2005 Upper Deck Justice League of America VS System CCG Card DJL-068: Justice League Task Force - Team-Up

Illustration by Phil Noto.

As I mentioned yesterday, I started buying the "Breakdowns" arc of the Justice League books, but realized that I only had interest in JLI as a comedy ensemble, and dropped the books again. I came back for the two closing chapters, or really, epilogues that cleared the way for the next creative direction. The Europe one was dreadful, but America was a bittersweet re-teaming of Giffen, DeMatteis, & Maguire. I liked the part where J'Onn J'Onzz flew off to parts unknown, intent on a period of meditation and self-discovery, saying simply "Goodbye." I was in no way concerned about what happened to him after that. I'd given Martian Manhunter his shot as the only comic I bought at the only shop I visited while living outside Las Vegas, the first issue of a mini-series with an inflated cover price that I hated very much. With that, J'Onn was just a straight man for the JLI to me. The Justice League Spectacular that invited all those stick in the mud older fans to come back to a "serious" League that they'd been howling for, except the two teams were still staffed with badly mischaracterized and abused JLI members those veteran fans had no interest in. Also, the revised books were terrible and boring. It was no one's golden age of the team. Yes, I was aware that the Sleuth from Outer Space had placed in a fan poll for who deserved a mini-series, but if I was aggrieved about a $1.25 price point in the 75￠ days, a $4.95 prestige format book in the $1.25 was heretical.

Worse than not missing Martian Manhunter, but I didn't even really clock his absence. I'd dabbled with DC, picked up some new stuff here and there, but I was still primarily a Titans guy. I bought the first three issues of Justice League Task Force because Nightwing was on the first situational team. I didn't know why Gypsy was. If anything, I though the Alien Atlas looked like a dork as drawn by Sal Velluto. I wasn't much happier with his rendition of Dick, and I really disliked how he was written, so I left as soon as he did. But I only skipped one issue before picking up only the first half of a "Knightquest: The Search" tie-in before getting wise that DC was bleeding a stone there. But then I got really into Wonder Woman really fast, so I bought her two-part "all female" team story. Right after, there was a story with the New Bloods, and I'd just finished collecting all the "Bloodlines" annuals. I managed to skip an arc, but it was the '90s, and Wonder Woman was involved in a crossover, so I bought all the chapters of "Judgment Day." That had a coda in JLTF #15, I got a month off, and then I bought all the "Zero Month" offerings. That was finally it, though. I found the new permanent line-up in Justice League Task Force #0 laughable, they were set on an island of continuity where none of my interests made stunt appearances, and the book languished unto cancellation. Weirdly, there was another Justice League crossover at one point, but it was only the America team linking to Hawkman and Guy Gardner: Warrior, two of which I was already following. Sans the Task Force, Martian Manhunter appeared in that arc, but I was only buying Justice League America for Wonder Woman.

In the very late '90s, I did go back to read the Detroit era Justice League of America, as well as the Adam Hughes gap years of Justice League America with the return of Despero and Gypsy becoming J'Onn's surrogate daughter. Heck, I got the 1988 Martian Manhunter mini-series and made the acquaintance of his tragic biological daughter. But I did this only after I'd become enamored with the Martian Marvel, and that context made me much more receptive than I would have been otherwise. All of that reading helped me appreciate Justice League Task Force a lot more. Still not so much the Mission: Impossible version with rotating casts and creatives. Actually, the "laughable" final incarnation, and it truly was. After a brief stint by Mark Waid, the writing was taken over by Christopher Priest, one of the few people in mainstream comics who could write humor. A much different, more sardonic and irony-poisoned humor than JLI, but funny nonetheless. Priest's JLTF were losers, and they mostly knew it, so they played into being the worst JL team of the time with a Gen-X slacker ethos. "We didn't want you to allow us access to any good characters for super-hero spectacle anyway! We'll just have droll misadventures involving parodies of Coppala's Dracula while dunking on each other!" It turned out to be the best League book of its time, and probably the best run that everybody continues to sleep on. Even Velluto leveled-up on art with the help of new inker Bob Almond, and if you didn't like that, the still-unknown Ramon Bernado offered a fun John Buscema pastiche toward the end. I'd still rather read that material than all the corny Satellite era yarns the olds couldn't move past in the JLI days.

Justice League of America's Vibe #1-3 (April-June, 2013)

Martian Manhunter had a cameo in the debut issue of Vibe's solo book as a head shot in a preview of the upcoming Justice League of America. The following issue, the Alien Atlas stood beside Colonel Steve Trevor, Katana, Vibe, Stargirl, and Hawkman in front of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. for a press conference presided over by President Barack Obama to announce the formation of the J.L.A. A photo of J'Onn also turned up on a corkboard at A.R.G.U.S. in the third issue.

Francisco Ramon was recruited by Agent Dale Gunn of A.R.G.U.S. to serve as the hero Vibe under orders from Director Amanda Waller. Given a costume and the codename "Vibe," Ramon would use his command over vibrational frequencies to detect breaches from other dimensions. He was also secretly expected to be a potential weapon against the Flash, just as the Martian Manhunter was a planned counter against Superman. The J.L.A.'s covert reason for being was to give the United States an option to take on the original Justice League with their own super-heroes, should it prove necessary.

The American League wasn't the only bit of dirty business Amanda Waller was up to, as she also imprisoned super-powered subjects in her underground laboratory dubbed "The Circus." There was already a containment cell that literally had Vibe's name on it if he ever fell out of favor. In her New 52 debut as part of a first issue cameo, captive subject Gypsy looked on from confinement, and wasn't the only such prisoner by a fair margin.

In the following issue, a menacing alien courier roamed the streets of Detroit until he was confronted by Vibe and brought low with the aid of Dale Gunn. It carried a scroll featuring extraterrestrial writing, which was eventually turned over to Waller, who brought it for a visit to the Circus. "...It has your name on it, doesn't it? Written in your language. It's a letter. Someone went to a great deal of trouble getting this to you..." The prisoner asked after the fate of the courier, and explained that the letter was a request from her father to come home. "You seem to prefer a more nomadic existence. That makes you something of a trans-dimensional... Gypsy." Waller wanted the girl to tell her father that she was safe and well cared for, but if he decided to try to take his daughter back, he'd share her "accommodations." Gypsy felt that Waller had no right to keep her, and Amanda agreed, but also noted that some of her superiors would prefer that her holding facility become an abattoir. "I want out! I'll take my chances out there! Please..."

