New Teen Titans #20 (June, 1982)
"Dear Mom and Dad"
"A Titanic Tale of Titans' Tomfoolery!"
Writer/Co-Creator - Marv Wolfman
Artist/Co-Creator - George Perez
Embellisher - Romeo Tanghal
Letterer - Ben Oda & John Costanza
Colorist - Adrienne Roy
Editor - Len Wein
Cover Price: $0.60
I'm not sure we ever discussed this here... what's everyone's stance on Marv and George being listed as "co-creators" here? I mean, I get that they put this team together (and created three of the members from scratch), but... I dunno. Does that mean that anyone who takes over a title... and creates a few new characters should be listed as the "creator"?
As I write this, Adam Glass is writing Teen Titans (vol.6)... and has added a handful of newbies to the roster. Should he then be listed as "creator"? I dunno... I don't really have strong feelings either way, just one of those things that stuck out at me this morning.
Let's get into it... and see what Kid Flash's got cookin' with his... personalized No. 2 pencils!
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This entire issue is framed as a letter Wally is writing to his folks back in Blue Valley. This was, of course, pre-Crisis... so, he still had his loving and supportive parents... whatta concept, right? Anyhoo, after muddling over what it means to have a "normal life", he begins with a story about Cyborg and Gar in the sewer tracking down a new baddie (and an old friend of the blog), the Disruptor! The villain seems a bit uncomfortable about having to "take out" the Titans... but does anyway.
After hearing the screams of the "disrupted" Gar, Vic rushes over and bursts through a wall to confront the 'Ruptor. Unfortunately for him, he is easy pickin's for disruption himself.
With Gar and Vic on the ground, the Disruptor blasts a rusted water pipe and floods the sewer... hoping to drown the two Titans. His big mistake, however, is leaving before the deed is done. Gar manages to get to his feet... shape-shifts into a lobster, and fishes Vic out of the drink.
Wally's story shifts to discuss another recent event in Titan-town... Vic Stone's nineteenth birthday. It's quite the scene... though, the only non-Titan to show up is... Terry Long. Whoopy! Oh, of note... we find out that he is (allegedly) 29 years old. Donna jokes about him being "middle-aged". Welllllll, I'm afraid we from the future have some bad news. Wally writes a bit about his feelings for Raven.
Robin is too busy fretting over the Disruptor to truly celebrate... Donna is too busy fretting over not knowing when her birthday even is, to actually celebrate. Definitely a hallmark of this era, dropping little breadcrumbs like this... Donna's worries would eventually be paid off a year and a half later! Love it!
Later that night Wally heads to the roof to get some air. Through a pair of binoculars, he watches Donna fly in the distance... when suddenly... disrupted! She plummets into the drink below, while the Disruptor performs the fabled double-fist pump!
Wally speeds off to save his teammate... and whips up a tornado to throw at the baddie. Well, Wally gets disrupted too... he winds up blasted by his own whirlwind! Convinced he's killed two more Titans, the Disruptor heads off to a Rolls-Royce.
Inside the car, we meet the Disruptor's daddy... Don Rickles! Wait, no... it's actually "Brains" Beldon, a goofball who only appeared once prior to this... some twenty years before, when he tangled with Batman. He's dismissive of his son's "accomplishments", because even this jackass can tell ya, they ain't dead til you see the body! Heck, these days... even then!
While the Beldons chat, Wally is able to pull Donna to safety. He gets a good look at the Rolls, and decides to follow it to its destination... all the way out to the Hamptons! Wally lurks outside a window of the Beldon estate, and listens in. Turns out, "Brains" is trying to earn his way into the H.I.V.E.'s "seventh seat". In order to make this happen, he's tasked his son with killing the Teen Titans. Hell, if he could succeed where freaking Deathstroke failed... Brains should just be given the keys to the H.I.V.E.!
Wally's heard enough, and bursts through a wall to confront the Beldons. He kayos a bodyguard, however, gets "disrupted" by an incredulous Disruptor... after all, he would'a swore that Kid Flash was already dead! Next thing we know, Wally's all tied up.
While he's technically "disrupted", that (somehow) doesn't mean he can't perform some super-speed feats. And so, he twiddles his fingers to send his emergency "sonic boom" toward Titans Tower. Yeah, okay. It reaches it's destination... and boy howdy, it's a blast!
