Iron Man #234 (September 1988)

One of the fun things about a shared universe with a bunch of characters in it is the chance to see all those characters come together. To see them join forces to combat a great threat. But sometimes, it's fun to see a smaller team-up. A couple of characters having an adventure together. This comic is such an example. This is Iron Man #234!

The cover is a Bob Layton and Jackson Guice piece. It's well-drawn, but it's a bit basic. It just depicts Iron Man and Spider-Man flying (and swinging in Spidey's case) over a white background. There's not much else that can be said about this cover, really.

"Fallout!"
Writers: David Michelinie, Bob Layton
Penciler: Jackson Guice
Inker: Bob Layton
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Editor: Bob Mackie
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins with Tony Stark introducing his then-new suit of armor at an innovators' expo.

Stark shows off a holographic projection to his audience. This projection is a presentation of the new suit's capabilities. The new suit impresses some people from Pendyne, a company he wants to use as a headquarters for Stark Enterprises on the East Coast. They agree to work with Stark...as long as the board gives the okay.

Unknown to the Armored Avenger, the expo gets another visitor.

Yup, a Mr. Peter Parker, aka the original Spider-Man. He's able to come to the expo because of his press credentials (The expo is not open to the public). He's covering the expo for the Daily Bugle, but he also has another goal while he's here. He is going back to college, and he wants to make some contacts so when he graduates, he has a chance at a better job. Nice bit of multitasking there, Mr. Parker.

As Peter is doing a bit of picture-taking and shmoozing, one James Rhodes is having some fun trying out a prototype flight simulator.

"Man, this new After Burner game is awesome!"

Yeah, it's likely it'll end up being made into an arcade game. Rhodey and Stark reunite and make some small talk until they encounter exhibit at the expo.

"This kiosk has nothing villainous about it. Nope."

You see, Stane International was once Stark International...until Obadiah Stane bought it out from under him. Stane had taken his own life earlier, but the company still lives on. The man heading the exhibit is a Dr. Chen Lu, aka the Radioactive Man. Lu is able to sense radiation, and he picks up a source of it. But he can't identify the source. Meanwhile, Peter is feeling a bit...weak. Like his energy is being sapped. His Spider-Sense briefly goes off. 

Stark meets a former security guard named Vic Martinelli who stayed with Stane after Stark was bought out. He hopes that Stark is holding no hard feelings. Stark is fine with it, as the man did what he had to do. He shakes Stark's hand, wishing him the best of luck. Stark discovers the guard slipped him a note. Stark and Rhodey go outside, where they meet a new player in this game.

Meet Kathy Dare. Her life would...not go so well. But that's the future. Stark agrees to go out to dinner with her. That night, Chen Lu is fiddling with some boxes at the Expo Center. his thoughts reveal that he's displeased with his being an employee of Stane. However, as an employee of Stane's, he's got access to funding and equipment he would have...a lot of problems getting otherwise, so it's not so bad. He picks up that radiation again.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man swings in, wanting to investigate why he felt weak. He starts to feel it again...and his Spider-Sense tingles.

Radioactive Man and Spidey tussle, which ends with the Chinese supervillain winning. The next day, Tony Stark gets a view of the paper. 

"Huh? I thought Omega got shot in Vegas."

Stark finds this odd, and wonders if it has something to do with the note that Vic had slipped him. Stark reads the note and sees that it's a call for help. There's some...weird things going on at Stane Enterprises, and he wants Stark to take a look. Later on, the two meet. Vic reveals that Stane had hired a man named Chen Lu. They built a special lab for him that was lined in lead, and his work there is top secret. Hush-hush. Beyond his pay grade.

This made Vic suspicious, so he decided to do some snooping. He discovered that the near-crash of a Stane nuclear satellite that happened last issue was deliberate. It was caused by Lu because he wanted to observe the effects of nuclear radiation on humans. That night, Stark suits up in his Iron Man armor and investigates the Stane Enterprises campus. So, what of Spidey and Radioactive Man?

Dr. Lu finds Spidey's irradiated blood fascinating and wants to study it. And he's gonna need a lot of Spidey's blood for this. Exsanguination time!

Luckily, Iron Man bursts in. He and Radioactive Man brawl. Iron Man tells Spidey to get out, as he'll be no help here. Lu's radiation weakens him, after all. However, Spidey wants to help. Being the clever arachnid-themed hero he is, he attacks Lu...wearing a radiation suit.

