#because Skartaris

[zahri-melitor]

Sometimes I wonder if I do come across as one of 'those' DC readers hung up on Bat comics and only Bat comics, and then I look at myself and the fact I just squealed loudly at the sight of Jenny Sparks' skeleton in a comic and I think I'm probably doing okay, even if I have read more Bat comics than any other sort.

[ruoshik0]

Tim is a dragon. And dragons are pinnacles of magic (among mortals).

You see, people tend to think that only someone with the Homo Magi genes can use magic. That’s not true. Because Dragons are the superior, better magic users. Not to mention smarter and stronger. Has never ending supplies of magic and doesn’t have to chant or do rituals or use sigils or all that fun stuff.

Did Tim mention smarter? No? Because they are smarter. And stronger.

A Dragon scale is the most durable piece of armor you could ever find. Cover yourself with them and suddenly, you are more indestructible than kryptonians with their steel skin.

Dragons can also do a whole lotta type of magic.

Dragons are OP. Is what Tim is tryna say.

And they are also the most arrogant pieces of shits you could ever find walking this green earth. Tim would know. Tim is a dragon. Even if on the milder side, he is still a Professional Hater to everyone in his vicinity. And while Tim knows to keep quiet about his cards, he would never turn down chance of quietly bragging what he can do to others.

No, Tim is not a show-off. Tim just likes seeing you despair about your own incapability.

Dragons are also solitary creatures. With how long their lifespan typically is, it’s only a matter of time before your self isolation from grief becomes part of your genes, ingrained into your instincts further down the family line.

It’s also the reason why Tim got his own Nest, and a penthouse at the first chance he saw. That is; right after Bruce is back. It was the only time socially acceptable to move away. The emotions among the humans were high (As Tim is kinda partially masquerading as a human, he thinks being told to seek professional help when he presented a perfectly good theory and evidence to back it up to Dick is upsetting enough. Probably. If not, then he can play up his journey around the globe and stuff, easy. As you can see, dragons don’t really do emotions and such very well), there was a lot of tension and awkwardness, and Tim found the hovering Dick (even though he visits rarely right now) and the murderous Damian just a tad too annoying to deal with nowadays.

You can’t really blame Tim. It’s in his nature to be alone and perfectly happy. Dragons, as complex as they are, are also simple as can be.

You just need a lot riches, big space, and isolation to make a dragon happy.

And now, Tim had all three. Yippee! Except now the family thinks he is pulling away and distancing himself. Tim should really tell them that he’s not a human at this rate, it’s becoming beyond annoying.

And would you look at that! A rogue wizard causing terror in Gotham because he is an ignorant piece of shit. Totally not Tim’s doing. He just… you know. Spread a bit of a rumor in the wizarding world named Skartaris and waited for a bit.

By bit, he meant like half a year. So yes, bit. Quicker than expected though.

Time to scare this little wizard with his Draconic nature in front of the Bats as it seems like it will become a all-hands-on-deck type of situation. YJ would so pay to watch this shitshow.

[docgold13]

Heroes & Villains The DC Animated Universe - Paper Cut-Out Portraits and Profiles

S.T.R.I.P.E.

A brilliant inventor and engineer, Pat Dugan created an advanced battle suit that he called the Special Tactics Robotic Integrated Power Enhancer (or S.T.R.I.P.E.).  Dugan built this armor because his step daughter, Courtney Whitmore had obtained the Cosmic Staff and was headstrong set on using it to become the super heroine known as Stargirl.  Dugan was unable to dissuade Courtney from this brave yet dangerous path so he built STRIPE so that he might battle at her side and do his best to keep her out of trouble.  

Although he started out as merely an overly protective parent, Dugan actually thrived as STRIPE and he and Stargirl proved to be a highly formidable crime-fighting duo.  

When the Justice League expanded its ranks both Stargirl and STRIPE were invited to join.  Once more Dugan was hesitant over the potential dangers involved in accepting this offer, but his stepdaughter was not going to pass up the opportunity.  As such, both ended up members of the League.

As a part of the team, STRIPE aided in the battles against Amazo, Mordru, the Dark Heart invasion, the Ultimen as well as Deimos's army in Skartaris. Throughout it all, STRIPE and Stargirl fought side by side with Dugan continuously watching out for Stargirl and doing his best to keep his partner's youthful, reckless behavior in check.

Phil LaMarr provided the voice for STRIPE with the hero first appearing the premier episode of the first season of Justice League Unlimited, ‘Initiation.’  

[gorogues]

Spoilers for Flash #14!

You can see the preview pages here.

So I'm not sure why everyone in this issue thinks Marco's a joke -- Wally, the new warden of Iron Heights, Irey -- but for some reason everyone finds him completely laughable and is making fun of him. They do know what he's capable of, right..? No wonder he's off to a new land where he finally gets some respect and is apparently considered an all-powerful sorceror. There's no word on whose voice he heard to lead him there, but it seems like Godspeed might be hearing it too.

Another development is that a lot of the prisoners in Iron Heights have had changes to their powers after the events in "Absolute Power", so we might be seeing somewhat altered Rogues and other Flash villains in the future…that might play out in interesting ways if the writers are creative about it. August has apparently lost his duplication ability and maybe his speed, and Wally may have gained that duplication power because he's seen in Skartaris and the Watchtower at the same time. It's never been clear to me whether Marco still has metahuman powers or not, but if he does that could explain why he's different now.

(Barry has lost his powers completely and claims to be very happy with that, but after Wally leaves he indicates that he may be less okay than he's been letting on. He's definitely over-compensating in the "I'm happy!" department.)

Anyway, it turns out that the West family trip to Skartaris is not a ridiculous flight of fancy on Wally's part; he organized a trip there to deal with Marco without telling them until Jai rightfully shames his dad for keeping it a secret from Linda and the kids. Also, Red Tornado was a dick about Wally taking a family vacation during a time of stress, so that undoubtedly didn't help with the decisions Wally made. He's experiencing competing pressures (family and the Justice League) on at least two fronts.

One wonders what Warden Wolfe's up to now that he's been gone for a surprisingly long time, but that isn't Wally's problem until/unless it finally becomes one. It's interesting that his absence is specifically mentioned, though.

Hopefully this arc garners Marco some respect in-universe, but it really does seem weird that he had very little before it. It reminds me of James Jesse and Iris deeming Roscoe 'the least of the Rogues' back in the Waid era; it's just inexplicable that such powerful villains get dismissed as complete losers and non-threats by seemingly everyone around them. Presumably it's to pump them up for ThEIr bIG STorY arC as sudden scary badasses, but it comes across as very lazy writing when the writer could establish them as reaching previously untapped potential but not pretending they were formerly a joke. I dunno, this approach leaves me rather sour, but we'll see what happens in the rest of the arc.

[androxys]

Gotta ask 11 for the ask meme just to let you go on about the answer. Otherwise, 16 out of interest.

11: Birds of Prey or Outsiders?

Zahri, you're so good to me. I'm sure it will shock everyone who follows me when I choose the Birds, because, come on. I'm going to have to disclaim here at the beginning that I am woefully under-read with regards to the Outsiders, and I largely know them through their appearances in other stories. (The Insiders, CheckOut, the Reborn era Hush-sitting)

For one, the Outsiders don't have the objectively greatest character of all time, Oracle!Barbara, as a main character so they're starting off at a distinct disadvantage.

Secondly, and this is so hypocritical of me, but the Outsiders are just so... messy? Like, to compare Birds of Prey and the Outsiders you have to first clarify which iteration of the Outsiders you're talking about. Is this first wave, Batman and the Outsiders with Katana, Black Lightning, Metamorpho, Geo-Force, and Halo? Is this Nightwing's post-Graduation Day Outsiders with Arsenal, and none of the above? Is this the One Year Later Outsiders that remixes those two? I like when a superhero team is grounded in their "paragon" members--for the JLA, that's the Trinity. For the BoP, that's Babs and Dinah. Outsiders seems to have more of an identity crisis, because the characters I would say are most essential to the team (Katana, Black Lightning, Metamorpho) don't appear half the time.

This is a small aside, but I as a reader love to see how the DCU is affected by Batman even more than I like to actually see Batman. Show me the ripples of an interconnected universe: Young Justice worried that Tim is going to Babel them, Zatanna being on the outs with Bruce in her ongoing after Identity Crisis, all the passing references that happened to NML and BW:M. The Outsiders have this... presupposed connection to Batman that I feel like would make them attractive to me for this reason, but ultimate it just leaves me cold. If he's going to be a meaningful part of the team, sure, show his relationship to his teammates and what that means. But Dick handing ownership of the Outsiders over to Bruce after CheckOut always struck me as bizarre.

On the other hand, I have waxed poetic many times about how the Birds of Prey are not Batman's. They are Oracle's. This gets back to the paragon-ness of what I was saying earlier, but there is a distinct divide from Batman that is really important to the theme of BoP! And in a DC Universe where "Batman creep" seems to keep growing, it's nice to have a team where Batman's-- exclusion isn't quite right but we'll roll with it--is a necessary component? It's special.

There are a million things I can say about the Birds and why I love them but I'll leave it there for now because this is long enough.

16. Skartaris or Gorilla City?

Gorilla City! It's the perfect amount of comics-silliness taken seriously. An advanced hidden city of super-intelligent Gorillas? Of course!

Link to the Ask Game

[wyrmfedgrave]

Pics:

1. Detailed & yet clear, Skartaris map.

2. Travis Morgan explains the Hollow Earth Theory - to friends & readers!

3. Mike Grell's cover artwork. Note Deimos rising out of the background!

4. The women in Travis's life - from his daughter to Tara, his wife, to his catty companion to the werewolf's lover!

5. Most photo-realistic shot of the Warlord, in his best costume of all time! But, the sword is a soul stealer that he destroyed awhile back!!

