metal men

52! Week Forty-Nine

Eric P. I.Leave a comment
By Johns, Morrison, Rucka, Waid, Giffen, Barrows, Green, Ramos, Baron, Leigh, Richards, Schaeffer, and Siglain. Cover by Jones and Sinclair.

52 was a weekly series published by DC Comics starting in May, 2006. Because I had my 52nd birthday in late 2020, I thought it might be interesting (fun?) to examine this series for its 15th anniversary. I plan to post once a week about each issue. To read previous posts, click the link (52!).

Synopsis

“Eve of Destruction”

Week 49, Day 1

The JSA arrive on Oolong Island demanding that Chang Tzu let Black Adam go. Then, members of the Great Ten arrive to tell the JSA if they continue, there will be war.

Chang Tzu asks Will Magnus if the Plutonium Man is complete and how Magnus endows the “metals with life”? Magnus tells him

… it’s really the responsometer that does all the work. Once a metal is animated, it takes a form that perfectly expresses its own nature. … Metal Men pretty much build themselves.

Then the Metal attack Chang Tzu.

Green Lantern tells the Great Ten they can’t declare war on the JSA — they’re free agents — but the Great Ten call this “nonsense”.

With the help of Thundermind, Green Lantern now knows that the Great Ten are there to protect the secret that Chang Tzu is a member of the Great Ten.

Dr. Morrow attempts to stop Magnus from lowering the island’s defenses, but Magnus gives him the control to teleport to Dr. Sivana’s Omnibot. Morrow tells him, “I don’t deserve your loyalty”. To which Magnus replies, “You were the best teacher I ever knew. I try overlook the whole psychopathic super-villain thing”.

In the Omnibot, Sivana gathers some equipment, thanking Black Adam for allowing him to develop “torture toys” that will work on the Marvel Family.

Dr. Magnus defends himself by firing Lead at Chang Tzu, piercing his shell. Magnus threatens the other scientists with the particle wave ray gun and his bipolar disorder. The scientists run away, and Magnus shoots Chang Tzu a few more times, telling him, “You shouldn’t have taken away my meds!”

With the defense systems down, the JSA enter the compound and begin rounding up the scientists. Atom Smasher locates and frees Black Adam. About Bialya, he implores Adam, “Tell me it wasn’t you”. Adam uses his magic to heal himself and repair his costume. He tells Atom Smasher before leaving the island, “They wanted a war, Albert. I’m going to give it to them”.

IN Metropolis, Nuklon tells the remaining Infinity, Inc. members,

We can still be the future. … We can still prove to the world that we can do it better than those stupid old men in the JSA. We only need the chance.

Thoughts

I love that James Bond homage cover! The ticker at the bottom even pokes a little fun: “The Diabolical Egg-Fu: Shaken, Stirred and Cracked?” Hah!

There are only a few notable items in this issue. One is that Thundermind is helping the JSA by revealing (though it’s only heavily implied) the Great Ten’s motivation for protecting Oolong Island. I’d love to see more between those two groups.

Another is the return of the Metal Men, minus Platinum (and will Magnus do anything with that Plutonium Man?). That scene of the mini Metals attacking Chang Tzu was a nice bit of comedy.

Atom Smasher’s reaction when he realizes that what he thought about Black Adam wasn’t true: the Black Marvel did decimate Bialya. The way the artists drew Atom Smasher’s reaction was very done, considering the full face mask and only white eyes. I wonder if the penciler thought they couldn’t adequately express Al’s emotions if the mask was off? That seems like a wasted dramatic moment.

Then there’s Magnus’ relationship with T. O. Morrow. I loved that exchange between them. Morrow brought Magnus into this situation, revealed Magnus’ bipolar disorder and the need for medication (which they took away), he shoots Mercury and threatens to shoot Magnus, but Magnus still feels a sense of loyalty (or is it compassion?) to the guy.

Finally, Magnus kills Chang Tzu?! Magnus’ quip that “you shouldn’t have taken away my meds!” was very much a 1980s Shwartzenegger action movie moment. But will Magnus answer for this crime (although I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ll see of Chang Tzu …)?

The Origin of the JSA

By Waid, Kramer, Bair, Sinclair, Leigh, Richards, Schaefer, and Siglain

Nothing really of note here, but I love how this entry reinforces DC’ history of legacy that started with the JSA.

