History of the DC Universe (1987)

The first thing that you have to remember here is that Mars does not matter in the grand scheme of DC Comics continuity. Krypton does. Gotham City does. To a much lesser extent, Themyscira does. Casting a net more broadly, as has been mentioned in a couple of my podcasts, Atlantis matters to both Marvel and DC Comics. But Mars? I don't think rates all that highly anywhere, outside of Topps Comics. The 20th Century made a lot of dismissive mention of the Red Planet, and like the moon, the popular consciousness read it as a generic location of dubious value to fantastical comic book stories.


And so, the first half of the Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths revisionist history of DC published in 1986 is mighty concerned about Oa, prehistoric Earth, World War II... all those other places I mentioned. Without a comprehensive reread though, no mention of the planet Mars, or any of its denizens. Moving into the second half, they still devote a lot of pages to WWII, and a little bit of the post-war years. The one true Earth was still a cooling mass, however, so from there we leap to Task Force X and the conception of Aquaman. That famed rocket from a doomed planet had been launched in the first volume, and finally landed in a corn field near Smallville. A nigh-adolescent Bruce Wayne saw his parents gunned down, which gets a bit hinky with the relative ages of the DC Trinity. Phantom Stranger, Captain Comet, and the creation of Princess Diana arrive next. Well, one figure does fall between Comet and clay baby Wonder Woman...

Warrior J'onn J'onzz, exiled into the parched Martian desert, was teleported accidentally to planet Earth by the famous Professor Erdel. This Manhunter from Mars knew the time of heroes had not yet come, and so remained in hiding, disguising himself as a police detective until, at last, he could allow the world to know of his existence.

There's a lot to consider there. Firstly, that was two sentences. I choose to offer long, sometimes tortured sentences as part of my personal expression, so you might call me hypocritical for pointing that out-- but dang! Next, the fact that in a rare instance of DC offering mixed caps in a canon story, only the Js are capitalized. Okay, I might be "considering" too pedantically. How about how the late Silver/early Bronze status quo begun with"...And So My World Ends!" seems to still be in place, with that "warrior" bit in particular pushed back against by the 1988 retcon? We're also in a vague pre-heroic age, with the best marker being the conception of Raven on the next page. The creative team on this book had come up with that character to be a member of the New Teen Titans, and the book's artist was presumably working out how his Wonder Woman would also debut in her late teens/early 20s in her new history. Therefore, at the time of publication, it would be fair to assume Detective John Jones was around in the late 1960s. Couldn't be much further back than that, if we want to keep Superman and Batman around 28-30 years old. While a handful of stories alluded to a further period setting, it would be another eight years before parity with his initial date of publication was established in Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #0.

In another short-lived stand for this continuity, the entire World's Finest trio launches the modern heroic age, placing Robin ahead of the latest version of Flash, Green Lantern, the Atom, the Hawks, Aquaman, Captain Atom, Green Arrow, and Blue Beetle. We see Starfire as a child, Cave Carson, the Challengers of the Unknown, Adam Strange, the Sea Devils, and Dolphin. Curious chronology ahead of their key super-team revival...

This was now the Silver Age of heroes, and some of the greatest who ever lived banded together to fight evil on Earth and throughout the stars. Inspired by the wartime exploits of the famed All-Stars and the Justice Society, these young heroes took the name the Justice League of America.

Because John Byrne's Man of Steel had already rolled out, we knew that Superman would be excluded. Pictured as the core line-up were J'onn J'onzz, Aquaman, Barry Allen, Batman, and Hal Jordan. A scale Ray Palmer Atom was placed just outside the framing of this team inside the old badge logo of the JLA, with the floating heads of Oliver Queen and Katar Hol on either side. Not a bad guess, but this line-up was never properly executed in the comics. The Caped Crusader was eventually excluded, at least as a founder, though he inevitably engaged with the JLA early and often in this retcon. DC eventually settled on a quintet in 1988, capped by Black Canary.

Jemm, Son of Saturn got a mention as a contemporary of Firestorm, Firehawk, and the Warlord Travis Morgan, oddly predating the retroactive continuity armored Gardner Grayle Atomic Knight, as well as Baron Winters of Night Force. These were mostly continuity charity cases, only getting a nod here by proximity to publication date. Jemm was originally a Son of Mars, who played heavily in the fields of post-apocalyptic Bronze Age New Mars stories, and his Saturnians were eventually retconned into literal Martian clones by Ostrander/Mandrake. It's nice for us, since none of the solo Manhunter from Mars adventures rated a mention, nor his predecessor, Roh Kar. Instead, as ever, and another gift of the zeitgeist, the Alien Atlas is solely represented in this period through his affiliation with the mid-80s Justice League (generally appended with "Detroit" to define the line-up of Batman, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Steel, Gypsy, Vibe, Vixen, and Aquaman.

From there, we get into the weeds of para-Crisis on Infinite Earths material, with a heavy emphasis on developments during and spinning out of Legends, including the line-up of the first six months or so of the Justice League relaunch (soon-to-be-International.) So that's Dr. Light II, Captains Atom and Marvel, Mr. Miracle, Guy Gardner, Black Canary, Blue Beetle, and Dr. Fate. They're followed by the Suicide Squad and, ugh, Post-Crisis Wonder Woman. It makes my skin itch when people rave about the female leg of the DC Trinity arriving after freakin' EVERYBODY, just so Perez could treat his Simonson Thor retread as though it were a brand new shiny thing. And then from there is a toboggan ride through the potential futures, most especially the Legion of Super-Heroes 30th Century, that will be ripped to pieces to wipe the butt of every reboot from here through the next five decades and counting.

