Adventures of Superman #545 (April 1997)

The 1990s are often the butt of jokes from comic book fans. I understand why, personally. There was a lot of rough stuff in comics at time. *cough*Liefeld*cough* Not to mention the comic book industry nearly collapsed. But there were some hidden gems during that time. One of them was Superman's titles.

At the time, the Man of Steel had multiple books, and if you've read this blog, you may know I'm a bit of a fan of this era of his books. Every ten months, the creatives of these titles would hold a "Super-Summit" to discuss and plan out new adventures for the Metropolis Marvel.

Colorist Glenn Whitmore was a fan of Superman #162 (July 1963), which contained the classic Silver Age tale "The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue!". In these Super-Summits, he would always pitch to the Superman team the idea of doing a modernized take on that tale. But it would always get laughed off. There was talk of giving Superman a new costume after The Death of Superman, but it ended up not amounting to much. Just the temporary black "recovery" costume Supeman wore during that storyline. It was felt that his classic suit should be kept to firmly establish he was back.

The idea to change up Superman's powers came from Karl Kesel. He felt that it would make some interesting new challenges and stories for the Man of Steel. Superman's powers have been raised and lowered over the years, but never outright changed. Giving him new powers would also have been a great excuse to give him a new outfit. All the Superman artists at the time took cracks at Supes' new look, but it was Ron Frenz's design that would win out, as it was felt his design best reflected Superman's new energy-based power set.

At the time, the storylines these "Super-Summits" would conceive would last about six to ten weeks. This new status quo would last quite a bit longer than that, as the creatives wanted to maximize the potential of Superman dealing with these brand-spanking new powers. Glenn Whitmore would get his wish the next year as Superman's transformation into an energy being would later cause him to split into a pair of Supermen, but that's another tale.

And with that out of the way, let's take a look at Adventures of Superman #545!

The cover is pretty neat. It's a Stuart Immonen piece. You got Superman having an electrical headache "THIS BIG", heh heh. It's not something you expect to see on a Superman cover. I also like the narration on the cover. It's like the narrator is thinking as they narrate: "...new powers?! Wait, what?!" It just amuses me.

"Power Crisis!"
Writer: Karl Kesel
Penciler: Scot Eaton
Inker: Jose Marzan, Jr.
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Letterer: Albert Deguzman
Editors: Joey Cavalieri, Mike McAvennie

The story begins with Superman making a call to his then-friend Emil Hamilton.

The Man of Steel's powers have been going a bit wonky lately, and he understandably wants to get checked out. He hopes his new wife Lois can hold the fort without him for a bit. She isn't worried, though. She's holding a dinner party, nothing she can't handle. She's invited Perry White and another man named Dirk Armstrong to attend. But before Supes goes, she wants some makeout action. It's stopped by some static electricity.

"I really oughta stop staring at the St. Elmo's Fire..."

Superman's powers are going wonky again... The Metropolis Marvel suddenly feels light-headed and falls...right through the wall of his and Lois's apartment. He tries to fly back, but he can't. His flight power's been shut off! He slams into the ground, crackling with electrical power.

"That didn't hurt!"

His body is crackling with electricity. Superman finds it's affecting his vision powers, causing him to see various wavelengths he couldn't before. A man named Dirk Armstrong emerges from a taxi and sees Superman in the state he's in. This guy was the last person Superman needed around right now. You see, Armstrong's been writing some anti-Superman columns recently, and the Man of Steel's power problems would make great fuel for them. Superman tries to get it under control, but ends up making a car explode. And then a bus come towards him.

"Oh Rao hates me..."

I bet this was what Superman was thinking right now.

Luckily for him (and the bus's passengers), Superman becomes immaterial and falls through the sidewalk. He somehow ends up wrecking an underground power line, causing a blackout. Lois Lane runs outside, and finds that Perry White has arrived. She's apologetic about this, but Perry's not bothered. He's not afraid of the dark. After all, he's busy dealing with cancer at the moment. Dirk Armstrong tells them that his contact at Metropolis's power company has lost a big chunk of the city.

