JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice (2003)

Outside the JLA Watchtower on the moon, Superman and Sentinel gaze upon the distant Earth from the frigid blackness of space-- placing the two Golden Age heroes on an equal standing for the only time ever. The Justice Society and their successors, the Justice League, have decided to reinstate an old tradition of the two teams fraternizing on a regular basis, breaking bread in fellowship. However, the twin figureheads of the respective teams maintain a watch, with the Manhunter from Mars breaking in telepathically to direct them toward unrest in Arusha, Tanzania. Detroit-era Leaguer Vixen was already on the scene, but she's backed up by two of the best to repel an assault on President Lex Luthor by Doctor Bedlam of the New Gods. The other combined heroes soon follow suit, with Martian Manhunter continuing to direct their activities.

At JSA Headquarters, J'Onn J'Onzz notes psychic interference that he experienced in East Africa. The heroes begin to get catty with one another. Hostilities erupt. The Martian Marvel begins to lose physical coherence from the constant psychic assault, and is more or less out of the story from there. Seven of the heroes' personalities are so severely warped that their compromise becomes obvious. On page 28, the reveal that they've become possessed by the The Seven Deadly Enemies of Man, archetypes of sin usually confined to the Rock of Eternity by the wizard Shazam. The general population of the globe is also acting irrationally. The tortured Sleuth from Outer Space warns that Luthor is a key factor in this, before being placed in a magical coma by Zatanna and other reinforcements. In an already crowded book, a lot of space is allotted to the second-stringers. Clearly going for a Morrisonian maximalist approach, there's so much going on with so many players in so many locations that it all becomes noisy bullet points instead of the intended spectacle.

Black Canary leads the confrontation of the President in the Oval Office. Along with everything else, the chess pieces carved in the likenesses of the heroes should have been a dead giveaway. Luthor is actually Despero, "Extraterrestrial dictator. One of the League's first adversaries." Mentally freezing the heroes in place, there's a truly tortured backstory involving a swift overview of Despero history, including his relatively recent final discorporation by the Earth Angel incarnation of Supergirl. His spirit ended up in whatever dimension the JSA villain Johnny Sorrow hails from, and their combined psychic power crossed dimensions to posses Dr. Bedlam on Apokolips. While Despero was being smuggled into Luthor, Sorrow was handling Shazam and freeing the Enemies. It goes on and on for pages, but at least in the end, Despero turns a U.S. flag into a cape to mirror that time he accidentally did the U.N. one similar. He did the thing! We love when they do the thing! I mean, I do here, but still. The least among them, Green Arrow, uses gas (not from chili) to free the heroes to escape, hunted by third eye blinded U.S. troops with orders to kill.

Eventually, the heroes trick the Gluttony-possessed Captain Marvel to call down his lighting, with Billy Batson exorcised of the Sin. That same lighting flows back to Shazam, reviving him so that he can recapture the other Deadly Enemies. The JLA, JSA, and reserves combine their might. Despero makes a great showing by surviving a quantum leaping Captain Atom, having the Rock of Eternity almost land on him, and then got a faceful of an unmasked Johnny Sorrow. He also slammed Superman and Captain Marvel's heads together at one point. A grateful Luthor was imposed upon to replace the destroyed old stone JSA headquarters with a shiny new one.

"Virtue and Vice" was by David S. Goyer & Geoff Johns and Carlos Pacheco & Jesus Merino. Technically, this book came out in 2002, after my retailing days, and once the bloom was well off the JLA rose-- about halfway through the Kelly/Mahnke run. The premiere hardcover cost $24.95, which in adjusted dollars would be $44.35, and was the equivalent of over 11 standard contemporaneous comics. If you want to split hairs, it was 96 pages of original content, roughly 4 & a third comics, while that same month's Green Arrow: The Archer's Quest reprinted six comics for five bucks less. All I know is that it felt egregious, and then it took nearly a year to come out on softcover for $17.95 ($31.20 in 2025.) My memory of this time period is really hazy, so I may have been between brick & mortars getting some pitiful barely-covers-sales-tax discount, stopping by once or twice a month, barely keeping a toe in the industry. I may have swallowed hard and bought the softcover new, but probably got it as a backlist later, and thoroughly resented it. I kept buying JLA and related projects until Infinite Crisis, but I only occasionally read it, and the strip-mining of that brand put me off. It took until Fanholes did a podcast on it for this year's inaugural #JSApril social media event that I finally sat down to read the thing nearly a quarter century late. In fact, I figured I might just harvest some extra eyes and do this post last week, but I thought it would be uncool to bite F@nholes' action, and also I'd be a Debbie Downer about it, besides.

