Posted by Darren in Comics
So there I am, looking at the comics on the rack again. My escapism in full throttle and my diving into this world of colorful heroes continuing with abandon.
The next comic I bought with my hard earned funds mowing lawns, my first job, which I grew to hate with a passion. I found this cover which featured Superman on it, but he was lying unconscious and there were all these other heroes that I had no idea who they all were.
You see him right? He’s over there on the left lying in front of a woman in a green outfit, while these two fiery guys are fighting it out and an alien guy with antennae and another girl with white hair are unconscious on the other side of the two fighting? Yeah, I figured that was Superman.
WRONGO!
That’s Superboy. Turns out in the DCU, Clark Kent had adventures when he was a teenager in his home town of Smallville, Kansas. Most likely you are familiar with Smallville, eh?
It is one of the WB’s consistently highest rated shows and nothing against the cast, but it looks like Tom Weiling is going to be collecting Social Security before he puts on that cape, More >
Posted by Darren in Comics
So, the question posted last time was, “Where was Robin?” Well, I wondered that and I paid my local Magik Market a visit and found this on the shiny comic book spinner rack.
Well, you can clearly see Robin’s costume on the left side of this cover, so I figured this would explain were Robin was, it did that and so much more. This is issue #17 of the New Teen Titans, written by Marv Wolfman and drawn by George Perez. So, let’s run down the characters inside this comic really quickly.
First off, Robin, the Boy Wonder is the team’s leader and he certainly is the same protegee of the Batman as most pop culture has noted. Dick Grayson was a member of the Flying Graysons, and he worked in the Haley Circus. Due to a Protection Racket gone wrong the Flying Graysons, save Dick, were sent to their deaths by unpaid mobsters. Bruce took Dick under his wing as his ward and he began to train as Batman’s protegee.
In the present, Robin seems to be struggling just a bit with his relationship with Batman and how to get out from the Bat-shadow. Dick is the leader of the Titans and More >
Posted by Darren in Comics
Well, the JLA is reunited and they break off into teams to go beat the bad alien conquerors into submission, so let’s get to it, shall we?
Team One: Batman, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Zatanna take off to fight the Crystal Creature, the Wood King, and the Mercury Monster in the woods of the Vermont forest.
The Appellaxians are already battling each other as Superman and Hawkman swoop in to break it up. The Wood King sticks his roots into it again and manages to grow an offshoot that catches Hawkman. Superman avoids the sneak attack and collides with the Wood King and smashes him into so many splinters. Unfortunately Superman failed to think ahead and the Wood King’s sap was full of Green Kryptonite.. (when will he learn?) Wonder Woman uses her golden lasso to pull Superman out of harms way of the other aliens while Green Arrow uses a saw arrow to trim the root still choking Hawkman.
While this drama is going on, Zatanna has encased the Mercury Monster in a bubble of super heated oil causing the monster to evaporate. Mercury boils at 357 degrees Celsius, so make a mental note, do not tick Zatanna off. More >
Posted by Darren in Comics
VERSUS
Superman vs. Hawkman, seems like a no-brainer doesn’t it? Well, lets think about this, they can both fly, they are both aliens, and that’s pretty much where the similarities end.
This part of our saga opens with Hawkman gathering some ancient weapons and streaking for Greenland and we learn that a Parabolic Arc cuts down on the distance needed to travel. See? We’re learning stuff!!!
Hawkman gets to Greenland in time to see a red and blue blur and he puts a net over the speeding Superman and gives this Superman a quick mace to the side which reveals that this Superman is actually a robot.
Hawkman had correctly deduced that Superman could not retrieve his meteor himself due to the green kryptonite and that the Superman robots are familiar with fighting off laser fire and are not so adept at resisting ancient arms like maces and crossbow bolts. After getting rid of the second Superman robot a third one lands but this one is different…
This one was the real Superman and as Hawkman’s mace is useless, Hawkman winds up on the receiving end of a Super punch sending Hawkman into the upper atmosphere. Superman grabs his asteroid explaining to the reader that he More >
Posted by Darren in Comics
VERSUS
Well a few interesting things here right off the bat. (You did get the pun notice in the last post, right?)
Batman is apparently so bad ass that two new JLAers need to go find him. Not Superman or Wonder Woman, but Batman. What does this tell you? This tells you that we are not dealing with the campy Batman that I was first introduced to via Adam West, Burt Ward, and Yvonne Craig on the classic 1960s Batman TV Show.
Secondly, we have our first relationship depicted in comics. Sure everyone knows about Lois and Clark and most people know that Colonel Steve Trevor has a thing for Wonder Woman, but here we have two costumed individuals aware of each others identities that are explicitly boyfriend and girlfriend.
The final thing to point out here is that there are a great deal of similarities in Batman and Green Arrow.
Both are Millionnaires – Billionnaires depending on the story you read.
Both had sidekicks (more on that later).
Both use “gimmicks” with a motif. Batman has his Batmobile and Batplane. Green Arrow has his Arrowcar and Arrowplane.
Both are merely human with no extra special powers, it is their skills that keep them valid heroes in the hero game. While More >
Posted by Darren in Comics
VS.
