The DC Bloodlines Podcast: Green Lantern

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The Guardians of the Universe chose Hal Jordan to be their Emerald Gladiator for Space Sector 2814, wielder of a Power Ring that could create jade energy constructs limited only by the bearer's willpower and a necessary impurity that rendered it ineffective against anything colored yellow. However, the day would come when Hal Jordan would falter, and on that day his successor would rise to command the energies derived from the Master Power Battery on Oa, and that man's name was John Stewart...

This episode, we look at the 1970s adventures of Neil Adams' & Denny O’Neil's Green Lantern John Stewart, DC Comics's first African-American super-hero (unless you count Vykin the Black or Black Racer, which virtually nobody does, despite Jack Kirby publishing them nearly a year earlier.) Also, an obligatory history of that jerk Jordan, mostly cribbed from Will Jacobs and Gerard Jones. You can follow along with our reading at Scans_Daily. Also, check out the Neal Adams interview at Robin Hood: Bold Outlaw of Barnsdale and Sherwood.

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2016 Green Lantern John Stewart Amazing Houston Comic Con Jam Sketch Detail by Eddie Nuñez

Eddie Nuñez has worked on Fanboys vs. Zombies, Ben 10, Valen the Outcast, and Flashpoint: Lois Lane and the Resistance.

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2007 Green Lantern John Stewart SD vector art by Kleyner Kopavnick

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Justice #11 (June, 2007)

Hal Jordan waxed philosophical about his foe Sinestro while providing narration for this issue. "Thanks to Sinestro, I was given a taste of what it would be like to rule everything. Thanks to my enemy, I will now never become anything like him... I don't need to be the greatest anything anymore. I just want to help my friends. And my world." I'm not sure if that was meant as a rebuttal against "Emerald Twilight" or if it reinforced it. All in all, it would really only take another random blow to the head to send Hal off in any given direction anyway.

The big siege progressed. Metallo tore apart Platinum while the Man of Lead continued fighting Black Adam. Parasite decided that he needed to "end this," so he grabbed Adam's foot to steal his powers, then swiped the kryptonite heart out of Metallo. Bizarro was grappling with the Man of Lead, affording Parasite the opportunity to rip through "Superman's suit" to discover Lead had actually helped to conceal Captain Marvel. The power of Shazam slammed Bizarro into Parasite, then the Big Red Cheese gave Hal Jordan the order. Iron's armor over Jordan had concealed the fact that Hal was wielding Sinestro's lost spare yellow power ring (that had been lent to Grodd but stolen by Metamorpho) through a filter of blue kryptonite. The blue K immediately took out Bizarro, while Captain Marvel crushed the piece of green K Metallo thrived on.



Ross had fixed the incorrect Platinum symbol on Plastic Man's armor to shift it to Tin, but it was never explained how Gold could pretend to be Green Arrow and cover Superman at the same time. Anyway, the shiny gold mummy quasi-Shazam Superman was attacked by the Parasite. Black Adam thought Captain Marvel liked seeing him weakened, but Billy was too innocent to enjoy another's suffering, though he was willing to choke Adam until he said the magic word. The ensuing lightning bolt conveniently struck Parasite on its way to removing Adam's powers. Plastic Man contained the Riddler in his fleshy mass while Tin (absent his familiar stutter) separated to cage Parasite. It seemed from his demonstrated pomposity that Ross and company had confused Tin with Mercury, who the Flash was still wearing, at least until he was used to gag Teth-Adam.

Green Arrow had delivered Hal Jordan's power ring to John Stewart, who by the spoken narrative grace of Jordan had been allowed access to Hal's incredible power as Green Lantern to free the teenage super-heroes from the control of Brainiac's nanotechnological worms. The same tech briefly retook the Leaguers made vulnerable by their release from the Metal Men "armor," but John Stewart promptly liberated them. Hal Jordan is so awesome for allowing his Negro acquaintance to save the day (but not allowing him any lines of his own, heaven forbidding such impropriety.)



Yellow Lantern Hal Jordan continued to match Sinestro with the same type of power ring, openly acknowledging that should he falter, John Stewart and the Justice League would surely avenge him. In response, Sinestro offered the scintillating bon mot "Shut up. Shut Up. Shut-the-hell-up!" Does Korugar even have a concept of Hell? When in doubt while writing Green Lantern dialogue, always try to hear Nathan Fillion saying Hal lines and Vincent Price saying Sinestro ones. Jordan and Sinestro tapped out their power source and switched up to mano-a-mano. Jordan beat Sinestro bloody, claiming that it was not vengeance he sought, but justice. Then both men fell through the top of a black city-sphere, and John Stewart apparently laughed off-panel as he returned Jordan's power ring so he could save himself and Sinestro.

The villains present on the main scene were either shut down by force or through the disabling of Brainiac's influence. That left the previously hostage supporting casts to mingle with their heroes, or in John Stewart's case, to get stuck with Tom "Pieface" Kalmaku, Carol Ferris, and Hal's brothers. The Flash and Iris West had a sweet if inhibited WASP pseudo-embrace, while Superman and Lois Lane had a big ol' sloppy wet P.D.A. Supergirl looked on from a distance as Lana Lang and Jimmy Olsen milled about. Captain Marvel was oddly separated from Mary and Junior, preferring Zatanna's company (though who wouldn't?) Rita Farr held Robotman's brutally battered severed head.



The Super Friends followed Brainiac to Toyman's world, where Superman took the fight deep into the heart while everyone else tore apart duplicates of Brainiac in a somehow self-serious spread. Zatanna then teleported everyone but Superman to Scarecrow's creepy 19th century European faux city, though Green Lantern proved capable of taking it all on his own. The Indian girl from last issue was there, and her hands were already starting to hurt...

"Chapter Eleven" was plotted and painted by Alex Ross. The script was provided by Jim Krueger, and the penciled layouts by Doug Braithwaite. After wasting all those early issues on individual attacks and a couple on the back end on big fights, these guys are having a heck of a time trying to tie the plot threads together. At least Elasti-Girl is consistently prominent in the crowd scenes, thanks to her stature.

Continue the story through these character-specific posts:

• The Atom, Hawkman, Hawkgirl & Red Tornado @ PotA
• Wonder Woman & Wonder Girl @ Diana Prince
• Martian Manhunter @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Aquaman, Elongated Man, Zatanna & more @ Justice League Detroit

Justice #10 (April, 2007)

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Previously in Justice

An Indian woman wrote her parents about the wonderful city run by a super-villain that she had run away to live in, and mentioned the differences between each villain's haven.

The seemingly triumphant Legion took to formal dress and toasted themselves in a building whose architecture recalled the Hall of Doom. The Atom was detected as a spy in their midst, and turned out not to be the only one, as armored heroes rushed the hall. Violence ensued. The Flash/Mercury used Plastic Man/Platinum to super-speed bind some villains. A Captain Marvel bound up in golden bandages (thought it was Metamorpho at first) and a Lead-plated Man of Steel clashed with Black Adam and Bizarro. Green Lantern paired off with Sinstro, and actually, most of the matches were entirely predictable.

The mind-controlled sidekicks of the main heroes were called in by the Legion as reenforcements, but were met outside the hall by the Doom Patrol. Robotman was torn to pieces by Mary Marvel, and Beast Boy fared little better against Kid Flash. Negative Man challenged Captain Marvel Junior as Elasti-Girl stood tall against Batgirl and the Teen Titans while wearing a mini-skirt. However, once Larry Trainor was forced to return his negative form to his corporeal body, Rita was overwhelmed by the Marvel Family. The Joker had managed to insert himself into the city, stole Robotman's severed head, and detonated bombs he'd planted all over town.



Platinum (Again? Spread thin?) and Gold pretended to cover Green Arrow and Black Canary, but that duo was secretly teleported into a sewer tunnel by Zatanna. Once there, they were attacked by Clayface (again,) who was contained by Green Arrow's "shadow," Elongated Man. Once the deception was detected, Gold and Platinum tangled with Parasite and Metallo, 'Tina ending up worse for wear. Superman knocked Toyman about while keeping a choke hold on Bizarro, but then Lead taunted Solomon Grundy and Kal-El took the brunt of the resultant punishment.

