And now, on with our show:
Former construction worker Titus Samuel Czonka was the Lenny to Arthur Brown's George, a bald giant of a man with more brawn than brains. "His problem's simple," said Brown. "He likes to BREAK things" (1993's ROBIN #1, by Chuck Dixon, Tom Grummett and Scott Hanna).
Czonk entered into a partnership alongside Brown (a.k.a. the Cluemaster) and the Electrocutioner to escape Blackgate (ROBIN #2). Czonk was convinced that he needed a costume to work with the other two villains but the Cluemaster had no time for suggestions. Left to his own devices, the muscleman put together an outfit that included a flight cap and goggles, orange pants and a yellow shirt with a violet question mark in the center:
"Stand back in amazement for the coming of — The Baffler, master of mysteries."
Wiping away his tears of laughter, the Cluemaster explained that leaving hints to upcoming crimes "had a nasty habit of getting me caught." The sheepish Baffler opted not to mention the letter he'd sent to the "gothem city Police dept. Detectifes - important! Contains clues." The clue in question was written on the back of Hide-A-Wee Motor Lodge stationary (ROBIN #3). So much for the secret hideout.
At Cluemaster's suggestion, Czonk took a more dignified persona — the Headbanger — that reflected his penchant for, well, banging his hard head against his opponents' own craniums. The yellow shirt had given way to a green one with a skull emblazoned on it (ROBIN #4). The trio's plot to loot an armored car eventually went awry, with Cluemaster and Headbanger falling before Robin while the Electrocutioner was kayoed by the Spoiler (ROBIN #5).
Czonk and Cluemaster made an escape attempt but were trounced by Batman (1994's DETECTIVE #680) and ended up in Blackgate as cellmates (ROBIN #14, 16). The duo's subsequent attempt at leading a mass prison breakout (1996's BATMAN: BLACKGATE #1)resulted in their being tried separately at their next hearing. Using a bathroom break as a cover, he snapped his handcuffs and escaped custody. "And the funny part is I really HAD to go." (ROBIN #44).
Resuming the guise of the Baffler, Czonk lured Robin and the Spoiler to a building targetted by the city for detonation and took them hostage. He reasoned that their demise would prove to the Cluemaster that "the Baffler's a world class operator!"
"And soon I'll be bad guy number one! They laughed at me for the LAST time! Vaya con devo, you little do-gooders. The Baffler is — "
CLONG!
— knocked out cold by a low-hanging steel pipe.
Robin and the Spoiler eventually broke their bonds and, along with a groggy Baffler, ran for their life to escape the crumbling building. "Maybe this vigilante thing is COOLER than the villain gig," Czonk observed. "We could be like a team, huh?" Two fists to the jaw later, the Baffler had his answer (1997's ROBIN #43-44).
Czonk and the Cluemaster escaped Blackgate during the Gotham earthquake, making it as far as a mall before the Baffler was beaten to a pulp by the Huntress (1998's BATMAN: SPOILER/HUNTRESS: BLUNT TRAUMA #1). The Baffler escaped custody only to be recaptured by Lock-Up and incarcerated in his No Man's Land prison. Unable to shave his head, Czonk's hair had begun to grow back by the time Nightwing arrived to lead him and his fellow captives to freedom (1999's NIGHTWING #36-37).
Only Chuck Dixon knows where he might appear next.
In BATO #4, Ned Creegan returns with a new name and a new costume. Creegan was transformed into a sketetal freak in BATMAN #195 way way back, and tried to kill Batman and Robin using the name Bag O'Bones. Creegan returns in BLACK LIGHTNING (1st series) #4-5 as the Cyclotronic Man. This time he wears an all green costume and goes after Black Lightning and Superman.
Third times a charm in BATO #4, when Creegan, now calling himself One Man Meltdown, escapes from prison because a crooked warden won't give him the radiation treatments his suped up body requires. After a misunderstanding or two, the Outsiders help Creegan get the treatments he needs and he goes back to prison, content to serve out his time and become a benefit to society.
Creegan can fire energy bolts, speed up the atoms of anything (including his own body), and is superstrong. The aura around his body can also melt most objects it come sin contact with.
The Banshee was born in the American Midwest, the tragic result of circus performer the Flying Dundo's achievement of his greatest dream. Dundo had long been attempting to design an aerodynamic costume that would enable him to truly take flight. In 1967, he perfected a cape which, when connected to his wrists and ankles, enabled him to soar above the Earth. Dundo's stunned pupil, Max Bine, recognized that the chartreuse cape had far more potential than mere circus performances and murdered his mentor that night.
Adding a full face mask to hide his appearance, the villain (dressed entirely in green save for yellow eye pieces) launched an amazing string of robberies across the nation. "I make a swift, shocking entrance, strike fast before anyone can react ... and be gone while everyone is still in a state of shock." After an astonished victim gasped that "he swooped in and out like a ... a banshee," Bine took the name for himself.
The Banshee finally met his match in Crown City when he was struck down by TV newsman Vic Sage during a robbery. Taking flight without the jewel he'd intended to steal, Bine refused to give up and, using more caution, kept Sage's alter-ego, the Question, at arm's length for the next week. As a thunderstorm rolled in, the two opponents met on the ledge of a skyscraper and the Question grabbed onto the villain, adding more weight than his cape could support. Landing on an opportune rooftop, the Banshee pulled out a pistol — only to have the strong winds catch his cape. Observing the out of control bandit fading into the distance, the Question noted that "the Banshee's being blown out to sea. He got just what he deserved."
The Banshee resurfaced years later in AMERICOMICS SPECIAL #1 (1983) and, soon after, found himself alongside dozens of other villains during the Great Crisis in July of 1985. Surrounded by the likes of the Cheetah and Monsier Mallah, the Banshee stood out in a new, solid white version of his costume (CRISIS #9). Banshee was later part of a strikeforce sent to Oa to prevent Krona from creating the multiverse (CRISIS #10). In the new reality that arose in the aftermath, the Banshee's place is still unknown.
Doctor Mid-Nite fought a second Banshee in ALL-AMERICAN COMICS #65. Another Banshee of Irish mythology appeared in the Jack O'Lantern episode in SUPER FRIENDS #44.
An insect-powered villain who fought original H-Dialer Robby Reed, in the HOUSE OF MYSTERY Dial H series. Only ever showed up once, to my knowledge.
Created by John Broome and Gil Kane, Tyrano first appeared in GREEN LANTERN v2 #54.
Presumably the descendant of European nobility, Baron Tyrano was bald, wore a monocle... and was permanently confined to a massive iron lung, being paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe unaided.
Tyrano became a criminal mastermind and assembled a network of agents to do his bidding in the outside world. Upon discovering that Hal Jordan was secretly the super-hero Green Lantern, Tyrano launched a scheme to project his own mind into the Lantern's body and escape the prison of his own existence.
GL was temporarily split into two separate beings by Tyrano's futuristic technology, but managed to reunite the Jordan and Green Lantern halves and crush the villain's plan.
Much later, Tyrano created a group of powerful androids to replace his human agents. Being totally immobile, he had spent most of his time in the past few years watching television, and so he created some of these in the image of characters he had loved. One "gunman" resembled Tyrano as Yul Brynner's "gunslinging robot" character from the movie WESTWORLD, while Tyrano's "girlfriend" looked like Joan Collins of DYNASTY.
Tyrano sent these agents to battle the seven members of the Green Lantern Corps then based on Earth (GREEN LANTERN CORPS #204). When the GLC overloaded the mentally-controlled androids, Tyrano was left comatose.
Probably unable to tell the androids to feed him, Tyrano may have starved to death since then.
Luis Paralda, from BATMAN #56, had been chosen from among several candidates in a small Mexican village to become their Batman-like hero and protect them from the crafty ganglord, El Papagayo. Unfortunately, it turned out that Peralda was one of El Papagayo's men, looking to betray the town. During a clash with the real Batman, Peralda was killed, and El Papagayo's gang was finally brought to justice.
With Robin away on a Teen Titans caper, Batman was patrolling in the Batmobile when his TV hookup to Commissioner Gordon was hijacked by the Riddler. Taunting him with a riddle that led him to the Optometry Building, which in turn led him to the Diamond Exchange, Batman finally found the Riddler, who tossed a large diamond out the window to delay the Caped Crusader. Batman caught it, but soon tossed it away as the rigged gem exploded, releasing a strange gas which didn't seem to affect the Dark Knight. Leaving the Diamond Exchange, the Batman happened upon the Penguin flying above the street on an umbrella. The fiendish fowl gave Batman an enigmatic clue about passenger pigeons and fled. Batman headed to the City Museum, where he found the Penguin in the pigeon exhibit. The Penguin sent a crow after his enemy, which blew dust from its feathers at the Gotham Guardian, and distracted him enough to allow the Penguin to escape. Returning to the Batmobile, Batman discovered that his gear shift knob was replaced with a replica of the Joker's face, which spewed yet another gas into Batman's face.
Batman crashed the Batmobile into a utility pole, but he wasn't hurt by the accident - in fact, he didn't seem to really be Batman at all anymore. Batman grew to monstrous proportions, and climbed out of the wrecked car. He seized the pole and the heat generated by his hands destroyed his gauntlets and the pole by melting it to slag. Commissioner Gordon and a police officer in a cruiser happened upon the lumbering figure, which turned and sent a fiery blob from his hand, destroying the police car. Calling himself "Bat-Hulk", the giant melted anything that came near him, and stalked off into the park, where he disappeared by changing into a gaseous form. He re-formed later, and the shock of seeing his own reflection reversed made him change back. He realized that the gas and dust used by his three enemies must be the cause, and he also knew he needed help, so he headed to Simon Stagg's estate.
Batman related his tale to Stagg and Metamorpho, and Stagg ran some tests, which showed that Batman could change into Bat-Hulk again at any time because of the residual effects of the gas. Batman hoped that Metamorpho would be able to keep him in line the next time he changed. Naturally, he then reverted to Bat-Hulk, and fought the Element Man to a virtual standstill, escaping from Stagg's mansion.
The Joker, The Riddler, and the Penguin were celebrating their victory of the Caped Crusader when the Bat-Hulk burst through their wall. The Joker had thought he could control the monster, but Bat-Hulk had other ideas, and wanted the three to work as his helpers on a super-crime wave. In mid-sentence, he reverted back to Batman, who found himself weak and suddenly at the mercy of his three greatest enemies. Before the villains could attack, Batman changed back into Bat-Hulk and they started their crime wave, while Metamorpho, Stagg, Sapphire and Java were out searching for him. When the police had boxed in the Bat-Copter while Bat-Hulk was breaking into a bank, the three villains cut his rope and fled the scene. Metamorpho also finally met up with the monster as he was leaving the bank building. Bat-Hulk got his gigantic hands around Metamorpho and squeezed him like a tube of toothpaste, forcing Stagg and Java to use an electric current to bring the Element Man back to normal. They then looked up to see a giant Bat-Hulk signal in the sky, which Commissioner Gordon was using to let Metamorpho know where the Bat-Hulk was, leading them to the Clock Tower. Bat-Hulk and Metamorpho battled on the face of the clock and ended up on the roof. Bat-Hulk was about to smash the Element Man with a big television antenna when it was struck by lightning. Down in the street, Gordon had captured the three arch-criminals who had started the sorry situation. Metamorpho brought down Batman from the Clock Tower roof, thinking he may be dead, but the Dark Knight awoke upon hearing the criminals, wanting to get up and arrest them.
Appearances:
In the distant past, a race of tiny people known as the Elvarans fled the savage cavemen of the outer world for sanctuary within caverns within the Earth. The Elvarans periodically sent armor-clad warriors into the outer world atop bats to keep abreast of the Earth's evolution. With a racial hatred of "tall men," an Elvaran tribe in Ivy Town's Giants Cavern went berserk when it saw gangster Eddie Gordon in the cave. Firing his gun, Gordon unwittingly gained temporary control of the little people, thanks to the noise's effect on their motor responses. Gordon decided to use the Bat-Knights as a means of looting the city — and destroying his enemy, the Atom. The Atom managed to capture a lone Bat-Knight and convince him of his good intentions. Together, they freed the Bat-Knights from Gordon's control and the Tiny Titan was given the unique honor of being able to visit the people of Elvara "by giving the pre-arranged signal" (ATOM #22).
Gordon briefly regained control of the Bat-Knights in THE ATOM #30. Ray Palmer encountered the little people for a third time when he and Jean Loring visited Giants Cavern, also the location where he first became the Atom, during a honeymoon trip.
