80-Page Thursdays: Legends of Tomorrow #5!

Every so often in my sporadic DVD purchasing, I see the set for the complete Legends of Tomorrow, which for a good stretch was my favorite show on TV! (Aside: I can't remember the last time I watched a regular-broadcast, first-run show on old-school network TV! Possibly towards the end of the CW's DC shows.) It's mildly annoying, since the first season was only OK, and I have the second season set already: the episode "Raiders of the Lost Art" with George Lucas is where it takes off! Then again, I know I had this issue already, but for a buck I couldn't leave it in the cheap boxes. From 2016, Legends of Tomorrow #5, featuring stories by Len Wein, Keith Giffen, Gerry Conway, and Aaron Lopresti; with art by Aaron Lopresti, Eduardo Pansica, Bilquis Evely, Yildiray Cinar, and more.

This was the penultimate issue of this mini-series, which was three-quarters meat-and-potatoes superhero stuff, and one relaunch that felt like an oddball but might've been a bigger swing: Sugar & Spike by Giffen and Bilquis Evely. They had a long-running series as babies; and here they were young adults, private investigators specializing in superhero weirdness, who could still speak their secret baby-talk to each other if needed. This chapter, Spike recaps their breakout case, where they took down D-list Flash villain Colonel Computron. His tech support friend Bernie isn't especially helpful, and maybe wonders if there isn't sexual tension between the two, with a comment I'm pretty sure put creator Sheldon Mayer spinning in his grave. (I also don't know if it's sexual tension, as much as that Sugar has basically been the boss of Spike, since they were toddlers.)

Also this issue: the traditional Metal Men vs. new Metal Men fight, as the originals face new ones like Ziconium, Silicon, and Copper. Not the old Cooper--er, Copper--but while she seems to be the most stable and mature of the new bunch; Platinum swears she looks familiar, like her creator, Dr. Lace. Copper denies that, but the two teams are probably going to have to work together, as Chemo returns! Doc Magnus is somehow surprised by that; continuity reboots or not, Chemo always comes back, c'mon. Also, Magnus is way younger seeming in this version, and has goggles instead of his pipe!

Firestorm gears up for a final battle with Multiplex, as a bunch of personal stuff hangs over his head--Ronnie was high school age again, and wondering if he should stick with his team, or take a scholarship at a better school; while Jason was having health issues, and the Professor seems particularly boring? Like, more than usual? There's a solid page of him microwaving breakfast before work at his lab! Still, that could be to establish how Professor Stein was isolated and alone and needed the guys and Firestorm nonsense in his life. And in Metamorpho's feature, Sapphire has stolen the Orb of Ra, which later communicates with her, telling her she knows what she was doing was wrong; but god she could be a daddy's girl sometimes. The cliffhanger has Java ready to kill Rex; maybe he had been built up as threatening the rest of this series, but I can't buy it. You'd be better off with the current Metamorpho series there!

Technically, this might be a 100-pager, but it actually has 80 comic pages! I like the package, I like the idea; it's just not my favorite version of some of the characters. Read more!

This doesn't appear to be the peak of DC's printing prowess, but still.

I don't get this title, but writer Mike W. Barr would use it again for an issue of Mantra! From 1985, Batman and the Outsiders Annual #2, "Dissembler at the Wedding" Written by Mike W. Barr, pencils by David Ross, inks by Dan Adkins.

This was the wedding of Rex (Metamorpho) Mason and Sapphire Stagg, after a few hiccups; like a duplicate Rex showing up at the altar and kidnapping Sapph, and poisoning everyone there. Late arrival Bruce Wayne is able to save them, then change to Batman, and has to clear the usual suspect: Simon Stagg, who never approved of Rex seeing his daughter, but had got poisoned with everybody else. The gas was the handiwork of an old foe of theirs: Tremayne, a traitor scientist from Brave and the Bold #58, Metamorpho's second appearance! Tremayne had lost Sapphire's mother to Simon and never got over it, so had built a new mantis-robot and "chemical mimic shape-shifter "Even Steven" to help him get Sapphire instead. He was pretty old and seemed more than a bit senile, but, he was on the ball enough to hire help against the Outsiders: the Masters of Disaster! Neither Tremayne nor Simon seem like a catch, even if they were probably both rich. Sapphire looked like her mom and was gorgeous but a bit soft. Her standing up to Tremayne and saying she wasn't her mom, was like a Spider-Man lifting a heavy thing moment for her.

