Is Impulse somehow a load-bearing piece of Legion continuity now? Grife, the future is in trouble...

We've blogged them in no particular order, but this is the last of the Legends of the Dead Earth annuals! And one of maybe two that was actually in regular DC Universe continuity at the time. Which, of course, means sprocking nothing nowadays...maybe. From 1996, Legionnaires Annual #3, "The Long Road Home" Written by Roger Stern, pencils by Charles (Chuck) Wojtkiewicz, Dan Jurgens, and Tony Castillo; inks by John Lowe, Don Hillsman, Dexter Vines, and Ron Boyd. Cover by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer!

I'd have to think pretty hard to counter this, but XS might be the last addition to the Legion of Super-Heroes that seemed to really stick? The Flash family legacy didn't hurt her, either: there aren't many Legionnaires that have appeared in live-action! But, today Jenni is stuck in 1996, after a time-travel mishap, and while she enjoyed getting to see her cousin Impulse and her grandma Iris, she wanted to get home, so Jay Garrick and 27th century Flash John Fox help her out with the Cosmic Treadmill. Which, as it sometimes did, fails her; as she lands further in the past (or, at least we would've assumed it was the past, then...) by her grandpa, Barry Allen! Who had been working on the Treadmill, to try and get some records back from his college dorm, which might be the most humanizing sentence I've read for Barry in ages. While Barry is glad to meet her, they both know she can't hang out, and Jenni is sad that she'd probably never see him again, as he helps her build up speed for the trip back to the future.

Unfortunately, this time Jenni overshoots, landing in the 100th century! Which is the fairly standard dystopia with robot enforcers, although they take an interest in XS as "unlicensed." She manages to avoid being 'downsized,' shrunken by the robots, but is captured and thrown in the 'Tombs,' advanced cells for earth's remaining super-powered individuals. The powerless heroes explain, the current overlord Nevlor had gotten rich selling "image enhancements," then got powerful enough to force those with powers to be licensed, or downsized, then replaced with younger knockoffs. There's some commentary here, it's subtle...As are the future heroes, who are variations on the Avengers, led by Gary Concord, the Ultra-Man! (Assume I said "not that one" here...) That's a callback to All-American Comics #8 from 1939! Gary had been a scientist, put in suspended animation in 1950, woke up in 2174, back in suspended animation here. Jenni is less freaked out about any of that, than the fact she was no longer on earth, but Almeer-5; and that earth (and the United Planets!) had been gone for centuries. (And, an aside: when I said it was subtle, I wasn't kidding: I thought it was just a jab at Image creators Lee and Liefeld on Marvel's Heroes Reborn, but 'Nevlor' is an anagram of Revlon, which owned Marvel for a bit! 'Almeer-V' is close-enough for 'Marvel' as well.)

At super-speed, Jenni is able to disable the bomb-collar on the Hulk-alike Behemoth, and then breaks out to buy time for Metallica and Avatar (again, not that...oh, nevermind) to get their respective gear, and Ultra-Man. The heroes have to fight their horrible replacements, and ask Jenni to stay and help form a new Legion, but she still wants to get home. Avatar lends her the Spear of Destiny (actually, yeah, that one!) to try and guide her through time: Jenni runs with it, to get going in the right direction, then lets it return to Avatar. But again, she finds herself even further in the future, at Vanishing Point, home of the Linear Men! Here, no one else can see her, even when her uncle Jay appears--mid-Zero Hour! Not a great day for Jay, as we see one of his JSA pals zorched in the background. The only one that can see Jenni, is a strange hooded figure, who describes himself as "Trapped" in "Time". Either Jenni slept through villain-identification at the Legion, or they hadn't run into the Time Trapper in post-Zero Hour continuity--if this was the same Trapper, or not, who could say? The Trapper does advise that time is not an absolute for ones like them, and also, the Linear Men suck: they tended to see things in black-and-white and probably would look down at her bouncing around time. The Trapper further reveals, he was responsible for Jenni's whole trip, to teach her something, which she won't be allowed to remember right now. Feels like that defeats the purpose, but sure. Jenni is returned to the 30th century, just a few weeks after she left, none the worse for wear. 

 I forget if this is still in continuity--probably not?--but pre-Flashpoint/New 52 Iris West was born in the 30th century but raised in the 20th. She would be killed by Reverse-Flash but brought back in a new body in the future, where she would have kids with Barry before he left to die in the original Crisis on Infinite Earths. (Said kids would be killed ignobly by the Dominators, in a brief back-up in the Five Years Later era.) Her grandson, Bart, was born with superspeed and aging super-fast, so she took him back to the 20th century to get help from the current Flash, Wally West. Jenni knew Bart: she had probably visited him in the virtual reality he lived in, in the 30th century. (Oddly, Brainiac 5 also knew Bart from the virtual reality, although was far less fond of him.) It's a lot of little dominoes to stack up to get to Impulse, who presumably existed around the time of the Legion; and he's back in current continuity more-or-less as his old self. I know every writer wants to do their own thing, put their own spin on it, but I'd keep XS in the Legion every reboot! I suggest just having her pop! out of the timesteam, and wonder what the grife happened there. Bonus points if she's still drawn in the cheery Jeffrey Moy style! 

