The Batman Teaser, My Thoughts

At the event known as the DC Fandome, many things were announced, including a teaser trailer for the upcoming film known as The Batman. Directed by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson as the titular caped crusader, the film tells the tale of a younger Batman who has not a lot of crimefighting experience. So, how is the teaser? Let's take a look!

Huh. Usually trailers like this start with some music. Usually some old classic tune. 

"We know join Mask Man in the middle of this duct-taping session..."

Considering the times we live in right now, I can think of quite a few people that need that treatment...

Hi, Commissioner Gordon! How's Babs? Yeah, Jeffrey Wright is playing him in this flick. Neat.

I gotta admit, that's a nice-looking Batsuit. And I bet he's thinking "The Riddler's been drinking again."

You know, with Robert Pattinson wearing the Batsuit this time around, I had to admit, I was kind of hoping this would pay homage to the Red Rain trilogy. Get it? Batman was a vampire in those and Robert Pattinson played a vampire.

We also got Catwoman and the Penguin attending this party. Is this a remake of Batman Returns?

He's also the night. 

Well, this tri, this trailer looks pretty good. I liked the look of the Batmobile the best. It had that 1970s vibe to it. I do hope this film get to show off the detective skills that Batman has more. That's something that would truly make it stick. And the cast look pretty good, too. I think this will be a fun film. 

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you enjoyed it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! See you next time! 

Avengers #212 (October 1981)

In the comics, Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man, was one of the original five Avengers. He had fonded the group alongside The Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Iron Man (Tony Stark), the Hulk (Bruce Banner), and the Mighty Thor. During Hank's career as an Avenger, he became known for changing up his superhero identity. He would become Goliath for a while, then become Yellowjacket.

When Jim Shooter became the writer of the Avengers' book, he theorized that the reason why Hank changed up his identity so much was because of feelings of inferiority. As such, he crafted a storyline that would have an effect on Hank's character for years afterward, both in-universe and in the real world. How did that storyline start? Let's find out in Avengers #212.

The cover is an Alan Kupperberg piece, and it's pretty cool. You have the Elfqueen in front of the Capitol Building, knocking the Avengers back with her magic. It gives the idea that she is quite the powerful threat. And it's not wrong there.

"Men of Deadly Pride!"

Writer: Jim Shooter

Penciler: Alan Kupperberg

Inker: Dan Green

Colorist: Ben Sean

Letterer: Janice Chiang

Editor: Jim Salicrup

Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with dawn rising over New York City, including Avengers Mansion. The Avengers' loyal butler, Edwin Jarvis, is doing his morning rounds. However, what the man does not realize is that he's about to be attacked.

Nope, this is not some brand-new villain. It's just Tigra, the Avengers' newest member. The Female Feline Fury just wanted to give Jarvis a bit of a harmless scare. It's stuff like this (as well as an allergy to cats) that makes Jarvis find her more uncomfortable than other Avengers he's served in the past. It's here we get a bit of a recap of Tigra's origin.

In a fancy apartment on the Upper East Side, Tony Stark is getting ready for his day. He's having some flat Dr. Pepper for breakfast (This was shortly after the events of "Demon in a Bottle" over in Iron Man's book). He's staying over at the apartment of a lady he was seeing. He gets into his Iron Man suit and jets off...but not before he calls his secretary and tells her to send a cleaning crew over and some roses.

In Brooklyn Heights, Steve Rogers flips out of bed. He grabs a shower, suits up in his Captain America gear and heads to the Mansion. While he heads out, Rogers is thinking about the big roster shake-up in the previous issue. Vision, Scarlet Witch, and the Beast had left the team in the last issue, and Tigra had joined up. Cap worries about the feline woman. After all, not much was known about her at the time, and he decides he'll keep an eye on her. After all, being an Avenger can be rather...demanding, physically and mentally.

We next look in on Donald Blake, who is working in a West Side medical center. He's leaving for the day, as he had to work the night shift. He walks into an alleyway, and undergoes an incredible transformation.

Yes, our dear doctor is actually the Mighty Thor! With a swing of his powerful hammer Mjolnir, he takes to the skies, Avengers Mansion his destination. Four Avengers down, two to go. And who are those two Avengers? Why, Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, aka Yellowjacket and Wasp of course! However, the two seem to be having a bit of trouble in paradise.

Yeah, Hank seems to have grown a bit cold and is in a foul mood. He destroys one of Wasp's outfits, and loses his temper with their chauffeur over their limo being stuck in traffic. Eventually, they manage to arrive. We get a bit of club business. It's time to elect a new Chairman for the team. Iron Man and Thor decided to let Cap remain Chairman for now, as the team recently got its roster shake-up, and letting Cap stay Chairman will let it keep some stability for now. The two veteran Earth's Mightiest Heroes waived it as their right as founding members.

An infuriated Hank roars that he should have been consulted. He was a founder as well. So was Wasp, but Hank doesn't bring that up. He rants that he is fed up with being forgotten, but the matter is tabled. We next shift scenes to something...bizarre.

This little cottage, located out in the wilds of...Virginia, does have a pair of occupants. Rather...strange occupants. Meet Linnea and Gorn. She's a sorceress and he's a barbarian. The setup for a Hyborean Era sitcom. Gorn is feeling a bit restless. You see, Linnea, aka the Elfqueen, was once hunted as a witch. It's funny she's called "Elfqueen", as she's not an elf. Gorn is tired of hiding from the world as a result. If people give them trouble, they will fight.