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.

JLA: Year One #11 (November, 1998)

Thanks to Simon Carr, the files kept by J'Onn J'Onzz at the Sanctuary were available to exploit. The Appellaxian invaders struck Earth's metahuman community hard and fast, exploiting their knowledge of secret identities and other vulnerabilities. "First, they took Superman." The Atom, Blue Beetle, the Metal Men, Batman, Hawkman, Johnny Quick, and Dr. Mid-Nite followed in turn. Setting up an internment camp on Blackhawk Island, members of the Squadron, the Freedom Fighters, Seven Soldiers of Victory, and the Justice Society could all be seen as being held captive. As the only files removed from the piles were those belonging to Barry, Dinah, Hal, and Arthur, they were the only heroes spared.

The Justice League were in Metropolis, fighting a tiny portion of the 7,000 or so Appellaxian proxy bodies alerted to the threat Earth posed, intent on wiping us out. Aquaman was randomly shouting orders to the team while discussing with Snapper Carr how Uncle Simon's Appellaxian, Kalar, evaded Martian Manhunter's telepathy by loosening his psychic grip as needed. Simon was barely aware of any changes to his consciousness. Martian Manhunter had only just caught a falling Green Lantern when he soon after took another tumble, thanks to a depleted power battery. After over 24 hours of continuous fighting, the League was broadly tapped out, but not so much that the Alien Atlas couldn't guide the Flash to a locker at Ferris Aircraft housing an invisible power battery. The Emerald Gladiator was soon speaking his oath to recharge midair. Aquaman congratulated the crackerjack teamwork, but also had to acknowledge that Metropolis was lost to the invaders.

In Gotham City, Kalar needlessly obliterated the mind of an Appellaxian fire proxy to take it as his own, surrendering Simon Carr's frail human form. Just as he'd sent the soldier to the plasmgods above, so to had he planned to execute Carr. However, he was spirited away by Vandal Savage, along with the device Kalar had used against his own kind. Meanwhile, things faired just as poorly for the League in Midway City, though Barry scored a kiss from Dinah in a moment of weakness. The Scarlet Speedster had wondered aloud "What... would the JSA have done," but suddenly struck upon his own inspiration.

Via the undervalued "talks to fishes," Aquaman knew where in the Atlantic Ocean the metahumans were being held. Almost as soon as the League arrived back at the sanctuary, they were captured by Appellaxians exploiting their specific vulnerabilities. Soon, the League was on Blackhawk Island, and Green Lantern was warned not to try anything, or his yellow bonds woukd squeeze the life out of him. A demonstration was provided, and Lantern screamed in such pain that it blew a hole through an Appellaxian's chest. "His" power ring had disguised the League as one another, so that Black Canary easily brushed off Lantern's bonds, while Hal Jordan was hardly bothered by a cage of fire, and so on. Soon, Flash had recovered all the heroes' stolen technology, which was being studied by the invaders ahead of their planning to do the same to the metahumans. Suddenly, the prison camp was becoming the staging grounds for the super-human resistance army...

"Stalag Earth" was by storytellers Mark Waid / Brian Augustyn / Barry Kitson with inker Michael Bair. It will never not drive me nuts that DC went decades pretending like everyone from the JLA to Speedy were active before Robin the Boy Wonder just because of stupid "Batman: Year Three." Real time, the Dark Knight flew solo for one year and one month, but editors and dirtbag fandom keep trying to erase one of the greatest characters in all of comics because grimdark. Don't even get me started on Wonder Woman. Anyway, it's always fun to see heroes get took, and leaving them behind fences has a resonance today following Gitmo and refugee detentions that may have been fuzzier to readers in '98 over a half century removed from the Japanese internments of World War II. Seeing these costumed prisoners of war liberate themselves might have had more "oomph" broken up by a cliffhanger, but the resolution was appropriately clever and Silver Agey for a series rooted in nostalgia. Neat to see so many heroes from across DC's history all in one place, centering on their first couple of decades so that we're not suffering any Infinitors or New Bloods or whatever. It's also fun because of how many DC acquisitions are present, published by different companies in the beginning, with few integrating into the DC Universe until the 1970s. It's the sort of thing children of the Greatest Generation could scarcely dream of when they were all publishing contemporaries.

JLA: Year One #9 (September, 1998)

Snapper Carr called the Flash back to base after days of it's being empty. "...morale's a little low. I can't believe J'Onn betrayed us like he did... Canary's cynical as it is, and Aquaman... I keep expecting him to swim off in disgust. He's just waiting for the rest of us to turn on him now." Snapper jabbed that he hoped they could set aside their paranoia long enough to save the world from three simultaneous globe-threatening climate disturbances, and everyone appeared to respond to the distress signal except J'Onn. Possibly not having seen each other since the confrontation, Flash asked about Green Lantern's pursuit of J'Onn. "I've searched high and low. Nothing." In truth, the Manhunter was present, invisibly undetected, and left for a third location after the rest paired up for separate priority targets.

The Flash was uncomfortable with his physical proximity to Black Canary while running to the Arctic, and she was put all the way off when he let slip that he had less a girlfriend and more a fiancé. Both had trouble sleeping at night knowing J'Onn was out there with all their secrets, presumably telling them to Locus. The pair still succeeded in bypassing a flaming giant Locus proxy body agent to destroy the machine that was melting the polar icecaps.