Marauding Bat-Knights claimed that the Elvarans now had more militant leadership and that they sought the secret of the Atom's size-control belt to conquer the outside world. Ray made a narrow escape and resealed the "doorway" out of the cavern (ACTION COMICS #487).
This name was used by John Vance in DETECTIVE COMICS #231's flashback, when he helped Batman on a case before Dick Grayson came along to begin his Robin career. When Vance briefly re-entered Batman's life, and Dick learned of his having been a partner of Batman's earlier, it caused him some rough moments when he thought Batman might consider replacing him with Vance.
90% of this text is directly from HEX #11, written by Michael Fleisher.
By 2045, Mr. Cohen had become a world-class gymnast, and a doctoral candidate in criminology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. He idolized the original Batman, and was researching a thesis on the hero's spectacularly brilliant career. Although Batman's true identity had never been revealed to the world, Cohen had deduced it. Beneath abandoned Wayne Manor, in the once proud suburbs of Gotham City, he discovered the original Batcave. He was down in the Hall of Trophies, taking notes and holograms, when the first hail of ICBMs shattered the northeast. World War III had begun. If he hadn't been sheltered far below ground, he might easily have been among the 150 million who died.
When Cohen finally emerged, it was to a scene of soul-numbing horror and devastation. Law and order were non-existent. Plunder gangs roved everywhere — looting, raping, venting their mindless rage amid the ruins of a world that had gone insane. Miraculously, both his parents had survived the cataclysm. His mother, Miriam Cohen, was a rabbi who, among her other humanitarian concerns, had campaigned fruitlessly but tirelessly for handgun control. His father, Kenneth Cohen, had served as a top-level disarmament negotiator under three administrations. From them, he had inherited a compassion for victims of violence and a fervent desire for world peace. But compassion was in short supply after the holocaust, while the desire for scapegoats seemed to have no end.
One organization of crazed fanatics, the National Reconstruction Alliance, focused their hatred on two groups: advocates of arms control ... and Jews. Unfortunately for them, Cohen's parents were both. They were murdered in cold-blood one night while walking the streets of the city. There was no way he could ever bring them back, but he could do something to help bring back the civilized values they'd believed in ... the values they'd taught him to believe in. It was then that he remembered the Batman.
Cohen established a headquarters in the Statue of Liberty, and created his own bat-costume, equipping it with special features suitable to his place and time. And in memory of his parents, he made a solemn vow. As long as he lived, there would be no firearms allowed in New York ... and God help anyone who tried to stop him from keeping that vow.
The new Batman was last seen in 2050, when the time-lost gunfighter named Jonah Hex was tricked by the criminal organization called the Combine into believing that Batman had kidnapped Hex's friend, Stiletta.
Appearances:
Alias Brane (short for Bruce Wayne), of that futuristic year. He became Batman (inspired by legends of his ancestor) to help fight off an invasion of Earth from the planet Saturn, in BATMAN #26.
a.k.a. Brane Taylor, who once saw old video footage of the 20th century Batman and had it inspire him to become his century's Cowled Crusader. He and the original Batman shared cases in BATMAN #67 and DETECTIVE COMICS #216, but never met again thereafter. However, still another future Batman appeared in BATMAN #105.
Alias Tlano, a scientist of his world who studied Batman from afar and tried to duplicate his efforts to help his people, as shown in BATMAN #113.
Pre-Crisis
By 1950, the legend of Batman had circled the globe. the tale of the man who built himself into a crime-fighting icon inspired imitators not just in the United States but across Europe and beyond. These are the stories of a few of them.
The Knight and Squire
An English village known as Wordenshire was home to the Knight and Squire, a father and son team who were secretly the Earl of Wordenshire and Cyril. the Knight was clad in gold armor and chain mail while the Squire wore a matching tunic and archer's cap. Inspired by the story of the Bat-Signal, the duo arranged for the townspeople to sound the rectory bell whenever they were needed. These modern cavaliers rode into battle on unique motorcycles with horse's heads mounted on the front — their war horses!
A few years earlier, Nazi spies had been captured near Stonehenge and were rumored to have hidden a fortune in stolen gold somewhere in the area. In the latter half of 1950, a band of Gotham crooks led by Matt Thorne (no relation to the Crime Doctor) learned of the gold and headed for the site of the spies' trial — Wordenshire.
Batman and Robin pursued the gang to England and, inevitably, met their British counterparts. It was not an auspicious occasion. the Knight and the Squire entered the fray between the Dynamic Duo and the Thorne mob and unintentionally allowed the crooks to escape. Batman tried to lessen the embarrassment of the situation by suggesting that the foursome swap partners, allowing the relatively inexperienced British heroes to observe their idols in action.
Even this solution proved less than ideal. the Squire ended up a temporary hostage of Thorne, forcing Batman to stand idle while the gang fled from Stonehenge. Soon after, the Knight was nearly electrocuted, requiring Robin to save him while permitting Thorne to escape yet again.
Capping the whole disastrous affair was Thorne's discovery of the gold beneath the Earl of Wordenshire's own castle. Batman and Robin deferred to the Knight and Squire, allowing them to capture the villains on their home turf. Unfortunately, Thorne had spotted the war-horses in the Knight's version of the Batcave, deduced the hero's true identity and said as much to the assembled reporters and police. the theory failed to hold up under scrutiny, though, especially after the Earl and Cyril appeared opposite the Knight and Squire to inquire what was going on. As always, Batman and Robin's expertise with make-up and disguise was flawless (BATMAN # 62, art by Dick Sprang).
The Wingman
Within six months, another European Batman surrogate made his entry but, learning from the Knight and the Squire's mistakes, his country requested that the Dark Knight train him first. the prospective hero was a naturalized American who belonged to the European nationality. Simultaneously, Robin had suffered a broken leg and was forced to the sidelines for six weeks while Batman took Wingman (clad in a red and yellow costume) as his partner.
Almost immediately, paranoia sunk in and Dick Grayson became convinced he was going to be permanently replaced. Fueling his fears were comments among Gothamites that an adult made a more appropriate ally for Batman than a child and, even more devastating, a snatch of conversation that Dick overhead on his belt radio from Commissioner Gordon: "We don't need any Robin, Batman!"
The final blow came when Dick watched television footage in which Wingman flawlessly rescued Batman from a rooftop robbery. Back in the Batcave, the new hero refused to reveal his identity to the unmasked Robin. In tears, Dick confronted Batman later that evening only to learn that the Wingman he'd met earlier was Batman himself. He and Wingman had swapped identities for the night and Bruce had met Robin in that guise to test its effectiveness. If the Boy Wonder couldn't see through it, no one could. Commissioner Gordon's earlier comment, Batman added, had simply been a statement that the European nation didn't require a substitute Robin.
Embarrassed over his jealously, Dick couldn't help but express his elation that he and Batman were still going to be the Dynamic Duo (1951's BATMAN # 65, by Bill Finger, Sheldon Moldoff, and Charles Paris).
Others
By late 1954, "The Batmen of All Nations" had proliferated to a great enough degree that Batman decided to hold a formal conference for his counterparts in Gotham City — inspired by a letter from Australia's Ranger. In addition to the Ranger, a masked man in a brown shirt and hat, those in attendance included France's sword-wielding Musketeer (clad in the trademark uniform), Italy's Legionary (armed with a lance and dressed like a Roman centurion), South America's Gaucho (renowned for his skill with the bolo) and, finally, the Knight and the Squire (DETECTIVE COMICS # 215, by Edmond Hamilton, Sheldon Moldoff, and Charles Paris).
The heroes arrived in Gotham to a spectacular tickertape parade and Batman began a quick overview of his techniques. Casting a pall over the proceedings was the boast of a mobster named "Knots" Cardine "to commit unprecedented crimes under the very noses of these great lawmen". Rising to the challenge, the heroes took off in the direction of Cardine's first reported robbery, the Gaucho and Ranger riding their horses, the Knight and Squire astride their vehicular counterparts, and the rest crammed into the Batmobile.
The gang managed to escape and, incredibly, evaded multiple roadblocks. Only the Legionary seemed to have spotted anything — a distinctive series of scratches on the side of the getaway car, "as though by bushes — so their hideout must be in a thickly-wooded country region". the fact that Batman had missed the clue — and seemed to be at a loss to explain Cardine's getaway — shook the confidence of the other Batmen, but they kept their opinions to themselves.
Riding with Batman and Robin, the Legionary spotted the bushes that he imagined had scratched Cardine's vehicle. Batman went ahead to investigate an abandoned house in the wooded area and the other heroes could only watch helplessly as the structure exploded in a fireball. the Dark Knight, it seemed, was dead.
With Gotham in a state of shock, the international heroes vowed to avenge him. Taking over as their leader, the Legionary observed that Batman "was a great man — but only human. ... I believe 'Knots' Cardine set this death-trap to remove Batman so he could strike at that bank currency transferal Batman was to guard".
The Legionary offered to ride with the armored van and, at an opportune moment, pulled a gun on the driver. Cardine's gang poured out of the woods and the door of the truck was opened to reveal — Batman! With the aid of the now-arriving Robin and the others, the thieves were quickly rounded up. the Legionary was unmasked as Cardine, who'd abducted the true Roman hero the moment he landed in the United States.
"His first 'clue' made me suspect him ... he was on the dark side of that getaway car and couldn't have seen those scratches on it." Suspicious, Batman allowed the Legionary to take the lead in the investigation. As a precaution, the Dark Knight threw his batarang into the supposed hideout and, when it exploded, he allowed Robin and the others to believe him dead until he could draw Cardine's gang into the open. "Knots" had kept his mob abreast of the heroes' plans thanks to "a walkie-talkie mike inside his helmet, with his spear for an aerial".
"To think that for a moment I doubted your ability, Batman!" the Musketeer admitted. "I apologize."
"Si," added the Gaucho. "There is, after all, only one real Batman in the world!"
In 1957, the international heroes (minus the Ranger) were gathered in the United States once more, this time at the invitation of Metropolis millionaire and philanthropist John Mayhew. Years before Maxwell Lord funded the Justice League, Mayhew offered Superman, Batman, Robin, and the others a skyscraper complex that he dubbed "The Club of Heroes". He offered to sign over the deed for the property to whomever the group chose as their chairman (WORLD'S FINEST # 89, by Ed Hamilton, Dick Sprang, and Stan Kaye).
Superman and Batman each insisted that the other was most deserving and Mayhew was forced to suggest a solution: "Whoever performs the greatest feats in the next few days will be your chairman." In an amusing display of modesty, both Superman and Batman performed their subsequent crimefighting activities with as much discretion as possible — even as the international heroes were downplaying their own efforts in favor of the two icons.
Abruptly, though, Superman was laid low by a mysterious illness reminiscent of Kryptonite poisoning and a new hero named Lightning-Man, clad in an orange costume with a purple cape and cowl, came on the scene. Even as Lightning-Man's displays of heroism racked up, from dispersing a tornado to preventing an airplane crash, Superman and Batman suspected the worst. They feared the new crimebuster wanted to claim the chairmanship of the Club — and the property — for himself.
As Superman's sick spells continued at twenty-four hour intervals, Batman began to form a new conclusion, one that the Man of Steel ultimately confirmed. A fragment of a Kryptonite asteroid had entered Earth's orbit. As it passed over Metropolis each day, Superman fell into a sickly, amnesiac state. "Your strong instincts to prevent disaster, and to keep your identity secret, still moved you to action," the Dark Knight explained. "And so, unaware who you really were, you yourself became Lightning-Man. and each time, when the Kryptonite amnesia-influence passed away, you couldn't remember that you'd been Lightning-Man."
To the cheers of the other heroes, Batman told the Man of Steel that "you won the chairmanship fairly as Lightning-Man ... so we insist that as Superman, you keep it."
"I might have known all the time," added Lois Lane, "NO ONE could ever top Superman, except himself!"
In 1958, Bill Finger (with Jack Kirby on the art) rewrote the DETECTIVE # 215 episode as a Green Arrow story in ADVENTURE COMICS # 250. "The Green Arrows of the World" included the Bowman of the Bush, the Phantom of France, and archers from Japan, Mexico, Polynesia, and Switzerland. the fake hero in this episode proved to be the Bowman of Britain.
That was then.
This is now.
