Welcome to TiddlyWiki created by Jeremy Ruston, Copyright © 2007 UnaMesa Association
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<link rel='alternate' type='application/rss+xml' title='RSS' href='index.xml' />
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Background: #fff Foreground: #000 PrimaryPale: #8cf PrimaryLight: #18f PrimaryMid: #04b PrimaryDark: #014 SecondaryPale: #ffc SecondaryLight: #fe8 SecondaryMid: #db4 SecondaryDark: #841 TertiaryPale: #eee TertiaryLight: #ccc TertiaryMid: #999 TertiaryDark: #666 Error: #f88
/*{{{*/
body {background:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]];}
a {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]];}
a:hover {background-color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Background]];}
a img {border:0;}
h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {color:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryDark]]; background:transparent;}
h1 {border-bottom:2px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];}
h2,h3 {border-bottom:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];}
.button {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]]; border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::Background]];}
.button:hover {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]]; background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryLight]]; border-color:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryMid]];}
.button:active {color:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryMid]]; border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::SecondaryDark]];}
.header {background:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]];}
.headerShadow {color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]];}
.headerShadow a {font-weight:normal; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]];}
.headerForeground {color:[[ColorPalette::Background]];}
.headerForeground a {font-weight:normal; color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryPale]];}
.tabSelected{color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]];
background:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryPale]];
border-left:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];
border-top:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];
border-right:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];
}
.tabUnselected {color:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; background:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]];}
.tabContents {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]]; background:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryPale]]; border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];}
.tabContents .button {border:0;}
#sidebar {}
#sidebarOptions input {border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]];}
#sidebarOptions .sliderPanel {background:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryPale]];}
#sidebarOptions .sliderPanel a {border:none;color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]];}
#sidebarOptions .sliderPanel a:hover {color:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; background:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]];}
#sidebarOptions .sliderPanel a:active {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]]; background:[[ColorPalette::Background]];}
.wizard {background:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryPale]]; border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]];}
.wizard h1 {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]]; border:none;}
.wizard h2 {color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; border:none;}
.wizardStep {background:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]];
border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]];}
.wizardStep.wizardStepDone {background:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];}
.wizardFooter {background:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryPale]];}
.wizardFooter .status {background:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Background]];}
.wizard .button {color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryLight]]; border: 1px solid;
border-color:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryPale]] [[ColorPalette::SecondaryDark]] [[ColorPalette::SecondaryDark]] [[ColorPalette::SecondaryPale]];}
.wizard .button:hover {color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; background:[[ColorPalette::Background]];}
.wizard .button:active {color:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; background:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; border: 1px solid;
border-color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]] [[ColorPalette::PrimaryPale]] [[ColorPalette::PrimaryPale]] [[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]];}
.wizard .notChanged {background:transparent;}
.wizard .changedLocally {background:#80ff80;}
.wizard .changedServer {background:#8080ff;}
.wizard .changedBoth {background:#ff8080;}
.wizard .notFound {background:#ffff80;}
.wizard .putToServer {background:#ff80ff;}
.wizard .gotFromServer {background:#80ffff;}
#messageArea {border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::SecondaryMid]]; background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryLight]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]];}
#messageArea .button {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]]; background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryPale]]; border:none;}
.popupTiddler {background:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryPale]]; border:2px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]];}
.popup {background:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryPale]]; color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]]; border-left:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]]; border-top:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]]; border-right:2px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]]; border-bottom:2px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]];}
.popup hr {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]]; background:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]]; border-bottom:1px;}
.popup li.disabled {color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]];}
.popup li a, .popup li a:visited {color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; border: none;}
.popup li a:hover {background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryLight]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; border: none;}
.popup li a:active {background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryPale]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; border: none;}
.popupHighlight {background:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]];}
.listBreak div {border-bottom:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]];}
.tiddler .defaultCommand {font-weight:bold;}
.shadow .title {color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]];}
.title {color:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryDark]];}
.subtitle {color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]];}
.toolbar {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]];}
.toolbar a {color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];}
.selected .toolbar a {color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]];}
.selected .toolbar a:hover {color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]];}
.tagging, .tagged {border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryPale]]; background-color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryPale]];}
.selected .tagging, .selected .tagged {background-color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]]; border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]];}
.tagging .listTitle, .tagged .listTitle {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]];}
.tagging .button, .tagged .button {border:none;}
.footer {color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];}
.selected .footer {color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]];}
.sparkline {background:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryPale]]; border:0;}
.sparktick {background:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]];}
.error, .errorButton {color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; background:[[ColorPalette::Error]];}
.warning {color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryPale]];}
.lowlight {background:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];}
.zoomer {background:none; color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]]; border:3px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]];}
.imageLink, #displayArea .imageLink {background:transparent;}
.annotation {background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryLight]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; border:2px solid [[ColorPalette::SecondaryMid]];}
.viewer .listTitle {list-style-type:none; margin-left:-2em;}
.viewer .button {border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::SecondaryMid]];}
.viewer blockquote {border-left:3px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]];}
.viewer table, table.twtable {border:2px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]];}
.viewer th, .viewer thead td, .twtable th, .twtable thead td {background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryMid]]; border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Background]];}
.viewer td, .viewer tr, .twtable td, .twtable tr {border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]];}
.viewer pre {border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::SecondaryLight]]; background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryPale]];}
.viewer code {color:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryDark]];}
.viewer hr {border:0; border-top:dashed 1px [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]]; color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]];}
.highlight, .marked {background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryLight]];}
.editor input {border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]];}
.editor textarea {border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]]; width:100%;}
.editorFooter {color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]];}
.readOnly {background:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryPale]];}
#backstageArea {background:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]];}
#backstageArea a {background:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; border:none;}
#backstageArea a:hover {background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryLight]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; }
#backstageArea a.backstageSelTab {background:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]];}
