BATMAN/SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN: TRINITY reveals how these three DC icons first met...in one universe anyway.
© 2003 DC Comics

Related Links

0

Comicscape - June 18, 2003

OPINION

First of all, our congratulations to Judd Winick and the team formerly on DC's GREEN LANTERN for being honored with a Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The award was given for the highly controversial (and extremely accurate) storyline from last year in which Kyle's gay friend Terry Berg is severely beaten and Kyle must use his powers to bring the attackers to justice, when he'd rather do to them what they did to Terry. If you missed it - and if you did, shame on you - GREEN LANTERN: BROTHER'S KEEPER collects the storyline and is now on sale. You'll be glad you spent the fifteen bucks.

It strikes me (and this might be the most forced segue I've ever made, but bear with me) that Judd Winick might never have written such a storyline for Hal Jordan. Had Hal's Green Lantern not self-destructed quite so spectacularly and been made over (in an arguably even more controversial storyline than the Terry Berg one), Winick might never have had the chance to write a story for a character he identified with so completely: a comic book artist with gay friends who is shocked and horrified by their treatment in modern society. Sure, Hal dealt with the race question back in the '70s, but the makeover of Green Lantern also allowed for an updated worldview for the character. Far be it from me to think that Ezra Pound's dictum to "make it new" should be applied across the board in comics - look what the Crisis did for and to DC, after all - but sometimes a updating, whether it be a makeover or a complete rehaul, is exactly what a character needs. One only has to look at Neil Gaiman's version of The Sandman to remember that Wesley Dodds was nowhere near so cool before he got hooked into Gaiman's cosmology. So, with that in mind, I've been thinking about characters from the past who either worked well then but faded with time or who never got a fair shake, to see which of them would do well in modern comics if they were made over sufficiently. So, here we go:

DAZZLER: When we started the whole Stupidest Super Hero thing a while back, Dazzler was among the first I listed, but that was really just because of that costume and the roller skates - Dazzler's powers have always had potential, and putting her in a bland outfit with a headband is not the same as an update. I'm not much for the whole "I am ruler of the Mojoverse" storyline, so why not bring her back to the main Marvel Universe and have her try to make a comeback after the disastrous revelation of her mutant abilities? The story of a mutant rock star, especially one with as checkered a past as Alison's, would make for some great reading - and if it were a MAX title, think of all the OSBOURNES-like antics that could ensue!

CRYSTAR: Yeah, I know it was a toy tie-in, and that such things are generally short-lived by definition - but look at ROM, MICRONAUTS, TRANSFORMERS, and MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE and then tell me that toy tie-in series can't make for good comics. It still feels like I was one of the only ones reading this one, though, probably because the guy never really got off Crystalium - the few Marvel heroes that appeared in the comic (like Nightcrawler) had to go there. Why not bring him here? If Crystalium is so damn important to Order and Chaos, as they kept telling us, then surely that won't have changed in fifteen-odd years?

THE HUMAN FLY: Most of you may not even remember this short-lived series from the '70s (and no, I don't mean the Spider-Man villain), but the premise of a stuntman who decides to become a costumed hero just might go over a bit better in a market addicted to stories about the entertainment industry. Just as long as they got rid of that half-cape and did something a bit cooler with his bola-baton.

MAN-THING: Not nearly enough was done with this character, in my humble opinion, but look what DC ended up doing with the Swamp Thing when they updated that character - wouldn't some new approach like that make this frankly mysterious creature worth his own series again? Hell, make it a MAX series (in fact, make them all MAX series), and Marvel would probably have a hit on their hands. And if the Man-Thing were to become a creature which not only burned those who felt fear but actually fed on malice or something interesting like that, couldn't he end up being a hero (albeit a horribly vampiric one)?

THE CHAMPIONS: Sure, like Marvel needs another superhero group, but these guys never got a fair shake back in the '70s, and seeing the likes of Black Widow, Ghost Rider, Hercules, the Angel, and Iceman back together again, especially after all that's happened in the intervening years, could be highly provocative, to say the least. I don't even remember what brought them together in the first place, but think about what would bring together a spy, a demigod, two mutants, and...um, a ghostly motorcycle rider in the year 2003. Sounds pretty LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN-ish all of a sudden, dudn't it?

Next week I'll cover some DC characters who could use a fresh look, but if I've missed out on any Marvel heroes you feel need the treatment, write me! In addition to that, I'd also like your help on a future project. After THE HULK comes out, I'm going to do a two-part column on the best and worst movie adaptations of comic books (which one THE HULK will ultimately fit into is up to the filmmakers, obviously). I want to include your views on the subject, so mail your votes for best and worst movie adaptations of comic books, along with the reasons why, to me at feedback@cinescape.com. Should be fun! Now, to the future (or at least to this week):

THIS WEEK

Cover art to NEW MUTANTS #2.

