Comics discussions, with flair…
Posts tagged Wonder Woman
Groovy Daddy-O
Aug 25th
Oh the hippie, dippy, trippy, late sixties gave way to the love, peace, flower child which traveled through the remainder of America’s struggling civil rights adolescence. While America had passed a civil rights bill, their first Catholic President was assassinated. While desegregation moved forward more violence against African Americans continued in the social holdouts of racism. When some college students followed the Hippie life and dropped out, they became icons of a social war as the younger generation told the older generation, stop sending us to die in your wars. Young men burned draft cards and ran to Canada to avoid the death machine that was Vietnam. A later President would soon be exposed to be criminally implicated in campaign tampering and would resign in disgrace. No one over 30 would ever be trusted again.
It is in this backdrop that the Teen Titans are created.
While Robin, Speedy, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and Aqualad had existed for a while now, they had rarely teamed up. In fact, Wonder Girl’s admission is an editorial flub as when she first appeared she was a younger version of Wonder Woman, not a separate character. Eventually, to make the two characters completely distinguishable, Wonder Girl a.k.a. Donna Troy got this new snappy costume change cover and ditched the golden eagle and blue star spangled shorts.
To mirror the characterization that Aquaman was receiving in Justice League of America, Aqualad began to feel more like a fish out of water as well and summarily left the group.
As the time went on for the Teen Titans they needed new members and they got them and they mirrored the times of their creation.
Brothers Hank and Don Hall were selected to become the spirits of war and peace in America. Whenever Hank and Don are in danger or need to respond to danger they are able to say their names “Hawk” “Dove” and they transform into their distinctive costumes. Hawk is the aggressor. Hot tempered. Strong. Shoots first and asks questions never. Dove is the peaceful one. Calm. Agile. Defensive.
While in battle Hawk will concentrate on brutal close combat, Dove tends to play “dodge ball” with anyone who targets him for attack.
Lilith Clay and Gnarrk
Lilith Clay is a psychic sensitive girl whose free spirit and love for mankind leads the Titans down towards the path of enlightenment. Lilith plays a major role in helping tame another titan, Gnarrk, a large cro-magnon whose brute strength is only tempered by Lilith’s soothing voice and attention. Both Lilith and Gnarrk only wear street clothes and are not seen in costumes in this era.
Aquagirl
Of course, where there is an Aqualad, there must be an Aquagirl. Though not a member of the Titans, Tula became the major love interest of Aqualad over the years and she would be a supporting player in Titans tales for years to come.
Mal Duncan and Bumblebee
Mal Duncan is the first African American Titans character. Hanging with the Titans Mal served as a regular guy, although I guess at this point in the DCU, his blackness could be considered his super power. Along with Lilith, he served as a Greek chorus member to point out when the more iconic titans would not see things from a more street/real point of view. Eventually Mal would gain the identity of The Guardian and be given a horn that he calls his Gabriel’s Horn and would become known as The Herald.
Karen Beecher becomes Mal Duncan’s girlfriend and acts as a calming effect to Mal’s hot headed tendencies. While black males in comics were traditionally introduced as the “angry black man”, black women had not been that explored in comics with Karen being one of the first of DC’s ethnic females.
However Karen wasn’t just a pretty face, she was a scientist and an inventor. She used her skills to create her costume that enabled her to fly, shoot stinging rays, a honey gun to glue up the works, her antennae picked up police scanner bandwidth and other sounds from a fair distance away. She manages to win her own place on the team and stands alongside Mal with the Titans.
Harlequin
Harlequin is (we think) Duela Dent and in her many, many appearances she has stated that she is the daughter of Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, Two-Face, Scarecrow, well, you get the picture.
Originally created as a Joker foil for Robin and Batgirl, Duela proved very popular and moved quickly from villain status to “misunderstood heroine.” Ditching the female Joker clothes and moving towards a more traditional Harlequin outfit, Duela carried any number of joke like gag gadgets with her and continuously played pranks on her teammates and villains alike. She carried seltzer bottles, a pipe that blew bubbles of glue or tear gas, roller skate shoes, and had a natural unpredictability in combat.
As time went on, additional Titans characters merged with some of the above to create Titans West to compete with Titans East which brings us to this great cover moment…
You know that Beast Boy is Changeling of the New Teen Titans, right?
