Wonder Woman #15 (April 1988)

Wonder Woman. The Amazing Amazon. One-third of DC's "Trinity", their Big Three heroes. She's been given spotlight on this blog before, as I reviewed Wonder Woman #58 (September 1991) back in June.

First appearing in All-Star Comics #8 (October 1941), Wonder Woman was created by William Moulton Marston and Henry G. Peter. Marston, a psychologist by trade, had already helped lead to the invention of the polygraph, or "lie detector". He saw potential in comics as a medium, and wanted to created a new type of superhero. His superhero would use love to fight evil, instead of guns or fists. His wife Elizabeth suggested that this new superhero be a woman.

Sadly, cancer would claim Marston's life in 1947, and he wouldn't get to see just how big, and how beloved Wonder Woman would become. The character would become a major icon, despite her never getting as much of the treatment in other media that her two compatriots in the Trinity, Superman and Batman did.

In 1986, as part of DC's massive reboot/house-cleaning event known as Crisis on Infinite Earths, Wonder Woman's old canon was wiped out and given a fresh start. A new title with Wonder Woman was launched, with George Perez, Len Wein, and Greg Potter at the helm. This new title was a hit with fans and critics. Wonder Woman would get rebooted yet again with the New 52, and her origins would get wrecked again in DC Rebirth, but despite that, she's endured and become one of DC's most beloved heroines. And Perez's work on the Amazon Princess has stood the test of time, despite numerous reboots and constant futzing with her origin, thank you New 52 and DC Rebirth.

I also picked this issue for another reason. Recently, comic legend Len Wein, who many know for co-creating Wolverine and Swamp Thing, had passed away. As I was picking a comic to review, I pulled out my copy of Wonder Woman by George Perez Volume 2, and found his name in the credits. I felt it was the cosmos telling me to do this comic as a bit of a tribute. Wein has edited and written many characters in his long career. I think almost every major character in the Big Two of comics has been touched by his pen in some form, and this is just one issue in a very large body of work in comics and television. Goodbye, Mr. Wein. You will not be forgotten.

And with that, let's look at Wonder Woman #15!

The cover is really awesome. I think it's one of those covers that only George Perez could pull off. You got the new Silver Swan front and center, letting out her sonic scream. The negative space created by the white of her costume is used to highlight several characters, and the bottom features three images of a screaming Wonder Woman holding her ears. It sells the idea of the Swan being a dangerous new threat to the Amazing Amazon. The lines used on Wonder Woman give it a bit of a horror vibe.

"Swan Song"
Writer: George Perez (Story), Len Wein (Script)
Penciller: George Perez
Finisher: Bruce D. Patterson (pages 4-22)
Letterer: John Constanza
Colorist: Carl Gafford
Editor: Karen Berger

The story begins with Wonder Woman riding on a beach.

She notices a storm in the sky, thunder booming and lightning flashing, the whole nine yards. She looks up and sees a face and hand form in the clouds. Wonder Woman flies up to check it out. The storm begins to dissipate, and a light shines. She looks up and sees...

Huh. Evidently Zack Snyder was not the only one with use Jesus imagery when it came to Superman. She takes his hand, and the two are about to kiss...when Diana wakes up. Yup, Diana was riding around in dreamland. She picks up a Daily Planet newspaper and remarks that she hears Superman's name and sees him everywhere. Evidently, the princess of the Amazons has a bit of a crush on the Man of Steel. Huh. Superman/Wonder Woman shipping was not a new thing. Go figure.

Night has fallen over the city of Boston, Massachusetts, as we look in on the offices of  Ogawa Electronics. Normally, these offices are rather quiet at night, but this night is an exception. A hacker has found his way into the building, and is after some information.

He's after some project called "Silver Swan". A guard enters the room, worried that his fellow guard hasn't come back yet. He pulls out his gun, and the hacker takes the guard down, fleeing the scene. However, it did appear the hacker found what he was looking for.

Meanwhile, at the offices of Diana's publicist, Mindy Mayer, Mindy is being shown a poster...that she and some people are evidently standing on.

Yeah, this panel is weird. I was genuinely confused about it. Is that a mural? A giant poster? A projection? What are they standing on? Was it so big that they had to put it on the floor? What's going on here? Mayer is thrilled with the creator, Skeeter LaRue's, efforts. She takes him to her favorite watering hole to celebrate. This leaves LaRue's two assistants, Deni and Steve to talk amongst themselves.

Deni is furious that Steve lets LaRue take the credit for his ideas. Steve responds that there's no point in speaking up as Mindy never listens to him since LaRue joined up. She then states she's like to kick LaRue, but then Steve advises her to let it go, as LaRue can't have Mindy's ear forever.

The scene then shifts to Boston's Chinatown. There is an actual Chinatown in Boston. A woman is waiting at a phone booth. Phone booth. Don't see much of those anymore. She's waiting to meet her friend, someone named "Val". The woman wonders why she was sent a note by Val to meet her in Chinatown at this hour. She then sees headlights turn on, and hears a squeal of tires.

