Wouldn't zombie Bane just be Solomon Grundy?

From 2022, Task Force Z #2, "Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow." Written by Matthew Rosenberg, pencils by Eddy Barrows, inks by Eber Ferreira. The cover has the more delightful, "Bane, Bane, go away!"

I am super-not-up on current DC continuity, and I thought this was going to be in the DC zombie DCeased continuity, since I know there were a bunch of spin-offs for it. Nope! This was in regular continuity, and was yet another Jason Todd/Red Hood title. I'm really curious about his sale numbers now, since I feel like he's popular enough he keeps getting new titles, but he's not quite popular enough to maintain them? Or, like Venom in the 90's, everything he gets is designed to be a limited series, so a creative crew can do their story then hand it off. This also appeared to be kind of like something the Amazing Spider-Man books did a bit ago with Clone Conspiracy, namely, bringing back a bunch of dead characters in one go. Here, several have returned to life via the "Lazarus resin," which seems quicker than trundling their corpses all the way to a pit in Tibet or whatever.

So far, Task Force Z hadn't hit the ground running, as Jason nearly gets frozen to death by Mr. Freeze and eaten by the Arkham Knight. (I haven't played that game, I have no idea who that was in continuity!) Bane and Man-Bat had been killed, again; and Jason is barely saved by Bloom. Still, this is just a minor setback, or so his handlers claim: as long as their heads were still intact, they could be revived. Jason tries to tactfully suggest, do they have to? Really? The Arkham Knight, Astrid Arkham, apologizes to Jason for trying to eat him, but explains she can't quit the Force either, as without the resin she'd die. (I think with a full dose or treatment, she might be okay, but the handlers might be stringing them along with partial medication.)

The Force's next mission is pitched to Jason as a meeting, but they find a gathering of the Kobra Kult in an abandoned theatre, which leads to a fight after Man-Bat Leeroy Jenkin's that one. I also don't know how long he's had these, but Jason appears to be using electrified crowbars as his weapon, which...feels like a bit much. Bane is doing pretty well, until he caves in the floor and falls, possibly out of the title; but the Arkham Knight turns out the lights to release another member, the vampire-like Sundowner. The mission's sort-of a win, except Jason gets shot, by the revived corpse of Deadshot! 

I'm not positive how I got this comic--possibly in a pack or something? But, still, it was better than I was anticipating. I like the idea of Jason, who's usually the loose cannon, forced to be the adult in the room with the corpses.

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I've been kind of pissed at the Secret Six for upwards of four years now...

...so let's see if we can resolve that with the conclusion of their crossover with my guys, the Doom Patrol! From 2011, Doom Patrol #19, "Suicide Roulette, Part Two: Ring-a-Ding Doom!" Written by Keith Giffen, pencils by Matthew Clark and Ron Randall, inks by Art Thibert and Sean Parsons.

The Secret Six--which is actually eight assholes here; King Shark is present but not on the splash page roll call--have been set on Oolong Island, by spoiled legacy super-villain wannabe Eric of S.M.A.S.H, who has just ignited a volcano on the island. The Doom Patrol didn't give a great showing in the Six's comic, but start to rally here; beginning with Ambush Bug introducing Jeannette to Danny the Bungalow, taking her off the board. Ragdoll is about to peel the bandages off an unconscious Negative Man, when he gets an assist from the cranky pelican that had been harassing him for issues. Catman and Scandal come under fire by the mad scientists of Oolong, which isn't as amusing as they would've hoped. Rita throws Bane over the horizon line, where he lands by Deadshot, pinned down by the island's defenses; then Rita shows her real power to Black Alice, growing huge! But, Rita has to dig a lava trench rather than slap the sass out of her.

