#counterpunch

🍒 for.... Punch/Counterpunch?

Ahh Punch and Counterpunch... I love those two too...

off the top of your head: notes for characterization? what are the most essential traits of this character to you (personality traits, important connections/dynamics, voice)?

For Punch, externally, he's quiet, reserved, stoic. But inside, he's a paranoid, anxious mess who barely can trust anyone, not his own faction, not the faction he's undercover in, not even himself. He pretends he's fine, but he's really, really not

As for Counterpunch, externally, he's like the average Decepticon: Cold, cruel, dirty, violent... Plenty is just for appearances, some is because its an outlet

As for voice, I got nothing. Not a lot of options, and nothing comes to me as the right type of voice for either of them.

adjacently—do you think fandom does the above traits justice? why or why not?

No. No... See, Punch and Counterpunch teeter this very dangerous line where they can fall into the harmful stereotype of 'evil alter ego' and stigmatizing DID or other identity disorders.

Its like the Stunticons, who are also widely portrayed with mental disorders. I think it is possible to treat Punch having DID with respect and proper analysis, especially since it is supposed to come from the trauma and stress of him doing his job as a double agent. There is something to explore there, but rarely have I seen it done so

I don't even trust hasbro to do it right..

throw this character at any other character of your choice to bounce off each other as outsider pov to each other— regardless of timeline or logistics (crossovers allowed if you're interesting about it). why this combination? what insights would they have on each other?

I want to put him in a room with Red Alert. I think this would be very stressful and tense for both of them.

Red Alert would sense something off with Punch and might even try to press him.

Punch would think Red Alert Knows Everything he's trying to hide but still try to pretend he's all good...

Counterpunch would think Red Alert a threat that needs to be eliminated...

I think it would be fun

how do you think you would react to this character in real life and vice versa? would you prefer be a million miles out of range, be amicable classmates, or fall desperately in love?

As much as I enjoy him as a character and want the best for him,(both of them) I... I don't think we'd get along well. I think I'd be in danger actually

ideal flavor of rotating for this character? crack them open and dissect them— do you want them tormented, pining, or being loved + comforted? do you have any specific scenarios you like to think about?

I love to crack open Punch and Counterpunch and dissect them. I want them both to go through hell, did their holes deeper, push back against one another, but perhaps come to some understanding through it all too...

Also sometimes maybe that they have A Good Day, that maybe they can each get a friend and someone Help Them.

weave a web of dynamics through the cast for this character: which dynamics are you most interested in? both canonically and through extrapolation/speculation— which dynamics are the richest to you, and why?

I think one of the most interesting dynamics would be between Punch and Counterpunch, what they think of each other, how seperate they think the other, or how 'that's just me' they think. I want to see them go through that identity crisis hell its enriching for me

I'd also just. Like to see Punch in media again, but that would likely come at the cost of stripping away what I find most interesting about him.

do you have particular niche takes on this character? defend those takes. (openly controversial takes are permitted, but also: hyper-specific headcanons which you believe in and no one else has considered enough to disagree with yet. pick a hill to die on.)

On this episode of CounterPunch Radio, Eric Draitser talks with Yassamine Mather about the Israel/US war on Iran, its geopolitical ramifications, Iranian resistance, and what it means for the future of the region.

He’s so integral to the story that not only does he probably know what’s going on more than anyone else, but he’s also the narrator.

And yet.. most the time when we see him in scenes.. he looks more like a background character than anything else. (He’s the guy on the left btw)

Which makes sense because he’s a spy. He’s not really supposed to be noted.

Another thing is that the Decepticons in power just let him see their schemes and betrayals, never stopping to think who they’re showing it to.

And it makes sense, they all think he’s working for them, he won’t snitch.

I find it genius. I’d kill for another story with him like this.

Herein lies the cruellest irony: the dead man advocated proliferation of weapons and violence as a way of “defending freedom”. He died by this logic, victim of his own fetish. But what matters is not only the death itself but also the way it burgeons in the attention economy with more polarisation, more engagement, and more profit for the platforms. This is platform capitalism at its most dangerous. It both mirrors fascism, and engenders it. Just as early 20th-century industrial capitalism fuelled Nazism and two world wars, this new capitalism based on surveillance, data capture, and manipulation of emotions is the machinery of the new global far right. I’ve been calling this psycho-political state in which individuals not only consume disinformation but also find in it a sense of belonging “cult subjectivity”. This isn’t mere mistaken belief but a way of life. Belonging to these digital cults—whether QAnon in the US or Bolsonarism in Brazil—replaces social, family and institutional ties. It produces a totalising identity, impervious to dialogue, and willing to sacrifice even its own life and certainly the lives of others. It was this subjectivity that led mobs to invade the Capitol in Washington and the Three Powers Square in Brasília. It was this subjectivity that brought tens of thousands onto the streets of London in an unprecedented anti-immigrant march, led by Tommy Robinson, a central figure of the British far right. And it’s the same logic that fuels the unrest in Nepal, where Hindutva nationalist groups connected to Modi’s BJP and inspired by anti-Muslim rhetoric have been promoting attacks on ethnic and religious minorities, and importing tactics and narratives from global disinformation networks.

...

Falsolatry—a concept I use in my book of the same title—is collective worship of lies when they become more functional and pleasurable than truth. In platform capitalism, lies have exchange value. They circulate more, engage more, and monetise better. The temple of this religion is algorithms. The misinformation surrounding the murder of the American influencer is exemplary. Even before the police released the shooter’s name, memes, videos, and threads were already circulating on X and TikTok associating the crime with the left, immigrants, and minorities. Subsequent fact-checking doesn’t stand a chance against the pleasure of sharing a “version” that confirms only the reality of pre-existing hatred.

...