Finally, feedback from a confrontation between Vibe and Kid Flash caused the power dampening generated in some of the Circus' cells to falter, allowing Subject 24 ("Gypsy") access to her abilities. Creating the illusion that she was a guard who had been trapped in her cell, Gypsy lured another guard into freeing her and escaping. The stories were written by Geoff Johns & Andrew Kreisberg & Sterling Gates, with pencil art by Pete Woods & Andres Guinaldo & Fabiano Neves. Yes, that is a lot of names for three issues, isn't it?

JLX in The Amalgam Age of Comics: The DC Comics Collection (1996)

The plan for yesterday was to draft a larger post on the background of the Amalgam Comics stunt, halve that as appropriate, and then spin off narratives for the Wonder Woman titles and Martian Manhunter in JLX. What I hadn't considered was that Wonder Woman was far more central to the Marvel Versus DC event, and had more expansive lore within the Amalgam Comics pseudo-verse, meaning her side of the story dominated so fully that I simply ran out of time and energy to give a Martian perspective. There's an additional, anniversary-appropriate irony... I apparently never covered DC Versus Marvel on this Blogspot/Blogger/Google incarnation, only my oft-referenced-during-anniversaries WebTV incarnation from the late '90s / early '00s. What a reminder that I've been doing this too long, that I assume the presence of my DC Message Boards-era, 20th Century content here. One of the running jokes was that I was supposed to migrate all that WebTV content here and save myself work, instead of re-doing... well... clearly not everything. I wonder if I can even still run the CD a buddy burned to back the site up using a web crawler in 2000? Anyway, I'm not inclined to repeat myself, so if you want background, read it at Diana Prince as the New Wonder Woman.

While there are some notable characters dating back to the (falsified) Golden Age of Comics like Super-Soldier and Diana Prince, Amalgam Comics seems largely built on a (retconned) Silver Age. Super-Soldier (human Clark Kent given powers from materials found by scientists in a Kryptonian rocket) was put on ice until modern times, awakening to find his powers diminished by lingering radiation from Lex Luthor's K-bombs. In order to combat superhuman menaces, Kent put together a team that would counter them "without alliances to a particular country or political group." This team would be the Judgment League Avengers, or "JLA" for short. They consisted of Dark Claw, Captain Marvel, Angelhawk, Canary, Goliath, and Hawkeye. Their sometimes ally was Mariner, a combination of Namor and Aquaman who lived in the undersea city of Poseidonis with his wife and child. Poseidonis was mysteriously destroyed, taking everyone by Mariner in a cataclysm. The mourning Mariner launched two mission: to combat pollution to his water by the surface world, and to find the lost city of Homo Superior, Atlantis.

Mutants are present in Amalgam Comics, but seem to be more marginalized there than at Marvel. Even the JLA are somewhat discriminatory towards them, with members hiding their mutant genes from fellow heroes. However, the JLA also battle anti-mutant bigots like Will Magnus, who used his technological genius to build mutant-hunting robots called Sentinels. Will Magnus was motivated by his hatred of his brother Erik, who in the guise of Magneto formed The Brotherhood of Mutants. Will Magnus also created more humanoid automatons, like the Setinel Jocasta, who he tested by having her infiltrate the modeling industry under the name Millie. At one point, Will Magnus tried to infiltrate the JLA with a synthezoid spy called Crimson Whirlwind, but creation was turned against creator. Another mutant group was X-Patrol, led by a time-traveler from an apocalyptic future named Niles Cable. They are attempting to improve the fate of their kind, with each successful mission changing the history of Cable.

In the series JLA: The New Blood, the Avengers started to address the rising visibility of mutants by adopting more out members to the team. Among the earliest mentees were Firebird (The Green Flame + Phoenix,) Apollo (The Ray + Cyclops,) and Wraith (Obsidian + Gambit.) They were soon joined by Mercury (Impulse + Quicksilver,) Runaway (Gypsy + Rogue,) and Nightcreeper (The Creeper + Nightcrawler.) Among their enemies and frienemies were Lord Nimrod and his X-tremists, Ms. Tique's Brotherhood of Injustice, Sunstorm, and Metamimic, while a rival JLA spin-off group was Extreme Works. I'm not clear on their relationship to The Brotherhood of Mutants, but that team was murdered by Sentinels. Recently, the members were reborn in robot form as Magneto and the Magnetic Men.

Most recently, Mariner was framed for a mass murder, and the U.S. Government ordered his capture and imprisonment without trial. This created a rift between the Judgment League Avengers and their mutant new blood, who under the guidance of the notorious criminal mastermind Mr. X, orchestrated a jailbreak for Mariner with the renegade "JLX."

New History of the DC Universe #2 (September, 2025)

Book One of this title threw Martian Manhunter a bone by still having him precede the Silver Age generation of DC super-heroes established Post-Crisis. Now as then, you had the World War II characters sans Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman, then guys like Captain Comet and J'Onn J'Onzz in a gray middle period, with a Boomer-skewing "modern age" of the excised characters and the Silver Age revival heroes like Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, and the Atom. The Sleuth from Outer Space can now go off in a corner and tried to suck the marrow out of that bone, because the proper meat is served to Victor Stone.

Hypertime 2025 tries to squeeze as much of the Pre-Crisis material that the writer grew up on back into the continuities of the biggest DC icons, particularly with regard to Superman and Batman. Wonder Woman suffers under the attempt, referencing a "new" Barbara Minerva version of Cheetah without having Priscilla Rich appear in the Golden Age book, making the Valerie Beaudry Silver Swan share space with green jumpsuit Angle Man, offering some sort of dapper Tony Stark x Dr. Psycho from no time ever, and squeezing it all into a quarter page to save space for Bizarro, Sinestro, and '60s Batman rogues-- obviously of equal importance to the majority of Amazing Amazon history. So basically, the same five DC characters that always get to feast get that much more to chew on, while the ones the basic boys were never as into get the leftovers. I like the Mark Waid as a person and a professional, but he's basically a war criminal on Paradise Island. All this to say, it's not just the Alien Atlas getting crumbs, but that's where I'll pour the rest of the salt today.