The original blonde Bat-Girl, Bette Kane, who was the sidekick and niece of the original Batwoman. A teenage tennis prodigy, Bette is a natural athlete and has one heck of a backhand.
Golden Eagle is Charlie Parker who idolized Hawkman and through some hocus-pocus, Charlie was able to become a teenage version of Hawkman via Hawkman’s enemy, the Matter Master. Charlie found himself with a Thanagarian harness and wings, however without the past lives, Charlie did not have Hawkman or Hawkgirl’s affinity with weaponry.
The Teen Titans would sail into obscurity shortly after this cover was published and they would languish in comic book limbo for the most part except for guest starring roles for all the main sidekicks. Again, being gone does not mean that they are forgotten and New Teen Titans artist George Perez made sure to pay tribute to the original Teen Titans, featuring Mal in his Guardian outfit, Harlequin’s new outfit, and G’narrk (next to Lilith).
Next up, we visit a new earth and The Freedom Fighters!
Justice Society of America – Roll Call I
Mar 10th
Now, we’re here on Earth-Two and the counterpart to the JLA is the JSA. Not only the counterpart, but also the predecessor of the JLA. Back when I started collecting comics characters used to be numbered by order in which they appeared, so the original Green Lantern was Green Lantern I but he was from Earth-2. I am not going to do that here.
If any hard core comic book fans are reading this, I probably just moved to the heretic column. Oh well, I’ve been called an abomination before, and it will happen again, so bring it.
What I am going to do is typically use the character’s name and their real name to distinguish which character that we are talking about.
For the five heroes that kept being published from the Golden Age through to the Silver Age…
- Superman
- Batman
- Wonder Woman
- Aquaman
- Green Arrow
Only three of them joined the JSA. Wonder Woman was the secretary and Superman and Batman were honorary members. Neither Aquaman nor Green Arrow joined the JSA. Additionally between the Golden Age to the Silver Age no significant changes were made in the character regarding name, origin, powers, m.o., etc.., While some of these may have evolved over time there was not a distinct change that occurred along with a brand new introductory character. Since Superheroes as a genre were not commercially successful, most of those heroes went into mothballs until the powers that be decided it was time for superheroes to stage a comeback.
When that comeback occurred it featured a new character, new costume, new powers, new origins… the only thing that stayed the same consistently from character to character was the name of the hero.
With that in mind, we need to go back to the Golden Age a bit and spend some time with these heroes and heroines of the Golden Age.
The American propaganda was very important back in the days of WWII. For morale of the troops overseas and as a cheap entertainment for the kids at home. Remember, basics were scarce, so people typically read a comic and then sent it along with their magazines and newspapers to paper drives, along with scrap metal, old tires, nylons, anything to help with the war. People grew victory gardens to save money while dealing with war rationing. A coca-cola for Christmas was considered a splurge due to the sugar shortage.
So kids, needed their heroes just as much as the boys overseas. And here they are the roll call of the original JSA.
The Flash is Jay Garrick is a college student who inhales fumes from a hard water/heavy water experiment and when he awakes he discovers he can move at super speeds and he has amazing reflexes. He is easy to recognize due to the Hermes/Mercury helmet he wears.
(Barry Allen Flash of Earth-One on the left and Jay Garrick Flash of Earth-Two on the right.)
The Spectre is Detective Jim Corrigan who was murdered by mobsters. His body became infused with the “spirit of vengeance” and he became The Spectre. The Spectre starts off as just a man in an outfit with ghostly abilities, but he evolves eventually into one of the most powerful forces in the DCU as the “Wrath of God.”
The Spectre in one of his spooky tales in the Silver Age.
The good doctor who is a master of the mystical arts is Dr. Kent Nelson a son of an archaeologist who was in Egypt discovering all sorts of hidden treasures, unfortunately Kent’s father died leaving young Kent to be raised by a being named Nabu. Nabu is an ancient Egyptian sorcerer whose spirit lives in the Golden Helmet of Doctor Fate. When Kent puts on the Helmet, the power and personality of Nabu take him over to an extent and he becomes an agent for the Lords of Order to fight the never ending power of Chaos magicks.
(You have to admit, the helmet is a pretty intimidating look.)