© 2003 Marvel Characters Inc.

Why Spider-Man should travel to Japan to rescue Wolverine (or even how he'd get the money for the ticket), I've no idea - but that's exactly what happens in SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #1, shipping this week. The art looks good, even if that premise is a bit iffy. Hell, it might even be a worthwhile Wolverine book, for a change. And if you want Spidey solo action, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #54, featuring the end of the Hulk-mobster saga, appears this week, too.

SUPERMAN: PRESIDENT LEX covers the erstwhile villain's rise to the highest office in the land.

© 2003 DC Comics

Ever wonder how Batman and Superman first met Wonder Woman - and why neither of them immediately asked her out? You can find out the story in BATMAN/SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN: TRINITY #1, written and illustrated by the hugely talented Matt Wagner.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN: TRINITY reveals how these three DC icons first met...in one universe anyway.

© 2003 DC Comics

In NEW MUTANTS #2, the great new series featuring some familiar faces from the past, we continue to follow Danielle Moonstar as she recruits new students for Xavier, even as she questions whether it's the best place for them. Given everything that happened to her graduating class, that's probably not a bad doubt to have!

Cover art to SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #1.

© 2003 Marvel Characters Inc.

Ever wonder what happens in the JLA Watchtower when we're not around to "watch"? It appears that KING OF QUEENS writer Patton Oswalt is going to tell us, in JLA: WELCOME TO THE WORKING WEEK. Let's hope it's funnier than that sitcom is...

If you didn't get enough of a globetrotting Wolverine in the Spider-Man team-up title above, you can watch in NEW X-MEN #143 as he, Cyclops, and Fantomex travel around the world to find the answers to his past. (Geez, don't we know all that already?) And if that isn't enough Wolverine for ya, bub, he's also appearing in WOLVERINE #2. Good thing I saw X2 and was reminded why we like Logan so much - or rather, why female comics fans and ten percent of us male fans do - or else I might feel the need to make some snide comment.

Judd Winick revives the OUTSIDERS.

© 2003 DC Comics

Whoo hoo! GLAAD award recipient Judd Winick is writing OUTSIDERS #1, which carries on from THE TITANS/YOUNG JUSTICE: GRADUATION DAY. Apart from that, I know nothing - and why would I need to know more than the fact that Winick's writing it? To coin a phrase from the competition, "'Nuff said."

Cover art to the computer-rendered US WAR MACHINE 2.0 #1.

© 2003 Marvel Characters Inc.

US WAR MACHINE 2.0, the sequel to the MAX series, ships issue #1 this week, in which a furious Tony Stark faces off against James Rhodes for selling off the secrets to his technology. Guess that technology includes computer-rendered art, which is what both issues of this limited series will be done in. Gimmick, or innovation? To coin yet another phrase, "U Decide!"

JLA: WELCOME TO THE WORKING WEEK brings comedian Patton Oswalt to comics.

© 2003 DC Comics

As much as I despise the trend of soft- and hardcover compilations of comics published within the last several years (or usually the last twelve months), SUPERMAN: PRESIDENT LEX may be a worthwhile buy. This 240-page softcover volume collects all the issues of the various SUPERMAN series covering Lex Luthor's journey to the Oval Office, and $17.95 isn't such a bad price. Hmm - I wonder what Lex would've done about Iraq? Probably invented some new, easily synthesized alternative to oil and then bombed them anyway, no doubt.

Wow, is Spidey ever getting around this week. Not only is he off with Wolvie in Japan, he's guest-starring in THUNDERBOLTS #80 this week. Now there might be a good reason to actually read the thing...

Speaking of series creaking to their inevitable end, the series finale of SOLDIER X ships this week with issue #12. Not even a name change could save Nathan Summers, it appears. Oh, well, at least we still have SPIDER-GIRL, eh?

Vertigo offers at least two reasons to be happy to be alive this week: BEWARE THE CREEPER #3 and Y: THE LAST MAN #12. On the subject of the Creeper: can a comics reviewer consider a title a runaway success if he's never been able to get hold of a copy to review it because it's always sold out?

And finally, there's a wedding this week in UNCANNY X-MEN #426. Aw, how sweet! But can someone explain how in the hell I missed the 25-cent issue last month?

Toodles!

Comicscape is our weekly Comics column.

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at feedback@cinescape.com.