#batlash

[aboutzatanna]

Hey, remember that JLU episode titled ‘The Once And Future Thing: Weird Western Tales’ where a couple of JL members ended up stranded in the old West thanks to time travel?  

Well, turns out there was a comic book very similar to it written by Gerry Conway with art by Don Heck but starring a different set of JL members which may or may not have been the inspiration for the episode:   

The episode was written by the late Dwayne McDuffie who was no stranger to writing in references to older comics. For instance, the two parter ‘Brave and the Bold’ Flash’s hallucinations were references to various Silver Age Flash comic covers and he was also very open about the fact that the line up for the Terra Beyond two parter was based on Marvel comics Defenders (no not the Netflix team, the one with Namor and Dr Strange). Even the episode title itself, ‘Weird Western Tales’ is a reference to the long running anthology series of the same name featuring DC’s western characters. 

The story arc in the comics ran from Justice League of America Vol 1 #198-199.     

While it’s hard to conclusively say that the episode was inspired by the comic, there are some interesting similarities like Batlash’s introduction here:   

I posted Zatanna’s meeting with Cinnamon earlier in another post but here is a little excerpt:  

Interesting to note that one of the goons calls her an ‘Eastern Filly’ (is it because of the way she was dressed or a subtle hint that she is not 100% Caucasian?).  The heroes and their new Western cowboy friends all meet at a Saloon: 

Then they all ride off on horses out of town to confront the villain and of course, faces robot cowboys:   

The differences begin with the choice of the time travelling villain, the comic went with classic JL villain: the Lord of Time:   

JLU went with David Clinton, aka Chronos. He’s a different villain who is primarily the enemy of the Atom/Ray Palmer but has also fought the JL on occasion.   

The Lord of Time on the other hand, is a conqueror from the future who travelled back in time with future technology to conquer the past and rule the future. Sound familiar? He was Kang before Kang.  Since JLU’s version of Chronos comes from the future, you could make a case that version is a combination Chronos and Lord of Time.   

Then of course,  there is the line up, the comic features Zatanna, Elongated Man, Barry Allen and Hal Jordan whereas the show features Wonder Woman, Batman and Green Lantern.  Superman also appears trying to thwart the Lord of Time in the present day.     

On the Western heroes side, we got Diablo instead of Cinnamon and Scalphunter is replaced by Pow Wow Smith (and it only takes a cursory glance at the characters wikipedia pages to see why the socially conscious Dwayne McDuffie made that choice).   

The plot of the JLU episode involved a corrupt sheriff using future technology to take over the town but the plot of the comic is a little different. The Lord of Time sent the heroes back in time, erased their memories, because an anti matter meteor was set to strike earth on that day.   The LoT is counting on the heroes to stop the meteor so he can have it for himself so he can use it to conquer the world.  (Why he doesn’t just get the meteor himself? Maybe he didn’t have the technology to?) 

Anyway, the heroes learn about the anti matter meteor heading towards them, Zatanna is reluctant to leave her new found cowgirl girlfriend with her friends to fight the robots:

But she ends up going anyway:   

Can I just say, I really like this shot of Zee and Green Lantern flying together? Even though she is depowered during this period, they never really stuck strictly to the ‘she can only manipulate the elements’ ethos.  Having her flying alongside GL and being unabashed powerhouse is really cool and shows her place among the DCU. There is no ‘she has to be taken out so someone else can shine’ bs here.  Also, reading these comics, I have felt that GL makes the most sense as the field leader of the JL; power based on creativity and will power and they are specifically trained to work together and take on strange extra terrestrial or otherwise threats. I think any of the human GL’s (except maybe Guy) can lead the team.  

Zatanna and GL  manage to stop the meteor. But in present timeline the Lord of Time ends up defeated by Superman (early on he got in a kryptonite trap set by the LoT but managed to escape) just as the time trapped Leaguers make their way back.      

Awww, a krytonite waterfall wasn’t that bad, Clark.    