In the revised history of the DC Universe, the international heroes still existed but were no longer inspired by Batman and Robin. the earliest of these heroes was Percy Sheldrake, the young man destined to be the Earl of Wordenshire. His history was related in the Roy Thomas-scripted YOUNG ALL-STARS # 22 (1988):
"My father was ... killed in North Africa (in 1940). Just prior to my twentieth birthday (in early 1942), mother and I moved from Wordenshire village to London — where we were promptly caught in one of the Luftwaffe's bombing raids." the Shining Knight rescued Percy but his mother had perished. With Winston Churchill at his side, "Sir Justin vowed at once to take me as his Squire, so that I could serve Great Britain in a very special way. He worked with me since then, whenever he was in England ... but kept me a secret, until quite recently."
With chainmail armoring his torso and a red bandana as a mask, Percy took the identity of the Squire and joined other international heroes in June of 1942 on a "morale-building" tour of the U.S. with the Young All-Stars. the All-Stars' Tigress became enamoured of the young Englishman but he quickly brushed away her advances, revealing that his wife and young son, Cyril, waited for him back in Britain. Riding astride the Shining Knight's flying horse, Winged Victory, the Squire fought off an attack by agents of Axis Amerika but was too late to save the life of the Tigress (YAS # 23).
In the wake of the final battle with Axis Amerika (YAS # 25), the Squire prepared to return to England (YAS # 26), first joining the Shining Knight and the Seven Soldiers of Victory in their battle with the Skull (YAS # 27, a post-Crisis account of LEADING COMICS # 5). "Just wait till (Cyril's) old enough to realize his dad was once Squire to the Shining Knight, from the days of King Arthur. Say — perhaps, one day, I'll be a Knight, and my son will be MY Squire. Wouldn't THAT be a corker?"
During the same time, the Justice Society had embarked on a good will mission to Europe to deliver "food to starving patriots" (YAS # 27, based on ALL-STAR COMICS # 14). As explained in Thomas' 1986 INFINITY, INC. # 34 (using "historical concepts created by R.J.M. Lofficier"), "during the early 1950s, several recipients of the JSA's kindness, while having no super-powers themselves, became some of the first real costumed heroes to emerge outside the borders of the United States itself:"
"The Legionary, who had been a young anti-fascist Italian in the early 1940s; the Knight and the Squire: as a British subject, the father had spent the war as a P.O.W.; the Gaucho, who, though an Argentinian, had spied for the Allies inside Nazi Germany itself; the Musketeer, who'd been a member of the French Resistance, at home with either sword or firearms; and Wingman, who, though born in neutral Sweden, had fought as a youth with the Norwegian Underground."
In 1957, the metahuman immortal known as Doctor Mist urged the creation of "a supra-national organization code-named the Dome, headquartered in (a) mansion in Paris. ... At first, only the five masked Europeans operated under the Dome's supervision, the Gaucho having returned to Buenos Aires." As the years passed, more international heroes joined and eventually the team became known as the Global Guardians.
At least two of the original heroes were still semi-active in recent years. the Legionary was part of a Global Guardians investigation of a pharmaceutical company's role in the resurrection of Agent Axis (1987's BLUE BEETLE # 20, in an R.J.M. Lofficier subplot), while the second Squire (now Sir Cyril, Earl of Wordenshire) was a British spymaster (1988's NEW TEEN TITANS # 44, also scripted by the Lofficiers). the Squire then reappeared in one-panel in JLA #26 (Feb 99) where he had taken the identity of Knight II and had a third, female Squire (perhaps his daughter) on his side. They were both part of the Ultramarine Corps of Superbia. (They were not identified/named in this story, but Grant Morrison later explained it in an interview.)
DETECTIVE # 215 and WORLD'S FINEST # 89, by the way, were reprinted in 1968's WORLD'S FINEST # 180 and 179, respectively, while ADVENTURE # 250 was reprinted in 1982's DC SPECIAL BLUE RIBBON DIGEST # 23.
A personal note: I've always taken a tiny bit of pride in the fact that, most likely, I played a role in the creation of the 1950s Global Guardians. In 1984, I had an article published in AMAZING HEROES # 50 that listed all of DC's international heroes. In addition to the relatively recent Global Guardians, I also included the Batmen of Many Nations and the truly obscure Wingman, whose sole 1951 appearance has never been reprinted. Imagine, my surprise, then, when Wingmen and the other 1950s heroes turned up in that issue of INFINITY, INC. I wonder if Lofficier has read that article?
(from http://members.tripod.com/originalvigilante/index.html )
The Bat-Squad was a rather interesting group of folks: Three Brits who got involved with the Batman on a case in London, England. Unfortunately they only appeared once, in The Brave and The Bold #92.
Bruce Wayne was in London for the filming of Basil Coventry's movie, "The Scarlet Strangler", based on a real-life Jack-the-Ripper-esque murderer. Margo Cantrell was on the set as script girl and stand-in for star Vivien Tremaine. Former Scotland Yard Inspector Major Dabney was on hand as technical advisor, and Mick Murdock, who had been pinched in the past by Dabney, was there to play weird "grotty" music to get the actors in the right mood.
During the filming of the first scene, however, the "Strangler" kidnaps Vivien, and the actor playing the Strangler, Ronald Dawson, is found murdered, which prompts an appearance by Batman. The Caped Crusader follows the available clues and is nearly killed by the Strangler himself, with Dabney's timely appearance saving his life. Mick and Batman later prevent Margo's kidnapping by the strong madman, as Dabney discovers that a piece of cloth from the killer indicates he was in the cellar of the Half Moon Inn (due to the kind of beetles on it). The Bat Squad converges there and discovers Vivien chained in a recess, and apparently of the belief that she is Lucy Crown, one of the Strangler's real-life victims. Mick believes this and several other occurrences mean that they have all traveled back in time to 1906.
Outside the Inn, the team sees the Strangler throw Coventry into the river, but when Batman approaches, Coventry himself leaps insanely from the shadows. He and Batman crash through the rotting floorboards into the cellar, where an unexploded bomb from the blitz of the World War pins down Batman. The sight of the swastika on the bomb brings Coventry back to reality, and Dabney and Mick arrive to assist the Dark Knight. With Dabney's instructions, Mick's nimble fingers fail to defuse the bomb and the pair flee, only to hear an explosion soon after. Batman walks out of the fog, having freed himself by digging into the wall and letting the river water buoy the bomb away from him.
Coventry explained that the original Scarlet Strangler was actually his grandfather. His father feared that he too would become like him and was committed to an asylum, and an uncle raised Coventry. Coventry discovered his heritage and wanted to make a movie about it. His father found out about it and went insane, thinking he was indeed the Strangler. He abducted Vivien and killed her co-star, and Coventry also cracked under the strain, but managed to kill his father (his body was the one thrown into the water). Mick refers to their little assemblage as the Bat-Squad, and they all hope they can team up again "some ruddy day".
COMMENTS:
This was actually a very good, though a little cliched, story, mainly because
of the realistic characterizations of the Bat-Squad members. To be honest,
I've always sort of thought that "The Bat-Squad" monicker was applied
just so this mystery story could be used as a team-up in The Brave and The
Bold, instead of say, Detective Comics. Still, it's sad that Margo, Mick and
Inspector Dabney never appeared again...they were definitely a better representation
of Great Britain then, say, that horrid "Londinium" journey the
TV Batman, Robin and Batgirl took in their final season. And they probably
never will be see again outside of a reprint collection, given the rather
skewed tastes of the American comic buyer nowadays (unless somehow Geoff Johns
or Kurt Busiek takes a hankering to the trio).
APPEARANCE:
THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #92
October-November, 1970
Batman and the Bat-Squad in "Night Wears a Scarlet Shroud"
Cover by: Nick Cardy
Script by: Bob Haney
Art by: Nick Cardy
Alias Bruno Horgan, this super-strong horn-headed mutant fought H-Dialers Chris King and Vicki Grant in ADVENTURE COMICS #480.
In a rural community early in the 20th Century, nine boys had aspirations of becoming successful in the music fields. By the 1920s, all of them had made it, all that is but Hector Bauer. In desperation, he asked his friends to perform one of his compositions. The end result was a disaster. Hector simply had no talent. A head injury left Bauer convinced that his symphony had been deliberately bungled by the eight men and he resolved to get revenge. In 1943, he was finally prepared to fulfill his vow, making plans to destroy each man's livelihood, destroying the violinist's prize instrument, for instance, or slicing off the pianist's fingers. A chance encounter with Hawkman exposed the scheme to the Justice Society, who thwarted the plot and brought Bauer to justice (ALL-STAR COMICS #19).
Mikishawm, having checked a few JLA and JSA sites on the web, I've now encountered information saying that both JSA foe Hector Bauer and JLA baddie Pasha Gorki called themselves MAD Maestro. You're saying that was not the case?
No, neither was referred to as "Mad Maestro" in the stories themselves. Hawkman referred to Bauer as "the mad maestro" in AMERICA VS. THE JSA #3, though, and the JLA INDEX #7 identifies Gorki as "The Mad Maestro" even though, in the story itself, his brother referred to him exclusively as Maestro.
The Beefeater was actually Michael Morice, the caretaker of the JLI London Embassy, first seen in JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL (vol. 1) ANNUAL #3 (1989). In JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE #20 (November 1990), he adopted the garb of the Beefeater, who he claimed had been worn by his father, fighting alongside General Glory in the second World War. The Beeafeater wanted to join the JLE, but only managed to destroy their Paris Embassy. Later, the Beefeater fought Eclipso during the "Breakdowns" storyline, and was humiliatingly defeated. When last seen, the Beefeater took off together with JLI Liaison Camus. They have not been seen since.
The character of Morice/Beefeater was based on John Cleese, or rather, his character Basil Fawlty from "Fawlty Towers".
Really a failed chemist named Angela Wainwright, who fought H-Dialer Vicki Grant in ADVENTURE #488 after turning to a life of poisonous crime.
Mentioned frequently as a primary player in the Club of Heroes, the Global Guardians, and the Dome. Powers, abilities, and current activities are all unknown.
First apperance:??
Known members: Big Ben, Big Deal, Big Bertha, Big Cheese
Adversaries: the Atom
Binky first appeared in LEAVE IT TO BINKY #1 (March 48), but i think most people remember him as a very 1960s/early 70s character.
Pancho Guinones was having a good day. He had a fine new horse and saddle, a hot meal in his belly and a promising start to his card game. Somehow, though, he got the impression that his luck was about to go sour. Maybe it was that blonde stranger in buckskins who stood in the doorway of the tavern and called him a "sneaky, murderin' rat." After the cigar was shot out of his mouth, Pancho was fairly confident that good fortune had left him.
"You shot my Pa in the back less'n a few hours ago — then you stole his horse and saddle."
Pancho insisted that, whatever else he may have done, he wouldn't have shot a man in the back. A local stepped forward to say, "He's right, Billy. ... Ah'm no friend of this thieving varmint, but ah do know he's above thet kind'a killin'."
The Mexican bandit did admit to taking the horse and saddle, though.
"Pancho see thees beautiful horse weeth no one to care for heem, so he say 'Pancho, thees three hombres who shoot thees old man, who leave thee poor horse to starve, so you must — "
Billy stopped him at that point. With someone who could identify the killers, the Kid had a chance at bringing them to justice. Billy agreed to let Pancho keep the horse if he'd help track down the assassins and the two set up camp for the night. By morning, Pancho was gone again, adding Billy's money, provisions and watch to his rapidly accumulating cache of goods.
Billy picked up the trail in a village where Pancho had eaten breakfast. Discovering the stolen eighty dollars, the Kid slapped the woman and accused her of being the Mexican's accomplice.
"And what about my watch? Was he wearing mah watch, too?"Sobbing, she asked, "How could I know this? I am BLIND!"Suddenly contrite, Billy tossed the money back on the table and stuttered that "mebbe it were some other critter did thet stealin' ...""I am sure that is true," she answered, still weeping. "Mr. Pancho is very rich ... he has left me money many times."
Once more, Billy tracked down Pancho, only to be informed by the bandit that someone else had stolen the watch from him. Arriving in the next town, Pancho wondered why Billy was stopping instead of continuing the search for the killers. "Ah'm NEVER going to stop looking for them, Mex ... but right now we've gotta stop and earn some money for new provisions."