Green Arrow insisted that Black Canary save her sonic powers for a planned moment of truth, but once the pair located the supporting cast hostages, Ollie was left to deal with the possessed Supergirl. Dinah argued against Ollie firing a kryptonite arrow at the Maid of Might, a discussion super-hearing easily allowed Kara to act upon. Supergirl dodged the arrow, which struck John Stewart in the chest. As it turned out, all went according to plan, since the arrow actually had a power ring on its tip. Green Lantern declared "You're not killing any super-heroes today, Supergirl. You're going to help us save the world. Just like always.

"Chapter Ten" was plotted and painted by Alex Ross. The script was provided by Jim Krueger, and the penciled layouts by Doug Braithwaite.

Continue the story through these character-specific posts:

• The Atom, Hawkman and Hawkgirl @ PotA
• Martian Manhunter @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Wonder Woman & Wonder Girl @ Diana Prince
• Aquaman, Elongated Man & more @ Justice League Detroit

Justice Volume Two (2007)

Superman was being held down by Solomon Grundy, while Metallo killed the Man of Steel slowly with radiation from his kryptonite heart. Bizarro and Parasite looked on, until lightning crossed the skies, and an unseen force began to attack the villains.

In no time, the Power of Shazam was at Superman's disposal. Captain Marvel had answered Kal-El's distress signal, and now offered a helping hand. Superman was too sick to hold himself up, and Bizarro had recovered, so the Big Red Cheese flew them both to safety. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor teleported to the scene to save Parasite from the kryptonite (he'd absorbed Superman's weaknesses with his strengths) that he replaced in Metallo's chest cavity. Bizarro rejoined the motley crew.

Dinah Lance walked into her bedroom to find her lover Oliver Queen buried under a fleshy mass, and with green arrows seemingly buried in his head. Whether this was from the Scarecrow's nightmare gases or Clayface's shifting form, an ear-splitting Canary Cry shook the facade loose. Ollie Queen yet lived, and shoved the sparking end of a busted lamp into Clayface's electrocuted hide.The villains fled, and a tearful Black Canary held her shaken man. Dinah wondered why her cry hadn't hurt Ollie, until he removed his earplugs. You see, Clayface had turned himself into a blond Dinah to trick Queen before the attack, not realizing Lance was naturally a brunette. Ollie figured he might be needing more than one form of protection, if his Pretty Bird was indulging in amorous role-play...

Green Lantern Hal Jordan had been forced through a Boom Tube by Sinestro and left in a starless, uncharted area of space. His power ring couldn't get him back home, so he asked it "How much longer before your charge runs out and I die?"



Superman guided Captain Marvel to the Batcave. None of the active Leaguers were answering his calls, so some reservists like the Captain had been notified. The Dark Knight was angry that Superman had compromised him, but Marvel assured, "I would never tell anyone about this place. Which is really cool, by the way." Marvel thought it might help to transform back into his normal self of kid reporter Billy Batson, but Batman just complained about the noise and magic lightning bouncing around his headquarters, not to mention questioning the kid's experience with "crime and loss." Billy politely blew off the Caped Crusader's ignorance, while Superman cold decked his friend. The Man of Steel was too weak for it to be a killing blow, but he gave it all he had, since Batman had palmed some kryptonite. X-ray Vision revealed that Batman was full of mind-controlling mechanical worms, and Superman soon realized he was similarly compromised. Alfred Pennyworth was too, as he covered Billy's mouth with one hand and threatened to slice the boy's throat with the Batarang in the other.

Lex Luthor cast black marbles into a body of water, and from out of it emerged ebony spheres the size of cities. This was Braniac's doing, and though one super-villain would inevitably betray the other, for now everything was going according to mutual plans.

Billy's heel slammed hard into Alfred's foot as he broke loose of the butler's grip. Superman pegged the manservant in the brow with a flung coffee cup, while with one magic word, Captain Marvel was restored. Alfred and the Batman were tied up. Next, Superman asked Marvel to throw him into the sun, in order to burn out the worms...



The powers of the gods allowed Captain Marvel to try to talk Superman out of the prescribed course of action while traveling through the vacuum of space. Wordlessly, the Man of Steel made it clear he was more afraid of his infestation making him the man who killed Captain Marvel than vice versa, so the Big Red Cheese threw Superman into the sun.

Hal Jordan was mildly amused to finally encounter a portion of space(?) the Guardians of the Universe knew nothing about, but not too much under the circumstances. His power ring only had seven hours worth of charge remaining, and he was potentially lost forever. Green Lantern decided to convert himself into electronic impulses stored within his ring, perhaps indefinitely.

"This involvement of Captain Marvel was unforeseen," noted Brainiac to Lex Luthor and Grodd. The Super-Gorilla seemed the most irritated by the party crasher, and was given permission to send the pseudo-prophetic nightmare shared by the Legion of Doom to Black Adam in order to increase their numbers.

Ablaze with solar energy, the Man of Tomorrow was restored. On learning that Superman had rid himself of a worm-like bodily invader, Captain Marvel offered Mr. Mind as a suspect. Just as the pair were reaching the JLA Satellite, it exploded in front of them. Captain Marvel asked if Superman detected any trace of Red Tornado in the debris...



John Stewart told Zatanna when he arrived at Ferris Aircraft Company, and asked that she thank Elongated Man for calling him in. On the property, Stewart met with Hal Jordan's sometimes girlfriend Carol Ferris and sidekick Tom Kalmaku. Stewart was searching for Hal, but the best idea "Pieface" could offer was pointing to the sky. "Thanks. That narrows it down."

Hal Jordan knew that it was Sinestro who had "killed" him via Boom Tube, but tried to move on with his everlasting illusion of life. Simulations of Coast City and its residents were constructed, but they were hollow things, and Green Lantern wondered how long he would wait before allowing space to take him...

An emaciated Flash continued to run across the globe, surely doomed to die from exhaustion...

Brainiac was aware Aquaman's body had been found, but it served its purpose of distracting the League, since Lex Luthor had failed to assassinate the super friends. Of course, Brainiac himself hadn't found in the Sea King's brain what he was looking for, so it was up to Gorilla Grodd to initiate a new phase in the trio's plans. Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Mary Batson, Freddy Freeman, Jean Loring, Carol Ferris, Steve Trevor, John Stewart, Dick Grayson, Wally West... all targeted...



Once again, the Wisdom of Solomon trumped any thoughts in Superman's head. Captain Marvel flew as close to the wayward Flash as he could, and with one magic word, magical lightning shook the Scarlet Speedster out of his uncontrollable race toward death. Superman caught Billy Batson before any harm could come to him, then gave him space for the power of Shazam to restore Captain Marvel. Getting thrown into the sun had burnt up the Man of Steel's wallet, so Earth's Mightiest Mortal came to the rescue again, offering his only ten bucks to feed the Flash at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Hal Jordan was already feeling like death in a self-centered world of his own making. However, his power ring refused to restore his physical form for such an end. "Your essence has been converted into an electrical impulse that has been stored within the ring... You will now live forever. Alone."

In Shazam's lair within an abandoned subway tunnel, Black Adam covered Mary's mouth, and threatened to kill her if Freddy said a word...

Superman arrived at his Fortress of Solitude, greeted by fellow heroes awaiting him...

In an Arabian desert, the Flash broke up Captain Cold's mini-harem. "You tried to kill me. And that means you tried to kill everyone I hope to save until the day I die. That's a lot of people." Cold should have pointed out that if he had succeeded, the Scarlet Speedster still would have saved everybody he saved until the day he died, but since he didn't die, he might ought to consider swapping a chemistry class for some remedial English. Instead, Cold drew a replica pistol made of ice, which Flash totally fell for, so maybe he needed another police detective class, too. Captain Cold froze up a hall of mirrors, and when that didn't work, created sculptured duplicates of himself. Failing yet again, Captain Cold was run to the Fortress of Solitude.



Still trapped in his power ring, Hal Jordan argued with simulations of his brothers about the benefits of lacking fear, and where his adventuring ways landed him.

Batman, having interrogated Captain Cold, learned all about the prophetic nightmares that motivated the villains to action. Black Canary wondered if the Legion of Doom thought they were doing the right thing, but Batman explained that the villains wouldn't have tried to turn the situation to their advantage to lord over potential survivors if their hearts were truly in the right place.

Supergirl, Batgirl and Commissioner Gordon were all captured by Legion forces.