It doesn't take long for the Titans to react. Using Vic's in-body computer sensor, they're able to track the boom's trajectory all the way into the Hamptons. You'll never guess how they make their entrance... yup, bursting through a wall! Sure happens a lot, don't it? The Disruptor is beside himself... after all, he "killed" at least three of these colorful home invaders!
Turns out, the Titans are no match for the Disruptor's disruptions... and they're taken out with relative ease. Then... well, if you're familiar with the New Teen Titans, you probably know what's coming next... yeah, the Disruptor gets "Ravened".
While she's "inside" she learns that they're not all that different in some regards. They both certainly have "daddy issues". Anyhoo, when she's through with him, he's left a blubbering mess. "Brains" knows the his H.I.V.E. aspirations just went up in Azarian smoke.
Next we come to the inspiration for Wally's missive to his folks. After the dust settled, Michael "Disruptor" Beldon took the fall for his father. So, yeah... "Brains" remained a free man, despite being the, uh "brains" of the operation. We see a prison visit between the Beldons, where Brains calls his son a failure and embarrassment for squashing his hopes of joining the H.I.V.E. Michael says all he's ever wanted was his father's love.
Wally reflects on just how important it is for him to have parents who love him. Well, Wally... enjoy it while it lasts, my friend... cuz I'm 'fraid we've got some bad news for you too. We wrap up with Wally deciding not to post the letter... but deliver it in person.
That's the end of the story, but... we're not done yet! What follows is... a bizarre little story. We meet Igor Igorigorigorivich... a mad scientist who is looking for a world to conquer. Using his super-computer, he is able to peek into Earth-Prime (that is, our Earth... sorta), where there are no superheroes to thwart his plans. All of the heroes of Earth-1 are just comic book characters there.
Meanwhile, on Earth-Prime... Marv Wolfman and George Perez are running late on their latest issue of New Teen Titans (maybe that's why this issue came up a couple of pages short...). Anyhoo, they check in with editor, Len Wein for some ideas... however, while Len is, uh, hugging a stuffed panda... Marv and George are zapped outta sight.
They wind up on Earth-1, inside Igor's lab. George is happy that he doesn't have to draw something this elaborate... nyuk nyuk. The Mad Scientist asks them for information about how to beat the Teen Titans... and Marv is super-quick to spill the beans.
Before he can, however... the actual Teen Titans... burst through the wall! Marv is instantly apologetic for agreeing to sell them out. Sadly, Donna doesn't squint in his direction and say, "Terry...?" What a missed opportunity.
Igor sics a bunch of robot stooges (literally... their names are Mo, Lar-E and Kur-Le) on the Titans. Things look dire until Marv and George discover a great big button on the wall, with the sole purpose of "roasting" the Mad Scientist.
After the Titans and the creative team "meet", Marv and George are returned to Earth-Prime... and now, they have a story to tell!
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Man, Marv and George sure didn't mess around when it came to giving you content for your cash! This is one of those "quieter" issues, and man alive... they did not skimp on story. This would fill, at the very least, four "current year" issues.
For all that we get... is it any good? Sure was! Really enjoyed this revisit. Not only because it depicts Wally's "real" family life, but because of just how fun and family-like the Titans team was during this time.
The Disruptor was well handled in his introduction here. Dig the idea of him targeting the Titans in order to gain his father's approval... and even better, how tragic it is that it never comes. Heck, even after taking the fall for the old man, he's still referred to as an embarrassment! I guess ol' Michael Beldon will get the last laugh though, considering it's because of him the "New Titans" era draws to a close. Gotta say, I dug the juxtaposition between Wally's relationship with his folks and Michael's with "Brains", which I suppose was the entire point of the issue.
The "Who is Donna Troy?" breadcrumb was well appreciated. I really miss this method of storytelling... just little subplots bubbling in the background, waiting for the right time to boil to the surface. It makes the pay-off all the more satisfying, and it's something that is sorely lacking nowadays.
The lead-off story... pretty great stuff. My only misgiving is, same as it ever was, the Raven-riffic climax. I feel like they go to this well a bit too often. Have the Titans "on the ropes", only for Raven to do her empathic hoo-doo, and save the day. Ehhhh.
