New Linko! - Interviewing Stan Lee, Vintage Shuster Shop, Pokémon's Eternal Flame

Yo! Welcome to "New Linko!" which isn't much different from "Old Linko!" except I'ma do it more regularly and the heading is different and self-promotion yadda yadda. Shall we get to some links?

* Insert all "must-read piece of the week" qualifiers here for Alex Pappademas' Grantland profile on Stan Lee. Actually, in a lot of ways it's less a profile on Lee and more a profile on what it's like to interview Lee given the many contradictions surrounding his place in comics history. It was great to hear of another journalist struggling to reflect the full scope of what's happening today with the fact that Stan is a nice old man who's talking up his new stuff not to screw over others but to provide what he views as his part in their creation today. It's especially good to hear that since I'm talking to Stan on Monday (and no, I'm not going to bust his balls about Kirby and the Avengers).

Also: the above image is a promotional one for the documentary about Stan The Man created for some new cable channel called Epix which Pappademas summarizes enough in the article for you to know if you can skip it (though I'll probably watch because I'm totally stuck on archival interview footage). Anyway, I know that the backdrop in this image is meant to be a computery futuristic blast of Marvel energy thing, but it looks like they just threw up a kids bedsheet behind him and snapped a photo, right?

* Here's something I saw a while ago that I'm surprised I haven't seen more comic people discuss: a very one-sided post by animation critic Amid Amidi about how a planned Spumco coffee table book through PictureBox Inc. fell apart. I've enjoyed Amidi's books when I've read them, and I have mountains of respect for Dan Nadel, so I'm really bummed this fell apart, whatever the reason.

* In happier links that have been floating around my computer: Chris Kohler's Wired story about the continuing popularity of Pokémon the card game with kids is SO interesting to me. Raise your hand if you assumed kids stopped buying trading cards of any kinds circa 2004?

* Speaking of trading cards, this gallery of vintage 1940s Superman cards created by the Shuster Shop is fantastic (link via Mr. Tom Spurgeon). They say great art asks questions, and after looking at this art, I found myself asking questions like "Is that dude just throwing dynamite off a building?" and "Why is Superman fucking up that diver's game?"

Seriously though, I wonder if the card above's red-headed mad scientist is supposed to be the early Lex Luthor? God, I love Sigel and Shuster Superman comics.

* Speaking of some classic stuff I swiped from Spurgeon's site, here are some very meta Joe Simon/Jack Kirby kids comics.

* Topical Link to this blog post Link: Infinite Copyright Is Killing Culture.

* Occasionally I got off on a streak where I buy a bunch of random stuff on Amazon without thinking of the price. Next time that happens, I'm getting some of these gorgeous-looking UK kids comics by Luke Pearson.

* In totally different news, here's two links I've been sitting on that have told me all I need to know about the Manga industry in 2012: Jason Thompson's much-linked to piece on how the manga industry is digging its own grave, and Deb Aoki's 25 most anticipated manga releases of the year.

Linko!'s Weekly Crew Round Up

So here's a new feature focusing on links to the work of me and my compatriots. For now, I'm burying it here, but I reserve the right to get cocky and put it up top in the future:

* Rob Bricken at Topless Robot has like a zillion things worth reading every week, but I was very glad to read him on the official timeline of ever Zelda game ever. He found one of his nerd Grails!

* I love that we live in a world where they make Lego-esque toy lines out of obscure Peter David Spider-Man comics, and I love that my friend Zach Oat is in a job where he interview PAD about both.

* Ben had AT LEAST two fun stories worth your time up on Marvel.com this week: Tom Brevoort on the return of Thanos to The Avengers and Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning on New Mutants.

* Meanwhile on CBR, TJ Dietsch has been killing it with pieces like this DC Collectibles interview with Geoff Johns and Jim Fletcher and this one with Robert Kirkman about The Walking Dead #100.

* Finally, I had a lot of copy go up on CBR in the past week or so that I thought turned out well even for me, including this chat with Ed Brubaker on Fatale and my first ever talk with Andi Watson, one of my A#1 all-time favorite cartoonists.

Rasslin' Ramblings: When Hulk Hogan Was a Jerk

It was only a couple years back that the fellas over at Superdickery.com launched their fantastic site and shined a solid spotlight on what many had already figured out but never had the heart or fortitude to say out loud: Silver Age Superman was a tremendous jerk. Indeed, whether it was torturing Jimmy Olsen, toying with Lois Lane’s emotions or raising general havoc, the purportedly virtuous Man of Steel spent the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s as more or less a complete tool.