6 thru 8. Travis likes the life of a swashbuckler to that of a ruler. So, in that respect, he's different from Conan & King Kull. He's more like Solomon Kane, forever seeking a new 'crusade'...

1906: The Earth (is) Not Hollow.

Intro: DC's Warlord is an American comic book series about Travis Morgan adventuring in a Hollow Earth.

Plot: Travis was an Air Force pilot & Vietnam War vet who crash lands in the Inner World of Skartaris.

This is a land of advanced ancient tech, dinos, an eternal noon; plus, swords & sorcery!

In his fight to survive, he becomes involved with Shamballah's princess, befriends several shapeshifters (one turns into a cat; the other is a Russian werewolf!) & fights for the freedom of folk from tyranny!!

Yet, Travis avoided becoming the ruler of Skartaris, as he prefers life as an adventurer...

Homages to Edgar Rice Burroughs' Pellucidar & John Carter of Mars abound thruout the Warlord series.

But, it has the breadth to include some rarities.

In 1 story arc (#84), Travis becomes President of a dystopian future USA!

He even meets the Skartarian version of Death (#14) & escapes her scantily clad embrace - for now!!

During this adventure, Travis learns that he's the latest incarnation in a legacy of legendary heroes!

This relevation gives him the resolve to deny Death's 'allure!'

Given the chance to go home, Travis always chooses to remain in Skartaris.

And, when he has the opportunity to live in peace, Travis always passes it up. Mostly, because he's an adrenaline junkie...

It all sounds as being quite apart from the regular DC timeline. But, nothing could be further from the truth.

The Warlord has appeared thruout the DC Multiverse: in Crisis on Infinite Earths, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Teen Titans, Convergence, etc.

BTW, Travis has a sorceress daughter & a once young son - who's now heir to Shamballah's throne.

And, there's also multiple versions of Travis out in the alternate timelines of the DC Multiverse...

What we're still trying to figure out is if Shakira is more cat than human...

Criticism: There's a tradition, in comic books, of self-contained series that are a passion project for its creator.

Warlord is such a work.

Grell's series is a masterful blend of classic sword & sorcery themes, mixed up with the sci-fi tropes of Jules Verne & Edgar Rice Burroughs!

All the stories & art are excellent thruout Grell's run. The writer-artist's sheer joy in handling the characters is quite evident.

And, though it contains Hollow Earth & Land That Time Forgot tropes, this is a fully realized fantasy world.

The story unfolds slowly, like an illustrated novel. It's all wonderfully done - with special attention given to the beautiful, but, deadly ladies in his 'orbit.'

Weird Shit: Grell has admitted that his version of Green Arrow is actually the same character as his Warlord.

The reason for this is that Grell patterns his creations - as fantastic versions of himself!

Notes: There's been some minor changes made so that Skartaris can function within the larger DC Multiverse.

Otherwise, this Inner World would be affected by every event that occurred 'topside.'

Yet, Skartaris is too connected to exist solely by itself. I mean Apokalips once invaded it - looking for some mineral!!

Logically, it should be an alternate, magical plane - like Gemworld or the Land of the Nightshades...

Plot wise, this is made possible by the creation of the Paths Beyond in the 1st Shadowpact run.

This also fits in with the knowledge that time "flows differently" within Skartaris.

It's what allowed Tinder, Travis's son, to grow to adulthood & become heir to Shamballah.

There's some kind of accelerated time force involved here...

Output: Mike Grell created The Warlord for First Issue Special #8 in 1974.

Warlord became a series in 1976 & lasted 133 issues & 6 Annuals!

Grell wrote & drew the 1st 52 issues. Then, Sharon (his wife) wrote the title til issue #71 & Grell only drew the covers.

This was while Grell wrote Starslayer, Jon Sable, Freelance & other works.

(All being great work that you should find & read...)

Afterwards, The Warlord returned in various series in 1992, 2006 & 2009!

Sadly, the 2006 series was so bad - it got cancelled after 10 issues. This run is usually ignored in modern DC continuity.

Grell returned in 2009.

His new series revealed that Travis hasn't aged since he arrived during the 1970s!!

This 'timelessness' affects everything in Skartaris...

Like, Deimos keeps coming back for revenge. But, always in worst shape than before!

From having a scarred face to being a mere skull - on a golem's body!!

Also, Tara's death (in the 1992 series) was 'reversed.'

In the 2006 series, Travis got his Warlord title after leading a successful revolt of gladiator-slaves!

Skartaris was also retconned to be an alternate dimension, rather than being a 'normal' Hollow Earth.

And then, there's the 'original' Travis.

You know, the Warlord who led most of Skartaris's folks & animals in an exodus - to avoid dying at the final destruction of their world!!

They're still 'living' out there in the 'wild' - somewhere...

[radioactive-earthshine]

:) hi!! Thank you so much for the bartkon content and explaining them bc now I get it and can enjoy the ship. Do you have any other images showing them being protective of each other or saving each other? That’s what really I like in my ships is when they try so hard to protect. If not that's okay. You convinced me to read. Lol.

Hello! Glad to have more people appreciate the ship! As for them protecting/saving/guarding each other there are several moments where they both step up. There are more instances than what I'm going to show but here's a few I remember immediately because I just read these issues and they are fresh in my brain.

The epic following set comes from Teen Titans v.3 #82 (which has a lot of GREAT Kon/Bart moments).

Kon protects and guards a compromised Bart (he got burned) and gets 'barely tapped' later which prompts Bart to pummel Leonard 74 times, then they work together to get an edge over him which finally leads to his defeat.

Not necessarily "saving" Bart here but Kon sort of is (from falling to his death). TTv3 #83 & #84

Young Justice 1998 #5 Big bi energy, Kon grabs both Cassie and Bart (even if Cassie didn't need it).

Superboy #99

Bart saves "Conel" from death via his Scouts despite knowing they might die, and it might kill him in the process due to the last time a Scout died.

In Young Justice 2019 Bart goes above and beyond to save Conner from Dr. Glory, apologies for how blurry the text is.

"You know. Give him a second... He'll find Conner."

This is my absolute favorite spread showing Bart's powers at work and the look on his face when he finds out just where Dr. Glory sent Conner delights me to no end. That is a look of pure disgust and rage.

A little later Bart finds Kon in Skartaris and directs Sideaways to dispose of the kryptonite sword. If they were just seconds later, Kon would have died.

That's what I remember immediately for now, if anyone else has more moments feel free to add!

[aboutzatanna]

The Rules of Magic

One of the most frequently asked questions about Zatanna is how does her magic work? Can she really do anything by speaking backwards?    

Well there has been a few rules established about magic but they are disparate and spread out so I will try to coalesce all of them into a singular post. If I missed anything let me know. Also this post isn’t going to be listicle on magic I’m also going to add my own suggestions for how magic works in the DCU in order to fill in some of the blanks.  

Anyway, if I missed something or got something or you have your own suggestions let me know in the comments or through a PM.  

First, lets establish some ground rules: 

Magic began around the same time as the creation of the universe itself. When the Big Bang happened it also released magical energy into the universe as well.  

There are characters who are born with magical power, characters who are born with specific magical abilities, characters who get their powers from magical items or they have been physically altered by a magical item, potion or magical being.  There are multiple magical civilizations in the DCU: Atlantis, Themysicra, the Hidden City, Skartaris, Gemworld, the Land of Nighshades,  the village that Ice/Tora Olafsdotter hails from and countless others.  

There are equals, opposites and in-betweens when it comes to cosmic entities. The opposite of order is chaos, the opposite of creation is the Great Darkness seen in Swamp Thing (which in itself was a small piece of a much larger being), the opposite of Hecate is the Otherkind,  then you have beings like Dr Fate whom in some incarnations is either an agent of Order, a Lord of Order or in some versions an arbitrator between order and chaos. It really comes down to whoever is wearing the helmet. Then you have individual characters who act as opposites; famously Abel and Cain then you have Phantom Stranger and Spectre, Etrigan and Zauriel,   Spectre and Eclipso, Phantom Stranger and Madame Xanadu, etc.  

Where DC differs from Marvel primarily when it comes to magic is that in Marvel it’s a learned ability whereas in DC it’s usually an ability you are born with. Now, this a very simplified way of putting it since Marvel has characters who are born with magical power (usually as part of their mutant powers) like Scarlet Witch and Magik and DC has characters who are normal humans who learned magic like Kent Nelson, Inza Cramer and Jared Stevens. When Strange casts spells he is invoking the name of an inter dimensional being which in turn allows them more influence into his dimension, it’s usually Vishanti but even Dormammu’s dark dimension  is a place he’s sometimes drawn from as well but Strange can’t rely on one inter dimensional entity too much or they might endanger his realm. Hence why there are Dr Strange arcs where he has to make a faustian bargain with a powerful magical entity for more power because their power and longevity means they can create spells that no human can ever figure out within their life times.  

At DC too, other dimensional entities often play a role in granting power to individuals. One area where both Marvel and DC overlap are the ancient gods having their representatives or champions on earth. Marvel has Moon Knight as the current most famous example.  DC has Diana who was Athena and Artemis champions in the Perez era, Dr Fate is the host of Nabu and his representative, Spectre is the champion of the Presence/God himself, Captain Marvel/Billy Batson is the wizard Nabu’s champion and the  Merlin has his own champion in the form Jason Blood/Etrigan the Demon.  

Now, lets look at how DC has classified their magical characters:   

This was made by James Tynion IV for DC Nation #4 and I’m glad somebody at DC tried their hand in trying to consolidate the various magical characters into a cohesive system.  

But if you turn this into columns in a table in a database and try to slot in characters you’ll probably be bonked on the head by your supervisor and told to eliminate redundancies. Why do Sorcerer and Magician have to be separate?  Why do Guardian and Champion have to be separate? Or Archmage and Judge? Where do characters like Raven, Amethyst, Blue Devil, Enchantress, Vixen, Fire (Pre Crisis), Ice (Pre Winnick) and others fit in?    