The Masters had faced the Outsiders before, maybe a couple times by now; and the youngest, Windfall, seemed soft on Halo. This time around we learn why: Halo resembled her dead mom, who had been killed by her sister, New Wave. The team couple, Coldsnap and Heatstroke, are distracted at a crucial moment by a junked solar battery, which they think they can use to cure their condition: their powers hurt each other, so they could no longer touch. Unfortunately for them, Katana and Batman assume they're up to no good, and trash the machine, and them. Rex fights his way past the mantis-robot, then faces Even Steven, who copies not only his powers, but his love for Sapphire: Steven sacrifices himself, taking Tremayne with him.

Long-suffering unfrozen-caveman lackey Java fails to stop the Masters from escaping, while Rex wants to call off the wedding, feeling he couldn't put Sapphire in any more danger. Simon, who probably wasn't turning over a new leaf here, has to admit this one wasn't Rex's fault, and his element powers had saved her. The couple is finally wed; although there was a subscription ad for the Batman-less Outsiders, so there wasn't a ton of time left: Rex wouldn't survive to the end of the series, but would be back in Invasion! and Justice League Europe. Read more!

I know there were DC Direct figures, but I've always been super-annoyed Mattel didn't make figures for Superman's supporting cast. Lois Lane seems like a given, but this issue makes a strong case for his pal, too. From 2019, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #1, written by Matt Fraction, art by Steve Lieber.

This one's a lot more cheery and fun than the last Jimmy Olsen book we saw here, even though it opens with Jimmy's great-great-grand-something Joachim Olsson cheated and murdered by an ancestor of Lex Luthor's, in the settlement that would eventually become Metropolis. In the present, Jimmy is up to his usual ratings-grabbing hijinks, with a daring attempt to skydive from orbit without a parachute, using genetic engineering and Metamorpho cells. (Metamorpho makes a cameo, looking like Jimmy absolutely talked him into a trainwreck of an idea.) This naturally involves Jimmy turning into the traditional giant turtle monster, as Lex Luthor has manipulated this one to destroy local landmark "the Monarch of Metropolis." (Traditionally that sort of thing would be repaired by Superman in one panel on the last page of the story, but does anyone fix anything anymore?)

Perry White has had more than enough of Jimmy's nonsense, and is on the verge of firing him yet again, when an I.T. guy points out the punchline: Jimmy's nonsense is the only part of the Daily Planet that makes any money, even after a staggering amount of expenses. With the insurance adding up, the publisher suggests embedding Jimmy "somewhere far far far far away." How about across the bridge in Gotham? That might as well be China. In a horrible, bat-infested apartment, Jimmy wonders how it came to this...as he tacks up the front page of the Planet asking "Who Killed Jimmy Olsen?"

I feel like I usually pick up the fun books that DC puts out and no one buys, like Bat-Mite or the last Bizarro series (that also featured Jimmy) but slept on this one. Read more!

Geez, I was gonna say he's still in the top ten worst billionaires, but I'm not even positive about that.

Hmm, it's been over four years since I've blogged any Simon Stagg appearances? Admittedly, the antics of an amoral, horrible tycoon douchebag are far less amusing nowadays. I'm not even sure Stagg will even seem as bad anymore, since that bar has been raised. Then again, Stagg actually had money...usually. From 1973, World's Finest #220, "Tears of an Element Man!" Written by Bob Haney, art by J.C. (John Calnan.)

When Sapphire is kidnapped and they send a ransom note for $5 million (over 30 million in today-money!) Rex more-or-less has to shame daddy Simon into paying, even though he actually had that in cash, on hand! Rex offers to make the drop, but Simon argues they would be on the lookout for an Element Man-trap, and does it himself. And...nothing. After almost 24 hours, Rex has to shake the drop location out of Simon, then tracks the kidnappers to a cement works, where he is first shot then trapped in concrete. Neither of which slow Metamorpho down much! But he's already too late!

Sapphire is dead, killed since Simon paid the ransom in counterfeit money! The kidnappers had given her a lethal injection; but not unlike a fairy tale, Rex's kiss--and his tears--bring Sapphire back. Simon tries to backpedal, that he didn't know the money was bogus, but come on. Traditionally, this would be where I would say Simon Stagg is the wooooooorst, but again, we've probably all seen worse, haven't we?

