from uhhh some parta JLI I'd gotta go find it
From Doctor Fate (1988) #15
From The Weird #1
notes for editing
Like a moth to a flame...
Like a... beetle? To... a lantern?
Hope you don't mind the mess, fellas. 'Cause it's about to get messier. Even though I've never done one of these before--despite my decade-long penchant for shipping fictional characters--I decided to take on the Herculean task of trying to explain something basically no one else believes in. So, I'm not pulling from anyone else's posts, ideas, visions. I'm just posting from comic panels and my interpretations of them.
DISCLAIMER: This shouldn't need to be said, and it probably doesn't, but I am paranoid about someone coming across my nothing blog for nobody and getting really mad at me for this post. I'm a human being, okay? Please remember that. If remembering I'm a whole entire person is not enough to dissuade you from trying to be mean to me then that is on your conscience and not mine.
Um, but basically, I am not perfect and I don't know everything. I just want to talk about something I think about a lot. Okay? Great. I've already outlined above that nobody thinks this is real except for me, nobody's tried to do a full analysis (that I know of), and nobody's going to read this. So if you're mad...it is your fault for reading it. Thank you! Disclaimer......ended!!
i was talking to a moth
the other evening
he was trying to break into
an electric light bulb
and fry himself on the wires
Brain vomit ahoy. Okay here we go.
There are two aspects to GuyTed, or GuyBeetle, or whatever you wanna call it. First one is classified as "pre-JLI" or I sometimes call it "Legends era" lol. Second one is "JLI". JLI era kind of encompasses everything thereafter, as the writing of the Justice League International (JLI) comics has impacted everything that will come out today or has come out since '84.
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot of the 80s, a series by Len Wein (who I love) came out called Legends. This was basically the backdrop which would establish a new Justice League in the wake of the crumbling of the old one facilitated by the Crisis. Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis were the writers/plotters behind Justice League (1984) which would become Justice League International. And they confess to not having any idea about the characters they were writing.
This probably doesn't matter to most people, but it matters to me. Apparently most people have either no idea or no issue with changing key components of characters for the sake of comedy, without having any idea what the character was actually like. It wasn't intentional exaggeration or anything like that. Just genuine disinterest in what they were doing.
They didn't know anything about Guy or Ted either. I think Giffen's main understanding was that Ted was "like Spider-Man," an assumption made likely only because Steve Ditko was behind the character. I mean, it's not like Ditko's series about Ted for Charlton Comics didn't highlight that he was a force to be reckoned with, notorious for his pursuit of his justice, and also believed in perserverence against all odds or anything like that. No, he was definitely just a self-insert, whatever man. And their impression of Guy didn't really feel rooted in anything other than understanding he was sort of a hothead (no, no understanding as to why and definitely no attempt to sympathize with him for it).
from uhhh some parta JLI I'd gotta go find it
From Doctor Fate (1988) #15
From The Weird #1
Despite all attempts at setting up Guy and Ted as completely opposite to each other in the JLI comics, they sort of accidentally fold out as being fairly identical. This is 100% because of the flaw of hacky writers (G & D) who can only write with one voice, one intent, one kind of character, and only a small selection of jokes... but I also think it's interesting because writers thereafter and their pre-JLI writing also suggests chemistry if not similarity... so I don't totally discount all similarities within the JLI comics themselves, let alone what comes after...
Reading List
also add
Justice League America #68
I have to go back and double-check, but these are signal devices made by Ted (so he can track Bloodwynd), which I think Ted just says Superman refused when he's talking to Booster. We never get to see the exchange I don't think? So it's kind of cute if Guy's counting rejecting Ted's signal device against Superman (among many other things). Like...why do you care, Guy? Huh?
copypasting directly from my discord dm's until I can collect my deranged thoughts
I'm mentally ill but Ted considering himself crazy and/or jsut as crazy as Guy is like extremely good for my pores but terrible for my sanity
I have to find the JLI panel bc it's so crazy for Ted to act familiar with Guy in that way when he very specifically avoids it and they both actively antagonize each other. I understand the joke, though, so this is simply a matter of overthinking.
I gotta find the panels that say that Ted gave Guy books about tactics and how it's insane bc of JLA #52.
the fact this was in? around? 2018(the JL series is from 2018 but idr if this is same year) is crazyyyyyyy I have to get their full convo in this bich cos tehy're sooo chummy in it
Okay, I can't stop thinking about this. I was going to post this to League of Comic Geeks but that just seems so unbecoming... and frankly, annoying. So why not add to my simple and beginner website that is dedicated to talking about Guy and Ted? So here we go.
In JLA #52, Ted is reflecting on the things bullies would call him when he was fat before. When he goes to the embassy gym to work out with Guy and (bleh) General Glory (ew), Guy isn't bothered by Ted's presence until the general praises Ted. We can observe in multiple comics in this series (as well as just this era of comics for Guy) that Guy needs external validation and feels threatened when he doesn't receive attention. So, Ted being complimented over him (especially not having great stamina to exercise himself) makes him feel threatened, so he takes it out on Ted. Now what does he say?
To my memory, he basically beat for beat uses all of the insults that we just learned a few pages ago are what Ted used to be called.
In terms of writing, this is because the JLI writers are hacks who recycle shit all the time--er, I mean. This is because Ted reflects on how he was bullied, so Guy using those same insults is meant to communicate in the narrative that he is a bully.
However, this is CharmHub. And I am not mentally sound or sane.
In Justice League Quarterly #5, the opening scene is one of Guy and Ted relaxing on the roof of the embassy with some o' dem beerses. Guy fucking loves beer I guess. He has issues. Remember the logo for his solo series' mail column "Guy Talk" has him just sitting in a pile of beer cans. Jesus, man. Anyway. There's an editor's note stating that JLQ #5 takes place BEFORE JLA #52! This is obviously because at the end of JLA #52, Ted is in the hospital and Guy has been kicked out of the league (or is pretty much guaranteed to be)...
But remember, folks! This is CHARMHUB!!!!!!!!!! My personal belief is that Ted could have confided in Guy about his past being bullied, even specific things he was called (since having recall for that suggests it probably haunts him) on that embassy roof. So that would be how Guy "knows" the things that would really hurt Ted's feelings (to get "back" at Ted bc Guy feels threatened. He has problemsss), because like, omg, some of those insults are so goddamn corny. I guess being insulted in any way by anyone is hurtful though.
Also, Guy grabs him by the love handles. It's obviously supposed to be "gross" or "shameful" that Ted even has love handles (something which women are supposed to naturally have because curves, so when men have them it's simply because they're overweight or whatever), but like. When you grab someone's love handles...they're there....for sex....I mean they're not there for sex. But you get me. Guy has this insane tendency to 'attack' Ted in ways that come across kind of underhandedly homoerotic. Like in JLA #45 when he tries to get back at Ted for sabotaging his little date, he manages to tear the seat of Ted's suit off. Like. Why did Guy go for the ass? You know?
In the JLA Breakdowns arc/event, Ted and Tora are let go from the team. They lament about it together, and when Tora says she doesn't know how to explain how she feels about Guy (which is partially because she feels romantic attraction to him), Ted agrees he doesn't either. Which, like. I know that's because he doesn't like Guy, and that's the joke. But...Iunno. It's sort of cute.