#backstageButton a {background:none; color:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; border:none;}
#backstageButton a:hover {background:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; border:none;}
#backstagePanel {background:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; border-color: [[ColorPalette::Background]] [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]] [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]] [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]];}
.backstagePanelFooter .button {border:none; color:[[ColorPalette::Background]];}
.backstagePanelFooter .button:hover {color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]];}
#backstageCloak {background:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; opacity:0.6; filter:'alpha(opacity=60)';}
/*}}}*/
/*{{{*/
* html .tiddler {height:1%;}
body {font-size:.75em; font-family:arial,helvetica; margin:0; padding:0;}
h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {font-weight:bold; text-decoration:none;}
h1,h2,h3 {padding-bottom:1px; margin-top:1.2em;margin-bottom:0.3em;}
h4,h5,h6 {margin-top:1em;}
h1 {font-size:1.35em;}
h2 {font-size:1.25em;}
h3 {font-size:1.1em;}
h4 {font-size:1em;}
h5 {font-size:.9em;}
hr {height:1px;}
a {text-decoration:none;}
dt {font-weight:bold;}
ol {list-style-type:decimal;}
ol ol {list-style-type:lower-alpha;}
ol ol ol {list-style-type:lower-roman;}
ol ol ol ol {list-style-type:decimal;}
ol ol ol ol ol {list-style-type:lower-alpha;}
ol ol ol ol ol ol {list-style-type:lower-roman;}
ol ol ol ol ol ol ol {list-style-type:decimal;}
.txtOptionInput {width:11em;}
#contentWrapper .chkOptionInput {border:0;}
.externalLink {text-decoration:underline;}
.indent {margin-left:3em;}
.outdent {margin-left:3em; text-indent:-3em;}
code.escaped {white-space:nowrap;}
.tiddlyLinkExisting {font-weight:bold;}
.tiddlyLinkNonExisting {font-style:italic;}
/* the 'a' is required for IE, otherwise it renders the whole tiddler in bold */
a.tiddlyLinkNonExisting.shadow {font-weight:bold;}
#mainMenu .tiddlyLinkExisting,
#mainMenu .tiddlyLinkNonExisting,
#sidebarTabs .tiddlyLinkNonExisting {font-weight:normal; font-style:normal;}
#sidebarTabs .tiddlyLinkExisting {font-weight:bold; font-style:normal;}
.header {position:relative;}
.header a:hover {background:transparent;}
.headerShadow {position:relative; padding:4.5em 0 1em 1em; left:-1px; top:-1px;}
.headerForeground {position:absolute; padding:4.5em 0 1em 1em; left:0px; top:0px;}
.siteTitle {font-size:3em;}
.siteSubtitle {font-size:1.2em;}
#mainMenu {position:absolute; left:0; width:10em; text-align:right; line-height:1.6em; padding:1.5em 0.5em 0.5em 0.5em; font-size:1.1em;}
#sidebar {position:absolute; right:3px; width:16em; font-size:.9em;}
#sidebarOptions {padding-top:0.3em;}
#sidebarOptions a {margin:0 0.2em; padding:0.2em 0.3em; display:block;}
#sidebarOptions input {margin:0.4em 0.5em;}
#sidebarOptions .sliderPanel {margin-left:1em; padding:0.5em; font-size:.85em;}
#sidebarOptions .sliderPanel a {font-weight:bold; display:inline; padding:0;}
#sidebarOptions .sliderPanel input {margin:0 0 0.3em 0;}
#sidebarTabs .tabContents {width:15em; overflow:hidden;}
.wizard {padding:0.1em 1em 0 2em;}
.wizard h1 {font-size:2em; font-weight:bold; background:none; padding:0; margin:0.4em 0 0.2em;}
.wizard h2 {font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold; background:none; padding:0; margin:0.4em 0 0.2em;}
.wizardStep {padding:1em 1em 1em 1em;}
.wizard .button {margin:0.5em 0 0; font-size:1.2em;}
.wizardFooter {padding:0.8em 0.4em 0.8em 0;}
.wizardFooter .status {padding:0 0.4em; margin-left:1em;}
.wizard .button {padding:0.1em 0.2em;}
#messageArea {position:fixed; top:2em; right:0; margin:0.5em; padding:0.5em; z-index:2000; _position:absolute;}
.messageToolbar {display:block; text-align:right; padding:0.2em;}
#messageArea a {text-decoration:underline;}
.tiddlerPopupButton {padding:0.2em;}
.popupTiddler {position: absolute; z-index:300; padding:1em; margin:0;}
.popup {position:absolute; z-index:300; font-size:.9em; padding:0; list-style:none; margin:0;}
.popup .popupMessage {padding:0.4em;}
.popup hr {display:block; height:1px; width:auto; padding:0; margin:0.2em 0;}
.popup li.disabled {padding:0.4em;}
.popup li a {display:block; padding:0.4em; font-weight:normal; cursor:pointer;}
.listBreak {font-size:1px; line-height:1px;}
.listBreak div {margin:2px 0;}
.tabset {padding:1em 0 0 0.5em;}
.tab {margin:0 0 0 0.25em; padding:2px;}
.tabContents {padding:0.5em;}
.tabContents ul, .tabContents ol {margin:0; padding:0;}
.txtMainTab .tabContents li {list-style:none;}
.tabContents li.listLink { margin-left:.75em;}
#contentWrapper {display:block;}
#splashScreen {display:none;}
#displayArea {margin:1em 17em 0 14em;}
.toolbar {text-align:right; font-size:.9em;}
.tiddler {padding:1em 1em 0;}
.missing .viewer,.missing .title {font-style:italic;}
.title {font-size:1.6em; font-weight:bold;}
.missing .subtitle {display:none;}
.subtitle {font-size:1.1em;}
.tiddler .button {padding:0.2em 0.4em;}
.tagging {margin:0.5em 0.5em 0.5em 0; float:left; display:none;}
.isTag .tagging {display:block;}
.tagged {margin:0.5em; float:right;}
.tagging, .tagged {font-size:0.9em; padding:0.25em;}
.tagging ul, .tagged ul {list-style:none; margin:0.25em; padding:0;}
.tagClear {clear:both;}
.footer {font-size:.9em;}
.footer li {display:inline;}
.annotation {padding:0.5em; margin:0.5em;}
* html .viewer pre {width:99%; padding:0 0 1em 0;}
.viewer {line-height:1.4em; padding-top:0.5em;}
.viewer .button {margin:0 0.25em; padding:0 0.25em;}
.viewer blockquote {line-height:1.5em; padding-left:0.8em;margin-left:2.5em;}
.viewer ul, .viewer ol {margin-left:0.5em; padding-left:1.5em;}
.viewer table, table.twtable {border-collapse:collapse; margin:0.8em 1.0em;}
.viewer th, .viewer td, .viewer tr,.viewer caption,.twtable th, .twtable td, .twtable tr,.twtable caption {padding:3px;}
table.listView {font-size:0.85em; margin:0.8em 1.0em;}
table.listView th, table.listView td, table.listView tr {padding:0px 3px 0px 3px;}
.viewer pre {padding:0.5em; margin-left:0.5em; font-size:1.2em; line-height:1.4em; overflow:auto;}
.viewer code {font-size:1.2em; line-height:1.4em;}
.editor {font-size:1.1em;}
.editor input, .editor textarea {display:block; width:100%; font:inherit;}
.editorFooter {padding:0.25em 0; font-size:.9em;}
.editorFooter .button {padding-top:0px; padding-bottom:0px;}
.fieldsetFix {border:0; padding:0; margin:1px 0px;}
.sparkline {line-height:1em;}
.sparktick {outline:0;}
.zoomer {font-size:1.1em; position:absolute; overflow:hidden;}
.zoomer div {padding:1em;}
* html #backstage {width:99%;}
* html #backstageArea {width:99%;}
#backstageArea {display:none; position:relative; overflow: hidden; z-index:150; padding:0.3em 0.5em;}
#backstageToolbar {position:relative;}
#backstageArea a {font-weight:bold; margin-left:0.5em; padding:0.3em 0.5em;}
#backstageButton {display:none; position:absolute; z-index:175; top:0; right:0;}
#backstageButton a {padding:0.1em 0.4em; margin:0.1em;}
#backstage {position:relative; width:100%; z-index:50;}
#backstagePanel {display:none; z-index:100; position:absolute; width:90%; margin-left:3em; padding:1em;}
.backstagePanelFooter {padding-top:0.2em; float:right;}
.backstagePanelFooter a {padding:0.2em 0.4em;}
#backstageCloak {display:none; z-index:20; position:absolute; width:100%; height:100px;}
.whenBackstage {display:none;}
.backstageVisible .whenBackstage {display:block;}
/*}}}*/
/***
StyleSheet for use when a translation requires any css style changes.
This StyleSheet can be used directly by languages such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean which need larger font sizes.
***/
/*{{{*/
body {font-size:0.8em;}
#sidebarOptions {font-size:1.05em;}
#sidebarOptions a {font-style:normal;}
#sidebarOptions .sliderPanel {font-size:0.95em;}
.subtitle {font-size:0.8em;}
.viewer table.listView {font-size:0.95em;}
/*}}}*/
/*{{{*/
@media print {
#mainMenu, #sidebar, #messageArea, .toolbar, #backstageButton, #backstageArea {display: none !important;}
#displayArea {margin: 1em 1em 0em;}
noscript {display:none;} /* Fixes a feature in Firefox 1.5.0.2 where print preview displays the noscript content */
}
/*}}}*/
<!--{{{-->
<div class='header' macro='gradient vert [[ColorPalette::PrimaryLight]] [[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]]'>
<div class='headerShadow'>
<span class='siteTitle' refresh='content' tiddler='SiteTitle'></span>
<span class='siteSubtitle' refresh='content' tiddler='SiteSubtitle'></span>
</div>
<div class='headerForeground'>
<span class='siteTitle' refresh='content' tiddler='SiteTitle'></span>
<span class='siteSubtitle' refresh='content' tiddler='SiteSubtitle'></span>
</div>
</div>
<div id='mainMenu' refresh='content' tiddler='MainMenu'></div>
<div id='sidebar'>
<div id='sidebarOptions' refresh='content' tiddler='SideBarOptions'></div>
<div id='sidebarTabs' refresh='content' force='true' tiddler='SideBarTabs'></div>
</div>
<div id='displayArea'>
<div id='messageArea'></div>
<div id='tiddlerDisplay'></div>
</div>
<!--}}}-->
<!--{{{-->
<div class='toolbar' macro='toolbar [[ToolbarCommands::ViewToolbar]]'></div>
<div class='title' macro='view title'></div>
<div class='subtitle'><span macro='view modifier link'></span>, <span macro='view modified date'></span> (<span macro='message views.wikified.createdPrompt'></span> <span macro='view created date'></span>)</div>
<div class='tagging' macro='tagging'></div>
<div class='tagged' macro='tags'></div>
<div class='viewer' macro='view text wikified'></div>
<div class='tagClear'></div>
<!--}}}-->
<!--{{{-->
<div class='toolbar' macro='toolbar [[ToolbarCommands::EditToolbar]]'></div>
<div class='title' macro='view title'></div>
<div class='editor' macro='edit title'></div>
<div macro='annotations'></div>
<div class='editor' macro='edit text'></div>
<div class='editor' macro='edit tags'></div><div class='editorFooter'><span macro='message views.editor.tagPrompt'></span><span macro='tagChooser excludeLists'></span></div>
<!--}}}-->
To get started with this blank [[TiddlyWiki]], you'll need to modify the following tiddlers: * [[SiteTitle]] & [[SiteSubtitle]]: The title and subtitle of the site, as shown above (after saving, they will also appear in the browser title bar) * [[MainMenu]]: The menu (usually on the left) * [[DefaultTiddlers]]: Contains the names of the tiddlers that you want to appear when the TiddlyWiki is opened You'll also need to enter your username for signing your edits: <<option txtUserName>>
These [[InterfaceOptions]] for customising [[TiddlyWiki]] are saved in your browser Your username for signing your edits. Write it as a [[WikiWord]] (eg [[JoeBloggs]]) <<option txtUserName>> <<option chkSaveBackups>> [[SaveBackups]] <<option chkAutoSave>> [[AutoSave]] <<option chkRegExpSearch>> [[RegExpSearch]] <<option chkCaseSensitiveSearch>> [[CaseSensitiveSearch]] <<option chkAnimate>> [[EnableAnimations]] ---- Also see [[AdvancedOptions]]
<<importTiddlers>>
Issues published between 1960 and 1969.