So here is my attempt at a  more streamlined version in which I simplify this into 5 categories:  

-The Enchanted:

This category denotes characters who have no innate magical abilities but gained them via potions, magical item or by being cursed by a magical being.  

To be an Enchanted one you would have to have no innate magical power of your own prior to contact with a magical item (be it potion, magical items) and even if you have altered by a magical being, you’re still free to live your life the way you want to.    

Characters who fall into this category include:  

-Jim Rook/Nightmaster who was a rockstar whose power comes from a magic sword he found at an antique shop.

-Detective Chimp who became intelligent after drinking from the fountain of youth.  

-Blue Devil aka Daniel Cassidy who was a Hollywood stuntman cursed to look like a demon. The same applies to his side kick Kid Devil/Eddie Bloomberg.  

-Vixen/Marie Jiwe McCabe whose power comes from the magic totem passed down to her by her ancestors.  

-Sargon the Sorcerer, if he possesses no magical power without his  ruby then he falls into this category as well.  

-If the Gingold that Ralph Dibny drank that gave him magical powers was of magical origin then he would count too.

-Alan Scott would count too since he was a normal human, altered by the magical Starheart and later became an immortal green energy being and he ended up passing down those genes to Jade.

-Max Mercury also falls into this category as he was a normal human granted his speed powers by a Shaman.    

-Vandal Savage is harder to classify since the origin of his meteor has never been clarified and is constantly revised.    

-Ras and his Lazarus pits would count since the pits were always described as mystical in nature.  

- Bloodwynd whose power comes from the mystic Blood Gem created by African American slaves.    

-The JSA villain Ian Karkull who uses technology to harness the powers of the dark dimension would also count. Although he is an odd case of using technology to access magic.    

-Vampires, ghosts and werewolves count as well if they were once normal humans who were transformed into supernatural beings by other supernatural beings.  

Basically, magic is energy and that energy can imbued into any object either by a powerful sorcerer or entity or the object was exposed to ambient magical energy in it’s environment.  

If somebody was changed through exposure to a magical object or being then they are an enchanted.    

Characters who have no innate power but rely on magical books and artifacts in order to cast spells would also fall into this category.    

-Homo Magi:  

These are normal humans who possess the ability to manipulate magical energy both within their bodies and ambient magical energy within their environment to cast them spells.      

There are two categories of Homo Magi:  

Type 1 Homo Magi:

This category includes characters like Zatanna, John Zatara, Madame Xanadu, Dr Mist, Merlin, Arion, Traci 13, Manitou Raven, Nabu, they are characters who manipulate magical energy in it’s purest form and the energy is formed within their bodies. They can use this power to manipulate elements (earth, wind, fire, thunder), teleport, transmute objects, predict the future, create illusions and cast spells or curses.  There are many different ‘subjects’ of magic so it’s not unlikely for someone to be good at one thing but bad at others. Zatanna has historically been terrible at seeing the future whereas Xanadu excels at it thanks to centuries of experience but she doesn’t do the flashy stuff that Zatanna usually does mostly due to the wizard Merlin blocking her powers centuries ago.  

Most Homo Magi need a ‘key’ to access their abilities. It’s not required but it’s easier if they do. Every magi group have their own ‘key’. For the Zatara’s, it’s their backward speech but most it’s hand movements or any incantations. Hence why Zatanna can still cast magic even without her backwards, it’s the difference between using a screw driver to screw something and doing it with just your hand. It is usually a mark of experience, power and control for someone to cast spells without their ‘key’.  Top level magicians like Nabu and Merlin can cast spells with very little movement and sometimes with just a thought.      

The bigger the spell the greater the magical energy is required. Stuff like time travel, traveling from one universe to another or one dimension to another, reality warping, creating life  from thin air is beyond the ken of normal Homo Magi. That kind of feat would require a huge amount of magical energy as well as magical knowledge which can only be attained through centuries of knowledge or it can be done through a power magical artifact or by bargaining with a cosmic entity. A sufficiently good illusionist can always fake reality warping and time travel.      

Think of Homo Magi as living batteries of magical power. They run out of magic power the more they use it. Prolonged magical use, much like any physical activity leads to exhaustion and hunger and they have to wait a couple of hours or days to recharge. Younger mages like Traci 13 and Zachary would have a smaller pool of innate magical energy to draw from while experienced ones like Zatanna, Xanadu and Dr Mist would have larger pools to draw from.  Magical energy grows through persistence and training.    

Type 2 Homo Magi:

This category includes characters whose magical power manifests as a singular ability or one ability that can branch out into many. Like the Type 1 Homo Magi they’re born with innate magical power in their bodies but when they draw out their power it’s already manifest as something specific. And just like Type 1 Magi, prolonged use of their abilities leads to exhaustion and fatigue and they still have to train to be able to do more with their abilities.  

Fire/Beatriz Da Cotza (in her Pre Cisis) and her green flames is one example. So is Ice/Tora Olafsdotter and her ice powers, Aquaman’s ability to communicate with marine life plus  Mera and other Atlanteans water bending ability would fall into this category.  Sometimes one ability can branch out into many like  Nightshade/Eve Eden whose primary power is creating shadow portals but she has other abilities like controlling shadows and low level magic which also stems from her shadow powers and connection to the shadow realm. You can also slot in Rose Canton, Alan Scott’s wife, and their off spring Todd and Jade as well. Jade inherited Alan’s altered human genes making her an Enchanted while Todd inherited his mothers Homo Magi genes but developed a connection to the darkness instead of plants (maybe  he has an ancestor who had that power).  You can also slot in characters like Johnny Quick and Jesse Quick into this category as it explains why they need a password for their powers to activate their  powers while other speedsters don’t.      

As established in JLA #165, if a Homo Magi had a child with a normal human, then that child would have only half their power and if that child breeds with another human, then the resulting child would have even less power. Hence why most of magical characters segregated themselves from humanity in order to preserve their power and species. Expanding on that it makes sense why those with similar powers decided to group together in single communities and explains why the DCU have so many hidden societies. This applies to both types of Homo Magi.          

Most characters listed here are connected to hidden magical societies. Zatanna’s mom hails from the Hidden City. Raven is from Azarath.  Amethyst is from Gemworld. Ice was originally from a hidden society of heroes with ice powers. Eve Eden is from the land of Nigthshades. Dr Mist comes from the ancient African city of Kor.  Xanadu and Morgane Le Fay are form Avalon. And there are some like John Zatara and Beatriz Da Costa (Pre Crisis) who weren’t born in magical societies but still developed magical power likely because they had an ancestor who had magical powers.      

I would slot in the wizard Shazam and Black Alice as Type 2 as well.  I would interpret their abilities as being able to tap into and draw power from other magical beings and create a facsimile of it either for their own use or in the Wizard Shazam’s case, grant it to someone else like Billy Batson. This would mean the Wizard Shazam and Black Alice are very, very, distant relatives.      

Obsidian, Shade, Nightshade, Shadow Thief and  Ian Karkull  are not related but they draw power from the same dark dimension.   Either through their magical heritage, magical items or in the case of  certain iterations of Shadow Thief and Karkull, using technology.  Different keys to access the same power source.

Some characters like Eve Eden/Nightshade and Raven draw power from their dimension and these dimensions are ruled or threatened by powerful entities.  

-The Entities:    

These are the pantheons, the lords of order and chaos and other cosmic entities.    

They are masses of magical energy that accumulated over time given life by human thought and imagination eventually becoming autonomous beings in their own right. They are our dreams and nightmares. Some of are so powerful that humans once worshiped them as Gods and they rule over different dimensions, others are so weak they can be exorcised when you stop believing in their power or existence.  

Since they are Gods, they  shouldn’t be so easy to kill, they are energy and energy can never be created nor destroyed just changed from one form to another.   So even if you ‘kill’ a god, the energy that made them up will simply reform either into a different version of the old god or a new being entirely.  If you happen to be standing to next to a ‘magical hotspot’ the magical energy could form into something resembling your worst fears or your best dream. Or if you died near there, a facsimile resembling you (like a ghost) could be created.        

Trolls, orcs, goblins, dragons shouldn’t count as entities unless those being were specifically created using pure magical energy by a sorcerer or an entity. Otherwise, they are just beings who exist in other realms much like humans and animals do in ‘our’ realm or they are just beings living in hidden societies on earth.  

It is possible for Homo Magi to attain god like power but because they started off as humans, they are still considered Homo Magi albeit very powerful ones. This is where characters like Nabu and the wizard Shazam would fit in. They’re powerful but they’re still not Entities.      

Energy changes over time and the Gods exist in cycles, some exist in physical forms, others change their forms constantly and some don’t take on any forms but humans see them however their minds process their appearance.  And because Gods exist in cycles, there are old gods and there are new gods, chiefly the ones from Apokolips and New Genesis who have a slightly different kind of existence as the Fourth World characters are melding of both magic and technology. As established in the Days of Vengeance story line, there are different ages of magic and the rules change slightly for each age but they overall stay the same. What would change over time would be the power and potency of magic. I would interpret the first age as when gods and mortals co existed due to both the human and god dimension overlapping and magical power flowing more freely into earthly realm. Then the second age when the two realms moved apart, the third age when they were the furthest apart and the fourth age when they began to intersect again and the fifth and current age being the just like the first age when the two dimensions became even more closely aligned.        

There also exists Entities who exist not because of belief but because of the mere existence of the aspect of existence, they are Neil Gaiman’s Endless. Dream will exist so long as someone dreams and likewise Death will exist from the birth of the first being to the end of the universe. They are the highest level of beings. Higher than than Greek, Norse or Abrahamaic pantheons, all of whom, while still unbelievably powerful and representing an aspect of existence, still require followers to sustain their existence. Even if a human does not worship them, just knowing they exist or writer stories about them or name things after them is enough for them to sustain their existence. The Titans of Myth exist on a level higher than Zeus but below the Endless.    