Hal Jordan had regressed to childhood, which is why he wished to heed the command of his parents not to talk to the Stranger who had paid him a visit. "So there you are, Hal. I've been looking everywhere for you." The Phantom Stranger then helped Hal with some self-realization psychobabble about not trying to remake the real world in his image/with great power comes great moderation/how the League helps Hal check his head/yadda yadda. The important thing was the the Stranger brought a power battery and a direction home, so Green Lantern could try to look cool saying his oath in a painted splash page.

All the heroes were together at the Fortress of Solitude, except John Stewart, who got himself kidnapped by the mind-controlled kid sidekicks of other heroes (mostly the Teen Titans and the Marvel Family.)

"Justice, Vol. 2," collecting issues #5-8 of the 2005 mini-series, was plotted and painted by Alex Ross. The script was provided by Jim Krueger, and the penciled layouts by Doug Braithwaite.

Green Lantern Corps #4 (February, 2012)

The planet Xabas. A team of Green Lanterns with depleted power rings led by John Stewart were surrounded by robot ninja dudes possessed of emerald energy weapons of their own. Said weapons were demonstrated as useless against the ninja dudes, thanks to DNA signatures. The head ninja dude saw the fire in Stewart's eyes, even in surrender. "We spit on all treaties, and surrender's abhorrent to you as it is to us... That's why I feel you still need... the proper motivation." Head ninja dude stabbed a bald Caucasian Green Lantern in the head, spilling conveniently purple blood.

On Oa, Guy Gardner was torturing a captured ninja dude for information. Without the standard issue black armor, he looked like Chemo on Slimfast with a skeleton floating inside. Six pages in, I learned the ninja dudes are called Keepers, but I still don't know the name of the executed GL. Gardner tried to play good cop/bad cop with Salaak, but the old alien was too much of a fuddy-duddy to go full Patriot Act on the Keeper. The Keepers were slaughtering whole planets full of people, but to Green Lanterns, that sounds like Tuesday.

Elsewhere, some big rocky Lantern named Kannu was beating up actual rocks and himself over leaving a fellow corpsman behind. Elsewhere elsewhere, the reptilian Isamot Kol was trying to work a power ring with his tongue in a training session, since his arms and legs were still regrowing. Sheriff Mardin recommended he switch to his tail, since the ring apparently tasted terrible. I think these guys had all escaped Xabas, unlike poor Unnamed Cannon Fodder, who shall long be mourned. After all, John Stewart needed something else to feel guilty about.

The GL POWs were teleported to a barren world pocked by power battery impressions. "Be prepared to lose your will and maybe your lives... as you cross the Emerald Plains."



Guy Gardner continued his brutal interrogation, but not drugs nor violence nor threats could break the Keeper. From out of nowhere came the Martian Manhunter, with whom the Green Lantern apparently has no prior history in the New 52. J'Onn J'Onzz informed Gardner of his identity and position with Stormwatch, fully intending to wipe the Lantern's memory after extracting all relevant information from the Keeper's mind. As it turned out, what they kept were GL power batteries, on the plain where Lanterns could send their power sources to keep them from being left otherwise unattended. That situation turned sour, and now the Keepers were headed for Oa to claim the Central Power Battery...

"Prisoners of War" was by Peter J. Tomasi, Fernando Pasarin and Scott Hanna. Remember that old Stan Lee saying about how every comic is somebody's first? Tomasi doesn't. See, this was my first issue of GLC since the Mongul arc from volume one. I don't think many of the corpsmen here were in that story. I don't know these guys, and I don't feel like I got much of an introduction. Guy Gardner playing Jack Bauer was in character, but Martian Manhunter came right out of Tomasi's poop chute to get all mindrapey. You know what kind of comics I don't need to read? Vague ones with nothing new or interesting to say except to tell me that all my funny JLI issues don't count anymore. I've got a few longboxes of that good stuff, and they're the only reason I bought this book... once.

New 52's Day

• Aquaman #4 (February, 2012) @ Justice League Detroit
• The Huntress #3 (February, 2012) @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
• Stormwatch #4 (February, 2012) @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu

1984 Green Lantern John Stewart, The Predator and Eclipso art by Rob Liefeld

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Image Founders

• 2008 Aquaman color head sketch by Jim Lee and Alex Sinclair @ Justice League Detroit
• 2006 Wolverine, the Atom & Batgirl by Jim Lee & Amanda Conner @ Power of the Atom
• 1990 Martian Manhunter art by Whilce Portacio @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Wonder Woman Gallery by Jim Lee @ Diana Prince

Doom Patrol #2 (September, 2004)

In the new origin of Larry Trainor that will be forgotten within two years and directly contradicted within four, dude was supposed to fly a spaceship around the sun under the guidance of Niles Caulder. Something went wrong, and he ended up flying the failing ship right toward the control center Caulder and Rita Farr were working out of. Caulder remote ejected Trainor, who refused to do it himself in hopes of guiding the ship away from where his friends could be killed. Frustrated, Trainor projected the Negative Man for the first time to carry the craft to safety. Fatigued, Trainor felt better when the Negative Man returned to him, only to learn it also made him intensely radioactive.

Flashback: That part where the enlarged Rita fell through a wall? Happened again. The new kids joined the fight, with Vortex being clever enough to create a portal toward a solar light source. Unfortunately, while in possession of metahuman bodies, the vampires were safe from the sun.

Elsewhere: In Antarctica, a science project went awry without my hanging out until issue three or later to follow-up.

Flashback: The same exposition the punk kid teleporter gave last issue.



Presently: The Chief explained to Nudge and Faith how to separate the vampires from the metahumans, the sun hit the bloodsuckers, and they erupted in flames. The punk kid teleported to Castle Crucifer with Negative Man in pursuit. Larry continued talking amongst the Patrol about the stuff he was doing as Negative Man, until the pain of separation caused the energy wraith to go crazy. The Doom Patrol followed up, and found Green Lantern John Stewart trying to contain Negative Man while Batman saw to Martian Manhunter. With Larry's arrival, the wraith settled down, and returned to Trainor. Larry was concerned about the attack on Manhunter. "Fortunately, I was able to render myself intangible just at the moment he struck at me. He did no damage." Come to think of it, most of that was still a flashback, after all.

The punk kid wormhole guy tossed Batman aside and tried to escape, but Rita Farr had figured him out through subtle clues, and killed the vampire with sunlight. The Sleuth from Outer Space offered, "Excellent deductive reasoning, Miss Farr. My compliments." Trainor apologized for the attack on J'Onzz, and everyone went their separate ways on good terms. Bruce Wayne later blew twelve million dollars buying Castle Crucifer and having Green Lantern tear it down.

In the aftermath, Faith remained to train Nudge in the use of her powers, and Rita told the Chief that her group had decided not to rat him out for using Nudge as bait. "It's not something you are ever going to do again."

"Hearts of Darkness" was by John Byrne with Doug Hazelwood. The book remained all exposition, but little plot and no soul. Byrne's trying to be clever with the timeline by visiting different areas at different points, but it just feels like two issues of wheels spinning.

Doom Patrol #1 (August, 2004)

The four-armed gorilla Nudge was going ape, and his handler Nudge couldn't chill him out. A hunk of machinery flew at the group, but Faith used her telekinesis to redirect it upward. Newton's law states that wasn't such a hot idea, so Vortex opened his mouth to keep any weight from coming down. The four young metahumans had been ordered to remain at the flier aircraft while the Doom Patrol investigated their converted prison base on Key Mordaz, Florida. They decided to get in on the case.

Martian Manhunter informed, "Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash... they have all returned to their homes on Earth. And you have been without sleep for at least seventy-two hours." Batman snorted, "I've gone longer, J'Onn." The Dark Knight Detective still didn't feel the Crucifer case was closed. When the Sleuth from Outer Space suggested the Doom Patrol was the loose string, Batman replied "No-- I trust Niles Caulder, their leader. I would not have let Faith go off with them if I didn't." One, trying to rehabilitate the Chief's sorry reputation by having making Batman say something that naive is just wrong, and two, boy is Batman bossy these days. "J'Onn... you know I wouldn't ask this unless I felt there was no other way. You're Martian telepathy... d'you think you could..." Yes, he said "d'you..."

