The Weird War of Gilgana: Iwangis IS The Creature King!

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• The Weird War of Gilgana Begins!
• Quarter the Second!
• Final 4
• No seriously, it's our 2014 March Madness Final Four
• Terrible Trio Title
• (Late) March Madness of Diabolu

The clash was tense, and initially appeared to turn against the Chulko that had already stalemated against the Venomee, who themselves found loggerheads with the Creature King. Unseen but always felt in these proceedings, the wizard cursed the prospect of using his magic to arbitrarily decide a victor, or else wearying his menagerie by drawing out the conflict still further. Briefly, surprisingly, the Doom Shadow fell in such a way that it seemed the battle might favor it. Ultimately though, the energy blasts of the Purple People striking Iwangis triggered a series of explosions that launched a rockslide. Pink sand was pushed off the beach into the waters of Gilgana, causing a far greater explosion, into which the Chulko succumbed. The additional statues that slid to shore expanded the Creature King's army, which finally overwhelmed the Venomee.

The creature commandos of Iwangis may have overcome, but as he looked out over the desolation wrought, he recognized that he would be the king of nothing in this realm but dirt, rocks, and calamitously unstable water. Could Iwangis even dare sleep this night without fear of a native watery hand drowning him, or a monster goring him? Iwangis' goldenrod paw allowed pink sands to pass through his massive fingers, and contemplated an alternative that may have been influenced by sorcerous suggestion. From a slightly safer distance as allowed for the Creature King to continue controlling his minions, Iwangis directed them to sacrifice themselves pushing a mound of meteoric sand into unstable sea, insuring a catastrophic detonation that tore a small gap in the already threadbare reality connecting Gilgana to Earth. From a hole in the sky, the monsters once collected by Diabolu in ancient times rained down to the ocean surrounding a precarious, remote isle...



Despero had done much with his reign as champion over the vile villains of the Martian Manhunter. After outlawing interpersonal conflict among the gathered rogues, he initiated a purity test derisively referred to as SurVILEvor Island. As it turned out, the location was actually Diablo Island, a home to the true evil of Eclipso, who launched ongoing eviction proceedings enforced by the Legions of Doom. These distractions had allowed Ma'alefa'ak to instigate rounds of torture against his brother's friends and allies, but with blood and a bestiary in the water, Malefic saw an opportunity to reclaim his title as original victor over the Vile Menagerie. With The Interferer finally displaced, this supposed "Isle of Diabolu" was up for grabs...

(Late) March Madness of Diabolu

When jimmypulv first suggested a March Madness brackets for Martian Manhunter villains in 2011, it gelled perfectly with the blog's earliest origins as a response to versus threads on the late '90s DC Comics Message Board. It's hard to believe that there was a time without Wikipedia or YouTube, where a dude who'd recently become interested in the Martian Manhunter had to learn about the character on the back streets of the Information Superhighway. Most of my initial education came from U.S. Navy Commander Adam Benson (Ret.) and back issues of House of Mystery that I was slowly accumulating off eBay. Benson characterized the Diabolu Idol-Head as a gimmick, and the stories I was exposed to firsthand were typically not the best (and in fact they were among the worst.) This not only led to my having a negative opinion of the device, but also an essential misunderstanding of it.



For many years, I thought that the beasties from out of the idol-head were like soulless spells that the Alien Atlas "broke" when he defeated them. It was only after I read the Diabolu origin story that I realized these were living beings from ancient times who were captive within the sorcerous container. They were mostly semi/non-sentient monsters on a path of destruction, rather than properly motivated adversaries of the Sleuth from Outer Space, which is why I prefer to list them under an eventual Diabolu Head group listing instead of The Vile Menagerie. Still, there was no good reason for my initial and ongoing exclusion of the beasts from the annual March Madness brackets.



I had to read up on March Madness for the 2011 edition, because I'm not a sports fan, and it was a bit of a mess. The first year's victor was Malefic, but there seemed to be some shenanigans that played into that. The second year offered up Despero, who had been in contention previously, but I'd have figured Ma'alefa'ak would have done better just a few months after his role in the animated film Justice League: Doom. It seemed likely that a cycling between Malefic and Despero would continue, so to give the event an opportunity to surprise in 2013, we flipped the script to force Martian Manhunter supporting characters to battle to death, our Final Girl being Miss Martian.

With the Idol-Head of Diabolu hitting its fiftieth birthday this year, I thought it would be nice to make up for their previous seclusion by offering a spotlight "Weird War of Gilgana" where Diabolu's monsters were the only competitors. It gives some classic, wholly "owned" Alien Atlas adversaries a chance at a title, and it gives me a break from organizing a larger competition. After two years off, I figure the 2015 contest will return to the model of the first two, but hopefully better structured and more diverse. I suppose the teased "The Isle of Diabolu" will have to wait a while, though...

Doctor Trap vs. Lex Luthor

Larry Trapp
Debut: 1998
Nemesis: DEO Agent Cameron Chase
Other Major Foes: Bette Noir, Manhunter (Kate Spencer); Martian Manhunter
Appearances: 12 original comics
Powers: Devious intellect and vicious contraptions.

Bio:
An engineer whose wife was accidentally killed in a metahuman clash snaps, becoming a serial murderer of super-heroes & villains using intricate death traps.

Vile Menagerie Stats
Win: Monty Moran (4/1)
Lose: Mr. Moth (5-6); Professor Arnold Hugo (6-11)
Draw: Mr. V (7-7)




Lex Luthor
Debut: 1940
Nemesis: Superman
Other Major Foes: Superman Family, Batman Family
Appearances: 2500+ original comics, decades of animated series, live action television, blockbuster motion pictures, toys, video games and more.
Powers: Incredible intellect and extraordinary technology.

Bio:
A criminal genius intent on proving his ultimate superiority by destroying the Man of Steel.

Vile Menagerie Stats:
Win: 0
Lose: 0
Draw: 0




Idol Speculation:
I'm intent on featuring matches with every member of the Legion of Doom to appear on the 1978 animated series Challenge of the Super Friends before wrapping up these weekly versus polls. They're among the best known DC villains, making them sound subjects to measure the relative worth of the Vile Menagerie against. However, Lex Luthor is one of the greatest fictional villains of all time across all media, so any "fair" fight meant tossing a Martian Manhunter scientist adversary into the sun. Professor Arnold Hugo is Luthor's closest analogue, and I'll be honest, he would suffer a humiliating defeat. Luthor and Hugo are too similar, with Luthor's accomplishments measured in powers over Hugo's. Also, another reason I started these fights was to record the Menagerie's statistics from the March Madness events for posterity, but I've already repeated several participants, including Hugo.