Issues published between 1970 and 1979.
Issues published between 1980 and 1989.
Issues published between 1990 and 1999.
Issues published between 2000 and 2009.
Issues published between 2010 and 2019.
One the left are issues with the theme of abusing power, either by the villain or the hero. The hero or villain is granted an extraordinary amount of power (control power as in charisma and persuading people, not superhero power as in x-ray vision or super speed). ''Example questions:'' Can you recall a time when you thought someone was abusing their power? (give the instance within the comic as an example) What do you do when you begin to suspect someone is misusing their position of authority? Why are some people drawn to gaining power?
Action Comics (2011) #1 Nov 2011 Superman speeds into a business meeting while being chased by police. He threatens throwing Mr. Glenmorgan off a ledge if he does not confess. After falling with Superman to the ground, Mr. Glenmorgan admits guilt to using illegal labor and bribing city officials. Superman tells the police to treat the rich and poor as equals when it comes to the law, or else he will return. Superman then hears people screaming for help in a building that is about to be demolished. He rescues them, but it turns out to be an attempt to trap Superman. He escapes, assumes his Clark Kent secret identity, and gets a call from Jimmy Olsen, who is close to cornering one of Glenmorgan's accomplices with Lois Lane on a train. Clark realizes the train is rigged to blow, so he becomes Superman to try to stop it. He is successful, but unconscious, and Lex Luthor is shown to be pleased about this.
Action Comics (2011) #2 Dec 2011 Lex Luthor is using his connections with the United States military to test out Superman's strength and the strength of his cape. He orders people to shock him with great amounts of electricity and to fire thousands of rounds of ammunition into his cape. General Lane, Lois's father seems to support it and is Luthor's primary military contact. Lois attempts to reach her father to discuss Superman, but he denies any knowledge. Meanwhile, Lex asks about the rocket Superman came in and demands to know more of his origin as an alien. Superman breaks free from the electric chair, finds his rocket, tells it to protect itself, and successfully escapes the army men chasing after him. Lex Luthor is later shown communicating with someone or something about Superman's home planet of Krypton, and it is hinted that he is communicating with another alien.
Action Comics #866 (Vol. 1) Aug 2008 35 years ago Brainiac surrounded the city of Kandor in a forcefield, removing it from the plant Krypton. In present times, the main staff of the Metropolis newspaper, are having a meeting. In attendance is Perry White, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Cat Grant, Ron Troupe and Steve Lombard who are all introduced; they then banter a bit. Clark then uses his superhearing to receive a report about a strange object coming to earth. He changes to Superman and engages the object in battle to find it is a Brainiac construct. The comic ends with Brainiac in a pod with many bottles around him. The bottles are similar to the forcefield that surrounded Kandor.
Action Comics #867 (Vol. 1) Sept 2008 Continued from Action Comics #866. Brainiac can not locate the droid Superman destroyed, so he changes course to another planet. Superman and Supergirl are in the Fortress of Solitude looking at the droid. Supergirl informs Superman how Brainiac destroyed her home, the dangers Brainiac presents, and her desire to not remember what she went through. Clark tells his parents his plan to stop Brainiac, and they tell him how much they worry about him and love him. Superman takes a Kryptonian ship to try and find Brainiac. Along the way he learns about Brainiac’s history with krypton. When Superman gets to the planet Brainiac is attacking, he destroys some drones in an attempt to gain Brainiac’s attention. Superman is unable to stop Brainiac from trapping the city in a bottle, and destroying the planet. Brainiac expresses his joy in locating Superman.
Action Comics #868 (Vol. 1) Oct 2008 Continued from Action Comics #867. Supergirl goes to the Daily Planet offices, upsetting Cat Grant, in order to find Clark Kent. Lois Lane finds her. Superman is in Brainiac’s ship being probed with devices that put images in his head of the destruction of Kandor. Superman wakes up, destroys some machinery, and eventually finds the room with the many bottled cities. Brainiac wakes up to meet him, and they fight. Jonathan and Martha Kent discuss their son’s role and how they worry about him. Superman and Brainiac continue to fight, Brainiac tells Superman he plans to collect the entire universe. On the roof of the Daily Planet, Supergirl and Lois see Brainiac’s ship fly over.
Action Comics #869 (Vol. 1) Nov 2008 Continued from Action Comics #868. Metropolis is under attack from Brainiac and people are reacting; Supergirl appears frightened, while the members of the Daily Planet staff are a bit more active. Supergirl then decides to fight the drones to let Lois get away. Meanwhile, Superman and Brainiac are also fighting on Brainiac’s ship. Brainiac takes all of Superman’s memories, and then Superman severs a cord coming out of Brainiac’s head. Superman goes in search of the bottled city of Kandor, and finds Supergirl’s parents, Zor-El and Alura, contacting him to find out about their daughter. Zor-El tells Superman the story of how Brainiac destroyed everything and Supergirl got away. Brainiac comes back and captures Superman. Lois helps Supergirl fight the drones. Brainiac deploys a forcefield around Metropolis, shrinks it, and brings it on his ship. He also sends a solar-aggressor to destroy the sun.
Action Comics #870 (Vol. 1) Dec 2008 Continued from Action Comics #869. Brainiac has shrunk Metropolis and put it in a bottle on his ship. Superman is trapped and is not attempting to free himself as Brainiac puts down Earth and questions Superman’s loyalty to it. Superman uses his superhearing to hear Lois say she loves him, and this gives Superman the strength to break free of his trap. He incapacitates Brainiac, recovers the bottles cities of Metropolis and Kandor, the finds and frees Supergirl. He sends Supergirl to stop a device that is going to destroy the sun. Supergirl is afraid, and unconfident in her abilities, and Superman helps her believe in herself, and she stops the device. Brainiac comes back to fight Superman, and Superman throws him out of the ship, where he panics and realizes he is not in control. Brainiac uses the memories he stole from Superman to send another explosive to Clark’s home. Superman puts Metropolis back where it belongs and Kandor near his Fortress of Solitude since they will both be expanding soon. The probe goes to the Kent farm where Pa Kent Pushes Ma Kent out of the way saving her. Pa Kent then suffers a heart attack, and Superman can not hear Ma over the sound of Kandor expanding. Superman returns to the farm too late to find his father has died.
