"Passing."

I'm mildly dismayed I was able to spell "gann josin" effortlessly...in 90's Avengers, the Black Knight was, possibly against his will, Sersi's special favorite--er, gann josin, her beloved soulmate, up until he wasn't. Like, for even less time than I would've figured: I would've thought Dane would've lasted until he started showing signs of age. (BTW, The Eternals movie does have Sersi and Ikaris as a couple, although I don't think they ever were in the comics, but the guys playing Ikaris and Dane are really similar, indicating Sersi has a type!) Sersi and Dane (and possibly Adam Warlock) were maybe the last people to see the Ultraverse, too. 

Despite being an altered timeline, the Age of Apocalypse was later seen as its own thing (Earth-295) but it and AoA Kurt were both apparently killed in the X-Termination crossover. Which I hated, but it did what it was probably meant to do; namely clearing the decks: every so often, Marvel will decide there's too many alternate versions of characters and try to pare things back to the core, then remember wait, guys like War Machine or Beta Ray Bill are actually cool...It's kinda the same way DC will every few years be like "no, Hal Jordan is Green Lantern, and that's it," and that'll last like five months before everyone remembers why they liked the other GL's. Anyway, despite being supposedly gone, like so many other timelines it was seen again in Secret Wars, but in an altered form, as Magneto was married to Emma Frost instead of Rogue...for reasons? And AoA Iceman was alive again, despite being one of AoA Kurt's sickhouse vengeance murders in Uncanny X-Force #24. 

So, we'll be playing pretty loose with the continuity, but honestly the sacrifice of AoA Kurt and his world was supposed to be noble but also vague enough to be reversible as needed. And the AoA is kind of like the Inhumans: all the writers have read the core texts, but not every little in-continuity story afterwards, so a lot of them contradict or step on each other. We just got that AoA Gambit figure; and I feel like we've seen him killed a couple times? Cloak might've got him once...

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No Born Again today? Boo.

I've had Disney+ since like day one, on some cheap introductory offer that got progressively less cheap later, but I'm not sure it's ever been a huge value: sure, I can watch Avengers movies whenever, but I think I can count on my thumbs how many times they've had two new shows that I wanted to watch running new episodes at the same time. (To be fair, I'll watch new Doctor Who soon!) Still, I really did like Daredevil: Born Again, even though I was very disappointed at the end of episode 8, "Isle of Joy," that a creator or two didn't get their names in the thank-you section at the end. 

Spoilers after the break!  Read more.

In that episode, Bullseye--or rather 'Benjamin Poindexter,' since the show doesn't always use costumes or names--breaks out of prison; and he does it about the same way he did in this issue: from 1990, Captain America #372, "Sold on Ice!" Written by Mark Gruenwald, pencils by Ron Lim, inks by Danny Bulanadi.

This was the start of the bi-weekly serial "Streets of Poison," best remembered for Captain America on crack; but Mark Gruenwald was trying to reconcile how, in the "Just Say No" era, was it okay that Cap got his powers from drugs? And the answer is yes, of course it is, because he got those drugs as part of a complicated regiment administered and monitored by the finest doctors and scientists in the world at the time; it wasn't something he was peer-pressured into huffing out of a glass pipe in an alley. Cap ends the storyline after a blood transfusion, with the Super-Soldier Serum no longer in his blood; but Gruenwald himself would backpedal on that shortly: the changes the Serum made in Cap were more than just serum floating around his bloodstream. Yet, despite starting on an iffy premise, "Streets of Poison" is a banger, with the cracked-out Cap becoming increasingly deranged, a Kingpin vs. Red Skull fight, and guest-star Daredevil getting wrecked so hard he'd lose his memory in his own title! (Setting up another classic, building up to DD #290!) But, today we're here for Bullseye's escape:

Most of his introduction here, regards his specialized cell in an upstate prison: because he could throw about anything as a deadly weapon, precautions had to be taken, like him sleeping on a mattress cemented to the ground and forced to eat mush out of a bowl on the floor like a dog. Was it cruel and unusual punishment? Gruenwald mentions the ACLU trying to get him moved; but after a hunger strike, Bullseye "trips" and smashes his face into the wall of his cell. When the guards go to check on him, Bullseye spits one of his own teeth into a guard's eye! Even with a mangled mouth, his cruelty still shows, as he tells the guard "Haff no illusions. You're gonna die." It's a horrifying bit, that Bullseye would use later in "Streets," as he spits a false tooth at Crossbones to get out of a headlock. (Crossbones is a quality thug, but not in Bullseye's league, except up close!) I'm not sure if I've seen Bullseye spit teeth since; although he very likely could've in his Thunderbolts stint.

Lim and Bulanadi are at their best in this serial; but Gruenwald may have unintentionally sold ice, as a weight-lost supplement: tech doofus Fabian is described as having lost 30 pounds since the last time Cap had seen him! Sure, he was paranoid and weird now, but still. Anyway, they should have got a mention at the end of the episode; but I'll thank them here.  Read more!

Yes, Yap, I don't have a lot of friends my age, thank you.