Unfortunately, the blackout has also hit Stryker's Island...a metahuman prison. They had a back-up generator, but it's been down since the escape of a supervillain named Barrage. As a result, another supervillain is taking the opportunity to do a bit of breaking out.

"Heeeeeeeere's Skully!"

Say hello to Joseph Martin, the Atomic Skull. A bit delusional, he thinks he's the main superhero of an old serial and Superman is his serial arch-nemesis Dr. Electron. He sees the darkened city, and believes Superman is behind it. Meanwhile, in the sewers, Superman is trying to make himself solid. He recalls some mental training he got from some monks in a temple located in the fictional country of Bhutran. Using it, he's able to grab a ladder under a manhole. Elsewhere, a meeting is going down.

"Now, if ya wanna join the gang, you gotta wear 30s and 40s clothes, see..."

Boss Moxie, the Godfather of Metropolis, is looking to gather all the organized criminal gangs of the city under one organization. You see, a lot of those gangs' heads have caught a bad case of The Death recently, and Moxie figures that joining together can cure that issue. He's throwing his pitch to two of these leaders: Raoul and Polo. Raoul is rather intrigued. After all, Boss Maxie Mannheim is a legendary gangster. What criminal would not want to work for this guy? But Polo is unsure. You see, Polo thinks that Moxie himself is the reason why many of these gang leaders have been catching The Death. As such, he decides to give Moxie a case of it himself.

However, Moxie was vaccinated against The Death. This is why you vaccinate your kids, people. The Death is not good. It's revealed that he has extra bodies, and he's not alone. He brought a nice lady dressed in red 40s clothing with pyrokinetic powers named Torcher. Moxie tells them that under him, they would have been big-time gangsters, but chose otherwise.

Raoul exclaims that he's all in with Moxie, but it's not up to the crime boss. He introduces Raoul to Dabney Donovan. Donovan was a mad scientist, specializing in cloning and genetics. He used to work for Uncle Sam before they discovered his tendency to...be creative. Donovan asks Raoul if he likes cats, as Raoul's name makes him think of a jungle cat's roar. Raoul tries to explain that he is allergic to cats, but ends up getting some blood drawn. Donovan has all he needs from the crime boss, so Moxie and Torcher can dispose of him now. Which is done.

"I'm giving you a hand! Get it?!"

Meet Mike "The Machine" Gunn. Like Moxie and Torcher, he's also a superpowered gangster. He can turn his hands into guns. Reminds me of this Marvel character called Bushwacker. He can turn his hands into guns, too. I wonder if Mr. Gunn needs to eat ammo to load his "handguns" like Mr. Carl Burbank does.

The dying Raoul is furious, as he thinks Moxie lied. Moxie's like, "Nah, I was telling the truth. You will work for me. Well, your clone at least." He leaves while Torcher and Machine Gunn have their fun. Heh, I'm a poet and I didn't know it. In case what you're wondering what this was all about, well...Moxie, Torcher, and Machine Gunn were gangsters from the 1940s who got cloned into younger superpowered bodies by Dabney Donovan. I love comics.

Back with Lois Lane! She's found by the Atomic Skull, who thinks she's his main squeeze Zelda Wentworth. Remember, the Atomic Skull thinks he's the hero of an old serial. Zelda Wentworth was a character in the serial, the fictional Skull's girlfriend. Dirk Armstrong tries to point out to the Skull that he's out of his mind, but Perry White tells him to shut up, or this could happen.

Yeah. Atomic Kablooie. Atomic Skull is confused by Lois Lane's wedding ring. Lois tries to spin a story that Dr. Electron tricked her. Superman emerges from the manhole, his body crackling with electrical power. Still trapped in his delusions, Atomic Skull prepares to vaporize Lois. Understandably, Superman is furious. Dirk is able to save Lois Lane. Something happens with Superman, and he's sent flying into a bridge. I'm not too sure.

Atomic Skull marches menacingly towards Dirk and Lois, but Perry White tires to distract him by playing into his delusions. White pretends to be a new villain, drawing upon his struggle with his cancer. Before he can he harmed, Superman returns, his body glowing blue with power, like the embodiment of a thunderbolt thrown by an enraged Zeus.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT JUST FLOATED PAST ME?!"