Realizing that the car's driver is trying to kill her, the woman flees for her life. She runs to an alley, where the car's tire gets shot out, causing it to crash. Despite this, the driver survives, and tries to shoot the woman. The driver hears someone calling out in what I think might be Chinese, but then gets shot. The woman thanks her mysterious savior, but...

The scene switches again to Wakefield. Diana prays to Eros, asking for some clarification regarding her feelings towards the Man of Steel. Vanessa Kapatelis finds her, and asks her what she's doing. This scene sets up that there will be a fair in Diana's honor tomorrow, and Vanessa thinks Diana is praying to steady her nerves for it. Diana was praying in Themysciran, whose language is an offshoot of Ancient Greek, and Vanessa doesn't know much of it. Her mother Julia was of Greek heritage, and was able to speak the language, which helped her become Diana's first friend in Patriarch's World.

We then look in on a cottage in Massachusetts, where the strange woman in Chinatown wakes up, having a bit of a headache. She wonders if she had a dream, but then finds that one of her hands is handcuffed to the bed. The man who shot her welcomes her back to the waking world, and apologizes for the headache. It's an unfortunate side-effect of the tranquilizer dart he shot her with.

The man is named Solomon, and he explains that the woman, a Miss Maxine Sterenbuch, was deliberately targeted. He hands her an envelope containing proof. Sterenbuch is confused by this, and he explains that she was targeted by the Silver Swan, aka Valerie Beaudry.

Sterenbuch thinks Solomon is insane. The Val Beaudry she knew would never do this. She explains the two of them were old friends. When Maxine was 15, she found an ad in a magazine looking for a pen pal. The two started exchanging letters over the years. Maxine's narration does give the impression that her feelings for Val were deeper than simply friendship, despite her never seeing Val's face.

The two did eventually agree to finally meet face-to-face, but she never showed. Maxine tried to find her, but it seemed that nobody in town knew her. The two eventually lost contact, and Maxine found a job working a boutique in Boston. However, Val would call her and arrange a meeting after seven years. Maxine would finally see Val for the first time.

However, something wasn't quite right. Val had a boyfriend, a Henry Cobb Armbruster. He wasn't a pleasant man, and he basically told Maxine to shove off. Maxine noticed that Val seemed nervous around him. Maxine and Val would meet on the sly, but Val was showing signs that she was abused. She also noticed that Val wished she could be as beautiful as Wonder Woman. Maxine explained she got another letter saying she was leaving Armbruster, and wanted to meet her in Chinatown.

Solomon explains that it was a set-up. He also explained that the reason why it happened was to prevent Maxine from learning something about Valerie, mainly...what she actually looked like.

Yeah, you can get why Val was reluctant to send Maxine a picture of her back in the day. Maxine is shocked, wondering how she ended up looking like that. Solomon explains that it's a five year old picture. Val's parents were exposed to nuclear radiation, causing her to be born mutated. When that photo was taken, she was the subject of an experiment code-named Silver Swan. Solomon then shows her a video.

The old man in the tape is Solomon's father, a scientist on the project. The transformed Valerie, using sonic disruption powers she developed, is seen wrecking the lab and killing Solomon's father. Valerie Beaudry has become Solomon's Moby Dick, as it were.

Dawn has risen over the city of Boston. Henry Cobb Armbruster is awake. But he's not eager to greet this new day. He's angry over the assassin's failure and Maxine's vanishing. Armbruster's...colleague, a Mr. Choi, asks if the Silver Swan can deal with Wonder Woman. Armbruster is certain of it, as the Swan despises Wonder Woman and is all too eager to take her on.

At an Air Force base, Etta Candy is getting weighed, and she's managed to lose 35 pounds. Good on her. She says she still has to lose 20 more to reach her target, but Steve Trevor assures her she's within acceptable parameters now, but her effort is to be commended. As an Air Force brat myself, yeah, they do go on about weight parameters in the service. Etta notices a flyer for the Wonder Woman Fair in Boston, and notes that Steve will be there. She wonders how she can compete with the Amazing Amazon.

At Boston Commons, the Fair is in full swing! Rides, stalls, kiosks, and ridiculously expensive junk food! Steve Trevor is there, and he wishes Etta was with him. He runs into Vanessa Kapatelis, who introduces him to her prospective boyfriend Barry. However, Barry seems to be more interested in seeing Wonder Woman.

A woman who is working for a charity is confronting Skeeter, saying she feels that this fair should be about helping needy children, not feeding Wonder Woman's ego. Skeeter counters that the point of the fair is to make money, and it's a big success at that aspect. Honestly, I could imagine Wonder Woman wanting the charitable aspects of the fair emphasized.

A woman approaches a podium, and introduces Princess Diana. We get a brief glimpse of Solomon and Maxine. Solomon says he can sense the Silver Swan is here, but Maxine tells him she hopes he's wrong about that.

Wonder Woman makes her big appearance, to the joy of the crowd.

Diana flies towards the podium, but a low humming is heard in the air. The cast look around, and...

