The Content of DC's 52 Relaunch

Doug: As you may know, I've sworn off new comics. I've been on the wagon for well over five years -- could be quite a bit more. I'm middle-aged now -- losing track of time is what I do. So since I'm not reading any of the new DC's, but am always intrigued to keep somewhat abreast of what's happening, I was very interested to read a blog via CNN yesterday. The author decided to read each of the first issues of the 52 new DC books, and gives his report and general feelings about it. You can check it out here. When you're done, come on back over here and start a conversation with your own opinions.

Have a great Thursday!

Legion of Mediocrity: Marvel Premiere 28

Marvel Premiere 28 Featuring the Legion of Monsters (Feb. 1975)
"There's a Mountain on Sunset Boulevard!"
Bill Mantlo -writer
Frank Robbins -artist
Steve Gan -inker

Karen: Since this is October, and Halloween is looming large over the month, I thought it might be time to review some more monster comics. Unfortunately, the first one I selected is just flat-out terrible. I'm telling you this so you can choose now whether to continue to read this review or duck out before it gets too horrible.
Karen: First up: This book has Frank Robbins art. As I've mentioned in past posts, I am not a fan of his work. I have nothing against the guy but I just don't care for his style. This made it very hard to read The Invaders, but I managed to gut my way through several years of the series, since I loved the World War II setting. But it wasn't easy. And this issue is no different.
Karen: The thing is, I saw ads for this comic when I was a kid, and I desperately wanted it. Why wouldn't I -it had four monsters in it! Morbius, Werewolf By Night, Ghost Rider, and Man-Thing -now that's a monster rally. But I missed it on the newstands, so for years I wondered about it, and then just recently I managed to grab a copy.

Karen: As Mr. Spock once noted, sometimes having is not so pleasing as wanting. Now, the fantastic story of four monsters that lived in a little corner of my imagination has been wiped out by the sad reality.

Karen: Our tale takes place in Los Angeles. An earthquake leads to a mountain sprouting up in the middle of the street, tossing Johnny Blaze (aka The Ghost Rider) off his bike. Blaze switches to his alter ego and rides up the mountain, only to be stunned by a mysterious voice.

Karen: Cut to Morbius, gliding over roof tops in search of a new victim to satisfy his blood lust. Seeing a person on a roof, he dives down and attacks only to discover his intended victim is the Werewolf! Isn't that a coincidence. The two tangle but are interrupted by the burgeoning mountain. For some reason they both decide to investigate. The final member of our cast joins the story when a mountain pops up in the Man-Thing's Florida swamp. I guess it's the same mountain, somehow? This is just one of many things in this story that make no sense.

Karen: Morbius continues to explore the mountain, with the Werewolf literally nipping at his heels. They discover Ghost Rider's bike, and the Man-Thing suddenly pops out of the woods. Then the mysterious voice is heard again and a golden guy riding a golden horse that looks like it's having a heart attack shows up. He calls himself Starseed.

Karen: This Starseed seems friendly, welcoming the four monsters. Ghost Rider declares that he somehow knows the golden boy: "Like a dream I used to have as a kid! A dream of angels, all in gold!" Oh boy. We then get a long monologue by Starseed, which explains that he was once a member of a group of humans who split off from our primitive ancient ancestors. These 'cavemen' were peaceful and went off to live on a mountain in harmony, but that was destroyed when one of the most ridiculous looking aliens I've ever seen shows up. This tentacled alien nut job lands in its saucer and actually steals the mountain! This is just as bad as Hercules pulling Manhattan Island. Why does squid face steal it? Who knows!