Atomic Skull engages the Man of Energy, their powers causing an explosion. Dirk, Lois, and Perry are okay. Perry was in an alley, and Lois and Dirk were behind a parked car. So much for it being a quiet dinner party, huh? The story ends with the Atomic Skull standing triumphantly, Superman seemingly vaporized.

I have said in the past that in my opinion, the late-80s and 90s were pretty good times for the Man of Steel comic-wise. And this was a good comic. I like the Atomic Skull. What I like about him is that he's mentally trapped in this idea that he's a superhero. There's a tragic element to it, as he's completely unaware that he's being the bad guy.

I also really liked seeing Superman deal with his powers changing. I know there are some that think that Superman is boring because he's very powerful. I disagree. Stuff like this shows that Superman can be interesting. This is a challenge for him. I can imagine he had grown comfortable with his powers at this point. But now, he's suddenly evolving into an energy being. He has to deal with his old powers fading and new ones coming in. He has to adapt. That's interesting stuff. Yeah, he eventually would get his old powers back, but the ride will be an enjoyable one.

I also liked the art. It's better to look at than many comics of the era, even though a bit of the battle against Superman and Atomic Skull was hard to follow.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2018 trade paperback Superman: Blue Vol. 1. It contains an afterword by Dan Jurgens that I used as a source for the introduction I used for this review. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, spread it around! See you next time, when we look at the first issue of a late 1980s series starring a certain Masked Marvel...

Pokemon Sword/Shield Camp Trailer, My Thoughts

A couple of months ago, a trailer was released that showed off some features of the upcoming Pokémon Sword and Shield, as well as showed off some new Pokémon. Sadly, I fell behind and never got to talk about it. So, I figured...let's talk about it right now! I am curious about some of the new Pokémon and features this game will have.

Cramorant looks like it's seen some things. Horrific things. Things that would drive the mind of a man to madness.

The things it saw still are stuck in this creature's bird mind.

Gulp Missile is certainly a rather...unique ability. I wonder if the fish is another unrevealed new Pokémon.

Defeated by a fish to the face. That must suck.

And we meet another new Pokémon! Say hello to Polteageist! You know, this is not surprising to me. It makes sense that in a Pokémon region based on the United Kingdom, they would introduce a Pokémon that is based on a teapot.

I like the idea of camping with your Pokémon. It does make sense. Galar looks to be a really big region, so it makes sense that towns will be far apart, so you may need to bring a tent with you when you travel around there.

Aww, you can play ball with your Pokémon! Awesome!

You can visit other people's camps? Neat! Great way to make some friends, share tips, and oh my God, that's a Eeveelution preserve.

Heh heh, again. Makes sense that in a region based on the UK, you can make curry.

Looks like you can make a variety of curries. I wonder if maybe eating them provides different buffs for your Pokémon through the power of friendship or something like that.

And customization is back. Looks like it will be much deeper than in the last games.

League cards, huh? They're like...baseball cards for Pokémon trainers? I wonder what the purpose of getting these would be? Do they help you in just some way, or is it just a pointless collect-a-thon? I hope it's not the latter.

I admit, I like the camping and curry-cooking. They both seem to be a lot of fun. I've never been too crazy about customizing my trainer avatar's look But I do hope that the people who do are satisfied with what they get here. I do also hope that the curry-cooking benefits your Pokémon in some way. I love being able to play ball with them. So, that's cool. I can't wait for these games.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, spread it around! See you next time!

Bad Boys for Life Trailer #2, My Thoughts

Back in September, I took a look at the first trailer for the third film in the Bad Boys franchise: Bad Boys for Life. I was pretty excited for it. I loved Bad Boys II, so I couldn't wait to see this movie. And they just recently put up a second trailer! Awesome!

I do want to warn you, this trailer does have some usage of NSFW language in it, so please keep that in mind when playing this trailer. Thank you. Let's take a look!

I get the feeling Smith and Lawrence were having a ton of fun making this movie.

Ahhhh, Miami. Sun, sand, sea...and lots of action if you know where to look. I think Will Smith did a song about Miami, too.