[[Action Comics Issue 866]] [[Action Comics Issue 867]] [[Action Comics Issue 868]] [[Action Comics Issue 869]] [[Action Comics Issue 870]] [[Action Comics (2011) Issue 1]] [[Action Comics (2011) Issue 2]]
[[The Avengers]] [[Batman]] Most members of [[Birds of Prey]] (Huntress, Lady Blackhawk, etc) [[Green Lantern]] [[Hawkman]] Hawkwoman (AKA Shayera, [[Hawkman]]) Most members of [[Justice League America]] (Wonder Woman, Bloodwynd, etc) [[Plutonian (Irredeemable series)]] [[Spawn]] [[Steel]] [[Superman]] [[The Thing]] Most members of [[X-Men]] (Wolverine, Cyclops, etc)
[[Plutonian (Irredeemable series)]] [[Superman]]
Avengers vs. X-Men #1 June 2012 A fiery energy known as the phoenix force enters Hope, one of the newest X-Men and the daughter of Scott Summers, AKA Cyclops. The phoenix force is recognized as a destructive force that "lays waste to the environment." The Avengers assemble to try to stop the force from further destruction, as it has already downed a commercial jet before entering into Hope's body. Captain America and Iron Man discover it has already inhabited somebody on Earth. Captain America visits Utopia, where the mutants of the X-Men live, and orders Cyclops to release Hope into the custody of The Avengers so they can stop the phoenix force before things get worse. Cyclops tells Captain America this force always brings birth with death, and thus he believes it may help resurrect the dying species of mutants. Emma Frost, Scott's girlfriend, insists it should be Hope's decision of what to do with her new power, but Scott refuses, both her and Captain America. He blasts Captain America with his laser eyes, which begins a war between The Avengers and The X-Men.
[[Batman Issues]] [[Batman and Robin Issues]] [[Detective Comics Issues]] [[Superman/Batman Issues]] [[Batman 80-Page Giant 2011]]
Batman 80-Page Giant 2011 Oct 2011 ''This extra-large issue contains seven individual stories.'' __Intervention__ Jade, a young woman, is shown telling her family she has found help from Bruce Wayne. Her family members are doubtful that she will really stop using drugs, and they suspect Bruce Wayne is getting something more from Jade than simple satisfaction. She runs away from her family and Bruce, conflicted about the whole ordeal. Bruce later finds her high on drugs, she attempts to make a romantic move, and he rejects her. She brings her to Wayne Manor to recover, and gets ready to search for the drug dealers. Alfred notes that Batman is Bruce's addiction, and it weighs heavily upon him as he reflects on his experiences. __Short Straw__ This story is narrated by a young man in a mechanical suit attempting to beat Batman. He explains it is part of a government program that happens every year, and that he is the fifth trial. He describes the events as they happen, which includes narrowly escaping Batman, but being found again and having his suit nearly destroyed. Batman ties him up and calls the police. The young man makes bail and is approached by a commanding officer. The officer thanks the young man, then shoots him in the head at point blank range, __Unspoken__ This story contains no dialogue. It appears to tell a story of Bruce Wayne meeting Selina Kyle (AKA Catwoman) to give her a rose, but he sees her with another man. He apparently tells her he is a criminal, and she is shocked. Each are shown to be suiting up in their superhero costumes individually, and Batman attacks the man and his accomplices near a dock. Catwoman and Batman then briefly wrestle before Batman escapes. Selina and Bruce are both shown smiling at the conclusion. __On the Waterfront__ Batman investigates a murder scene. At a prison, a doctor frees Victor Zsasz, a murderer. She takes him to her lair where she shows him a human body, indicating she wants to be his copycat. Batman crashes in on them, thinking the doctor was taken hostage by Zsasz, but she attacks him and temporarily knocks him unconscious. She tells Zsasz she is going to be the one to kill Batman instead of him, which makes him jealous. He kills her, and Batman takes Zsasz back to prison. __Danger Drive__ The Riddler holds game show contestants hostage (one of which is Dick Grayson, AKA Robin), demanding they answer questions with questions or suffer mild torture. Riddler is obsessed with questions, including the hero called The Question. The Riddler's attack is ambushed by The Question, who defeats all of the Riddler's thugs and the Riddler himself. __Fearless__ Nick Pierce faces The Scarecrow and shows how he is immune to Scarecrow's fear-inducing spray. Nick orders a robotic sniper rifle to fire, which hits Scarecrow. Nick recalls his past - he wanted to be a supervillain when he grew up, so he sent himself to Blackgate Penitentiary to interview other villains for several years. He also "had [his] fear surgically removed" from his brain. He then donned a Falcon head, calling himself The Falcon. He fought Batman, but was unsuccessful, so he went back to prison and intentionally instigated fights to get better at fighting. __One Lock, Many Keys__ Lucas is a boy with autism whose parents, Jack and Evelyn, argue. Jack says he got Lucas a comic book because he thought he would enjoy looking at the pictures. Evelyn notes Lucas has not spoken in nine years, and as they argue, Lucas begins clapping, crying, and making B-sounds. His parents send him to his room while they continue to argue. Lucas looks out his window when a Solomon Grundy, a zombie supervillain, crashes onto his fire escape. Batman arrives shortly after and tries to fight the Grundy. Grundy then takes Lucas hostage and threatens to cut him with broken glass. Batman throws a well-placed batarang at Grundy and defeats him in a fight. He then returns Lucas safely to his bedroom. His parents come upstairs and continue to argue about how Lucas "won't ever be normal." Just then, Lucas says, "Batman." Both parents stop arguing immediately and are delighted, encouraging Lucas to repeat Batman over and over.
Batman's story has changed so dramatically over the 70 years of his publishing life that it is difficult to write an accurate biography of Batman. The only part that has stayed the same is his origin story: As a little boy, Bruce Wayne is horrified and traumatized to see his parents, the physician Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, being murdered by a mugger in front of his very eyes. This drives him to fight crime in Gotham City as Batman. More recent stories of Batman (since the late 1980s) have made his story darker and gloomier.
[[Batman Issue 608]] [[Batman Issue 609]] [[Batman Issue 610]] [[Batman Issue 611]] [[Batman Issue 612]] [[Batman Issue 613]] [[Batman Issue 614]] [[Batman Issue 615]] [[Batman Issue 616]] [[Batman Issue 617]] [[Batman Issue 618]] [[Batman Issue 619]]
Batman #1 Nov 2011 Batman faces a group of villains, including Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, Killer Croc, Professor Pyg, Clayface, and others at Arkham Asylum. The Joker finds Batman, and they go into battle together, fighting side-by-side. It is later revealed that The Joker was Dick Grayson, AKA [[Nightwing]], wearing a mask. Bruce and Dick meet up with Tim Drake, AKA Red Robin, and Damian Wayne, AKA Robin, at a dinner party for Gotham City's wealthy citizens. Bruce delivers a speech about wanting to rejuvenate Gotham City with aggressive investing and rebuilding many of its derelict sectors. Bruce leaves the party and becomes Batman so he can investigate a murder. A man is found stabbed dozens of times with individual throwing knives. On the wall, a note is left claiming "Bruce Wayne will DIE tomorrow." Batman runs an analysis on the DNA of the knives, which matches Dick Grayson's DNA.
Batman: Hush TPB, 2009. Original issue published 2002. Chapter One: The Ransom Batman responds to a kidnapper calling for ransom in exchange for a wealthy boy he kidnapped. It turns out to be Killer Croc; however, Batman notes Killer Croc does not usually participate in kidnaps because he is too dumb to handle something so complicated. A suitcase full of money is placed by the FBI and Gotham City Police Department to draw Killer Croc out of hiding. While Croc and Batman fight, Catwoman swoops in and steals the suitcase full of money. Batman chases after Catwoman, but someone unknown cuts his batline while he's swinging between buildings. He falls several stories, injures his shoulder, and lays semi-conscious in Crime Alley - an area known as a criminal hangout. Catwoman is shown delivering the money to Poison Ivy.
Batman: Hush TPB, 2009. Original issue published 2003. Chapter Two: The Friend Batman is shown laying semi-conscious in Crime Alley, an area known for high criminal activity. Some criminals try to take off Batman's mask, but his suit retaliates and attacks the defenders with gas and electric shock. Batman calls to Oracle for help, and Huntress (hero) is first to respond. She fights off all the thugs and saves Batman. The Batmobile appears and she places Batman into it, which then drives off on its own. Poison Ivy (villain) is shown giving a suitcase of money to Hush (villain). While semi-conscious, Bruce Wayne taps Morse code for Thomas Elliot, a childhood friend who later became a surgeon. Bruce recalls when he and Tommy were children and Tommy instructed Bruce about being able to predict your opponent's moves in advance in order to capitalize on their weakness and win the game. Tommy arrives to perform surgery on Bruce, bringing him back to full health.