Here's where we get very New 52/Snyder Murderverse. The Martian Marvel remains in hiding, or at least of the public board, even as the Challengers, Adam Strange, and the boy sidekicks that would form the Teen Titans maker the scene. Next, a proto-Justice League forms around the initial incursion of Darkseid/the Fourth World, during which Victor Stone suffers crippling injuries and becomes a proto-Cyborg. After that initial encounter, Stone is placed in some sort of suspended animation "for further healing" until he's released to show a lot more skin as a New Teen Titan. DC wants the credit in foregrounding an African-American super-hero as an original Justice Leaguer, but they don't actually want to integrate him into their broader history. You might say that he's separate but equal. Sure, Jan.

That leaves Martian Manhunter and the second generation Black Canary to formally found the Justice League during the Appellaxian Invasion. So they're technically co-founders after a previous grouping was retconned in, just as happened to Hal Jordan, Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman. Plus, this time we're leaving out the "of America," so maybe there's another formality where the "JLA" was a separate team altogether?

From there, the continuity is largely classical and chronological. J'Onn's part of the first Earth-2 seanace with the DC Trinity, though this edition is very coy about the existence of a Multiverse, so we're probably talking more about being trapped in a different vibrational plane here. The campaign against the scourge of boy sidekicks in short pants continues to be fought with retconned full leggings. Another deeply annoying choice is to have Plastic Man treated as a crappy mid-'60s DC hero only worthy of a caption box instead of one of the greatest Golden Age heroes featured in WWII-era Quality Comics publications. I guess Jack Cole fans are relieved to not have to associate his creation with decades of DC mishandling their version.

There's no mention of Martian Manhunter as the book vaguely touches on key developments of the 1970s and early '80s. To be fair, very little solo material of any heroes are offered, so I should be pleased that the mod Diana Prince and Aquaman's reign/marriage/heir/infanticide got the attention that they did. It was mostly just rattling heroic debuts in partial page pin-up shots. It's... let's go with "amusing," that all of Black peopledom go on ice with Cyborg. Until suddenly, oh my stars, there's John Stewart, Nubia, Bronze Tiger, and a little on Black Lightning is one long rip. Hey, another WW nod, too. In this context, and with a sense of perspective, Martian Manhunter's existence being solely defined by League incarnations fits. The Satellite era is bundled up into the Red Tornado blurb, but the Detroit League rate half a page. Sorta. They left out a visual of Vixen since she already had a debut blurb (representation!) plus we had a top hat & tails Zatanna, New 52 Vibe, and second suit Steel (did we even see Commander Steel in the first issue?) For all the clean up and inclusion, the ethnic slur Gypsy remains, though she looks more like her early JLTF self.

The final three pages covers a thin gruel take on Crisis on Infinite Earths. Asian female Dr. Lights will live. Supergirls will die. And can we squeeze an Infinity Incorporated profile into this? By the way, Power Girl and the Huntress still don't exist yet? The art this time was by Mike Allred, who I love and is perfect for covering this era, and Brad Walker, whose style is jarringly incompatible. I enjoyed Walker's style back when he was going to do a Martian Manhunter mini-series, but this more cartoony style is an awkward compromise.

The backmatter co-written by Dave Wielgosz offers an insane amount of retcon review from the Post-Crisis period. The 2018 Martian Manhunter maxi-series that I gave up on a few issues in, with the latest already forgotten killer of all the Martians (second or third for that decade alone?) is the only J'Onn J'Onzz one given credence. Of course Mark Waid's own JLA: Year One is wedged in there, but that's a book people actually read and loved. Things start to settle into the actual Silver Age six pages in, but it's still pretty much just a list of character debuts. It occurs to me now that Iris Allen doesn't seem to die anymore? Oh, but Sue Dibny still gets assaulted by Dr. Light, at least in the liner notes? Mongul gets a brief nod, with a Starlin panel. The Despero erasure, tho. And don't get me started on Captain Atom.

2015-2017 Martian Manhunter Comrades Jam

Another funny one where all the individual parts have been posted online since 2019, but I waited a half decade to offer the combined piece as a whole. My explanation is that I intended this to be the "front cover" for the second volume of Who's Who in Martian Manhunter, with 2014-2016 JLI, Saturnians, & Other Friends Artist Jam on the back, but that's simply never going to happen. It's been eight years. I'm calling the time of death. Anyway, it's also amusing because this jam only took two years to complete, a short turnaround for such a long delay. It spanned an awful lot of conventions though, including a HeroesCon and a couple of Comicpaloozas, but the majority was done at just one of two years' worth of the now defunct Amazing Houston. Here's another cute thing: in the years between efforts, I had the same artist do two different Green Lanterns on as many jams without realizing it. On the plus side, the colors on the original FedEx Xerox were all washed out, but the direct scan from tonight improves on it. In the no laughing matter department, contributing artists Allen Bellman (a Golden Age great) and Adrian Nelson (one of my favorites and most oft-requested over the years) have passed away in the interim.

2015-2017 Martian Manhunter Comrades Jam

• 2015 The Atom (Ray Palmer) Amazing Houston Comic Con Jam Sketch Detail by Atom Todd
• 2015 Bloodwynd Amazing Houston Comic Con Jam Sketch Detail by Oliver Banks
• 2017 Elongated Man Jam Sketch Detail by Isaiah Broussard
• 2015 Glenn Gammeron Amazing Houston Comic Con Jam Sketch Detail by Adrian Nelson
• 2016 Green Lantern John Stewart Amazing Houston Comic Con Jam Sketch Detail by Eddie Nuñez
• 2015 Gypsy Amazing Houston Comic Con Jam Sketch Detail by Brent Peeples
• 2015 L-Ron Amazing Houston Comic Con Jam Sketch Detail by Ali Morgainne
• 2015 Miss Martian Amazing Houston Comic Con Jam Sketch by Mark Bagley
• 2015 Oberon Amazing Houston Comic Con Jam Sketch Detail by Johnny J. Segura III
• 2017 The Ray Comicpalooza convention Jam Sketch Detail by Jason Scholte
• 2017 Roh Kar Jam Sketch Detail by Allen Bellman
• 2016 Steel (Hank Heywood III) Amazing Houston Comic Con Jam Sketch Detail by Allen Adams III
• 2015 Vibe Amazing Houston Comic Con Jam Sketch Detail by Brian Salinas
• 2015 The Vixen Amazing Houston Comic Con Jam Sketch Detail by Brad Garneau
• 2016 Zatanna Comicpalooza convention Jam Sketch Detail by Garrett Gainey

2021 “Gypsy Zook and Cry'll - In Color” commission by Val Semeiks & Tom Ziuko

Click To Enlarge

I had planned to finish out running original material commissioned for the fake DC Editorial Presentation this week, but I felt like the artist didn't get the traction his work warranted on social media due to the holidays and so many people being on vacation. Also, I only got one day off each of those weeks, so I didn't set aside the time to draft those posts. Thankfully, derekwc alerted me to this delightful work.

