Barry runs up a beam of light, and that's not even the most unbelievable thing this issue.

My big hang-up was why would a master of disguise wear that outfit, but that might just be me. From 1980, Flash #291, "The Saber-Tooth is a very Deadly Beast!" Written by Cary Bates, art by Don Heck.

I feel like everything in this issue is Bates maybe trying to do things that hadn't been done before in this long-running title, so it seems like trying to reinvent the wheel over and over, while trying to roll at the same time. This opens with Fiona Webb, about to be murdered by Barry Allen: 'Fiona' wasn't her real name, and she hadn't been around long; this was probably the end of her first storyline. The fake-Barry was Ross Malverk, a mobster Fiona had worked for but testified against; she had started a new life in witness protection, but had been afraid of Barry in error. The Flash finds himself in a bind, though: with 'Barry' wanted for attempted murder, he didn't have an alibi, since he'd been Flash at the time. He's able to get some help from King Faraday, after saving his helicopter after a bazooka hit, in a really improbable vibrate-and-run-on-dust-particles trick.

There are two hitmen, seemingly subcontractors, who shoot a lot of bazooka shells over Central City: I feel like those weren't super-common. Malverk gives himself up, to get protection from Saber-Tooth, who he had previously double-crossed; Barry lets himself be seen in public to draw him out. I don't think Saber-Tooth usually wore that outfit: he says he lifted it from a tailor shop, because why wouldn't a tailor shop display...that? He then tries to kill "Malverk" with, I don't know, a superball firebomb? It seems like the generic of a Green Goblin pumpkin bomb. Flash then appears, and Saber-Tooth nearly escapes in a jetpack with optional chemical smokescreen; but unfortunately that time of night was empty, so Flash could just run around punching until he got him...look, I don't buy it either, but it was the last page, so...Fiona forgives, and is happy to see Barry: she'd be his new love interest, after the death of Iris, for most of the rest of the series.

Also this issue: A Firestorm short, with George Perez art!...that gives away the game in the title, "The Hyena Laughs Last!" Written by Gerry Conway, pencils by George Perez, inks by Bob Smith. Ronnie Raymond has got Professor Stein a job interview, and off the sauce: for quite a while, Stein didn't get to remember what happened to them when they formed Firestorm, so he had a bunch of unexplained absences and mental lapses; but was starting to recover. Ronnie gets several Ditko-era Spider-Man plot points, as his main antagonist Cliff Carmichael gives him some crap: they were a reversal of the Peter Parker/Flash Thompson dynamic, as Cliff was the brain, Ronnie the jock. Ronnie also goes with his girlfriend Doreen to pick up her sister Summer at the airport, and she seems like she's not going to be a ray of sunshine. (Way moreso than I would've guessed!)

Stein gets a new job, although I don't think it was as a professor, which seems a waste; then stops himself from hitting the bar to celebrate. But, he sees someone jumping from building to building, and realizes he recognizes them subconsciously from his time as Firestorm. It's the Hyena! In the last panel of the issue; so maybe they should've saved this title for next time? Read more!

I'm still surprised he hasn't turned up in the MCU--no, not Korvac.

After all, Korvac doesn't get the cover this issue, even as he draws "First Blood!" From 1978, Avengers #168, written by James Shooter, pencils by George Pérez, inks by Pablo Marcos.

The Avengers were returning from the S.H.I.E.L.D. space station, with most of the original Guardians of the Galaxy visiting from the future: Vance Astro had to stay on the Guardians' ship in space, since if he encountered his younger self it would have bizarre effects, between his psychokinetic powers and time distortion. The Quinjet returns to Avengers' Mansion, to find the alarms going off--all of the alarms. Even though the house was probably soundproofed, it feels like it'd be heard in a six-block radius. The team finds their rooms searched and tossed, as well as Jarvis tied up, by government-issue asshole Henry Peter Gyrich. Gyrich was from the National Security Council, and felt the team was maybe abusing, or not deserving, their "A-1 security clearance," possibly because he was able to get in through a big-ass hole in the wall. Even when Gyrich has a point, he's still a colossal dick: it's generally impossible to take his side, ever. He also harps on the team members that didn't have security clearance (Wonder Man!) as well as the four new weirdos. (For the Guardians, this is like when you were a kid, at a friend's house, and they get chewed out by their folks.)

