Here we are, week two of the Tim and Ben Show (or, I suppose, the Ben and Tim Show). We had a great time last week and judging by the feedback…you did not. Well, no matter, you are stuck with us. And we…we are stuck with you.
Ben, any kind words for our readers?
I do this not for the critics, Timothy, but for the love of the game. And anyhow, I work for Wizard—I’m not used to compliments.
Besides, Soak was happy, and isn’t that what really matter in the end?
Regardless, thanks for reading, gang.
Links
Visit our DC Boards, featuring a fury of posts about the multiverse and the megaverse.
Any websites you’d like to suggest this week, your excellency.
If you haven’t already, check out this blog documenting the thought process of the four bold fellows who participated in Marvel Executive Editor Tom Brevoort’s second semi-annual Editorial Simulation. And for the sim itself, take a look at Tom’s blog, always an excellent read besides.
Also: Live Nude Girls!
Sounds like an excellent link. I can only hope the people take advantage of your sound sound advice.
Glen D loves a woman in a good eye patch
In Mystery of Space who is this mysterious Eye lady who is Captain Comet’s bodyguard or whatever?
The “Eye lady†in question is simply named “Eyeâ€. She popped up in Starlin’s previous space-related DC miniseries, Hardcore Station. Hardcore Station is, of course, the locale of Mystery in Space.
As denoted by the cover above, which features Eye laying a nice pasting upon poor old Chief Justice Max (Comet’s buddy in law enforcement during Mystery in Space) she was not always on the side of the righteous. This, however, was the result of a trap set up by the evil Synnar (he’s the large red fellow behind Eye watching). Eye, in fact, was not a bad guy/gal. Synnar, by the by, headed up the League of Insect Assassins who, you guessed it, were featured prominently in Mystery in Space.
She is a mute with energy powers who fell in with Captain Comet at some point in between Hardcore Station ending and Mystery in Space beginning. Unfortunately, information on Hardcore Station is scarce and I do not personally own the series, so I cannot be much more specific than this. However, with a backstory of around 11 issues, I am not sure what else I would be missing.
Ben, do you have any ideas what I’m missing?
I’ll have to plead the Fifth on this one, Timmy, as I stopped reading Mystery In Space after the first three issues or so. I’d like to say that there was some grand storytelling faux pas that offended me, but honestly, I just switched from DC to Marvel contact over here around then and stopped getting free comics from DC.
Were it three years ago before I had been conditioned not to pay $40 a week for comics would I have continued picking the book up? Probably, as I like Starlin and I like cosmic. Alas, I’m not the man I once was and my wallet is now flush with cold hard cash to be spent on booze and Tostitos.
The Shade has yet to master the day, never mind the night.
Nightmaster from Shadowpact. Who the heck is he? He is the only member of that team who I still have no idea about.
Jim Rook, the man who would be Nightmaster, did not, initially have the makings of a hero. He was bitter before his time, prone to cutting sarcasm and an explosive temper, perhaps due to his scraping by as dirt poor for some many years.
Now do you see the path I avoided by not paying for Mystery In Space?
As an adult, he headed up the group The Electrics and dated a high society woman named Janet Jones. Perhaps rock godliness awaited him, but no one could have anticipated that he’d be wielding a magical blade for good, least of all himself.
Jim with his current running crew
However, fate, as is it often fancies doing, interceded and led Rook and Jones to a store called Oblivion, Inc. Overwhelmed by curiosity they entered and, much like the Wardrobe in Narnia, were transported to another world called Myrra.
Janet was separated from Jim in the flash of light. Jim found himself before King Zolto and Janet was kidnapped by a group called the Warlocks. Jim was…less than pleased.
Zolto eventually explained that Jim’s entrance to this realm was no accident. He was descendant of a hero of the land called Nacht who was exiled to earth many, many years ago. As such, in a scene that would make King Arthur proud (or sue for copyright infringement) Jim drew the Sword of Night from the rocks it was trapped in.
Over the course of the next three issues, Jim would battle across the land, meeting allies and enemies until he finally found and returned Janet to her proper form. The Warlocks then panicked and ran to Earth. Jim and Janet followed them and successfully threatened them into returning to Myrra. It is unknown if Zolto and company were eventually able to turn the tide of their struggle on their own or if Jim abandoning them, sword still in hand, and forcing their enemies to return to their realm doomed them forever. And, it seems, Jim was none too concerned about it in any case.
Nightmaster took a little lie down for the next 25 or so years, appearing only in cameos in such titles as Animal Man and Kingdom Come. Then, in 1995, the man made his return in the wildly popular Primal Force.
The Claw! Jack O’Lantern III! Black Condor! Willpower! All the stars!!!
And here’s his past running crew. Question: did he trade up or more…across?
