I Didn't Expect To See That On The Side Of A Van

I took my vehicle in for some maintenance today, and since it would be awhile, I decided to have some breakfast. I'm standing in line, waiting for my order when a van pulls up outside. It represented a group that does airbrush work, be it for shirts, helmets, vehicles, whatever. On the side of the van was a picture of two guys fighting, both wearing masks and looking quite angry. I couldn't shake the feeling I'd seen the picture before somewhere, and it finally hit me.

Yes, they used the cover from Countdown #31 as a reference for the design. It was just Jason Todd and Owlman, not the buildings visible in the background. I'm not sure whether I'm more concerned about their choice of image, or the fact I recognized it despite avoiding Countdown as best I could. Did they love Countdown, or just the cover? Maybe it was a random selection, one they thought would demonstrate their skills.

They did a pretty fair job, not that I'm an expert. It was good enough I could recognize the reference, anyway.

Petard Hoisting Is Fun!

Idea: So Superman-Prime is traveling between universes by going through the Source Wall, right? I've been thinking about something that would be kind of amusing to have happen, the next time that happens. Say Prime punches the Source Wall, because it's a wall, and he's been known to get angry and punch those before. This punch causes reality to be altered, as has happened before. However, this time around Prime's punch causes him to be wiped out of existence. Or it changes reality so he's dead (kind of a reverse Jason Todd). Right then. Completely without warning.

It may just be me, but I would find that really funny, especially if it somehow also creates the perfect universe he's been searching for. Because really, any universe that doesn't have Superperson-Prime is automatically that much closer to being perfect. Plus, Prime isn't one of those characters I have any burning desire to see defeated, assuming he even can be. I'd rather he just went away, the sooner the better. Besides, he already took on practically every hero on New Earth, and still had enough left to toss the injured Anti-Monitor into deep space, so who can beat him? The Monarch? Are we destined to see a battle of two ridiculously overpowered, murderous loons, for the fate of the DC Universe?

The other thing about Prime going out the way I suggested is what it might represent, if you go with that idea I've seen bandied about that Prime is meant to represent the fans, which I've got to say, is a pretty unflattering portrayal of the people who buy your work if that's true. What would Prime wiping himself out of existence mean? If you keep changing things, seemingly just for the sake of changing things, the fans eventually go away? I'm just throwing that out there. The people who more frequently analyze the metafictional aspects of the comics we read could have some fun with that though, I imagine.

It'll Drive You Mad

So if I understand this correctly, those stupid Monitor guys want to eliminate Kyle Rayner, Donna Troy, and Jason Todd because they're anomalies, or something like that. It seems like a more sophisticated response would be to find a way to help them fit (assuming they need help, all three of them seem to be doing okay, except for the attempts on their lives) into the brand spanking new Multiverse (is it new? Or is it only new to us, and to everyone else this is how it's always been?), rather than just killing them and potentially incurring the wrath of the other heroes.

But what do I know? I'm not some big, pink idiot in stupid armor, running around deciding who fits and who doesn't. That being the case, I guess Donna, Kyle, and Jason better get to running for their lives. My suggestion would be that they try to find that magical "Haney-Earth", that so many fans hope is out there, somewhere amongst the 52.

It'd be the perfect place to hang out. The Montiors are such sticklers for everything fitting together, and being in its proper place, their heads would explode at the insanity of Haney-Earth.

And who knows, it might just be a nice place for them to sort things out. Jason Todd would magically stop being angry and homicidal. Donna Troy wouldn't have a confusing origin anymore. Which isn't to say her origin would be static, it would keep changing, but each new origin would remain totally separate and unconnected from the previous ones, and would fit perfectly with whatever situation she found herself in at the moment. And Kyle? Well, Kyle would probably continue about as usual. He strikes me as capable of being totally oblivious to all sorts of odd goings-on.