So love Val's version of Detroit Era Gypsy and asked him for a commission. I wild idea came to mind to add Zook and Cry'll the alien sidekicks of Martian Manhunter and Space Ranger. Val said it was very unique commission but think he had fun with it. I asked him to add a small Space Ranger in the background as he already had Martian Manhunter.

Lots of fun choices made here, and I'm always up for an untold adventure of Zook in the right spirit. Here's the original black & white art. By the way, there's no apostrophe in Cryll... or Zook for that matter, and don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise.

My crazy commission piece - by Val Semiks now in glorious computer color. Tom Z knocks it out the park again.

Podcast- JLMay 2019: Countdown To Blackest Night (2007-2009)

Episode #36

Look for us on iTunes, ShoutEngine or directly download an art-tagged MP3 from the Internet Archive

JLMay 2019-- Blackest Night 10th Anniversary Podcast Crossover Event
Frank always gets extra with #JLMay, so this first of several tie-in episodes covers three years worth of often extraneous Martian Manhunter material leading to his murder and the aftermath. Series referenced include Infinite Crisis, Amazons Attack, Checkmate, Countdown, Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding Special, Justice League of America Wedding Special, The Sinestro Corps War, Teen Titans, Black Adam: The Dark Age, Salvation Run, Catwoman, Final Crisis: Requiem, Faces of Evil: Prometheus, Justice League: Cry for Justice, & Blackest Night! From here follow JLMay 2016 to these fantastic podcasts! Each will cover a different issue of SILVER AGE and each will come out in May! And don’t forget to use the hashtag #JLMay2019 when discussing on social media!

JLMay 2019

1. JLMAY Blackest Night Anniversary Special [The Podcast of Oa Episode 138]
2. Blackest Night #1 (2009) [Chris & Reggie’s Cosmic Treadmill ep. 139]
3. Blackest Night #2 and Green Lantern (vol.4) #44 [Idol Head of Diabolu]
4. Blackest Night #3 [The Fire & Water Podcast]
5. Blackest Night #4 [Head Speaks]
6. Blackest Night #5 [Coffee & Comics Podcast]
7. Blackest Night #6 [Longbox Crusade]
8. Blackest Night #7 and #8, and Green Lantern (vol.4) #52 [The LanternCast]
9. Doom Patrol (vol. 5) #4 and #5 [Waiting for Doom]
10. Suicide Squad #67, and Secret Six #17-#18 [Task Force X]
11. Justice League of America (vol.2) #38-#40 [Justice’s First Dawn]
12. Adventure Comics (vol.2) #4-#7, and Untold Tales of the Blackest Night #1 [Coffee & Comics Podcast]
13. Starman (vol.2) #81 [Starman/Manhunter Adventure Hour]
14. Booster Gold (vol.2) #26-#27 [Doctor DC Podcast]
15. Blackest Night: JSA miniseries, issues #1-#3 [Birds of Prey Podcast]

Martian Manhunter in...

• Silver Age #1 (July, 2000)
• Silver Age: Justice League of America #1 (July, 2000)
• Silver Age: Dial H for Hero #1 (July, 2000)

JLMay 2017

• Justice (2005)

JLMay 2016

• JLA: Day Minus-One (1977)
• JLA: Day Zero (1994)
• JLA: Day One (1961)
• Secret Origins Podcast: Justice League of America
• JLA: Year One #10

We enjoy dialogue on the red planet, so here are our non-telepathic contact options:

• Tweet host Diabolu Frank directly, or probe @rolledspine as a group.
• Email Diabolu
• If the main Idol-Head of Diabolu blog isn't your thing, try the umbrella Rolled Spine Podcasts.

Final Crisis: Requiem #1 (September, 2008)

Superman said the final words at the funeral of J'Onn J'Onzz, attended by Wonder Woman, Dr. Mid-Nite, Metamorpho, Zatanna, Wildcat, Grace Choi, Black Lightning, Mr. Terrific, Firestorm (Jason Rusch,) Hawkgirl (Kendra Saunders,) Starman, Booster Gold, Plastic Man, the Bulleteer, Beast Boy, Vixen, Robin (Tim Drake,) Nightwing, Green Lanterns Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Alan Scott, & Kyle Rayner, Green Arrow, Stargirl, the Arthur Joseph Curry Aquaman inexplicably in the original's costume, Starfire, Batman, Flash (Wally West,) Red Arrow, Geo-Force, Cyclone, Hawkman, Red Tornado, Steel, Huntress, Black Canary, Damage, Hourman (Rick Tyler,) Supergirl, Power Girl, Adam Strange, Ice, Gypsy and others in the background.

J'Onn J'Onzz had been lying on the floor in a villains' lair with over 300 pyro-tranq darts designed by Dr. Sivana lodged all over his body, immolating and sedating him. Perpetrators Dr. Light and Effigy lowered the so-called firewall so that they could carry him to another room under orders from the super-villain apostle Libra. Though groggy, J'Onzz began to regain consciousness en route. Libra wasted no time impaling him through the chest with his staff. The villains present in the room; Lex Luthor, Effigy, Dr. Sivana, Vandal Savage, Gorilla Grodd, Ocean Master, Dr. Light, and Talia al Ghul; were tormented by visions of a homicidal Justice League projected by J'Onzz in the throes. The Human Flame had cowered behind an armchair over the illusory sight of the Alien Atlas himself, though he was beneath notice as the Manhunter remained focused on Libra. The Martian Marvel pulled himself up from the ground by the spear and began choking Libra, but Effigy and Dr. Light blasted him with their energy powers. Burnt and exhausted, J'Onzz felt the killing cut dealt his heart by Libra from a borrowed knife from Vandal Savage. J'Onn forced a final grin.