Oh, and going through the tags again: the Starman Annual might have been in continuity, if the Shade is a reliable narrator; but I was thinking of the Power of Shazam one, since Thunder went back in time to join the Legion of Super-Heroes! And honestly, the Justice League America Annual could be in continuity as well, because that does seem like the other thing that routinely happens to Captain Atom. (Popping into the room, Captain Atom: "I made it! I'm back from the future!" J'onn, not looking up from his Chocos: "Uh-huh. And who was the bad guy this time?" CA, sheepishly: "...Booster." J'onn: "Uh-huh.")

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Oh, man, I hope Beatriz still flies around like that. Clears out the sinuses!

This is a pretty banged-up copy, but a moderately important one! From 1979, Super Friends #25, "Puppets of the Overlord!" Written by E. Nelson Bridwell, pencils by Ramona Fradon, inks by Bob Smith.

It always strikes me, when I get a random old issue of Super Friends; that it was in theory the younger reader, kid-friendly version of the characters, based on the cartoon; yet still leaned surprisingly heavily on continuity and lore, even events and characters not seen on the show. Today, bad guy Overlord (really the second Overlord, the first had maybe been his puppet, or was maybe now a puppet) had taken over a small nation and was using its resources against the Super Friends, starting with a "thought-induction helmet." Since the JLA satellite was too far away and he didn't know the heroes' secret identities, Overlord strikes at them at the Hall of Justice, located in scenic Gotham City! The assembled heroes go off the rails for justice, with Batman and Superman, frustrated at having to work within the law, opting instead to take over North and South America, respectively. Aquaman realizes all the mistakes he made as King of Atlantis, and decides to correct them by taking over all the undersea kingdoms; while Wonder Woman opts to free the oppressed women of Africa, and the Wonder Twins choose to bring their superior alien culture to Eurasia. Oh and Robin goes to Australia, where he has a run-in with Tasmanian Devil--no, not that one, you know it's not! 

Batman heads up to the JLA satellite, where he immediately has to gas Green Lantern for not being onboard with his plan. Likewise, Wonder Woman throws down with her "black sister" Nubia in Africa, and Superman knocks out Beatriz Bonilla da Costa, aka the Green Fury, better known to us as Fire, in her first appearance! Her flaming--and, inexplicably, freezing--breath does nothing to the Man of Steel, so not a great start for her. Aquaman takes out Mera and Aqualad, to keep their "old-fashioned morality" from getting in his way, while Jan and Jayna's plan to rule hits a snag when they address a crowd somewhere in "the Arabian Peninsula" that didn't speak English. But, Seraph, the hero of Israel shows up to help--look, it was a different time, alright? Although even so I'm wondering what he was doing there. When Jan and Jayna change form, they snap back to their usual selves, and realize that's how they can save the other Super Friends, by changing them to their civilian identities. Except, Aquaman didn't have one, so he was going to be tougher, especially since the team had to fight him plainclothes! (A bit of lip service is paid to protecting their identities: if anyone saw this fight, it was just going to be Atlanteans, who were telepathic and could've found out anyway, if they cared.)

Aquaman puts up a solid fight, using a squid to get a Kryptonite meteorite to keep Clark out of it, then he no-sales a Green Lantern battering-ram by letting it hit him in the back of the head: his blonde hair was yellow and immune to the power ring's yellow impurity! Diana however is able to contact Mera to pop him one, and the magic lasso cures everyone of the mind-control effect, but they don't know who was behind it. Meanwhile, Overlord ponders his next attack, while one of his puppets seemingly taunts him...

Also this issue: another of DC's title-specific subscription ads; and their Daily Planet hype page! Man, I miss the latter: I know they tried to do something in that vein with "Channel 52" for a while, but it's not the same.

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I may have groaned loudly at the reveal in this one, so now I'm passing it on to you! Uh, you're welcome. From 1977, Adventure Comics #453, "You Too Can Be a Super Hero!" Written by Bob Rozakis, pencils by John Calnan, inks by Murphy Anderson.

Returning from a visit to the Legion in the 30th century, Superboy makes a quick pass by Camp Smallville, where he saves a young girl from drowning before swinging back into town to change into Clark Kent and then return to camp. The girl gets grounded in her bunk by her older brother Anthony, and wishes she was a superhero herself: oh, how she'd make them pay then...Luckily for her, Superboy had brought back a magic crystal from Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #230, and things might be happening. Later that night, she's forced to go out to the campfire with the other kids, as Lana Lang tells a ghost story, with Clark and Pete Ross ready to jump out and scare them...with sheets over their heads, real low production values, guys. Transforming into Mighty Girl, the little girl clobbers ghost-Clark, with a punch that would've killed a regular kid. Switching to Superboy, he's able to get back to save Pete, with the usual lie that he had already 'saved' poor Clark. Next, with a fire spreading, Mighty Girl tries to stop it but instead spreads it with super-breath. (Aside: I feel like DC did this one every so often, where a girl gets the hero's powers but just causes problems with them. I suppose most super-powers took some practice, and an 11-year-old with Superboy's powers would be trouble, but it still felt pretty condescending and sexist.)