In issue #8 it was revealed that he bought up Oblivion, Inc and made it into a bookstore. In issue #11, he rode to Primal Force’s rescue.
Things get a little muddled here because he was also appearing in Swamp Thing more or less concurrently. There we saw a Rook who had convinced himself Myrra and everything associated with it were little more than hallucinations. However, that old life came storming back in a big way with the Warlords breaking through to our world until…it was revealed that everything was a result of Rook’s fantasy life becoming manifest. Once he knew that, Rook was able to, more or less, wish it all away. The sword, however, remained behind and was sold off.
Let’s just call that “Vertigo†though and not try to incorporate into the current Nightmaster’s career, yes?
Done and done. That frees me up to make Lucifer a member of the JLA someday.
Anyway, Shadowpact #12 delved into Nightmaster’s life a bit more and came up with a few more tidbits. Nightmaster came back to Earth and quickly lost his record contract and his relationship with Janet ended. While cleaning up his bookstore one day, Rook found another door which, when opened, led him to the Oblivion Bar. There a creature named Boz (who shows up in all Nightmaster related stories, it appears) owned the place and gave Jim a job. Later, upon Boz’s death, Jim became the bar’s newest owner. It was there that he first met the members of Shadowpact during the Countdown to Infinite Crisis mini.
Don’t you think he just would’ve been better off rocking out his whole life, Ben? And why does he never get the old ax out and shred anymore?
Show me the man who wouldn’t be better off rocking out his whole life—never mind, I’ll show him to you: it’s Jim Rook. Would you seriously rather court a life of fame, drugs, loose women and an inevitable VH1 reality show when instead you could hang with the likes of Doctor Mist and Golem in Primal f’n Force?! I think not.
And yes, Primal Force is totally a rad name for a band.
The halo over Aaron’s head is just borrowed, trust us.
Is the Halo that I’m reading about in “52”, the same sweet, sweet Gaby Doe that grew up on in the ’80s?
Short answer? Yes, yes it is.
Long answer? Well, the long answer is the same…sort of.
It depends on when you stopped reading about young Gabrielle Doe.
In the beginning a sociopathic teen runaway named Violet Harper stole from a mob boss and paid for the mistake with her life. Or so it appeared.
In fact, as she lay near death, an Aurakle, a being as old as the Earth, reached out and merged with her. The result was the ancient being awakening with no memory of itself but in control of Violet’s body and Violet’s personality still in there but dormant. This being was named Halo by Batman (because of her glow).
World’s greatest detective, folks.
She chose the alter ego of Gabrielle Doe for herself.
And so it went for many years.
Then, at the start of Outsiders Vol. 2…
Wylde! Technorat! Faust! All the stars!!!
…Violet’s personality emerged and became dominant. This set off a sequence of events that led to the death of Violet (for real this time) and forced the Aurakle into the body of fellow Outsider Technocrat’s evil ex-wfe. This time, however, the Aurakle was able to retain both her and her new host body’s memories. Her old body, meanwhile, is stolen by Kobra who manages to resurrect it and this body, with Violet in charge and still having Halo’s powers, becomes Spectra and fights with Kobra’s strike force.
So, yes, Gabrielle is the same, but she has a new body. And, presumably, Spectra’s still out there somewhere.
Ben, Halo’s origin/backstory. Confusing, or brilliant?
Halo most definitely suffers from “only in a team book†syndrome, meaning she’s got the kind of background that could be considered interesting as a dangling bit of mystery running concurrently to everything else going on in the book, but lacks a clear personality and mission statement that would ever allow her to carry a solo title or even a mini-series.
Other sufferers of this malady: Bloodwynd, Terra II, Shift, Mantis (of the Avengers), the current Starman, Xorn and half the Suicide Squad.
The only two notable cases I can think of who escaped are both X-Men: Wolverine and Cable.
What about Maggot? Come on, man, why do you never show Maggot the proper love?
Yes, I just went for the obvious Maggot joke. What do you want from me? I don’t even read X-Men, okay?
According to Aaron, all rubber people look the same.
Elongated Man and Plastic Man. Two stretchy heroes in the DCU. Are there any differences in their powers or is “stretching” pretty much it for the both of them?
There are so many differences between these two, it is not even funny. And while I know you just asked about their powers, I feel I’d be remiss if I didn’t fill you in on all that other stuff too.
Plastic Man’s real name is Patrick O’Brian and he sometimes goes by the nickname Eel.
Elongated Man’s real name was Ralph Dibny.
Plastic Man is a notorious lady’s man with at least one illegitimate child, a son (you may know him as Offspring).
Elongated Man was a dedicated husband whose wife, Sue, was killed while pregnant with their first child.
