TV Talk: Justice League - "War World"

Next up for the month is the Thanos/Darkseid rip-off himself: Mongul. Well, I think he is a Thanos/Darkseid rip-off. He was created by Len Wein and Jim Starlin, so maybe he’s an homage? Anyway, Mongul first appeared in DC Comics Present #27 (1980).  He was a former ruler who was ousted form his planet. He eventually became the ruler of an artificial planet called War World. He’s gone up against Superman and the Green Lantern Corps. While he helped Hank Henshaw destroy Coast City in “Reign of the Supermen,” he’s probably best remembered for the Alan Moore story, “For the Man Who Has Everything.”

The character has been featured in stuff like Young Justice and Justice League. “For The Man Who Has Everything” was even adapted into an episode for Justice League Unlimited. Instead of another comic, I’m going to talk about Mongul’s first appearance on Justice League. “War World” was a two-parter (episodes 12 and 13) and it was loosely based off on Superman’s gladiator days during the storyline, “Exile.”

Tales From the 50 Cent Bin! - Action Comics #775

Next up for the month is a pretty underused villain who was first an anti-hero: Manchester Black. The character first appeared in today’s comic, Action Comics #775 (2001). He has both telekinetic and telepathic powers. He was a part of a team called The Elite, a team that was basically a rip-off of Wildstorm’s The Authority. They were pretty much the “no holds barred” superhero team that killed their villains and caused lots of damage. While he has been underused a lot, that hasn’t stopped him from appearing in more recent stuff.

Today’s issue was written by Joe Kelly. The pencils were provided by Doug Mahnke and Lee Bermejo. Then, we get to the inks which were split between six inkers. I’ll list them down below. This issue is listed by some to be one of Superman’s best issues. It even got adapted into a direct-to-DVD movie in 2008. So, let’s see Superman tackle a team that doesn’t follow the “no-kill” rule.

Action Comics #775

Writer: Joe Kelly

Pencils: Douge Mahnke and Lee Bermejo

Inks: Tom Nguyen, Dexter Vines, Jim Royal, Jose Marzan, Wade Con Grawbadger, and Wayne Faucher

Colors: Rod Schwager

Letters: Comicraft

Editors: Eddie Berganza and Tom Palmer, Jr.

Tales From the $2.99 Bin! - Superman #1-6: "Son of Superman"

Next up for the month is a character who’s been an ally and villain to Superman: The Eradicator. The Eradicator has a long history and has been revamped a few times in the comics, so I’m going to keep it simple. It started out as a Kryptonian device and it was created to preserve Krypton’s culture by any means. When Superman found it, it tried to brainwash him. Later, it created its own body and tried to make Earth into Krypton. It wasn’t until “Reign of the Supermen” where it started to become a hero. Since then, it’s been back and forth between ally and villain.

The version I’m talking about today, though, is the New 52/Rebirth version. In this era, the Eradicator was an android created by General Zod to capture law breakers and capture their life force. It first showed up in Supergirl and how it’s in the first arc of the new Superman series. To make the story short, the New 52 Superman died, so this Superman (a Pre-Flashpoint version from another Earth) took his place. It’d be tough to explain it especially since most of what I said is now irrelevant after “Superman Reborn.” All you gotta know for now is that this Superman is married to another Lois Lane and they have a son named Jonathan. They’re also going by “Smith” instead of “Kent.” Confused yet?

The first six issues of Superman had its story handled by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason. These two aren’t strangers to superheroes with kids since they worked on Batman and Robin a few years back. Patrick Gleason also provided pencils for most of the issues. The other pencils were handled by Jorge Jimenez and Doug Mahnke.