Karen: It turns out Starseed and some of his buddies were inside caves in the mountain when it was whisked off to space. They waited and waited and finally used the aliens' technology against them. Then they sent the mountain back to where it had been before on Earth, although for some unexplained reason, Goldy is the only one still alive. Here's where it really gets whacko -first Ghost Rider tries to explain to Starseed that he can't just drop a mountain into a city full of people. Then Morbius goes on a rant about how the continents have shifted since the mountain disappeared and so this isn't really even the spot the mountain originally occupied! Thanks for the science lesson, but what the heck?
Karen: The Werewolf doesn't give a hoot about geography, he just wants to attack Starseed. Then Morbius declares that he must have his blood. Ghost Rider is trying to figure out who these two freaks are when the Man -Thing creeps up behind him. It gives GR a good scare and he takes off on his bike to try to stop Morbius and the Werewolf.

Karen: While the Werewolf is just filled with primal rage, Morbius is jealous of Starseed, of his beautiful form, and wants to kill him. Ghost Rider intercedes with some hellfire. As those two go at it, Starseed manages to toss away the Werewolf. The Man-Thing approaches, wanting to help, but burns Starseed with his touch. Ghost Rider rams the swamp monster with his bike and tries to help Goldy but he is dying. He waves his hand and each of the four are briefly transformed back into their human selves. But then it is over -"The Dream cannot be continued" and all but the Rider take off. Starseed says his good-byes to GR and dies -"I am going home" -and that's that, as GR pushes his bike down the road in search of a gas station.

Karen: Man, what a let down. I was expecting something that would catch the favor of a classic horror flick, but this was just a mess. This is no 'legion', none of these guys are acting in any way as a team. The Starseed idea just does not fit with these characters. Well, I don't know if it would fit with any book, seeing as how it's such a lame idea to begin with. But this issue really did not work, not on any level.

Discuss: Reboots

Reboots

The Top 10 Superhero Teams?

Doug: Yesterday on another message board I came across a link to an article posted on Newsarama.com. The author published his version of the Top 10 Superhero Teams of All Time. For your dissecting, disagreeing, and disrespecting pleasure, I include it for you here:

10. Gen-13
9.The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
8. The Justice Society of America
7. Legion of Super-Heroes
6. Watchmen
5. Teen Titans
4. Fantastic Four
3. X-Men
2. Justice League of America
1. The Avengers

Gen-13? Really?

Finding Silver in Bronze: LCE C-49 (Adventure Comics 370)

Limited Collectors' Edition C-49 (Oct-Nov 1976)
Cover by Mike Grell
Reprinting Adventure Comics #'s 369-370

Adventure Comics #370 (July 1968)
"Mordru the Merciless!"
Jim Shooter/Mort Weisinger-Shooter/Curt Swan/Jack Abel; Cover by Swan & George Roussos

Doug: Welcome back to the conclusion of our Legion 2-parter. Today we feature the back cover of the treasury-sized book in which I first discovered this story. If you'll recall from Monday, four Legionnaires had fled to 20th Century Smallville in hopes of evading the wrath of the most powerful wizard of the 30th Century -- Mordru! But alas, that plan proved faulty, as the giant followed them and eventually flushed them out of hiding.

Doug: Mordru's one angry cuss -- I mean what, lock a guy in an airtight vault with eternity the goal and that's not OK? Apparently not, because he zaps Superboy, Mon-el, Duo Damsel, and Shadow Lass pretty hard. Superboy comes up with a plan: he and Mon will dig as fast as they can, tunneling away from Mordru. They're successful, and emerge several blocks away. Assembling in the lab, Superboy uses a device to erase the knowledge that they are heroes not only from their own memories, but from the Kents' as well. After the hypnotism, all involved can't understand why they are in the lab -- it's been successful.

Karen: At first when I read the plan, I thought,"Hiding again?" But when Superboy said the amnesia would wear off in an hour, I was relieved. His hypno machine was pretty groovy, with its spinning wheel! It seems like back in the late 60s/ early 70s there were always hypnotists on talk shows or variety shows.

Doug: Mordru remains in Smallville, scanning the landscape (as well as the minds of the locals) for any hint as to the location of the Legion. He searches recent events for clues, but having nothing concrete to go on he decides to try once again to force the young heroes out of hiding. Assembling his armies from across time, Mordru attacks the outer area of Smallville and lifts the landscape from the very face of the Earth (in a scene very similar to Graviton's ploy in Avengers #158-159)! After the levitating settles in, the armies do invade and attempt to bring the Legion to the fore.