At the Mariana Trench, Aquman asked why Green Lantern was always giving orders, then belly-laughed at his answer. "You're not the leader. Flash is the leader! ... J'Onn, Canary, and I talked about this weeks ago. It's obvious to us!" The revelation poked leaks in Lantern's energy construct bubble, which would be much needed against a giant Locus agent sea monster. The heroes tricked it into destroying the second atmosphere-altering machine.

Locus agents collapsed Vandal Savage's base on top of him, but he survived by hiding in a sarcophagus, plotting revenge.

The eighth Appellaxian had failed to launch, but was found and freed by Locus, who eventually inserted it into the human body of Simon Carr. After four months of nightmares and a loss of control, Simon finally confided in Snapper, who tried to alert the Justice League. Instead, he had his face smashed through a computer monitor by Uncle Simon.

The machine in California's Redwood Forest was the lowest priority, so the pairs of heroes reconvened there, only to find J'Onn J'Onzz working the device. Green Lantern thought that cleared up any lingering doubts, assuming the Alien Atlas was guarding it, missing entirely the downed Locus proxy body off to the side. The Flash councilled against acting too rashly. "J'Onn's always been full of secrets. Suppose he neglected to tell us about his 'deathvision' or something. We only know one way to take him down for certain... and that's to take advantage of his one weakness." While Flash ran a ring of fire on the ground around J'Onn, Green Lantern punched him with a giant energy fist. J'Onn pleaded with them to extinguish the fire, but Aquaman popped him one while declaring "Not a chance, traitor!" Then the enormous explosion happened. "I tried... to tell you... to keep the fire away. The machine... I was attempting to shut it down safely. It was pumping... methane-based gases into the atmosphere! Not only are they deadly to human life... they're flammable!" Never mind that they knew about J'Onn's weakness because he told them, but hey, only you can start forest fires!

"Change the World" was by storytellers Mark Waid / Brian Augustyn / Barry Kitson with inker Michael Bair. In 1997, Grant Morrison gave an interview to Wizard Magazine for a special edition devoted to JLA, featuring sections with his thoughts on each member. "When I talk with other writers about JLA, a lot of them tell me they don't like the Martian Manhunter, and think that if there was going to be a story where someone betrays the JLA, then he's the guy who would do it. I see him much differently. If someone was to betray the JLA, he's the last person who would do it." Wizard stated his rationale was that Manhunter was the most stalwart member, in good times and bad, specifically referencing the Post-Crisis contrivance that he'd been a member of every incarnation. Obviously that wasn't true of the actual publishing history, and cue a slew of writers having Manhunter either betray or quit the team in some fashion. Ultimately though, Morrison was right, because fans roundly rejected or ignored these hot takes and pestered DC to get J'Onn back on the team. Anyway, I feel like Waid also agreed with Morrison, and did his best to explore that angle in a "safe" environment to abort any of those other nefarious writers' plans. The Manhunter isn't entirely in the right during this maxi-series, but the League is very in the wrong with regard to their treatment of our boy.

1990s, Aquaman, Black Canary, Flash, Green Lantern, Justice League of America, Martian Manhunter, Retcons, Vandal Savage

JLA: Year One #7 (July, 1998)

The Gotham City Executive Club could barely tolerate the rest of the Justice League's attire, but J'Onn J'Onzz's mankini was entirely unacceptable. Shapeshifting into what probably seemed like Tony Stark in a tuxedo, but what true fans would catch as a callback to Marco Xavier, the Martian was finally allowed passage. Once inside, Green Lantern led the team in an inquisition of Simon Carr, as it was suddenly untenable to have a mysterious benefactor giving them likely billions of dollars in support with no questions asked. "For all we know, Vandal Savage could be holding the purse strings!" Weirdly gendered phrasing from Black Canary. During this rather unnecessary public spectacle, Maxwell Lord tried to bet Bruce Wayne over who could "nail" Canary first (not-so-oddly gendered phrasing,) but Wayne was all *who are you* and *this is boring* about it. Both Wayne and Lord had no patience for the more prejudiced club members treating the League as riffraff, with Lord expressing a keen interest in turning them into his personal army. Foreshadowing, both intended and unforeseen. Speaking of, the Marco Xavier form was abandoned by page 3 for effect when The Sleuth from Outer Space affirmed that Carr was telling the truth because "I read his mind." I believe J'Onn rightly asserted on the "ride home" that he'd previously disclosed this ability, but the team had a delayed freakout over the implications. "I'm sure J'Onn wouldn't invade our private thoughts... right, J'Onn?"

In her personal time, Dinah Lance hashed out her beef with mom over coffee with friendly Officer Mike. Cut to the various new supporting cast members who've inserted themselves into the League's civilian lives to gather data and build intelligence files. The dossiers were hidden behind a holographic wall, and there was some questioning the ethics of manipulating the team members, assuaged by having "much at stake". Locus saw value in such files digging up "dirt," though their leader was content to simply allow the League to be distracted by other threats as they continued their own agenda unmolested. Genegrafting their minds into superior new bodies would assure their survival in the coming holocaust. Boy, this issue is full of problematic phrasing, as even by the '90s the term "holocaust" was firmly associated specifically with the Nazi campaign of genocide, though as with "ghetto," later association doesn't negate a word's independent origins.