The two go into town...which happens to be Washington, DC. Yup, they were living right near the nation's capital. How did they get there? They hinted they lived in the cottage for likely centuries. How did they end up living within a horse ride's distance of the nation's capital? And how come nobody in Washington DC has ever noticed them?

(Huh?)

The two find their way to a restaurant, and try to order to order some food. They're awestruck and very confused by the ways of the modern world. Gorn and Linnea's relationship here is shown to be paralleling Hank and Jan's. At one time, the two were very much in love. But now, their union has hit some rocks.

A modeling agent notices Linnea and basically pulls the whole "You ever considered being a model" routine on her. Gorn gets angry about this and confronts the man. However, the agent has taken six whole lessons in Jiu-Jitsu. Which he demonstrates.

I love that bit. It's a nice subversion of the whole "tough guy easily beats down skinny guy" routine. Gorn didn't like his free trip to the salad bar and decides to try to practice his long-neglected skill at defenestration. However, Linnea is able to save the agent from learning what glass tastes like with her magic. The restaurant's owner tries to remove them, but Linnea gives him her golden necklace as an attempt to pay them back for the damage they caused. This inspires the manager to give them the five-star treatment.

After the meal, they leave and find that their horse is gone. Gorn had earlier tied its reins to a parking meter. Guess they forgot to put money in it. Linnea's like, "Gorn, this place is confusing and scary. Let's go home to our vale, where things make sense." Gorn refuses, as he feels like a pet. He wants to regain the past glory he had. Before he can start his quest, a cop goes over to talk to him. After all, there are laws about carrying swords in public nowadays. Gorn accepts what he thinks is the cop's challenge, but he gets maced and cuffed for his trouble.

Linnea rescues her overly-macho barbarian boyfriend, and the two argue over going home. Gorn gets so infuriated that he ends up smacking Linnea. She angrily flies off. Let him pursue his stupid glory. A horrified Gorn tries to apologize, but she doesn't hear it. The Conan-wannabe wanders off into the seedier part of the city.

Over at Avengers Mansion, Iron Man and Yellowjacket are checking out one of the Quinjets, as it wasn't working quite right. Wasp and Tigra are discussing the sightings of Linnea and Gorn. News travels fast in the Marvel Universe. Yellowjacket found the component that was acting up. Hey, he can fix it, no problem. Just call him Hank the Builder!

(can we fix it)

Wasp suggests another idea. She can have her butler fetch a spare component from Hank's lab and can bring it over. It would only take a couple of minutes. Hank explodes at that, ranting that Janet will take any opportunity to show off her wealth. He's Hank Pym, dagnabit! He doesn't need her money! The other Avengers worry about this. Captain America wonders if he should do something.

...yes. Yes you should, Steve! I get that you're uncomfortable about getting into what you think is a family matter, but these two are active members of the team you're leading! This can cause problems in the field! Meanwhile, Gorn meets some...potential new friends.

They don't like Conan cosplayers, and they wish to express their dislike of Conana cosplayers by beating him up. However, Gorn is a rather experienced warrior, so he handily thrashes them. A couple of cops see the fight, and recognize the barbarian. There's an all-points bulletin out on him. Gorn spots the cops and challenges them. They respond by giving him some hot lead.

Linnea appears, but it's too late. Gorn is dead. The Elfqueen furiously attacks the policemen, and vows revenge. She then goes on a rampage. The Avengers arrive (minus Wasp) and engage the mad sorceress. She is able to take down Iron Man. Thor restrains her, but she's able to toss him off. Yellowjacket prepares to blast her, believing that if he does, he can finally get the team to respect him. But his disruptors decide to short out, showing that the universe hates Hank Pym.

The Elfqueen tries to pick up Mjolnir, Thor's enchanted hammer. However, she is not worthy of it, so she ain't going to get it. So, she tries another tactic, one I think is actually pretty clever: She forms the ground around the hammer into a fist, and uses the earth fist to smack Thor with his own weapon.

(smart)

Tigra tries to engage the sorceress, but she gets a free trip heading to orbit for her troubles. Luckily, Iron Man Airlines picks her up. The Elfqueen tries to sic a building on Captain America. The Sentinel of Liberty thinks about her as he dodges the debris. She speaks a language nobody seemingly understands. Her dress is seemingly from an ancient time. Cap wonders if she's like him in a way, a person out of time. She tries to block Cap with a wall of fire, but the super-soldier is able to leap over it. He then tries another tactic with her: Staying still.

(huh)

He's hoping that his showing no aggression towards her will convince her to stand down. It seems to start working, but Hank Pym's got his disruptors working again.

Believing she was tricked, Lianna tries to bring down a car on the scientist. Hank's suit shorts out again, and there's no time to dodge. Hank Pym is a dead man...well, no.

The Wasp had followed the team from New Jersey, and Hank boils with fury over it. Again, Janet gets one up on him. He gets humiliated again by her again. Cap tries to speak to Lianna again, pleading with her not to kill Hank. The other Avengers recover and are ready to rush her, but the Star-Spangled Avenger assures her that will not be necessary. Lianna's rage gives way to sadness. With tears in her eyes, she walks towards the body of Gorn.

The Avengers are understandably confused about this. Steve tries to give her his condolences despite the language barrier. Lianna doesn't understand his words, but she does pick up the compassion and nobility in his voice. This world took the only man she loved from her, and she can't find it in her heart to forgive. But for Steve Rogers, she agrees to leave in peace...for now, anyway. She takes to the air and vanishes in a flash of light. The story ends with the Avengers wondering if she'll ever return...well, except for one.