A sonic blast destroys the giant poster of Wonder Woman behind the podium. The perpetrator makes herself known: Valerie Beaudry, the Silver Swan.

Solomon tries to make his move, but gets a gun put to his head. Diana tries to talk to Beaudry, but the Silver Swan is having none of it. She lets out a sonic scream that hurts Diana's ears and wrecks the Ferris wheel. The story ends with Diana watching the wheel collapse in horror.

This comic is really enjoyable. Perez and Wein juggle multiple storylines with ease, and they come together in a epic manner with the Silver Swan's attack. The post-Crisis Silver Swan's origins here have a tragic and horrific aspect due to the character being born hideously mutated, then abused and experimented on. It's a much darker nod to the Ugly Duckling, with aspects of Moby Dick thanks to Solomon's vengeful crusade.

The art is...interesting. You see, Perez himself only did the first few pages of the comic, while doing the layouts for the rest. Patterson's job just seemed to be "clean up the rough pencils so they'll look pretty for printing". As a result, the art for the main story is still very Perez-esque. The angles, the faces, all still retaining Perez's essence. As a result, the main story's art is not jarring at all. Fantastic.

Next time, we return to Earth-712, and the Squadron Supreme facing new problems...

Netflix Punisher Trailer, My Thoughts

After his big MCU debut in Daredevil's second season, it only was a matter of time before the Punisher got his own spinoff series. And here's the trailer for it!

The trailer begins with a man in an undisclosed location, hefting a hammer. No, this isn't Thor, folks. He's up in space right now.

The man smashes the hammer into the ground, intercut with Frank Castle speaking. He talks about how memories never hurt him. Memories may not hurt you, Mr. Castle, but if you're not careful with how you swing that hammer, you'll throw out your shoulder.

Based on what the Punisher is talking about, and the clips we see, this series may explore some more stuff about Castle's pre-Punisher life. That's good.

I haven't finished watching Season 2 of Daredevil, so I really got to catch up, but it seems that Frank may have gotten himself into some trouble in his military days, based on the scenes I can see in this trailer. I'm not completely certain, though.

I haven't seen much of the Netflix side of the MCU, but I have enjoyed what I have seen so far. I think I might enjoy this, too.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Trailer, My Thoughts

The September Nintendo Direct has alerted us gamers to a lot of stuff coming up for the Nintendo Switch and 3DS. And one of those things is a sequel to Xenoblade Chronicles called...Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Hey if it works. Let's take a look!

Welcome to the land of Alrest! It's...cloudy, isn't it? Heh heh.

That's a big dragon...thing. Titan is an appropriate name for it. If people have built cities on their back, do they make a deal with the Titans or something? Do the Titans mind all those people with their cities on their backs?

A Tree of Life? Does that mean this world has an Asgard or Muspelheim? Or Valhalla? And if there's a place called Elysium on it, will it be attacked by a bald Matt Damon wearing power armor?

There's a bunch of kingdoms here. Neat.

Uraya are essentially very much nature-lovers.

Mor Ardain are techno-freaks. They have turtle-tanks. I want a turtle-tank! Although it probably would be expensive to feed.

I'm guessing that the Titans must not have any issue with the cities on them, as the Indoline Praetrium worship them, and also have a city on the back of one of those dragon plesiosaur...things. They have much of the control over the military thanks to their faith. Yeah, religion and military always go well together...

And of course, you have to have your trade guild in Argentum. I'm guessing you buy items and weapons in the game from their merchants.

Torna, huh? They're a nation built on black ops. Okay, then. They seem a trustworthy sort.

So, there's this little girl, and I think we can assume that she has this Aegis thing. Honestly, I keep thinking it should be a shield.

Hi, Azurda! Wait, Titans can talk? If they can talk, then that means they can communicate with people! id the people who built these cities on them basically ask them if it was cool first?!

Heh, Rex. He's probably going to the character with the most "normal" name, if you get what I mean. He's awful young to be scavenging for things on his own. I'm guessing Azurda watches his back. And of course, this whole thing starts because of a boy and his hormones.

The combat system isn't like most RPGs I'm familiar with.

Heh heh, you can have Blades shoot or slash. Whichever is your preference.

Hmm, looks like the combat system encourages you to try out different blades and figure out the right ones for the job. Good way to encourage not sticking with one the entire game.

I have to admit, some of the stuff in this game does make me scratch my head. Like the combat system. I find it a bit weird. To be fair, I never played the original Xenoblade Chronicles, so it may just be something I'm not used to...if this combat system was used in the last one. At least it does allow to put some thought into how you fight monsters. The game does look really cool, though. I like the idea of people living on the back of giant flying monsters. I have heard good things about the original, so I hope the sequel does well, too.

Metroid: Samus Returns Accolades Trailer

It's here! The newest addition to the Metroid franchise is here: Samus Returns! Samus Returns is actually an enhanced remake of the 1991 game Metroid II: Return of Samus for the original Game Boy. The remake was a collaboration of Nintendo and MercurySteam, and it retells Samus's extermination of the titular Metroids on the planet SR388. Nintendo has released an accolades trailer for the game, and I have it here for your viewing pleasure.

