Justice #1 (November 1986)

Marvel's 1980s New Universe line is one that we've visited a few times in the past. Last January, I looked at Kickers, Inc. #1 (November 1986). In February 2021, I looked at D.P.7 #1 (November 1986). In May 2021, I looked at Psi-Force #1 (November 1986). In May 2022, I looked at Star Brand #1 (October 1986). And finally, back in November 2024, I looked at Nightmask #1 (November 1986). Yet, there is one title from this line I never looked at yet. I mentioned it, but never looked at. Until now.

For those not in the know, the New Universe, it was a line launched by then-Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter in the mid-1980s as 1986 would see the 25th Anniversary of Fantastic Four #1 in 1961, birthing the Marvel Universe as we know it today. The basic idea that the New Universe would be much more realistic than the MU, lacking any of the more fantastical elements of the mainstream Marvel Universe, like aliens, gods, mutants, super-tech, magic and all that...until a White Event randomly gave people superhuman powers. The NU was plagued with problems from the start, and the line didn't last very long. See my D.P.7. #1 review for more on that. I did mention earlier that there was one title I never got to look at, until now. I found a copy of it in the back issue bins of my local comic shop, and well, the rest is history. This title was one of the longer-lasting titles of the New Universe, reaching 32 issues. This is Justice #1! 

The cover is a Geof Isherwood piece. It's pretty cool. It depicts Justice about to blast a man in front of a horrified crowd. It is a cool cover, but it makes him look like a horror movie villain. 

"Brave New World"
Writer: Archie Goodwin
Penciler: Geof Isherwood
Inkers: Joe Del Beato, Jack Fury
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterer: Nick Parker
Editor: Michael Higgins
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins in Manhattan, in particular, the neighborhood known as Alphabet City. The neighborhood got its name thanks to it having avenues named A, B, C, and D.

We look in on Eudora Simpson. A 71-year-old retired African-American seamstress, she had cashed her Social Security check towards getting some shopping. Well, that was before three young men decided to make her into a corpse. 

"All this for five bucks and a bag of cookies. Thievin' ain't as profitable as it used to be..."

Meet Slits (the one in the glasses), Pink (the guy in the pink shirt), and Home (the guy in the white shirt). These three are a trio of wannabe gangbangers, who are willing to do anything for easy money, including killing an old woman who never hurt them. The three flee back to their hideout, unaware that there is a man standing on the stairs above them. He comes down and the three spot him.

Slits thinks he's a lawman, but not like any lawman he's seen before. He ain't wrong. Pink thinks the man's on something, thanks to his solid red eyes. Slits thinks he's scoping them, like he's checking to see if they're a threat to him. Through the man's eyes, we see that to him these three men are white outlines with green blobs in them. These are their auras.

You'll see what I mean later. Slits whips out a knife, demanding this very 80s-dressed man introduce himself. The man...happily obliges.

"AGH, THE PINK! NOT THE PINK! MY ONE WEAKNESS!"

Justice also has a sister named Truth, and brothers named American Way and Better Tomorrow. Justice looks at the ashes that were once the three gangbangers. This world is alien to him, but his purpose is not. He picks up Slits's sunglasses and puts them on, his narration implying that the light on Earth is much harsher on this world. He's observed enough about this world to get around, as he has a couple mysteries to solve: who brought him here, and where he is.

We next head to Baja, California. A butler named Lorenzo is working in a mansion there, bringing a drink to a man in a hot tub, the steam concealing his features and body. He tells Lorenzo to get his son on the phone...on the scrambled line.

Said son, Damon by name, is chastising a man named Hardesty. Hardesty was evidently working towards a deal with the Japanese, and it fell through.

Hardesty begs Damon not to fire him. He burned all his bridges to work here at Conquest Dynamics. If he loses this job, he is screwed. Damon suggests something else to make up for it, a ritual the Japanese are known for, according to him. He saw it in a movie once.

"I also would like to add your finger to my collection. It's not weird, you're weird!"

