Welcome to the column. Before we start I’ve go to admit that last week was one of the best weeks I’ve had in awhile. Some pretty solid books came out last week. Tim, what are your thoughts on the quality of last week’s books?
Overall, I was pretty pleased with my haul as well. Not a lot of books, but a healthy stock. It’s always nice to catch a week like that.
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Our DC Forums where you can join in on the debate over Infinite Crisis #1
Tim, whatever will you link this week?
Well first, I have this enjoyable news item. Imagine people using a game called Bud Pong, promoted by Anheuser-Busch, to get drunk. Well, I’ve never.
The hits just keep coming when it comes to Katrina and FEMA.
Finally, check out my favorite new news show.
What I Read Last Week
Villains United #6 – Interesting. This was actually a satisfactory conclusion. I like the two Lexes. I liked the end. This was really satisfactory. I’m surprised.
Not sure why you’re surprised, but I agree with everything else. I think this mini had probably the most satisfying conclusion of all four (or five, if you throw in Donna Troy’s comeback tour).
JLA #120 – I dig the use of Dawn. Batman is a bit of a hard nose, but it makes the other characters more interesting.
Fell #1 & 2 – I’m so glad that I picked up these issue. This book is so compelling. I like the text pages as well. This is a scary book, in a real world type of scary.
100 Bullets #65 – Loved this issue. Didn’t like the censoring via “black underwear” but what are you going to do? I just realized that there are less than three years left for this book. Man, I’m going to miss it.
Oh, that Mathan. Always after more nudity. You are incorrigible my friend, incorrigible.
Infinite Crisis #1 – Worth the wait. The already infamous Bizarro scene was troubling, but in a good way. And Batman’s equally infamous line to Superman about inspiration was a great moment. The ending was a treat too.
As I said in my column, it is not a flawless start, but I liked it all the same. You mentioned some of the best moments.
Y The Last Man #38 – Nice to get a glimpse at 355’s life. Yorick appears to be typically slow this issue. And what a wonderful cliffhanger.
Breach #10 – I’m so going to miss this book. It’s such a great story of loss and discovery. This issue had a nice level of development as well.
Nightwing #113 – Dick’s new costume is growing on me. Chiang’s art never fails to impress. This really was a great looking issue. And the story is moving along nicely too.
I find that I am enjoying the individual issues of this title provided I don’t think too much about the overarching “Dick as a bad guy” theme. Especially since he is back in the blue and black and in Bludhaven in Infinite Crisis which, I would guess, means that soon enough all will be back in order (sort of) in his life.
Hawkman #45 – So that’s who Charley is. Cool. Carter was a bit brutal, but I suppose that’s par for the course. It’s nice to see the Kendra/Carter thing progressing.
Action Comics #832 – My last trip to Action? Yes, yes indeed.
You do know it was a fill-in team writing, right? Not that I’d ever stand in the way of someone dropping a Superman title (that would be what we call hypocritical of me), I’m just making sure you are aware.
Firestorm #18 – Great cover. I loved how oblivious Jason is to the OMAC’s. The whole Nanette subplot ended on a sad note. I’m really digging how Jason’s life is falling apart. His job has ended. He’s lost his best friend. I can’t wait to see how he deals with it all.
What is this, twice in 18 issues where Jason’s life has, more or less, fallen to pieces? And just 4 or 5 issues after the new status quo began, no less. It is not easy to be the nuclear man.
Ex Machina #15 – Road Trip! Not a lot of action, but great story. I really feel for Mitchell. I loved the whole tracing of the phone call scene.
Green Arrow #55 – Aside from the whole “Killer Frost enjoys heat” issue, I liked the book. I dug the interplay between Jeff and Ollie. Plus it was nice to see Mirror Master outside of Keystone.
Human Target #1-4 – Even though I have the trade, I picked up the mini that started one of my favorite series of all time. Man, do I love this book.