The trailer shows basically some positive reviews of the game mixed with some gameplay footage. I have to admit, the footage looks really good. It's amazing to see Samus back blasting monsters with various weapons in a 2.5D-esque environment.

Did Samus just do a finisher on a rhino beetle-like monster?! That's awesome!

I've been wanting this game since it was announced, and seeing these reviews really makes me smile. Looks like this little collab between Nintendo and MercurySteam has gone quite well.

There's not a ton I can say about this trailer except the game seems to be really good, which is good. I want to get this game as soon as I can.

The Flash #71 (December 1991)

The Flash. The Fastest Man Alive. One of the World's Greatest Heroes. Since 1940, The Flash has brought criminals to justice using fleet feet. There have been quite a few Flashes over the past 77 years, and this entry will focus on the third man to take up the Flash mantle: Wallace "Wally" West.

First appearing in The Flash #110 (December 1959), Wally West started out as Kid Flash, the sidekick of the previous Flash, his uncle Barry Allen. He gained his power in a duplication of the chemical and lightning accident that granted Allen his own super-speed powers. As Kid Flash, Wally was one of the original Teen Titans. When Barry Allen sacrificed his life to save the universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths, Wally took up his mentor's mantle.

Over the next two decades, Wally would grow into the mantle and make it his own. However, despite the character's popularity (boosted by appearing in the DCAU Justice League cartoon), he would be ignored by DC when Barry Allen returned in Final Crisis. Then Flashpoint and the New 52 hit, wiping out Wally's Flash tenure from continuity, a move (among many) that alienated many readers from DC. DC would then reintroduce a new Wally West, a black teenager. And then Rebirth hit, and with it, the return of the original Wally West...while still keeping the New 52 Wally West around.

Yes, folks. You have heard right. There are now TWO Wally Wests running around in the DC Universe. That is totally not confusing. They have tried to explain it as that the black Wally is the cousin of the white Wally. You know, nobody is going to get Peter Parker and Miles Morales mixed up. Nor will anyone get Tony Stark and Riri Williams mixed up. I hate DC Rebirth.

And with that, let's take a look at one of Wally's many adventures during his original now non-canon tenure as the Flash, Flash #71!

The cover is a basic one, showing Flash facing off against the new Doctor Alchemy. We see Wally West valiantly charging towards the new Doctor Alchemy, while he's getting ready to use his Philosopher's Stone. I noticed that above the masthead logo, there is a bit of a pun. "The criminal...ELEMENT!" Get it? Criminal element? Dr. Alchemy can mess with elements. That's the joke.

Writer: Mark Waid
Penciller: Greg LaRocque
Inker: Tony Richardson
Letterer: Tim Harkins
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Editor: Brian Augustyn
Assistant Editor: Ruben Diaz

The story begins with Wally West being tortured.

For a normal man, waiting in line at the bank is tough. For a man used to running at velocities that would make race cars jealous, it is Hell. He tries to suggest to a man in front of him how to speed things up, but the man tells him to get bent. The wall of the bank seemingly melts away, and guess who has arrived.

It's Doctor Alchemy, in the flesh. I do like the costume, although I can't help but wonder if he really needs his boots that high. Aw well, if it works for him, I guess. I'm not gonna judge. Wally changes into the Flash with the aid of a revolving door, and engages the villain, who introduces himself as "The Alchemist". The original Doctor Alchemy, Albert Desmond, also started his criminal career as "Mr. Element". Wally asks if that's the original Alchemy's Philosopher's Stone he's holding. Alchemist says, "You tell me", and turns the ground beneath the Flash into tar.

Wally escapes by ditching his boots, and tries to grab the stone. He notes that if he really wanted some easy money, why not use the stone to turn a lamppost into platinum? That does raise a good point. He's stopped by Alchemist changing the air in front of the Flash into a crystal barrier. Alchemy then goes after the man Wally was waiting behind at the bank, revealing his name is Migliani, and they have a score to settle. The shocked Migliani recognizes the Alchemist under his hood.

This Alchemist is named Curt. Which means he's definitely not the original Dr. Alchemy. Flash realizes that the Alchemist may be an assassin. He uses some velvet ropes to distract the Alchemist, allowing Migliani to make his escape. Wally again goes for the Stone, but fails. Alchemist turns the air into unbreathable ozone, and makes his escape while the Flash gets the people out. Flash also notices that Migliani is gone. A search turns up no leads, and Wally West feels down. As such, he knows who to go to when he needs cheering up. He zips by a girl selling flowers.

Heh heh. During this, Wally remarks about his time in Justice League Europe, and that no matter what, the person he's getting flowers for is always there for him. The unmasked Wally arrives at the news studio to his girlfriend, talk show host Linda Park...and her farewell party.