At the moment of his death, various heroes were struck by a telepathic wave that notified them of his passing, including Superman, Batman, Dinah (but not her bedmate Ollie,) Hal, and in Detroit, Gypsy. Of all people, it was Dick Grayson who first reached the body, dangling impaled through the chest by a post driven into a large model of planet Mars. This was in New York City, after being reported by a security guard at the Rose Center for Earth and Science. It was a "Level One Omega," in super-hero parlance. The body was taken back to the headquarters of the Justice League of America, a team he was no longer a member of in a Hall of Justice that was long denied him. Hal and Ollie kept watch over him, with the former asking "Look how they slaughtered our friend. Of all of us... I can't believe he's gone." Jordan couldn't bear to close J'Onn's still eyes, but Ollie convinced him his soul was finally with his family, so Hal consented. Both were thirsty for rough justice. Later, the heroes touched by J'Onn's mind began "sleep authoring" a sort of hardbound autobiography by proxy called "Mars: A History By J'Onn J'Onzz" that recapped his 1998-2001 solo series, plus the JLA arc "Trial By Fire" and 52: WW III. Finally, Superman picked up J'Onn's pyramid ancestral home in the Gobi Desert, the Green Lanterns carted dozens of mourners, and Mars was the site of a destination funeral. The book was left on a translucent ruby coffin as the Manhunter on Mars was left lying in state. Batman, unmasked, added a Choco cookie. "Goodbye, old friend." A spectral vision of J'Onn reunited with his wife and child closed the book.

"Caretakers of Mars" was by Peter J. Tomasi, Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy and Rodney Ramos. I didn't synopsize the story a decade ago because I knew I'd add extraneous details I easily cut today, and because I didn't want to express my anger at the book to mourning fans. Its excessively detailed yet frustratingly specific history of J'Onn J'Onzz was mostly limited to stories edited by Tomasi that I already had a difficult relationship with, coupled with a bunch of more recent material that I deeply disliked. From Hal & Ollie calling J'Onn their "favorite Martian" to the damned Choco, the whole affair felt maddeningly superficial, obvious, and corny. At least this time the significance of Gypsy in J'Onn's later life was acknowledged, and we got to see J'Onn put up some kind of fight against his murderers, instead of being put down like a whimpering dog in the core Final Crisis mini-series. The opening splash page of J'Onn in repose at the funeral was lovely, and while uneven, I enjoyed the art overall.

Justice League Task Force #24 (June, 1995)

The so-called Baron Üman Von Mauler had gotten the drop on Gypsy, carted her to his house, bound her to a table, and begun to psychically assault her (often involving sexually suggestive scenarios.) Outside, her friends had dug up a corpse and drawn Chokula's ire. The distraction allowed Gypsy to get free physically, and to draw Von Mauler into her head for a home turf advantage. Gypsy engaged in mortal combat with Chokula's "virtual reality ninjas."

Flashing back to age fourteen, runaway Cindy Reynolds was picked up by a lecherous old priest named Father Tierney who kept calling her Nakia and fondling her in his car. Cindy elbowed the old man in the eye, the car crashed, and both passengers were thrown through the windshield. Cindy appeared to survive, and the priest did not. In the present, Von Mauler continued talking about Nakia in familiar ways, taking her to "their" homeland of Romania and telling her she had yet to tap a fraction of their shared powers. Gypsy "killed" Von Mauler on the psychic plane with her energy baton piercing his chest. Von Mauler left an aged corpse in the real world. Who was he? What did it all mean?

Gypsy went back to stay with her former lover Bronze Tiger. John Jones waited as long as he could before visiting her. Gypsy reflected, "J'Onn was watching. He knew. Knew about him. And did nothing to help me... Yes, J'Onn is a Martian. But how does he justify not helping me? ...Guess it's too easy to think of him as human. Every now and then he just does something... inexplicable. Something you can't figure out. Something you can't forgive."

John Jones defended, "I knew he'd come for you one day. That's why I kept a file on him. That's why I wanted you in the Task Force..." Gypsy cried at the betrayal, and over what John had knowingly allowed to have happen to her without intervening. "I also knew you couldn't run from him forever. Triumph's setting up a new headquarters for us. It should be operational in a week. I hope you'll answer my call."

"Bride of Chok" was by Christopher Priest, Ed Benes, Sal Velluto, Emir Ribeiro, Mark Stegbauer, Mark McKenna & Rich Rankin.

Justice League Task Force #23 (May, 1995)

"God... this was supposed to be a gag... and I suppose, my way of one-upping Martian Manhunter-- getting back at him for snapping orders at me like I was some kind of fool. I am a fool. Trapped outside reality for nearly a decade-- trying to overcompensate-- jealous of all the heroes who started with me who have gone well beyond me..." Triumph couldn't find Gypsy and the Ray, even with L-Ron's telepathic third eye. Had he gotten them killed?

Ray managed to find a small electrical source and escape the energy-dampening room, soon flying to Paris... France. Will (or "Billy Mac," as he accidentally and unhappily slipped into calling himself while with L-Ron) eventually reached Ray through his new belt communicator device, and called him back to Paris, KY. At city hall, they found a picture of Baron Üman Von Mauler, dated 1722-1797. Ray talked the team into digging up his grave, just to be sure. The unearthed corpse attacked the team, firing eyebeams that disfigured the left side of Triumph's face. "Count Chokula" appeared to fry Ray's skull and cause the arms of the buried dead to seize Triumph.

L-Ron was not so easily handled, as he used his third eye to draw Von Mauler into his psychic control room, then beat him with a virtual baseball bat. It seemed Despero's murderous instincts were reasserting themselves on L-Ron's ginger psyche, so threats against Chokula's life were not idle. It was determined that this Von Mauler was merely a descendant of the recorded one, but he was also a mutant empath (one of the most powerful in the world) capable of creating illusions, who had been preparing for a confrontation with the Justice League.

Cue Martian Manhunter. "--which was why I had Von Mauler under surveillance. I had planned to deal with Von Mauler in my own time. Your unfortunate prank forced his hand before I had time to prepare her... Gypsy. And now, because of your interference-- we may have lost her forever."

"Chok II" was by Christopher Priest, Sal Velluto, Mark Stegbauer, Mark McKenna & Mick Gray.