52! Week Forty-Seven

Eric P. I.Leave a comment
By Johns, Morrison, Rucka, Waid, Giffen, Camuncoli, Ruggiero, Pantazis, Leigh, Richards, Schaeffer, and Siglain. Cover by Jones and Sinclair.

52 was a weekly series published by DC Comics starting in May, 2006. Because I had my 52nd birthday in late 2020, I thought it might be interesting (fun?) to examine this series for its 15th anniversary. I plan to post once a week about each issue. To read previous posts, click the link (52!).

Synopsis

“Revelations”

Week 47, Day 1

Tim Drake waits outside a cave in Nanda Parbat for Bruce Wayne and is challenged by a monk to solve this riddle:

There’s a goose inside a bottle. … How do you get the goose out without injuring it or breaking the bottle?

Week 47, Day 2

Diana and Tim discuss Bruce’s undertaking of his “spiritual purification”.  She tells Tim, “Something vast and grand is happening and it brought us all here. I hope he finds what he’s looking for. And you, Tim”.

In Gotham City, Whisper A’Dair sacrifices a man trying to divine who Batwoman is. Later, she and Bruno Mannheim discuss the failure, and Brother Abbott criticizes Mannheim’s interpretation of the Crime Bible. They fight, and Whisper comes to a realization: the twice-named daughter of Cain can be found because her name is “Cain”.

Week 47, Day 3

Dr. Magnus works on his new Metal Man as he listens to the tortured screams of Black Adam. When he activates the golem’s responsometer, it calls out, “Crush. Raze. Trample.” His mini Metal Men implore him to switch it off.

Week 47, Day 4

Animal Man travels to Space B and converses with the aliens who created and have since upgraded him. They tell him that he can access any “point in space or in time”. To illustrate, they show Buddy a point one month ahead in his personal timeline where Ellen is being comforted by another man.

Week 47, Day 5

Beast Boy can’t believe Natasha has turned down his offer to join the Teen Titans. He discovers that she is joining her uncle’s new Steelworks facility. Dr. Avasti tells John she quit her job at STAR Labs and wants to know if he’s hiring. She then kisses him.

Week 47, Day 6

The Question visits Kate Kane’s apartment to find it in shambles. Nightwing arrives to tell Renee that “they took her. We’re going to get her back.”

Week 47, Day 7

Diana converses with Rama Kushna, asking the deity, “What have I become?” Rama Kushna answers with,

When did you, in all your perfection, ever share the pains mortals feel each day of their lives?  Until now. Welcome to the world, Wonder Woman. Here is wisdom.

The monk returns to offer Tim more soup, and Tim wonders if Bruce should have returned by now. He also tells the monk he realized that “there’s only a goose in the bottle because you said so,” to which the monk responds, “You are correct. The goose and the bottle are only words”. Then, Bruce emerges from the cave, smiling.

Thoughts

This is probably my least favorite issue of the series thus far, both in terms of the art and the vignettes. Specifically, the Batman and Wonder Woman segments feel disjointed from the rest of the series, and my major issue with the art is that everybody looks similar, like the artist had one male and female template.

Regardless, there are some interesting things in this issue:

  • The dissent in Bruno Mannheim’s organization is interesting (and expected), so I hope we see that play out more.
  • I’m more interested in Space B in regards to Animal Man than I am in the issue with “future” Ellen. Does Space B play into what’s coming at the end of this series? Is it played with anywhere after this?
  • It was nice to see Natasha’s and John’s story come to a close (I assume), especially given it’s been my least favorite of the series. I was also glad to see John and Dr. Avasti moving on with their relationship.
  • What is the “wisdom” that Rama Kushna shows Diana?

The Origin of the Teen Titans

By Waid, Kerschl, Peru, Lopez, Richards, Schaefer, and Siglain

I like how they focused on Cyborg as the central figure of this incarnation of the Teen Titans. What I intensely disliked about the Teen Titans title is the one year jump that occurred during 52. Up to that point, this was one of my favorite titles at the time.

52! Week Thirty

Eric P. I.Leave a comment
By Johns, Morrison, Rucka, Waid, Giffen, Bennett, Jose, Baron, Balsman, Fletcher, Richards, Schaefer, Wacker, Siglain. Cover by Jones and Sinclair.

