back issues

Back Issues: Marvel Spotlight #5

Dr. K2 Comments

Story Title: “Ghost Rider”
Published: 30 May 1972 (cover date: August 1972)
Writer: Gary Friedrich
Artist: Mark Ploog

The Background:
In 1967, Marvel Comics’ Dick Ayers, Gary Friedrich, and Roy Thomas introduced readers to Carter Slade/Ghost Rider, a Western gunslinger heavily based on Ray Krank and Dick Ayers’ horror-themed character of the same name. The character later took the moniker of the Phantom Rider and was surpassed by his successor, the entirely different but similarly named Spirit of Vengeance. A few years later in 1972, Thomas (then editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics) wished to introduce a villainous Ghost Rider as a foil for Matt Murdock/Daredevil. It was Friedrich who convinced Thomas to expand on the character, artist Mike Ploog asserts that he gave the character his trademark flaming skull, and the legendary Stan Lee dreamed up the name Johnny Blaze for the character’s alter ego. By 1973, this strange supernatural anti-hero had been upgraded to his own self-titled comic and, over the years, the mantle has passed to many others. Ghost Rider has been involved in many high-octane, demonic adventures: he’s battled the hordes of Hell, been split in two, aligned with other supernatural characters as the Spirits of Vengeance, and even flirted with mainstream success thanks to cameo appearances in Marvel’s nineties cartoons, poMovie Night: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeanceorly-received live-action adaptations, and even featuring in a semi-prominent role in the fourth season of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2016 to 2017).

The Review:
I should note first and foremost that I’ve had very little experience with Ghost Rider’s comics; hell, my experience with the character in general is pretty much exclusively from what I’ve seen in movies, cartoons, videogames, and the odd Marvel crossover here and there. Yet, I find the character visually and thematically appealing thanks to my love of the gothic and the macabre and I’d love to read more stories of the character if Marvel ever get their fingers out their asses and make his classic tales more readily available in print. His debut story opens on the rainswept streets and finds the titular flame-headed demon riding through the night; the first thing you might notice here is that the Ghost Rider is riding a fairly standard chopper rather than his iconic Hellcycle, but his visual appeal is hardly diminished because of this thanks to his tight leather outfit and his flaming skull for a head! Another thing that sticks out is that the Ghost Rider happens to pass by as a couple of thugs are gunning a man down in the streets but he chooses not to intervene or punish the gunmen, instead preferring to stay on the move to keep anyone from seeing his gruesome visage. However, fate has other plans for the demonic rider and the thugs give chase, determined to ensure that there are no witnesses to their crime. Interestingly for me, someone with little knowledge of how the Ghost Rider’s transformation and symbiosis works, the Ghost Rider’s internal monologue is that of a desperate man looking for solitude and privacy rather than conflict, and he only stops to confront the gunman when he’s left with no other option. Startled by the rider’s appearance (yet convinced that he’s simply wearing a flashy helmet or pulling some kind of trick), the thugs load up to face off with their ghastly witness, only to find the Ghost Rider is capable of spawning flames from the ground to cut them off and summoning Hell-fire to boost over their heads and escape to safety. Finally free from persecution, the Ghost Rider finds further relief in the rising of the sun, which dispels his demonic appearance and returns him to the agonised human form of Johnny Blaze.

Tormented stunt rider Johnny Blaze sold his soul to save his adopted father.

Desperate to take his mind of his nightly curse, Johnny tries to focus work; as one of the world’s most celebrate stunt cyclists, he is due to attempt the “world jump record” at Madison Square Garden that afternoon, but his thoughts continuously drift back to the past and how he was struck by his demonic dual life. His father, Barton Blaze, was also a daredevil motorcyclist and, after he died in an explosive accident, Johnny was adopted by fellow stunt cyclist Craig “Crash” Simpson and his beautiful daughter, Roxanne (or “Rocky”, as she’s affectionately known). Over the years, young Johnny overcame his fear of motorcycles and ended up taking to the sport like a fish to water; unfortunately, when he was fifteen, he watched his adopted mother die in a freak accident involving an exploding motorcycle. Heartbroken, he vowed to follow her last request and never ride again, though apparently never told this to Crash and Rocky as both of them believe he’s simply afraid to ride and shun him for it into his adulthood. Although he’d promised not to ride before an audience, Johnny secretly keeps up the hobby in his spare time, and he and Roxanne have an emotional reconciliation when she discovers how good he is and the promise her made to her mother. Taking solace in the life of a grease monkey now that he has the beautiful Roxanne by his side, Johnny and Rocky are overjoyed to learn that their show’s been booked for Madison Square Garden; unfortunately, this elation is short-lived as the cantankerous Crash drops the bombshell that he’s only got a month to live, at best, thanks to “the disease”. When Johnny refuses to go back on his vow and take Crash’s place, both his adopted father and Rocky brand him a coward and disown him; desperate for a solution to this problem, Johnny does the only logical thing possible and turns to occult tomes to call upon the dark powers of Satan!

Johnny’s bargain backfires when he’s forced to become a demonic figure at night.

Performing a macabre ritual and speaking ancient incantations, Johnny successfully summons the crimson devil and willingly agrees to serve Satan for all eternity if Crash is cured from his disease. Ol’ Scratch agrees to the deal and, the next day, Crash insists on performing the death-defying stunt, despite Johnny and Rocky’s desperate pleas. Sadly, Barton’s killed in his courageous and pig-headed attempt to ride his bike over twenty-two cars, and so outraged, so brief-stricken by the sudden and explosive death of another father, Johnny randomly decides to make the jump after all. However, Rocky is infuriated that he would steal her dad’s thunder like that mere moments after his death and spitefully walks away, leaving Johnny with only his regrets…and the Devil, arriving to claim that which was promised to Him and cursing Johnny to transform into his flame-headed alter ego as Satan’s emissary whenever night falls. Rocky happens to walk in on him during this ghoulish spell and, conveniently, is also well versed in the occult and is able to ward Satan off. Although Rocky’s presence is enough to quell Johnny’s woes during the day, his dark transformation is unstoppable at night and, agonised by his fiery transformation and monstrous visage, the Ghost Rider flees, bringing us full circle. Tormented by his nightly curse, Johnny struggles with his newfound duality, which sees him rearranging his work and social schedules to explain his nightly disappearances and exhausting himself through fear and worry. When he reads a newspaper headline stating that the gunmen he captured fingered a “Ghost Rider” for their plight, Johnny prepares to leave New York City to avoid being hunted by the police but is compelled to transform into his demonic other half when he loses track of time and distraught by the Faustian bargain that has doomed him to forever carry the burden of being the Ghost Rider.

The Summary:
It’s interesting finally reading the Ghost Rider’s debut appearance and origin story after primarily being familiar with the character from the Nicolas Cage movies. I can see why the films simplified Johnny’s origin to have him sell his soul in exchange for Barton’s life as it was a little convoluted to have young Johnny witness his dad die, only to grow up wary of motorcycles and then swear off them after his adopted mother’s death, and then have to watch another father perish in a blaze of tragedy. The flashbacks to Johnny’s past are quite weak in a lot of ways; it’s weird that we don’t find out what disease Crash is suffering from, and that he’s not really said to have actually been cured before he dies in a motorcycle accident, and it’s even weirder that Johnny was compelled to complete the jump before Crash’s body was even cold. Strangest of all, though, is that Johnny (and Rocky) have a keen interest in the occult; the story very much hand waves this as though it was some passing fancy of his, but he has books and scripture that detail the exact rituals and incantations to summon Satan. Not Mephisto, but Satan Himself! So, in his original depiction, Johnny makes a conscious decision to seek out dark forces and willingly offered his soul to cure his adopted father; there was no deception, no underhanded deal, no manipulation or anything like that. Hell, Johnny’s assumption that Crash’s accident was a result of Satan’s influence, however right he may be (and it’s not explicitly said that he is), is quite the leap here so his shock at Satan going back on His word doesn’t have the same impact as it does in other depictions of the story where Mephisto preyed on Johnny’s desperation and played him for a fool.

Sadly, there’s very little Ghost Rider action here as the focus is on Johnny’s plight.

Ironically, if you’re looking for some classic, bad-ass Ghost Rider action, you won’t find it in “Ghost Rider”. I’ve often wondered how the character works when he’s transformed; like, is Johnny merely a puppet for a demon to use? Is he conscious or in control of his actions as the Ghost Rider or is he merely a passenger from the demon that dwells within him? Here, it very much seems as though Johnny is fully aware of himself when transformed; when he scares the gunmen with his flames and theatricality, it’s said to be him putting on a show to terrify them (though I guess you could infer that the demon is influencing his speech and actions here), but we don’t really get a sense of what the Ghost Rider can actually do. In the context presented here, the Ghost Rider is more of a nightly affliction; Johnny is forced to become a gruesome flaming skeleton at night, transformed into a monster for Satan’s amusement, rather than being the Devil’s bounty hunter or seeking out evil do-ers or whatever. He exhibits some control of Hell-fire to conjure flames and give his bike a boost, but he doesn’t oppose criminals or seek vengeance or retribution against the wicked; instead, he simply tries to avoid being seen when transformed, something he would achieve much easier if he simply stayed inside rather than riding off every time he transforms. Ultimately, then, “Ghost Rider” is presented more as a fantastical twist on the classic Faustian tale of a desperate man bargaining his soul to the Devil and coming to regret it; a macabre, dark tale of a flawed man trying to save the only family he has and ultimately driving away the few loved ones he has left and being cursed to become a monster every night. It’s an intriguing tale, but one sadly lacking in action, visual spectacle (a huge appeal of the Ghost Rider is his unique appearance and he’s barely in this story), and littered with a number of oddities that keep it from being as appealing as it could be.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

What are your thoughts on Ghost Rider’s debut story? Did the character impress you with his appearance or were you put off by how convoluted his backstory was? What did you think to Johnny’s summoning of Satan? Were you disappointed that we didn’t get to see more of what the Ghost Rider is capable of? Which incarnation of the Ghost Rider is your favourite? What are some of your favourite Ghost Rider stories or moments? Whatever your thoughts on Ghost Rider, share them below and be sure to check out my other Ghost Rider content.

Back Issues: The Tomb of Dracula #10

Dr. K2 Comments

Story Title: “His Name Is… Blade!”
Published: 17 April 1973 (cover date: July 1973)
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Artist: Gene Colan

The Background:
Eric Brooks/Blade was the creation of Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan; inspired by numerous black actors and sporting a 1970s “Blaxploitation” appearance, Blade was only able to come about after comic creators were finally allowed to publish stories involving vampires and other supernatural creatures. One of the first ways Marvel took advantage of this was with the Tomb of Dracula series, in which vampire hunters like Blade would battle against the titular Count and other supernatural creatures. Although heavily inspired by classic Hammer Horror films, The Tomb of Dracula initially struggled with its creative direction as different writers and artists came and went from the book, until Wolfman and Colan joined the publication and turned things around with their close collaboration. Initially a jive talking, very human vampire hunter, Blade was little more than a bit-player in the grand Marvel tapestry, although he did have associations with groups like the Nightstalkers and the Midnight Sons. Despite this, the rights to the character were bought by New World Pictures in 1992, and the later success and popularity of Blade (Norrington, 1998) saw the character transformed into a stoic, bad-ass dhampir to match his live-action counterpart, and the character has gone on to be an integral part of many supernatural and horror stories within Marvel Comics due to this surge of interest.

The Review:
“His Name Is…Blade!” opens on the dark, quiet docks in what I assume is London (or, at least, somewhere in England judging by the dialogue of the characters) where two youths are planning to stow away aboard a ship and elope to the United States when they’re suddenly attacked by three bloodthirsty vampires! These fanged, bat-like creatures exhibit many of the common tropes we associated with nosferatu: they can freely shift between a bat and a humanoid appearance, have monstrous faces, and are driven to suck the blood from their prey. In this case, however, the three aren’t there to feed; instead, they seek to turn the terrified youths into two more of Dracula’s cursed minions, implying a level of mysticism and possession from the process of being bitten. Although their victims haven’t the strength or hope of fighting off their attacks, these dark intentions are interrupted by the arrival of Blade – the Vampire Killer! Now, this isn’t the trenchcoat-clad, armour-wearing, sword-wielding half-human bad-ass you may be familiar with from the movie. Instead, Blade is garbed in a garish green coat similar to an Army jacket, an outrageous yellow visor, sports a maroon bandolier filled with stakes, and is rocking a suitably stereotypical afro hairdo. To say he cuts an intimidating figure would be a lie, frankly; instead, he just looks like a hobo with a vision problem, and yet his reputation as a vampire slayer proceeds him and the vampires state that Dracula has given them orders to kill him. Blade strikes with a speed, precision, and brutal efficiency that comes not from sporting the physical strength of his hated foe but from years of hunting and killing vampires, easily staking two of his foes with a specially carved teak-bladed knife with minimal effort. The third vampire, startled by the vampire killer’s proficiency, tries to flee in his man-bat form, only for Blade to leap onto him and end his vile undead life.

While Blade mercilessly hunts vampires, Dracula attacks a luxury cruise ship.

