"The Secret of Mockingbird"? What, like what she actually thought of Hawkeye's costume?

No, not that one, the Secret Six one--no, I keep telling you, not that Secret Six! Oh, let's just do this: from 1988, Action Comics #629. Cover by Dick Rockwell.

Captain Atom guests in the lead feature, with Green Lantern; as an alien having taken the form of 80's action-movie star "Randy Violent" dug a chunk out from underneath an office building for his ship or recharge-temple or whatever. (I'm pretty sure Randy Violent was referenced in the Question; it may have been a DC go-to like Big Belly Burgers.) While GL struggled to hold the building up until the fire department could get everyone out, Captain Atom tries to make peace with the alien, and fails miserably; deciding it was too dangerous to be left to its own devices and starts trying to kill it. Exhausted and his ring running out of charge, GL still tells Atom, the only way he'd get that alien, was over his dead body...! ("So Long Ago the Garden" Plot and script by James (Priest) Owsley, plot and pencils by M.D. "Doc" Bright, inks by Romeo Tanghal.)

Black Canary's last strip may have ended on a cliffhanger where she faced a flying figure with swords, and another with a hook...this month we find out Dinah just beat up the cast of a local production of Peter Pan. This was like six chapters in so I'm not caught up, but Dinah may have found the killer, if someone doesn't get her first. ("Knock 'em Dead, part 6" Written by Sharon Wright, pencils by Randy DuBurke, inks by Pablo Marcos.) Likewise, "Beginning of the End" was also well into the Secret Six serial, but finally reveals the identity of the original Mockingbird: the premise had been, he had put the espionage team together, but was also secretly a member.

After a Superman two-pager, there's part four of a Nightwing and Speedy serial, that appears to be all Speedy this month, and is set in Ireland. With his daughter Lian, Speedy meets a couple orphans, and their story is dark; involving terrorism, murder, and suicide. Speedy is reaching the kids, so of course the house gets firebombed on the last page. ("Rocks and Hard Places, chapter 4: New Friends, Old Enemies" Written by Cherie Wilkerson, art by Tom Mandrake.)

Finally, another chapter of Blackhawk, where after the death of Marcia, Jan beats the crap out of her CIA agent jerk brother; then sleeps with Nat. She doesn't seem thrilled about that later, but Jan checks his mail, and finds they've both been invited to Washington, by Harry S. Truman! ("Some Guys Can't Take No For an Answer" Written by Martin Pasko, pencils by Rick Burchett, inks by John Nyberg.) Read more!

If DC Direct was still in-house, I feel like this absolutely would've got a figure already.

Mildly surprised McFarlane hasn't hit that one, actually. But, I was a little sick the other day, so I had time to finally read this one: from 2024, Superman: Lost, reprinting 2023's Superman: Lost #1-10, written by Christopher Priest, art by Carlo Pagulayan, Lee Weeks, Dan Jurgens, Will Conrad, Jose Luis, and more. 

While Lois investigates a Congressional scandal, Superman joins the Justice League for what seems like an ordinary mission. Later, back home, Superman seems incredibly out of it, and also doesn't seem to be breathing regularly. Bruce Wayne shows up, with bad news for Lois, but he seems just as surprised to see Superman there; Lois tears into him, "what did you do?" But this wasn't on Batman: the Chinese government had been trying to salvage the drive from a crashed spaceship, but caused an implosion that could've destroyed the earth: Superman sacrifices himself to stop it, and is thrown something like 14 thousand or so light-years into space. Still in shock, Superman tells them, it had taken him twenty years to get back...!

On earth, the series alternates between Clark's pronounced PTSD, and Lois's probably ill-advised attempt to bring him out of it by going to Lex Luthor. Lex's 'help' involves giving Lois cancer: he figures, she would tell Superman, Superman would attack him, and Lex would kill him, but at least he wouldn't be all weird and mopey anymore, right? Lex did not take into account the idea that Lois might not tell him, instead passing her nausea off as a pregnancy! We also see Superman's space travel, which covered vast distances but didn't really get anywhere: with no points of reference, he's mostly stuck on a distant world--that doesn't seem to have a name, so Supes calls it 'Kansas'--inhabited by a culture Priest describes as libertarian at one point. It's sort of a democracy, but also cliquish: the general consensus seems to be, if people are dumb enough to vote to be idiots, it's not anyone else's responsibility to save them. In the same vein, so what if the sun's going to explode? That might not happen tomorrow, or in my lifetime, why do anything? Oh, and Superman couldn't get full power in the sun there, blocked by a nebula; the whole thing seems virtually designed to frustrate him. Even the arrival of a Green Lantern doesn't help much, as the ring wearer, Hope, had no idea what that was...in more ways than one. 