Captain America and Iron Man had not been getting along at this point, and Cap calls Shellhead on "treating your chairmanship like a part-time job!" Cap didn't know Iron Man's secret identity at that time (I think Thor was the only team member that maybe did know?) and considered him "moonlighting," since being Tony Stark's bodyguard had to be a full-time job. When it comes to blows, the Scarlet Witch steps in, pointing out the team might not have had a great batting average lately, but Cap hadn't been hitting on all cylinders himself. (To mix some metaphors!)

Hawkeye and the time-displaced Two-Gun Kid make a brief appearance, where Two-Gun mysteriously disappears. Back at Avengers' Mansion, Starhawk has also disappeared: the other Guardians were kind of used to him taking off on his own, and don't seem especially concerned. They should be. As Aleta--half of Starhawk--she visits a nondescript home in Forest Hills, home of Carina and Michael...Korvac. Both Starhawk and Korvac had cosmic-level perceptions, and recognized each other immediately. Starhawk was gambling Korvac wasn't yet ready for him; while Korvac recognized Starhawk as one of the few that could perceive him, and had to head that off. The fight was more than merely physical, stretching into astral planes; although locally it did a number on the weather and triggered Peter Parker's Spider-sense. (This might've been the first time some big cosmic scuffle triggered that!)

Korvac manages to defeat Starhawk on multiple fronts, triggering further cosmic shocks felt by Doctor Strange, Captain Mar-Vell, and the Silver Surfer; before Korvac kills him. It's a clean victory for Korvac, since while those few heroes felt something off, none of them--or the higher powers of the universe--yet knew he was there. To keep his presence secret, he then resurrects Starhawk, exactly as he (and Aleta) was, except for one minor change: Starhawk would not remember this encounter, nor would he be able to perceive Korvac later. (Colossal plot point siren sounds!) Korvac's plan would continue, and this plotline wouldn't wrap until #177, although there was a fill-in or two in there. Read more!

80-Page Thursdays: Secret Origins Annual #3!

It's been like half a year since our last 80-pager, so yay! Glad to find another one--aw, the Teen Titans! Shoot. Still, a ton of great creators on this one: from 1989, Secret Origins Annual #3, "Pieces of the Puzzle" Written by George Pérez; pencils by Tom Grummett, Grant Miehm, Irv Novick, Michael Bair, Trevor Von Eeden, Dave Cockrum. Kevin Maguire, M. D. Bright, Colleen Doran, and Dick Giordano; inks by George Pérez, Anthony Van Bruggen, Ty Templeton, Michael Bair, Trevor Von Eeden, Larry Mahlstedt, Karl Kesel, Ian Akin, Brian Garvey, Romeo Tanghal, and Dick Giordano.

Dick Grayson is repeatedly tormented in a dreamlike state by a hooded figure in purple--the Time Trapper? No...I was pretty sure it was going to be that punkass Danny Chase, since I would've swore his costumed identity wore purple, but not him either. There are clues, you might be able to guess if you flip through it! Whoever it is, purple-hood makes Dick relive and recap the history of the Teen Titans, which involves the team breaking up and reforming over and over and over. And over. Along with disparaging Dick at every opportunity; purple-hood also seems to show a lot of interest in Donna Troy--seemingly seeing her as the only thing really holding the team together--and the newly retconned pre-Crisis Bat-Girl, now Flamebird. It doesn't get as creepy-weird as I thought it was going to; that's a plus. There also seems like a lot of page time devoted to Titans West, like "hey, remember when these jerks had their own team? Yeah, they broke up five minutes later."

(I have a theory about that! Donna holds the Titans together, because the guys all love her to various degrees, but with the possible exception of Speedy don't seem to seriously hit on her; because if like Dick and Donna got together and then something happened, the Titans would be over, as a concept. All of the guys in Titans West probably went after Flamebird and were probably all shot down, hard; and the team never gelled like Jello that...didn't gel, I guess.)