Even though he'd get a full, if brief, series after this; I don't remember if this was received well. I feel like it wasn't ideologically pure enough, somehow, for actual anarchists; or maybe I just saw somebody grousing about it recently. Still, setting the hero up with the doubly-impossible mission of somehow changing society, when society has got freaking Batman enforcing the status quo, confirms failure is the only option. But, there are lessons to be learned from this one, like explaining about every poor person that goes against their own best interests and votes Republican. From 1997, Anarky #2, "Metamorphosis, Part 2: Revolution Number 9" Written by Alan Grant, pencils by Norm Breyfogle, inks by Joe Rubinstein.

Occasional Bat-villain Lonnie Machlin, Anarky, had by this point "fused the hemispheres of his brain together," vastly increasing his intelligence. He was working on a project that he thought would save the world, particularly from "priests, parasites, and politicians!" Part of his plan hinged on using quartz batteries to absorb mystic energies, and in the previous issue he had gotten some from Etrigan the Demon, nearly dying in the process. But Etrigan hadn't been able to tell Lonnie anything about the nature of evil; so next stop, Apokolips. As three escaped workers are about to be executed, Anarky teleports in, with his captured demon Blasfemy, and interrupts things; which draws the attention of Darkseid. Or, at least, "an avatar" of him: the guards are Omega Beam'ed for their failure, and the workers sentenced to report for "torture and death," which they do meekly. Through insolence and piquing Darkseid's interest, Anarky manages to wheedle a meeting with him; where he asks about evil. What was the point of Apokolips and all that suffering?

Darkseid does roll out the cliche "good and evil are only relative," which Anarky had expected; but Darkseid also demonstrates how he allows hope, just so he can crush it. He considers crushing Anarky as well, but does find him bold and intelligent; at least until Anarky tries to use his back-up teleporter to escape and fails miserably. (I think the same thing happened in Robin Annual #1, where his back-up plan also failed, leaving him up a creek.) Worse, Blasfemy breaks free from his control, but is nowhere near a match for even an avatar of Darkseid, and the demon is destroyed. Anarky knows he's done, but tells Darkseid he'll die knowing he was right; and Darkseid decides to let him live...perhaps so he could learn otherwise.

Before he goes, though; Darkseid shows him the escaped workers: they had been promoted, and were now overseers. Even though they were themselves covered with scars, that didn't seem to slow their whipping hands in the slightest, as they repeat the same slogans they used to be beaten with. This stuck with me, and I hate that page so much, because Darkseid's right: everybody thinks, someday they'll be the one with the whip, and then look out.

Darkseid returns Anarky to earth, but Anarky explains to his dog Yap, "Science is magic explained." He had absorbed more energy, and his plan was moving forward...Next issue, Batman beats the tar out of an orphan he didn't adopt! And, looking it up, Alan Grant really liked the original Anarky limited but not the ongoing, which he took just to get Breyfogle work. (Breyfogle was the Batman artist for years, until he just wasn't; I don't think DC did right by him.) Pre-New 52, Lonnie was crippled, and replaced with a more generically-villainous Anarky; because that's easier. He has appeared in the new continuity but scarcely a shell of the old version; and I'd say Anarky was past due for re-assessment: not unlike Poison Ivy, he may have been considered a villain but was in the right more often than not, if you can stand to look. Read more!

I may not have realized the glory of the Charleston Chew back then.

I thought I had one of these already--OK, maybe I do, but I don't think I mailed in wrappers for it. From 1993, the Avengers Collector's Edition #1, "Vibrant Alchemy!" Written by Pat Garrahy, pencils by Mike Gustovich, inks by Tom Palmer.

There were maybe a lot of these in the 90's, and I already realize I'm wrong in the title: I do have a few of the 1992 Marvel Collector's Edition, "brought to you by Charleston Chew!" Man, do I miss crap like that, mailing in wrappers or points. They aren't essential or anything, but this one at least looks like an Avengers comic proper, thanks to the Tom Palmer inks. And, it also ties into a classic and some modern continuity; as the Avengers fly out to Wakanda, where the Black Panther...is either engaged, or it's his anniversary? It's not clear, as his girl is already referred to as a queen, and it's not Storm, this was well before that. The team is asked to check their weapons, which I don't think ever happens, but it's just Cap's shield and the Black Knight's photonic sword; and it's so they can be immediately jumped by Diablo and the Masters of Alchemy. The latter had been the "Elements of Doom" in Avengers #188, and they were looking to add vibranium to their number. One of T'challa's men, Baru, sacrifices himself for his queen, to make up for "his failures" in or around Deathlok #25: he gets turned into Vibranium, but seemingly retains his personality; opting to stay that way to serve his people, possibly against his king's wishes. I'm guessing he's not seen again, but who knows?

This issue also features Taylor Madison, Hercules's serious girlfriend there for a bit: spoiler alert, that doesn't end swell. Read more!

I didn't buy this specifically to cue up "Electric Chair," but as long as we're here...

