I thought this was a pretty good wrap-up issue. Plotlines are starting to converge, and pieces are fitting together — although some not as neatly as others. Thanks as always to those who comment, including those who actually produce this fun series. Here’s Kurt Busiek’s Newsarama debriefing for issue #4, which reassured me that Troy Brownfield didn’t recognize those guys either….
SPOILERS FOLLOW
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LEAD STORY
“Great. Now He’s Holding His Breath.” Written by Kurt Busiek, pencilled by Mark Bagley, inked by Art Thibert, colored by Pete Pantazis, lettered by Pat Brosseau; Elisabeth V. Gehrlein, assistant editor; Mike Carlin, editor.
In Brief: Teamwork beats Konvikt!
Page 1
– Black Canary, Flash, Black Lightning (behind the credits), Hawkgirl, Firestorm, and Green Lantern are all down, following the Justice League’s attempt to subdue Konvikt in the little town of Thayer’s Notch (our fair city) MA.
Page 2
– “Diana’s lasso”: now’s as good a time as any for some notes. More properly called the “Lasso of Truth,” traditionally it could compel the truth out of anyone bound with it. (Not surprising, considering that Wonder Woman’s creator William Moulton Marston also contributed to the development of the lie detector.) This ability was tweaked somewhat by the 1986 revamp, when the lasso got a firmer mythological grounding. Now made from a Golden Girdle of Gaea once given to Diana’s aunt Antiope, and powered by the Fires of Hestia, the lasso could show its captive his or her inner truth. For example, in Wonder Woman vol. 2 #6 (July 1987), Diana used the lasso to show the war-god Ares the apocalyptic consequences of his actions. Accordingly, if Diana had ensnared Konvikt with the lasso, she might have gotten a deeper insight into him than a beating might have accomplished.
– Of course, the lasso is also considered unbreakable, which is always helpful.
Page 3
– Last week I thought Batman’s comm channel to Superman might be on a special his-ears-only frequency. Score one for me, apparently.
Page 4
– No annotations.
Page 5
– Last issue we left Graak ready to get the jump on Batman. It goes without saying that Graak has never read a Batman comic.
– This means, however, that between the end of last issue and the start of this scene, Batman has a) subdued Graak and b) found some way of restraining him. Either those metal bands pinning Graak to the bulkhead were there all along (maybe, if it was a prison-ship’s escape pod), Batman improvised with what was at hand, or they’re a more versatile form of Bat-Cuffs. (Coming soon from DC Direct, of course!)
– “Him no sciencelizard”: Graak could be referring to the Psions, a reptilian race descended from small green lizards found on the planet Maltus. These lizards were experimented upon by certain Maltusian scientists who later migrated to the planet Oa and eventually became the Guardians of the Universe. Millions of years later, the Psions similarly dedicated themselves to scientific experimentation, and took up residence in the Vegan star system. The Psions were created by Marv Wolfman for The Witching Hour #13 (February-March 1971), but their first official appearance was in Tales of the New Teen Titans #4 (September 1982), written by Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez.
Page 6
– No annotations.
Page 7
– Teamwork! Batman builds the gizmo, Superman fires it, and Wonder Woman seals the deal. Just like Star Trek II, where Spock gives Kirk A Tale of Two Cities and Bones gives him the glasses he needs to read it!
– (What … too geeky?)
Page 8
– With the gas taking effect, Konvikt’s “armor” turns back into fur.
Page 9
– Oh, I’m paying for not investing in back issues of The Demon…. Obviously Mr. Hairy looked blue last issue not because of some secondary mutation, but because he was mystically shielded by Morgaine. I’m guessing further that the Omega-like “brand” is Morgaine’s mark.
Page 10
– There’s Vixen flying in panel 2, so all the Justice Leaguers except Red Arrow have been accounted for.
– The D.E.O. is the federal Department of Extranormal Operations. It was created by D. Curtis Johnson and J.H. Williams III for the short-lived series Chase (February 1998-November 1998), and first appeared in Batman #550 (January 1998). Since then it has become ubiquitous in the DC universe as a catch-all agency dealing with super-people. EDIT: As noted in the comments, the Department of Metahuman Affairs, which employs Diana Prince, is a separate federal agency. I’m not sure where one’s jurisdiction ends and the other’s begins.