Eric, overconfident and sallow, was unprepared for island president Veronica Cale to get through his cloak and get a missile lock, and flees, swearing vengeance, if only to make himself feel better. With their ride splitting, the game has changed for the Six, who no longer have a reason to fight, even though Robotman pops Catman one for it. The Six are put on a jet home, after a bit more trash-talk, and Rita recovers Bumblebee from Ragdoll. Still, the amount of damage and general annoyance caused makes Cale question if the Doom Patrol are pulling their weight, and she contacts Jost of the Front Men. Her pilot warns the team, which Cliff shrugs off, figuring "Mr. Somebody or whatever he's calling himself" and Cale would never be able to work together. So, of course they've already hired the team's replacements, including Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man and the Porcelain Assassin!

I miss this version of the team, just a collection of put-upon sourpusses and weirdos in an almost workaday relationship to superheroing and PTSD. They were kinda miserable, but not without a sense of humor about it. Oh, and I didn't scan all of them, but Catman has a pretty good bit about his grandpa, while Larry and Cliff banter about not thinking. This sold virtually no copies, however...while I'm still steamed at the Six. Read more!

Every once in a while you have a book where either they didn't get the memo about the crossover, or just decided 'nah.' Like today's book! From 2001, Birds of Prey #26, "...The Suitor!" Written by Chuck Dixon, art by Jackson 'Butch' Guice.

The cover has the "This Issue: Batman Dies!!!" blurb, but Batman isn't so much as mentioned here. Instead, it's largely Bane's show: spurned by Talia, he's acting out by destroying Ra's al Ghul's Lazarus Pits. Only, someone is there first: the Black Canary, who's there to destroy a terrorist arms cache. Bane is at first annoyed, then interested, then even helpful; as he starts a nuclear warhead to blow up the place! That may be a bit too far. He also comes on a bit strong there; but c'mon, the guy grew up in a prison, he probably doesn't have a lot of game. Canary could actually be the second woman he's ever talked to.

While Bane claims "in time I would prove my worthiness to you," Canary doesn't appreciate the grabby hands, and gives him a well-deserved knee to the groin. With Oracle guiding her via radio, Canary escapes, but almost feels sorry for Bane. Oracle is pretty sure he'd be back, but the observing Talia hopes the "oaf" is gone...and sees something that may get her father's mind off of the destroyed Pit. Canary may have another new stalker coming.

I don't know if the crossover was sprung on Dixon too late to do anything for it, or if this story was planned crossover or no. Bane would years later show better dating manners, sort of, in Gail Simone's Secret Six. He would also, like many characters, get a little prettier by then too.
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Mostly what I purchase around here are six-inch scale, what I would consider mid-range collectible figures, like Marvel Legends or DC Multiverse. There are higher end figures, like the Mezco One: 12 that are still in scale; but there are also some lower end, kid-oriented toys that are fudgably pretty close. Hasbro and Marvel did lines for Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War that have less articulation and are slightly smaller, but also perhaps half the price of a Legends figure. And Mattel and DC have Batman: Missions, like this Bane figure!

I feel like Bane skipped leg day: the chest is grotesquely muscular, as are the arms even though they are broken up by the joints. (Also, I hate it when I write several posts at once and use the same phrase twice, but here we go!) The hands seem big, which makes me wonder how the Venom steroid would work: it's like all the meat parts of him get bigger, but the bones wouldn't, and the skin would stretch like a big balloon full of ham. Gross. Bane also has the traditional Venom feed tube. It's pretty long, though. Bane gets one accessory: a chain-mace thing. It's not great.


Bane might not fit in with six-inch figures as well as the Riddler, but we might see what we can do with him. I almost think with a different pelvis and legs he could be upscaled a bit.
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Somehow, this ended without Picard getting his back broke.

Let's see here: the Tholians, from "the Tholian Web," the Borg removed from the Collective seen in "Descent," Riker's dad from "the Icarius Factor," and Bane from Batman: Knightfall...hey, wait a minute! From 1995, Star Trek: the Next Generation #75, "War and Madness, part five: Cry Havoc" Written by Michael Jan Friedman, pencils by Gordon Purcell, inks by Terry Pallot.