The suit is cumbersome, so Spidey can't use his full powers or his webbing. But he is able to distract Radioactive Man long enough for Iron Man to stop him by melting the lead ceiling, then freezing the molten lead, trapping the Chinese supervillain. The next day, Stark and Rhodes are watching a news report on the fight. Stane officials deny they were aware of Lu's criminal activities and intend to cooperate fully towards Lu's deportation to China. Stark is feeling good. He saved Spider-Man, stopped the Radioactive Man, and made it out in one piece. As far as he's concerned, today was a good day.

This was a fun little one-off adventure. It really was. It was neat seeing Iron Man and Spider-Man team-up against a common threat. One thing that I thought was interesting that as far as I know, Chen Lu seeing Peter unmasked never led to Lu learning who the face belonged to. It was clear in the story he wished to study Peter's radioactive blood. And his presence did weaken Peter. I think it would have been neat for Lu and Peter to cross paths more often after this.

I also can't help but wonder how the events of One More Day affected Lu's memories of this event. Does he remember it differently? I mean, it's not like he learned Peter's name or anything...It's interesting to think over. Anyway, Jackson Guice does the actual interior pencils, with Bob Layton doing the inks. The two must have enjoyed working together, as they also collaborated on X-Factor beforehand. It's pretty good, I must say. 

This comic hasn't been reprinted in trade as far as I know, so you may have to search the back issue bins if you want t oread this for yourself. I recommend it, it's a fun little team-up one-shot story. 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, wear a mask, and get vaccinated and boosted. 

May the 4th Be With You!

It's May 4th, everybody!

May the Fourth be with you. Always.

Text Play: Pokemon Xenoverse #4

Hello, and welcome back to the Eldiw region! This is entry number four in my Text Play of Pokemon Xenoverse! 

Before we proceed, I do wish to warn you all. I will be spoiling this game. 

As such, I recommend that you play the game for yourself before you read this. You can download it at the developers' site here. The site is in Italian, but the game is obviously playable in English. My Italian is...well, non-existent is a kind way to describe it, so thank goodness for that. 

Before we continue on, I wish to apologize for putting this up late. I mistakenly assumed that April had 31 days and I wanted to put this up on the last day of the month like I always do with these entries. So, it looks like May will have two this month. Now back to the game. With Team Dimension defeated for now, they decided to not just flee the library, but it looks like they fled the whole town!

Good riddance to bad rubbish there, I say. Which means we can explore the town! Yay! And since the Library was cleared out, that means that people can use it again. Also, there's a TM hidden in one of the shelves.

It contains TM04 (Calm Mind). It's a stat-affecting move. A Pokémon that uses it, well...calms its mind, somehow raising its Special Attack and Defense Stats. I'm guessing the idea is that it uses meditation to increase its focus and make itself better able to defeat its opponent, kind of like the end of the final fight between Frank Dux and Chong Li in Bloodsport. 

I think it's a Psychic-type move. Anyway, with Team Dimension gone, the Day Care center is open for business once again. Next to it was this one guy who made me chuckle.

Heh heh. Dude, you left your Pokémon in a Day Care Center, places that specialize in breeding Pokémon. What did you expect? That actually makes me wonder. In universe, are there campaigns to get stray Pokémon spayed/neutered to prevent swarms of wild Pokémon, similar to such campaigns in our world? I mean, that would make sense. 

I'll have to remember to come back here sometime. I'd love to breed some Pokémon, but I don't have a Ditto yet, and I have no idea where to get one in this game. 

Across from the Day Care Center is a mini-PokeMart. In front of it are a football player (American-style, not soccer), and a baseball player, arguing over which of their sports is better. 

You can talk to each of them. They'll ask you if their sport is better than the other. If you tell the football player football is better, he'll give you a Muscle Band. If you tell the baseball player baseball is better, you can get a Scope Lens. The funny part is you can do this with both of them at the same time. The Muscle Band is a headband that can slightly boost the power of physical moves. Moves like Tackle, Low Kick, etc. 

The Scope Lens boosts the critical hit-rate of a Pokémon. Basically, it increases the odds that a Pokémon's move will suddenly cause some extra damage. In an actual Pokémon battle between trainers, a critical hit can be the difference between victory and defeat. When catching wild Pokémon, though...it can be a pain. Speaking from experience here.