I was reminded of an argument I made years back about how updating Hugo into a "grim n' gritty" version was pointless, since Chase's Doctor Trap had already been appropriated by Martian Manhunter in the late '90s, and he was basically a brutal modern take on the old criminal geniuses. I hadn't run Trap yet, he's more physically comparable to Luthor, and the Doctor's sneaky, lethal inclinations gave him an advantage against Luthor that Hugo lacked. Doctor Trap would plot a complex homicide for Lex and execute it without Luthor necessarily being aware Larry Trapp even existed, targeted by the Doctor's broad motivation. It's the Batman argument. With time to prepare and his target unaware, why couldn't Dr. Trap emphasize the "ex" in "ex-president?" Trap may not have gone after victims in Superman's league, but setting his sites lower proved violently effectiveness.

The Commander Blanx Exhibit Revisited

The Ashen Annihilator

Commander Blanx was the Pale Martian leader who saw to J'Onn J'Onzz's exile from Martian society for thirteen years, as well as an assassination attempt on Earth. During this time, Blanx sold the planet Mars to aliens under the condition that he would exterminate all other life on the planet. Blanx rendered Mars uninhabitable, the only survivors fleeing on a spaceship to find a new world. Blanx was apparently killed by the Martian Manhunter for his crimes.

Biography

• The Vile Menagerie: COMMANDER BLANX
• 1985 Super Powers #1 Martian Manhunter Biography
• Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe Volume XIV- Martian Manhunter (April, 1986)

Story Synopses

• Detective Comics #264 (February, 1959)
• Justice League of America #71 (May, 1969)
• Justice League of America #144 (July, 1977)

Data

• 1959 Martian Weapons
• The Blue Flame of Mars
• The Cultural Museum
• Microwave Pistol

Imaginary Stories

• DC Comics Mega Sampler 2010 (July)

Art Gallery

• 2010 Comicpalooza Bust Commission by Marat Mychaels
• 2013 Comicpalooza Full Figure Commission by Marat Mychaels
• 2012 Comicpalooza Figure Commission by Brent Peeples
• 2013 Comicpalooza Head Sketch by George Pérez

Commentary

• Commander Blanx: The Most Important Martian Manhunter Adversary
• Death-Orbit!
• Race & Mars
• 2011 “JLA FORTNIGHT: Race war to the stars!” commentary by Scipio Garling
• CSBG's "The Other Greatest Martian Manhunter Stories Ever Told"
• The Vile Tarot
• Rogues of Wikipedia
• Return to the Rogues of Wikipedia
• Commander Benson's Notebook: Mysterious Disappearance
• Martian Manhunter Fotolog's Top Ten Villain Countdown

Fan Fiction

• Manhunter from Mars Annual #1 (1984)
• Manhunter From Mars Annual #1 (Conclusion)
• 2012 New 52 Wave 3 Martian Manhunter #1!
• 2013 New 52 Villain’s Month: Malefic #1!
• 2013 "Fan-Casting DC's JUSTICE LEAGUE" by Ryan Daly
• 2010 The Martian Manhunter Archives Volume 6 Fan Mock-Up Cover by Tom Hartley
• 2010 Martian Manhunter Archives Vol. 6 Create-Your-Own Back Cover by Tom Hartley
• 2012 Martian Manhunter Super Spectacular #2 Mock-Up

Miscellanea

• Commander Blanx versus Baron Blitzkrieg
• Commander Blanx vs. General Zod
• The Greatest Martian Manhunter (Related) Covers of All Time!
• Which Martian Manhunter Villains would you like to read about here 2010?
• Martian Manhunter Menagerie March Madness 2011
• Martian Manhunter Menagerie March Madness 2012

The Trickster vs. The Riddler

Tom Trent
Debut: 1961
Nemesis: Martian Manhunter
Other Major Foes: Biff Benson
Appearances: One comic story
Powers: Schtick.

Bio:
The Trickster was a fantastic thief who used elaborate stunts as a distraction while he plied his trade, until he decided to go straight and join "The Ex-Convicts Club."

Vile Menagerie Stats
Win: ?
Lose: King Faraday (?)
Draw: 0





Edward Nigma
Debut: 1948
Nemesis: Batman
Other Major Foes: Robin
Appearances: 500+ comics, numerous cartoons, primary roles in two live action films, extensive television and animated features, plus some video games.
Powers: Riddletrinousness.

Bio: Edward Nigma is a criminal mastermind who finds it so necessary to be the smartest person in any given room that he undermines his heists by leaving riddles that are inevitably doped out by Batman, leading to Nigma's capture.

Vile Menagerie Stats:
Win: 0
Lose: 0
Draw: 0




Idol Speculation:
I was surprised to find that I either never ran the Trickster in our first March Madness competition, or didn't set down any record of his participation. It took me a while to get around to his bio, so maybe I overlooked him. The truth is, Tom Trent only appeared in plain clothes in one story where he never got to use any of his gimmicks and all of his criminal career was reduced to a touch of exposition. Worse, he was outshone in context by the appearance of the Human Squirrel, and his name was actually stolen from a well liked Flash villain who debuted a year earlier. I obviously considered pitting Trent against James Jesse or Axel Walker, but I figured my alternate choice made Tom's life troubled enough. I have a fondness for the Riddler that dates back to Frank Gorshin's portrayal on the '60s TV show, and while he's hardly the flashiest or most deadly Dark Knight foil, he's certainly smart enough to outwit the Alien Atlas' off-brand Trickster.

The Capsule Master vs. Ocean Master

Vulkor
Debut: 1963
Nemesis: Martian Manhunter
Other Major Foes: Green Arrow & Speedy
Appearances: One comic story.
Powers: Super-strength, flight, and other typical Martian abilities. Brainwave Energizer helmet capable of controlling humans. Atom-powered flying capsule with a force field and powerful mechanical arm.

Bio: Vulkor was an arch-criminal on Mars who twice attempted to use a stolen planetary defensive weapon for his own plots. The Capsule Master was eventually defeated through the combined efforts of three super-heroes and returned to prison.

Vile Menagerie Stats
Win: None Recorded
Lose: The Martian Criminal (4-8), the Martian Marauders (4-9)
Draw: 0




Orm Marius
Debut: 1966
Nemesis: Aquaman
Other Major Foes: Mera, Aqualad, and Aquagirl.
Appearances: 125+ comics; animation and video games.
Powers: Superhuman strength, ability to survive underwater at tremendous pressure, control of sealife, and a magical trident capable of projecting energy blasts.