While Mighty Girl is ready to fight for her powers, Superboy throws the crystal into the sun to destroy it, taking them away. He tries to explain that you couldn't get super-powers by wishing, but training and experience were needed. Only briefly daunted, the little girl pipes up that she will be a super-heroine someday, and that little girl was...Barbara Gordon? The closing caption box asks if you put together the clues; which I didn't really see? Her brother Tony had maybe two appearances pre-Crisis, that's not much of a clue.

Also this issue: an Aqualad short, "Aqualad--Who is Thy Father!" (Written by Paul Kupperberg, pencils by Carl Potts, inks by Joe Rubenstein.) The Idylists of the underwater Hidden Valley have been stonewalling Aqualad, about who his father really was; refusing to reveal the secret, or the Hidden Valley would be doomed, and where would you get your ranch dressing then? (Boo!) Read more!

Ideally, the next one is "Timecrime," hopefully with Black Cat!

This is like a preview book, but also unlike one: from 2025, Timeslide #1, written by Steve Foxe, art by Ivan Fiorelli.

The main plot here is Bishop and Cable, teamed up to try and save Tempus, from the latest living weapon from the time-stretching Children of the Vault, Vacuna. (I think I've read all of two comics with Tempus in a speaking part, and was confusing her with the MLF's Tempo.) Mostly though, it's a framework to hang glimpses of the future, coming in the next year or so from Marvel! Or not, some of the future peeks are probably red herrings, or won't make it past later revisions. Skipped to a dark, techno-virus infested future, Bishop and Cable meet Bronze, who might be one of the last X-Men; and she gives them a list of events they should maybe do something about...no? Bishop at least acts like he wants to help, but Cable is more focused on the job at hand and kind of blows Bronze off.

Separated, Bishop and Cable land at earlier points in each other's timelines, to get a look at the tragedies that made them. Convenient! That gives them a little more appreciation, which leads to better teamwork, and they manage to loop Vacuna back on himself. The Children's Caretaker is given a harsh lecture about how the mutants adapted, and always would; although it's mildly unbelievable that Cable wouldn't immediately just put two bullets in him instead. Before leaving, Tempus advises them to forget the future teases they saw...I'm not sure how many I remember, that actually came about yet? And looking back at that list, at least four are Spider-Man storylines/problems; good luck getting help from Bishop and Cable there. (I'd actually love to see that, because they'd be both really condescending and completely unhelpful. "Have you considered just shooting the Rhino?" "Yeah, he's just a guy in a suit, he's not actually endangered." "Thanks, I got it, guys.")

Back in '22, Marvel did Timeless, which was not unlike this one except it featured Kang. Then another Timeless in 2023--still a #1, for that matter, as was Timeless #1 in 2024! I do have one of those three, although I didn't buy it new either; but it was handy for a reason...I think these remind me of some of the DC loss-leader/preview books, like Brave New World, but that was more a framing device around preview pages.  

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Because it's been 100 years since I've played Maximum Carnage, I couldn't recall if Carrion was in the game--a brief aside--oh, who am I kidding, this whole blog is nothing but asides, maybe eventually it'll loop back around to a point--never get rid of old game systems! I should've horded my old ColecoVision, NES, Sega Genesis...Anyway, Carrion: out of Carnage's little found (Manson) family, he's the only one that hasn't got an action figure; which is mildly odd since he would complete the set and I'm pretty sure most of the parts are there for him. On the other hand, he's a creepy ghoul made creepier by his origin, which was retconned mid-stream and then again multiple times since! There's no hint of that here--or is there?--unless you count the title, which I thought was just a riff on a song I don't particularly like. From 1978, Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #25, "Carrion, My Wayward Son!" Written by Bill Mantlo, pencils by Jim Mooney, inks by Frank Springer.

This was Carrion's first appearance, and he's already waving a Spider-Man mask around: I was mildly curious where he would've got that, since he couldn't just go to a store or anything. No shirt, no service! He's making a pitch to the Mafia er, Maggia; and maybe even wrote up a little proposal, to kill Spider-Man; but I'm not sure what Carrion actually wanted from them? Financial backing, maybe? Some goons? Lunches? The current Maggia boss, Big M, the Masked Marauder, votes no; but also that Carrion knew too much about their activities, and would have to die. Some of the aforementioned goons surround him, and probably could've destroyed Carrion if they had called his 'pouch' a murse instead. From that, Carrion throws "Red Death" dust at them, killing several, then also displays other powers, like seeming intangibility and levitation. (Carrion's carry-on bag seems familiar, like the Green Goblin's...) Big M thinks Carrion could be a threat to him, and Carrion disappears, "leaving behind the stench of brimstone--" Hey, don't steal from Nightcrawler!