For some reason, I was just stricken with the urge to see the presumably immortal Metamorpho (or, rather, killed and revived dozens of times) in the 31st century with the Legion of Super-Heroes; pitting their faux-future slang against his hip patter...

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I've said here a few times I like the idea of the Outsiders way more than any comic I've actually read with them, but over the last couple of months I've picked up a pile of cheap issues. And we all know Alan Davis makes everything better, so why not start with this one? From 1985, Batman and the Outsiders #24, "I Went to the Animal Fair..." Written by Mike W. Barr, art by Alan Davis.

After learning her origin, the alien entity now called Halo has left the Outsiders, and decided to never become Halo again. Instead, since Gaby believes she stole the body of Violet Harper, she's going to live and die in it. Showing up at the Gotham Bus Terminal might be a good start towards the latter, since she's first approached by an obvious pimp, then saved by an obvious cultist, who picks her up for a commune upstate called 'Eden.' There's probably a real Manson-vibe there, but my first thought was that creep Brother Blood! Wrong title, I guess.

The rest of the Outsiders are enjoying a bright, sunny day at the zoo; even though Katana is gloomy as Batman with Halo gone. Rex and Sapphire are getting married soon, and they're meeting her dad Simon Stagg on neutral ground. Someone seems to be watching them, though; while Bruce Wayne is on the scene to give the zoo a komodo dragon. Sapphire is thrilled to see, and still loves, her horrible, horrible dad; she's had enough of Rex and Simon fighting over her.

The day is interrupted by terrorists...like a lot of Outsiders comics were, if I recall. Today, the 'Liberators' are protesting animals getting cushy zoo treatment while people live in poverty. Katana saves a child from being eaten by the komodo dragon, advising the grateful parents to tell them they love them before it's too late. Batman turns on the scare tactics in an aviary full of bats, and the Liberators sing like birds: they were really there to kill Simon, so his business manager could take over. Simon does seem legitimately grateful to Metamorpho for saving him, and the wedding was scheduled for the upcoming annual.

Lastly, the inquisitive Gaby arrives at Eden, and meets Sister Eve and Brother Abraham; and my first thought was wrong again: I was thinking of Mother Night and Minister Blood from Captain America! Wires crossed there.
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When they say "let your freak flag fly," that's not what they meant.

Actually, I kind of dig it! From 1986, Adventures of the Outsiders #33, "A Tiny, Deadly War!" Written and edited by Mike W. Barr, art by Alan Davis.

It's day one for the Outsiders without Batman, and they've got a tough one lined up: Geo-Force's homeland Markovia is under attack, by Baron Bedlam, the Masters of Disaster, and the Soviet army. Somewhat surprisingly, it's the Masters that give them the most trouble today: Windfall's air powers notice Metamorpho sneaking into camp as gas, and once he's frozen it's all downhill from there. She also has a bond with Halo: neither of them want to hurt the other, but Windfall was browbeat by her sister, New-Wave.

While the Outsiders are captured, their friend (and future member) Looker has a psychic flash, and leaves her fretting husband to come help. And bad guy the Bad Samaritan tries to investigate what Baron Bedlam's game is exactly, and learns...he's got Hitler in a tube! I doubt the Soviets are real keen on that either; so he's doubtless in for a kicking. Maybe: looking it up, it was building up to AotO #36, "Sympathy for the Fuhrer!" Um...no. Not at all.

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After three years building them up, let's quit the team in the most dickish way possible.

I've mentioned before that I like the idea of the Outsiders, much more than any Outsiders comic I've actually read; but I didn't read the book when it was first on the stands. So I remember ads for this, but hadn't read this last issue: from 1986, Batman and the Outsiders #32, "A New War's Winning!" Written and edited by Mike W. Barr, art by Alan Davis.

The first four-and-a-half pages of this one are recurring bad guys the Masters of Disaster in Markovia, kidnapping a princess on her way to her wedding; but the Outsiders are busy in Gotham, as a mob boss holds a meeting to unite since Batman had been gone for a few days. "Matches" Malone shows up to see if the boss is serious, and verifies the heist of plasma from the hospital; "Matches" of course being a longtime alias of Batman! Signaling the team, the mobsters are wrapped up quickly, and with the mission complete Geo-Storm takes the opportunity to break radio silence, and finds his country has been at war for two days! Moreover, Batman knew!