Batman: Hush TPB, 2009. Original issue published 2003. Chapter Three: The Beast Batman intentionally angers Killer Croc while he is held in jail so he will break out and find the person who set him up to be captured in Chapter One. Dr. Thomas Elliot arrives at Wayne Manor to check on Bruce's health, but Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce's butler, covers for Bruce while he is out acting as Batman. Alfred the reflects on a time when Tommy had visited Wayne Manor as a child, telling Alfred his parents had been in a terrible car crash. Bruce consoled Tommy, saying his (Bruce's) dad was the best surgeon in Gotham City, and he promised he would help both of Tommy's parents recover. Bruce's father comes out from surgery and tells Tommy his mother recovered, but his father has died. Tommy becomes furious and strikes Bruce. In present day, Killer Croc approaches Poison Ivy's hideout and finds Catwoman, with whom he fights, but Batman intervenes. Killer Croc said the ransom money was supposed to fix him and make him human again. He is captured by the police. Catwoman thanks Batman and kisses him.
Batman: Hush TPB, 2009. Original issue published 2003. Chapter Four: The City Bruce Wayne travels to Metropolis to continue his investigation into the involvement of his past villains resurfacing and working together. He runs into Dr. Thomas Elliot, and they recall a time when they were children together visiting Metropolis. All the while, Batman continues to recall his kiss with Catwoman. Dr. Elliot insists Bruce take care of himself while he recovers from surgery. Bruce meets with Lois Lane and Clark Kent briefly and finds out Lexcorp may be involved. Catwoman contacts Batman and tells him the reason why she wants first crack at fighting Poison Ivy is because "Ivy took control of my mind. She made me do things I may have been prone to, but that's my decision. No one gets to violate me like that." Catwoman fights Poison Ivy, Batman intervenes, and Superman arrives to protect Poison Ivy.
Batman: Hush TPB, 2009. Original issue published 2003. Chapter Five: The Battle Superman fights Batman while under Poison Ivy's spell. Batman puts on a Kryptonite ring to help him land powerful enough punches to keep Superman stunned. Batman rigs a trap that sends all of the electricity in Metropolis through Superman, which buys him enough time to escape and bring Superman's attention above ground where Catwoman drops Lois Lane off the edge of a building. After saving Lois, Superman is able to come to his wits. Superman, Batman, and Catwoman all agree to find Poison Ivy.
Batman: Hush TPB, 2009. Original issue published 2003. Chapter Six: The Opera Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle (Catwoman), and Thomas Elliot go to an opera together. Thomas set up the evening and Bruce thinks about how Selina does not know his secret identity. Harley Quinn, the Joker's girlfriend, suddenly appears with thugs to rob the attendees. Harley takes a ring from Thomas that belonged to his parents. Batman and Catwoman intervene. Catwoman gets hurt and Batman comes to her aid while Harley escapes with Thomas chasing after her. Harley and Thomas fight and Batman hears a loud bang. He turns a corner and finds the Joker sitting on top of Bruce's childhood friend, Thomas Elliot, with a bullet wound in his chest, apparently dead.
Batman: Hush TPB, 2009. Original issue published 2003. Chapter Seven: The Joke Batman fights the Joker thinking he shot and killed Dr. Thomas Elliot, Bruce Wayne's childhood friend and the man who recently saved his life. The Joker maintains he is innocent. While fighting, Batman recalls how the Joker shot Barbara Gordon, formerly Batgirl, and paralyzed her from the waist down. Barbara now serves as Oracle, sitting along in a large room of computers helping to guide the heroes of Gotham City with information and GPS tracking. Batman also remembers the Joker killing Jason Todd, who was once Batman's Robin. Catwoman intervenes, fearing Batman will take the fight too far, which allows the Joker to momentarily escape. Batman catches up to the Joker and is seemingly about to kill him when Jim Gordon fires a bullet near Batman's head, ordering him to stop the fight. Hush watches these events unfold nearby.
Batman: Hush TPB, 2009. Original issue published 2003. Chapter Eight: The Dead Bruce Wayne attends Dr. Thomas Elliot's funeral. Tommy, Bruce's childhood friend, was apparently murdered by the Joker. Bruce recalls how Tommy enjoyed a good challenge and regretted not contacting him sooner than when he was recently injured. Later, at the Batcave, Batman and [[Nightwing]] (Dick Grayson, formerly Robin) discuss the murder. Batman does not believe the Joker murdered Tommy, and instead he believes he saw and heard what he was meant to see and hear by someone setting up the Joker. Oracle notifies them both that the Riddler just hijacked an armored car with $11 million, and they go out to find him. They find the Riddler and begin to fight, all the while Bruce reflects on his role as guardian to Dick Grayson. "His parents - circus acrobats - had been murdered. And I...wanted to make a difference in his life...the way, if my parents had lived, they would made a difference in mine..." He contemplates whether it was right for him to train Dick, then realizes Dick came into his own as Nightwing, that he was destined to follow his own path. At Arkham Asylum, Hush reveals himself as a reformed Harvey Dent, whose goal is to successfully defend the Joker and get him out. Batman reveals his identity as Bruce Wayne to Catwoman, and they share a tender moment.
Batman: Hush TPB, 2009. Original issue published 2003. Chapter Nine: The Assassins Batman kidnaps Talia Ghul, daughter of villain Ra's al Ghul, in an effort to get his attention and find out who is behind an elaborate setup to kill Batman. Batman finds a sword embedded in his computer system and believes only Ra's has access to someone who would be capable of doing this, so he sets out to find him. Meanwhile, Harvey Dent enters Jim Gordon's home and tells him Batman needs their help. Harvey explains he is no longer ~Two-Face and he wishes to restore his once-positive image as a fearless district attorney. Batman and Ra's fight with swords in the desert, and Batman ultimately wins, stabbing Ra's through the chest. Ra's admits he is looking for the same person as Batman because he believes this person defiled one of the few remaining Lazarus Pits in the world (these pools bring the dead back to life and heal whoever enters). Meanwhile Catwoman guards Talia Ghul and is suddenly attacked by an assassin sent by Talia's father. The assassin knocks Catwoman almost unconscious when Talia frees herself and knocks the assassin unconscious, saying she wants her father out of her life. Batman arrives, and Talia notes she can tell he is in love with Catwoman and warns him whoever has set up this elaborate scheme will use her against him. Batman and Catwoman grow closer together and Batman invites her to the Batcave.
Batman: Hush TPB, 2009. Original issue published 2003. Chapter Ten: The Grave Robin (Time Drake) suddenly appears in the Batcave and tries to fight Catwoman, all the while telling Batman he disapproves of her presence. Batman removes his mask to prove he trusts her, and Robin cannot believe it. Batman recalls how Tim became Robin - Dick Grayson became [[Nightwing]], Jason Todd had died at the hands of the Joker, and, despite Batman's reluctance, Tim worked hard to prove his worth to become Robin. Robin argues with Batman, saying he should have been consulted about Catwoman's potential inclusion in their lives, but Batman brushes it off. It turns out this was a setup by Batman and Robin to get Catwoman to leave so they could follow her to see if she really can be trusted. Huntress finds Catwoman on the streets of Gotham City and fights her, believing Catwoman is Huntress's former self, thinking she is beating up her unwanted characteristics. It turns out Huntress is under the control of a toxin developed by the Scarecrow. While Batman fights the Scarecrow, a Batarang strikes Scarecrow in the head, knocking him unconscious. A reborn Jason Todd, dressed as Red Robin, reveals he threw the Batarang, he is Hush, and he holds Robin hostage.
Batman: Hush TPB, 2009. Original issue published 2003. Chapter Eleven: The Game Catwoman rescues Robin from Jason Todd. Jason and Batman fight while Batman recalls his discussion with Ra's al Ghul. Ra's mentioned the Lazarus Pit can bring someone back from the dead, but it leaves them insane. While fighting, Jason repeatedly reminds Batman let him die and Batman failed him when he was Robin. Catwoman and Robin discuss Bruce and Jason's past, noting he still keeps Jason's costume on display in the Batcave because his only major failure as Batman continues to haunt him. Batman realizes this is not the real Jason Todd, and Jason melts away while they fight. Batman sees Jason turned to clay, so he was likely fighting Clayface. Batman later meets with Oracle who shows him that someone planted a device in his computer system that distributed all of Batman's files and communications to an third party. Batman meets Harold on a bridge in Gotham City. Harold was a friendless and homeless person who had a gift working with computers. Batman hired him to develop his elaborate computer system in the Batcave, primarily because of Harold's hermit nature but also because Harold could not speak. Harold can now speak and apologizes to Batman, saying someone offered him a lot of money and offered to fix his muteness. Just as he is about to reveal who it is, Hush shoots him dead.