Most entities exist in other dimensions. Some can’t leave either because it would upset the cosmic balance since they are so powerful or because of a pact they made with other entities.  If there is a dispute between various entities, the ones who settle such conflicts would be the  Lords of Order and Chaos and their representatives. Their job is to act as arbitrators and keep the   Entities in life and eliminate them if necessary.      

What most entities want is to spread their power and influence sometimes at the expense of other entities while others want to maintain peace and balance while still looking after their followers. The entities know they have to maintain followers and representatives in order to preserve their existence.  If they are forgotten, they lose their power and they die a true death (this does not apply to the Endless). Hence why many of them will outright life claiming credit for creation of life on earth or other similarly outrageous claims.    

Because some entities are so powerful and because any all out conflict between them would result in annihilation of everything and because some of them can’t actually leave their realms without help or can’t directly interact with the mortal world, they often need a representative to carry out their will. Which brings us to:  

-The Champions:  

They are the representatives, the enforcers, the ones who carry out the wills of the various entities.  

-Wonder Woman is the champion of Athena and Artemis.  

-The Spectre is the champion of the Presence.    

-Deadman is the champion of Rama Kushna.  

-Jason Blood/Etrigan are the champion of Merlin.    

-Billy Batson and the Marvel Family are the champions of the wizard Shazam.    

-Swamp Thing who serves the Green (or at least when he serves them) counts as well.

-Raven can be interpreted as a Champion of Trigon but she rebelled against him.  

-The Phantom Stranger is at times shown to be a servant of the Lords of Order.  But other times he’s shown to be operating on his own will... or is he? You can never really tell with the Stranger and that’s how it should always be.    

-Dr Fate is usually depicted as a servant of the Lords of Order.  Although I do have an issue with order being depicted as inherently good while chaos is depicted as  inherently bad. After all fascism is a kind of order albeit a tyrannical one while democracy is a form of controlled chaos. When order becomes stale or tyrannical then chaos is necessary to uproot them while order is necessary because too much chaos leads to injustice and prevents us from achieve a common goal.  Personally, I like the suggestion made during the Eric and Linda Strauss era Dr Fate ongoing and in Gaiman’s Books of Magic and even during the  exxtreeeeme 90′s era Jared Stevens Dr Fate book that order and chaos aren’t inherently bad and that Fate has both order and chaos in him and acts like more like an arbitrator between them. He has to choose whether order or chaos is necessary for each situation.  

-Donna Troy's Titans Seed origin definitely counts as an example of being a champion.

Basically to be a champion you have to be empowered by a cosmic entity or a sorcerer on a similar level to serve as an agent who carries out the will of their benefactors. Some have more free reign like Deadman, Billy Batson and to an extent Diana while others like Phantom Stranger,  Dr Fate and Spectre operate under much tighter rules.

By carrying out the will of the entity, the champions are (intentionally or not) maintaining the belief of the existence of said entities which prolongs their existence and allows them greater and greater influence over the mortal world.  

Black Adam does not count as a champion since he only  serves himself and acts 100% of his own will. He was a champion once  with powers granted to him by the Wizard Shazam but because he was  corrupted by them he was banished by the Wizard Shazam to the distant cosmos which he didn't return from until centuries later. So he is an ex  champion but now one of the Enchanted.

-The Offspring:

They’re the children of Entities.    

To count in this category, you have to be the child of an entity and another non entity being (human, troll, orc, alien, etc).  If you’re a being  created from nothing or clay brought to life like Diana or the Galatea from the myths then you don’t count. If you’re a descendant of a powerful sorcerer like Merlin, Nabu or Shazam and have inherited their power through the generation then you don’t count either.    

-All the children Zeus sired with mortal women would count as this but not the ones he sired with other Goddesses.  And just like in Greek mythology, a child of a God could be born perfectly normal (like many Greek heroic figures) with no supernatural powers beyond feeling a connection to the parent God or they are born as a full blown God themselves with their own powers.    

-In the recent Truth & Justice #1 mini we learned that Vixen is a descendant of Anansi. He was her great, great, great, x1000 grandfather. Thus she shares a psychic connection to him and so she counts as an Offspring.    

The more human like Offspring may not have flashy powers but they do share latent abilities from the entities which mostly manifests as a psychic connection to the Gods.

-Raven would count as well since she is the child of a human woman and a demonic father and all her powers stem from her demonic father.  

-Lilith Clay from NTT is the daughter of the Theia of the Titans of Myth and  a mortal man and that’s the origin of her vast psychic ability. If an Offspring gains powers, it’s usually not the exact same ones as their parents or ancestors. It can be something vastly different. None of the children of Ares has the same powers he does either. The same goes for the various children of gods in other mythologies as well.    

Prior to the Nu52 continuity, Wonder Woman’s mother Hippolyta was revealed to be the daughter Ares during John Bryne’s run:

Source: Wonder Woman Vol 2 #136

And also during the Silver Age WW comics:  

Source: Wonder Woman Vol 1 #183

But she has no special powers beyond the ones that the Goddesses granted her as well as power derived from various magical items.  

Overlap  

Yes, there are also overlaps in the way I categorized magic.  

-Vixen/Marie Jiwe McCabe would count as both Enchanted and Offspring. Seeing as she is a descendant of Anansi and her power comes from her connection to the amulet.    

-Raven would also fit into Champion and Offspring category. After all, she was born with her powers, Trigon has attempted to use her multiple times as his pawn and gateway to the mortal world and Trigon himself would count as an Entity.        

-Alan Scott is an Enchanted who had offspring with the Homo Magi Type 2 (Rose Canton) resulting in Jade who inherited her fathers ability (which were a result of his genes being altered by the Starheart) which makes her an Enchanted. While Obsidian inherited his mother’s genes and her schizophrenia but his abilities are different from his mothers. This could be explained away as Rose having an ancestor who had shadow abilities.  

-Now, I also slotted in Johnny and Jesse Quick  as T2 Magi. This is my own interpretation of their power set. In the latter’s case, this would make Johnny's daughter Jesse Quick is both the child of a Homo Magi and a Meta human (her mother is Liberty Belle).  Jesse and Johnny have only one power which is  access to the speed force by reciting a formula (the key). Jesse has some of her mother abilities like super strength and enhanced durability and ability to access the Speed Force from her father. The Magi gene is non dominant so it’s rare for her to inherit it in the first place. Think of it as similar to how blood types are passed down. Since Jesse Quick married Rick Tyler (Hourman 2) who is a meta human, their kids would most likely be meta humans, although if they had more than one kid, it’s possible that one of them will have a less potent version of her Homo Magi abilities. Or may be it will show up in their grand kids or great grand kids at some point.    

As we head down the rabbit hole of classification, things are bound to get more complex.  

For example, all Atlanteans count as Enchanted since their ability to breath under water was granted to them by a powerful sorcerer and entities. Still, among them there are Homo Magi of both types as well as meta humans.    

On Themyscira too, all the Amazons would count   as Enchanted, since they were all women whose lives were cut short by violence, given a second chance on a Paradise Island with new bodies by the Greek Goddesses.  Among them there would be Amazon Homo Magi of both types and possibly metas. This explains Amazon mages like Magala and the Hecate tribe seen in JLD.    

Wonder Woman herself was the soul of a child that Hippolyta had during her mortal life, whose soul was preserved by the Goddesses and then reincarnated into the mortal world which would put her in the Enchanted category. Then she won the contest becoming a Champion and when she died, ascended to being the Goddess of Truth.

And if Diana counts as an Enchanted one because of her birth then so should Hector Hall; the son of the Golden Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl who were reincarnated ancient Egyptian. Hector was born without a soul, which made him a target of various magical beings, seemingly died and was later reborn as the 5th wearer of Dr Fate. He also had a romance with Lyta Hall (who was initially the daughter of Diana and Steve Trevor and later the daughter of a different hero)   resulting in Daniel Hall who would go on to replace Dream of the Endless, thus ascending to an Entity.    

Here is a rough Venn Diagram to represent these classifications in which I tried to fit in as many characters as possible:  

Now lets look at things from a cosmic perspective:    

Origin of Magic & GL

As established in the comics, the Big Bang also released magical energy into the universe.    

I imagine not every part of the universe were bathed equally in magical energy, some parts more than others. I imagine the Maltusians (the race that the Guardians of the Universe) hails from had little to no magical energy affect.  But sectors like Earth, Mars, the planet Despero hails from and Thanagar were more affected than others. Hence why there have been sorcerers and entities from those worlds. We know from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman and Martian Manhunters ongoing that there have been Martian Gods. There have also been a few mystical characters hailing from Krypton but I don’t think they were as common on Krypton as they are on  Earth/Thanagar/Mars. Same goes for Rann, Tamaran and the Vega System (which Tamaran is located in).

We know from the comics that the Maltusian Krona attempted to look back in time, to before the Big Bang but the experiment went wrong resulting in the creation of the Multiverse as well as the Anti Matter world with the Anti-Monitor and his counterpart the Monitor. Krona is responsible for unleashing ‘evil’ into the universe hence the Maltusians became the Guardians of the Universe in order to rectify that mistake.    

Now, ‘evil’ is an abstract concept so what if instead of ‘evil’, Krona accidentally unleashed excess magical energy into the universe? The excess magical energy combined with the imagination of sentient beings lead to the birth of various cosmic entities. One of the GLC’s oldest foes are after all the ‘Empire of Tears’ a race of demonic creatures imprisoned in Ysmault and also Nekron.    

Now, the Monitor and Anti-Monitor wouldn’t count as magical beings even if the same incident gave rise to them. The Anti-Monitor was born, not from magical energy, but from anti-matter energy and to counter balance him, is the Monitor and logically his powers would stem from matter.    

So in order to rectify this mistake, the Guardians created the Manhunters but they malfunctioned resulting in the genocide of Sector 666 and setting Atrocitus on the path to becoming the founder of the Red Lanterns. The Guardians chose to disband the Manhunters and in their place chose to empower the residents of the sectors with a tool powered by their will and imagination thus the creation of the GLC. The organization wasn’t created just to fight Entities but to allow each GL to protect their homeworlds from other invaders and threats.              

