![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tcampbell1000 posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
scans_daily
Last issue, we learned Guy’s personality operates on soap-opera-amnesia rules: a second blow to the head undoes the first. He has announced his return to assholery by paraphrasing Poltergeist II and throwing Lobo through a window.
Booster contains Guy in his force field and the other Leaguers sue for peace. (Doesn’t seem like Booster’s field could contain Guy for long, but let’s say Guy’s ring ran out of charge at the wrong moment.)
The biggest impact of Guy’s re-assholing is felt later, in a scene with repercussions still echoing today, forty-odd years in the future:
Lobo opts to “join” the League until they reunite with J’Onn and the others, so he can kill the entire team at once. Batman isn’t happy with the League’s new policy of just hiring whoever stumbles into the embassy…
“…Christ, what an asshole.”
Points in Max’s favor: J’Onn, Red, and Mister Miracle are off-world, G’Nort and Barda aren’t real members, Captain Atom skipped this meeting, so who’s that leave as a heavy hitter? If it'd been General Zod who'd popped into the embassy today, it’d be up to GUY to save everyone. Batman and Captain Atom are also now the only Leaguers with their own books.
Points in Batman’s favor: None.
I mean, sure, if he were protesting Lobo specifically that'd be one thing. None of them know Lobo! He could turn out to be some mass-murdering mercenary whose mere presence on the team would stain its good name. Who'd want to bring in someone like that (Justice League vs. Suicide Squad #6)?
But I do not understand why some Leaguers are so against the idea of seeking out more members, especially powerful and/or experienced members. Unless they’re acting as author stand-ins: “Don’t we have ENOUGH characters to juggle?”
To Batman’s credit, he swallows his reservations and contacts Superman. Supes is honored, but honor and $3.50 gets you a cup of Kryptonian coffee.
I feel like most emergencies where the group would really need Superman would finish them off before they could phone Clark Kent and "see if he can get in touch," but maybe Batman's just being polite for once.
Max and a squirmy Captain Atom discuss the prospect of bringing on Major Force, back when Major Force was at least nominally a hero and not the "women in refrigerators" poster child. Beetle and Booster are after a bigger fish, though they find he's in a smaller pond.
The consequences of this encounter would be felt in The Flash v2 #20...
...adding a sting to Wally's slide into homelessness. The Flash will return to our retrospective later.
Batman visits the home of Hawkman and Hawkwoman--Carter and Shiera Hall. Leaving aside the giant mess of the Hawks' continuity for now, it's better if we think of these two as Hawkman and Hawkwoman while reading these stories.
(I do get how this version of Sheira finds Carter a turn-on. Sure, he seems like a lot to put up with...but he's so INTENSE, you see. So TENSE, and only SHE can relax him. Someone for everyone, am I right?)
Oberon phones an unseen Black Canary, who confirms she’s now out due to “personal issues” (AKA brutal storylines in Green Arrow that we don’t need to talk about). He’s warm and compassionate about that. Less so about Green Flame and Ice Maiden rebranding to “Fire and Ice” (“Eh, you know how women are”). But he and Captain Atom bond when Oberon needs some compassion himself.
Oberon's right to be a little worried, as the Cluster begins to do the obvious thing: try to sell Scott back to Apokalips.
Wednesday?: Human-trafficking hilarity! And the weirdest Darkseid appearance outside of that time he got voiced by Weird Al.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-10 03:53 pm (UTC)She's still awful.
But, uh, hey, her thoughtless stupidity saved Wally from being associated with the JLI.
Imagine what might've happened if Wally had been there, and then decades later been on the receiving end of the undying (and alarmingly childish) hatred of some editor determined to kill him, mash him, and grind his remains into powder for the hideous crime of existing because of it!
Phew! Dodged a whole cannonball there, eh, Wally.
-"You can count on Superman!"-
... Lois was right. It is weird when he talks about himself in the third person.
(oh hey, so that's where Young Justice got the bit about someone suggesting Major Force for the Justice League.)
no subject
Date: 2025-11-10 05:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-11-10 05:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-11-10 06:19 pm (UTC)Just how often did they use that "confusing the Justice League International with the Jewish Defence League" gag? Did this story come out before or after that Suicide Squad story with Reagan you posted recently?
Batman trolling Hawkman, with a straight face, is glorious.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-10 08:07 pm (UTC)As I read it, Ice is still too shocked and fascinated by the change in Guy to be offended. It's like if my cat changed into a purple orangutan and told me to vote Republican; I'd be too busy trying to parse what the hell was going on to engage in a political debate. Upcoming stories will demonstrate that Ice's patience with Guy does have limits once she understands that this is indeed his normal.
Just how often did they use that "confusing the Justice League International with the Jewish Defence League" gag? Did this story come out before or after that Suicide Squad story with Reagan you posted recently?
After. I was surprised to see the JDL thing again when researching this post; don't think it came up again. I guess Bill Messner-Loebs really liked the gag when he saw DeMatteis do it!
no subject
Date: 2025-11-10 06:44 pm (UTC)"Trust him as far as you can thrown him... Wait, you're not superstrong are you? No? Good." - The Omega Men
"Barely worth the money when trying to kill my sister!" - Mongul
"Barely worth the money when trying to kill my brother!" - Mongal
"I may be written to have 'man-hungry' as a character trait, but there are limits" - Maxima
"Who?" - Darkseid
no subject
Date: 2025-11-10 08:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-11-11 01:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-11-11 02:37 am (UTC)This take on Lobo is still so... restrained.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-11 07:54 am (UTC)And Lobo even almost gave away the fib when Flame called him wolfboy.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-11 02:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-11-13 01:00 am (UTC)As for Booster's force field being able to contain Guy, well, you have to remember, his force field is really derived from Brainiac 5's force field belt, which itself is the refined version of the original Brainiac's force field tech. So it's extremely strong.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-14 01:13 pm (UTC)