Rebirth Part Three: Heavy Metal
Vixen: Now a wanted suspect, McCabe attacked her uncle at the M'changa Embassy. General Maksai proved a dominating force, and his niece was shot in the shoulder. Wasn't this a Steel spotlight issue?
Steel: Stood up for the fugitive Vixen before having his mind clouded. Saved himself and Gypsy from an attack by Fastball, the assassassin super-pitcher (not a typo.) Unloaded his emotionally twisted origin story on Zatanna, shedding a tear. Age is established as 19.
Gypsy: Loitered invisibly at JLA HQ, then flirted with Steel before they were attacked. Blew Vibe a raspberry and bailed.
Vibe: Helped cool down Steel, man.
Zatanna: Used magic to trace Vixen and in later battle.
Aquaman: Cursed Vixen's vigilantism and intended to bring her to justice. Used his telepathy to cloud the particularly susceptible mind of Steel when the lad voiced objection. Led the team against Maksai's security agents to rescue Vixen. Denied New York police demands that he turn the heroine over to them.
Martian Manhunter: Detected Aquaman's abuse of power against Steel, and silently displayed shock and disapproval over six panels, half of which being solely close-ups. During the assault on the M'changa Embassy, disguised himself as a green door with his creepy mannequin hand as the knob. I always thought it was just Marilyn Chambers behind that one. Cradled the ailing Vixen, who again teased, "For you... tall, green... and handsome... anything. Elongated Man noted, "Y'know, Zee, it's pretty hard to tell with a Martian... but I could swear Big Green's blushing.
"I wouldn't be surprised, Ralph. After all, Mari McCabe is a former fashion model, quite aware of her beauty... and how to use it."
Elongated Man & Sue Dibney: Stretching in work and play.
The Creators: Patton played to his art strengths this issue. Shame some of that gumption was wasted on Fastball.
J’Onn J’Onzz’s Nicknames of the Issue: Besides using his full name repeatedly...
"Big Green" -Elongated Man
Most Embarrassing Vibe Quote of the Issue: Paco was well-behaved this outing, expressing a functional command of the English language. Instead, we'll use an excerpt of Steel cursing..."BUNK!" Harsh word, b'gosh! No wonder Aquaman had to reign this wild card in! Alternately, there's Aquaman being written as a total, well, that actually would be an expletive. Try lines like "When I want your questions... I'll ask for them" directed at Sue Dibney, or calling Steel a "young idiot" whom he orders to "Sit down and shut up."
i wondered what the hell was going on with Aquaman in this issue, he was such a total jerk.
ReplyDeletei wondered at the time if Conway had some long-range plan going on, to eventually explain Aquaman was turning into a fascist-type, but then after he left the team, i thought "oh well, there goes that idea..."
Actually, all will be revealed in a later installment...
ReplyDeletePoor Steel. Even in his spotlight issue, his life sucks. In fact I should do a series about how the Heywood family's lives have generally sucked. I mean... seriously.
ReplyDeleteI take it from your reviews that these issues are not really worth tracking down, yes?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI started reading Steel #1 the other day, on the john, but only made it as far as the introduction of his nemesis (5-8 pages in.) I'll get back to it, but so far, not so good.
ReplyDeleteAs for the early going in Detroit, I'm of two minds. There are far worse Justice League comics out there, and if you have a genuine interest in the characters, they're not so bad. Certainly the series improved greatly thanks to the tonal shift when Luke McDonnell came on board. I guess what I'm saying is if you read the synopsis and it catches your interest, don't let my snark dissuade you. Otherwise, well, you you know what you're getting...