This kind of series was usually 12 issues, right? I almost feel like it could've used the extra two, even if there's some What If Elseworlds-like sidebars towards the end that don't add a ton. Likewise, Superman goes to therapy, which he probably needed after this, but he also borrows Supergirl's therapist and her appointment! (Clark is also, somewhat rightly, hard on himself for not understanding what Kara had been going through or supporting her enough.) The therapist later asks, how much does Superman hate Lex, which Supes tries to brush off; but there are several short fantasies of Superman murdering Lex in various ways: those might actually be Lex's annihilation fantasies. After all, if Superman killed him, he would be proven right, which is really all Lex ever wanted. 

Lois also has a conversation with Wonder Woman, that seems full of jealousy and resentment, that I had thought Lois had got out of her system long ago. Similarly, every time Bruce shows up it's with bad news, and Lois is taking none of his crap. 

 I got this at a buy two/get one free at EntertainMart: they haven't come through for me as often as the dearly departed Hastings, but here and there. Recommended!

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Maybe if I finish the "Legends of the Dead Earth" annuals, I could go on to these--no. No. We're not doing that.

I was familiar with the cover from a house ad, a Jim Balent number with a woman turning into a cat-woman in front of Castle Greykitty; but hadn't read this until recently: from 1994, Catwoman Annual #1,"The Last Man" Written by Christopher Priest, pencils by Federico Cueva, inks by Alberto Pez.

This was another Elseworlds annual, with a medeval Batman winning his final battle against the Cat-Man, R'as al Ghul. Perhaps because this Batman did not seem like the most noble of warriors, his name wasn't a variation of Bruce Wayne; it was instead "Lord Timon Vicar." Timon was having all of the Selenites, the cat-people, put to the sword; since he saw them as sorcerous, soulless abominations; and he had already killed R'as eight times. The ninth time might be the charm; but Timon loses an eye and is grievously wounded. Feverish and sick, Timon isn't able to put up a fight, when his men are later killed by bandits; but he is saved by a mysterious cat-woman.

After dispatching the bandits, the cat-woman asks him where Timon was; perhaps wisely, Timon points to one of his dead men. The woman claims, if her father R'as had still been alive, she wouldn't be covered in fur now. Mockingly calling him "Truman," for a true man; she forces him to bury his dead men, then plans on taking him to speak with the Emperor, and end the slaughter of the Selenites. Still feverish, Timon has a dream about saving the cat-woman from R'as; and awakes to find her asleep in human form. Finally giving her name as Talia, she explains how he's a backwards, prejudiced, sexist tool; but she needs him, useless as he is. Later, while Talia is getting horses, Timon is accosted and beat by his own Legionnaires, who don't recognize their boss, and seem like the thugs Talia saw them as. When they plan to "have their fun" with Talia, a furious Timon rallies and murders them all, but can't bring himself to hurt Talia.

Later, Talia is furious over losing the scent of a murdering band of Legionnaires, and reveals she had known who Timon was all along. They spend a night together, then Talia disappears, leaving Timon to make his way home. Back in his Bat-armor, he tries to convince his father to end the war, and gets slapped down. Furious that his own son might have been ensorcelled, he resolves to triple the slaughter, and is immediately murdered by Talia. Timon tries to stop her escape, leading to a fall into the moat and a fight with a gator; and Talia rescues him again. She thinks while his father never would have, Timon could end the war: she is immediately shot in the back by Timon's men. Timon does end the war, but knows at some point he will face Talia again: she still had eight lives left.

OK, even though I read a ton of those in '94, there is no way we're going to get to all the Elseworlds annuals! So far I think we've seen Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Annual #4, Legionnaires Annual #1, and Robin Annual #3. Read more!

Do I do this bit every time? Find a random "Legends of the Dead Earth" annual. Look up how many there were, compare that to how many I've blogged, and adjust the odds of hitting them all before said earth dies. There were 25 total, today's book should bring us to 14; place your bets! From 1996, Justice League America Annual #10, "The Alliance" Written by Christopher Priest, pencils by Sergio Cariello, inks by Nick Napolitano. Cover by Phil Jimenez.

After another of his "quantum-leaps" through time, Dr. Samuel Beckett--er, Captain Atom; finds himself seemingly fifteen or so years in the past, in the middle of a battle with the Justice League, as he knew them back then, and a ragtag force with advanced weaponry and armored walkers. Nathaniel figures, well, at least he knows what side he's on...famous last words! That's not the Justice League, they're not the good guys, and this wasn't even earth! Booster Gold turns on the Captain, blasting him from behind; although admittedly he does so after he tells Booster "you always were a screwup." Booster, or rather Michael, is far harder, and way bossier, than we ever see him; although there may be a reason. With both sides now shooting at him, Captain Atom is saved by a woman, who introduces herself as Maxima. Not the one we're used to, but an impressive one! Still, as she flies him to safety, the Captain realizes the landscape wasn't earth, and Maxima seems to have never heard of it.