52 was a weekly series published by DC Comics starting in May, 2006. Because I had my 52nd birthday in late 2020, I thought it might be interesting (fun?) to examine this series for its 15th anniversary. I plan to post once a week about each issue. To read previous posts, click the link (52!).

Synopsis

“Dark Knight Down”

Week 30, Day 1

Nightwing and Robin search for Batman, discovering his cape and cowl, but no Bruce Wayne.

Kate Kane has her doctor friend treat Charlie at her apartment and offers to let him and Renee stay as long as they need to. Later, while Kate goes out to search for Mannheim, Renee stays with Charlie, meditating.

Robin discovers enough weapons “that could start World Wars 3, 4, and 5”. He tells Nightwing that he will talk to Bruce, and Nightwing tells Robin that he is “going back to work”.

Week 30, Day 3

In the desert, Bruce Wayne encounters a member of the Ten-Eyed Brothers and they fight. Once Bruce has defeated him, other Brothers appear, telling him as they raise their swords, “If you flinch. If you shudder. You will not survive.” “Do it,” he tells them. Later, Robin finds Bruce kneeling in the sand. Bruce tells him that the Brothers kill demons and he asked them to kill his. “It’s over,” he says. “Batman is gone.”

Week 30, Day 7

Batwoman fights and interrogates the man-beasts for Mannheim’s whereabouts, when Nightwing arrives to help. He offers to help, and Batwoman accepts.

Thoughts

I spent more time researching this cover than any other so far. It looked so clearly like an homage to a classical work of art that I had seen before, but could not recall. I even went to Comics Twitter for help! The best match I could find was a work by Italian Renaissance painter Raphael, Saint Michael Vanquishing Satan. Regardless of the inspiration, this is a beautiful cover that pulls from classical, religious imagery, with Bruce Wayne vanquishing the “demon” Batman, similar to how the Archangel Michael vanquishes the devil in Raphael’s painting, with the addition of the Eye of God (?) in the background. The image of Bruce in his costume, but without the cowl, also reminds me of when Bruce Wayne was lost in time during Final Crisis, but that would be a few years away at this point.

Seeing Batman, both in flashback and when we see Bruce Wayne, was a bit jarring, but I’m surprised, given how Batman-happy DC has been for decades, it’s taken this long to get him and other members of the Batfam into the story. But I do love the first few pages as Nightwing describes his time as Robin and how the artists portrayed the cascading craziness and events in Batman’s life, from Robin’s death, to Joker shooting Barbara, to Bane breaking Batman’s back, and the rest (though the panel showing him holding a gun to someone’s head is foreign to me…). While I enjoy a Nightwing/Robin team-up normally, I would have preferred a return to the Cult of Conner plot or more with Ralph. However, seeing Bruce Wayne declaring that Batman is gone while the sun rises behind him (signifying a cleansing, a renewal) almost makes this breach of 52 contract worthwhile.

Speaking of team-ups, again, I would normally quite enjoy Nightwing joining forces with, well, anyone, but his male gazing of Batwoman was quite cringe-worthy. I assume Rucka wrote this sequence, but I find it hard to believe that given when Dick says Batwoman is quite the eyeful and “What can I say? I have a thing for redheads.” Later, Dick is clearly ogling Batwoman’s chest. Blech.

I’ve spent far too much on the bat family here, so I will end with my appreciation of the panel showing Renee meditating with Charlie smiling in the background. The affection between these two characters is one of the highlights of this series.

The Origin of the Metal Men

By Waid, Rouleau, Sinclair, Balsam, Richards, Schaefer, Wacker, and Siglain

I’ve never been much of a Metal Men fan, but this entry taught me that Elementics is a thing in the DC Universe. Magnus’ invention of the Responsometer is one of those comic book conceits that should be a much bigger deal than it is shown to be, but then, the Metal Men have often been depicted as comedy relief, undercutting the invention.

When it comes to the Metal Men’s “powers”, Gold is described as “infinitely ductile”, but interestingly, platinum is considered the most ductile metal. Also, Tin is “remarkably malleable”, but gold is considered the most malleable metal (all according to my google search anyway). I wonder if any creators have played with these differences?

There is a reference of the Metal Men being able to “alloy themselves” — presumably to join together as a giant robot (I vaguely recall seeing this in some comic book)? I just appreciate the use of the word “alloy” in that context.