Supergirl #2 (October 1996)

The last time the Maid of Might graced this blog in a solo book was just last April with my look at Supergirl #18 (April 1984). But that version of Supergirl is not the focus of this week, review. In fact, this version of Supergirl is arguably one of the least famous incarnations of the character: Linda Danvers. This version of Supergirl was born back in Supergirl #1 (September 1996), born from the merger of a dying woman named Linda Danvers and the protoplasmic lifeform known as Matrix, who was active as Supergirl at the time. This left the newly combined being with fragmented memories of Linda's life. So, where do we go from here? Let's find out in Supergirl #2! 

The cover is a Gary Frank piece. It's really cool. It's alike a horror movie poster, depicting Linda/Mae trying to fight a massive cat-like demon. This would make one heck of a movie.

"Cat's Paw"
Writer: Peter David
Penciler: Gary Frank
Inker: Cam Smith
Colorists: Gene D'Angelo, Digital Chameleon
Letterer: Patricia Prentice
Editor: Chris Duffy
Executive Editor: Gary Frank

The story begins with the newly combined form of Linda Danvers and the Matrix Supergirl, aka Mae Kent, looking through Linda's old photos, trying to piece together the person they once were. Mae has sensations when she looks at these photos. One photo in particular that get sensations going is one of her and Buzz, the man who tried to kill Linda. 

"Linda realized that she accidentally mismatched her underwear that day."

She's disgusted but at the same time, her skin tingles with desire. Mae realizes that this is the man who knifed Linda. However, she gets interrupted by Mattie Harcourt, who comes into the room with her parents: Fred and Sylvia Danvers. And they are actually pretty happy to see that "Linda" is seemingly alive and well.

"Did you get that thing we sent you?"

They wonder why she was hiding in a closet, and she gives an excuse that she got spooked by the noise. They buy it. After all, from their perspective, Linda survived something very harrowing. It's natural that she'd have some form of scarring and trauma from that whole thing. 

As this is going down, Cutter Sharp witnesses a member of Buzz's cult seemingly kidnapping a child. He follows, muttering there's never a cop around when you need one. He ain't wrong.

Fred tries to convince her to get checked out. After all, "Linda" has no memories of what happened in that warehouse, and it could be a sign of a physical problem. Remember, he is unaware the "Linda" he's talking to is an amalgamation of Linda and Matrix. She tries to convince everyone she is fine, until she sees a giant hand reaching for her. 

"I'M TELLING YOU! I DON'T HAVE YOUR PANTS!"

Her parents think "Linda" is hallucinating. The demonic hand passes through Mae, unable to touch her. This is the hand of the demon Chakat. And he's not a happy camper. He's especially angry at Buzz, as the blond sociopath said Linda's blood would help him fully appear in the material plane. Yet, he still can't touch anything! He still cannot interact with the material plane. Come on, Buzz! That demon wants to go to Vegas! He wants to play some blackjack, see the sights! Be a bro!

Chakat would punish Buzz for this...somehow, but something's got him spooked. The demon claims that he must hide, as "they" are coming closer. Buzz has to hurry. Luckily for him, he spots Cutter, who is pursing the van he spotted earlier. The reporter ends up being surrounded by other vans, and Buzz introduces himself. 

We next look in on a local hospital. Evidently Linda had agreed to get checked out after all. And the doctor thinks she's perfectly fine.

There's no sign of concussion or anything like that. However, there's also no scar from an appendectomy she had four years earlier. Linda was also shot in a mugging last year. There's no physical sign of that, either. Heck, Linda's eyes had changed colors as well. Last issue established that Linda originally had brown eyes, but thanks to the merger with the Matrix Supergirl, they're now blue. The doctor isn't sure what exactly caused all those scars to vanish, but he attributes the eye color change to stress. Yeah, I don't know if that's an actual thing. 

As the doctor and "Linda"'s family talk, Mae herself ponders her current state. Basically, the merger has left the new combined being with some of Linda's looks and fragmented memories. She feels a great amount of love for this family, but at the same time, they are strangers to her. It's here she gets a visit. 

"Hey there, champ! Still on for that human sacrifice next week?"

Yup, Buzz is here. He clearly has some sorcerous power that allows him to pull it off. She insists he's not here, but in a way, he is. He wants to help clear up some of Linda's confusion as to who he is...and what Linda was all about.

