Broken Frontier

Looking at upcoming DC releases this week I was given an interesting dilemma to consider: should we cover those characters that originated in the DC Universe but are currently being used by Vertigo?

Now, I will admit upfront that I’ve never been a fan of the divide between the DCU and DC’s mature readers imprint. To begin with there’s the slightly farcical situation that the ever-aging demographics of super-hero readers means that the majority of those following the guys and gals in the masks and the tights are probably far older than the trendy young things of the Vertigo in-crowd anyway! That whole argument about no "mature readers" DCU books, as it denies elements of the DCU to a now near-mythical audience of younger fans, really doesn’t bear too much close analysis anymore.

And secondly, when you separate the characters from their origins and history in such an arbitrary fashion then you inevitably lose something of what made them memorable in the first place. The Doom Patrol are so fondly remembered because their adventures were so weird in contrast to the rest of the DC Universe – their post-Morrison Vertigo weirdness-for-weirdness-sake got very old, very fast. John Constantine was unique because he was an ordinary bloke operating in a fantastic world of super-heroes and metahumans and yet still pulling all their strings. And Tim Hunter was created with such a major destiny in the DCU that divorcing him from it just kicked away the character’s original core concept from under him.

At this point I must hasten to add that none of this is really meant as a dig at those fine folks at Vertigo. I have no doubt these decisions are made with the best of intentions for the characters and the directions of the books. I, however, love the concept of the shared universe. I wouldn’t be writing this feature every week if I didn’t!

So… ultimately, I’ve decided we will give a cursory nod in the direction of those former denizens of the DCU who now make their homes at Vertigo. But only when stories directly or tangentially reference past DC lore. My logic is pretty simple: a number of characters have made their way back to the DC Universe in the last few years (Animal Man and the Doom Patrol for example) with their Vertigo history intact. Ergo, somewhere, somehow, the "lost" Vertigo exiles must still be out there waiting for the call home…

And on that note here’s our Spoiler Warning: Read no further if you’ve not had your DC fix this week and don’t want to read about key story elements.

Across the Universe
(A rundown of the week’s releases)

Metamorpho is lost in space and the rest of the team have their hands full in China in Batman and the Outsiders #7.

The spotlight’s on junior members Black Alice and Misfit in Birds of Prey #118.

Batman teams up with Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick in the pages of The Brave and the Bold #13.

Selina returns to Gotham City after her Salvation Run adventures in Catwoman #79.

Checkmate #26 gives us an insight into the agency’s Black King and introduces Chimera, courtesy of new writer Bruce Jones.

The Titans’ very own Vic Stone gets a solo outing in DC Special: Cyborg #1.

It’s a double whammy for Wally West in The Flash #240 when he faces both Spin and Gorilla Grodd!

The Final Crisis looms as two major players put in an appearance in Justice League of America #21.

The saga of the Heartbreak Slayer reaches its next chapter in Justice Society of America #15.

The mystery surrounding the return of the Spoiler is resolved in dramatic circumstances in Robin #174.

A super-soldier with Doomsday’s DNA? The World’s Finest team have their work cut out in Superman/Batman #48.

The heroes of two Earths meet as worlds collide in Tangent: Superman’s Reign #3.

And over on Earth-50 the DCU incursion into the WildStorm Universe continues in DC/WildStorm: Dreamwar #2.

The Bigger Picture
(All the developments, hints, clues and teasers for the overarching storylines)

The Trinity – Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman have their first meeting in a secret chamber (within an inter-dimensional bubble) in the JLA’s headquarters. Here they discuss the future of the League including Black Canary’s leadership, Vixen’s altered powers (both plot points in recent issues of Justice League of America ) and Diana’s offer of League membership to Ryan Choi, the new Atom (in The All-New Atom #18 Feb 2008). (Justice League of America #21)

Batman R.I.P. – Batman and Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash, have a conversation about their legacies and passing on the super-hero mantle to the next generation. Could this be a subtle piece of foreshadowing for upcoming events in the main Bat-books? (The Brave and the Bold #13)

Rip Hunter’s Chalkboard – As we correctly speculated way back last December, in this feature’s predecessor Out for the Count: 20, Stephanie Brown, the Spoiler is alive and well. Leslie Thompkins faked Stephanie’s death during the War Crimes crossover in the Bat-books to get her away from Gotham and out of harm’s way. Batman suspected this and had no memorial in the Batcave for her because of it. This was all hinted at in Booster Gold #5 on Rip Hunter’s chalkboard. (Robin #174)

The Mystery of the Legion – A heads up that the classic Legion are currently interacting with the denizens of Earth-50. (DC/WildStorm: Dreamwar #2)

The Religion of Crime  – Continuing to spread his message that he can give villains their heart’s desire if they join the ranks of the Religion of Crime, Libra approaches the Z-list bad guy the Human Flame. Eight years ago the Flame was beaten by Martian Manhunter and his subsequent incarceration saw his life fall apart. He blames J’Onn J’Onzz for his woes and Libra promises him the means to his revenge. At first I wondered just how such an apparently minor character could be such a much-touted Final Crisis big player. But, especially given the Sightings banner on this issue and J’Onn’s weakness to fire, I suspect the Human Flame’s role in Final Crisis may be as the man behind the much-rumored death of the Martian Manhunter. (Justice League of America #21)

