Superman #281 (November, 1974)
"Mystery Mission to Metropolis!"
Writer - Cary Bates
Penciller - Curt Swan
Inker - Bob Oksner
Editor - Julius Schwartz
Cover Price: $0.20
Here's a fella I've wanted to talk about for awhile... Vartox!
Now, if you're browsing blogs relating to relatively-ancient DC Comics, you probably already know a thing or two about this... the manliest man who ever done manned.
Like, he was based on Sean Connery... in a couple of ways! First, in his looks... I mean, it's kinda "on the nose", right?
Also, the name "Vartox" is an allusion to the Connery film, Zardoz... from which this look originated.
I think it's going to be a good time getting to know this fella... he might even require a few revisits...
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We open with a prologue, set on two worlds. On one, a woman working the cash register at a Metropolis shop is shot dead. On the other, a similar looking woman... just dies! The latter, it turns out, is the new wife of superhero, Vartox! Vartox arrives home, however, it's too late to save her.
He takes her body to the... I dunno, "science place" so they can perform an "Autopsican", and get to the bottom of just why she dropped. Turns out, she died because the murdered cashier in Metropolis is her... get this, Bionic Twin! They were biologically linked. Well, Vartox wants revenge on the fella who did this... and so, he "tunes in" on Metropolis. He learns they have a superhero as well, and knows that what he feels he must do might become complicated should he have a run-in with Superman.
Before we know it, Vartox arrives in the skies above Metropolis. Superman is there waiting for him, because... ya see, Vart sent an "inter-galactic-gram" before heading over. He, Vartox that is, explains what he must to... but Superman ain't feelin' it. No matter for our foreign fashion plate... he's gonna do, what he's gotta do!
We shift scenes to the Metropolis State Penitentiary, where Lois Lane is interviewing the alleged murderer, Frank Sykes. As they chat, he reveals that his lawyer is this close to getting him off... which, if true, it's no wonder there are so many vigilantes in the DC Universe. Anyhoo, Vartox swipes him straight outta the Pen!
Well, not so fast there kemosabe, Superman's caught up with ya! For the next couple of pages, they brawl through the air... until, Vartox hammers Superman with an energy blast to the chest... which ricochets off of him, and winds up hitting (and killing!) Lois Lane. Despite how it looks on the cover, Vartox is very apologetic.
None of this matters though, because... it's just a "mental projection". Wonk wonk wonkkkkk....
Back in the "real world", Lois and Clark are headed... somewhere. They discuss how Frank Sykes actually did get off for the murder... and what's more, since their law prohibits "double jeopardy", ol' Sykes cannot be tried for the same crime again... so, he's just a free man! Oh yeah, also... Vartox shows up, but this time doesn't send an inter-galactic-gram-or-whatever.
Elsewhere, Frank is being reamed out over the phone by his brother Teddy. Teddy was responsible for hooking him up with that fabulous lawyer... but, that was the last favor he'll ever do for the deadbeat. Then... just minutes later, Teddy calls back to inform Frank that he's sending a "very special friend" to keep an eye on his little brother. Upon hanging up, Teddy has no idea why he made that call... but we know! Ya see, Vartox mentally possessed Teddy and made him make that call, so that he might get a closer look at ol' Frank.
Frank's not all that keen on working alongside "Vart", until the alien visitor convinces him that he (Frank) has some latent superpowers, controlled by the snap of his fingers. They teleport into "Spiffany's" (... clever) and steal a glowing jewel so big you could choke a horse with it!
Elsewhere, Lois and Clark are taking a Judo class. Lois, naturally, tosses Clark all ova da place. Clark uses his time on the mat to take a telescopic glance into Frank Sykes' apartment... and what he sees is, well... Frank and Vartox, and that big ol' jewel.
Clark excuses himself from the lesson, claiming... I dunno, sour stomach or something... then, Supes up and confronts the two nogoodniks. Vartox makes it look as though Sykes is using superpowers in order to keep the Man of Steel at bay. before "snapping" them both away. Superman shakes out the cobwebs, and decides to... not pursue the baddies, but check in at Spiffany's.
Superman learns that the stolen jewel was never the property of Spiffany's. At the same time, Vart reveals to Sykes that he is an alien from the far away... and tells him that the glowing jewel is actually a rare artifact worth millions... on his world. Sykes agrees to take the trek.
Superman arrives just as they're leaving... via a strange beam. He follows them into space, and even saves them from the certain doom of smashing into a fragment of a white dwarf star! Vartox is shocked that Superman hasn't tried to stop him.
Finally they arrive on Valeron... and the other shoe drops! Vartox lets him know the straight dope on their trip, Sykes is under arrest for the murder of his (unnamed) wife! The sentence... sixty years!