The late Carlos Pacheco was a fantastic artist whose detailed work did not lend itself to long runs, and I mostly admired from afar since those runs were typically on books I didn't follow. For instance, he did four issues of The Flash that one year I tried hard to get into Mark Waid's run, and that's the longest streak I ever had buying Pacheco comics. I'd say his strongest influence was Alan Davis, but he had flashy Image qualities, including some particular anatomical quirks, that made him feel more modern. The Spanish scene vibes were also there, not that I could articulate exactly what that means practically. So, I enjoyed his stuff, and think he was particularly great on Fantastic Four... just not to the degree that he could get me to buy a book just for his art. I like looking at this book, and it makes me wish he'd had a proper run on JLA, but it doesn't overcome what a shallow and convoluted mess this story was. Likewise, this is one of the best renditions of Despero ever, his chief representation online for years afterward-- but probably not in my top five, personally. Kind of rubbery, not that menacing, and I'd swear Ordway inked him on one panel. I think Johns has love for him, and I preferred his second pass (with blessedly more Martian Manhunter) in one of the last JLA arcs. Besides J'Onn's lackluster use here, the Alien Atlas is maybe the character Pacheco has the worst handle on here. He won't commit to the beetle-brow, so his head is just lumpy like a potato. He's got a resting Grinch face, and the classic costume isn't rendered very flattering. Alan Davis has a much better take, including tweaking the suit to his style. I do really like Pacheco's Atom & Hawkman, but Wonder Woman's breast and thing are out of control. Goyer/Johns also give us one of the more obnoxious Plastic Man takes of the dire Ace Ventura period of his characterization, which is painful.

Brightest Day #15 (Early February, 2011)

On Mars, twenty-five years later. There's a big ceremony celebrating what is essentially the resurrecting Messiah of Mars (as in he resurrected Mars rather than himself. In your face, Jesus of Nazareth.) The other, older members of the "Magnificent Seven" had been snuck on-world to join in the global celebration of the wonder that is Green Lantern J'Onn J'Onzz. As in the Green Lantern Corps, with whom Martians were positioned as having an adversarial relationship in a book edited by Pete Tomasi, and whose masters, the Guardians of the Universe, had altered the DNA of prehistoric Martians to be vulnerable to fire after they had been deemed too great a threat to other lifeforms? Yeah, so Green Lantern Corpsman J'Onzz had brought a lasting peace to Earth and Mars, to the gushing adulation of an entirely uncritical and deferential Batman.

Of course it's an imaginary story. Doi. I'm certain the writers did not expect the readership to be utterly clueless to this fact by the third page, and yet the story keeps on belaboring asserted facts that any experienced comics reader would dismiss on sight. It's hard not to get antsy reading pages of nonsense filler while waiting for the matter to resolve. So yeah, giant statue in Martian Manhunter's honor. J'Onn's family alive and expanded, with daughter K'hym herself now a Manhunter. Keeping the homicide witness family dog from earlier in the series as a pet, despite feeding it a steady diet of sandwich cookies, likely to cause daily severe stomach upset, pancreatitis, and chocolate poisoning. Batman feeling the need to list the ways in which every Leaguer but him is not entirely human, but failing to explain in the same panel why his head is in 3⁄4 but his mouth is a front view. I didn't know you could get punched that hard.