A worried Wasp looks over at Hank Pym, but the Yellowjacket is too busy fuming, bitter thoughts churning in his mind.

  

I liked this issue, but it does have some...well, issues. For once is the Elfqueen herself. Why is Linnea called that? She's not an elf, nor is she shown to be the ruler of an elf kingdom. It's bizarre. One thing I did like about this issue is that it showed Linnea and Gorn being confused about the modern world. It does make sense that two people from a presumably medieval-like time of swords and sorcery would be utterly befuddled by things like cars and movies and electric razors. I also like that Gorn and Lianna's relationship parallels Hank and Jan's, and I wish that parallel was explored more. Maybe having them being forced together? Alan Kupperberg turns in some fine art for this issue.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2012 trade paperback Avengers: The Trial of Yellowjacket. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show

Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed Launch Trailer, My Thoughts

This game was a surprise to me. In case you're wondering, Zoids is a line of model kits depicting robotic versions of various animals, including legendary creatures. The line of toys would spawn a franchise of its own that would make its way to various media, including anime, comics, and of course, video games. This game is based on the 5th Zoids anime: Zoids Wild. Let's look at the launch trailer!

That robotic velociraptor looks like Barney's cooler cousin.

I would love to ride the red one to work. That would be sweet.

That blue wolf mecha brings me back. One of the characters in Zoids: New Century used a blue Wolf zoid. Brad Hunter and his Command Wolf.

I feel like that wolf's attack should be accompanied by Ozzy Osbourne's "Bark at the Moon".

Man, I bet the Yellow Ranger in the last Power Rangers movie wished the Sabertooth Tigerzord looked this cool. Yeah, I saw that movie on TV some time back. I thought it was pretty good, but I didn't like the Zord designs.

Well, from what I understand, this game is meant for little kids (around ages 10-12), and I can see why they would find this game appealing. It's got robotic animals and it's very colorful. It does look cool. Although I would love to see a Zoids game that maybe employs some elements of a tactical RPG, commanding a team of Zoids with different strengths and weaknesses. Tactical RPGs aren't normally my thing, but I'd play this. Especially if you can use members of the Blitz Team from New Century.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask. See you next time!

X-Men: The Hidden Years #1 (December 1999)

In 1963, Marvel Comics debuted a little comic book known as The X-Men. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the X-Men were billed as the "Strangest Teens of All". They were a group of young people that were born with a genetic quirk that made them into mutants, hated and feared by "normal" humans. The book had a lukewarm reception. Over the next seven years, comic luminaries like Roy Thomas and Neal Adams worked on the book.

Despite Thomas and Adams' work being acclaimed, the book was cancelled with #66. In a way. You see, the title did continue on, but it only reprinted the earlier issues until issue #93. The X-Men did continue appearing in various books, mainly as guest stars. This meant that the team must have continued to have adventures after the book went to reprints.

That's where The Hidden Years stepped in. Appropriately, this title was helmed by a man who's name was already tied to the X-Men: John Byrne. The Hidden Years was meant to reveal the 'lost history' of the X-Men after the events of X-Men #66 and before their successful revamp in Giant-Size X-Men #1. So, how did this hidden history start? Let's find out in X-Men: The Hidden Years #1!

The cover is pretty good, if a bit basic. A John Byrne and Chris Dickey piece. It is a bit basic, though. It depicts the original X-Men leaping into action against an unseen foe, a spectral Professor Xavier behind them. He looks like he's barking orders.

"Once More Savage Land"

Writer: John Byrne

Penciler: John Byrne

Inker: Tom Palmer

Colorist: Gregory Wright

Letterer: John Byrne

Editor: Jason Liebig

Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras 

The story begins with the original X-Men battling the Hulk, as shown in X-Men #66 (March 1970). Ol' Jade Jaws is not once to sneeze at, though. He uses his mighty meaty fists to make a hole in the ground, threatening to cause Scott and Jean to fall into the underground lab miles below. Good thing the Beast has their backs, with a bit of help from a ladder and a helicopter. Angel joins them, announcing he has the device they were looking for. The group leaves, and the Hulk doesn't pursue. All he wants is to be left alone.

So, what was the device they were looking for? Well, it's a small gamma-ray emitter. The X-Men hope it can affect their ailing mentor, Charles Xavier. The device works like it should, restoring the old prof back to being hale and hearty. It seemed that happy times have returned for the merry mutants.

However, after three days, one of the X-Men makes an announcement: Robert Drake, the Iceman, is leaving. You see, Bobby is really angry about Professor X keeping secret his own battles with the Z'nox. The man even went so far as to fake his own death. Yeah, Xavier being a bit of a jerk is nothing new. Only Jean Grey knew about his secret plan. As such, Bobby feels he can no longer trust Xavier...nor can he trust Jean anymore, either.

The other four original X-Men try to convince him to stay, but the ice-maker's mind is made up. He's going to make like a banana and split. Professor Xavier summons the whole X-Men team: Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Angel, Havok, and Lorna Dane (She didn't get the "Polaris" codename yet). Xavier is made aware of Iceman's departure, but he's got more important things to worry about. Mainly, he wants to debrief the group on what he was up to since he faked his death.

This is used to help readers get an idea of where we are exactly at in X-Men's history at this point. We get a recap of the X-Men's battle against the subterranean monster called Grotesk in X-Men #42 (March 1968). It was during this battle that Professor Xavier seemingly sacrificed his life to stop Grotesk. However, it turned out that the Xavier that died was actually an imposter, a former mutant villain called Changeling. The Changeling had discovered that he was dying of a terminal illness, and wanted to spend his remaining time redeeming himself.