Faith and the pre-Doomers learned three of Caulder's inmates held in the prison were loose. "You mean this Doctor Caulder guy keeps people locked up here? Isn't that a violation of all kinds of civil rights?" Nudge blew that off with Caulder's rationale that the public good outweighed "that sort of thing." An enlarged Rita Farr suddenly fell backwards through a wall. This set up a flashback to the cliffhanger at the end of the Doom Patrol's backdoor pilot JLA story arc "The Tenth Circle." The Chief was bound up on a wall surrounded by three vampires. In an expository flashback during an expository flashback, a punk metahuman kid explained that he had been helping Crucifer out with his wormhole powers, affording contact to the rest of the Circle and access to other dimensions. The punk was the reason Crucifer was able to teleport from Canada to Castle Crucifer, and how he himself had reached Florida. The punk released Caulder's three metahuman prisoners, and helped members of the Circle take possession of their bodies.



Barrage was a naked bald guy who fired energy cannons from out of his hands that could blow Negative Man to pieces. Magalith was a stony freak who dealt Robotman Cliff Steele some damage, but not enough. Rubber Maid, who had a past relationship with Cliff, managed to tie him up with her malleable body. The battle of three-on-three seemed prone to stalemate.

The Manhunter from Mars had mentally allowed Batman access to reflection on the battle with "crystal clarity." The Dark Knight realized that there was a missing metahuman working with Crucifer, and Green Lantern volunteered to help track him down. "Always impressive, John Stewart." All three were soon at Castle Crucifer, and before Batman could "jimmy" the lock, J'Onn J'Onzz passed immaterially through. One opened door later, and "Welcome, gentlemen. Enter freely, and of your own will." Stewart snickered, wondering when the Martian had gotten around to reading Dracula. J'Onzz missed the rhetorical element, and explained his familiarity with Earth culture after decades here.

The Manhunter's telepathy found the house deserted, until the punk kid turned up out of nowhere, followed by Negative Man. At first, the energy wraith tried to chat, but then screamed in pain and attacked J'Onn J'Onzz...

"Baptism of Blood" was by John Byrne with Doug Hazelwood. There's less dialogue than in the preceding Chris Claremont scripts, but Byrne on his own is no less corny. Jerry Ordway's inks are sorely missed, as the new embellishment hews too close to Byrne's rushed, loose, bland pencils. Faith is still dressed like trash, the villains could not be less generic, and the team pretty much shares a single milquetoast personality. Pity the poor reader who bought a first issue expecting more than to walk in on chapter seven of an uninspired story from an over the hill creator with a painfully out of date take on this "new" super-team.

JLA #99 (Late August, 2004)

Through Nudge's contact with Manitou Raven, the Manhunter from Mars was eventually able to determine Crucifer's origins and an overview of his activities across centuries, including the nature of his arrangement with the insectoid creatures that rendered him "effectively unkillable." Since Vortex's wormhole was still open, Nudge led the JLA and the (still unnamed) Doom Patrol back through it to Castle Crucifer. Green Lantern John Stewart neutralized Vortex, until Nudge and the Martian Manhunter spoke out in his behalf. The Flash released Crucifer's human child prisoners from their basement cells, then contacted the authorities to see to their well being. Vortex then opened a portal to Barnes, Saskatchewan, so that most of the heroes could confront their prey. Martian Manhunter requested, "With your go-ahead, Batman, I would like to stay behind... and try to find some means to liberate Superman. We cannot afford to have Crucifer use him against us further."

The spell to free the Tenth Circle from their other-dimensional prison was ruined by the arrival of the super-heroes, but Crucifer still had a team of metahumans and a possessed town at his disposal. Most were subdued by the super-groups, but a number of vampires and other persons of interest managed to escape, including Crucifer himself. The Lord returned to his castle, where he was impaled by Vortex. Since there was no effect, Crucifer turned on the youth, but was then addressed by a sword-wielding Wonder Woman. In defense of Crucifer, Superman shattered the sword, and the vampire decided that he would turn the Amazon into his queen. Red blood was vomited out of Crucifer's pained throat, even though the just-arrived Nudge called it as green. Either way, "Wonder Woman" turned out to be the Martian Manhunter in disguise, and his alien blood had dealt Crucifer some damage.



The Atom and Rita Farr had just been kickin' it in the other dimension, waiting for the Chief to give the word, before finally, simultaneously, from opposite directions, they karate kicked Crucifer's heart box to pieces so that it reverted back to his chest on Earth. No, I don't know how that worked, or why they didn't just bring it back with them hours ago, or why they couldn't have staked it right there. Superman, while holding a crucifix, then punched Crucifer in his bloodless love muscle. Somebody should have picketed the DC Comics offices over that. Not religious people, but activists for the ethical treatment of comic book readers who kept buying this series after Joe Kelly left.

Later, Manitou Raven was already back at the Watchtower without explanation to deliver more exposition and shed a solitary tear over pollution. Faith, still dressed like an Oklahoman lot lizard, was feeling well enough to become Nudge's new mentor in the upcoming Doom Patrol spin-off series, which began with a two-page prologue involving those escaped vampires having captured the Chief, but only after the Doom Patrol had left the Watchtower alone, even though they were totally going to drag the JLA into a guest appearance anyway. Batman told a joke about Crucifer's heart being in the right place. In a metatextual moment, the JLA silently stared in horror and the petrified readers returning the terror-filled gaze. In Jesus' hallowed name, we beg thee, why?



Man, what a stupid resolution to a progressively more terrible story. Rather than tell the tale, Manitou Raven facilitates a massive expository data dump on all things Crucifer, so that the JLA never actually has to uncover evidence through a proper investigation. This forces a six page prelude to the cliffhanger from last issue, so pity the reader who bought this in trade paperback with the expectation of a single seating experience. Not that the cliffhanger mattered, because how exciting was the premise? It's the World's Greatest Super-Heroes plus the Doom Patrol on a small town football field against a handful of unnamed immature metahumans, some bloodsuckers, and townies. Whoop-dee-do. Hey, how is it Manitou Raven managed to leave a door open for the Atom to the exact point in the right dimension where Crucifer's heart was located. Also, why did the Chief make the Atom and Rita wait to smash Crucifer's heart, since if it had been back in the vamp's chest earlier on, Vortex would have killed him. That would have saved J'Onn J'Onzz some neck pain, but wait, why didn't Crucifer decide to make Wonder Woman his vampire queen in their first encounter? It would have been a lot more impressive having the Man of Steel and the Amazing Amazon on that football field. Hold up-- would that have even worked, given Diana's divine and not entirely human origins? Plus, after everything Wonder Woman had gone through, she never got to avenge herself against Crucifer? Also, hasn't the solar energy held by Superman's bodily cells killed vampires in the past? Additionally, where did Manitou Raven come back from at the end of the story, and how did he manage that? By the way, was anybody impressed with the Doom Patrol's performance here, or learning that the last two pages of this six-part story forced the reader to continue to a two part coda in their new series? Ooo-ooo, let's ship Faith off to the book where this creator dresses her like a hoochie-mama and sidelines her for an entire story arc, only to gank her after four issues for a different bad series nobody wanted, to insure that there is only one woman left in the JLA? Most importantly of all, who in their right mind figured generic ass vampires were enough of a threat to tie up the JLA for an issue, even before adding a second super-team? Holy Hanna, this thing got horrid in a hurry!

"Heartbreaker!" was blessedly the final chapter of "The Tenth Circle" to afflict mankind. It was foisted upon an unwitting populace by John "Hates You" Byrne, Chris "Bore" Claremont, and Jerry "The Bystander" Ordway. Did I mention they had one of the black kid metahumans call John Stewart "Homes?" That happened.

JLA #98 (Early August, 2004)

Batman did not wish to spring any of Crucifer's traps by following obvious leads, so he instead directed the League toward one he had generated that was only tangentially related: Key Mordaz, Floria. The Flash scouted ahead, and found very modern improvements concealed under the appearance of an old Spanish fort turned "abandoned" Confederate island prison. The Scarlet Speedster found Nudge, and assumed she was running in fear from Grunt, so a clash with another gorilla commenced. Martian Manhunter's telepathy detected intellect and consciousness within the four-armed beast, and allowed it to pass intangibly through him. Batman performed a judo move and Green Lantern John Stewart caged grunt.

John recognized Nudge as the girl who'd played "Jedi" mind tricks on him, and tried it again on other heroes. "Your mental wiles are wasted on the Dark Knight, child... and are even less effective against a trained telepath. A psychic scan should reveal the truth--! By the twin moons!" The Martian Manhunter was pained by his psychic violation from, "Voices! A multitude, crying out in rage... and hatred... not a part of her. From... somewhere else!"

