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Tim, is there anything that you’re looking forward to this summer?

So much it would make your head spin! Well, maybe not spin, but still. First, we have Summer Movie Season which is always a treat for a guy like me. In addition to that, there are trips to be had, catch to be played, and meadows to be frolicked in. Also, there is the undeniable pleasure of driving with the air conditioning on and the windows rolled down. Fuel costs be damned!

But the biggest event of the season actually precedes the season. This Sunday, in addition to it being Mother’s Day, I celebrated a quarter century on this planet. That’s right, Tim Stevens is turning 25. There’s going to be some righteous festivities which, now that I think about it, you were invited to. So where’s your RSVP, Mathan? Getting from Vegas to Jersey, that can’t be all that difficult, can it?


Links

IP Music has had some solid reviews up lately.

IP Movies has thoughts on M:I:3. My thoughts on the subject; not enough PSH!

IP Games will be happy to hear that I’m on the verge of actually picking up The Godfather.

IP Figures will be equally happy to know that the DC Direct Crisis figures are causing me to salivate.

IP TV is gearing up for May Sweeps!

IP Sports has NBA Playoff thoughts.

Moodspins is a no spin zone.

IP Culture really is a dignified place.

Our DC Forum is the place to post your feedback to Infinite Crisis and 52.

Tim, do you have any links you want to share this week?

Through the magic of stealing from Entertainment Weekly, yes I do. If you have recently become an uncle and are there greatly susceptible to “the cute” don’t miss Cute Overload.com.

Yup, I’m a big girl this week.


What I Read Last Week

JSA #85 – I’m really not liking this storyline. I’m kind of curious why Power Girl can touch the Gent, but that doesn’t really make for a compelling read. Furthermore, the origin seems to fly in the face of what occurred on the pages of Hawkman an origin that I really enjoyed. And is Alan waking up really supposed to make me eager for the next issue? Really?

I really wish they had just cancelled this book a storyline early and rolled this into JSA Classified. This is so not OYL that it makes me sad.

Hard Time #6 – Damn you. Yes, I’m pointing at you! You didn’t read this title (nor its Focus brethren). This was one of the best crafted books out and you never gave it a shot. What is your problem? The next time I rave about a book, you better damn well give it a shot!

Civil War #1 – Civil Bore is more like it. I expected more action, for some reason. Oh, that’s right, it’s written by Mark “Widescreen Action” Millar. That opening sequence was old, months ago. But the stuff with Cap was fun to see. Still, as an opening salvo, I’m left wanting more.

Since we already knew everything that was going to happen in this issue from solicitations and previews, I am withholding any opinion until #2.

Outsiders #36 – Cap Jr. is a cool character. I appreciated the recap page. I do wonder why Grace takes the brunt of most beatdowns, other than because she’s invulnerable. The reveal of who the speedster is was pretty shocking. I can’t wait to see how it’s explained.

Y the Last Man #45 – Man, what a fun ride this book is. I loved how Yorick actually had a plan this issue. I equally dug how tired 355 is. It’s nice to see her human for a moment. The stuff with Dr. Mann and her mom was very revealing. And man, what a cliffhanger.

Supergirl #6 – So not worth the wait. This issue wasn’t enjoyable in the least. The book appears to be en route to Dropsville.

The Exterminators #5 – Dude, this book is creepy. Not in a weird kind of way, but in a “I could possibly see this actually happening” sort of way. It’s a great read, but seeing all of those roaches really does make my skin crawl.

Detective Comics #819 – I just want to state for the record; the Kirk/Clarke combination is possibly my favorite art team around. I loved them on Aquaman, I love them even more here. DC needs to keep this team together.

For some reason I really enjoyed this trip into Gotham’s underbelly. The idea of Croc running loose in the sewers is creepy enough, but knowing that he’s nibbling on corpses is horrific. Oh, and I don’t know what I’m going to do if Jason Bard is actually dead. I grew to love him and my life will feel empty without him in backup features.

