Wasn’t it the Bible that said, “Girls ain’t nothing but trouble?†It was either the Bible or the Fresh Prince. And on with the show…
Acid Jackrabbit posted this question.
What’s the story behind Superman: Exile TPB, and is it actually any good?
Remember that pocket universe I mentioned a few columns back? Well while he was there Superman battled some villains. They were three Kryptonian villains from the Phantom Zone of that universe. Kal couldn’t take the chance that they might get back to his universe, so gave them some green Kryptonite and killed them. Well Superman was so wracked with guilt over his actual taking another life that he thought the best place for him to be was deep space. So he copped a oxygen travel kit (he can’t breathe in space y’know) and left to explore the galaxy.
There he encountered Mongul (the eventual destroyer of Coast City), the Cleric, and the Eradicator (the object not the person.) He was also forced to participate in gladiator games on Warworld. Kal found out more about his roots and grew a beard. It was way cool. I highly recommend it.
Another from Acid Jackrabbit (mostly because he has such a cool name.)
Why is Wonder Woman cutting her hair such a big deal?
As someone who recently, drastically cut his hair, I can tell you it is such a huge deal. First the whole shower time is cut. You spend less time washing the hair, and less time drying it. You also save money! You use less shampoo and conditioner, which means that you don’t have to buy new ones as often. I’d imagine that she feels lighter and cooler, as hair is often heavy and absorbs heat.
Plus anytime you make a change to an established character (changing Batman or Green Lanterns into new characters) no matter how superficial (giving Hal Jordan grey temples, giving Superman long hair, darkening Batman’s costume) it draws attention and invariably more sales.
The next question is from Francisco Velez in Bronxville, NY
How come there are so many Green Lanterns?
Once upon a time, on a planet called Oa located in the center of the universe there were these shrunken little blue guys, named the Guardians of the Universe. They were bursting with green energy and the need to put things in order. So they decided to create a police force, for the universe. They divided up the universe into 3600 sectors and assigned one Green Lantern to each sector. The Central Power Battery on Oa, which was powered by the Guardians, powered the Green Lantern Corp.
After a couple of millennia the Guardians decided to take a vacation to another dimension. While they were gone the Green Lantern Corp executed a criminal they weren’t supposed to kill. As a result the Central Power Battery crumbled. And only a handful of the 3600 rings worked. Fortunately one of those rings belonged to Hal Jordan. Well the Guardians returned from their siesta and decided to rebuild the Corp. And they decided to let Hal Jordan handpick the new members. Hal went on a recruitment drive and found some candidates and gave them rings.
But when Coast City was destroyed, Hal went a tad loopy felt betrayed by the Guardians and went to Oa to confront them. On his way across the galaxy he faced off against his recruits, defeated them and took their rings. He got to Oa entered the rebuilt Central Power Battery and absorbed its energy. The Guardians transferred their life energies to a fellow Guardian named Ganthet. Ganthet forged a new ring and gave it to Kyle, making him the last Green Lantern. Right now there are only a couple of rings and active Green Lanterns, but many fans think that will soon change. Only time will tell.
Matthew Clark sent me the following question.
How do people like Robin and Nightwing, who don’t actually have any
superpowers, feel about being in “super groups” like Young Justice and
Titans? Do they feel left out? Do they have inferiority complexes?
Honestly I don’t think that these guys have a problem dealing with super powers. The Bat crew can handle themselves just fine. Batman gets props in the DCU, and Nightwing and Robin get passes by extension (and in the case of Nightwing, he’s earned his own respect over the years as probably the most skilled team leader in the history of the DCU…sorry, gotta stand up for my favorite character ;) –Ben). However the super powered people may have a cause to be wary of the Bat crew. Think about it. Batman has plans to take out every one of his JLA teammates, just in case they ever go rogue. So might Nightwing or Robin have the same type of contingency plan? This issue was touched up on in the JLA Tower of Babel TPB. There’s some good reading there.
Michael Feitzinger emailed me this question.
When I was a kid I remember vaguely a comic I had that was or was in part a tour guide of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. One thing I remember was in the background of one panel when he was lecturing was a chart that had various types of known kryptonite. I think there were six; red, blue, gold, white, green and I can’t remember the other(s). What would be the respective effects on ole’ Kal of each one besides the common knowledge ones and were there any others?
Do you really want to know the answer to this? The answer might be so horrifyingly Silver Age and Pre-Crisis you could possibly go mad!
Well here you go.
Green kryptonite- kills Kryptonians.
Anti-Kryptonite- kills non-powered Kryptonians.
X-Kryptonite- gives temporary powers to human beings.
Red Kryptonite- unpredictable. It made Superman into a giant, a dragon, a thief, a human ant, a tiny being, and an amnesiac among other things.
White Kryptonite- kills plant life.
Blue Kryptonite- kills Bizarro Supermen.
Gold Kryptonite- Takes a Kryptonians powers away, permanently.
Jewel Kryptonite- Increases the mental power of Phantom Zone prisoners.
There you have it. The awful, sad, zany effects of Silver Age Kryptonite.
The next question is from email.
Major Disaster is a dumb name. What is his story? Did he ever have his own series?
Major Disaster, former crook current JLA member (sheesh the JLA is the new J-Lo fiancé, all you need is a pulse.) He was a petty criminal who hired scientist to make devices that could create disasters. Plus he knew Green Lantern secret identity was Hal Jordan. One is his disasters killed him. Or so everyone thought. Next he had the scientist make a device making him immune to the disasters he created. Some how he gained the power to create disasters. He was even a member of the Justice League of … Antarctica. Seriously.
He finally gained some respect from me when he showed up in Aquaman #14 with the power to see the small things that lead to disasters. This is a great issue. Everyone should pick it up to see how great Major Disaster could be. Anyway he was still a crook, but then a couple of months back Superman gave him a pardon, if he agreed to make the world a better place. Aw shucks Supes, when ya put it that way. You make it awful hard for a guy to say no. So he didn’t, he gave up crime. Now he is in the JLA.
Hallsey posted this query, and I had to respond.
Can you give me some background info on the Reverse Flash? I’ve only been reading the Wally West comics so I don’t know anything about him; however that did not stop me from buying a Reverse Flash t-shirt on ebay
Dude; let me say that my best friend in the whole world, Jason Torres, surprised me with a Reverse Flash t-shirt like two and a half years ago. I was slayed.
Eobard Thawne, the man who would be the Reverse Flash, grew up in the 25th century. He was like the biggest Barry Allen Flash fan ever. He recreated the experiment that gave Barry his powers so that he would have super speed. He even had plastic surgery to look like Barry. His dream was to go back in time and fight crime with Barry.
But y’see time travel is an in precise science.
He went back in time alright, but arrived a few years after Barry had died. Further more the trip messed up his mind and he believed he was Barry. He even convinced all of Barry’s friends, and Wally. Eventually he was found out. Everyone was pretty surprised, because they thought that the Reverse Flash was dead (more on that later.) Wally tricked him into traveling into the future, where he was contained vowing vengeance against the Flash.
The next time he popped up was further in the past as Barry’s foe. They fought often, and Professor Zoom, as he was also known, killed Barry’s wife and Wally’s aunt Iris. Barry was devastated, but found another girl. Soon they were engaged. On their wedding day Zoom arrived and was about to kill Barry’s bride to be, when Barry snapped his neck. Zoom was dead, Barry was put on trial.
The joys of time travel. A guy can come back after he was killed, as long as he left before the trip that killed him. I think.
I suppose I will close on this conundrum. Keep those questions coming. “Don’t bother me, dude.â€