Damon is referring to yubitsume, the practice of removing a portion of one's little finger to atone for failure. It's done mainly by the yakuza, Japanese gangsters. Hardesty himself points that out, but Damon doesn't care. He gets a call from his father, and tells Hardesty he has a choice: yubitsume or firing. As Hardesty agonizes over the decision, Damon Conquest is informed by his father that "he" (presuming Justice) survived the ambush. He not only survived, he evidently crossed over to Earth. Damon wonders how that happened, as the company funneled power to the "Farside" to prevent that. Damon's dad theorized the "White Event" may have caused it. Damon's not worried. After all, he can handle Justice.

"My Green Energy will handle his pink no problem."

Damon's old man says no, they have others for that. After all, Justice is likely disoriented. Which means he's vulnerable. Damon also reports that they now have a finger on the problem with the Japanese as Hardesty runs out of the room, clutching a bloody hand. 

The scene shifts to Tompkins Square Park. Justice is wandering around. He notes that this place is so much like his home. He gets distracted by a pretzel stand.

"This pretzel smells like pretzel! Very suspicious..."

The owner of the cart takes it back, saying that a big man like him should work for his food. This makes him remember that food in his home was freely offered to him for his services...when it could be spared. He then spots a woman begging a man named Snap to give her some drugs. She's jonesin' hard, man! Justice looks at their aura's. The woman's was blue, but the man's was green, same as the three gangbangers he vaporized earlier. The dealer snaps at a big man named Regis to take care of Justice. But the man shows that he is also a formidable physical combatant. 

Snap grabs the girl and threatens to bash her head in with a rock unless Justice backs off. But the mysterious man has something for that as well.

"SQUARE BEAM!"

Justice fired his disintegration beams from his right hand, which be called his "sword". His left hand can create forcefields that he can use to protect others or knock things aside. This is his "shield". With the "shield" knocking the rock away (as well as getting the girl to safety), Justice prepares his "sword". Snap pleads for mercy, saying that he's not really a drug dealer, he's a con artist. 

Yeah, he and Regis take advantage of addicts by selling them fake drugs. He suggests that Justice should leave him alone and go after actual drug suppliers, like at the Factory. Justice thinks that's the second time he's heard that name. Thing is, when did he hear it the first time? The gangbangers he killed did not mention it. And the narration nor his own thoughts mention it before. 

Justice drops him, his thoughts figuring this "Factory" must be a place of great corruption and dark power, power enough to bring him here. Snap picks up his fake drugs and Justice vaporizes him. After all, men lie. Auras do not. As a crowd gathers, the pretzel guy advises our man to leave, giving him a free pretzel for his trouble. 

The scene then switches to St. Marks Place. There, we look in on two agents at work.

"After this, we're gettin' drunk! We earned it!"

Meet Rebecca Chambers of the Justice Department and Hoyt Pittman of the FBI. They're undercover investigating a drug operation in...the Factory, a very hot new nightclub in the city. Unknown to them, Justice is also trying to get into the club. The bouncers tell him not to get violent, as the doorwoman is into that kind of thing. However, she's quite impressed with Justice's unapologetic 80s look and speech, think he's some kind of weird rockstar/preacher. She is all too happy to let him in to the Factory.

All the booze you can drink, and 24/7 MTV. The ultimate 80s club. 

Hey, they got a Springsteen video going. These guys have taste. This new club is the talk of the town, being attended by celebrities and the glitterati, the movers and shakers, the models and the managers. Up in an office overlooking the dance floor, Marty Roth (the owner of the Factory) is being threatened by a druglord named Chango Villalobos. His family has been involved with the drug trade, and they're using the Factory as a front. He's found out that there is a lawman infiltrating the club's staff, and he wants the head of said infiltrator. 

Marty tries to calm him down by saying that not only has he found said undercover agent but has convinced them to work for Villalobos. He and said rogue agent are going to trap the woman that is investigating the club.

The plan is to frame her as the rogue agent. Marty especially wants to bring her down because of his past. He was a young hippie back in the 1960s, but times had changed. His fellow ex-hippies think he betrayed them. But in reality, he sees himself as still loyal to their cause of changing the world, he's just doing it from the inside nowadays. It's why he calls this club the Factory. Not because it was a factory (although the interior certainly has the former factory vibe), but because it's the factory that produces corruption. Any dark desires powerful people have can be satisfied here. this place produces the rot that will destroy society. 