The back-up, was arrrrright. Silly fun, which ya need sometimes. I kinda dig that even as a silly throwaway, we can still make a case for it being canon... at least in the pre-Crisis DCU anyway. Not the only time we've covered DC playing around with the concept of Earth-Prime "characters" winding up in the comics... decently fun stuff.
Overall, a great soapy issue of New Teen Titans... and one well worth your time. It's been collected a bunch, and is available digitally.
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Superboy #193 (June, 1973)
"The Rock 'n' Roll Riddle of Smallville!"
"The One-Shot Hero!"
Writer - Cary Bates
Pencils - Bob Brown & Dave Cockrum
Inks - Murphy Anderson
Cover Price: $0.20
Dunno about you, but if I see the words "Rock 'n' Roll" on the cover of a comic, I really am powerless to resist it. Not that I'm a huge music buff or anything, but the idea of a comic (especially of this vintage) using "Rock 'n' Roll"... I mean, you just know you're in for a corny-as-all-get-out treat.
Also, I think we're going to meet an all-new Legionnaire in the back-up... so, let's get to it!
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It's the story of two loners... one, a blind boy named Don Blake... who, upon bopping his cane into the ground becomes the Mighty Tho-- oh, not that Don Blake? Oh, okay. The other, Clark Kent... Superboy! One without enough ability... the other, with far too much! We see Don get beaned in the belly with a baseball... and get lambasted for being "blind", that is, of course, before the kid realizes that he truly is blind. I mean, how many blind kids attend Smallville High? I'd figure the whole school would be aware of this guy! Clark, on the other hand, is coerced into hula-hooping (they're the newest craze!)... his powers go out of control sending the thing sky-high. He whips up a "freak dust storm" to explain the phenomenon.
Later that day, Clark and Don walk home from school together. Don's holding his trusty radio up to his ear, and just DJ Michael Jay is about to spin the song "Bad-Time Baby", a terrific hurricane begins!
Since Don can't see, Clark doesn't need to come up with too elaborate an excuse... he "supes up" and heads into the thick of it, where he finds... a thunderball! More like ball-lightning, but "thunderball" definitely has a better ring to it! More punch! Anyhoo, Superboy wraps his outstretched cape over the weather anomaly in attempt to contain it, when suddenly...
... it just stops! The weather goes right back to normal, and barring all of the structural damage, it's as though the hurricane never occurred. After checking in with some Smallvillians, Superboy "kents down" to check back in with Don. We can hear via his radio that the song "Bad-Time Baby" just ended. Hmm...
The next day, we join Don Blake in the Engineering Lab. Smallville High has an Engineering Lab?! In 1973?! Really? Okay. Anyhoo, he's working on adding miniature "radar sensors" to his specs to assist his senses and give him better depth perception. At that very moment, Superboy is sneaking out to go on his midday patrol.
The other students? Well, you know how they be... they're sock-hoppin' in the cafeteria! Wouldn'tcha know it, DJ Michael Jay is just about to spin "Bad-Time Baby" again! WSMV is the only station that plays that song, by the way.
Shifting over to Superboy's patrol... he spots a pair of goons attempting to rob a bank. He has everything well in hand, until... the thunderball returns... inside the bank, even!
Back in the Engineering Lab, Don Blake pops on his suped-up specs. All of the "gizmos" he added are acting like electronic receivers, and he can hear a far off phone call between the bank robbers and... someone referred to as "Jay". You don't think they're talking about WSMV DJ Michael Jay, do ya?! They discuss using the thunderball as a distraction.
Moments later, and just like the previous day... the thunderball disappears. Don Blake checks his radio, and... naturally, "Bad-Time Baby" has just concluded. He thinks he's figured it all out, and heads off to... no, not the Police Station... to WSMV Studios to confront Michael Jay... and to show the world that being "blind" doesn't mean you're "helpless".
Of course, the next time we see young Master Blake, he is tied up. Well, so much for that. It's here that we learn that "Bad-Time Baby" somehow causes these thunderballs to occur.