Much to Wally's shock, Linda is taking an offer for a job in Midway City, who have been after her talents for a while. Linda explains that Midway gives her a change of pace. She has no family in Keystone City, no real reason to stay...right? Yeah, Wally and Linda's relationship is having some troubles. Evidently, the speedster can't seem to decide whether they are friends or something more. The Flash may be the Fastest Man Alive, and one of the World's Greatest Heroes, but even he is not immune to troubles of the heart. Linda tells him she's going on the train at two this afternoon, and if he has an answer, he'd better deliver it by then. Flash is forced to table the problem for now by an urgent police bulletin.

While on the way there, Wally practices what he intends to say to Linda at the train station, zipping by various couples. Nice touch there. He arrives at the police department, where he has a guest.

The police explain that Moe Migliani offered to turn in some state's evidence against some big-time mob bosses. His credibility is not get, but it is good enough for the police. They have to keep him safe until the feds can pick him up. Only, there is one problem: Alchemist. Migliani wants the Flash to protect him because he claims the Alchemist was his former cellmate. The police provide the Flash with his file, revealing his name is Dr. Curtis Engstrom, a brilliant biochemist, who is also rather nuts.

I love this spread here. I like that the panels covering Engstrom's origins are in the Philosopher's Stone itself. Long story short, Engstrom stole a medical microcomputer that was made from a piece of the Stone. You know, I can't help but wonder if his name was an homage to Swedish programmer Christian Engstrom. Anyway, Curtis Engstrom was caught, but the computer was never recovered. However, Engstrom's big priority happened to be Migliani. There's a little moment where Migliani tries to buy a favor from a cop with a watch, but the chief puts a stop to that. "Payola." "Bad." "Internal Affairs Investigation." "Really bad."

What the police want Flash to do is zip Migliani around the city, so Alchemist will have a harder time finding him. Migliani is thrilled by this, and in a funny moment, becomes a little kid again when the Flash runs off with him.

Migliani tries to give Flash a watch as a gift, and Wally only accepts it so he'll shut up about it. Wally West asks why Engstrom wants to kill him. See, Migliani couldn't get him out of jail. Yeah. Wally realizes that he's Moe "Mouthpiece" Migliani, the jailhouse lawyer. Yup. He once went to jail, studied law in jail, and was able to use his knowledge to get him out all nice and legal. He considered Engstrom a friend and tried to get him out. However, medical crimes are hard to fight in court, so despite his best efforts, Engstrom couldn't get out. So Engstrom got furious and vowed to kill Migliani.

Migliani asks what time it is, and reveals that he has a talk show appearance to do. Wally is understandably infuriated by this, as Migliani is supposed to keep a low profile. Doing an appearance on a talk show is the opposite of this. Migliani reassures him it will be fine, as TV shows are taped, and won't be broadcast for days, giving Flash time to deal with the Alchemist.

I feel for Wally. He wants to punch Migliani in the face so hard. You can't really blame the guy. Flash takes Migliani to the studio where the talk show is being filmed. The interview is a man named Fernando. Get it? It's a nod to Geraldo Rivera. Fernando states that the episode is being filmed live, much to Migliani's shock and Wally's seething fury. The spotlights explode, and the Alchemist attacks.

Alchemist and Flash fight, but Wally West is left wondering something. If Engstrom is so mad at Migliani for not getting him out, why all these theatrics? Why didn't he just kill him? Maybe there's something more going on here. But the Fastest Man Alive can't puzzle on it right now, as he has lives to save. The Alchemist tries to attack some people with his Philosopher's Stone.

While he's saving people, Wally remembers that the original Dr. Alchemy had to make a lot of effort to mess around with basic compounds, but he was able to change a person into another substance. But that happened only once, and it took years for the original to master the Stone enough to pull that trick off. He's hoping Engstrom isn't able to master the Stone enough to pull off that trick. Flash saves a woman from a blast from the Stone, and...

...Curtis Engstrom has mastered the Stone enough to turn him into gold. Which actually makes sense. Remember, Engstrom is a biochemist. He is an expert on the chemical processes within living beings. He could use that knowledge to make the Stone pull these kind of tricks.

This issue was really good. It had drama, action, and a nice little bit of humor here and there. It was an epic introduction to a new legacy villain. The Alchemist was a great way to update one of the Barry Allen Flash's old Silver Age Rogues for Wally to take on in the then-modern 1990s. Wally is a different Flash than Barry was, so it'd be appropriate the Alchemist be a different man that the original Dr. Alchemy. Waid's love of science does get shown in this issue, and Greg LaRocque's art is well-done. There was also a nice little twist here with Engstrom and Migliani's little sub-plot. If you ever find Mark Waid's Flash run, I highly recommend it.

Next time, we stick around in the DC Universe as we look at an adventure of Wonder Woman...

300th Post!

This snuck up on me faster than I thought, but it has finally arrived. It's a time for celebration! My 300th post on this blog!

I never imagined that this would happen. 300 blog posts. That is a milestone. As such, I thought I'd like to show off some of my personal favorite blog entries and a couple milestones:

Justice League #221 (December 1983) Review - This is my most-viewed comic review. It's the only blog entry to have broken 7,000 views...and counting. People seem to really enjoy this one, and honestly, I enjoyed writing it. I don't know what about this one made it so popular. Maybe people really like catgirls, ha ha. But in all seriousness, I am glad people liked this review, and I hope people continue checking out my other comic reviews.