Unsurprisingly, Villalobos is not impressed with Marty's high ideals. He's a businessman. Sure, hard drugs are an illicit business, but still a business as far as he's concerned. Marty's playing games with his product and his money. Either Marty shuts this place down, or he will. You know Chango, you could just take out Marty and put someone else in charge of this place. The Factory could still be used to make some legit money for your organization.

As this is going down, Justice is observing the people on the dance floor. He spots Rebecca dancing with a man, and this triggers a memory of his world. 

"Is this a bad time to tell you I played hooky at the dance school?"

We learn here that his presumed real name is Tensen. He's dancing with a woman named Shandra, who is presumably his main squeeze. The two truly, deeply, madly loved one another...and then Tensen gets ambushed by ninjas.

Evidently the concept of a ninja is not just an Earth thing. And also, it's very annoying when you're having a nice romantic moment with your significant other and a bunch of ninjas ambush you. Should have hit them with one of these, Tensen!

Tensen is pulled to reality by the doorlady.

"I'm more of a Barry Manilow girl myself."

She tells Tensen that Chambers (the lady that caught his eye and triggered his memory of Shandra) was taken by the manager to the VIP lounge. And since Justice is not a VIP here, he's not welcome there. Tensen tries to follow Chambers anyway, sensing her pure aura. The doorlady (I'm naming her Sharon) is on her break. As such, she agrees to take him to said lounge anyway. She hopes it'll somehow cause a fight, as she gets a bit of thrill from violence.

Chambers is talking to Jean-Paul, a fellow undercover agent. He tells her that this place is the best chance to finally get Chango Villalobos. The Factory is a distribution spot for his drugs, and he enjoys watching people here go nuts on them. Jean-Paul's got Marty thinking that he's gone rogue, and warns Chambers of Marty's plan to set her up. However, Villalobos sees this on a monitor. His...brother? Cousin? Former roommate? I don't know, presumably a relative named Nestor leaps out of hiding and tries to blast the two with his Uzi.

Chambers dives behind the bar, pulling Jean-Paul to safety. Tensen hears the sound of the Uzi firing. He doesn't recognize the weapon, but he knows it's still trouble. People flee the gunfire.

Sharon is with him during this whole thing. Justice creates a shield to try and protect civilians. But despite his best efforts, people still get hit.

Kim considered dropping back into beauty school after this.

Justice vaporizes Nestor with his "sword". Chango goes for Nestor's gun, but Jean-Paul grabs it. Presumably thinking that Jean-Paul was the one who fired the Uzi, Justice vaporizes him, too. Sharon is left a whimpering mess by this. Chango is not intimidated by this powerful being. He uses his cane as a makeshift spear (the head of the cane has a hidden blade) to knock Justice's right hand back, making him miss his blast. Chango flees. Tensen starts to pursue, but Chambers has a gun to him. After all, Tensen killed an agent, he has to answer for that. 

Justice tries to tell Chambers that Jean-Paul's aura radiated evil, while poor Sharon is sobbing and whimpering that this is not any fun. Hoyt busts in (what was he doing, playing video games?!) having seen Justice burst in. Seeing the distraction, Tenses uses his shield to knock Chambers and Hoyt back.

Meanwhile, Chango tries to escape the Factory via a skylight. Problem is, darn thing won't open. That's what happens when you cut corners on construction. Luckily for him, Marty is there to help...kind of. And another twist is revealed: Marty had set Chango up.

He had planned to set up him and Chambers to kill each other, playing it as a drug deal gone sour. And the reason? Chango's hiked up the drug prices a few too many times for Marty's liking. Justice overhears this, and judges him corrupt. Marty tries to convince Justice they're on the same side. After all, he's fighting corruption, too. Only difference is, Marty is fighting fire with metaphorical fire. Using the corruption to bring down a corrupt society. Justice senses he really does believe this...and it truly has twisted him. He vaporizes Marty, and ends up seeing the barrels of Chambers and Hoyt's guns. The story ends with Damon Conquest's father alerting him of Justice's activities...and commanding him to unleash the hounds. 