Superman #1-6

Story: Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason

Pencils: Patrick Gleason (1, 2, 4, 6), Jorge Jimenez (3), and Doug Mahnke (5)

Inks: Mick Gray (1, 2, 4, 6), Jorge Jimenez (3), and Jamie Mendoza (5)

Colors: John Kalisz (1,2,4,6), Alejandro Sanchez (3), and Wil Quintana (5)

Letters: Rob Leigh

Editors: Eddie Berganza and Andrew Marino

TV Talk - Supergirl: "Livewire"

Next up for the month is a somewhat recent villain: Livewire. She was actually created for Superman: The Animated Series. I guess someone wanted to give Superman a couple of more female villains since he really doesn’t have that many. She did make her way over to the regular DC universe in Action Comics #835 (2006). She was known as Leslie Willis, a radio shock jock who hates Superman. During a thunderstorm, she was shocked and that changed her skin and gave her abilities over electricity. Since Superman was trying to save her, she blamed him for it and took to a life of crime.

I was going to look at her first appearance on STAS, but I thought I’d switch bases a bit. Livewire did briefly appear on Smallville, but really debuted on the CW’s Supergirl. She appeared in the fifth episode of the first season and was actually been a recurring villain on that show. Her origin is pretty much the same but it’s Supergirl instead of Superman.

TV Talk - Superman: The Animated Series - "Feeding Time"

Next up for the month is one of the biggest leachers in the DC universe: The Parasite. The character first debuted in Action Comics #340 and has actually been different people. The person he’s probably most known as is Rudy Jones. Through some sort of accident, the character gains powers and turns into a purple beast. He has the ability to leach life energy from others. Not only can he leach energy, but he can also leach the powers and memories of people. Since the energy only last for so long, he's always searching for more power. He's basically an energy vampire and quite literally the “Purple People Eater.”

At some point during the Post-Crisis, he was a Firestorm villain but that changed later on when he got back under Superman’s trail. The character has shown up in a few places outside the comics. Today’s post is actually going to look at his first appearance on Superman: The Animated Series. The episode is called “Feeding Time” and it was the sixth episode of the series.

Tales From the 50 Cent Bin! - Superman: The Man of Steel #56

Next up is one of the weirdest villains from Superman’s gallery: Mr. Mxyzptlk. He is an imp from the 5th Dimension (not these guys). He has the ability to warp reality to his own means. Every 90 days or so, he comes to play tricks on Superman and Metropolis.  He’s definitely one of Superman’s sillier villains but that can work to his favor. With the powers he has, he’s basically a god, so Superman has to find ways to trick the trickster. He’s also been revamped a bit over the years. Sometimes, he’s been annoying but a bit harmless. There have been times where’s he’s been straight-up scary, though. Luckily, this is one of the “fun” times.

Today’s issue is Superman: The Man of Steel #56. At this point, Lois and Clark were going through… issues. Since Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman pretty much dictated when the comic versions could get married, it was decided to have Lois break-up with Clark for a while. Louise Simonson wrote the issue. Jon Bogdanove handled the pencils and Dennis Janke handled the inks. So, what happens when an imp from the 5th Dimension finds out his favorite couple is having problems? Find out below!

Superman: The Man of Steel #56

Writer: Louise Simonson

Pencils: Jon Bogdanove

Inks: Dennis Janke

Colors: Glenn Whitmore

Letters: Digital Chameleon

Editors: K.C. Carlson and Mike McAvennie

Tales From the 50 Cent Bin! - Action Comics #785

Next up for the month is one that is definitely cooler than the Prankster: Bizarro. While the character has been revamped over the years, the main attributes are still the same. Bizarro is a “mirror image” of Superman whether he’s created by science or magic. He’s kind of in a gray area since he’s not a full-on villain. He can’t speak normally nor comprehend certain things, so he can sometime get led astray. He first appeared in Superboy #68 and has had the weird, pasty, monstrous look from the beginning. He's appeared just about everywhere  and even in live-action.

While he was around for a bit in the Pre-Crisis, he barely appeared in the Post-Crisis. I was going to originally look at the storyline, “Bizarro World,” from 1994, but I thought I’d move ahead to the 2000’s. Today’s issue is Action Comics #785 from 2002. This takes place sometime after the major event, “Our Worlds At War.” I haven’t caught up to this yet in my read yet, so my knowledge on this era is slim. Joe Kelly is the writer of the book. Pencils are handled by Duncan Rouleau. Inks are done by Marlo Alquiza. So, let’ see Clark deal with his other half and a few surprises.