Plastic Man is a reformed con man and thief.
Elongated Man was a top rate detective and amateur chemist.
Plastic Man got his powers by being shot in the process of committing a crime and getting an unknown acid into the wound.
Elongated Man studied contortionists, found out that they all drank the same soda, and successfully created a serum that gave him powers. Apparently, he also had a latent metagene.
Plastic Man is a rubber man like no other. He can shape shift with ease (with only changing color proving difficult for him) and does so. He seems to have nearly or literally no limits when it comes to stretching. Additionally, he does not seem to bleed when cut or shot and has survived things like being shattered no worse for the wear. Because of internal elasticity, he is also highly resistant to mental attacks.
Elongated Man, on the other hand, is more of a traditional rubber man. He can stretch in all directions but is limited in how much or how far. His resistance to injury, like Plastic Man’s, is high, but not as high as Plastic’s. He can change the shape of his face, but it is very painful and he rarely does so.
Plastic Man is alive.
Elongated Man is dead.
Ben, any other differences you can think of? Also, you find yourself the head of the JLA with one last slot to fill and it has to be with a stretching man. Push comes to shove, is it Ralph (let’s say he’s still alive) or Eel?
One other difference we learned during Joe Kelly’s run on JLA: if he tries really really hard, Plastic Man can change color. Also, as shown during “The Obsidian Age,†he’s functionally immortal.
I guess the call over whether or not to put Plas or Ralph in the JLA depends largely on one thing: is Batman already on the team? If he is, Ralph becomes pretty redundant as I think his detective skills are of far more use than his powers, and Batman, as noted, is the world’s greatest detective.
Even sans Batman, sentimentality aside and despite the fact I know it would tick off my friend Brad Meltzer (were he ever to read this), but I think I’ve got to go with Plastic Man. His power set is more vast and he’s proven himself able to be a difference maker in clutch fights against the likes of Fernus and Dr. Polaris. To the best of my knowledge, Elongated Man has never single-handedly turned the tide for the League.
At the end of the day, Ralph is a nice guy and I’m sure I’d feel super bad about turning him down, but he just doesn’t bring as much to the table strategically as Plas if I’m looking to build the best team I can. Great character, but not necessarily the guy you want getting your back against Despero.
Sukh goes so obscure, it hurts.
Reading back through my Superman books after OWAW there is a reference to the mighty ‘Seventh Singularity’ an all powerful super alien. I believe I saw him again in DC 1,000,000 but would like to know more about him. Can you help?
Wow, Sukh, you’ve got quite a doozy here.
After extensive research, as near as I can tell, there is only one other Seventh Singularity reference out there…and it does not even happen in the comics.
It does appear in a book, the kind without pictures, called Stop Motion. It is part of a series of books DC tried, revolving around members of the JLA. This installment was written by Mark Schultz and starred The Flash. Schultz, as you may recall, was one of the Superman writers during the period you mentioned.
In the book, Wally enters the Speed Force and encounters a humanoid figure that he describes as a “negative imageâ€. Wally engages the figure in psychic conversation, trying to discern who or what it is. Eventually, the figure is persuaded to explain itself, saying, “I am the Seventh Singularity.†From there it goes on to explain, in particularly purple terms that he is, essentially, a superhero but on a much grander scale. Then he cryptically teases Flash for 15 pages or so.
And that’s it…that’s all the Singularity that’s fit to print.
So, Ben, ever been taunted by a higher being?
Oh you so want me to say something like, “Sure Tim, all the time back when I was working for you at the newspaper.†Well that’s not gonna happen. I’m not your monkey, pal.
Excelsior, The Shade, Excelsior
Who is Funky Flashman (other than appearing to be an odd Stan Lee parody?)
An odd Stan Lee parody is exactly what Flashman is. Well, near as I can tell, that has never been confirmed, but for years it has sort of been held on common knowledge. After the Lee/Kirby dynamic soured and Kirby left for DC, he felt that Lee was taking credit for the creation of the Marvel U all by his lonesome and ignoring or downplaying the King’s own role. Plus, given that their relationship had gone south, I think Kirby had more than a little resentment for him already.
In universe, Flashman was a huckster of the highest order. He could wheel and deal with the best of them and loved a lavish lifestyle. He more or less conned his way into being Mister Miracle’s manager and used the position to pull in much scratch. From there he went on head up the second Secret Society of Super Villains.
More recently, however, it appears he has fallen on hard times. In the miniseries Son of the Vulcan, he was depicted as running a pawn shop and offering aid to a White Martian.
Ben, when Mathan rises to fame and fortune in the comic industry and decides to depict you in a stunning bit of satire, what do you hope your character’s name will be and what will he be up to?