If there’s any comparable figure to Superman in the world of pro wrestling—John Cena aside—certainly it would be Hulk Hogan, and as Marvel editor Bill Rosemann and I realized the other day, The Hulkster paralleled Kal-El not just in strength and stature, but that in his own “Silver Age” of the 80’s and early 90’s, while being promoted as the ultimate good guy, his character—I’m not casting aspersions on the man himself, that’s for others to do or not do and I’ve never met the guy—was actually a pretty terrible fellow.

Again, this isn’t a news flash—Scott Keith alone has been saying it for years—but pretty enlightening and amusing to sit down and pick apart.

To wit…

-Despite holding the World Wrestling Federation championship for three years, Hogan never gives his supposed best friend, the undefeated and dominant Andre The Giant, a title shot. When Andre gets pissed and sides with Bobby Heenan—a tiny little manager the 300+ pound Hogan liked to toss around like a rag doll—Hulk can’t understand why.

-When Hogan and Randy Savage were teaming as the Mega Powers in 1988 and 1989, The Hulkster was all over Macho Man’s lady, Miss Elizabeth, at every available opportunity. When they were wrestling the Twin Towers and Liz got accidentally knocked out, Hogan ditched the match to carry her to the back while Savage got pummeled by Akeem and The Big Bossman. When Hogan returned to try and get the glory, he was again aghast that his buddy was mad at him. Hulk ended up beating Savage to win the WWF title back at WrestleMania V, splitting the Macho Man and Elizabeth in the process. Then when Macho Man got a new chick, the Sensational Sherri, Hogan would beat her up at every opportunity!

-Hogan took WWF newcomer Sid Justice under his wing in 1991. During the 1992 Royal Rumble, with the vacant WWF title on the line, Sid eliminated Hogan fair and square. Rather than graciously applaud his student for becoming the teacher, The Hulkster threw a fit at ringside and grabbed Sid’s arm despite no longer being in the match, allowing the villainous Ric Flair to dump the big man and win the championship. Despite being the clear sore loser and jerk in this scenario, Hogan was still granted shots at Flair and portrayed as being the good guy—and of course was baffled as to why Sid stopped liking him.

-At WrestleMania IX, Hogan got himself and partner Brutus Beefcake disqualified during their World Tag Team title shot at champs Money Inc. by using a foreign object, then still spent a solid five minutes posing in the ring afterward. Following the main event where Bret Hart got gypped out of the World title by Yokozuna and his nefarious manager Mr. Fuji, Hulk came down to make sure The Hitman was ok and then promptly forgot all about him to run in and challenge the new champ, winning due to mistimed outside interference and then posing for another ten minutes while Bret Hart was in the back getting salt scrubbed out of his eyes.

-Upon debuting for World Championship Wrestling in 1994, Hogan went after Flair’s World title, and in the course of winning it, once again beat up poor Sherri, who had gone five years without having a 6’7” dude slam her and give her multiple atomic drops.

-At Halloween Havoc 1995, Hogan faced The Giant in a Monster Truck Sumo Challenge on the roof of Cobo Arena. After The Hulkster won, he celebrated by throwing his opponent off the roof of the building, presumably to his demise (fortunately, he was fine, and they wrestled like 15 minutes later).

-Hulk Hogan made me watch a 24 minute long match where he and Dennis Rodman beat Diamond Dallas Page and Karl Malone at Bash at the Beach 1998. He also made me watch him choke The Ultimate Warrior with his weightlifting belt for 15 minutes and then accidentally light his eyebrows on fire at Halloween Havoc the same year. Sure he was technically and actual villain by that point, but c’mon, that’s above and beyond.

-Mr. America.

Hey, I may not be a full blown Hulkamaniac—I was a little Tornado as a kid, cheering on Kerry Von Erich, then transitioned to whatever Shawn Michaels called his fans before there was a Clique and I realize I was the only dude chanting the name of the guy in the sequined chaps—but I recognize and appreciate all the man did for the business.

I also recognize and appreciate how there probably wouldn’t be a comic book industry without Superman.

But if those guys hung out in the 80’s, they probably would have just taken turns giving Lois Lane and Sensational Sherri atomic drops before making Jimmy Olsen marry an ape and never letting Paul Orndorff have a title match.

Sayonara, Smallville Extra: I Can't Believe We Haven't Seen...

Kiel and I have not had a chance to touch base on "Booster" (or for that matter "Dominion") quite yet, but rest assured, we've come this far on the runaway train that is Smallville, and will be finishing the ride, albeit perhaps with the timeliness of a New Jersey Transit evening commute (show of hand for who got that one...thank you, Rickey).