Remember the photo of Linda and Buzz from the beginning? Well, Mae now knows how it was taken. Buzz had a camera in hand, asking Linda how she felt. The young woman admitted that she felt a rush.

Buzz hands the camera to a dwarf buddy of his named Humbert, wanting to immortalize this moment on film. He asks Linda to take off her shirt and embrace him. The dwarf takes the photo. So, why did Linda feel a rush? Well, turns out lying nearby...was a corpse with several knives in its back. Yup. Linda helped Buzz kill someone. 

Buzz taunts Mae, revealing that he not only knows she's Supergirl, he also knows that she wanted a soul. Now thanks to the merging with Linda, she's got one. A soul blackened and stained with innocent blood. A soul that happily embraced Buzz's evil. A freaked-out Mae flies out in her Supergirl form, screaming at Buzz to get out of her head. 

Buzz tells her he had fun seducing Linda into his little Chaos Cult, but doing it to Supergirl? Now that will be a true challenge. 

Mae screams that this was Buzz's fault, that Linda wasn't in control. However, Buzz points out she was. And he's...not wrong about that. It is true that Buzz is an evil son of a gun, but again...he's not wrong. Based on what we've seen, he didn't force Linda to follow him. He didn't make Linda help him put knives in that person's back. She willingly went along with it and enjoyed it. She even outright said she got a rush from it. So, yeah. Things are a bit more complicated than Mae thinks. Buzz calls for her. She follows, if only because she wants to put a fist down the punk's throat.

The trail leads to a closed movie theater, where Humbert has stabbed Cutter in front of a projection of the demon Chakat shown to a cheering crowd.

Cutter realized Humbert was not going to help with his appendicitis.

Supergirl bursts in, and Chakat emerges from the screen, much to her horror. Yes, Cutter's blood was what allowed Chakat to finally enter this plane.

She may not have been able to stop Chakat from crossing over, so that means it's time to hand the demon a beating. She goes right up into the demon's face, knocking him back into his own realm, taking her with him as well. She struggles against Chakat, demanding he stay away from Earth. Chakat mocks her by pointing out that Earth's already been invaded. It's been that way for centuries. His people are already there, they're just waiting for him, so they can stay away from other beings that have been pursuing them.

As he talks, Supergirl is able to break his sword, and cut into his shoulder. Outside, Buzz spots some cops outside. He plays the innocent bystander, telling them he thinks a murder is being committed in there. They agree to check it out, much to Buzz's delight. 

Chakat taunts that Supergirl can't defeat him. Only one problem with that. She wasn't trying to do beat him. She had heard Chakat when he said he was being pursued. Remember when she cut the demon's shoulder? She figured that the blood spilled from it was as signal to his pursuers. Her gamble ends up royally paying off, as a pair of large demons with pitbull heads show up. Not the rapper, actual pitbulls, the dogs. In particular, they appear to resemble American Bullies.

These big dog demons tell Chakat the chase is over, as they have finally found him. Chakat screams for Mae to save him, but she's like "Nah", and flies off. She goes through the portal to Earth, grabs Cutter, and flies off as the building explodes.

That theatre went up real good. You know the city's going to want to put up apartment buildings in its place.

Later, Supergirl watches over Cutter in the hospital. She thinks about Buzz's words. As much as she hates to admit it, Buzz was right. Linda Danvers was not a good person. The darkness was already in her. All Buzz did was exploit it. However, maybe the merging between Mae and Linda was meant to happen as a way to redeem her. A way to save her for a higher purpose. And Mae intends to find out what that higher purpose is. 

A crowd gathers around the destroyed old theater. One lady remarks that this town seems to be going straight to Hell. Buzz walks by and tells her it's not the case. The town is not going straight to Hell. After all, there are some detours planned, and isn't half the fun of going to Hell the journey?

This issue is pretty good. It helped set up what would be a couple of the themes of Peter David's Supergirl run, mainly ones of religion, faith, and redemption. Angels and demons would become part of this series, as a way to make her stand out from the pre-Crisis Supergirl. The story is not perfect, but that does not mean it's enjoyable. One of my favorite parts of the story is the revelation that this version of Linda Danvers was not a good person. It's a very good and intriguing twist and helps set up Mae's future adventures trying to not get Linda redeemed but also find out why Linda should be redeemed. I mean, the DC Universe has its fair share of people who are rotten to the core, so what makes Linda so special? Also, it will be neat seeing Mae try to connect with Linda's friends and family. 