It’s time for The Scarlet Speedster to find his asteroid on the Lombardi Plain of Italy, and uncharacteristically, Flash has forgotten where he left it. He stops briefly to ask a local where he is and the local responds that he does not speak English. Flash begins to run away and that is when the local ditches his disguise and reveals himself to be The Ductile Detective, the Elongated Man.
Ralph stretches out and manages to trip up The Flash, ramming Flash’s head into a rock. Ralph thinking the worst checks on his pal only to discover that it is he that has been duped. Flash hammers the ground at super speed creating an earthquake which causes a fissure and the Elongated Man falls to his doom..
or does he?
For all his rage at his friend’s betrayal, Ralph is still not faster than the fastest man alive. Elongated Man stretches after Flash only to find himself chasing “after images” left by Flash when he sped off faster than Flash could see. Flash explains this to Ralph as he comes up behind the rubber man and gives him the kidney punch to end the fight.
Ralph is splayed across the Italian plain and Flash gathers More >
Posted by Darren in Comics
VERSUS
The scene opens in former Rhodesia now Zimbabwe, General Matawbe picks up the phone and out pops our favorite Physics professor with size and mass changing abilities The Atom. First off, a personal note for diversity. Huzzah!!! We have discovered different nationalities and individuals of color! General Matawbe being fairly high up in the Zimbabwe air force has a good bit of authority and is exhibiting none of the “angry black man” characterization that most mainstream African American characters exhibit.
Secondly, this is how The Atom gets around, he shrinks into the good old rotary phone, or even new fangled touch tone phones and travels by riding the sound waves to his new location. Personally, I know that sounds really hokey, but it’s kind of cool as well. Very Matrix, eh? The Atom explains to the good General that he needs to borrow one of the Air Force jets.
The General is apparently familiar with The Atom and agrees but only to come along for the ride. As the General and The Atom make their way in the jet towards the coordinates, a strange green light surrounds the jet in a hand and flings the jet far away. Yes, that would be More >
Posted by Darren in Comics
VERSUS
The scene shifts to idyllic winds as Zatanna is gliding along via wind currents to alight onto Paradise Island where she is promptly greeted by Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons and Wonder Woman’s mother and other various Amazon warriors. Zatanna inquires if Wonder Woman has been there and Hippolyta confirms that Diana came to Paradise Island and made a bee line for the Temple of Athena.
Inside the temple we see Wonder Woman lifting a large slab while underneath it lies the Appellaxian meteor. Before Wonder Woman can put her hands on the meteor, Zatanna has cast a spell “off panel” to cause the meteor to fall further down into the Earth. Diana immediately questions her mother as to who this stranger is and Hippolyta confirms who she is that she is a friend, but Diana does not know her and she is not even sure she knows her own mother. Diana lifts the slab and throws it at both of the women.
As Zatanna shields herself and Hippolyta against Wonder Woman’s attack, Diana has unearthed the meteor and is making haste for her Invisible Jet. Zatanna tries one more time to stop the Amazon from escaping, casting a spell to draw water from the More >
Posted by Darren in Comics
VERSUS
This chapter starts out with a new character that we have not seen before, the Phantom Stranger, who breaks the “fourth wall” of the comic book and addresses the reader directly. The Phantom Stranger looks fairly well dressed for his name, fedora hat concealing his eyes In shadows, a long flowing blue cape, a black suit with a gold medallion. He sets the mood of the Indian Ocean and seems to already know that a battle is about to occur.
Aquaman begins his search for his asteroid only to be stopped in mid leap by the winds of the Red Tornado. Reddy tries to get the Sea King to listen to reason but Aquaman under the thrall of the Appellaxians assumes he is an unknown opponent and tackles Reddy sending him under the sea to a watery grave.
The Red Tornado recalls his loved ones and manages to get himself back in action and drives towards the surface. Aquaman retrieves the meteor and is going to be taking it back to the JLA Headquarters outside of Metropolis. Aquaman has no idea why he is doing what he is doing he just knows that he must do it. At this point the Phantom Stranger appears to More >
Posted by Darren in Comics
VERSUS
We open our story as Firestorm is enjoying a JLA tradition called Monitor Duty. A period where the JLA assigns a hero to “man the headquarters” to keep an eye and ear out for any trouble. It is interminably boring duty and Firestorm being the team rookie is not taking it all that seriously.
Just then the Martian Manhunter bursts through the hull of the JLA’s satellite headquarters demanding to know why the JLA headquarters has been abandoned and where the other JLAers are and who the heck is Firestorm anyway? Before Firestorm gets a chance to answer any of those questions he is prompted by Professor Stein to seal the hull in the satellite before all their oxygen escapes. Manhunter continues his questioning and then ignores Firestorm as too dim witted to chat with (he was talking with himself after all) and as Firestorm pursues him Manhunter uses an ancient Martian trick and goes all invisible.
While Firestorm is dumbstruck by the Manhunter’s disappearance, Prof. Stein points out to Ronnie that the Martian Manhunter seemed to try to avoid Firestorm’s flaming hair, correctly deducing that the Martian Manhunter has a weakness to fire. Sure enough as Firestorm heats the air in the satellite, J’onn’s powers begin to give More >
