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Posts tagged Black Canary
Three Key Figures
Mar 30th
Ahh, it’s good to be back home. I had a great time on vacation and now it’s time to dig into some plot points regarding our heroes in the Justice League of America.
When you regard continuity in a comic book universe, there are several ways to stage a story that does not fall chronologically into the greater continuity. The first is the “flashback” often referred to as the “untold” story or tale. Then there is the “What if?” genre, where you can tell stories about these characters, but that these particular stories are separate from the regular continuity of the characters…such as Clark Kent landing in Russia vs. the U.S.A., interesting concept, but it’s not the way the origin plays out for the “real” version of the character.
When juggling the myriad characters in a team book, it is important to keep in mind that your “A” tier characters are going to bring in the money, but really the main changes to those characters should take place in their own books and let those changes later be reflected in the team book. For the “B” characters, changes can occur in the team book as there is no regular place that they appear outside of a scheduled mini-series, so there is not a lot of juggling to do when it comes to the “B” tier.
Well, for a period of time for JLA the writer at the time had to juggle a few things.
- In Green Lantern’s book, Hal Jordan had been exiled into outer space and so could not appear in JLA stories after #200 until that plot point was resolved around JLA #220 or so.
- The Atom had a new mini-series coming up called The Sword of the Atom which would rock the character and change his status-quo for a while to come.
- The Flash was undergoing a murder trial, so could he really be involved in the JLA while that was going on?
- The Batman quits the League to go to another team book title.
So Mr. Conway did what many would do knowing the limitations. He wanted to tell a story with Green Lantern and Flash in it and he did so by using that “untold tale” tactic. 
Notice we get a little Phantom Stranger action in this one as well. Sweet! This story is set prior to Zatanna joining the JLA, explaining her and Firestorm’s absence from such a big story. It turns out our heroes are forced by aliens to gather certain objects for aliens, but it turns out the aliens only want this one man who apparently has all the dna code of the world locked inside of him. Needless to say our heroes win all is saved. This carried our heroes through issue #210-212, leaving us time to go have some fun with the Atom in the microcosmos.
The Leaguers are attempting to find the Atom, which is like finding a needle in a haystack at the best of times. Batman, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Black Canary, and Red Tornado go after the wayward physicist and meet some crazy sword and sorcery societies which looked like a “pilot” episode for a new comic that did not materialize.
Unfortunately, the Flash is soon voted out of the Justice League.. notice that this takes place in Flash’s comic, not in JLA itself. Due to the fact that Flash is soon to be put on trial for killing a super villain named Professor Zoom, the JLA discover that he is a liability and since he has asked the JLA not to interfere, they have no choice but to expel him until his name is cleared.
Meanwhile, the tale of Atom in the Microverse may not have gone over very well, but Atom in a sword and sorcery sort of existence DID sell. Sword of the Atom is one of this Atom’s most popular incarnations. Take a Physics professor and add some native beings about 3″-6″ tall, and well, he becomes their default protector. Atom seems to not be as JLA involved after this direction pushes his character more towards Conan and less towards shiny sci-fi.
Next Time: Batman does it for himself!
Justice Society of America – Roll Call III
Mar 12th
We wrap up our JSA Golden Age roll call with six new members, though some seem like we have seen them before. Let’s also keep in mind the JSA had Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman on its rolls, however Supes and Bats were reservists and WW served as the secretary. Since there are no changes in those three characters, they aren’t going to receive separate entries here. The only difference in them at this point is the era that they are active which begins in the late 1930s onward. With that said, here we go.
Dr. Charles McNider is an accomplished surgeon which is amazing since he’s blind. Well, he wasn’t blind when he learned how to be a doctor, he was working on a gunshot victim when one of those wily ubiquitos mobsters lobbed a grenade in, killing the victim and permanently blinding Charles. One evening an owl crashed into Charles’ window at home (just like what happened to Bruce Wayne, isn’t it?) Charles discovered that while he was fairly blind in the light he could see perfectly in darkness. Charles’ “sidekick” is the owl Hooty, making him one of the few heroes to have an animal as a crime fighting partner. Charles would employ his trademark “blackout bombs” and special goggles that he wore in order to mostly ambush villains.
(Would you let this man remove your appendix? Answer: Only if the lights were off.)
Theodore (Ted) Knight is a scientific genius. Showing talent in astronomy, energy, invention, and physics amongst others, Ted Knight harnessed an unknown form of cosmic energy and created the Cosmic Rod or Gravity Rod. The rod allows him to defy gravity, project energy blasts, harness objects, create force fields amongst other feats. Starman’s classic retro costume with the red costume, gold star, and fin is a classic of the age in which he was created. Since Ted’s natural abilities geared him towards being a top energy scientist in WWII, it was revealed that he helped create the atomic bomb. He spent the rest of his life wrestling with this fact, even mentally cracking at one point.