I’ll second that call for the Kirk/Clarke team. Too bad for DC fans that Kirk is Marvel bound. As far as Croc being all bestial, I must be the last guy on earth that misses him as a pseudo competent crime boss. Heck, I’d even settle for his wounded freak persona from the Animated Series. It is not that him as monster/animal is bad, it’s just that, you know, we already have a Lizard. He’s a Spider-Man villain and he’s just fine over there.

Infinite Crisis #7 – This is what I posted on the Infinite Crisis thread;

I was worried that it wouldn’t live up the hype, but to me it really did.

I loved Tim’s reaction.

I kind of liked the red effect on the first two page spread. It gave the image a feel that there really was a battle going on.

I really enjoy Prime this issue.

The revelation about the Flash was one that I didn’t really see coming.

Seeing Bruce’s reaction to Dick was heartbreaking.

Prime vs the GLC was pretty powerful.

Seeing Kal & Kal vs Kal was a great sequence. The sacrifice closure.

Jay inheriting the mantel was a touching homage to the original Crisis.

The Joker was so worth the wait.

The Big Three good-bye was touching.

The glimpse of the future was inspiring and intriguing.

The ending sent chills down my spine.

I loved this final issue.

I’m still processing my feelings towards the whole mini. I’ll air out all my thoughts in next week’s DCNV.


John M. questions why bad things have to happen to good heroes.

Do you think Blue Beetle needed to die? If not, would you have put someone else in his place? Personally I would have made the victim Elongated Man.


It’s okay, Ralph, I’m sure John M. didn’t mean anything by it. Please don’t cry.

Honestly I do think that Ted needed to die, however I’ll give you a scenario that could have made for a nice Elongated Man death.

Suppose Ralph decides to get back in the hero biz, right, and he stumbles onto whole conspiracy. None of the other DCU heroes take him seriously because they think he’s just trying to keep busy now that Sue’s gone. They treat him like he’s a child; “that’s nice Ralph, now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to save the world.” He runs into Checkmate and gets shot in the head.

I suppose that it’s a decent story, but to me it doesn’t pack the same punch. It lacks the poignant scenes with Booster. It lacks the whole “Ted’s account gets hacked into which causes him to get on the case.” It also makes the other threads seem that much more forced (the stolen kryptonite, Martian Manhunter ignoring him, Wonder Woman wanting to help).

Additionally, it would mean no “Max trying to recruit him” scene. Max spilled his beans because he was trying to recruit Ted. But is Max going to try to recruit Ralph? Probably not.

I will say that the death of Ralph would probably have changed the tone of Villains United given that the heroes would probably suspect Ralph’s death was tied to his wife’s death and the mind wiping incident.

Countdown as is, is a great tale. It’s about Ted going out in a blaze of glory and it was damn near perfect, even if you disagree with Ted dying.

Tim, could you see Countdown going any other way?

As you pointed out Mathan, yes, there is other ways to craft Countdown. Different heroes to be killed, different villains to do the killing (King Faraday, Mr. Jupiter, etc were also considered), and so on. There are always other ways to tell a story (watch two of the many adaptations and “inspired by’s” of Romeo and Juliet for confirmation on that) and some of them might be equal or better than the way it was told.

So yes, Ralph could’ve died in Beetle’s place. But then I’d be responding to a question about why Ted couldn’t have died instead of Ralph. Or why the heck either of them would die would perfectly good cannon fodder like the Ravers or the Jurgens Titans are laying around. None of it is incorrect, so we can just judge by the story we got. The Countdown we got worked. It was interesting, emotional, and launched a newly focused DC in its wake. It could have gone down differently, but when the story is quality, why question?


Kyle Litke clearly has not been keeping up on his Seven Soldiers. Bad Kyle!

In the Villains United special we see Guardian among the heroes at the end, but it doesn’t appear to be the old Guardian. Is this guy another clone? Bad coloring? Did I just miss a storyline? Or do we have no idea right now?