Heh heh, Mike Lowrey can't drive like a normal person. I think behind the wheel cause a switch to flip in his brain. It's like Jekyll and Hyde. Normal guy outside the car, maniac inside the car. The car is the potion, if you know what I mean.

Marcus has got a point, Mike. You need a Batsuit, utility belt, gadgets, and a lot of intensity. Also, the Batmobile. Chicks dig the Batmobile.

I know Marcus doesn't trust Uber, but wow.

Wow, Miami looks awesome at night. Kind of like a Sonic level. Now I want to play Sonic Mania again...

I like the paralleling shots comparing Lowrey and Burnett's characters. Lowrey is the action man, well-off, always ready to bust some criminals. Burnett is more laid-back, middle-class, and likes to chill out on his chair. Very nice job there, trailer editors.

Lowrey does have a point. "Good men, good men" isn't as catchy.

Times change, boys. You have to adapt. That's the way of the universe.

HAHAHAHAHA!

We saw a bit of this in the last trailer, but there seems to be a bit of a feeling of finality. Burnett is retiring. This'll likely be the last ride of the Bad Boys.

A toast!

Pit bulls are actually very nice friendly doggies. It's bad owners that make them vicious.

Just pet it, Marcus! Dogs like getting their heads pat. I should know. My niece has a big dog.

Ahhh, nothing like a nice drive on the beach.

Lots of action.

Those bad guys must be loaded if they have all those helicopters.

DUCK!

Don't you just hate it when a corpse lands on your car? I'm sure that happens to a lot of people.

Like the first trailer, it doesn't reveal much, but I get the idea we're going to be in for quite the action-packed ride. I got a few good laughs out of it like the last trailer as well. It's gotten me excited for this flick! I cannot wait! Bring it on!

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, spread it around! See you next time!

NWA Powerrr Episode 4, My Thoughts

For the past few weeks, I've been giving my thoughts on the new YouTube wrestling show: NWA Powerrr. So far, I've found all three previous episodes enjoyable little hours of wrestling. Well, episode 4 is here, so let's take a look! I recommend you watch the video before reading further. Thank you!

Yeah, this flick is not going to be a box office smash.

Recap time!

Again, love their choice of theme song. Rockin' like Dokken! Heh heh, because it's a Dokken tune.

Didn't Cornette get in some trouble recently?

Again, I get that the National title is the old-school design, but it needs an update, in my opinion. It needs a new look.

Let Storm and Colt fight!

Well, the Cowboy does like his beer. We've seen that in the past.

Yeah, give him the title shot, Aldis! He wants it, champ! Give it to him!

Upping the stakes, eh Aldis?

It would be awesome if all of NWA's PPVs were named after glam metal songs.

Hey, Trevor Murdoch. He's got an underrated singing voice.

What is Josephus ranting about? Has he been in the Cowboy's beer stash?

Match #1 - Trevor Murdoch vs. Josephus

This won't be a wrestling match, it will be a fight. And Josie getting in the early advantage with the sneak attack!

Big clothesline from Murdoch there!

Man, I hate when that ten-count punch thing gets countered!

Josephus packing that freedom powder!

HAHAHAA! I love it when the bad guy's plan hilariously backfires!

Winner: Trevor Murdoch by pinfall

Fun little match, loved seeing Josephus's freedom powder plan blow up in his face. Literally.

I've heard of Thunder Rosa, but I've never seen her wrestle. Looking forward to it!

Heck with that, I'll look at Mr. Hollywood here all I want!

Heh heh, this segment was great! Aron Stevens scurried like a dog!

I loved the Austin Idol Wrestling College commercial. This one is...weird. And a bit creepy.

Match #2 - The Dawsons vs. Kingston/Homicide (No DQ)

Ohhhh, this one is going to be brutal.

Kingston/Homicide getting the early advantage in with the ambush! Homicide choking the lie out of Zane Dawson!

The Wild Cards have evidently shown up to watch this match, but we don't see them! Oh, there they are! I like Royce Isaacs' jacket!

We're going to have a con-chair-to! Heh heh.

OUCH ZANE JUST ATE CHAIR!

OUCH KINGSTON JUST GOT A SPINEFUL OF CHAIR!

And the Wild Cards join in the fun!

Wait, are the Cards and the Dawsons in cahoots!?