Meanwhile, Spidey himself was having almost a midlife crisis, with all his usual problems like Aunt May in the hospital, Mary Jane turned down his proposal, he didn't graduate with the rest of his class, and there were new heroes on the scene (Nova!) that were the age he was when he started. How long could he stay Spider-Man, with no teammates to back him up like that scrub Johnny Storm? It feels like they might have been trying to either get him some back-up, or more likely spin-off another book, as White Tiger gets three pages next; before Big M, his "expendable" thugs, and his robot start robbing a bank. (Everyone knows the thugs are expendable, even the thugs; but don't tell them that!) Spidey is surprised by the robot's transformation from a bird-drone form to humanoid (not like a Transformer, more like it just changes) then gets zapped by the Masked Marauder's "opti-blasts," blinding him! To be continued...in some issues that are going to be tougher to find, since they guest-star Daredevil, and Frank Miller did the art for PP,TSSM #27 and breakdowns for #28. (Two odd coincidences: Daredevil #158 was Miller's first, and it featured Death-Stalker, another villian with intangibility; and both PP,TSSM #27 and DD #158 had Dave Cockrum covers!)

I think Carrion is pushed a bit to the side for the next two issues, like he spends them lurking about, or maybe monologues about how he can't kill Spidey yet because he wants him to see it coming. Or, he might have been punted out a couple more issues, since Marv Wolfman maybe pushed back on Mantlo's original plan for Carrion: he was going to be the desiccated clone of Peter Parker, using the gear of the then-dead Green Goblin! Well, his bag, at least. So, before it got that far, Carrion was changed to be merely a clone of Miles Warren, the Jackal. Fine. Except, a later retcon in Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #8 claimed that Warren never achieved true cloning, since how would he have transferred memories to the clones? Instead he had created a virus that could change a person to a genetic copy of someone else...oh, that's way simpler. I think the idea was that cloning would've been beyond Warren, and the virus story explains away the Gwen Stacy clone as an innocent girl who got 'jacked into it; but it creates other problems: were Carrion, and Ben Reilly, and Kaine, all people before getting altered? And none of that explains how Carrion, who looks like an angry corpse, got powers completely unrelated to anything: intangibility, flight, teleportation? He's a mess and of course there's been like three other versions of him, because comics. Read more!

Me too, random subway guy, me too.

The Demolisher's arm on the cover reminds me of something--it's basically a big gun with a knife stuck to it. Also, now I'm annoyed that I have a mess of Deathlok figures, but they don't have modifications like that! I oughta at least get them some ratty cloaks or something. From 1994, Deathlok #32, "Cyberstrike, part 2 of 4: Into the Past" Written by Gregory Wright, pencils by Kevin Kobasic, inks by Greg Adams.

We mentioned this one years ago, when we looked at the last issue, the conclusion of this storyline. Now I've got two of the four issues of "Cyberstrike," and the Captain America issues this is running in the background of; and I still don't have a firm grip on what's happening. The cyborg formerly from the future, formerly known as Deathlok, now the Demolisher, was working with Timestream to alter their future, starting with killing Cap and the clone of Luther Manning. The Demolisher isn't really sure about this, but his future does suck pretty bad, so...They are stopped by the present Deathlok Michael Collins, shirtless future redemption-seeker Godwulf, and big Marine cyborg Siege. Lot of cyborg scrum this issue, Cap's mission goes on uninterrupted (in the distant past of 1983, hence the Return of the Jedi poster seen in the subway!) and the issue ends with several characters sent to maybe an even worse future.

Last time we also mentioned the USPS Statement of Ownership: "C. Total Paid and/or requested Circulation (sum of 10B1 and 10B2): Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 106,938. Actual no. copies single issue nearest to filing date: 54,385." The book was running out the clock at this point, I'm afraid; even though Wright would use the Demolisher again in Daredevil #336. Read more!

I feel the same way about Batman comics sometimes, Bruce, but I keep coming back too.

Batman, being a detective in the past: Hmm, this millionaire was murdered, in a locked room! But how...my only clue, is this broken saxophone reed! Batman, being a detective in the present: 147 people have just been murdered, and now I have to crack this international terrorist ring before they destroy London! I'm only slightly exaggerating, and I feel like I'm going to seem way harder on this book than I may actually be: from 2021, Batman: the Detective #1, written by Tom Taylor, art by Andy Kubert. This is the fancy 1-in-25 retailer exclusive Riccardo Federici cover, but we're still cramming it in the scanner!