In the mean time, here's a lazily assembled visual gallery of all the Superman/DC characters that I can't believe didn't somehow make it in some form or another into a decade of Smallville, a show that has featured, aside from their regular cast that includes Green Arrow...

...Supergirl, Doomsday, Zod (twice), Brainiac, Impulse, Aquaman, Cyborg, The Martian Manhunter, Black Canary, Zatanna, Amanda Waller, Rick Flag, Emil Hamilton (twice), Morgan Edge, Perry White, Maggie Sawyer, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Krypto (sorta), Jimmy Olsen (sorta), Bizarro, Lara, Zor-El, Plastique, Maxima, Faora, The Persuader, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Dan Turpin, Toyman, Bruno Mannheim, Metallo, Roulette, Speedy, the Wonder Twins, Icicle, Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Stargirl, the Justice Society of America, Checkmate, the Suicide Squad, Silver Banshee, Maxwell Lord, Cat Grant (twice), Deadshot, Glorious Godfrey, Darkseid, Isis, Granny Goodness, the Female Furies, Desaad, Deathstroke, Mera, Ultraman, Amos Fortune, Superboy, Booster Gold and Blue Beetle...

...so yeah, here are some other folks they sure could have worked in:

STEELGANGBUSTERBLACK LIGHTNINGCAPTAIN MARVELADAM STRANGEHAWK & DOVEVIBELOBOTHE ATOMIC SKULLRAMPAGECONDUITAMBUSH BUGWILD DOGJONAH HEXKAMANDIRICHARD DRAGONALPHA CENTURIONTITANOVARTOXEGG FUMISS MARTIANAGENT LIBERTY

My First Justice League

In the inaugural post of my new blog over at Marvel.com, I talked about being initially exposed as a comics reader (not as a video game player, toy buyer or general consumer of pop culture knowledge) to the X-Men in the backdoor manner of discovering them via the Kings of Pain crossover because I was buying New Warriors, and thus having the first roster I ever encountered consist of Legion, Madrox, Polaris and the rest of the Muir Island misfits who filled in while the real team was momentarily disbanded. I mused on how particularly as a kid the first impression you get of a comic book team is an odd thing and sticks with you even if you first “met” a short-lived and unremembered line-up, which certainly happened a lot in the 90’s.

Take the Justice League.

My actual first experience with the Justice League was as a very young kid when I would go to visit my friend Josiah and he had a big chest in his basement of probably around a hundred old comics he’d gotten from some older relative. They ran the gamut, but were mostly from the later Silver Age with a lot of DC’s, particularly lengthy runs of the Satellite Era Justice League of America. One of my first vivid comic book memories is reading the issue where the JLA fights Jonah Hex and a bunch of other time-displaced heroes who are being manipulated by The Lord of Time.

(Fun fact: It was also at Josiah’s house that I concocted my infamous homemade Flash costume which my mother took a picture of that she later blew up to a poster when I was 18 and has since made its way online if you look hard enough)

I didn’t become a serious comic book fan until the 90’s though, starting with Marvel, primarily New Warriors and the X-Men books. It was the Death of Superman that first got me curious about DC and it was via that storyline that I first came across a contemporary Justice League.

And they got their asses kicked in the first issue of their book I purchased.

Shortly before Superman got killed off, the guy who committed the deed—not Doomsday—writer/artist Dan Jurgens had just taken over Justice League America (“of” was not very 90’s, hence why Legion of Super-Heroes never saw the success it did in the prior decade). He brought Supes in as team leader—a big deal since in that post-Crisis On Infinite Earths/pre-Infinite Crisis period Superman had never been part of the League, his Silver Age stints retroactively wiped out—to a group that included then-mainstays Guy Gardner, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Fire and Ice, as well as reformed villain Maxima and supposedly all-new character Bloodwynd (spoiler alert: it was Martian Manhunter with amnesia and the most 90’s name this side of X-Treme).

A comic book neophyte, I had no exposure to the glory days of Justice League International and thus no clue why Guy, Booster, Beetle, Fire and Ice were on the team. I had no idea who Maxima and Bloodwynd were. Having read those old 70’s issues and just knowing the big DC heroes via cartoons and lunchboxes and whatnot, Superman was the only guy on the team who made any sense to me, yet he was treated like an odd fit and about to die anyhow.

