Triumph #1 (1995)

Triumph #1 (June, 1995)
"The Machine"
Writer - Christopher Priest
Pencils - Mike Miller
Inks - John Stokes
Letters - Chris Eliopoulos
Colors - Lee Loughridge
Assistant Edits - Alisande Morales
Edits - Brian Augustyn
Cover Price: $1.75

Today we're dipping into the Files of the Forgotten Founder... of the Justice League of America... Triumph!

This is one I've wanted to talk about for a while now, and just never got around to it.  Probably because every time I attempted to read this, I'd stop about eight pages in out of sheer boredom.  I love Christopher Priest's work, but this... is kind of a bear.

One thing I'm interested to learn is how the internet feels about this Triumph feller.  We've talked before how on the internet and social media we sometimes huddle around an "unpopular opinion" to the point where it suddenly becomes the popular opinion... and yet, we continue to pat ourselves on the back for daring to hold the "unpopular opinion".  I'm wondering if this might be the case for Triumph.  A character and concept that was pretty soundly poo-pooed back in the long ago... I have a sneaking suspicion I'm about to hear at least a handful of folks who share in the "unpopular opinion" that Triumph's maybe... not quite so bad.

Let's find out together!

--

Our story opens... with a flashback!  This is some years back where we join Jimmy MacIntyre and Doctor Cobalt attempting to flee from the police long enough to stash a box full'a loot.  There's an attempt at some sort of banter here, but it kind of falls flat for me.  Jimmy the Wheelman drives toward an older house that has been slated for demolition.  He'd spied this joint out because it's equipped with an old bomb shelter, where they can stash the MacGuffin for now.

We join the police, who are working alongside Hourman.  Jimmy Mac and Doc Cobalt try to blow past the roadblock, but are literally stopped in their tracks by the pill-popper.  Cobalt goes to blast the good guys, but gets socked in the face by Jimmy.  Hourman thanks him for the save, and we learn that Jimmy Mac was simply returning a favor to Rex.  I assume more will come out of that deeper into the series.

We jump to a trailer park, where it's li'l Willie MacIntyre's birthday... and he's been waiting for his father to return all day long.  His mother calls him inside... and, slump-shouldered in the knowledge that his dad ain't comin', he obliges.

Not long after, the police start rollin' up.  Mrs. MacIntyre shoves li'l Will to the floor and tells him to stay down while she deals with the cops... the boy does as he's told, and we begin our segue into the "present day"...

... which is, unfortunately, just about as tonally different as anything we'd just read.

Triumph, which is to say, William MacIntyre, is doing some Mission: Impossible type stuff here.  He's connected via an earpiece to... seemingly dozens of people (it's not quite that many, but it sure feels overwhelming at first!), and is scoping out a freighter that is working with the Russian Mob to illegally transport folks into the United States... and by "folks", we're talkin' like thousands of people crammed into this tub!  Triumph and Company save the day... without even breaking a sweat.  Makes you wonder why Triumph doesn't just work alone.

He radios into... Wilma... or maybe it's Fang... or maybe it's even another person.  This dude's gotta lotta voices in his head.  He asks about Father Rocko, who was supposed to check into Rivera's Bank.  Long as it's not Rivera's Vault, I'm cool with following this story thread.  This takes us right to the good father, who is sniffin' around some shady-looking place.  One fella in particular, a "Brother Mark", doesn't really appreciate his line of questioning... and so, he shoots the Padre point-blank in the chest.  Unfortunately for him... it's not very effective.

Next, we learn about another Triumph associate, Eddie X.  Wow, they're sure dropping a ton of cast members I don't care about on us right off the bat.  Feels like we're back reading the Black Canary bits from Action Comics Weekly!  Anyhoo, Eddie X is currently on board a train car... shooting a bunch of fools, while speaking Spanglish.

He then takes a seat at a table with a couple of shifty-looking fellas.  They share in a mildly-contentious chat before Eddie shoots one in the chest with a special "gel" bullet.  Apparently, this ammo really screws with your CNS.  We learn that this conversation is happening in the first place because of a little girl named Bonita Phillips... yeesh, yet another name we have to remember.  Turns out, Bonita was a nine-year old girl who these baddies hit with their car while fleeing the police.