Green Lantern is Alan Scott of Gotham City and is a top radio man in the business. Radio, right? According to comic book legend Alan was supposed to be named Alan Ladd (Aladdin?) but then a real Alan Ladd began to appear in movies and the name was scrapped. Alan’s ring and lantern are formed out of a mystical rock called The Starheart. He must charge his ring every 24 hours just like that other Green Lantern, however he has no connection to the space faring Green Lantern Corps except in name only. He was named an honorary member of the Green Lantern Corps after many duties he had performed over the years in the Earth-One universe. Unlike Hal, Alan’s ring was immune against wood, not against the color yellow.
Next time: More Classic JSA members!
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.
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 Three: Wonder Woman vs. Zatanna
Feb 7th
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 ocean to overwhelm Wonder Woman, but to no avail. Diana uses her Golden Lasso to spin so fast that it redirects the flood right at Zatanna and Hippolyta. Wonder Woman escapes and Zatanna lies there unconscious only to be revived shortly by the Healing Purple Ray of Amazonian science.
Hippolyta informs Zatanna that she tried to reach her daughter via mental radio but Diana was not answering. Zatanna reiterates what we already know, the Original JLAers are being controlled. But by who? Why? And what does it have to do with the meteors?
Just a few notes in this chapter:
Paradise Island as it is called at this time is forbidden to be trod upon by all men by the Gods. That being the case the League could send either Black Canary, a martial artist with a sonic cry or Zatanna, a sorceress of some power to fight Diana. While they chose Zatanna, I have to opine that neither of the ladies of the League stood a chance versus Diana.
The Amazons of the DC Universe are indeed that fabled race of woman warriors from the tales of Homer and while many of them are faceless throngs in crowd shots of fighting, we will talk about the important Amazons at another time. Again, no need to give you all that right now. The Amazons worship the Greek Gods and they are a major part of Wonder Woman’s supporting cast, hence her calling out “Great Hera!” or such when in battle.
Zatanna on the other hand is a witch, whether in the wiccan tradition or not, its obvious that her magical abilities are amped up beyond what a real practicing witch would have, so the symbols in the art piece above is not implied in any way to include satanism or demon worship. She is half human, half Homo Magi, so we have no idea what those symbols mean to her.
Again, these are fictional constructs which borrow bits and pieces from reality in order to forge a fun fictional world.
Next time: Green Lantern vs. The Atom
In the beginning… there was the Justice League of America
Jan 30th
“Darren… this makes no sense!”
These are the words that a young friend who had probably not really picked up a comic before. The volume he had chosen was “The History of the DC Universe” written by Marv Wolfman and drawn by George Perez. I just looked at him and said
“You should have seen the DC Universe BEFORE that book came out.”
I feel like I understand the DC Universe (DCU) fairly well and it’s nothing against the Marvel guys across the way, but I had the cash for one universe and DC won, probably due to their presence on tv back when I was growing up.
Theoretically, I understand the DCU because I started out when I did, so I am supposing that if we do the introductions of characters back when I met them hopefully some of that understanding will rub off on the non-readers out there. So, if this fictional universe is going to make any sense to someone who has never delved past the surface let’s start off with my beginning as a DC fan.
You are now taking a college prep course.
JLA 101 The Basics
So, let’s start at the beginning as to when I encountered my first DC comic book.
Super-Friends was no longer on the air as much, I had become aware of the concept of “the rerun” and it annoyed me. I went looking for other things to read. Anything about heroes, villains, epic battles of right versus wrong, that was what drew me to literature. I delved into books about Greek myths, King Arthur, and Robin Hood. After all, there was no Harry Potter back then, instead it was Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach and E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web that were the popular books in school at the time.
Then one day, for my birthday, I went to the local Magik Market ™ and was going to get a slurpee with the last of my birthday money. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted the famed circular comic book rack. In the era before the direct comic market, most comics were shipped to convenience stores, mom and pop drug stores, and grocery stores. On the racks I saw Superman, Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, but I didn’t have a lot of money and comics were 60 cents back then. A major financial commitment for a kid without an allowance. I had $2 dollars on me. So I could get 3 comics plus tax. Then I saw it.
The Justice League of America. Those are the Super-Friends, right?
To me, they were. I would not realize this at the time but it was not just any issue of Justice League, it was #200. It has a wrap-around cover. It features no less than 17 heroes on the inside and it was easily triple the size of the other comics featuring only one character.
Sold!