Action Comics #785

Writer: Joe Kelly

Pencils: Duncan Rouleau

Inks: Marlo Alquiza

Colors: Moose Baumann

Letters: Comiccraft

Editors: Eddie Berganza and Tom Palmer, Jr.

Tales From the 50 Cent Bin! - Superman #36

Remember when I said that the next villain would probably not too cool? Well, your mileage will vary on this next pick. Next up is the Prankster, another C-lister. His name in the comics is Oswald Loomis and he uses pranks to commit crimes. It’s all in the name with this guy. He first appeared in Action Comics #51 (1942) and has been around since then. He’s also one villain that’s appeared in other media. He appeared on a couple of episodes the older Superman cartoons, an episode from the 80’s Superman cartoon, and on Lois and Clark: the New Adventures of Superman.

Today’s issue won’t look at his first modern appearance. I actually don’t have that issue yet. Instead, it’ll be Superman #36. The writer and penciller for this issue is Jerry Ordway. Beforehand, Ordway was penciling Adventures of Superman with Marv Wolfman writing. After Wolfman left the book, Ordway became the writer as well. Eventually, he moved over to the Superman book while Dan Jurgens took Adventures. Dennis Janke was the inker.

Superman #36

Writer/Penciller: Jerry Ordway

Inks: Dennis Janke

Colors: Glenn Whitmore

Letters: John Constanza

Editors: Jon Peterson (associate) and Mike Carlin

Tales From the 50 Cent Bin! - Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey

Today’s story is a bit of a triple feature. See, I got three major villains for this one but only really pose a threat. They are Doomsday, Darkseid, and Cyborg Superman (or Hank Hensahw). I might as well start off with the one who’s not the villain of the story: Darkseid. Darkseid first appeared in Forever People #1 (1970) and is probably one of DC’s best villains. He’s a New God and the despot of the planet, Apokalips. While he’s more of a general DC villain, he’s been most associated with Superman since his inception. In fact, Superman faced off against him a few times in the Post-Crisis, but this isn’t one of those stories. Outside the comics, we’ve seen him in animation and kind of in live action.

Here are the main threats of the story. Doomsday first appeared in Superman: the Man of Steel #18 (1992). He was an unknown alien threat that woke up, caused destruction, and killed Superman. Doomsday also died in that battle but he was last seen floating in space… and laughing. The person who put him there was Hank Henshaw, aka The Cyborg Superman. He first appeared in Adventures of Superman #466 and was basically a Fantastic Four homage that went terribly wrong. He has the power to control technology and has a hatred for Superman. He tried to sully Superman’s name by pretending to be him during “Reign of the Supermen.” We all know how that turned out. He’s also one of the villains who succeeded in destroying Coast City, the home of Hal Jordan.

Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey was pretty much the sequel to the storyline. Instead of occuring the main series, it was made into a 3-part miniseries. I can’t tell where it takes place with the time-wise but it’s definitely before Zero Hour. Dan Jurgens handled the writing and layouts. Brett Breeding handled the finishes. So, let’s see Superman go "all-Last Action Hero" on some baddies.

Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey

Story and Layouts: Dan Jurgens

Finished Art: Brett Breeding

Letters: Bill Oakley

Color Guides: Greg Wright

Tales From the 50 Cent Bin! - The Adventures of Superman #544

Next up for the month is actually an organization this time: Intergang. The Metropolis-based gang was first introduced in Superman’s Pal: Jimmy Olsen #133 (1970). Yes, Jimmy Olsen had his own book and it lasted that long. This was during Jack Kirby’s run with the series and it heavily tied into his Fourth World work. The group was led by Bruno Manheim and they used advanced technology to do their thing. They’d usually get their tech from Apokalips itself. They were a major threat during the post-Crisis run but they did disappear for a time.