Batman: Hush TPB, 2009. Original issue published 2003. Chapter Twelve: The End Hush fights Batman while Batman tries to figure out who Hush is. Hush tells stories of Dr. Thomas Elliot, who Batman found shot dead, apparently by the Joker. Hush angrily reminds Bruce of his promise when he was younger that his father would save the lives of Tommy's parents after a car crash, but he was only able to save his mother. Hush reveals he has been angry all this time because he actually severed the brake lines in the car, intending for his parents to crash the car and be killed. By doing so, Tommy would have been an orphan left with his parents' fortune. Instead, he had to live the remainder of his childhood years in his mother's care without direct access to the fortune. Bruce later losing his own parents and gaining access to his parents' wealth further infuriated Tommy. Harvey Dent appears and shoots Hush, who falls into the river. Harvey reveals Dr. Thomas Elliot performed the plastic surgery on him to return him to looking like Harvey Dent instead of ~Two-Face. He also reveals he shot Dr. Elliot in the alleyway knowing he was actually Clayface. He said he did this to save Batman when he needed it most. Later, a the Batcave, Batman realizes Harold inserted subliminal images of Dr. Elliot into the computer display so he would only think of Dr. Elliot when he was badly injured. Batman confronts The Riddler, who admits being partly behind the elaborate setup. The Riddler and Dr. Elliot came into contact and Elliot admitted to hating Bruce Wayne, so the Riddler set it up so Hush would be able to wear down and kill Batman, who is Bruce Wayne. At Wayne Manor, Catwoman moves in to kiss Batman but he pushes her off, saying they likely did not share anything real since she might have just been under Poison Ivy's spell. She angrily storms off and Batman is left alone once again.
Batman #695 Mar 2010 Batman learns that Kitrina Falcone is the Falcone family's "dirty little secret," possibly Carmine's daughter/Mario's sister. Catwoman later finds Kitrina trying to steal maps of Gotham, including Devil Square's underground infrastructure. Kitrina tells Catwoman she is trying to solve the case of the Black Mask to cash in on the government's $50 million reward. Meanwhile, Batman picks up some clues about the Black Mask from Dr. Arkham and moves on to investigate when he gets a call from Huntress that she sees Mario Falcone's car. They try to lead her into a trap, but Reaper intervenes, crushing the car. Batman shows up, and he and Huntress take out Mario and Reaper. Batman is contacted by Catwoman about Kitrina, but just as she's about to show her to him, she escapes with the maps. The Riddler speaks with The Penguin on a payphone and is showing signs of recovery from amnesia, telling Penguin "I'm remembering that I don't like you very much." Batman travels to the Fairmount Amusement Park on a tip, but is attacked by crows with a tranquilizing poison on their beaks. Batman passes out, and wakes up with Penguin's mind control mask on him.
Batman #696 Apr 2010 Robin finds Batman washed up on the beach and asks if he killed Black Mask. For the duration of this issue, Dick goes in and out of consciousness as he recalls what happened while he wore Penguin's mind control mask. Batman is ordered to beat up the mayor of Gotham until he tells him where the antidote to Black Mask's mind control toxin is. Huntress is later seen talking to Kitrina about digital overlays Kitrina stole that show where Gotham's worst criminals are hiding. Kitrina pulls a gun on Huntress, but Catwoman intervenes. Batman shows up and stops Catwoman from attacking Huntress. Huntress notes that Penguin (and it's revealed that Mad Hatter also) finally got ahold of Batman, and they begin to make their way to Black Mask. Black Mask shocks Batman, and his mask falls off. Black Mask beats up on Batman, but Batman stuck himself with the antidote so he retaliates. Eventually, Batman stands near a window, takes a few bullets to his chest armor, and falls out into the water below. Later, full conscious, Dick Grayson pulls the bullets out of his chest and notes that he can now identify who Black Mask is.
Batman #697 May 2010 Dr. Fright and an unmasked Black Mask argue over whether he should continue wearing the mask. He argues that it has made him evil, he knows it. She argues that it has brought goodness to his life and that it has organized chaos both within the man and within Gotham City. Batman and his allies, immunized to Black Mask's mind control toxin via duplicated doses of the antidote, beat up on Black Mask's numerous men as Batman makes his way to Black Mask's hideout. He kills the power, defeats the Professor Strange and Dr. Death, but now faces Reaper. He sticks Reaper with the antidote so he can see how Black Mask used him as a tool against Batman, thus wasting his life. Batman finds Black Mask and Dr. Fright, and they fight. Dr. Fright is accidentally shot by Black Mask and may have been killed, and Batman removes the mask to reveal that Black Mask is Dr. Jeremiah Arkham. Later, Batman recaps the situation by describing how Black Mask lived a dual life - helping people with one life, and then using those people to further selfish ambitions with the other life. Batman reflects on how when one villain is defeated, a new one rises up to take his or her place. He meets with Catwoman to come to terms about their disagreement, and Catgirl appears at her side after Batman leaves, possibly her apprentice. Batman notes that he was not able to take down Black Mask as Dick Grayson or Bruce Wayne, but as Batman. ''End of Black Mask story arc''
Batman #698 June 2010 Dick Grayson continues to have nightmares about his parents' death, attributing the nightmares to a toxin in his body from Hugo Strange. Later, he investigates a murder - there appears to be a related string of murders of men who handled money for illegal outfits. The Riddler (Edward Nigma) steps in to help Batman and Commissioner Gordon discover clues. Batman receives a call through Gordon that he has 5 minutes to prevent a murder. While on his way to the scene, a young woman runs out and asks for help, but it turns out to be a distraction as she pulls out a flamethrower and fires it at Batman. Batman arrives too late. Batman then receives another clue that the murderer is Blackspell, AKA Sebastian Rothschild. Batman travels to Paris where Blackspell lives and discovers his apartment full of clues. He spots Blackspell and chases after him, who eventually leads him to The Riddler, who appears to have been given a poison from The Joker, as he's smiling widely and cannot stop laughing.
Batman #699 July 2010 The Riddler is recovering in the hospital after receiving a small dose of Joker venom. Batman questions Firefly about Blackspell and Riddler. Firefly reveals all of them used to be involved in a gang that was getting money illegally. Apparently, after The Riddler decided to leave the operation, Blackspell left too, but with all the money. The Riddler bribes the cop who was left to guard him, and Batman finds him being beaten by Blackspell at a warehouse. Batman tells The Riddler he knows he is the one setting all this up by trying to pin everything on Blackspell. Blackspell comes into contact with a poison that turns him into a tree, and he fights Batman, who eventually takes care of him. During this fight, the Riddler gets away.
Batman #704 Jan 2011 A man is mysteriously murdered at the start of the issue. Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin travel through Gotham City to find and fight Reaper. Catgirl tries to stop Reaper as well but fails. Batman and Robin capture Reaper when suddenly Bruce Wayne as Batman appears. Bruce tells Dick that Catgirl "needs to go," and Dick promises he will take care of it. At Wayne Tower, Sasha Lo tells Dick she wants to purchase several buildings in Crime Alley owned by Wayne Enterprises in an effort to build new buildings and revitalize the neighborhood. Dick resists. Later, Dick approaches Selina Kyle (Catwoman) and tells her Kitrina Falcone (Catgirl) needs to stay in school and stop trying to fight crime. Sasha Lo approaches Dick again and tells him to reconsider when she catches an arrow midair, preventing it from killing her. She escapes quickly, and Dick follows at Batman. Sasha Lo goes into costume as Peacock, who is ambushed by Sensei, telling her he holds her brother hostage.
Batman #705 Feb 2011 Peacock and Batman battle Sensei and successfully defeat him long enough to escape. They embark on a mission to find Peacock's brother Luki, who is mute but has the ability to share his experiences with Peacock telepathically. Peacock reveals she is working with ~I-Ching, who tells Batman the story of the Beholder Mask, which possesses its wearer and makes him or her all-powerful but evil. It is buried somewhere in Gotham City and Sensei is looking for it. Meanwhile, Batman investigates two murders but is stunned by bombs from the Riddler.
Batman #706 Mar 2011 Sensei beats and questions Lucius Fox (CEO of Wayne Enterprises) about his role in a secret society. He brings in Lucius’s daughter and threatens her life if he does not share what he knows. Lucius mostly denies but has a vague offer for Sensei to spare his daughter’s life. Batman is beaten by The Riddler and his daughter Enigma. Robin swoops in and saves Batman from being finished. A brief reference is made to Damian’s (Robin) age and how he may be becoming interested in girls, which Damian denies. Batman investigates Lucius’s role in what Sensei is looking for and learns Reaper may be part of the puzzle as well. Sensei confronts Batman in his search at the end of the issue.