A local recognized the blonde as Billy the Kid and insisted the gunfighter become their new sheriff — at least long enough to stop the threat of Blackie Kane. "None of us could stand up to the lightning draw of Blackie — an' nobody here has got the stomach for that kinda violence." Billy agreed to take the job long enough to capture Kane — and none too soon. A drunken Kane had just gone on a spree that spooked a horse and trampled a little boy.
While Billy transported the youngster to the nearest doctor some two miles away, his companion decided to confront Kane. ("Pancho do not like hombres dat cause leedle boys to get hort.") Billy returned to town to find Pancho dying of a gunshot wound to the chest. Shoving his way through the crowd, Billy kneeled beside him, cursing, "You dumb thieving Mex. Couldn't you have waited until I — "
"Always you make weeth thee tough talk, keed — but you no fool Pancho — you love heem like brodder ... Pancho ees happy you return een time, Billy ... so he can geeve back thee watch weeth thee beautiful picture inside that he steal from you ... the picture of YOU and your father ... Don't worry, keed ... your secret ees safe with Pan ... cho ..."
Billy walked from Pancho's body to the tavern, identified the cocky Blackie Kane and shot him dead. The next morning, Billy arranged a proper grave for Pancho, complete with this epitaph: "I loved him."
"Adios, amigo ... I'll have to continue my hunt alone ... but ah'll never forget you ..." Flipping open the pocket watch, the Kid looked at the family photograph and its inscription, "To my loving daughter, Billy Jo," and then added, "Nor the fact thet you kept my secret well ..." (1971's ALL-STAR WESTERN #6, by John Albano and Tony DeZuniga).
ASW #7 continued the formula of the series when Billy was rescued from an Indian ambush by another shady character, "'Ace' Van Winston ... gambler, gunfighter and philosopher." He was also a man in love with killing, particularly Indians. Minutes after Billy prevented Ace from murdering a native youngster, the duo found themselves surrounded by an entire tribe. Ace was sentenced to burn at the stake but Billy was freed out of gratitude for her part in sparing the boy — the Chief's son.
Ace pleaded with Billy to kill him on the spot. When the Kid refused, the gambler pulled out his trump card.
"WAIT! Perhaps it would be easier for you to do if I told you it was I who cut down your esteemed father!""Yo're lying, Ace ... yo're jest saying thet so ah'll — ""Then how would I know that his last words were of you ... his daughter — MISS Billy Jo?"
Overhearing the conversation, the Chief offered to let Billy and Ace face each other in a duel, each with one bullet in their gun. Ace pretended to reach for his weapon and Billy instinctively fired, mortally wounding him.
"Ah don't get it," she told him, "You only bluffed goin' fo' yore gun, gambler — how come?""Heh heh. That Indian chief would never have let me go free if I'd beaten your draw, Kid ... The deck was stacked ... so I played ... the Joker" (ASW #7).
In a tavern in the Midwest, Billy seemed to have found the other two men who had killed her father. "Within seconds it was over ... the two men had drawn against a legend ... the legend of Billy the Kid ... and lost ..." The other patrons in the saloon could only gasp in disbelief. "NEVER seen a man draw THAT fast in mah life!"
The local sheriff was less impressed and put Billy in a cell with an old man nicknamed One-Eye. The old timer was an inveterate scavenger and became fixated on his fellow prisoner's boots. The two got into a fight and, when the sheriff tried to break them up, One-Eye pulled a concealed knife and stabbed him in the back, removing off the lawman's boots for good measure. Against her better judgment, Billy fled the jailhouse with the killer.
Billy soon learned that One-Eye had plenty of enemies, including the gang that he'd run out on. The bandits got the drop on the escapees and were stunned to discovered (by way of her pocket watch) that Billy the Kid was a girl. Aware of Billy's sharpshooting skills, One-Eye goaded the villains into trying to outdraw "a skinny female." Three corpses later, Billy was ready to "make tracks outa hyar ... afore any more of yore FRIENDS show up."
First though, the old scavenger felt compelled to pick through the possessions of the bandits, plucking the boots off one body and looking through the telescope of another. Billy asked again if One-Eye was ready to leave but the old man told her to go on without him. "Ah got too much to do hyar fer a spell."
"Robbing dead men! Yore no better'n the skunks we jest killed!"
While Billy rode off, One-Eye began firing on the posse he'd seen while looking through the telescope. "And if ah'm able to outshoot these varmints, ah bet ah'd shore git me a lot more fine pair o' boots. Yes indeedy!"
On the opposite end of the shoot-out, the posse was confident that it was just a matter of time before the killer was out of ammunition. "Yep ... his next stop'll be BOOT HILL" (ASW #8).
In the end, editor Joe Orlando decided that Billy the Kid simply wasn't going to click and the series was put on hold. The twist of her concealed gender was interesting but not visual enough to have any impact on the potential audience. If ALL-STAR WESTERN was truly going to be a success, it needed a lead character who grabbed the reader the moment they saw him. Vamping for time, Orlando released ASW #9 as an all-reprint issue and got to work with Albano and DeZuniga on creating a new western hero.
The end result was unveiled in late1971's ALL-STAR WESTERN #10: "Cold-blooded killer, vicious, unmerciful hellion without feeling, without conscience ... a man consumed by hate, a man who boded evil ... That was ... Jonah Hex." And the rest was history.
As part of the special double-sized BATMAN #600 that kicked off the "Bruce Wayne: Fugitive" saga, the DC editorial staff decided to include several backup features of "previously unprinted Batman stories". The first of these was "The Mystery of the Black Bat!", a time-travel tale that appeared to be from the lighthearted Batman comics of the 1950s, most likely illustrated by Dick Sprang or Sheldon Moldoff, though "these stories had no credits listed".
Watching the excavation of an old mining town outside Gotham on television, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson are astounded when the visiting scientist unveils his discovery — a dime novel from the 1870s called "The Black Bat Rides". The cover of this book features a Batman-like character said to have been based off a historical figure of the time. Intrigued, Bruce and Dick decide to pay a visit to their friend Professor Carter Nichols, creator of a wondrous time machine that has sent them on adventures in many different eras.
Nichols successfully transports them to the 1870s where they promptly change into their Batman and Robin personas. Soon after, they meet Samuel Braxton, a tall black man in a tattered Union uniform. The Dynamic Duo help Braxton fight a group of Confederate soldiers and Braxton is quite taken by the heroes' dramatic (and somewhat frightening) costumes. Batman and Robin continue helping Braxton as he continues his duties as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, helping escaped slaves. The Gotham heroes agree to guide a group of former slaves to freedom while Braxton attends to another mission. As a parting gift, they give him a batarang to remember them by.
Batman and Robin's group is soon taken by surprise and attacked by a Confederate patrol. The soldiers tie the heroes up, mistaking them for Northern spies. Suddenly, a batarang whizzes by and cuts their bonds. The menacing figure of the Black Bat comes riding down the hill and the three costumed champions soundly defeat the soldiers. After the commotion, the Black Bat removes his mask to reveal Samuel Braxton. Influenced by Batman's costume and the awe and fear it inspires, Braxton had decided to spook the soldiers. Seeing the effectiveness of this tactic, he decides to continue helping people as the Black Bat.
Batman and Robin soon feel themselves being drawn back to the present and quickly change back to their civilian clothes. Yet they are left with a conundrum — was Samuel always the Black Bat or did he become the Black Bat because of their visit to his era? If they inspired him, where did the dime novel that prompted their trip in the first place originate? It's enough to make a crimefighter's head spin.
Just as astounding to the readers of BATMAN #600 is that the tale of the Black Bat is actually not a "lost" Batman story at all. It and several other backup features were created specifically for the issue. "The Mystery of the Black Bat" was in fact scripted by Ed Brubaker and drawn by James Tucker as a homage to that era. In hindsight, this seems obvious. The story was sursprisingly progressive for the conservative 50s and very aware of the paradoxes of time travel.
However, I must admit that for a while, I myself was suckered in by this charming (and misleading) story.
HISTORICAL NOTE: The Black Bat is also the name of a pulp hero of the 1930s that bore a striking similarity to Batman. His origin may have had an influence on Two-Face's backstory as well. This guy's real though, folks. Honest.
Blackbriar Thorn first appeared in DC COMICS PRESENTS #66 (Feb 94). An ancient druid who has survived for centuries in the form of a wood creature, the Blackbriar Thorn is awakened in modern times by the father of Lana Lang (who was an archeologist pre-Crisis) and wreaks havoc in Gotham City before being defeated by Superman and the Demon Etrigan.
Although he never had any subsequent appearances before the Crisis, this adventure was apparently enough for him to get his fact page in WHO'S WHO #1 (Apr 85), possibly because Len Wein, the creator of the character, was also WHO'S WHO editor at the time.
Next, we see Blackbriar Thorn in a couple of cameos. He is part of the Spectre's gathering of magicians who help save the Earth from the Anti-Monitor, in CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #12. Then he has a run-in with John Constantine in SWAMP THING #70; John Constantine summoned Thorn's spirit. Maybe he was in HISTORY IN THE DC UNIVERSE #1, too - I've forgotten.
BB is also largely forgotten until he is revived during the Underworld Unleashed crossover in 1995. In the ABYSS: HELLS SENTINEL one-shot, he is part of Blaze's (and therefore, Neron's) minions. He battles Sentinel Alan Scott with his wooden body, only to discover that Alan is no longer vulnerable to wood.
So, in JSA #9-10, (Apr-May 2000), Thorn's enemyship with Alan is revisited, as he returns as a member of Johnny Sorrow's new Injustice Society. It doesn't go to well as Wildcat splinters BB's body and uses his remains as toothpicks. Nevertheless, the Tigress is able to re-animate Thorn's body with a new look (and, surprisingly enough, a more modern speech pattern) in JSA #16-18 (Nov 2000-Jan 2001). The villain almost succeeds in killing Alan Scott (who had regained his weakness against wooden materials), penetrating his chest with his body. At the end of the struggle, Thorn is defeated by the Star-Spangled Kid and her shooting stars.
I don't have any facts, but wasn't Blackbriar Thorn a Golden Age villain? Maybe I got that impression from seeing him fight GL in Underworld and later in JSA, but I don't have the GA resources to check this out.
Nope. Blackbriar Thorn is pure Bronze Age. Of that I'm certain.
By the way, the DCCP issue where Blackbriar Thorn first appeared, is also the first time Etrigan starts rhyming in every sentence. (Before that it had only been his transformation spells that rhymed.)
A midget with cosmic gambling powers, who lives in a section of sub-space; once you enter his realm, you cannot leave unless you beat him in a game. H-Dialer Chris King contended with him in ADVENTURE #490.
In his eighteenth year, Jefferson Michael Pierce participated in the Olympics and believed that life could never get any better than this. At twenty-two, he came away from the Decathalon with a gold medal. Surely, this must have been his fifteen minutes of fame. And then came his twenty-seventh year. And his twenty-ninth. And at thirty-five ... well, as a child, hed vowed to escape his Suicide Slum roots but, in his wildest dreams, Jeff Pierce had never imagined he part of the Presidential Cabinet. Of course, hed never imagined hed be Black Lightning, either ...
Black Lightning, as related by Tony Isabella in THE COMICS BUYERS GUIDE #921 (1991) and 1093 (1994), had originated in another writers proposal, a character who, in Isabellas words, was a white bigot in his secret identity. In 1976, Paul Levitz approached Tony about salvaging the character but Isabella found the two completed scripts to be so horrendously misguided that he suggested an entirely new hero. Isabella and penciller Trevor Von Eedons BLACK LIGHTNING became one of DCs major launches in the first months of 1977 and the first two issues (plus #6) set up most of the back story.
Born and raised in Metropolis Suicide Slum, Jeff had lost his father when he was only three, the result of a shooting by an unknown gunman at the grocery store where he worked. Mom did the best she could to raise me by herself, he recalled, but it was pretty rough until Peter (Gambi) opened up his (tailor) shop underneath our apartment. Within a year, Peter was more like a member of the family than a neighbor ... and it was good to see Mom smile again. Peter made her an equal partner in his shop. The two of them saw me through high school — two Olympics — and a teaching degree from Kent State.
Jeff ended up teaching at a high school in New Carthage but returned to Metropolis for his mothers funeral. In his time away, Jeff had married and divorced a young woman named Lynn Stewart. As related in SECRET ORIGINS #26 (1988), Lynn left because she thought I couldnt get angry enough — at least not at all the terrible things in the world. She said all I ever REALLY cared about was getting out of this crummy neighborhood and never looking back. Maybe she was right. Then.