Winner: The Dawsons by pinfall

Odd finish, but I think the Wild Cards didn't really care about who won, just making sure both teams were hurt. Weaken all potential threats.

I'm slowly getting used to the lack of theme music. Still wish it was there, though.

Match #3 - Marti Belle vs. Ashley Vox

Women's Champion Allysin Kay at ringside. What's she up to?

I like Ashley Vox.

Cornette is a bit annoying during this match.

Winner: Ashley Vox by pinfall

Good match, I like Ashley Vox. Happy she won.

Oh, looks like we'll meet Thunder Rosa after all. Where's that music coming from? Does she get theme music?!

Match #4 - Aron Stevens vs. Ricky Starks

Aw come on! At least let Stevens have his old "Hallelujah" theme! That's public domain!

Aron Stevens is basically using his WWE gimmick.

I've grown to like Ricky Starks.

Winner: Ricky Starks by pinfall

Fun little match. Aron's post-match banter with the crowd is hilarious.

Main event time!

Match #5 - Team Storm vs. Team Aldis (Six-Man Tag Match)

Team Storm is James Storm and the Wild Cards! Team Aldis is Nick Aldis, Colt Cabana, and Ken Anderson! If Team Storm wins, James Storm gets an NWA Championship match, but must relinquish the National Championship! If Team Aldis wins, Colt Cabana gets a shot at the National Title!

this has been a fun tag match.

WHOOPS!

Winner: Team Aldis by pinfall

Looks like Colt Cabana will get his shot at the National Championship after all. If he wins, I hope he gets the belt redesigned. It needs it.

Well, this was another fun breezy hour. I couldn't believe that they managed to fit five matches in this. More action and less storyline this time around, but that's okay. We had some fun matches here.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, spread it around! See you next time!

Disney Classic Games Launch Trailer, My Thoughts

In the late-80s and early-90s, Disney had video games made based on their various animated properties. One of them, DuckTales, was regarded as one of the best games for the original Nintendo Entertainment System. It, and games based on the animated series Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin, and Darkwing Duck, were later collected as part of The Disney Afternoon Collection for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

In the mid-90s, Disney had games made to promote two of their animated films: Aladdin and The Lion King. The two games were mainly released for Nintendo and Sega's 16-bit consoles: The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Genesis. Interestingly, the Genesis and SNES version of Aladdin are quite different. They were also ported to other consoles and handhelds like Windows, Game Boy, and Game Gear.

The two games were given plenty of praise, and now they're making a comeback. Yup, they're being brought together in a new collection pack coming to the Nintendo Switch: Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and the Lion King. Let's take a look!

Heh heh, I love the little CRT effect. That's how console games back then were played, kids.

I do remember playing Aladdin on the SNES back in the day. Rented it from a video store. Remember those? I miss video stores. There used to be one near where I work. I could rent a movie on the way home return it on the way to work.

I like that this collection includes multiple version of the games. I know the SNES and Genesis Aladdin games were different. I'm not sure about The Lion King. Might be true for those games, too.

Watch Mode, huh? If you ever got stuck on any part of these games, you can just get past it. I'm sure some old-school gamers would get a laugh out of this.

I like the rewind feature. Makes practicing easier and less frustrating.

Ooh, behind-the-scenes stuff, too? Awesome! I love behind the scenes stuff! It's always fascinating to me seeing the work that goes into making these games. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a game-maker myself.

A trade show demo? Awesome! And I love that it's playable! It would be fun to see how it differed from the final version.

I also like the ability to listen to the game music. I'm sure it will bring back memories for some players. And the ability to adjust your display settings is great for those who want to make it look like it's being played on a CRT TV. I know there are some retrogamers who prefer it like that, because that's the way they played games as a kid. Me, I don't mind the HD upgrades.

Well, I am surprised that these games are being released. They're licensed games, so the IP issues can be a bit of a pain to deal with in cases of getting these games re-released. I'm glad that Disney is able to introduce these games to a new generation of gamers. I think I'll add this to my Switch library.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, spread it around! See you next time!

