Posted by Darren in Comics
In the future, the Legion of Super-Heroes is in a resting period for most of the team as we see Chameleon Boy and his father R.J. Brande return to the highly toxic and xenophobic tribal world of their origin, Durla.
The team also gets a few new costumes as showcased here on this cover, a tribute to an older Legion cover from its Silver Age origins in Adventure Comics. When the father/son pair arrive on Durla, immediately they are set upon by their fellow tribal Durlans for leaving Durla. The Durlans appear as a race in large purple robes with tentacles come from the hood, presumably these tentacles transform into the antennae we see Cham wear. R.J. Brande, Cham’s father, is also powerless at this time and has been stuck in his form of an older humanoid male since the origin of the Legion when the founders stopped the assassination attempt on his life.
R.J. had arranged for Reep/Chameleon Boy to join the Legion in its early days as a way of helping Durlan relations with the rest of the United Planets, but Durla itself remains a reluctant world. A toxic atmosphere laced with radiation and pollution, the counsel of Durla imprisons Chameleon Boy and R.J. More >
Posted by Darren in Comics
There really is not a lot to say about the next story in the Outsiders which features the Outsiders traveling to ancient Egypt to save Metamorpho from the machinations of Simon Stagg.
But hey, cool looking covers eh?
Mostly, these stories are a cool little two parter while the truth about a certain amnesiac teen comes to light. As Halo rejoins her hometown, we discover that the Violet Harper who woke up in Markovia with powers is a far cry from the original Violet Harper.
Back in Gotham, Geo-Force’s college friend Denise is having some issues of her own as a professor makes unwanted sexual advances towards her. Of course, this stirs up the hot head of the group and it results in Superman stopping by Gotham to team up with the Outsiders. Geo-Force gets rid of the scummy professor by the way.
I wish I had this ornament for my tree.
Back in Anytown, USA, life is swiftly become unbearable for one Violet Harper. That is okay though as her life is exactly what is up for grabs.
Syonide apparently killed Violet and her boyfriend and left them in the ruins in Markovia shortly before Batman found Halo. She was sent due to the bad drug deal More >
Posted by Darren in Comics
As the Outsiders reel from Katana’s origin they are faced with attempting to save Batman’s life from the blowdart poison he took at the end of their last case. This forces Alfred Pennyworth, Batman’s long time butler and confidante to reveal Batman’s secret Identity as Bruce Wayne to the rest of the Outsiders and to suggest that for Batman’s sake they try to keep his body functioning as a way to burn out the toxin.
Of course the Outsiders manage the task with a little interference from a street gang and Batman himself reveals his identity afterwards to them as a sign of his trust.
And speaking of trust, in 1984, one could hardly go anywhere without a George Orwell reference. You know, “Big Brother” (not the tv show)… well The Outsiders would meet another group of super-villains, this time a group of patriots that had been conned into believing The Outsiders were simply Unamerican!
Look at them after all….
“…From his accent, this man, Geo-Force, is NOT an American… This Girl, Halo, is probably an American, and quite possibly the unwitting pawn of these ‘Outsiders’. These two, Black Lightning and Katana, definitely have some foreign blood in them…. Metamorpho… who knows what he is.. This More >
Posted by Darren in Comics
In Gotham City, Batman and the Outsiders continue to bond together as a group.
Batman puts Katana and Halo together as a mirror Batman and Robin, with Katana’s dourness and Halo’s brightness counterbalancing each other. He helps Black Lightning become a teacher again and find his true calling. Geo-Force enters college overseas and begins to meet other people not tied to the Markovian crown. Metamorpho, well, he’s still stuck on Sapphire and dealing with all the issues that come with loving a beautiful woman with a controlling maniacal billionaire father with a cro-magnon as a body guard.
Halo goes off to school and Batman (disguised as Bruce Wayne) sets up Katana as a Japanese bookseller. It is at this point that the Cryonic Man strikes, first in an altercation at a hospital where Geo-Force and Metamorpho are visiting Dr. Jace, still fresh from their confrontation with the Fearsome Five. At the end of the issue, the Cryonic Man has encased the Outsiders in ice and has kidnapped Katana.
Katana is to be used as replacement parts for the Cryonic Man’s family, locked in cold stasis, very similar to another Batman villain, which makes me wonder why Mister Freeze was not used in this More >
Posted by Darren in Comics
Top Row: Supergirl, Invisible Kid II, Colossal Boy, Dawnstar, and Superboy
Second Row: Sun Boy, White Witch, Karate Kid, Projectra, and Timber Wolf
Third Row: Phantom Girl, Shrinking Violet, Blok, Star Boy, Dream Girl, and Brainiac Five
Fourth Row: Ultra Boy, Wildfire, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, Mon-El, Element Lad, and Chameleon Boy
Fifth Row: Proty, Shadow Lass, Duo Damsel, and Bouncing Boy
In the Legion of Super-Heroes #300, the Legion is assembling for its re-dedication ceremony. This ceremony takes place every so often, but this is the most elaborate one we have seen on panel. As additional Legionnaires arrive to the headquarters we see Element Lad, Ultra Boy, and Phantom Girl welcoming Superboy and then his cousin Supergirl to the party. Supergirl inquires where Brainiac Five is, and Invisible Kid II (along with the dyed energies of a pouting Wildfire) show up and Jacques asks the same question and that leads us into the meat of the story.