Absolute Watchmen – Glorious! I went completely fanboy with this book. The bonus material is so delicious! I didn’t think that The Watchmen could get any better, but it really did. It really did.
Mine was damaged. Now who knows how long it will be before I get a good one. So sad.
Onto the column!
I’m about this close to accepting Colin as my lord and savior, because the guy is always there to save my hide. Colin, who obviously placed the lyric, gets his question answer first.
But Mathan, you told me that I was your Lord and Saviot already. No takebacks!
Colin wonders what clay has to do with red hoods
What what what?!? I don’t keep up with Batman too closely, but have Hush. I thought that Clayface was really Todd in that case? ‘Splain, Rucy. I mean, can you elaborate, Mathan? If you please?
This was actually more of a postscript than something to be witnessed. Jason Todd himself explained in Batman #641 that initially he was tussling with Batman but pulled a switcheroo with Clayface during the fight.
I keep trying to get people to pick up this storyline. I don’t think that enough people know about it. On the off chance that you can’t find the individual issues (Batman #635-641) the Under the Hood trade will be released next month. Look for it, read it, savor it.
Tim, now’s your chance to try to convince people to read this book.
Well, here I go, giving it my best shot.
1.) This is Batman done right. He’s driven, he’s tough, he’s obsessed with the past, but he still has a personality. He even let’s the odd joke slip when he teams up with Nightwing.
2.) Everyone else is written very well too. Alfred sounds like Alfred, Dick sounded like Dick (even while he was a mess in his own book). Black Mask, who I loathed in the hands of Willingham during War Games, is, well, tolerable here. He does not come off as Joker-lite in the least. I even think that Winick has done an ace job with Jason Todd. He (Todd that is) reads like the former Robin several years later, having evolved, but, like Batman, still hung up on certain things or moments as well.
3.) Great art. Just flip through an issue and you’ll see.
4.) Action, action, action. Nightwing and Batman take down Amazo. Red Hood mows down a bunch of gangsters with a gattling gun. Mr. Freeze raises havoc with his freeze gun while facing down a Red Hood deathtrap. Batman and Red Hood battle to a standstill in the rain, covering several buildings and an alleyway in the process.
So there you go. Well written, beautifully rendered, and full of intense action. What else do you need, really?
Colin brings up the Legion
Also, might we see a GL in the pages of Legion? Not that you have Waid’s ear (that I know of), but was there ever a GL in Legions past? Having never read any other incarnation of Legion of Super-Heroes, I can do without a Superboy being there; I think Ultra Boy is a lot more interesting in that he has all the powers, but can only use them one at a time. That said, I would like to see a Green Lantern join and have to juggle the youth movement with obeying the Guardians.
And the more I think of the Legion, the more I realize that I don’t really have a favorite on the team. Sure, Brainiac is pretty great, but no one character really jumps out at me and it’s just a fantastic team effort.
I think Tim ought to read it. BEST BOOK ON THE SHELVES RIGHT NOW!
Wanna know a surefire way to get your question in the column (besides placing the lyric at the end of the column); profess your love for Legion of Super Heroes!
Now onto Colin’s query. I think that Green Lantern is the best bet in terms of a “legacy” character from the 21st Century in the Legion. With a Green Lantern you don’t really have the problem of making sure a character has offspring or even lives that long (as witnessed with the Laurel Kent from the Pre & Post Crisis Legion).
In the past incarnations of the Legion there were some pretty Legion/Green Lantern connections.
From a little over a month ago;
Well way back in the Pre Crisis DCU the Guardians of the Universe had a mad on for anyone who even tried to witness the dawn of time. Y’see, one of their own, Krona, tried to witness it and ended up unleashing evil into the DCU and creating the multiverse. So as a result the Guardians created the Manhunters and eventually the Green Lantern Corps.
Well in the 30th Century on Earth some scientists were trying to witness the birth of the universe. The Guardians weren’t having it. So they sent some Green Lanterns to stop the proceedings. Three Green Lanterns were dispatched. They tussled with the Legion.
Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and one of the Green Lanterns was able to convince the Legion of the damage they would cause if they followed down their current path. The end.
Not really. One of the Green Lanterns, a guy named Vidar, was curious about what the Guardian’s didn’t want people to see and tried to check it out for himself. He was stopped by the Legion. And to add insult to injury he was kicked out of the GLC. He later became the Legion foe Universo.
But as a result of all of the drama involving Green Lanterns on Earth the United Planets decided to ban Green Lanterns from Earth altogether.
However Vidar’s son, Rond Vidar was secretly given a Green Lantern ring and was a covert G.L. on Earth. He also had the coolest G.L. uniform ever.
However it’s all moot since Zero Hour wiped that timeline out.
After that however, Rond Vidar was an associate of the Legion and even hooked up with Laurel Gand (a kind of retconned Supergirl). But he got his ring crushed by the twisted Mordru (back when he was a Legion foe not a JSA foe).
But then Celeste Rockfish was introduced as a character who had a weird green glow and seemed to have a link to the Green Lantern Corp. Sadly before this subplot could be resolved Emerald Twilight occurred in the present and Celeste was retconned, mid issue, into a Darkstar.
Since DC seems pretty committed to keeping the GLC around for awhile, I’m guessing it’s a safe bet to see a Green Lantern pop up in Legion of Super Heroes down the line.
Tim, now’s your chance to try to explain why you don’t read this book.
Where to begin.
Well, first, I’m just not a fan of space opera stories. With rare exceptions they do not tend to click with me. They might be okay for a two hour movie that I can leave in the theater and not think about again, but to follow one month in and month out in a comic, I need my attention and interest to be really grabbed. This incarnation of Legion just never really did that for me.
Second, the whole teen superheroes in space thing just seems too silly. I know, I know. I’ll buy into Teen Titans, but not this? I don’t really get it either, I just know it’s true. It was suggested by someone (perhaps Mark Waid himself) that if you cannot see joy in the concept that there is probably something missing in your soul. He may very well be correct.
Finally, and most importantly, I should make it clear that I like a lot of both Waid and Kitson’s work, together and separate. I also have a lot of respect for what they are doing on Legion. However, liking the creators or respecting the work is no substitute for enjoying the work. I feel like the internet is littered with people who are, month after month, let down by a title because they like the creators or respect the work, but don’t really enjoy and yet they keep after it. For me, that would just suck the joy out of comics and I have no interest in doing that. So, I’d just assume bear the slings and arrows of Mathan and the rest of the Legion fans and keep loving comics then do it the other way around.
Aaron misses his favorite fraternity
Is the Brotherhood of Evil still around? They were the villains in the first comic book I ever bought and Houngan and Phobia have a special place in my heart.
That’s funny because I couldn’t care less about the APPELLAXIANS but that’s neither here nor there.
The Brotherhood of Evil is still around, kind of. They evolved into the Society of Sin and then kind of split apart.
Houngan and Plasmus both appeared in JSA: Classified #3 and have probably fallen pretty low since the way you remember them.
The Brain and Monsieur Mallah are still around. They showed up in the recently ended Villains United miniseries. Did I mention they’re in love now?
Warp and Phobia were suspects in last year’s Identity Crisis but have been lying rather low since.
One of the problems with the Brotherhood of Evil concept is that with the Doom Patrol’s current retcon, it invalidates lots of comics, including early Brotherhood of Evil appearances. Thus the actual Brotherhood is in a sort of limbo.
So Tim, what do you think that the Brotherhood of Evil? Do you think they’d make for a good revamping?
Here’s the thing, if Morrison’s revamp of the Brotherhood could not stick (including that Brain and Mallah love) I just don’t think there would be that much more you could do with them. If Byrne’s Doom Patrol is really evicted from continuity, as rumored, however, I think they might have a chance after all.