This was the conclusion to a five-parter, with a rogue band of Borg, missing their old Collective, commandeer a Klingon ship after its crew dies of radiation poisoning. With the ship and their technology, the Borg go after the Tholians, since the Klingons' records indicated they also had a hivemind, biological instead of technological. The Tholians actually didn't anymore, not in centuries, but the Borg keep attacking Tholian outposts and kidnapping them for experiments. Meanwhile, the Tholians think the Klingons are moving into their territory, and are on the verge of war. Picard and the Enterprise are sent to iron the whole mess out, made somewhat more difficult since they're all a bit high strung anyway.

For good measure, "Enab," the leader of the rogue Borg, is based on Bane, the Batman villain! No particular reason, just because.
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Every time I have a mini-series missing an issue, drink!

Yeah, that happens way too often for a fun drinking game here. Still, we have a bonus issue though: five issues of the first Secret Six mini-series from 2006, plus the first issue of their 2008 regular series! Well, that's six issues, I guess. Written by Gail Simone, art by Brad Walker and Nicola Scott, inks by Jimmy Palmiotti and Doug Hazlewood.

Darn, I missed the Doom Patrol's appearance, although from the description there, they got jobbed out by the Mad Hatter, who did a short run with the Six. The Hatter was even nuttier than usual here, but had finally started to come around to the team as a burgeoning, completely dysfunctional family; which makes it sad-slash-hilarious when Ragdoll gives him the boot.

Much of this limited revolves around Scandal Savage, her relationship with former Female Fury Knockout, and her father's attempts to coerce her into giving him a grandchild. The latter would be bad enough in any case, but made far worse since her dad was immortal caveman and murder enthusiast Vandal Savage; there's every possibility he wanted a grandkid to eat or harvest its organs or something. And despite being unarguably the team's toughest member (physically) Knockout would get taken out...actually, that would happen multiple times over the title's run! She gets burned down by mercenary Pistolera in #2, but recovers from horrific burns. (Knockout remains, well, a knockout, even after that; thanks to Darkseid's gift of genetic engineering "to stay presentable," I don't think Darkseid cared if guy warriors were burnt lumps of scar tissue or even survived...) Later, on her way for a rematch with Big Barda, Knockout would get got again in what looks like an otherwise fun issue of Birds of Prey (#109) as part of the Death of the New Gods mini. Surprisingly, I think she would still be one of the few New Gods to return after that before the New 52, so good for her.

Still, with Knockout out, the Secret Six would start their regular series down to four members! (Actually, take that back: five. Bane is here, more towards the end of the issue.) Not that I think they referred to themselves by that name, anyway. In the mini-series, Deadshot has a visit with his daughter that predictably goes south; while I didn't feel Catman had as much to do. (Well, there was some stuff with Cheshire...) At the start of the regular series though, after what appears to be a brutal encounter with poachers in Africa, Catman is having a bit of a moral dilemma, which his pal Deadshot blithely pushes through: while they aren't great guys, he figures 90% of the bad stuff they do happens to other bad guys, so whatevs. He also has a disturbing insight to Catman's relationship with the Huntress that I hope is wrong...

Simone has a few plates going from the start: a new crime lord is introduced, from a box; Scandal tries to push through her grief over Knockout, the guys try to set her up with a Knockout-dressed stripper, and the team's latest mission to break out Tarantula seems to be so ill-advised Huntress calls Catman up to warn him. We checked out the last issue several years back, but I still have a lot of issues to fill in here.


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In combating alcoholism or other substance addiction, a traditional twelve-step program involves some degree of faith in a higher power. Alcoholics Anonymous's current wording of the third step is "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him." This can cause some issues with those with different beliefs, like atheists. (A quick Google search and "twelve step program without god" was the fourth search...right above "twelve step programs don't work.") Some people may have a legitimate problem with "surrendering" to a higher power...like Bane, in today's book: from 2006, JSA Classified #18, "The Venom Connection, part 2 of 2" Written by Tony Bedard, pencils by Scott McDaniel, inks by Andy Owens.