I admit, I think Buzz was a bit overly obvious as a villain. However, rereading the story, I think it does make a bit of sense. I got the idea that Buzz revels in his dark nature because he believes he is unstoppable. He thinks he's untouchable, so yeah. Of course he's going to revel in his evil nature. 

I'm more familiar with Gary Frank's art in Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes, and it looks so different here. I think that may be due to style evolution and different inkers. His work is really good here. It has a clean, almost Silver Age-like quality, which helps juxtapose against the brutality of Buzz. I love his rendition of Buzz. You can see the evil and madness in him.

If you want to read this story for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2016 trade paperback Supergirl by Peter David, Book One. 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!

The Flash #62 (May 1992)

The Flash has had a long and wild history ever since the original, Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick, debuted all the way back in 1940. And like many other superheroes, others have worn the lightning-bolt symbol over the decades of the character's existence. And one of the most prominent holders of the Flash mantle was a Mr. Wallace "Wally" West.

With the death of Barry Allen in Crisis on Infinite Earths, it seemed to make sense that Wally would inherit the mantle. After all, Wally was Barry's nephew by marriage, and he had a long career as Kid Flash both in the real world and in-universe, even being the founding member of two incarnations of the Teen Titans: The original 1960s incarnation, and the more famous Wolfman/Perez 1980s team.

Thing was...that was not the original plan. Turns out the original plan was to introduce a new character as the new Flash. This new character would be named Mackenzie Ryan, a single father with a young daughter named Jamie. Also, unlike his predecessors Jay Garrick and Barry Allen, Mackenzie would not be a speedster. Instead, he would have the power to manipulate various forms of energy, light, sound, that kind of thing. Mac and Jamie would be on the receiving end (and unseen) of a phone call in New Teen Titans #19 (April 1986). Ultimately though, as history shows, this never happened and Wally took up the mantle.

With a new Flash also came a new comic for the Scarlet Speedster, launching in 1987. This new series was launched by writer Mark Baron and artist Jackson "Butch" Guice. This series would have Wally be public with his identity and reside in New York City. Issue #15 would see writer William Messner-Loebs and artist Greg LaRocque take over the book. This run would be notable not only for introducing Linda Park, Wally's girlfriend and eventual wife, but also reintroducing the Pied Piper. The Piper was an old foe of Barry Allen's but became an ally to Wally. It was also established here that he was one of DC's first confirmed gay characters. The title won the first GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book in 1992. Loebs' final issue on the book was issue #61 (April 1992). Taking over for him would be Mark Waid.

Waid had been involved with DC Comics for several years at this point. His first story was published in Action Comics #572 (October 1985), an eight-page Superman story called "The Puzzle of the Purloined Fortress". He mainly worked as an editor around this time, overseeing various titles. 1989 would see him step down to be a freelance writer, although he still continued to work for DC, mainly in their short-lived Impact Comics line. However, it will be his coming on board The Flash as the new writer that would make him a big name in the industry. His run not only introduced the Speed Force, but his run would also emphasize the Flash's history and legacy. Waid's actual first Flash tale was Flash Special #1 (1990), a one-shot tale that was put out to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Flash's debut, the tale being an overarching story involving the Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, and Wally West Flashes. This story also introduced a new far-future Flash: John Fox. 

The comic we're looking at here is Waid's first issue as the then-new writer of the Flash's own ongoing comic book. Is it a strong start, or is it an early stumble? Let's look at Flash #62!

The cover is a Greg LaRocque and Jose Marzan Jr piece. It's pretty good. It shows a very young Wally West seemingly being blasted by lightning, this event taking the young boy towards his destiny as one of the World's Greatest Super-Heroes.

"Flash: Year One - Born to Run!, Chapter 1: Thunder Struck"
Writer: Mark Waid
Penciler: Greg LaRocque
Inker: Jose Marzan Jr.
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Letterer: Tim Harkins
Editor: Brian Augustyn
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

The story begins with Wally West, aka the third Flash, in the Central City Airport. He was waiting for someone when, in superhero comic tradition, he finds himself having to deal with something. Not a supervillain, just some mundane terrorists. They had committed some local bombings. The police managed to catch them, but there was still one bomb left. Turns out, the bomb was supposed to go off at midnight. And of the braintrust terrorists set it to go off at noon accidentally. The time now is 11:55 AM. 