The faux-JL, the Alliance, gets a visit from their boss, Maxwell Lord IV, who was living in the Lord Havok armor or body? (That would've tied into then-current continuity, around Justice League America #100; which you specifically don't need to read: the author is a disgrace, and Max Lord has been retconned six ways from Sunday.) Max kills his Guy Gardner, finally sick of his lip. Meanwhile, Maxima explains to the armored-down Nathaniel, that she brought him through what she calls the Maelstrom, and he called the quantum-field, to save them. Nathaniel is not down with that right away, but Maxima did have an inside man, who explains things: the Blue Beetle! They were on Warworld--or a Warworld--and Max/Lord Havok used "bio-telemic capsules" to recreate his old League, modifying local humans, including that Beetle. Oh, and earth has probably been dead for so long, that it was barely a fairy tale. Everything he had ever known being gone kind of shakes Nathaniel a bit, who later demands if he helps, Maxima help him get back. She has a counter-offer, dropping her robe...

Nathaniel has alarmingly hairy shoulders in some panels in this one, which probably isn't weird, but you're used to seeing him silver and smooth! Anyway, not unlike the other one, this Maxima wanted a child, a homegrown hero with powers; and Nathaniel wonders if sleeping with her was the right thing to have done, when he gets jumped by the Alliance's Martian Manhunter. He wakes up, in a room that resembles the old League headquarters, with Michael--formerly Booster Gold--speaking to him over intercom. Nathaniel seems to have zero respect for him, even before the reveal that Michael had continued replacing body parts (again, in then-recent continuity, Booster would've lost an arm) and lived past the destruction of earth, eventually being found by Max and setting up on Warworld. Michael likewise doesn't have any respect for Nathaniel, but that was because he wasn't real: Maxima and Beetle had stolen a bio-telemic capsule, and they had used it to create their own Captain Atom! That puts Nathaniel on the back foot for a few pages, as Michael and the Alliance work on him, with Michael pointing out he didn't know any of the personal information the real Captain Atom would...until he does!

Nathaniel was the real thing--the pod had been stolen, but not used, merely for cover. He had been sandbagging it, to give Beetle time to hack the Alliance's systems: Beetle confirms, Max's command pod would self-destruct in six seconds. But, that was an open line, and Max teleports out--all according to plan, as Beetle had sabotaged the teleporter instead, killing Max! Michael manages to briefly get past Maxima, but then is beaten by Nathaniel and Beetle. He tries to escape, and is also killed by the teleporter. In the end, whether or not Maxima was pregnant, Nathaniel says he still needs to get home; it's left open if he ever did. I like to think he totally did, and gave Max and Booster the side-eye from then on. 

Hmm, Legends of Tomorrow last Thursday, Legends of the Law Friday, and Legends of the Dead Earth today! Can't say I planned that, yet here we are.

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Huh, I'd already fallen off by this point?

From 1988, Action Comics #603, cover by Kyle Baker. 

I know I tried the first two issues of DC experiment with weekly comics, but I can't recall: was it available in newsstands, or direct-market only? At a glance, the covers didn't have barcodes. Well, I just asked on BlueSky, we'll see if anybody knows! So, this was the third issue of the weekly experiment, thus it's the third chapter of everything.

This was post-Green Lantern Corps #224, a last issue I've never blogged, because I. HATE. It.. Hal Jordan was one of a very, very few GL's left; and his teammate and friend, Katma Tui, had been killed by Star Sapphire, who had been Carol Ferris, but Carol didn't seem to be home right then. Sapphire wanted revenge for the loss of her subjects, the Zamorans, who had left the universe with the Guardians of the Universe in GL #200, an issue I love! Hal manages to disable her, by snapping the ring setting of her gem; which is like using the Force to turn your opponent's lightsaber off mid-fight; then by punching her a bit. Hal moves to summarily execute Sapphire, but his ring won't do it--either because a lack of will, like he really didn't want to kill her; or something else--but after the cops show up, Sapphire zaps everyone, and now passes sentence on Hal...I haven't read all of this run, and Peter David would take over for a bit shortly, while Priest would have a couple Green Lantern Specials later; all of which seemed to have interesting ideas or moments, but maybe didn't entirely work for me. (Art by Gil Kane.)

Secret Six was an interesting idea: six injured specialists are given mechanical aides, uniforms, and gear, to serve as a Mission: Impossible-style vigilante team. Their benefactor, Mockingbird, was masked and unknown; and might not have been revealed until just before the serial ended, and isn't connected to the later team of villains. (Written by Martin Pasko, art by Dan Spiegle.) Then, in the Yucatan, Deadman tries to deal with the ghost Mayan Talaoc, the Central Intelligence Agency, and a stockpile of weird alien anti-ghost weapons. (Story by Mike Baron, pencils by Dan Jurgens, inks by Tony DeZuniga.)