Overall, the issue was alright. It does feel like placeholder (albeit a fun one) before the big #200 celebration issue (I posted some scans from that here). Come to think of it, the episode came off as filler as well, with the Western parts feeling like a fun romp and ultimately inconsequential to the arcs of the main heroes but the follow up portion set in the Batman Beyond timeline was more impactful and memorable.   

[zahri-melitor]

DCU Holiday Bash III #1

World's Finest Christmas: a Superman and Batman story. Toyman creates a giant Captain Adventure robot to fight Superman and Batman. (Clark had Captain Adventure as an action figure as a kid). During the fight the house of the Lattems gets flattened. Clark suggests doing something for them as it's Christmas, Bruce points out they have each other which is a lot more than some people have.

"Do it your way, then...and I'll do it mine."

Superman rebuilds the house and brings his own supplies to do it.

Batman sends Alfred on behalf of the Wayne Foundation to offer Mr Lattem a job designing toys for needy children.

The Joker's Twelve Days of Christmas. This is actually excluded from the DCUI copy of the issue, and after glancing at it I hmmmm am wondering why. Too violent? Too many lines crossed?

The one fascinating point for it is Joker mentions TWO dead sidekicks, here in 1999. Is he dreaming? Counting Barbara? Optimistic?

Heathen Ways: Diana, Artemis, the Sandsmarks and Jason Blood. Cassie Sandsmark is the tiniest human being in this story. She looks about 8.

Diana and Artemis argue over her participation in non-Themysciran rituals for a religion she does not practice. Diana says it’s about family and ritual and gifting. Artemis is mad about celebrating another religion’s holy day when the Greek gods are dying.

So Diana and Artemis have a beat down fight “just like the Solstice Day contest on Themyscira”. Awwww.

Alone for the Holidays: Robin. This story always makes me laugh, as it's one of the few times we see Jack leave Tim with no supervision. Jack and Dana are in Chicago and their flight home gets snowed in, so Tim's all on his own for Christmas. Right until he gets a message from Oracle that there's an emergency, and heads to the Clocktower to find... Babs, Dick, Alfred and Harold having a Loner's Christmas Party. The funniest part is of course that Bruce isn't present.

Home for the Holidays. Set in the Slab. Mark Scheffer (Shrapnel) arranges to break out of the Slab to see his wife and twin daughters for Christmas, after they don’t visit. The other characters in the Slab are definitely a mix of ‘oh it’s that guy’ D listers.

I really like this piece for a few reasons - humanising those incarcerated and the villains of DC, and also showing that telling a good story doesn’t rely on familiarity with the characters involved. That isn’t as common as it should be, in comics.

An Eye for Detail: Batlash. Batlash stops by a cottage and finds a group of crooks trying to get an old man to sign over the title to his farm. Batlash beats them up and then kisses the man’s hot 20ish year old daughter.

No Bart, There Is No Santa Claus. Our real Santa story!

I love Bart and Max together. So much. They’ve just got such a special dynamic in their mentor-student relationship.

Max realises Santa sounds like a standard superhero to Bart and despairs.

Oh Max.

Anyway Bart manages to give everyone he can find a promo of the game he’s desperate to get for Christmas. And all his own presents. Since Max has told him that it’s the thought that counts.

And when he gets home with Max…Santa has been and left new presents!

[fantajoseph]

Well, I don't think he'd be there for the vote, but I do think he'd be kind of determined to prove he belongs there, more than anything. It also occurs to me this leaves them at a tie. Superboy might argue that Eo should get a vote since it's down to the wire, or it might be a matter of someone changing their mind. Buddy and Kamandi are friends, so it might be Buddy changing Kamandi's mind as they argue about what each other voted. I might also bring in Batlash? He could either serve to break the tie or too replace Eo on the team. Also Corky Baxter, the kid brother of Rip Hunter's girlfriend, might replace Eo as the time travel expert.

