Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Oh Yeah, That Forum: The Titans MAGENTA: Descent into Darkness

Poor Frances Kane. With a mother that would give Piper Laurie in "Carrie" a run for her money, Frankie seemed to be doomed from the start.

I quite liked seeing her make tentative steps to become a hero, becoming a Titans ally and joining them in their battle with the new Brotherhood of Evil.

Later on, she is kidnapped by Raven and made evil by the Trigon Seed. Frankie never quite seemed to recover from this, as we haven't seen her be heroic since.
I wasn't reading THE FLASH when Frankie and Wally broke up. By the time I started collecting FLASH again, Magenta was already esablished as a jilted-lover villainess, a role I don't much care for for her. Geoff Johns certainly wrote her as a badass, and I approve. I loved the scene where she goes ape in the police station and rips out the fillings of everyone in the room. I thought Johns was going to bring her back to the side of the angels, but he instead wrote her as confused and a bit crazy.

Here's hoping that MAGENTA gets the help she needs and rejoins the heroes. I'm rooting for her.

I know Frances from the heyday of NTT. I'd heard that she turned villain. I haven't read those stories, granted, so I shouldn't pass judgement, but I can't help but think oh for pete's sake. I'd like to think it's possible for a meta to choose a more-or-less normal life. Or, if one just has to get back at the person or group that dumped/rejected them, they'd show 'em by succeeding, not by getting homicidal.

It's been my theory that Magenta was never completely freed of the Trigon seed, and that is why she seems to confused.

Johns wrote her as seemingly wanting to be a hero again, but then she flipped out and went ape.

I believe that this is the lingering influence of the Trigon seed.

Actually, I'm wrong above. Frankie IS shown to be quite heroic in the JLA/TITANS mini.

Good, evil, whatever. That fake-fur coat gotta go.

Frankie's been cursed by fashion, for certain.

I *hated* her full-body, face-covering original costume. HATED IT AND ALWAYS WILL! Despised it with mad passion. Ias thrilled for her to be included in JLA/Titans, but she was wearing that costume... *ugggh*!

Now, her Trigon-Seed outfit-- the sexy black number with cape-- THAT was hot stuff. This outfit also made an appearance in THE FLASH when Frankie was on one of her "Wally must die!" kicks.

Her most recently seen outfit in FLASH I'm not too crazy about either. I think it's telling that so often Frankie wants to keep her face covered. She never has gotten over the shame inflicted by her Mother, has she?

Funny that this should come up, since I just read the Flash TPB "Blood WIll RUn" which shows the crazy Magenta. I got the feeling that her experiences with both her family and with Wally have left her a bit confused and easily swayed. In this story she is a member of a cult that worships (to an extent) Wally West as the Flash. After being rejected all of her life, she is longing to belong to someone or something. Now that the villains have showed her some attention, she has a desire to win their approval by attacking the Flash. I just see it as a matter of low self-esteem leading to really bad choices, not necessarily psychotic or evil.

And I do hate her newest costume, especially the half-glove/mold things where her fingers are popping out. It justdoesn't seem practical and doesn't register properly when viewing it.

A note aside, was Fran originally supposed to be called Magneta? I mean, other than her costume, what was 'magenta' about her? There was more magenta in Jericho... or was that fuschia?

Oh... uhhh... ob-Legion-ref... is Fran an ancestor of Rokk?

Another big Frances Kane fan here (I just LOVE all the B-list Titans!).

Anyway - Yes Magenta's full body, face-covering original costume was hideous... but didn't you also find it strangely compelling? It was like one of those portraits that's eyes follow you around the room. I hated it and yet I loved it. Whenever she appeared in it I would think to myself 'that is one mother-fu**in' ugly costume' and yet I kept wanting to see it! More and more!

... I might be spending too much time with my comics.

Magenta, went bad, whatever, she's cool, hope she becomes a hero againt though.

It was just them trying to nick Magneto's name recognition (Marvel's attempts to prevent this gender-opposite effect led to She-Hulk & Spider-Woman (I)'s creation, and the revival of Wonder Man was a editorial edict as part of a spat over DC creating Power Girl when Marvel's Power Man was popular at the time. Funnily enough, the writer who created PG (Conway) was the one who ended up being the one to bring WM back )

If that editorial edict to bring back the Moronic Ionic One back never happened, the world would be a better place.

Magenta's costume was appalling. Didn't Barbara Kessel expalin in a letter column in Titans Spotlight that they gave her that name coz they couldn't think of any others? She also said the costume was designed before they gave her the name - which seems a bit of a happy coincidence.

Hey, wasn't she a blonde, and didn't her hair turn light purple?

They explained the hair thing in the Flash. There are actually metal fillings in her hair.

Once, when she was de-powered, she became a blonde again...

And I guess I'm the only one who liked that costume of hers. Her current one is just... OK.

I haven't read # 225 yet, but Magenta sure got the short end of the stick in the otherwise excellent ROGUE WAR story in Flash.

As # 225 will likely be final issue of FLASH as well as Geoff Johns', I can only hope Frankie got in some good face time. I'll find out tonight, or tomorrow night.

What's going on with Frances these days I wonder?

Me too. When was her last appearance? That new-Rogues storyline during Geoff Johns' last Flash tenure however many years ago? She must have made an appearance since then surely.

It's probably for the best that she lies-low for a while anyway. I don't think DC has any interest in characters like Frances for anything other than cannon-fodder at the moment. They seem to be all about re-establishing the 'classic' versions of adult heroes and introducing new versions of Teen ones. A loose-end like Frances isn't in their game-plan. Hopefully when new management take over that place all those limbo characters like Frances will get a chance to shine again.

Frankie is one of those great characters that is neither hero nor villain, so it's better she lie low until the current adminstration at DC--renowned for their genocide & rape tendencies--don't get their hands on her.

In the meantime, she can think about those dream-boat heroes she's obsessed with, Wally West and Cobalt Kid.

I know the dumped her on the prison planet in Salvation Run, but luckily she was able to make it back to Earth. Not sure what happened to her after, though.

And yes, I think Cobalt Kid is just the person she needs to keep her from going nuts again