That dashing chap is none other than Jake Jordan, the Manhattan Guardian. His origin was chronicled in the Seven Soldiers miniseries The Guardian. That mini was one of my favorites of the storyline.

Basically the Manhattan Guardian newspaper needed a hero to promote the paper. Jordan applied, and passed the test (and what a test it was.) While the mini does interweave with the other Seven Soldiers mini, I’d recommend giving it a read. It’s an exciting adventure and it’s really a fun ride.

(I also suspect that the Pre Crisis incarnation of Mal Duncan as “The Guardian” might have had a hand in inspiring Grant Morrison in Jake Jordan’s identity.)

Tim, will you vouch for me about the coolness of The Guardian?

I certainly will. Until the release of Frankenstein, it was my favorite of the bunch. Even considering Frankenstein, I’d have to say that I think Guardian has done the best job of balancing the demands of working as single issues, working as a four issue mini, and working as a small part of a larger maxiseries. Plus, with Cameron Stewart on art, it looks all sorts of damn good. I’d recommend all the Soldiers minis to differing degrees, but this one is probably your best bet.


Stone King does not tolerate plot holes.

In 177, Flash’s friend Chunk gets shot and due to his powers nearly sucks all of Central City into him. Flash saves the day. That’s all good. What was messed up is when Chunk is in the hospital later. Jerry and Tina McGee are there and Chunk asks how he can ever thank them. Jerry’s response is something along the lines of “Actually, we’ve have something we need to…disappear.”

It all sounds sort of sinister and Jerry’s saying it right under Flash’s nose! Do we ever find out what Jerry wants disappeared? Is he being evil or am I just reading too much into it? Does Chunk end up going through with it? If there are answers, what book and what issues do they appear in?

Or is this just a bit of hanging plotline?


You know, a lesser man would make a fat joke here.

I love Geoff Johns, I really do, but I think that it’s a fair criticism to say that he’s got some dangling plots out there.

I recall how mysterious Jerry and Tina were in those issues. There was one panel that I remember where Tina and Jerry looked very mischievous, but I can’t remember which issue at the moment. I do remember proclaiming that they were up to something and I that I couldn’t wait to find out what. Sadly my interest waned and it was never followed up on.

But Warden Wolfe was also built up to be quite a character, only to have his impact in The Flash be minimal. What about Iris Allen’s relationship with Fred Chyre? Hell, what about Iris adopting Josh Jackam, the kid with the weather controlling powers? Ooh, how about Jared Morillo’s abilities? Those were all things that readers were tempted with during Johns’ run on The Flash, yet weren’t really fleshed out enough to satisfy.

There were similar threads running in JSA. What did happen to Wildcat’s kid, who was kidnapped by the Golden Wasp? When Killer Wasp said the he killed the kid, it just seemed to be to hurt Ted, not because it was the truth. Johns also seemed to have plans for Roulette that never fully realized.

All of the examples that I pointed out were just off the top of my head. I’m sure that if I actually reread the runs in question I could come up with a few more. I’m equally sure that most readers have forgotten those loose plotlines ever existed. I’m not losing sleep over the lack of resolution, but I do recall being letdown that they weren’t followed up on.

Tim, do you have any lingering plotlines that you’d like to see resolved?

Any of those actually. Sadly, in the case of Flash, Johns shut the door on most of that noise with his whole “Spectre makes everyone forget,” move that left even Wally without a clue as to his identity. Without knowing Wally’s identity, Chyre had no reason to pal around with Iris. However, I do wonder what the devil happened to Josh and whether or not Morillo even realizes that he has a healing factor that might make Wolverine jealous.

The JSA dangling plotlines could face resolution, but with the relaunch, who knows? I suppose that is the danger of the sort of packed storytelling Johns often uses; things inevitably fall by the wayside. Just consider how long it took from the time Johns promised it til the time it appeared for Power Girl’s origin to get delved into. And, in the end, that still did not happen in the main title.