Pokémon Zeta/Omicron - My 100th blog entry. This was giving my thoughts on a pair of Pokémon fangames that I enjoyed. The creator also went on to create another Pokémon fan game I really enjoy: Insurgence. I highly recommend checking it out, too. And speaking of Zeta/Omicron, I have heard that there is being another game in development that is essentially the Emerald to their Ruby/Sapphire: Epsilon. Can't wait to give that a play when they got a demo out.

Squadron Supreme #1 (September 1985) Review - In January, I wanted to call attention to a classic miniseries that I felt was rather ignored and forgotten. This mini is considered the late Mark Gruenwald's magnum opus, deconstructing the superhero before Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons made it cool with Watchmen. And if you want to read my reviews on the other issues to this point, here they are: Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight. I also looked at a tie-in: Captain America #314 (February 1986). Enjoy!

When writing it, I had a funny idea. There's 12 issues, and twelve months in the year, why not spend once a month looking at each issue of it? I have stuck to that so far, and I hope it's managed to get this mini a bit more exposure. It's a great miniseries, and I do consider it a bit of a must-read. I had so much fun doing this that next year, I may do it again next year with 12-issue mini-series. In fact, I know the perfect one to do it with...

My additions to the SNES Classic - This one was fun to write as it let me get speculative. The SNES Classic's library is basically mostly all killer, no filler. So I wanted to add games that were considered good (as well as a couple hidden gems), and diversify the kinds of games that were available. The SNES could use a shooter. After all, the NES Classic got Galaga. That thought was what inspired that blog entry.

New Warriors #1 (April 2014) Review - This was the very first comic review I ever wrote, and it was especially fun because it was a comic I really enjoyed. This New Warriors series (the group's fifth), was really good, and it's a shame it only lasted 12 issues. I loved this roster, and I hope it returns one day.

My 10 Favorite Gen 1 Pokémon - I am a bit of a fan of the Pokémon franchise. Yeah. Mainly the games. I have talked about the games quite a bit on this blog. I bought Red and Blue as a kid, and it was a series that got me into JRPGs. I enjoyed writing this blog entry, which gave my thoughts on my favorite Pokémon from the original Red, Blue, and Yellow. Not much of an entry, but I enjoy it, and I'm proud of it. Maybe I'll do such lists for other gens in the future.

Guardians of the Galaxy Review - My first movie review. Even better that it turned out to be a great movie. The Guardians movies are some of my absolute favorite MCU films, and I had such a great time writing this review. It was just as much fun writing this blog as I did watching the movie in the theater.

A better way to handle the Mutant/Inhuman conflict - My 150th blog entry. I have to admit, I was in a bit frustrated when I wrote this one. You see, I really disliked the idea of Inhumans vs. X-Men. I felt it was a half-baked attempt to have the X-Men enter into yet another pointless brawl with another group of superheroes...although I doubt you really can count the Inhuman Royal Family as a standard superhero team. Also, it was an opportunity for me to kind of discuss some issues I had with the X-Men franchise in recent years. I still have some issues with the franchise, but that's for another time.

Action Comics #674 (February 1992) Review - My 200th blog entry. This was done during what I consider an actually great time in Superman's comics, the late 80s-mid 90s. It's an era that I think is quite underrated, as I don't see a lot of comic nerds talking about this era very much, if at all. I was first exposed to this era of Superman thanks to the Return of Superman trade, and it became a favorite of mine to read. It's an era of Superman's comics I think deserves more love. And as I said in this review, it appeared to be a big influence on the creative team of the 90s Superman cartoon.

Justice League #1 (May 1987) Review - I loved writing this review, as it was the birth of one of my favorite incarnations of the Justice League, the JLI/Justice League International. This comic laid the seeds for some of the trademarks of that era, particularly the more humorous tone. It's a fun era, and I highly recommend it.

Doom Guy's Mind - I wanted to give this video a shoutout because I thought it was hilarious and deserved more views. It was made with gameplay footage that I think also used the Brutal Doom mod. I loved Doom as a kid, and it was one of the few games I played on the computer. It's a funny video. If you played and loved Doom, you'll love this video.

Let's Play Pokémon Insurgence - I did attempt a Let's Play of a Pokémon fan game that I pretty much...well...abandoned after two videos. Now that I think the game is finally completed, I think that it may be time to pick this back up. I think the grinding is a bit less of a slog now, which makes things more tolerable.

Deadpool and the "R" Rating - This was one of the first blog entries that I had written that was an attempt to talk about something besides giving my thoughts on various media things like trailers and comics. I had concerns about Deadpool getting an "R" rating at the time. The problem for me was not that Deadpool got that rating. The rating fits for that character. My worry was that with Deadpool being the success that it was, other people behind superhero films would get the wrong idea and go for "R" ratings on films based on other characters, even ones that would not fit them. This blog entry was my attempt to voice my concerns. I think I could have done it a lot better now.