We get much more recap of the events of the X-Men's book up to this point. Iceman's meeting with Lorna Dane, the discovery of Scott's brother Alex Summers, which led up to battles with the Living Pharoah and Lawrence Trask's Sentinels. The X-Men returned to the Savage Land, where they joined forces with Ka-Zar to battle Magneto. Afterwards, they would meet a future X-Man and Avenger, the Japanese mutant known as Sunfire. It was after this they discovered that Xavier was actually alive.

Xavier is left with one question, though. Why didn't the X-Men check to make sure Magneto was dead? The Beast explains that they felt they didn't need to. After all, Magneto may have been powerful, but he was just as squishy as any human. Even he couldn't survive a ton of rock coming down on his head. Xavier is furious. Magneto has survived seeming death before. He demands the X-Men head back to the Savage Land and check for a body. Nine hours later, the X-Men are on their way.

The X-Men are naturally a bit frustrated. They're not just plain ol' students anymore. They've shown they can shine on their own. Scott asks Jean if she has any idea what's up with Xavier. After all, they're both telepaths. But Jean's not sure. His mind was no more open to her than any of the others. She does sense that his mind is...off. Maybe that cure that Bruce Banner provided was not as effective as they thought. Considering what gamma rays can do in the Marvel Universe, it is plausible that they may have caused some...issues. Heck, read some Immortal Hulk sometime.

However, they're going to have to table the issue for now. They've entered the Savage Land, and hit some turbulence. Back at the Xavier Institute, there's another variety of turbulence about to hit. Lorna Dane and Alex Summers are taking a nice walk on the grounds, when Bobby Drake shows back up.

He wants to blow this pop stand, and he wants Lorna to come with him. Smooth, Drake.

(roll eyes)

Alex doesn't take too kindly to this, and the two boys end up having a superpowered brawl...which ends up having some collateral damage neither young man wanted.

Nice work, Bobby. Lorna gets in the Iceman's face, screaming "I'M NOT YOUR GIRLFRIEND" at him. Xavier telepathically ends this fight, as he needs them to go help the other X-Men. Bobby storms off. After all, he quit the X-Men. Back to the Savage Land! Warren flies out of the X-Men's flying machine, guiding them through the turbulence. But then another problem erupts. The turbulence broke something in the craft, not allowing the to land. Scott fixes that with his optic blasts.

Hank brings down the landing gear, but it snags on something and it causes the craft to flip end over end. The three X-Men were able to make it thanks to Jean's telekinesis. However, she herself is...not in the best of shape. Beast theorizes that Jean felt the impact through her TK field, and she's likely got a serious concussion. There's not much the X-Men can do for her, except let nature take it's course. But it seems that's not going to be an option.

The natives bring the mutants down with poisoned darts fired from their shields. Beast valiantly tries to fight them off, but even he succumbs to the venom. The natives then carry the four away. Some time later, Scott wakes up. One of the natives greets him, explaining the darts were basically a security measure. They weren't sure if the X-Men were enemies. Scott notices that Jean is missing. Another native explains they tried to tend to her, but her injuries...were too severe.

Page 36, Panel 2

In another place, the frog-like Amphibius is hopping along in a hurry. He's got an announcement to make: The X-Men are back in the Savage Land! And the man he is reporting this to is pleased. After all...the X-Men were the ones who killed Magneto.

This was a rather interesting comic book. I did enjoy it very much, though. It definitely is trying to imitate the feel of the old X-Men book, and I can't help but feel that maybe Byrne is trying to pay homage to his old X-Men comrade Chris Claremont in the narration. Byrne also turns in some pretty fine artwork as well.

X-Men: The Hidden Years would be Byrne's last work for Marvel Comics. The book was cancelled with issue #22 as part of a line-wide revamp of the X-Books. Byrne had claimed he could have done about 100 issues of the book before the events of Giant-Size X-Men #1, and the book was doing rather well in sales. This led to him deciding to no longer work for Marvel, and to this day...he's kept to that. In the years since, he's mainly kept to working for IDW, as far as I know.

X-Men: The Hidden Years is, well... a hidden gem in my opinion. It's a great series that helps fill in a rather significant hole in X-Men history, and I think it deserves more spotlight. If you want to read this for yourself, then I recommend tracking down the 2012 trade paperback X-Men: The Hidden Years Vol. 1. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves, and each other. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! Join me next time, when I look at the beginnings of the downfall of Hank Pym...

Wonder Woman #220 (November 1975)

It's that time again! It's time to join Wonder Woman as she goes another one of her Twelve Labors! Last time, the Elongated Man monitored as Wonder Woman prevented . It...was not a great story in my opinion.

The cover is a Dick Giordano piece, and it's pretty good. It shows Chronos gloating over Wonder Woman getting restrained through some clock arms. I also liked the

"The Man Who Wiped Out Time"

Writer: Martin Pasko

Penciler: Dick Giordano

Inker: Dick Giordano,

Letterer: Unknown

Colorist: Unknown

Editor: Julius Schwartz

The story begins at the Justice League Satellite, located 22,300 miles above the Earth. The ductile crime-solver Ralph "Elongated Man" Dibny, and the robotic wind machine John "Red Tornado" Smith. The two notice that a carrier pigeon has come to the space station by teleporter. Ralph realizes that Hawkman must be reporting in. You see, back in the Silver and Bronze Ages, Hawkman could communicate with birds. Ralph realizes that Hawkman won the race.