Superman had only a token presence in Action for this run, a two-pager reminiscent of classic newspaper strips. I think the rationale was, Supes had two other books, right? (Written by Roger Stern, pencils by Curt Swan, inks by John Beatty.) Wild Dog was next, and possibly a bigger draw at the time than the rest; coming off a pretty successful mini-series. So, of course we don't get to see him today; as a pro-censorship/anti-porn group blows up a book store in Jack's neighborhood. I don't think I'd seen Wild Dog without his mask often, and without it he seems like an amiable goof; which might be a good cover for a hardass killer. (Written by Max Collins, art by Terry Beatty.) 

Finally, a plot-heavy installment of Blackhawk, as Ms. Hastings--who's pretty likely CIA herself--approaches Janos with an offer, to go after gold lost by the Japanese post-WW II, that probably fell into the hands of druglord Red Dragon. I think Blackhawk might've been the first Action serial to get spun off to a new title, but it only lasted 16 issues? Huh, I thought it ran longer. (Written by Mike Grell, pencils by Rick Burchett, inks by Pablo Marcos.)

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I don't think I'm doing this bit all week. I probably could, sure, but...

This is another one I had at some point, and recently pulled from the dollar bins at least twice, so by rule...From 1989, Batman Annual #13, "Faces" Written by James (Priest) Owsley, pencils by Michael Bair, inks by Gray Morrow.

So over on Progressive Ruin, there was a recent discussion about whether or not Commissioner Gordon knows Bruce Wayne is Batman. The consensus is, probably? But he pretends not to know, out of respect for his friend, and doubtless for liability reasons, to protect the department. I'd like that more, if Jim still hung out with Bruce; especially after an issue like this one, where Alfred would be serving brandy and Bruce would have to sit there and nod politely while getting read the riot act secondhand: "Batman absolutely screwed the pooch on this one, Bruce. Completely dropped the ball. The nerve of that guy, who does he think he is...?" Probably a solid 45 minutes of that.

This issue begins with a prologue to (arguably) cheerier times, although it's maybe a brief window, when Jason Todd was Robin and Batgirl was still occasionally active. A cop is killed in a bombing, and Batman tells Gordon it was planted by Freddie Richards, an associate of Two-Face. Both Freddie and Two-Face are captured; and Gordon briefly confronts Batgirl, saying he thought Barbara had hung up the cape: I didn't think he knew that!

Years later, Freddie was going to get the chair for killing a cop, but Bruce watches a tape of a Jack Ryder news special, interviewing members of Two-Face's gang hiding out in Santa Prisca, and one admits he killed the cop Freddie was going to fry for. Batman goes to Gordon to request custody of Two-Face for 72 hours; but doesn't pick the best time: asking him at his wife's grave, with the now-wheelchair bound Barbara. Gordon flatly tells him no; Batman proceeds anyway, disguising himself as a doctor and busting Two-Face out of Gotham. (I wonder if Bats uses his Batman-voice so Harvey knows him, but Two-Face claims he knew immediately.) Batman feels like he helped finger Freddie--ugh, phrasing--and refuses to let him die for a crime he didn't commit, regardless of what he would have to do. Starting with, keeping Two-Face in a cage in the Batcave, while Bruce Wayne plays dumb with Gordon during a Wayne Mansion fundraiser.

Batman and Two-Face hitch a ride on a cargo transport dropping medical supplies for Santa Prisca, and Two-Face is more than a little irritated that his crew has forgotten their place. Batman is more mad, since in the background of the Ryder interview, was the cop that had allegedly been murdered in the first place! He'd been on the take; which doesn't quite line up: Barbara had been a friend of his, she probably would have recognized him and could've backed up Batman's side of this story. Batman suggests Two-Face let the coin decide, but his goons show up first, and his 'coin' is cracked open, revealing some kind of gyroscope: Batman had slipped him a fake! Two-Face is livid, sure, but also disappointed: Bats had cheated, which seemed unworthy of him. He leaves Batman in a death trap, that he of course escapes from; and Batman realizes a crooked cop might find work in a crooked country as a crooked cop again.

While he manages to get both the crooked cop and Two-Face to the airplane, they both take off running, leaving Batman with a perverse Sophie's Choice: he only has time to catch one of them. Batman chooses the cop, and manages to get a stay of execution for Freddie Richards, but Gordon gives him an earful. There had been a body in the bombing, who's to say Freddie didn't kill whoever that had been? He hadn't been an innocent by any account. And what crimes would Two-Face commit while on the loose? Batman knows, he kind of broke his trust with Two-Face, and he could be worse going forward. Let's see if we can run that down: this came out April 1989, and I think Two-Face would next appear shortly in "A Lonely Place of Dying," but that was a crossover with Titans and introduced Tim Drake, right? I don't know if this issue was mentioned. And Priest would get to write some Batman again, but it would be a while.