There's a two page spread of the Justice League's unrecorded missions, battling the Invisible Destroyer, Icicle, Gorilla Grodd, and the "phantom doom." Typically, this would be where you'd reference actual stories from the League canon to establish a time frame, but the creators chose to frustrate future wiki contributors with ahistorical matches involving villains individual Leaguers had already beaten on their own. Clark Kent was doing a story on the team for the Daily Planet, and caught sight of them battling one another while mislead by an illusion cast by Xotar the Weapons Master, one of their earliest foes. Superman's heat vision slagged whatever literally futuristic device Xotar was employing, and clear-eyed, the League turned their attention toward their true enemy. Green Lantern embarrassed the team with a ham-fisted error, but clean-up was a snap with the Man of Steel pitching in. Superman smashed a "time-porter," and Xotar was seemingly flung back to his starting point 10,000 years in the future. Still, Lantern was staring daggers at being upstaged, while the rest of the starstruck team gave Superman a tour of their headquarters (with a security system incorporating Martian technology.) At the urging of Aquaman and Canary, the Flash finally offered Superman League membership (seconded by Arthur.) In an abrupt chapter close, Superman turned them down, retroactively stripping Metamorpho and Black Lightning of their privileged status as first refusals.

"The American Way" was by storytellers Mark Waid / Brian Augustyn / Barry Kitson with inker Michael Bair. I enjoy the crisp, dark line that Bair provides, adding just the right touch of edge and mood while still maintaining Kitson's overall genteel Silver Age quality. Sekowsky drew the original stories, but he was an atypical DC artist, with his awkward, rough-hewn figures and stylized, angular backgrounds. This series feels like the Justice League being reclaimed as part of what Jacobs & Jones called DC's 1950s "Frigidaire" house style of clean, clear, antiseptic, conformist commercial art. That may seem like a knock, but after the grotesque excesses and perilous upheaval of the Chromium Age, this was a comfort to aging '90s audiences. The industry had reached its ultimate peak, fractured violently, and plunged to lows that seemed liable to terminally pulp the art form. A pleasant nostalgia piece was entirely called for in 1998, with just enough Image sheen to satisfy the fanboys.

1990s, Aquaman, Black Canary, Flash, Green Lantern, Justice League of America, Justice Society of America, Martian Manhunter, Retcons, Superman, Vandal Savage

JLA: Year One #2 (February, 1998)

Locus made contact with Vandal Savage to seek his help in ending this new age of super-heroes before it could begin, just as a few well-placed senators had done to the Justice Society of America. Savage had already gathered a group of four super-villains to target the new group, consisting of the Thorn, Clayface, Eclipso, and Solomon Grundy. Meanwhile, Manhunter met with Aquaman on the dock to offer him a lift into downtown Gotham City. The Sea King was struggling with learning to read and speak English, to which J'Onn offered, "Learn German first. It's more logical. That's what I did." The meeting was not prearranged, and Aquaman took note of the Manhunter's possessing telepathy that far outstripped his own empathic abilities.

To the relief of Aquaman, he was soon set back on dry land to attend a press conference at the JSA's old headquarters. Not so fast, as Aquaman's soft mumble and ignorance of the surface world ("I'm sure that Sea Devil is a fine man...") plainly irritated the reporters. J'Onn J'Onzz avoided the microphone entirely, with only Black Canary and Green Lantern demonstrating any aptitude in public speaking. While the team was official out and named, lots of questions remained about their jurisdiction, politics, nationalism, and so forth. These deeper questions were set aside upon the thunderous crashing of the affair by Savage's quartet of villainy.

The heroes of the League had never been targeted before, and were thrown by the unprovoked assault, as well as the need to protect the host of imperiled collateral bystanders. Martian Manhunter did one-up Clayface after being threatened that the crook could transform into his worst nightmare. "My. How frightening. Try this one. It's from Mars." Clayface creamed at the sight of a giant alien beast with claws and teeth a third the size of the bad guy. Another unexpected power for the Alien Atlas.

Eventually, the three-quarters of the quartet turned on a rampaging Grundy, allowing the League to regroup and strategize. Manhunter recovered from a temporary blinding from a black diamond eyebeam to emit his own Laser Vision to harden a water-saturated Clayface. However Grundy collapsed the hotel ballroom, and the quartet were teleported away from the scene. Home audiences cheered another victory for the new Justice League of America being reported upon by the likes of Vicki Vale, Lois Lane, and Jack Ryder. Even "bystanders" Ted Grant and Alan Scott signaled their approval, though The Batman had every intention of running them out of his town.

In the aftermath, Vandal Savage tried to quit his association with Locus, though they seemed to perhaps persuade him otherwise. On the scene, when Ryder launched into a heated criticism of the League, the newly arriving Green Arrow sent a shaft through his mic. Seemingly in tow was Simon Carr, representing a wealthy anonymous benefactor offering to bankroll the team. An inventor named Ted Kord had already been retained to facilitate anticipated advanced equipment, vehicles, and facilities...