Despite this, they refuse to tell where it is. Wally is fast, so he's able to quickly search the airport and can't seem to find the bomb, until he gets a brainwave.

It's an airport. Why work to hide something there? You could put it in a regular bag, "lose it", and then the airport staff unknowingly hides it for you. Wally looks through the lost-and-found area and finds his explosive quarry.

"This candy bar disguise is terrible!"

Wally realizes he has less than a second left before it blows. Zooming through the airport at Mach 3, he can see the bomb starting to go off. To Wally right now, a microsecond might as well be an hour. It gets him thinking about a game he used to play as a kid every Fourth of July. He would light a firecracker and hold on to it as long as he could before he threw it. He managed to get pretty good at it, and his dad gave him a whupping for it. Wally always thought his father Rudolph was overreacting, but this whole thing makes him think he may have had a point. Wally's lucky he still has all his fingers.

With the airport saved, Wally then meets up with the person he was waiting for: his grandfather Professor Ira West. A Nobel Prize-winning scientist, West has a brilliant mind, but can be rather addled by simple thing like where he put his glasses...while he's wearing them. Wally feels bad about him coming, as even though he's a super-speedster and Ira lives only twelve miles away, Wally never visits. But then again, family is a bit of an issue for Wally. 

Wally's face says it all about his family.

Ira had three children, two daughters and a son: Charlotte, Rudolph, and Iris. Charlotte is arguably the least famous of the West siblings, first appearing in DC Special Series #11 (May 1978). She was the eldest and always talked down to Wally. Rudy was next, and he and Ira were never close. But then, Rudolph never seemed close to anyone. And finally, there was Iris. She was adopted by the Wests, her biological parents coming from the future. Yeah, that was a whole thing.

Unlike Charlotte and his father, Wally has nothing but fond memories of Iris. She was like a second mother to him, but she passed away three years earlier. Yeah, she was seemingly murdered by Professor Zoom in Flash #275 (July 1979), but then her life-force was brought back to the future and she was resurrected. Yeah, that was whole thing. Presumably, Wally is unaware she actually is alive in the future.

Since then, Wally hasn't seen much of Ira. When he gets to Ira's home, he looks through some of old Iris's effects. Mainly, her scrapbooks. Iris kept many scrapbooks of Barry Allen's time as the Flash. Wally wonders if she did the same for him, but he shakes it off. He wasn't Barry Allen. Barry was King Arthur, he was the court jester. But then, he finds another scrapbook. This one yellow with a red lightning bolt on it.

Wally should not have been surprised she kept a scrapbook about him.

Yeah. She was just as proud of Wally during his time as Kid Flash. It gets Wally thinking back to one particular summer: the summer he was ten years old. It was during that summer that he got spend time at Central City with Iris. The young Wally thought that Central was the coolest place in the world. Cooler than Disneyland, cooler than the Moon. Why? Because it was the home of the Flash. In particular, the Barry Allen incarnation. He went there by bus. It was a long ride, but Wally endured it. When he arrives at Central, Iris offers to take him to the Flash Museum. However, as it is in superhero comics, we get some action. In particular, the Flash dealing with some armed jewel robbers.

"This is better than the movies!"

It seems to go well...until Barry falls thanks to some of the thieves' ill-gotten gains spilling on the ground.

Wally is left wondering what to do, until he sees a handyman with a large wrench. And he gets, well...a bolt of inspiration.

One of the robbers has the Flash dead to rights and is about to provide a bullet to the speedster's brain...until a geyser of water hits him in the face.

"Aw, man! Why couldn't it have been a beer wave?!"

Wally decided to take a cue from AC/DC and let the robber have a drink on him. You see, growing up in the hot summers of Midwestern America had taught Wally an important lesson: Fire hydrants are a great way to cool off and can pack a watery punch. It didn't KO the thieves, but it did buy the Flash several valuable seconds to recover. And when you're the Fastest Man Alive, a few seconds are plenty to work with. The Scarlet Speedster easily takes down the robbers, leaving them nice and KO'd for the cops.

Before he leaves, he thanks Wally and says the kid's his hero today. So yeah, Wally's day just got a lot cooler. Iris returns (having called the story in), and then introduces her to her fiance, forensic scientist Barry Allen. In comparison to the Flash, Wally finds Barry Allen a rather dull man. Barry and Wally heads to his apartment, as Iris has to work. It's here that the forensic expert reveals something to Wally: He and the Flash...