Justice League Task Force #22 (April, 1995)

"Savage is a powerful and ruthless foe... and we embarrassed him. He will go to great lengths to avenge himself." In the rubble of the building from which the entire young team escaped unscathed ahead of an explosion, Triumph yelled at the holographic projection of their immortal enemy, who responded, "I trust I've made myself clear, Martian Manhunter... [Your interventions] have earned you my enmity. I shall make it my driving ambition to be a worthy foe. The destruction of your headquarters here on Task Force Island has been a down payment. Be grateful I did not destroy the entire island. Next, alien, I shall destroy your children." With that, J'Onn J'Onzz flew away, without saying a word.

Despite Triumph's stated intention to, "Move on. Chapter two," and lack of concern for J'Onn's hurt "wittle feelings" on the matter, Will was indignant over this silent dismissal. Since he was technically still living in J'Onzz's Colorado cabin, he decided to investigate his benefactor to uncover his secret true identity. In the weeks he'd lived there, Triumph never bought into the place's "Andy Griffith homeyness," or why an alien would hew to 1950's bourgeoisie decor like a "Lazy Boy" recliner. Speaking of such, Gypsy found documents hidden in the hollow center of a globe of Mars related to a person named Baron Üman Von Mauler. Triumph was convinced that this was really J'Onn, brokering a land deal in Kentucky for a new headquarters, and wanted to show him up. Gypsy repeatedly protested this invasion of J'Onn's privacy, but was also desperate for an excuse to back peddle on her announced departure, as she had nowhere else to go. While the Ray had more important matters needing attending, he always seemed to go along for the JLTF ride, even if it meant a trip to Kentucky.

Triumph orchestrated a game intended to expose and shame Von Mauler, employing Ray and Gypsy as role-playing pawns. Except, Von Mauler isn't J'Onn, but he is very old (sometimes) and rather dangerous (consistently.) Before long, Ray is trapped in an airtight room that saps his energy powers, while Gypsy is beaten and subjected to unwanted sexual advances...

"Chokula" was by Christopher Priest, Sal Velluto, Andrew Lepoy, Mark McKenna & Mick Gray. For the record, Cindy & Ray's ages are revealed to be 19 in this story, and Will's 21. The majority of the issue is a Mad Magazine-style parody of Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dracula, with Winona Ryder & Keanu Reeves swapped out for two of our heroes to confront a very Gary Oldmanesque pseudo-vampire (who to this day is the closest thing Gypsy has ever had to an arch-rival, Despero notwithstanding.)

Justice League Task Force #21 (March, 1995)

Vandal Savage was, of course, furious to learn that the descendant who had tried to kill him was still alive. Martian Manhunter was also angry, but at Westlake Defense Systems, the arms dealers Miss Watkis had been employing against Savage. The Justice League Task Force wrecked shop in retaliation. "You attacked Task Force Island, Gene [Rabuzzo.] You shot at my children... Do not ever attack me again. This visit has been a courtesy. Next time I shall not be so lenient." Speaking of which, J'Onn also had a firm warning for Triumph. "You deliberately disobeyed orders, modified my plans, and worked to undermine my leadership. In doing so, the Task Force was nearly killed. From precisely this moment forward, you will obey my orders to the letter, Triumph-- or you shall answer to me."

Gypsy was disquieted by witnessing Despero use his hypnotic third eye to order one guard to kill another, before L-Ron caught himself and ordered a downgrade to "stun." Upon returning to her quarters, she kept replaying her latest near death experience as she packed her things. "Despero" tried to give her a gift, but she refused to continue abiding the creature that orphaned her. The Ray was sitting on the stoop outside, trying to figure out when to quit himself, since his personal life was overwhelming him even before adding the distraction of a super-team. Meanwhile, the already aggrieved Triumph had just learned that his investment in a QVC-type operation before he got lost in time was now worth $40 million, and would easily pay for him to set up his own operation.

Within L-Ron's "synthetic consciousness implanted within an organic being," J'Onn J'Onzz reassured the still shirtless simulacrum "You are a man, L-Ron. A being with full capacity to feel the sting of rejection. Your gift for Gypsy was very thoughtful." J'Onn was certain that she would eventually accept it. "This is all part of their growing process. Now that they have all decided to leave-- I shall summon them." Regardless of their prior plans and protestations, the lot were all wearing their sharp new team uniforms when all was said and done. "The training uniforms are meant to inspire unity and cohesion. They should remind each of you that you are no longer individuals-- or loners-- but parts of a whole." Further, Gypsy was given a new energy baton, fabricated by L-Ron based on a weapon Gypsy had devised while acting as a psychic image within his mind. She yet protested, but a holographic projection of Vandal Savage interrupted to vow revenge and detonate a bomb...

"Alive" was by Christopher Priest, Sal Velluto & Jeff Albrecht.

Justice League Task Force #20 (February, 1995)

The overloading of the charged particle field at the Crystal Palace had knocked out Triumph's powers, and the Ray was slowly losing his due to an inability to recharge. They called on Gypsy to use her illusory powers directly on Despero's telepathic third eye to create a psychic plane by which to enter his aneurysm-racked mind to find and free L-Ron. Side note: Gypsy was way hot for the human shirtless ginger mental image of L-Ron. Next, not-Despero ripped his way through the palace seeking a path to disarmament. Martian Manhunter checked in on Gypsy & L-Ron telepathically, but was already aware of how things were playing out because of his knowledge of how Triumph's powers work and how Vandal Savage thinks. Since the charged particle field made the Crystal Palace so dense that even J'Onn was unlikely to break through it, he announced that he was moving on to secondary objectives, triggering Gypsy's abandonment issues from Judgment Day. "Gypsy, there are two possible outcomes: the team survives, the team does not survive. In any case, I am of no use to you. It is, therefore, my responsibility to go where I am needed... I wish you well."

At one point, L-Ron was knocked out again, and psychic Gypsy had to kiss him awake. Triumph spied on Savage, who spoke of how Will was clearly fascinated by their similarities and what he could become if he embraced his ambitions. Vandal also noted that the JLTF was his only means of escape, so Will should stop wasting time hoping he had a secret exit. L-Ron managed to halt the self-destruct, so Savage slipped away with some of his men to pursue his next objective: murdering Miss Watkins for the attempts on his life. The JLTF arrived too late and with too little evidence or authority to arrest him for the crime. That worked out fine for Martian Manhunter, who had assumed Watkins' form to be "killed" in her place. Of course, Vandal Savage would soon detect the deception, so Watkins and her child would have to go into hiding while the JLTF braced for his ire...