Upon death, the vampires slowly return to their human form, betraying this particular victim as a youth unwittingly transformed against his will; Blade cares little for this, however, and simply coldly remarks that the only good vampire is a dead vampire. His callous attitude earns him the ire of Quincy Harker, a wheelchair-bound old man and one of the world’s foremost experts on vampires. Harker admonishes Blade’s lack of vision; his crusade to simply slaughter every vampire he comes across is interfering with the bigger picture of tracking down and executing Dracula, thus making his undead minions “easy prey”. Blade, however, is unimpressed; he gives Harker the brush off and vows to continue hunting vampires without the old man’s aid, throwing some jive his way for good measure because…you know, the seventies! The story then jumps over to the ocean liner Michele where wealthy socialite Gabriel Trulaine is throwing a lavish party for his similarly decadent friends and absolutely wows his guests by having the Count Dracula himself unveiled as a special attraction for the soiree. Although Dracula (or “Vlad” as he insists Gabriel’s beautiful companion calls him) downplays the stories and rumours of his gruesome ways, assuring the awestruck guests that vampirism is a “disease” like “blood poisoning” and not the affliction popularised in the media, it’s all merely a ruse to gain power over, and favour with, the wealthy and influential and thus extend his reach into industrial, politics, and society. He’s easily able to charm Gabriel’s bimbo with a few choice words and feed upon her blood, before swatting the Michele’s captain and seizing control of the vessel. Dracula then reveals the true extent of his awesome power, which allows him to turn to smoke and control the wills of others; when one of the guests tries to fight back, Dracula simply laughs in the face of his pistol and tosses him overboard before turning on the others and preparing to work his evil magic.

Despite his superior strength, Dracula simply abandons the fight at the first inconvenience.

Fortunately, Blade intercepts the vessel; considering Harker made such a song and dance about Blade’s actions costing them another lead on Dracula, it’s a bit odd and completely unexplained how he was able to track the Michele, but he easily boards the craft and prepares to battle with Dracula. Amusingly, Gabriel’s guests do a lot of the work for him; Dracula demands that they submit to his requests willingly lest he turn them into the living dead and one devote Christian amongst them leads the charge against the Lord of Vampires, stunning him with a Holy Cross and allowing the others to pin him down. Of course, Dracula’s not so easily bested, evaporating into mist and easily escaping harm, but he flies into a rage when Blade arrives as the Count wishes to avenge the vampires lost at the slayer’s hands. Naturally, Dracula is the physically superior of the two, but Blade is tenacious and full of spunk and only enrages the Vampire King with his mocking quips. Still, as wily and nimble as Blade is, Dracula’s shape-shifting abilities and superhuman strength soon see him gain the upper hand; however, right as he’s about to bite into Blade’s neck, Gabriel’s woman, entranced by Dracula’s bite, interrupts him. This is apparently enough to wreck Dracula’s entire plan and he decides to just fly away in his bat form and leave them all to die from the explosives he had the captain place on the ship, despite the fact he could easily massacre them all with his superior strength. With only seconds left, Blade forces everyone off the Michele and into the cold waters below and is left drifting in the sea with Dracula’s mocking laughter in his ears and the promise of a further confrontation later down the line.

The Summary:
Well, this was…certainly something. I’ve never read The Tomb of Dracula or anything with either him or Blade in it before (not even Stoker’s original novel), so I went into this without any real expectations and still came out of it quite disappointed. The art work is pretty good, at times; Blade and Dracula fare the best out of anyone, with the Lord of Vampires appearing just like he does in all the classic Dracula films and popular depictions, though I can’t say I care for Blade’s appearance here one bit. I don’t really get it; like, what’s with the weird goggles? Why’s his jacket so plain and dull? Later, he dons a wetsuit of sorts to board the Michele, which is a far better look, but he quickly changes into his shitty jacket and glasses and I just don’t really get how he was supposed to look cool or interesting in the slightest in this getup. The other vampires we see come off pretty well; I liked how they shifted from bats to man-bats to monstrous humans and to mist and such, though there’s an understandable lack of blood and the vampires are disappointingly easy to kill, dying from a simply stab from Blade’s special knife that isn’t even in their hearts half the time.

It’s hard to believe Blade became such a sensation after this awfully weak debut story.

The dialogue leaves a lot to be desired, too. This is yet another instance where the story is dated by the misconceptions and stereotypes of the time, with Blade talking in hip jive slang and acting like he just walked off the set of Shaft (Parks, 1971) and Dracula endlessly monologuing and referring to himself in the third person, as was the style of many Marvel villains. This is an odd choice considering he has an underling present, Clifford Graves, to converse with, but Graves is merely a pawn of the Lord of Vampires, one for Dracula to chastise at every opportunity and leave for dead at the story’s end. I’m not sure I really get the premise of The Tomb of Dracula; were readers really just following a sadistic and bloodthirsty vampire on a serious of adventures as he preyed on the innocent and lusted for power? Seems an odd concept to me, one without much legs, and I can’t say that I’m interested in reading other stories from the comic after this one. Hell, I’m not even interested in Blade all that much after this; there’s some intrigue introduced here, with Harker despairing of Blade’s methods (despite how effective he is at killing vampires) and the suggestion that he’s this rogue element in the vampire slaying community, but he just looks and sounds and acts so corny and ridiculous that it’s hard to take him seriously. He’s tenacious, I’ll give him that, and dedicated to killing all vampires without hesitation or remorse, and exhibits some physical prowess, but it’s a pretty weak debut story, if you ask me. Dracula’s plot to manipulate the wealthy and the powerful was completely nonsensical (why didn’t he just turn them with his powers? Why go through all that charade? Why’d he fuckin’ leave when he could’ve killed them all?!) and hardly inspires me to see what else he got up to, and overall I have to say that I’m glad that the movies changed Blade’s character so much if this is what we had to deal with.

My Rating:

Rating: 1 out of 5.

Terrible

What did you think to Blade’s debut story? Did the character interest you at the time or, like me, were you introduced to him through the movies? Did you ever read The Tomb of Dracula books and, if so, what did you think to them? What are some of your favourite Blade moments from the comics? Have you ever read Stoker’s novel, and what are some of your favourite vampire stories? No matter what you think, good or bad, feel free to share your thoughts below and be sure to check out my review of Blade’s game-changing movie!

Back Issues [Venom Day]: Ultimate Venom

Dr. K1 Comment

To celebrate the release of Venom: Let There Be Carnage (Serkis, 2021), Sony Pictures declared September 27 “Venom Day”, a fitting date to shine the spotlight on one of my favourite anti-heroes, who made their first full debut in May 1998 and have gone on to become one of Marvel’s most iconic characters.

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis – Artist: Mark Bagley

Story Title: “Origins”
Published: February 2003

Story Title: “Today”
Published: April 2003

Story Title: “Inheritance”
Published: March 2003

Story Title: “Still”
Published: May 2003

Story Title: “Legacy”
Published: March 2003

Story Title: “Father’s Pride”
Published: May 2003

The Background:
In 1982, Marvel Comics’ editor-in-chief Jim Shooter purchased Randy Schueller’s illustration of a black-suited Spider-Man for a mere $200; writer Tom DeFalco and artist Ron Frenz then conceived of the costume being a living organism Spidey would acquire in the “Secret Wars” event. After he shed the parasitic symbiote, it bonded with disgraced reporter Eddie Brock and Spidey was tormented by Venom, a twisted double who proved so popular that additional symbiotes and storylines spun out of the character’s lore. First proposed by lawyer Bill Jemas, Ultimate Marvel was a secondary imprint of Marvel Comics that ran alongside the main comic line (known as “Marvel-616”) but told their most popular characters’ stories from a fresh, modern perspective to entice new readers and fans of the live-action adaptations of the time. The imprint was spearheaded by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley’s Ultimate Spider-Man series, which featured a far younger Peter Parker who encountered many of his most notorious villains while still in high school. The series proved incredibly popular, and even survived the eventual destruction of its universe in the form of Miles Morales, and offered a far different, more scientific incarnation of Venom to its universe. The six-issue “Venom” story arc proved so successful that developers Treyarch revisited and expanded upon it for their moderately successful Ultimate Spider-Man videogame (ibid, 2005), which included this version of Venom as a playable character!

The Review:
I think it’s only fair to start by saying that I was never really a big fan of Ultimate Spider-Man, or the other Ultimate comics; the art work was amazing, and I admired how writers like Bendis were able to capture natural, relatable dialogue and how the comics adopted a dynamic, real-world aesthetic. But, for me, the comics were a little too dark, a little bit extreme at times, and rushed through some of Marvel’s biggest storylines and burned themselves out too quickly as a result. The Ultimate Spider-Man comics were especially difficult for me to get into since Bendis packs so much dialogue onto the page, sometimes having a single splash page of a character talking and a good 80% of the background being dominated by a huge speech bubble. Either that or he’d have characters barely able to string sentences together, which, again, is very realistic and indicative of real-life conversations but can make reading the comics a bit of a chore as relatively simple storylines are dragged out across multiple issues simply for the sake of drama. However, having said all that, Mark Bagley is one of my favourite Spider-Man artists, so I absolutely had to seek out the “Venom” story arc to see him working on the character again and he definitely made this younger, far more flawed Spider-Man all the more impressive and dynamic with his explosive and visually engaging art.

Following a painful break up, Peter reconnects with a childhood friend.

Anyway, the “Venom” arc comes at a time of great upheaval in Peter Parker’s life; already struggling with high school and the guilt of indirectly causing his beloved Uncle Ben’s death, Peter is burdened by his part in the death of heroic police captain George Stacy and has recently been dumped by his long-term friend and on-and-off girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson, since she can’t handle the pressure of worrying about his web-slinging activities (Peter’s duel identity wasn’t the best kept secret in the Ultimate comics). Peter is left devastated and wallowing in self-pity, doubt, and anger at having screwed up with M. J. While struggling with his tumultuous and self-deprecating emotions in his Aunt May’s attic, he stumbles across a box of photographs of his long-dead father, scientist Richard Parker, and a VHS tape depicting him as a small boy with his parents, his Aunt May and Uncle Ben (depicted as more of a free-spirited hippy in Ultimate Spider-Man), and the Brocks, family friends of the Parkers. Eddie Brock Snr was Richard’s partner on the “Venom Project”, while Eddie Brock Jnr was Peter’s best friend as a child; his memory jogged of his long-lost friend, Peter decides to reconnect with Eddie, who also lost his parents in the same plane crash that killed Richard and Mary Parker, and easily tracks him down thanks to the internet. Awestruck by the bustling Empire City University, Peter meets with Eddie, who’s in a bioengineering program at the university but struggling to live up to his father’s legacy thanks to the workload and the expense of university life.

In a bid to complete his father’s work, Peter finds himself garbed in a protoplasmic suit.

When Peter shares the news of his recent break up, Eddie is a little dismissive, but he’s absolutely right when he says that high school drama is nothing compared to the struggles of the bigger, wider world and he encourages Peter to not let it ruin the best years of his life. Touched by Peter sharing a copy of the video tape, Eddie takes him to a high-tech lab where he’s been working on their “inheritance”, a beaker full of black goo that represents their fathers’ life’s work. Thanks to help from Doctor Curtis Conners, Eddie has pieced together that Richard and Eddie Snr were working on a protoplasmic suit that could (theoretically) cure any disease while simultaneously enhancing the wearer’s natural physical strengths. To fund their research, Richard and Eddie Snr turned to Trask Industries, though this meant that anything they discovered or created would no longer be theirs, and Eddie theorises that they were killed when they tried to keep their project from being perverted into a weapon of war. Eddie’s sample is all that’s left, a small quantity that their fathers worked on in secret, one that was created using Richard’s own DNA and which Eddie fully believes could change the world for the better. Stunned by these revelations, Peter rekindles his friendship with Eddie, who picks him and his house mate and friend, Gwen Stacy, up after school, much to the chagrin of the conflicted M. J., who clearly still has feelings for and cares about Peter. Reviewing his father’s notes and video diaries, Peter snaps when he sees just how distraught his father was at having his research stolen or perverted and resolves to finish his father’s work by breaking into the lab as Spider-Man and taking a sample of the goo to run his own tests. However, a small drop of the liquid splatters onto his hand and a startling, agonising transformation occurs that sees Spidey engulfed by the writhing goo, encased in a monstrous cocoon of sorts, and finally emerging in a sleek, form-fitting black costume.

Peter’s elation soon turns to horror when the suit transforms into a hulking monster!