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #13 (December 1990)

Back in January of 2019, I took a look at Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #11 (September 1990). It was the first part of one of my personal favorite Batman storylines: Prey. I would go on to review the second part of the storyline in June 2019. After I finished my review of Action Comics Annual #1 (1987), I had a bit of trouble figuring out which comic I should look at next. I figured that since I was still in a mood to look at something from DC, and we just had Halloween, maybe we could look at a DC comic that was creepy in its own way. Let's take a look at Legends of the Dark Knight #13!

The cover is a Paul Gulacy and Terry Austin piece. It has a bit of a movie poster vibe to it to me. Batman is front and center, surrounded by various other characters. It makes for a rather busy cover, in my opinion.

"Prey, Part Three: Night-Scourge!"
Writer: Doug Moench
Penciler: Paul Gulacy
Inker: Terry Austin
Colorist: Steve Oliff
Letterer: John Costanza
Editors: Andrew Helfer, Kevin Dooley
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

The story begins with Hugo Strange doing himself a bit of hobnobbing with a date he has.

This woman has likely found better dates in cemeteries.

In particular, he's talking with Catherine Flass, the daughter of the Mayor. She's not exactly impressed with Strange's work on her father's anti-Batman task force. Strange has trouble holding back his anger at her for not being impressed with him. Thing is, she didn't agree to go out to dine with him because she liked the guy, she only did it as a courtesy to her father.

Strange accuses her of having a romantic attraction to Batman, considering that she stood up for him earlier. Keep in mind, previous issues have shown that Strange has raging Batman envy. Catherine tells him she wants to go home. He agrees...for now.

Strange heads home and makes a call for Max Cort to come over to his place. While Cort heads over, Strange grouses to his mannequin. He rants how women like Catherine never go for men like him, because he would figure them out. Yeah, he's a real prize, ain't he? Cort comes over, asking what Strange wants. You see, Strange wants to try a bit of therapy to help Cort relax. A bit of hypnosis.

Cort is reluctant, but Strange assures him that hypnosis can't hurt him or make him do anything he thinks is immoral. SThe bald psychologist wants him to imagine a warm summer night. There's a light in the distance. It's the full moon...full...bright...beautiful...big...silver...relaxing...zzzzzzzzzz...

...huh, what?! Oh! Now that's he in a nice lull, Strange discusses the Batman with Cort. The police files and the lab-analysis of Batman's glider have allowed the psychologist to draw up a profile on the man under the mask of the Caped Crusader. The glider is custom-made and composed of expensive materials. The Bat also has to sleep sometime, so it's unlikely he's a regular Joe with a day job.

To be a vigilante, he would have to be an athletic man, possibly a young adult male. He is also clearly the victim of a crime. Maybe he lost a loved one. And that's Strange's problem. He's been looking at the records the Gotham PD have kept of murders in the last five years, and there's no correlation with those records and his profile. He believes the Batman used his wealth to cover up the crime that made him what he was. Batman is above the law, and he needs Cort to confront him at that level. So, being the creative guy he is, Strange makes the policeman a gift.

"I think this outfit will bring out your eyes wonderfully, Max."

Cort is confused by the costume he's being given. Strange explains that there's power in costumes and symbols. Batman knows this well, and they're going to use that power against him. Cort could become more than a man, he could become something even more than the Batman.

While this was going down, Batman was patrolling. He knows the cops are after him, and he needs a plan. He does get a reverie from his troubles when he spots a pair of punks trying to break into a storage unit. He easily dispatches them.

It was at that moment the Batman realized he needed a hobby.

Cort stopped at the police station. He had gone to grab a file on a bar called the Skeleton's Closet. The police have suspected there was some arms smuggling going on in that dive. Cort's going to investigate, in his own way.

"Hey buddy, the bar you're looking for is three blocks over!"

Truly, the Skeleton's Closet is a wretched hive of scum and villainy. Well, scummy people at least. The bikers and thugs there have a laugh at Cort's blue-and-purple spiky late-80s early-90s neon outfit, but Cort has no sense of humor about his fancy new suit.

"YOUR MOTHERS WERE SAAAAAAINTS!"