The new Hourman, Rick Tyler, had been working with Bane to stop a designer drug epidemic that may have had its roots in the Miraclo formula. Bane claimed to have found notes from the formula's creator, original Hourman Rex Tyler, but he also claimed to have been forced back onto his drug, Venom: both were lies.

Bane double-crosses the Tylers, since his plan all along was to destroy anything related to Venom, saying he'd "rather die than be a slave to that drug again." Rick gets a solid thrashing and his power-gauntlets taken away; while Rex is not afraid of Bane: he had straight-up been killed and brought back multiple times, he wasn't scared of a bully in a luchadore mask.

Unable to finish Rick right away, Bane takes Rex hostage, back to Santa Prisca. Rick follows, with only one power left: his "time vision" that prophecies moments an hour ahead, where he sees Bane throwing him in a cell. Still, it gave him the lay of the land: Bane was going to blow up the abandoned Pena Duro prison where he had grown up, and had rigged the cells to lock and stay locked. Bane rolls all over Rick, and is pissed since he doesn't believe in "overcoming addiction by admitting your weakness..." He wouldn't believe in a "higher power," Bane would be all about gutting it out yourself. Which makes sense, since Bane has never had anyone or anything he could rely on; while Rick can rely on his team and his dad.

Bane throws Rick into a cell, and tells him he can either die in the upcoming explosion, or take some Venom to save his dad...and later die of withdrawals. Rick has outmaneuvered him, though; by grabbing the detonator. Bane uses Rick's gauntlets to hulk-up on Miraclo, but Rick tosses the detonator into the cell Rex was in, then gets Miraclo to Rex, who seems willing to go toe-to-toe with Bane. Rick blows the detonator as Rex runs them out of there, leaving Bane to possibly-but-probably-not get squashed in the explosion. (Even though Pena Duro was abandoned when it was blown up...I'd be mildly surprised if it didn't appear again. Bane's prison seems too good a location to let go.)

So Miraclo seems like a step up from Venom, which is probably super-addictive. Versus the only somewhat addictive Miraclo...Rex may have been less addicted to it, then the rush of "goddamn, I'm a super-hero, let's go!" Rick is admittedly an addict, but it's OK because he's a superhero? And at a glance, I think Bane was back on the Venom five years later in Secret Six #36, if not earlier. But it has to be tough to "let go and let God" when the next writer or editor puts you right back on the stuff!
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Long-time comics readers are used to the spectacle of characters being killed, only to be brought back a few years later. But what I find even less productive and more annoying than that, is a redemption arc for a major super-villain. (I added major there, since you might be able to get away with it with a smaller name, but even those get rolled back!) If Two-Face gets his face fixed, it's a safe bet that it'll be wrecked again soon enough. If Dr. Doom sees the error of his ways, you don't have to be a genius like Reed Richards to realize that's not going to stick. Even if the writer manages to sell it, it can be walked back no matter how well it's sewn up--which may be mixing a couple metaphors, so let's just hit today's issue: from 2004, Batman: Gotham Knights #49, "Veritas Liberat, chapter three of three: the Redeemer" Written by Scott Beatty, pencils by Charlie Adlard, inks by John Floyd.

Even though this says part three of three, I think this storyline had been running a little past that: Bane had been searching for both redemption and the identity of his father. A red herring had indicated Thomas Wayne might have been it; instead, Bane's dad was the blind villain King Snake. (King Snake was also created by Chuck Dixon, although I don't know if Dixon intended to connect the two.) King Snake was usually a bit more robust, and I thought he had a snake tattoo on his chest as well; but he's a bit malnourished here since he had been stuck on a mountain for some time. He had infiltrated Kobra, and currently working on taking over the remnants of that cult, or at least their giant robot. (Which wasn't even that giant, all things considered.)