However, on this charge of a dangling plotline, he is innocent. Sort of. I looked back through my Flash issues and found that, sure enough, the Chunk making things disappear for Jerry and Tina bit was actually addressed. In #195, Flash and Jerry are chatting while Tina is playing gynecologist to Linda in another room (is there anything these McGees can’t do?). Wally asks about Chunk and Jerry says that he is recovering nicely, has even started to exercise, and is going to get married soon. Also in that sentence, Jerry slips in that he and Linda had some bill issues but Chunk “made them disappear.” And that’s it. Presumably Chunk helped by making some large donations to them because, last I checked, simply warping one’s bills into a black hole, human or otherwise, does not actually make them go away.

So it was addressed. Just very quickly.


Don’t you wanna know why we keep starting fires? It’s Neil’s desire, it’s Neil’s desire.

Can you explain who Chain Lightning is?

Can do Neil. Chain Lightning is a lass named Amy who can absorb electrical current. But with great power comes great personality…disorders. Y’see Amy has multiple personality disorder, as a result of her ability. She’s actually got four personalities; in addition to Amy, there is Amber, Inner Child, and Id.

She’s primarily a foe of the Marvel clan, and can ever cause them to revert to human form with her electricity powers. And to add a wrinkle into the mix; “Amy” has a crush on CM3 who saved her from a suicide attempt.

Doesn’t she seem like an interesting character Tim? Given your background is there a treatment you’d recommend for her?

Actually, she really does seem interesting. I’d never thought I’d say that about anyone or anything connected to CM3, but there you go.

As far as treatment, well it is actually not as tough as you’d think. Actually, let me rephrase that. It is tough, incredibly so, but it is not hopeless. In fact, provided the client goes through the therapy to the end (which always includes individual psychotherapy and is usually paired with any of the following: medication, hypnotherapy, and “nontraditional therapies” that allow the clients to express emotions, feelings, etc without having to necessarily give voice to them at that moment. Art therapy would probably be the best example of this) they have an excellent chance of a full recovery. A big reason for this is that Dissociative Disorders (the “real” name for multiple personalities) is brought on by external traumatic events, not internal physical issues, like brain chemistry or injury. Therefore, there is a trigger that can be found, confronted, and reconciled. Other serious disorders like chronic depression, chronic schizophrenia, or bipolar are sadly not rooted in trauma (although they are usually associated with it) and thus are more about lifetime coping than being cured.

And on that surely boring psych lecture, let’s move on, shall we.


JohnBabos is a master collector

I used to have a lot (on my elusive comics list), but over the last decade I’ve pretty much got everything. Most of the stuff on lists now are just 1970/80’s stuff. However, the biggest one on the list is a doozy and it predates the rest of my stuff…. Superman (1rst series) #80. Was it ever reprinted? In any of the B&W Showcases or DC Archives, etc.?

As near as I can tell Superman #80 was only reprinted in Superman #222. It has yet to be reprinted in any other edition. However with DC printing up the current Showcase line I’d imagine that it’s only a matter of time before it makes an appearance.

Wow, it’s rare that I get a question that I can’t stretch out the answer.

Um, Tim, what did you think about FX’s Thief?

It was great! Too bad I was like one of eight people watching it. 25 people if you count the actors and their families who tuned in.


Admiral Snackbar belongs to a K-Metal band. They rock and/or roll

Recently, I’ve been reading about a story Jerry Siegel wrote, supposedly for Superman #8 in 1940/41. It’s called the K-Metal From Krypton, or something close to that. It proposed some very radical changes, and the editor of DC at the time immediately shot it down. Care to tell us what you can about this story?

It was a pretty radical story, and by “radical” I don’t mean “cool.” I mean it was groundbreaking. There were two things that this story did. First it would have introduced the concept that we know of as kryptonite, as K-Metal. Secondly the story would have ended with Lois Lane knowing that Clark Kent was indeed Superman.

The popular opinion is that Siegel was getting older and had just gotten married. Given that growth in his life he wanted to reflect growth in Superman. Lois would have realized that Clark was Superman. But rather than creating some outlandish explanation, Clark would have ‘fessed up and the two would have arranged a deal and formed a partnership. I imagine that it probably would have played out much like the dynamic in Sandman Mystery Theatre between Dian and Wesley.