Brainiac Five, Circadius Senius, and Rond Vidar are working on a patient at the Time Institute, it is an odd thing to have a medical patient here, but odd is what Brainiac Five specializes in. Apparently this patient has accessed some ability to transfer his More >
Posted by Darren in Comics
Before I get started with these two issues, I need to note that Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld makes her debut here in a preview comic in the middle of Legion of Super-Heroes #298. We will get back to Amethyst later, but just rest assured that there is a connection between this sword and sorcery character and the Legion of Super-Heroes, so her debut in this book, does indeed make sense.
As the Legion is on Earth dealing with Cosmic Boy’s family tragedy, Wildfire, Dawnstar, Blok, Invisible Kid II, and the White Witch come upon a mining asteroid very close to where Mon-El and Shadow Lass are vacationing.
Apparently the last UP representative was killed and the Legion has been asked by the UP to determine what happened. The White Witch casts a spell upon the body and determines that someone had apparently crushed his heart, a murder mystery to be solved.
Back on Earth, an enraged Duplicate Boy has interrupted the vacation of Colossal Boy and Shrinking Violet and is throwing down in the Himalayas. Shvaughn Erin alerts the Legion and Element Lad, Phantom Girl, and Ultra Boy respond. Ultra Boy is reminded that he is Deputy Leader now, since Element Lad resigned his post and he More >
Posted by Darren in Comics
Once the Legion managed to force the dread lord Darkseid, it was time for the story to take a beat and for most of the Legionnaires to take a little rest and relaxation.
The first story concerns the imminent break up of Light Lass and Timber Wolf, in which Legionnaire Blok insists that Timber Wolf sit with him and watch an old hologram tape of the Legion’s first encounter with the Green Lantern Corps.
In this story, “The Origin of the Universe” file we discover a little precursor of a big story to be happening later in the DCU. We visit the early Legion with Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, Triplicate Girl, and Colossal Boy as tehy come upon the Time Institute which is on fire.
Circadia Senius, the chief scientist at the Time Institute explains it all,
“Our time viewer was ready for the ULTIMATE K-K-KLIK— TEST… TURNED TO K-K-CALL up the BEGINNING OF THE UNIVERSE ITSELF. We saw it– a massive hand, K-K-CRADLING our galaxy– And so we went back FURTHER— and K-K-KLIK, then it HAPPENED. A BOLT–K-K-KLIK LIKE LIGHTNING FROM NOWHERE– SHATTERING OUR WORK! K-K-KLIK—AS THOUGH WE WERE NOT PERMITTED TO SEE MORE!”
And that, Ladies and Gentlemen is the origin of the More >
Posted by Darren in Comics
From the cover you can tell things are ugly when heroes are battling a hero. The Martian Manhunter makes his first appearance since JLA #200 only to be able to barely warn the Justice League that the entire Martian fleet is coming to invade Earth in a territory grab set up by one of J’onn’s military bretheren.
The Justice League fights back, but again the big guns are missing. No one can contact Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, or Flash. The remaining Leaguers are horribly outmatched for an army of telepaths who have the same strength levels of Superman and Wonder Woman.
Yes, its a bad day for the JLA.
Martian Manhunter comes through in the end and the JLA defeat the menace, with Martian Manhunter exiled to Earth by his own people to keep the truce.
It is at the end of this story that the only active and present active member of the Justice League of America decides the JLA must change.
Aquaman announces this in the Justice League of America Annual #2
Citing the lack of strength of the current JLA, the League is disbanded and reformed immediately after by those heroes who can make a full time commitment to the Justice League.
Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, and More >
Posted by Darren in Comics
That title looks pretty ominous doesn’t it? Well, it is.
The Justice League of America as a title had been struggling in sales, with other group books becoming more popular year after year like Marvel’s X-Men franchise and DC’s New Teen Titans and the Legion of Super-Heroes. The JLA formula had pretty much consisted of a formula where a bad thing would happen + one or more members would discover the problem independently + hero(es) realize they need help + call in the JLA + problem solved.
While this formula works for a 30 minute episode of Super Friends, as the comics audience matured, so did their need for more interaction in plots. However the writers of JLA have a unique problem, they cannot really do much to Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, etc.., as those heroes are appearing in their own books where they have major changes originate.
This leaves the JLA writer able to change those characters not appearing regularly or the “B characters” Green Arrow, Black Canary, Atom, Hawkman, Elongated Man, Red Tornado, and Zatanna. (Firestorm was still appearing in his own title while he was in JLA).
DC saw what comics readers were attracted to, a group of characters that were more intensely intertwined More >
Posted by Darren in Comics
The Justice League marches on from the shock of Black Canary’s new heritage and into a story that serves a few interesting purposes.
Hawkman and Hawkgirl, now Hawkwoman had been the stable married couple in the DCU prior to the Elongated Man and Sue Dibny on the scene, but a story in World’s Finest Comics which was an anthology at the time broke the couple up for a trial separation for a time with Hawkwoman leaving Earth and Hawkman staying behind.
While Hawkwoman was off taking some “me time”, Hawkman grew rather lonely and despondent. This JLA story reunites the two of them into the team again and resolves Hawkwoman’s feelings for Hawkman.
Firestorm also has a love subplot for he falls for one of the enemies who is a reluctant participant in the goings on, but mayhaps I am skipping ahead.
I’m sorry Reena, the role of Catwoman has already been taken in this Universe.
There is an arena where only the rich of the rich go for entertainment. Inside this arena, it smells heavy of animals and blood. Here men geared up like gladiators are forced to fight strange beasts. All under the guise of Rex Maximus.
Rex and his gang are the Animen. A group More >