As I mentioned, this team was not long for the DC Universe. They were served up as cannon fodder to Doomsday in order to demonstrate how badass he was (which as you might imagine didn’t work for me as I was totally unfamiliar with the characters and thus unimpressed that he whooped a guy in bug goggles and girl with green hair). Before all was said and done, Beetle was in a coma, Booster’s power-providing gear was shredded, Fire burned out her abilities and Ice got traumatized into retirement.

Just as soon as I had been introduced to the Justice League, they were shuffled off. The next issue, a new team debuted, led by Wonder Woman—who, remember, like Superman had never technically been in the League before, so this was a big deal—retaining Guy, Maxima and Bloodwynd, then adding Agent Liberty, Black Condor and The Ray. This configuration was also short-lived, with Liberty and Condor taking off after an arc and being replaced by the returning Beetle/Booster/Fire/Ice quartet as well as Captain Atom. As Zero Hour drew near, the Judgment Day crossover came and went, paving the way for consolidation of the various Leagues—there was a Justice League Europe/International as well plus a Task Force led by Martian Manhunter after the Bloodwynd thing ended—for the Gerard Jones era I wasn’t too high on and ended up jumping off of.

The funny thing is it didn’t drop my jaw when the first X-Men I saw was a guy with a Mohawk instead of Wolverine. Likewise it didn’t seem unusual that “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” as far as Marvel was concerned were The Black Knight and Sersi when I started reading comics. I was aware of Marvel, sure, and that’s where I started as a fan, but I had residual sense of how things were “supposed to be” gleaned from cultural osmosis. If the comic I was reading told me that Scott Lang was Ant-Man and also kind of in the Fantastic Four, then I took that at face value, because it was all I knew.

It was different with DC. Whether it was the Batman TV show from the 60’s or Super Friends or coloring books or actions figures or just the old comics from Josiah’s basement, I had a pre-formed opinion of how the DC Universe was supposed to be, and when those Justice League stories didn’t deliver what I was expecting, I felt oddly betrayed. Not by the creators or company, but by the characters themselves. How dare Batman not have time to spend away from Gotham? What the heck were The Flash and Green Lantern doing hanging out in Europe? Did Aquaman seriously have conversations to hold with fish that were more important than fighting Despero?

When I returned to reading comics around 2000, Grant Morrison had brought the Big Seven back to the JLA and all seemed right with the world. Likewise, thanks to Kurt Busiek and George Perez’s work, I now understood that being an Avenger was a bigger deal than Crystal and Deathcry would have had me believe.

It’s somewhat ironic that the current Justice League line-up is closer to the one I grew up reading than the Satellite/Morrison team—and the New Avengers at least aren’t far off from the Bob Harras-penned team I followed in my youth in terms of relative A-listers—but now it seems far more like these quirky teams exist when a creator sees potential, not simply because the characters they really want are preoccupied.

In other words, Aquaman may have snubbed the Justice League 20 years ago because he was playing with his hook hand, but now James Robinson won’t return his calls! Eat it, Sea King!

Mix & Match Super Villains

It’s no secret that the Eisner Award-winning Invincible Iron Man is a pretty consistently solid comic book (or so the scoreboard would indicate). Matt Fraction’s writing is sharp, Salvador Larroca’s art is slick, my main man Alejandro Arbona edits the heck out of the whole shebang and Tony Stark has become a wonderfully complex and charismatic lead.

So it’s no surprise I dig the book as I do, but even I was a bit taken aback at how much I’m digging the current “Fix Me” arc in which Spider-Man archfoe—revealed to also be a former Stark peer in his younger years—Doctor Octopus is squaring off with Iron Man as he attempts to get Tony to cure his life-threatening physical ailments or at least admit his failure. It’s well-written, well-drawn, all that jazz, but honestly one of the biggest draws for me is simply seeing Doc Ock, generally an Amazing Spider-Man fixture, mixing it up with somebody new (and he brings Sandman and Electro along for the ride to boot).

Heroes trading their villains around is, of course, nothing new and has been going on since at least the Silver Age if not longer (I truthfully do not know if, say, The Red Skull ever appeared in Sub-Mariner during the 40’s or if Golden Age Lex Luthor fought that era’s Batman) and has been a fixture ever since. Particularly in the 90’s, if a villain was popular—Venom is the number one example that jumps to mind—you’d see them everywhere whether it made sense or not (A-listers like The Joker or Doctor Doom aren’t in the discussion here as part of what makes them great is that they can face off with anybody and it works).