Spider-Man tests out his new duds by first rescuing a shallow, self-obsessed pop star after she’s held hostage by armed forces in her own limo and then making short work of Herman Schultz/The Shocker. The suit not only greatly amplifies Spidey’s already superhuman strength and speed but allows him to instantly heal from point-blank gun shots and fire black webbing from his fingertips and Peter revels in the power and euphoria offered by his father’s incredible invention. However, things quickly take a turn for the worst when he confronts an armed robber who shoots and kills an innocent man in front of his wife and child; overwhelmed by memories of Uncle Ben’s death, Spidey transforms into a hulking, salivating, monster that hungers for blood and drives him into a mindless rage! Peter’s sense returns in time to spare the man’s life and, horrified by the suit’s grotesque appearance and overwhelming appetite, he flees into the rainswept night, desperately trying to remove it. Luckily, his wild thrashing sees him collide with a set of power lines, which burn the suit off his body and leave him dramatically lying (butt-naked) on the grave of his dead uncle and parents. While all of this is going on, Gwen and Eddie were raving at a reggae concert; afterwards, he tries to put the moves on her and is slighted when she rightly refuses his advances since she’s only fifteen. Any further exploration of Eddie’s inappropriate lusts for the younger girl are quickly dashed when he turns on the news and sees Spider-Man’s fancy new black costume; racing back to the lab, he’s stunned to find Peter there but enraged to find that his young friend is planning to destroy their fathers’ legacy since it’s uncontrollable and dangerous.

Turns out Eddie’s a bit of a creep, and a selfish, jealous dick on top of it!

Eddie’s anger is only exacerbated when Peter reveals that he’s Spider-Man and goes on a lengthy tirade about power, responsibility, and his experiences with just a small sample of the suit. Devastated to learn that his father’s legacy is a volatile and potentially life-threatening substance, Eddie reluctantly allows Peter to take the remainder of the goo and destroy it, apparently convinced of his friend’s sincerity by the little white lie Peter tells that nobody else knows about his secret identity. However, as Gwen so astutely puts it, Eddie is a “bad guy” deep down and, soon after Peter leave, he mutters a bunch of insults at Peter, disgusted by the belief that he’s a Mutant, and willingly exposes himself to a separate sample of the protoplasm he secretly had locked away. Potentially because he lacks Peter’s spider-strength, the transformation is far more unstable and gruesome for Eddie; suffering from extreme cold and overwhelmed with an insatiable hunger, Eddie is bombarded with cruel and negative emotions, and the sheer panic at the realisation that the suit is feeding on him! By focusing on his anger and pain, Eddie is able to force the suit under some measure of control, but he quickly loses his focus when guards show up and transforms into a slobbering, clawed beast that devours people whole! Tormented by nightmarish memories, Peter finally snaps and visits M. J. and the two have a heart to heart in which he tells her that he loves her, but they far from reconcile despite her obviously still having feelings for him. Because of her intimate knowledge of Peter and his abilities as Spider-Man, she’s the only one who notices when he’s distracted by this spider-sense, which alerts him to the presence of the suit on the school grounds; chastising himself for not making sure the suit was completely destroyed, and theorising that it has some kind of “biological memory”, he races out to control it in his street clothes, completely unaware of Eddie’s fate.

Peter is left distraught when Eddie attacks him and appears to die.

Indeed, when Eddie is revealed to be within the thrashing, monstrous suit, Peter is both shocked and appalled that his old friend would willingly subject himself to the suit’s influence. Unlike the mainstream version of Venom, Ultimate Venom is a volatile and almost mindless beast; a pulsating, brutish monster with teeth and spikes dotted throughout its body and whip-like tentacles, it oddly lacks the spider symbol so associated with the character (despite this appearing on the issue’s covers and Spider-Man having it when he wore the suit…and it randomly appearing in one panel…) and is constantly consuming Eddie’s body, feasting upon and fostering his rage and dark emotions to sustain itself. Lashing out in a jealous and embittered rage, Eddie attacks Peter, easily swatting him aside and half-choking him with his tendrils, all while Peter desperately tries to talk sense into his half-crazed friend. Realising that Eddie is out of control and that the suit is simply mimicking his spider abilities and driving him into a murderous fury, Peter leads Ultimate Venom away from the school grounds, lamenting the friends and loved ones he’s lost to “this super hero crap” and wondering whether the suit drove Eddie crazy or if he was always like that deep down. Regardless, they clash on a rooftop, quickly plummeting through some power lines and to the streets below. With Eddie stunned, the suit tries to overtake Peter once more, with Eddie’s distorted rambling claiming that the suit has to kill Peter in order to be whole since Eddie isn’t strong enough to sustain it. The timely arrival of New York’s finest see both peppered with gun fire, which drives Ultimate Venom back towards a live power line and, in a flash of light, apparently incinerates both the suit and Eddie before Peter’s eyes in suitably anti-climatic fashion. Naturally, Peter is also fired upon and, wracked with guilt and pain, he retreats home and ends the story exactly where he started: distraught and in utter anguish at having lost another friend and ruined his life even more thanks to his duel identity.

The Summary:
So, yeah, Ultimate Venom does suffer from some of those negatives that I find off-putting about the Ultimate Spider-Man comics; there’s a lot of dialogue, much of it rambling and disconnected, with at least one page being Peter babbling on and on to Eddie, which really isn’t all that interesting to see or read since we already know everything he’s saying and it just seems like padding. Any time Richard and Eddie Snr are discussing their work, you can expect a whole bunch of speech bubbles to be dotted all over the pages and panels, and there are a few instances where characters are completely static and art work is repeated between panels with the characters just saying different things. It’s a weird one for me as, like I say, I do appreciate and admire the way Bendis captures real, natural, often haphazard character dialogue but sometimes it’s a bit much. One thing that both works for and against the Ultimate comics is how cinematic they often are; panels and events are presented very much like a movie, showing rather than telling in some instances, and then snapping back to a massive exposition dump, with dynamic and exciting action sequences and visuals to help keep things interesting. On the plus side, Ultimate Spider-Man is arguably, subjectively, easier to read than some of the comics from the sixties and seventies since they’re not bogged down with outdated dialogue and such (though there is some of that here, particularly in Gwen’s dialogue) and the presentation is far more energetic, but I can understand why some people don’t really care of these comics as they’re very angsty, teen drama like a high school show.

Peter is definitely full of angst, which sadly limits his Spidey action.

Anyway, that aside, there’s a decent amount to like here; the art, especially, is incredible. Mark Bagley did some of his best work on Ultimate Spider-Man and really makes this younger, more troubled teenaged Spider-Man visually distinct from his mainstream counterpart not just in his haircut but in the physical depiction of Spidey as this gangly, inhuman superhero. Unfortunately, Bagley seems to struggle a bit with faces; a lot of the characters look the same, facially, and there’s a noticeable lack of Spider-Man in this arc. He only suits up a couple of times, and he’s only in the black suit for one issue! This is what I mean by Ultimate Spider-Man rushing through things; 616-Peter had the black suit for four years before its true nature was revealed and, at that point, he was in his early twenties. Here, Peter’s still in high school and has already had impactful encounters with some of his most memorable villains, and he’s in the suit for what seems like only a few hours before it tries to consume him, and he frantically rids himself of it. I’ve read a lot of mainstream Spider-Man stories and Peter is absolutely known for being riddled with guilt, pressure, and angst but his Ultimate counterpart is far more dramatic and melancholy; he’s driven into a self-deprecating, morose depression after M. J. dumps him (which I can totally relate to) and has been pushed to the edge by recent events, which cause him to recklessly experiment with the goo and thus almost be killed when the suit goes mental on him. Realising that he’s made a serious mistake and heartbroken to find that his father’s life’s work is volatile and dangerous, Peter immediately backpedals and tries to make everything right by destroying his dad’s research, which means exposing himself to Eddie and desperately trying to convince his childhood friend to go along with this despite how difficult the truth is to hear.

Eddie’s a bit of a weirdo, but Ultimate Venom is nothing more than a mindless beast.

Eddie himself is quite different here. A scientist rather than a discredited reporter, he’s a slender hipster who seems to have really valued his friendship with Peter and who is absolutely fixated on completing his father’s research so that his legacy can live on. There are some red flags raised when it comes to Eddie from the moment Peter meets him at his dorm room, which is a bit of a mess for one thing and shared with another student who has nothing good to say about Eddie. The exact depths of his depravity aren’t revealed until later, however, when he flirts with Gwen and tries to kiss her, then spitefully calls her a tease and dismisses her after she understandably rejects him. Although Peter defends his friend and believes that he’s a good person deep down, this incident is enough to convince Gwen otherwise, and it turns out she’s absolutely right as he’s a bit of a depraved, disturbed young man; bigoted towards Mutants (like most of the Ultimate universe) and ridiculing Peter’s naïvety, Eddie maliciously exposes himself to the goo simply to both prove Peter wrong and to assume the power he described for himself. Instantly, however, Eddie is consumed and driven to madness by this extremely removed version of Venom; little more than a voracious, cancer-like substance, Ultimate Venom is more an amplifier of emotions and abilities than it is a symbiotic life form and simply drives Eddie to confront and devour Peter in order to sustain its unstable and monstrous form out of an innate need for self-preservation rather than any kind of twisted vendetta. This results in a creature that is more of a hulking, primeval brute rather than a sadistic villain looking to make Peter’s life a living hell, though there are some similarities in that Ultimate Venom has apparently copied Spider-Man’s abilities. Ultimately, however, it’s more like a protoplasmic clone of Peter, one spewing teeth and tentacles and going on insatiable rampage, spouting nonsensical accusations and threats but being a far less interesting and layered character in its own right since it’s just a parasitic lifeform that overtakes Eddie.  

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Have you read Ultimate Spider-Man’s “Venom” arc? What did you think to this new depiction of Venom? Were you a fan of the changes made to Eddie’s character and his more disturbing nature? Were you also disappointed that Peter’s time in the black suit was cut so dramatically short and that he didn’t fight Ultimate Venom as Spider-Man? Did you enjoy the Ultimate comics, specifically Ultimate Spider-Man and, if so, what were some of your favourite moments from those comics? What is your favourite Venom story and how are you celebrating Venom Day today? Whatever your thoughts on Venom, feel free to leave them below.

Back Issues [Bat-Month]: Secret Origins (Vol. 2)

Dr. K1 Comment

In the decades since his first dramatic appearance in the pages of Detective Comics, Bruce Wayne/Batman has become a mainstream, worldwide, pop culture icon. The brainchild of writer Bob Kane, Batman was brought to life by artist Bill Finger and has been a popular staple of DC Comics and countless movies, videogames, and cartoons over the years. Today is “Batman Day” this year and I figured this was a perfect excuse to spend every Saturday celebrating comic’s grim and broody vigilante.

Story Title: “The Man Who Falls”
Published: March 1990
Writer: Dennis O’Neil
Artist: Dick Giordano

The Background:
Seeking to capitalise on the success of Clark Kent/Superman in their Action Comics publication, the editors of National Comics Publications wanted more superheroes under their banner. In response to this, artist Bob Kane, inspired by pulp heroes like Kit Walker/The Phantom and Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and Leonardo Da Vinci’s sketch of an ornithopter flying device, drew up a design for a masked crimefighter dubbed the “Bat-Man”. This design, however, was wildly different from the image of the Caped Crusader we know and love today and it was only thanks to the long-suppressed influence of artist Bill Finger that the Bat-Man gained his iconic cape, cowl, and darker, more gothic uniform. In the years since his debut, Batman has become not only one of DC Comics’ most popular characters but also a mainstream cultural icon, appearing in numerous other comics, movies, cartoons, and videogames. Many writers and artists have brought their own flair to the Batman and his colourful cast of characters, but one of the most influential for me (and an entire generation) was Dennis O’Neil, who removed many of the camp aspects of the character and reimagined Batman as a grim but sociable detective and even put his own spin on Batman’s famous origin in this story, first published as part of DC’s Secret Origins line (1961; 1973 to 1974; 1986 to 1990; 2014 to 2015) that specifically focused on detailing the origins and backgrounds of their many superheroes and villains.

The Review:
“The Man Who Falls” begins with anticipation; against a moonlight night sky, the Batman sits perched, ready to leap through the area and get the drop on a bunch of armed thugs. It’s something he’s done countless times before in the pursuit of justice, and never once has the Dark Knight ever entertained the notion that he would fail in his leap or to uphold his ideals. As he sits, poised for the jump, the Batman’s thoughts flash back to a time from his childhood when he did fall, tumbling through the rotten boards over a forgotten cave on his family’s estate as a child. There, bathed in darkness, young Bruce Wayne was overwhelmed by a hoard of startling, flapping bats; the boy cried out in terror, horrified by the experience, but soon found safety in the protective arms of his father, Doctor Thomas Wayne, who rescued young Bruce from the cave and admonished him for running off alone and putting himself in danger. Bruce’s mother, Martha, attempts to comfort him, assuring him that he was simply in a dark cave with scared animals rather than, as he believes, in Hell…but Bruce isn’t so easily reassured, and his thoughts remain haunted by his harrowing experience. Since then, the Batman considers whether he ever truly stopped falling deeper into the darkness; along the way, he watched others fall, including his beloved parents, who were viciously gunned down before his eyes, leaving only the broken shell of a child behind.

A traumatised Bruce travels the world looking for a purpose to put his skills and anger into.