Salvation Run – The Martian Manhunter leaves the Hell Planet via Boom Tube. (Justice League of America #21)

Selina Kyle also returns to Earth after her time on the prison world. (Catwoman #79)

There’s more on Amanda Waller’s sister program to the Salvation Run conspiracy this week. While the prison planet was her solution to rampant super-villains she’s also been developing long-term strategies to take out any potential super-hero threats. We’ve already met the Last Line and now the All-American Boy (a super-soldier spliced with Doomsday DNA and kryptonite) is revealed as a weapon against Superman. (Superman/Batman #48)

Major Salvation Run conspirator the Penguin makes a couple of DCU appearances this week. (Robin #174/The Brave and the Bold #13)

A Crisis in Time? – After his defeat at Batman and the Flash’s hands T.O. Morrow fades back into the timestream. (The Brave and the Bold #13)

The Death of the New Gods – The Fourth World may be no more but the last God of the Third World – the one, true Gog – rises from his imprisonment and claims he comes in peace. (Justice Society of America #15)

The Dark Side Club – See this week’s Continuity Corner below for more on this subplot. Birds of Prey members Misfit and Black Alice are kidnapped and set against each other in the Dark Side Club’s arena for the entertainment of its baying crowds. Despite escaping, their lives are turned upside down when tests performed by "Granny Goodness" seem to indicate they are blood relations. (Birds of Prey #118)

Wally West’s children, Jai and Iris West, are identified as "Forever People" and kidnapped by (para) demons, Brother Drive and Brother Think, for Boss Dark Side, owner of The Dark Side Club. (The Flash #240)

The Tenth Age of Magic – The original and the current versions of the Wrath of God comes to blows when the Spectre takes on his predecessor Eclipso, with Bruce Gordon’s very existence at stake. (Countdown to Mystery #8)

Brother Eye-Spy – The Outsiders’ investigation into the links between the Jardine Corporation and Brother Eye have taken some of the team into China and a confrontation with members of the Chinese super-team The Great Ten. Meanwhile, in space, Metamorpho discovers a giant gun in orbit. Back on Earth, the team’s resident scientist Dr. Francine Langstrom, continues her examination of REMAC, the modified OMAC the Outsiders captured from Jardine and hid from the Justice League. Langstrom is concerned that there is something more behind REMAC that indicates his origins may be more complex than we previously believed. (Batman and the Outsiders #7)

Earthwatch

Earth-2 – In a trailer tease for future JSA events we see Power Girl returning to an Earth-2 that looks suspiciously like the pre-Crisis On Infinite Earths version of that reality rather than the one we saw in the last issue of 52. Have the 52 universes, like the Monitors who oversee them, also been subtly changing and metamorphosing? Does this tie in to the Golden Age Superman’s dying words in the Infinite Crisis collections that seemed to imply his reality was still out there? (Justice Society of America #15)

Earth-9 – The heroes of New Earth meet the Superman of the Tangent reality as the JLA prepare to rescue their missing comrades. Notably, the core DC Earth is back to being referred to as "New Earth" this month rather than Earth-1, as it has been in the last couple of issues. Does this indicate a continuity error in the previous two issues or not? (Tangent: Superman’s Reign #3)

Earth-22 – The Superman of this reality was apparently transported to New Earth via the explosion that wiped out most of the heroes near the end of Kingdom Come. Given Superman’s role after this event in the rest of Kingdom Come #4 this would seem to imply that either Earth-22’s reality now goes off at a tangent to the events originally portrayed or the KC-Superman will return there to take up his place in the timeline with (presumably) no memory of his time on New Earth. (Justice Society of America #15)

Continuity Corner
(The whys and wherefores of some of this week's characters and events)

Robin #174 : Spoiler Warning

She’s back. And one of the most unpopular stories in the entire history of Batman has been mercifully retconned this week! For those wondering what all the fuss regarding Robin supporting character the Spoiler is all about, then here’s a potted history. Stephanie Brown was the daughter of minor Batman villain the Cluemaster and debuted back in Detective Comics #647 (August 1992). Originally her costumed activities were limited to "spoiling" her father’s criminal schemes but eventually she became an ally of the Batman Family and romantically involved with Tim Drake, Robin.

When Jack Drake temporarily put a stop to his son’s crimefighting career, Stephanie briefly became the fourth Robin (in Robin #126 July 2004). After her disastrous attempts to prove her worth to Batman backfired and caused a Gotham-wide gang war, Stephanie was captured and tortured by mob boss the Black Mask. Her subsequent injuries were so severe that she apparently died from them. It was later revealed, in the War Crimes crossover (Batman #s 643-633/Detective #s 809-810), that long-term supporting cast member Dr. Leslie Thompkins could have saved her but didn’t, as a warning to Batman not to involve children in his work.

