Broken Frontier

We’re catching right up to date this week with everything Countdown-related across the DCU. If you’ve been off on vacation for the last couple of weeks here’s your Spoiler Warning: Read no further if you’ve not had your DC fix recently and don’t want to hear about key story elements.

Events of late…

In Countdown #38: Mary Marvel and Zatanna are drawn into the New Gods’ problems while Oracle has issues with the Calculator. Jimmy Olsen gets a knockback from the Teen Titans as Pied Piper and the Trickster protest their innocence to Batwoman and the Question. And Karate Kid reveals he may be up for the chop…

In Countdown #37: Zatanna takes Mary Marvel under her wing as Trickster and Piper get a nasty dose of Poison Ivy. While the search for Ray Palmer progresses slowly, Karate Kid begins his own quest for salvation. In Metropolis Jimmy Olsen’s revelations provoke an identity crisis for Clark Kent…

In Countdown #36: Poison Ivy’s employer is revealed as Deathstroke the Terminator which does not bode well for our hapless Rogues. At Shadowcrest, Eclipso finally makes her move regarding Mary Marvel. Karate Kid and Una encounter familiar faces from Superman’s past and the "Palmernauts" go on a bug hunt…

The Players
(the last three weeks’ principal cast)

Our main players haven’t been moving around the rest of the DCU so much these last few weeks, however that Jimmy Olsen/Clark Kent cliffhanger in Countdown #37 is immediately picked up on in Action Comics #854. Donna Troy, Jason Todd and Bob the Monitor continue their search in these issues from the pages of The All-New Atom #14.

Karate Kid’s quest takes him to a confrontation with Equus and Mr. Orr, last seen in the For Tomorrow arc in Superman #s 204-215. Poison Ivy popped up recently in Detective Comics #823 while Deathstroke has made major One Year Later appearances in both Green Arrow and Teen Titans.

Elsewhere in the DCU
(stories from the last three weeks that may, or may not, tie into the Bigger Picture)

Jimmy Olsen knows Clark Kent is Superman! The fallout from this revelation is seen in Action Comics #854, a direct Countdown crossover.

The Amazons Attack! in #5 of their title which continues on into Catwoman #70.

Black Canary #4 and Birds of Prey #109 both examine Dinah’s reaction to Green Arrow’s proposal. The latter also moves The Death of the New Gods subplot up another notch.

Booster Gold #1 defines Booster’s new mission in the DCU and those holes in time are sure to play into the bigger Countdown picture at some point.

In The Brave and the Bold #6 there are more significant Legion appearances and yet more references to alternate timestreams.

The aftermath of Bart’s death continues to be felt in The Flash #231.

In Gen 13 #11 the team’s status as "a threat to the Multiverse" is further underlined in a tale of countless continuities.

Green Lantern #22 and Green Lantern Corps #15 take the war with the Sinestro Corps to the next level with more Anti-Monitor appearances.

We’ve all seen the Countdown house ad doing the rounds promoting the new Outsiders line-up so all of the Outsiders: Five of a Kind one-shots have some relevance. However, the cumbersomely-titled Outsiders: Five of a Kind: Thunder and Martian Manhunter #1 is an official Countdown tie-in.

More New Gods appearances in Superman/Batman #39. And there’s a plot element in Superman #666 that I suspect will prove to be far more significant later on down the road…

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

The Death of the New Gods – We’ve already lost Lightray and Sleez but the body count has really been ramped up the last few weeks. The following can now also be added to the list of deceased New Gods:

The Deep Six (Countdown #38)

Speed Queen and Grayven (Outsiders: Five of a Kind: Thunder and Martian Manhunter #1)

Knockout (Birds of Prey #109)

Superman’s continuity conflicts – I’m beginning to think that all may not be what it seems with Superman’s continuity. Action Comics #850 gave us a host of alternate timelines for the Man of Steel that were the first possible clues. The inclusion of Mr. Orr and Equus in recent issues of Countdown only serves to increase my suspicions. The For Tomorrow storyline they originally appeared in can’t be easily reconciled with the "New Earth" Superman’s history.

What really clinched it though was this week’s issue of Superman and our hero’s trip to Hell. A Kryptonian demon called Rakkar has been able to manipulate Superman’s life since he killed some years ago. This appears to be a direct reference to Superman’s execution of the Phantom Zone criminals in Superman #22 (Oct 88) and yet the New Earth Superman is insistent he has never killed anyone. Are continuities colliding? Forget multiple futures on New Earth, are there also multiple pasts? Sounds very much like the allegedly gone forever Hypertime to me… (Superman #666)

A Crisis in Time? – Rip Hunter gives Booster Gold a new mission to help fix the holes in the timestream in the first issue of his new book. I suspect this is very likely to be part of the Multiverse tapestry in the long-run. From the images in this series premiere there seem to be doubts surrounding many familiar DCU faces including Jim Corrigan and the Spectre (hmmm… perhaps something to do with the never-explained evil Jim Corrigan from Gotham Central?), Wally West’s origin as Kid Flash, Firestorm’s partnership of Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein, the Justice League Europe, Sgt. Rock and Easy Company (something to do with Sgt. Rock mysteriously turning up in the current DCU a few years back when we all know he was supposed to die on the final day of WWII?), the Blackhawks and the Challengers of the Unknown (both of whom have had multiple, irreconcilable continuities), the Judas Contract in The New Teen Titans, Barbara Gordon’s shooting in The Killing Joke and Clark Kent meeting the Legion for the first time.

There are a number of other specific events from DC history referenced as problem areas later in the story including Black Manta’s killing of Aquababy, the Great Darkness Saga from The Legion of Super-Heroes #290-294 (1982), a very Earth-S looking Captain Marvel and Billy Batson, Black Adam’s origins, Zero Hour, Kamandi’s future and two Superman taking on Doomsday. Rip Hunter’s blackboard, full of clues, also makes a return here. (Booster Gold #1)

Compounding this Batman’s trip back from the future in the most recent B&B also shows us many of DC’s sci-fi/future stars of stories past. These include the Legion, the original Atomic Knights, the Time Trapper, the Reverse Flash, Star Hawkins, Tommy Tomorrow, Kamandi, the Sun Devils, the Star Hunters,the original OMAC, Ultra the Multi-Alien, the Star Rovers, the John Fox Flash of the future, Space Cabbie, Space Ranger and the Space Museum. There’s no way all these characters are compatible in the same timeline. Curiouser and curiouser… (The Brave and the Bold #6)

It’s also worth mentioning that Sun Devils was one of the books referenced way back in the opening days of 52 on Rip Hunter’s blackboard (along with Sonic Disruptors, Spanner’s Galaxy and Silverblade). To my knowledge that has never been followed up on.

Earthwatch

What did I say last time round about the 3-issue Conjurors series from 1997 being of possible interest? The recent DC solicitation seems to confirm that it is that particular Elseworlds reality that will be visited in Countdown to Adventure #s 3-4.

That’s it for this column. Next time we enter the second third of the Countdown…