This isn't in regular continuity, but it may have taken me a while to realize it. It opens with a group of terrorists, in white Batman cowls, blowing up a plane; telling the victims this was Batman's fault. The terrorists bail out, with the current Knight of England still trying to fight them, and she's hurt on the landing and then shot. Back in Gotham, an older, and less suave than usual Batman wonders, what has he actually accomplished? Has he stopped crime, made Gotham safer, or even made it a better place to live? No, no, and um, no. He felt he had saved people, individuals, and that was about it. There is a page of Bruce, leaving Wayne Manor, and wondering if he would ever return; that I thought was from current, Alfred-less continuity. Bruce is stubbled and his haircut seems almost military, a far cry from his jet-setting playboy look! But you get the feeling he spends about zero time as 'Bruce,' so...

Investigating the plane crash, Batman is joined by the current Squire, who asks him to check on the Knight: not just question her about what happened, see how she was. They are interrupted by the now-monstrous Gentleman Ghost, who's there to eat the fear of the recently dead, and maybe Batman's as well. He instead gets punched out, which does impress the Squire; as Bats tells the Knight later. But, the cowled terrorists--Equilibrium, one says--attack the hospital, after the Knight. They're tough enough to give Batman pause, although he manages to snare one to shake answers out of later; but Batman does discover something when cross-referencing the list of victims: they had all previously been rescued by Batman. Someone was undoing his work... 

 A good chunk of the rest of the series, is seemingly a redemption arc for Henri Ducard, one of Bruce's trainers, and not the most upstanding of them. We saw him in his debut in Detective Comics #599, midway through 'Blind Justice.' He seemed less ethically gray there, more of a straight baddie: here, Taylor portrays him as maybe occasionally offing somebody, that probably had it coming, which of course wouldn't sit well with Batman either. Ducard does maybe teach Batman something else here, though: manhunting doesn't have to be a solo gig, networking is important! Still, I never love how the stakes in these things has been raised and raised and raised: a mere murder isn't enough anymore, we have to have a planeful just to get things started.

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A Legionnaire is going to what, Nura? I didn't catch that last part.

I wasn't sure if I still had this--OK, I probably do--and I also probably could've bought the better formatting out of the same dollar bin, but this was where I started. Or close to it! From 1985, Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #326, reprinting 1984's Legion of Super-Heroes #1, "Here a Villain, There a Villain..." Plot and story by Paul Levitz, plot and pencils by Keith Giffen, inks by Larry Mahlstedt.

This was the point where Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes (formerly Legion of Super-Heroes, formerly Superboy & the Legion of Superheroes, formerly Superboy...) became a reprint title, for the direct-market Baxter paper Legion of Super-Heroes. I had read some old issues at a relative's years prior, and I think I had maybe been reading the Best of DC Legion reprint digests for a bit, so why not hop on here? Unfortunately, for this issue at least, I'm don't think the print quality was as good as the Baxter series: I'm pretty sure my old copy has the same error as the start of the post, where Dream Girl predicts that a Legionnaire was going to die. (You could probably guess from the context!)

On a mysterious world, in a thunderstorm, Lightning Lord makes a solemn pledge over a Mayan-looking stone tablet, with the incongruous symbols for the Legionnaires on it, to kill a Legionnaire. Namely, his brother, Lightning Lad; but he wasn't the only one taking a vow there, as the Legion of Super-Villains had made a big membership push: for a long time, the LSV had been Lightning Lord, Cosmic King, and Saturn Queen; with Saturn Queen reforming in one of the "Adult Legion" stories in Superman. This issue alone, the LSV recruits Micro Lad, teleporting him away after catching a long-deserved beating by Shrinking Violet: they had history! The retired Light Lass (Lightning Lad's twin sister) is captured by Radiation Roy (he catches flak for his name later in the story!) while on the prison world Takron-Galtos, a team of Legionnaires is called in to stop a massive prison break, led by Daxamite kid-slash-Darkseid worshipper Ol-Vir. Mon-El seems ready to beat the stuffing out of the brat, but Ol-Vir and several other criminals, are teleported away...(I don't recall if he's seen directly in the Great Darkness Saga, but Ol-Vir either never broke Darkseid's hold on him, or was a psychopath before then.) 

This issue reads just fine coming in relatively cold, but is chock full of continuity for those who had been reading for a while: I wouldn't realize until much later, but several of the LSV's new members were former Legion applicants, from Superboy #212 in 1975! (I feel like a lot of the LSV members were former tryouts! Feelings could have been hurt, and the LSV may be more accepting.) But, if this issue had clues as to where the LSV was, or what Legionnaire was doomed; I hadn't been reading long enough to get those yet. (I don't think I read any stories with said doomed Legionnaire, until his last!)

Bonus: from Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #325, here's the bespoke subscription ad for the Baxter book, with art by Dan Jurgens and Karl Kesel. I'm used to Marvel's generic, linewide sub ads, rather than the specific ones DC used to do, usually with the heroes directly addressing the reader: "Buy my book! Everyone else can shift for themselves..."

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It is baller as hell to get Pérez on the cover here.