"Group Dynamic" was by storytellers Mark Waid / Brian Augustyn / Barry Kitson. Since this was arguably the least issue of the maxi-series, I think it's the best place for heavy nitpicking on my part. I realize that this was a new story from the early days of the JLA, unbound by prior continuity, except it isn't. The 1988 Secret Origins story had been edited by Waid, and the maxi-series studiously avoids retelling the actual 1960s League tales while simultaneously referencing them. What's the point of having a walking DC Comics Encyclopedia co-write a project like this without having it steeped in established continuity? The scene with Aquaman learning to read is nice... except Arthur Curry taught him to read (cursive diary entries no less) in The Legend of Aquaman (also edited by Waid.) The villains for the issue include the Matt Hagen Clayface (introduced in December of 1961) and Eclipso (August '63), with cameos by Metamorpho (January '65), The Atom (October '61), The Creeper (April '68), Blue Beetle (November '66), and the New Blackhawks (June '64) in a story that would be contemporaneous to The Brave and the Bold #28 (March 1960). The League are supposedly putting the Sea Devils out to pasture, even though they won't debut for five months? The only non-Golden Age heroic cameo that legitimately predated the League was the Challengers of the Unknown (February '57). Story wise, I get having the most stripped down "action heroes" reacting to the new super-hero team, but nerd-wise, it breaks my brain. Further, there's a new version of the "Justice League of America" naming sequence, already trod in Secret Origins. The Thorn was an exceedingly weird pull, given that she had barely appeared in the Golden Age and Infinity Inc. made a story point of her having disappeared completely following the births of Jade and Obsidian. Likewise, Eclipso had mostly kept to his own strip in House of Secrets until being revived for a Green Lantern subplot in the '80s, so why have him battle Hal Jordan twenty years too early? Grundy and Eclipso are especially dangerous villains, so it was a shame they offered so little a threat. Plus, Green Arrow may have been the first expansion member, but do we really need him around this early? This issue was... fine... but it clearly raised my geek hackles.

JLA: Year One #1 (January, 1998)

In a darkened room, a series of unidentified individuals watched television monitors with reports of freshly emerging super-heroes the Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Manhunter from Mars, and Black Canary. Notes were taken, specifically locations of sightings. The last images were of J'Onn J'Onzz and the combined heroes, for which no notes were written, of the Appellaxian invasion. "...rumors for years of a Manhunter from Mars in Middleton, Colorado... but those rumors are now fact." In a cringey splash page for Martian fans that doubled as a house ad and store poster, all the Leaguers get their trademark epithets ("The Emerald Gladiator",) even ones unfamiliar and perhaps dubious, ("The Blond Bombshell"?) except "The Manhunter from Mars." To paraphrase Henry Jones, "We named the strip Manhunter from Mars." Stuff like that drove me to create this blog, with preferable canon epithets including "The Alien Atlas" and "The Sleuth from Outer Space." Anyway, it's a personal speed bump on the way to the inspirational "They were young... They were new... and still, they forever set the standard for all who would follow. Ten years ago, five powerful heroes came together... for a world that needed one unbeatable team. Just Imagine."

The League wasn't "official" at the end of their first case, leaving the prospective members to mull the decision in their private identities. Central City Police Department forensic scientist Barry Allen was uncharacteristically impatient and testy, as he's introduced to incoming detective Paris Jackson (less than six months before the more famous bearer of that name was born.) In Star City, Dinah Lance unpacked shipments to her floral shop while discussing the team with her mom. The elder Dinah (née Drake) was maybe putting the mother in "smother," especially when she got a new beat cop named Sherman to promise to keep an eye on her nineteen-year-old "little girl." A mild Canary Cry and numerous busted pots later, the junior Dinah was out the door for her meeting. Aquaman tried to make friends in a rough dock bar, but between his soft-speaking, heavy accent, and costume, he nearly ended up in a brawl instead. Things were calmed down by a kindly Coast Guard named Perez. At Ferris Aircraft, Hal Jordan ignored his buddy Tom Kalmaku's pleas to eject from the experimental $30M X-90 jet (or at least wear his power ring during test flights) in order to impress his boss Carol into a dinner date. Successfully landing, his next step seemed to be sweet-talking FAA investigator Lora Denton, but he fumbled.

In Middleton on a rainy night, Detective John Jones sat in a parked car with his partner Diane Meade on stakeout. He asked if she thought of him as a trustworthy team player. "God, John. Warn me when you're gonna speak. I'll alert the media. At least clear your throat or something... You're the most curious detective... You have a spotless record, you always get your man... and no other investigator has yet to find your sense of humor. What more do I need to know right now?" Twitch's tip about drug manufacturing at the back of Angelo's Restaurant panned out when armed dealers showed up to punish his skimming off their operation. Jones expressed his lack of understanding about addiction and violence, which the sassier Meade mocked. Pinned by erupting gunfire, Meade called for back-up while an invisible Jones used laser vision to heat the guns out of their hands. As the only armed man present, the suddenly visible Jones could easily arrest the lot. The press arrived before the reinforcements, with Channel Twelve News' Cal Redmond looking for the scoop on this hero cop. The taciturn Jones bowed out to meet with, perhaps, others like himself?

The quintet of super-heroes had agreed to turn over the two surviving Appellaxian battle drones to the Air Force, specifically General Eiling, but a small army of masked and armed individuals were already at the seaside caves where the team had hidden the alien proxies. A battle ensued, with the reawakened fire giant putting J'Onn J'Onzz out of direct action. Black Canary critiqued the heroes by comparison to her "family" in the Justice Society, but included a Golden Age Flash Fact that helped her and the Scarlet Speedster to bring down the also awakened bird giant. When not undermining the only woman on the team, Green Lantern bailed on yellow bird duty to help Aquaman leave the fire giant all wet in a grotto. Jordan was surprised to learn of the Manhunter's weakness to fire, and tried to walk back a faux pas statement of bring sick of these aliens. "You mean no insult. Go. I will shield the soldiers."