Aaron has a catlike grin
I can’t forget about my girl, Cheshire. She had a cult following during the New Teen Titans run, then Speedy/Arsenal had a kid with her or something. What are mommy and daughter up to these days?
She really did have a “cult following”? That’s crazy. I guess I could kind of see how she could be popular, if I squint.
Well let’s see, what has Cheshire been up to? Well in she hooked up (in the team up sense) with Deathstroke in Deathstroke #17-20 and nuked Qurac. She also got together her own mercenary group called The Ravens.
She made quite a few appearances in Tim’s favorite title, The Titans. First she was a member of Vandal Savage’s Tartarus. Then she was targeted by Quracis for her destruction of their country. Actually they targeted Lian, her daughter with Arsenal.
Cheshire was eventually caught and stood trial for her crimes. She tried to escape but Arsenal stopped her, essentially deadening their relationship. During the horrible Last Laugh crossover she tried to poison Lian. It was pretty bad.
Things were starting to look up for Cheshire recently. She had a pretty major role in Villains United as part of The Six. She even hooked up (in the carnal sense) with Catman. But she turned on The Six selling them out to The Society. Sadly during the ensuing battle Cheshire was shot in the chest by Deathstroke. Is she dead? Is she alive? Who knows?
(The Shadow? Sorry, sorry. Bad joke.)
As for Lian, she’s nothing more than a pawn to be used to torment Arsenal at any chance. Most recently she was involved in a child sex ring. I wouldn’t mind if she actually died, just to get it over with, because I know she’s going to die before her pop does.
Tim, is Arsenal really a better parent than Cheshire?
Yes, and here’s how I know. First, Arsenal has never tried to poison Lian, Chesire did. Second, when her child was threatened by Mockingbird, rather than worry, Chesire just decided to have another baby. I’m pretty sure Arsenal would have put up a little more of a fight than that.
So, in the end, Chesire is a dangerous parent. Arsenal is more of an absentee/negligent one.
Is it cold where Kyle L is?
What happened with Ice? I know she’s dead but I completely missed that whole story.
Not to worry Kyle, I’ve got it covered.
From the 6/5/05 column;
Dude you do realize that you’re talking about over a decade real time right? Ten years is a long time. Lots can happen in ten years. Ten years is enough time for people to forget that the much hyped Ed Benes used to provide the art for Gunfire but not long enough for anyone to forget how lame Gunfire was.
I’m sorry, what was the question? Oh that’s right Ice. Poor Ice died at the hands of the Overmaster over in Justice League Task Force #14. However she did show recently in JLA Classified, if you’re really jonesing for her.
Don’t feel too badly for not remembering, Justice League Task Force was a forgettable title.
Tim, I’m predicting ice in your future, given your geographic location.
You are probably right. According to the folks around these parts, an unseasonably warm and rainy fall tends to indicate a bad winter lays ahead for those of us in His Royal Badness, NJ. I’m less concerned with the ice outside, however, and more concerned with it inside. If natural gas is supposed to be as expensive as they are saying, that could become a real issue here in the Sagness/Stevens homestead.
Kyle L is seeing double
What the heck is up with Mongul? Mongul 1 and Mongul II? Huh? I thought there was only one Mongul, but now I hear that’s not the case. Someone explain Mongul to me. And which Mongul was in Infinite Crisis? Which Mongul blew up Coast City? Gah!
Mongul Sr was the guy who blew up Coast City. Mongul Jr was in Infinite Crisis.
Mongul Sr was the ruler of Warworld, an artificial world that traveled the galaxy looking for and then enslaving folks. This is how he encountered Superman, who had left Earth at the time. Supes was took part in the gladiator games and beat Draaga, but wouldn’t kill him. This sent Mongul Sr into a rampage. Mongul Sr fought Superman and lost. (Action Comics Annual #2, part of this storyline, also featured the debut of The Eradicator and tied into The World of Krypton.)
