Broken Frontier

Welcome back to Broken Frontier’s weekly issue by issue roundup of events from every corner of the DC Universe! This is where to come to catch up on what’s been happening with your favorite DC characters and how events in their books affect the DCU’s recent "Bigger Picture". We also point out any interesting continuity tidbits, link to suggested background reading and examine any pertinent questions raised by events in the week’s releases.

Spoiler Warning: Read no further if you’ve not had your DC fix this week and don’t want to hear about key story elements.

Justice League: Cry for Justice #1

In the wake of the Final Crisis Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen dramatically question the League’s philosophy and mission statement. Elsewhere Ray Palmer, Starman Mikaal Thomas and Congo Bill/Congorilla all face devastating personal losses that accentuate their need for justice above all else. Ray’s old friend Mike Dante is tortured to death by Killer Moth who, working for Prometheus, is after the secret of Professor Hyatt’s Time Pool. Mikaal Thomas must deal with a personal tragedy when his (former?) partner Tony is killed during an attack on S.T.A.R. Labs. And, finally, in his ape-body as Congorilla, Congo Bill returns to his clan of apes to find them, Freedom Beast and his human body all slaughtered...

The Bigger Picture: The schism in the League depicted here is caused by Hal Jordan’s anger at the deaths of the Martian Manhunter and Batman in Final Crisis.

The timing of the events in this issue is difficult to reconcile with other DC books without some serious chronological juggling. Several months would have to have elapsed between the opening scenes where Green Lantern berates the League and the scene with Congorilla at the end. The initial sequence with Hal and Superman’s argument is clearly set just after Final Crisis. Freedom Beast was alive and well in last week’s Superman #689 during Mon-El’s "World Tour", though, which takes place long after Superman has left Earth (as seen in Superman: World of New Krypton).

Black Canary vented her anger at Hal and Ollie’s splinter group JLA and the way it had undermined the official League back in Justice League of America #31.

The Time Pool technology has also been acquired recently by the Global Peace Agency as seen in Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape #2. Its creator Professor Hyatt’s deteriorating mental health was revealed in All-New Atom #8 (April 2007).

Continuity Corner: Tony was Mikaal "Starman III" Thomas’s lover in James Robinson’s critically-acclaimed Starman series. Former super-villain Jake "Bobo" Bennetti, who appears to have taken care of Tony’s funeral arrangements, was also a supporting player and ally of Jack Knight in that book. Mikaal Thomas originally appeared in 1st Issue Special #12 (March 1976) and then was all but forgotten until James Robinson used him again and reinserted a character largely considered as "out of continuity" into the DCU-proper.

Ollie and Hal reminisce about their classic 1970s road trip around America. We lucky readers can do more than reminisce... we can relive the adventure in the trades collecting those tales in Green Lantern/Green Arrow volume 1 and volume 2.

For more on Congo Bill, Congorilla and Freedom Beast see last week’s ATDCU #43 Part 1...

Questions: Are the deaths experienced by the heroes entirely random or is there something more sinister going on? What is the exact chronology of events in this book? Why is Prometheus after the Time Pool and is there any link to FCA: Escape? What ramifications does this potentially more proactive version of the League have for the future of the organisation?

Final Crisis Aftermath: Run! #1

The Human Flame quickly tires of his life as one of Immortus’s menials when he discovers they are living without pay in a cult-like existence and stealing the materials Immortus needs to ensure his immortality. After a hijacking that leads to a standoff with Clayface, who has also targeted the same convoy, the villains retreat to their base. Allying himself with Seductress, the Human Flame attempts to betray his new boss by stealing his immortality serum and, when caught in the act, ends up taking a several story plummet...

Crossovers: Final Crisis (follow-up)

Continuity Corner: The current Clayface is supposedly the original, Basil Karlo, but why the erudite and articulate former actor has been employing the speech patterns of an uneducated thug for the last several years is something of a mystery. Perhaps, like all consummate actors, he has fully immersed himself in the role he is playing.

Questions: For the second month in a row we ask how did General Immortus survive his "death" in Salvation Run? Will Clayface return looking for revenge?

Secret Six #11

The Secret Six learn more about the slaver Mr. Smyth and his activities building a prison for the world’s entire criminal population on Devil’s Island. Discovering that Amazon Artemis is also incarcerated on the island, an internal struggle breaks out between the Six as to whether they should free her or honor their contract with Smyth. As they fight violently amongst themselves Wonder Woman enters the fray and we learn that Artemis has somehow died during the conflict...

Continuity Corner: Artemis, the former Wonder Woman who appears to meet her end this issue, has never let a little thing like death trouble her for too long. One of the Amazon splinter tribe from Bana-Mighdall, Artemis made her DCU entrance in Wonder Woman #90 (Sep 1990).

When Diana’s mother Hippolyta foresaw the impending death of Wonder Woman she arranged for a rigged contest to decide a new bearer of that title and save her daughter in Wonder Woman #92 (Dec 1994). Artemis was the winner and, in a 1990s trend that had already seen Superman and Batman being temporarily replaced with more violent successors, Artemis briefly became the new Wonder Woman.

When Artemis was killed as a result of a battle with the White Magician in Wonder Woman #100 (Aug 1995) the prophecy was fulfilled and Diana spared. Her death did not stick however and she would eventually fight her way out of Hell in the 1996 Artemis: Requiem miniseries.

Questions: Is Artemis really dead? Who killed her if she is? And will the Neron Card currently in Scandal’s possession play into a potential resurrection? Why is Jeanette so familiar with Artemis and why does she dislike the Amazons?  Have the Amazons imprisoned here been singled out for their activities in the Amazons Attack! miniseries? How does this play into the agenda of Mr. Smyth’s boss, the new Mockingbird?

Batman and Robin #2

The Circus of Strange attempt to rescue Mr. Toad from the Gotham City Police Department but, in the ensuing confusion of their battle with Batman and Robin, Toad is mysteriously murdered and a domino left on his corpse. Dick and Damian’s relationship grows ever more fractious and the new Boy Wonder follows a lead solo to a deserted fairground. There he is captured by Professor Pyg and the Circus...

Crossovers: Batman: Reborn

The Bigger Picture: Dick Grayson’s troubled relationship with Damian was foreshadowed in the "Coming this season" trailer in Batman and Robin #1.

Continuity Corner: One of the policemen killed in the Circus of Strange’s attack was a former officer in Blüdhaven and worked alongside Dick Grayson when he served as a police officer in that city in his civilian identity. Dick graduated from the Blüdhaven police academy in Nightwing #41 (March 2000) beginning a long-running subplot that would see him tackle Blüdhaven’s police corruption from the inside.

Probably a coincidence but the derelict funfair that the Circus of Strange are using as a base has echoes of the similar locale seen in Batman: The Killing Joke.

Questions: What are Professor Pyg and his Circus planning to unleash on Gotham? Who killed Mr. Toad and why? What is the significance of the domino left on Toad’s corpse? Can Dick and Damian’s tempestuous partnership survive? Is the girl bound at the fairground the henchman’s daughter from last month and is she the new character Scarlet?

Join us in two days time for the conclusion of this week’s DCU roundup covering Blackest Night preludes through to the latest events on Hardcore Station...