Karen: I was trying to recall where I'd seen that floating city idea used -good memory, Doug. Of course, Shooter wrote both of these stories! The only other one I can recall at the moment was the John Byrne Fantastic Four we reviewed not too long ago, where Terrax the Tamer did the same thing to Manhattan.

Doug: You're kind, but really it's "bad memory" to me, because I've read that Terrax story way more recently than I have the Graviton story!

Doug: The Legion, strange as it seems, really has no predisposition to heroism. When threatened, the girls act timid -- well, except for Lana Lang who is as feisty as always. Pa Kent gets roughed up, and Clark admits that he's Superboy. The soldiers reject him, however, because they state that if he really was he'd have used his powers. Witnessing all of this from afar is Pete Ross -- Clark Kent's best friend who knows that Clark is Superboy. Pete goes to see Lana Lang, who he knows is really the Legion reservist Insect Queen. Pete gives up Clark's secret, and then asks Lana to kidnap Clark. Using her bio-ring to take the form of a fly, caterpillar, and butterfly she successfully brings Clark to Pete. Using a mirror and an ordinary pair of scissors, Pete attempts to cut Clark's hair. When the scissors shatter, Clark's memory returns and he flies away "for reinforcements".

Karen: I had the same thought -it seems odd that without their powers or memories of being Legionnaires, the four of them become doormats. Pete and Lana come out looking like the real heroes!

Doug: This was my first exposure to Lana as the Insect Queen, and for some reason I thought her powers were dumb. Saying that, of course, I'd seen (obviously) Spider-Man, and a Spidey Annual around this time featured the Fly. Lana just didn't resonate with me in this role, I guess.

Doug: Clark gets the hypno-device and undoes the spell from everyone affected. Rejuvenated, the Legion attacks Mordru's army, but are soon captured -- or so it seems. Hiding in an alley, we find Superboy, Shadow Lass, and Insect Queen. Seems Pete Ross stood in for Superboy and Duo Damsel split and disguised herself as Shady, all in order to be captured. The captives are taken to the cave headquarters Mordru's set up, where they face the evil wizard. Suddenly, the real Superboy and his team burst in. Mordru's caught off guard, and the Legion does some damage. But it's not for long, and soon everyone is spirited away to a courtroom.

Karen: There was great set-up for that attack, but the attack itself didn't seem too well thought out! Oh well, they're kids, right? As an aside, I thought it was cute that Shooter had Mordru cast a spell referring to 'Yog Sothoth' -I guess he must have been reading Lovecraft back then!

Doug: Mordru surrounds himself with some of the most evil do-badders of the 30th Century, although none we've ever heard of. A prosecutor states the case against the Legion, while Pete Ross speaks on their behalf. While Pete does his best, this is obviously a "show trial" and the team is sentenced to death. But before Mordru can mete out a method, the prosecutor Wraithor offers to come up with his own special doom. Alas, he's working against Mordru and rather than encasing the good guys in a kryptonite and lead-lined vault it's in reality a paper-thin chamber. The teens break out and are met by their benefactor, who explains how Mordru had used him as a lackey. At that moment, Wraithor is vaporized and Mordru appears to confront the Legion.

Karen: Talked about a rigged jury...

Doug: Encased in a forcefield of Mordru's making, the Legion are powerless. Mordru creates an enormous fireball, but the mass of the construct is too much and the cave begins to collapse on him. Ironically, it's the forcefield that protects the Legion. Once on the surface, they debrief and then head back to the Kents'. There, Superboy turns the hypnosis ray on Lana to make her forget his secret. But when he attempts to turn it on Pete, Mon grabs it from him and turns it on Superboy himself. Mon can't tell Pete why, but tells the reader that in the future Pete will save Superman's life because he knows his secret ID. Back in the 30th Century, Invisible Kid, Dream Girl, and Ultra Boy relate how Dream Girl had prophesied the coming of Mordru. With help from her sister, the White Witch, and Princess Projectra, the Legionnaires were able to create an illusion that made Mordru think that they'd been destroyed. All's well that ends well -- until Mon-el has to go and ruin it with a typical Silver Age sexist comment -- "Well, I'll be darned! To think of all the trouble we had dodging Mordru! How ironic that he was foiled by three girls!"