Getting shot with "pearl bullets" is actually what did Batman in, because a pearl necklace wasn't suggestive enough. Wonder Woman was hung from her lasso by a finger of the Manhunter statue. Aquaman drowned on Martian sands. They ran out of ironic deaths for Green Lantern and the Flash, so they just get dismembered, though Flash continued running like a chicken with its head cut off. Hardy-har. After invading the minds of all Martians simultaneously in search of clues, the yet surviving Superman was found in "the underground security bunker where our most powerful enemies are kept captive." A brief history of Martian imprisonment: In the Silver Age, they'd strap this flying belt thing on crooks and leave them floating at a stationary point in the atmosphere. Morrison stuck the White Martians in the Still Zone, a formless white void outside space/time. Malefic was held a gem-type thing. Here we have... Sciencells, but red. I guess it's a good thing that this is a Green Lantern story, then. Oh, and so many great Easter Eggs in the cells, with classic Martian Manhunter villains like Despero and... Starro... Johnny Quick? Various unidentifiable squiggles, though one is a girl, so, like, Bette Noir?

Superman was wearing a Kryptonite mask, and K'hym wanted to mentally probe his unconscious form for answers, as he was among the few beings capable of killing the League. J'Onn refused her, prompting a tirade about how he was okay with probing every Martian but not a single outsider, and how his loyalties are ever with Earth over Mars. A justifiable concern, but also D'Kay D'Razz's hand being tipped. More so when they line up all the corpses in a morgue, and all the cross slashes supposedly spell out the Martian words for "love" and "hate." Also, despite saving Superman's life, Manhunter randomly stabbed him to death with an undetected Kryptonite spike or especially powerful ring construct? Also, K'hym was inexplicably absent. And despite using heavy shadows as a handicap throughout the issue/run, the artist channels Ed McGuinness cartoon hyper-muscularity to depict Superman getting shived under lighting so bright that the only shadows cast on the entire pages were to highlight said inflated muscles. Being a sloppy second rate Doug Mahnke had gotten him this far, so is it too much to ask that we keep the artist we're deriving from consistent from panel to panel?

So, yeah, all of Mars burned again and M'yri'ah was unmasked (de-gloved?) as D'Kay, ending on the distasteful note of her on her knees being choked by our standing "hero" while the bones of Martian children were ghoulishly arranged in the background. D'Kay accused J'Onn of giving up on Mars. "I do not fight for lies of the mind, D'kay... and I never will!" How relatable. So inspiring. Smash cut to two pages of Scott Clark teasing the ongoing Firestorm story (which, remember, will ultimately be abandoned for the New 52.)

"Whatever Happened to the Manhunter from Mars?" was by writers Peter J. Tomasi & Geoff Johns, with art by Patrick Gleason & company. It is perhaps the worst Martian Manhunter story. You might dismiss that as hyperbole, and it's certainly not true at the level of raw craft, but bear with me. "For the Man Who has Everything..." and "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" are considered to be two of the greatest comic stories ever told, a pair of Alan Moore's most well regarded tales, and typically at minimum top 10 Superman yarns (though both lose impact the further perception moves past the Silver Age model, into the ongoing Byrne Man of Steel period.) Martian Manhunter is widely considered to be mint-flavored Superman. Blatantly cribbing from major Superman stories, much diminished in length and talent, on a highly visible maxi-series that eclipses any audience the Sleuth from Outer Space ever commands on his own, conforms the bias held by many that the Alien Atlas has nothing more to offer than being a stand-in or jobber for the Man of Steel. Plus cynical ultra-violence, which is itself reheated '80s Moore. Plus the story just stinks, and the artist can't maintain quality or character from panel to panel. Plus, all those wardrobe changes, and they're all Green Lantern costumes. There may be objectively worse stories, but few more harmful to the Martian Marvel.

JLA: Year One #12 (December, 1998)

The Daily Planet buzzed over Earth's heroes beating back the Appellaxian invaders. Two generations of Green Lanterns & friends saved Metropolis. Black Canary & the Blackhawks had an Iwo Jima moment in DC. Aquaman, the Sea Devils and others were in... um... ocean? Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Shining Knight, and Black Condor fought avians in... air, and Martian Manhunter had to listen to them wonder how the aliens knew all their secret identities. Awkward.

