Lots still in the dollar bins, Peacemaker
speculators--I mean, 'fans.' From 1993,
Eclipso #11, "A Call To Arms" Written by Robert Loren Fleming, pencils by Audwynn Jermaine Newman, inks by Ray Kryssing. (I should apologize to Newman; I think I always thought this was Bart Sears!)
"Somebody's been sleeping in my bed," says Peacemaker; there's an intruder in his hanger. Kind of a Mark Twain-looking cat, who also happens to be bulletproof: Commander Steel! The original one? The older one? By using the right tone of voice, as Amanda Waller suggested, Peacemaker falls right in line for his mission: a little trip to Parador, where Eclipso is holding a little girl hostage, because she may know where three billion American is buried. (That would be about
30,000 kilograms, looking it up!) Eclipso does seem interested in getting the money (and tormenting the girl) but it's not clear why, save that he could probably do a lot of damage with it.
Bruce and Mona Gordon surprise the Creeper, in their bathroom, in the shower, using all the towels (a
Dallas reference?) and tell him about Waller putting together a team; as Sarge Steel tells her he can't go, but has a sub: Major Victory. The Creeper then picks up Mark Shaw, my favorite Manhunter (except maybe he doesn't!) while Mona gathers Infinity, Inc.'s Wildcat and Dr. Mid-Nite. (So this issue is for fans of Peacemaker's show and
Stargirl's!) Later, Amanda Waller gives the mission briefing, saying they couldn't wait for Bruce to get Nemesis, when Bruce arrives, saying he couldn't find him. Of course, 'Bruce' was Nemesis, who peels off his mask after "the
stupidest plan I've ever heard," and stomps out, refusing to join "this
kamikaze circus!" This would've been four years after he had quit--and quit
hard--Waller's Suicide Squad; I'm surprised he would even hear her out.
Waller may not be as dumb as that, though: taking one of Professor Bennet and Chunk's solar weapons for a test, she shoots an Eclipso-possessed bat that had been listening in. Now she can tell them the real plan...which might work about as well, if not worse. I don't think I had been reading
Suicide Squad regularly at the time, so I may have given Waller the benefit of the doubt; but reading it now I wonder if they were set up to fail all along, maybe in the hopes of getting proper A-list heroes to go after Eclipso.
Yes yes he does, which is further proof of how well he was cast as Peacemaker. He's really made that role his own to the point that, much like Marvel has with their MCU versions, I can see John Cena's version being the new default version of Peacemaker. Hopefully not the case with Vigilante, but I wouldn't bet against that becoming reality either.
ReplyDeleteNemesis was smart to duck out when he did, because goddamn what shit show was #12! I can definitely believe they were set up to fail the way things went so far south that team. I'm glad at least later writers, like in the case of the Creeper's 97 series, carried over the the trauma from that event on over instead of glossing over it entirely like everyone else did.