Karen: This was a fun little story, although I can't help but note that the Legionnaires prove to be fairly useless against Mordru. They were lucky that Wraithor helped them escape, and lucky that Mordru brought on his own downfall. The 30th century team really didn't fare much better -they drove Mordru off but didn't defeat him. In fact he just went gunning for the Legionnaires still in the 20th century! This certainly wasn't their finest hour, but all in all, I enjoyed the story.

Inaugural Post: What If?

Doug: Here's an idea -- we'll see what sort of feedback is received. If this seems like a good idea, it may pop up again! The premise: Some day in the future you may come by the BAB and see this logo. If you are the first commenter, then you're "the man" or "the wo-man" for the day -- you set the topic of discussion. I am going to start this to show how it should work. I'll toss out the question, and hopefully the comments pile up with your ideas and feedback. If this is a crash-and-burn, then ol' Uatu may never be seen in these parts again! Here -- have at this one:

What If Captain America and Bucky had BOTH been found alive by the Avengers?

Teenage Super-stars!

Karen: Who is your favorite teen-aged super-hero, and why? Anybody who started their career as a teen is eligible for this one.

Karen: There are a lot of candidates -all of the Teen Titans, the Legion, New Mutants, original X-Men, and tons of solo stars, like Batgirl, Nova, and my favorite, good old Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man. What is it about the teen-aged super-hero that makes him or her so appealing? Let's hear your thoughts.

Karen: Or are there those you out there who can't stand teen heroes? Let us know why you feel that way too!

Finding Silver in Bronze: LCE C-49 (Adventure Comics 369)

Limited Collectors' Edition C-49 (Oct-Nov 1976)
Cover by Mike Grell
Reprinting Adventure Comics #'s 369-370

Adventure Comics #369 (June 1968)
"Mordru the Merciless!"
Jim Shooter/Mort Weisinger-Shooter/Curt Swan/Jack Abel/Swan; Cover by Neal Adams

Doug: How much coolness is at the top of this post? And for a measly dollar?? Yep, I got this one from the grocery store when I was but a wee lad and loved every page of it! If ya think Curt Swan is good on the standard page, then "twice up" he's fantastic! Many of us have remarked how much we loved the "treasury"-sized books. There was just something about a comic that opened and laid across your whole lap. While there aren't too many extras in this book (there are a few pages of the lay-out of the new HQ, as well as the 2-page splash from the wedding of Duo Damsel to Bouncing Boy -- all Cockrum art), and to be honest it's a bit thin by treasury standards, it's nonetheless one of my favorite possessions. And if you want to know how this became a 4-D experience, just imagine that wonderful smell of musty newsprint as an old comic is cracked open. Ahhhh...

Karen: I don't have to imagine - I'm doing my part of the review using the actual issues!

Doug: For practicality's sake I am reading and scanning for these two posts (Adventure Comics #370 will run on Friday) from the Legion Archives, Volume 8. Thanks to the powers that be at DC, for a new Legion Archives is finally in the offing -- it's been far too long since Volume 12 came out. Look for Volume 13 coming in the spring of 2012. As I said above, enjoy the Curt Swan art in these two issues -- Swan always made the Legionnaires look like the teenagers they were supposed to be. And how about that splash page? The first appearance of Mordru the Mystic is a truly frightening image!

Karen: It's a very exciting, dramatic cover. I like the Grell on the treasury cover, although that's some poor foreshortening on Superboy. The splash page is excellent -you know it reminded me a lot of Barry Smith's Conan work!