And that's some of my favorite moments from the blog's history. I want to say thank you to everyone who has been reading and enjoying this blog. I hope you all continue to enjoy what I put in it in the future.

Silver Surfer #54 (Early September 1991)

The Silver Surfer. The silver-skinned sentinel of the spaceways. Once an astronomer named Norrin Radd, his life would be changed forever when the Eater of Worlds, Galactus, came to his homeworld of Zenn-La. He saved his world by agreeing to be the world-eater's herald. With that, Galactus granted him some of his Power Cosmic, transforming him into a silver-skinned surfer with vast cosmic power.

Co-created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and debuting in Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966), the Surfer would go on to be one of Lee's favorite co-creations. He would write his first solo series in 1968, which became regarded as one of Lee's best and introspective works. The solo would end after 18 issues, but the Surfer would continue to appear in various adventures, even being a former member of the Defenders. His second series, which this comic is from, launched in 1987, and went on to last for almost 150 issues, ending in 1998.

This series would get itself a bit of a boost in 1991, as issues #51-59 tied into the Infinity Gauntlet storyline. Those comics are collected in the Silver Surfer Epic Collection The Infinity Gauntlet. I got the scans from that trade. I love the Epic Collection line. I'm trying to get as many as I can.

The cover is a bit basic, but it's well-drawn. It's basically the Silver Surfer fighting the Rhino. It's pretty much exactly what happens in this comic. A simple cover for a simple story. Rather appropriate.

"Cages"
Writer: Ron Marz
Penciler: Ron Lim
Inker: Tom Christopher
Letterer: Ken Bruzenak
Colorist: Tom Vincent
Editor: Craig Anderson
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins with Doctor Strange telling a group of other superheroes, including Richard Rider in his "Kid Nova" gear, that they have a bit of a problem.

Evidently, the Hulk, being the Hulk, has decided he wants nothing to do with helping the other heroes because he's angry at the Avengers. He's the Hulk, being angry is his thing. I knew it was a tie-in with Infinity Gauntlet, so I grabbed my trade of it so I could figure out when exactly this issue took place. And from what I could tell, it took place during Infinity Gauntlet #3. Sorry about the tangent, just trying to get the continuity straight. Back to the story!

Unnoticed by the other heroes, the Silver Surfer walks away quietly, thinking about how this is a bad omen. He also thinks about when he thought he had killed Thanos back in Silver Surfer #38, but it turned out be a ruse by the Mad Titan.

I like the touch of the Surfer glancing at a picture of the original Avengers.

He considers that maybe if he had actually killed Thanos, this whole crisis could have been averted. The Surfer has long considered himself a "champion of life", as he liked to put it and he did feel shame when he thought that Thanos had died by his hand. However, he wonders if maybe he was justified when he thought he had killed the Mad Titan. His thoughts then turn to the current crisis, and he realizes he's going to need a clear head to deal with Thanos becoming a god.

As such, he decides to take a flight on his surfboard. He flies around over New York City, and the Surfer isn't too fond of the city. He thinks of it as an "ugly growth of concrete and steel", but his flight takes him to Central Park. The former Norrin Radd thinks here would be a fine place to think, as he's found peace and calm in nature in the past.

Silver Surfer looks at a fallen tree, and thinks about how Thanos was able to wreak such destruction so casually. He then looks at a mourning man and realizes that as much as the park was destroyed...the human cost was even worse. In an attempt to impress Death, Thanos casually killed half the population of the universe. It let to trillions of deaths on Earth. Surfer decides for now that even though he can't heal the motional wounds, he may be able to help repair the park a little bit. In the process, he amusingly encounters a penguin.

The penguin just looks at the Surfer and waddles away, Surfer remarking that he's not very familiar with all of Earth's creatures. You'd think that in the time he's spent on Earth thanks to Galactus's exile and his time with the Defenders, somebody would have told him about penguins. Although to be fair, it probably just never came up. Surfer vows to learn more about life on Earth, thinking maybe after the crisis, Doctor Strange could help with that. He heard a scream about animals on the loose. A man runs by him, screaming at everyone to save themselves. The Surfer wonders what has got the man all freaked out, and then he sees a tiger.

The Surfer may not be completely knowledgeable about Earth's fauna, but he does have the idea that a tiger should not be allowed to roam free in a city full of people. He investigates and finds a tiger enclosure. The Surfer realizes that he's at a zoo. Yes, Central Park does have a zoo. Interestingly, the Surfer remarks that back on his native Zenn-La, zoos had been abolished. He then realizes that the animals in their holding pens were deliberately set free. It's not long until he finds the perpetrator.

Yup, it's the Rhino, mainly known as a part of the Amazing Spider-Man's rogues gallery, although he has also occasionally tangled with the Incredible Hulk. The Surfer sees Rhino unlocking a tiger cage, and demands to know what he is doing. Rhino explains that he's doing so because the end of the world is coming. He's been locked up quite a few times in his life, and he wanted to give the animals a bit of freedom before the end hits. Surfer tries to explain that the universe is in danger, but there are heroes gathering to stop the danger and save the world. He asks for Rhino's help in getting the animals back, but Rhino decides basically turns down the offer in his classic manner.

