#plus could do with any sort of interaction between mick and serling
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About a week ago I was talking to @robininthelabyrinth about doing some Rogue-centric comics recaps, starting with the brief time Heatwave worked at Cadmus with Superboy.
For those of you wondering “Why is what is generally a criminal working with a hero?” here’s a brief rundown of things that happened that lead up to this point:
Back in the mid-90s there was an event called Underworld Unleashed in which Nero, DC’s version of Satan, tricked most of the Rogues into attacking key points around… some continent that is literally unrecognizable on a map. Those points exploded, killing them. The event went on, Trickster I figured out Neron’s angle and helped the heroes defeat him and the Rogues remained dead at the end of it. A couple years (real time) later, Flash issues 125-129, Neron is back to his old, manipulating people into giving him unlimited power schtick and brings the Rogues’ souls to Earth, this time as unkillable, power-amplified specters bent on causing as much death and destruction as possible. Through Linda and Wally’s teamwork and love for each other, Neron is forced to retreat while restoring the Rogues their souls/life. In the New Year’s Evil special issue, Trickster I tricks the Rogues into going after a sacred treasure in a Zhutan temple when, surprise, Neron pops back up and Heatwave, who emphatically does not want his soul back in Neron’s clutches, convinces the other Rogues to help Tricks and Piper defeat him. It was a convoluted issue. After Neron is, yet again, defeated, Heatwave decides to stay with the Zhutan monks, hoping to save his soul by being good.
That is, to my knowledge, the last we see of Mick until his appearance in Superboy 65. Recaps are taken from issues 65, 76-81, 87-90
For those unfamiliar with this particular run, here are some characters to know:
Superboy/Kon-El: a psuedo-clone of Superman who debuted following The Death of Superman storyline. Very 90’s teen-with-attitude, he’s one of the founders of Young Justice. His powers weren’t originally copying Superman’s (he was originally a modified human clone rather than half-Kryptonian) but mimics the basic flight/super strength/super durability through the use of tactile telekinesis. Lives at a Cadmus facility. At the time, his relationship with Clark was very… hands off.
Guardian/Jim Harper: another Cadmus clone who acts as chief of security and mentor to Kon. As a clone, his body was modified to be stronger, faster, etc, with accelerated healing. He also has an indestructible shield.
Dr. Serling Roquette: former head of the genetics division with a sense of style that is both terrible and amazing. Has a thing for Kon.
Mickey Cannon: Cadmus admin director. Called ‘the Mechanic’, he’s said to be able to fix anything. Uh… that’s about all I can say about him, really.
Dubbilex: one of Cadmus’s experiments known as a DNAlien, part chaperone and part mentor to Kon. He is a powerful telepath and can use telekinesis.
Dr. Dabney Donovan: co-founder of Cadmus and creator of various genetic experiments. You remember that line from Jurassic Park about scientists being so concerned if they could they never considered if they should? This guy never bothered to hear the second part of that sentence.
Dr. Helen Angelico: head of genetics, called Doc Angel. Not nearly enough of her.
So we start with Kon crashing a ship into the aptly named Planet Krypton- a superhero-themed restaurant that, thankfully had just been shut down for renovations -with some Challengers of the Unknown. Who will continue to be unknown because I don’t know a thing about them. He’d been gone for so long, Cadmus was trying to find someone to replace him as a field agent.
Always fun to play 'Who Can You Name?’
Some heroes decide it isn’t their scene and bounce, others attempt and fail to make themselves look good, and others still- notably Young Justice to the side there -just want some news on Kon. Steel and Kyle, meanwhile, are there as JLA reps, passing along info about Superboy as it comes (which, at the moment, isn’t really anything).
Guardian, please. Cadmus hires much worse than a crook with a flamethrower.
After being exposed, Punch and Jewelee take Serling hostage. Luckily that’s when Superboy finally manages to make it back.
Figuring with Kon back in the picture, a new field agent is no longer needed so the heroes begin to disperse. Until Cannon decides to hire Mick as a back up agent.
And potential patsy. Nothing comes of this mental aside.
Jumping forward to issue 76, a little backstory is needed to understand the current situation. Originally Kon’s genes were modified to stop aging at 16 because of a clone disease, but, immediately proceeding this issue, the events of Sins of Youth caused Cadmus scientists to restart his aging, unfortunately at the expense of his powers leading to Cadmus to call in their back-up agent.