Red Tornado is confused by this. Did the League taking up racing pigeons? Well, that would be hilarious, but no. You see, in the last issue, Superman flipped a coin in the air to determine who would monitor what would be Wonder Woman's tenth trial: Hawkman or the Atom. However, the coin decided to beat some odds...

I think Superman used a trick coin by mistake. Hawkman has an idea. He and the Atom both keep an eye out for Wonder Woman's next adventure. Whoever reaches it first, get to monitor it. Ralph discovers a very small note attached to the bird...made of gum wrappers. He then realizes that this report isn't from Hawkman, but the Atom. It's here we learn of Diana's latest adventure.

Diana is returning from an adventure she had in the Catskill Mountains in New York. That's a story for next month. She arrives at the UN's Secretariat Building, and realizes that she's due for the annual medical exam that all UN personnel go under. She races up two flights of stairs to the doctor's office. Tracy Morgan notices this and goes to see her. He sees the doctor check her heartbeat, and it's a normal 70 bpm (beats per minute). This is essentially Morgan's face.

Yeah. Diana ran up two flights of stairs. Her heart should be pounding from the exertion.

No, not like that. Diana just tells him that she must be in great shape. However, Diana reveals in her thought balloon that as an Amazon, her heartbeat always stays constant, regardless of physical exertion. So, how does an Amazon's body deal with the increased demand for blood during physical activities? Maybe it's because they're somewhat magical beings? I don't know. Anyway, the doctor starts to examine the next patient, when...

It's weird. It's like it just...vanished from the doctor's wrist. He's not the only one. Ray Palmer is in New York City, and he turns on the news. He's not going to let Hawkman beat him to finding a crisis to monitor. Instead, he finds himself watching a game show. Wasn't it supposed to be time for the news? Ray checks his watch, and finds that it's gone. And that's not the only timepiece to go missing. The game show's clock has vanished, too. Ray goes to a phone, dialing the operator for the time. It was the 1970s, after all. The number he called no longer works. Looks like he beat Hawkman to finding a crisis after all.

Back at the UN, chaos has erupted. Nobody seems to know what time it is. Diana switches to her Wonder Woman togs, and looks over some monitors. The entire UN building has gone bananas. Watches, clocks, anything that can be used to tell the time has vanished. Today, that would include phones and smartwatches. Luckily, Diana is the Star-Spangled Woman with a Plan. She glides out of the building. Yeah, back in the Silver and Bronze Ages, Wonder Woman couldn't fly. She had to glide on air currents. She takes her magic lasso and wraps it around the UN building.

She commands everyone inside the building to freeze. But this is a temporary solution, and a much bigger problem is afoot. The entire city is breaking out in riots and traffic jams. Diana can't confine all of Manhattan Island in her lasso, so she'll have to use a new gadget she's been working on. She's been modifying her Invisible Jet's mental radio to have a telepathic public address system. She uses it to contact everyone on the island to calm people down. Diana succeeds, so it looks like her new modification is working perfectly.

Wonder Woman realizes that she needs to provide the city a way to tell the time. She can build a big clock for them, but how could she ensure that it told the proper time? Well, remember earlier when Diana thought about how an Amazon's heartbeat always remained constant? Diana knows how many beats her heart makes per minute, and she can use that to calculate the time.

She flies off in her Invisible Jet and notices a building still has its giant clock. Didn't all the devices that could tell time in the city vanish? So, what is this clock still doing here? Why don't we ask this guy?

Meet Chronos! Appropriate that the Atom is monitoring this adventure, as the time-themed villain is one of his rogues. Wonder Woman and the self-proclaimed "Time Thief" had crossed paths before, in Justice League of America #21 (August 1963). The time-obsessed villain is floating on a flying sundial that somehow makes him invisible. He uses the flying sundial's gnomon to knock Wondy's plane out of the sky.

The Amazing Amazon tries to use her lasso to catch the plane. Chronos throws her a rope.

He did this because he wanted to taunt the Amazing Amazon. He reveals to her that he developed a device that can literally destroy time, and he's hidden it inside a time-themed landmark in Manhattan. True to his gimmick, the rope is actually a rope-clock, that counts down the minutes until it burns away. Once it does, Wondy starts to fall. Before it did, Diana managed to get her plane on the Secretariat Building's roof. She then used her lasso to swing onto the roof. Which is rather awesome.

(awesome)

There's still one question remaining. How is Chronos doing this? Well, we have to go back a bit and join one David Clinton. He was appointed the new assistant curator of the Knickerbocker University Museum of Clocks and Watches. It's not a real place.

David Clinton is Chronos's civilian identity, by the way. He puts on a pair of protective contact lenses, and activates a small device he calls a "Time-Perception Banisher". It makes people think clocks have vanished. But they're actually still there. It's just people can't see them. This is how Chronos "stole time". It's all just a big illusion.

(magic)

He also somehow managed to slap a giant bubble-shield that caused all of Manhattan Island to suffer from the Banisher's effect. The shield also blots out the sun, so they can't even use that to tell the time. We get a bit more of an in-depth look at the chaos of the "lost time". Workers are confused when lunch breaks are, or even when they go to work. Trains are arriving at the wrong time, even Julius Schwartz can't get comics out.

Chronos is watching the madness from within his flying sundial. I can imagine he wishes he had some popcorn and soda to enjoy the show. Wonder Woman heads to Grand Central Station. It's a giant clock landmark, and Wondy hopes that the device is there. However, the clock reaches out to give her a hug.