I feel like I didn't see a ton of Mighty Mouse cartoons as a kid--although I'm pretty sure I watched Heckle & Jeckle at least occasionally, so I don't see how I would've missed it...? Also, here's a book I never expected to find cheap, if only because I'm not sure the sales were ever huge for it. From 1991, Mighty Mouse #5, "The Final Fate of the Flashback!" Written by Michael Gallagher, pencils by Ernie Colón, inks by Marie Severin. Cover by Ernie Colón and the great George Pérez, a parody of Crisis on Infinite Earths #12.

Shoot, Pérez also did the cover for the previous issue, a riff on Crisis #7, with a ton of cartoon characters I'm not sure Marvel had the rights to...This issue would conclude the two-issue "Mices on Infinite Earths," as Mighty Mouse tries to come back after the death of Mighty Mousette, who perished in battle with the Anti-Minotaur. Knowing he was no match for the Anti-Minotaur and his own alternate universe counterpart Mangy Mouse; MM was forced to get help, including his buddy Bat-Bat, Prince Samor the Sub-Plotter from a previous issue, and old foe the Cow, from back "in the Bakshi days!"

Mighty Mouse had been somehow sidetracked last time, leading to Mighty Mousette's death; and the other heroes might be going the same way, as they get shellacked by the Anti-Minotaur while MM fought Mangy Mouse. The Minotaur pulls one more rabbit out of his hat--well, not a rabbit, but another, earlier mouse: the original Supermouse! I really wonder if Marvel cleared any of this with legal...Supermouse destroys the Anti-Minotaur's planet, and Mighty Mouse races to save the other heroes before they were sucked out of the universe. His power used up, MM was done for, but is saved by Supermouse, who disappears again, just before he can help Anti-Minotaur. The Minotaur puts all the heroes back, with no memory of what happened, except for Mighty Mouse and his super-memory, who would always remember Mighty Mousette.

Also this issue: yet another parody of Keaton-era Bat-Mania, with Bat-Bat in "Everyone's a Critic!" (Written by Mike Kanterovich and Tom Brevoort, pencils by Mike Kazelah, inks by Marie Severin.) As the much-hyped sequel "Bat-Bat 2" opens, the hero receives a threatening note, claiming his pic would close in two weeks! Bat-Bat suspects the villainous Brushtop...who seems familiar somehow, as do his henchmen Highbrow and Turtleneck! Bat-Bat catches them trying to replace stars on Hollywood Boulevard with their own; which may be the most meta joke in the whole thing; but are they who sent the note...? No, and you'll never guess; don't try. Read more!

Five different covers, and the main characters in this issue aren't on any of them?

...did they have the title and the release slot, then had to write it?

I think I'm confusing Dark Crisis with Death Metal Trinity Crisis, mostly just because I bought them from the same dollar bins. This issue I can recommend, though! From 2023, Dark Crisis: Big Bang #1, written by Mark Waid, pencils by Dan Jurgens, inks by Norm Rapmund.

The opening is pretty stark, as the Flash--Barry Allen--stares at a hologram of the multiverse and announces "I'm looking for the man who murdered me." He explains to Kid Flash (Wallace) and the reader, that the "cosmic limitation" on the multiverse had been lifted (from 52, presumably) and now an infinite number of earths were there to be rediscovered. But, that also could mean the Anti-Monitor was out there destroying realities, and the Flashes head out in search of him. They zip through several universes, a neat little tour, before finding the Anti-Monitor hitting Earth-28, a mech-suit version of the JLA. Barry had just wanted to do recon, but when Wallace is grabbed he has to pull out one of his more dangerous tricks: run repeatedly around the world, accelerating to nearly-infinite mass, for a punch that knocks the Anti-Monitor across realities!

Barry keeps that up, repeatedly hitting Anti-Monitor and avenging his torture on the treadmill in the original Crisis; but A-M eventually grabs him. (The above page isn't just neat; it's also thematically appropriate, since Batman and the Joker were among the last to see Barry alive in Crisis!) It's all over for Barry, until Wallace shows up, with back-up gathered from all over the multiverse! Barry briefs them on the plan, to knock the Anti-Monitor into the anti-matter universe; but doesn't tell them that whoever lands the last punch to shove him in will probably get sucked in as well. Racing around the world again, his life passes before his eyes in an instant, but he's okay with it, and knocks the Anti-Monitor through...but is himself saved by the Batman Green Lantern! (I think that's from Batman: In Darkest Knight, although I can't remember if he had the bat-ears in that one!) I really like the ending, though, where Barry describes the multiverse as "a door to a place without limits." (Or, it can be like everyone you know, only as pirates or cowboys or dinosaurs or...) 

This is perhaps not unlike that Spider-Boy issue we saw a while back, that also walked back the destruction of some minor yet beloved alternates. Also this issue, after a tribute to Carlos Pacheco; Barry Allen's notes on the multiverse and the earths he had cataloged: Kamandi is back on Earth-51, Tommy Tomorrow on Earth-54, and I wonder if I can find a reprint or cheap copy of Adventure Comics #387. The cover doesn't mention it, but Earth-387 is described as "no divergences in history other than every inhabitant is a werewolf." Sounds fun!