Obviously the story upset the status quo too much and was shelved. However over the years bits and pieces have leaked out. There’s even a group of fans/creators who are intent upon recreating the original issue, on the net. Here’s a glimpse of the story.

Tim, do you think that the DCU or even the Silver Age would be drastically different if that story had been published?

Possibly…hard to say. The thing with the Silver Age is that damn near anything literally went. So, one issue Superman could have been revealed to Lois as Clark and they could’ve teamed up. Then, three issues later, Lois might have hit her head, forgotten all about it, Clark not told her again, and then she, I don’t, decided to be black for a day.

What we forget today in our continuity obsessed times is that, back then, continuity barely existed in the form we think of it today. That’s not to say characters did not recur or things were not carried over, but, buy in large, continuity was a lot looser and much less of a concern. Marvel’s shared universe approach in the late 60’s/early 70’s changed that, for better or worse.


Admiral Snackbar has a thing for librarians. But who doesn’t?!

I heard that in the late 70’s, early 80’s, a young copy boy/intern was cleaning out the DC library when he came across the first evidence of this story. (It was Mark Waid, for anyone who’s curious.) Since then, other pieces of evidence and story pages have turned up in other places. But the thing about this that intrigues me is this fabled DC Library. I’ve heard rumors of it before. Is there an actual physical library? And if so, do they have giant pennies or alien zoos in this library, or is it merely where they store a copy of every single thing DC has ever published? How big would such a place have to be? I’m pretty sure DC has to have all this stuff on file somewhere, to make Archive hardcovers, or trades, or the like. Who runs this place? Where is it located? What wonders are encased within? Most importantly, HOW DO I GET ACCESS TO IT?! Ahem. Any light you could shed on this subject would be appreciated. I figured I could ask DC this, but they’d either tell me to wait and see, or mind-wipe me.

Ok, here are the cold hard facts; DC does have a library. The library is composed of bound hardcovers. Those hardcovers contain a year’s worth of issues for a comic. So say you wanted to pick up Chase, wait, that book didn’t make it to a year. Ok, you want to read Breach, darn again, a book that didn’t last that long. Anyway, you could check out Batman 1998 and read to your heart’s content.

Actually, you couldn’t. Y’see back in they day, DC was pretty lax about the library, as a result some of important volumes are in the wind. Now Allan Asherman watches over the collection. You can’t get to it. I can’t get to it. Even if you’re doing freelance work for DC you can’t get to it. What freelancers can do is ask their editor to check out a volume. However the volume doesn’t get sent to the freelancer, the editor makes copies of what’s needed and the volume is returned to its place in the library.

Throughout all my research I’ve yet to turn up any evidence of the library containing giant pennies, but that’s probably because of how precious space is in NYC.

Tim, would you be interested in checking out the DC Library, or do libraries bore you?

Are you kidding me?! I’d frigging love it. I got to see the Wizard library once which is probably about a tenth of the size of DC’s and I was in my heaven there. My only problem would be that I’d never have enough time to truly indulge. Unless DC was going to give me unfettered access for like 6 months, I just know I would end up missing something I wanted to see and hating myself for it in the morning.


This was supposed to be a picture of a hot librarian, but standards and practices would not allow it. Instead, accept our apologies and this photo of a bulldog wearing a crown.


Neil works the quarter bins for all they are worth…and then some.

Okay Mathan, you know it’s trouble when I hit my LCS’ $0.25 bin. This time I came out with issues #4-8 of Chronos. So can you fill me in on Walker Gabriel’s back story? And perhaps even a spoiler to let me know if David Clinton was Walker’s father?

Neil, you always do this to me. You always ask me to “spoil” a great series for you. Chronos didn’t have that long a run, it’s like asking me to spoil Identity Crisis for you.

You break my heart Neil.