At Castle Crucifer, Vortex was branded a traitor by an attacking vampire, who tore his blue face mask off. The sight underneath sent the vampire cowering in despair, declared incurably mad by Vortex, then executed. "...No witnesses."

Themyscira. The Amazons managed to take Wonder Woman from death's door to a speedy recovery, but not a complete one. Diana was already up and donning her armor, which proved upsetting to her sisters. "Charon's boat still waits below, to carry your shade to the domain of Hades." Diana insisted that the fate of the world was on the line, that she had to warn her team about Superman and-- oops! Wounds reopened. Too bad she wasn't conscious in her hospital room to tell the JLA everything they needed to know, or that the team didn't have a resident telepath, nor the Amazons any sophisticated communications equipment. What a stupid story.



Speaking of which, the JLA finally located Niles Caulder, Rita Farr, Larry Trainor and Cliff Steele in a secret lab within the decaying prison. Everyone was introduced, literally, because the creators had decided to pull a Hawkworld and try to treat the Doom Patrol as a brand new addition to the DC Universe. Yes friends, the entire JLA arc was just a backdoor pilot for a relaunch that would last less than two years. Anyway, Nudge told everybody her story, which allowed the Sleuth from Outer Space to deduce that "Her psychic discontinuity comes as a result of trying to integrate her already chaotic consciousness... with that of Manitou Raven." The ancient Native American mage almost uncovered the 10th Circle's plot, so he was neutralized by Crucifer. Nudge happened to capture Superman, Crucifer came to possess him, then Faith through Kal-El, plus the near killing of Wonder Woman. The logic behind this sequence of events as presented is confused, because there's no strong indication Crucifer directed Nudge to Superman, yet happenstance led him to target the JLA. Manhunter felt, "He left me alone because Superman and I are too evenly matched. Open conflict between us would alert the League before he was fully prepared." Except get over yourself, J'Onn, because Wonder Woman consistently fares better against Superman than you, and she was explicitly directed to the JLA as a warning. Maybe Crucifer just figured you'd spend four issues going, "Dur-- where'd Atom go," and if not, he could just light a fireplace in your presence. "I am now able to shed light on the whereabouts of the Atom." Well finally!



The Chief had Rita Farr shrink down to millimeter size, a power I don't recall her possessing, and one she herself only employed with complaint. I suppose if you're going to reboot a character, the early going would be the time to do such a thing. A line was attached to her and equipped with an audio-visual transmitter, Rita climbed into Manitou Raven's stones. Down she went through a "dimensional nexus," then off to the crystal palace, guided by alien worshipers to "Doctor Atom, I presume?" Ray offered, "Dr. Palmer, actually." He recognized Rita as a former associate of Dr. Caulder's who had an "accident," but she claimed not to have actually perished, as long reported. "Nope. Not permanently, anyway." The Atom explained that Crucifer had been using this place as a "side-door dimension" to get around from place to place and, during layovers, set himself up as a sadistic deity. Palmer showed Farr the "sacred relic," which was broadcast back to Caulder's lab, and seen on screen by the Martian Manhunter. "If Manitou Raven's opinion is any guide," J'Onn believed he knew what it was, "And more important, how it may be of use in our overall situation."

Barnes, Saskatchewan. Crucifer drained a host of human life energy, directed it into a small group of metahumans under his control, and laid the leftover mound of bodies in the shape of a Times New Roman font X in a football field. Apparently, ancient vampires hunted humanity for sport and meat, "Until we faced the Amazons. And found ourselves banished to a realm of unending torment." The banished Tenth Circle vampires merged with the metahuman hosts, just as the JLA arrived to quip on the grounds of a mass murder. Nice.

"Convergence," part five of "The Tenth Circle," can be blamed on the famous X-Men creative team of John Byrne and Chris Claremont, but leave inker Jerry Ordway alone. He was just following orders, and the book at least looked good most of the time through his efforts.

JLA #97 (Late June, 2004)

From out of a pink portal in the sky fell Wonder Woman tied up in burlap. Ma and Pa Kent an older couple swerved their RV to avoid the mass, and ended up rolling it. The couple was okay, and the man was a doctor, which was handy. Diana was soon at Memorial Hospital in Las Vegas, lying unconscious on supplemental oxygen, having miraculously survived her wounds. Batman, Green Lantern, the Martian Manhunter and the Flash watched over her. Inspecting Diana's removed costume, the Dark Knight Detective found a secreted bit of paper with the 10th Circle "X." John Stewart figured out it was a way of challenging the League, mafia style.

A group of haughty Amazons (are there any other kind?) demanded their injured sister be turned over to their care. Stewart insisted that she was in no condition to travel, but Batman ordered him to "Stand down, Lantern. They're here at my request." Batman felt Diana's injuries were far beyond the scope of modern medicine, so that advanced Amazon science was her only hope. However, Diana managed to get out of bed to protest by sheer moxie, which the Caped Crusader blew off as stupid. "You can barely stand... You've done your part. Leave the rest to us."

Crucifer presented Superman to his demonic overlords, but still had to explain why this story was dragging on, and was punished for his vanity. Nudge tried to help the blood-drained Faith, who remained unconscious, and was visited by the spirit of Manitou Raven.

The Atom was told the wardens who attacked him would be tortured to death for their transgression against his divine self, but he asked that they be spared. The priestess agreed, but pointed out that "The Precursor took delight in such suffering." This would be the first divinity, who appeared to the people scores of generations prior, and left them a sacred relic that Ray got an eyeful of.



Barnes, Saskatchewan. The writer made a point of naming a slew of citizens and assigning them admirable professions which benefit the lives of others. All the better to murder them violently, so that everybody really hates Crucifer and his metahuman thrall. The vampire also killed one of his minions for giving him the slightest hint of lip, and set a big fire in the shape of a Times New Roman font X.

Batman continued to sit on the League's hands, not taking the 10th Circle's bait, but instead seeking out more information on the group. The Caped Crusader was also able to connect the residue from Green Lantern's costume to limestone & coral from Key Mordaz, Florida.

Vortex helped Nudge and Grunt escape Crucifer's castle to Key Mordaz, Florida.

The members of the team still not explicitly identified as the Doom Patrol argued at their base on Key Mordaz, Florida. Robotman finally received his completed armor, with lots of bells and whistles and strength purported to rival Superman's. Just then, the JLA burst in on them, "And we're not in a nice mood."



I've read a lot of hate online for this story arc, which I thought was overheated, since the first half was just plodding and the storytelling quaintly anachronistic. With this issue, I'm starting to see where the venom comes from. Why wouldn't Crucifer chop Wonder Woman into pieces just large enough to identify if she was completely in his power and near death anyway? Why is it that only the female team members are brutally beaten and left for dead in this series? I can only recall two instances of Wonder Woman lying helpless in a hospital bed throughout my decades of reading her adventures, and both times John Byrne was the responsible party. Why is it Batman specifically orders John Stewart around like his pet soldier, but also gets to boss everyone else around like they were Outsiders? Four issues in, and neither Martian Manhunter nor the Flash have done anything. Superman has remained a total mind slave the entire time, unable to prevent himself from all but murdering Wonder Woman. The Atom keeps popping up for a few pages per issue in what appears to be a massively tangential b-plot. Instead of advancing the plot, the spectacularly unimpressive Crucifer keeps sadistically tormenting innocents to impress no one. Then there's the least subtle teasing of a new Doom Patrol possible, which not only seriously mucks with continuity, but tosses in two awful new members in Nudge and Grunt. Byrne keeps doing these annoying dutch angle layouts, which are a pain to scan. Finally, and most importantly, this book is relentless in its treading of water.

"Interlude on the Last Day of the World," part four of "The Tenth Circle," and possibly the most pretentious story title of all time, was by the famous X-Men creative team of John Byrne and Chris Claremont, joined by the inks of Jerry Ordway.

IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time: 60-41

In 2009 or so, the comics department of the popular video game website IGN.com put together a list of their Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time, and have finally followed up with the vastly less well considered Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time. There is much here to mock and debate (in that order,) so I'll have to do it on an installment plan. Watch the video if you like, but expect a poverty of speech content...