I did enjoy this issue, but much like in my review of Kickers Inc. #1, you can tell that Justice doesn't really quite fit when it comes to the concept of the New Universe. You see, the New Universe wasn't supposed to have stuff like alien lawmen running around in it. When the late Peter David took over writing the book, he retconned Justice to be a man named John Tensen whose mind was messed with by a powerful paranormal (the word for superhumans in the New Universe), and then David would have him appear in Spider-Man 2099. I am not kidding. 

The story is a bit basic, but it's a good one. It does a good job showing who Justice is and what his deal is. And considering that decay is a theme for this story, it makes sense that he'd end up in 1980s New York City. The twist with Marty was interesting, even though he's a one-off villain. The idea of an idealistic man being twisted by the corruption that he wanted to fight? It's an interesting one. And we got some mysteries as the Conquests and what they're doing on Earth, setting up some things for the future. Not to mention we get a future potential ally in Rebecca Chambers.

Geof Isherwood is an underrated artist. He does solid work here, everything a comic artist is supposed to do. 

Sadly, Justice hasn't been collected in trade, like most of the New Universe stuff. You'll have to search the back issue bins to find a copy. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! If you like what I write and want to give this blog some additional support, please make a donation to my Ko-fi! See you next time!

Micronauts #1 (January 1979)

In 1976, the toy company known as Mego debuted a toyline known as the Micronauts. They were licensed from a Japanese toy company. You may have heard of them, a little-known company called Takara. The Micronauts were the American version of Takara's Microman line. The main gimmick of these toys was that they had interchangeable pieces and parts that all were compatible together. Think LEGO, but a bit more restricting.

The Micronauts were a hit for Mego, making over $30 million in sales. As such, it makes sense for the company to want to spread the franchise around. In Christmas of 1977, Marvel writer Bill Mantlo had gotten the idea to write the adventures of the Micronauts after seeing his son get some from Santa Claus. He convinced Jim Shooter, who had become Marvel's Editor-in-Chief in January 1978, to get the license from Mego to make Micronauts comics, and the rest is history. 

The comic we're looking at here is the first issue of their first series. This series lasted surprisingly long, going nearly 60 issues from 1979 to 1984. Not bad for a toy tie-in. Let's look at Micronauts #1! 

The cover is a Dave Cockrum and Al Milgrom piece. It's really cool. It gives me the vibe of an epic sci-fi movie. It depicts the titular Micronauts front and center ready for action, the evil Baron Karza looming over them like a dark shadow. It's really cool.

"Earth!"
Writer: Bill Mantlo
Penciler: Michael Golden
Inker: Josef Rubinstein
Colorist: Glynis Wein
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Editor: Al Milgrom
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with a group of people fleeing a golden city on horseback.

Two of the people in this fleeing group are rather big deals, as they are royalty. In particular, Prince Argon and his sister Princess Mari. They're fleeing a rebellion. The royals' forces are powerful, but the rebellion is mighty in number, as it seems an entire world has risen up against them. They are herded by flying men called Acroyears into a killzone, where Argon and Mari as well as their party are seemingly blasted to death.

"Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!"

They are hit with special weapons known as Puls-Rays. These guns allow the users to kill their targets...while leaving their bodies intact...and ripe for recycling. Yeah, I get the feeling Mantlo watched Soylent Green. 

However, Prince Argon and Princess Mari managed to escape thanks to help from Argon's horse...who is evidently telepathic. I don't know, it was the 1970s. Drugs were everywhere.

The two royals are only left with a couple guards left and their retainer, the robotic Microtron. It turns out this rebellion was started by a man known only as Baron Karza. Karza offered something to the people of this world...immortality. This won him over with the people of Microworld, and it made them rise up against the royals, killing the king and queen of the planet. Argon wants to get his sister to safety and has summoned a man to take her to what is presumed to be a safe place.

"Uh, Argon? I think he's radioactive! That can't be good!"

She...is shocked by who Argon called in, implying that Argon must be desperate if he's called on General Glow-in-the-Dark here. But before she can leave, Karza's forces have discovered the group. Argon and the few remaining loyal soldiers try to fight them off, but they are easily overwhelmed, leaving everyone seemingly dead except for Argon, who is out like a light.