But when I came back for the funeral, I looked around and saw that NOTHING had changed here. Not a damned thing. It GOT to me for some reason. Dont ask me to explain it, because I CANT. Maybe I can make a DIFFERENCE this time. SOMEBODY has to try.
And, indeed, back at his old alma mater of Garfield High School, Jeff quickly made an impression when he kicked a drug pusher off the premises and followed suit by humilating three members of the criminal organization known as the 100. In retaliation, the gunmen killed Earl Clifford, one of Pierces students, and left his corpse in the GHS gymnasium.
A distraught Jeff related the tragedy to Peter Gambi, who urged him to fight back in a persona that wouldnt invite counter-attacks on his students. Presenting him with a predominantly blue costume, Peter confessed that I guess I had this in mind from the minute I received your letter saying you were coming home. Put it on, Jefferson. These streets — the kids — they need a symbol — and youre it!
Justice, like lightning should ever appear to some men hope; And to other men fear. It was a poem written long ago based on words by Thomas Randolph. A poem that expressed the dual nature of justice. A poem whose meaning had been lost ... until then. Gambi had remembered the poem. His skills brought it to life anew.
Equipped with a force-field belt that enabled him to generate lighting bolts, Black Lightning had been born. Jefferson Pierce played to the eras stereotypical perception of blacks by affecting a jive-talking speech pattern as Black Lightning and wearing a mask/wig combination that gave him a big afro, simple devices that deflected suspicion from a well-educated school-teacher.
Over the course of his first eight issues, Black Lightning carved out a niche in Metropolis, ultimately gaining the trust of such high-profile figures as Superman, Inspector William Henderson and reporter Jimmy Olsen. Along the way, he defeated several super-powered underlings of the100, from Merlyn (#2) to the Cyclotronic Man (#4-5) to Syonide (#6-7), as well as the gangs gargantuan albino leader, Tobias Whale (#1-8).
There would be retaliation for Black Lightnings actions but not against Jeff Pierces students. Rather, it was Peter Gambi who paid the price, leaping in front of a gun-blast meant for Black Lightning. Stripped of his force-field belt, the hero seemed destined for a similar fate but, in his fury, Black Lightning generated its effects from within his own body. In some unknown manner, hed internalized the electrical power. The confrontation with the 100 had also exposed Peters darkest secret. The support and love that hed showered on Jeff and Mrs. Pierce had been a kind of penance. He had been the man whod killed Jeffs father (#7).
A letter from Peter was delivered to the grieving young man at Gambis funeral, posthumously promising an explanation for his actions. You know, Ive been staying awake nights trying to figure out WHO Peter was before he came into my life, Jeff said. I came up blank. I dont know what crimes were in his past — or even how the belt he designed gave me super-powers. But he gave his life to give me a dream — and dreams are hard to find these days. Tearing the unopened letter to shreds, the young man let the scraps fall over the broken Earth. Rest in peace, Peter (#8).
Isabella was an advocate of the shared universe of DC comics and peppered BLACK LIGHTNING with characters and locales that originated elsewhere. Gambi, for instance, was the brother of 1960s criminal tailor Paul Gambi, who had debuted in THE FLASH #141 and was named after fan Paul Gambaccini. Suicide Slum had originated in Joe Simon and Jack Kirbys 1940s Newsboy Legion series while New Carthage was the locale for Dick Graysons Hudson University. Inspector Henderson had been a staple of the Superman radio and television shows of the 1940s and 1950s while Officer Jim Corrigan (no relation to the Spectre) had appeared in a few early 1970s Jimmy Olsen episodes.
Tonys final issue of the series proved to be #10, which ended with an ominous hint that Jeffs ex-wife was to become the target of a cult. Lynn Stewart had been hired as a teacher at Garfield High in #3 and figured out that Jeff was Black Lightning in #9: Do you HONESTLY think a mask and a wig can fool a woman whos seen you in your birthday suit? The subplot proved to have been a hastily-written substitution for the gag feature originally intended to close the issue and Isabella later admitted that he had no idea where that story thread would have gone.
DCs line-wide purge of its weaker titles in the summer of 1978 claimed BLACK LIGHTNING as one of its victims. It ended in June with #11, Denny ONeils debut as scripter. Within six months, Black Lightning returned for his most-widely circulated appearance to date — a guest-spot in the nationally-distributed WORLDS GREATEST SUPER-HEROES comic strip, by Marty Pasko, George Tuska and Vince Colletta. Over the course of the adventure (running from November 1978 through January 1979), Lightning joined forces with The Batman to investigate a series of student abductions (including Dick Grayson) and met Superman and Black Canary before the case had closed.
In comic books, ONeil continued the series in early 1979s WORLDS FINEST #256, where Green Arrow met Metropolis newest hero and acknowledged him as a kindred spirit. The story continued over the next two issues with a rematch against Tobias Whale. ONeils take on Black Lightning continued with stories in #259 and 260 that had originally been intended for BLACK LIGHTNING #13 and 12, respectively, and closed with #261.
September of 1979 saw three separate Black Lightning appearances, including his regular WORLDS FINEST spot in #260 and aguest appearance in JLA #173, the first of a two-parter wherein he was nominated for League membership and rejected the honor. Most significant in retrospect was his ONeil-scripted team-up with Superman in DC COMICS PRESENTS #16. The catalyst of the story was a girl named Trina Shelton who was shot and killed by a stray bullet during an altercation between Lightning and muggers. The balance of the episode dealt with the heroes battling Trinas boyfriend, a magnetic refugee from outer space whom Lightning defeated by pushing his electrical field to the limit.
The first half of 1980 saw Lightnings series revived for a Marty Pasko-scripted two-parter in DETECTIVE #490-491 that recast Jeff Pierce as a high school coach and stripped him of his powers in an accident. Jeff had resumed his teaching position in J.M. DeMatteis subsequent pair of scripts (#494, 495) but the loss of Black Lightnings powers had stuck. Between issues, the depowered Lightning also crossed paths with Batman in THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #163 (by Paul Kupperberg and Dick Giordano) and left the Dark Knight admitting that I AM impressed.
It fell to Mike W. Barr to revive Jeff Pierce some three years later, picking up on the Batman connection and the DC COMICS PRESENTS story as part of 1983s BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #1 and 2. Hoping to rescue his friend Lucius Fox from war-torn Markovia, the Dark Knight recruited Jeff to infiltrate the country, posing as Foxs brother. Inevitably, he was forced to become Black Lightning and ended up being captured alongside Batman. Ignoring the short-lived DETECTIVE run, Barr had Lightning reveal that hed lost his powers after Trina Sheltons death. Convinced that the loss was psychological, the Dark Knight began to verbally prod at him and brought Jeffs electrical powers back to life once more.
The next four years saw a new confidence envelop Black Lightning, as he forged new friends with the Outsiders, found a teaching post at Gotham Citys Edison High (BATO #4, 6), gained a bit of closure in Trina Sheltons death after a confrontation with her parents (BATO #9-10), revisited the Olympics (BATO #14-15) and even had an amicable reunion with Lynn Stewart, (OUTSIDERS (first series) #4, 9-14), now the president of a public relations firm.
By the end of 1987, though, the Outsiders were disbanded (OUTSIDERS #28) and Jeff was settling into a teaching job in yet another city (SECRET ORIGINS #26). The end of 1988 saw Black Lightnings powers go berserk upon the detonation of the Dominators Gene-bomb (INVASION! #3) and Jeff could no longer deny that the power was PART of me — there was no doubting it any longer. It had been given to me for a REASON. Reflecting on his newfound goals in 1995s BLACK LIGHNING #5, he explained that hed moved to the so-called Brick City, a neighborhood in his fathers hometown. I knew I couldnt save the world — but I COULD save one neighborhood — and maybe even the FUTURE.
1992s WHO WHO #16 hinted that a new Black Lightning series was in the offing with an entry that included a never-seen-again costume illustrated by Mark Bright. The book wouldnt come to fruition until Tony Isabella made a triumphant return to his creation in 1995, now paired with artist Eddy Newell. The official new costume included a red and black jacket and lighting coursing between the heros eyes, eliminating the need for a mask.
Isabella and Newells reality-based series hoped to emphasize genuine political and social concerns even as metahuman threats such as Painkiller (BLACK LIGHTNING #2-4) presented themselves. The ongoing menace of a gang known as the Royal Family figured into a school shooting at the end of #4 that left Jeff critically wounded and one of his best friends, teacher Walter Kasko, dead. The introspective Blowed Away in issue #5 dealt with Jeffs physical and emotional recovery, as he tried to come to grips with his career as Black Lightning and the deaths of so many along the way.
In addition to Kasko, the new series had also introduced a number of other new players to the cast, notably student Lamar Henderson, an informant nicknamed Beagle, police contact Tommy Colavito and new love interest Gail Harris.
An editorial flap resulted in Isabella and Newell leaving the book after issue #8 and the series, now in the hands of writer David DeVries, soon collapsed. The final serial (#11-13) found Batman renewing his ties with Lightning to help clear him of charges that he was a serial killer. Once the furor had died down, Isabella and Newell returned to Lightning for a striking black and white episode in Christmas 1997s DCU HOLIDAY BASH II.
In the three years since then, Black Lightning has made no more than a handful of appearances, working with the Outsiders in Markovia during a Hellish eruption of demons (DAY OF JUDGMENT #4) and serving with the Justice League Reserves in the midst of other disasters (JLA #27, 41). His efforts during the Mageddon crisis, in particular, were critical as he taxed his abilities like never before, attempting to tap the electrical field of the planet (#41).
Youve accomplished so many things, helped so many people — and you weigh yourself down with the times you DIDNT succeed, the ones you COULDNT help. Stop denying what you ARE, Jeff. Youre a good man and then some. Youre a super-hero just as REAL as they come — in a world thats damn hard on HEROES. You havent made compromises, youve made CHOICES ... and theyve been the RIGHT choices for you. This city — and all the OTHER cities like it — its where your HEART is. Superman and those others — God bless em — they can save the world every WEEK. You can make it a BETTER world. Dont you KNOW how special you are?
The words that Lynn spoke to Jeff as he recovered from his bullet wounds in BLACK LIGHTNING #5 echo back as he makes one of the biggest choices of his life. Will serving on President Luthors Cabinet give Jeff the resources to make a better world? Or, as in Markovia, is he serving as one of The Batmans agents? In the distance, you can hear the sound of thunder.
(an 80s Prestige Format mini-series)
Blackmask was Dan Cady, whose three-issue 1994 series was a creator-owned project from Brian Augustyn and Jim Baike. In the 1950s, Korean vet Dan Cady took the guise of Blackmask (black leather jacket and pants, plus a bandana-style mask) to free Iroquis Falls, New York from the grip of the Falcon mob. With the destruction of the mob complete, Dan tossed his mask in the garbage and left town to truly start his life over.
The only Blackmask I can think of at DC was a Batman villain created by Doug Moench... a cosmetics heir named Roman Sionis whose attempt at plastic surgery was botched, giving him an even uglier face. For that reason, he always wore a black wooden mask. The late Gil Kane created a barbarian hero named Blackmark who he took to several publishers, including Marvel but not (to my knowledge) DC.
I recall Blackrock's first appearances in SUPERMAN and ACTION COMICS but don't have his final appearances in SUPERMAN FAMILY (where I believe he clashed with Supergirl) so someone else will have to fill that one out.
In the 70s-80s, the television industry was a major influence on the Superman books. At the time, Clark Kent was a nationally-recognized TV newscaster and many stories dealt with TV industry-related themes including thinly-disguised versions of Johnny Carson and Rona Barrett.
Blackrock, who premiered in ACTION #458-459, was perhaps the epitome of the TV milieu that Superman was set in. He was not one person but was actually different people in his various appearances.
It seems that Samuel Tanner, president of UBC broadcasting was angry that Morgan Edge's WGBS was beating him at the ratings, partly due to all the Superman-related scoops that WGBS gets.
So, he orders his head scientist, Dr. Peter Silverstone to come up with UBC's own superhero. The poor scientist, who is definitely a total drone to his boss, complies by creating Blackrock.
Blackrock had a green and purple costume with no sign of any black on it. (Shades of the Blue Rajah.) His weapon was a television antenna that he could use to redirect TV and radio waves into power blasts and various other uses.
Blackrock tried to upstage Superman as the new hero of Metropolis but he was really more of a pest, endangering himself and innocents. He talked in TV-lingo (... "the pause that refreshes..") that seems rather dated now. His identity was a secret, even to Tanner.