Kalar took out his frustrations on Stonehenge, where a teleporting Vandal Savage used the mindwipe device to take out a group of Appellaxians, and also took offense at the insult to his design. On to St. Louis. In a brilliant moment, the Atom shattered a crystal proxy by enlarging slightly in one of its flaws, but the explosion knocked Ray Palmer out, leaving his tiny form to be caught in the palms of Doll Man. In Paris, Molly Mayne reported on the Global Guardians. In Central City, Canary and Flash reunited, as did Barry Allen and Iris West, so Dinah made clear that she wasn't going to be her mother's daughter in a way that would make for two-timing. Also, Green Arrow showed up to flirt.

Martian Manhunter helped clear Peking, but even with Metamorpho and the Doom Patrol, the Great Wall was lost. Despite some gains, there were just too many aliens being fought by exhausted heroes. Even the mystical likes of Dr. Fate and the Spectre faltered. Vandal Savage offered a poisoned chalice, delivered by a shapeshifted Clayface in his image. The device, now set to kill all the Appellaxians on Earth with the touch of a button. The League debated. Aquaman and Flash leaned yeh, Canary and Lantern nay. Snapper Carr and Martian Manhunter went a third way, filtering the device's ray's through J'Onn's psyche to render it agonizing rather than lethal. The Alien Atlas head warped and mind verged on shattering. Aquaman whispered, "I'm here, J'Onn, my friend. Open your mind to me... Open your mind... to us." The League lent their own psyches to the filtration. The mystics creating a portal to Appellaxia, and those that didn't walk through it were tossed in. Savage wanted the League complicit in an act of vengeance. Canary insisted, "We're not about vengeance... we're about justice!"

Flash noted, "I'll say it again, J'Onn. You never fail to surprise us. That was one incredible risk." J'Onn felt he owed a debt to everyone there for the way he'd compromised them, which Canary assured with a kiss was "--Paid in full. Let it go. We will." Hawkman asserted that the Justice Society was proud to pass the torch, and Superman stated that there could be no greater honor than to serve at their side when needed. Planet headlines announced future victories against Amazo, (an anachronistic) Despero, and Kanjar Ro. Aquaman removed the plague commemorating the Appellaxian casualty of their first missio, and thought the surface dwellers had done a nice job pulling together. There was a very forced moment where Black Canary likened herself to a flower blossoming and a bunch of stuff about hers and Flash secret identities being trains going in different directions, yadda yadda. Green Lantern put forth the notion of expanding the roster, beginning with Green Arrow, to the questioning of Dinah and Barry. They took it to a vote. As it turned out, the identity of the secret financier Simon Carr continued to keep was none other than Oliver Queen. "The Irony is just to wicked."

"Justice for All" was by storytellers Mark Waid / Brian Augustyn / Barry Kitson with inker Michael Bair. This extra-length finale didn't take so long to read or to write up, but I put it off because of all the expected listing of names and locations and this happened and that happened. All the toys got set up in their displays and the good guys won. I appreciated that this series made a point of spotlighting the original Blue Beetle, often overlooked in DC history as one of the earliest published super-heroes (thanks to his originating at another publisher and not moving to DC until after Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas were heading out the door.) Still, fanboy here, so can't quite forget that the Seven Soldiers of Victory should have still been separated and lost in time.

Overall, the story is nice and pleasant, with no small amount of nostalgia both for Silver Age comics and even then-contemporary ones. There are some great bits and classic character moments. The whole premise of a super-alien with total recall keeping filing cabinets full of excruciatingly sensitive data about masked heroes on paper in filing cabinets behind a false wall is about the dopiest I could point to off the top of my head. It worked way better as encrypted files on the Bat-computer in "Tower of Babel." All the Appellaxian stuff goes on for too long, and I wish we'd had more single issue spotlights and attention to period detail. Then again, they tried that with the quasi-sequel Incarnations, and maybe not so much. This is probably my second or third pass reading the material, and my second write-up, so I'm probably done revisiting it unbidden by outside factors. I like it fine, but prefer to skim rather than fully invest as a whole, which is probably why it never got a proper adaptation.