So are the GLC magic?

Nope. The ring is pure technology. It’s tech so advanced that humans can’t even comprehend it yet.    

Imagine if you and a Magi were trapped in a darkened tunnel and the Magi illuminated the tunnel by summon a palm sized ball of light but you used a flashlight. Same result but different ways to get there. In this analogy, the GL rin would be akin to the flashlight.    

Furthermore, in the comics, it’s also established that the Starheart or the ‘Green Flame of Light’ was mystic energy of the universe that the Guardians couldn’t control so they balled it up and tried to hide or suppress it but a small piece of it ended up escaping, accumulating debris along the way, becoming a meteor and crash landed on earth in ancient China. There, it was fashioned to a lantern and later given to Kublai Khan as a gift who in turn gifted it to Marco Polo and centuries later ended up in the hands of Alan Scott who became the Golden Age GL of earth.

The Guardians created their own power source comprised of their own mental energy which became the Central Battery which the GLC draws power from to this day but it’s likely they took inspiration from the Green Flame of Light to do so.

The current volume of Green Lantern, ‘Green Lantern Vol 6 (2021)’ introduced a race of magical beings who worshiped the Starheart and hates the Guardians for taking away the ‘magix’ of the universe.      

So.....to summarize everything I’ve written thus far:  

-The Big Bang released magical energy into the universe. Some parts of the universe were more affected by this energy than others. This magical energy mixed with the imagination of various sentient beings resulted in the creation of various Entites.  

On earth, these entities were worshiped as Gods.  To restore order to the universe and rectify their mistake, the Maltusians aka the Guardians of the Universe created the Manhunters and when that backfired they created the Green Lantern Corps. They also suppressed the magics of the universe but a small fragment of it landed on earth and at some point it became the ‘Starheart’, the power source of GL Alan Scott.    

There are 5 categories of magical beings:  

The Enchanted: Not born with any power. They get their power from various magical items, potions or they have been cursed by a sorcerer or demon which results in supernatural ability. And they have free will to do whatever they want.  

Homo Magi: Those who are born with magical power.  Their bodies create magical power naturally. There are two types; Type 1 who can create pure magical energy (like Zatanna, Xanadu, Traci 13) and Type 2 who has either one power or one power that can branch out to into many (Nightshade, Johnny and Jesse Quick, Fire, Ice).   You are either one or the other you can’t be both types at once.    

The magical gene is non dominant so generations of intermingling with humans would lead to the power being wiped out. Hence why the Magi segregated into magical societies for centuries.  

Entities: As described above beings made of pure magical energy who reflect the fears and hopes of humanity.  Different entities have different levels of power. On earth, they maintain harmony through pacts and bargains. They can’t be killed only changed from one form to another and their existence is sustained by beliefs. If enough people stop believing in them or powering them they would cease to exist. Eg: Ares exists due to war, if war and conflict ended then Ares would cease to exist or if war lessened then he would be depowered at the very least.        

The Champions: the ones who carry out the will of the Entities or a powerful, wizard or sorcerer as their representatives and have been granted power by them.  Eg: Dr Fate, Spectre, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel/Shazam, Phantom Stranger, Deadman, etc.  

The Offspring:  the child of an Entity and another being (usually human). Some of them have powers, some do not but they do share a psychic connection to their Entity parent even if said Entity was a distant ancestor.  

All the various dimensions we see were formed after the Big Bang that sent that magical wave across the universe. Some were created or at least shaped by powerful sorcerers or entities. As established in ‘Adventure Comics #413′ if a powerful sorcerer finds themselves trapped in a dimension they can’t just teleport themselves away from they’ll just have to find the nearest magical portal that will take them home.    

And that about wraps it up.    

What do you guys think?  

A lot of the information here isn’t new.  I’ve made only very few additions and  a few tweaks here to canon (like the Quicks being Homo Magi and Obsidian’s powers coming from a distant ancestor). I mostly focused on categorizing existing canon material in a  cohesive way.   Make each category broader but still defined to fit in as many characters as possible. It’s not a wholesale rewriting of the DCU power system so much as it is a new way of organizing them and thinking about them.  

One thing I couldn’t find a straight answer for is whether Jason Blood had magical abilities before he was bonded to the demon Etrigan. Blood has been shown doing magic on his own but whether it’s through rituals or due to his bond with Etrigan was unclear. Same for Dr Occult, it wasn’t clear whether he had innate magic or whether the source of his power was the talisman he always carried. He seems to have some innate powers but mostly seems to rely on magical items.  

Neil Gaiman’s Books of Magic series and Sandman run, Ostrander’s Spectre and Suicide Squad runs, Wolfman & Perez’s New Teen Titans, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing run and his short GLC stories which also heavily influenced Geoff Johns Green Lantern run, Johns own GL run, Wagner’s Madame Xanadu series, the current GL run by Thorne, Robinson/Goyer/Johns JSA run, Pasko & Simsons Dr Fate mini series, Giffen & DeMattis’  Dr Fate series, JLD Vol 2 by Tynion VI & Ram V, Neal Adams Deadman stories, were all heavy influences in creating this post and I recommend checking it out if you haven’t already.        

Also, I know my posts are loooooong and I try to break them up with images, bullet points, bolding specific texts and other tricks to make it more readable. If you have any suggestions to make posts more readable and accessible, do let me know.    

And as always feel free to ask me anything.    

litnu txen emit!

[thebartallenblog]

Hello, I just read your post about young justice of its cancellation and I really liked your opinion, it was a very disappointing path both at the level of history, I may hate it, maybe it will be me, but I really hate the bad development of some characters and from time to time art was at least good in a way

In the end it was nothing more than a great disappointment, just look how at the beginning there was really great enthusiasm in all aspects and they just didn't take advantage of it and threw everything away.

I would not even call "bad development" of some characters, rather the practically non-existent development, the biggest example would be Teen Lantern who was basically a character in the background and his origin seemed quite unsatisfactory, is what I say the enormous potential and enthusiasm totally wasted.

It is as if Bendis wanted to make the series to recover characters that had been absent for years and to be able to introduce some of his own creations, then the series became some kind of "Sample Book". Let me explain:

Do you want to see the forgotten world of Gemworld? Here it is!, Do you want to see a teenage version of Green Lantern? Here it is!, Do you want to visit the also ancient and forgotten world of Skartaris, spending a whole number telling the story of Warlord even though it will not have any relevance to the story? Here it is! (again), for some reason you want to see all the characters from "Wonder Comics" together? Well you know by this point.

And basically this was the series after the first arc.

In fact, the art was probably the best of the series at the end of the day, first great with Patrick Gleason, then John Timms who actually liked his art the problem was that he couldn't draw all the characters in the best way but really I'm glad that we had it really could have been something much worse (seriously only see Teen Titans).

And finally Scott Godlewski, you know probably this is the only thing that really saddens me about the cancellation, we finally had an artist who understood the characters much better than Timms (I really really like his Bart for example), and we only had him for 5 issues and well...

Whatever, I wouldn't even call the series pessimally bad or horrible, it's probably just because I like the characters and I'm still interested in their main characters as well as the great appreciation I have for the original Young Justice.

Just a biggest deception.

[toughguywithbossygirlfriend]

Justice League Dark #12 : Diana, Bruce and the Dragon

With my previous post about “DCeased #6″ I showed how Diana cared deeply for Bruce now a little bit of the reverse ... plus a little more of their similarities.

(Edit from DC Comics Rebirth Justice League Dark #12)

Underneath the Hall of Justice ... If we take a better look at the Great Skeleton in the Background ... especially his weird head structure...

(Edit from DC Comics Rebirth Justice League Dark #12 and “JLA:A League of One”)

It reminded me of the Dragon Diana killed a long time ago : Drakul Karfang

(DC Comics JLA: A League of One from 2000 )

and if you add the Weapon stands and its subterranean location ... this is Diana’s version of the “Batcave Trophy room”. We’ll take a peak at the “JLA : League of one” later, for now back to “Justice League Dark” :

This part is actually a side story in the Issue #12 showing us the past... the moment the creation of the “Justice League Dark”  was decided :

Diana wants to have a Talk with the other Great Seven of the JL to get their approval for the creation of a New JL Team. Through the different Pics it is made Obvious that Bruce stays in the distance of Diana and the others... He doesn’t say a word ... something’s Up ... something more important then a meeting to create a Justice League to protect innocents from Magical threats ?!? ...

(Edit from DC Comics Rebirth Justice League Dark #12)

Diana : “..a covert team that works in the dark...”. Covert team ... Fighting in the Dark ... That’s already so much “Batman !” ..

Of course Diana doesn’t have any problem convincing them ... they are SO easy ! ... except one ... someone who stayed silently behind. The Amazon princess surely noted this since the beginning of the meeting but didn’t make a comment. Instead she waits for the both of them to be alone afar from prying ears... This seems so natural that you get the feeling this isn’t the first time they do it. They don’t need words, they just know. These two definitively share a connection apart from the rest of their friends.

(Edit from DC Comics Justice League Dark #12 and DC Holiday Special from 2017)

As soon as they started their little talk, I couldn’t help but recall their chat about their relationship with Darkness in the DC Holiday Special 2017 “Solstice” story and how they both needed to guard against being consumed by it (An amazing little story for the two from Greg Rucka). Again we are reminded how close, how similar, once you get deeper into their souls, once you cut off their visible differences Night and Day, Female and Male, Science and Magic, Godlike power and Genius Intelligence... Differences that, in the end, are nothing else then complements.

(Edit from DC Comics Justice League Dark #12)

Diana understands Bruce is more concerned then she expected, ... even afraid ! Batman afraid ? what the hell can frighten the Dark Knight ? ... At first, it looks like his fear is about instigating a “Crisis-Level events” of Magic ... but then ...