Eventually Superman discovers that Blackrock is Tanner. Silverstone decided that only Tanner had the courage, drive and initiative to become UBC's superhero. So he hypnotized his boss and turned him into Blackrock. (Silverstone was suppose to be a genius but he comes off as a soft-spoken weirdo. If I hypnotized my boss, I certainly would not turn him into a superhero.)
After a short battle, Superman straightens Blackrock out and Tanner goes back to normal, totally unaware of his dual identity.
In SUPERMAN #315, Tanner forces Silverstone to come up with a new Blackrock. This time, the character is actually armed with a black rock instead of a TV antenna. And his secret identity is comedian Les Vegas, who is both a thinly-disguised version of Chevy Chase and nephew of Tanner. After some problem with mixed identities and a three-page Superman vs. Chevy Chase battle, the man of steel wins again and once again, Blackrock vanishes from the memory of his alter ego.
Finally, in SUPERMAN #325-326, Tanner decides that it is fruitless trying to create a new superhero to compete with Superman. So instead, he tries to 'steal' Superman from WGBS. Silverstone devises a weapon that hypnotizes Superman so he agrees to reveal his secret identity, live on UBC. This time, Blackrock is merely an energy construct, used to wield the weapon to control Superman's mind. Not surprisingly, Superman outsmarts Tanner and leaves the angry network chief with egg on his face.
I don't know about his appearances after that although I believe Blackrock could be seen standing in the background in one of those mass supervillain scenes.
Now that Clark Kent's TV background has been wiped from continuity, Blackrock doesn't really fit in with the new Superman. A pity, since he was quite a good device for satirizing the TV industry. The names Tanner and Silverstone sound a lot like Turner and Silverman and I believe "Blackrock" is the nickname for the building that houses CBS.
Too bad. If not for John Byrne, we might now be reading about a hypnotized David Letterman fighting Superman.
In JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #43 (October 1990), a new Blackrock appeared fighting the League together with Black Mass, Crowbar, Brainstorm, the Cavalier, and Sonar.
I'm not sure, but I think that Blackrock was later one of the villains who got their weaponry absorbed by the Replicant in the pages of FLASH.
a.k.a. Elizabeth Thorn, this bloodthirsty female vigilante first appeared in VIGILANTE #45. She linked up with Adrian Chase, both professionally and romantically, until Chase apparently committed suicide in VIGILANTE #50. She then spent some time working with Checkmate, but ultimately left that group as well. She was last seen in YOUNG JUSTICE, as a member of the Zandian Olympics team.
Secret identity: Unrevealed.
First appeared: THE ALL-NEW SUPER FRIENDS HOUR Episode 1/4 "Whirlpool"
(First aired: Sep 10th, 1977).
Television appearances: Episodes of THE ALL-NEW SUPER FRIENDS HOUR (1977),
CHALLENGE OF THE SUPERFRIENDS (1978), THE SUPER FRIENDS HOUR (1980), THE SUPER
FRIENDS (1981), SUPERFRIENDS: THE LEGENDARY SUPER POWERS SHOW (1984).
Comic book appearances: DC ONE MILLION 80-PAGE GIANT #1,000,000 (Aug 1999).
Action figures: None.
Origin revealed: Never.
Powers: Black Vulcan can generate lightning bolts from his body and has the
ability to fly.
Once upon a time, there was a world where costumed men and women dressed in colorful costumes took to the streets and fought crime. The heroes flourished in the 1940s but their numbers had dwindled by the 1970s. Their hair had turned gray and one of the greatest of their generation — The Batman — had died (1978s ADVENTURE COMICS #462). A relative handful of heroes — including the Huntress, daughter of the Dark Knight — stood poised to replace them.
*************
Its one thing to read about crime in the newspaper but its quite another to experience it first hand. Such was the case with Charles Bullock, a young African American lawyer recently added to the roster of Gotham Citys Cranston, Grayson and Wayne in 1981 (WONDER WOMAN #281-284, by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton and Steve Mitchell). When a super-villain named Karnage attacked the law offices in search of senior partner Arthur Cranston, Bullock rushed forward to oppose the intruder only to be swatted away like a fly (#286-287, by Levitz, Staton and Bruce Patterson).
Karnage was soon brought to justice by The Huntress (secretly Helena Wayne, another partner in the firm) and Arthur Cranston tried to assure Charles that he had nothing to be ashamed of. Youre a lawyer, he said, not a bouncer. The young man was not appeased, however. I have some heavy thinking to do ... about the way Karnages attack is going to CHANGE my life (WW #289). Digging through the firms library, Charles found a fairly complete file on The Huntress in the clippings. Good. I wonder if it has everything I NEED ... (WW #290, by Levitz, Staton and Mike DeCarlo).
Levitzs plans for Charles Bullock were never realized and it fell to his successor, Joey Cavalieri, to resolve the subplot in the latter half of 1982. The Huntressepisode in WW #297 opened with Charles witnessing a pair of hoods harrassing a local grocer. What can we do about it? the old man asked. Were too small to fight them. In the old days, there was The Batman, God rest his soul. He was there to PROTECT people like us. Saw to it slime like that didnt get into the neighborhood. But now, who STANDS up for people like us? What can we do ...? For Charles Bullock, it was a call to arms.
The following evening, a bat-scalloped shadow fell over the thugs, momentarily stopping them — and a concealed Huntress — in their tracks. The source of the shadow was a man in a variation of The Batmans costume — light blue replacing the gray, a more stylized bat chest emblem and utility belt, yellow bands around his wrists and calves and a sharply arched yellow-tipped face mask that evoked bat-ears in silhouette. His dark blue cape functioned as a hang-glider. Stand back! he commanded. NONE may threaten the people of this city while Blackwing stands!
Unhappily, Blackwing was grounded almost immediately when one of the thugs partially shredded his cape/glider. The would-be hero was beaten into unconsciousness and unmasked. Watching from a distance, the Huntress recognized Charles instantly (WW #297, art by Staton and Sal Trapani).
Blackwing was presented to the mastermind behind the gang, a snake charmer of sorts named the Boa. The Huntress crashed the party and was left to the mercies of a boa constrictor as the villains made their exit. Blackwing, whod been feigning unconsciousness, used a dagger to slash the serpent and free the Huntress (WW #298-299, art by Staton and Frank McLaughlin).
I was a top notch lawyer, he explained, but that only gave me a ring-side seat as I watched criminals slide through the revolving door of justice. I felt the need to do something MORE — something lasting! My hero had always been The Batman. The heart of this town nearly quit beating altogether when he died. But then The Huntress swung into action — and I knew in my guts that if SHE could do it — I could, too! (WW #298)
Maybe it was stupid but I became Blackwing to be that symbol for people again ... to restore their pride in Gotham ... and SPUR them to take charge of this city once more. I tried to THINK the way The Batman would. I had the presence of mind to keep my miniature tape recorder in my utility belt running ever since I was kidnapped.
Evidence! The Huntress exclaimed. Good work, Charley. Well nail them YET. You wouldve made The Batman very proud, Charley. Youve certainly made ME proud. The daughter of The Batman captured the Boa and his gang that night (WW #299) but Charles never took to the sky as Blackwing again.
And, yet, history may yet see the Bullock name enshrined as a costumed hero. A Gotham youngster named Charlie Bullock, possibly a namesake cousin of Charles, had crossed paths with Wildcat three years earlier on a late winters evening in 1979. Charlie proved to be a natural fighter and helped the Justice Society member take down a quartet of muggers.
Wildcat realized that kids like Charlie could achieve great things with a little positive reinforcement. Pulling off his mask, Ted Grant introduced himself to Charlie and decided, in that moment, that he would leave his JSA responsibilities to become a mentor to any of the youth in Gotham that he could help. Announcing his leave of absence, Ted noted that SOMEONEs gotta start worrying where the NEXT generation of super-heroes is coming from(ADVENTURE COMICS #464, by Levitz and Staton). Will Charlie Bullock return as the Blackwing of the current DC Universe? Only time — and future issues of JSA — will tell.
Another of the Master's clone-slaves, from the Dial H For Hero series in NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERBOY #36-37.
Although this was another Dial H For Hero villain, from ADVENTURE #482, he wasn't one of the Master's clone-slaves. Instead, this freelance killer worked for the H.I.V.E.. Still hasn't been seen since his debut, though.
A short-lived group of heroes led by Snapper Carr, who got their powers during the INVASION crossover event. After hosting their own one-shot special, and helping Valor defeat the Unimaginable in VALOR #5-8, they disappeared from view until HOURMAN #20 finally revealed their last mission together. Where the rest of them are now is anyone's guess. Aside from Snapper, the members were:
ANGON
First Appearance: LOBO ANNUAL #1 (1993)
This Bloodlines alien was a red armored female who was the embodiment of anger. Her and the other six of her group escaped Pax's universe to come to this dimension. Encountered by Lobo and the forces of L.E.G.I.O.N., they suffered the loss of one of their number (which limited their shape-changing abilities to their alien form and one humanoid form), and then crash-landed their pod-ship in the Mullholland nature preserve, a swamp outside of Metropolis. She created the new blood heroes of Edge, Ballistic, Jamm, Prism, and, with all of her brethren, had a hand (or tentacle) in creating Pax. She did not survive the birthing of the Taker.
GEMIR
First Appearance: LOBO ANNUAL #1 (1993)
This Bloodlines alien was a flame haired, red armored male with arm-wings in alien form who was the embodiment of greed. He and the other six of his group escaped Pax's universe to come to this dimension. Encountered by Lobo and the forces of L.E.G.I.O.N., they suffered the loss of one of their number (which limited their shape-changing abilities to their alien form and one humanoid form), and then crash-landed their pod-ship in the Mullholland nature preserve, a swamp outside of Metropolis. He created the new blood heroes of Joe Public, Myriad, Sparx, Cardinal Sin, Samaritan and, with all of his brethren, had a hand (or tentacle) in creating Pax. He did not survive the birthing of the Taker.
GLONTH
First Appearance: LOBO ANNUAL #1 (1993)
This Bloodlines alien was a fat, purple armored male who was the embodiment of gluttony. He and the other six of his group escaped Pax's universe to come to this dimension. Encountered by Lobo and the forces of L.E.G.I.O.N., they suffered the loss of one of their number (which limited their shape-changing abilities to their alien form and one humanoid form), and then crash-landed their pod-ship in the Mullholland nature preserve, a swamp outside of Metropolis. He created the new blood heroes of Loose Cannon, "Hitman" Tommy Monaghan, Chimera and, with all of his brethren, had a hand (or tentacle) in creating Pax. He did not survive the birthing of the Taker.
LISSIK
First Appearance: LOBO ANNUAL #1 (1993)
This Bloodlines alien was a red-haired, purple armored female who was the embodiment of lust. Her and the other six of her group escaped Pax's universe to come to this dimension. Encountered by Lobo and the forces of L.E.G.I.O.N., they suffered the loss of one of their number (which limited their shape-changing abilities to their alien form and one humanoid form), and then crash-landed their pod-ship in the Mullholland nature preserve, a swamp outside of Metropolis. She created the new blood heroes of Anima, Nightblade, Hook, Terrorsmith (co-created with Venev), Mongrel, and, with all of her brethren, had a hand (or tentacle) in creating Pax. She did not survive the birthing of the Taker.
PRITOR
First Appearance: LOBO ANNUAL #1 (1993)
This Bloodlines alien was a blue armored male with butterfly-wings in alien form who was the embodiment of pride. He and the other six of his group escaped Pax's universe to come to this dimension. Encountered by Lobo and the forces of L.E.G.I.O.N., they suffered the loss of one of their number (which limited their shape-changing abilities to their alien form and one humanoid form), and then crash-landed their pod-ship in the Mullholland nature preserve, a swamp outside of Metropolis. He created the new blood heroes of Lionheart, Geist, and, with all of his brethren, had a hand (or tentacle) in creating Pax. He did not survive the birthing of the Taker.
SLODD
First Appearance: LOBO ANNUAL #1 (1993)
This Bloodlines alien was a yellow armored male who was the embodiment of sloth. He and the other six of his group escaped Pax's universe to come to this dimension. Encountered by Lobo and the forces of L.E.G.I.O.N., he was killed by a grenade stuffed in his mouth by Lobo. His loss limited the others shape-changing abilities to their alien form and one humanoid form). He created the new blood hero of Layla and, with all of his brethren, had a hand (or tentacle) in creating Pax. It was by feeding his dead form to the the Taker that the Taker emerged from the pod in the Mullholland nature preserve outside of Metropolis.