– “The Slab,” short for the Slabside Island Maximum Security Prison, is DC’s supervillain jail, located in Antarctica. It first appeared in Green Lantern vol. 3 #51 (May 1994) and played a major role in 2001’s Joker: The Last Laugh miniseries.
Page 11
– I read Diana’s teasing as her having fun with her friends, and not so much a revelatory insight into “Patriarch’s World.”
– “Reddy” is the Red Tornado, the wind-controlling android who is a perennial member of the Justice League. Since his android bodies are destroyed and rebuilt fairly frequently, he spends a lot of time using his software to control the Justice League’s computers.
– “Door to the Hall”: remember, the JLA uses Authority-style gateways now; and its current Earthbound headquarters is the D.C.-based Hall of Justice.
Page 12
– This appears to be the same page of art which appeared as page 22/7 of issue #1. However, Rita’s dialogue is slightly different. Here’s her dialogue in panel 2 of this issue:
A reading. A reading will tell me what to do.
The cards are acting funny — showing me stuff I shouldn’t be able to see. But they’re reading true, too. So they’ll tell me …
Past: the Devil. Negative thinking. Self-imposed limitations. Okay, whatever.
Present: Justice. Arbitration. Neutrality. Being judged? Why am I being…
Here’s her dialogue in panels 1 and 2 of the corresponding page in issue #1:
A reading. A reading will tell me what to do.
The gangs … that dream … that — whatever that monster was — there has to be a way out, a way back to normal. I can’t just hide.
Past: the Devil. Negative thinking. Self-imposed limitations. Okay, whatever.
Present: Justice. Arbitration. Neutrality. Being judged? Why am I being…
Obviously the dialogue in this issue reflects Rita’s vision of Despero from last week, as well as her insights into the villains she encounters this issue. Additionally, since we saw this art originally as part of Morgaine’s visions, there’s “room for interpretation,” the possibility that this is an alternate version of Rita, or Morgaine somehow suppressing Rita’s memories of the monstrous minion. Still, for now it looks like a clue! A clue! (Gesundheit!)
SECOND STORY
“Knight In Shiny Armor”; plotted by Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza, scripted by Nicieza, pencilled by Mike Norton, inked by Mark Farmer, colored by Allen Passalaqua, lettered by Pat Brousseau; Elisabeth V. Gehrlein, assistant editor; Mike Carlin, editor.
In Brief: Gangbuster protects Rita from a trio of Z-list villains.
Page 13 (story page 1)
– I take it “don’t be afraid of the light” is also a subtle plea for Rita to see some sunlight after days spent cooped up.
Page 14/2
– “Book of Toth”: Rita probably means the “Book of Thoth,” the name given to a particular deck of Tarot cards painted by Lady Frieda Harris under the direction of occultist Aleister Crowley. It was also the name of a book Crowley wrote on the use of this deck. (As it happens, in the Thoth Tarot “Strength” becomes “Lust,” and “Justice” becomes “Adjustment.”) Thoth was the Egyptian god of the Moon, magic, and writing. (Note Rita’s crescent pendant.) Of course, Rita could just be a big Alex Toth fan, which would speak to an excellent taste in classic comics and animation art.
Page 15/3
– The cards in panel 4 are The Emperor, The Magician, and The High Priestess. From Tarotpedia.com:
The Emperor signifies power and authority, strategies and long-term thinking. He emphasizes structure and stability, and may urge you to take control of a situation and to act responsibly. He stands for the concrete and the tangible, and is often associated with the element of Earth.
The Bateleur or Magician is the active principle…. He is often interpreted as being dynamic, agile and sharp-witted, a true “magician” of his own life. He may therefore also denote willpower and creativity.
The Popess or High Priestess is usually interpreted as denoting intuition and the inner voice of wisdom. She represents spirituality as opposed to the religious conformity of the Pope or Hierophant. As Carole Sédillot writes in Ombres et Lumières du Tarot: “Spirituality isn’t defined by the enclosure of the spirit in a dogma - whether religious or otherwise - but by opening the spirit to vast and new horizons that offer it evolution and elevation.”
Because of the depiction of the two pillars and mosaic pavement on some decks, ‘initiation’ is also at times suggested.