What's more, Vartox broke zero laws bringing him here! Ya see, the "stolen" rock, was his... also, there was technically no abduction, since Sykes came of his own free will! Then, Superman arrives... and everything gets straightened out. Vartox even lets him take Sykes home with him, since... on Valeron, they serve sentences a bit differently. It's revealed that the murderer has been aged sixty years! Superman doesn't really bat an eye... which makes sense, because this aging-dealie is still far less uncool than, say... banishing someone into the Phantom Zone!
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Ya know, this was pretty good!
Anytime I look at Vartox, I kinda just assume that he's a "funny, ha ha" character. Like he'd be the "Mort of the Month" several months running in Wizard Magazine or something. I'm almost positive he'd made at least one appearance there!
I'm surprised to see how un-jokey he is here. He's methodical, and smart (for the Bronze Age, anyway)... plus, his origin story... is a horribly sad one! Not all that much to laugh about (besides his outfit, anyway).
I was really expecting a far different story here... I assumed Vartox would be instantly antagonistic toward Superman... and what we get is him just trying to go about his own business, and actually avoid Superman in the process! Certainly a misleading cover... but, that's nothing new, and definitely not unique to this issue.
Other than that, not all that much to say. There's some crazy comics-"science" at play here... autopsiscans or whatever... just wacky stuff, but I suppose it all works. Thought the bait and switch set up by the "what if" segment was a bit deflating... and ultimately, a waste of a handful of pages... but whattayagonnado, right?
Overall... I'm looking forward to learning more about this weirdo character... and hope to take you all on a crazy Bronze Age ride. It doesn't look like this one's been collected (outside of a digest release) nor has it been made available digitally. C'mon, DC... whattaya got against Vartox, anyway? Certainly worth a look, if you come across it!
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Takion #1 (June, 1996)
"Birth Pains"
Writer - Paul Kupperberg
Artist - Aaron Lopresti
Inker - Gary Martin
Letterer - Willie Schubert
Colorist - Lee Loughridge
Assistant Editor - Alisande Morales
Editor - Dan Thorsland
Cover Price: $1.75
Today we're going to meet Takion! You remember him, right? We last bumped into him when we discussed the Genesis debacle at some point last year. I wondered just who in the hell he was then... and so, when I happened across nearly a full run of his title in the cheap-o bins (just missing #7), I excitedly snapped it up. What can I say, I'm a stupid, stupid man.
Anyhoo... if you've been Takion-curious... read on, I promise you won't be for long!
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We open with a blind man seemingly being struck dead on the sidewalk. He claims that since he's a psychologist, he should be able to "detach himself from pain and fear"... I've been taking psychology for six years now, and I gotta say... that class hasn't yet popped up on my schedule. He collapses, and begins to smolder with energy as a crowd forms around him... and then...
Next thing we know, our blind shrink (Joshua Sanders) is ripped from his body and sent soaring through the cosmos, before winding up stood before... the Highfather! This is notable because... having been blind since birth, this is the first time Joshua has ever been able to see anything... and now, he can see everything, not just what is front of him.
Highfather explains that he has chosen Sanders to be the "Takion of the Source", a Source Elemental... with the ability to manipulate the, wait for it, Source. Sanders is the perfect pick because, according to Highfather, he's a "man without destiny", and therefore wouldn't be sorely missed. There's a "compliment sandwich" if I ever heard one. Anyhoo... as if I haven't typed "Source" enough yet... Takion's gig will be cleaning the taint of the Source... which, ya know... kinda sounds gross. Profane, even!
We hop into a flashback, where we're seeing through Josh's eyes... kinda, because, ya know... blind. He's behind his desk and chatting up a lady friend named Nancy. It looks like they might have a romantic relationship.
The flashback is interrupted by Takion's own Cosmic Awareness kicking in. He finds himself overcome by... everything. Past, present, future... sights, sounds, smells... all'a dat stuff... including seeing a battle, seemingly with himself, perhaps a physical representation/manifestation of his Joshua Sanders self being at odds with his new Takion of the New Gods self? Or, maybe just a sign of things to come... yeah, that's probably more like it.
After this, he returns to the scene of his own apparent demise... the crowd is still there. He knows everyone's names... and introduces himself as "Takion"... which, gets a confused narration caption. Overhead, Kyle Rayner soars by... however, upon passing over Takion, his ring briefly powers down. He'll be back later.
Takion then flashes back to a time where he, in his blind fella form, almost wandered into the path of a truck. Dude must've been deaf too... that was a big damn truck! He then heads over to the hospital to chat up his lady friend, Nancy. It doesn't take him as long as you might imagine to convince her that the flaming golden god standing in front of her is actually the blind psychologist from down the hall.
Since Josh isn't in control of his new cosmic awareness, his thoughts bleed into her brain. She can hear so much of what he's worried about... for example, a solar flare erupting on the Sun at that very moment. Their reunion and chat is cut short by the arrival of the Highfather... which Takion ain't at all happy about.