The hands of the clock grab Wondy, but she's able to get her arms free...and take the clock with it. Oops. She uses her lasso to avoid getting people crushed by the giant clock. The Amazing Amazon uses an improvised net between two lampposts with her magic lasso to fully free herself from the clock. Wonder Woman continues investigating every clock she can find, until it hits her. Where is the device?

Before she can head to where she figured the Banisher is, Chronos attacks. He tries to hit Wondy with a hourglass containing special sand. It's "reverse quicksand", trying to trap the Amazon royal. She spins it off her. Some of the sand hits Chronos's face, knocking out his special protective contact lenses. Thanks to the Banisher, he can't see his clock-themed weapons. Oops.

With a toss of her tiara, Diana takes down the flying sundial. But where was the Banisher? You see, when Chronos said it was in a "time landmark", he was being literal. He meant something that marked the land...like a signpost indicating Times Square. She rips open a lamppost, finds the Banisher, and crushes it. And with that, time has returned to Manhattan Island.

Later, Diana is back in her civilian togs, meeting with Tracy Morgan. Morgan notes that every time that he sends her on an assignment, Wonder Woman is involved. He wants to know why that is. Diana states that's not true. She gives him her report of her assignment in the Catskills. Remember, that was mentioned earlier. And Wonder Woman is not mentioned in the report. Curious...

Back at the Justice League Satellite, Green Arrow, Flash, and Superman have arrived for a meeting. So has the Atom. He noticed that Hawkman isn't here, which means he won the race to monitor Wondy's next adventure. But then the Winged Warrior does show up, stating that he did monitor Wonder Woman's tenth trial. Wait, if the Atom was monitoring Diana in Manhattan...and Hawkman was monitoring her in the Catskills...then that means there were two Wonder Women running around! One of them has to be an impostor! Well, maybe next month, we'll get to find out...

I admit, I enjoyed this issue a lot more than the last one. It was neat seeing Wonder Woman fighting a supervillain that's not a regular part of her rogues gallery. I did find it funny that the comic said that Chronos "stole" time because technically...he didn't. He just stopped people from being able to tell what time it is. That's not quite "stealing" time. This story has a bit of a Silver Age feel to it, which does make some sense. I also quite liked Giordano's art. I'm not sure why.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommen

The Suicide Squad Roll Call Teaser, My Thoughts

The DC Cinematic Universe is rolling on! In 2016, WB released the movie universe's third installment: Suicide Squad. Based on the comic book series, the David Ayer-written and directed film was about a group of supervillains and anti-heroes conscripted into government service. The film was given a mostly negative reception from critics, but it was praised for its cast and makeup. It even won the Best Makeup and Hairstyling Oscar at the 89th Academy Awards. The film would get a spinoff in Birds of Prey, and now...it's got a standalone sequel that was written and will be directed by James Gunn. Let's look at the trailer!

Makes sense Amanda Waller would come back.

And we got a new actor for Rick Flag Jr.

Savant - aka Brian Durlin. First appearing in Birds of Prey #56 (August 2003), created by Gail Simone and Ed Benes. A wannabe-vigilante turned blackmailer. Martial artist with genius intellect. I'm also not surprised that Michael Rooker would be in this movie. After all, James Gunn is directing. I think Savant will die, because of his obscurity and his lack of any real superpowers.

Javelin - Real Name unknown. First appeared in Green Lantern #174 (February 1984), created by Len Wein and Dave Gibbons. A former German Olympian athlete turned supervillain, he's skilled with his namesake weapon. I think this dude will be cannon fodder.

Harley Quinn - No introduction really needed. She first appeared in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Joker's Favor" (first broadcast on September 11, 1992), and made her comics debut in Batman: Harley Quinn (October 1999), created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. She's a psycho psychologist who is a skilled acrobat/martial artist. In the comics, thanks to enhancement from Poison Ivy, she is immune to toxins and poisons. She will definitely live. And I like her costume here better than her outfits in Birds of Prey.

Polka-Dot Man - Real name Abner Krill. First appeared in Detective Comics #300 (February 1962), created by Sheldon Moldoff. The dots on his costume contain various devices. He's pretty obscure, and I can imagine the film getting a couple of gags out of his costume's gimmicks, but yeah, he's toast.

Ratcatcher - Real name Otis Flannegan. First appeared in Detective Comics #585 (April 1988), created by Alan Grant, John Wagner, and Norm Breyfogle. Flannegan had the power to command, well, rats. Interestingly enough, the Ratcatcher was an actual rat-catcher before becoming a supervillain. This film's version is female and called "Ratcatcher 2", implying she's a legacy character. I think it will be a tossup if she lives or dies.

Bloodsport - This Bloodsport is likely based on Robert DuBois (the first Bloodsport, there have been three in the comics), first appearing in Superman #4 (April 1987), created by John Byrne and Karl Kesel. He has a teleporter grafted into his body that allows him to summon weapons. I think he'll survive the movie because he's likely there to take the place of Deadshot.

King Shark - Real name Nanaue. First appeared as a cameo in Superboy #0 (October 1994), then fully appeared in Superboy #9 (November 1994), created by Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett. A demi-god, he has a human mother and his father was a shark god. He's super strong, has a healing factor, and you don't want him to bite you. He's a powerhouse character, and considering the popularity the character has gotten thanks to the Harley Quinn animated series, I think he may live.

Mongal - First appeared in Showcase '95 #8 (Deptember 1995), created by Peter Tomasi and Scot Eaton. An alien powerhouse, super speed, strength, durability, etc. I found her an utterly bizarre choice for this movie, and I would not be surprised if she gets killed off. Should be hard to do, though.