The very first Starman, but certainly not the last.
In the vein of Al Pratt, here comes Ted Grant, the heavyweight boxing champion of his day. Ted is gruff and tends to be a loner and is one of the most respected fighters in the DCU. Ted has taught Batman, Black Canary, and is currently teaching a new crop of JSAers in how to fight in a scrap. Ted is a great character and is frequently a man of few words preferring to let his fists do the talking. If you are wondering about the costume.. well, Ted’s counting on that, go ahead, make fun of it. Before you get your first joke out of your lips you will be on the floor staring at at least three of your teeth.
Do you really think Tyson would stand a chance?
Terry Sloane is a genius who graduated from college when he was 13 and conquered the business world prior to the time most Americans can legally drink. Whether you call him a savant or not, Terry became bored. What do you do when you have done all you set out to do? Terry grew increasingly depressed and was going to commit suicide until he wound up saving a woman’s life. This set him up on the path towards superheroism. Using his brains, marital arts, and natural athletic ability Mr. Terrific burst onto the scene urging kids to follow his mantra of “Fair Play.”
And remember kids, stay in school!
Wait a minute!!! Didn’t we already talk about the Black Canary? Why, yes. We did. This is Dinah Drake. Originally from Earth-2 and the daughter of a policeman, Dinah donned a blond wig, domino mask, and some fishnets and became the blonde bombshell. Eventually Black Canary married her beau Larry Lance and became Dinah Drake Lance, however their love was not to last for in one of the earlier JLA/JSA team ups while fighting a villain named Aquarius, Larry took a fatal dose of radiation. Distraught by her loss, Dinah immigrated from Earth-2 to Earth-1 to join the JLA.
Yowza. Even for the 1940s Dinah was hot. And you can see the pin-up girl influence.
And finally… no JSA roll call is complete without…
The original Red Tornado is Maxine “Ma” Hunkel. A housewife in WWII days, Ma Hunkel knew with all the menfolk gone off to war someone had to make sure the neighborhood was doing okay. So she donned an outfit made up with items around the house and a pot on her head with holes cut into it and patrolled for crime. The very real joke about Ma Hunkel’s JSA affiliation in the Golden Age is that she showed up for a meeting and then, every woman’s nightmare, her pants split. Especially important as the Red Tornado outfit made Ma look more like a man than a woman, making her one of the first real androgynous/cross dressing characters in comics.
So along with this entry I promised some McCarthyism right? Well Senator Joseph McCarthy on our Earth was a renowned Senator in charge of the House Unamerican Activities Committee which was the well spring of a lot of unnecessary vilification of Americans who didn’t believe as Sen. McCarthy did. Trumped up charges that were exceedingly insubstantial did not matter, as the word that you were called before McCarthy was enough to get one blackballed as a card carrying communist. The Cold War soared in height and before Mr. McCarthy was finally called on his foolishness many people were destroyed.
In our comic book world, Sen. McCarthy calls for the JSA to appear before the Committee to explain why such devout Americans would hide their true identities from those they seek to protect. The JSA members argued that they don masks to protect their loved ones from any villains that might seek retribution against them. Not good enough for McCarthy, the JSA are given an order, reveal their identities or else. The JSA take a few seconds to confer and tell McCarthy that they won’t be revealing their identities, but that America won’t be hearing from them again any time soon. At that, Doctor Fate teleports the JSA out of the chamber and the JSA anonymously retire to their civilian identities.
Next time: The JSA’s next generation.
Enter the Royal Flush Gang
Feb 22nd
So.. you’re thinking to yourself.
“The Royal Flush Gang? You have GOT to be kidding me.”
Nope. The Royal Flush Gang. Interesting premise and over the years the writers tend to get more inventive with them and because they are villains, they are more changeable than our heroes. They are a natural team in a world populated with Brainiac, Cheetahs, and Jokers.. well, could this card themed group really have been far behind?
The Royal Flush Gang employ weapons based on their card motifs. Spade shaped grenades, illusion scepters, lasers, hypnosis, and they ride flying cards. Come on, Flying Cards! It’s like surfing!
Aquaman and Firestorm open up our adventure on the open seas, where Aquaman is giving Firestorm a test. While Firestorm is a JLAer, he’s still the rookie and so the other Leaguers try to help him along a bit with his training. Unfortunately, the two JLAers are ambushed by people wearing outfits that look like playing cards and they are riding playing cards. Weird, huh?