Bio: Orm Marius is the half-brother of Aquaman, and has sought the throne of Atlantis for himself at great personal price. As Ocean Master, Marius has dealt with devils and worked alongside the most nefarious villains in the DC Universe.

Vile Menagerie Stats:
Win: 0
Lose: 0
Draw: 0




Idol Speculation:
So here's the deal-- Vulkor the Capsule Master is not getting the love and respect he's owed around here. He was the villain of the first ever Brave and the Bold team-up, and the first Martian Manhunter-specific villain powerful enough to require outside heroes to defeat. Vulkor is admittedly silly looking, but his debut was important enough to warrant reprinting at least three times to date, and he's way more competent than a lot of better regarded Vile Menagerie members. Vulkor has yet to make it out of the first round in one of our March Madness contests (though he probably defeated someone in the unrecorded qualifying rounds in their initial year.) I hope this match will be an opportunity to rebuild his reputation.

I've never been impressed with Ocean Master. Aquaman still has only two villains that most folks can be bothered to remember, and Orm is the other one... the one who wasn't in the Super Friends Legion of Doom; the one who didn't murder Aquaman's son; the one who didn't turn up until Geoff Johns' third year writing Aquaman, after he'd already done two extended Black Manta arcs. The recent "Throne of Atlantis" crossover arc was probably the biggest story of Ocean Master's career, but he still got beat down like a punk in the span of a few pages. Vulkor's a Martian, he's got Martian henchman, and I'll pit his capsule against any of Orm's silly fish-ships.

B'enn B'urnzz vs. Black Adam

B'enn B'urnzz
Debut: 1962
Nemesis: Martian Manhunter
Other Major Foes: None
Appearances: One comic story.
Powers: Super strength/speed/stamina, flight, sonic blast, conditional invisibility and other Martian abilities.

Bio: B'enn B'urnzz is a criminal from the future who fled justice in the year 2062 by traveling back in time to the present. He then wrecked havoc as part of a crime spree alongside a human gang until he was stopped by J'onn J'onzz and returned home.

Vile Menagerie Stats
Win: Cay'an (5-4,) The Lizard Men (?,) The Marshal (7-6,) R'es Eda (9-0,) The Saturninan Criminal (?)
Lose: B'rett (7-12,) Commander Blanx (7-1)
Draw: 0



Black Adam
Debut: 1945
Nemesis: Captain Marvel
Other Major Foes: Marvel Family, JSA, Superman
Appearances: Nearly 400 comics; animation and audiobooks.
Powers: Super strength/speed/stamina/senses, invulnerability, magical lightning bolts and flight.

Bio: Teth-Adam was a champion empowered by the wizard Shazam in ancient Egypt. Corrupted by his power, Black Adam was banished to a distant star, and spent thousands of years flying back to Earth. Once there, he battled the Marvel Family, and eventually, much of the rest of the DC Universe.

Vile Menagerie Stats:
Win: 0
Lose: 0
Draw: 0


Idol Speculation:
Both B'enn B'urnzz and Black Adam were one shot villains who served as dark mirror images of a hero, but from a different time, and each fought their foes to a standstill before being defeated through a weakness they shared with the hero. B'enn B'urnzz was subdued in a ring of fire, while Black Adam was tricked into saying the magic word that made him human, then rapidly aged to death. The difference is that Black Adam was resurrected a few decades later, kicked around for a few decades more as a Shazam antagonist, and then in the last decade became a bloodthirsty juggernaut in the upper echelons of the DC hierarchy. B'enn B'urnzz has yet to resurface over these past 51 years, and while he performs well in our annual March Madness contests, he's got an awful lot of catching up to do in competing against Black Adam.

The Human Flame vs. Effigy

The Human Flame
Debut: 1959
Nemesis: Martian Manhunter
Other Major Foes: The JLA, The Army of the Endangered
Appearances: 15+ comics.
Powers: Fire projecting technology. As Inhuman Flame: Flight, strength, nigh-invulnerability and size alteration.

Bio: Mike Miller was a minor inventor/thief who had a brush with the greatness of Libra. This led him to alienate pretty much the entire metahuman community, until he was transformed into the monstrous "Inhuman Flame" and trapped in outer space by Green Lantern John Stewart.

Vile Menagerie Stats
Win: 0
Lose: Human Squirrel (6-7); Scorch (4-9)
Draw: 0




Effigy
Debut: 1998
Nemesis: Green Lantern Kyle Rayner
Other Major Foes: Green Lantern Corps
Appearances: 40+ comics.
Powers: Fire generation and manipulation allowing flame blasts, energy constructs and flight.

Bio: Martyn Van Wyck was kidnapped by the Controllers and turned into a prototype for their own corps to rival the Green Lanterns. Following a mental breakdown, Effigy joined several villains in plotting the murder of J'Onn J'Onzz, the crime for which he was executed by the Spectre.

Vile Menagerie Stats:
Win: 0
Lose: Fernus (2-10) and Scorch (?)
Draw: 0




Idol Speculation:
Both of these guys have fire powers and sorta-kinda killed the Martian Manhunter, except not really. They've also been minor annoyances to Green Lanterns. I'm not especially fond of either character, and given their swift first round exits in both years of March Madness contests for which they qualified, you're not big on 'em either. The "classic" Human Flame wouldn't stand a chance, but his final Inhuman Flame form could probably do Effigy in. Whoever wins, it'll be a first for either party.

Miss Martian: Martian Manhunter Mates March Madness Maven 2013

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The corrupted white Miss Martian took the corpse of Scorch in her tendrils, ripped it to little bits, and spun with such ferocity that the dismembered portions turned into projectiles, which killed Gypsy and everyone else at the Middleton Police Ball.

"Fantastic" applauded the Interferer. "Bravura! Now that's my kind of action! A masterstroke!" Ma'alefa'ak continued to grouse, until he was nagged into focus by something at the periphery of his awareness. Psychically gazing over the carnage in Middleton, Ma'alefa'ak noted a lack of finer detail in the gore-- too much blood-- not enough gristle. There was something else though. What was it?

At the annual Apex Picnic, Patrolwoman Diane Meade smiled as the children played and all her fellow officers got along swimmingly. Everything was back to a peaceful norm in Middletown, just like they'd planned...