Batman claims he needed the Outsiders in Gotham, and didn't want to be running all over the world like the Justice League: "...so busy saving the world, we lose sight of individuals." It kind of reads more like Bats was mad he hadn't got to punch a junkie, mobster, or homicidal clown for a minute and was pitching a fit; as he disbands the team. Halo protests, and a smirking Batman seems to think they were going to cave, but she suggests they stay together themselves, without Batman! Batman leaves in a huff, noting Dick had already quit and Jason probably would someday: "...soldiers come and go, but my war never ends." He does not handle rejection well, does he?

The Outsiders would go on to face Baron Bedlam and the Masters of Disaster in Markovia; but the rest of this issue was a Looker story: formerly "mousy" Lia Briggs was now Looker, who had super-powers but was mostly just thrilled to be staggeringly hot. Her husband Greg was still adjusting, and may have missed his old wife and been uncomfortable with the attention Lia now got, but she showed no interest in the person she used to be. Yeah, I got a feeling Greg is not going to be in this book for too long.
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I was reading comics in 2008, right? How'd I miss this?

The Doom Patrol. Flash. Metamorpho and the Challengers of the Unknown. Mark Waid and George Perez? Why the ever-living hell didn't I buy the Brave and the Bold #8 back in 2008? Tell me! Oh, and inks by Bob Wiacek, who's also pretty great.

This month, the Challengers of the Unknown are still trying to wrap their heads around the Book of Destiny; while Wally and Linda West are looking for help for their kids, Jai and Iris. They had their dad's powers, sort of, and were unstable: I think they'd only been around a year or so, yet in the best soap-opera tradition were already 10 or 11. But there's help Wally is reluctant to take, from Dr. Niles Caulder, the Chief of the Doom Patrol. Wally thinks the Chief is creepy, and appearances and testimonials seem to back him up: he lives in a creepy castle, doing creepy experiments with his creepy super-team, and Beast Boy didn't speak too highly of him, either. (While this is set in Flash's then-current continuity, Waid takes a sort of traditionalist take on the Patrol; their next series was still a year out.)

Flash's kids take to the friendly-too-friendly Rita, but then get spooked by her stretching, and run smack into Robotman, then Negative Man. The subsequent brawl rubs Flash the wrong way, but he is placated a bit by a friendly visiting freak, "the one and only" Metamorpho! (That statement may not have been true...)

Over dinner, Linda accuses the DP of enjoying scaring the kids, what with radioactive mummies and visible brains. Iris is observant, and more unnerved by the constantly smiling Rita: Wally points out she's overcompensating.

I had a hard time getting a read on the Chief, here. Is he planning some experiment for his own goals, or is he genuinely trying to help and protective of his "freaks"? His procedure to use Metamorpho to stabilize the kids for a scan goes awry, though, when Metamorpho disappears midway through! (I think there's a clue there, though; that may have tied into the most recent run of Outsiders, but I could be wrong: it may also have been Waid and Perez trying to justify getting rid of those curlicues added to Rex.) The Chief gives Wally the choice of which child to save with Robotman's alloy body, but thinking fast Flash uses Negative Man to save Iris.

The kids are saved, or at least not killed, and the Chief rather uncharitably puts the accident on Metamorpho, who left a mysterious clue: the word "Megistus" etched in the rock. The Flash family, distrustful and scared of the Chief and the Doom Patrol, leave in a hurry. Later, Wally admits to Iris that while he was thinking, he did choose one child...and the guilt eats at him. I have to say, on this re-read, I'm siding with the Chief. The Flash family may have their problems, but the Doom Patrol are living with brutal trauma, if with a morbid sense of humor about it. I would ask Cliff not to take his brain out at the dinner table, though.

Arrgh, I have a couple of these issues: we checked out #13 last year, but #12 would be the conclusion to this Megistus storyline!
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80-Page Thursdays: Legends of Tomorrow #1!

Hey, an 80-pager you could buy right now! From last week or so, Legends of Tomorrow #1, featuring stories by Len Wein, Keith Giffen, Gerry Conway, and Aaron Lopresti; with art by Aaron Lopresti, Eduardo Pansica, Bilquis Evely, Yildiray Cinar, and more.