More IGN Videos

Review:
100-81
80-61

60) Fone Bone

I remember sampling Bone a time or two in the early '90s, including a second or third printing of the first issue, and shrugging. I never really hopped onto the Carl Barks wagon, either. Meanwhile, IGN editors are probably young enough to have followed the story serialized in Disney Adventures. Jeff Smith can have their love, and if possible, one can may please buy my copy of his crappy Captain Marvel trade.

59) Booster Gold

I decided a while back to stop hating Booster Gold. I bought his first issue solely because the ad promised me a free pin, and I didn't realize that offer did not extend to the comics rack at Circle K. I resented that, and his playing second fiddle to Blue Beetle in JLI and lacking a clear direction beyond the niche really turned me off. Only in recent years have I recognized his being a money-grubbing fame whore has finally descended to the level of infernal archetype among super-heroes, making him in his own way as iconic as the Magnificent Seven. Well, Martian Manhunter, anyway.

58) Beast

I like Hank McCoy. I think I generally prefer him furry, but not as much as Nightcrawler. I also prefer him as an Avenger, which helps avoid the Nightcrawler comparison. Non-furry adds further distance, but I never really warmed to pre-Claremont X-Men or pre-PAD X-Factor, so scratch that. The Cocteau Beast thing strikes me as pretentious, so none of that. People know who he is as well as your average X-Man. Seems a bit high here.

57) The Tick

Y'know, it seems to me living in the shadow of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, people forget what a great Ambush Bug rip-off the Tick was. DC failed to realize Irwin Schwab's full potential, so Ben Edlund gave the nationally advertised retailer New England Comics a good enough lift that they sold through something like nine printings of each of the early issues and manufactured a late entry into the black & white boom (which come to think of it had probably already busted by then.) Anyway, the comic was cute, the cartoon was even more fun, and the live action show lasted just long enough (a fraction of a season) to not burn through its good will. I don't think he's earned billions of dollars, but he could have bought and sold Booster Gold in his day, which amuses me greatly.

56) Hawkman

Obviously, the Winged Wonder is one of the most famous and long-lived B-listers in comic book history, even if he was just a blatant lift from Flash Gordon, complete with Alex Raymond swipes. He's gotten a hell of a lot more done than Prince Vultan, and his marriage to Hawkgirl has been one of the best examples of how to make matrimony work in comics. He was one of the first overtly political (ideologically, anyway) characters in mainstream comics, and still the killjoy to beat in super-hero teams.

55) John Stewart (Green Lantern)

I really do hope the Green Lantern movie tanks and opens a national debate about why they made him white. One of the many reasons I hate Hal Jordan is that Stewart is such a vastly superior character in every way but has to take a seat at the back of the bus behind every other non-alien GL, at least in the comics. Yeah, how is that licensing going, Kyle Rayner? Got a regular cartoon yet? They giving you away in Happy Meals?

54) Elijah Snow

It would be great if someone would take random dialogue from Pete Wisdom, Jack Cross, John Constantine, or any of the Authority or just a random sampling from Warren Ellis' creator owned work and set up boxes where you match the balloon to the speaker. Better yet, take actual comic panels and shade out the figures. "Hmm, here's a cynical bastard in a trench coat lighting a fag. I guess the one with breasts is Jenny Sparks?" Twenty years earlier, one of Howard Chaykin's characters would have been here. Writer Proxy 1138 will be here in another twenty.

53) Bucky Barnes

Remember when people were congratulating Ed Brubaker for making Bucky "cool." Judd Winick got a little of that action with Jason Todd. How's that working out now? For me, Bucky is like A Serbian Film. The last remaining rule of comics was that nobody stayed dead but Bucky and Uncle Ben, both of whom now seem to show up at least quarterly. Once you've destroyed all the boundaries and broken every taboo, what's left but a sick, gnawing feeling in your gut that nothing matters and whether your life is torturous or pleasant we all have an expiration date before descending into the black abyss of nothingness. Bucky Barnes is my existential crisis... my personal journey into the heart of darkness. Bucky lives, but I die a little more every time I see him and his demoralizing sub-U.S. Agent variant costume.

52) Aquaman

Like Supergirl, this is the sort of snub that reaches the level of "how dare you?" I go to Target and I see pink Supergirl floor mats. Michael Phelps wins Olympic gold and breaks world records to be compared to Aquaman. This is a character that has transcended comic books to become part of our global culture.

51) Black Panther

Yeah, one of the greatest non-white super-heroes in comic book history can't break the top fifty. But hey, even though he's barely known outside the U.S., at least he's greater than Aquaman, right? Right?

50) Captain Marvel

From an historical perspective, Shazam is huge and deserving of far better than the fifty slot. However, every passing decade sees a further slide into obscurity and editorial malfeasance. It comes from the Big Red Cheese having to endlessly lick the Big Red Boot of the Man of Steel.

49) Barry Allen (The Flash)

> Wally West. Sorry guys, but Barry double-footedly revived the super-hero genre, and plain works as a character and story engine far better than his distinguished successor. I'm just not necessarily sure Geoff Johns has proven himself the best person to convey that objective truth.

48) Mitchell Hundred

I think Brian Vaughn will stand the test of time better than Warren Ellis by not writing the same characters and exploring the same themes endlessly, but that doesn't mean I've ever made it past the first trade collection any of his series except Runaways. At the end of the day, does The West Wing by way of The Sopranos have a shelf life in the common consciousness? I have my doubts.

47) Kitty Pryde

My first girlfriend (fantasy division.) Hated by some as a Mary Sue, I only had to see her drawn by Paul Smith to fall hard, and you never forget your first love. So of course Claremont tried to turn her into a Suicide Girl, and she's never going to get out of Xavier's yellow and black, is she? Oh yeah, totally greater than the Beast. Hell, Nova's carried more series for longer.

46) Human Torch

Rank dependent on recent heroic demise? Check. A character I never much cared for? Check. Still worthy, preferably in a group entry with the Fantastic Four? Check.

45) Spider Jerusalem

American Flagg. Chaykin will always have American Flagg.

44) Hawkeye

You know what makes Clint Barton such an icon not only in comics, but as part of the international community? That Avengers paperback Otto Binder wrote in '67? His inability to carry an "ongoing" solo series longer than eight issues? His assuming numerous heroic guises in the hope than at least one will be successful? A thirteen episode stint in the failed cartoon The Avengers: United They Stand while wearing a Liefeldian costume? His marrying a baldfaced analogue of Green Arrow's girlfriend? His dedicated leadership of the other Avengers team (left coast) in the '80s? Stealing Wolverine's mask? A season of The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes on basic cable? Changing his m.o. entirely in The Ultimates? His punk-ass death "not like this?"

No, what makes Hawkeye is that I like him only enough to be semi-interested in his life and activities without supporting them with my dollars, just like everyone else. We are united as a planet in this variable level of relative indifference. That makes him the guy who should be in the bottom ten if no one better comes along, and they will.

43) Martian Manhunter

I referenced J'Onn J'Onzz earlier in a somewhat disparaging light. I love the character enough to have devoted 3 1/2 years of my life to something approximating daily blogging about the guy. My words of praise and promotion will appear early in most web searches related to the character (besides Microsoft's Bing, which is about as relevant as AltaVista.) My credentials clear, I must confess, the Manhunter from Mars is B-list on his best day. Compared to Hawkeye, he's Neil Diamond, but one summer blockbuster will overturn that applecart/mix that metaphor. There is no feature film in development. His ensemble cartoon has been off the air for years. His longest headling gig was three years. His action figures keep store pegs warm. I'm sure I will find fault with many of the characters that precede him, but the first is Storm, and she's the more important, successful figure. Silver Surfer? Fills one with envy.

42) Storm

When I was younger, I found the mohawk exceptionally off-putting. In retrospect, it was rad. Remember when Storm led the X-Men for something like half a decade? How she's been a consistent presence in animation and film since the early '90s? I haven't enjoyed a single actor, but Storm is still right at the top of the B/B- food chain.

41) Silver Surfer

Black light posters. Album covers. Video games. Silver Surfer is a genuine cultural figure with surprising longevity.

JLA #96 (Early June, 2004)

In the Batcave, Alfred offered Bruce a Pennyworth family heirloom, a pure silver cross blessed by the Archbishop of Canterbury. You'd think Alfred would know Batman is just going to mess it up, especially as soft as silver is, and that the Dark Knight really ought to have plenty of his own damned vampire killing silver. This isn't his first rodeo, y'know?