Doug: It's certainly more detailed that anything else we'll find inside. Here's another thought -- although the Archives were restored in terms of color, I'm glad they used the same palette as in the original books. Any notion of shading is done strictly through the inks. It makes me glad in this case that they kept true to the originals.

Doug: We open with four Legionnaires in trouble. Mon-el carries a wounded Superboy, as Duo Damsel and Shadow Lass assist. Shadow Lass had only been around a short time (her 1st appearance was in Adventure Comics #365), so she was pretty clueless through the first scenes. Mon-el quickly tells Duo Damsel to program the Time Cube. As Mon gets in last, we see an ominous figure enter the time travel room. But, when they leave the timestream Superboy is back to normal -- and he isn't happy! Seems in the panic, Luornu programmed the Time Cube for Smallville in Superboy's time. We then get a recap of what all had just gone down.

Karen: Seeing the Legionnaires fleeing was quite striking. It captured my interest for sure.

Doug: Shadow Lass was exploring the Legion's new HQ (a definite upgrade from the "crashed spaceship" building), when she came across a heavy vault. Curiosity got the best of her (as was typical of all failing females in the Silver Age) and she began to turn the wheel to get inside. Mon-el came upon the scene and stopped her. He then related a tale of adventure where the Legion had fought one of the most dangerous enemies in their history -- an all-powerful evil wizard named Mordru. Mordru had managed to conquer all of the planets on the outer rim of his galaxy, with many planets just caving in at the mention of his name. The Legion chose to challenge him, and were nearly defeated before Superboy and Mon-el encased him in an impenetrable steel vault. But as Mon and Shady look at the vault, Mordru's arms suddenly burst through the side of his tomb!

Karen: I thought the Mordru backstory was really impressive. The idea that the free worlds stood back and did nothing against Mordru until it was too late was all too familiar.

Doug: Now on Earth in the 20th Century, Superboy laments that this may be the first place Mordru will look for them. I've read over this section several times, and can find no clue as to why they feel so certain that Mordru will come to Smallville. I suppose the Time Cube could have been set by a visible gauge or something, but there's just no evidence that Mordru knew anything about Superboy's life in the 20th Century. And you know what else I got to thinking? If this Mordru cat was so dangerous, why the heck didn't they just set the Time Cube to about 10 seconds before Shadow Lass started messing with the vault door? Duh... But then we wouldn't have this cool story, would we?

Karen: I don't know exactly why they assume Mordru will go to Smallville, other than the idea that in the future, people know where Superboy is really from. But yeah, who cares, on with the story!

Doug: Well, since the teens are going to be stuck in the past for awhile, they decide they might as well take cover and make the best of it. The foursome heads over to the home of the Kents, and I'll have to say -- in spite of the length of Martha Kent's skirt, Smallville was still stuck in about 1958. Think of American Graffiti or the first season of Happy Days, and you're there. Mon-el suggests that Shadow Lass's blue skin can be covered with make-up, so Superboy heads to his lab (remember -- he's a super-chemist, super-inventor, super-whatever!) and comes back with some normal-toned cover-up. Shady will be passed off as an exchange student named Betsy Norcross, and will stay with the Langs -- like Lana needs one more reason to snoop around about something. Duo Damsel impersonates a young cousin of Chief Parker's, and Mon draws the short straw and has to return to his previous guest-role as Bob Cobb, brush salesman. Ugh...

Karen: Bob Cobb...that's just so wrong. One of the most powerful beings in the universe, a brush salesman? Talk about demeaning. And how different are things today -if a kid showed up on my doorstep claiming to be a distant cousin, I'd suspect they were lying and up to no good, and send them on their merry way!

Doug: As everyone settles in, they suddenly feel the presence of a thick darkness passing over Smallville. All four Legionnaires determine that it must be the presence of Mordru, and all attempt to clear their thoughts. It's Lana who is struck down; possessed by Mordru, she is forced to let her eyes become his eyes. She passes out, but "Betsy" revives her quickly. Shortly, the four heroes meet in the Kents' cellar to plan. They decide that they must stay hidden for the time being, not even to talk to each other. As they disperse, Duo Damsel hints that she'd like to be walked home -- after all, it's the middle of the night. Stodgy old Clark, though, he has a plan... He shows her a tunnel that will bring her out in the woods adjacent to the Parker home. Gee, thanks Clark. Luornu is ticked, as she'd certainly liked to have been "noticed" by Superboy.