"Middleton? Wasn't it Middletown? Middletown! Curse L'Zoril to the armpit of Neron!" Ma'alefa'ak was once quite adept at telepathy, capable of lobotomizing his own mother, a Manhunter. Yet, he could not prevent a Martian council from stripping his psychic abilities away, nor were his memories left intact following a fictionalized rewriting of his life upon his very brain. Handicapped for untold time, Ma'alefa'ak was perhaps not the mentalist M'gann M'orzz was, especially when she used her abilities to amplify the illusionist Gypsy. As the perception of perverse horrors fell away, Scorch stood revealed, uncomfortably close to Malefic. You see, it was Ma'alefa'ak who had unleashed a telepathic plague upon his own people in retaliation against his hobbling, but his restored and comparatively atrophied mental strength was not well trained to resist the deadly allure of open flames. "H'ronmeer... H'ronmeer... J'Onn! J'Oooooonnnnn..." Flickering embers in Ma'alefa'ak's eyes sparked a spontaneous combustion of his material form, seemingly ending his reign of terror forevermore.



Diane Meade had been the first to recognize the adulteration of her idyllic Middletown, and formulated the start of a plot to expel the corrupting elements. Gypsy had the most experience with multiversal intrigue, and her secret ties to the magical world afforded assistance and direction from clandestine allies. Aubrey Sparks' resistance to telepathy and teleportation abilities were key in connecting all of the opposing forces, not to mention defeating Malefic. Miss Martian was the muscle, amplifying everyone's abilities and concealing the operation with her superior psychic prowess. M'gann was also the one who decked the Interferer. "You creep! You weasel! The disgusting thoughts in your head make me want to... do this!" A kick! A jab! "How could anybody want to put people through this garbage? It's just endless tragedy and brutality! Where's the truth-- the insight-- the joy in that?"



As M'gann M'orzz pummeled the Interferer, a coven encircled the pair. Bloodwynd had of course survived his "battle" with Scorch, hovering invisibly until Aubrey could smuggle him the Book of Diabolu, and he teleported himself to his confederates. Bloodwynd was joined by fellow mages Malador, Strega, Doctor Samedi, and Nemesus. While the wizard Diabolu read a spell from his eponymous tome, Malador scowled, "We are of the Vile Menagerie of Martian Manhunter adversaries. You are the author of the many defeats of one Irwin Schwab. You meddle in affairs not of your concern." Strega added, "Yeah, know your role, milk turd. You're voted off the island!" At the command of Diabolu, the reconstituted Idol-Head opened, drawing the Interferer inside. Shrinking but hanging for dear life from the edges of the magical trap, Clarence Tuland was defiant. "Haters! It doesn't matter what you do to me! None of this matters! You're all old news! The New rules all, and your freakin' Alien Atlas is long gone from this tired scene!" With that, the Interferer was gone, sealed in a magical box from a long gone era.



"What the hell" queried Aubrey Sparks. "This was all for nothing?" M'gann M'orzz argued, "Of course not. Diane Meade's Earth is safe among the infinites, and we've helped to make our own a better place, with or without J'Onn J'Onzz." Cindy Reynolds chimed in, "Look, I went through a few crises in my day, and let me tell you, the more things seem to change, the more they end up being the same. I'll always be a smartmouth sneak, M'gann will always be a sweetheart with a dark secret, and you'll alwa--" With that, Gypsy appeared to fade from existence. "Oh Christ, now what?"

Bloodwynd observed the strange occurrence, but was comforted by the unlikelihood of any of his party crossing over into the DCnÜ anytime soon. Meanwhile, Strega asked Diabolu how the Interferer was enjoying being stuck in a box with all of the beasties the wizard had locked up for centuries. "Oh, about that. It seems my Idol-Head emptied its contents before we could use it..." Bloodwynd wondered if perhaps the Idol-Head had an analogue in the new universe after all...

Coming in March 2014: The Isle of Diabolu....

March Madness: "Voting Irregularities"

"Whoa....how did The Human Squirrel get zero votes? I definitely voted for Ben Stoves. And I even voted for Zook. That's really strange..."

It's really not, and I'll explain why.

I started using Google's poll option on the blog fairly early on, and can't recall having any cause for alarm. I had no qualms about using the option for the first series of March Madness posts in 2011. Toward the end of that inaugural season though, things got suspicious, and I had to run the final polls twice before calling Malefic the winner with any confidence. At the time, I thought overzealous fans were doing some ballot stuffing, called shenanigans, and moved on. Unfortunately, while Despero won 2012 with fewer questions, there were still glitches throughout that season that irked me. I continued to have problems here and there with SurVILEvor Island, but the real smoking gun was when results left over from 2012 disappeared for a while in a crash. I'd initially thought that part of the problem with the 2012 season was my leaving too many old poll results in the sidebar until I could begin recording "player stats" for posterity. Thankfully, I had done that before the crash, because when the numbers were reinstated, they were flat-out wrong. I don't think the winners of any contests were incorrect, but the numerical values/margins were totally bogus. Thankfully, I'd already gone over most/all of them to feel okay with the stats offered in The Vile Menagerie versus the Legions of Doom matches.

The truth is, the number of polls in the sidebar, and especially the number of completed ones, should not be an issue. We've never had a poll that went past even forty responses, so we're hardly taking a toll on Google's network. I watched that Zook versus Scorch match suddenly, randomly, go from 50/50 to a 2-to-1 win for Scorch, and other poll results fluctuated in an unseemly manner. Quite simply, as much as I appreciate Google hosting this blog, their poll mechanism is a consistently unreliable turd. I'll use it to finish out March Madness 2013, but I'll be employing other poll resources when "Legions of Doom" restarts in April. Recommendations would be appreciated, though I intend to test drive a few in hopes of avoiding this crap in 2014.

Ma'alefa'ak's Ma'ar'chh Ma'adn'ezz

In 2012, the second annual March Madness-style single elimination contest amidst the villains of the Martian Manhunter’s rogues gallery was held. As the last monster standing, Despero decreed that the contest had ended for good. Instead, Despero instituted SurVILEvor Island (in which the merits of participants of previous Marches were weighed to determine their continued role in The Vile Menagerie) and a series of singular combat rows with The Legions of Doom (to show the Manhunter rogues’ relative strength against the broader realm of DC Comics’ super-villains.)