...are friends.

Actually, this makes a bit of sense. Barry just met Wally, and he likely feels he doesn't know the kid well enough that he can be trusted with the knowledge of his secret identity. Keep in mind, it also can be implied at this point, Iris is unaware Barry is the Flash, so...yeah. To prove to young Wally he's not making this up, Barry uses a little bit of his speed and a bit of trickery.

"Yes. I am awesome!"

Wally is in awe. Barry Allen, the rather dull CSI is friends with the Flash? Yup! Heck, Barry even has his own lab that he lets the Flash use if he needs to crack a case. He thanks Wally again for saving his life earlier and asks how he can return the favor. And Wally's basically like:

Well, more in the manner of utter amazement than confusion like Spidey here. The Flash doesn't tell Wally who he is under his mask, but he is happy to tell Wally how he got his speed powers. Basically, Barry was working in a lab during a thunderstorm. A bolt of lightning hit him and a wall full of chemicals. Now, normally, this would result in a man getting royally toasted. But instead, Barry got powers. Wally thinks that's the coolest thing ever and wishes something like that happened to him. And wouldn't you know it? There's a thunderstorm brewing over Central City...and Wally is standing next to a wall of chemicals and a window. Certainly something like that couldn't happen again? Barry doesn't think so. After all, lightning never strikes the same place twice, as the old adage says. As if the lightning bolt wanted to prove Barry wrong, said bolt strikes the shelf of chemicals, dumping their electrified contents all over Wally. And that's how the story ends. Be careful what you wish for, folks. You just may get it.

I thought this was an enjoyable issue. This issue is clearly meant to be a jumping-on point, familiarizing readers with the character of Wally West, who he is, and how he first gained his powers. We get the idea that even though Wally comes from a dysfunctional family, he still highly values it. They are important to him, even if it seems like he wasn't important to most of them. We see how much he especially valued Iris and Barry Allen. Not to mention there was a good chuckle had about Ira's absent-mindedness. I can't help but wonder that if this was written today, Ira would be seen as suffering some form of dementia. The beginning is also rather exciting, showing Wally's brains and experience.

Greg LaRocque's art is really good. It's very clean and detailed. The characters are expressive, and there's some strong storytelling. I also love how he, Marzan Jr, and Whitmore render Wally's suit. To me, it makes Wally's Flash suit look like it's meant to be shiny, helping differentiate his suit from his uncle Barry's. 

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2016 trade paperback The Flash by Mark Waid, Book One. Thaks 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!

Justice League of America #252 (July 1986)

As part of my tribute to Gerry Conway, I thought it'd be neat to take a look at a comic he wrote from a rather...controversial era for DC's greatest superhero team: The Justice League of America. In particular, what would be known as the "Detroit Era" as at the time, the League was operating out of a bunker in the Motor City. You should see my review of Justice League of America #241 (August 1985) to learn more how the Detroit Era came about. 

As I have said before, having read some of that era, I can certainly understand why the Detroit era is seen as a low point for the group by both fans and DC themselves. I really can. Yeah, going from the Satellite Era comprised of DC's most famous, iconic, and powerful superheroes in a space station to a bunker in Detroit with a bunch of young newbies? Yeah. Also, it seemed that Conway was running out of steam on the book, struggling to figure out what to do. That was also understandable, as he had been writing the book since 1978. 

Now personally, I always felt the "Detroit Era" was a time that had a lot of missed potential. Yeah, it clearly was trying to emulate the success of New Teen Titans and X-Men, but the idea of these young heroes trying to live up to the legacy of the JLA while struggling with their own issues? There was a goldmine of storytelling potential. It's easy to poke fun at this era of the JLA (heck, DC themselves have mocked this era), but maybe it if it had a new co-writer to contribute fresh ideas, who knows what heights this era would have reached.

The comic we're looking at here is the start of what I consider the beginning of the Detroit JLA's finest hour, their biggest battle yet against one of the League's oldest nemeses. This is Justice League of America #252!

The cover is a Luke McDonnell piece. It's pretty cool, depicting the JLA fighting monsters, while the evil Despero looms in the background covered in shadows, proclaiming that the League will never defeat his infinite horde in a hammy Silver Age manner. My only critique of this cover is that I wish that the cover used Despero's original look, instead of the new look debuted here. More on that later.