Before long, many JLAers fall to the Royal Flush Gang. Superman. Wonder Woman. Green Arrow. All the JLAers who are zapped by the Royal Flush Gang’s weapons go into a sort of debilitating coma.
We eventually get to meet the Royal Flush Gang.
Ten is a female Hal Jordan, disgusted with the open sexism in the field of test pilots. Jack is a gigolo who stopped at nothing to get a score. Queen is a washed up actress looking for the role of a life time. King is a “King of the Road”, a hobo dying of cancer. Finally Ace is revealed as a robot working for an unnamed master who has hand picked his Royal Flush Gang due to their moral failings.
The JLA enters the House of Cards to fight the Royal Flush Gang and all of them fall but Black Canary whose wiles have turned the Jack against the rest of the deck. With the Flushers in custody all Black Canary can do is hope that the rest of the JLA snap out of it.
(nice to let the ladies have the bed, eh? who says chivalry is dead?)
No fear however. Firestorm’s body may be still but his mind’s half isn’t as Professor Martin Stein sees the unseen mastermind, a Green Lantern villain named Hector Hammond. Hec is a man born with a freakishly large head that gives him grand psychic powers. Professor Stein and Hammond fight on the astral plane and Hector is banished and without Hector around to suck up the energy of the JLAers, they all awake safe and sound.
Next up, we’ll check and see why those Titans are having fights with Russian heroes, living statuary, and the Disruptor.
Ultraa and Alternate Earths
Feb 17th
Okay, well in the second JLA story I ever read, it was a very simple done in one story which featured JLA members Superman, Flash, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, and Black Canary versus a misunderstood hero that has been around and been not an enemy of the JLA for the most part, but is a character that tends to let his naivety get in the way of his ability to do good things.
Ultraa is the hero in question, the man with the bright red hair and purple outfit.
And as you can tell, he packs quite a punch.
Now, this story is fairly simple, Ultraa duped by a con man named Joe Parry is tricked into helping Joe commit some robberies and the JLA gets involved as the police can’t handle Ultraa. Ultraa realizes at the end that even though Joe offered him friendship it was not worth his soul and recants. All is forgiven, for the most part.
Now, the REAL juicy part of this story is that Ultraa is not from the Earth that our heroes are from, but instead is from an Earth designated Earth-Prime.
Okay, here is where we get our first piece of DCU Cosmology.
There are multiple Earths in the DC Universe, all are vibrating at slightly different rates and have slight to major differences in their histories.
The Earth that the heroes we have been talking about to this point are all from Earth-One. On Earth-Prime there are no super-heroes on Earth-Prime and in Ultraa’s first appearance he self-exiled himself to Earth-One as he perceived his Earth as not ready for individuals with powers.. yet.
Earth-Prime in DC Lore is the world in which, we, the readers exist. Instead of writers and artists and other comic pros being insanely talented original people (which they are) on Earth-Prime apparently the writers go to sleep and dream and while they dream they see the adventures of the other Earths.
It also turns out that Ultraa was rocketed to Earth as an infant from his dying home world, he landed in Australia and has super-strength, super-speed, and stamina. Hmmm. he sounds familiar, doesn’t he? So is Ultraa the Earth-Prime universe version of our Earth-One universe Superman? It seems that way doesn’t it?
So, let’s make this really simple.
Earth-One: Our modern day heroes such as the Justice League or the Teen Titans.
Earth-Prime: No active super-heroes and the location of the readers of DC Comics.
Now, the implications of all this is an unlimited amount of variations for the writers and artists to draw from in order for stories to occur that couldn’t normally in a world that strongly mirrors our own.
The downside? Well.. the unlimited amount of variations for the writers and artists to draw from in order for stories to occur that couldn’t normally in a world that strongly mirrors our own.
It’s a double-edged sword.
Instead of just ONE world to keep track of, there are now two here, Earth-One and Earth-Prime. And a lot of different writers working in the same universe possibly telling conflicting stories.. leading to a complicated continuity.
Are you still with me here? I’m betting your eyes just glazed over.
Go get a drink. It’s okay. I’ll wait.
The next few JLA stories were fairly simple, a done in one sci-fi story in which Batman turns into a monster and the other JLAers attempt to cure him, don’t worry, Bats is fine.
Next up: A 3-part epic of the Justice League of America versus the Royal Flush Gang. Our first real villain team!
Justice League Reunited
Feb 13th
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. Black Canary is running a decoy pattern on the Crystal Creature while Batman puts a batarang through the creature’s back side. Never turn you back on the bat.