Also this issue: "Waiting in the Wings," by Kevin Dooley and Malcolm Jones III. Mid-Year One, Alfred tells Bruce he's quitting, to pursue his acting career. (Spoiler alert: he doesn't!) There's also several updated Who's Who style pages, including one for Vicki Vale, who had virtually been written out of the book by then. Read more!

Deathstroke always reminds me of that Michael Jordan meme...something about kids?

His own kids and others! Not only is Deathstroke a terrible parent, but no matter how much character development or growth he's given, he still goes back to Elmer Fudd anytime he's faced with more than three Titans. Like today's book! From 2017, Teen Titans: The Lazarus Contract Special #1, "The Lazarus Contract Conclusion" Plot by Christopher Priest, Benjamin Percy and Dan Abnett; script by Christopher Priest, pencils by Paul Pelletier, inks by Andrew Hennessy. 

Twelve Titans between two teams on this one...about half of any actually do anything here...as Deathstroke has stolen Kid Flash's powers (the Wallace West one!) in order to travel back in time and save his son Grant, who was molded by HIVE into Ravager then died fighting the Titans. I'm not a huge Titan fan, despite repeatedly buying cheap comics like this one, but I vaguely recall this from the first couple issues of Wolfman/Perez's New Teen Titans. I'm not sure it went down the exact same way in the New 52, but close enough? In "Take Three," Deathstroke tries physically removing Ravager from that fight, running him to a safe house in Vermont at super-speed: Grant is momentarily annoyed, but is a Deathstroke fanboy...until he unmasks as his dad. Deathstroke punches him out, noting "the kid's got a cement block for a brain," and opts to try again further down the timeline.

Elsewhere, the Titans are in disarray: the elder members were led by Nightwing, while the youngsters were under the firm hand of Damian, but both teams seem like herding cats. There's a bit of discussion on whether or not to call the Justice League, like the party's out of hand and time to call the parents. Also, when the heroes leave, Damian leaves the powerless Wallace behind, like he'd done enough for one day; as well as forgetting Jackson (Aqualad) Hyde! With Jericho, the other Kid Flash brings the Titans back in time, to just before the originals were about to go after Ravager. (And here you'll notice a timeline change: no Cyborg! And Dick's Robin costume has pants, Garth's costume is very Aquaman, Arsenal has a hat, and Lilith was there since Raven would've been a later addition.) Damian has a novel method of protecting the timeline: stopping Kid Flash's heart! The idea is, if 'dead' for a few seconds, that would break Deathstroke's connection, and it does, forcing him to watch Grant die while the timestream resets.

Wallace and Jackson catch a ride to the fight, with Deathstroke's "...friend..." Wintergreen: he seems to say it in a really loaded fashion, but I thought he was like Deathstroke's Alfred. Past Robin saves Past Kid Flash, and they return to their place in time, Wallace's powers return, and a furious Deathstroke--with some lightning bolt highlights on his costume!--threatens the Titans for taking his son away again. Although Jericho tries to talk him out of it--you still have one son, dad...dad?--Deathstroke blazes into the Speed Force and disappears. Wally thinks that's it for him, forever; which does get a solid cheer from the Titans; but Wallace points out a man just died, not cool, guys. Wallace goes into the Speed Force, and Wally knows he won't be able to get out unless he goes after him, and Nightwing has Lilith link the Titans up telepathically like a rope to bring them back. Damian abstains: in his eyes, Deathstroke was a murderer that hung himself. Yes, but...Nightwing argues, the team should stick together...even though one member seems to have made the call to risk them all...

In the Speed Force, Raven freaks out, because Wally freaks out: he had been afraid of Deathstroke, and that fear was now feeding through all of them. Jackson helps Damian put it together, and the little grouch grudgingly comforts Raven, to bring everyone back. Deathstroke had seen god knows what in the Speed Force, and while he seemed to be losing that knowledge, he still felt everyone there should die...including him. He unmasks and walks away...to his own book. In San Francisco, Damian confronts Wallace: both felt they had been right, but Damian fires him from the team, in Teen Titans #9. (How many #9's has Teen Titans had? And just as "Teen Titans," and not "New" or anything else?) And in Titans #12, Wally may owe Damian a kick in the ass, since his timeline had changed and he now had a pacemaker for his damaged heart, and had had it for years. And going on as Flash could kill him, which seems like a callback to his status around Crisis on Infinite Earths. 

Last Deathstroke post I mentioned we might look at something, and this wasn't it! But maybe eventually we'll get to another, with him and Damian for good measure. I've read a couple of his Teen Titans book, and my god, it's like the worst aspects of 90's Batman running the show: bossy, short, emotionally distant, manipulative. I think the idea is to show him learning and changing, but it's slow-going. Real slow. If you've ever been frustrated with Impulse's impulse control or Superboy's hormones; both of them seemed to grow out of it way faster than Damian is from his worst aspects.