In recent years, as restraint has returned to the medium, super villains have tended more or less to find a home title/hero and stick to it, so when something like “Fix Me” occurs it feels a little more special, as I’m sure it did the first time Magneto fought the Avengers back in the 60’s. More than that, though, if you find just that right “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that” pairing, it’s so sweet to see a bad guy out of the element you associate them with, but making such a perfect adversary for their unfamiliar dance partner. No matter how good “Fix Me” ultimately is, I’m sure Doc Ock will remain primarily a Spider-Man baddie simply because there’s such a rich history there, but developing a side feud with Iron Man can only up his profile and make for more great stories. I’m hoping for similar goodness in the just-announced “Storm Hunter” story this summer where Kraven goes after The Black Panther in another matchup that just makes total sense.

Following that train of thought, I wracked my brain for some shuffled hero vs villain showdowns I think have a lot of potential—and by the way, I fully recognize that as much as I know about comics I’ve got decades of continuity working against, thus I’m sure at least one of these has happened already and I look forward to hearing about it in the comments, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done again and even better.

(Also, I don’t have Photoshop at home, so I’ll assume you all know what the good guys look like and instead display pictures of the baddies)

SUPERMAN VS BANE
First and foremost, Superman always needs more villains he can just get into punching matches with, because the rotation between Metallo, Bizarro and Parasite in between cerebral wars with Lex Luthor and Brainiac gets played pretty quickly. Realistically, maybe Bane isn’t in Superman’s weight class, but then again, neither are a lot of the guys he fights. Besides that, Bane is a lot smarter than your average musclehead (when he’s being written right), as he’s the guy who not only physically dominated Batman, but weaved the psychological web of destruction that allowed that to occur. The optimum time for this to happen would have been right smack dab in the 90’s when Bane could taunt Superman with the “I broke your best friend” card, but done right today, this could bump Bane up a level and give Superman a fresh sparring partner for when you just need an issue of Action Comics full of double page spreads.

THE X-MEN VS THE DEVIANTS
It’s tough coming up with opponents for the X-Men particularly in the here and now as they are literally an army living on their own private sanctuary. However, the Deviants’ numbers dwarf even Cyclops and company, plus they’re an entire race bred more or less to go to war. Really there could be no more perfect threat for the X-Men to play against, as the Deviants are mutants gone down the worst possible scenario and any last remnant of Xavier’s dream torn to shreds: they’re an offshoot of humanity feared for their power, shunned for their differentness and driven to isolate themselves and lash out against the Eternals, Celestials and every either “normal” or “gifted” group that has been able to ascend into the light they’re denied, so of course they would really hate the X-Men. I’d love to see Cyclops’ strategic skills pitted against the likes of Warlord Kro and the X-Men forced to look into the dark mirror of what they could become—and are actually moving closer to if they really take a minute to think about Utopia—in the Deviants.

GREEN ARROW VS CAPTAIN BOOMERANG
Ok, maybe pairing off the two specialized weapons guys is a bit cliché, but just because it’s sensible doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be fun. Awesome arrow vs boomerang dual aside—and once they get to the gimmicks it would be seriously amazing—the personalities would be an interesting mesh as well. Going after Green Arrow would be a sensible move for Boomer, as he’s one of those villains constantly trying to prove he’s better than his reputation and targeting the perceived “weakest” member of the Justice League falls right in line with his character. For Ollie, looking at Boomerang would be—as with a the X-Men/Deviants pairing I just discussed—a glimpse at the road not travelled but that could still be. Digger is a guy who has let arrogance and his vices consume him and lost his family because of it; Ollie isn’t that far off from that. Both guys are arrogant and snarky and would have I suspect a spirited battle of wits, words, fists and projectiles.

SPIDER-MAN VS BATROC
This may be my personal favorite. I have already read the amazing Captain America & Batroc one-shot by Kieron Gillen and Renato Arlem headed to stores this Wednesday, and it only renewed and strengthened my affinity for “Ze Leapair,” a truly fantastic pseudo-villain and just fun character. I’d love to see Batroc gain a higher profile in the Marvel Universe, and Spider-Man is the perfect opponent for him. Captain America and Batroc always have cool dustups, but at his core, my favorite Frenchman is an acrobat, not a scrapper, so Spidey would be a great opponent for him just from a physical and fighting style angle. Batroc is also a guy who leads with his pride, preferring to prove himself against Cap rather than beat him or even pull off the big score and he’s all about the honorable opponent, so you know he and Spider-Man would start off trading barbs, but the Wallcrawler’s ceaseless banter and deprecating sense of humor would ultimately drive him—no pun intended—up the wall. And yet, underneath the surface, Batroc and Spidey actually have more than a little in common: both are underdogs, both seek and generally don’t get respect, and both stand by their morals at the end of the day (seriously, read any good Batroc story and he’s not really a bad guy, more of a thrill junkie and swashbuckler). Put the right artist on this and it would be an instant classic fight sequence, but the correct writer could also forge a cool rivalry/friendship in the end—paging Mr. Gillen and Mr. Arlem!

THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES VS BLACK ADAM
Probably the best Legion of Super-Heroes story ever is The Great Darkness Saga, with Darkseid emerging in the future, and a modern highlight of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s run came when Ra’s al Ghul showed up as the out-of-nowhere mastermind trying to take over the United Planets. Long story short: Present day villains are gold in the 30th/31st century. Black Adam is immortal and this could certainly still be around somewhere in a thousand years or so, plus he’s one of the few figures who simply on his own could present a viable physical challenge to a fighting force as vast and diverse as the Legion. I’d love to see Captain Marvel’s toughest opponent lock horns with Mon-El and Ultra Boy, trade sparks with Lightning Lad and Lightning Lass or match magic with The White Witch. Black Adam is an unstoppable force and some of the Legion’s greatest battles have come when they go up against that type of threat; I’d love to see Cosmic Boy or Brainiac 5’s battle strategy, but I’d also like to see what happens when BA shrugs it off and ignites the tempers of Legion hotheads like Wildfire and Timber Wolf, leading to the inevitable dog pile. Throw in Isis and Osiris as well and this is a slobberknocker for the ages for sure.

IRON MAN VS THE LEADER
I’m biting a little on the Iron Man-Doc Ock feud I started the post talking about, but if anything, that story has shown me that Tony Stark up against other smart guys makes for quality stories. For years and years The Leader has been banging his giant head against the wall trying and failing to put mind over muscle against The Hulk, so it would be interesting to see him step up to somebody of his own intellect. Conversely, I don’t think Iron Man has ever gone against anybody with the brain capacity of The Leader, so it would be a different kind of challenge for him than battling The Mandarin or one of his numerous armored rivals. I don’t hate The Leader’s chances here, as a guy who has come within inches of putting The Hulk down despite no physical abilities can surely give Iron Man a run, while Tony would be in the uncomfortable position of not being able to necessarily fall back on his knowledge, having to opt for finesse and firepower instead.

Cruel Summer: Cyborg Superman

I totally thought it was Steel.

When Reign of the Supermen was going down I was 11 and very much caught up in the fervor of trying to guess which of the four newbies was the real Superman. Even though Superboy was my favorite, he came right out in his first appearance and said he was a clone, so he was off the list (and besides, I always figured he’d end up as Superboy some way or another). The Last Son of Krypton actually seemed the logical choice as a new more violent Superman would seem par for the course in the 90’s and fitting with what audiences at the time were into; but call it my youthful optimism or the spirit of heroism I admired about comics to begin with, I just didn’t think a shades-wearing, bone-breaking Superman would last (and again, I was 11, so I absolutely thought one of these guys was going to be around to stay).

So yeah, I thought it was Steel. I bought the argument put forth in one of his issues and then expounded upon in letters columns that John Henry Irons died during Doomsday’s rampage around the same time as Superman and somehow inherited his soul at least in part. I thought it seemed cool and warmed to the idea that an armored black man with a big ol’ hammer was going to be the new Superman.

I was of course wrong (though the real guy being a fifth latecomer was a total gyp), but there was one thing I was entirely correct about: I knew it couldn’t be the Cyborg, because that guy was bad news.

Even when they were trying to make all four guys seem like heroes and even though I was just a kid, I never had any doubt that the Cyborg Superman was a villain and would be exposed as such. Dan Jurgens did too good a job in his design making him terrifying as a bizarre perversion of such a familiar, iconic and reassuring figure like Superman for me not to distrust the character.

Yet despite the fact I was waiting from day one for the Cyborg to go bad, the issue where he beats the piss out of The Eradicator and then yells out “Earth be damned!” as Mongul nears before him and Warworld descends on Coast City is one of the coolest heel turns in comics history from where I recline.

And more credit to Dan Jurgens in that while the Cyborg was very creepy as an enigma wearing half of Superman’s face, he became even more sinister as he was—excuse the pun—fleshed out using the creator’s own prior stories to tell his origin. Hank Henshaw’s role as the Reed Richards of a tragically doomed Fantastic Four analogue was perfect as, quite frankly, Reed is only a step or two away from being a fantastic bad guy himself. Jurgens’ twist of the screw for Henshaw’s motivation, that Superman tossing The Eradicator into the sun may have caused the solar activity that doomed the flight and ultimately killed the future Cyborg’s friends and wife was also brilliant as it gave him a totally legitimate reason to hate our hero plus a tie to another important character in the whole saga.