(Edit from DC Comics Justice League Dark #12)

Bruce : "...Why spearhead this yourself ? There are dozen heroes...”  Damned ! that’s a very interesting statement.

If Batman’s fear was only about instigating a crisis level event why would he want a random other Hero to lead this Dark Justice League ? ... Choosing another Hero to lead that team wouldn’t prevent these kinds of events to happen and ... Leaving the fate of everything in the hands of a Rookie instead of Wonder Woman ?! No chance Batman would prefer that ! ...

Plus , lets face it, there is NO way Batman would have kept his mouth shut during a JL meeting if he was against the “JL Dark” or “afraid” it could lead to a crisis level event fo Magic. On the contrary he would have said it and made sure every one around the meeting’s table wets his pants, especially Clark who is easily affected by magic. This alone proves he already approved this new team ahead of the meeting.

This is about Diana leading the team.

But what does he really fear with her as the leader ?

Some have suggested he doesn’t trust her ... no, that’s definitively not it. He trust her to lead the main JL team on the Battle field (recent exp: Dark Nights Metal #1). He trusts her to protect Gotham (recent exp:Trinity #14). He trust her even if she loses her powers (recent exp: Batman #39 - #40), or is blinded(recent exp: Trinity #17). He proved that countless of times. Hell !, they passed 37 years in Gehenna with only each other to lean on. This isn’t about trust !

(Edit from DC Comics Justice League Dark(2018) #12)

Issue 12 is the 5th part of the “the Lords of Orders” story line and the Justice League Dark team has to embrace Dark Magic and Chaos to stop the Lords of Order (currently gone mad). To do that Diana and her team must become the “Lords of Chaos” for some time...Enough Darkness to taint, or destroy, the souls of most other Heroes... Actually the whole “JLD” series circles around : Diana, Magic and Darkness ...

Now I think it is time to remember the beginning of their exchange in the Hall of Justice : 

Bruce : “Darkness can change a person” ... that’s what they really talk about.

More than everything, Bruce is afraid the Darkness this team will endure may change Diana. Very few times in his life he was so very very selfish : He said it himself, he doesn’t understand Magic, so he can’t lead that team but he would rather risk any other competent Hero being tainted and consumed in Darkness than Diana... that’s an unusual statement for him ... sacrificing someone else just to keep her safe ?... This gives us a good Idea what she really means to him.

I guess that same reason is why she won’t ask him to join the team even though they both traveled side by side thru numerous worlds of Magic (Tir Na Nog, Gehenna, Skartaris, ... to name only a few during Rebirth) and his IQ would be a great asset even against Magic (see : Trinity #14).  But She’d rather have another Brain exposed to Darkness with her then him.

And if You have still doubts that Diana and Bruce are the two opposite sides of the same coin, the same soul split in two bodies ... here’s “striking fear in the heart of her enemies” ... the Dark Princess ... XD

(Edit from DC Comics Justice League Dark #12)

Now, ... a little sneak peek into “JLA: A League of One” (2000) (the Book where I think the Dragon’s skeleton is from) about Diana’s contingency plans.

Just enough to reveal that it was the first time Diana used ...some kind of contingency plans to bring down or neutralize every one in the Justice League except Superman whom she could only “distract” for a short time. That would explains why she had a plan to kill Superman rather than neutralize him as revealed in DCeased #6... Anyway, her plans worked perfectly including the one for Clark/Kal. Only one plan failed back then...

We are in 2000 !! ... the same year we learn about Batman’s contingencies in the JLA’s “Tower of Babel”.

(Edit from DC Comics JLA : League of One in 2000)

So about the contingency plans ... I was wrong,... Bruce didn’t rub off on her as I first thought ... she already had it in her !! ... She really is in the other side of the coin with Bruce on it.

Now I’m starting to think she was just mad at Bruce when she voted him out in JLA(1997) #46 because his plans to neutralize her worked perfectly, while hers for him didn’t ... mean girl !... XD

Since the beginning of the “League of One” story he could read Diana like an open book, and looked thru her Lies when everyone else in the JL just accepted them. The others are really so easy... At least the fight between the stubborn Diana and Bruce is way more real and entertaining than the ones in “The Hiketeia”. Still Bruce doesn’t use a contingency against her. He knows why she does all this : to protect her friends from the JL. So he only wants to stall her long enough to convince her that she is wrong. But if you’re facing Diana in a fight that’s far from enough and the Win goes to the Warrior Princess.

(Edit from DC Comics JLA : League of One in 2000)

Another thing that Diana learns in that story is that even without Powers he is way harder to defeat then she expected ... and last but not least ...she destroyed the Dragon but is still alive after that ...dammit, that annoying man is always right even about prophecies ! ...

Early stories like this one show why Diana interests matured and moved slowly from the shining Man of Tomorrow to the secretive Dark Knight. Explaining what was resumed in Trinity (2008) #6 about her romantic preference between the two.

[thecomicsnexus]

Final Crisis

CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #12 MARCH 1986 BY MARV WOLFMAN, GEORGE PEREZ, JERRY ORDWAY, TOM ZIUKO AND TOM MCCRAW (RE-COLORED VERSION)

SYNOPSIS (FROM DC DATABASE)

In Brainiac's starship, Dolphin, Captain Comet, Rip Hunter, Animal Man, the Atomic Knight, and Adam Strange convince the reviving robot that his memory was tampered with to make him forget the Crisis. Admitting that his power is inadequate to battle the Anti-Monitor, he sets course for the world of a more powerful being. On Earth, the Anti-Monitor's visage is seen in the skies all over the globe. He repeats that the Earth is now in the anti-matter universe. His past victories over positive universes are meaningless, he says, because of the super-heroes' efforts to stop him. When he lists Supergirl and the Flash as casualties, Kid Flash demands to know what has happened.

The Supermen scan the globe and watch the populace panicking. Harbinger appears, and teleports them to a chosen destination, then gathers Dr. Light from Japan, leaving Sunburst to defend the island. When Dr. Light states that she caused Supergirl's death, Harbinger replies that the battle had already killed Supergirl, and that the Anti-Monitor's final attack merely gave her a swift death. In the skies, the darkness splits into a million shadow demons, which begin an all-out attack on humanity, and the super-heroes mass to resist them. The Global Guardians team with other heroes to free their native lands from the threat, but the demons' numbers seem endless. The Phantom Stranger summons Dr. Mist to help revive the Spectre who lies comatose. Below, Harbinger has gathered a large group of heroes, along with Pariah and Alex, to lead a final assault on their nemesis. Alex creates a bridge between universes, and they depart near Apokolips.

Brainiac's ship goes into stationary orbit, and he and his guests teleport to the planet, where Darkseid appears and introduces himself.

Back on Earth, the majority of the heroes are still battling the demons. The Dove is slain by a shadow-being as his brother watches in horror.

In Dr. Fate's Salem tower, the magically powered heroes have gathered to pool their shamanistic might. The Earth-2 Green Lantern and Dr. Occult form the nexus of their energy.

On Qward, in the anti-matter universe, Harbinger and the heroes have arrived in the Anti-Monitor's old headquarters. Kid Flash insists on joining them because of his mentor's demise. Suddenly, an image of the Flash appears to him—the last one Barry cast before his death. Wally follows the afterimage to where an insane Psycho-Pirate clutches at an empty uniform. Kid Flash knocks him out, and realizes that Barry Allen is truly dead when Lady Quark finds his ring. Pariah informs them that a great concentration of evil lies before them. They follow to find a towering Anti-Monitor, ready for the final slaughter.

In Atlantis, Aquaman leads his underwater legions against the shadows. Lori Lemaris saves a trapped Mera with a force beam. A demon closes in on her and kills her. In Chicago, Green Arrow of Earth-2 is killed by a shadow. In Philadelphia, Cyborg, the Son of Vulcan, the Vigilante, and the New Wildcat continue rescue operations.

In New Orleans, Shade the Changing Man witnesses the death of Prince Ra-Man. In Skartaris, Travis Morgan leads his forces against the black menaces. In Gotham City, both Clayface II and the Bug-Eyed Bandit perish at the hands of the demons. In Salem, the tide finally turns. The supernatural crusaders send their combined force in a net of energy to gather the demons from the Earth's surface, and bind them helpless in space. Over the Earth, lives have been lost, including those of Kole, Huntress, and Robin, but other lives have been saved. For a moment, the survivors can take stock.

On Qward, the Supermen of Earth 1 and 2, Captain Atom, Lady Quark, Firehawk, Wonder Woman, and other tarot's strike at the Anti-Monitor, but he ignores their blows, feeding on the energy of a nearby star, As Dr Light absorbs the energy of one of the binary suns they are between, the Anti-Monitor feels his power draining away. Alex begins to drain the anti-matter energy away from their enemy. Negative Woman uses her negative-self to bind the Anti-Monitor and inhibit him: then Harbinger leads all the energy-producing heroes against him, Dr. Light blasts him with the energy of a sun, and he falls into the ruins of his fortress. Alex creates a dimensional hole, large enough to enclose the Earth and return it to its proper universe. The heroes follow. The ball of bound demons hover and then fall on the fallen enemy. Thus, the Anti-Monitor absorbs his slaves energies and rises again, while the heroes start to give battle. Wonder Woman is caught in a withering flash of power, and is borne away to an unknown destination. Superman of Earth-1 and Lady Quark vow deadly revenge, but Kal-L knocks them out, and tells Superboy to take them back. Since he has no world and no wife to return to, the elder Superman has the least to lose. Then he confronts the monstrous Anti-Monitor, and batters him. Superboy sends Superman and Lady Quark back through Alex's shrinking body, and turns to aid him. Superman continues his one-man war against the Anti-Monitor, striking telling blows, while the villain, his power waning, absorbs more energy from the anti-cosmos, and blasts him and Superboy. Darkseid, watching the conflict on a viewscreen, proclaims his planet to be endangered if the Anti-Monitor survives, sends a power burst at him through Alex's eyes. The enemy, devastated, is hurled into the core of one of the binary suns. Superman, Superboy, and Alex are stunned to see the spectre of their enemy rising from the sun. Superman smashes into his foe's fiery body, scattering him: the remains fall back into the sun and the star begins to implode.