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"The End" Week: Immortal Thor #25!

I wasn't reading this regularly, and seemingly missed the Roxxon-sponsored issues as well; but I did get several of this series from the dollar bins. It was probably always headed here, but there was at least one thing I liked about this issue...that probably won't be touched anywhere else, even though it should've been. From 2025, Immortal Thor #25, "The Twilight Kingdom" Written by Al Ewing, art by Janeth Bazaldúa Nava, Justin Greenwood, and Pasqual Ferry. Cover by Alex Ross.

The last few issues had the cover banner "Even an Immortal can Die," and sure enough, Thor is dead as Hel from the get-go here. While he had seemingly won his trials against Utgard-Loki, regular young Loki had stabbed him in the back: betrayal and murder...or sacrifice? While Sif and the Warriors Three are enraged, Utgard-Loki is merely confused: Loki advised him, "Would you know more, old trickster? More will be told." before disappearing. Skurge had been left on the Black Bridge by Thor, and had been told to stop Utgard-Loki and his forces at all costs: Skurge shatters the Black Bridge with his Bloodaxe, and falls into nothingness with a seemingly wry smile. The Black Bridge had been the opposite of the Rainbow Bridge Bifrost, and the two had been tied: the Bifrost shatters as well, and Asgard is seemingly separated from Midgard...retroactively, as we see a game show contestant struggle with but finally name all of the original Avengers: Iron Man, the Hulk, the Wasp, Ant-Man, and...Beta Ray Bill! (Yeah, give Bill some love! He's so cool.)

Sif, with sight like her brother Heimdall's, sees "a wave of forgetting...of rewriting the stories," and wonders if Bill remembers her. Asgard was now again only myth, and Thor entered into his death.

Thor finds himself, not in Valhalla or Hel, but in Vidblainn, the land of lost souls; with no Mjolnir and no storms. He is then visited by Har, Jafnhar, and Thridi: you know them, even if this was the first time we hear those names. They were Those Who Sit Above in Shadow, from X-Men/Alpha Flight #1! I don't know if they have direct analogs in traditional Norse myth; I feel like they were created as a narrative device for Loki to have someone to get power from and subsequently judge him. Here, they have some cryptic advice and warnings for Thor, as he walks the path of sacrifice, as Odin had before him, but that Thor would take a path not yet taken. (There's also a bit of foreshadowing for Thor's son Magni; who I think the Enchantress had pulled out of an alternate future, and was probably headed for a bad end.)

Next, Thor is visited by Don Blake, his one-time mortal identity...who was no longer. His eyes burned out by snake venom, Thor realizes Blake had been put through Loki's torment: Blake describes himself as having everything Loki no longer wanted. Thor feels bad for what Blake had been through, but he was dead now, so maybe time to let that go? Blake advises, he "could be so much deader," and tries to beat it out of him with Hellnir, a dark version of Mjolnir. Blake blinds Thor, which ironically opens his eyes: Thor had before, possibly more than once, sacrificed an eye for wisdom. He sees a way to "sacrifice himself to himself," and pick up a human soul neither he nor Blake now possessed. This leaves "Blake" now a soulless serpent-man, and Thor...gone.

Back on earth, the elfin boy "Lukki"--"Lucky?"--wakes up a man in an alley, seemingly after a mugging. Lukki returns a wallet and apartment key, but advises there was no ID, he would have to remember who he was himself. "Sigurd Jarlson." This would of course set up the next series, the Mortal Thor: somewhat tellingly, it only has that title on the covers, it's just "Thor" in the indica. And the first issue was Legacy #787, so I'd be surprised if he wasn't at least moderately more godly by #800. But what I wish, is that Marvel took a moment to acknowledge the continuity change and maybe retell a big Avengers issue, with Beta Ray Bill redrawn in for Thor! Avengers #166 would've been perfect for that. 

Also, darn it: I recently picked up but haven't yet read the Thor: Epic Collection Hel on Earth: it's later Roy Thomas issues, and not a highwater point for the character, but features maybe the start of Don Blake's "I want to be a real boy" heel-turn, from around Thor #475 in 1994. Wait: Thor, and Blake, debuted in Journey Into Mystery #83 in 1962. Walt Simonson phased out Blake in 1984's Thor #340, as the ability to change to a civilian identity was given to Beta Ray Bill. (Bill wouldn't turn into Blake, but would apparently lose that ability later.) I mention this because it looks like Blake's heel-turn has lasted longer than he did as a secret identity!

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There's definitely an Onion headline that applies for Wolvie there.

Whelp, just spent a hour writing a post, for a book I'd already blogged; so I'd best triple-check I haven't hit this one before, since I'm positive I've bought it three times. (I can see two from here, so...) So far it looks like I haven't, so here goes! From 2001, Paradise X: Heralds #1, plot and cover by Alex Ross, plot and script by Jim Krueger, art by Steve Pugh. 