"Savage Legacy Finale: Down Count" was by Christopher Priest & Mark Waid, Sal Velluto & Jeff Albrecht.

Justice League Task Force #19 (January, 1995)

The gunman had deduced that Gypsy's powers were organic in nature, and realized that he could "see" through her apparent invisibility using technology like a handheld video camera. Gypsy had been shot in the shoulder, and left a trail of blood across stalls as she tried to evade her assailant.

L-Ron-D could see the explosion from Savage's Crystal Palace and alerted Martian Manhunter, who flew off to investigate. Despero was sent to find Gypsy, as J'Onn deduced that his entire team was under attack. Despero barged into the ladies room, creating a kink in Gypsy's plan of counterattack. Gypsy kicked her attacker in the head, but the gunman used a specialized flash bomb to blind her and "crash" L-Ron.



The Ray and Triumph contained the explosion, so no one was hurt. Leather clad foes riding hovercrafts bearing a red hourglass symbol arrived. Triumph had a plan to lure these aggressors back to the Crystal Palace to force a confrontation with Vandal Savage to prove once and for all whether he was a mastermind or a tuna sandwich. Triumph's powers briefly faltered, but Ray continued the plan without him, and havoc was wrecked at Savage's base. Worse, the intruders forced the base into a lock-down and power-up, trapping everyone inside as the palace began a self-destruct sequence. Gypsy pursued the mole gunman through a secret passageway to the sewers to confront him. However, Vandal Savage also made his way down, and snapped the neck of the gunman, shouting "Death to all traitors!" However, the gunman was the one who initiated the self-destruct and was the only person who could reverse it. Ray & Triumph exclaimed in unison, "Tuna Sandwich."

Meanwhile, the Detective Martian used the boys' mishaps as cover to dig around in Vandal Savage's offices, locating a secret lab filled with tanks of dismembered humans held in captivity as Savage's unwilling organ farm. The Sleuth from Outer Space used resources to track down an African-American woman named Watkins at her son Billy's little league game. Watkins and her son were both born with a greater strain of the x-factor that gave their immortal ancestor his special abilities. Watkins had amassed a great fortune, hiring and arming mercenaries to strike at Savage before she or her child could eventually be harvested...

"Savage Legacy · Part III: Inquisition" was by Mark Waid & Christopher Priest, Sal Velluto & Mark McKenna.

Justice League Task Force #18 (December, 1994)

Traveling as a group to Ohio, where Savage maintained a secret yet sprawling and opulent base, Triumph & the Ray pretended at immature squabbling while clandestinely surveilling the operation. Gypsy strained at repeatedly being left along with L-Ron/Despero, and questioned how and why she would choose to remain on a team with him. J'Onn J'Onzz passively humored Vandal Savage's biographical orations and macho posturing over his willingness to kill the Manhunter's charges over their transparent and unauthorized spying gambit.

One of Savage's average Joe office workers went rogue, trying to gun down Gypsy in a bathroom stall. Ray & Will followed an access tunnel to Cleveland, where they found highrise offices of Savage had been vandalized with a giant red hourglass symbol. Investigating the active workplace, Triumph was still trying the catch up with the master plan of the immortal. The Ray questioned, "Triumph-- what if Savage is a tuna sandwich? ...I mean, what if the guy is a lame? Y'know-- thick. A tune sandwich." Triumph protested the observation, just as he failed to listen to Ray's warning that the only locked desk drawer in Savage's office wouldn't be booby-trapped before tripping an explosive.

"Savage Legacy · Part II: The Frog And The Scorpion" was by Christopher Priest & Mark Waid, Sal Velluto & Mark McKenna.

Justice League Task Force #17 (November, 1994)

Philly. Mystery man: can't catch a break.

Gypsy teased "The Martian's a little too hip to fifties cop shows," and in the privacy of her room, talked to her dead parents about her friends and recent choices. "J'Onn's looking out for me. He's no you, Dad. But not for lack of trying. He's a kind man. Wise... but a little dusty on affairs of the human heart. He must know I'm mad that he drafted me onto a team with Despero..."

Numerous attempts were made on the life of Vandal Savage by a paramilitary group, so the immortal villain made his way to the JLTF for help. He kept a list of his descendants/future organ donors which had been compromised. Since the Justice League owed him a favor following "Judgment Day," and the people on his list were imperiled, he called in his marker against the heroes.

"Savage Legacy · Chapter One: Parts is Parts!" was by Mark Waid, Sal Velluto, Jeff Albrecht & Romeo Tanghal.

Justice League Task Force #0 (October, 1994)

After the Overmaster and his Cadre's supposed "Judgment Day" upon the Earth and the crisis in time dubbed "Zero Hour," a mass of loosely affiliated heroes were left to determine what would be the future of a team claiming the title of "Justice League." Having recently led an IMF-style special missions force of metahuman agents selected on a case-by-case basis, J'Onn J'Onzz saw a more important objective to be met by a permanent roster.

As writer Mark Waid told Wizard Press in 1994's Beyond Zero Hour: A Comprehensive Look at DC Comics, "J'onn J'onzz's take is he is the only surviving member of the Justice League still with the team, and he remembers the days when there were five of them, fairly new and fairly young at what they were doing. So he recruits several young characters and essentially becomes their mentor and is teaching them the ropes of what they are doing. He recruits Gypsy, who has been a member of the team off and on for a while. He recruits the Ray, who is our only big name in Justice League Task Force, and he recruits Triumph, who is a shakeout of Zero Hour continuity that survived the Zero Hour ravages. Triumph was actually a member of the team that was to become the Justice League of America. He was there for their very first case, and because of what happened in that case there was a time blip that removed him from history. He has now been brought back into the time stream walking around going 'Hey, I was a charter member.' And no one remembers him, including John. So here is a guy who has been yanked completely out of time... He was supposed to be the first and the best in the current heroic age; that was his destiny. He was a rookie then who, because of this case, was cheated out of a chance to make a name for himself, and now when he comes back, he is still a rookie, but the world is much different."