They bravely await the end and Superman wishes that Lois could have lived to see their triumph. At that, Alex produces Lois from a void-pocket in his body where she had been sent to wait. She tells her husband that she had been to a tranquil world. Alex cannot return them to Earth but he can take them all to this beautiful world. Superman, Lois, and Superboy opt for that choice. The foursome vanish seconds before the exploding sun would have reached them.

Back on Earth, Lyla is explaining facets of the Crisis to Pariah and Lady Quark. Wonder Woman was returned to the clay which Aphrodite and Athena had given life, then spread across Paradise Island.

Time then continued to reverse itself, as the Amazons were returned to their original homeland before they fled Man's World. Zeus brought the homeless Wonder Woman of Earth-2 and her husband Steve Trevor to Olympus, where they could live peacefully. The bodies of Robin of Earth-2, the Huntress, and Kole were never found. All those who died were mourned. In Keystone City, Jay Garrick determined that Kid Flash's illness was in remission, his body chemistry being changed by a blast from the Anti-Monitor. He could again move at super-speed, though only to a maximum of Mach-1. Wally donned Barry Allen's uniform, and announced, "From this day forth — the Flash lives again!"

The Great Disaster will not exist in the Earth's future, but a lost child will be found in Command D. adopted by General Horatio Tomorrow of the Planeteers, and named Thomas. Jonah Jex will be torn from his era to fight in the future, while the Guardians of the Universe must face the first division in their ranks. Thus, Lyla concludes her tale, and Lady Quark and Pariah ask her to help them explore their new homeworld. They leave with her, honoring the memory of their benefactor, the Monitor. And, in Arkham Asylum, the staff discuss a new patient who seems beyond help, straitjacketed in a rubber-lined room. Roger Hayden, formerly Psycho-Pirate, gibbers about Earths beyond numbers, the Anti-Monitor, and the memories, which only he had been allowed to keep.

NOTORIOUS DEATHS IN THIS ISSUE

Anti-Monitor

Dove

Green Arrow (Earth-2)

Huntress

Kole

Robin (Dick Grayson, Earth-2)

Sunburst

Bug-Eyed Bandit

Clayface II (Matt Hagen)

Lori Lemaris

Ten Eyed Man

REVIEW

The ending of Crisis is the only part of it that remains canon after it (as it happened on new earth). Although many things about it will not remain (no one will remember the multiverse, not even the ones that survived it). Same will apply to deaths like Huntress, who will be completely replaced post-crisis.

So, was it worth it? Absolutely. Wolfman’s idea of rebooting the universe every 10 years would have been a great idea, but sales will not always allow for it (this is the reason DC was never able to do a complete reboot, you don’t fix what isn’t broken, namely Batman, Legion of Super-Heroes and the Green Lantern Corps).

As for its legacy, this event is the father of all events. Cross-overs and team-ups have been plenty, not only at DC, since the Golden Age. And while there have been similar events in 1982 and 1984 over at Marvel, they barely had any impact (Spider-symbiote being the one thing to remember). Crisis was a whole different thing. But sadly, it happened at DC, that means that not all the opportunities will be taken seriously.

Crisis offered the chance of a blank slate, but instead, the relaunch was sloppy and as a result, the universe required a soft reboot less than 10 years later. Crisis tie-ins are a good demonstration of how slow DC was to react to what they were doing. They do not match the chapter of the month.

Another interesting example is Wally West, who was restored in the end, with a slower speed, and became the Flash. However, it would take more than a year for Wally to take on his own book. This coincided with Justice League International and the end of Legends. Wonder Woman suffered the same delay as well. There were no plans to what would happen afterwards, because DC wasn’t fully aware of what they just did. They were too busy closing down titles, and the reaction to restart everything was delayed, sometimes by more than 5 years. Fortunately, the man of steel would end the year with one of his most emblematic runs.

As for the story itself, the science makes little sense, but I am willing to forgive those flaws. The essence of the event was to revisit the DCU history, to streamline everything and to showcase every single character they had. It was supposed to launch in 1983, but it had to wait until the 50th anniversary (while a long research had to be done to figure out the full DCU history). This story accomplishes that. The tie-ins... not so much. But Crisis as a story works very well. Without tie-ins.

There is a lot of love poured into it as well, and you can tell. Those final sequences with Alex Luthor, Kal-L, Lois and Superboy-Prime are beautiful and sad at the same time (again, DC would shoot themselves in the foot by desecrating that ending in 2005, but that’s a story for another time).

You cannot imagine another penciler for this story either. George Perez is the god of team-ups. Since then, he had some replacements, most notoriously, Phil Jimenez, but in 1985, it was pretty much him. And the art is so beautiful, and so meaningful, Crisis on Infinite Earths became on of the greatest achievements in comic-book history.

Jerry Ordway had to step in after Giordano and DeCarlo, for reasons I do not know. He was the perfect choice for this event. His style adds some clarity to Perez style, where Tanghal wouldn’t have dared to modify too much. As a result, you get an interesting hybrid. Ordway’s realistic faces, with Perez crazy layouts and detailed backgrounds.

The art in general is something to admire over and over. That scene where the shadow demons break apart and darkness becomes sky... that’s Michael Bay High Octane shit. You are basically watching a disaster movie.

Some of the deaths in this story mean nothing. Losing Green Arrow from Earth-2 or Helena Wayne will not have an impact. But they can seriously affect some readers.

One thing I didn’t mention before, was that New Genesis was actually part of the Crisis, as Darkseid only cloaked Apokolips, but apart from Crisis #10, I haven’t seen anything happening over there in other books.

Now, which version should you buy? All of them.

I grew up reading the spanish adaptation, which was pretty much the original with translated text. Then I bought 1998′s slipcase, which was already re-colored. I really think this one was the best as the wrap-around cover has the full Alex Ross painting. 2015′s deluxe edition includes the History of the DCU, with a new cover by George Perez. Perhaps this one adds more value. There is also a very expensive edition coming at the end of the year that includes all the tie-ins, but as you may have read, not all tie-ins are good or worthy of reading with this saga.

Then I actually recommend the digital version, as this book is so beautiful, you don’t even want to touch it.

I give this story a score of 10

[zahri-melitor]

Newish Comics:

Action Comics #1072: I am enjoying following the path of both of these stories, but I'm getting the vibes that I need some things to start happening soon, rather than stacking up more mystery boxes.

Still delighted by Kenan and Kon's antics though. The decision to team them up continues to pay off.

Detective Comics #1090: look, have we seen the premise of Thomas helping characters he probably shouldn't have, as a doctor, and that leading to disaster down the track before? Yes. Am I going to enjoy the parallels again anyway? Also yes. Get Leslie into this plot, Tom Taylor, for some support for Thomas' tendencies.

Nightwing #119: My first thought here is how nice it is to see a run that's picking up smoothly from the last one and where the writer is fully indoctrinated on Dick/Babs flirting from the Dixon days. It's got potential and so far I don't mind the characterisation.

Absolute Wonder Woman #1: I think this is probably going to end up my favourite title from the Absolute line. The art was beautiful and full of character, and I really loved the characterisation of Circe in this, and how she moves from indifferent to a mother. "How you fall in love with a child is by raising it." gaaaaaaah I had those words still ringing in my head last night as I was supervising bathtime and teeth brushing.

Green Arrow #17: and we finally get this book handed off from Joshua Williamson. First half was more tidying up of the Absolute Power mess (without much real resolution, but we all need to move on from that plot), but the new run with Chris Condon looks like it has some promise. I'm happy to go with it for the second.

The Flash #14: Skartaris time! I still need to actually get to the point where I understand what the current timeline of Skartaris is from Flashpoint onwards, because my personal understanding is that Travis should be DEAD DEAD DEAD but yet he's still around. I suspect this is because nobody at DC actually cares about Warlord lore enough to make this a problem, aside from Mike Grell, who at this point is in 'sure, that art proposal sounds fun to draw' life stages.

Anyway, the concept of the Wests all going to Skartaris for some family bonding time is hysterical (by both definitions) and I eagerly await to see how Spurrier handles adapting it for an audience who isn't already used to Skartaris oddities. The fact we have floating Ancient Atlantean buildings in the art is a very promising sign to me, though.

Zatanna: Bring Down The House #5: This was a good conclusion to the story. It's been very much Black Label levels of existing in its own continuity, and I respect how it was put together. I do wonder how much of Tamaki's insistence on how she characterised and centred rabbits in the run is influenced by and in opposition to that classic picture of Giovanni Zatara from The Books of Magic #3 with the dead rabbit.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold #18:

I really liked the art in Doubt. It was quite effective.

The Constantine and Streaky team up remained completely unnecessary but oh well, not written for me.

Reflections was an interesting team up! I wouldn't have put M'gann and Jackson together (actually I just realised this was probably influenced by YJA, carry on), but they do both have interesting placement in their narratives of Xebel v Atlantis and White v Green Martian. Wish the story had leant a bit more into that outsider narrative from the villain to try and convince them.

Why do we have a random Harley Quinn story from nowhere in the continuity? anyway.

Robin Season is uh not particularly good Tim and Damian characterisation (in that the one-upmanship competition doesn't really feel how the two of them compete?) but it's full of interesting background detailing for indications of setting.

The Warlord #73: This week for our second trip to Lost World of Skartaris, we're starting out strong as Travis is still trapped in the bondage tree from last week.

Terrible bondage peril! Over a fire!

Only to be further attacked by flying dinosaurs of some description!

Thanks for the art, Dan Jurgens.