That driving impetus, Jurgens’ design work and even the way Henshaw initially embraced technology over humanity as way to communicate with his wife following his demise but ended up driving her to kill herself, making his new powers another layer of tragedy, all worked for him, but let’s be honest: at the end of the day, those were just contributing factors to the Cyborg’s quality as a villain whereas the thing that pushed him over the top was that he was the big bad at the end of the entire Death and Return of Superman opus; anybody who got that spot was going to get major cred.

What I saw as the Cyborg Superman’s undoing early on in his villainous career, however, was a result of that same earned cred. He was such a hot commodity after his Reign of the Supermen role that he was rushed back into circulation way too quickly in my opinion. There are of course some classic super villain like Doctor Doom and Lex Luthor who can show up every other month and still be great because they’re that awesome, but those guys are few and far between; for the most part, if you’ve got a really special bad guy, you need to rest him between appearance so the next time he shows up the situation really has that “Oh shit, if this guy’s back it means trouble” feeling.

This is particularly true with villains who are the epicenters of big events. For two decades following Crisis On Infinite Earths, we didn’t see The Anti-Monitor again, and that only made his legend grow. Apocalypse only comes around ever few years if that in the X-Men books and when it happens, it feels special. Contrast that to something like Eclipso getting his own regular series following Darkness Within or The Beyonder going from disembodied voice to bopping around every Marvel title in his leisure suit and you get what I’m saying.

The Cyborg returned almost immediately after his big defeat in Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey and I always felt that was a big mistake. To begin with, a story that already has Doomsday—another great villain who came back way too soon and too often—and Darkseid is not going to be one in which Hank Henshaw can really shine. For another, it at least felt like it took years for Superman to beat the Cyborg the first time around, so the fact that we knew it would only take a few issues the second just cheapened him.

After that story, I think the Cyborg quickly became damaged goods. What should have been a money confrontation with Hal Jordan after he destroyed his city and wrecked his sanity was relegated to a five-page side confrontation during Final Night. Then for years Henshaw would show up with annoying frequency either as the predictable mastermind or unwitting foot soldier in whatever big plot was menacing Superman that month; a real fall from grace.

However, in 2006, it was Geoff Johns to the rescue.

Noted villain rejuvenator Johns brought Cyborg Superman firmly over into the Green Lantern mythos to serve as a foil to the reinvigorated Hal Jordan which felt long overdue. He spun Henshaw into being the mysterious new Grandmaster of the Manhunters following months of buildup, restoring that sense of danger and grandeur from those early appearances nice and quick. Johns gave him weight by making him one of the first characters aware of the 52 alternate universes following Infinite Crisis and didn’t cheapen him as a threat since it took several Green Lanterns working together to bring him down.

But it was Johns’ follow-up in the classic Sinestro Corps War storyline that has really given Cyborg Superman the staying power I think is going to sustain him.

In that arc, Cyborg Superman joins with Sinestro and his new ally The Anti-Monitor for one reason: he wants to die and thinks they can make it happen. He’s sick of this tortured existence devoid of anybody he loves and wants to end it, but sadly, he seems to have made himself indestructible over the years. It’s a tragic and complex reason for doing bad that I think sets Henshaw apart these days.

And that scene at the end where he thinks he succeeds in courting death by trapping himself in an explosion but then his skull is recovered by the Manhunters and he sheds a single tear—classic.

I knew that Cyborg was trouble from the start and was certainly no Superman, but he sure does make a perfect bad guy. It’s crazy that a villain with so much going for him from origin to look to impetus almost ended up a footnote, but I guess we’re all lucky one of the millions of people who read his first misadventures had the power to make sure that didn’t happen.

Brighter-est Day

Last week DC’s 26-issue bi-weekly Brightest Day series kicked off, and I for one am definitely hooked by the promise of what’s to come and psyched to see some characters I really dig—I’m a huge Martian Manhunter mark and have a soft spot for Captain Boomerang—and others who have some real promise—in regards to the new Deadman status quo, in the words of my friend Sean T. Collins, “sure, I’ll eat it”—get up to some action and adventure while we get a further exploration of the ever-expanding mythology that kicked into high gear during Blackest Night.

And of course at the center of it all is the dozen resurrected folks all the mysteries are swirling around.

Now, far be it from me to critique the likes of Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi (whom I once, in his presence, referred to as “the Alan Moore of editors” for his fine work on the superlative Light Brigade series and also because Steve Wacker was in the room and I wanted to make him feel bad), but I daresay there are a few other DC characters I think could have been neat to bring back via Brightest Day.