The Thinker - Likely the Clifford DeVoe version, this incarnation first appeared in All-Flash #12 (Fall 1943), created by Gardner Fox and E.E. Hibbard. In the comics, the Thinker was known for using a device known as a "Thinking Cap" to use various mental powers. Considering who is playing him, I think he may live.

Sol Soria - I think she's a new character, so she may likely survive. She's been described as a "South American revolutionary", so its possible that this may be a hint as to the Squad's mission in the movie.

Blackguard - Richard Hertz. First appeared in Booster Gold #1 (February 1986), created by Dan Jurgens. In the comics, Blackguard wore armor that allowed him to create a mace and shield made of energy. He's pretty obscure, so I think he's going to be toast.

TDK - Real name Floyd Belkin. First appeare in Secret Origins #46 (December 1989), created by Gerard Jones and Curt Swan. Has the power to remove his arms and use them as limb. He's often thought of as a bit of a joke, so he'll likely get killed off.

Weasel - Real Name: John Monroe. First appeared in The Fury of Firestorm #35 (August 1985), created by Gerry Conway and Rafael Kayanan. In the comics, Weasel was a serial killer in a costume, not a mutated animal like he seems to be here. He's dead.

Captain Boomerang - Real name George "Digger" Harkness. First appeared in The Flash #117 (December 1960), created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino. An Australian supervillain, he uses, well...boomerangs. He'll likely survive, as he's one of the "iconic" members of the Suicide Squad.

Peacemaker - Real name: Christopher Smith. First appeared in Fightin' 5 #40 (November 1966), created by Joe Gill and Pat Boyette. Skilled martial artist, and weapons user. I hope he survives, personally. John Cena can be pretty funny. I expect him to be a breakout character. I have heard there was more stuff with him in the works, so it's likely he'll live.

I admit, I am rather excited for this movie. I never saw the first one. Looking back, the promotion for that one gave me the impression they were trying to respond to Guardians of the Galaxy. Kind of ironic that James Gunn is directing this film, then. Huh. This trailer gives me the impression that this will be a good time popcorn movie. The kind of film you just sit back and have fun watching. And I am all for that. I also like that this film is giving some spotlight to some lesser-known DC characters...even if it's only brief.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves, and each other. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! See you next time!

Green Lantern #21 (September 2007)

In the 1990s, DC was on a bit of a kick of radically shaking up some of their superheroes. Superman was killed off, Batman had his back broken. Another hero to get such a shakeup was the Green Lantern. The primary Green Lantern at the time, Hal Jordan was transformed into the supervillain Parallax and a new Lantern emerged in Kyle Rayner. This storyline, "Emerald Twilight", was used to remove much of the Silver/Bronze Age Green Lantern mythos, like the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe.

Hal's transformation was met with much anger and outrage from Lantern fans. Despite that, for a decade, Kyle Rayner was the DCU's only Green Lantern. Hal would stick around as Parallax, eventually finding redemption by becoming the Spectre. In 2004, the miniseries Green Lantern: Rebirth would restore Hal to life, as well as usher in the rebuilding of the Green Lantern Corps. It would also set up for another epic storyline: The Sinestro Corps War.

You see, Rebirth had established the idea that the green energy the Green Lanterns used was actually the center of an emotional spectrum. Green was the central color, the color of willpower, which allows one to keep emotions in check. And since there were other emotions out there, that meant there were other colors...and potentially other Corps. One was the Sinestro Corps. Led by their namesake leader, longtime Green Lantern villain Sinestro, this Corps used the yellow light of fear...and they wanted one thing: the universe to live in terror. As such, they waged a war on the Green Lanterns. Let's see the beginnings of the war in Green Lantern #21!

The cover is a Ivan Reis, Oclair Albert, and Moose Baumann piece depicting members of the Sinestro Corps and Parallax in his yellow bug form. It's a good cover, but it's a bit basic. I do like the little detail of the Green Lantern masthead logo's green being switched with yellow. It helps give the impression that the Sinestro Corps are taking over.

"The Sinestro Corps War Chapter One: Fear and Loathing"

Writer: Geoff Johns

Penciler: Ivan Reis

Inker: Oclair Albert

Colorist: Moose Baumann

Letterer: Rob Leigh

The story begins with Hal Jordan doing a bit of reminiscing. One time, the Air Force man was one of the Green Lantern Corps. He was considered one of the best. He thinks it was because he was one of the few Lanterns willing to argue with the Guardians of the Universe. They reminded him of his superiors in the Air Force. They liked to tell him how to fly, but they never sat in the cockpit.

Years after Hal became a Green Lantern, his hometown of Coast City was destroyed by the Cyborg Superman. It was only the second time in his life that fear overcame him. It allowed him to be possessed by Parallax, the embodiment of fear. Under the monster's control, Hal would end up destroying the Green Lantern Corps and even tried to recreate the universe. Despite this, Hal would later be able to ressaert himself enough to save the world when it seemingly entered its Final Night. But he would be freed by his Green Lantern comrades: Kilowog, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, and Guy Gardner.

But that was in the past. Since then, the Green Lantern Corps has been rebuilt...but someone is bent on tearing it back down. Who, exactly? Well, Sinestro. Once a Green Lantern himself, he was stripped of his uniform and ring when he abused its power to create a dictatorship. He and Hal had fought many times over the years, but now Sinestro has his own Lantern Corps, using the yellow light of fear, and they just made their first big strike, a strike that killed over fifty Lantern officers.

The recovery is complicated by a group known as the Lost Lanterns. They were a group of GLs that tried to stop Hal Jordan when he was possessed by Parallax after the destruction of Coast City, but he took their rings and left them for dead. They would be found again, but they still have issues with Hal. Kilowog is able to calm the tensions, though.

