Don't give up on me just yet

It's been a crazy couple weeks, so no new post once again this week, but here's a small teaser image for the next post, just to let you know I am thinking of things. Just haven't had a chance to write my thoughts down as yet.

In the meantime, happy collecting!

Everything old is new again Vol. 2

Superman No. 353
DC Comics
Creators: Bob Rozakis, Curt Swan, Frank Chiaramonte, Milt Snapinn, Gene D'Angelo and Julius Schwartz
Cover Date: November 1980

I'm still making my way through that large purchase of old Superman comics from the 1970s and early 1980s as I have time. But I came across one story the other day that proved to be very serendipitous timing.

Let's back up. About three weeks before, I was talking comics with a co-worker who shares an interest in the hobby. I honestly don't remember how the topic came up, but I was asking him if he'd read an Elseworlds one-shot from 1993 titled Superman: Speeding Bullets by J.M. Dematteis and Eduardo Barreto. The vast majority of the Elseworlds titles from the 1990s were Batman-centric comics with a few Superman and Justice League titles thrown in here and there. This one had Superman right in the title, but seemed to depict Batman right there on the cover.

The story posits that the rocket from Krypton lands not in Kansas, but on the outskirts of a much smaller Gotham City. And instead of Jonathan and Martha Kent finding the rocket's sole occupant, young couple Thomas and Martha Wayne happen upon the child. Being wealthy and childless, they decide to keep the child and raise him in the seclusion Wayne Manor provides. Martha teaches the young boy about compassion and the need for those who are able to help those who are less fortunate. Thomas teaches the boy to care about the law and doing what is right. And they are a happy family until one night when the boy, named Bruce Wayne by his adoptive parents, is 9 years old. The family is leaving the theater when they are mugged by a small-time hood named Joe Chill.

The parents are killed, and the anger, hurt and pain that Bruce feels explode out of him in the form of hot death from his eyes, something that traumatizes the child even more. Guilt and shame consume the boy to the point that he forgets the details of what happened, and he lives in seclusion until he reaches the age of 21. More powers and abilities have developed in the meantime, but it is at this point that the Wayne's butler, and Bruce's surrogate father, Alfred, tries to help the young man by revealing what is known about his origins. The shock of seeing the rocket brings back the traumatic memories of the night Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed, and Bruce swears to take out his anger and loathing on the lawless as a creature of the night named Batman.

Bruce pursues that mission in the daytime by buying the Gotham Gazette and serving as its crusading publisher and in the night by brutally punishing all who would prey on others as the Baman. Only by making a new friend does Bruce come to realize that his brutal nighttime methods make him little better than the criminals he opposes, and he chooses to follow a different path.

Of course, I didn't recall all of those details in the conversation with my co-worker. It had been several years since I last read Speeding Bullets. But about a week after that conversation, I came across the book while going through part of my collection looking for something else. I re-read the issue, then took it to work to let my co-worker borrow it since he seemed interested and hadn't previously read the story. Then, just a few days later, I sat down to read Superman No. 353, the next in my stack.

Those familiar with the nearly 40-year-old comic might recognize that the page pictured at the top of this post is not from the main story. Rather it is an eight-page backup story from the issue titled "The Secret Origin of Bruce (Superman) Wayne," and I was happy to read a very similar — but also very different — story to Superman: Speeding Bullets.

In the 1980 tale, as in the 1993 one, the rocket from Krypton again (or previously) crashes on the then-outskirts of a smaller Gotham City. In this instance, however, the young baby Kal-El breaks out of the rocket on his own and begins to crawl toward town when he is spotted by a young Gotham City patrolman named James W. Gordon. Gordon makes a report to his desk sergeant, asking if anyone has reported a missing baby. Finding no such reports, he decides to take the child to his friend, Dr. Thomas Wayne, to ensure the child is uninjured. Dr. Wayne and his wife, Martha, decide to keep the baby until his real parents can be located rather than having the infant sent to an orphanage, and Gordon agrees. When no one comes forward, the Waynes adopt the child and name him Bruce.

True to Superman's earlier origins, this child from Krypton already has most of his future powers even as an infant rather than developing them over time and exposure to earth's yellow sun. The Waynes notice evidence of Bruce's unusual abilities right away — his impervious skin, his ability to fly and his X-ray vision — but keep quiet about them until the fateful encounter with Joe Chill.

In this instance, the quick-thinking young Bruce uses his super speed to reach out and grab the bullets before they can strike either of his adoptive parents. Chill, spooked by the turn of events, tries to shoot the boy directly and is instead hit by a ricochet off the boy's invulnerable chest. Patrolman Gordon, alerted by the sound of the gunshots, arrives on the scene in time to hear Chill's dying words, a confession that he was hired to kill the Waynes by mobster Lew Moxon.

Moxon is jailed. Gordon is promoted to sergeant for his part in the case. And the Waynes finally decide to confide in someone — their friend, Gordon — about young Bruce's abilities. The three adults continue to be a guiding influence in shaping the man young Bruce will grow into. Then, on Bruce's 21st birthday, at a party thrown for him by his parents, the recently paroled Lew Moxon shows up to take his revenge. Bruce quickly disguises himself and thwarts the mob boss, thus beginning his career as Superman, aided by his parents and their friend, now Commissioner Gordon.