Spurned on by this traumatic event, Bruce found himself desperate for a purpose, a direction, some way to make sense of everything. To get around the greed and pity of others, a teenaged Bruce crafted clever forgeries that enabled him to leave Gotham City and travel the world using his family’s wealth. He became something of a nomad, enrolling in various learning institutions but never staying very long, while also moonlighting on the streets amongst the poor and desperate. While others turned their nose up at him, dismissing him as a “rich snot”, Bruce consoled his feelings of isolation and loneliness with the knowledge that there would always be another train, city, or teacher waiting for him. At age twenty, his wealth and academic achievements were more than enough to secure him a place in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (despite his poor marksmanship skills), but he was only able to stomach it for six months; frustrated by the sheer amount of red tape and legislation, Bruce realised that he wouldn’t find whatever he was searching for within the governmental system. Instead, he journeyed to Korea, to a mysterious temple high up the frigid Paektu-San Mountains. After three weeks of patiently waiting, Bruce was graced with the presence of Master Kirigi; after five months of menial tasks, he was finally deemed worthy to begin his martial arts training and took to it with a finesse and skill beyond his years. This saddened his master, who believed that Bruce’s natural inclination towards violence would eventually destroy him and urged his student to let him teach him to move past the trauma that has so badly scarred him. As this would take another twenty years, and he had no intention of forgetting the lessons he’s learned, Bruce departed the next morning, travelling to France and learning the art of manhunting from a brutal mercenary known as Ducard.

After years of training and searching, Bruce adopts the terrifying persona of the Batman!

Protesting the man’s willingness to kill and shaken by his culpability in the murder, Bruce continued his travels and his studies; by his early twenties, he’d consulted with every prominent detective in the world save one: Willie Dogget. As gentle as Ducard was skilled, Dogget was also murdered before Bruce’s eyes and, in the scuffle with his murderer, Bruce indirectly took another life and was left wandering the frozen wastes of a mountain with little in the way of protection. Thankfully, he was rescued by an Indian shaman, one who wore the ceremonial mask of the bat and mused that Bruce had been “marked” by the winged creatures. Once he fully recovered, Bruce finally returned home to Gotham City, physically and mentally changed from his experiences and yet still pondering the true nature of his mission and its connection to the bats. Determined to put his skills to good use, Bruce’s first attempt at vigilante crimefighting is an abject failure that leaves him critically injured; humiliated, he retreats to his father’s library and contemplates the paradox of the criminal, a superstitious and cowardly lot who hide behind their guns. At that exact moment, the answer to all of his questions literally comes crashing through the window; a giant, terrifying bat that brings him both horror and an unexpected joy. In that moment, Bruce finally realises that he has to become something more than a man, something less than human and also more at the same time and dons his first ghastly visage as the Batman. Now, he is far beyond questioning his mission and his purpose; beyond fear, beyond doubt, the Batman leaps from his perch with nothing but confidence, committed to dedicating the rest of his life to taking such death-defying falls to bring justice to the same type of criminals that stole his childhood.

The Summary:
“The Man Who Falls” is an extremely simple tale; Secret Origins was a publication known for little more than retelling, recontextualising, or reframing the origin stories of DC Comics’ characters but one thing I enjoyed about the book was that it often gave a new spin on the narrative. Rather than the stories always just being a clear-cut narrative, there was often a framing device employed so you had a little more substance to the tale, and “The Man Who Falls” utilises such a device to really emphasise the bleak, never-ending crusade of the Dark Knight. For the Batman, his life has become a nightly routine of life-or-death situations, to the point where he really doesn’t think anything of leaping hundreds of feet from the air, crashing through a skylight, and tackling armed thugs despite the fact that he could die at any moment during even such a simple and mundane task as that. The Batman has no time for doubt or fear; all that matters to him is an unwavering commitment to his mission to battle injustice no matter the cost, and “The Man Who Falls” showcases that very well purely through its artwork and the grim narrative boxes that deliver more insight into the Batman’s background than ever before.

The story delves deeper into Bruce’s background and training than ever before.

The story touches, albeit briefly, upon Bruce’s travels, that lost period of time between him losing his parents and returning to Gotham City to “become a bat”. Skipping over some of the intervening years when he was a boy, we find a teenaged Bruce Wayne travelling, searching for a purpose and a way to put his pain and anger to good use, and finding himself bored and unsatisfied by traditional academic environments. Still, while others question his focus and integrity, Bruce excels in his studies and has all the tools required to do whatever he desires, even pursue a career in the F.B.I. on his test scores alone, but remains unfulfilled and frustrated by the compromises and flaws of the traditional system. More than ever, we get a glimpse of the arduous physical and mental training Bruce endured on his travels and find that his childhood traumas not only left him ideally suited to mastering physical combat, but also on the path towards self-destruction and with a strong moral compass that’s only galvanised by witnessing (and being somewhat complicit in) further death. While the Batman’s original origin story was incredibly powerful despite its brevity, “The Man Who Falls” expands upon it beautifully, linking in with the events of Batman: Year One (Miller, et al, 1987) and emphasising that Bruce effectively was killed alongside his parents and what left that alleyway was a traumatised, driven child determined to put his anguish to good use no matter the cost.  

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Have you ever read “The Man Who Falls”? What did you think to the way it expanded on Batman’s origin and background? Do you like seeing Bruce’s travels and training or do you think it’s best left ambiguous? What are some of your favourite stories and moments depicting Batman’s never-ending crusade and his early days of training? Whatever your thoughts, drop them below or leave a comment on my social media, and be sure to check out  Batman content.

Back Issues [Bat-Month]: Batman #232

Dr. K4 Comments

In the decades since his first dramatic appearance in the pages of Detective Comics, Bruce Wayne/Batman has become a mainstream, worldwide, pop culture icon. The brainchild of writer Bob Kane, Batman was brought to life by artist Bill Finger and has been a popular staple of DC Comics and countless movies, videogames, and cartoons over the years. “Batman Day” falls on September 16 this year and I figured this was a perfect excuse to spend every Saturday celebrating comic’s grim and broody vigilante.

Story Title: “Daughter of the Demon”
Published: June 1971
Writer: Dennis O’Neil
Artist: Neal Adams

The Background:
Following the huge success of Clark Kent/Superman, National Comics Publications set Bob Kane to work creating another masked crimefighter to add to their repertoire. Thanks to the long-suppressed influence of artist Bill Finger, the “Bat-Man” soon became not only one of DC Comics’ most popular characters but also a mainstream cultural icon. In the years that followed, the Batman defended Gotham City from numerous costumed supervillains, but perhaps none have been more captivating and intriguing than “The Demon’s Head” himself, Rā’s al Ghūl. Created by editor Julius Schwartz, writer Dennis O’Neil, and artist Neal Adams during a time when DC Comics were reinventing the Batman to shake off the camp trappings of the sixties, Rā’s al Ghūl was an enigmatic criminal mastermind akin to a James Bond villain. His vast criminal empire, lofty goal of ending all worldwide conflict by any means necessary, and international flavour made him both a dark mirror of the Dark Knight and an evolution of the Fu Manchu stereotype. A new villain for a new era in comics, Rā’s al Ghūl would continually plague Batman over the years thanks to the rejuvenating properties of his “Lazarus Pits”, which allowed him to stave off injuries and death and the cost of his keen intellect, and he was a pivotal figure in DC Comics thanks to the influence of his daughter, Talia, with whom Batman would have a volatile son. Rā’s al Ghūl has made numerous appearances outside of the comics, usually as a master manipulator; he was excellently voiced by the eloquent David Warner in the DC Animated Universe, often cropped up as a puppet master in various Batman videogames, and made appearances in DC’s live-action television shows (however ill-fitting these might have been) courtesy of Matthew Nable and Alexander Siddig. Liam Neeson expertly brought the character to life in Batman Begins (Nolan, 2005) and Rā’s al Ghūl has consistently been regarded as one of Batman’s most dangerous and formidable villains due to his complex nature and the influence of his League of Assassins.

The Review:
“Daughter of the Demon” takes place during a transitional time in the Caped Crusader’s life and portrayal; in an effort to curb ludicrous claims about the Dark Knight’s sexuality and to simplify his entire persona, Bruce Wayne moved into a luxury penthouse in the middle of Gotham City alongside his faithful butler and father-figure, Alfred Pennyworth, and Dick Grayson/Robin grew into the “Teen Wonder” and moved away to Hudson University. This provides some context for the opening panels of the story, which see the colourful youth sneaking back into his dormitory and being dramatically gunned down by two unseen assailants! As horrified as Bruce is to learn that Dick hasn’t been seen for a few days, he’s even more startled when a photograph of the captured (but seemingly alive) teen arrives at his penthouse with a threatening note addressed to the Batman! Bruce wastes no time in suited up as Gotham’s grim avenger and swinging his way over the Wayne Manor in order to run tests on the note and the photograph at the Batcave. It seems that, when they moved, they didn’t initially kit the penthouse up with all their crime-fighting equipment as Batman is forced to make the trip using his trusty Batrope rather than the Batmobile, but such concerns are immediately forgotten when Batman is greeted by the enigmatic figure of Rā’s al Ghūl and his hulking bodyguard, Ubu.

When Robin and Talia are kidnapped, Batman teams up with Rā’s to find them.

Having deduced that Bruce Wayne and the Batman are one and the same through deduction, research, and observation (being the Batman requires wealth and resources, after all, a “hole” that Batman vows to “plug” in the future), Rā’s comes to Batman seeking his aid since he received a similar note showing that his daughter, the beautiful Talia al Ghūl, has also been kidnapped. Having encountered the Batman in a previous story, Talia spoke highly of his deductive skills, making him the natural choice to seek for assistance and Bruce lives up to his reputation by analysing both pictures under a “microscopic spectograph” [sic] and discovering small traces of a certain herb used in ceremonies by an Eastern cult known as the Brotherhood of the Demon, who operate out of Calcutta. The three board Rā’s’ plane (with Batman noting the strength and loyalty of the overzealous Ubu) and, on the long flight to India, Rā’s comments on Batman’s stoic demeanour and Bruce grimly responds that he is compartmentalising on the task at hand and will grieve later, if necessary which, of course, detours the story into a flashback of how young Bruce Wayne saw his parents murdered before his eyes. Of course, we all know the story: Dedicating his mind and body to the eradication of crime, he was inspired by the appearance of a bat to become the Batman and then found a kinship in young Dick Grayson, whom he trained to become his crimefighting partner. Once they land in Calcutta, Batman begins his investigation in earnest, benefitting from the terror his unfamiliar guise evokes in the local street scum and even threatening them with death for information on the Brotherhood of the Demon. This bluff pays off and leads the three to a building at the end of a nearby alleyway, wherein Batman is set upon by a ravenous leopard! Acting swiftly, he locks the cat’s jaws open with his elbow, overpowers it, and nonchalantly breaks its neck with only minor wounds.

Batman outs Rā’s and is stunned to find he’s being groomed as the villain’s successor!

Remarking that the leopard had been well trained to act as a guard, the Batman discovers a convenient map pointing them in the direction of the Himalayan Mountains, and the three make haste to the frigid heights of Mount Nanda Devi. Easily picking up the trail, the Batman makes use of some handholds that have recently been hacked into the ice and leads the expedition up the mountain, only for them to be shot at by a sniper; while Ubu tends to his master, the Batman spectacularly swings into action to punch out the shooter. Afterwards, Batman notes the presence of a helicopter and several other armed guards, but his inner monologue suggests that he’s figured out what’s really going on; he calls the gunmen’s bluff and easily makes his way into an elaborate chamber, where he frees Robin and launches into an angered tirade against the so-called Brotherhood of the Demon that reveals Rā’s was behind everything. He was immediately tipped off when Rā’s showed up at the Batcave right after Robin was kidnapped, and when Ubu insisted that his master go ahead…unless there was immediate danger nearby, and finally because the two brought them to the exact mountain they needed to investigate despite the map not specifying the Brotherhood’s precise location. Furious and insulted by the deception and the run-around, Batman relishes in taking his anger out on the Brotherhood’s minions alongside Robin, unmasking their “Supreme Leader” as none other than Ubu and engaging with the musclebound brute in a short, but decisive, clash that sees the Batman effortlessly avoid the big man’s swings and lay him out with an uppercut to the jaw! Rā’s commends the Batman’s physical and mental prowess and reveals his intentions behind the whole charade: Talia is in love with the Dark Knight and Rā’s wishes to retire from his vast organisation and have Batman take his place as his successor…and son-in-law!

The Summary:
When I was a kid, comic books weren’t that easy to come by in the United Kingdom so I mainly got my Batman fix from yearly annuals, with many of them being from the seventies and eighties. Consequently, Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams’ version of Batman was the one I knew best, so “Daughter of the Demon” ticks a lot of boxes for me. The artwork is spectacular, with large, well-defined, and realistic depictions being at the forefront; while I’m not a fan of the Batman’s yellow oval symbol or blue-and-grey ensemble, Adams always drew him in dynamic and powerful poses, even when he’s just standing their with his caped wrapped around him or sitting and brooding. Having said that, it’s a bit weird that the Batman doesn’t have his car or at least a makeshift Batcave a little close to his penthouse; having to swing all the way across Gotham and out to Wayne Manor seems unnecessarily laborious, but it’s barely a factor in the story, though it might’ve saved some panels and been just as easy to simply have Rā’s and Ubu show up at Bruce’s penthouse. Rā’s himself is a well-spoken and mysterious figure; appearing to be a wealthy and influential man of culture and of high intelligence, it seems almost too convenient for him and the Batman to join forces but, in the context of the story, it makes sense as Bruce is clearly impressed and stunned that someone was finally able to figure out his true identity.