We head back to the entrance area, and head right. There's a guy standing next to the parked bicycles. He asks me if I want to join the "corporation". I think he meant "campus".

I think that's one of Ginger's buddies. He gives out a Super Potion. We move a little further ahead, and we encounter Alice again.

She's happy that I'm still on campus. Well, I wanted to explore this place some more, so why not? She had heard about my Trishout undergoing Terrestrial Evolution. Presumably she heard about it from Ginger or one of those two guys hanging around him. She believes I'm going to challenge Ginger at his Gym. Well, to be fair, I'm going to have to at some point, so...yeah? She offers to face me in a preliminary battle, because she wants to see if I have what it takes to face him. Sure, why not? Every little bit of XP helps.

One thing I noticed about this battle is that Trishout stayed in its Terrestrial Evolved form. It seemingly did not change back from its original form after battling A and B earlier. Strange. Pokémon using certain items to evolve into new forms is nothing new. It's been a thing since Gen 1. But in those cases, they evolved into new creatures. For example, Geodude, Graveler, and Golem are considered separate Pokemon. Trishout's evolution seems more similar to Mega Evolution, but it never returned to its original form. Did it have to undergo this to become stronger? And what if I chose another starter instead of Trishout? What if I chose Shulong instead? 

Anyway, I managed to defeat Alice. The battle convinces her that I can take on Ginger, but she gives me a Revive just in case. That's awful nice of her. Further to the right, there's the exit of the town. However, there's a bunch of guys blocking it. They won't let us leave until we tackle Ginger's gym. Fair enough, we have to conquer it at some point. Another one of Ginger's buddies is hanging out nearby.

He gives out a Rare Candy. I don't really use these, but I appreciate it anyway. There's really not much else to this place, besides the Gym. I admit, it's a bit disappointing. I mean, I don't remember ever seeing a college town in an "official" Pokémon game, so it's kind of sad that this is the closest to one in an Pokémon game, official or otherwise. Anyway, let's hit the Gym! The Gym is essentially the main university building.

It's a nice-looking building. It does have that university-vibe to it. Although, I can imagine it would be quite awkward if you're quietly studying in the library while a gym battle is going on, and then you end up under a shelf because somebody had the bright idea to command a Pokémon to use Earthquake. The lady wearing the white coat and glasses on the left is looking for a Hikiloo. She'll give you a Chigami in exchange. I'll have to catch an extra Hikiloo for her. 

When we enter the building, this guy is standing there. 

He doesn't reveal his name, but he is rooting for us. He informs that, appropriately enough, the jock-like Ginger specializes in Fighting-type Pokemon. This gym has a special challenge. We have to find a key for a classroom in the lockers. 

But I am admittedly jumping ahead here. We need to build a team to face Ginger first. Since he specializes in Fighting-type Pokemon, I'll need to arm myself with Psychic, Fairy, and Flying-types. Forewarned is forearmed, after all.

My Wingull is Water/Flying and knows Wing Attack, so I can keep her on the team. My Shawkbird is also Flying-type. She knows Roost and Peck, so I can keep her on the team for fighting Ginger. As for Sandygast and Phantump...well, I admit, I'm kind of mixed on keeping them. Both of them are partially Ghost-type. Ghost-type Pokémon tend to be immune to Fighting-type attacks, and they're both Ghost (Sandygast is Ghost/Ground and Phantump is Grass/Ghost). They both know Ghost-type attacks. Phantump also knows Absorb and Leech Seed. A great combination to wear down opposing Pokémon. 

I decided to look over my collection of Pokémon to help me decide who to bring in to face Ginger. Luckily the Porygon Center next to that nurse in front of the flowerbed is free to use.

I only have a couple of Pokémon that are Psychic-type, though: Inkay and Puppillon. They are both Dark and Psychic-type Pokémon. Puppillon does know Confusion and Inkay knows Peck, so that's a start. As for Flying, well...I got options there, too. I have a Taillow that knows Peck. And for Fairy? I have a Reindear that knows Fairy Wind. 

I ultimately decided to bring Reindear, Puppillon, and Taillow on my team. Covers all of Fighting's weaknesses. And I kept Shawkbird because it also is a Flying-type.

