Crossover Canon! Geek Trivia!

[eldritchhobbit]

There are times I am especially grateful that I'm a geek, and now is one of those times.

I just had a "Eureka!" moment. In the third chapter of the authorized sequel to The Prisoner, the graphic novel Shattered Visage, there is a funeral. And among the mourners, clear as day, are...

... Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and John Steed and Emma Peel of The Avengers, all appropriately aged (as the tale takes place approximately twenty years after the events in The Prisoner). I must go through the frames carefully and see who else is there, as the novel is dense with insider references. But it's official: Prisoner/U.N.C.L.E and Prisoner/Avengers crossovers are canon!

(The Secret Agent/Prisoner crossover was already established as canon, if you consider the fact that the official contemporary spin-off novels for The Prisoner identified Number Six as John Drake.)

That is all. Be seeing you.

Comments

[theladyrose.livejournal.com]

The first thought that popped into my head was "SQUEE!!!" I love seeing all of my favorite spies in one place; surely they've come across some of the same megalomaniacs together. And I should get back to writing my Danger Man/MFU fics.

I must admit I still am rather ambivalent about Number Six as Drake. Especially if you take Six's background as presented in "Once Upon A Time" - it just doesn't match with what of Drake's early life. Yes, "The Girl Who Was Death" was an unfilmed DM script, but I think the reappearance of the Potter character was the filmmakers toying with the audience more than anything else; I seriously didn't remember Potter from DM until I read about it. "Girl...Death" felt more like a parody of the Avengers; I'd picture Drake saying a lot more if he had been sent on that mission instead of Six. I actually see Patrick McGoohan's character in Ice Station Zebra, David Jones, as more in line with Number Six than Drake.

I'm really tempted to make some MFU/Prisoner/Avengers/Danger Man crossover icons now.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I love seeing all of my favorite spies in one place; surely they've come across some of the same megalomaniacs together.

Exactly! :)

And I should get back to writing my Danger Man/MFU fics.

Oh, yes yes yes, you should!!!! (No pressure there - ha!)

I actually see Patrick McGoohan's character in Ice Station Zebra, David Jones, as more in line with Number Six than Drake.

I can see that completely. Actually, I tend to think of David Jones as one of a later John Drake's aliases, representing an angrier, darker Drake. I can see early signs of possible future disillusionment from Drake in a number of episodes ("Yesterday's Enemies" comes immediately to mind), that all added together with Jones's experiences might explain the resignation. As for his childhood, that's a good point about "Once Upon A Time"; I just don't know how much to take of what we learn from Drake seriously in the Danger Man episodes, especially since it's sometimes hard to tell if he's in character or himself, or for that matter being serious or snarky. ;)

I've rather enjoyed Eva A. Enblom's characterization of Number Six as Drake, though if I add David Jones into the mix as the man's middle identity in between Drake and Number Six, the idea that he never killed anyone might seem a bit naive.

I'm really tempted to make some MFU/Prisoner/Avengers/Danger Man crossover icons now.

*whimpers in glee* :)

[theladyrose.livejournal.com]

Hee! Currently the guys are still trying to outwit each other in crossover #1, but I think they'll be running into each other quite soon :)

Not to mention "Colony 3," "Judgment Day" (probably the darkest hour of spy television up until its broadcast that I know of) and "To Our Best Friend" (so much for ever considering a stable home life) as possible trigger experiences for a Drake as Six resignation. As far as I remember Drake only kills a man in self-defence in "Time To Kill" when he willingly takes on an assassination assignment, but he seems to be able to rationalize it rather well.

Hmm, I just came across an intriguing theory (in the Ice Station Zebra soundtrack liner notes of all places) that Jones' experience was what made 6 want to resign. And the ISZ movie does seem to hint that Jones very well could be Drake, given their expertise and professional background. Talk about further entangling all three universes...

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I just came across an intriguing theory (in the Ice Station Zebra soundtrack liner notes of all places) that Jones' experience was what made 6 want to resign. And the ISZ movie does seem to hint that Jones very well could be Drake, given their expertise and professional background. Talk about further entangling all three universes...

Pardon my late reply, but I don't seem to be getting all of my reply notices these days. I really, really like this idea. The universes dovetail together so compellingly, giving different points along the spectrum of his character development.

I'll buy it. :)

[agentxpndble.livejournal.com]

You win at geekyness! How awesome is that?!?

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Yay! :D If I'm going to win at something, it might as well be that. ;)

It is, indeed, awesome.

[alicambs.livejournal.com]

The reviews for the book are pretty iffy on amazon.com and are noteworthy by their absence on amazon.co.uk! What do you think of the book? Oh, and congrats on your geekness. *g*

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the congrats! One can never have too much geekness, I think. ;)

I see what you mean about the dismal reviews, but I actually liked this. First, it puts the final episodes like "Once Upon A Time" and "Fall Out" into a larger context, giving what I think is a fairly compelling reading of them, and making them fit nicely with the previous episodes and this sequel. Second, the story has all kinds of inside gifts to readers in the know. (The woman who finds Number Six is named Drake, for example, and claims she worked at a travel agency, both send-ups of Danger Man/Secret Agent.) Third, there's some really haunting art depicting an aging Number Six locked in mortal combat with Number Two in the decaying ruins of the Village. The pictures have stuck with me. And last, I think the ending is very poignant. It's not a straighforward or even easy to follow tale, and it's rather bleak at times, but I felt satisfied that they'd given a good faith effort to hold to the spirit of the series and presented a plausible second act for its story. Perhaps I went into it with low expectations, but I am definitely glad I bought and read it.