Much like myself, Walker Gabriel was just your typical student whose main subject of interest was temporal physics. However unlike myself, Gabriel actually studied it as opposed to just going on and on about how great the Back to the Future movies are.

Anyway Walker bumped into a mysterious guy who suggested that he take a more active role in his passion. David Clinton, the original Chronos, had constructed a suit that could bend time so that while milliseconds passed in the real world, it would feel like minutes for whoever was wearing the suit. Walker used that suit to become an industrial thief.

He was very successful at it too, until the day he came in contact with a Linear Man. Gabriel was in the process of stealing a tachyon generator, when a Linear Man busted him. The Linear Man was in the process of taking the generator and Gabriel back to Vanishing Point, when a mysterious man shot and killed the Linear Man. Gabriel woke up and tried to stop the mysterious man from vanishing into the time stream, but Walker wound up in the 1873.

Oh and David Clinton is not his father.

Tim, don’t you think that now would be a great time for Chronos to relaunch? He could explore the ramifications of Infinite Crisis on the DCU, no?

I’d agree with you, but I fear I’d only get your hopes hope. According to Didio when he was talking to Newsarama last week, DC is staying away from time travel for the near future. The universe is still tender after the drubbing Alex Luthor handed out in IC so they want to give it some time to heal and get back on its feet. Big of DC to do that, I should say.


Aaron is irked off something fierce

In a previous question from me, you mentioned that you didn’t necessarily feel “ripped off” when someone in comics comes back from the dead. Fair enough, but has there ever been a character to come back from the dead more than once? I’m talking killed, then everyone moves on with their life…then, he/she comes back. And, then this sequence is repeated. I’ve gotta think two resurrections of the same killed off character would have to irk you…just a little?

The only character that I can think of that fits the bill is Metamorpho. He did in The Outsiders during Millenium but returned to the DCU as a result of Invasion. He then died again in JLA #1. However he came back to life in JLA/JSA: Secret Files and Origins.

And you know what Aaron; I’m not irked at all. Metamorpho is a pretty cool character with a very cool personality. I’m not going to say that I really miss him when he’s not around, but I will say that I enjoy him when he’s around.

Rex is one of those characters who’s so identified with the DCU, you know that he’s not going to stay dead. He might not be an “A-list” talent, but he’s one of those characters that’s so visibly striking that everyone remembers him.

There’s a chance that Hawkman works as well, but I’m not really sure if he’s dead in OYL or just missing.

Tim, what’s your take on resurrections?

I’m sympathetic to Aaron’s plight. Death is so freely given and taken away in comics these days that it already has lost a great deal of value. Adding multiple deaths/resurrections of the character is sure to just make things a little worse. Major Force and Captain Atom have “died” and come back so many times, it basically is their power. Beyond Captain Atom shooting random bolts of power out of him and flying the only distinct power of his I can recall is the ability to “die” and, in doing so, leap forward on the timestream. Same with Major Force. He’s strong, he shoots purple beams of energy, he kills significant women in Kyle Rayner’s life and he never dies.

However, I want to just correct the impression that I might have left Aaron with about not caring if characters dying and coming back. I did find it irksome, but not in a blanketed way. Not every death/resurrection is the same and therefore my feelings on them aren’t all the same. I think, for example, resurrection Blue Beetle would be god awful, but I wouldn’t much mind if Ras Al Ghul returned. Or at least I think I wouldn’t. In the end, if the story is good enough I can forgive a lot (see: Jason Todd). Conversely, if it’s a bad story an idea I might have otherwise liked will leave a sour taste in my mouth (see: Hal’s return as the Spectre).


Aaron is part of the establishment

Has there ever been a well-established character, who went on to become an even MORE established character? For example, Kid Flash was around for decades before Wally West became the Flash and now it’s hard to even remember a time when Wally wasn’t The Flash. And, no, you can’t pick Flash, that was my choice.

There aren’t too many characters that work in this scenario. Dick Grayson was firmly Robin, until he evolved into Nightwing, but Nightwing wasn’t really an established character.