Batman has a full crew in on this one, with Nightwing, Robin, and Batgirl. (The Cassandra one.) King Snake is a little pissed, especially since Robin had actually foiled him a couple of times already; but Bane had not betrayed Batman, and wanted to keep the robot's battery away from the Snake. Snake shoots Bane (no easy feat for a blind man, but he can hear just fine) but then falls into a chasm as Bane hits him with the battery and a Kobra goon tackles him in. Batman saves the mortally wounded Bane by putting him in a supposedly-depleted Lazarus Pit. Bane asks Batman to tell Leslie Thompson that Bane was gone, that he had found the truth and was better for it.

Of course, Bane's next appearance would be in Infinite Crisis #7, breaking Judomaster's back. No explanation for his return to villainy, other than "I finally know who I am. I am 'Bane'. I 'break' people."

This issue also features a Black & White story, "Fear is the Key" Written by Geoff Johns, pencils by Tommy Castillo, inks by Rodney Ramos. The Scarecrow murders some cops while lecturing about fear, and his own battle with pantophobia...here described as the "fear of fearlessness," when it's actually the fear of everything. A few quick checks online didn't find fear of fearlessness either, so you may have to give Johns that one. Maybe not though, since Lucy describes pantophobia correctly in A Charlie Brown Christmas, so I kind of have to figure Professor Crane would know better. Anyway, Johns portrays the Scarecrow as a junkie for fear, but he's so attenuated to even his fear toxins, that only Batman can give him that sweet, sweet fix.

This would be the last issue of Gotham Knights with the Black & White feature, the next issue would begin a Hush storyline. Yay...





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They're supposed to be lovable rogues, but up against my guys! Screw them!

Gee, looks like I only read the second half of this crossover, and completely bailed on the issue in the book I wasn't reading at the time. Well, now we have it, meaning the second part will turn up the first of never, unless I cave and just buy it again. From 2011, Secret Six #30, "Suicide Roulette, part one: Like a Star on the Horizon" Written by Gail Simone, art by Jim Calafiore.

Even though the Secret Six were ostensibly villains, hey, this was their book, so they were usually the heroes in their story. And they usually come off pretty well, as when Bane, struggling to ask out a girl, punches a guy inappropriately groping her; and compared to the bad guy of this story, a young slacker named Eric who's given his grandfather's will and discovers grandpa was a super-villain, a founder of the crime organization the 100. Eric quickly takes to his grandpa's legacy, becoming a murderous, sexist thug in short order; starting with hiring the Secret Six to take Oolong Island! Because he wants a volcano base, apparently; even though the island's full of genetic monstrosities, mad scientists, and oh yeah, the Doom Patrol!

Simone doesn't quite nail the Patrol's voice, for me anyway, but pretty close. Actually, even though the Six are unfriendly and dangerous, the Doom Patrol seem mostly confused about what's going on: King Shark bites off Elasti-Woman's leg! Which doesn't really seem to hurt, but still. But it's alluded that the Six and the Patrol had a run-in before, or at least some of them, like Robotman and Catman. And Black Alice badmouths Elasti-Woman's movies--oh, hell no! I want to see the Six beat down, but unfortunately Eric has the volcano blown as the issue ends!

Crud, now I'm not even positive I have the next chapter! Man, even though Simone rebuilt Catman from the ground up, I still wanna see Robotman feed him his teeth!
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"Of Batmen and Bat-Signals."

Although I'm back from vacation now, as I write this I don't go back to work until tomorrow. The temptation was to spend the evening scratching lottery tickets in the futile hope that I'd win enough to not have to go back, but I refrained and bought a couple figures instead. (I did buy a Powerball, since tonight's drawing is probably in the $240 million dollar range; even after taxes I'd clear enough to make an action figure of myself...)

The Azrael-Batman there (reviewed over at OAFE.net, which called the repaint a year ago) may or may not be available locally yet: I know he's going to be in a two-pack with a battle-damaged Batman, but I got him off eBay for $15.50. Not bad, but beware: this was shipped from China and may be a factory-second figure. The left wrist on mine was broken and glued back on; and there may be a bit of warping on the cape pieces. The chest emblem is missing a touch of paint as well. Those aren't deal-breakers for me, though; and the cape could definitely be adjusted. The left hand is currently held on with putty, which does keep the articulation!