A startling debut for one of Batman’s greatest foes let down only be a weak finale.

We later find out that he knew all along that Rā’s was behind the whole plot and had simply been playing along to rescue Robin; along the way, Batman dishes out some sass to the brutish Ubu and demonstrates his keen mind and attention to detail alongside his unmatched physical prowess. This is enough to impress Rā’s in the end, but we wouldn’t actually see a resolution to this dangling plot thread for some time; the following issue doesn’t continue this story and next time Rā’s showed up, it was a similar test of Batman’s fortitude and skills. They wouldn’t have their iconic shirtless sword fight until over a year later either, meaning that all the intrigue and excitement this story builds around Rā’s is kind of squandered as it doesn’t really go anywhere. This is a bit of a disappointment as it was an interesting debut for one of Batman’s most cunning and ruthless foes; the idea of someone, especially a well connected individual like Rā’s, being privy to Batman’s dual identity is shocking and something that helped set him apart from the Dark Knight’s other rogues, but we wouldn’t learn more about the Demon’s Head, his organisation, or his motivations and physical skills for some time, retroactively making this story a bit random and unfulfilling in a lot of ways.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Have you ever read “Daughter of the Demon”? What did you think of Rā’s al Ghūl’s first appearance and his surprising knowledge of Batman’s true identity? Did you cotton on that Rā’s was behind everything? What are some of your favourite Rā’s al Ghūl stories? Which interpretation of the Rā’s al Ghūl, whether animated, pixelated, or live-action, is your favourite? Whatever you think about the Rā’s al Ghūl, share your thoughts below or leave comment on my social media, and be sure to check out my other Batman content!

Back Issues [Bat-Month]: World’s Finest Comics #3

Dr. K13 Comments

In the decades since his first dramatic appearance in the pages of Detective Comics, Bruce Wayne/Batman has become a mainstream, worldwide, pop culture icon. The brainchild of writer Bob Kane, Batman was brought to life by artist Bill Finger and has been a popular staple of DC Comics and countless movies, videogames, and cartoons over the years. “Batman Day” falls on September 16 this year and I figured this was a perfect excuse to spend every Saturday celebrating comic’s grim and broody vigilante.

Story Title: “The Riddle of the Human Scarecrow”
Published: September 1941
Writer: Bill Finger
Artist: Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson

The Background:
Once Clark Kent/Superman proved to be a massive success, National Comics Publications (as DC Comics was then known) were eager to add more superheroes to their line-up and charged Bob Kane to create a new masked crimefighter. Thanks to the long-suppressed influence of artist Bill Finger, Bob Kane’s “Bat-Man” concept quickly became one of comicdom’s most popular characters and a mainstream cultural icon thanks to a slew of successful and profitable multimedia ventures. Over the years, the Batman has matched brain and brawn against many colourful supervillains, but perhaps none have challenged his reputation as a fearsome symbol of terror more than Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow! Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, the Scarecrow was heavily inspired by Ichabod Crane, the slender protagonist of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Irving, 1820); though he only made two appearances during the “Golden Age” of comic books, the Scarecrow has become a recurring member of Batman’s rogues’ gallery, often as a manipulative and unhinged master of fear who gasses or doses up his victims to drive them to near hysteria. The character was a prominent villain in the DC Animated Universe, where his design was radically altered to make him scarier and he was responsible for one of the most disturbing episodes of The New Batman Adventures (1997 to 1999). He also played a memorable role in the Batman: Arkham videogames (Various, 2009 to 2023), where he sported a Freddy Kreuger-inspired design, and made his big-screen debut in Batman Begins (Nolan, 2005), all of which has helped add to the villain’s mystique as one of Batman’s more twisted and cerebral foes.

The Review:
The Scarecrow’s ties to Sleepy Hollow are immediately apparent from the first splash page of his debut story, which depicts him as a huge, gaunt scarecrow lumbering across a moonlit field surrounded by bats and gnarled trees, certainly evoking a gothic, supernatural horror more than anything. But, as we soon learn, behind this terrifying visual is a man; a very disturbed man, at that. Flashback panels tell how young Jonathan Crane delighted in frightening birds as a small boy and this obsession with fear (both causing and studying it) carried through to his adulthood, where he became a Psychology teacher “in a university” notorious for his extreme methods as much as his haggard appearance. Crane brings a gun to his class to demonstrate the psychology of fear; the mere sight of a gun, of having it pointed your way, inspires dread but hearing it go off, seeing it destroy a vase, only increases the emotional response, something Crane is absolutely fascinated by. Crane is shunned by his peers since, rather than spending his salary on some decent clothes, he resembles a scarecrow in his old, drab attire and buys books instead. Enraged by their dismissive comments and prejudice, Crane formulates a plot to acquire the wealth deemed so important by others using a dramatic and powerful symbol: the scarecrow, a “symbol of poverty and fear combined”. The Scarecrow immediately sets about establishing a protection racket by preying on Frank Kendrick, a local businessman whose partner is suing him for embezzlement. The Scarecrow offers to “scare” Kendrick’s partner, Paul Herold, in return for a fee, and Kendrick is…I dunno…intrigued? Curious? Certainly not terrified and the Scarecrow doesn’t really demonstrate anything that makes him a valid investment beyond his straw outfit…

Fear-obsessed Dr. Crane begins a campaign of terror under the guise of a scarecrow.

Regardless, Kendrick agrees and the Scarecrow makes good on his promise not by his trademark fear gas or any kind of elaborate gimmick, but by simply wounding Herold with a gun shot and promising to kill him if he doesn’t drop the suit. Conveniently, Batman and his colourful sidekick, Dick Grayson/Robin, are on a rooftop nearby and hear the gunshot; they swing into action when they spot the curious human scarecrow making his escape. The Scarecrow surprises them with his swiftness and effectively holds them off with a few shots from his pistol, a good wallop to the Batman’s head, and by tossing a trash can at Robin and slipping away “with queer grasshopper leaps”. Naturally, Kendrick is fingered as the prime suspect in hiring Herold’s attack, but he denies everything, and Herold’s refusal to drop his lawsuit results in another visit from the Scarecrow that leaves him dead as “The Scarecrow warns only once!”, leaving Kendrick horrified. He still pays, however, which is lucky as Crane’s unorthodox teaching methods cost him his job; Crane barely even cares, however, since he now has a big wad of cash and a reputation in the criminal underworld. The Scarecrow sets about bolstering this reputation by offering his services to Richard Dodge, whose department store is going under thanks to a rival store, so he offers to scare customers away and back to his shop, which he does through his mere appearance and the use of smoke bombs, which drive the crowd into a frenzy. Coincidentally, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson happen to hear about this riot on the radio and, suspecting a link between Crane and the Scarecrow after the university president (who is conveniently a friend of Bruce’s) nonchalantly mentioned Crane’s wad of cash, Batman and Robin rush to the scene. They find the Scarecrow in the act of smashing up the store with a baseball bat and Batman flings some really weird and cringey one-liners and quips at the Master of Fear during their far more even rematch.

Despite proving a surprisingly slippery foe, the Scarecrow is finally apprehended.

Still, the Scarecrow proves to be a slippery and surprisingly physically capable opponent, as well as highly adaptable; he has Batman on the ropes and at gun point at one point and is only stopped from shooting him, and finishing him off with a “bomb” (potentially meant to be a grenade? Who even knows?), by the timely intervention of the Boy Wonder. Discovering that the only thing the Scarecrow stole were a couple of rare books is all the proof Batman needs to deduce that Crane and Scarecrow are one and the same and he proves his theory by infiltrating Crane’s home under an elaborate disguise and spotting all his rare books. Crane is not so easily fooled, however; by use of the lost art of…looking out his window…he sees that his visitor was really the Batman and heads out to kill Dodge to cover his tracks, only to find Batman and Robin waiting for him. Armed with his trusty pistol and giving them the slip with his “queer grasshopper leaps”, the Scarecrow flees to a nearby playground, where he almost shoots Robin but for an errant swing bashing him in the head. The Scarecrow is even able to hold off the Batman with his punches, boasting that he’s “as good as fighting as [he] is”, but is ultimately undone when he tries to retrieve his gun and gets unbalanced by Robin and a see-saw and then punched out by the Dark Knight. Impressed by his newest foe, who “gave [him] the fight of [his] career”, Batman literally drags the Scarecrow’s unconscious body off to jail, where Crane vows escape and continue his reign of terror.

The Summary:
“The Riddle of the Human Scarecrow” is certainly a bizarre early-Batman tale. There isn’t really a “riddle” to the straw-faced villain, so to speak, as we learn everything about him within the first few pages, including hints towards him being psychologically damaged as a boy and his obsession with wealth, knowledge, and fear. Batman and Robin barely even stop to wonder who is under the burlap sack and only happen upon clues to his true identity through sheer luck and massive coincidence, so it’s not as if they spend hours toiling away studying evidence or being bamboozled by the their new foe’s identity. Indeed, they only happen across the Scarecrow out of dumb luck and are only alerted to his crimes because of newspapers and radio broadcasts. If the Scarecrow had employed his fear toxin here to kill through a more unconventional means it might have helped to make the title more relevant and give the character more menace and intrigue, but he just runs around dressed as a scarecrow and shoots people, clearly as a hired gun, so I think a title more akin to “The Menace of the Human Scarecrow” would’ve been more appropriate.

While his methods are quite different from what we’ve come to expect, the Scarecrow is a tricky foe for Batman.

Interestingly, since this is a longer Batman tale than some other debuts I’ve read, quite a bit more time is spent on developing Crane and establishing his character; he’s resentful that his peers place so much importance on wealth and combines his obsession with fear with his desire for affluence into a horrifying visage. He sells himself as an intimidating thug who can terrify a person’s business rivals for cash, but goes about this in a manner so mundane that it really isn’t befitting of his theatrical getup. He simply shoots people and tosses smoke bombs, something any hoodlum can do, but makes the front page because he happens to be dressed as a scarecrow. Despite being a gaunt, wiry, and somewhat middle-aged man, Crane is surprisingly nimble, athletic, and physically gifted; much time is spent emphasising his speed and agility and he’s more than capable of fending off Batman and Robin either using his wiles or fisticuffs. This is probably the most unrealistic aspect of the character and I much prefer the Scarecrow as a psychological challenge rather than a physical one, but this “Crane Style” of fighting has come up before and is known to catch Batman off-guard so I can just about forgive it. What I can’t forgive is how clueless and ineffectual Batman and Robin are; they stumble across the Scarecrow and are easily bested, are hounded by the police (and even have to fight them off at one point), are almost killed by the villain on more than one occasion, and make absolutely no effort to investigate the Scarecrow, relying purely on the convenient clues dropped by other characters. Batman’s one piece of innovation has him dressing up as a civilian…over his Batsuit…and then revealing his subterfuge right outside Crane’s window and it’s only through their teamwork (and the will of the writer) that they’re able to finally topple the Scarecrow. Overall, I enjoyed the parts of this story that focused on Crane and his strawy alter ego; the Scarecrow has a lot of visual and motivational potential, but without his fear gas and his more psychological aspects he comes across as just weird guy in a suit shooting people for cash.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Have you ever read “The Riddle of the Human Scarecrow”? What did you think of the Scarecrow’s debut and his surprisingly direct methods of inspiring fear? Were you surprised at how lazy and ineffectual Batman and Robin were and how physically capable Crane turned out to be? What are some of your favourite Scarecrow stories? Which interpretation of the Scarecrow, whether animated, pixelated, or live-action, is your favourite? Whatever you think about the Scarecrow, share your thoughts below or leave comment on my social media, and be sure to check out my other Batman content!

Back Issues [Sonic CDay]: Sonic the Hedgehog #25

Dr. K2 Comments

Developed alongside the blockbuster Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (SEGA Technical Institute, 1992), Sonic the Hedgehog CD (Sonic Team, 1993) released on this day back in 1993. Expanding upon the Blue Blur’s debut title, Sonic CD introduced Metal Sonic (one of Sonic’s most popular and enduring rivals) and Amy Rose, and is considered by many to be one of the best of the classic Sonic titles.

Story Title: “Go Ahead…Mecha My Day!”
Published: August 1995
Writer: Mike Gallagher
Artist: Patrick Spaziante

The Background:
SEGA were quick to capitalise on Sonic’s popularity once he catapulted to mainstream success and helped them to usurp Nintendo’s position at the top of the videogame industry. Following Nintendo’s success with DiC, SEGA licensed a series of cartoons that were soon accompanied by a four-part miniseries published by Archie Comics. Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog comics went on to become the longest-running videogame comic book ever and, amidst continuing the adventures of the Knothole Freedom Fighters, the Archie comics weaved in storylines, characters, and elements from the videogames, often changing them to fit their unique narrative. Although a mechanical version of Sonic had featured in Archie’s comics prior to this story (and many more would follow over the years), Sonic’s most recognisable robotic duplicate debuted in the comic’s twenty-fifth issue as part of a loose adaptation of Sonic CD and would go on to continuously plague the hedgehog and his allies even when IDW swept away Archie’s continuity in favour of their own.