Instead of being stuck in the late 80’s/early 90’s, it’s time to go ahead a few years. Today’s issue is The Adventures of Superman #544. It’s right after the wedding and right before Superman gets electric. More on “Superman 2: Electric Boogaloo” later. The issue is written by Karl Kesel. The pencils were handled by Stuart Immonen and the inks were done by Jose Marzan Jr. So, let’s see what happens when you combine a plot from a TV show with the comics.

The Adventures of Superman #544

Writer: Karl Kesel

Pencils: Stuart Immonen

Inks: Jose Marzan Jr.

Colors: Glenn Whitemore

Letters: Albert De Guzman

Seperations: Digital Chameleon

Editors: Joey Cava Mike McAvennie

Trade Tales! - Superman: Earth One Volume 3

Next up for the month is one of the big ones: General Zod. To make a long story short, he’s powerful, likes black, and loves long walks on the beach that he himself created with all the destruction he caused. 

In all seriousness, Zod has been a go-to villain ever since his introduction in Adventure Comics #283. Whatever version of his story you follow, he’s always been a rogue general who rebelled on Krypton. For his punishment, he and his followers were sent to the Phantom Zone. There have been other Kryptonians locked in the Zone, but Zod is the mainstay for the franchise. The guy’s especially been an important role in the movies since he's one that can go toe-to-toe with Superman.

Today’s story is the 3^rd volume to the Superman: Earth One series. I’ve covered the previous two volumes, so it’s time to finish it out. While the J. Michael Strazcynski-written series hasn’t been great, it has been an interesting re-telling of the Superman mythos. JMS is back at it with the story. Sandra Hope also returned to do the inking. This time, Shane Davis isn’t on the ride for the pencils. The penciling was being handled by Ardian Syaf, an artist who recently got himself into some trouble. That’s all I’ll say on that. So, what trouble has this version of Superman gotten himself into this time?

Superman: Earth One Volume 3

Writer: J. Michael Strazcynski

Pencils: Ardian Syaf

Inks: Sandra Hope

Colors: Barbara Ciardo

Letters: Rob Leigh

TV Talk - Superman: The Animated Series - "Fun and Games"

Next up for the month is Winslow Schott, aka Toyman. The character first appeared in comics in Action Comics #64 and has been a mainstay ever since. He’s also been revamped a number of times in the comics and even in other media. He even hasn’t been Schott. He’s usually been a disgruntled toy maker who wants revenge for losing his job or other things. Heck, Sherman Hemsley played a version of him on Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Sueprman, so this character has been places. There’s even a heroic version of Toyman out there.

One thing that’s been interesting is that people have tried to darken the character over the years. One of the biggest changes was to make him into a straight-up nutjob when he killed Cat Grant’s son, Adam. I’ve heard that folk weren’t a fan of that change in the mid-90’s. I haven’t gotten to those issues yet in my re-read, so I can’t say what I think about it. I did think about looking at those issues, but I’m going somewhere else with the character. The character was revamped on Superman: The Animated Series, so that’s where I’m going with this one. Today’s post looks at “Fun and Games,” the fourth episode of the series.

Tales From the 50 Cent Bin! - Action Comics #647-649

Next up for the month is actually a double feature! I have two villains for this post and they are pretty well-known: Brainiac and Metallo. Since Metallo is less complex, I’ll talk about him first. Metallo was first introduced in Action Comics #252 as John Corben, a criminal. After a fatal accident, Professor Vale was able to save Corben's brain and put it into a robotic body with a heart of Kryptonite. After John died, his brother ended up taking the role until the reboot in 1986. Then, John Byrne brought the original idea back and gave it a more Terminator edge in Superman #1. At this point, Metallo was deactivated and under Lex Luthor’s possession.

Then, there’s Brainiac. Where do I even start? Ever since his first appearance in Action Comics #242, he's been revamped and retconned in just about everything. Let’s just go with the Coluan background here. There’s no need to mention the fact that he’s been a Kryptonian A.I. too. In this iteration, He was a scientist from Colu who was executed via teleportation. His consciousness ended up on Earth and found Milton Fine, a circus performer who had psychic powers. He took control of Fine and fought Superman a number of times until he ended up becoming catatonic. He also ended up being under the care of Lex Luthor.

