The Crisis is over. So are all of the revamps (at least the ones in my collection) which changed something about the status quo in the DC Universe without using a contemporary framing sequence. But there are still a few of these older comics I managed to read through before my latest batch of new comics arrived. So, getting back to our various story lines from before the Crisis ...
The Warlord 99-100 (DC Comics, 1985) — We talked a bit about issue 98 last time and how it made a couple veiled references to the coming Crisis, but how there was a natural break between issues 97 and 98. And the references to the Crisis were vague enough that I think the issue can stand and “refer” to some other big event. These two issues wrap up the story line from before Crisis where New Atlantean invaders have captured the kingdom of Shamballah and most of Skartaris. The magical nature of the ruler of New Atlantis is revealed in issue 98 and 99. Morgan, his daughter, Jennifer, and his companion, Krys, devise a plan to defeat both wizard-king and his minions. The epic battle takes place in issue #100, of course, and involves Morgan taking on the wizard-king directly. As Morgan is protected by Jennifer’s mystical spells, the wizard is taxed more than he expected to be by the battle. In his efforts to defeat Morgan, he draws psychic strength from his people, thus weaking them to the point that the rag-tag Shamballan army can conquer the invaders. Once that is accomplished, there is no more psychic energy for the wizard to draw on, and he is finally defeated, as well. Overall, not too bad an ending to this tale, except that the wizard king’s name changes throughout issue #100 from Cykroth to Cycroth, but that’s a minor quibble.
The Thing 28-32 (Marvel Comics, 1985-86) — Before the Crisis, the Thing was wandering the country on his own after quitting the Fantastic Four. Most recently, he’d decided to join the Thunderiders motorcycle stunt group in an effort to get closer to one of its members, Sharon, only to learn that she was leaving the group. Issue #28 picks up with Ben deciding that his heart just isn’t in the motorcycle thing since Sharon left. He decides to leave the group and pursue a career in wrestling, specifically the new unlimited class wrestling league being formed. Ben quickly becomes the star attraction and proven champion of the class, which doesn’t mean there is a shortage of people showing up to challenge him. The first major challenger, the Gator in issue 29, was a former champion looking to reclaim his lost glory and willing to go to any lengths to achieve it. Issue 30 pits Thing against the Beyonder in a crossover portion of Secret Wars II. In this story, the otherworldly Beyonder makes himself human and tries to experience life as one of us. Hearing of the unlimited class wrestling, the Beyonder thinks to try his hand at it. Ben sees this as his opportunity for revenge as he begins to blame the Beyonder for all of the troubles in his life since the first Secret Wars series. Ben beats the Beyonder viciously, almost killing the omnipotent being. Unbeknownst to Ben, Sharon, the woman of his dreams, has been coming to see all of his fights. She is horrified by what she sees when Ben nearly kills the Beyonder. She reveals her presence to Ben and invites him to take a vacation, ease his stress, and accompany her to her new job as a stuntwoman in a movie. Issue 31 takes Ben and Sharon to the set where a movie version of Devil Dinosaur is being filmed. Predictably, Ben mistakes the first couple of scenes he sees being shot as real peril for someone and ends up ruining the shots trying to save actors. It gets so bad, Ben is banished from the set, then fails to respond when — you guessed it — a real monster shows up. Everything works out OK, though, and Ben returns to the ring in issue 32, where he begins to suspect something foul in the way the wrestling league’s promoter keeps coming up with strong men. For the most part, these are some fun issues of a fun comic, although I think writer Mike Carlin went a little far showing Ben’s rage in the battle with the Beyonder. Thing is not normally depicted as a berserker-type fighter like Wolverine, and I believe he crosses the line and ceases to be a hero when the only reason he doesn’t kill the Beyonder is because he can’t kill an immortal opponent.
The Amazing Spider-Man 267 (Marvel Comics, 1985) — Now this is a fun comic. Spider-Man is at his best when he is the typical hard-luck hero. This issue starts out with the wall-crawler feeling somewhat under the weather anyway, but when a non-powered thief manages to escape him, Spidey is furious with himself. The one saving grace is the fact that our hero manages to flip a spider-tracer on the criminal before he makes good his escape. After regrouping, Spider-Man tracks his foe to the suburbs where all sorts of out-of-his-element hilarity ensues. First, the absence of tall buildings means nothing from which to slings his webs. So Spidey hops on the roof of a transit bus which promptly stops as the driver demands fare or he’ll toss Spidey to the curb. When he tries to climb a tree to gain a higher vantage, the tree breaks and a self-important neighborhood watch tries to make a citizen’s arrest. Of course, Spider-Man ends up catching the thief in the end, but not before he vows never to visit suburbia again. Peter David and Bob McLeod remind a person how fun comics can be with this issue.
The New Teen Titans 15 (DC Comics, 1985) — Despite the cover which shows four different puzzle pieces representing the overall Titans mosaic at this point, only three of the vignettes are actually featured in this issue. Wonder Girl, Cyborg and Changling, shown charging determinedly toward something on the cover, do not appear in this issue. However, we do spend a brief time following Arella’s quest to find her daughter, Raven, following rumors of her appearance in a small, southern community. In flashbacks, we hear that Raven was indeed in the town for a while, but once the people there learned of her healing abilities, they took Raven prisoner and forced her to heal more people than she could handle until she escaped. The bulk of this issue pics up with Nightwing, Jericho and Starfire bound for Tamaran on a spaceship. We learn that the political climate on the planet is once again in turmoil, this time, as before, with the trouble being stirred up by Starfire’s sister, Blackfire. The difference is, Blackfire is leading a rather successful rebellion. The Tameranean people have grown tired of the weakness they perceive in their ruler, Myand’r, Starfire’s father. Instead, many of them have embraced Blackfire’s call for open revolt. This, we learn, is the real reason behind Starfire being summoned back home. She is to be wed to the prince of a southern kingdom in an effort to re-unite the Tamaranean people and prevent a civil war. Of course, Starfire is not very happy about this, and neither is her lover, Nightwing.