2017 WatchMojo.com's Top 10 Greatest Justice League Villains video

Along the same lines as yesterday's video, lords of the countdown Watch Mojo dropped their own JLA rogues list. Despero only reached #9 on this more media-inclusive ranking (ComicsAlliance's was true to their name in favoring comic books exclusively.) I'm glad that he beat the Injustice League, a true joke of a concept. These guys date back to the JLI days, comprised of members that would go on to form Justice League Antarctica for one gas of an annual, and got killed in the first issue of the 2001 Suicide Squad volume everybody forgets happened. "Injustice League" is so basic and on the nose. Between the Crime Syndicate of America, the Secret Society of Super-Villains, and the Legion of Doom, do we really need any more analogous JLA oppositional teams?

Vandal Savage made it to #3, which is more aspirational than factual. The whole point of his use in JLA: Year One was to act as a bridge from the Justice Society's retirement into the birth of the Justice League. I love the guy, but he's just not League caliber in raw power and ability. His great shining moment in that arena was Justice League: Doom, where he was just a stand-in for Raʼs al-Ghūl using stolen plans crafted by Batman that were executed by a Substitute Legion of Doom (shout-out to Malefic's sole multimedia excursion! Also, I obviously stopped watching Supergirl in season two!)

2016 ComicsAlliance 10 Greatest Justice League Villains - Rogues' Gallery video

Did you know ComicsAlliance came back after a 2+ year absence? They got bought out and shuttered in April of 2017, but have been putting out sporadic (and seemingly redundant) comics media pieces for over half a year now. They went dark again a month ago, and it seems like there was just the one lady posting stuff, but they've still got the archives up.

In late 2016, the site ran a readers poll for Who Is The Justice League's Ultimate Enemy, which then got converted to the embedded video above. The White Martians were first up at #9, and Despero made #6. J'Onn has probably fought all of those guys at various points, but I figured to highlight the most Manhunter-specific ones. Surprising the Martians rated so high, but there's lingering affection for the JLA days, with another new omnibus edition coming soon.

2017 Heroes Convention Despero commission by Ed Eargle

Thanks to The Fire & Water Podcast Network having their first expanded group get together, and my years long interest in attending the most comic creator-centric show left in the country, I ended up in Charlotte, NC for HeroesCon. Being anti-social, I still decided to launch a jam art project involving a minimum of eight talents intended to be completed over the three day weekend (plus almost two years for the completed linework... colors still an ongoing effort.) Anyway, I spent evenings and a few meals with those FW guys. Whaddayawant from me? Also, in between episodes of moving a single piece of art from one participant to the next, I encountered a few artists that I either knew who made the same trip (Hi Isaiah!) or wanted to try out on the side.

Such was the case with Ed Eargle, who if I remember correctly, was either listed as a vendor or otherwise did not get vetted by me before the show. I was just surveying the floor, stopped to toss through his book, and liked what I saw. I probably handed him the stack of Martian Manhuter references I'd been slinging at shows for nearly a decade now, and he likely selected Despero himself. I had a fair few Despero commissions at this point, but most (all?) were waist-up or head shots. I was probably thinking forward to the second volume of Who's Who in Martian Manhunter that I still toy with but am unlikely to ever produce (given that I can't even reliably deliver monthly blog posts.) Eargle was good with beefy musculature and thought the Kalanorian would be a fun subject.

As you can see, Eargle turned in an exceptional full color piece. I played around with the levels, so the army pants should be much greener and the skin tone is not remotely this vibrant, but the rich inks and fine feathering only get more impressive the closer you look. I love the sense of mass projected, and this is just all around a big beautiful piece. My only complaint is that I wish the whole outlining-the-figure fad would die already. This piece is so good that it is only marred by that unnecessary affectation. Otherwise, it's ready for print in a major reference tone. Like some sort of encyclopedia or secret file or something...