The Centurions are inspired by the way the Legion used Superboy: he would be taken forward in time, go on an adventure and hang out, and then be taken back, erasing his memory of the Legion and their time period, and then later be taken forward in time again. However, whenever he was taken time traveling by the Legion, he would remember all of his adventures with them. The Centurions would all use this system, which they would know about in advance. However, while Clark mostly learned "you're super revered in the future" and was told this right at the start, the Centurions are not told about their fates directly, and a source of drama would often be what they know about each other, and when they do learn about their own fates, the decision of whether they still want to be part of the Centurions where they know it and can't change it.

I think Eo and Ekron likely go AWOL at some point, making a wreck of time in the process and having to reconcile with the rest of the team for it (maybe it's just Ekron and Eo just follows him to try and do damage control, and then drama where other Centurions assumed he was the one messing up the timeline).

OH, that's interesting, especially where the Centurions don't directly know what their fate is. Yeah, I'd imagine a lot of drama starts up from people living in the future knowing more about just... things in general, but also the fate of their teammates, whether that be good or bad.

I bet it takes a lot of coming to terms with his fate for Eo to really accept his place on the team. Maybe the timeline crashing because Ekron and Eo go AWOL to try to escape their destinies of "getting eye cut out and used for evil" and "becoming a mass-murdering supervillain". That or the second scenario, where Ekron goes off for the same reason as above, Eo chases him to try to get him to stop and come back, but the fact that he's a speedster messes things up way more than they would have originally. That could even be the way he finds out he becomes the Reverse Flash in the future- messing up the timeline horribly while trying to help a teammate save themself from their future.

[ammeyers]

$3 pick up. #Batlash #DCComics #comicbook #comic #comics #comicbooks #igcomics #igcomicbooks #igcomicsfamily #igcomicfamily #comicbookfamily #comicbookcollector #comicbookcollection #comiccollector #comiccollecting #comiccollections #igcomicscommunity https://www.instagram.com/p/B8lsNtXhnhY/?igshid=1wigr5qpkpiwf

[nfcomics]

Saw a pic Jackie Estrada posted on FB and then remembered this great Frankenstein mini canvas painting I bought from Batton Lash a few years ago. ❤️ #battonlash #exhibitapress #batlash #frankenstein #originalart (at San Diego Convention Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzohJH3BSOf/?igshid=1g9mgsphvwbqh

[uncannyfantastic]

Nick Cardy’s cover art for Bat Lash #2, January 1969. . #nickcardy #batlash #comicbook #dc #comicbookcover #coverart

[stetheh]

#Batlash #western #silveragecomics #silverage #igcomicbookfamily #comics #comicbooks #comicbookcollector #comicbookfiendclub #comiccollecting #igcomiccommunity #comicbookcollection #comicbook #comiccon #igcomicbookcommunity #igcomicfamily #igcomicbooks #marvel #dc #dccomics #dcuniverse #marvelcomics #marvelstudios #comicbookgeek #cosplay #instagood #instagramcomics #stetheh #mcu #cosplayersofinstagram (at Lower Breck, Liverpool) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9sEQcbBDx6/?igshid=1s84hekdziy7w

[silveragelovechild]

[1800getatom]

#inktober! Here are some #dccomics legends you’ll find out on the #trail! #batlash #jonahhex and the always cool #vigilante #1800getatom #turlocktoonskwad #comicbookartist #sketchbook #sketchdaily #turlockart #comicbookart #comicbookartist #instagood #sketch_dailies #artstagram #sketchartist #draw #doodles #igers #instaart #instagood #igers #sketches #dccomics #inktoberskwad #kuretake #kuretakeinktober #inktober2017 #western #spaghettiwestern (at Turlock, California)

[beatrixcherry]

Eyes eyes bby ✨

[airmanisr]

BatLash by Randsom

[aboutzatanna]

From JLA #198-199; Zatanna and Cinnamon have only known each other for less than half a day and yet their entire energy is basically ‘I’ll die for you”. 