Lucky for him, Superboy arrives on the scene right away! He confronts DJ Michael Jay (who gives up in record time), and learns that he had no choice but to help out the goons. Ya see, he's run up a "terrific" gambling debt.
He beats up all of the bad guys... even makes two of 'em kiss! Okay, not really. After neutralizing the goons, he grabs the Bad-News Baby "platter" and crushes it in his hand.
But, I know what you're thinking... how did Superboy know to head to the WSMV studio? Well, naturally... Don Blake used a miniature transmitter, which he knew Superboy's super-hearing would catch. Superboy gives the thumbs up (which Don can't see)... okay, no, I'm kidding. He gives the metaphorical "thumbs up" and proclaims Don Blake's days as a loner are behind him. Just like that? Gee thanks!
Next, we head in for a NEW Tale of the Legion of Super-Heroes... and it's the first appearance of the Legionnaire we now know as Wildfire! We open with, well, Wildfire (going by the name ERG-1... that is Energy Release Generator-1) as he is pitching to become a member of the Legion.
Phantom Girl's all "whattaya got, stud?" and so, he spills his secret origin. His real name is Drake Burroughs... and he was an Astro-Engineer (I tell ya, that Engineering Lab at Smallville High must've been quite ahead of its time!). While working on a propulsion system, he was pounded by some anti-matter discharge, which transformed him into a being of "pulsating anti-energy". The only way he could survive after that was being stuffed into the containment suit that he wears.
Since that didn't exactly answer Phantom Girl's query, he continues to explain his powers. Ya see, he can do many things that the Legionnaires can already do, including having similarly sensitive "senses" as Superboy", Chemical King's control over elements, size manipulation like Colossal Boy and Shrinking Violet, even the intangibility of Phantom Girl herself! While impressive, the Legion decides to pass... after all, according to their rules, each member must bring something unique to the table.
ERG meekly pleads his case, and hints that there is more to him than his Legionnaire gimmicks... however, when he's asked to demonstrate, he declines... and decides to accept his disqualification.
Just then, the Legion is contacted about some trouble brewing on Manna-5... an agricultural planet responsible for providing food to countless worlds and billions of folks. Turns out, some baddies have concocted a... well, basically a giant vacuum to suck up all of the food. The Legion head off to take a look. What they don't know, is that ERG stowed away with them.
Now, the Legion takes the fight to the giant vacuum... and they're really no match for it! The thing is even able to take down Colossal Boy... and just as it's about to suck him up, ERG swoops in and fires a terrific blast of "unimaginable destructive force" from his visor!
This destroys the vacuum, however also... leaves nothing but ERG's limp containment suit laying on the ground. The Legion celebrate the win, however promise to honor ERG's sacrifice. They vow to never forget him... and even build a monument in his honor!
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Ya know... if you're ever down about comics "these days", or the constant behind-the-scenes bickering we're all (unwittingly) privy to... one place to find solace, and a reminder as to why we love this stuff to begin with... is the Bronze-Age! There's just so much fun here.
Before we begin... one thing that stood out to me, which probably wouldn't have, had we not recently discussed that Silver-Age Superboy story a few days ago. In it, the Kent General Store, and the Kent home were burned down... and Clark wasn't allowed to help them rebuild as Superboy... for fear that it would've revealed his dual-identity. Well... after the "thunderball" struck, the first thing Superboy did was promise his newly-homeless Smallvillians that he'd "be back later to repair everything". So, what's the deal?!
Oh well, just another case of me thinking too hard and being silly about Silver Age comics. Nothin' ta see here, folks!
I did a little research on Don Blake... it looks like this is his only appearance. That's really too bad. Seems like a natural fit as Superboy's "techie" friend... someone who he can call on when he needs a hand. Heck, I could see him being part of Superman's cast, even! Despite this being his lone appearance, someone out there actually made a custom action figure of him! Wouldja lookit that? Looks pretty cool!
By the way, you could lose several hours of your life checking out Figure Realm's customs. A ton of cool stuff there! Everything you never knew you wanted!
As corny as Superboy's "declaration" that Blake was no longer a loner was... I still dug it. Felt like the way a sitcom might end. Nothing's really tied up, but since we're shuffling this kid into limbo anyway, it doesn't even matter! For all we know, Don Blake went on to become the Casanova of the Engineering Lab... or, ya know, he might've just become Thor.