Team Two: Aquaman, Elongated Man, The Flash, and Red Tornado
Off the Irish Coast a fisherman spotted the monsters going toe-to-toe and though the Fire Lord is much larger than the Glass Golem, they both seem fairly unharmed when the Leaguers show up. The Glass Golem blinds the Flash but fails to notice Aquaman who bursts out of the water behind him and drags him down into the depths. The Glass Golem’s last thoughts were of why the Fire Lord didn’t warn him, but one less contestant in their contest works for him, doesn’t it? Aquaman crushes the Glass Golem while Elongated Man decoys the Fire Lord using the class stretchy guy trope of taunting the villain. This gives Red Tornado the opportunity to create a vacuum around the Fire Lord to put him out. The victorious leaguers stand on the beach as the scene shifts to team three.
Team Three: Atom, Firestorm, Green Lantern, and the Martian Manhunter
As the Rock God and the Golden Roc are making a mess of NYC ala Godzilla and years before 9/11 entered our national vocabulary Firestorm makes the exclamation…
“Hey, this is New York! You’re wrecking My City!” As Firestorm uses his atomic restructuring powers to rebuild what the aliens have demolished, Green Lantern creates a jack hammer and takes out the Rock God with very little than a thought. Martian Manhunter had been holding off the Golden Roc but now needed assistance from the team. GL creates a cannon and Atom crawls into it and is fired towards the Golden Roc’s head. Atom impacts the creature and distracts it long enough for Martian Manhunter to seal the deal.
15 Leaguers vs. 7 Alien Conquerors.. victory to the JLA.
The Epilogue features Green Lantern and Red Tornado traveling to the dumping ground of every comic book story, the Sun. They toss any and all remnants of the Appellaxians into the sun to burn up, no longer keeping anything for a trophy. I hope there was not another subliminal suggestion that will send our heroes into the Sun digging for remnants of these creatures, heh.
Back on the satellite the Martian Manhunter and Snapper Carr say their goodbyes to their old comrades, with J’onn J’onzz contemplating coming back to the Justice League..someday.
Then Green Arrow begins to make his exit as Hawkman pleads with Green Arrow to stay with the League as they need him. Green Arrow rethinks his decision and rejoins the JLA ending some tension with Black Canary and the rest of the Justice Leaguers.
All in all, a very satisfying initial story, eh? Lots of heroes, conflict, wrapped up in a nice, neat bow at the end. Which brings me to Fanboyism #1
Fanboyism #1: Fans loving watching their heroes fight one another.
It’s just the way of things, which hero is better than who? It doesn’t matter what the answer to the question is, in this story all the original JLAers won, and the new JLAers lost, but that does not mean there isn’t a case to be made that any of the new JLAers wouldn’t have won against their older compatriots had the circumstances been different. So I would venture that no matter the two characters in conflict, any hero could beat another hero given the correct set of circumstances.
There will be naysayers to this theory however, who will say “Batman is prepared for everything.” or “Flash is so fast he can do anything.” Could be… but again, I could give a scenario that an equally savvy Wonder Woman or Atom could take either of those characters out, again it is about the circumstances of the fight.
One thing though.. did you notice who was a mainstay of the Super Friends cast who was not in this story…
Usually the back half of Batman and… So in this DCU, where exactly is Robin and what is he up to? We’ll take that up next time as we discuss the sidekicks.
Round Six: Batman vs. Green Arrow & Black Canary
Feb 10th
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 Green Arrow is more of a street brawler, Batman is honed via martial artists around the globe, which brings us to his similarities to the Black Canary.
Black Canary at this point in her career has a few rather bland functions. She’s a martial artist specializing in judo. She has a sonic scream which gives her some “uumph” in the super hero community. And she is Green Arrow’s “wet blanket” frequently cast in the role of calming down GA’s impulsive nature.
So, what do you do if you are with your annoying bf/gf out in the Everglades while hunting a man known for his stealth skills? You argue of course! Giving your target the perfect opening to sneak up on you and….
Well, before you know it, Bats has tagged GA and his arrow goes off and luckily nails Black Canary in the head. Bats handcuffs GA’s hands together and as Batman climbs into the trees to make his escape GA emphatically yells at him “You Can’t Do This To Me!” To which Batman replies, “I already have.”
Black Canary recovers and gets Green Arrow’s Acetylene Arrow (blow torch) to bust his cuffs open. We get a bit more about Green Arrow not being a member of the JLA currently here. He feels he does not have a place at the table as he wants to do what he does best, which apparently is not traipsing through the swamp trying to find Batman. BC quickly gets him back on task and they attempt to sneak up on Batman on the beach.