The Omega Men 34 (DC Comics, 1986) — The tale begun in New Teen Titans 15 picks up again in this title. The Omega Men are a space-faring super team, and one of their members is Ryand’r, Starfire’s younger brother. They are returning to Tamaran after an adventure in their own title. At first, Ryand’r is happy to be reunited with his sister, who has been away on earth for quite some time. But, once the Omegans land and discover the political strife, a traitor is revealed in their midst, and this team, too, is thrown into the middle of the brewing battle.
The New Teen Titans 16-17 (DC Comics, 1986) — These two issues deal with the actual conflict breaking out among the Tamaraneans. First, Blackfire uses the Omegans to battle the Titans for her. We also get some insight into Blackfire’s motivations and learn that while she can be barbaric and cruel, she really does want what is best for her people. Ultimately, Blackfire wins control of the planet because the people are on her side — they are tired of Myand’r seemingly always making concessions to their enemies. This is a warrior race, and they want a warrior to lead them. Unfortunately for the relationship between Nightwing and Starfire, Blackfire does not win until after Starfire is wed to the southern prince according to her father’s wishes. In the end, Starfire, her brother, her mother and her father are exiled by Blackfire. And the starship carrying them to the nearby planet Okaara is destroyed in space. Neither of these issues looks at the other members of the cast during the duration of this conflict.
Jon Sable, Freelance 31-33 (First Comics, 1985-86) — Issues 31 and 32 take Jon on a fact-finding mission to Nicaragua. He is asked by an old friend to be part of a team which will sneak into the country, verify rumors of a munitions storage depot, and if they find the rumors to be false, call off the planned airstrike to destroy the munitions. We meet the various members of the team and follow them into Nicaragua where they find the munitions, but not the ones they expected. Instead of ordinary arms, the weapons they discover are of nuclear strength. An airstrike would be far more destructive than intended, but the team feels they cannot call off the strike and do nothing. So they must find a way to safely destroy the stockpile on their own, and the clock is ticking.
Issue 33 is a more light-hearted tale. In a previous issue, mention is made of turning Jon’s leprechaun children’s books into an animated cartoon. Jon, Eden and Myke go to meet the animator and preview the animation. The illustrator in the story is based on Sergio Aragones, who illustrates the portion of the comic devoted to the leprechauns.
Detective Comics 559 (DC Comics, 1986) — This issue features Batman and Catwoman teaming up with Green Arrow and Black Canary. At this point, Catwoman Selina Kyle knows Bruce Wayne is Batman, the two are romantically involved, and the former thief is the Dark Knight’s sometime ally. Green Arrow and Black Canary come to Gotham trailing a man committing crimes, but for a morally higher purpose, to help bring down a corrupt corporation poisoning unwitting people. The Star City pair stop Batman from catching the thief, and the two male heroes must settle their ideological differences long enough to work together. This tale is by Doug Moench, Gene Colan and Bob Smith.
The Warlord 101-2 (DC Comics, 1986) — A new creative team takes over with issue 101, writer Michael Fleisher and artist Andy Kubert, and I have to say, I’m not so sure about it so far. At the end of issue 100, Morgan returns from his battle with Cykroth to find that Jennifer’s magic spell has taken a toll, Morgan’s daughter is now old and near death. This issue begins the quest to find a cure for Jennifer’s mysterious aging before she dies. First Morgan seeks out the greatest wizard in Skartaris, who agrees to help if Morgan will secure an artifact for him. Once the task is complete, the wizard’s help turns out to be merely pointing the way to look for someone else who might be able to help. In issue 102, Morgan comes across a group of clerics about to perform a human sacrifice. Naturally, Morgan defeats the cleric and frees the damsel who turns out to be an Amazon queen, and the two share an adventure among her people. I don’t know what it is about these issues that has changed for me, and maybe I’ll warm up to them in a few more, but right now, I’m losing interest in The Warlord since Shamballah has been regained.
The Warlord annual 5 (DC Comics, 1986) — This annual is by Michael Fleisher and Adam Kubert. It depicts Morgan on a quest, presumably still the one trying to find a cure for Jennifer, but he is traveling with Shakira, someone who hasn’t been seen in the regular book in a couple issues, so maybe this book takes place a little more into the quest. The focus of this story, however, is not Morgan or his travels, but on outer world events. A group of vacationers is exploring Incan ruins when one of them disappears. Unbeknownst to the others, the man is kidnapped by a secret group of Incans who still live on the edge of Skartaris and travel back and forth between their old home and their new one. Morgan just happens to stumble onto the Incans, tries to help free their captive and seal up their secret entrance to Skartaris. This tale is a bit different from the usual Warlord fare, and just not my cup of tea, I’m afraid. As always, your mileage may vary somewhat as it’s not a bad story.
Whew! That’s was really a bunch of stuff, so I’ll call it a day for now. And again, next time we’ll go back to some truly current comics including a few really good Civil War tie-ins.
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