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Not a "Dark Horse" favorite, this one. (BOO!)

Dark Horse Comics actually reprinted this one in the Chronicles of Conan #27, but we've got a tattered original today: From 1988, Conan the Barbarian #209, "Dark Horse" Plot and script by James (Priest) Owsley, plot and pencils by Val Semeiks, finishes by Alfredo Alcala.

Priest had been the book's regular writer since Conan #172 in 1985, and he was winding down his run here by wrapping up some loose ends. For one, although the Devourer of Souls had been defeated (sort of) around issue #200, his winged horse was still on the loose. Waiting for his master, the horse didn't like people any more than the Devourer did, and was taking it out on anyone that he happened upon. He had also taken over all the local horses into his herd; which puts Conan in a bind when he's ready to ride the hell out of the Kothian city-state Syreb. Although he had friends there, it was time to move on; and his relationship with warrior woman Anneka was over: she had thought Conan had cheated on her with the young former harem girl Sevante and became involved with the prince Kobe. They both felt pretty guilty about that, especially considering Conan had not cheated. Conan doesn't seem to hold a grudge, though.

Forced to face the dark horse if he wanted any steed, Conan gets himself ready for the hunt, and is impressed by the beast's cunning. After a mighty struggle, Conan manages to choke out the horse in mid-air, and is knocked out in the fall, but awakens to discover he earned the horse's respect. He considers the horse just an animal, not a devil, and was going to ride out on him...

...until the local prince's men fill the horse full of arrows! I'm pissed just reading this, so you'd think Conan would be full of murderous rage. Instead, he's merely steamed that he led the poor thing to slaughter, but does have to admit "magical beasts have no place in the world of civilized men." With a new, plain horse; Conan bids his companions farewell, and rides off to new adventures. But he would see one of them shortly...Huh, I thought the next issue was Priest's last, but no, he would be on until #213.
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Aw, I was hoping Tex drew this one.

Still, he wasn't the only selling point here: from 2000, Legends of the DC Universe #30-#32, "The 18th Letter" Written by Christopher Priest, pencils by Pablo Raimondi and Karl Waller, inks by Mark McKenna and Jason Baumgartner, covers by Mark Texeira.

An ethnic war is probably complicated enough, but as Wonder Woman tries to stop this one more and more tangles appear. World War II heroine Fury returns, claiming to be Diana's sister. The head of one of the factions, General Lysander, offers a truce: he'll stop the war, if Diana will spend the night with him. Not like that, although that's what everyone thinks, including seemingly her JLA teammate Superman. Batman also makes an appearance to offer some counsel and behind-the-scenes help; but also to underline a theme of this story: if Wonder Woman's primary mission was to teach man's world about peace, it did not seem to be taking root. (Bats, for example, had known Diana for years, but was still a crabby, distrustful bastard.)

Moreover, 'Lysander' isn't what he seems, and had organized this entire war just to get close to Diana: he's really Alcmaeon, a deep-cut from Greek mythology. Accounts vary, but they seem to agree he had committed matricide and possibly polygamy; he's portrayed as supposedly charming but I don't know if I see it. (I feel like the research for this one would've been a lot tougher than the Google search I just did, though.) Similarly, Fury had a mission and a purpose and a completely unrelated insanity. This wasn't bad at all, but just didn't quite make it to really good.

Still, there's a very nice Lois and Clark line in the second chapter, and while momentarily it seemed like Superman is possessed or something in the third, it may just be he's possessive. There's a germ of an idea there: Supes tries to be supportive but can't trust Diana's decision, while Batman may completely disagree with everything but he'll still back her play. At least that's how I read it this evening: Priest leaves enough grey that you could feel differently reading it later, which isn't nothing.
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Forget "Must There Be a Superman," Must There Be a Kingpin?

This was from a somewhat famously muddled time in the book's history, but also features a plot point that would drive me insane every single time it came up; neither of which I'm going to lay on the creative team here! From 1987, Amazing Spider-Man #288, "Gang War Rages On!" Written by Jim (Priest) Owlsey, pencils by Alan Kupperberg, inks by Jim Fern.

We're up to the fifth part of this non-crossover storyline, and Spidey's yawning on the splash page...that may not be a good sign, or it could be a great dig! With the Kingpin gone, the various criminal factions of the city have been shooting each other up, and "in the midst of the violence and bloodshed, a lone man struggles to contain the fighting...the amazing Spider-Man!" That makes it sound like the rest of NYC was hiding under their beds, and even ignores the guest-stars helping out here, Daredevil, Falcon, and the Black Cat. The Punisher also appeared, but as more of an antagonist, as Spidey was trying to keep him from murdering the hell out of assorted gangsters. Spidey was also surprisingly pissed at Daredevil, who was trying to big picture this gang war, while Spidey just wanted to finally bring Kingpin down. Falcon points out here that DD may have been more than a bit condescending to Spidey, and he's not done yet, either.