However, J’Onn J’Onzz’s evil twin brother Ma’alefa’ak was displeased by these changes, and petitioned the all-powerful cosmic buttinsky The Interferer for recompense. After all, it was Ma’alefa’ak who (admittedly benefiting from some “voting irregularities”) conquered all in the first Martian March Madness, and it was one of his acolytes who suggested the contest in the first place. The Interferor was initially unswayed, until Ma’alefa’ak suggested an alternative contest—one that would strike deep at the heart of the Sleuth from Outer Space. Instead of his foes, the dearest comrades of the Martian would be pitted against one another in gruesome, unrestrained fights to the death that would spill blood upon locations with special meaning to the Alien Atlas. So begins Ma’alefa’ak’s Ma’ar’rchh Ma’adnezz, and H’ronmeer help us all…

VM vs. LoD v1.5

Ever since a reader suggestion for March Madness back in 2011, we've been having fun with elimination contests determined by popular vote. After two years of the Martian Manhunter rogues fighting one another, I figured it was time to shake things up a bit. After all, few of these characters have appeared more than once ever, and virtually none have seen any changes in the last several years, so there's a finite number of variables to play with. As part of the blog's fifth anniversary celebration, I announced The Vile Menagerie versus the Legions of Doom to allow Alien Atlas adversaries to build their reputations by battling new nefarious opponents. However, I also wanted to use SurVILEvor Island to determine who truly belonged in the Martian Manhunter's rogues gallery, before turning around and siccing them on the greater DC Universe of bad guys. Juggling both wasn't working out, and I wanted to wrap SurVILEvor Island before the end of the year, so "Legions of Doom" went on the backburner. 2013 promises to be very villain centric, and that begins this weekend, with a new season of bloodsport. Still, how about a look back at our prior clashes?

• Commander Blanx versus Baron Blitzkrieg
• Professor Arnold Hugo versus Professor Hugo Strange
• B'rett versus Black Manta
• The Master Gardener versus The Floronic Man

SurVILEvor Island

In 2012, a number of villains with past histories fighting the Manhunter from Mars in various capacities were selected for a special poll of this blog's readership. Essentially, these were characters whose appropriateness to be grouped as part of the Martian Manhunter's rogues gallery was called into question, and put to a vote across thirteen day/hour/minute cycles. The conceit was that Despero, who had won that year's March Madness contest, was judging the worthiness of villains who had been treated here as Manhunter foes; with those rejected in that capacity expelled from a game show island inhabited by The Vile Menagerie. Those who remained after voting would constitute a stronger, more "pure" rogues gallery, firmly associated as anti-Alien Atlas adversaries.

• Asmodel was exiled by 63% of 16 votes.
• Brimstone was exiled by 64% of 25 votes.
• Cabal outplayed with 67% of 15 votes.
• Darkseid was exiled by 68% of 22 votes.
• Despero outfought at 92% of 25 votes.
• Doctor Light was exiled by 60% of 27 votes.
• Doctor Trap outfoxed 60% of 10 votes.
• Doomsday was exiled by 70% of 20 votes.
• Effigy outshined by 62% of 13 votes.
• Fernus outburned by 81% of 16 votes.
• Gorilla Grodd evened out at 50% of 26 votes.
• The Hyperclan outperformed by 94% of 15 votes.
• Kanto was exiled by 54% of 13 votes.
• Korge outraged by 83% of 12 votes.
• Libra was exiled by 78% of 18 votes
• Lobo was exiled by 78% of 23 votes.
• Mister Bones was exiled by 60% of 15 votes
• Mongul outsized at 62% of 26 votes.
• Professor Amos Fortune was exiled by 67% of 18 votes.
• Professor Hugo outwitted by 100% of 19 voters.
• Professor Ivo outlasted at 57% of 14 votes.
• Rott was 50% split by 10 votes.
• Triumph outvexed by 90% of 10 votes.
• Vandal Savage outlived by 53% of 19 votes.
• Weapons Master was exiled by 58% of 12 votes.

Exiled parties will largely be left out of Vile Menagerie games, whether it be themed events, banners, biographical entries, further elimination contests like March Madness and Legions of Doom, or whatever else we can devise for the true, confirmed rogues gallery of the Sleuth from Outer Space.

SurVILEvor Island: Professor Ivo

Super-Gorilla Grodd is a great fiend who provides an excellent contrast to the Manhunter from Mars, which is why his fans fought to keep him in the Vile Menagerie. Decades of identification as a Flash rogue are tough to shake off though, so it may be time to shake paws and shove off back to the cities of Central, Keystone or Gorilla. They're all closer to home than Middletown can ever be, although with an even split of 26 votes, he may yet be close enough.

Anthony Ivo debuted in 1960 as the villain in the third appearance of the Justice League of America. He was featured on an iconic cover involving the Founding Five JLA sealed in individual tubes as their powers were sapped and redistributed to the robot Amazo. Jacking with the League was a secondary concern for Ivo, who was really pursuing immortality. He found it, and as fate is wont to do, it turned out to be a disfiguring, maddening curse. That last sentence wasn't relevant to the Martian Manhunter though, as he wasn't around for Ivo's reappearances in 1966, 1971, 1974, and 1978. There, Ivo fought League incarnations that excluded J'Onzz, or engaged in solo action against Superman and the Flash.



What put Ivo on the Vile Menagerie radar was a three issue arc chronicling "The End of the Justice League of America." It literally wrapped up the first volume of that series, and saw rogue android duplicates of Ivo murder Vibe and Steel. Gypsy pretty much saved herself, but it was up to the Martian Manhunter to rescue Vixen and put a stop to Ivo's runaway creations. It remains one of the best unsung JLA stories ever, grim and gritty before that was passé, while clearing the decks for the comedy stylings of the International crew. There was a swell panel of the Alien Atlas screaming Ivo's name while busting down a door, but not much of a final confrontation, and Ivo went into limbo for most of the next decade. When he did turn up, he was oddly cordial with the JLA, even donating an island base the the Justice League Task Force.



Ivo's true return to villainy came when he teamed up with T.O. Morrow to create Tomorrow Woman to infiltrate and undermine the Magnificent Seven JLA. He's turned up a number of times since, usually as a throwaway old school mad scientist or as a +1 to his more famous creation, Amazo. While some of these later stories have involved the Martian Manhunter, none have had any serious implications for the Sleuth from Outer Space. There isn't any one hero who could ever lay claim to Ivo, and even his status as a JLA foe of note waxes and wanes. Amazo is typically portrayed as too powerful for the Martian Marvel to take on his own, while Ivo hasn't offered up any other inventions that could seriously task the Manhunter. My inclusion of Ivo in the earliest draft of the Vile Menagerie was another ignorant overreach, and although he was official declined re-admittance in this blog's incarnation, the guy has turned up in our March Madness contests. It's been nice having him as a guest and all, but it's probably best that we finally send him on his way.

SurVILEvor Island: Cabal

Spit covered Libra as the true Vile Menagerie offered an appropriate send-off for the temporary murderer of J'Onn J'Onzz as he made the walk of shame off SurVILEvor Island. Across the two March Madness competitions to date, Libra had two first round losses to Brimstone and the wizard Diabolu, each by a landslide. Par for this course, Libra garnered only 22% of 18 votes...