He’s not without his own gadgets, of course- a Legion ring grants him flight and a Cadmus scientist by the name of Gadget Guru gave him a shield that can fold and expand in an instant. Kon tries asking Harper to train him but Harper declines despite preferring to have Kon watching his back over Mick.
Donovan tries to get Serling to cash in on a favor she owes him but, before she can meet him, gets into a reconstructed space ship with Kon, Cannon and the Guru which takes off into space. As Cadmus tries to locate them, Rex Leech, Kon’s former very shady manager, comes in carrying his unconscious daughter, Roxy. Meanwhile, a pair of Cadmus guards are transporting an important blood sample that Donovan, mad that Serling didn’t follow his instructions, decides to take for himself.
Oh comics.
Doc Angel has Roxy stabilized in a containment tank while Rex tries to schmooze up to Mick.
Harper gets an urgent call to get to a storage vault.
For some reason they call Mick “Rory Calhoun”- and it’s not just here. There’s at least one issue in the Flash- written by the then current writers -where he’s called that. I don’t know why this is a thing.
Anyway, a bunch of guards dead on the floor, their armor torn open but whatever killed them instantly cauterized their wounds. On the wall are the words 'Rip’ and 'Jak’. An alarm goes off, announcing a fire in Lab Three- Doc Angel’s lab.
Quick shout out to Paul Gambi, the Rogues’ tailor, for making some fantastically durable costumes. Mick’s in particular has been noted on more than one occasion to not only survive some of the hottest temperatures around, but also protects him well enough he barely breaks a sweat withstanding those temps.
Doc Angel is missing but Roxy’s tank was damaged in the fire meaning it’s time for the Guru’s apprentice Tekka to step up. Harper, meanwhile, explains to Mick that they had a possible sample of Jack the Ripper’s blood and Donovan is the most likely person to make a clone from it.
Tekka finds a hole in the floor that’s venting heat like a volcano. In true, heroic fashion, Harper and Mick head down.
Ripjak attack! Turns out that Ripjak’s blood and even touching his skin burns on contact. Harper says Donovan must have infused Ripjak’s blood with pyro-granulite, something Donovan’s done before. Unfortunately the build-up means he’ll explode, destroying anything or one near him. They chase him to where Doc Angel is being held. Harper plays bait while Mick frees the doc.
Ripjak does a number on the two before they toss him into the geothermal reactor, including partially melting Harper’s shield and managing to burn through Mick’s suit.
They’re both treated and expected to make a full recovery, and Tekka stabilizes Roxy.
Meanwhile, in Kon’s half of the plot, the bad guy he’d been fighting, Kossak the Slaver, gets beaten out of his own ship and escapes, following a beacon that leads him to Cadmus. He heads to Lab Three and claims that Roxy is an escaped slave he’s here to collect. Kon gets back in time to stop Kossak from attacking Doc Angel and, in the ensuing fight, Roxy’s tank explodes.
Roxy is actually possessed by… something, which makes her skin turn bright red and her eyes glow. She agrees to return to Kossak so long as he leaves all the people in the lab alone and, when she goes to say goodbye to Kon, imparts her power on him. Which somehow kickstarts Kon’s powers again and Kossack leaves after another butt-kicking.
Superboy, back in costume, visits Harper, passing over the gauntlet with collapsible shield since Harper’s was destroyed.
Roxy is back in the containment tank after giving Kon her power and Doc Angel called in a doctor from STAR Labs, Sarah Charles. The two promptly get snippy at each other and Kon has them leave to cool off. Which is, of course, when Roxy busts her way out again as the red sun critter thing, saying she won’t be kept imprisoned. She flies off, Kon gives chase and when Harper does the same.
She starts destroying property in a town called Kurtzberg and a local cop, with all the logic and protocol of a generic comic cop, calls for the two of them to freeze while simultaneously firing directly at Roxy. The bullets, however, melt in the heat she’s generating but Roxy doesn’t enjoy the unintentional pun.
I’m not quite sure how Mick managed to get there before Harper who is in a flying car.
Anyway, it turns out the people Sarah called are the Titans who immediately peg Roxy as unstable (as in, unwilling to calm down) and decide they need to use force to contain her. Kon isn’t having it and puts himself between them. Tempest uses a hydrant to freeze Kon and Mick shoots off a blast of fire to free him.
How can you be a jerk to that face, Harper?
