of all people, but... I want it so bad! I want naive, not-quite-fluent Tora being taught about the outside world by worldly, sort-of-a-partier Beatriz. I want them to have awesome adventures together. I want culture shock. But mostly, I just want awesome ladies in the early days of a pretty cool friendship. It would be like Gail Simone's Birds of Prey, only with less birds, less prey, and more ice princesses and Brazilian spies. In fact, Gail Simone should write it.

It also makes me wonder: when Tora mentioned to Guy in GLC #29 that she and Bea had been talking about "starting a...", I wonder what she was going to finish that sentence with before Guy interrupted her? Start a team? Start a commune? Start a charity for heroes recently resurrected from the dead? Start a prank war with the Bat-clan? (Massive failure: Bats don't have a sense of humor.) I'd really like to know what they're thinking about doing together. I've enjoyed Bea's development in Checkmate so far, but the book has been dragging something awful lately, and Bea really belongs in a more light-hearted book, anyway. I can appreciate that she's got scary skills and that she's more serious now, but ugh. Checkmate is bad news for everyone involved, and I'd rather not see her dead.

I bet Guy would be sad if he later learned that what Tora had actually been trying to say was "starting a threesome with you". You just blew your chance, chump. That'll teach you to throw temper tantrums every time your girlfriend brings up her girlfriend's name.