Literal first meeting where Zee is amnesiac:

Meeting her friends:  

Teaming up with the Leaguers: 

And not wanting to to leave behind her new cowgirl friend to face danger alone and not be separated from each other:

The fact that Cinnamon was later revealed to be a reincarnation of Hawkgirl nearly two decades later adds another layer to this (although not the same Hawkgirl that Zee knew on JLA except for that times that it was....it’s.....complicated).  

Also this two parter may or may not have been the inspiration for the JLU episode ‘The Once and Future Thing Part 1: Weird Western Tales’.  

[ufonaut]

CURRENTLY COMPLETELY INCONSOLABLE OVER SHADE’S JOURNAL ENTRY ABOUT ONE OF HIS FIRST ENCOUNTERS WITH BRIAN SAVAGE FROM THE SHADE (1997) #2

TRANSCRIPT UNDER THE CUT:

In the weeks that followed this, while he tried to find the funds to pay his debts, I heard of a plot to kill him. Old enemies. Three gunfighters, with bad breath and bad smelling clothes. They hunted Savage down and chose a moment when Savage was enjoying a doxy’s charms to literally catch him without his weapon (or at least one with which he might kill them, haha). Savage surely would have died if not for my intervention.

“I didn’t like you none,” Savage told me with a snarl as he dressed himself. “Thought you a mite swishy with your voice and your face and your lah-de-dah ways. All the time I was losing to you at cards, I was praying for a glimpse o’ you dealing from the underside or getting an ace from out of them flowery sleeves of yours.”

“That would have given me the chance to nail you ‘tween the eyes. Been a while since I cut a scalp free of a man��s skull, but had I killed you, I’d be surely tempted to renew old habits. Yeah, the fruity pomade on your hair would a sweetened up my office. Hell, it’s enough it would’ve sweetened up the stable.”

“Is this your idea of a thank you?” I said with a tone of bemused indignation. “Good heavens, if it is, then I fear your insults.”

Savage began rolling a cigarette. “I ain’t insulting you. You’d know for sure if I was. I’m just saying that I’m glad I didn’t kill you.” He lit up, striking the match to flame upon the inside of his fingernail. “Knew a fella called Batlash. He was like you. Smug and a mite swishy. Smelled like a bordello, but I got to like him pretty much ‘fore long. Only tried to kill him twice before that. Turned out I was happy I didn’t then too.”

“Pray give me his address,” I replied, “Perhaps there’s a club we can form.”

Savage’s expression became dark. “You joke but when I hate I hate, and when I don’t I don’t. N’ I don’t hate you no more. And worse for me, I owe you.”

[brian06872]

Day 23 of #drawlloween2017 Aw, Hex, read my note. #batlash #wierdwesterntales #blacklanterncorps #pulledaswitcheroo (at Belton, South Carolina)

[ammeyers]

This was in the collection I got recently. #BatLash #dccomics #comicbook #comic #comics #comicbooks #igcomics #igcomicbooks #igcomicsfamily #igcomicfamily #comicbookfamily #comicbookcollector #comicbookcollection #comiccollector #comiccollecting #comiccollections #igcomicscommunity https://www.instagram.com/p/Clmg5zoP-he/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ao3feed-timdrake]

Movie Night: The Batlash

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2XsBavs

by Tanaletheia

Sequel to Correlation and Causation

Steph and Jason at a lot of fun in her class today. It would be irresponsible not to share their joy with the family.

Words: 7841, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 2 of Living With Your Secret Identity

Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, DCU

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Characters: Jason Todd, Stephanie Brown, Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain, Alfred Pennyworth

Relationships: Stephanie Brown & Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth & Jason Todd

Additional Tags: Batfamily Shenanigans, batfam, Movie Night, Crack, Secret Identity, Bat Family, Bat Brothers, Family Bonding, Humor, Family Fluff, Superheroes, superheroes living ordinary lives, Hijinks & Shenanigans

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2XsBavs