One could make the argument that Hal Jordan, who was Green Lantern, went to be the “more established” Spectre (who is more established because he was a Golden Age character.) However that example falls pretty flat.

I might even be able to make a case of Jason Todd, who began his career as Robin, became the Red Hood (a forgotten, but nonetheless established character) and might possibly take the title of Nightwing away from Dick Grayson. I could make that case, but most would say I was stretching.

Since you’ve picked The Flash, I guess I’ll have to go with Kid Flash. Y’see Bart Allen had a lengthy career as Impulse, who stared in his own title as well as in Young Justice. Of course up until recently Bart was known as Kid Flash over in Teen Titans. Does that work for you?

Tim, can you think of any characters that would fit Aaron’s narrow criteria?

Only one. Hank Henshaw. In the beginning, Hank and three other astronauts rode the rocket Excalibur into space and nearly died. Superman saved them, but death might have been a blessing. Instead they ended up mutated, DC’s version of the Fantastic Four (but much sadder). Three of the four died, but Henshaw survived. After an attempt to reconcile with his wife, Henshaw exiled himself to space where he eventually lost his mind and began to blame Superman for wrecking his life.

All this was pretty minor stuff. However, what he did next…huge.

Following the death of Superman, Henshaw assumed the familiar form with a twist: half man of steel, half plain old steel. For months, he claimed to be the real deal and acted the part. Then, with little warning, his true intentions were revealed. He was not Superman reborn, he was Mongul’s partner in rebuilding Warworld. Together they decimated Coast City (an event that eventually led to Emerald Twilight). He was eventually soundly defeated, but not for good. He has shown up time and time to make trouble and will soon be appearing for Grudge Match Part II in Green Lantern.

So, by moving from a meaningless throwaway villainous Mister Fantastic analogue to a Superman impersonator/Earth traitor, Henshaw definitely became infinitely more established.


Aaron

Worst leader in team history? My choice is Aquaman, who led the awful Justice League Detroit team into early graves with Steel and Vibe dying, along with setting up shop in freaking Detroit, all under his watch. Runner up is Geo-Force who got it on with all the non-Asian women in the original Outsiders, allowed his group to be infiltrated by a Manhunter and then “retired” the team when he didn’t feel like going on during the Millennium mini-series. Your choice?

To me it’s pretty obvious that Arsenal is the worst leader in the history of the DCU. For the sake of reader I won’t get into his dismal run as the leader of The New Titans, which featured a team composed of Donna Troy, Impulse, Green Lantern and Supergirl, among others. He had a decent team and he couldn’t make it work.

But let’s look at what happened under his watch with the Outsiders. Let’s see, every villain in the Slab escaped, the Fearsome Four escaped, Arsenal was getting intel from Deathstroke, who was masquerading as Batman, Arsenal “reprogrammed” the robot who killed Donna Troy, only to have said robot turn out to be Brainiac 8, oh and Arsenal managed to get shot point blank in the chest.

Arsenal’s tenure as the leader of the Outsiders is perhaps the worst case of someone being ill prepared and basically inept at being in a position of power that I’ve even seen.

In a comic book I mean.

Tim, can you think of a worse team leader in the DCU?

Frankly…no. Man…that’s just disastrous.

The only other one I can think of that I might suggest would be Amanda Waller on the Suicide Squad who lost plenty of members to death and dismemberment over the years. On the other hand, they still tended to get the job done and with “Suicide” right in the team’s name, it is probably safe to assume that Waller was ready, willing, and able to accept any and all mishaps her team encountered. Thus, Arsenal still equals way worse.


“So what if I’m a lousy leader? Don’t I still have an excellent strut?”


Sadly the column is finished for another week. But don’t fret, the fun will most likely continue over on on our thread. It’s also a place where you can post your questions, provided you don’t feel like emailing them.

But before I go here’s my question to you; Now that Infinite Crisis is over, are you sticking around for 52?

“Her love was a joke from the day that we met.”