Cort demands to know where they go when they get the guns from here. He busts into the buyer's home. The buyer tries to shoot him, but the police officer shows some surprising athleticism, dodging the bullets and proceeding to give the criminal a series of Mighty Punches. After the gun buyer had been sufficiently Mighty Punched, Cort introduces himself as Gotham's newest vigilante: the Night-Scourge. Bruce Wayne learns of the Night-Scourge's activities on a radio while he works on his future Batmobile.

Hugo Strange called for a press conference, where he claims the Batman is responsible for the Night-Scourge, his presence spawning more violent destructive vigilantes. Bruce is about to angrily smash the radio, but stops himself and turns it off. He can't take the bait. He needs to talk to someone. And there's only one man in Gotham he hopes he can still trust.

That night, James Gordon is tucking in his young son James Jr. He hears a small rock impacting his window. Turns out the future commissioner has a guest.

"...I really need to make more friends. Maybe that Superman guy. He seems nice."

It's Batman. He wants to know if James Jr. is alright. This is a reference to Batman: Year One, where he saved the life of baby James Jr. Gordon says he is, thanks to the Batman. But Batman says Gordon doesn't owe him anything. He wants Gordon's trust and help, but only if Gordon feels he deserves it. As far as Gordon is concerned, Batman has earned that...but he can't help him. Strange is close with Mayor Flass, and that's got Gordon's hands tied up.

Cort is driving away, when he spots Catwoman on a roof. She's out to get herself a five-finger discount on some jewelry at a party. It's then that the Night-Scourge decides to invite the cat burglar to his own idea of party.

"IT SLICES! IT DICES! IT MAKES CATWOMAN SOUFFLE!"

The two fight, but the new vigilante is able to get the upper hand. Selina Kyle comes very close to having her head and neck no longer meeting, but Batman arrives in time to save her. The Bat and the Scourge then end up crashing into the skylight...and going through it like they're in ECW or something.

"BAH GAWD ALMIGHTY!"

...Mr. Joey Styles, I think you got this.

Thank you very much. Batman and Night-Scourge brawl some more, but Batman is able to come out on top. The Night-Scourge flees, thinking he's not good enough yet. He's not Batman. Well, yeah. The Caped Crusader tries to give chase, but the Night-Scourge has already vanished. An angry Catwoman whacks Batman in the back with a pipe, screaming that she didn't want his help. Yeah, you totally had the Night-Scourge handled, Catwoman. That's gratitude for ya.

Back at Hugo Strange's apartment, Cort is relaxing on a couch in his underwear, in a hypnotic trance. Strange assures him that he did not fail. After all, he was outnumbered. He got away from Batman and Catwoman. That's something he should be proud of. Hugo now wants to enact the next phase of his plan. All Cort needs to do is put on a new costume one time...

That night, Catherine Flass is presumably in the Mayor's mansion. A mysterious figure attacks her, attracting the attention of Mayor Flass. Who is it?

"It's not what you think! We're filming a scary movie! Get outta here, you're wrecking the shot!"

It seems that the Bat has gone bad. He's holding Catherine hostage, demanding the mayor call off the vigilante hunt...or else. Meanwhile, the real Batman is lying on the roof, still groggy from his injuries from his brawl with the Night-Scourge and ambush from Catwoman.

This issue was pretty darn good. We got some action, Batman and the Night-Scourge crossing paths, and we see Hugo Strange's plan move forward. Strange's ability to mess with minds is shown very well here as he uses hypnosis on Cort and uses the media to turn public opinion against the Batman. What I really liked about this storyline is that it showed that Batman is still human. He has limits. Even he can't save Gotham alone. He needs allies, people he can trust. And when a city is turned against him, it makes his mission that much more difficult.

Paul Gulacy turns in some spectacular art for this story as usual. I can't really describe why I like it, I just think it's good artwork.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, spread it around! Join me next time when Superman deals with some issues with his mighty powers...

It's November!

It's November already!

Man, where does the time go? What am I up to now? Well, I am working on another comic review and other installment of my Text Play of Pokémon Zeta, so look out for those down the pipeline. This month, I also plan to review the eleventh issue of the Secret Wars mini-series. And, I wrote a short story for this blog for Halloween: Pinball'd. Give it a read. I think you'll like it.

Hope your November is a good one!