Batman #707 Apr 2011 Batman, Lucius Fox, Fox’s daughter, and Luki Lo are tied up and thrown into water by Sensei’s thugs. Batman escapes and helps the others, then defeats the thugs. Sensei continues his search for the Beholder mask to unleash godlike powers onto himself. Peacock tries to stop Sensei, and Sensei realizes it was her who brought him back to life. It is revealed that Peacock purposely resurrected Sensei, knowing he would find the Beholder mask, so she could destroy the Beholder mask and kill Sensei. Batman arrives at the scene and briefly fights Sensei, who is now wearing the mask and possesses superpowers. The mask was not meant to be worn by Sensei, and it leaps off his face into the hands of Luki, the “rightful descendant” of people meant to wear the mask. The mask breaks in half and Batman is trusted to hold one half of the mask in protection. Sensei escapes.
''Batman issues 608 - 619 form a complete story that can be found in a book format entitled "Batman: Hush." It can be found [[here|Batman Hush]] in the Comicspedia database.'' Note: All issues of Batman below feature Dick Grayson (formerly Robin) as Gotham City's Batman as opposed to Bruce Wayne. [[Batman Issue 695]] [[Batman Issue 696]] [[Batman Issue 697]] [[Batman Issue 698]] [[Batman Issue 699]] [[Batman Issue 704]] [[Batman Issue 705]] [[Batman Issue 706]] [[Batman Issue 707]] The following issues feature Bruce Wayne as Batman and have been renumbered due to DC's "New 52" campaign where 52 titles were restarted with #1 issues. [[Batman Issue 1]]
Batman and Robin #1 August 2009 Toad and his henchmen are being chased by Batman and Robin. He is captured, and the heroes discover he was carrying a suitcase of dominoes, which they agree to investigate. It is revealed that Batman is Dick Grayson, formerly Bruce Wayne's Robin, and Robin is Damian Wayne, son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Ghul, Ra's Al Ghul's daughter. Commissioner Gordon puts out the bat signal, even though he knows Bruce Wayne is dead. Batman and Robin respond, although their interaction isn't shown until the next issue. Meanwhile, Pyg sends out some of his henchmen to get people connected to Toad, as well as someone to the police station to free Toad. Pyg is shown placing a chemical doll's mask over a man while the man's daughter watches.
Batman and Robin #10 May 2010 Damian tells the board of Wayne Enterprises that he is going to be the new leader of the company while Bruce Wayne is gone, and notes that money seems to be disappearing. Oberon Sexton meets with Batman to try to discover the identity of the domino killer. Batman and Robin, back at Wayne Manor, meet with Alfred who points out the portraits of past Wayne men appear to tell a story, which the three begin to investigate. Sexton receives a phone call from someone who apparently ordered Sexton to kill Batman, which he did not do. The person on the phone sent a group of thugs to kill Sexton, who escapes. Back at Wayne Manor, Batman and Robin discover a secret passageway and continue to find more clues about Wayne men in the past. Robin reluctantly notes that if Bruce Wayne returns, neither of them can fill the roles of Batman or Robin anymore. Robin (under the control of his mother via the implanted spine) suddenly swings a sword at Batman, who falls through the floor and finds a secret Batcave. Robin, knowing his mother controls him, escapes to the graveyard where Sexton meets up with him.
Batman and Robin #11 June 2010 A man who may be a Thomas Wayne of the past is making his way from Mexico to Gotham City. Robin and Oberon Sexton fight thugs in the graveyard of Wayne Manor, and the thugs seem to try to summon Barbatos, a half-man/half-bat creature. Batman discovers more strange clues about the Wayne family history, and eventually makes it out of the secret cave. Talia Ghul, who still has a machine that controls Damian via his replaced spine, orders a killer (physically controlling him) to kill Sexton and Batman.
Batman and Robin #12 July 2010 Talia Ghul hires Slade Wilson to remotely take over Robin's body via his implanted spine in order to kill Batman. Batman realizes what is going on, and shocks Robin, which in turn shocks Slade. Batman, Robin, and Oberon Sexton escape the graveyard, and Batman tells Alfred about the giant bat he fought underneath Wayne Manor. They discuss some newly found clues about the history of the Wayne family. Batman and Robin then head to Talia Ghul's location to confront her and Slade. Robin speaks with Talia alone and tells her that he has decided to remain Robin and sever his ties with her. She concedes, but points out that she has created a second Damian who she will raise to be her loyal son. Later, Sexton reveals to Batman that he is the Joker.
Batman and Robin #13 Aug 2010 Dr. Thomas Wayne, Bruce Wayne's father, returns to Gotham City in an attempt to control the city. It is quickly revealed that Thomas Wayne paid off a crook to kill his wife and almost kill Thomas. He is later shown holding Batman and Robin hostage with Batman's mask removed to reveal Dick Grayson. He shoots Dick in the back of the head. This is all foreshadowing, and the rest of this issue takes place in the days leading up to this event. The Joker is held in an interrogation room, and he, Batman, and Robin talk about The Joker's role as Oberon Sexton and his connection with, or possibly being, the domino killer. Batman takes Lt. Gordon back to the Batcave where Batman reveals his understanding of a virus that was released. He believes it will turn all of Gotham City's citizens into addicts (currently unknown to what), but it needs a trigger, which he believes could be a cold, flu, or other common ailment. He hears Robin entered the interrogation room, so he and Gordon leave immediately because he knows how brutal Robin is. Robin beats on The Joker with a crowbar while telling him he knows all of what The Joker does is a plan, none of it is by accident. As Batman and Gordon fly through Gotham City, they are shot down and land in a prison full of Dollotrons. Professor Pyg is seen being released by his henchmen.
Batman and Robin #14 Oct 2010 Robin continues to interrogate The Joker until The Joker slices Robin with his fingernails. This transfers a poison to Robin, who goes into a state of paralysis and continuous laughter, then The Joker escapes with Robin hostage. Professor Pyg and Black Glove are shown to be working together. Batman and Lt. Gordon are overrun by Dollotrons. Batman is knocked unconscious and makes it back home safely, but Gordon is taken hostage. Black Glove tells Pyg he has assembled a crowd of the media, the mayor, and "the cream of Gotham's underworld royalty" so Pyg can share his vision of Gotham. The Joker contacts Batman to tell him he has Robin, and he wants both Batman and Robin to help him get to Black Glove. Batman crashes into the crowd and starts fighting the Dollotrons and Pyg. Gordon is shown suffering from Pyg's addiction virus, and Black Glove dangles the antidote in front of him, saying he has to do what he says. Batman unties Gordon, who betrays him and knocks him down with the tank that is feeding him the virus. Black Glove tells Batman he has nothing left to fight with, saying, "Your knights have fallen and the board is mine!" The Joker is then shown holding Robin hostage, possibly planning how to get to Black Glove now.
Batman and Robin Issue #2 Sep 2009 This issue picks up shortly before the end of the first issue. Batman and Robin respond to Gordon's bat signal, but Gordon is suspicious of whether to trust this duo considering he knows Bruce Wayne is dead. Rex, a villain whose face is on fire and can set others on fire, bursts into the police station with Big Top and others where Mr. Toad is being held. Batman and Robin intervene and begin fighting the villains. Robin runs off alone after Big Top, even though Batman is yelling for Robin to stay at his side. Robin breaks Big Top's wrist and stuffs her head into a bucket while he wallops on it with wooden sticks. Gordon and Batman find him and tear him off her. They discover Mr. Toad is dead with a domino in his hand. Batman and Robin later argue about what they're supposed to be doing: Batman pleads they should be using their detective skills and fighting within the limits of the law, whereas Robin argues that those techniques get heroes nowhere and he does not respect Grayson for being so tame. Grayson tells Alfred that he is upset that no one seems to respect him, no one thinks he's Batman. Meanwhile, Robin goes off on his own after the domino killer. He is captured by Pyg's dollotron.