Triumph enters the train car to further press this interrogation... buuuut, winds up getting shot in the back by some lunatic.  To add insult to injury, he tells Eddie-the-X that he'd kissed his mama five times.  Gasp... the absolute villain!

A firefight breaks out... and naturally, Triumph is... uh, triumphant.  He calls Eddie X an idiot for letting this escalate the way it did... though, in fairness, it seems with Eddie, what you see is what you get.  It really shouldn't have been a surprise that when the goin' got tough, he'd just start squeezing the trigger.

From here we get three entire pages of Triumph trying to stop this train.  Three pages... of train-wrestling.  Yeesh.

From here, we jump to Bonita's funeral.  Triumph is in attendance.  As he gazes upon the mourning family, for a brief moment... Doctor Cobalt appears!  When he looks back, he's gone.

Later on, Will decides to have one of his operatives check into Doctor Cobalt.  Man, just how many geeks does he have working for him?  Anyhoo, it turns out that... Doc Cobalt is... dead!  He contracted Cancer while in prison, and passed away within half a year.  Will decides to have them run some more names through the system... including Big Daddy Jimmy Mac.  We learn here that Will's Dad is... at large, having escaped from the clink a month ago!

After a flashback to his childhood, where Li'l Will sees his father hauled away to jail, we wrap up in the present... where, William fires Eddie da X!  Ooooooh.  Imagine if we gave half a crap about this guy?

--

This was... uh, somethin'.

Definitely a bit of a slog... especially for a first chapter.  We just had way too many disjointed scenes connected by way too many new and unknown characters.  I'm trying to connect the boat scene to the train scene... and, outside of one happening first, it feels like there was no reason for both to have occurred here.  Actually, by the time we wrapped up the train scene, I'd forgotten all about the smuggling ship!

I get that Priest was going a different way with this... because, if we're being honest, Triumph, outside of his "secret origin"... just isn't all that interesting!  Like, at all.  Heck, I'm sure many people think his retconny introduction as a founding member of the Justice League of America isn't all that interesting either!  Well, uninteresting or infuriating... take your pick.

Personally, I don't have a problem with the Zero Hour retcon.  It reminds me quite a bit of Marvel's Sentry... which, I'm certain I'd read before even putting two and two together on Triumph.  Thing is, Sentry... just like Triumph, is only interesting in his "forgotten character" origin.  Everything else about him... kinda sucks.

I've used "Dagwood Sandwich" as a descriptor a time or two before, when discussing stories that are just crammed with far too many layers of "stuff".  As with any actual sandwich Dagwood Bumstead might create, you wonder why there's a sliver of hard-boiled egg under like 8 lbs. of cold cuts... it's not like it's going to actually add anything to the experience, right?

That's kind of what I'm feeling with this story... the only thing is, it's like a two-foot tall sandwich, filled only with olives or something.  There's no "meat", but there's still too much "stuff".  Ya follow?

While doing some of my (shallow) research, I came across a missive written by Christopher Priest that deals with some of the frustrations he'd faced in co-creating and writing for the character of Triumph.  He makes it plainly clear that nobody liked the guy... fans, readers, even DC staffers.  They wanted this character gone.  He also writes a bit about this very miniseries, where he actually has some of the same gripes I've already discussed above!

Too many layers... from the man himself!  There's some validation for your favorite idiot blogger.  He's right on the money.  This was just too many elements being jammed into a story that simply wasn't interesting enough to carry it.  He mentions that the creative team didn't quite gel... which, I dunno... I thought, outside of the "story", all of the nuts and bolts were there.  I really liked the art... and felt it was able to tell the story Priest was looking to tell pretty well.  It's just that... the story, like the titular character, isn't all that interesting.

I will say, I was pretty captivated during the flashback portion.  That opening half-dozen or so pages was quite well done, and is usually about as far as I'd usually get though when trying to read through this in the past.  It's only when we get to Triumph, with skatey-eight hundred voices in his ear scoping out that freighter where my eyes begin to glaze over.

Sorta surprisingly, this miniseries doesn't appear to be available on DC Digital... though, it's probably plentiful in the next quarter-bin you decide to dig though.  Is it worth a read?  Ehh.  I didn't care for it, and feel absolutely no desire to read the subsequent 3/4's of this thing... but, as always... your mileage may vary!