"Arrival"
Writer: Gerry Conway
Penciler: Luke McDonnell
Inker: Bill Wray
Colorist: Gene D'Angelo
Letterer: Albert DeGuzman
Editor: Andrew Helfer
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

The story begins with something crashing into the ground. What could it be, you ask? A plane? A truck? Some drunk Kryptonian? Well, a few hours later, a hunting dog picks up the now-cooled meteor. The dog's owner wonders if it's that bear again. That bear kept stealing his pick-a-nick baskets. But it's not Yogi Bear. It's something...much scarier. And now the hunter is a skeleton.

"And thus was born...Raspberry Neon Skeleton Man!"

A figure demands to know where the Justice League is. The hunter insists he has no idea. The man's telepathic inquisition is torture to the man, but the figure does not care. Instead, he probes deeper, killing the man. And who is this angry figure who has a bone to pick with the League? 

"I shall use my...SPHERE BEAM!" 

Yes, it's Despero, the League's old nemesis. The Kalanorian despot has clearly been hitting the gym and got his fin surgically altered since we last saw him in my look at The Brave and the Bold #1! Remember, he originally looked like this.

When the character is adapted to other media, they tend to lean more towards the more muscular look he gets here. I understand why, it's more physically imposing and helps sell the idea that Despero is a major threat. But I'm a bit of a history nerd, so there you go.

He learns that the League that last battled him is no more. However, it still exists with a new roster led by a former Leaguer that he has a particular enmity with.  

The scene then shifts to New York City. It's here we see another long-time Leaguer: one Zatanna Zatara. She is lying in a bed, muttering she has to stop a man. But when she tries to get out of bed...

"AAAAGH, NOT THE NAKED RAMPAGE DREAM AGAIN!"

Yeah, she got that headband on that shocks her brain. Despite this, Zatanna shows that she has willpower that would make a Green Lantern proud. She's able to make her way out of her bed, thinking he has to stop a man named Adam. You see, in the last issue, this man had a woman named Sheri Stanley (who was Zatanna's roommate at the time) to lure her to him. He harvested some of her DNA to obtain the genetic secrets of the Homo Magi.

Sure. In the DC Universe, the Homo Magi are an offshoot of humanity that are naturally inclined to possess and master great magical power. They're the ancestors of the Atlanteans. For example, Arion, whom we've met before on this blog, is a Homo Magi. He's also an ancestor of Zatanna's, and he may also possibly be an ancestor of Aquaman's due to his connections to Atlantis. But since the DCU has been rebooted around six million times in the last few years, who knows if that is canon anymore.

Zee makes her way to the chamber where Adam is going to get the Homo Magi DNA injected into him. The DNA is attached to a retrovirus, and he's hoping that the Homo Magi DNA will increase his natural charisma to godlike levels. Because in a comic book universe, DNA is like LEGO. The headband continues to give her pain, but she presses on. 

"As you can see, Adam is a freak."

Yeah, I get the feeling that he's just trussed up like this for his own personal pleasure, if you know what I mean.

Zatanna is held back, being told that once Adam has the power of the Homo Magi at his command, all of the world's problems can be solved. A blade cuts into Adam's chest. Let's go somewhere less weird, shall we? Like Gotham City!

While there, Bruce Wayne is on a nice date with Mari McCabe, aka Vixen...and her Wolverine hair.

"I need your help, Bruce. Wolverine is suing me for some reason."

The two discuss Bruce's personal life. The Caped Crusader reveals that he's never really had a lasting relationship. He's had his fair share of flings, being a rich handsome man and all. However, he's never settled down because of the Batman. He's left wondering if Bruce Wayne doesn't exist, that he's just the persona that Batman takes on when he's not out fighting crime in the streets of Gotham. Vixen thinks he's pushing himself too hard, and he should relax tonight. The poor lady ends up eating those words when she and Batman witness a massive explosion in the city. 

As the two get ready to leap into action, Vixen thinks about the look Bruce had in his eyes when he saw the explosion. It leads her to conclude that perhaps, Bruce Wayne is merely a persona, that Batman is what he truly has become. Despero sends the two flying with...a pink waterspout? I don't know.

The Dark Knight is able to save himself with some gymnastics and a tree branch. Vixen calls upon a bird's power to fly, and she lands safely in some water. Despero uses his mental powers to send the Gotham Guardian flying. He knows he's called the League for help. 