After being bested Mongul Sr came to Earth working with Hank Henshaw aka The Cyborg Superman. Coast City was destroyed. During Underworld Unleashed Mongul was killed by Neron.
Later Mongul Jr showed up to warn Superman of Imperiex’s coming. They teamed up for a spell, but Mongul Jr tried to avenge his father’s defeat and lost. Mongul Jr was nearly killed by Krypto in Superman #170, but survived. (Wait…what? Mongul was almost killed by… Superman’s dog. Oh man, that’s just embarrassing) Oh yeah, during this story Mongal, Mongul Sr’s daughter, was introduced.
Rumors swirled around that Mongul Jr was killed during Our Worlds at War, but it was never stated explicitly.
And there you have the story of the Mongul family, soon to be a sitcom on ABC.
Tim, does the Mongul family rival any of DC’s other families?
The only other one that I could think of that would be close to them in terms of evil, anti-social behavior and attempts to emulate their father would be Darkseid and his offspring, Kalibak, (the handsome, Kirby-approved fella below) and Grayven (the other guy).
The one thing that Mongul’s family has on those guys is there is no doubt who the daddy of the offspring is. With Darkseid’s kids, well I’m not saying that they could be the milkman or the mailman’s kids, but…I’m just saying, that’s all.
Daredevi1 has a theory
hi guys, i just read JLA 119-120 and infinite crisis and I have theory about who is the mystery caped man at the end of JLA 119….see everybody thinks that is Kal-L (superman from earth-2-3-69 whatever…the golden age superman!! you know) but there is another person with Kryptonian DNA (same as superman) and great knowledge about cybernetics and computers who could be able to enter the watchtower…..Hank Henshaw…also known as the Cyborg Superman!!! See it makes perfect sense!!! That’s why Mongul (a former associate) was in the moon in IC#1
Last time I read about Henshaw, he was imprisoned by Darkseid (Superman: Hunter-Prey) or in green lantern /silver surfer (i dunno the continuity in this case)
Is this theory possible? Or what are Henshaw whereabouts?
He’s made some appearances since then, but they were in Superman books so they obviously weren’t that good.
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The first time he showed up after that, he was rocking a more human appearance and, surprisingly, beefing with the Man of Steel. Good ol’ Hank tried to take over Kandor but Superman tossed him between dimensions, which seems like a pretty difficult place to escape from.
Yet he did. Next time his story involved Cybermoths, Kandor and dimensional doorways. I can’t see how that story could have been good at all. Basically it ended with the Cyborg being bested by the Kandorians. He’s still in the Phantom Zone somewhere.
As for your theory it sound’s plausible, but I’m still not going to adopt it. Here’s my interpretation of JLA #119 pg 21;
Panel One: “Superman” teleports in.
Panel Two: J’onn starts talking to “Superman.” I’m also guessing that J’onn’s telepathy is working on some low, non evasive level and the thought patterns match Kal’s.
Panel Three: J’onn rambles on.
Panel Four: J’onn turns around and is shocked. I don’t think that he’d be too shocked by Hank. I think that he’d take some form of action, but, to me, he seems completely caught off guard.
Panel Five: J’onn is still trying to process what he’s seeing. He doesn’t really view it as a threat, because he’s not taking action.
That’s why I suspected it was Kal L. But given the end of Infinite Crisis #1 that might be wrong. Maybe it’s Supergirl, since I view her as an evil creation. At this point the whole “who’s that at the end of JLA #119 ranks just between “was Beth trying to break up with Yorick” and “why did Lianna stab Kyle” on my list of lingering fanboy questions.
Tim, do you think that Mockingbird could have been the character that J’onn met at the end of that issue?
And here I thought the end of Villains United would mean the end of questions about Mockingbird forever. Silly, silly me. When will I learn?
No Mathan, I don’t think that is what is going on at the end of JLA #119. I do, however, like Daredevi1’s theory and will espouse it to all those I come across. I will spread the good word of Daredevi1 and the world will be better for it.