--

Interesting Ads:

ACW #635 - Green Lantern

Action Comics Weekly #635 (Green Lantern)
"The End"
Writer/Plots - James Owsley
Pencils/Plots - M.D. Bright
Inks - Romeo Tanghal
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Colors - Julianna Ferriter & Amory Williams
Assistant Editor - Dan Raspler
Editor - Denny O'Neil

Well... here we are, my friends... the final Green Lantern chapter in Action Comics Weekly!  It's a pretty surreal feeling... I mean, Green Lantern and Superman have been our two constants over these past thirty-five weeks... and to think, our "flagship feature" won't be with us for the rest of the run!

Well, Green Lantern and Superman will star in the last-ever Action Comics Weekly (both versions), so all's not lost.  We'll see Hal again... in about seven weeks.

--

We open with Hal hoofin' it away from Malvolio... if you recall, last time out, Big Mal destroyed Hal's Power Ring, leaving our hero rather defenseless against any further assault.  Hal provides us with a bit of exposition via his internal monologue... he headed into space in pursuit of that Wooden Bethel Shrine (remember that?), and ran afoul of Malvolio... a 300 year-old man whose father was a Green Lantern (who Mal himself murdered).  His mother was an Earth woman.  That about catch us up?  Anyhoo, Hal attempts to put a little space between he and the big bad, to buy himself some time to consider his options.

Hal finds himself in a sort of armory... where all of the guns appear to be made of gold.  Great!  Thinks he, if these weapons are gold... Malvolio won't be able to effect them.  I... uh... thought we already learned that Mal's Power Ring works a little bit differently than the rest of the Corps?  I didn't imagine that, did I?  Whatever the case, Hal "suits up"...

... and before long looks like the prototype for many a Liefeldian character yet to come!  Just like many of those Liefeldian characters, Hal Jordan proves to be a rather lousy shot with his giant cannon.  Missing Malvolio with every blast, he does manage to punch many holes into the side of the golden space station... almost getting sucked into the vacuum of space in the process.  If not for Malvolio saving his bacon with an emerald construct, anyway...

Hal flops down to the ground right in front of the baddie... and he's down to his final weapon, a golden bow and arrow.  Malvolio laughs... and, uh... I can't really blame him.  After some tough-guy talk, Hal draws back... and releases, right into Malvolio's heart!

Now, here's the rub.  Hal, stood over the prone body... takes Malvolio's Power Ring, and heads back toward Earth.

Back in the station... Malvolio wakes up, plucks the arrow from his chest, and gets back on his feet.  He's... pleased.

Ya see, he wanted Hal Jordan to take his Power Ring with him back to Earth... that was the whole point of this.  Suddenly, the golden space station disappears, and Malvolio stands in complete blackness.  Where he'd sadly remain... even until today.

--

Well, that's a wrap for the Green Lantern feature!  We've gone from the brutal murder of Katma Tui... to the arrest of John Stewart... to an appearance on Oprah... to the introduction of the Freak Show... to the break-up with Arisia... to an intergalactic peace summit with Priest... to the Bethel Traveler, and a tangle with Captain Atom... and finally, to Lord Malvolio.  It's been a weird arc, hasn't it?

It's hard to talk about the biggest takeaway from this chapter without diving headfirst into the crazy amount of possibilities, and "back doors" it presents.  What we have is Hal Jordan returning to Earth... wearing the Power Ring of a madman!  While pretty much all of this bit was swept under the rug... it did actually get a passing mention a few years later in Green Lantern (vol.3) #25 (June, 1992).

Green Lantern (vol.3) #25 (June, 1992)

So, even in the post-Emerald Dawn landscape, Malvolio's Ring was still a thing.  Haven't the foggiest idea it wasn't ever brought up again after this... but, it's there!  And so, it could be argued that... when Hal went cuckoo-bananas during Emerald Twilight, he was wearing Malvolio's Ring!  This fact was not lost on many USENETters of the day, who held to the possibility that Hal's eventual retribution would be facilitated by the return of Malvolio (and not via the introduction of a giant yellow fear bug from outer space).

In fact, James Owsley... then, Christopher Priest held firm that Malvolio was the key to undoing the whole Parallax mess!  In a USENET post, dated April 26, 1996 he would shed much light on Malvolio, including:

“Malvolio’s ring is DC’s instant way out of this Parallax business.  They’ll never use it, but it is there.”