The Kingpin returns here, several steps ahead of everyone else: he makes like he's going to have his various lieutenants killed, but that's both a deal with the feds to take back his throne, and a distraction to give him time to get his ailing wife Vanessa out of the country. Spidey is pissed at getting played again, but a sad Daredevil feels like it was a necessary evil to end the gang war. Also this issue: Mary Jane shows up at Peter's, and isn't thrilled that the Black Cat is there making breakfast. It's perfectly innocent, but Cat still refers to her as "Molly Jo." I don't think that was catty or mean, she legit may not have cared enough to remember...

There's also a veritable fish market of red herrings: Ned Leeds visits Lance Bannon, who seems to have a ton of Hobgoblin photos; then Lance sees Flash Thompson hiding out at Betty Brant's place. (It's not really "hiding out" when you wave out the window!) The Hobgoblin then finds and roughs up Flash, yet still leaves him when Betty arrives. Hobby then crashes Jack O'Lantern's hideout, but their fight is interrupted by Alfredo! Maybe I didn't say it in a dramatic enough voice: Alfredo! The Rose's sidekick or something. Despite his lack of name recognition, Alfredo very nearly takes out the Hobgoblin with an electronic jammer that knocks out his glider and weapons; but Jack saves Hobby because he wants to be the one to kill him. Hobby bails, planning to kill those two later, but the next issue box promised the "No Tricks! No Gimmicks!" reveal of his identity. At least five letter-writers guess Ned Leeds here, and partial credit, I guess? Ned would be killed in Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1, but in Amazing #289 would be revealed to be the Hobgoblin posthumously. The link there explains some of the boondoggle: Priest was going to go with the Foreigner, but Peter David didn't think that made sense, so they went with Ned Leeds instead: years later, original Hobgoblin writer/co-creator Roger Stern would return for the Hobgoblin Lives mini-series, which revealed-slash-retconned Roderick Kingsley as the original Hobgoblin. (I didn't buy it regularly, but I did have Hobby's first appearance and read most of those, and there was a real menace in his appearances up to maybe #261 or so; before he was 'unmasked' as Flash Thompson. That was a trick; Hobby had dressed Flash up and left him to be captured; but it felt like some wheel-spinning after that. Not unlike the Clone Saga, the Spidey writers may have hit a good thing but not known when or how to wrap it up.)


And it's not even the Hobgoblin stuff that kills me, it's the Kingpin. I hate hate hate the way Marvel kept pushing that Kingpin was "too big to fail," that taking him out (either by arrest or murder) would lead to a crime-apocalypse. Yes, I get that he's too good a villain to just have the Punisher shoot him in the face, but he, DD, and Spidey all had that story where they couldn't bring him down, and it made them all look like powerless tools.

I thought there was a Batman story with that title, but might've been thinking of Superman #247, "Must There Be a Superman?" Oh, look, the Guardians of the Universe being dicks, what a surprise. Well, a surprise they're in Superman, not the dick part.
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Join the Avengers, they said. It'll be fun, they said. Feh!

Admittedly, the team didn't have Cap or Thor at the moment, and Iron Man was using a virtual antique of a suit, but still. On to the second part of "Cat Trap," from 2000, Black Panther #23, "More of that Business with the Avengers" Written by (Christopher) Priest, pencils by Sal Velluto, inks by Bob Almond.

After capturing (mostly off-panel) Deadpool, Titania, and Constrictor; the Avengers were on their way to Wakanda, with current Black Panther Erik Killmonger, to recover the kidnapped Avenger Triathlon and Killmonger's emotional support leopard Preyy. The Wakandan air force is not thrilled about having their airspace invaded, and while the Avengers want to talk it out, Killmonger angrily tells them that's the wrong tactic: this was his turf.

Meanwhile, Triathlon and Preyy are guests of the Reverend Michael Ibn Al-Hajj Achebe and his puppet Daki, who has brought them to Wakanda for the same reason he now brings Deadpool there: to stir up trouble. (Constrictor and Titania are none too thrilled with Pool at being left behind...!) Pool wants his cash and his puppet, but Achebe placates him with a new costume and "a little errand." First, Pool does have a brief conversation with Triathlon, who realizes Pool is missing something in his life, but was also basically a Scientologist so maybe don't take advice from him.