More than that, the Manhunter executed a maneuver that would be adapted to animation in the Justice League TV pilot "Secret Origins." When armed assailants pointed their rifles at him, the Martian disappeared into the ground immaterially, only to arise behind the men and bash their heads together. So much for "The Martian is weak! Quickly! Before the others come to his rescue. --We will reduce him to Martian ash--" Green Lantern noticed, and wondered if his power ring could do that, too? The attackers tried to destroy what they couldn't steal, but were disarmed by the Flash. As a fail-safe, their leader leaped onto the bird giant and had his fellows "triangulate a portmatrix" to teleport them both back to base. General Eiling had ordered his men to stand down for their own protection, and openly admired the super-heroes who'd saved the day (if not the bird giant.)

After the USAF airlifted the fire giant for study, the quintet hesitantly agreed to remain a team to investigate the robbers, by order of Flash, Canary, Lantern, and Aquaman. Only Manhunter offered an unreserved "You... each of you... has treated me as you would one of your own race. You have included me where others might turn away. I am... grateful. I would be honored to join you." Meanwhile, the uniformed members of Locus watched video of this meeting remotely at their base, taking notes on the League's confessions to one another, while their field agents were already in play on the ground to gather intelligence...

"Justice League of America: Year One" was by Mark Waid / Brian Augustyn / Barry Kitson. I grew up on Super Friends, and the first JLofA comic that I remember seeing was 1983's #217 with the George Pérez cover, but it wasn't until the late '80s JLI era that I ever bothered to read any of the things. While I have a fondness for many periods of the property, it wasn't until the 1996 JLA relaunch that the premise finally sung for me, and it was during this period that I truly and eternally became a fan. That half-decade under Morrison and Waid will always be "my" League, and this maxi-series played a big role in that. Since I'd yet to read any but the earliest Detective Comics stories, I had no idea Diane Meade was a preexisting character, and I was still 100% sold on the Post-Crisis Middleton, CO shtick that I'd reject years later.

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 Vandal Savage Amazing Houston Comic Con commission by Karl Altstaetter

The nice thing about being middle-aged is having the disposable income to get commissions specifically for a blog you only irregularly post to, so that they sit around for so many years that the details get fuzzy (a condition also accelerated by middle age.) Did I get this piece is 2015, alongside the Ice Jam Sketch? Probably not, as that was the year I was putting together the J'Onzz Family Portrait that took up so much time and money. I doubt I'd have the funds for a full commission, plus I think I specifically got it because Altstaetter returned to Houston the following year. But I thought it was at the late Space City Comic Con? Eh, more likely the Bishop co-creator would repeat at Amazing, right? All best guesses, obviously.

I liked the idea of getting the Golden Age villain Vandal Savage drawn in a Chromium Age fashion by a Bloodstrike artist, especially as in his '90s tussles with the Alien Atlas he was more prone to the Bronze Age stylings of Messrs Velluto, Bernardo, and Semeiks...

Karl Altstaetter

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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.

Salvation Run #6-7 (June-July, 2008)

Two more weeks on Hell Planet. Despite the narrow bloodless victory last issue, Martian Manhunter was now depicted as brutalized and dirty with missing teeth in a flame cage constructed and maintained this entire time by a Heat Wave who has gone from fear at being blamed for his death to anticipation for murdering him. Except when he joins Captain Cold in pointing out that killing Bart Allen was the worst mistake the Rogues ever made and led to their dire straits. But ask again in five minutes. The Joker & Luthor camps also reunited, because. The Titans associates Thunder & Lighting tried to rescue J'Onn, but got captured by Bane and imprisoned. Luthor and Joker fought over whether to kill the lot of them, and then they just plain fistfought, and then the Parademons show up.

Vandal Savage continued to mentally abuse and sleep deprive his would-be villainess harem, tricking each in turn to think that they were his sole partner in manipulating the other, with Phobia's literal fearmongering amongst them going a long way toward explaining why they would be so malleable. Eventually, they bothered to talk amongst themselves, figure out his scam, and throw a beating. Luthor needed a safe place for Warp to teleport the device his team had constructed to return to Earth, and Catwoman guided them to the safe zone, where they halted the savaging of Vandal. Grodd reminded everyone why he was called Super-Gorilla by surviving the attempt on his life and working with Luthor to telepathically force help with opening a portal from unwilling parties. Grodd wanted to kill Joker, of course, but then the Parademons showed up again.

Even this late in the game, previously unseen key players were being introduced without explanation. Super-villains apparently killed in the ensuing battle are included and struck out in the final census below (though some will turn up elsewhere in the future, also without explanation.) Thunder, Lightning, Warp, Neutron, Plasmus, and, um, Lady Robot Arms(? I hope it's not Silver Swan. That would be embarrassing) were revealed to be powering the portal, and were all blown to pieces by a bomb left by Luthor before he was the last man through the portal. Weak and in great pain, Martian Manhunter was ignored by the Parademons and left to die in the flame cage (maintained by what exactly?)

"Burning Down the House World" & "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place Planet" were by Matthew Sturges, Sean Chen and Walden Wong, again, but for the last time, and joined by Wayne Faucher. I can't stand the Joker and can't believe he'd win a fight against Lex Luthor, but these issues were less terrible (and less substantial) than the rest. But why again didn't anybody kill the Joker after they got back home?