Waid continued, "John's team has taken up residence on an island off the coast of the Carolinas. We pulled this out of my first Justice League story, which was Justice League Quarterly #5, a story in which Professor Ivo, who was the constructor of Amazo and a big robotic building, had constructed his own island... and had populated it with robots and storefronts and made his own little town. It is the perfect training ground for a bunch of young heroes because it is like their own little Hogan's Alley-- the FBI's training ground. There are all these lifeless robots running around, so there is no threat of danger, but they can really cut loose with their powers in real war situations." As J'Onn J'Onzz himself put it, "In memory of the late Ice, who cured him of his freakish grotesquerie and reformed him, he bequeathed this isle to the League. Given its wide-open setting, I believe it to be the perfect training ground for the League members of tomorrow."

Despite his cavalier attitude toward the robots of Ivotown, J'Onzz's first recruit into the new JLTF was L-Ron, formerly a sentient robot whose electronic mind had been imprinted over the brain of Despero, "the galaxy's greatest scourge." The incredibly powerful fuchsia fascist's alien body could now be re-purposed for justice. Next came Triumph, who was living in a Colorado cabin provided by J'Onzz until he could figure out life in the modern world. In Chicago, Gypsy had taken up with Bronze Tiger, and had serious misgivings about working with J'Onn again, yet still joined. In Philadelphia, the final recruit was the light-energy powered Ray.

"The Gathering" was by Mark Waid, Sal Velluto & Jeff Albrecht

2018 Gypsy Comicpalooza Commission by Janice Tauro

As has been the case for the last several years and doing no small harm to my stress levels or general well being, I approached convention season with an ambitious project in mind. Despite it's steadily "San Diegoing" its way out of showcasing actual comic book talent in a show call Comicpalooza, it's still my home town convention... and the place where I can most easily juggle crazy schemes like Aliens 30th Anniversary character commissions signed by the actors who portrayed them, or numerous jams, some still unfinished for three years and counting (though I've made progress.)

While gathering prospects for this year's (and almost certainly the next as well's) project, I stumbled upon the Journey Bunny booth. The artist had some lovely work available for a very reasonable price, plus she and her table mate were as friendly and welcoming as could be. I gave her a stack of reference for different projects I've been working on over the years, but ultimately her favorite subject was Cynthia "Cindy" Reynolds. Gypsy is of course late of the Detroit Justice League and Justice League Task Force, but more recently adapted to live action as a reoccurring character on CW's The Flash.

Tauro only had time for a bust, so she opted to having Gypsy turning invisible around the edges. However, what remains is a lovely watercolor on sturdy paper, with mysterious eyes and windswept hair. Tauro had a beaming smile every time I saw her, and I have one as I look at this great piece. My only regret is that I didn't have her take part in a jam I was working on instead, with another favorite heroine, because I paid a "name" artist an exorbitant amount of money for something I liked fractionally as much as this. Maybe I can talk her into painting over it next year?

Journey Bunny

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2014 "Fan-Casting DC's MARTIAN MANHUNTER" by Ryan Daly

You may recall that Ryan "Count Drunkula" Daly of the Black Canary blog Flowers & Fishnets already cast his own "Justice League movie" heavy with Martian representation here, but he also took the time to expand that into a full solo Sleuth from Outer Space feature film. Besides Dolph Lundgren as Mongul and Sam Neill as Gorilla Grodd (which I can roll with, as seen in his Superman & Flash movie castings,) Daly has also given us some b-side album cuts from the Alien Atlas archives!

I thought Daly had picked Michael O’Neill for Captain Harding because of his similar role on Monk, only to find out that was actually Ted Levine. How good of a detective could Adrian Monk be when Buffalo Bill was right under his nose the whole time? Daly originally offered Battlestar Galactica alums Katee Sackhoff and Tricia Helfer as Diane Meade and Cameron Chase, but then flipped them on account of my whining. I approve of Daly's inclination to cast people of color as characters of non-terrestrial color, but Freida Pinto seems kind of Mrs. for the more girlish Miss Martian, plus M'gann's affecting classic traits of earthly redheads skews her that much further away. Back before Don Cheadle blew up, I listed him for DEO Director Bones. Jeffrey Wright would certainly be a swell replacement, unless that Hunger Games bread goes to his head. Nina Dobrev's Gypsy is also in the mix somewhere.

William H. Macy is certainly an inspired Professor Arnold Hugo, and I really ought to get my own options down around here. I had Anthony Perkins for the fake 1966 movie write-up that I never completed, someone else in mind for the ersatz Smallville spin-off "Middletown" that I stalled out on, and a third possibility for a major motion picture. Blast my backburner! Tom Sizemore is a big ball of blue collar crazy, so he could certainly pull off the Human Flame. Franco Nero might just euro-up Dr. V to the correct degree. I'd have never thought of David Morse for Doctor Trap, but he's perfect, isn't he? Michael Wincott is a go-to evil dude in movies, and he offers an extremely nasty, distinctive voice that, praise be, isn't Keith David's. It occurs to me that most of these actors are TV heavy on IMDb. Wouldn't this make a snazzy show? AMC? HBO? Anybody? Check out the Comrades of Mars and Vile Menagerie casting sheets for more!

Count Drunkula Casting Department

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2012 Martian Manhunter Movie Fan Casting: Raquel Castro as Gypsy

Sometime between 1999 and 2001, I wrote up a fan casting for MARTIAN MANHUNTER: The Motion Picture for my late fan site The Rock of the JLA. Besides being terribly out of date, my casting of heroes and villains skewed very much toward the relatively recent Modern Age. Since the Martian Manhunter was in something like 150 solo adventure strips over thirty years before that period, and about a third as many in the fifteen years I focused on, I essentially cast the Manhunter-centric Justice League movie. I'd like to rectify that...

I put a lot of thought into casting Gypsy. Over a decade back, I fan-casted Alyssa Milano for the JLTF period, but in hindsight that was rather unimaginative and a poor fit. Also, Milano was too old for the part even then. Three years ago, I had the idea of doing a fake Smallville spin-off/continuation called "Middletown" that would star Detective John Jones and the fifteen year old runaway version of Gypsy. I went through dozens of actresses under twenty-five as possibilities, with Cassie Steele and Francia Raisa being top candidates. Still, they were in their early twenties and maturing, so I really wanted to see if I could discover an actual teenager. I finally decided on Raquel Castro, best known as the titular Jersey Girl in Kevin Smith's 2004 dramedy flop. Today, she's 19 and while still nurturing a music career, is back to acting and viable for the role. She's got the right look and attitude, needing only hoop earrings, green eyeshadow, and a patchwork dress.