Broken Frontier

Four months in and the experience of scouring each week’s DC offerings for Countdown clues is certainly a very different one of late than it was at the beginning. It’s difficult to find a DC title now that doesn’t have at least some potential link to that "bigger picture" that I speak about all the time. It was very pleasing then, to see in this week’s DC Nation column, that DC are using that space to draw your attention to books that provide individual pieces of the greater puzzle. Don’t forget though that we’ve been doing that here for some time now and with added double-bagged, backed and boarded fanboy speculation for good measure!

Here it comes. 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.

Events this week…

In Countdown #33: Pied Piper and the Trickster are confronted by the Flash … but will he save them or leave them to their fate? Kyle Rayner tracks down the Challengers from Beyond as their lineup is forcibly changed. Klarion makes a deal with Mary Marvel but is the Witch Boy all he claims? And the Cadmus Project get their hooks into Jimmy Olsen…

The Players
(this week’s principal cast)

Wally West presumably appears here at some point after The Flash #231 and the Rogues’ revelations lead into JLA Wedding Special #1. The Cadmus Project first appeared in Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen over a quarter of a century ago and if you want more information on its origins then last week’s Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 2 is a must-buy. In fact it’s a must-buy anyway! Mickey Cannon became head of the Project back in the last volume of Superboy.

Kyle Rayner’s appearance here takes place after Green Lantern #26 according to last week’s The All-New Atom #15 (from which many scenes here are duplicated). The Challengers from Beyond’s quest moves on to Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: WildStorm #1.

Elsewhere in the DCU
(stories this week that may, or may not, tie into the Bigger Picture)

Fill in more of the gaps between 52 and Countdown with Black Adam: The Dark Age #2 on sale this week and watch out for a follow-up to a major 52 plot point.

Lots more timeline shenanigans in the pages of Booster Gold #2. This is a book I’m convinced has a huge part to play in the DCU in the future.

Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: WildStorm #1 gives us lots of major players (Monarch, Monitors, Dark Angel) as the Challengers from Beyond visit Earth-50 and meet a whole host of WildStorm characters.

The war with the Anti-Monitor’s Sinestro Corps continues in Green Lantern #23.

Will a Green Arrow meet his maker in the Countdown buildup? Could we end up with a Dark Knight Returns-style one-armed Oliver Queen? The Justice League of America Wedding Special #1 takes us another step closer to finding out.

In Justice Society of America #9 an all-new dimension-hopping anomaly makes a dramatic entrance on New Earth.

They’ve been making waves across the DCU in Countdown-related storylines for months now and finally John Ostrander is back chronicling their adventures again. Yes, this week sees the much-anticipated new Suicide Squad #1.

Wonder Girl #1 is a follow-up to the events of Amazons Attack!

Continuity Corner
(interesting tidbits from this week’s issues! )

The Anomalies – With the Kingdom Come Superman now on New Earth will any of the Monitors have the courage to face this particular dimension-hopping anomaly head on? (Justice Society of America #9)

A Crisis in Time? – As Rip Hunter moves through the timestream again in Booster Gold #2 we see more points in history that may possibly be crisis areas. Here’s a list with the odd bit of speculation (Superboy punches can probably explain everything but that gets a little boring after a while…). Black Lightning is shown fighting Tobias Whale, a villain he first encountered back in the original 70s run of his title. Black Lightning #3 cover (July, 77) provided for your enjoyment! Jefferson Pierce has had a daughter awkwardly retconned into his past history in recent years. Could this have any bearing here?

The "Titans Hunt" story arc is another chronal image and one that was mentioned on Rip Hunter’s board. Also depicted are Aztek, what appears to be a young Amazing Man, Enemy Ace from the skies of World War I and the Sandman in his first adventure. In the latter case, Wesley Dodds’ Vertigo and regular DCU histories have both been referred to in stories in a very Hypertime kind of way as if both versions existed. Could this be relevant? There’s also a lovely cameo by Dr. 13’s new team from the pages of Tales of the Unexpected. As for Jonah Hex, I could write a column in itself on all the possible time distortions around his continuity. More on that next month, when Booster meets the bounty hunter for real. (Booster Gold #2)

The Death of the New Gods/The Transformations of Jimmy Olsen – With the Cadmus Project having debuted as part of Kirby’s Fourth World Saga it’s just possible that these two Countdown storylines may be about to dovetail. We shall see… (Countdown #33)

The Temptation of Mary Marvel – The art makes it a little difficult to make out but I suspect Eclipso’s influence has possessed Klarion. (Countdown #33)

Salvation Run – It’s a buried footnote on the title page but the mention that the Squad’s new miniseries is set before the events of Salvation Run confirms they have a major part to play in the setup to that book. (Suicide Squad #1)

The Sinestro Corps – The yellow ring-slingers want to take control of the center of the Multiverse, presumably on behalf of the Anti-Monitor. And where is that center? Why New Earth of course…. (Green Lantern #23) Booster Gold unwittingly plays his part in current events in the GL books when, in the past, he gives a young Sinestro the idea of forming a Sinestro Corps. (Booster Gold #2)

The Great Disaster – It’s unfortunate that the Showcase edition of Great Disaster-related series like the Atomic Knights has been delayed. Could Hercules’s appearances in the current DCU play any part in this plot thread given that the Hercules Unbound book in the 1970s was set in the same continuity as the Atomic Knights? (Wonder Girl #1)

Monarch – The former Captain Atom is still plotting against the Monitors from the safety of The Bleed. He again attempts to enlist Kyle Rayner’s help to save the 52. (Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: WildStorm #1)

The Mystery of the Legion – Starman’s "voices" had me thinking this week, especially in light of revelations in Supergirl #21. If all three versions of the Legion are somehow existing concurrently then could this be what has driven Starman insane? As we have seen, Starman has the ability to traverse the boundaries between the dimensions. And Starman has spoken of his temporal doppelgangers so is certainly aware of them. Could the voices he’s hearing be the other versions of himself? Could three counterparts of the same person existing at the same time be what has pushed this Legionnaire into madness? (Justice Society of America #9)

Earthwatch

More Earths have shown up in promotional material. We have a Superwoman/Batwoman Earth, JSA: Liberty Files (Earth-40), Batman: In Darkest Night (Earth-32), Batman Beyond (Earth-12), the darker Earth of the future Superman of Superman/Batman (Earth-31), an Earth of near perfect beings (Earth-15) and JLA: The Nail Earths all confirmed.

Just a quick reminder that the Ion Volume 2 trade paperback was also out this week with lots of relevant appearances by Monarch, The Bleed, Monitors and the Tangent heroes. And if you were intrigued by Dr. 13’s appearance in Booster Gold then I can’t recommend next week’s Dr. 13: Architecture and Morality trade more highly. Wonderful stuff. Until the next time…

With thanks to Eric L for helping me identify that one pesky panel in Booster Gold!