Census: Abra Kadabra, Bane, Black Spider, the Body Doubles, the Brain, Brutale, Captain Cold, Catman, Catwoman, the Cheetah, Chemo, Cicada, Clayface, Deadshot, Dr. Light, Dr. Sivana, Effigy, Fatality, General Immortus, Giganta, Girder, Gorilla Grodd, Hammer, Heat Wave, Hellhound, Hindenberg, Hyena, Ibac, Iron Cross, Jewelee, Jinx, Jongleur, Kid Karnevil, Killer Croc, Killer Frost, Leather, Lex Luthor, Lockup, Mad Hatter, Magenta, Mammoth, Man-Bat, Manticore, Meanstreak, Metallo, Mirror Master, Mr. Freeze, Mr. Terrible, Monsieur Mallah, Neutron, Phobia, the Prankster, Professor Ivo, Psimon, Rag Doll, Rock, Scandal Savage, Shadow-Thief, Shimmer, Shrapnel, Sickle, Silver Monkey, Silver Swan, Splitshot, Sterling Silversmith, Skorpio, Solomon Grundy, Sonar, Hugo Strange, Tapeworm, Tar Pit, Tremor, Tweedledee, Tweedledum, Two-Face, Warp and Weather Wizard. Wow, that's a lot of lame-os who survived.

Salvation Run #5 (May, 2008)

Another week later on Hell Planet. Catwoman continued to keep her own company while spying on others. The Joker's camp, being the most shiftless, launched a predawn raid on Luthor's supply silos. Although Joker's side was outnumbered, he managed to get the drop on Lex before Deadshot got the drop on him, leading to a Mexican stand-off. Then Catwoman got caught on the scene and Lex managed to talk all parties into believing she was a spy for Waller's people on Earth. To save her own skin, she gave up Blockbuster's true identity and fled the scene.

Despite remaining visible and tangible while trying to talk to the assembled villains and it being known that he was in possession of a communicator that supposedly reached back home, everyone piled on the exposed Martian Manhunter as hard as they were able while tripping over each other. J'Onn took a punch from Mammoth and a citrus-like fruit to the head. He retaliated by dive-bombing Giganta in the solar plexus and simultaneously battling 20+ bad guys without breaking a sweat. He also blasted a (cyborg?) villain (Thinker?) through the chest with laser vision in what may have been a fatality, but the dude was too obscure for me to be able to positively identify. The Alien Atlas didn't run into trouble until Luthor gathered the sonics for an initial counteroffensive and then a group of fire-blasters (including Neutron, Heat Wave & effigy) for the coup de grâce. Sure the valuable communicator was destroyed, a powerful potential ally was felled, and wrathful heroes surely would be even less inclined to rescue them (and might actively retaliate,) but Salvation Run, ya'll

Elsewhere, Vandal Savage revealed to Lady Flash that the women he lured away were intended to be his personal breeding stock, and would have no say in the matter, because he only meant that this would be his paradise. Plenty of room for fights and two page spreads, but not even a smidge for subtlety. Also, it turned out the Hell Planet was created by Apokolips as a training ground for Parademons, and the trainees having the opportunity to take on all those super-villains would surely forge some of their greatest soldiers yet...

"Through a Glass Darkly Deadly" was by Matthew Sturges, Joe Bennett, and Belardino Brabo. Why yes, that is a new art team five issues into a seven part mini-series. On the right book with good embellishment, I have no major problem with Sean Chen, but his loose perfunctory work here only made an ugly book uglier. Bennett makes the title look so much better, at times I almost forgot what a stinky turd the script was. This book fits neatly in a pattern where some muckity muck at DC *cough*didio*cough* talks a modest talent without a serious following into executing a terrible idea that tanks their career.

Salvation Run #4 (April, 2008)

On Hell Planet, Martian Manhunter had been impersonating Blockbuster for the past thirteen days as part of an operation he was coordinating with Batman to find all those recently missing super-villains. Now, he was trapped incommunicado on a world so far from any he knew that there was no semblance of a direction home. The villains were turning on each other on a planet that appeared engineered to be as deadly as possible. And hiding in the bushes, observing J'Onn's futile effort to communicate with Batman, Catwoman found this development "Verrrry interesting."

One week later, tensions within Lex Luthor's camp continued to rise. Lady Vic confronted "Blockbuster" with his charade, not recognizing this man as the one she knew "very well." At least there were some support systems there. It was every man for himself at Joker's camp, as Gorilla Grodd shoved a bamboo rod in Bolt's hand so he could go hunt his own food if he wanted to eat. Grodd was eying Joker's chair when he was approached with a strategic alliance by Monsieur Mallah and The Brain. While Mallah tried to tout the apes' superiority to the humans, especially in a jungle setting, Grodd expressed repulsion at the comparison. "You absurd science experiment! ...You are an abomination!" It was Mallah's turn to be offended, and he lashed out, but was no match for Grodd's brute strength. In desperation, Mallah fired five slugs into Grodd's chest, only to be bludgeoned to death with The Brain's containment vessel, his one consolation being that he would die alongside his disembodied love. Weakened and wounded, the six-hundred pound Grodd was unable to prevent Joker's pallid, anorexic, dandy leg from from kicking him off an inconveniently located mountain ledge.

Vandal Savage had seen these downturns coming, and had convinced Lady Flash, Phobia, Nocturna, and the Cheetah to follow him into the wilderness. "Whether anyone develops the technology to escape or not, we'll be alive." Savage had already determined that the planet was technologically-based, and had located an isolated location wired for paradise...