Every Day is Like Wednesday had a little write-up on this last week, and rightly point out this package is basically four comics for the price of two. I don't know how all the numbers break down, but it feels like instead of publishing four probably middling-selling mini-series, DC decided to bundle them up and see how the package sells. And naming it after one of their TV shows couldn't hurt.

So, if you like two of the four titles, you're as much as getting your money's worth, right? Well, it may be a bad sign that I was thinking about this book this afternoon and had plumb forgot the Metal Men were in it...and that's not to say the Metal Men story was bad, but it's pretty straight-forward super-heroing. (With that weird anti-robot prejudice that seems prevalent in 90% of the populace in Metal Men comics, and nowhere to be found in the larger DC Universe.) It's just my bad timing that I was re-reading not-super-old Doom Patrol comics with the more-comedic Keith Giffen/J.M.DeMatteis/Kevin Maguire Metal Men, which does feature the aforementioned robophobia but where the titular robots have more personality in a couple panels than they do in Legends of Tomorrow.

(See? From 2009's Doom Patrol #2.)

Likewise, I read Metamorpho's origin just recently already, the 2007-08 Metamorpho: Year One. Not to quote myself, but on that post I said you could never suck all the fun out of Metamorpho: "You could suck fun out of him all day and still have some leftover." So, of course, Bleeding Cool has an interview with writer/artist Aaron Lopresti, who says "...in the ones I have read there seems to always be a certain air of silliness to the character. In my version, that’s gone." That seems like muting a character with a great voice--a voice that's 75% Marvel's Ben Grimm, but still a great voice! Now, Rex is a prisoner most of this story, but we see both Sapphire and Java getting upgraded to scientist: Sapph had been characterized before as at best, flighty; but Java was a defrosted caveman! (He still is, but on smart drugs, apparently.) I probably sound like I'm bagging on this a bit, and maybe; but it's still not bad...just a bit standardized.

Now, I've never been a big Firestorm fan; but I thought his feature was not unlike the others: a decent superhero story, perhaps lacking a little pop. Giffen's Sugar & Spike update is just confusing, though, as tonally it's all over the map. Let's update a funny toddler strip--that's beloved as such by those few who even remember it--as a light action piece, with a comically creepy Killer Moth, 50's era Batman costumes, and from the current continuity, one-handed Alfred? Together, the choices are just baffling. It would be like deciding to, say, update Archie as a Tarentino-style crime title: it could be done, but why?

I fully realize this probably sounds like a thumbs down for this book, but it really isn't all bad! It is a nice package, but I feel like DC is not taking enough chances with these characters. I want to read about Metamorpho and the Metal Men, so give me Metamorpho and the Metal Men! Don't try and make them like everything else: they aren't, that's the point of them! Go a little more nuts with them, and Firestorm; and what the heck, we'll see where Sugar & Spike is headed.
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It's a modernized update of a classic character, of course all the fun's sucked out of it...

Well, that's not entirely true. Partially because Metamorpho was so much fun to begin with. You could suck fun out of him all day and still have some leftover...wow, that went weird, there. From 2007-2008, Metamorpho: Year One, story by Dan Jurgens, art by Jurgens, Mike Norton Jesse Delperdang, and Jose Marzan, Jr.

This version of Rex Mason starts as an adventure-TV star, risking his life for the cameras on a TV show produced by billionaire Simon Stagg. Consistent with his usual portrayals, Stagg is an utter bastard; from nickel-and-diming Mason on his contract, to plotting to have him killed for a DVD special. Of course, Stagg may also hate Mason for dating his daughter Sapphire, as does unfrozen caveman Java. (A bit of lampshade hanging refers to Java being brought back to life by Stagg's genetic engineers, and Stagg's legal department probably insured the big moron's legal status would be indentured servant or pet or something.)

Exploring a pyramid for the Orb of Ra, Mason is knocked out by Java (on Stagg's order) and left to die. Instead, Mason is exposed to the meteorite the Orb was made from, and transformed into Metamorpho, that fabulous freak. (There's a whole backstory about the sun god Ra and how the meteorite is supposed to create soldiers to fight Set Apep, but I don't think we get into that here.) He doesn't feel that fabulous though, even though he's able to use enough of his powers instinctively to get out of the collapsed pyramid, repair a jet, and get back to the states; where Stagg wangs him with the Orb, Metamorpho's Kryptonite.