Elsewhere on Oa, the Guardians are debating what to do next at the Book of Oa. The Book of Oa is literally that, a giant book containing everything that is known about the Green Lantern Corps and its history. The book is open to a chapter about something called "The Blackest Night". It's a hidden chapter, and the Guardians decide it must be kept that way.

Two of the Guardians, Ganthet and Sayd, object to this.

They point out that they tried this with the truth behind why Green Lanterns' power rings did not work on the color yellow (It was because they had Parallax trapped in the Lantern's Central Power Battery, which somehow weakened the ring's ability to affect anything yellow), and it led to the events of Emerald Twilight. The Guardians cannot ignore this. The prophecy of the "Blackest Night" is coming to pass. The Sinestro Corps are here. This is merely the beginning.

The other Guardians believe it's a lie. The prophecy is a fake, used to manipulate Abin Sur, the Green Lantern that operated in Sector 2814 before he died and his ring went to Hal Jordan. Ganthet points out that if the prophecy was not a lie, then it would not have been recorded in the Book of Oa. One Guardian destroys the pages containing the prophecy, stating that Guardians did it because they did something forbidden. They allowed themselves to feel fear.

We next get a scene in which one of the Sinestro Corps needs a recharge. This allows us to learn their oath, a twisted take on the Green Lantern's oath.

In Blackest Day, in Brightest Night! Beware your fears made into light! Let those who try to stop what's right! Burn like his power! Sinestro's might!

Sinestro himself watches his Corps rampage, and he is very pleased.

Back with Hal, he finds himself receiving a secret communication from Ganthet and Sayd. They want Hal to lead the Green Lanterns through the upcoming war. After all, leading is something that comes naturally to him. Hal refuses, as he knows the Corps don't trust him thanks to his actions when he was under Parallax's control. The two Guardians try to convince him to be the Lantern's beacon. Hal still refuses. Two Lanterns have been asked to be beacons by the Guardians: Hal and Sinestro. And they both broke under the pressure.

Ganthet points out that Hal is still haunted by one great fear, but the Air Force man is just interested in finding Kyle Rayner. Kyle had been kidnapped in the Sinestro Corps attack earlier. Ganthet and Sayd reveal that he's been taken to the world of Qward, the planet that the Sinestro Corps have been using as their counterpart to Oa. Guy Gardner and John Stewart arrive and alert Hal that the "Lost Lanterns" have orders to go to Qward and retrieve Ion. Ion is the embodiment of willpower, much like Parallax is the embodiment of fear. The three Earth-born Lanterns prepare to charge their rings up for the trip, but...

The Sinestro Corps left a nasty surprise in the Central Power Battery: Parallax. He manages to make off with Guy and John. The fear monster then decides to taunt Hal by replaying a memory from his childhood: The death of his father. In Johns' run on the title, it was established that Hal's father Martin was a test pilot himself. Hal loved to watch him fly.

Much like Hal himself in the future, Martin Jordan worked as a test pilot for Ferris Aircraft. When Hal was a boy, Martin flew an experimental plane for some investors. However, something went wrong in the plane's systems. Overcome with fear, Hal tries to make his ring save Martin, knowing what's going to happen next.

Martin tries to bring the plane down at the airfield. The plane is going to go down due to the mechanical failure it's suffering, but at least in the airfield, no one else will get hurt. In the cockpit, Martin says something, but Hal can't make it out. Parallax taunts Hal with this. Everyone has fears, and Hal's was that his father died in fear. Parallax shows himself, having possessed Kyle Rayner like he had with Hal years ago.

I have to admit, I love the design of the Parallax-possessed Kyle. The costume includes elements of Parallax's look when he possessed Hal, but also is remisicient of Kyle's first Green Lantern costume.

I do have to admit, I was never too fond of Kyle Rayner's first Green Lantern outfit. It felt like they were trying too hard to make him look "cool". Also, the costume was predominantly black, and I felt it made no sense for a character called Green Lantern to have a predominantly black outfit. The Parallax-ified Kyle taunts Hal about how much more imaginative the younger Lantern is than him, which makes sense. Kyle Rayner in his civilian life is a professional artist, after all.

Hal demands to know where Guy and John are. Parallax!Kyle refuses to answer, instead saying that he's come around to having a Corps of his own. The story ends with Hal facing off against Parallax, the Sinestro Corps, and a pair of constructs of Kyle in his Green Lantern and Ion guises.

This was an enjoyable issue, but it does have a couple of flaws. The main flaw is that it's one of those issues that feels like it's better when read as part of the whole Sinestro Corps War story than on its own. Also, it does feel like you need to have some knowledge of the Green Lantern Corps's history and mythos to truly appreciate this story.

The big strength of this issue is the focus on Hal. We get to see that he's still affected not only by his time under Parallax's control, but he's also still haunted by his father's death. Seeing Martin Jordan's fatal plane crash was the incident that made Hal the supposedly fearless man he is, but it still scarred him.

Ivan Reis to me is an underrated Green Lantern artist. He does great facial expressions, and manages to capture emotion very well. He also manages to make the Parallax-ized Kyle, not to mention the fear monster in his true yellow bug form, look terrifying.

The Sinestro Corps War is an epic story, and should be required reading for anyone who wants to know why Green Lantern is awesomel If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2008 trade paperback Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War Vol. 1. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves, and each other. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! Join me next time, as we join Wonder Woman as she undergoes her tenth labor...