Friday Night Fights: Little Wallflower in the Ring

Shrinking Violet cuts loose with some subatomic-fu. It's always the quiet ones...
(from Legion of Super-Heroes v4 #66, March 1995; by Mark Waid, Tom McCraw, Lee Moder and Ron Boyd)
Atom Girl? Give me a break. Why take one of the few Legionnaires who managed to dodge the whole "lad/lass/girl/boy" naming conventions and tag her with a woefully uninspired name? Yeah, "Shrinking Violet" carries certain negative connotations, but part of the appeal of the character is how she moved beyond the meekness suggested by her code name. It's not like "Batman" or "Mister Fantastic" are especially inspired handles once you look past the accumulated history and brand identity.

I admit I have a certain affection for the character, but it's a pure and holy love with its origins rooted in this lovely Jaime Hernandez illustration from the original Who's Who in the DC Universe series. (Warning: AT management not responsible for mental anguish caused by reading the "History" text section. Those unaccustomed to the conventions of the superhero genre are advised to just look at the pretty pictures.)
(click to enlarge; no pun intended)
Babes in Toyland - Bruise Violet (from Fontanelle, 1992) - I used this song for last year's spectrum-themed post (which also mentioned the Legion of Super-Heroes, strangely enough), but that was a long time ago and it fits the theme so perfectly. I watched the video for "Bruise Violet" this morning, and was shocked by the realization that singer Kat Bjelland is the dead ringer of a certain ex-girlfriend of mine. There's a plague pit of memories better left undisturbed.

Sebadoh - Violet Execution (from Sebadoh III, 1991) - It's a regular 90's alt rock lovefest tonight...if you can call two tracks a "lovefest," but it's my blog so I can call it whatever I want. Sebadoh's back catalogue has recently been reissued, and I wonder if that's a portent of an ironic 90's nostalgia revival. If so, I await the resulting reality-destroying paradox with bated breath.

(Bahlactus towers over all.)