Baron Karza himself is very pleased with this, as he has dark plans for the prince.

"I shall make him...into a shrubbery!"

As this is going down, a ship arrives after a millennium in space. The HMS Endeavor, commanded by one Arcturus Rann, has been spending the last thousand years exploring the stars, seeing what is out there. Collecting samples. Surveying. Getting into space barfights and catching up on some films on Space Netflix. Rann likely also spent some time hooking up with space chicks. 

An honor guard is there to greet him, in the form of blasting him. This, like Argon, gets him kayoed too and thrown in a cell.

"Dibs on the thigh meat!"

The other occupants in the cell crowd around Rann. They aren't there to welcome him, they are there to make him into their next meal. Literally.

Thankfully, the cell has two other occupants who are not interested in eating him. They smuggled in food because they're civilized.

"Back home, I was a matinee idol! The most handsome man in Insectivor!"

Meet Acroyear and Bug. Rann recognizes them (well, not as individuals) and wonders how they're on Microworld. Especially Bug, as he thought Insectivoroids were not native to the planet. At least, that's what I thought Rann's dialogue was implying, as Acroyears are seemingly native to Microworld. Well, Bug is happy to explain.

It gets a bit confusing here. You see, Bug claims that Rann's ship was traveling using FTL technology (faster-than-light), warp drive was discovered on Homeworld. I'm a Star Trek fan, and that line threw me off. You see, in the Star Trek universe, "warp drive" is how starships travel faster than light. I think what Mantlo was intending to say was that while Rann was out in space, scientists back home on Microworld had found a new method of transportation that was for all intents and purposes, instantaneous. After all, even if you travel faster than light, it will still take time to get somewhere. 

Somehow, this innovation caused the Microverse to break out into war, and it allowed Baron Karza to conquer the planet. Rann is even more confused. After all, he knew Karza in the past. Karza was no baron. He was a teacher at the Science Academy. Rann studied under him. It leads the man to wonder if his thousand-year journey was a waste. I wouldn't say that, Arcturus. I mean, you got to explore the Microverse. You likely got to see a lot of neat stuff, make first contact with other beings, expand the knowledge of your people. That's hardly a waste if you ask me.

Besides, I'd personally be more shocked that a seemingly benevolent science teacher became a tyrant. Outside the cell, Microtron is seemingly manipulating a large puppet in the shape of a woman called Marionette.

"Make it sing 'Freebird'!"

Rann is taken by the seemingly-robotic woman. Bug hints that she's really human, but Acroyear's like Carl in the Simpsons episode that introduced the Stonecutters: "Shut uuuuuuup." 

A day passes. The Great Games have begun! It'll be a big event, baby! Performances, showing off of athletic ability, all the nine yards. In the 24 "xats"...I'm assuming that one "xat" is equivalent to around 41-42 Earth years, as Rann was out in space for around a thousand years, and assuming that Karza took over not long after he left, and 1000 divided by 24 is 41.66666666666667. But then again, that could be affected by the exact time this warp drive was developed, which supposedly led to Karza taking over-!

Right, right. Since he took over, Baron Karza had pacified the population of Microworld with religious propaganda, the Body Banks granting seeming immortality, and endless entertainments. It's all bread and circuses. As long as the population of Microworld is fed and entertained, they don't care what Karza does to them. 

Arcturus Rann is herded alongside his fellow prisoners into the arena, presumably to fight for people's entertainment. Baron Karza is clearly fond of Ancient Rome. Bug notes that something is wrong. The performing robot woman we saw earlier is actually Princess Mari, who's now working with the resistance. She's supposed to be at the gate, letting in the Resistance to attack and liberate the prisoners. But she's performing, so who's going to open the gate?!

And now Karza decides to release the monster the prisoners will be fighting: the Deathtank!

"Ladies, gentlemen, whatever you choose to identify as, it's TANKIN' TIME!"

Yes, Karza has a tank.