Karen: The Legionnaires didn't have much of a plan here -actually no plan! "This is it...our last meeting! After this we just fade into Smallville and forget we were ever Legionnaires until someone comes up with a plan to battle Mordru!" Somehow, I have a hard time imaging the JLA saying that. Duo Damsel's fixation on Superboy -and cattiness regarding Shadow Lass -was a hoot.

Doug: Mordru's next trick is to create illusions in an attempt to bring the young champions out of seclusion. Floods, monsters, etc. all menace Smallville, but the young guns keep to their oath of staying hidden. All is going well until "Betsy" loses a little make-up off her arm. As one of the jokers in the classroom draws attention to it, Clark acts quickly and shoots a bit of blue ink out of his fountain pen (see, 1958... no one in 1968 was using a fountain pen, ya think?) and everyone seems to buy it. Then on the way home, two trucks suddenly careen toward one another. The boys are helpless to use their powers, but Duo Damsel (in a display of powers I certainly didn't know she had) picks up a concrete-based stop sign and hurls it under one of the trucks -- effectively creating a ramp that tips it over and evades the potential crash scene. I'm sorry -- isn't she just able to split into two normally-powered girls? But crime also begins to go on the rise with no Superboy in sight, and the teens and townspeople begin to get antsy. Cue "King" Carter and his gang.

Karen: I thought it was interesting that of all the Legionnaires, Mon-El was the one who kept his cool and realized they were seeing illusions. Am I just imagining it, or was it indicated that he was a little older than Superboy? I don't now why Duo Damsel would have double strength, but she certainly got Superboy to look at her in a new light -"I never realized Duo Damsel was so pretty before!" Uh oh -we don't need any changes to the time stream!

Doug: A group of mobsters stroll into town and begin to terrorize the locals. With the townsfolk powerless, they get the run of the place quite quickly. But our youths are still heroes at heart, and with the help of Pa Kent and others who aren't happy with this turn of events, a revolt is staged which defeats the mobsters. Debriefing afterward, our stars decide that it's hypocritical to have encouraged the denizens of Smallville to face their demons while the Legion runs from theirs. Donning their costumes, they are almost immediately seen by Lana Lang -- who is the eyes of Mordru!

Karen: The whole mobster thing was extremely silly, but it was good to see the kids come to the conclusion that they needed to go after Mordru, not hide from him. The panel with Lana serving as Mordru's eyes was very effective. Next issue should be a heck of a showdown!

So, Who Got It Right?

Doug: Over the past week I've been reading and writing the review for our upcoming look at DC's Limited Collectors' Edition C-49, which reprints Adventure Comics #'s 369-370 from 1968. In issue #369, the Legion is faced with some organized crime-type thugs who take over Smallville. In the midst of the scene, the head goon says he has plans to take Metropolis next. Now, obviously it might seem a stretch to move from taking over a small town to a major American city. I was struck more with an issue of proximity -- if we are to believe that Smallville is in the middle of Kansas, as modern lore tells, and Metropolis is part of the Atlantic megalopolis, then it's a stretch to believe that such a plan would be on most baddie's radar screens.

Doug: So, today's question is this -- who has the better universe? Marvel, set squarely in the real world with heroes centered in real cities like Manhattan and Los Angeles, or DC, with the mythical realms of Metropolis, Gotham City, Star City, etc.? Does either scenario cause problems for the creators and/or the readers? As always, thanks in advance for your participation.

Doug: And come back next week, as the Bronze Age Babies celebrate teenagers in comics -- two issues of the Legion with an Open Forum in the middle! And for your additional weekend reading, Shooter has a post about Legion weddings (dated 9/22/11) for your perusal.