I got back to the car and my father yelled at me. I was supposed to get a Slurpee not a comic book. But it was my birthday and my money, I spent it the way I wanted. My mom defended me and my younger brother wanted to read the comic. This family dynamic would continue until my senior year in high school. But, more about that later.
I opened the gorgeous cover drawn by George Perez. Prounounced (PAIR – ehz). I was treated to a very short retelling of the origin of the Justice League in which the icons of the DC Universe fought seven aliens from the planet Appellax who came to use Earth as their arena for trial by combat. It seemed as if I could hear the Super-Friends music ringing in my ears.
So, let’s just introduce the first characters in the DC Universe that I ever met.
Superman – Rocketed from the doomed planet Krypton, orphaned Kal-El was raised in Smallville, Kansas by Jonathan and Martha Kent with good old Midwestern American values. As his body took in the rays of Earth’s yellow sun his body gained the abilities to be “faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.” He is known as the “Man of Tomorrow”, “The Man of Steel”, and “The Big Blue Boy Scout”.
Wonder Woman –The only daughter of the Amazon’s queen Hippolyta, won a contest to become the Amazon’s ambassador to Man’s World to teach peace, love, and respect for all humankind. Wonder Woman’s purpose is right out of the theme song of the Lynda Carter TV Show “Make a hawk a dove, stop a war with love, make a liar tell the truth.” In her satin tights, fighting for our rights, Diana is not only a role model to all women in her iconic status as the most recognizable female super hero, but she is the undisputed mother of all super heroines. There may have been some older than her, but she is undoubtedly the one with the most staying power.
Batman – The Dark Knight. The origin is classic. A young boy goes to a movie (typically Zorro is showing in the origins) with his parents and upon leaving the movie in high spirits his parents are accosted by a mugger. The mugger shoots and kills his father and mother leaving the boy alive and alone in a single street light. Raised by his family’s butler, Alfred, the young Bruce Wayne vows to wage a never ending battle for justice. He uses an image that will strike fear into the hearts of the superstitious that of a Bat. He trains his body and mind to perfection and becomes the scourge of the Underworld. The Batman.
Aquaman – King of the Seven Seas. Born cursed with blonde hair the son of a lighthouse keeper and a mermaid, Arthur Curry is torn between his two heritages. He is able to move through water as fast as Superman can through air or Flash can on land. He commands all the marine life within range of his telepathy. His body can withstand pressures that would crush lesser beings. He can see through the darkest oceans. Forget all that. He is KING OF ATLANTIS. Aquaman gets a bad rap and is easy for others to make fun of, but he is KING OF ATLANTIS! He commands a force of warriors and mystics that should make you think twice to even go near the ocean. His King and Diana’s Princess give the JLA more than a touch of regal respect.
Green Lantern – When Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814 Abin Sur was dying he landed his space craft in the Mohave Desert on Earth and commanded his ring to find a worthy successor. It sought out a human being who knew no fear. That being was Hal Jordan, test pilot. Hal accepted the ring and became a member of the Intergalactic Police Force, the Green Lantern Corps. With the ring he can create constructs as long as he wills them into being. He is Aladdin with a proverbial genie on his finger and his cosmic adventures rival any of those experienced in the sci-fi genre.
The Flash – Barry Allen, a consistently late police forensic scientist was working in the lab one evening when a lightning bolt struck him and a wall of chemicals bathing him and made him The Fastest Man Alive. The Flash controls all of his molecules and can pass through solid objects, run up the side of buildings, and can cross an ocean before he has time to sink. He was C.S.I. before C.S.I. was cool.
The Manhunter from Mars or more commonly known as The Martian Manhunter also known as John Jones or J’onn J’onzz. If Superman is the ideal, Wonder Woman is the heart, Batman is the brain, the the Martian Manhunter is the soul of the Justice League. Pulled from Mars after his race was eradicated in a fiery plague, J’onn assimilated into human culture as a detective and used his Martian gifts to change his shape, telepathy, flight, super strength, and Martian vision and breath to fight crime as the Martian Manhunter.
These seven are the founding members of the Justice League of America (JLA). From Left to Right: Green Lantern, Flash, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter as done by Alex Ross.
Yes there is a lot more to say about these characters. Entire encyclopedic volumes have been written about some of these characters, but I am not here to overwhelm. Just enjoy the visuals of the logos and the seven heroes together for now. When next we meet, we will encounter the non-charter members of the JLA.