"Life Is But A Dream Nightmare" was by Matthew Sturges, Sean Chen and Walden Wong. I stopped recapping this mini-series halfway through seven years ago for a number of reasons, not the least of which because these posts corresponded with lengthy simultaneous synopses of other titles across numerous blogs at a time when audiences for that format were dwindling. The New 52 had also gone into effect, rendering the continuity these stories took place in moot. But most importantly, it's because I hated what a vicious and stupid effort this mini-series was, and I was particularly disgusted at the thinly motivated ape massacre in this issue. It was DC not only disowning its innocent past of evil talking gorillas, but relishing in adulterating their very memory in as cruel and distasteful a way as possible. Its utter contempt for its own past creators and their output inspire contempt in me for them. I wanted no more to do with it then, and now, I just want to sort out my loose ends and draft copy for a podcast adaptation as part of a larger overview of this era.

Census: Abra Kadabra, Bane, Black Spider, Blockbuster (Martian Manhunter), the Body Doubles, the Brain, Brutale, Captain Cold, Catman, Catwoman, the Cheetah, Chemo, Cicada, Clayface, Deadshot, Dr. Light, Dr. Sivana, Effigy, Fatality, General Immortus, Giganta, Girder, Gorilla Grodd, Solomon Grundy, Hammer, Heat Wave, Hellhound, Hindenberg, Hyena, Ibac, Iron Cross, Jewelee, Jinx, Jongleur, Kid Karnevil, Killer Croc, Killer Frost, Leather, Lex Luthor, Lockup, Mad Hatter, Magenta, Mammoth, Man-Bat, Manticore, Meanstreak, Metallo, Mirror Master, Mr. Freeze, Mr. Terrible, Monsieur Mallah, Neutron, Phobia, the Prankster, Professor Ivo, Psimon, Rag Doll, Rock, Scandal Savage, Shadow-Thief, Shimmer, Shrapnel, Sickle, Silver Monkey, Silver Swan, Splitshot, Sterling Silversmith, Skorpio, Sonar, Hugo Strange, Tapeworm, Tar Pit, Tremor, Tweedledee, Tweedledum, Two-Face, Warp and Weather Wizard.

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.

2014 Vandal Savage Comicpalooza convention jam art by Mark Texeira

I probably first encountered Mark Texeira's art during his very brief run on Warlord, a book I only bought for a short time as flea market cheapies, but I didn't really take not of him there. His art may have influenced my purchases of Buckaroo Banzai #1 or some issues of Sectaurs, but I don't specifically remember it being a draw. The first time I really took note of Tex was his very cool Mad Max style promos for Hex, and a became a fan while collecting Psi-Force mostly for his work. That was one of the only New Universe books I bought off the stands, and there was one particular splash (I think in issue #5) that I stared at in awe-- one of the most exquisitely rendered images I'd ever seen up to that point. There was a fill-in on issue #6, and I not only felt cheated by the bait & switch of a Tex cover, but it made me realize that I wasn't very interested in Psi-Force stories unless he drew them. His final issue on interiors was #8, so it was my last monthly purchase as well. Tex disappeared on me for a while after that, but when I saw he was drawing an issue of Stalkers here or Night Breed there, I bought them. Punisher? Ghost Rider? Wolverine? Sabretooth? Union? If Tex was there, I'd follow, and be happy about it if only for the art. Of course, I preferred it when he was on books with scripts and characters I could also enjoy, like Black Panther, but the fact is that Tex is one of my top five favorite comic artists of all time, and one of the very few I'll buy regardless of title. I just bought a skimpy IDW trade of A Hero's Death, but Tex painted it, so I'm there.

When Mark Texeira was announced at Comicpalooza, I was extremely excited and hopeful to pick up a piece or seventeen. I looked everywhere for him at the show, and my heart sank when I couldn't find him. Hours went by, and I'm not even sure I ever located him on Friday. However, on one of the days, friends pointed out to me that he'd ended up in the celebrity autograph section I spend very little time at with a makeshift banner. I was like, "WHERE? SHOW ME!" Sure enough, there was Tex with a respectable line in front of him. Which I promptly joined with no intention of leaving until I'd talked to one of my illustration idols.

They say, "never meet your heroes," and I've unfortunately experienced the wisdom of this expression firsthand. Some of my favorite creative people have disappointed or frustrated me in person, in some cases permanently diminishing or outright quashing my affection. Blessedly, this was not the case with Mark Texeira, a larger than life figure with a perpetual smile and no shortage of conversation. He never stopped telling stories, drinking, eating, laughing, drawing, coloring-- even if you weren't into comics, his presence was so warm and inviting that you'd still want to hang around him. I'm so happy and so relieved that one of my favorite creators in this medium also ended up being one of my favorite people, too!

As for this specific piece, it was part of my first attempt at a jam that totally got away from me. By the time it got to Tex, the scale was all out of whack, so what I really needed was a nice, big, beautiful central figure to tie everything together. Tex asked first if it was okay for him to go nuts, and I assured him that yes please take up as much space as you need to make the best piece possible. I wanted a character as vital and lusty for experience as Tex, so Vandal Savage seemed a perfect fit. Despite the immortal tyrant being one of my favorite comic book villains, I'd never gotten a drawing of him done because I'd never found an artist that inspired me to shell out my own money on a character already well represented in print. Savage was a relatively minor direct foil for Martian Manhunter, really more of a threat to incarnations of the Justice League J'Onn had served on, but I didn't let that get in the way of devoting a spotlight section of this blog to him. Texeira was such a perfect fit for the villain, and even drew him in his pain-in-the-ass armor from the JLTF period I like so much but never wanted to inflict on anybody. I love this commission, and am grateful to Tex for doing an even better one for me afterward...

Mark Texeira

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