I don't think Pérez got enough credit as a writer: he did a run of Silver Surfer that I don't recall as great but should maybe revisit. Here he does a great job stitching together 25 years of assorted Titans comics into one story, along with a few updates, and wrapping it up with the then-current status quo for the team. Maybe if I'd read the book in the Wolfman/Pérez heyday, I'd be more fond of it; but so much infighting and breakups, it's like Fleetwood Mac, the comic. Did Fleetwood Mac even break up that much? I feel like they pushed through it. Read more!

There were 25 "Legends of the Dead Earth" annuals, and so far we've blogged, um, maybe 7? But, helluva lineup on this one: from 1996, Supergirl Annual #1, featuring "The Surrogate" Written by Chuck Dixon, pencils by Ron Wagner, inks by Bill Reinhold; "The Legend Lives On" Written by Barbara and Karl Kesel, layouts by Dick Giordano, finishes by George Perez; and "Shootout at Ice Flats" Written by Joe Lansdale and Neal Barrett Jr, pencils by Robert Teranishi, inks by Stan Woch. 

The legend of Supergirl lives on in the far-flung future, even if it has combined aspects of various versions: Kryptonian, protoplasmic matrix, angel, what-have-you. In "The Surrogate," a young woman is forced into high-tech slavery; her mind irreversibly linked to remote-control a mining robot. But she transfers her mind and spirit to her "tooljerk" and upgrades its look, frees others, and then destroys her captors before heading off into space, indestructible and forever. A surprisingly affecting tale, I thought. Also, it's impressive that she's able to give herself an 'S,' I would've accidentally made myself a Bizarro.

After a big heist, an all-girl criminal gang finds one of their own dead, in "The Legend Lives On," and the victim carved an 'S' in the floor before dying, as a warning to the others. Could Supergirl be among them? One argues, there's no such thing; but another thinks, that's exactly what Supergirl would say! This doesn't go great for them.

Lastly, "Shootout at Ice Flats" features the local schoolmarm-slash-sheriff, who's going to face a showdown with the local ruffians. Her mom gives her an 'S' charm, that might give her the power of...Sardine Girl? Maybe! A fun bit of nonsense, with an interesting look; like most of the "Dead Earth" stories.

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"The End" Week: Creatures on the Loose #37!

We saw the previous issue 12 years ago; and what would be the next issue five years ago: please don't take this to indicate I have any sort of plan. From 1975, Creatures on the Loose #37, "Moonbound" Written by David Kraft, pencils by George Perez, inks by Fred Kida.

John Jameson had been sent into space to check a space station that had lost contact with earth; but now the Man-Wolf was caught between the station's crew, and "space brigands." They dressed like barbarians, had weird weapons, and seemed to know more about the Man-Wolf's moonstone than John did. Meanwhile, back on earth, J.Jonah Jameson was searching for the missing Kristine Saunders, John's long-suffering fiancé. A "mysterious associate" of Kraven's (from CotL #32 or so) takes JJJ to the estate where the Man-Wolf had nearly killed him and Kristine; but is interrupted by CIA agent Simon Stroud. The associate was Arisen "Harrison Turk" Tyrk, former ruler of Otherworld, and better known as Lunatik. Not the Keith Giffen Lobo type; and I think this plotline wouldn't get wrapped up until 1978's Marvel Premiere #46, although JJJ would continue in the Spidey books.

The crew of the space station fight Man-Wolf, who that close to the moon was pretty much invulnerable; but probably couldn't navigate zero-g as well as John could, either. When the moon is blocked by the earth, he loses power and is thrown into a cell, where he reverts to John. John nearly talks the crewmen guarding him into letting him out; but they're knocked out by Garth, who convinces John to join him in a trip to "the Other Realm" since he had "the Godstone." They take off in a rocket, while the space station crew checks out an x-ray, showing the stone had symbiotically bonded with John, with tendrils spread throughout his body.