We will probably see Azrael-Bats again--although, thanks to my scheduling, I'm not sure when. The replacement Batman from Knightfall, Jean-Paul Valley carried a solo title for over a hundred issues, first as Azrael (with a #1,000,000 issue) then as Azrael: Agent of the Bat. I'm not sure I've read more than a couple of them, but I had an idea on bringing him back...

I also got the Movie Masters Batman and Bane, on sale at K-Mart right about now for $12.79 or so. I guess the Batman is the same as the one from the Dark Knight, which I've had on the Bat-Pod on my entertainment center for...ever, judging by the dust that was on him. So, I have four-ish pieces of the Bat-Signal, out of a possible six.

OK, that's not quite right: the Youngest got some Fisher-Price Trio Batman sets, with Batman and the Joker, and Robin and the Riddler. They were little character two-packs, marked half-off, with a few block-pieces.

I have the Movie Masters Batman, Bane, Gordon, and Dale got me Alfred. Which puts us here:

Gordon came with the smashed Bat-signal cover. I don't know if I'd display it that way, but I have yet to see a Catwoman figure, let alone the other two. Eventually...

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"The End" Week: Secret Six #36!

Another recent finish: Secret Six #36, "Caution to the Wind, part 2: Blood Honor" Written by Gail Simone, art by Jim Calafiore. After a night with his new girlfriend, Bane realizes if he can be swayed by emotion, so can the Bat. With the other seven members of the Secret Six, he plans on attacking Red Robin, Batgirl, Catwoman, and Huntress. Catman vetoes Huntress, so Bane subs in Azrael: they will hurt Batman, by hurting them.

Unfortunately, their source, the Penguin rats them out, and it's Butch-and-Sundance time for the team, as they realize they might not want to hurt innocents, but they are the bad guys. The fact that the Secret Six has earned more respect plays against them as more and more heroes show up: a Green Lantern, two Batmen, Superman and his family, and more. Bane offers the Six a chance "to go out like gods" by dosing up on his Venom. They go out fighting, although Huntress is aware enough to feel like a jerk about it.

Although he would miss them, the Six's defeat was part of Bane's plan: either they would win (unlikely) or he would be free of them, of caring, of emotion making him weak. This is the downside of Bane: Chuck Dixon, Scott Beatty, and now Simone all tried to move the character forward from "I break you" only to have him put right back. There's a lot that could be done with the character, but the powers-that-be seem to just want the steroid-monster Bat-villain.

Hetero-lifemates Catman and Deadshot were the breakout characters for the Secret Six, so it's a little disappointing they aren't the ones to wreck their gig. Still, Simone does her usual sharp job on the script, and Calafiore isn't flashy, but he does the job even when the script calls for forty-plus characters. I didn't read it every month, but I think the Secret Six will be missed for a while.

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"Doom Secret."

OAFE.net totally beat me to this one, but when I found Catman the other day, I thought the Secret Six is in the same boat as the Doom Patrol. Both comics had a crossover together recently, have recently been cancelled, and as far as action figures go, are never going to get complete teams made. (OAFE's blog also has a post on the various lineups of the Secret Six, as well as a rundown of which members have figures!)

The Bane here is the somewhat undersized DC Super Heroes version; the Collect-and-Connect one would be nice, but I bought the figures I wanted from that series on eBay, sans parts. (The Creeper and Jonah Hex, if you're wondering!)

Even though there's been a pretty good-sized outpouring of love for the outgoing book, I only read Secret Six a couple of times myself. In fact, I was a little disappointed in #28, where two Secret Six teams go at it in Skartaris; since with all that going on, Gail Simone didn't use Warlord characters Shakira and Machiste to the fullest...

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