"Where's my money, Bats?!"

As you can see in the panel, Despero wants to indulge in the classic supervillain trope of explaining his big scheme...and why he now looks like he did more steroids and hit the gym harder than an 80s pro wrestler. Bats ain't in the mood to hear it, so he gives the Finhead his best Mighty Punch. It seems to hurt Despero, as he tosses Batman aside, ranting about how he'll crush his eyes like eggs. Vixen shoves him into some fire, seemingly incinerating him. It...doesn't work. Despero is still very much alive. And the big pink alien is not a happy alien. He seemingly blows up Batman and Vixen.

Naturally, the rest of the JLA are called in. They all think that J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, sent the call. It wasn't him. It could not have been him as he and Cyndi Reynolds were in New York City solving a mystery together in the last issue. The computer's call records reveal that it was from Gotham. Paco Ramone/Vibe isn't buying that it's an actual crisis, as he thinks Batman was just testing them again. Yeah, ever since Batman rejoined the League in issue #250, The Dark Knight has been training the League hard, and it's been getting under Vibe's skin, even making him threaten to quit. 

J'onn confirms that this is a real crisis. The kind of thing Batman wants them to be ready for. The League's teleporter can't get them to Gotham, and all communication to the city has been cut off. Which means, the group's going to have to rely on more old-fashioned methods of transport to Gotham. Time for a helicopter ride! 

"I've heard that Gotham can have some hot nights, but this is ridiculous!"

It looks like home of Batman is slowly being transformed into Hell. Gotham's citizens are being transformed into demons. After being dropped off, the League wonders if magic is involved. It is plausible, and it's a heck of a time for Zatanna to be missing. J'onn discovers that the city is covered by a vibrational barrier. Vibe's powers could counter it, allowing the League entry. True to the Green Martian's prediction, Vibe is able to get the League into Gotham, but he then notices something else: this was easy. Too easy. Clearly, they were expected. And indeed, Despero was expecting the League. He's standing on that looks like some sort of demonic building, Vixen and Batman trussed up. And the story ends with him referring to himself as their final nemesis, and the destroyer of worlds. 

I enjoyed this comic. My favorite scene is the date with Vixen and Batman. I felt there may have been some real potential there for character development-wise. I would have liked to have seen some romantic tension between Vixen and Batman. After all, it's not like Vixen can't handle herself against any of Batman's rogues. And maybe it would have helped Bruce see that he can have some happiness beyond the cape and cowl. Vibe having friction with Batman does make sense. Batman can be a taskmaster, and a metahuman presumably barely out of his teens would naturally chafe with that. Batman may have more experience as a superhero and as a Justice League member, but let's not forget, Vibe is not such a newbie. He's fought the likes of the Cadre, Anton Allegro, and Amazo at this point. His time in the League has been short, but it's been hardly uneventful, and then there's the big Crisis. Yeah, the Detroit League was the incarnation that fought in the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

It was really cool seeing Despero be shown to be this massive threat. He's more powerful than ever, capable of feats that he couldn't do in the past, both physical and mental. This Despero likely would make mincemeat out of the Satellite Era JLA. And that era of the JLA had not only a large roster, that roster included many of DC's most powerful superheroes. It really makes you wonder how the Detroit team can win the day. They lack the numbers (especially since Zatanna is missing and Aquaman quit in an earlier issue), they lack a lot of raw power at the moment (again, Aquaman is out and Zatanna is MIA), how will they save Gotham?! I am excited to read how they pull this off.

The subplot with Zatanna and Adam is a bit weird. I get that he's after the power of the Homo Magi, but couldn't he have just...gone somewhere to learn magic? Or find another way to enhance his natural talents? I get that in the DCU, the Homo Magi have a natural talent for magic, but I don't think that means regular people can't learn magic. I'd get it if Adam thought this would be a shortcut, but there's not indication of that here. it just seems like an excuse to get Zee out of the way to increase the challenge for the League when it comes to Despero's return.

Luke McDonnell is an underrated artist, in my opinion. I think it's because his work isn't flashy and instantly recognizable like say, Kirby or Perez or even a Steranko. It does a pretty decent job. Not much else to say about it, really.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2025 trade paperback DC Finest: Justice League of America - The Return. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! If you liked what I write and want to give my blog some additional support, please make a donation to my Ko-fi! See you next time!