Dave Kraft mentions in a farewell text column, that sales for the book had been going up, but in the pre-direct sales days "once a title has been established for, say, 37 issues, it's next to impossible to get distributors to accept more than the usual assortment of copies." Editorially, they had considered giving Man-Wolf a new number one; but there were already a mess of new books launching, so no dice. Still, Kraft and Perez managed to get back for the Marvel Premiere two-parter. Huh, I promised to get to the conclusion of that one sometime, and still haven't! Again, no plan. Read more!

George was able to make Nelson Rockefeller look dramatic and interesting; he was the greatest even then.

You've probably heard the recent news about George Pérez, which sucks; but at least there's still time to appreciate him. I got a torn-cover copy of this one that week, which was a little sad but I'm glad to have it. From 1976, Avengers #147, "Crisis on Other-Earth" Written by Steve Englehart, pencils by George Pérez, inks by Vinnie Colletta.

It's a short Avengers roster--Cap, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch and Vision--against the now-villainous Squadron Supreme, and they've just been transported to the Squadron's earth, so there goes home field advantage. To shore the numbers up, the Avengers have "one hairy applicant, and Patsy Walker," namely the Beast and Hellcat! Patsy had found and helped herself to the costume back in #144, then somewhat infamously, a two-part fill-in versus the Assassin. Which was fine, but people wanted Pérez!

Hellcat leaps into action, kicking Hyperion in the face; a bold choice for a rookie! Whizzer is sure she'll get torn up, and gets a repulsor shot from Iron Man. But the fight is interrupted by the arrival of the army, and the President of that world's United States: Nelson Rockefeller! That is incongruous enough, but he's wearing the Serpent Crown, right out in the open! He's not wearing it long, though, as the Vision steathily grabs it and makes the toss to Wanda, who is able to create a standoff by threatening it. The Avengers split, while Rockefeller reaches out telepathically to Hugh Jones on our earth, the secret of the Serpent Crown: it is connnected to other Crowns across multiple realities, and anyone who ever wears it, becomes its slave, forever! (That may be retconned later.)

Wanda can feel the Crown, trying to compel her to wear it, and control her as it controlled many of the world's corporate moguls. She falls behind the other Avengers, but Vision notices his wife missing, and goes to recover her. She is not grateful, calling him "a cold, unfeeling computer!" Vision knows that's the Crown talking, and tries to take it; but Wanda blasts him and takes off running back to the President. She runs headlong into the Squadron's Hyperion, Lady Lark, and Golden Archer; who don't know all of the Vision's tricks. While they fight, Wanda struggles against the Crown's psychic attack, and manages to beat it. Through will? Her witch or mutant natures? Or, as the Vision suggests, through the power of their love? He opts to take the Crown, reasoning even if it could affect him, their love would save him as well. Aw!

I really, really need to find a new copy of Marvel Team-Up Annual #5, a big Serpent Crown story I had as a kid. Which also features our pal Quasar, although not in the best light. Read more!

Kulan Gath has been giving Conan the hassle for like 25 issues of Savage Avengers, yet an all-but-forgotten Avenger wrapped him up in like three! Of course we're starting with the second one, from 2000, Avengers #29, "The Death-Song of Kulan Gath Part 2: A Dream of Bitter Ash" Written by Kurt Busiek, pencils by George Pérez, inks by Al Vey and Dick Giordano. 

I'm not sure I've read this one before right now, and I'm not sure why not? I distinctly recall the "100 Page Monster" #27, in which (spoiler alert!) both Thor and Cap leave active membership. Previously, new member Silverclaw asked the team to go to Costa Verde, where they find her village transformed by Kulan Gath, and her mom, a seeming volcano goddess, under attack by Gath's men and hawk-riders. Iron Man, for one, is already creeped out and annoyed by the magic in play; but manages to capture a goon while Silverclaw's mom is abducted. The goon laughingly immolates himself rather than answer anything, though.