The Legion story... another fun one! I'm not sure why, but I really dig young heroes "pitching" to join their ranks. I mean, I could probably read a trade collection of just that! It's part "Who's Who?" it's part "Secret Origin", added to that... we get a "Yea" or "Nay"... it's just a lot of fun.
The tragic cliffhanger was well handled. Of course, from what we know now... it's kinda deflating, but I'm sure back in the long ago, there might've been actual feelings of loss. The threat? I mean, it's silly... the Legion were taking on a giant vacuum cleaner. You gotta wonder what Dave Cockrum was using as inspiration there... like, did he head into the broom closet to get a better look at his own vacuum?
Overall... this was a blast. Silly, sure... but a whole lot of fun. The kinda book that reminds me why I still do this every day! The Superboy story would be reprinted in a Digest Edition... and the ERG tale would be reprinted several times over. Somewhat surprisingly, this issue is available digitally! I'd say it's worth a look!
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Justice League of America #190 (May, 1981)
"Our Friends, Our Enemies"
Writer - Gerry Conway
Pencils - Rich Buckler
Inks - Bob Smith & Larry Malstedt
Letters - John Costanza
Colors - Gene D'Angelo
Editor - Len Wein
Cover Price: $0.50
Full disclosure... I decided to discuss this little Starro story simply because of this cover. I mean, just look at it? That's some pretty great stuff, ain't it?
Can the inside even hope to live up to the the greatness of the cover? Let's find out...
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We pick up right where we left off last issue... the other half of the Justice League is still on that aircraft carrier trying to process the threat of Starro. Worth noting, Zatanna is here as well... didn't notice her yesterday! Just checked again, and nope... we didn't see her yesterday! Anyhoo, a Naval Officer claims that he'd just spoken to the President of the United States, who is totally on board with the absolute decimation of New York City in order to neutralize the Starro situation. The League is aghast... and pleads for a few hours reprieve. The Officer, knowing he doesn't have a whole heckuva lot to lose grants them until nightfall.
We next head into the city and find the Starro-controlled League going about the business of directing as much of the city's electricity into Grand Central Station, so that their Star-shaped ruler can feed off the, um, protein in the electricity? Is that a thing that happens? Well, I'll be a sonuvagun... it kinda is! Not sure it was a thing in 1981... but, whattayagonnado?
At this point, we find Red Tornado... who, being an android isn't being mind-controlled... he's just playing along. He tears the starfish off his mug, and heads off to try and find a way to shut Starro down. Unfortunately for him, he runs into Wonder Woman... unfortunately for her, she's being written like a complete pushover here. Reddy heads north, into the Bronx.
At that same time, the other half of the League descends on Manhattan. They're all wearing repellor-disks, usually used as insect repellent by Hawkman, on their chests to keep the Starro-spawn away. Batman wonders why they can't just use a really big disk to drive Starro away... Hawkman says that won't work, and we might as well believe him. I mean, he's got no reason to lie to us. The team splits up and gets to work.
We shift over to a fruit and vegetable market on the Lower East Side where we meet up with our old friends, the Watsons. Ya remember, they're that family who are kinda responsible for this mess in the first place. Young Terry wanders into the shop's freezer... and wakes up from his Starro-induced daze. Suddenly, memories come rushing back to him. He decides to hide out in the freezer for a bit.
We rejoin Aquaman as he's receiving word from his fishy friends about a fleet of ships coming down the East River. He deduces from this that Starro is sending his spawns out of New York City... likely to seek out another place to feed and conquer. Aquaman commands the fish to gather seaweed with which they can gunk up the ships' propellers. He then hops out of the drink, and socks the Starro-controlled sailors but good.
Next stop, somewhere in the Subway. Batman, Elongated Man, Flash and Zatanna are scoping out the scene. It's eluded to that Zee and Barry might've shared a somewhat intimate moment not too long ago, which has left them both sorta-kinda uncomfortable working so closely. Maybe we'll take a look at that issue soon.