I know a lot of stories and ideas get recycled in comics, and the longer a reader is involved in the hobby, the more instances you will find. But it was particularly fun and timely to discover this version of Superman being Bruce Wayne so soon after talking about and re-discovering a later story that starts in the same place but takes a much different route to get to a similar ending. The simple germ of an idea can go in many different directions depending on the creators and the time in which it is developed. 

Everything old is new again

Deathstroke the Terminator Nos. 6-9
DC Comics
Creators: Marv Wolfman, Steve Erwin and Will Blyberg
Cover date: January-April 1992

Among the April 2018 solicitations for DC Comics is this blurb for Deathstroke No. 30: "'Deathstroke vs. Batman' part one! Beginning this month, a six-issue series-within-a-series featuring the ultimate showdown between DC’s fiercest rivals!"

I've read some issues of the current Deathstroke series and enjoyed them, so I mean no disrespect to writer Christopher Priest or artist Carlo Pagulayan when I raise the question: Are fans really clamoring for this face-off? Isn't this a bit of old news? These two characters squared off long ago in a truly excellent tale that avoided a number of potential pitfalls. Go check it out; it's well worth your time!

Let's give this tale a little bit of context. Deathstroke debuted alongside Marv Wolfman's and George Perez's The New Teen Titans in 1980. Longtime Titans foes the H.I.V.E. tried to hire the mercenary, Slade Wilson, to slay the teenage heroes, but he refused, preferring to avoid conflict with costumed vigilantes. So the H.I.V.E. set about engaging Deathstroke's services by involving his estranged son, Grant. Grant accepted the contract, but died while attacking the Titans, and Deathstroke, a man of honor, felt bound to complete his son's contract against his own better judgment.

This touched off a long antagonistic relationship between the Titans and Deathstroke that reached its conclusion in "The Judas Contract" storyline in 1984. Deathstroke finally fulfilled the terms of that original contract by successfully capturing all of the Titans and turning them over to the H.I.V.E. The heroes survived and escaped, but Deathstroke saw his obligation as fulfilled when he turned the Titans over. That wasn't the end of the character's history, however.

Deathstroke proved popular and was used as a villain in many other DC Comics. Some of those appearances made for good stories; some were less well conceived, especially in light of the character's ongoing appearances in the New Teen Titans title. Deathstroke made amends with the various Titans characters following "The Judas Contract" and even served as an ally to the team in the "Titans Hunt" storyline several years later. The character was still a mercenary for hire, but one with a rigid code of honor and ethics. Not everyone, especially a superhero, would agree with all of Deathstroke's decisions and actions, but the character was given more depth by Wolfman's continued use of him. He certainly wasn't a hero, but he could be someone readers could root for in a number of situations.

Following the "Titans Hunt" storyline, Deathstroke was given his own title. Many of the stories in this book took Wilson to foreign countries, often ones at war, where killing and mercenaries could be viewed outside the moral absolutes of most superhero stories. Wolfman's continued great writing and characterization made Deathstroke a more multi-faceted character, and Steve Erwin and Will Blyberg gave the art a crisp, clean, dynamic appearance.

The first story arc of the title re-examined Deathstroke's origin and added details to it while taking Wilson on an emotional journey through all of the tragedies of his life. I'm sure the addition of Batman in the second story arc was an attempt to pull in more readers with a more superhero-centric tale. But including a character like Batman could have backfired for the book.

Deathstroke is the title character of the book, which is also a new book to comic stands. It wouldn't be good to have the title character losing a fight. But neither is Batman a character DC would want to see put to shame in a matchup. Remember, the height of Batmania began in 1989 and is still going very strong in 1992. So they could fight to a draw? That wouldn't be satisfying for fans.

Instead, Wolfman smartly avoids having the characters go head-to-head. Remember, this Batman was very different from the Batman of today in one key regard. He's the world's best detective, an excellent combatant and a brilliant tactician. That has been — and always should be — a part of the Batman mythos. But in the early 1990s, Batman was still willing to work alongside other heroes, to trust other heroes and to listen to what other people had to say. Also, remember that Deathstroke at this point had very recently been an ally of the Titans.

In the "City of Assassins" storyline, Wolfman has Batman and Deathstroke working toward a common goal rather than at odds. There is an initial confrontation, and Deathstroke, an enhanced human, does have the upper hand against the Dark Knight, who while in peak form, is still human. But from the outset, Batman suspects that Deathstroke might be on the side of the angels after consulting with Nightwing for information about the mercenary. When others are quick to assume Deathstroke to be one of many bad guys in the scenario, Batman looks at the evidence of what has happened and rightly concludes that assumption is incorrect.

As an added bonus, this storyline also is the one that introduces the third character to bear the name Vigilante in the DC Universe. I strongly recommend it if you've never read it before. And even if you have, it is well worth another look if you haven't read it in a while!