The Costa Verde army was trying to move in, but the Avengers knew from experience if they passed through Kulan Gath's field, they would be transformed into barbaric counterparts of themselves--they don't remember Uncanny X-Men #190-191, but you might. While She-Hulk and Warbird had been turned into amazon-types, Goliath had been transformed into a "bloodthirsty corsair" resembling Yellowjacket--that's a bit of foreshadowing! Scarlet Witch uses a bit of her "chaos magic" to adjust some of Iron Man's spare comm-chips, so they can communicate in Gath's field; then Wasp and Iron Man head out to stop the army.

Within the spell, Silverclaw can still recognize what was her village, even transformed; but curiously finds a gum wrapper, unchanged. A stoplight also remains, and a young woman follows the Avengers unseen, seemingly changing other items. In a D&D-like tavern, Warbird has a momentary fear of lapsing back into alcoholism, then takes Triathlon aside to advise him to maybe join in instead of just sniping. Silverclaw then has a bit of rage, remembering all the crap she took as a kid as "the daughter of the volcano goddess" when it was all true. That's interrupted by a barroom brawl, which is then interrupted by the bar patrons turning into demons, then snakes! Kulan Gath gives a bit of monologue there, making himself sound oh-so-put-upon, cheating death only to find the modern world so noisy and foul. If he could only die, he would go on to become something like a god, even if he had to sacrifice a god to do so...The Avengers are downed by gas, but a shadowy figure--not the mysterious woman--watches.

I think I'm still missing a couple of Busiek's Avengers, which just seems weird; but at least that means there's something fun out there waiting for me to read it.

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The Flash has one of the best rogues' galleries in comics: the first half of this issue features the Pied Piper, a perfectly fine villain, but well down the depth chart for the Flash. So it is slightly odd to see him up against another hero's bad guys, the Atomic Skull from Superman! Who himself is further down Superman's depth chart. From 1981, the Flash #293, featuring "Pied Piper's Paradox Peril!" Written by Gerry Conway, art by Don Heck; and "The Fastest Deadliest Man Alive!" Written by Gerry Conway, breakdowns by George Perez, finishes by Rodin Rodriguez.

Running on the water below "Superman's Island," an anti-grav prison for the Man of Steel's most dangerous foes, Flash sets off a sonic boom and worries he may have accidentally damaged it. Investigating, he finds one prisoner got loose: Dr. Albert Michaels, better known as the Atomic Skull! (They do a similar intro for him twice here! Getting that name recognition out.) He zaps Flash with one of his "brain-blasts," then tells Barry he's going to get enough radium to crank up his blasts so they'll affect Superman. The Flash should be dead of radiation poisoning long before that. Using internal vibrations to slow the damage...somehow...Flash knows he needs help, specifically that of Firestorm, the Nuclear Man!

Speeding through New York and leaving a glowing message in his wake, Flash is able to get Firestorm's attention, and he absorbs the radiation...and gets hammered. This might be specific to A-Skull's radiation, since we've seen a ton of stories since where Firestorm is consigned to hazmat clean-up duties, and I don't think we've ever seen him act like he was hitting the sauce. Meanwhile, in Colorado...wait, this has been about half an hour. The Skull flew, apparently via little belt-jets like Wonder Man used to wear, from Metropolis, wherever that is, to Colorado, in under thirty minutes? I didn't think he was invulnerable or anything; wouldn't that speed shred his face right off? Er, what's left of his face, anyway.

While the Flash is able to get Firestorm to Colorado, F-S is still too drunk to be helpful. Flash has to taunt him into taking a shot at him, then ducking out of the way so Atomic Skull gets zapped. With the radiation out of his system, Firestorm is back to normal, but wonders if he shouldn't be mad at Flash for something. We've only seen a few times where Barry had been rude or snippy; it's not impossible, but it's usually surprising.
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A time capsule in multiple senses! Mostly in that I'm crating it back up...

We had a recent Daredevil post, that tied into an old post from way back; and we're doing the same today with the issue after an old team-up...not quite classic: from 1996, Spider-Man Team-Up #4, "Webs of Time" Written by George Perez, art by Steve Geiger and Chris Ivy, Darick Robertson and Andrew Pepoy, Dan Jurgens and Tom Palmer, and Brandon McKinney and Chris Ivy.