John Babos is concerned with any influx of illegal aliens
I like the idea of partnering a Rannian and a Thanagarian. However, I was wondering where /when a lizard-like species was added to Thanagar. I imagine Thanagar had an empire that had many different planets and species / races under its banner, but DC has only primarily spotlit the humanoid bird-winged ones from the home planet?
Actually John, Thanagar itself was full of alien races. Let me explain;
From the 4/27/05 column;
Thanagar isn’t that confusing. It started out as a slave world. Polara, another planet, had a huge empire and Thanagar was part of it. As the legend goes, Kalmoran, a slave, (of the Kunta Kinte, not the Britney Spears variety) started a rebellion that granted Thanagar its freedom at the cost of the Polaran empire.
Whereas Kalmoran decided not to fill the void left by the Polaran empire, as generations passed the Thanagarians grew hungry for the taste of conquest. In fact the Thanagarian Empire now lives by the policies of aggression and imperialism.
Thanagar began conquring worlds and creating quite an empire. As time passed Thanagarian culture began to stagnate, thus the natives began to import their other world subjects to advance the culture.
As a result, the upper class of Thanagar live in the floating cities known as High Towers. Meanwhile three billion subjected aliens live in the Downside, on the planet below the Towers. They live in the squalor hoping to be employed by the rich in the Towers. Here are some interested stats:
Everyday one thousand subjects are immigrated to Thanagar to replace those who have been sent home or died.
Three thousand subjects die everyday mostly from disease and starvation.
There have been attempts at rebellion by the Downsiders, most recently by the Manhawks. The Manhawks are birdlike aliens, who wear masks made from the flesh of their Thanagarian oppressors, the Wingmen, Thanagar’s police force.
And that’s a pretty brief rundown of Thanagar.
So as you can see Thanagar has a myriad of alien races living there. I’d imagine that its’ pretty similar to Maltus in terms of crowding in the DCU. I’m guessing that the Thanagarian in question is a Downsider. And not every Thanagarian has the wings, those are the Wingmen, the Thanagarian cops.
Tim, wouldn’t you watch Thanagarian COPS?
Me, maybe. My sister, definitely. She loves herself some Cops. Back in the day, she’d watch every Saturday night just hoping that the next episode would take place in Hartford. They never did though. Those also never happened in Wu-ington because, frankly, our streets are just too damn hardcore. No camera crew crazy enough to come into the Wu, son!
John Babos is trying to make us use our brains
Also, an opinion Q: does using a “non-traditional” Thanagarian (the lizard) enhance or take-away from the readers’ connection (and comprehension of the intended friction) to this new GLC Rannian/Thanagarian duo?
Well it’s obviously going to take away from the readers’ connection, in the short term. Since the only Thanagarian that most are familiar with are the Wingmen, the connection to Thanagar isn’t going to be readily apparent. Making the character an “obvious” Thanagarian would be foolish.
I’m going to applaud DC for a few things. First they rightly realized the absurdity of making a Wingman a Green Lantern. The “hawk” helmet and wings would be way too busy for the GLC uniform. DC is also introducing an “alien” character, who doesn’t look like they could “pass” for human on Earth. Finally DC is utilizing continuity by reminding us of Thanagar’s history and culture.
Now in a perfect world DC would explore why a Downsider would carry blind allegiance to a culture that barely treated him like a citizen and didn’t really value his life, but that may be asking too much.
Tim, what do you think of the Green Lantern Corps resident Odd Couple?
I think it is one of the most interesting aspects of the new book. That and the woman who hails from Sinestro’s section are nice twist on the classic GL paradigm. Of course, all pale in comparison to Mogo. But that probably goes without saying.
Well the time has come to close the column. Be sure to send me your queries. Or you could also post them over on our very own thread. We always love the company.
Here’s this week’s question for you What is Your Favorite Miniseries of All Time?
“Don’t let them tell you the future’s electric, cause gasoline’s not measured in metric.”