Ed Eargle

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2015 Despero Comicpalooza head sketch by Mike McKone

Podcasting continues to dominate my free time, so I've had a few months' lapse in my hoped-for, already-not-terribly-demanding weekly posting schedule. Eh-- no promises at this point, but I would like to close out 2019 with a few highlights, at least. I've been sitting on a couple of "December of Despero" pieces for as long as 4½ years now. Since showcasing old commissions is my primary motivation for maintaining the blog (and all the Photobucket error images a primary demotivator,) I'd better push them out now before mothballing them another year.

First up is a piece from one of my favorite Martian Manhunter artists, the "Art Adams" of Justice League International annuals, Mike McKone. I told him so when I met him at the local Houston con in 2015, which I believe I have audio on that ended up in Martian Manhunter's 60th Anniversary Special Compilation and in expanded form in Amazing Heroes Interviews Episode 5. I really enjoyed the mass McKone gave J'Onzz, but he disliked his more Alan Davis-inspired style at the time, and went with a much slimmer, sleeker take on Justice League United. McKone was very pleasant, but he was only willing to do headshots at this show, not my preferred commission type. I at least wanted a very distinct head. Since McKone rarely handled Despero, and never in his initial stylized mohawk warlord form from the Detroit revival period, that was my choice. Turned out quite nice, I think. Still hoping for a figure in the future, though.

Mike McKone

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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

The Top 10 Despero Covers (Updated & Revised)

Official Justice League Of America Index #8 (1987)

I first attempted a top ten list of Despero covers six years ago. Since 2010, Comic Vine stopped allowing remote embeds of art, so I had to do my own hosting (and a few scans.) There's also been a fair few new covers produced in that time, and I felt the need to reevaluate the earlier rankings as well.

Despero the Destroyer is something of a nemesis to the Manhunter from Mars, and there is no shortage of impressive images of him. However, because he's often the big bad in a big reveal during a story, the covers often do not reflect the magnitude of his presence.

Honorary Mentions:

• Justice League of America #134 (1976)
• Gigant #1 (Semic, 1979)
• Supergirl #17 (January, 1998)
• Time Masters: Vanishing Point #3 (2010)
• Justice League #20 (2013)
• Justice League #20 (2013 Tyler Kirkham variant)
• Justice League of America #14 (2014 Mad Magazine variant)

10) Justice League of America #38 (2009 Andy Kubert Variant Cover)

Left this one off on the first try because it wasn't very imaginative, but neither was the Gary Frank Supergirl cover, and in retrospect I think the technique and impact were greater here.


9) Justice League of America #133 (August, 1976)

Flanked by the world's greatest heroes, Despero kills Superman and ask who wants next.


8) Justice League Task Force #27 (September, 1995)

The finest cover example of Despero's gun-toting, anti-heroic, "the Savage Dragon stole my bit" period.


7) Superman/Batman #33 (March, 2007)

Literally chewing up a host of alien heroes in his jagged maw. I went back and forth on the placement of this one, because it seems static at first blush, but then I factored in the World's Finest duo reflected in Despero's third eye which also incorporates the logo and the demolished cities in his main two eyes. That took a fair amount of thought to execute.


6) R.E.B.E.L.S. #12 (March, 2010)

Nothing says "we're in trouble" like someone holding Despero's severed head, while nothing quite says "our way out is almost as frightening as how deep we're in" like Vril Dox grinning.


5) Justice League Task Force #31 (January, 1996)

Just a striking image of Despero in bondage-- no small accomplishment. You want to know how this happened and who the captor is.


4) Justice League America #39 (June, 1990)

I almost threw in the issue where Despero crash lands in the JLI's midst, but he's just a funky colored blob in an intentionally obscured image. Here, you can clearly see the result of his onslaught, and the beginning of his fan favorite villain status. I lowered this one because the composition isn't all that interesting. Despite the damage done to the surrounding city, it's still standing, as is Despero's lone visible adversary, J'Onn J'Onzz. It's got attitude and a low key swagger,


3) Justice League of America #251 (June, 1986)

The first clear cover image of Despero reborn as a finhawked badass of massive scale. I moved this one up in rank because while it foreshadows the Despero-smash sameness of many post-1990 pieces, it's more metaphorical than representational in that regard. Despero is god-sized, threatening to smash the League with their own satellite, as two worlds visibly appear bound to collide. Also, while his new wardrobe said "barbarian warlord" instead of "alien telepath," that's a lot more distinctive than the naked pink Hulk he'd later become.


