OK, we’ve reintroduced many of the DC Universe heroes in the aftermath of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, so there aren’t very many more revamps to pour through before we’re caught back up to the “present” of 1986 where many of the storylines we’ve been following in New Teen Titans; Jon Sable, Freelance; the Thing; and the Warlord continue on pretty much unaffected.
Batman: Batgirl (DC Comics, 1997) — This prestige format one-shot was released about the time “Batman and Robin” was released in theaters, the film which introduced Batgirl to the movie franchise. This tale by Kelley Puckett, Matt Haley and Karl Kesel takes place shortly after Barbara Gordon’s debut as a crimefighter. In addition to worrying about what will happen if her police commissioner adoptive father learns of her nocturnal activities, the young heroine confronts the Joker for the first time.
Legends of the DC Universe: Batgirl 10-11 (DC Comics, 1998) — This two-issue story is another tale from early in the career of Batgirl as the young Barbara Gordon heads off to college. She is confronted by Batman, who tries to discourage her Batgirl career before it gets her killed. Barbara doesn’t back down, instead telling Batman that she will continue as Batgirl, and that if he is so worried about her safety, he should train her as he did with Robin. Batman obviously, eventually, relents. By Puckett, Dodson and Nowlan.
Legends of the DC Universe: Justice League of America 12-13 (DC Comics, 1999) — This tale features the satelite-era League, arguably one of the most enduring incarnations of the team. The bulk of the tale by Christopher Priest, Ken Lashley and Ron Boyd takes place in flashbacks, both to a very early case of the League’s and the current tale. At the outset, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Zatanna and Aquaman have been enlarged to gigantic proportions. The heroes, unprepared for the sudden size change, are disoriented and causing inadvertent damage. The Atom, with his mastery of size-change, remains unaffected but unable to help his friends as they continue to grow. The rest of the League joins in as they seek solutions in another old case before the giant League members die from their sizes.
Girlfrenzy!: Batgirl 1 (DC Comics, 1998) — Girlfrienzy! was a series of one-shot comics focusing on female leads in an effort to attract more female readers. Other books in the series took place more in current continuity and featured Secret from Young Justice, Donna Troy from the Titans and Wonder Woman, Lois Lane from Superman, the Mist from Starman, the Ravens from Birds of Prey and Tomorrow Woman from JLA. This book, however, depicts Batgirl in confrontation with another of Batman’s rogues, Mr. Zsasz. The relationship between Batgirl and Batman has obviously changed in this tale, though. At the end, Batman solicits Batgirl’s help with another case and the heroine declines, foreshadowing the time when Batgirl was semi-retired from superheroing. This tale is by Kelley Puckett, Jim Balent and Rick Burchett.
Legends of the DC Universe: The New Teen Titans 18 (DC Comics, 1999) — This tale is listed as featuring the New Teen Titans. In fact, this tale by Marv Wolfman and Butch Guice takes place just prior to the formation of the New Teen Titans. It shows a previously unknown adventure where Kid Flash and Raven cross paths. It plants the seeds that result in Raven bringing together the new Titans incarnation and explains Kid Flash’s motivations for joining the new team.
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 132-136 (DC Comics, 2000) — Siege, by Archie Goodwin and Marshall Rogers, brings back Silver St. Cloud from the earlier Englehart and Rogers run of Detective Comics. It also involves a para-military leader who believes gold is buried on the land beneath Wayne Manor. The story contains a lot of historical information on the Wayne family.
Nightwing 101-106 (DC Comics, 2005) — These six issues of Nightwing bring back original series writer Chuck Dixon to re-examine Nightwing Year One, the time period where Dick Grayson decides to give up his costumed identity as Robin and adopt a new costumed persona. Several Bat-rogues make appearances and other DC heroes such as Superman, Batgirl and Deadman also have cameos. Continuity changes in this story include Dick wearing the new Robin costume with long pants that originally was first created for third Robin Tim Drake. The Nightwing identity is still based in part on Batman and in part on the Kryptonian hero, Nightwing, but the costume design mimics a circus costume worn by Dick in part of the story. Some readers online complained that this story negated the events of The Judas Contract in New Teen Titans when Dick adopts the Nightwing persona. I’ll admit it is a bit of a stretch, but I see this story as fitting in between the pages of The Judas Contract with only some modification.
And that brings us back to the “current” storylines taking place immediately after the Crisis ... sorta.
Warlord 98 (DC Comics, 1985) — Now we left the denizens of Skartaris, and specifically Shamballah, as only a ragtag band of outcasts, thrown from their homes by the New Atlantean invaders. I originally saw #97 as a good point to cut away for the events of the Crisis because the good guys had just lost a demoralizing battle and had gone off to lick their wounds and regroup. This issue begins with kind of a recap of the invasion and the lost battle, so it seemed like a good place to insert the Crisis, a tale in which Travis Morgan plays a small but important part. Well, this tale still makes a couple vague references to the Crisis as something yet to occur. Because of that, this story may have to be moved back to before the Crisis in my chronological filing system, but I’ll read on a bit more before I decide for certain.
And I think that’s a good place to stop for today. Next time, we’ll look at some more stories picking up following the Crisis. Plus, I have just received my most recent shipment of new comics released during the month of September. It may take me a day or two to get those comics inventoried and start reading them. So we’ll be back into some new comics, maybe as soon as later this week.
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