VENEV
First Appearance: LOBO ANNUAL #1 (1993)
This Bloodlines alien was a six-armed, green armored female who was the embodiment of envy. Her and the other six of her group escaped Pax's universe to come to this dimension. Encountered by Lobo and the forces of L.E.G.I.O.N., they suffered the loss of one of their number (which limited their shape-changing abilities to their alien form and one humanoid form), and then crash-landed their pod-ship in the Mullholland nature preserve, a swamp outside of Metropolis. She created the new blood heroes of Argus, Razorsharp, Terrorsmith (co-created with Lissik), Gunfire (and possibly Ragnarok), and, with all of her brethren, had a hand (or tentacle) in creating Pax. She did not survive the birthing of the Taker.
TAKER, THE
First appearance: JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA ANNUAL #7 (1993) (implied), ADVENTURES
OF SUPERMAN ANNUAL #5 (1993) (a tentacle), BLOODBATH #1 (Early December 1993)
(emerged from the pod-ship); BLOOD PACK #4 (June 1995) (Taker clone)
What the seven Bloodlines aliens were feeding with the spinal fluid they had collected from humans across the earth. When it was birthing from the Bloodlines' aliens pod-ship, it send out a subliminal call to all the new bloods created by the destruction caused by the aliens (and proving that there is a subtle telepathic link between all the new blood heroes). The Taker was able to immobilize a contingent of earth heroes directed to the scene by Amanda Waller, including various members of a special Justice League Task Force (with members from both Justice League America and Justice League International, as well as old Justice League of America members), the New Titans, the Team Titans, Deathstroke, Robin, Superboy, the Eradicator, Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) and even Etrigan the Demon. The Taker was stopped by the combined forces of the new blood heroes (who had discovered they could literally combine their powers into one being, thanks to the help of the Animus of Anima). His body was taken away by Lobo under the direction of Vril Dox II and the L.E.G.I.O.N. A Taker clone was created by the Quarum and stopped by the Blood Pack (a collection of new bloods led by Jade), and hitman Tommy Monaghan and his friend, Natt the Hat, sacrificed their lives to stop an organization within the United States Government from grafting alien parts to humans in order to create new meta-humans they could control.
Sorry for this little alien invasion, but hope folks find it of interest (and I'll likely come back with some stuff on the new bloods who had no other appearances other than the ANNUAL and in BLOODBATH...if this is of interest...)
This was a short-lived team of heroes who were mostly survivors of the alien parasites as noted above. They were led by Jade, former member of Infinity Inc. and currently the girlfriend of Green Lantern Kyle Rayner. The other members of the team were Nightblade, Geist, Ballistic, Mongrel, Razorsharp, Sparx, and Loria. They thought they'd been called together by a government organization to show how something good can come even from something bad, but it later developed that their benefactors were really the villainous Quorum, who wanted to use them as pawns in a plot to take over the world. When they learned this, following the death of Loria, they disbanded.
Yet another of the Master's clone-slaves to fight the H-Dialers.
He appeared much earlier than the JLI era. He, along with Silver Soceress, Wandjina, and Jack B. Quick first appeared in the original JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #87, February 1971. AND I want to point out that he is still alive, although he hasn't been seen since JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE #48, March 1993.
See Angor.
Bob the Galactic Bum was, for lack of a better description, W.C. Fields (or, for you Superman fans, J. Wilbur Wolfingham) in space. With a bulbous red nose, battered top hat and ample belly, Bob moved from port to port, putting his own uniquely loquacious spin on every successive hardship that he and his comrade Buck Fifty encountered. Buck, who possessed a nose of Muppet-like dimensions had a vocabulary that consisted of the phrase "What?"
In the course of 1995's four-part BOB THE GALACTIC BUM series (by Alan Grant & John Wagner and Carlos Ezquera), Bob and Buck became the only survivors of a Khund raid on a space cruiser — save for Chazza, the so-called "idiot prince" of the planet Gazza. While Lobo (prominently featured on each cover) and Stealth searched for Chazza on behalf of the R.E.B.E.L.S., Bob made his way to the world of Gnulp, insulting and mocking Chazza's claims of royalty for the entire trip. Only at the conclusion of #2 did the bum realize his mistake.
Helping Chazza from the pig sty where he'd left him, Bob explained that it had all been a test. "Had I helped you — had I lifted ONE FINGER of assistance — as was my deep desire, I can assure you — you would have been INSTANTLY DISQUALIFIED and barred for life!" Proclaiming Chazza a "Knight of Space," Bob presented the prince with a "beautifully inscribed medal" bearing the phrase "Eat my shorts."
"What does it mean?"
"It's CODE, sire! All will be revealed in one year's time on the anniversary of this initiation."
Bob cemented his relationship with Chazza when he met the prince's guru and challenged "this charlatan to a philosophical debate." As the staredown commenced, Bob explained that "we're conducting this battle on a higher plane. Mind against mind. I'm grappling with him now. One of my theories has just overwhelmed several of his suppositions. Stand by for further news." Predicting that the guru was "verging on total collapse," Bob distracted Chazza and knocked his opponent out cold.
Unfortunately, Bob did too good of a job. Chazza regained the throne but promptly abdicated, moved by Bob's "sacrifice" at giving up the freedom of space for life in a kingdom. "We'll roam the cosmos together, the three of us,"predicted Chazza. "Tumbleweeds adrift on the winds of space."
"I should've trusted my first instinct!" Bob moaned. "He's a king, all right — King Piker!"
BOMBA: THE CHILDREN'S BOOKS
The Stratemeyer Syndicate produced this 20 volume series from 1926 through 1938. They were written by ghostwriters using the pseudonym "Roy Rockwood". The first ten Bomba the Jungle Boy books tell of his South American adventures and his quest for the discovery of his origins. The second set of ten books take Bomba on adventures set in different locales.
These books were originally released by Grosset & Dunlap from 1926 through 1938. Through the 30's and 40's, they re-issued the series in a number of different formats. The first ten were then re-issued again as a set in 1953. Also in 1953, Clover Books, an imprint of McLoughlin Brothers, marketed the first half of the Bomba titles in a picture cover format. In 1978, Grosset & Dunlap re-issued the first two volumes.
#1 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY; or, The Old Naturalist's Secret (1926) — "Separated from his parents since childhood, a young boy, who has been brought up in the jungle by an old naturalist, begins the long search for his true identity." — After Bomba saves the lives of two American rubber hunters, they inquire about this teen-aged boy who lives in the Amazon jungles. This sets Bomba to thinking about who is he and how he had come to the jungle. When his guardian, the old naturalist Cody Casson, gives him a clue as to the identity of his father and mother, Bomba sets off to solve the mystery of his past.
#2 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AT THE MOVING MOUNTAIN; or, The Mystery of the Caves of Fire (1926) — "Bomba sets out on a dangerous journey to find the medicine man who can tell him the secret of his origins." — Fourteen year-old Bomba travels many miles through the jungle, and has many encounters with wild beasts and hostile natives. At last, he reaches the Andes Mountains and trails an old man to his caves of fire, learning a little more about his past.
#3 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AT THE GIANT CATARACT; or, Chief Nascanora and his Captives (1926) — "Bomba treks through the Amazon jungle to the Island of Snakes to find an old witch who may know the secret of his origins." — Bomba travels to the Giant Cataract, still searching for the secrets of his past. Among the Pilati Indians, he finds an aged woman who had at one time been a great operatic singer. She is the first to give Bomba some real information about his parents.
#4 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON JAGUAR ISLAND; or, Adrift on the River of Mystery (1927) —??
#5 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN THE ABANDONED CITY; or, A Treasure Ten Thousand Years Old (1927) —??
#6 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON TERROR TRAIL; or, The Mysterious Men from the Sky (1928) —??
#7 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN THE SWAMP OF DEATH; or, The Sacred Alligators of Abarago (1929) —??
#8 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AMONG THE SLAVES; or, Daring Adventures in the Valley of the Skulls (1929) —??
#9 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY ON THE UNDERGROUND RIVER; or, The Cave of Bottomless Pits (1930) —??
#10 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AND THE LOST EXPLORERS; or, A Wonderful Revelation (1930) — Bomba's quest to learn the truth about his parents concludes.
#11 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN A STRANGE LAND; or, Facing the Unknown (1931) —??
#12 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AMONG THE PYGMIES; or, Battling with Stealthy Foes (1931) —??
#13 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AND THE CANNIBALS; or, Winning Against Native Dangers (1932) —??
#14 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AND THE PAINTED HUNTERS; or, A Long Search Rewarded (1932) —??
#15 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AND THE RIVER DEMONS; or, Outwitting the Savage Medicine Man (1933) —??
#16 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY AND THE HOSTILE CHIEFTAIN; or, A Hazardous Trek to the Sea (1934) —??
#17 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY TRAPPED BY THE CYCLONE; or, Shipwrecked on the Swirling Seas (1935) —??
#18 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN THE LAND OF BURNING LAVA; or, Outwitting Superstitious Natives (1936) —??
#19 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN THE PERILOUS KINGDOM; or, Braving Strange Hazards (1937) —??
#20 BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY IN THE STEAMING GROTTO; or, Victorious Through Flame and Fury (1938) —??
BOMBA: THE MOVIES
In 1949, producer Walter Mirisch began a series of low-budget adventure films based on the popular Bomba story books. He hired Johnny Sheffield, who had played Boy in the Tarzan films, to play the teen-aged jungle boy. There were eight films produced by Mirisch for Monogram between 1949 and 1952, and four more produced by Ford Beebe for Allied Artists between 1953 and 1955.
BOMBA, THE JUNGLE BOY (1949) — Photographer George Harland, and his daughter Pat, arrive in the African jungle to film the exotic wildlife. They are guided by an old friend, Andy Barnes. Pat and her gun-bearer Mufti explore the region called the Great Rift. When Mufti is killed by a leopard, a jungle boy named Bomba appears and kills the dangerous animal. Later that night, Bomba makes an attempt to contact Harland regarding his daughter's whereabouts, but he is wounded when the frantic photographer fires at the jungle boy. Pat accompanies the injured Bomba to his home, a cave overlooking a peaceful jungle paradise. Harland and Barnes, who believe that Bomba has kidnapped Pat, track the jungle boy, but are soon attacked by angry natives. Bomba and Pat arrive, and the youth saves the men from the fierce warriors. Harland discovers that Bomba was raised by an aged naturalist named Cody Casson, who has since died. Although he is offered passage back to civilization, Bomba prefers to remain with his jungle friends.
BOMBA ON PANTHER ISLAND (1949) — Bomba battles a deadly black panther and superstitious natives.
THE LOST VOLCANO (1950) — Bomba battles people searching for buried treasure.
THE HIDDEN CITY (1950) a.k.a. Bomba And The Hidden City — Bomba aides a jungle orphan, who is revealed to be a princess.
THE LION HUNTERS (1951) — Bomba attempts to stop a hunting expedition from slaughtering lions on sacred Masai land.
BOMBA AND THE ELEPHANT STAMPEDE (1951) a.k.a. The Elephant Stampede — Bomba combats ivory poachers.
AFRICAN TREASURE (1952) — Bomba encounters diamond smugglers posing as geologists.
BOMBA AND THE JUNGLE GIRL (1952) — With Cody Casson's diary as a starting point, Bomba starts on a quest to discover the true identity of his parents. While on his way to Gamboso's village seeking information about his parents, Bomba rescues Linda Ward from a crocodile. The girl's father is visiting the village to assess the living conditions for the government. A blind native woman named Linasi informs Bomba that his parents were killed by Gamboso's followers and were buried in a cave in the hills. Before she can point the way, she is killed by a poisoned dart fired by Boru, Gamboso's daughter. Bomba is then bound and taken back to the village to be turned over to Ward for the murder. Linda forces his release, and intends to investigate Bomba's claims regarding his parents. Gamboso sends Boru and her warriors to stop the Wards. After ordering her men to torch the jungle, Boru herself becomes trapped by the fire. Bomba and Linda find and rescue Boru, however their only safety lies in a nearby cave. It is there that Bomba discovers the evidence needed to convict Gamboso. Boru tries to kill Bomba and Linda, but after a brief struggle, she runs out of the cave and perishes in the flames. Gamboso is arrested and Linasi's son, Kokoli, is promoted to chief. Bomba returns home, satisfied that justice has been done.