This shockingly out of character revelation that a beloved cast member was essentially a murderer was, unsurprisingly, very poorly-received at the time. Certainly many fans will be pleased that this has proved to be a ruse to spirit Stephanie to safety. As the Dark Knight himself says in this issue "Everything about it seemed wrong." We’ll have to turn a blind eye, however, to the times that Stephanie’s spirit appeared to Cassandra Cain in the pages of Batgirl but I’m sure we can all live with that...

The Flash #240/Birds of Prey #118: The Dark Side Club

These two DC releases sported a new "tie-in" banner, indicating any future plot points pertaining to The Dark Side Club will also be similarly signified (for completists there was also a brief reference to the Club in last month’s Teen Titans #58). It would appear that the "humanised" forms of the New Gods that first appeared back in the 2005 Mister Miracle miniseries (part of Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers mega-storyline) are back in a big way. In that event we were introduced to a number of new takes on the Fourth World characters including Boss Dark Side – a corrupt club owner with links to the Sheeda, the Soldiers’ nemeses.

Currently the Club is hosting gladiatorial fights between young super-powered heroes who are captured by the Thrillseekers (apparently human form Parademons) and set against each other. This is very reminiscent to a similar operation run by the JSA’s foe Roulette, whose arena has claimed the lives of a number of heroes. Roulette debuted in JSA Secret Files #2 (2001) and the bouts to the death she organised for her criminal clientele claimed the lives of the third Firebrand Alex Sanchez (star of DC’s nine-issue 1996 Firebrand series) along with members of the New Guardians, the Hybrid and the Global Guardians.

Featured Fourth World characters so far include Steppenwulf and Vundabarr, (Dark Side’s lackeys), Granny Goodness (killed by Black Alice when she and Misfit escape the Club), chemist Bernadeth and Lashina. There are also references to a Sister Box and "Forever People" – a term that so far has been applied to super-powered youngsters. Where this all fits in continuity remains to be seen. The Seven Soldiers books occurred some time around Infinite Crisis and significantly prior to The Death of the New Gods. And, of course, we saw a different, more godly form of Darkseid being resurrected in DC Universe #0. Time will tell but it looks like an intriguing storyline...

Countdown to Mystery #8: More Pain Comics

The Spectre clashes with his predecessor as the Wrath of God, Eclipso, this month in the concluding chapter of the first Countdown to Mystery serial. Eclipso’s links to Jim Corrigan’s former alter-ego can be traced back to John Ostrander’s magnificent 90s The Spectre series. In The Spectre #14 (Jan 1994) we first learnt that Eclipso was God’s original Spirit of Vengeance, responsible for the Biblical flood. However Eclipso proved too ruthless and was relieved of his duties and trapped in the black diamond.

In The Spectre #s18-19 (April-May 1994) and Eclipso #18 (April 1994) Eclipso took his long-awaited revenge by taking control of the Spectre entity in an epic storyline that would see him apparently finally defeated and one that brought his short-lived solo series to a rather abrupt end.

Countdown to Mystery #8 also sees the finale to the late Steve Gerber’s Dr. Fate feature. Steve sadly passed away before completing his final scripts so this issue sees Adam Beechen, Mark Evanier, Mark Waid and Gail Simone providing four alternate endings in a wonderful celebration of Steve’s work. These four strips are full of knowing nods and winks to the "Gerberverse" of characters, their continuity and the writer’s unique style and vision.

When we last left Dr. Fate and his allies they were at the mercy of the demon Negal and his infernal sidekick Ymp. Adam Beechen’s opener features, of all people, the Elf with the Gun (from Gerber’s The Defenders over at Marvel) turning up to save Fate from Negal before disappearing with Howard the Duck, Omega the Unknown, Thundarr the Barbarian and Beverly Switzler for a final drink with their creator before "he heads upstairs". Escaping back to Earth Fate, Inza and Maddy find themselves in Las Vegas, home of Gerber’s Vertigo series Nevada.

Mark Waid’s contribution contains an illustrated text piece which, as all Gerber fans know, was a favorite storytelling device of the writer while Gail Simone’s offering references everything from his most famous work (Man-Thing) to some of the lesser-known creations (A. Bizarro). A wonderful tribute to a much-missed creator.

Trading Places

For more on the Spectre’s past battles with Eclipso look no further than the recent Countdown Special: Eclipso #1. The human incarnations of the New Gods can be checked out in the Seven Soldiers of Victory softcovers Volumes 3 and 4. Stephanie Brown's time as Robin is featured in the  Batman: War Drums trade, the three volumes of Batman: War Games continue the arc and, of course,  Batman: War Crimes reprints the controversial story explaining Leslie Thompkins’ part in her "death".

Fanboy Moment of the Week

This week's Super Friends #3 (July 2008) and Justice League of America #10 (March 1962) both featuring villainous sorcerer Felix Faust. Not sure the 8-year-olds will get the homage but I liked it...

That’s a wrap for a mammoth-sized ATDCU. Corrections, criticism or commentary can be posted on the Lowdown ATDCU discussion thread . We’ll be back in seven days for Final Crisis #1 and, if you’ve made it all the way down to the bottom of the page, thanks for reading!