The Review:
I didn’t grow up reading Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog comics; as far as I know, there was no way for us to get hold of them here in the United Kingdom back in the day, so I’m not entirely sure I was even aware of them until late into my teens. I did watch Sonic the Hedgehog/SatAM (1993 to 1994) though and, like many kids from my generation I was, deeply invested in the series and frustrated when it ended on an unresolved cliff-hanger. Although the Archie comics never actually resolved this cliff-hanger and were more like a spin-off than a true continuation, they were the closest thing we’d ever get to an official follow-up to that successful cartoon and, in the years since, I’ve read through the entire Archie Comics run. It has its good points and many bad points, but I found myself enjoying it well enough, especially once they started to incorporate more elements from the source material and veer away from the comedic slapstick that muddled the narrative tone of the first fifty-or-so issues. I’ve already explored how awkward the incorporation of these videogame elements was to the series; the same was true of the UK’s Sonic the Comic (1993 to 2002) and is to be expected when you’ve gone off on your own pretty complex tangent and then have to shoe-horn in official canon into the narrative, but there’s an appeal to the series nonetheless thanks to nostalgia and my love for Sonic.

While Sonic tests Rotor’s new device, Dr. Robotnik plans to lure him into a deadly trap.

“Go Ahead…Mecha My Day!” (great pun, by the way) begins with Sonic impatiently enduring the hooking up of a video camera to his sneaker; developed by Knothole’s resident mechanic and tinkerer, Rotor the Walrus, the “Sonicam” sends a direct feed back to the Freedom Fighter’s computer so they can keep track of where Sonic is and any potential dangers they need to be aware of. Princess Sally Acorn, leader of the Knothole Freedom Fighters, is particularly pleased with this new technology given that a “new Zone portal” just opened up and is in need of exploration. Sally’s fears about this situation are well founded as it turns out that the Collision Chaos Zone is the creation of Mobius’s mad cybernetic dictator, Doctor Robotnik. However, while he looks like the SatAM Dr. Robotnik, at this point Archie’s version still has quite a bit of his bombastic and foolish variant from the Adventures of the Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon (1993); this means he breaks the fourth wall, chuckles maniacally to his bumbling Badniks, and lacks the grim menace of the SatAM version. However, there’s enough of that interpretation of the character in Dr. Robotnik to order his latest, most mysterious creation to kidnap Sonic’s number one fan, Amy Rose, and then issue a direct challenge to Sonic, daring him to test his speed and skill in his Collision Chaos Zone to rescue Amy. Naturally, Dr. Robotnik plans to stack the deck against Sonic by having his long-suffering, snivelling nephew and head minion, Snivley, struggle into an elaborate Robotnik costume and burn up the road behind Sonic to force him into an even deadlier trap.

Racing to save his friends, Sonic is confronted and challenged by his metallic doppelgänger.

Naturally, Sonic wants to leap into action right away; determined to prove himself and to rescue one of his greatest fans, he thinks nothing of jumping head-first into such an obvious trap, such is his confidence. However, Knothole is a democracy and, as a result, he’s forced to heed to Sally’s more level-headed orders; to get a better sense of what dangers lie ahead, Sally has Miles “Tails” Prower fly on ahead to scope out the area…and he’s immediately captured by Dr. Robotnik’s Swatbots. Fed up with waiting, Sonic races out to the Zone portal and, despite Dr. Robotnik struggling with his lines, is brought abreast of the escalating hostage situation; thanks to the Sonicam’s slow-motion function, Sally and Rotor are able to look in as Sonic races through the bizarre environment while Snively incinerates the path behind him, all to force Sonic into a confrontation with Mecha-Sonic (also referred to without the hyphen). Oddly, Mecha-Sonic’s dialogue seems to indicate that the two have met before, but this was the character’s first appearance; however, it wasn’t uncommon for the videogame’s events to happen off-panel and between stories throughout Archie’s run, even though that doesn’t really align with the narrative presented here, making this allusion confusing, at best. Anyway, Mecha-Sonic challenges his rival to prove his speed in a race through the Stardust Speedway Zone, with Tails and Amy as the prize and Snively pursuing them in Dr. Robotnik’s craft

Sonic’s speed is too much for Mecha-Sonic and Dr. Robotnik’s plot is easily foiled.

Of course, Sonic takes the bait and “engages” with Mecha-Sonic, much to Dr. Robotnik’s glee; while Amy wails at the engagement pun and Rotor scrambles to account for interference from the Stardust Speedway Zone, we’re treated to a nice two-page spread of the two rivals exchanging taunts and shoving past each other in a pretty neck-and-neck dash through the Zone, which is brought to life by the unrivalled Patrick “Spaz” Spaziante and is certainly faithful both to the level layout from the videogame and the anime sequences that accompanied it. However, Sonic has no idea that Dr. Robotnik has set up a failsafe at the finish line; a massive weighted door that will crush Sonic when he passes under it (which Dr. Robotnik demonstrates by crushing Crabmeat, though this doesn’t kill the woodland critter tapped within him since that wasn’t really a thing in this continuity). Although Sonic gains the lead, Mecha-Sonic uses holograms and environmental hazards to distract and trip him for an unfair advantage, meaning tensions are high as they race down the final stretch. Here, Sonic debuts his new “Figure Eight Super Peel-Out” for a burst of acceleration that pushes him into “warp speed” and Mecha-Sonic summarily melts itself in half by overexerting its thrusters. Sonic is even spared a gruesome end thanks to the timely intervention of Princess Sally but, when Dr. Robotnik throws a tantrum over the loss, volunteers to give the dictator a chance to squash him. When Sonic easily dodges out of the of the trap, he invites Dr. Robotnik to inspect the mechanism for faults and then encourages the reader (represented by a literal on-panel finger) to activate the trap and crush the cyborg madman beneath it. The comic the ends with Tails and Amy free, Dr. Robotnik squashed under his own trap, Mecha-Sonic left sparking on the racetrack, and the heroes celebrating the comic’s first twenty-five issues.

The Summary:
I went to great pains at the start of my review to try and prepare you for the fact that Archie’s Sonic comics weren’t exactly known for their 100% fidelity to the source material when they started adapting more elements from the videogames into their plot but, even considering that, “Go Ahead…Mecha My Day!” is even less of a Sonic CD adaptation than its Sonic the Comic counterpart. Both plucked only the most iconic elements of the videogame (Amy, Metal Sonic, and parts of the environments) and shoe-horned them into their unique narrative, choosing to focus more on the battle between Sonic and Metal Sonic than the time travel plot. While the Sonic the Comic adaptation benefitted slightly from being a multi-part story told over a few issues, both adaptations have about the same level of substance thanks to the first two parts of the story simply setting up for Sonic’s adventures on the Miracle Planet. This location doesn’t even appear here, however; instead, we get two of Sonic CD’s more recognisable areas (Collision Chaos and Stardust Speedway) but they’re presented as being “creations” of Dr. Robotnik, existing in another dimension, of sorts, rather than being on the Little Planet. The Time Stones are also completely absent, as are any elements of time travel or Dr. Robotnik’s plot to conquer the Little Planet, meaning the plot is all about the race between Sonic and “Mecha-Sonic” to rescue Amy (and Tails).

It’s a bit slapstick and barely has anything to do with Sonic CD but at least the art is nice.

Even when you get past the fact this this isn’t really an adaptation of Sonic CD, “Go Ahead…Mecha My Day!” is a bit weak overall; the story’s far too short, Dr. Robotnik lacks the menace of his SatAM counterpart, and there’s never really a sense of danger even when Mecha-Sonic makes its appearance. Like in the Sonic the Comic version, Mecha-Sonic can talk; here, it seems to have been programmed to ape Sonic’s snarky attitude as much as his speed as the two trade quips and grandeur during their confrontation. Though it demonstrates none of its videogame’s other powers, Mecha-Sonic is shown to be a wily antagonist and fully prepared to cheat to gain an advantage, but it’s ultimately handicapped by its mechanical construction and thus falls apart when it tries to match Sonic’s near-limitless speed. Still, the art used to render Mecha-Sonic and the race is impressive; Spaz was always Archie’s best artist when it came to Sonic and he does a great job on the title character, his robotic rival, and Dr. Robotnik. Given that it takes place in this quasi-SatAM continuity, the story also features appearances from the Knothole Freedom Fighters; Tails wasn’t yet the genius mechanic we know him today so Rotor fulfils that role and his Sonicam keeps them up to date with Sonic’s situation while Antoine D’Coolette is simply there to spout nonsense and oppose Sonic out of spite. Since she was always portrayed as Sonic’s equal in the field, it’s obviously Sally who drops in to lend a hand in the finale, emphasising the camaraderie that was so important to this interpretation of Sonic, though it’s made explicitly clear that he didn’t actually need any help. In the end, this was a decent enough story with lots of great art and fun, engaging action but it’s let down by its brevity, the awkward goofiness permeating throughout it, and the fact that it basically has nothing to do with Sonic CD beyond some extremely basic elements.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Have you ever read “Go Ahead…Mecha My Day!”, or any of Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog comics? If so, what did you think of the story and the way its focus on the race between Sonic and Metal Sonic? Were you disappointed by the lack of any other elements from Sonic CD? Which of Archie’s original characters was your favourite and what did you think to their award-winning run? How are you celebrating Sonic CD’s anniversary this year? Whatever your thoughts on Sonic CD, or Sonic in general, feel free to leave a comment below.

Back Issues: Blue Beetle (2006) #1-3

Dr. K1 Comment

Story Title: “Blue Monday”
Published: May 2006
Writers: Keith Giffen and John Rogers
Artist: Cully Hamner

Story Title: “Can’t Go Home Again”
Published: June 2006
Writers: Keith Giffen and John Rogers
Artist: Cully Hamner

Story Title: “The Past Is Another Country”
Published: July 2006
Writers: Keith Giffen and John Rogers
Artist: Cynthia Martin

The Background:
I wouldn’t begrudge modern readers of DC Comics if they didn’t know who Dan Garret was. The creation of Charles Nicholas Wojtkoski, the very first Blue Beetle featured prominently in Charlton Comics and is pretty much all but forgotten in the legacy of the character. Hell, I wouldn’t be too surprised it Garret’s successor, genius inventor Theodore “Ted” Kord, didn’t ring a bell; in 1966, Steve Ditko reimagined the Blue Beetle but, despite his tenure on Justice League International and making waves through his friendship with Michael Carter/Booster Gold, Ted never really rose beyond the ranks of a D-list hero and is generally remembered for being shockingly and graphically executed on-panel in the build-up to the universe-shaking Infinite Crisis (Johns, et al, 2005 to 2006). Indeed, even a big Ted Kord fan like myself has to acknowledge the mainstream impact of his successor, Jaime Reyes, easily the most recognisable incarnation of the Blue Beetle to date; Jamie has appeared in videogames, cartoons, and in live-action, both on television and even his own feature film. A noted Latino superhero, Jaime was created by Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hamner and debuted in the pages of Infinite Crisis before appearing in his own self-titled comic book two months later. Jaime separated himself from his predecessors not just in his more diverse background and his youth, but also by actually deriving superhuman powers and abilities from a techno-symbiotic alien scarab infused to his spine, making him theoretically the more competent of the three Blue Beetles, though this was counterbalanced by his lack of experience and control with the scarab. Jaime has been a part of DC’s premier superhero team, the Justice League, as well as the Teen Titans, fought extraterresital threats and struggled to figure out his powers, and is generally regarded as one of DC’s best legacy characters in recent years.

The Review:
As mentioned above, Jaime made his first appearances in the epic, universe-shattering Infinite Crisis. Specifically, Jaime made a very brief cameo in Infinite Crisis #3 (Johns, et al, 2006) where, in the midst of the mainstream DC universe being rocked by incursions from disgruntled heroes from previous, destroyed worlds, young Jaime just happened to stumble across the glowing, mysterious scarab just sitting out in the open. Jaime returned in Infinite Crisis #4 (ibid), where he was stunned to find Booster Gold and Skeets searching his bedroom for the scarab, which would allow him to reveal the forces of Bruce Wayne/Batman’s renegade artificial intelligence, Brother Eye; although initially amazed to find such a prominent, corporate sponsored hero in his bedroom, Jaime was soon aghast to find that the scarab had fused itself to his spine. When Booster Gold brought him to the Batcave in Infinite Crisis #5 (ibid), Jaime’s life changed forever as the scarab, sensing danger, encompassed his body in a sleek, form-fitting armoured suit unlike any sported by his predecessors. Although very much out of his depth, Jaime found himself in space alongside some of Earth’s greatest heroes in Infinite Crisis #6; his suit unsettled Green Lantern John Stewart’s semi-sentient power ring and he was so overwhelmed by the confusion and stakes of their mission that he had to receive a pep talk from Batman, of all people. Although he couldn’t begin to understand the nature of the scarab, Jaime found the suit had a mind of its own; as soon as the heroes got close enough to Brother Eye’s cloaked satellite, the suit sparked to life and exposed it, leading to a massive battle to decide the fate of all universe, a fight that Jaime was spared since the suit promptly teleported him out of there, against his will, to get away from the Green Lanterns present.