I'm missing issue #3 right now--another limited series short an issue! But I doubt it really explains why Mason doesn't seem to realize Stagg straight-up tried to murder him. He is somewhat blinded by the chance of a cure: Stagg downplays the possiblity of some hack like Lex Luthor or STAR Labs returning Mason to normal. In issue #4, Stagg fixes Mason up with a realistic rubber mask--just not realistic enough to get through airport security, especially when Stagg tips them off. He doesn't want Sapphire with him (or Java, for that matter) and maneuvers her towards a more suitable guy, industrialist Wally Bannister. I was disappointed that Sapphire seems to fall for it, and Wally is still around by the end of the series: per Wikipedia, the Bannister character was killed off towards the end of the original 60's Metamorpho series, but the plotline was never resolved.

I actually have Justice League of America #42, "Metamorpho Says No!" where the JLA offers Metamorpho a spot on the team and he declines, only wanting to return to normal. The rest of that issue has a silly alien menace, the Unimaginable; but makes more sense than issue #6's updated version, which features most of the League pretending to be Goldface to put him to the test. (They had complete faith in Mason, but none in Stagg.) Metamorpho again refuses JLA membership, but decides to use his powers to help when he can. So, not an awful update, but so not as fun as the original.
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The Hodge and the Podge:

My unread pile is appallingly high, and we haven't even mentioned two I'm in the middle of: a used copy of Essential Spider-Man #8 (which has the Faustus issue we checked out a bit ago) the third DVD set of Batman: the Animated Series ($12.99 at Costco! Get 'em while you can!) and the Humble Bundle Dungeons & Dragons bundle! The latter is pretty great, and I haven't even got to the 1991 Forgotten Realms series yet. Love that one...

The issue of Convergence I picked up was garbage, yet I still picked up a pile of ninety-nine cent crossover issues: Adventures of Superman, Booster Gold, Infinity Inc., Batman and the Outsiders, and the last issue of the Atom. Betting I could probably get at least a few of the Secret Wars limiteds on the cheap later; in fact, got M.O.D.O.K.: Assassin #1 for a buck, too.

I did pick up a great, old figure...that I can't talk about yet, since it's a surprise in an upcoming strip! But I also picked up a few Minimates: the Shanna the She-Devil/Reaper set for $2, and the Walgreens exclusive Star-Lord/Groot/Rocket. And DC Collectibles Pandora for four bucks! Haven't read any comics with her, but worth a look for the price. Oddly, she almost appeared dusty in package: her rubbery cowl and cape have an oily residue on them. It wipes right off, so if you're interested, don't let that stop you.

There's still more in the unread pile I've been meaning to get to for a while: most of Metamorpho: Year One has been waiting for me, and so has the new Baltimore: the Cult of the Red King. Soon...

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If Looker's action figure came with this, it would be worth the deluxe price...

I picked this issue out of the clearance bins for fifty cents, because the cover featured Jim Aparo and Eclipso, but the real draws weren't listed: from 1987, the Outsiders #18, "...Rage, Rage Against the Dying of the Light!" Story by Mike W. Barr, art by Jim Aparo.

The South Pacific island of Diablo...ugh...is ground zero for this issue's weirdness; namely, an eclipse that won't end. Most of earth's heroes are running relief efforts against tidal-caused disasters, but Batman and the Outsiders are on Diablo facing Eclipso and his darkness-worshiping cultists. While the heroes are no match for Eclipso, Batman is able to hold him off by threatening to kill his former host body, Bruce Gordon. Eclipso still holds all the cards, though; and plans on murdering Gordon, Batman, and the Outsiders before taking Bruce's girlfriend Mona as his bride! The high priestess of the cultists is a little put-out by that, but Eclipso couldn't care less.

In the end, after being zapped with Geo-Force's null-gravity, a Metamorpho-powered light blast, and sliced up by Katana's sword; a weakened Eclipso is trapped once again in Bruce Gordon's body. (Where I'm not sure he'd be seen again until 1992's Eclipso: the Darkness Within event. No, hold the phone: Eclipso shows up just prior to that in the last couple issues or so of the Will Payton version of Starman.) Batman tells the Outsiders they've done well for themselves...but could maybe do better back with him!