This series was from during the Ben Reilly Spider-Man days, which had the virtue of Marvel trying something new that nobody at all wanted. (I think. Maybe people loved it, I don't think so, but I don't recall.) That would probably be a strike against it; two more would be this month's guest-stars, the Avengers! The virtually unrecognizable, 90's Avengers! Mutated Wasp, extreme Hawkeye, shirtless Thor, teenage Iron Man. (It would be a few years before Marvel would have success with shirtless Thor...) Teen Tony gets a lot of page time, as the Avengers are trying to train him up to adult Tony's level, even though his new armor is far more dangerous than his early suits. Tony also has some records delivered, by "dark condiment." Bwah? Oh, it's Pepper Potts! Who is...aggressively hit on by teen Tony. It's borderline.

The plot's a little confusing, with some time-travel flashbacks, people getting aged, a mysterious pyramid, and another Spider-Man! Ben isn't thrilled at the notion of yet another clone out there, but that's not what this is. It has a couple bits that seem unrelated, like the opening; like it maybe needed another draft to settle down. And the bad guy ties in to both Spidey and the current Iron Man storyline, so read out of that context it might be a bit to puzzle through. (Spoiler after the break, if you're curious!) One big selling point: this issue does feature Black Widow punching Henry Peter Gyrich!


(The villain is Kang the Conqueror's Spider-Man robot from Avengers #11! Reactivated after the most recent final battle with Kang, Timeslide; it had been draining time from its victims, to power up a time machine, for his "master," Iron Man! The older Tony had been a pawn of Kang's, so the robot thought it was helping by grabbing the younger one, but it may also think it really is Spider-Man. After Quicksilver beats down Ben, Gyrich immediately realizes he isn't the Spider-Man they were after, because his costume was different: Gyrich forced the Avengers to go after Spidey, but may have wanted to cover up the robot, so he misled them into thinking Spidey had gone bad.)
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Werewolf chainmail probably only comes in husky sizes...

I thought I had blogged the previous issue, even though it was from another series, years back. I also know I have the next issue, and I wish I knew where now...from 1978, Marvel Premiere #45, "Otherwar!" Written by David Kraft, pencils by George Perez, inks by Frank Giacoia.

John Jameson, the long-suffering Man-Wolf, is on the moon this issue; crashed after his kidnappers couldn't contain him. (Which apparently took all of the last issue of Creatures on the Loose, I thought the kidnappers had Manny caught the issue prior.) The Man-Wolf, now extra-wolfy with the moon's influence, busts out onto the surface of the moon, where strangely the vacuum doesn't kill him. Instead, he makes a beeline for a mysterious doorway in an oddly circular crater, and then things get weird. In the extra-dimensional Other Realm, John finds he has his mind, in full control of the Man-Wolf. One of his kidnappers, Garth of Mournhelm, explains:

Garth and the others had been waiting for the prophesied return of the "Godstone," the Moonstone lodged in John's neck; to help them defeat the "false god Arisen Tyrk." They consider John "Star-God," although some of them may wonder where all his powers went. A sacred sword and flying horses are also involved, and John just rolls with it because there doesn't seem to be enough pages for him to freak out a bit. After a brief interlude with J.Jonah Jameson worrying about his missing son and his son's missing fiance, Kristine; John and his D&D party storm the castle with an aerial battle against Tyrk's soulless "Cavalry of the Damned." And largely get their collective ass kicked: two are killed, John and Gorjoon are dumped in a lake, and the rest are captured. John fears he was a danger in his world as a mindless beast, but perhaps more dangerous here since they believed in him; but swears vengeance on Tyrk...

We'll get to the conclusion of this sometime. Oddly, I know long after the parasitic Moonstone was removed from him, John appeared as full-on Star-God years and years later in She-Hulk. This feels like a weird direction for the character, but then around the same time maybe Werewolf by Night was already doing the lycanthrope story beats. Or, as I suspect is sometimes the case, if you get an artist like George Perez, maybe that's an excuse to go nuts a bit.
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I was reading comics in 2008, right? How'd I miss this?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Arrgh, I have a couple of these issues: we checked out #13 last year, but #12 would be the conclusion to this Megistus storyline!
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Back when Flash's defining characteristic was "gross."