While we're already looking the USENET post... let's dig a bit deeper:

Regarding Malvolio's vital stats:

“Born in England in the year 1612.  His father was an offworlder, a Green Lantern from Space Sector 1634.  There was no GL of Earth at that time. Malvie’s dad was a big blue-skinned guy.  He fell in love with an Earth woman (probably against the Guardians’ wishes)”

Regarding his Alan Scott-esque Uniform:

“There was a reason for that, but I honestly can’t remember.  I believe we were going to asset Scott’s uniform was actually based on Malvolio’s”

Is there any connection between Malvolio and Alan Scott?

“Nope.”

Did Malvolio's Power Ring work on wood?

“Malvolio, like Priest, doesn’t need a ring.  See, Denny O’Neil (my GL editor at the time) and I agree the limitations of Hal’s ring were (ironically) imposed to keep him from going nuts.  That the limitations were mostly mental or post-hypnotic. Malvolio didn’t know any of the rules. He doesn’t know his ring can’t work on yellow, so Malvie’s ring *can*.  In fact, Malvie, like Priest, can connect to the GL force without a ring.”

Did it work on yellow?

“It *did* work on yellow.”

What of Malvolio's father?

“Malvolio was/is insane.  A congenital defect. He has major ego problems.  Although he worshipped his dad, at some point he realized his dad was an idiot and that he, Malvolio, alone should have the power of the ‘green flame’.  He killed his dad in his sleep--an incredibly ignoble gesture, and something that fuels Malvie’s insanity all the more.”

What's his connection to Priest (the character, not the dude)?

“Malvolio was never a Green Lantern.  His father was. Malvie killed dad and took his ring--but he was never a member of the Corps … On behalf of the Guardians of the Universe, Priest fought Lord Malvolio … Priest was booted out of the GL Corps by the Guardians because he refused to kill Malvolio.  Instead, Priest imprisoned Malvie and the little fathead pipsqueaks took Priest’s stripes.”

Explanation of "Malvolio's World"...

“Here’s where it gets loopy, and yes, it’s probably my fault:  ‘Malvolio’s World’, the mountain retreat, the alien scientist--everything we saw in that arc (we discussed this last week)--was an illusion.  Malvolio was in JAIL, imprisoned by Priest and looking for a way out. He brought Hal there and created all this B-S for one purpose only… to get Hal to put on Malvolio’s ring, which Parallax wears today.”

Well... the dude (Hal) who'd become Parallax wore it when he went nuts, but close enough.  At this point, Kyle Rayner was wearing a "reforged" version of that Power Ring.  Kyle would eventually get a short-lived super-baddie called Oblivion... who some, back in the day, thought had ties to Big Mal.

What's next for Malvolio (as of 1996)?

“I’ve tried no fewer than six times to bring Malvolio back.  DC has no interest in the character. In 1992 I pitched ‘The Freedom Fighters’, a super-heroic (sort of) team consisting of Ray, Black Condor, Phantom Lady, the Hawks, Starman and Arion the Immortal.  The team’s unlikely warped Professor X? Malvolio. DC declined it.”

A lot of interesting information there... in particular, the idea of "Malvolio's World".  As we saw during this final chapter, everything faded to black at the end... everything Hal (and by extension, we) saw was a fake... an illusion!  Everything there was in service of Malvolio ensuring that Hal took his ring back to Earth.

That's really just about all they ever wrote on Lord Malvolio... outside of the Sleepers Novel, during which (from what I understand) he made some sort of pact with Adolf Hitler, and battled Alan Scott.  I don't consider the novels to be "canon", so... it is, what it is.  The entire Sleepers trilogy is available in audio format from Graphic Audio, if anyone's interested.

And so, that does it for Hal, Mal... and the entire ACW-GL feature!

Tomorrow: The Compilation of 635... already!

ACW #634 - Green Lantern

Action Comics Weekly #634 (Green Lantern)
"Total War"
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Colors - Tony Tollin
Inks - Romeo Tanghal
Assistant Editor - Dan Raspler
Editor - Denny O'Neil
Everything Else - James Owsley & M.D. Bright

We're starting this week with last week's "secret word"...

