Showing posts with label Mordru. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mordru. Show all posts
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Friday, September 30, 2011
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Monday, September 26, 2011
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
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!
"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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Justice June: Three-way Mayhem!
Justice League of America #147 (October 1977)
"Crisis in the 30th Century!"
Writers: Paul Levitz and Martin Pasko
Artists: Dick Dillin and Frank McLaughlin
Karen: Ah, one of the joys of summer as a youth: the annual JLA/JSA cross-over! Every year, DC would feature these two super-teams joining forces for two or three issues. It was a kid's dream come true -a dozen or so colorfully clad super-heroes, all in one book! But on a few occasions, it got even better, as a third team of do-gooders became involved. Such is the case with the tale we're going to review, as the Legion of Super-Heroes joins the party. To top it all off, this issue was giant-sized! All I need now is a Slurpee and some Hostess cupcakes, and I'd be right back in what my 12 year old self thought was
Doug: This is one of the comics from my kid-dom that I can recall exactly where I purchased it -- and in fact, I was able to buy both this issue and the conclusion in JLA #148 at the same time. I was a regular reader (as the distribution system would allow) of the Justice Society in All-Star Comics as well as Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. For whatever reason, I did not follow the Justice League, but knew full well who everyone was and the basic gist of what was going on. Hey, quick comment on the splash page: talk about a memory flooding back to me. As I sat down to read this the shot of Saturn Girl's backside, with her panties just a bit too low, made me feel like a snickering little adolescent again.
Karen: Our story begins with members of the JSA talking to the Earth-One Flash aboard the JLA's satellite. We get two quick panels that explain the concept of parallel worlds, and then we're off. And you know what? As a kid, that was all I needed! It made perfect sense to me. I wasn't at all confused by it, and I'd venture to say that most readers weren't either.
Doug: I certainly don't understand the physics of it all, but if one could accept time travel and the fact that in the Marvel Universe Counter-Earth occupied the same orbit as the Earth, but was on the exact opposite side of the sun, then the DC Multiverse didn't pose a problem for me, either.
Karen: The different heroes are shown interacting with each other; some get along, some don't so much. It's a bit disturbing to see Power Girl hanging all over the Earth One Superman -he seems pretty uncomfortable with it too! Kissin' Krytponian Cousins? Ewww!
Doug: Yeah, her line about Earth-1 having a "much nicer brand of Superman" lead me to believe that she'd been checking out her Earth's Clark. Uh uh.
Karen: Suddenly a giant hand appears and tries to grab Power Girl. Both teams attack and Dr. Fate deduces that the hand is the product of magic. Before they can stop it, the hand scoops up ten of them: from the JLA, it gets Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Green Lantern. From the JSA, Dr. Fate, Hawkman, Power Girl, Flash, and Green Lantern are captured. They are all transported across time and space, to one thousand years in the future, where they face long-ti
Doug: Mordru has always been more creepy than scary to me. He's just weird.
Karen: Yeah, and what about his funky hat? It turns out that Mordru wasn't trying to get the heroes at all, but some of the mystical artifacts stored in their headquarters. Looks like he's running out of mystical juice to keep going (kind of reminds me of Galactus and his problems). The heroes break loose and tackle Mordru, but are soon recaptured. He has also captured members of the Legion. Mordru cuts loose with a monologue that would make any super-villain proud.
Doug: Hey, I know this was a giant-sized issue, but wow! Were there ever a lot of words! This seemed more novel than graphic at times, didn't it?
Karen: It may have been wordy, but at least I felt like I got my money's worth! Mordru explains how he needs three artifacts -a bell, a jar, and a wheel - to free three demons. He says that he first went to the Legion and forced them to help him by holding five of their team-mates prisoner. However, the Legion has not returned with his artifacts, so he tried reaching into the past to recover them, and that's how the JLA/JSA wound up in the future. He takes Green Arrow and the Canary as hostages and sends the rest of them off to get his artifacts.
Doug: This divide-and-conquer motif was formulaic throughout these "crisis" team-ups. We saw it, too, during the Avengers/Defenders War.
Karen: I suppose it just makes it more manageable for the writer -and the artist too. The captive Black Canary gets Mordru to talk some more, as he explains the significance of the objects. The three demons, Abnegazar, Rath, and Ghast are imprisoned but can be released by using the artifacts. Mordru says that some time in the past (records are sketchy) the JLA satellite blew up and the objects went hurling through space. But he knows where they wound up.
Doug: It's funny how in the mid-'80's, it was this series of team-ups, the Earth-1/2/3 business, etc. that led to the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Yet Mordru's admission that he didn't know what happened seemed to me to be an effort to stay away from pigeon-holing the destruction of the JLA satellite and putting a burden on future writers and editors. As Mordru had previously been to our century (Adventure Comics #'s 369-370, June-July 1968), I guess I'm not buying that this particular event was "lost to history".
Karen: We cut to Antares-II, where Legionnaires Sun Boy and Wildfire have been caught by some very silly-looking aliens. Turns out the two teens could easily escape, but n
Doug: Really, all of the aliens in this story hearkened back to the DC sci-fi stories of the 1950's. Visually, these segments of the story looked pretty dumb. And chumps? Great choice of words. I thought Wildfire was right to be upset at the way they were treated. Superman basically acted in a manner such that "don't trust anyone over 30" seemed to be a true statement! I liked the shot Wildfire got in about knowing some mistakes that Superboy had made...
Karen: Next up is the planet Vaxon, where Batman, and the two Green Lanterns arrive, looking for the bell. They fight off some spa
Doug: I rather like the abrasive, jerk-like Brainiac of late, as opposed to this milksop. I just couldn't believe that Batman's solution was a better option. Of course, I suppose the fact that his accomplices were wielding the two most-powerful weapons in the universe may have had something to do with it. Also, I would think that carving up the surface of even an uninhabited part of a planet would cause undue and unlimited geological harm.
Karen: The last team is Flash and Power Girl, and they're off to another dimension. Seems the Legionnaires put the Jar in a vault there to keep it safe. The two heroes encounter some frog-like creatures there, and there's some stuff about mothers and eggs but honestly it didn't make a lot of sense -at least to me. Maybe my partner thought better of it. Anyway, they wind up getting the jar with little fuss.
Doug: As your partner, no -- I did not think better of it.
Karen: I guess he didn't know about the Tornado Twins either! Well, Mordru has taken all the other heroes captive again, but Power Girl and Flash have something up their sleeves -she remains in limbo with the jar while Flash cuts a deal -the release of all the hostages for the jar. Mordru angrily agrees. Of course, he double crosses them and keeps Arrow and Canary trapped. He then conjures up the three demons, and sends the JLA/JSA back to their own time. However, the demons turn on Mordru (duh!) and knock him out, declaring that once they destroy the artifacts, they will (dum dum dum!!!) take over the world!!
Doug: Those demons were a bit less than threatening-looking, weren't they? But they did put a beatdown on Mordru, yes. Hey, closing comment from me -- I thought it was dumb that some of the JSAers referred to themselves as being from "Earth-2"; why would the older guys defer to the folks from our Earth?
Karen: You know, that never made sense to me either. It seems like the older guys' world should be called Earth 1. But apparently it's the team that has its own book that gets the privilege of being Earth 1!
Karen: OK, sure this was a hokey story, but you know what? I had fun. It was a blast to see all these characters together, and the art was pretty solid if not outstanding. It's been so long since I read this series that I can't recall what happens next -and I'm kind of glad! I'm looking forward to reading the next issue. Will the older heroes still condescend to the Legion? Will Power Girl keep hitting on Superman? Stay tuned!
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