Jemm is a problematic character. He was created as a Martian Prince to star in his own mini-series where J'onn J'onzz was to be relegated to the role of semi-adversarial supporting player. Given that this is a Martian Manhunter fan blog, that's a rather treasonous intention. However, DC editors put the kibosh on that, Jemm became a Saturnian, and was then consigned to the scrapheap of history. This leads to a second problem for fans, as Jemm's story was a continuation of Bronze Age Martian lore with only superficial adjustments made. All of the Martian Manhunter stories from 1968-1984 were later expunged from his canon, leaving only Jemm as a touchstone to that fallen continuity. Metaphorically, it made sense for Grant Morrison to use Jemm as a foil for the Alien Atlas amidst his Injustice Gang in 1999, but as conceived by his creators, Jemm was a Christlike figure whose heart bled for the injustices of the world. Barring his becoming the extraterrestrial Ozymandias, the Son of Saturn was almost a better person than J'Onn J'Onzz, so villainy really didn't suit him. The 1998 series got some mileage out of misunderstanding and a 4th wall bending flogging of Jemm for attempting to usurp the Sleuth from Outer Space. Still, things got difficult when Jemm's skewed version of Mar's Bronze Age continuity got dragged into J'Onn's then-Modern Age reinterpretation.

When Saturnians were annexed into Post-Crisis Martian history as enslaved clones who retained the racial strife of their makers, the individual characters from the '80s Jemm mini-series were handled poorly. Part of what defined Jemm as the Saturnian messiah was his being the only person born with the Mark of Jargon, a gemstone of power fused to his forehead unseen since ancient times. Then the story arc "Rings of Saturn" had two other characters running around with them without explanation. With the exception of the exceptionally skilled Koolars and Jemm, Saturnians were basically just humans with extra strength and durability. The Koolars could merge their beings with stationary objects to animate them as extensions of their own bodies. Meanwhile, members of the Red royal family alone had the power of flight, which translated practically into just Jemm and his cousin Jogarr. Finally, Jemm's birthstone allowed him to send and receive empathic energies, as well as concentrate his power to create energy blasts and forcefields. Jemm alone seemed the only Saturnian who could elongate his body at will, but none were ever shown to use this minor application of shapeshifting for something as elaborate as disguise (as Martians are wont to do.)

In the 1998 series, Saturnians were just lesser Martians, with all the basic powers and weaknesses except intangibility. A key plot point of "Rings of Saturn" was that six Saturnians of mixed race merged into a gestalt being called Cabal through shapeshifting. The purpose of Cabal was to kill a mixed race royal couple before they could be married. The plot hole was that the six people within the Cabal had helped to conceive and force the prospect of marriage against the objections of its star couple, and yet were also set on killing the pair to reignite the race war. Wouldn't it be a much shorter path to just start killing one another without all the complex machinations and forced nuptials? Kofi Annan just quit peace negotiations in Syria this week when he realized that despite everyone in the world saying they wanted things sorted out, the only ones doing anything at all were secretly opposed to ending the violently repressive current regime. Peace requires enormous finagling. War only asks for invective and a few willing participants to get the ball rolling. Further, the Cabal was made up of key figures from both races, which I suppose was meant to be ironic, but was just nonsensical. These guys could have simply refused to work together, and if either of their respective royals objected, they could be killed or forced into exile without the elaborate yet deeply flawed plot.

Setting aside what a stupefying train wreck the conspiracy was, it only gets worse if you read the Jemm mini-series and recognize the fundamental changes to the established characters in order to make the plot work. For instance, there was only one royal family in Son of Saturn, and it was made up of Red Saturnians descended from Jargon the Mighty. Besides simple racism, a key motivation for the White Saturnian uprising is that they do not recognize the monarchy nor wish to be ruled by Reds. The Whites were a disparate people united under a military dictatorship by General Synnar. Furthermore, all but a handful of their males died in a Great Holocaust, leaving the White Saturnians as an almost all female warrior race led by Commander Synn.

"Rings" introduces a new character named Johm, whose race is difficult to determine because he was drawn similarly to the Red Saturnian Jogarr and both characters were miscolored throughout the story arc as either Red or White, depending on the given issue. Assuming Johm was White, was he one of the eleven or so surviving males from the mini-series, or were more discovered? Either way, it is unlikely that the amazonian Koolars would submit to the leadership of a male, especially the overseer of the gender-based discrimination, Commander Synn. Of the White half of the Cabal, we have a royal that shouldn't exist, a male who if he did exist shouldn't be a figure of authority, and a misandrist fascist who would never work under either. It doesn't help that Synn was revealed to be a mother at the end of Son of Saturn, echoing the familial strife between the White Queen and Princess, but Synn's child was never mentioned again.

Now, the new Red government was founded by Jogarr to be a diplomatic republic modeled after those of Earth, and included a president. For some reason, this is replaced by a newly created prime minister for "Rings," and unfortunately Dall looked exactly like Jogarr and John to maximize confusion. However, an elected head would understandably feel undermined by a messianic royal, so his motivation is clear. Jogarr loathed the monarchy, fighting to suppress and exile Jemm, so his involvement in a conspiracy makes sense... except that he also worked toward the wholesale genocide of the White race. It is difficult to believe that he would scheme with Whites in general, but especially not the daughter of his archenemy General Synnar, who was responsible for the Great Holocaust. Finally, there was Prelate Balik, who was created despite it already having been established that the Ghani were the primary religious leaders on Saturn. Balik was initially colored as a White, which still fit the Ghani, but perhaps the Whites had their own religion that went unmentioned previously. However, Balik was colored as a Red for most of the story arc, presumably to balance out the racial formation of Cabal. The religious Saturnians seemed divided between monarchical loyalists and dissenters, so Balik seems consistent with the Ghani there, and perhaps was some sort of pope? He filled out the six member team, and was an opportunist, so there's not an issue there.

Having tried my best to explain the who and why of the Cabal, I can finally reach my point-- that they are made up entirely of Jemm's supporting cast, and their goal is to kill Jemm and his fiance. Besides the bad form of throwing so many important figures in Jemm's universe under the bus for one Martian Manhunter story arc, they're still Jemm's characters. Jemm's cousin and main supporting character for about half of the Son of Saturn mini-series got shot dead off panel while separated from Cabal. Commander Synn, the primary surviving villain of the mini-series, has her mind shattered in a psychic battle with a queen that shouldn't exist. The other participants in the Cabal similarly destroy themselves with only a telepathic nudge from Martian Manhunter and Princess Cha'rissa. Cabal managed to hand J'Onn his butt one time, then imploded on a second encounter with the slightest help from our heroes. How does that make them part of the rogues gallery of J'Onn J'Onzz as individuals, and how could they reform Cabal again with one part dead and the rest perpetually in conflict with one another? Even if they did, these guys all belong to Jemm's Saturn, which strikes me as similar to having the Flash Rogues become recurring Green Lantern villains.