Yes, folks... this is our penult--err, second-to-last Green Lantern chapter!  Hard to believe we've come all this way!  Even harder to believe that, after next week, we won't be talking about Hal anymore!  We've got some weird times ahead, friends!

--

We open with a... wordy as all get out monologue from our main-man Malvolio!  He threatens our Mr. Jordan that he will be the last thing he ever sets his eyes upon.  While he continues to pontificate, Hal uses his ring to scan the station for signs of life.  He does not find any.  He blames himself for their needless deaths... which, I dunno, since Action Comics Weekly started up has kinda been Hal's "thing".  As Malvolio begins to talk about his dear old dad, Hal gets up and looks as though he's fixin' to walk away.  Mal takes this as a grand gesture of disrespect, and informs him if he ever "shows him his back" again, he'll kill him.

Hal lets loose with an energy blast, which actually manages to catch Mal by surprise.  Only one problem with Hal's offensive assault... this entire rig's made out of yellow, and while that doesn't seem to inhibit Malvolio's power... Hal isn't quite as lucky!

But then, via the power of... I dunno, editorial intervention?  The fact that we're rapidly running out of pages?  Hal just starts blasting the ever-lovin' bejeezus out of Malvolio... and manages to take him off his feet!

Hal approaches the now-seated Malvolio, and proceeds to rain down punches upon his dome.  After a number of good "WHAAM!'s", Hal stops himself from going any further.  He says nobody has to die... after all, (as far as Hal knows) they both took the Green Lantern Oath.  They're almost like family!  If only Hal knew what Malvolio did to his actual family...

Hal regains his composure, and goes to walk away.  Hmm... looks like he's forgotten all about Mal's warning regarding "showing his back", doesn't it?

Malvolio draws a gun... and fires it right into Hal's Power Ring, rendering it to little more than green bits!

--

Who's ready for a Chris-hot-take?!  Nobody, huh?  Well, then I apologize for this here paragraph.  This is silly and minor, but stuck out to me nonetheless.  If you notice the way I wrote out the credits bit... Albert DeGuzman and Tony Tollin get "top billing".  Sure, we can look at that as a little funny-ha-ha gag (and that very well might be the case), but part of me wonders if this was Priest's way (if Priest, in fact, had any sway over the credits layout) of maybe protesting the way Green Lantern would be moving forward in a pretty drastically different direction than the one he mapped out?  Maybe Denny and Dan were just as irked?  I dunno... this is nothing more than a silly hot-take... probably loaded to the brim with projection!  It's kinda what I do.

For the chapter itself?  Man alive, I loved it!  A knock-down, drag-out fight... with Malvolio really giving Hal the business!  I tell ya, this fella could've been a hyooge part of Green Lantern's rogue's gallery... I mean, I feel like you could build an entire event around him!  He's twisted, pompous, powerful... really, the total package when it comes to an A-Tier baddie!

I joked during the synopsis that Hal only gained the upper-hand via the powers of "editorial intervention"... but, we're going to learn that Malvolio was never really without control.  He's insane, yes, but also... knows how to get what he wants.  Every move is calculated... we might even end this arc with him getting the proverbial "last laugh".  Sure, it won't actually go anywhere... but, well... we'll talk all about that next week.

We'll actually be talking about a whole lot next week... Priest's plans for the character (in and out of Green Lantern), the way in which one of Hal's most character-defining moments could have been traced back to this very arc.  It's going to be equal parts fun, enlightening, and frustrating!  Doncha dare miss it!

Tomorrow: The Phantom Stranger is still fighting with a cat.

ACW #633 - Green Lantern

Action Comics Weekly #633 (Green Lantern)
"Apocalypse"
Writer/Plots - James Owsley
Pencils/Plots - M.D. Bright
Inks - Romeo Tanghal
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Colors - Anthony Tollin
Assistant Editor - Dan Raspler
Editor - Denny O'Neil

Ya know, yesterday I posted the letters page from Action Comics Weekly #632.  In it, there is a missive regarding the upcoming change in format for the title, back to it's regular monthly Superman-centric dealie.

Made me stop and realize... we're getting there!  We're really getting there!  Then, also yesterday, I decided to get a few weeks ahead on my "re-branded" covers for this project... and came to yet another realization.  Green Lantern, arguably the "main" feature of this entire endeavor... only has two weeks left before it goes away!  I actually did my first few cover-edits without having to drag 'n drop the green one in!