You all have no idea how long I wanted to use that one. Anyway, the prisoners try to fight the tank, but them being prisoners, they presumably don't have any decent weaponry. And of course, the Deathtank is, well...a tank, you can guess how this fight will go. Acroyear tells Rann to stay back, as he's an X-Factor. No, not that X-Factor. Not that one, either. And definitely not this X-Factor. Basically, he's someone Karza really does not want around. Makes you wonder what makes Rann so special that Karza didn't just kill him. Maybe he likes his face. 

The battle goes badly...but Bug has a secret weapon.

You see, he implies that Bug was looked down on, and they didn't check him for hidden weapons. And because of that, Bug has a handy pocket bomb that is perfect for crippling a Deathtank. Prince Shaitan, an ally of Karza's is nervous about this, but Karza is like "Relax, dude. I planned for this."

Acroyear finishes the Deathtank off, Karza remarking that Acroyear is Shaitan's estranged brother.

Rann thinks he could stop this madness if he just got to talk to Karza, but the mysterious Time Traveler tells him that won't work. Karza is not the man he knew a millennium ago anymore...if he's even a man anymore. Rann has to leave. And none too soon as the stadium starts getting blown up thanks to charges planted by the resistance. 

Rann, Acroyear, and Bug head to a futuristic van, where Microtron and Marionette are waiting for them.

Acroyear fights his fellow Acroyears, telling them he will have his traitorous brother's head. Mari tells them to get on board, swearing to Dallan and Sepsis. Rann recognizes those names...as they are of his parents.

Imagine a parent who shares a name with a genus of fly or a life-threatening response to an infection. Or maybe "Sepsis" in the Microverse tongue means "Nice Person". Who knows? But that's not important. 

The Time Traveler explains they were the first to rise up against Karza 1,000 years earlier. And Karza put them in his Body Banks for it. Since then, the two have been deified as symbols of freedom. Shaitan is wondering why Karza is letting this attack happen. Karza points out that there's another X-factor at work here, and he wants to see it reveal itself. He's presumably referencing the Time Traveler.

The future team of Micronauts notice that their pursuers are also backing off. They take it as a boon and get out of there in the Endeavor. 

The ship is old, but she has been through some things and has gotten modified by Biotron and Rann over the millennium out in space. It's been to the fringes of the Microverse, and now...they are going beyond.

The story ends with the Endeavor flying into space, the narration revealing they'll end up going...to Earth.

This was a fun story. It's your classic tale of a plucky band of rebels coming together to fight a maniacal tyrant ruling the planet with an iron fist. There were some headscratching moments. Arcturus Rann did say he was in space for 1,000 years, and that does raise some implications of the length of Microverse natives' lifespan. I also wondered how a new transport system led to Karza taking over the Microverse, but I can imagine that will be explored further in future issues. But still, it was a fun story. A bit basic, but it does the job, telling the tale of how our heroes got together. 

As for Michael Golden's art, I have to admit, when I first saw it, I wanted to compare it to Hal Foster's Prince Valiant stuff, but the comparison didn't quite work to me. But it does look quite different than your standard superhero comic, which does work here, as the Micronauts are not strictly superheroes per se. They will go on to meet Marvel's mightiest heroes, but in general, they're not superheroes. They're freedom fighters. Rebels. Dedicated to bringing down a corrupt system. Kind of timely, if you ask me. 

For many years, the original Marvel Micronauts series was never collected in trade paperback. Mainly because it came out in a time before trades became common, and the license lapsed in the mid-1980s. It left the characters in a bit of an odd place. Acroyear and Baron Karza were part of the original toyline, so Marvel did not own them. However, because Marionette, Arcturus Rann, and Bug were created for this comic, Marvel does own them. They have appeared in other series over the years. Most notably, Bug was a Guardian of the Galaxy for a while. And the Microverse has appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You may know it as the Quantum Realm. 

In 2023, Marvel managed to reobtain the comics license to the Micronauts from Hasbro (the current owners of the franchise), and they collected the series in Omnibus and trade form for the first time. My scans are from a reprint of the first issue, but I do recommend you track down the 2025 trade Micronauts Epic Collection Vol. 1: They Came from Inner Space. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! If you like what I write and want to give this blog some additional support, please make a donation to my Ko-fi! See you next time!