Category: Random Retrospective

Random Retrospective #6 – Extreme Justice #14

Hey, everyone, remember that time when Booster Gold – hero from the 25th Century, best friend of Blue Beetle, goofy good-natured hero that comes through in a pinch – was possessed by Monarch and quantum energy and became a many tentacled, energy blasting monster?

No?

Allow me:

Yep, that’s Booster there. Man, the 90s were not kind to him.

This is at a time when the JLA had split into various factions and this one, Extreme Justice, had come up against a returned Monarch who was actually Nathanial Adam, not Hank Hall, and the Captain Atom we see in the image above is a clone made by the Quantum Realm that only thinks it’s Nathanial Adam . . .

And you thought Hawkman’s continuity was tricky . . .

Back in the Judgment Day crossover (no, not that one) between the various Justice League titles, Booster had lost his arm and had now accepted the new Monarch’s offer to fix him but it was all a trap to allow Monarch access to the League’s HQ, hence the tentacles and blasters and all that. The team get him stabilised and, to their surprise, find that something good has come out of the MILLENNIUM crossover (yes, that one).

And just to finish off the day, they manage to block Monarch’s control over Booster and everyone else he’d healed in the previous issues, and Beetle was finally able to construct a new, less bulky and more stream-lined suit for Booster after his original had been destroyed by Doomsday back in the Death of Superman story.

EXTREME JUSTICE was seen as something of a knee jerk reaction by DC to the then-current hyper heroics coming out of Image, but it didn’t last. It limped along for another few issues and then was quietly forgotten . . . until someone like me comes along and does one of these posts.

Sorry.

Random Retrospective #5 – Green Lantern: Edge of Oblivion #6

The final issue of a mini-series that bridged (I think) the New 52 and the Rebirth versions of the Green Lantern Corps, EDGE OF OBLIVION was a tale of the GLC getting back to their home universe after being stranded in some other/earlier universe following the events of GREEN LANTERN: THE LOST ARMY.

Finding a single planet with one remaining city, the GLC are then suckered by some tall, good looking gods who claim to want to save the city and its planet. The GLC led by John Stewart and Guy Gardner realise too late that the gods are monsters looking to find a way into our universe and begin feasting – because what else do these sort of creatures do?

Multiple Green Lanterns are killed but as we’ve never met these ones before, their loss is used to illustrate the scale of the issue rather than to elicit an emotional response, plus as they die, their rings head off to find replacements and Simon Baz realises they must be sensing the GLC’s home universe. He tracks them to a rip in reality and follows them through.

The Corps move the city to Mogo and then push the aliens back to the planet which, like Mogo, is sentient.

With the planet trapping the monsters, the GLC (including Mogo and its new city) are able to reach the tear in reality and head through, disappearing into the unknown.

EDGE OF OBLIVION wasn’t a bad series – I remember enjoying it more than THE LOST ARMY that came before it – but am not sure it was ever mentioned again; I certainly don’t think the saved city on Mogo was ever revisited, though feel free to tell me I’m wrong.

It was nice, though, to see members of the GLC like Two Six, Iolande, and Graf Toren that haven’t been around much lately.

Random Retrospective #4 – JLA #42

Time for the JLA to go all Fantastic Voyage as they shrink down to microscopic levels and journey to a young boy’s brain where the Atom has discovered that what appeared to be a tumour to the outside world is actually a fully functioning civilisation complete with a city and technology. And that’s the problem – the city’s power plant is producing waste materials that are polluting their world (the kid’s brain) and going to lead to its destruction.

It’s hardly surprising, but the natives don’t readily believe the warnings from the JLA – with the exception of one scientist who’s been trying to convince the ruling council for years that this would happen – and they decide to imprison the heroes, a task made easier when the JLA find their powers no longer work.

The scientist manages to break Superman out of his interrogation chamber and the pair of them free the rest of the JLA just as the scientist’s supporters attack the power plant, the fighting causing a massive explosion. In the outside world, this would be seen as the tumour’s chemistry changing and the automated laser surgical device would kick in, destroying the civilisation.

The JLA do what they do best and save as many of the creatures as they can, while the scientist confers with his partner in an attempt to save their offspring:

With the surgical laser firing, Superman stays behind as long as he could to witness the destruction of the world and sees the escape pod make it’s way out of the burning city.

JLA #42 is a nice done in one from guest writer Dan Curtis Johnson, though it’s a little depressing to read an allegorical story from 20 years ago about people’s technology destroying the world and them stubbornly ignoring the evidence, when we take a look at the world around us today. It’s almost as though no-one has learned anything since the year 2000 . . .

Random Retrospective #3 – Checkmate #16

The only reason I have a few copies of the 80s CHECKMATE series in my collection is they’re part of the summer events I’ve annotated or, like this one, they’re a crossover with another series I was either getting at the time or have since picked up as back issues, in this case SUICIDE SQUAD or CAPTAIN ATOM. Issues #16 of CHECKMATE was a crossover with both (along with FIRESTORM and MANHUNTER) forming part of The Janus Directive storyline.

Tricked by a piece of intel called The Janus Directive, the various spy agencies in the DCU – Checkmate, Task Force X, and others – become convinced that the other agencies are working against them, which is why Checkmate, on the orders of Amanda Waller, attempted an assassination/kidnap attempt against De Megala and General Eiling of Project Atom, ending up with Megala captured.

Convinced Waller’s gone to far, Checkmate stage a break in at Belle Reve to capture her but, unsurprisingly, run into a few of the Suicide Squad:

Alerted by the commotion, Waller manages to escape, and while all that’s been going on, Megala manages to let Eiling know where he’s being held so Eiling unleashes Major Force against Checkmate:

It’s all a lot of plotting and scheming interspersed with some fighting but credit where it’s due, DC tried to do something different than the traditional superhero crossover here, but jumping in to part three probably isn’t the fairest way to give this a review of sorts. This was just a couple of years after CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS and it’s nice to see the various agencies interacting (or in this case, just fighting) with each other.