The Flash unnecessarily helped J'Onn J'Onzz to his feet, as he explained he had not been attacked, but merely left holding down a subplot for three issues. Green Lantern John Stewart was also present, and unsuccessfully tried to analyze the telling stones.

The Atom woke up from his beat down, and was met by another batch of insectoids in regal gear who prostrated themselves before one from "the world beyond the world!"



Faith was tied to a chair in a darkened room. Just as her telekinesis freed her, Crucifer showed up, and mesmerized her into submission. The vampire then indulged in a superhuman nibble.

Larry and Rita reported back to their chief on Key Mordaz. A stripped down robot with a visible human brain named Cliff joined the conversation.

Batman had feigned being shot to draw in the detective for a punch. The cloaked cultists turned out to be part-bat vampires. I kind of hate when wooden stakes instantaneously slay vampires, which is pure Hollywood, and it's only that much worse when the vampires run around with enchanted spears featuring wooden handles. Way to supply Batman the means to kill you effortlessly. One got away, but the Caped Crusader was able to use the cross to heal the detective from his vampire bite and subsequent subjugation.

At Castle Crucifer, Nudge consoled her caged ape Grunt while Vortex talked her into an origin flashback. She was a teenage runaway who ran off to join the circus... in the year 2004. She was the only handler able to sooth a four-armed ape, but she was still made to use her powers as a fortune teller, as well. Mysterious benefactors called in a debt with the circus owner in exchange for Grunt the ape, and Nudge used her powers to force them to take her, too. They were taken to Florida, where the chief was none to happy with the extra passenger, and used technology to prevent her from "persuading" anyone on the island. With time, Nudge managed to coax Larry into taking an unauthorized getaway to Miami while Nudge and Grunt escaped. Crucifer was waiting for them at the mainland, "Like he knew we were coming."



Superman and Wonder Woman flew to Castle Crucifer, whose owner knew Diana's mother, Hippolyta. The Amazing Amazon was surprised by this, but not nearly as much so as being punched in the back of the head by Superman. Diana recovered better than just about anyone, then fought the Man of Kneel for several pages. Nudge saw this as her chance, and beguiled Superman long enough for Wonder Woman to floor him and impale Crucifer with a thrown sword. Superman also made a swift recovery, while Crucifer extracted the sword from his chest. "You cannot win! If Superman falls, if I fall, the League remains! They'll find a way to stop you!" Crucifer tapped Diana with the sword so hard that she came up off the ground before lying deathly still upon it. "Whatever. Pity you won't be around to see it.

"The Heart of the Matter," part three of "The Tenth Circle," was by the famous X-Men creative team of John Byrne and Chris Claremont, joined by the inks of Jerry Ordway. It's a good looking book, but I can't believe I'm still dancing around the reveal of the second team as the classic Doom Patrol. It's really blatant at this point. I could have really done without the Nudge and Grunt flashback, not to mention the characters themselves. I have to admit that the Superman sucker punch was pretty amusing, especially the cartoon stars and "KLUDD!" Pity Wonder Woman once again needed to grab a big metal phallic symbol and stab somebody with it rather than use her powers and non-lethal weapons. I bet the Lasso of Truth could have been loads more effective, especially with all the random crap vampires are vulnerable to. Has anybody ever tried kryptonite?

JLA #95 (Late May, 2004)

Superman was bitten on the neck by Crucifer, only to have his alien blood spat out in disgust. "He may look human, but the taste of him is unspeakable... Foul!" Crucifer instead ate one of his followers, before sending the Man of Thrall on a mission...

Green Lantern John Stewart hit paydirt while patrolling Baltimore, finding another van full of cloaked creeps. One, the blue-skinned Vortex, managed to knock Stewart out of the sky with a vertigo scream. The Emerald Knight managed to encase most of the group under a ring construct, but the persuasive girl was without, trying to nudge John into letting them go. "You playin' with my head, missy? ...In a word--no." While Green Lantern had more willpower than Superman, the girl was distracting enough to allow Vortex to smash the field. Both Stewart and Vortex were left the worse for wear, so Nudge helped her friend into the van and sped off. Stewart tried to follow, but it was "an effort just to form coherent thoughts," and a giant hand grabbing you from behind never helps. The giant shrank down to normal size, and she assured Green Lantern she and her leather masked companion were not enemies. The duo argued that Stewart had interfered with their sting operation, and the male released a skeletal energy being to trail the van. The girl carried her friend's limp body to safety, and politely asked that Stewart leave this matter in their hands. The energy being managed to tag the van with a tracking device.



Green Lantern reported to de facto leader Batman at the Watchtower on the moon, where the Dark Knight Detective managed to pull a residue sample from where the giant girl had grabbed Stewart. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman delivered ancient Amazonian scrolls that revealed their crusade against a cult of vampires thousands of years ago in Greece. The warriors successfully exiled the bloodsuckers after a final, terrible battle. The recently deceased Queen Hippolyta had been the last living Amazon to engage the cult, whose x-symbol represented the tenth circle of Hell.

The Martian Manhunter knelt down on a laboratory floor, calling out mentally to the Atom, who had vanished into Manitou Raven's stones. The Tiny Titan fell through an unknown space for some time, before landing gracelessly but unharmed on a crystalline surface. In the distance was a tower of similar material. From out of hidden tunnels in the ground emerged bipedal, somewhat insectoid green brutes. The Mighty Mite evaded them for a time, but was eventually encircled and beaten down.



Superman delivered the unconscious and shabbily dressed Faith to Castle Crucifer before being dispatched to the moon. At the Watchtower, Wonder Woman was struggling with the allegorical manner her sisters had written their scrolls, unable to decipher the means by which the Amazons defeated the cult. "Gods forbid my ancient sisters write short, declarative sentences. Kal-El talked Diane into taking a break, and when she wasn't looking, ignited her scrolls with heat vision.

In a Gotham City alley, the Batman found a police detective trying to wipe away the Tenth Circle symbol from the murder scene. The detective drew on Batman, while two cultists approached from behind. A bullet flew through the Crusader's cape, and he went down...



"The Enemy Within," part two of "The Tenth Circle," was by the famous X-Men creative team of John Byrne and Chris Claremont, joined by the inks of Jerry Ordway. Both the Atom and Green Lantern's dialogue was inappropriately informal and even irritating for the characters. Between Stewart's will and Crucifer talking up Faith and Wonder Woman being his near equals, Superman really looks like a punk. The backdoor pilot that is the second super-team is becoming increasingly obvious in identity. Finally, Atom aside, this has been a vampire story, which is something Claremont could rock hard with the X-Men and Bill Sienkiewicz, but not with John Byrne and the freakin' JLA. Besides, the X-Men never needed to revive a second old school hero team over vamps, at least before their latest series somehow managed to drag Spider-Man into the muck.

JLA #94 (Early May, 2004)

Manitou Raven, a shaman displaced three thousand years in time, cast telling stones in the Badlands. On the ground were traced circles with "x"s in them, and their effect was ominous. A flood of bat shadows enshrouded Raven, and carried him off.

Batman investigated the murder of a teenager in a Gotham City alley. He had noted a pattern of missing cases in other cities that disturbed him. Before her death, the girl had drawn a circled "x" in chalk on a wall.

In Metropolis, Superman spotted a robed cult filing into a van. When he tried to ask questions, he was attacked by a massive member that only grunted. Once the thug was down, a girl stood between him and the fist of Steel. Her words allowed her to take mental control of Superman.

In Keystone City, Wally West pursued the trail of missing children at Batman's request.

At the JLA Watchtower on the moon, the Dark Knight gathered Wonder Woman, the Atom, the Martian Manhunter, and the Flash to consider clues. The Caped Crusader had managed to find out that all of the missing kids possessed a metagene, and Princess Diana thought that x-symbol looked familiar. The group split up to pursue angles.

On the abandoned prison island Key Mordaz off the coast of Florida was hidden a high tech laboratory. A seated figure worked a computer bank and a headpiece that allowed him to track people with a metagene. His beautiful young assistant accused a third fellow concealed by a leather mask of allowing a particular person of interest to elude them while sneaking off to party in Miami. A fourth individual with a metal fist demanded to see some action. The seated figure announced he had found something...