Time flies when you're not payin' attention!

--

We open with Lord Malvolio insisting upon Hal Jordan that he will never leave the wherever-the-hell he currently is.  Hal's more shocked that this big galoot didn't think twice before killing that poor blue-skinned scientist.  And so, Hal attempts to trap Mal in an energy bubble so they might exchange words before fists... this, unfortunately for him, proves wildly ineffective!

Malvolio even goes as far as suggesting that Hal's power levels are so piddly, that he's actually disappointed in him.  Ya see, Hal's got a Power Ring... he really ought to be so much better than this.  Hal's all "Oh yeah?" and delivers a wallop of a blast... which, uh, Malvolio basically just strolls right through.

Proving to Hal that his power is akin to bringing the proverbial knife to a gunfight, his Lordship leaps into the air, and blasts Hal with such force that it literally sends him completely through the planet and out the other end!

Lucky for Hal, his Power Ring managed to protect him from... well, whatever might happen to a person who passes through the core of a planet... and so, he decides to blow this pop-stand, and look for somewhere he might be able to catch his breath.  What he finds is a satellite/space station, made entirely of... gold?!

Inside, he ponders that the people inside might've crafted this place to be safe from Lord Malvolio... ya know, since gold and yellow are so similar.  Then, he finds something rather curious... in the middle of the station sits a giant Green Lantern Battery.  What's more, all of the inhabitants of the station appear to be... worshiping it!  Upon sight, the aliens all call to Hal... believing him to be "one of the chosen".  I guess Superman's not the only guy in Action Comics Weekly to get a little weird worship!

Before getting his bearings, Hal is nyoinked into an adjacent room by, of all things, another human!  He introduces himself as Wallace, a Squire to Lord Malvolio.  We learn here that Mal was never a chosen Green Lantern... ya know, where the ring seeks you out and all that jazz?  It was Lord Malvolio's father who actually wielded the ring.  That is, until Mal killed him in his sleep, and stole the ring (and it's power) for himself.  He would then travel to the far corners of the universe (finally winding up in Priest's Sector, no less!), in search of... competition... sport... adventure... friendship?  Hmm...

Hal assures Wallace that they're both safe from Malvolio aboard the station... at least Malvolio's Ring-Slinging, anyway.  Wallace scoffs at the notion, and assures our man that the Golden Space Station isn't a refuge from Malvolio... it's a shrine to him.  Ya see, color ain't no thang to the Big M.  And then, right on cue, Malvolio's giant mitt bursts through a window and grabs Hal by the mush.

We wrap up with Lord Malvolio seemingly destroying the Space Station Shrine... and, likely everyone on board!

--

Oh, this is just so good!  This is what I've been looking forward to talking about for over a half year... and, as disappointed as it makes me that it never went anywhere, it's still one heckuva read.

I don't want to go too deep into what Malvolio was intended to be, or where his story was likely supposed to go... yet.  We'll discuss that at length in a couple of weeks.  I did way too much research on that topic during our "Hal Jordan's Action Comics" series of episodes on the Cosmic Treadmill.  Dug up old USENET and random forum posts written by Christopher Priest, there's a lot of great (and maddeningly disappointing, because none of it ever panned out) information that I'll share here when we wrap up this arc.  There's also that Green Lantern: Sleepers series of novels that we'll be talking about.

While on that subject, here's a snap of the inside front fold from Sleepers, Vol. 2:

And then, Malvolio arrives.

Here though, we learn that... Big Mal is able to shake off just about anything Hal can throw at him.  Not only that, it doesn't look like he has the same aversion to yellow that the rest of the Corps did!  Also... damn, dude's powerful, ain't he?  Literally punching Hal through an entire planet?  This is how you make a bad guy look strong!

It's also revealed that Malvolio was never a "chosen" member of the Green Lantern Corps.  Indeed, it was his father who served as a Green Lantern... Malvolio just wound up killing him and swiping the ring for himself.  I didn't know Power Rings worked that way... but, I also thought they all had that Yellow Impurity as well, so what do I know?  It'll all make sense soon... sorta.

Overall... this is some great stuff.  Some seeds (that would sadly never sprout) get planted here... but, still... I'd say this is "must reading" for fans of Green Lantern lore.

Tomorrow: Outta the Cat-Pan...