Takion takes off, and finds himself facing off with... Kyle Rayner! Toldja he'd be back. They spend the next several pages doin' that thing where superheroes fight one another. It looks like Takion's got Kyle's number... and is even able to shut down his ring a time or two. The fight continues until Takion is able to break through one of Kyle's constructs.
Takion and Kyle slam down onto the rooftop where Nancy is (still) standing. Suddenly, the Highfather's voice comes from her body... telling Takion to accept his powers.
Highfather keeps riding Takion to "open himself up" to these powers... because the Source needs a scrubbin'. To his credit, he also apologizes for the position he put Josh in. Highfather then senses that his presence is known... and so, he bugs out back to New Genesis. By this point, however, Takion's powers are sorta-kinda going out of control... and he's actually lifted an entire aircraft carrier out of the nearby drink!
We wrap up this opening chapter with that Takion's power seemingly shutting down, and that aircraft carrier slamming down onto a row of New York City high-rises!
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Well, this wasn't all that great, was it?
Let's start with some praise... this book moves along at a decent clip. Had this book come out in "current year", it'd take about six issues to get where we are. Hell, today we'd probably get an eight-page scene of blind Joshua feeding his cat in his darkened apartment or something.
Also, the Takion design is pretty cool. Getting big-time Silver Surfer vibes (in look, power set, and angst), but I suppose that isn't the worst thing in the world. Gotta wonder if this design was pitched as "Silver Surfer, but gold... with a sash", because that's kinda what it is.
Now, the story we get here... I'm sorry, just isn't terribly interesting. It's well-written, and has all of the "nuts and bolts" a first issue ought to have... it's just really dull. We have no reason to really care about Joshua Sanders... and no reason to empathize with the plight of Highfather, who comes across here as a selfish, callous jerk-ass.
Also, I didn't care for the way the fight with Kyle Rayner went down. This is a staple of comics-character-introductions... you create a new character, and s/he must immediately best another character in battle. My "go-to" example of this is usually new-monster-on-the-block Doomsday beating the hell out of Darkseid. It feels forced, and I feel it doesn't do any of the characters involved any favors.
Overall... ehh, if you're down for a short-lived 1990's oddity, I suppose you could do worse. I didn't find this interesting in the slightest... though, in fairness... I'm not the biggest New Gods guy to begin with. The art is solid, it looks as though Lopresti was having a lot of fun with the malleability of the Takion character. Might be worth a flip through, though I wouldn't recommend paying near cover price for it.
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Green Arrow (vol.2) #101 (October, 1995)
"Run of the Arrow"
Writer - Chuck Dixon
Penciller - Rodolfo Damaggio
Inker - Robert Campanella
Colorist - Lee Loughridge
Letterer - John Costanza
Editor - Darren Vincenzo
Cover Price: $2.25
Figure we'd wrap up this impromptu Green Arrow week here at the humble blog... by killing the poor guy off. Yeah, that's sorta-kinda how we started the week too... but, this time around was quite a bit more "real".
Before heading "below the hyphens" we're probably going to need a little bit of context. In Green Arrow #100, Ollie got into it with an environmental extremist, who was looking to wipe Metropolis (or at least a good portion of it) off the map... by aiming a plane with a mutagen bomb on board right into the city's heart.
Oliver boarded the plane, and activated a "dead man's switch", trapping his arm... and leaving him with a choice. Either lose said arm, and never be able to twang bow again... or go down with the plane. And that is where we open...
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On board the plane, Ollie's arm is trapped in the "dead man's switch". Superman pleads with him to let him save the archer. Ollie ain't havin' none of it, though... and just seconds later...
The bomb explodes, and the plane crashes into a sparse field... Metropolis is saved... but at the cost of one Emerald Archer. Another plane approaches... one carrying Ollie's son, Connor Hawke... and his very blunt friend Eddie. I mean, this dude doesn't have much of a filter.
Superman helps right this plane, and sets it down safely. He then fills in the passengers on what went down with Oliver. It's assumed that he vaporized in the mutagen blast.
Somewhat coldly, Superman excuses himself to take extinguish the fire. Maybe he feels as though he failed his friend and doesn't know quite how to deal with it... whatever it is, it's strangely "matter of fact". Superman says dying was "his (Ollie's) choice". Whole thing just feels wrong. Once he's gone, Connor and Eddie have a "heartfelt" chat... as the third member of their "troupe", Camorouge, sneaks away.
We shift scenes to Warrior's Bar, where several members of the hero community are having a little get-together in Ollie's honor. Again... this feels so cold. Almost like the heroes are just going through the motions... only having this "celebration of life" because they think they're supposed to. I mean, they're talking about his womanizing, not in an "Oh, that Ollie!" kinda way... but, just stating it as a fact. Like they don't know what else to say.