The Avengers and Killmonger want to see T'Challa, who was still recovering from his injuries deep in the techno-jungle beneath Wakanda, where the signal from Preyy's tracker now leads them. Although previously T'Challa had said this would be the real fight, he sits this one out, letting his Hatut Zeraze secret police (who look like white Panthers) defend the techno-jungle. Killmonger had apparently honestly wanted to be an Avenger, to bridge his worlds of America and Wakanda, but is just left frustrated with a team he sees as by-and-large useless and honorless: facing Pool in single combat, he's angered when they try to help. Pool and Killmonger scuffle for a bit, but the fight peters out when they're expelled from the techno-jungle: Pool wasn't going to kill him, and Killmonger realizes his plans were impeding Achebe's, who may have wanted T'Challa back in power for his own reasons. Pool suggests that maybe neither of them can change, even when they try; but Killmonger probably doesn't believe his "secret to life":

Pool teleports out, and Triathlon is recovered after a conversation with an unseen T'Challa, so the Avengers at least know he's alive. Killmonger wants nothing more to do with the "gutless" Avengers, but Everett Ross, current regent of the throne of Wakanda, surreptitiously asks if he can catch a ride back to America, only to be told his citizenship had been revoked by the State Department! And still in the techno-jungle, T'Challa finds two of his Hatut Zeraze dead, killed by Killmonger's girl Malice...!

A lot happens at the end there, but we don't see Preyy back with Killmonger! There may be a reason for that, and I don't like it. I really need to re-read the rest of these, since Killmonger's plotline would go on, on-and-off, for over a year, before he was killed by someone I wouldn't have expected! He's come back before, though; he may be due again. Achebe was created by Priest, and he describes the character as "the Joker to the Panther's Batman," but I'm not sure if any other writers have used him. I don't think he ever paid Deadpool either, so Pool comes away with nothing, which is a not-entirely-uncommon outcome for him.


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Ugh, success went to the Panther's head...

Sometimes I wish I planned ahead around here a little more, since I had thought about blogging these issues prior to seeing Black Panther; but this might have worked out better anyway. Today we've got the first part of "Cat Trap," from 2000, Deadpool #44, "Cat Trap (or: Wakanda Merc Are You?)" Written by (Christopher) Priest, pencils by James (Jim) Calafiore, inks by Jon Holdredge.

Priest was writing both Deadpool and Black Panther at the time, so a crossover between the two seems reasonable enough, but I don't think I can understate how idiosyncratic and unique both were then. He had rebuilt T'Challa and his whole world, and introduced viewpoint character Everett K. Ross for the Panther's Marvel Knights book; while in Deadpool he picked up what was left after Joe Kelly's run and went a completely different direction. Pool was living with "roommates" the Constrictor and Titania, who he describes here as willing to "...kill me for a sack of gummy bears!" He liked having people around, but didn't necessarily want to get attached to or count on them. Also, he had "Thom Cruz's" face, after a somewhat convoluted encounter with Loki. Meanwhile, T'Challa was injured and recovering from his loss to Erik Killmonger: while he was still king, Killmonger was now chieftain--and Black Panther! The Avengers had been trying to reach T'Challa, to see what was up with that.

To throw more fuel on the fire, this issue has the Reverend Michael Ibn al-hajj Achebe (a Panther villain, described as "a kook of the first order," with a hand-puppet in his likeness named Daki) hire Deadpool to recover his beloved pet leopard Ukatana. This is a lie, and Pool knows it, but is self-destructive enough to take the job anyway. Or maybe he just wanted to keep Daki. The leopard was in fact Killmonger's companion Preyy, and was currently playing frisbee with Triathlon on the lawn of Avengers Mansion, while inside Tony Stark, Hank Pym, and Janet Van Dyne try to figure out what, if anything, they should do with Killmonger; who seemed to show up there like Black Panther was a post on the team. (Tony nixes that, saying the team voted in the man, not "the office of Black Panther.") Pool shows up, unmasked and posing as an animal control officer (with a slight aside to another of Priest's characters!) and slips a teleportation device on Preyy; which also takes Triathlon with it. The exit portion of Pool's plan is not as well thought out, as the Avengers have some questions for him.

Outside the mansion, Titania (who has a secret we won't go into here!) and Constrictor wait for their signal, while Achebe uses an image inducer to pass himself off as T'Challa and calls Tony. (Who himself was using an inducer to appear in armor!) Achebe's just muddying the waters here, telling Tony to go ahead and induct Killmonger and not worry about Wakandan doings and largely blowing him off. Pool is mostly having fun fighting the Avengers, since, as often happened in Priest's run, "I've convinced myself none of this is actually happening!"

He's also impressed with Killmonger, and his moves!

Pool and his crew try to escape, in an ice cream truck with the music stuck on; and it becomes readily apparent Achebe screwed them over: he's gone, and Preyy and Triathlon have been teleported to Wakanda. T'Challa is told of both that and the Avengers trying to reach him, but says to ignore them both, since the real fight was tomorrow...

This feels more like a Black Panther issue than a Deadpool one, and we'll see if the reverse is true when we check out the conclusion. It was also Priest's second-to-last issue of Deadpool, next month he and Calafiore would wrap up Titania's secret, Pool's face, and the villain behind some of his current problems. The latter is somewhat incidental, Deadpool was responsible for most of his problems...
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