While grinding, I remembered that the lady in front of the Gym wanted to trade her Pokémon for a Hikiloo. As such, I caught an extra Hikiloo to trade. When the trade completed, I found myself owning this little fellow here.

It looks like a ghostly butterfly. And it's a Fairy-type. I am very strongly tempted to keep this guy on my team to battle Ginger. So, I decided to try grinding him up for a while to see how he worked. Chichi is an interesting little Pokémon. I managed to get it to learn Razor Leaf. A nice little surprise.

And I think that's where we'll stop here for today. As I said earlier, I am a bit disappointed in the layout of Newtron City. It's clearly meant to be based on a college town, and I feel there was some unrealized potential here. I would have loved to have seen fraternity and sorority houses here that maybe all specialized in certain types of Pokémon. Maybe bookstores here that sell books and delis that can sell foods for your Pokemon. Just a thought. I think there was some potential to make a really cool-looking town and the developers squandered it here. A shame.

I have some grinding to get done. Next time, we take on Ginger, hopefully! Wish me luck! 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, wear a mask, and get vaccinated/boosted! See you next time!

Pokémon Obtained:
(Newtron City)
- Chigami (obtained by trading a Hikiloo)

Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet #1 (October 2000)

In the Marvel Universe, Earth has a very long history of contact with various intelligent lifeforms from all over the cosmos. Some species were benevolent, others were malevolent, and some's relationships with humanity were...more complicated. As such, these species were not only aware of humanity, but they would also naturally have varying views of it. Some of them began to view humanity as a potentially very dangerous force in the Marvel Universe, and something had to be done about them. As such, the events of Maximum Security rolled in. 

Maximum Security was a Marvel crossover event published from 2000-2001. It crossed over with numerous Marvel titles going at the time. The main titular mini-series was written by Kurt Busiek with artwork by Jerry Ordway. Busiek came up with this crossover as a form of "self-defense". Marvel had been wanting to put out a crossover event, and they gave Busiek a choice: Come up with one, or he'd have to participate in another. 

The first idea he had was known as "Y2Kang". The year 2000 was coming up, and the idea was that when the clock struck midnight using in said year, Kang would bring the world back to the year 1900 and the Marvel superheroes would be transformed into early 20th century versions of themselves. However, due to the time it would take to solicit the story, the timing would be wrecked.

The second idea he had was this one, inspired by Great Britain's history with using Australia as a penal colony. Busiek thought it would be interesting if the intergalactic powers of the Marvel Universe decided to take a cue from the UK and dump their criminals on Earth. 

The comic we're looking at here is a one-shot that sets up the beginnings of Maximum Security. Let's take a look at Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet #1!

The cover is a Jerry Ordway piece.

"A Very Dangerous Planet"
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Penciler: Jerry Ordway
Inkers: Will Blyberg, Paul Ryan
Colorist: Jason Wright
Letterer: Richard Starkings, Comicraft
Editor: Tom Brevoort

The story begins with a Skrull speaking to a gathering of various alien species, calling humanity a menace.

He justifies his accusation by telling the tale of Cadre K. Cadre K (making their debut here) were a group of young Skrulls that were born with powers and abilities beyond those of the standard Skrull. Basically, there were mutants, like the X-Men of Earth. Their name came from the Skrulls referring to them as "K-Class". The Skrulls would regularly purge such mutations to keep the Skrull line "pure". The said group attacked a Skrull hatchery that was about to perform such a cull on K-Class newborns. This group of young Skrulls was brought together by a man who had plenty of experience bringing together superpowered youths and making them into a crack team of heroes. 

Yup, one Charles Xavier himself. The Skrull, an Ambassador Kreddik, claims this is just humanity yet again imposing their wills on other races. He also cites examples like their harboring the Dark Phoenix, and encounters with the Celestials. The head of this Intergalactic Council, one Majestrix Lilandra of the Shi'ar Empire, shoots down the ambassador. This Council is rarely convened, and she feels it has more pressing matters. Ambassador Kreddik insists that humanity is an ongoing danger to the cosmos. 

Lilandra sees the other aliens of the Council debate on humanity, and it makes her realize that this is an issue that she just can't table for now. It doesn't help that she's known for her own alliance with humans, in particular the X-Men.