My basic argument is that Cabal never made sense as a construct, took part in a pointlessly complicated but ultimately dumb conspiracy, was made up of ill-conceived constituents, and that the lot of them belong to another hero. While "Rings of Saturn" was a fun story arc, it compromised the integrity of Jemm's solo stories, and did not provide grist for any further Martian Manhunter stories to date. Cabal as a concept might be useful to the Sleuth from Outer Space, but doesn't work in the formation presented as an ongoing concern.

SurVILEvor Island: Lobo

Despero had won The Vile Menagerie March Madness 2012 by popular vote, and has been considered the The Fifth Most Important Martian Manhunter Adversary. Ever the gamesman, he had put his own head first on the chopping block to determine who might be ejected from his present company, but a 92% mandate out of 25 votes affirmed his place among the rogues on SurVILEvor Island. His gamble had paid off, and now Despero could begin weeding out unwanted competition and the truly unworthy...



The Last Czarnian is perhaps also the last person to rate inclusion among the Vile Menagerie. As an anti-hero with his own relatively long running solo series and countless minis/specials, he isn't likely to ever be under any one hero's domain. If any, it would certainly be Superman's, and not the Alien Atlas'.



While Lobo was created in 1983 for The Omega Men, he only began to come into his own after he was overhauled and reintroduced in a 1988 issue of Justice League International. While the Martian Manhunter was one of his primary opponents in that encounter, the Main Man more famously sparred with Green Lantern Guy Gardner. Lobo would continue to play a major role in Gardner's life, facilitating his acquisition of a yellow power ring and continuing to have rows into the Warrior years. After his forced induction into L.E.G.I.O.N. in 1989, Lobo gained a monthly venue for appearances, butting heads with the likes of Captain Marvel, Green Lantern Hal Jordan, and his boss Vril Dox. Lobo even turned up in the 30th Century, a time period Martian Manhunter also lived to see, but their paths never crossed during their separate appearances in Legion of Super-Heroes.



In the 1990s, the Main Man began to routinely battle Superman and the Demon. Lobo returned to Justice League International, but as an ally against Despero. After numerous successful try-outs, 'Bo got his own ongoing. Martian Manhunter appeared in its fiftieth issue, as part of a shared dream in which he and other heroes were murdered by Lobo.



Lobo and Martian Manhunter were both in the short-lived, altered reality Justice League of Aliens team, but otherwise, they've had only brushing contact over a great many years. It's been nearly a quarter century since their one real fight, and there are scores of other heroes who could lay greater claim to Lobo as a villain than that. Even Miss Martian fought Lobo more recenly, and she's only six years old! Including the Last Czarnian in the Vile Menagerie was an overreach in 1999, and it's outright laughable today. He'd be a great foil for the Sleuth from Outer Space, but too many years have passed for that to occur organically. Time to sit Lobo down on that enormous space bike of his and let him ride off into the sunset...

SurVILEvor Island: Professor Amos Fortune

Years ago, I compiled a master list of all of the Martian Manhunter rogues that I could think of, supplemented heavily by the internet. I left a lot of monsters out, but I think I also overreached by letting too many other people in. For instance, Amos Fortune. Here was an early Justice League of America villain, debuting in the sixth issue, who happened to be defeated by the Martian Manhunter. Fortune's whole schtick was that he discovered a luck gland in human beings that he could remotely effect to cause them to have either good or ill fortune. As a Martian, J'onn J'onzz did not possess this gland, and was therefore immune to Fortune's gadgets. That's it. That's how he's ended up in two years worth of Menagerie March Madness contests.



In his third appearance, Fortune founded the Royal Flush Gang, one of the few villain teams to fight the JLA with any kind of regularity. However, the gang really flushed any royalty they could have laid claim to by being beaten repeatedly by the League and heroes far beneath their standard. Heck, the notoriously underwhelming Detroit League; prone to being battered by such non-luminaries as The Cadre, random Ivo robots, an Esimo-Amazo and a giant amoeba; involuntarily manslaughtered some Royal Flush gangsters. It's worth noting that the Gang debuted after the Martian Manhunter more or less stopped appearing with the JLA in the '60s, and his encounter with the group alongside the JLD was a retcon from a couple of decades after that team's dissolution.



Amos Fortune is a crumby, undesirable villain to begin with, but he's especially unnecessary in the Vile Menagerie. That lot is already filled with professors who specialize in gadgets and have hi-tech but lo-yield henchmen. His one trick gimmick specifically doesn't work on Martians, and he's had little to do with the Alien Atlas in the years since his initial defeat. Heck, it isn't even novel that he has an uncommon (for comics) overweight body type, given that Mr. V was an actual archnemesis representing for the plus set. I regret ever bringing the guy up, and with your permission, I'll deal him a bum hand so that he can crap out on a gambling yacht sailing far away from SurVILEvor Island...

B'enn B'urnzz @ Comic Vine

Like many (most?) of you, my introduction to the lion's share of the Martian Manhunter's Silver Age rogues gallery came from his first Showcase Presents volume. I owned most of his House of Mystery run, but those later issues were dominated by Diabolu Idol-Head monsters of the month, Vulture shenanigans, and the occasional (awesome) Professor Arnold Hugo extravaganza. I only knew B'rett from second hand recollections, and the Human Flame became a "thing" around that time thanks to Final Crisis. Scipio had a field day with the zany characters like Mister Moth and Humans Falcon and Squirrel, but B'enn B'urnzz fell through all those cracks. I familiarized myself enough with the character to add him to the Vile Menagerie barely into the blog's second year, but he didn't strike a chord with me, and I tended to neglect him.

B'urnzz showed his staying power around here during March Madness 2012, where he tore through competition with a ferocity I never would have imagined from his early defeat in 2011. I decided to reward him (and his fans) with a commission next week, and needed better reference than what I'd cobbled together in 2008. I figured while I was at it, I'd write him a new biography for Comic Vine. He already had a wiki entry there, which listed basics like his first appearance and powers. However, there was no art, and his entire synopsis was a single line like "Martian criminal hiding out on Earth," or near to that. I hope folks like the new image, and the punchy "all meat, no filler" history. He's no Mr. V, but I'm coming around to this guy...