Yup, Mighty Punch to the Surfer's silver-sheened jaw. Surfer tries to avoid a fight, but Rhino would rather throw punches. Surer tries to explain that he's a being with cosmic power, whereas Rhino is just a very tough guy with a very tough suit. The Rhino does not care, and shows the Surfer one thing.

Even a being armed with the Power Cosmic and able to surf the spaceways without suffering any of the negative exposure to the vacuum is not immune to getting speared into a lake. As a fan of wrestling, I had Joey Styles screaming "OH MY GOD!" in my head when I read this.

Rhino and the Surfer tussle in a lake, and the big villain tries to strangle/drown the Surfer. However, that doesn't work. You see, the Silver Surfer doesn't need to breathe. And he makes that clear to Rhino.

You would think at this point, the Rhino would consider that maybe he's punching way above his weight class with this one. But the big lug doesn't seem to get it. Surfer warns him he'll only get hurt if he keeps trying to fight him, but Rhino does not care. He's going to gore the Surfer good and show him those horns he wears aren't fancy decorations.

I love this cluster of panels. They really give an idea of the Rhino charging closer and closer to the Surfer, the Rhino's rage and intent, and Surfer's lack of fear over this as...well, he's faced threats that would turn the Rhino's suit white with fear. The Surfer shows his power by easily stopping the villain.

One hand. Just one hand. That's all it took to stop the Rhino, a villain who has tangled with The Hulk. The Surfer is fed up with Rhino's antics, and decides to give him a Power Cosmic-charged Mighty Punch to the face. However, the Rhino's jaw is saved by the sound of a gunshot. The two decide to check it out, and Rhino is shocked by what he sees.

A policeman had seen a tiger running around, and shot it in a panic. The Rhino is furious and wants to beat the officer to a pulp. The Surfer stops him from doing so, saying that this was Rhino's fault. His foolhardiness led to the tiger getting shot. He stated his desire to free the animals led to them getting endangered, as he just let them loose in a place that was not meant for them. However, the zoo's pens were meant and designed for them, a place where they could be safe.

Rhino kneels over the injured tiger in remorse, saying he didn't mean for this to happen. He just didn't want them to spend the end of the world in a cage. The Surfer does agree that they do deserve to be free, but that isn't meant to be here. They need to be somewhere safe. They need to be back in their pens. Using the Power Cosmic, the Surfer heals the injured tiger, and asks the Rhino to help him repair the damage he did to the zoo. The Rhino reluctantly agrees.

The Rhino helps repair the damage he caused without incident, but he still feels what he's doing isn't right. He feels that there was no point to all this as Thanos is bringing the world to an end. Surfer tries to reassure him that Thanos will bring about his own downfall and the world will be saved. He suggests that Rhino join the heroes, as his strength would be a help against Thanos, and considering much of the superhero community are among the people whom Thanos has made vanish. Rhino turns it down, saying he'll keep an eye on things in the city.

The Surfer understands, and heads out. He hopes that he and the Rhino meet again under better circumstances, but they both think they doubt that. The Surfer returns to the heroes' gathering area, feeling renewed, only to hear a new voice.

Yup, it's the Hulk. Evidently, while the Surfer was having his little donnybrook with the Rhino, the Hulk had changed his mind and decided to help the heroes battle Thanos.

This was a good issue. I had to admit, I was left a little confused as to how this brawl with the Rhino helped clear the Surfer's mind. It's not a bad issue, though. It's was nice seeing another, more empathetic side of the Rhino. One can understand his actions, and the good intention behind them. He believed the world was doomed, and he just wanted to give some animals one last taste of freedom before the end. Maybe that's what did it.

I like to think that the Surfer convincing the Rhino to help him repair the zoo and put the animal back in their cages was his way to trying to being some optimism to the Rhino, trying to reassure him the world will not end, and the heroes will triumph in the end. That, and letting a bunch of wild animals loose in a city that is already freaking out over half its citizens vanishing is not the best of ideas. I have no complaints about Ron Lim's art, it's great work. 

I also have one other complaint about this comic, but it's not one you can really hold against this story. From what I figured, this comic takes place during Infinity Gauntlet #3, but there's a bit of a continuity mishap. You see, this comic states that Hulk had changed his mind and arrived at Avengers HQ before the Surfer returned from his adventure with the Rhino. But in the Infinity Gauntlet miniseries itself...

Silver Surfer is shown to be in the room when Hulk does arrive. I don't know if it was an art goof, or there was some miscommunication between Jim Starlin (who wrote the main IG mini) and Ron Marz, but it's something I noticed and wanted to point out. It's not a strike against Silver Surfer #54 at all, it's still a good comic. And I just wanted to show a panel drawn by George Perez. Who doesn't love George Perez art on things?

Next time, we're going to the DC Universe, as the Flash battles the new Doctor Alchemy...