The Emperor sounds like Superman and the High Priestess is Wonder Woman, but the Magician’s reference to “willpower and creativity” puts me in mind of a Green Lantern. Yeah, yeah, Batman’s willful and creative too….
– The card partially obscured in the corner of panel 4 looks a lot like Rita in her Panel 3 pose.
Page 16/4
– “A cranberry scone and coffee to go”: you know, I’m a little surprised this wasn’t the story title. “Who knows what crullers might strike,” indeed!
– Rita is channeling old issues of Green Lantern for the skinny on Blindside, Throttle, and Whiteout.
– I should probably point out that these three chuckleheads do comprise a “trinity” of sorts, although I’m reluctant to match them up with our Trinitarians.
Page 17/5
– After two issues of teasing, José’s back in costume.
Page 18/6
– Whiteout’s abilities aren’t quite explained, either here or in those old Green Lanterns, but I presume he’s shifting whatever he “erases” into another dimension so it can’t quite interact with this one.
Page 19/7
– No annotations.
Page 20/8
– No annotations.
Page 21/9
– I don’t remember Gangbuster using a gun, but again, it’s been a while.
– “Throttle’s head will grow back soon”: I’m not sure how José knows this, considering how obscure these guys are. Still, it could just be a general rule of super-powers: if the super-guy is unconscious, the effects of his powers will fade after a while. Like José said, he’s seen a lot in Metropolis.
Page 22/10
– Thanks to the main story, we know that these are Morgaine’s minions, and we can probably connect them to Rita’s furry savior.
* * *
Well, that’s all I have for this week. Have a safe and happy Independence Day, for those who celebrate it, and I’ll be back next Thursday!
July 3rd, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Did Gangbuster lose his symbol before Trinity, or was it part of the redesign of his costume for this series?
July 3rd, 2008 at 6:45 pm
I don’t have the comic in front of me to check, but those metal bands looked like an improvisational use of Batarangs to me.
July 3rd, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Actually, the bands holding Graak are Batarangs; look closer and you can see the familiar shape of Bruce’s favorite thrown weapon.
July 3rd, 2008 at 6:53 pm
One other thought — the discrepancy between Morgaine’s vision and Rita’s actual thoughts during the reading could simply be the difference between what might be, or likely to be, as she said her visions revealed — and what actually is. Close enough to be very, very impressive, but some details are going to change between the potential of the vision and the actuality of the event itself.
July 3rd, 2008 at 7:53 pm
“As mentioned in the annotations for issue #1, the D.E.O. is the federal Department of Extranormal Operations, Diana Prince’s current employer. It was created by D. Curtis Johnson and J.H. Williams III for the short-lived series Chase (February 1998-November 1998), and first appeared in Batman #550 (January 1998). Since then it has become ubiquitous in the DC universe as a catch-all agency dealing with super-people.”
Wonder Woman aka Diana Prince works for the Department of Metahuman Affairs, led by Sarge Steel. I don’t know when it and where it was created. The DEO is another separate organization.
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Chris: So corrected. The DMA first appeared in Wonder Woman vol. 3 #1 (August 2006). Looks like I picked the wrong time to stop sniffing glue.
Regarding Batarangs: I looked at that panel for what felt like an eternity, and I can see where those things have Bat-features, but I wasn’t going to commit. I figure a more versatile Bat-tool would have some electromagnetic feature, so he could just clamp ‘em on to whatever was handy — thus, a more high-tech version of the Bat-cuffs.
Ticknart: I think this is a symbol-less redesign.
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:13 pm
… Actually, let me do some thinking, and maybe some more research, on the DMA/DEO thing. From poking around the Internet, it looks like one is a part of the other. Most folks seem to think that the DMA is part of the DEO, so that Sarge Steel reports to Director Bones. However, Amanda Waller was a Cabinet-level Secretary of Metahuman Affairs for President Luthor, so you’d think the Department of Metahuman Affairs would be the larger organization. (By the way, the current version of Checkmate is out of the picture entirely, since it is a UN agency.)
When you get down to it, they both look like SHIELD anyway….
July 4th, 2008 at 12:23 am
A few responses:
>> Last week I thought Batman’s comm channel to Superman might be on a special his-ears-only frequency. Score one for me, apparently.>>
Batman’s not using a comm-channel. He’s just talking, knowing Superman’s listening with his super-hearing.