This would be a prequel to Paradise X, the third and final chapter of Ross and Krueger's Earth X trilogy; and begins with X-51 recovering, and restoring, the Logan from "Days of Future Past," Earth-811. (I'm nerdy, but not nerdy enough to remember earth designations like that of the top of my head!) While he could be resurrected, X-51 sadly tells Logan his friends could not; and Logan recognizes where he was, since he had been there before: the Watcher's home on the moon. (Like the Onion said, "Man Experiencing First Real Moment of Peace in Years Resuscitated.")

X-51 introduces him to the team he had put together, collected from the multiverse, some of which would have even been familiar to Logan: the vampire Ororo, Bloodstorm; the MC2 Spider-Girl, Killraven, Deathlok, Iron Man 2020, and a Hyperion. (Logan recognizes May as "Parker's kid" by scent, which grosses her out.) They also pass by the naysaying old Watcher Uatu, who was basically a big blind face at this point. X-51 gives the quick version of what he had learned, about the multiverse, divergent timelines, Mephisto, and primarily, the Celestial egg planted in earths across the multiverse. (That plot point is probably the legacy of the Earth X books, as it's crossed over into 616 and movie continuity.) He wanted the team to warn the Reed Richards of those worlds; then he would use Uatu's stuff to reward the heralds accordingly. (Killraven and Logan both point out, their earths sucked and were probably past saving, but X-51 had found others.) The heroes are paired up, with X-51 going with Hyperion; as they are transported by familiar-looking big black monoliths...

Hyperion and X-51 arrive on an earth taken over by Kulan Gath (around Uncanny X-Men #190!) and Reed Richards had just been strung up. Deathlok and Killraven get a world ruled by Satyrnin, which does have a lot of armored goons for them to blast. IM 2020 is paired off with Bloodstorm, feeling that he was because he would've been protected from the vampire, but they find a world apparently full of 'em. Logan and Spider-Girl show up at a White House, to see President Richards...perhaps better known as the Brute!

I hesitate to mention this, since I have an irrational fear of anyone horning in on my search; but I read all the Earth X books as they came out, and since my old copies have been read many times I have been putting together another run of them from the cheap bins. Checking the pile I have handy, I had most of Earth and Universe, but needed about 12 of Paradise X. There were maybe 14 issues of that one, since they ran from #0 to #X because of course they do. Still, I had new copies of all three of Heralds, and I think I have all of the one-shots like Xen and Cap, which I thought would be tough to gather up. I've been picking at that for some time, it seems to come in chunks, but I might be making some headway.

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I thought this was a one-shot, but more confusion would follow.

The GCD mentions this was collecting stories that were originally published digitally; but the cover doesn't mention that, or that this was a seven-issue mini! From 2021, Justice League: Last Ride #1, "If People Are In Danger" Written by Chip Zdarsky, art by Miguel Mendonça.

I'm behind on my DC continuity, but I'm not sure this one is in-continuity: the Justice League's Watchtower was largely abandoned, as the League was mostly disbanded. I say 'mostly,' as there's the sense the members would still come together for a big emergency, but only grudgingly; as they do here. Green Lanterns John Stewart, Kilowog, and Jessica Cruz had captured the murderer of the New Gods--Lobo? I really doubt Lobo had the juice for that, but the GL's want to bring him in for trial. Hal shows up, in a big shoulder-padded number: it's fancier than the usual uniforms, especially since the other GL's are plainclothes, with Kilowog in a hoodie! Still, Hal's look kind of reminds me of Parallax, which you'd think he would try to avoid. Hal gets called out by Batman: if the GL's couldn't contain Lobo, why was that the Justice League's job and not the United Planets' military? Hal was hoping to use partnership with earth, as a bargaining chip in his efforts to rebuild the Green Lantern Corps (every time the GLC needs rebuilding, drink!) with the moon as the new Oa, center of the Corps! Superman appears to be considering it, as Hal describes the League as no longer being needed if the GLC was there; but Bats blows it off as "cosmic politics" while he had Gotham to take care of.

After Mr. Freeze claims to have planted ice bombs all over the city, he is shut down cold--ha, ha--by Superman, who had wanted to talk things through with Batman. While Batman isn't "sure earth needs space cops," something had to take the place of the fragmented League. Frustrated, Superman finally goes off on Bats, accusing him of getting J'onn killed, and slugging his colossal penny. He admits to being tired; of the never-ending battle, fighting everyone, including his friends. Batman seemingly relents, although he would never say so; but he has the perfect place to hide Lobo: on Apokolips. 

The League broken up, the GLC in a rebuilding year, J'onn dead, the New Gods dead...all of those feel like things that occur relatively frequently in DC continuity, although maybe not all at the same time? Also, I seem to recall multiple stories where assorted alien races are a little cheesed that earth had so many Green Lanterns, and those were back when they only had like three or four! And why were the other GL's plainclothes? Either they were using all of their willpower to hold Lobo and couldn't spare any to suit up, or maybe Kilowog and Jessica had other things they needed to do that day. 

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