Batman is unearthing the meteor as the two JLAers sneak up on him. Taking no chances Black Canary unleashes her sonic Canary Cry which knocks Batman over. GA is rejoicing and BC isn’t so sure. When they get to Batman’s unconscious form they find she only succeeded in knocking over a “Bat Dummy”
Back on the satellite Green Arrow is venting about being tricked, but lets face it, tricked by Batman pretty much means you were tricked by one of the best. Atom meanwhile begins to get the group to think about what happens after the original JLAers get the seventh meteor.
Meanwhile, in the original JLA HQ, the meteors that have been brought together are beginning to glow…
Next time: Superman vs. Hawkman
Justice League of America – The New Kids
Jan 31st
Of course, after the Justice League of America (JLA) began back in 1960 times have changed and new characters were added to the mix of the original seven.
Green Arrow – The Emerald Archer. Oliver Queen was a millionaire who was on a yacht when he was tossed overboard (on purpose or accidentally) . Ollie landed on a deserted island where he taught himself archery in order to survive. Upon returning to the main land and civilization, Ollie kept using his unsurpassed archery skills to fight against injustice.
The Atom – The Mighty Mite. Physics Professor Ray Palmer discovered a chunk of white dwarf star matter that could shrink items for a time, unfortunately everything he shrank turned unstable and exploded. Forced to use this technology to save a group of college students, Ray discovered that for some reason his body did not turn unstable. Donning a size changing belt and gloves to control his size and weight Ray became The Atom. The Atom is married to a lawyer named Jean Loring.
Hawkman – The Winged Wonder. Katar Hol is a police officer from the planet Thanagar. He and his partner/wife, Shayera, came to Earth in pursuit of a shape changing criminal. Once on Earth they decided to stay to assist Earth in its protection. Wearing a harness with wings, a uniform tinged with an antigravity metal called Nth Metal, and using ancient Earth weapons Katar took the earth name of Carter Hall and became a curator in a museum during the day and fought alien menaces at night.
Black Canary – The Blonde Bombshell or The Pretty Bird of Prey. Dinah Drake Lance is an extremely accomplished martial artist possessing a sonic scream called The Canary Cry. Dinah is in a relationship with Green Arrow. I am omitting a bit about her origin, trust me we will cover it later, but for right now, that’s all you need to know.
Elongated Man – The Ductile Detective or Stretchable Sleuth. Ralph Dibny was fascinated with the “Rubber Men” at circus sideshows and he discovered that each of them drank the extract from a plant called the Gingold. Ralph was able to concentrate the Gingold down to the point where he could stretch far beyond what normal rubber men could. Ralph is also an extremely accomplished detective, perhaps second only to the Batman. He is unique at this point in super hero story telling as Ralph has elected to not have a secret identity. He is married to a lovely socialite named Susan Dearborn Dibny.
Red Tornado – The Android Elemental. John Smith is an android construct of a Justice League villain, mad scientist T.O. Morrow. Unfortunately Reddy’s construction was such that John began to feel, form morals, and he rejected T.O. Morrow’s programming and eventually joined the Justice League. Red Tornado’s android body houses the Tornado Champion, an elemental that fuels his massive wind powers. Tornado is in love with a woman named Kathy Sutton and desires to be a father figure to a young girl he saved named Traya.
Zatanna – The Mistress of Magic. Zatanna Zatara is the daughter of a hero from World War II called Zatara and a woman named Sindella who is a member of a race of magicians called Homo Magi. While questing to find her missing father Zatanna came into contact with most of the JLA and eventually was offered membership. She speaks her spells backwards. Example: “Llaw fo htrae tfil pu hgih! Tcetorp su mrof eht taerht taht seilf!” translates to “Wall of earth lift up high! Protect us from the threat that flies!”
Firestorm – The Nuclear Man. Firestorm is actually two men caught in the midst of a nuclear experiment gone wrong. High School Student Ronnie Raymond and Professor Martin Stein were fused together into a being that possessed flight and control over the molecular structure of objects. Ronnie is the main physical entity while Dr. Stein hangs around Ronnie as an invisible head that only Ronnie can communicate with. This frequently makes other characters think that Firestorm is talking to himself, mostly for comical effect, but it also leads to the other heroes not taking him all that seriously.
What’s that Ralph? Does your nose smell a mystery? Well fear not gentle readers for we will be discussing the story in which the above event occurs in depth when next we meet.
JLA #200 – A League Divided