Today’s story is “The Brainiac Trilogy” from Action Comics #647-649. At this point, Action Comics was back to being a main Superman book. Beforehand, it was weekly and being shared by multiple heroes. We haven’t gotten to the point where the Superman books were tying right into each other yet. Roger Stern was the writer. The artwork was done by George Perez, Kerry Gammill, and Brett Breeding. So, sit back and see how Brainiac got his groove back!

Action Comics #647-649

Writer: Roger Stern

Artwork: George Perez, Kerry Gammill, and Brett Breeding

Colors: Bill Oakley

Letters: Glenn Whitmore

Editors: Jon Peterson (associate) and Mike Carlin

Tales From the $4.99 (eh) Bin! - Action Comics Annual #1

Next up for the month is a villain who is in the D-list: the Kryptonite Man Even though the Kryptonite Man is a mostly unused villain, he still has something that can knock Superman down to his knees. To give you a hint, it’s all in his name. The name has been passed around to different folk, but the effect is still the same: they are embowed with green kryptonite radiation.  The Kryptonite Man first appeared in Superboy #83 (1960) and has sparsely appeared since then. I think there were 3 versions in the Post-Crisis era and one of them was a weird clone of Superman. Since I’ll be spending some time in that era this month, I think it’s time for something more recent.

The Kryptonite Man made a return during Grant Morrison’s run on Action Comics. This time, he was Clay Ramsey, the infamous wifebeater that Superman threw around in his early days. Ramsey was a part of Vyndtyvx’s (Lord Vinnie) for Morrison’s run. Today’s issue is the annual from that run that featured the villain. Sholly Fisch, the backup writer on Action Comics, wrote the whole issue. Cully Hamner handled the artwork. There is a backup “written” by Max Landis with artwork by Ryan Sook at the back about the Atomic Skull. I’m not talking about the backup here but I can say is that it was alright if a bit brief.

Action Comics Annual #1

Writer: Sholly  Fisch

Artist: Cully Hamner

Colors: Val Staples

Letters: Steve Wands

Editors: Wil Moss and Matt Idelson

Tales From the $3.99 Bin! - Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds

Next up for the month is a more recent villain who was once a hero: Superboy-Prime. I’ve called this character by the name of “PRIME” here mostly because he ain’t worthy of the Superboy title and it gets tiring typing “Superboy-Prime” a lot. Plus, he’s actually pretty easy to make fun of. “I’ll Kill you to Death” was one phrase that was uttered from the poor, poor boy. The character first appeared in DC Comic Presents # 87 in 1985. He was from Earth-Prime which was supposed to be the “real” world of the DCU. He was a fanboy named Clark Kent who one day gained powers.

Afterwards, he went right into the action with Crisis on Infinite Earths where he, Alexander Luthor (Earth-3 version), and Superman (Earth-2 version) defeated the Anti-Monitor. He then went into limbo for 20 years only to be brought back as one of the villains for Infinite Crisis. After that, he appeared in the Sinestro Corps War as Superman-Prime since the name “Superboy” was being fought for in court. Finally, he appeared in Countdown to Final Crisis and the less said about that, the better. To make a long story short, it apparently sucked.

Today’s story is Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds. It sort of ties into Final Crisis. If you wondered where Superman was while the forces of Apokalips reigned on Earth, here you go. This story was also the continuation of re-introducing the original Legion of Superheroes into current continuity. It even served as a way to acknowledge the other rebooted Legion teams. Now that is one, long story that I won’t get into here. I also remember this mini being especially late when it was released. Geoff Johns, the pusher of that storyline, is the writer. Legendary artist George Perez is on the pencils and Scott Kolbish handles the inks.

Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds

Writer: Geoff Johns

Pencils: George Perez

Inks: Scott Kolbish

Colors: Hi-Fi Design

Letters: Nick J. Napolitano

Editors: Eddie Berganza and Adam Schlagman

Tales From the 50 Cent Bin! - Adventures of Superman #526

Next up for the month is another C-lister: Bloodsport. Before you say anything, they’re not connected to that awesome Jean-Claude Van Damme movie. See, there have actually been multiple versions of this character. The first version appeared in Superman #4 as Robert DuBois, a crazed veteran who went on a killing spree. The next one who appeared the most was Alex Trent, a white supremacist. He appeared around 1994. There was another one from around 2007 but we never learned anything about him.

Since someone wanted it, the first two versions had a meet-up. By the way, DuBois was black, so you know you’ll get some “special” talk from Trent. Adventures of Superman #526 was released in 1995. Karl Kesel was the writer. Instead of Stuart Immonen, we get treated with a guest penciller in Rodolfo DiMaggio. Klaus Janson also was a guest as the inker. So, what happens when two inmates go at it?

Adventures of Superman #526

Writer: Karl Kesel

Pencils: Rodolfo Dimagio

Inks: Klaus Janson

Tales From the 50 Cent Bin! - Action Comics #595

Next up for the month is one of Superman’s lesser known villains: Silver Banshee. Superman only has a few female villains and she’s one of them. Banshee, aka Sibhohan McDougal, was part of an old Gaelic clan. When she had once delved into the world of dark magic, her soul was dragged to the Underworld. When she was sent back, she caused a lot of damage and some of that was in today’s issue. She’s only made a few appearances in the comics since then, though. She did make it to other DC properties like Justice League Unlimited and Smallville. The place where she’s probably remembered best is on Supergirl where she and Livewire took on both Supergirl and the Flash.

She was actually one of John Byrne’s creations, first appearing in today’s book, Action Comics #595. At this time, Action Comics had pretty much became “Superman Team-Up” since a hero would guest star in the book. Today’s hero is my favorite dude, “Name Withheld.” The issue was written and drawn by John Byrne who was also working on the main Superman book at this time. Inks were done by Keith Williams.

Action Comics #595

Writer/Pencils: John Byrne

Inks: Keith Williams

Colors: Tom Ziuko

Letters: John Constanza

Editor: Mike Carlin

Random Smallville Episode - Onyx

Don't lose your hand, Lex! Especially that one!

First up for the month is the criminal mastermind of our time: Lex Luthor. If there’s one villain you know will show up in one form or another, it’s Lex. The guy’s shown up in comics, TV, movies, and video games. Ever since his first appearance in Action Comics #23 (1940), he’s been the thorn in Superman’s boot. He’s been a mad genius, a powerful businessman, a self-proclaimed savior of the human race, and everything in between. He’s even been the good guy in some stories.

Today, I’ll take a turn at Albuquerque and look at an episode of Smallville. While Smallville wasn’t perfect, it had more pros than cons. One of them was Michael Rosenbaum’s Lex Luthor. While it didn’t completely work with his descent into evil, seeing him go bad was pretty interesting. Today’s episode will be “Onyx” from Season 4 or what Trentus Magnus calls “The Dreaded Fourth Season.” Season 4 was where it got a bit weird for the show and I’m not talking about Sam Winchester either. It wasn’t a horrible season, though. Still, it must be asked: is “Onyx” one of the bad ones?

Superman Month - Bring on the Villains

So, what have I done to myself this time? I was trying to come up with a certain theme for Superman Month. I’ve looked at origins, random stories, weird stories, and homages/rip-offs, so it’s time to look at the most important aspect of a Superman story: the villains. This month, I’ll be looking at stories that feature a villain from Superman’s rogues’ gallery. If you think it’s just Lex Luthor and couple of other blokes, you haven’t been reading much, have you? I'll try to include a lot.

The plan is to look at a story from the franchise.  I won’t just be sticking to the comics either. You’ll see that with my next post. I’ll also give some information and my thoughts on said villain. So, come on by during the month. You might find something interesting. I’ll even have Peach Tea that’s provided by Lex Luthor’s Tea division at Lexcorp. It might have a bitter taste, but you’ll feel it kick in with a boom!