She agrees to address the issue, after some careful study. She then turns to the real reason for this Council being convened. A mysterious new alien race has been appearing. Not much is known about them, just that they are called the Ruul. They've been petitioning for membership into the Intergalactic Council. They've visited many of the member races, helping them out with various issues. And they've come to see the Council today.

The Ruul look like a hybrid of the Yautja and a catfish. The Ruul are about to introduce themselves, when Lilandra gets an urgent message. The planet Krylor just went kablooie.

Krylor is known as the homeworld of the alien filmmaker known as Bereet. Bereet debuted in Incredible Hulk #269 (December 1981). Regular readers of this here blog may remember her from my review of Incredible Hulk #276 (October 1982). So, how did her homeworld get wrecked?

Ego, the Living Planet. You may be familiar with him if you watched Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Unlike in the MCU, Ego is not a Celestial in the comics. Although it can be argued that he sees himself as one. His name is Ego after all.

Anyway, Ego is looking for other planets like him. He visits planets, trying to get them to "wake up" and become sentient like him. And if they don't, he destroys them. Lilandra assures the Intergalactic Council that they can stop Ego if they unite against him. You know, Lilandra, you could also call the X-Men, and through them, call on Earth's other superheroes. I mean, if the FF can drive off Galactus, they could help here. Just a thought.

Anyway, despite the united front, Ego still continues on his rampage. Many planets fall under his tantrums. It leads to the Council becoming fragmented, and Lilandra with little options. The Ruul delegation offers to help. Days later, a massive fleet of ships from many worlds try to blast Ego. It doesn't work. Ego tries to absorb the survivors into his biomass, but they care saved by the Silver Surfer.

The Surfer warns Ego that if he doesn't knock it off, he will destroy the Living Planet himself. Ego scoffs at this, recalling that in Silver Surfer #22 (April 1989), he nearly destroyed the Silver Surfer. Back with the Council, another alien ambassador reinforces Kreddik's belief in humans constantly meddling in alien affairs, referencing the Kree-Skrull War and Operation: Galactic Storm, among others. More recently, a group of Avengers are currently dealing with a group of cosmic beings called the Infinites. That adventure would be recounted in Avengers Infinity #1-4 (September-December 2004). There are also the activities of the Starjammers, who are led by the human known as Corsair. And the previously-mentioned Cadre K. Not to mention the Inhumans aiding the Kree in a rebellion against the Shi'ar. It makes the Council's views of humanity grow dimmer.

A few days later, Lilandra inspects some new defenses against Ego, including some fancy cannons, and a Psyche-Drone provided by the Ruul. It will allow the Ruul to strike at Ego's brain. When she leaves, one of the Ruul delegates reports to an unknown being that the pressure on the council needs to be increased. The being assures that will happen soon. 

Five days later...

Ego attacks the planet of Selandiar. The defenses open up on the Living Planet. The Shi'ar's Imperial Guard is spread thin, and wouldn't be able to be recalled together fast enough to help. Luckily, the planet does get help in the form of Charles Xavier, Cadre K and the Silver Surfer. The heroes have trouble with Ego, as he's a big ol' planet, and they're...five Skrulls, a bald telepath, and a cosmic wanderer. Xavier and Cadre K member Zcann combine their powers and harness the psychic energies of everyone on Selandiar. Ego is successfully knocked into a coma.

However, this has only led to more infighting from the Intergalactic Council. Lilandra believes that it's partially because the Council felt a bit of embarrassment about how a human helped save them from Ego. Despite Lilandra's and Zcann's pleas, the Council ultimately rules that humanity is too dangerous to continue moving unchecked. 

The story ends with the Ruul delegate approaching Lilandra, suggesting that there's another way to deal with Earth without having to exterminate its native life...

I personally enjoyed this issue. It's fun to see some intergalactic intrigue among some of the main interstellar powers of the Marvel Universe. It was neat seeing Busiek use Marvel history and its own mythos to show why alien races would be apprehensive towards humanity. This wasn't long after Avengers Forever, so I do think that there is a bit of a continuation of the theme of humans being potentially the most dangerous form of life in the universe. 

I can see why some would find this issue a bit tough to get into, but if you ask me, those references to past stories are important. They explain how these aliens came to this point. Jerry Ordway turns in some fine artwork for this issue.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2010 trade paperback Avengers/X-Men: Maximum Security. 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! 