After a halfhearted toast, Roy Harper enters to say a few words... that we won't hear, because we need to shift scenes...
... to Batman, naturally. He and Robin are updating the files on the Bat-Computer to reflect Oliver's new "deceased" status. Along the way, Bruce mentions that he and Ollie were a lot alike. Yup, almost trademark-infringingly so back in the day, my man.
Back to Warrior's, where Superman and Guy are chatting up on the roof. Superman thinks back to all the things he's heard about his own funeral... and feels bad that Ollie didn't get quite the same turn out. Guy's all "ehh, it's what he would'a wanted", which is one of those things we like to tell ourselves. Guy then asks the one question we've all been waiting for: Has anyone told Black Canary?
Well, let's shift scenes again... to Connor meeting up with Dinah to break the bad news. They may not have ended on the best note, but clearly Dinah still feels something for him. Upon hearing the news, she takes a moment to process.
Next thing we know, she's removed her coat... and is left in her leotard and fishnets. It's a very strange look for such a mundane scene. It's almost uncomfortable. Worth noting, Dinah is able to deduce right away that Connor is Oliver's son.
Dinah tells Connor she'll tell him everything he wants to know about his father... and together, they start going through the belongings he'd left with her. It's pretty touching... she has a photo of Ollie, Hal, and herself from "better days". It's weird to consider that, at this point, Dinah was the only one left!
Before parting company, Dinah tells Connor about Oliver's Robin Hood fixation... and suggests that his "resting place" be decided the same way as Robin Hood's. Shoot an arrow into the air... and where it lands, will be his resting place.
We shift scenes again... this time to Japan, where word of Oliver Queen's passing has reached Shado.
We rejoin Connor as he heads back to the Ashram... which is both, where he studied... and where he first met Oliver Queen (following Zero Hour). He's surprised to learn that the place is being sold... and the land will become... a Winkyworld?!
Speaking of Winkyworld, we next pop in on a Winky Corp. meeting, where the jerkfaced heir to the Winky-fortune, Mr. Keever discusses ways to keep dat money rolling in. This scene is being observed by someone in a sorta native attire.
Next up, we rejoin Connor at Sherwood Forest... bow in hand. He flashes back to a discussion he'd had with Oliver about Sherwood "in days of old", and realizes he's picked the right spot.
He fires an arrow...
... and where it lands, is heaven.
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Kind of an... uncomfortable read.
Before we move into the story itself... gotta mention that this was one of them "Wizard books"... but, this time it actually felt like it had a good reason to be! Apparently, this issue was severely under-ordered. Ya see, most folks (retailers and fans alike) just assumed that if there was a "big" story beat was coming, it would happen in issue #100... not issue #101. And so, when fans learned that something big went down in this issue... they couldn't get their hands on a copy! Just an interesting (well, at least to me!) aside I thought I'd share.
Onto the insides... again, uncomfortable, for a few reasons.
First, Ollie's dead... and it's 1995, when DC was making big changes to the pantheon. For all we knew (or were supposed to think) this was "dead-dead"... or at the very least not "revolving door dead"... and, none of the heroes seemed all that interested. I mean, even Superman can't muster up a paragraph worth of nice things to say about him!
And, a "celebration of life" in the back room at Gardner's bar? Superman referred to it as "pathetic", and it's hard not to agree. I mean, the heroes pulled out all the stops when Hal Jordan died... and he wasn't on anybody's Christmas card list at that point! Was Ollie just a complete afterthought? He kinda died saving millions of people... right? Wouldn't they (Metropolis) at least wanna maybe bow their heads for the man?!
I'm not sure what the point was in having Roy show up at Warriors... since we don't get to hear what he has to say. I think I'd have preferred hearing Roy's take, than hopping over to get a full-page of Batman and Robin typing the word "deceased" into the Bat-Computer. Then again, I'm not the one in charge of trying to sell comic books.
The Connor and Dinah scene... was pretty good, yet still... uncomfortable. This discomfort is amplified and punctuated by Dinah's strutting around in her Black Canary get-up in front of her ex-lover's son... but, whattayagonnado? Still, a strong scene... definitely the strongest of the issue.
It seems like we're wasting no time laying the groundwork for Connor's first outing as the one, true Green Arrow... by pitting him against a Disney-alike. I suppose that's as good an antagonist as any, seeing as though Ollie was always brushing up against corporations.
Overall... I dunno. This is an important issue, certainly... but, it's just so weird. Ollie gets a single panel before going kablooey (smart of them to use his being "vaporized" to avoid showing a body, by the way)... and, the hero community acts erratically for the rest of the book. Connor walks the line between being a point-of-view character, and being his own man... which, for a transitional story such as this, works quite well. I'd say, for historical significance... I'd recommend this. For solid characterization... I'm not so sure. Believe it or not, this issue is not available digitally!
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