Despero: Martian Manhunter Menagerie March Madness 2012 Champion

The problem with genius is the fact that it lends one the arrogance to make the assumption that they are the only one who brings brilliance to bear. For instance, Commander Blanx watched all the contests atop the rain shadow that divided the Bronze Desert from the Silver Sauna, conserving his strength and plotting his victory. Meanwhile, Despero had his share of past defeats, and cunningly  appeared to police one region while using his telepathy to access Blanx's perspective in conjunction with his own. A mental "suggestion" sent Professor Ivo away from Blanx, then led Blanx in pursuit of his teleportation sphere. The distraction allowed Despero time to defeat his old foe Malefic, until he could manipulate Blanx into entering Despero's Py'tar form into the sphere's computer. Blanx didn't know what hit him-- and hit him, and hit him-- when his mind perceived his foe as a smaller, weaker Kalanorian. The Interferer asked Despero about his prize... the end of the Vile Menagerie's March Madness contests. Despero saw a greater role for the rogues gallery of the Martian Manhunter to play, in a far broader game...

 ...To Be Continued This Fall...

 

• Martian Manhunter Menagerie March Madness 2012
• Gold Division: Round One
• Silver Division: Round One
• Bronze Division: Round One
• Iron Division: Round One
• Gold Division: Round Two
• Silver Division: Round Two
• Bronze Division: Round Two
• Iron Division: Round Two
• Gold & Silver Divisions: Round Three
• Bronze & Iron Divisions: Round Three
• Gold & Silver Division: Round Four
• Bronze & Iron Divisions: Round Four
• All Divisions: Round Five
• All Divisions: Round Six
• All Divisions: Final Round

March Madness: Gold Division: Round One

The cosmic buttinsky known as The Interferer has broken out of the back issue of The Omega Men that he had been trapped in for decades, thanks to the Flash's mommy issues or something. Shortly before the Post-Crisis DC Universe collapsed into Flashpoint, the Interferer read the Salvation Run trade paperback, and thought it was too cool. The Interferer tried to find Salvation, but failing that, landed in a back issue of Showcase with a joint similar enough to have some fun. Figuring nobody would miss them, the Interferer took all of the Martian Manhunter's rogues gallery to a battle planet inspired by Manhunter 2070. It would have been rad to kill J'Onn J'Onzz again, but he ended up in The Outsider, so we'll have to make do...

The Golden Hell is an island of volcanos that erupted molten platinum. Ma'alefa'ak has made his way to its highest summit, a perfect defensive position. Below, the most fearsome creatures in the Vile Menagerie collide...

Circling overhead is Asmodel, former King Angel of the Bull Host of Heaven, still hoping to reign in this hell. Offended by the sight, the hulking monster Doomsday leaps to meet Asmodel with a fistful of bony knuckle protrusions. Will the angel fall once more, or will the seemingly unkillable Doomsday be the one cast down?

Far out on the beach, the merciless Mongul sniffs the molten heat in the air, and observes from afar the various conflicts commencing. The Interferer promised him a one-shot if he could overcome all opposition, but felt it best to allow numbers to thin in order to improve his chances. Mongul might be as powerful as Superman with cube-traps to boot, but others had tricks up their sleeves as well. For instance, TOR's towering, nigh-indestructible form rose out of the ocean, one of the few beings to potentially match Mongul's strength. The Robot Criminal of Mars fights for his continued existence, but will that be enough?

Just outside the pits flies Effigy, a foe of Green Lantern Kyle Rayner. Effigy had lent his fire-based powers to the conspiracy to murder J'Onn J'Onzz during Final Crisis. Up burst Fernus, an ancient Martian entity with greater powers than Martian Manhunter, who murdered slews of White Martians. The Burning Martian took on the JLA and the forces of Vandal Savage in brutal fashion. Alone and against a more ferocious Martian, Effigy will learn one way or another Whose flame will burn the brightest...

The Scary Monsters are a demonic force that in ancient times plagued Mars and Earth. Most recently, they possessed several members of the JLA before being routed by Kishana Lewis. The Bloodworms of Mars were basically those sandworm things from Dune, except small and with a greater taste for flesh. They were transported to Earth with the chunk of Mars the Spectre II brought as a gift for J'Onn J'Onzz, because Hal Jordan is the George W. Bush of super-heroics. Otherworldly infection versus infestation!

Rott is a supernatural entity who imprisoned Bloodwynd and possessed Martian Manhunter as part of a plot to gain the power of the Ray. The mind and spirit are his minefield, and he's invited a new source of expanded power into his realm. Korge is "The Last Angry God" of an alien world repopulated by Martians survivors who easily trounced the Satellite Era Justice League. Is Korge out of his depth, or will he dominate in Rott's plane?

Right at home in the Golden Hell is the worst ever Vile Menagerie entry, The Pyre, since I spent most of it talking about a grunge band. We don't really know much about the Pyre, except they're fiery and they're supposed to become major threats to J'Onn J'Onzz in a future negated by the New 52. The Swarm came out of the same teasing #1,000,000 issue, but they were sold a little harder as a conflict the Alien Atlas would struggle through for centuries. Which menace is the richest of these millionaires?

The Main Man Lobo is an unkillable intergalactic bounty hunter who could frag the likes o' Superman. Neither Heaven nor Hell will have him, so he landed here instead. Inflict is a savage intergalactic warrior god who helped take on the JLA. If he's looking for trouble, the Czarnian can provide it...

Further down the beach, the Lord of Apokolips felt a bit chilly, and the air didn't taste thick enough for his preferences. Surveying the island, Darkseid had a curious sense of deja vu; as though, impossibly, he had at some point failed to dominate these strange, inferior beings before. He was shaken from his ridiculous revere by unforseen attacks from numerous points. The Hyperclan hoped to conceal their Martian origins as they unleashed the powers of strength, speed, laser vision, telepathy, invisibility, intangibility, flight, shapeshifting and more...

The giant flaming construct Brimstone might have seen his master's struggle, but he was occupied by the towering robot sentinel Antares of the Clanetary System. Which of these alien juggernauts would triumph, and what of those souls crushed beneath their feet?

Lurking amidst the cool glittering rock along an inactive volcano was the xanthic bandit B'rett. The yellow-skinned Martian was a fugitive used to being on the run, but he was fleeing an unparalleled stalker. Kanto is the master assassin of the New Gods, and B'rett is in for the fight of his life...

Round One
Asmodel vs. Doomsday
Mongul vs. TOR
Effigy vs. Fernus the Burning Martian
Scary Monsters vs. The Bloodworms of Mars
The Pyre vs. The Swarm
Rott vs. Korge
Lobo vs. Inflict
Darkseid vs. The Hyperclan
Brimstone vs. Antares & the Clanetary System
B'rett vs. Kanto