>>“Book of Toth”: Rita probably means the “Book of Thoth,” the name given to a particular deck of Tarot cards painted by Lady Frieda Harris under the direction of occultist Aleister Crowley.>>
Yeah, but it often gets called The Book of Toth, too, and it seems that’s the name Rita’s familiar with.
>> “A cranberry scone and coffee to go”: you know, I’m a little surprised this wasn’t the story title.>>
It almost was. But “Knight in Shiny Armor” is funny in a different way, so…
>> Did Gangbuster lose his symbol before Trinity, or was it part of the redesign of his costume for this series? >>
Part of the redesign.
>> One other thought — the discrepancy between Morgaine’s vision and Rita’s actual thoughts during the reading could simply be the difference between what might be, or likely to be, as she said her visions revealed — and what actually is. Close enough to be very, very impressive, but some details are going to change between the potential of the vision and the actuality of the event itself.>>
You are a wise man, sir.
kdb
July 4th, 2008 at 10:15 am
I could be remembering incorrectly, but I could have swore Gangbuster died at the hands of an Omac sometime before or during Infinite Crisis. Anyone remember?
July 4th, 2008 at 10:54 am
re: the lasso– pre-crisis, it wasn’t simply a truth-compelling device, it was an anything-compelling device. Wonder Woman could demand those bound to do anything she commanded, including telling the truth. Wonder Woman herself, as I’m sure all you pervs out there remember, could also be bound and compelled to do the holder’s wishes.
It wasn’t until the revamp in ‘86 that the lasso became solely a truth-demanding device. I don’t think the the “inner truth” was right there at the beginning of ‘86, but something developed over time.
July 4th, 2008 at 11:33 am
And here I thought the ending to the main story WAS exactly the same as the same as the scene in issue #1… I stand corrected. Thanks for Rob S’ thoughts and Kurt’s confirmation of what Rob S said. I was struggling with this, and wondering why the hell we’d get the same (or almost same) scene over again. Part of me worried that it was priniting error! Glad to know it was meant to be there. It actually makes sense now.
Then there’s Throttle’s head… Aside from being just plain weird, did his head actually vanish or was it still there and just invisible? Throttle being able to do anything without a head — not just grabbing Jose and accelerating his heart rate, but simply being able to, um, LIVE — requires some explanation methinks.
July 4th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Three comments:
1. The Gangbuster logo may be gone, but now he has brass knuckles that read “GANG” and “BUST”. Awesomeness is maintained.
2. Note the sunset and night-time sky on pages 10 and 11 (IIR). Issues 1 through 5 is basically about how the Trinitarians spent their day, which lends a cool perspective on events.
3. I insist that “sciencelizard” become a popular catchphrase.
“I could be remembering incorrectly, but I could have swore Gangbuster died at the hands of an Omac sometime before or during Infinite Crisis. Anyone remember?”
What am I, a sciencelizard? I don’t recall him dying in Infinite Crisis. Are you thinking of Ratcatcher?
July 4th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
just wanna say… Kurt you are so cool to be taking time amidst your busy schedule to be posting here. Thanks for the effort!
July 5th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Lovin this book! So much better and well plotted out than Countdown. All the creators involved appear to be enjoying themselves. Look forward to continuing on…
July 5th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Why are Wonder Woman’s briefs so thongish? Too much ass! The Dodson’s redesign was a full brief like on the cover of this weeks issue.
July 6th, 2008 at 10:49 am
It’s just a drawing, I know, but there’s nothing wrong with Wonder Woman’s ass…
July 8th, 2008 at 9:45 am
I the the difference within the DEO and the DMA are in their names. The DMA is designed very specifically to deal with Metahumans, the DCU term for mutants (although many aliens are called metas as well, in the strictest sense metahuman specifically deals with humans with an active metagene). THE DEO has a wider mandate, dealing with all crimes and incidents beyond the norm, including extraterrestrials, magic, and high/bizarre tech. This does cause some issues, as technically, prior to the creation of the DMA, metas fell under the DEO’s mandate, and while this has never been explored, there is no indication anywhere in the comics that Sarge Steel answers to Director Bones, and he seems to act with autonomy, so this could lead to issues down the line.