His name will be “Captain Awesome†and he’ll be so popular and wildly successful he will overshadow anything else M is working on, forcing him to devote his career to writing about me in a moment of kick ass karma.
Got a religious cult? Stavros is interested in joining!
Has the Order of St Dumas ever had any link to old Manhunter villain Dumas before? Did the old Dumas costume feature the Fleur de Li as well? Was it just coincidence that they share name and emblem?
Oddly enough, no. The old Dumas cover did depict the Fleur de Li as did Azrael first set of duds (see below for comparison). They did share both name and emblem. Yet…no connection until now.
For the sake of accuracy, it should be noted that the de Lis in question are not identical, only similar. Still, pretty big coincidence there, eh?
Separated at birth? Apparently so.
That’s just all kinds of weird.
Joined any cults lately, Ben?
Not the one called “Manhunter Readers,†thank heavens.
Zing!
No, seriously—Marc Andreyko is a cool guy and I appreciate that people enjoy the book, but for the life of me I just cannot get into it. I thought Andreyko’s Nightwing Annual was light years better than anything I’ve seen in the pages of Manhunter, which I find to be filled with cardboard cut-out characters I just don’t dig and plot twists that are a bit too Hollywood and not enough comic book for me.
But hey, if you like the book, more power to you…cult weirdos…
I respect your opinion, sir, but I can’t even begin to understand it. Especially from a Guy Gardner fan.
But hey, we don’t all need to like the same things. That’s the beauty of this world.
Except chocolate and peanut. That we all MUST like.
Stavros reminds us that one Azrael is rarely enough
Did the Chinese Azrael ever feature again? I also heard tell of another, earlier Azrael seen in an old Azbats armour engaged in underground fights in Gotham. What’s the deal with these lost Azraels?
Sadly, these Azzies are MIA and likely to remain so, if not forever, than damn near. The Chinese Azrael has never resurfaced and the street fighting fella hasn’t either (although he was lucky enough to be making his second appearance at that point). I don’t think either of them are definitively dead, so anything is possible. But I’d expect you’d see Jean Paul long before you saw either of them. And, let’s be honest, that’s going to be quite some time too.
Ben, any closing Azrael related thoughts?
I went up to the hallowed Wizard library not long ago and logged some issues of Azrael, having never really given the book a chance before. Honestly, not terrible stuff. Give it a shot if you find it in a quarter bin.
And on that stellar piece of writing, the curtain closes on our show…
BUT WAIT!
Over on the forum, Neil pleads with me to explain why Guy Gardner has no secret identity as he found you and M’s paltry explanations to be woefully insufficient.
I’m glad you asked, Neil. Folks unfamiliar with Guy’s rich history might give a shallow answer like “He’s just a jerk,†but that’s just speaking out of ignorance.
The first part to your answer is, simply put, Guy has nobody to protect; his abusive father is dead, as is the brother who tried to kill him and his mother has faded into obscurity. Any romantic interest Guy has ever had is also dead (unless that’s really Ice over in Birds of Prey).
The second more important part is this: Guy is a pro. He has always been depicted as somebody who, despite his attitude, places his job as a Green Lantern and protector of the good above all else, including any semblance of a personal life. Guy has never really bothered setting up a civilian life because that would take away from him doing his job, which to him is what he’s here for.
The closest Guy ever came to having a life outside being a superhero was during the years he was written as Warrior by Beau Smith and ran his bar. However, note that during that period Guy surrounded himself with retired heroes like Wildcat and Arisia or other folks who could look out for themselves like Buck Wargo and his crew. Guy made it a point to make sure the folks surrounding him as his friends were not the type who could be endangered by his life as a superhero. Eventually, Arisia did pay the price, but as a former Green Lantern, she knew full well what she was signing up for.
In short, Guy Gardner is too much of a hero to have a secret identity. He’s not selfish to the point where he demands a wife and kids to put in the line of fire, he’s a Green Lantern 24/7 and accepts the lack of personal happiness that may saddle him with.
What a Guy.
Neil, you ever pull a stunt like this and I swear to you, there will be nothing I can do to protect from the wrath of Mathan. Questioning his judgment behind his back? Are you mad, man?! And on Guy Gardner, of all things? Beware Neil…beware.
Mathan will be back in command next week and I’ll be editing once more. Ben will…I don’t actually. Probably be wandering the streets begging for scraps of bread and talking about how once he edited Who’s Who in the DCU. Or he might just be interviewing someone for Wizard.
Be sure to either email Mathan your questions (mathan_e@hotmail.com) or post them on our thread. We love us some posts on the message boards, we do.
Wait, Tim, there’s something I should tell you about M…
TO BE CONTINUED…
“Due to lack of interest
tomorrow is cancelled
let the clocks be reset and the pendulums held.â€