Eventually Doc Angel and Sarah make it over and explain how Roxy’s sharing a body with an alien entity and they need the entity to expend its energy to get Roxy out. The problem is eventually solved through what essentially amounts to the power of friendship.
If you’re wondering how Arsenal got the heat gun, it’s because Nigthwing took out Mick in pretty short order. Which, really- Nightwing vs Heatwave is no contest.
Mick doesn’t show up again until issue 87 where Harper dies in the line of duty, protecting someone from Shrapnel. Mick doesn’t have over much to do this issue as Kon feels responsible for Harper’s death (Harper went out on that mission instead of Kon) and gets taken on an astral jaunt with Deadman. There are a couple choice moments, though.
I should note that Kon’s tactile telekinesis doesn’t work when he’s unconscious, making him as vulnerable as a normal person.
I find it hilarious they gave Mick a flamethrower bigger than his torso.
But, at the end of the issue, there’s a cryptic conversation between Amanda Waller and Lex Luthor (he might’ve been president at this time, I don’t remember) and someone trying to steal Harper’s remains. Kon manages to take it back and, upon opening the casket, finds there’s a baby inside.
Next issue, the Wall is very unhappy to see that her super-clone cargo has disappeared (aka with Kon) and threatens Cadmus as, being the Secretary of Metahuman Affairs (so yes, Luthor is president), they fall under her jurisdiction. Cannon, not a fan of the kind of pressure Waller and the new administration is putting on them, decides to get rid of Cadmus. Literally. Asides from a hole in the ground, the building is gone.
In the span of a few days, baby Harper grows a couple years, old enough to talk and, with the memory of his previous life returning, worries that he’ll have to fight. Oracle finds tech and data traced from Cadmus at a LexCorp building and Kon follows her directions to a sewer where he promptly fights tofu critters and finds Mick and Serling.
I gotta say, artists generally make Mick the beefier of the Rogues (when they bother to give them different body types) but this artists really put that heroic build on him. His shoulders are literally twice the width of his waist!
A random encounter with some sewer ferryman later, the quartet makes it to a weird underground compound where they jump a robot-looking thing and pull the equivalent of three-kids-in-a-trenchcoat with it. They come across Talia al Ghul experimenting on a gender-flip Superman Blue by the name of Strange Visitor who I know nothing about. After Talia and Waller’s assistant leaves, the gang bust out of their disguise and take out the guards. Mostly.
And then this ability was never seen again.
Kon and Mick go to rescue Stranger who very much does not appreciate it. Talia re-enters and calms down Stranger and the group is captured. When they come to again, they’re on a space station. Some guy in a flying chair named General Good makes an army of clones from Harper against Harper’s explicit wishes. Kon destroys the incubating clones and the quartet is rescued by Sgt Rock who drafts them into the upcoming war.
This issues then follows into the Our Worlds at War event which I never read so if Mick shows up anywhere there, I don’t know about it. Superboy was also canceled shortly after. In the following year Mick shows back up Flash comics in issues following up to Rogue War where his attempts at reformation are retconned as the Top’s influence in order to tie into the ongoing Identity Crisis event. And these issues are promptly forgotten by everyone and we are all deprived of Kon confronting Mick about going back to the Rogues. Especially egregious when Mick helped kill one of Kon’s best friends. I mean, yes, Kon was also dead at the time but you’d think that’s one of the things you’d follow up on when you come back to life!
#comics recap#synopsis#mick rory#superboy#so much wasted potential#given mick is one of the few guys in cadmus not in a position of authority over kon#kon would have someone to bitch to without being judged#then imagine the conversations kon would have with young justice about it#'rory actually snuck some alcohol in for me and i'm thinking he purposefully mixed me the worst drinks possible#because they were terrible and i never wanna try alcohol again.'#'rory as in... heatwave? wasn't he on trial for helping to sink a cruise ship last year?'#'...he has impulse issues i told you this rob'#'that's not true i haven't seen him in years!'#'not you bart!'#also i very much miss early kon#plus harper has no life outside of cadmus#could always stand more harper realizing that mick is actually dependable#and that gradually transforming into mutual respect and friendship#plus could do with any sort of interaction between mick and serling#'how do i tell a guy i work with i'm into him?'#'on one hand you probably shouldn't ask me given i've stalked women i was attracted to before'#'on the other hand pinning quietly won't get you crap'
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