Jaime’s teenage troubles are compounded by the scarab and the mysterious Posse.

Jaime’s solo comic bounces between the present, where he returns to Earth, and the past, which focuses on providing Jaime with more backstory than “confused young kid suddenly gifted superpowers”. He’s a talented high schooler from El Paso, Texas whose free time is spent mediating the constant bickering between his friends, workshy Paco Testas and fastidious aikido student Brenda Del Vecchio. This provides a little more context behind Jaime’s random discovery of the scarab, which he stumbled upon while his friends were squabbling and took home without thinking much about it. At home, Jaime’s mother, nurse Bianca, despairs of his constant quarrelling with his annoying little sister, Milagro and has him take lunch to his father, Alberto, who owns a garage in town. Although Jaime wishes to help his hard-working father, Alberto encourages him to both study and enjoy being a kid while he has the time. That evening, after accidentally stepping on the scarab, Jaime awakens to find himself talking a strange alien language and a similar text glowing on his palm, which he chalks up to being a dream, an explanation Brenda and Paco encourage, but he’s spooked when he crosses path with a strange girl without any eyes who speaks to him in riddles. Jaime’s friends were less than helpful with his predicament; Paco is convinced that Jaime’s seeing ghosts and Bianca’s suggestion that he take the scarab to someone to analyse is no help since it’s vanished. They’re left dumbfounded when he spots the goth chick, Probe, and her tattooed associate, Damper, hanging around the school and he promptly vanishes from sight when he gets close to them thanks to Damper’s ability to cloak their presence with his “mojo”. Jaime’s confused by them; it doesn’t help that they talk in riddles and he has no idea what’s going on, but their curiosity turns to anger when Probe’s attempt to mentally.. well, probe…Jaime sees her being first blocked and then suffer a painful seizure.

The scarab’s armour brings Jaime undue attention and lashes out uncontrollably.

After trying, and failing, one more time to convince Alberto to let him help out, Jaime found himself set upon by Damper and three of his cohorts – the bloated Scour, diminutive Thump, and alluring Bonita – a group of street-level metahumans calling themselves the “Posse”. While the others want to take a more direct approach at making Jaime pay for hurting Probe, and Damper even subtly threatens Jaime’s family, Bonita attempts to subdue him using a combination of pheromones and feminine wiles. Luckily for the captivated Jaime, the scarab’s instincts kick in and he finds himself shielded by his alien armour, which gives him the means to fight back against them, though entirely beyond Jaime’s control, and the scarab can even detect that Bonita is pregnant. As mentioned, these three issues also chart what happened after Jaime dramatically crashes back to Earth. He was immediately attacked by hot-headed Green Lantern Guy Gardner and, since Jaime had no idea how his suit works or what it’s capable of, he was entirely at the scarab’s mercy as it instinctively formed shields, energy-based weapons, and even wings to fend off Guy’s relentless assault, all while Jaime expressed terror and confusion at the entire situation. Jaime’s inexperience allowed Guy to pound him into the dirt and drove him to beg for mercy, and Guy was horrified to find that his ring drove him to attack and almost kill a kid. This showed that scarab is perceived as such a threat by the ring that it drove Guy into a temporary bloodlust, almost driving him to the point of murder, which he claims is something he’s not known for (which is odd as I could’ve sworn Guy’s more volatile nature had seen him kill before…). After Guy left, Jaime was wracked with pain as the suit retracted into the scarab, which has painfully bound itself to his spine, and was left naked in the desert trying to figure out how to tell his mother what happened.

Jaime is stunned to find he lost an entire year of his life during Infinite Crisis.

Although he was helped by a kindly gas station attendant with some clothes, food, and a ride, Jaime was constantly bothered by the scarab’s alien voice in his head (which, amusingly, sounds like his mother); however, his troubles were only compounded when he got home to find out that he’d been gone for an entire year! This means that Jaime has no choice but to come clean to his family about where he was and his new abilities; however, his suit terrifies Milagro and Bianca was so convinced that he was dead that she refuses to believe that Jaime and the Blue Beetle are one and the same. Alberto, who now requires a cane to walk, is somewhat more understanding and sympathetic, explaining the grief they all went through thinking he was dead, but promises to talk to her on his behalf. Overwhelmed by it all, Jaime flies off and tries to get a grip on his powers but is amazed by the sensory overload and destructive abilities of his alien armour. While he doesn’t understand it and is still acting on instinct, the scarab is able to bring up a holographic compass that leads him to Paco at the Mexican border and allied with Damper. The Blue Beetle arrives in time to shield them from agents of “La Dama” and, during the fight, Jaime constantly berates his armour for being too violent but manages to fly Paco out of there. While Jaime doesn’t approve of Paco’s association with the Posse, he’s even more shocked to learn that Brenda almost died after her abusive father beat her and that she’s moved in with her wealthy aunt after he died in a car accident. Although Jaime earns a good punch to the gut for causing her to worry about his safety, the three friends are happy to be reunited, though they’re left blissfully unaware that Brenda’s aunt is the mysterious La Dama who’s been targeting the Posse…

The Summary:
Make no mistake about it, Jaime Reyes is a very different Blue Beetle compared to his predecessors. I admittedly haven’t read too much of any of the Blue Beetles but my understanding has always been that Dan Garret and Ted Kord were completely normal human beings who took the iconography of the scarab and themed their crimefighting careers after it. Until Jaime’s introduction, I had no idea that the scarab was alien in origin, alive (in at least a techno-organic sense of the word), or capable of being such a versatile and visually interesting piece of symbiotic armour. Indeed, Jaime’s tenure represented a massive paradigm shift for the concept of the Blue Beetle; not only was he now a teenage kid with teenage dramas, he was in possession of a volatile alien weapon whose origins and capabilities were a complete mystery since they’d never been seen or associated with the character before, essentially meaning the Blue Beetle concept was reconfiguring into something entirely new, not unlike how the Green Lantern concept was significantly altered between Alan Scott and Hal Jordan.

Jaime’s personality and supporting cast are as intriguing as the mystery behind the alien armour.

What works for me in these three issues is the dynamic between Jaime and his supporting cast; he’s a smart kid, capable of speaking multiple languages and applying himself at school, and also a good kid, volunteering time and again to help his father out and pulling his weight at home. However, he also has some snark, particularly with his bratty little sister, and he describes himself as Brenda and Paco’s “babysitter” since he’s often forced to be the voice of reason when they get into it. I really enjoyed the banter between the three of them; it’s a friendship dynamic that really grounds the character to contrast his relatively normal and mundane lifestyle with the chaos of his newfound superhero life. I also enjoyed the relationship between Jaime and Alberto; a physically tough but empathetic father, Alberto works hard to provide for his family but still encourages Jaime to live his life, so it’s all the more jarring when Jaime returns home to find his father a shell of his former self and his family still grieving from his presumed death. While there are a few fights in these issues and they’re exhilarating enough thanks to the colourful and kinetic art style, the main conflict here is between Jaime and the scarab, which latches itself to him and almost immediately turns his life upside down, sweeping him away on an outer space adventure and unwittingly stealing a year of his life, as well as constantly bombarding him with alien language symbols, and bizarre weaponry.

Jaime represented a fun and visually interesting new direction for the Blue Beetle concept.

Obviously, these are just the first three issues of an ongoing story; the exact nature of the Posse, their issues with La Dama, and the changes faced by Jaime’s supporting cast are no doubt developed over the course of subsequent issues, but there was enough here to have me invested in Jaime and his world. I really like the mystery of the volatile relationship between the scarab and the Green Lantern Corps; we saw glimpses of this in Infinite Crisis and it would become a whole cosmic drama later on, but it really helps to flesh out that there’s always been more to the Blue Beetle than we could ever has suspected. Jaime is admittedly no fighter; he panics in battle and generally tries to talk his way out of situations rather than engage since he’s not acquitted for the superhero life, but the scarab is more than capable of compensating for that. Not only does it cover him in a sick looking beetle-themed armour, but it sprouts wings, enhances his senses, shoots lightning-like energy, augments his strength, and forms shields and all sorts to protect him…and fight back. Jaime is constantly overwhelmed by the armour and its insistence on violence, elements that again I’ve never associated with the Blue Beetle before. Jaime is a reluctant superhero, overwhelmed by what’s happening to him, and a potentially dangerous individual as he cannot control his abilities. In many ways, the scarab’s attachment to him is framed as a metaphor for puberty as his body undergoes strange and often violent changes. I guess hardcore fans of the Blue Beetle might have been turned off by how wildly different the character and concept are with Jaime at the helm, but I think they’re changes for the better. They result in a visually interesting character, one with an appealing personality and strong supporting cast, and increase the Blue Beetle’s appeal by adding all this mystery, lore, and potential to the concept. I really enjoyed this three-issue arc and would absolutely like to read on a bit more and find out more about what happened during his one year absence, what the story of the Posse is, and how it all ties in with La Dama, and to witness Jaime’s growth into his newfound role and abilities.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Are you a fan of Jaime Reyes? What did you think to his introduction and springboard to prominence in Infinite Crisis? Did you enjoy these first three issues and the changes to the Blue Beetle concept? What did you think to the scarab’s new abilities and its relationship with the Green Lantern Corps? Were you intrigued by the Posse and the one year gap introduced here? What did you think to Jaime’s supporting cast? Which incarnation of the Blue Beetle is your favourite and what are some of your favourite Jamie Reyes stories and moments? Whatever you think, drop a comment below or on my social media and be sure to check out my other Blue Beetle content.

Back Issues [Spidey Month]: The Amazing Spider-Man #50

Dr. K1 Comment

Easily Marvel Comic’s most recognisable and popular superhero, unsuspecting teenage nerd Peter Parker was first bitten by a radioactive spider and learned the true meaning of power and responsibility in Amazing Fantasy #15, which was published in August 1962. Since then, the Amazing Spider-Man has featured in numerous cartoons, live-action movies, videogames, action figures, and countless comic book titles and, in celebration of his debut and his very own day of celebration, I’m dedicating every Saturday of August to talk about everyone’s favourite web-head!

Story Title: “Spider-Man No More!”
Published: 11 April 1967 (cover-dated July 1967)
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: John Romita Sr.

The Background:
Considering Spider-Man’s debut almost didn’t happen, it’s pretty ironic that Stan Lee and Steve Ditko‘s angst-ridden teenage superhero would go on to become the flagship character of Marvel Comics. Over the years, Spider-Man has been involved in some of Marvel’s most celebrated, and notorious, story arcs, and the troubled wall-crawler is often depicted battling his own personal woes as often as one (or more) of his colourful rogues. In 1967, he faced one of his most trying challenges when, burdened by J. Jonah Jameson’s hate campaign, Peter walked away from his responsibilities as a superhero in one of the character’s most influential stories, which also introduced readers to one of the most notorious Marvel villains, Wilson Fisk/The Kingpin.

The Review:
“Spider-Man No More!” kicks off with a bang courtesy of a visually stunning full-page splash from one of comic’s greatest artistic talents, John Romita, who practically wrote the book on how dramatic and spectacular Spider-Man’s depiction should be. With absolutely no context at all, we’re thrown right into the action as Spider-Man tackles a group of armed thugs who are in the process of pulling off some kind of heist. As is commonplace in sequences like this, the crooks are stunned at Spidey’s superhuman agility, which allows him to easily dodge bullets, and completely powerless against his superhuman spider strength, which easily allows him to shrug off even their combined assault and render them all unconscious with a few hard-hitting blows. However, despite saving the day in magnificent fashion, Spider-Man is met with fear and suspicion by one of the employees he saved, and he swings away cursing the efforts of grouchy Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson at painting him as a crazed masked maniac. Thanks to Jameson’s editorials, half of New York City is either terrified of him and thinks he’s just as bad as the many colourful supervillains in town and the other half thinks he’s mental, which he can’t help but be bothered by considering the populace celebrates other costumed superheroes like the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. Peter’s woes that, no matter what he does or how hard he tries, the public hates him more and more are only added to when he returns to his apartment and learns from his friend and roommate, Harry Osborn, that his beloved Aunt May has fallen ill. We’re not told what, exactly, May has been stricken by, however; she’s simply had “another attack” and been left bedbound. Naturally, Peter blames himself for his aunt’s condition; after all, if he’d been at home rather than putting his life on the line for his own sense of self-gratification, he would’ve been able to get there faster and he’s burdened by his unreliable nature due to his superheroics.

Burdened by his woes and Jameson’s smear campaign, Peter gives up his costumed identity.