While Zatanna is making goo-goo eyes in Barry's direction, the gang is attacked by a swarm'a Starro-spawns! The heroes struggle to get the situation under control... and are only able to by the grace of Zatanna casting a freezing spell on the starfish (this will be important later on). Worth noting, the spell sure seems to have taken it out of her. Ralph notices her fatigue, but promises to keep it between the two of them.
Heading up to the Bronx, Red Tornado has infiltrated a power station, with the express goal of shutting the thing down. He breaks through the Starro-controlled defenses, and makes his way to the master switch. Imagine there being a single switch you could pull to shut off electricity to New York City? That just doesn't seem like the best idea, does it? Anyhoo, Reddy goes to pull the lever, but is struck silly by some sparks of feedback.
Back in Manhattan, the Hawks spy a helicopter full'a Starro-spawns trying to leave the city. They put a stop to that with the quickness. They nearly kill the passengers, but... hey, whattayagonnado? Gotta keep that Starro-strain centralized.
After safely lowering the chopper to the ground, Hawkgirl hears a bit of sobbing. They follow their ears into that fruit and veggie stand, and discover Terry Watson huddled in the freezer, crying. At that same time elsewhere, Batman comes across Black Canary... and they engage in some hand-to-hand.
Batman gets the better of the physical exchange... and when he goes to tear the Starro spawn from Dinah's face, realizes that the li'l sucker's on so tight, that removing it would kill her! He figures there's just got to be another way.
Next, we rejoin Red Tornado... who, after being shocked silly, struggles to his feet. Realizing that there's no other option, he throws himself into the massive circuit board... sacrificing himself to shut down all power to the city. Thankfully, this works! Couldja imagine what a bummer it would've been if it hadn't?
Back in Grand Central, Starro wonders what just happened. His mood is further dampened when he is confronted by the entire Justice League (minus, Red Tornado of course)! Remember how Zee was able to down those Starro-spawns with her freeze spell? Well, the same sorta thing happened to Terry Watson... when he entered the freezer, the effects of Starro's mind-control went away. Sooo, Zatanna just froze all of the li'l buggers to free the League.
Firestorm and Hal blast the heck out of Starro into a starfish-cicle, thanks to Ronnie's atomic restructuring hoo-doo... and before we know it, the Conqueror is suffering the same frozen fate as Aquaman's Silver-Age Cat-Dragon pal Myron who we met the other day. Ralph makes a joke about "frozen starfish on a stick", but... nobody laughs... including me! Rather abrupt ending... but, it's the only one we get!
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A pretty good, if not a little bit rushed and abrupt, ending to the Starro story!
Let's talk about some of the "good". Just like yesterday, when we saw Hal Jordan working "defensively" trying to stop the Starro-spawn rather than taking on the big fish head on... I really appreciate how "tactical" the League went about neutralizing the threat here. Having Aquaman and the Hawks watch the air and sky to ensure no Starro-spawns spread out of New York City was really cool... more of that attention to detail and "plot-hole-plugging" that I feel is usually ignored.
Red Tornado's sacrifice and "death" here was a pretty great scene. Of course, he'll get "better" (pretty quickly, if I recall right), but nevertheless, a very strong scene. I gotta wonder though, if he wasn't affected by the Starro spawn, what would've been the harm in keeping the li'l bugger on his face? I mean, it would have allowed him to "fit in" with the others... and probably would have facilitated his access into the power station, right? Oh well.
I'm intrigued about the Zatanna/Barry romance subplot... really wanna dig through the longbox to nab the issue where it began! It feels like such a "Marvel" thing to have teammates do the "will-they/won't-they okeydoke"... it seems so strange for Barry Allen to be part of a story thread like this. Really gotta check it out!
I'd say my only misgiving about this issue is... the same as most other times we discuss a pre-Crisis Justice League adventure... just how quickly it all wrapped up. I'm not sure if it's a "DC thing", a "JLA thing" or a "Conway thing", but it feels like every time we look at a League book of this vintage, we get twenty pages of build, and two pages where it's all abruptly wrapped up. We get no closure, and no "relief"... it's like when you interrupt a yawn.
Overall though, a neat little two-parter... with some awesome Brian Bolland covers, well deserving of a spot in your comics library. As with last issue, this hasn't been collected... nor has it been made available digitally. It's gonna be a bin-dive, but one that shouldn't cost ya much...
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