2) Justice League of America #178 (May, 1980)

A great riff on Despero's debut, beautifully rendered by Jim Starlin, and the first indication of personal animosity toward the Martian Manhunter. I had to move this one up in rank because it's simply too swell for fifth place, but also because it includes classic character touches and the twist of the Leaguers as miniaturized chess pieces reacting individually.


1) Justice League of America #1 (November, 1960)

The original. The classic. One of the most inspired and imitated covers of all time.

Podcast- John Ostrander & Mark Verheiden at Comicpalooza 2016

Episode #27

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

Straight out of Comicpalooza - Texas' Largest Comic & Pop Culture Event comes new interviews with screenwriter/producer Mark Verheiden discussing his work on J'Onn J'Onzz and Zook in Secret Origins and Superman/Batman, then writer John Ostrander covering his three year run on the 1998 Martian Manhunter ongoing series.


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.

Podcast: The Top 10 Most Important Martian Manhunter Villains

Episode #10

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

As part of the sixth seasonal Super Blog Team-Up's theme of top ten lists, Frank offers an audio synopsis of the series of essays The Ten Most Important Martian Manhunter Adversaries from 2010, which has held up pretty well these past four years since nothing much ever happens to the Alien Atlas, even during a line wide reboot. The "new kid" on this particular block debuted in 1998, and how many foes of the New 52 Manhunter can you name, anyway?

• DC Bloodlines Podcast #1: The Top 10 Bloodlines Characters
• Between The Pages: Top 10 Wackiest DC Comics Covers
• The SuperHero Satellite: Top 10 DC Comics Titles That Ended Before Their Time
• Longbox Graveyard: Top 10 Super-Dogs
• Legion Of Super-Bloggers: Legion Who's Who Top Ten!
• The Marvel Superheroes Podcast: Top 10 Avengers (An Age of Ultron Tie-In)
• The Unspoken Decade: Top 10 Avengers Moments
• In My Not So Humble Opinion: Top 10 Avengers Sketches
• Chasing Amazing: Top 10 Favorite Moments Of The "Chase"
• Bronze Age Babies: The Top 10 Bronze Age Characters
• Too Dangerous For A Girl!: Ten Best Super-Heroic Hairstyles
• Mystery V-Log: Top 10 Avengers Covers
• Flodo’s Page: Top 10 Green Lantern Ring-Slings ...That Don’t Appear In Modern Continuity
• Vic Sage Via The Retroist: Top Ten Comic Character Deaths
• I’m The Gun: The 10 Best All-Star Squadron Covers!
• Mystery V-Log: Top 10 Avengers Covers
• Fantastiverse: Top 10 Avengers Greatest Super Battles
• #SuperBlogTeamUp

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.

Podcast: The Debut of Despero (1960)

Episode #2

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Look for us on iTunes, or just Download MP3

This week, we look at one of the primary villains of Martian Manhunter and the Justice League of America, Despero of Kalanor. Starting with a brief glimpse at the JLofA's earliest issues and foes, we progress to a synopsis of 1960's Justice League of America #1 (02:38,) Frank discussing his first exposure to and thoughts on the Silver Age Despero and his supporting players (06:41,) a synopsis of 1964's Justice League of America #26 (08:58,) further analysis on the character (11:46,) his current lack of a role in the films Justice League Parts 1 & 2 (14:17) and listener response on the first episode (17:07.)

• Enemies of Despero: Jasonar
• Enemies of Despero: Saranna
• 2009 Michael Netzer "December of Despero" Pin-Up
• 2007 Silver Age Despero Sketch by Chris Samnee
• 2009 Despero Custom Valentine Card

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.