Of course I’m not saying my picks would necessarily and without question enhance a story I think is already off to a dope start—I trust Geoff and Pete a great deal in their choices and dig that they didn’t go the easy route of bringing back somebody like Blue Beetle who had such a significant send-off—but I’ll go ahead and put my money where my mouth is (no actual money will be put anywhere)…

JONATHAN KENT
Superman’s adoptive old man had a pretty memorable send-off a couple years back at the hands of Brainiac, but I gotta be honest, events have been so fast and furious in the time since that I think Pa Kent’s demise got the short shrift. I think there’s something to be said for taking a mulligan on this one and resetting the status quo, but not exactly as it was before.

One of the knocks against Superman has always been that he has so few weaknesses, but giving him back the father he lost with the full knowledge he could lose him again at any time certainly adds a new element of vulnerability to the Man of Steel. And what’s it like for Martha Kent to have her husband back after making peace with his passing? Despite their super son and his own resurrection, the Kents are salt-of-the-earth folks who I have to think figure “dead means dead” particularly for the ordinary likes of them.

And then of course there’s Jonathan himself; people like Hawkman and Jade at least have enough experience with the bizarre and extraordinary that coming back from the dead may be just another day at the office to some degree, but Pa’s just a farmer who had his ticket punched and now against all he likely believes in, he’s back—what’s that like? I think there’s merit to the dozen characters brought back to all be super-powered heroes and villains, but if you’re going to include a supporting character, this is the guy I’d go with.

End of the day, you’re going to get one of two outcomes I think have potential: Superman has to say goodbye to his dad once more and this time it can really pack an emotional wallop, or Pa Kent is back but with a new outlook on mortality that adds dimension to a tenured character.

THE TRICKSTER
I’ve spoken before about how highly I regard the Underworld Unleashed story by Mark Waid and Howard Porter, and in particular the handling of The Trickster who outwitted the devil and came out the unlikeliest of heroes. Unfortunately he never really found his niche in the DC Universe after that and ended up lapsing back into villainy before kinda going out like a chump.

I’d love to see James Jesse brought back with a new lease on life and become something of a wildcard who could go either way down the path to either good or evil. The battle for the soul of The Trickster is a story that could get some solid mileage either in the pages of Brightest Day, the new Flash book or elsewhere. Obviously the Rogues would want Jesse back, but they’re the guys who let him die. Wally West was a guy who always believed I the reformed Trickster and trying to get him to stick on the straight and narrow could give that particular Flash something to do while his kids are in daycare.

And how does Neron figure in? This is, after all, the mere mortal who ruined his plans not once but twice. And hey, who’s to say The Trickster didn’t end up under Neron’s dominion during his time among the dead and now he found a way to escape? Now there’s a story to be told. How desperate would Jesse be not to go back?

Personally I’d love to see The Trickster’s tale end with him as a shades of grey type hero who you can’t quite trust, but regardless of the destination, the journey has loads of potential.

VYKIN
The New Gods are off the table at the moment and as “dead” as gods can be; I’m sure there are long-term plans in place for the characters, but assuming Grant Morrison or whomever will be shepherding that saga can spare one, I’d be very interested to see what happens to one New God, alone on a world where his race is basically extinct.

To expand on that, I’ve always wanted to see one of the Forever People on their own given how tied to the concept of being a group and depending on one another they’ve always been. Since Vykin is the most introverted and yet curious of the crew, he’d be my pick to be the “wandering New God.” How does a god cope with death and resurrection? Does he become a hero? Does he become a figure of worship? Who tries to exploit him? Who tries to help the stranger in a strange land?

I’d like to find out.

MAXIMA
One of my less-inspired picks, admittedly, but there’s a dearth of good Superman villains as well as good female villains in general when it comes to DC, and Maxima was one I always had affection for. Her modus operandi was a unique one and her semi-failed tenure with the Justice League gives her far more depth than your typical cackling would-be-world conqueror.

With Maxima, I’m not so much looking at the short-term returns on the part she could play in Brightest Day, but rather the long view on what a great foil she could be for Supes or maybe Wonder Woman or even the JLA.

KARATE KID
With Vykin, you’ve got the guy away from his people and home, but with Karate Kid, you’ve got the always cool “man out of time” routine. Additionally, I don’t think we ever got the full scoop of how exactly Val Armorr got over his first death—if it still happened in our continuity—so he’s already got a unique relationship with mortality.

Honestly though, Karate Kid is just awesome and should be on the Justice League.