Justice #4 (April 2006)

It's that time again! It's time to join the Justice League of America in their greatest battle against the Legion of Doom! In the last issue, the Red Tornado got wrecked, the Legion of Doom learned the secret identities of the Justice League, and Lex Luthor had an announcement to make. So, what happened next? Let's find out when we look at Justice #4!

The cover is an Alex Ross piece. It's pretty cool. It depicts Superman being attacked by Superman. I'm not sure how to describe Luthor and Brainiac's being here. I do get the impression that this is basically Superman's show from this cover. He's in it, and the villains that are also on the cover are traditionally associated with him. 

"Chapter Four"
Writers: Alex Ross, Jim Krueger
Pencilers: Alex Ross, Doug Braithwaite
Inker: Alex Ross
Colorist: Alex Ross
Letterer: Todd Klein
Editors: Joey Cavalieri, Michael Wright
Executive Editor: Dan DiDio

The story begins with Lex Luthor making a broadcast to the world.

Page 1, Panel 1

His speech talks about how the Justice League are the true criminals because they never really tried to save the world, actually help people, yada yada yada.

This speech is watched by various people, including Clark Kent. And then he is ambushed by Bizarro. 

Page 4, Full Page

Remember that strange city the Martian Manhunter found? Well, it is one of many. These cities are meant to be perfect paradises for humanity. As Luthor explains them in his message, more heroes get attacked. Hal Jordan by Sinestro. Green Arrow and Black Canary by Scarecrow and Clayface. Wonder Woman by Cheetah. Hawkman and Hawkwoman by the Toyman. Atom is shot by a sniper. I think it's someone independent Luthor may have hired there because the sniper is clearly a woman, and this doesn't fit either Cheetah or Giganta. 

Back in Metropolis, Superman tries to fight Bizarro, only to discover that this is a handicap match. As Bizarro has a tag team partner here.

Page 19, Panel 2

Yup, Solomon Grundy. And it gets worse for the Man of Steel. Parasite shows up to weaken Superman further by stealing his power, commanding Grundy and Bizarro to hit Superman some more. The Metropolis Marvel is able to activate a hidden signal device in his belt during the ambush.

In Central City, Barry Allen is enjoying some soup with his beloved wife Iris. The soup is red, so I'm assuming it's red clam chowder. I like chicken noodle myself. Mmm, chicken noodle soup...

Anyway, Barry gets Superman's signal on his watch, and he heads out. Unknown to them, Captain Cold is watching from the kitchen.

Page 22, Panel 8

"Captain Cold is watching you eat." Barry zips into action as the Flash, but something weird happens.

Page 23, Panels 4-5. 

Barry seems to be trapped in super-speed, causing him to outrun himself. As for Superman, things get worse.

Page 24, Panel 4

Yup, Metallo shows up. The cyborg blasts the Man of Steel with radiation from the Kryptonite chunk that was also his power source. Luthor condemns the Justice League in his speech as the attacks on the League continue. He boasts that he and the Legion of Doom will be the new people of tomorrow, the true saviors of the world. The story ends with Superman calling for help.

This was an enjoyable issue. Despite that, it's one of those issues that is best read as part of the whole story than on its own. On its own, not much seemingly happens. Heroes get attacked, and that's really about it. There is some cleverness to this story, though. One thing it does so well is transpose the attacks on the superheroes with Luthor's speech. His speech was trying to promote the Legion of Doom as the true saviors of humanity, while the League just protected a status quo that never truly helps anyone. As I have said before, even though this is based on the Silver/Bronze Age-era Superfriends, this is very much a modern Luthor. 

Superman gets the main focus of the attacks and having him be besieged the way he is makes sense. He's one of the most physically powerful members of the League, so naturally, Luthor would send multiple powerhouses to take him down. Metallo, who can poison him with his Kryptonite heart. Solomon Grundy and Bizarro, who can match Superman in raw strength and durability. And then Parasite, who can absorb Superman's power, weakening him further. It contrasts Luthor's making his speech. Modern Luthor believes that Superman prevents humanity from progressing, holds its potential back. This is Luthor's message to Superman: His human brain triumphing over Kal-El's alien brawn. It helps further give the vibe of a "darkest hour" for the League.