Kamandi gets the sad walking-away cover here ala Amazing Spider-Man #50, but doesn't have enough costume to leave in a garbage can. From 1974, Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth #20, "The Electric Chair!" Written, drawn, and edited by Jack Kirby; inks by D. Bruce Berry.

Pursued by gorillas--including the unfortunately named Sgt. Ugash--Kamandi finds refuge in Chicago, which appears to have been spared the ravages of the Great Disaster and still has talking, intelligent humans! That are living a pastiche of 1920's gangster life, but still. Kamandi had managed to convince the gangsters that they needed to fight off the gorillas just like they would any rival gang; but when a gangster gets his face smashed, he's revealed to be a robot, who still legs it out of there when the cops show up. Kamandi and Ugash are taken in--with possibly a smidgen of excessive force on Ugash.

Kamandi and Ugash end up in the pokey, with another mobster-robot; which Ugash promptly smashes before breaking out. The gorilla was both out of his element, and sick of listening to Kamandi; but the pair wander the station, filled with immobile people, until they get to the courtroom and things start up again. Ugash plans on tearing them all apart, while Kamandi realizes the numbers were against him.

Ugash is dragged to the electric chair and strapped in, perhaps not initially realizing its purpose; and Kamandi is too kind-hearted to let the mean ape just fry. He signals Ugash's gorillas, and the ensuing shoot-out seems to bring in everybody in Chicago.

Ducking into a service door, Kamandi finds his way to the inner workings of the city, and massive banks of computers. I do like the Kirby bombast of "Now for the fantastic, hope-destroying TRUTH!" He yells out, for whoever was in charge to show themselves, but the place was only run by computers, who show him the door. He comes out of a theme-park, "Chicago-Land, the Fully Automated Living Museum," but barely notices, as he was alone again. Aw!  

The computers in this one are maybe locked into their programming, but at least aren't actively unhelpful. Meanwhile, I just tried searching "Jack Kirby mobsters" and got a bunch of results for Kirby monsters. Admittedly, he's better known for those, but that wasn't the question! He had also done In the Days of the Mob in '71 and the Skrull gangster-planet in Fantastic Four #91 in '69!

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"Passing."

I really wanted to get across the notion, that the Eternals have known each other for ever, and are maybe pretty sick of each other. That, coupled with the fact they don't deal with humans or mutants much either, has maybe made them stilted and weird. And Kurt's referencing a throwaway bit we did, um, three and a half years back! 

Back when we blogged...ugh...the Draco, we were introduced to Kurt's half-brothers, Nils "Abyss" Styger and Kiwi Black; and I don't think that was all of them, Azazel maybe had a lot of kids. Many of whom he probably ate or something, but still. And, we've also seen Kurt's half-brother on his mom Mystique's side, mutant-hater Greydon Creed. But, with the recent retcon of Kurt's parentage, he's not related to Azazel anymore, so he's not really related to Abyss or Kiwi anymore; which doesn't really matter story-wise since they aren't seen much (Abyss maybe got killed again recently) but Kurt had several adopted siblings and probably would keep in touch as much as possible. (Kurt's Christmas cards are probably a blast! "Oh, look, he went to the Savage Land and Genosha this year.") 

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It's no great stretch that I had an issue of probably the most prominent "Legends" title handy, although this isn't from the original run. Still, it keeps the streak going! From 2013, Legends of the Dark Knight #3, "Letters to Batman" Written by Steve Niles, art by Trevor Hairsine.

This one plays with a recurring Bat-theme, as Batman captures the Joker three pages in, and he escapes Arkham on the next page! The Joker left him a message too, a model of a revolving door, with a charming (if awkwardly lettered) note, saying "You might as well not exist." That's unusually disparaging, since the Joker seems to enjoy their conflicts; but since Batman was literally still bleeding from their last match it hits pretty hard. He asks Alfred if what they did was even worth it; and Alfred says he's never wondered that, and he's sad that Bruce has. Batman answers a call from Commissioner Gordon, but it's not Joker-related: instead, it's sacks full of Bat-mail! He brings them back to the cave, but tersely tells Alfred he won't be reading them. Alfred, of course, digs right in.

The first letter is a thank-you, from a young woman whose mom had been saved by Batman. Alfred suggests, maybe Batman really should read some of these, and Bats does, grudgingly at first, then sorting them. Alfred had rather hoping for a more emotional, cathartic response, not OCD, but still. Batman thanks him for the push, and asks him to check on a few names from the letters, seemingly prioritizing them over the Joker. He visits a thug, who gets the recruitment pitch from some of Joker's thugs, but doesn't want back in the life. Batman puts him in touch with some barmen he had saved earlier, getting him honest work; then tracks down the Joker, showing up behind him and stepping on his big speech. 

Batman has the letters sorted into several piles, although that might just be because he could only stack them so high; but what are the stacks? One is people he saved, sure; then maybe thugs and petty criminals who turned their lives around after a stout beating, but what else? I suppose there would be some that were sour grapes, or why didn't you save so-and-so, and then outright cranks. Still, it'd be nice to see people embrace the written word again.

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