Wonder Woman wanted to speak with Manitou Raven about the x-symbol, but he wasn't answering any pages. She rustled up the Martian Manhunter, who spoke with Raven's wife Dawn, and learned of his meditative journey to the Badlands. The two heroes searched the area, and found the point where Manitou had been taken. The Amazing Amazon saw the marks on the ground and signs of struggle. She intended to query the Amazons Archives on Themyscira about the symbol, and told the Alien Atlas to inform Batman of their findings. She hoped a telepathic link to Raven could be established. "Can you not sense it, J'Onn? This is ancient work. And unspeakable evil!

The cultists' van pulled up to a creepy mansion a couple of hours outside Metropolis. The girl led Superman out on a psychic leash, and introduced him to Crucifer, a rather dandy vampire. The girl didn't want to see Superman hurt, but Crucifer had his own influence working. The vampire expected to find the Kryptonian delicious as he sank his fangs in. The girl ran off, and was followed down into her cellar of self-pity by a blue-skinned boy in a skull cap.

The Martian Manhunter brought Manitou Raven's telling stones to the Atom, and when conventional technology failed to detect anything within them, the Tiny Titan shrank down to explore close up. The Mighty Mite vanished into the stones, as J'Onn J'Onzz tried in vain to reestablish telepathic contact.

Faith, black-ops telekinetic, wandered the streets of San Francisco in a tie top shirt like Daisy Duke. She was abducted by the mentally manipulated Superman. At least she only spoke in Spanish when talking to a fellow Latino, but it still smelled like 1976 in there.

"Suffer the Little Children," part one of "The Tenth Circle," was by the famous X-Men creative team of John Byrne and Chris Claremont, joined by the heavy inks of Jerry Ordway. It was not magical. Byrne took top billing, so he presumably plotted the piece and drew it, and as a consequence he gets most of the blame. The story is uninspired and crowded, while the art looks more like Ordway hampered by Byrne's pencils rather than accentuating them. The script by Claremont is long, rambling and funky, with dialogue that doesn't sounds like it belongs in any of the known characters' mouths.

Wizard: The Comics Magazine #136: Ultimate DC (January, 2003)

Click To Enlarge


I felt bad about leaving out characters that didn't fit onto my other Ultimate DC blog posts, so aside from the John Stewart spotlight, I'd like to reference them here.

Ultimate Superman was designed by Ken Lashley. The Wizard Staff only offers "After Smallville" as their take on a newly active Man of Steel. He's even still dating Lana Lang long distance while setting up in Metropolis, which the TV show moved past a year or two after this.

Ultimate Flash was also drawn by Lashley. The Wizard Staff brought back Barry Allen as C.S.I. in Los Angeles, mentored by homicide Detective Jay Garrick and aided by District Attorney Iris West. Like Tower Comics' and Deluxe Comics' Lightning, this Flash is prematurely aging because of his powers, and he's on the hunt for a serial killer (Murmur.) The twist is that there's a Black Flash around... the Wally West of the future! Ouch. Whimper.

Finally, there's our Ultimate Green Lantern, dishonorably discharged Delta Force operative turned social activist John Stewart. Ethan Hawke and Denzel Washington switch roles in "Training Day," with the black rookie uncovering the corruption of his superior officer in the GL Corps, Sinestro. As it turns out, Sinestro murdered all the Guardians, and has been secretly giving unworthy parties Green Lantern rings until he can kill them as well. Then, with his Manhunter robot army, he can conquer the galaxy! I swear Ken Lashley didn't draw all of these, but he covered each of the ones here.

Ultimate DC Day continues here...
Ultimate Atom @ Power of the Atom
Ultimate Batman and Aquaman
Ultimate Wonder Woman @ Diana Prince
Ultimate JLA @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu

Justice #9 (February, 2007)

Previously in Justice...

The Legion of Doom found "It's time to wake up. They are all having the same dream. Over and over again. Every one of them. All so humanity will survive these creatures of tomorrow."

The super-villain's plot to destroy the super friends unfolded...

The news media was all over it...

Bizarro burst through the ceiling of Clark Kent's apartment, and pulled Superman out to fight in the steets of Metropolis...

In no time, the Power of Shazam was at Superman's disposal.

John Stewart was searching for Hal Jordan

Once again, the Wisdom of Solomon trumped any thoughts in Superman's head.

In an Arabian desert, the Flash broke up Captain Cold's mini-harem.

"With a word, I become the world's mightiest mortal. With a whisper, the thunders call my name. I am Captain Marvel. And in the infinity of possible retaliations against Brainiac and Luthor and their cohorts that we could make this day, there is only one that is perfect. Only one that is just.

All words are magic. That is the beginning of wisdom. Secret words open and close doors. They are like keys. That's how our names and identities have been used to endanger those we love the most. That's why a promise to heal has ensnared the world."

Not a bad bit of monologue, but this comic is basically as dumb as Metamorpho, so it won't pan out. "I don't understand. But then, I usually don't." Well Metamorpho, the world has been taken over by good deeds done with bad intentions, in no small part helped by mind-controlling synthetic worms getting into people's brains. As Captain Marvel noted, the villains "could never naturally form this sort of alliance. They are criminals because of their inability to sustain any sort of community." Also, Hal Jordan wasn't killed by Sinestro because his power ring would have just gone to John Stewart, so better to stick him someplace out of the way. "I'm still working on my G.E.D. What is he saying?" Oh, Metamorpho.



Captain Marvel was magically transported to a battle against Gorilla Grodd where he was supposed to be protected from infection by Green Lantern's power ring. However, Black Adam was also on the scene, and lured the Big Red Cheese away by threatening the life of his sister. Of course, Mary Marvel was only playing possum, as she and Captain Marvel Junior were both in thrall to the worms. "You're so stupid, Billy. Where's your wisdom now? You left your friends." While Black Adam and Junior held Captain Marvel aloft, Mary Marvel returned the power of Shazam, and began falling to her inevitable death. Adam wanted Captain Marvel to "Say the magic word." With tears in his eyes, Marvel asked, "...please..." Adam sneered, "That's not it."

The World's Mightiest Mortal broke free with the strength of Hercules, then flew after Mary with the speed of Mercury. Mary again called down the thunder, striking Captain Marvel. The champion of Shazam landed with a thud, as he could no longer hear the gods whispering their powers to him, for he was now worm food.

Under the direction of Batman, the Atom and Doc Magnus, the Flash constructed suits of armor for the Justice League to wear as protection from the worms. That hadn't done Captain Marvel any good, as he began slamming into the outer walls of the Fortress of Solitude. Asking why would require a wisdom he now clearly lacked. Even Captain Marvel couldn't take on all the collected heroes on his own, so why not front an army of super-villains, if they knew where the League was located? Why knock, when Marvel should be strong enough to pick up Superman's key? If not, how about if Black Adam and the Marvel Family had been in tow? No, we would instead have another one-on-one fight with an (unprotected) Superman, until Captain Marvel was captured by Green Lantern, and his worms removed. Useless tangent? Deux ex machina? You be the judge.



Hal Jordan and Captain Marvel were sent by Batman to Arkham Asylum, where they found that Dr. Sivana, inventor of the worms, had been locked up by Brainiac. Why? Stop--using--wisdom--readers!

Most of the Justice League donned their armors, including Green Arrow and Plastic Man, but not the absent Captain Marvel. Meanwhile, Metamorpho managed to defeat Gorilla Grodd by becoming a gas and choking the Super-Gorilla before he even knew the Element Man was present... and Rex even managed to steal a yellow power ring. Who's wise now?

"Chapter Nine" was plotted and painted by Alex Ross. The script was provided by Jim Krueger, and the penciled layouts by Doug Braithwaite.

Continue the story through these character-specific posts:

• Batman & Company at Justice League Detroit
• Gorilla Grodd & the Martian Manhunter at The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• The Atom at Power of the Atom
• Cheetah: From Bruce Wayne's private files in the Batcomputer at Diana Prince

1991-92 Impel DC Cosmic Cards #60- John Stewart

I really need to get John Stewart a headshot for this blog. I'm a fan of the character, specifically Gerard Jones' take from Mosaic, but the guy's always been the coolest, most competent Green Lantern (Xanshi excluded.) I've never been a Joe Staton fan, but even he can't bring Stewart down.

More Impel DC Cosmic Cards

• Adam Strange at Comics Make Me Happy!
• Gorilla Grodd at The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Troia at Diana Prince: Wonder Woman
• Nightshade at Power of the Atom