I mentioned buying the first issue of this mini-series of the racks back in 1991, but only got the second at a recent show: War of the Gods #2, "The Holy Wars" Story and layouts by George Perez, additional layouts by Russell Braun, finishes by Cynthia Martin and Romeo Tanghal.

Even though this is the second issue, it's chapter 13, since each crossover issue counted as a chapter. (We checked out a Hawkworld chapter a bit back.) So I'm more than a little vague what's going on here, but that may also be because some of the titles being crossed over with were in weird places as well. For example, Captain Atom #57 was a tie-in--and that book's final issue, which seems to defeat the purpose of a crossover to drive up sales--but was also a tie-in with Armageddon 2001 #2, and seemed to be indicating the Captain was breaking bad. (Hopefully, we'll check out that issue at the end of the year!) There was a panel where Dove worries about the missing Hawk, who would turn up...to kill her, in the aforementioned Armageddon 2001 #2, although that was a late change and isn't foreshadowed here. Similarly, the Martin-Stein Firestorm (who had been lost in space a year or two prior) had returned; a panel checks in with the Justice Society of America, who had been trapped in Limbo fighting Ragnarok for several years; still another hints at the return of the Metal Men.

The rate I'm going, I'll probably read #4 in 2063. Still, if it's the big finish, there's something to look forward to.

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I don't think this is my original copy, but this was one of my first Fantastic Four comics: from 1977, Fantastic Four #184, "Aftermath: the Eliminator!" Written and edited by Len Wein, pencils by George Perez, inks by Joe Sinnott.

After the Battle of the Baxter Building--the 17th Annual, if my count is right--the Reed Richards from Counter-Earth, the Brute, has been sucked into the Negative Zone. The Fantastic Four and recent hangers-on Thundra and Tigra are left to deal with the aftermath, as implied by the title, but may have bigger fish to fry: Agatha Harkness and Franklin Richards have gone missing, and Sue is trying to cover that up until Reed regains consciousness. Left with piles of wreckage, and the usual automated repair robots knocked out, everyone ditches out and leaves the Thing with the cleaning. As they leave, Thundra and Tigra have a bit of verbal sparring over the Thing; and the Human Torch is seemingly disintegrated by an unseen foe!

While Ben has a brief chat with the Impossible Man about movies, Reed wakes up, and Sue fills him in. Reed had lost his powers (and wouldn't regain them for a year or so!) and was a little reluctant to get back out there, but Sue won't let him slack off. After Ben clears up the wreckage by sweeping it under the proverbial rug (which would probably just dump it in the apartments underneath them) the three head out to Harkness's house on Whisper Hill, which seemed a pleasant enough place before but now looks like a creepy haunted house, possibly because Harkness isn't there to keep up the illusion. They are attacked by the same sniper that attacked the Torch, and the Fantasticar is shot down!

Finding the Torch in the house, which Reed describes as "darker than Victor Von Doom's soul in here," the Four is attacked by the Eliminator, a creepy, tall cyborg; who seems to have a ton of gadgets specifically for stopping the Four, although his primary mission is covering up any evidence of Agatha Harkness. Reed has a plan, but in short order Sue is disintegrated, and Reed gunned down before he can reach the Eliminator!

Ben is then beat to death by the Eliminator's pickax hand, and then the Torch is driven beyond nova and explodes. With the Fantastic Four dead, the Eliminator begins his final task: self-destructing, to blow up Whisper Hill! But, this was part of Reed's plan: Sue had merely gone invisible, then used her force field to protect the rest, and the Torch faked going nova. The Eliminator, attached to the floor by his "vacuum-vents," is left behind to explode, as the Four wonders what the next step in finding Harkness and Franklin will be...

I've had this issue for years, but have I ever read the next issues? I know I picked up the ones leading up to #200 a few years back. Something to keep an eye out for. Oddly, I think this, like a lot of my first Marvel comics, featured a completely disposable villain that may not have been seen again!
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