We spend 6 pages of this comic with Travis trying to escape from the tree vines clinging to him, while also fighting the dinosaurs. We have never been more back.

In terms of the plot that doesn't involve tying Travis up in perilous situations, we're still tracking down the plague unicorn. The unicorn dies in a swamp, the gang figure out that Scarheart, our non-Skataran speaking friend from another dimension probably drank magical healing water from a pool which is why he doesn't have Unicorn Plague, and they go off to get some to heal everyone who's sick. Shakira gets better and falls immediately for Scarheart. They decide to hang out with the group of travellers who speak to animals and leave the main story group for a bit.

Also Travis uses up all his bullets, yet again. I must assume he just has a supplier in Skartaris by now who's worked out how to make ammunition.

[themyskira]

for the meme: Phil Jimenez's Wonder Woman run or William Messner-Loebs' Wonder Woman run?

Ooh, that’s a tough one. As different as Jimenez and Messner-Loebs’ runs are, if there’s one thing they have in common it’s that their best work is inextricable from their worst.

Messner-Loebs gave us Artemis and brought the Themyscirans and Banas together as a people – but he did so through a story that ripped the Amazons from Diana’s life and turned Hippolyta into a shrieking harpy. He brought depth and complexity to Diana’s relationships with rogues like Circe and Cheetah, but his execution was often clunky and littered with dead weight like the White Magician and Mayfly. He started the modern trend of Wondy writers kicking to the curb everything that had gone before. And he gave us Taco Whiz, which had absolutely no business working as delightfully as it did.

Jimenez actually bucked the trend by not only retaining his predecessor’s supporting cast, but striving to knit together the disparate continuities, characters and (in some cases) characterisations of the previous decade. He re-established Themyscira as a core setting, cemented the place of the Bana and solidified Diana, Hippolyta, Donna, Cassie and Artemis as a Wonder-family. But his encyclopaedic knowledge of Wonder Woman was an impediment as much as it was a blessing, because he was undiscerning about it, determined to make every bit of canon fit when he should have been strategically pruning and course-correcting. (Case in point: Hippolyta, whose years of mischaracterisation he could have repaired, but instead made far worse.)

Visually, Jimenez has Messner-Loebs beat hands-down. His lovingly detailed artwork was a highlight of his run, whereas the art on Messner-Loebs’ was blobby and inconsistent for the first half and eye-bleeding nineties cheesecake for the second half.

In terms of the legacy each writer left, I’d argue Jimenez had the more lasting impact.

But in terms of which one I’d be more likely to re-read – honestly? Messner-Loebs.

While I appreciate Jimenez and what he was working towards, he’s a much better artist and plotter than he is a scripter, and I find his verbose dialogue and narration boxes a slog to get through. There are individual stories of his that I love and would happily reread – Gods of Gotham, A Day in the Life, The Witch and the Warrior – but the thought of revisiting Paradise Lost or the Skartaris arc just exhausts me. Whereas, for all its many flaws, uncomfortable elements and (at times) straight-up nonsense, there’s a lot of fun and enjoyable silliness to be found in Messner-Loebs’ run.

And honestly, where else are you going to find lines like this?

[thedcdunce]

Prysm

“Yes,child. And I applaud your refusal to engage in mindless battle” - Prysm

Real Name: Audrey Spears

Aliases:

Princess

Gender: Female

Height: 6′ 4″

Weight: 40 lbs (18 kg)

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Brown

Powers:

Unique Physiology

Psychic Link

Abilities:

Artistry

Weaknesses:

Vulnerability to Darkness

Universe: New Earth

Origin: Half-human/ Half-alien

Citizenship: American

Parents: 

Ch’ah; father

Queen Miraset; mother

Marital Status: Single

Occupation: Adventurer

First Appearance: Teen Titans Vol 2 #1 (October, 1996)

Powers

Unique Physiology: Transparent body comprised of a substance similar to glass. Skin color changes depending upon mood and/or nature of energy absorbed.

Energy Absorption: Audrey can absorb UV radiation.

Energy Projection: Audrey can refract ultraviolet radiation for a variety of effects.

Flight: As an extended application of her energy processing powers, Prysm can fly through the force generated by the energy that she absorbs. Her range and velocity while in flight is close to the speed of light.

Psychic Link: Prysm possesses a psychic link with all of the alien-human hybrids that were genetically bred by the H'San Natall. Through this link, she can perceive the emotional trauma of her peers and can determine, within limited range, where her fellow hybrids are located.

Abilities

Artistry: Perhaps due to her being in-tune with the colors of the electromagnetic spectrum, Prysm is a capable painter, as she created very detailed portraits of her virtual family and of Isaiah Crockett by memory.

Weaknesses

Vulnerability to Darkness: Audrey must consistently absorb solar radiation or else her physical form will darken and she will grow extremely weak. This is why she rarely wears clothing while serving on the team, though she will occasionally wear clothing if she is out in public. Regardless, Audrey's physical appearance makes it virtually impossible to maintain a secret identity.

History

Prysm, real name Aubrey Spears, is a half-human half-H'San Natall member of the Teen Titans. She has a crystalline body that could capture and reflect light.

An alien race known as the H'San Natall initiated a plan to seed the planet Earth with super-powered sleeper agents. To this end, they inseminated human women with alien DNA to genetically breed a child who would develop superhuman powers, but also be able to coexist with humanity. While most of these subjects were left on Earth to be raised by their parents, Audrey was instead raised on the moon of Titan.

The H'San Natall enslaved a group of Psion scientists to monitor Audrey's progress. From infancy, she was placed inside of a sensory deprivation suit and secured in a containment tube. Her conscious mind was developed through a virtual reality simulation based upon Earth fairy tales and a bevy of 1950s American sitcoms such as Leave It to Beaver and Father Knows Best. In this environment she was known solely as "Princess".

When she was sixteen-years-old, three of her fellow hybrids and the Earth super-hero the Atom came to Titan and liberated her. Being released from the VR simulation was a traumatic shock to Audrey's senses. The entire life that she had known was shown to be a lie. She had no idea what she truly was, or what the real world was actually like. The hybrids fought against their Psion captors as well as the H'San Natall enforcer, Jugular.

Audrey returned to Earth with the others and found sanctuary at the Solar Tower of Loren Jupiter. Jupiter banded the Atom and the hybrid children together and they became the second iteration of the Teen Titans. Audrey took the name Prysm.

Forced into a strange, new lifestyle, Audrey did her best to assimilate herself into Earth culture. She knew that she would always be an outsider though because of her appearance, and because of this, she forged very strong bonds with her fellow Titans. When it appeared as if the Titans might break up, Prysm grew extremely upset, noting that this was the only family she had now. Fortunately, the team did not break up.

During the Titans' initial fight against the mercenary team Dark Nemesis, Prysm was captured and placed inside of a black containment cube that negated her powers. Denied the ability to process solar radiation, Prysm's body began to darken and she grew extremely weak. Teammate Argent saved her life by infusing her with silver plasma energy, but the overload of energy caused Prysm to rocket through the sky, bringing her to the lost world of Skartaris.

[graphicpolicy]

New Challengers #4

Scott Snyder, Aaron Gillespie (A/CA) V Kenneth Marion In Shops: Aug 15, 2018 SRP: $2.99

The Challengers tackle undead barbarians and a zombie-dinosaur stampede way down under in otherworldly Skartaris. Good thing they find that flock of pterodactyls, too-turns out to be handy against rogue agents setting up a super-weapon! Unfortunately, the Challengers also find their HQ destroyed and their predecessors missing. Plus, their borrowed time might be up, because the hourglass tattoos are on the fritz. All in a day’s work for the Challengers! (Face palm!)

New Challengers #4 preview. The Challengers tackle undead barbarians and a zombie-dinosaur stampede way down under in otherworldly Skartaris #comics New Challengers #4 Scott Snyder, Aaron Gillespie (A/CA) V Kenneth Marion In Shops: Aug 15, 2018…

[the-fallen-blue]

So I'm about to enter the Skartaris arc of Jimenez's Wonder Woman... do you retain your opinion that "the art was worse than Deodato, the writing was worse than Heinberg and the pre-Crisis continuity fellatio was worse than Johns"?

man i was sofucking mean to poor phil, who is honestly a really gracious andamazing guy and the best kind of Wondy fan and deserved to write thetitle and the character more than 90% of people who’ve actuallyever gotten their hands on her

and Gods of Gotham is legitimately fucking astonishing,like top 20 Wonder Woman stories ever written

but... yes, skartaris remains a hot mess, sorry phil :(

Here’s a thing I didn’t know when I wrote WWwA and whichexplains a great deal in retrospect: the Jimenez run wasn’tactually supposed to be a run, it was supposed to be a singlefill-in arc, and then Editorial kept jerking him around like“actually we need five more issues, no wait you’ve got to finishin two, no wait you’re still on for another six” and honestly, itis tremendously to his credit that you can’t tell, at all.Storylines don’t truncate or extend weirdly, the shitty romanceprogresses at a consistent pace, threads don’t get set up and thenjust dropped or reversed like when Rucka shoved all the gods beyondthe veil due to sudden Crisis. But in a lot of places, Skartaris morethan anywhere else, there does seem to be a real crunch in the rushedway that new characters are established, like Jimenez is outsourcingthe necessary backstory and personality building to other titles orwriters because he just doesn’t have room to put the plot and thecharacterization in the same story. One of the pitfalls of the wayDiana’s mythos has been mishandled over the years; if it were aFlash or Batman story you could just pull a rogue who nobody’dwritten about for a couple years but Diana literally doesn’t havethose, her “viable story” rogue list at the point Jimenezwas writing was all of three villains deep.

(Why under those circumstances you’d skip over trying a singlemodernization and just go whole fucking hog with the entirety ofVillany, Inc is a mystery to me, but if you’re sitting therethinking “this is my last hurrah on Wonder Woman” a littleself-indulgence doesn’t seem that implausible.)