SAFARI DRUMS (1953) — Bomba and his animal friends combat a murderous guide.
THE GOLDEN IDOL (1954) — Bomba recovers a priceless Watusi statue stolen by evil Arabs.
KILLER LEOPARD (1954) — Bomba guides a Hollywood starlet through the jungle in search of her missing husband.
LORD OF THE JUNGLE (1955) — Bomba tries to track down a rogue elephant.
BOMBA: THE COMIC BOOKS
From mid-1967 through mid-1968, National Periodicals Publications, Inc. (later DC Comics) published seven bi-monthly comic books based on the adventures of the young jungle boy. They reprinted two of the tales in 1974, but changed the character's name to Simba to avoid copyright infringement.
BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY
#1 (Sep-Oct 1967) "The Jaws Of Doom" — Bomba lives in the Amazon jungles of South America. His companions include Doto the spider monkey and Tiki the parrot. Bomba is described as "a white boy, lost in the wilderness as a baby and reared by a scientist explorer, Cody Casson". His faithful friend Gibo brings him news of an attack by the warriors of Jojasta on a party of explorers. Jojasta is an evil medicine man with whom Bomba has clashed before. Jojasta, and a traitor amongst the explorers, are stopped from stealing a treasure from the Incan temple of Xamza.
#2 (Nov-Dec 1967) "The Phantom City Of Death!" — The archeologist Prof. Wilson, and his daughter, had hoped to find the legendary City of Gold. His daughter is captured by the warriors of Buo-Buo. While rescuing the girl, Bomba encounters the last tribe of the ancient Incas.
#3 (Jan-Feb 1968) "My Enemy ... The Jungle!" — A garbed man claiming to be Viracocha, an ancient god of the Incas, enters the jungle village of San Topa, demanding to rule it's people. Chief Atachi courageously steps forward to oppose him, but is attacked. His daughter, Tina, seeks Bomba's aid. Bomba battles sentient plant-men, eventually learning that they have been tricked by the human posing as Viracocha.
#4 (Mar-Apr 1968) "The Deadly Sting Of Ana Conda!" — Tina contacts Bomba when the village of Panqui is destroyed by Ana Conda and his Snakeskin Warriors. Bomba must contend with Tina's temporary loss of memory as he defeats the killers.
#5 (May-Jun 1968) "Tampu Loves — Bomba Dies!" — Bomba and Tina travel to a village deep in the rain forest which worships a statue of the evil god Tampu. The statue soon comes to life and threatens the people. Bomba discovers that the medicine man Manco is actually a white man who is using the mechanical statue to gain access to the oil on the land.
#6 (Jul-Aug 1968) untitled — Hundreds of thousands of years ago, the people of a South American city engaged in many bizarre experiments. One experiment released a deadly vapor which killed all but the tyrant Krag and his six bodyguards, who escaped but soon fell into a deep state of suspended animation. Over the millennia, the jungles covered the ancient city. Then, one day, Krag is again freed. Bomba battles the tyrant, who wishes to use his power to rebuild his wicked city. After killing Bomba's friend Jobo, Krag flees. Bomba vows to find Krag and make him pay for what he has done.
#7 (Sep-Oct 1968) "Nightmare!" — Two people search for and locate Bomba, informing him that they will be returning the jungle boy to civilization whether he wants to go or not. When they show him a number of photos, he recognizes Krag's handiwork in one of them, and agrees to go with them. Before they depart, Bomba is forced to dress in more "proper" attire. When they reach the city, they discover that the residents have been driven insane. Krag has poisoned the water supply. Bomba again stops the evil tyrant, who once again flees. Bomba then returns to his jungle home.
TARZAN
#230 (Apr-May 1974) — Reprints BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY #4. Bomba is renamed Simba the Jungle Boy.
#231 (Jun-Jul 1974) — Reprints BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY #3. Bomba is renamed Simba the Jungle Boy.
The Bombardiers were Curly McGurk, Swordo and the lovely Red Rogers. In POLICE COMICS #21, they were provided with explosive powers by the Human Bomb and joined in a series of raids on the Japanese army in mid-1943 (#21-22). With #23, the Bomb was back in the States and we never did learn what happened to his partners.
Highway patrolmen Bob Colby and Jim Boone helped the alien manhunter Klee Pan thwart the Faceless Creature From Saturn on three occasions between 1960 and 1963 (STRANGE ADVENTURES #124, 142 and 153) and were rewarded with telepathic powers that they chose to conceal for future strategic value.
Hal Jordan, super-villain. If you want a phrase guaranteed to generate controversy among Green Lantern fans, that's the one to use. And yet, back in 1966, Hal's own Uncle Titus was suggesting that very thing.
Multi-millionaire architect Titus Thomas Jordan was "far and away the richest member of the Jordan clan," complete with "his own private airfield — and golf course," a butler named Givens and a chauffeur named Williams. Unfortunately, the public also regarded T.T. as the meanest member of the family, joking that "the initials stand for 'Terrible Temper' Jordan."
Titus approached his nephew with the challenge of using Jim Jordan's new public relations agency to correct his image as an ogre. Unknown to the young man, however, Titus had also been enlisted by Jim's wife, Susan, to prove that her husband was Green Lantern. "If a nephew of mine is really Green Lantern," he thought, "I want to know it. They can't keep secrets like THAT from ME!"
At a family gathering at his estate that weekend, Titus hosted Sue, Jim and brothers Jack and Hal for a reunion. With Jim escorted to the library to select photographs for his uncle's promotional campaign, Titus laid out the plan for the rest of the family. "I've created one of those super-criminals that Green Lantern is always fighting, complete with a snazzy uniform. One of us will pose as this phony criminal — and I've decided it will be YOU, Hal."
"ME? But I'm — er — not the type."
"DAD BLAST IT! Are you going to spoil everything now by arguing with me?"
Hal finally agreed but he blanched when he saw what he was supposed to wear. The costume of the Bottler was in shades of light and dark orange and the bottle motif was everywhere, from stems on the gloves and boots to icons on his chest and cowl to miniature flasks on the belt. Hal's reaction had nothing to do with the design, though. As Green Lantern (the REAL one), he'd crossed paths with the supposedly imaginary villain on the previous night.
When he interrupted the Bottler's warehouse heist, GL discovered that each flask on his belt contained a different threat, from explosives used to open a safe to knockout gas that rendered the Emerald Gladiator unconscious. Hal realized that playing along with Uncle Titus' game might flush out the real Bottler and he headed for the library to "'break in' and start 'robbing.'" Intent on his mission, Hal never saw the weighted bottle coming for his head and collapsed to the ground. "We can do without YOU in this plot," observed his assailant. "Why use a FAKE Bottler when the REAL ONE is ready for action!"
Elsewhere, Jim told Sue that he'd already figured out what she and Titus were up to and strolled off to talk to the man he saw climbing in a window. Tapping the prowler on the shoulder, a smiling Jim said, "Hold it! I know who you are." The Bottler grabbed him by the jacket and pulled back his arm even as the young man laughed. "Oh, stop the pretense, Hal. I know you wouldn't lay a finger on me — !"
"Not a finger — but my whole fist, chump!"
So much for Jim.
Inside, Titus handed over his collection of stamp rarities to "Hal,"complaining that his decision to tie him and Jack to their chairs was "going too far!" Green Lantern, sporting a nice goose-egg on the back on his head, agreed and flew into the room to wrap things up. After smothering one of the rogue's flask explosives in an energy sphere, Hal fired an enormous projectile at his foe. "One way to deal with a human bottle — is by a giant bowling ball. And I claim a STRIKE!"
The unmasked thief was exposed as Titus' driver Williams. "He learned of the imaginary criminal you created, Mr. Jordan," GL speculated, "so he decided to put your idea into actual practice. He became the Bottler in real life. I guess he was fed up being a chauffeur. No doubt he thought he saw an easy road to riches — but it only turned out to be a path to jail."
While Green Lantern hauled the Bottler off to jail, his bruised brother was receiving virtually no sympathy from his wife. Sue was convinced that Jim had faked being struck and slipped off to become the Emerald Crusader. "And that ice bag. As if YOU needed it!"
Even if his bride wasn't convinced, Jim believed he could use his uncle's embarrassment over the incident to prevent Titus from arguing with his solution to his publicity woes. "The truth is, Uncle Titus, that you DO have a terrible temper. And you'll never get the public to like you unless you can control yourself."
The p.r. man let out a sigh of relief when Titus responded. "James, you're the first one who ever had the courage to tell me that to my face! And you know something, I think you've done me a good turn. I'm going to double your fee. And I am going to control my temper — you watch" (GREEN LANTERN #44, by John Broome, Gil Kane and Sid Greene).
Whatever his intentions, Titus never quite triumphed over his temper, at least at family gatherings (1969's GL #71 and 1992's GL #36). Susan Williams Jordan, though, finally acquiesced to reality and gave up on the emerald theory about her husband (1977's GL #101). As for Williams (no relation to Sue), one presumes that the Bottler is still on a shelf in a California prison.
While investigating the case of a murder (Walter Briscoe was thrown out of a skyscraper) Batman discovered a list of six names of prospective victims (as well as getting some information from one of his stoolies), and decided that the Bounty Hunter was back in town on an extended contract. Batman believed that the list named the hitman's victims. The final two names on the list were Sapphire Stagg and Bruce Wayne. After a warning from Batman, billionaire scientist Simon Stagg awoke Rex Mason, also known as Metamorpho the Element Man, from the chemical bath that he had been soaking in for several years in hopes of curing his freakish condition. Metamorpho was angry with Stagg, but when Stagg told him the situation, he agreed that Stagg's daughter needed protection. While she was glad to see her lover again, Sapphire didn't want to be pinned down by anyone, not even with Batman's warning. Meanwhile, Batman and Commissioner Gordon had been trying to warn and offer protection to the other people on the Bounty Hunter's list. Unfortunately, while Batman was watching financier Harlan Twiss at a boxing match, the Bounty Hunter took out Mrs. Emmaline Van Prell, with a sabotaged hair dryer. Batman could not find a link between any of the victims, besides their obvious wealth.
Batman was making himself visible around Gotham City that evening as Bruce Wayne, hoping to lure the Bounty Hunter out after him instead of one of the other potential victims. Sapphire Stagg was also out, having escaped her house (and Metamorpho). After a brief and profitable run at an illegal crap table, a man who wanted to shake her hand accosted Sapphire. His hand and arm came off in her hand, causing the lovely blonde to faint. Luckily, Metamorpho had tracked her down and enveloped the fake arm with his body, which exploded. Once again however, Sapphire gave him the slip, as she was getting a real kick out of being pursued both by Rex and a killer. Meanwhile, Stagg alerted Batman of the attempt on Sapphire's life. Batman decided that since Metamorpho was guarding her and the police were guarding the remaining people on the Bounty Hunter's list, he could take the evening off to keep an appointment in the country that Alfred reminded him of.
Sapphire Stagg arrived at the Fairbairn estate, where she was met by the brothers Conrad and Derwent Fairbairn. They were selling the estate to consolidate their finances, and one of the stipulations was that all of the bidders had to be present when the sealed bids were opened at midnight that evening. Derwent showed Sapphire the house, and shortly afterward Bruce Wayne also showed up as another of the bidders. Derwent showed Bruce into one of the rooms, locking him inside. Sapphire found herself locked in the family crypt. At the same time, the late Walter Briscoe showed up, and Conrad was very anxious because with both Sapphire and Bruce missing, he would be the winning bidder by default. Derwent told him that there would, in fact, be no bidders, as Mr. Briscoe was The Bounty Hunter, a specialist he had hired to prevent anyone from bidding. The deranged Derwent chloroformed his brother, believing he was selling out the family ideals by selling the estate, and then went to kill Bruce and Sapphire.
Bruce had changed into Batman and had managed to find Sapphire by traversing the mansion's air vents. Metamorpho had likewise tracked down his girl, following the carbon monoxide trail of her car to the Fairbairn estate. They escaped from the crypt and headed upstairs, with Rex leading the way as invisible hydrogen gas. He couldn't find Derwent or the Bounty Hunter, who had headed down to the crypt after no one was found in the room Bruce had been secured in. Upon not finding Sapphire in the crypt, the Bounty Hunter turned on Derwent, believing that he was double-crossing the assassin. Batman attacked, but not before t