Still, that's but a prelude to the main event: "Freeway of Fun Fear!" Written by Mike W. Barr, art by Brian Bolland! In her civilian identity of model Lia Briggs, Looker is appearing on the game show Freeway of Fun; with Metamorpho and his gal Sapphire in the studio audience. But a power-up that's supposed to give her go-cart a smoke screen instead delivers an oil slick and nearly kills her, so Lia re-enters the race as Looker...with a replacement go-cart:

OK, this story's a total bit of fluff, but Barr can just sit back and let Bolland draw the hell out of it. And Metamorpho is so friggin' great, I swear. Why the New 52 didn't feature a Looker/Metamorpho Wacky Racers-type book, is just another missed opportunity.

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The cover more than carries this one.

Not that the interior art is terrible, but it's a Brian Bolland cover, so c'mon. From 1986, The Outsiders #18, "The Firefly's Blaze of Glory" Written and edited by Mike W. Barr, art by Jerome Moore and Al Vey and Jan Duursema.

As the Outsiders practice and have a few laughs in their off-brand Danger Room (they aren't the only DC characters to have swiped one!) in L.A. a prison transport is loading, and the guards and other prisoners are also having a laugh, at the expense of one Garfield Lynns, a.k.a. Fruitfly. Er, Firefly. Although soundly mocked by all, he is able to escape from the transport with an "equalizer beam" that blended the gray of his uniform with that of the truck. At a newspaper, Firefly tries to get a classified ad to threaten the Outsiders, and is about to get bounced by security, once they stop laughing at his costume. Still, FF--that's actually on his costume, his chest logo is FF--zaps them with an illusion ray, and makes a pretty effective escape by blinding drivers with red lights.

The Outsiders aren't taking Firefly very seriously, but do want to make sure no one gets hurt. Katana deduces the clue he was trying to place in his ad, that FF was going to attack Dodger System on "Light Night," a flashlight giveaway. (Which sounds like a good way to get batteries thrown at ballplayers, but what do I know?) When Firefly sucks all the power out of the stadium, the Outsiders take him down easily, but he manages to suck the light out of Halo, including her powers! Firefly turns the tables, then escapes again; but Halo is weakened and near death.

As the rest of the team falls into a obvious trap trying to find Firefly, FF hits the Outsiders' headquarters, planning to finish Halo off and keep her powers. Still, when tricked into trying to use all Halo's powers at once, Firefly loses them: that was how Halo transformed into her civilian identity Gaby. A very protective Katana threatens to kill Firefly if Halo dies, but she recovers. Firefly gloats that he might've got beat, but he had his moment in the sun, and they can't take that away from him. Unless a telepath like Looker wipes his mind, which she does, which seems a little harsh.

We don't see this version of Firefly much after this: eventually, the Batman: the Animated Series version of a pyromaniac with a flamethrower gun and maybe jetpack wings would become the standard. Probably just as well: the light-controlling version seems interchangeable with the first Doctor Light. Both had science that should've changed the world, but instead used it to be punched in the face repeatedly by super-heroes, and both were mindwiped to forget a victory...uh-oh.
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I'm not sure how someone who talks that hip wouldn't be recognized on the phone, either.

The hero going temporarily bad without even realizing it...is a pretty common Silver Age comic plot. Often it's the result of red Kryptonite, or a head injury, or exposure to chemicals, or in today's case, an element man's cure in chemical glop. From 1973's World's Finest Comics #219, "Tick Tick Boom Boom" Written by Bob Haney, art by John Calnan. A weird-sounding voice calls in bomb threats to Simon Stagg's bus terminal and park; and while Rex jokes there's a million people who would love to see Stagg blown to kingdom come, it's an unhinged and amnesiac Metamorpho leaving the bombs!

Stagg says Metamorpho's split personality is the result of the "glop cure" he put him in...I don't know either. Still, another dose cures Rex, but he doesn't remember where he planted his last bomb in Stagg's skyscraper, which could blow up with Sapphire in it! Although he saves Saphh and the building, the issue closes with another bomber calling in a threat to Stagg's yacht, which doesn't seem to be the laugh riot you'd expect. It occurs to me Metamorpho's good personality could've been planting the bombs, and his evil half defusing them: Stagg is that bad, people.
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