Beating himself up and already blaming himself for not being there for the only family he’s ever known and has left, Peter’s unable to concentrate on his studies, which directly translates into him struggling through a test the next day and receiving a kindly warning from his Physics teacher, Professor Miles Warren, about his steadily declining grades and that his once-impressive science record won’t allow him to coast along unless he puts in the work. To make matters worse, Peter’s so troubled by his aunt’s health and his failing grades that he’s forced to turn down a genuine offer from beautiful socialite Gwen Stacy, which only further adds to his woes as he kicks himself for not having the time or enthusiasm to find out if the likes of Gwen or seemingly scatter-brained Mary Jane Watson are really interested in him or have more depth to their personalities. Peter’s even had to turn down a fantastic job working for Harry’s dad, Norman Osborn, because he has to keep his evenings free in case Spider-Man is needed, and his troubles reach boiling point when he turns on the television and is faced with a malicious rant from Jameson painting Spider-Man as a neurotic trouble-maker who provokes villains for his own ego. Jameson’s so sure that Spider-Man is a menace to society that he offers a whopping $1000 reward for the capture and conviction of the web-slinger and Peter reaches his breaking point. Realising that his colourful alter ego has brought him and those around him nothing but pain, Peter begins to think that Jameson is right, that he’s been swinging all over town out of some childish, selfish desire for attention, and dramatically dumps his costume, and the identity of Spider-Man, in the trash once and for all.

As the Kingpin seizes power, Peter is reminded of his responsibilities and returns to action once more.

Of course, Jameson is overjoyed when a small boy delivers him Spider-Man’s costume and that his smear campaign has worked, publishing his victory on the front page to a largely incredulous New York City (it’s actually endearing how his readers see it as nothing more than a publicity stunt and actually show support for Spider-Man). Peter follows up his decision by quitting as Jameson’s lackey, much to his comical outrage, though the publisher delights in bragging about his triumph and proudly displays Spider-Man’s costume in a trophy cabinet in his office. Meanwhile, the city falls into anarchy as the Kingpin takes the opportunity to consolidate the city’s various mobsters and gangsters under his direct supervision, organising them in a way they’ve never been before and leading to a flurry of crimes, all of them in broad daylight, that threaten to tax the city’s police department to their limit. Peter, however, is having a whale of a time; no longer having to devote his time and energy to crimefighting, he’s finally able to socialise with Gwen, dote on his recovering aunt, and catch up on his studies. He’s even giving serious thought to taking up Norman’s job offer once Aunt May is fully recovered but, while he catches himself in the act of responding to the news of a robbery at the welfare office, he instinctively acts without hesitation when he sees a watchman being set upon by armed thugs. Chastising himself for going back on his promise so quickly, Peter is devastated when he realises that the kindly old watchman has the likeness of his beloved Uncle Ben. All at once, the pain and guilt of his irresponsibility catch up to the troubled teenager as he relives his childhood and his failure to us his great powers responsibly, which directly caused his uncle’s death, and he realises that it’s his burden, his duty, to set aside his personal woes and use his superpowers for the benefit of others to atone for that loss. Thus, he breaks into Jameson’s office, recovers his costume, and pranks the editor with the promise of flooding the city with more Spider-Men before swinging off into the city rejuvenated once more.

The Summary:
If you came into “Spider-Man No More!” expecting fast-paced, hard-hitting action and to see Spider-Man pummelling goons and supervillains galore, then you’re probably going to be disappointed. Instead, in keeping with the story being published in The Amazing Spider-Man’s fiftieth issue, what we have here is a deep dive into Peter’s troubles and a new spin on detailing exactly why he’s cursed to set aside friends and even family to save lives as Spider-Man. It’s not uncommon for comics, especially Spider-Man stories and tales from this era, to constantly rehash a character’s origin but I think it’s used to good effect here and almost makes The Amazing Spider-Man #50 a kind of starting off point for new readers. Thanks to being overwhelmed by his aunt’s failing health, his non-existent social life, his declining grades, and Jameson’s smear campaign, Peter has lost sight of his mission and fallen into a depression so deep and so dark that the only solution he can think of is to literally and figuratively ditch his costumed identity in one of comic’s most iconic panels. We see the effect this has on Peter right away; no longer does he have to shun Gwen or Mary Jane or his studies since he has the time and focus to think about things other than crimefighting or swinging off to help with the next emergency. He can be there for May, relax with his science books, and apply himself in far more productive ways, literally turning his frown into a smile as he happily goes about his daily business without the burden of Spider-Man weighing him down. Peter even takes a great deal of pleasure in quitting from the Daily Bugle, a job that has always underpaid and underappreciated him, and is perfectly happy to let the city police handle  the escalating crime way sweeping across the town.

Peter’s joy at rediscovering his life is short-lived since Spider-Man’s powers will always be needed.

While New Yorkers are troubled by Spider-Man’s absence, the Kingpin sees it as a fantastic opportunity and makes an impact with his plan to consolidate the disparate gangs and criminals into something more akin to a business, with him as the chairman of the board. Though he doesn’t physically get involved in the action, he showcases his threat when Farley Stillwell tries to get in on the action and quickly makes a name for himself in the criminal underworld through his organisational skills and lofty goals. Although Peter is quick to chastise himself for reverting to type so quickly, he reasons that he had no choice but to act when he saw the watchman’s life in danger, and this brings back a flood of memories that we’re all keenly aware of but which serve as a stark reminder to the troubled youth that he has an obligation to use his gifts responsibly, regardless of the cost to his social life or his own desires. Having been reminded of his life’s mission, and perhaps feeling a sense of closure at having saved his uncle’s doppelgänger, Peter immediately returns to action as Spider-Man; though the story doesn’t resolve how he’s going to juggle his friends, family, and studies, it can be assumed that he’s at least more at peace with his duel identity for the time being and more than ready to make up for lost time. Overall, there’s a reason “Spider-Man No More!” is one of Spider-Man’s most celebrated adventures; what it lacks in action, it makes up for in interpersonal drama and a character study of everyone’s favourite web-head and the story is perhaps the quintessential reminder of the heavy burden Peter must carry lest he fail to use his gifts responsibly and indirectly cause more death or heartache. It’s a tragic tale, to be sure, but also one that encapsulates everything Spider-Man is; he sets aside his personal desires for the greater good and, even when he does take the time to be selfish for a change, his inherent need to help others will always win out, which is a message we could all stand to learn from.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Are you a fan of “Spider-Man No More!”? Where would you rank it amongst Spider-Man’s many other stories and moments? What did you think to Peter’s troubles and his decision to quit being Spider-Man? Do you think Peter was maybe a little too angst-ridden and could’ve found a better way to balance his duel identities? What did you think to the Kingpin’s plot to unite the city’s criminals? Do you think the resolution to Peter’s anguish was a bit rushed or did you enjoy that he got to save his uncle’s proxy? Would you say that Spider-Man is an egomaniac and a menace or do you think he’s a benefit to the city? How are you celebrating Spider-Man this month? Whatever your thoughts on Spider-Man, and “Spider-Man No More!”, share them below or drop a comment on my social media and be sure to check out my other Spider-Man content!

Back Issues: Captain Atom #83

Dr. K3 Comments

Story Title: “The New Blue Beetle”
Published: November 1966
Writers: Steve Ditko and Gary Friedrich
Artist: Steve Ditko

The Background:
In 1939, comics readers were introduced to Dan Garret, a policeman who fought crime in a suit, fedora, and domino mask as the Blue Beetle, a shameless knock-off of Britt Reid/The Green Hornet created by Charles Nicholas Wojtkoski and who eventually found his way into the pages of Charlton Comics. Given the time period, where pulp crimefighters were beginning to be overtaken by more theatrical costumed superheroes, Garrett is often forgotten in the legacy of the Blue Beetle, especially when comparing his impact to that of his immediate successor. In 1966, the legendary Steve Ditko reimagined the Blue Beetle as genius inventor Theodore “Ted” Kord during the “Silver Age” of comics books, where many superheroes with given new origins and powers to fit the then-modern age. Despite debuting in a back-up feature and never rising above the status of a lower tier crimefighter, Ted gained far greater mainstream exposure thanks to his tenure on Justice League International and friendship with Michael Carter/Booster Gold; Ted even went toe-to-toe with Doomsday, unlike many of his more powerful comrades, and was even shockingly and graphically executed on-panel during the build-up to the universe-shaking Infinite Crisis (Johns, et al, 2005 to 2006). While still a relatively obscure character in the DC hierarchy, Ted is often regarded as one of the best incarnations of the Blue Beetle and he’s featured far more prominently in ancillary media compared to his predecessor, including multiple animated appearances and even appearing in live-action in the tenth series of Smallville (2001 to 2011).

The Review:
Similar to this predecessor, Ted Kord’s debut outing as the Blue Beetle begins not only with him already in the bug-themed guise of a masked crimefighter but also in the midst of a crime wave sweeping his city as the “Killer Koke Gang” make headlines for their many violent robberies. Unlike Dan Garret, however, Ted Kord’s Blue Beetle is tripped out on technology; he already has a massive, beetle-shaped hovercraft from which he can tune into sound waves throughout the city in search of trouble. When he picks up the sounds of gunshots from a nearby bank, the Blue Beetle flies into action, literally, guiding his craft through the night sky, though he strangely chooses to drop out of the craft and pilot it while hanging beneath it from a handle and wire. Although his monologue shares that he’s put in many hours of training, this is also still the Blue Beetle’s first field test and taste of real-world action; he’s so nervous about it that he almost clips a nearby building, but his presence certainly serves to put the wind up Killer Koke and his thugs.

Despite a minor setback, Ted Kord has a successful first night as the new Blue Beetle.

The Blue Beetle comes swinging in, fists flying, easily dispatching Killer Koke’s men with a deftness and skill despite their superior numbers and weaponry. Just as he’s feeling the thrill of the action, though, one of the goons tosses…some kind of spherical explosive…at the Blue Beetle’s knee, which manages to knock him unconsciously. Luckily for Ted, the thugs can’t get his mask off to learn his true identity and they’re scared off by a single cop before they can finish him off. When he comes to, the Blue Beetle assumes they fled because he was too much for them…even though he clearly saw one of them tossing that thing, whatever it was, at him. He summons his flying craft and makes a swift exit, praising his technology and prowess the entire time. Thanks to his amazing craft, the Blue Beetle is easily able to catch up to Killer Koke and his goons, literally snatching their car off the ground and depositing them, rattled and humiliated, at police headquarters. Although Killer Koke claims that the Blue Beetle was really behind it all, the cops are unconvinced and take them away, and the story comes to an end with the Blue Beetle name-dropping Dan Garret, suggesting a relationship between the two, and again praising the genius of his technology, such as the lock underneath his chin that kept him from being unmasked, and expressing excitement for his next crimefighting adventure.

The Summary:
I really didn’t think much of Dan Garret’s first outing as the Blue Beetle and, sadly, the trend continues here. Thanks to the immortal Steve Ditko, the art is at least much more palatable this time around; I’ve always liked Ted Kord’s Blue Beetle costume and, despite how corny it is with its overt bug theme, it’s at least more on brand with his masked persona that the suit-and-fedora combo of his predecessor. Ted Kord goes one step further than Dan Garret by having a massive beetle-shaped craft that doubles as a base of operations and his transport around town; it also leans into his branding and gives him an edge not shared by many other superheroes, who are more likely to utilise cars or motorcycles before jumping in a flying contraption. Having said that, though, it is all incredibly goofy; there’s nothing wrong with that, of course, and it makes for some fun visuals and concepts, but it’s just a bit weird seeing this massive metallic beetle rocketing through the city and scooping up cars. Similar to his predecessor, we learn almost nothing about this new Blue Beetle; we don’t even learn his true name in this story, much less delve into the relationship he may or may not have with Dan Garret or his motivations behind taking up the Blue Beetle mantle.

Despite his fancy new gimmick, Ted’s debut is barely any better than his predecessor’s.

Again, I’m okay with that, not every first appearance needs to be an origin story after all, but it does mean that Ted’s first appearance is more about expositing his technology than anything else. There’s still a sense of relatability to him; he appears to have no superhuman powers, starts the story itching to put his training to the test and nearly costing himself dearly because of it, and, for all his obvious fighting skill, he’s still flawed enough to be rendered unconscious by…whatever that thing was that was thrown at him. Killer Koke and his gang are just regular street-level mooks; they’re violent bank robbers and that’s about it, warm bodies for the Blue Beetle to beat up and prove himself against, and he’s very happy with how his first night went, despite nearly being unmasked, because he was smart enough to put a clasp on his cowl. I think it actually might’ve been better to showcase him using more gadgets in his fight rather than his fists to truly separate him from Dan Garret and lean into him being a more technologically-inclined crimefighter. As is, we’re presented with a guy who clearly has the time, means, and money to go out busting bank robbers with a fancy suit and craft but little that makes him stand out from other, similar costumed heroes. I’ve always been a fan of Ted Kord’s and he’s always been quite a goofy character, so I don’t want to begrudge his first appearance too much, but it’s surprising he was able to excel as far as he did after such a mediocre first outing.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

What did you think to Ted Kord’s debut as the Blue Beetle? Were you stunned by how different he was, visually and in concept, to Dan Garret? What did you think to his costume and mechanical bug craft? Were you disappointed by ineffectual Killer Koke and his gang were and do you know what that thing was they threw at Ted? Which incarnation of the Blue Beetle is your favourite and what are some of your favourite Ted Kord moments? Whatever you think to the Blue Beetle, share your thoughts below or on my social media and be sure to check out my other Blue Beetle content across the site.