Batman and Robin Issue #3 Oct 2009 Batman drags Rex through the streets off the side of his Batcycle and finds out where Professor Pyg is hiding. Robin wakes up and sees Pyg dancing around with a drill and electric handsaw in his hands, claiming he's going to make Robin and the others perfect. Pyg cries out that nothing he does is good enough, no matter how perfect he makes his dollotrons. Pyg continues to dance around Robin to music until Robin unties himself, grabs the handsaw out of Pyg's hand, and slices the faces of the dollotrons around him as he escapes. Batman discovers the dollotrons' masks are full of germs they can cough out onto others as an attack. Sasha, one of Pyg's victims, escapes as well and tries to help Robin in order to save her father. Robin is about to be killed by Pyg when Batman appears and knocks him down. The duo punch out Pyg and fight off some of his dollotrons. Gordon shows up and Batman hands him the antidote to the masks, explaining what happened, although it appears that Pyg was not behind Toad's murder. Batman and Robin agree to work together more closely from now on. Meanwhile, Sasha is found suffocating her father in the hospital. Just as the police are about to intervene, Red Hood shoots them dead and asks Sasha to help him "wipe the vomit off the face of Gotham once and for all."
Batman and Robin Issue #4 Nov 2009 Lightning Bug (villain) is shown badgering a man for money when the Batmobile appears. Lightning Bug panics and flees until he believes he is caught in the dark by Batman himself. He offers to turn himself in when he is suddenly slit in the throat. He looks up and sees two new faces, Red Hood and Sasha. Just before Lightning Bug is about to bleed to death, Red Hood shoots him, he falls out a 7th story window, and crashes onto a car below surrounded by people. Red Hood claims the punishment has fit the crime and leaves a "business card" of sorts behind. Later, at a social event, Dick and Damian are introduced to Oberon Sexton, also known as the Gravedigger, by Lucius Fox. Little is explained at this point. Sasha contemplates taking off her dollotron mask, but Red Hood insists that she keep it on. Meanwhile, Batman and Robin sit atop a building scanning the city for crime. Several villains, including The Penguin, sit around a boardroom table discussing ways to take care of the new Batman and Robin. One villain said he has called Flamingo in to do the job, that he is the most ruthless and effective assasin in the world today. Suddenly, Red Hood drops in and starts slicing up the other villains. Batman and Robin show up, and Penguin begs them to help him. Sasha is recording the whole event on video, including, as Red Hood puts it, "Batman shielding a known felon." At the end of this issue, Red Hood and Scarlet (Sasha) say "Let the punishment fit the crime!"
Batman and Robin #5 Dec 2009 Sasha (AKA Scarlet) reflects on killing her father. Red Hood (AKA Jason Todd, AKA the person who was Bruce Wayne's Robin while Dick Grayson was Nightwing) tells Batman that he's getting results from killing the villains instead of just imprisoning them. Later, at their hideout, Sasha tells Red Hood that she is worried about attracting serious villains, similar to how Batman has Joker as a villain. It is revealed that Flamingo has been brought to the U.S. from Mexico to take out Red Hood and Scarlet. After a brief battle with Batman and Robin, where Robin is viciously attacked and bleeding heavily, Red Hood and Scarlet escape. Red Hood is shot suddenly in his helmet and he collapses. Sasha tells the story of Flamingo, stating that he "once fought the Mob until they cut his brain apart and took away everything human. They made him kill his wife, his children, and everyone and everything he'd ever loved." She notes that he's known as the Ace of Assassins, and he's now in Gotham.
Batman and Robin #6 Jan 2010 This is a mostly action issue. Red Hood, Scarlet, Batman, and Robin all fight Flamingo until Red Hood drops Flamingo off the side of the building they're fighting on. They presume he is dead. Robin is paralyzed from the waist down during the fight. Now maskless, Jason Todd is arrested by Commissioner Gordon, and Todd reveals that he could not continue to serve as merely a sidekick while Batman simply fought and arrested the worst villains Gotham had ever seen. Todd wanted results, proclaiming that he did tonight what Batman has never done - beaten his arch-rival. Sasha is shown driving out of the city, and she removes her mask.
Batman and Robin #7 Mar 2010 Batman investigates a gang war in London. He finds out that King Coal and the Pearly Prince are fighting to gain control of an abandoned coal mine because it supposedly houses the Lazarus Pit - a pit of liquid that revives anyone from the dead. Meanwhile, Damian Wayne's mother, Talia Ghul, is replacing his spine after it was broken in a fight in the previous issue. She tells Alfred that Damian will fulfill his destiny as an heir to Al Ghul. Batman and Squire head into the mine to find Cyril and the pit. Batwoman appears, saying that King Coal's men warned her of a beast rising from the pit on this day. She tells Batman (Dick Grayson) that she is the new Batman since the Bruce Wayne Batman died. Batman (Dick Grayson) tells her that he's brought Batman (Bruce Wayne) with him to resurrect him in the pit, and that they had better be prepared for whatever may rise from it.
Batman and Robin #8 Apr 2010 Batwoman reveals that she's been searching for clues about a religion of sin, which led her to the Lazarus Pit. Batman rises from the Pit, and it is shown that he is an exact clone of Batman, complete with every one of his memories implanted into its brain. Undead Batman and Batman fight. Undead Batman proves to be a worthy opponent and escapes when rocks collapse in the mine around them. He takes off using Batman's transportation devices, while Batman stays behind to help Batwoman, who appears to be critically injured. She dies in Batman's arms. Meanwhile, Undead Batman makes it back to the Batcave, where Damian has returned with his new spine intact.
Batman and Robin #9 Late April 2010 Batman is in London with Knight and Squire and the body of Batwoman. Meanwhile, another Batman is attacking Damian and Alfred. This Batman doesn't know why he's attacking them; he has distorted flashbacks of various events in his life while trying to convince Damian and Alfred that he is Batman. The real Batman, Knight, and Squire dump Batwoman's body into the Lazarus Pit and she comes back to life. The other Batman and Damian take their fight to the top of Wayne Tower, Batman picks up Damian and throws him off the roof. The real Batman swoops in just in time to save Damian and drop him off, explaining that it only takes 25 minutes to get from England to Gotham in suborbital travel. Batwoman also appears, and together they take down the other Batman. It turns out that this was an undead Batman who seemed to have distorted memories similar to Bruce Wayne's Batman, but undead Batman was looking for Bruce Wayne at Wayne Tower and Damian just got in the way. Dick Grayson Batman says that if undead Batman was looking for Bruce Wayne, then Bruce must be out there somewhere, and he needs to find him.
Dick Grayson as Batman, Damian Wayne (Bruce Wayne's son) as Robin [[Batman and Robin Issue 1]] [[Batman and Robin Issue 2]] [[Batman and Robin Issue 3]] [[Batman and Robin Issue 4]] [[Batman and Robin Issue 5]] [[Batman and Robin Issue 6]] [[Batman and Robin Issue 7]] [[Batman and Robin Issue 8]] [[Batman and Robin Issue 9]] [[Batman and Robin Issue 10]] [[Batman and Robin Issue 11]] [[Batman and Robin Issue 12]] [[Batman and Robin Issue 13]] [[Batman and Robin Issue 14]]
[[Batwing Issues]]
Batwing #1 Nov 2011 The issue begins with Batwing being attacked in Africa by a masked man. Six weeks earlier, Batwing was tracking drug runners with the assistance of Batman. Batwing is revealed to be David Zavimbe, an officer of the local police department, who also works these crimes from the more official side of the law. Later, he and Batman meet, along with Matu Ba, Batwing's assistant, at Batwing's base. They discuss the murder of Dede Yeboah, who was formerly a superhero named Earth Strike. He was found mutilated among criminals. David returns to his police precinct and finds all of his colleagues brutally murdered. The masked man sneaks up behind him and pushes a giant blade through his back just as the issue concludes.
Batwing #10 Aug 2012 Batwing is trying to follow some pirates out on the ocean. He discovers a ship being hijacked by pirates, and a man is being held hostage. The ship blows up with the man on board, and Batwing escapes. There is a bombing at the Governor's mansion, and politicians are attacked by a terrorist organization. Nightwing and Batwing are cornered by thugs, and one of them morphs into a giant dragon. The issue ends with a view of the Penguin discussing what is happening to Nightwing and Batwing.
Batwing #2 Dec 2011 David and Batman discuss the tools Batman has given him to become Batwing. Batman points out that everything is just a tool, and the most powerful tool is David himself. Later, David has a machete thrust through his chest by the villain Massacre, who has brutally killed David's colleagues at the police precinct he works. Kia Okuru, a friend of David's, arrives just in time to scare Massacre off with gunshots. David spends weeks recovering in The Haven, his version of The Batcave. Meanwhile, Massacre finds Thunder Fall, once a hero who is now a school teacher. They fight, and Massacre slices off Thunder Fall's arm. Batwing intervenes before it gets worse.
Batwing #8 June 2012 Batman, Robin, and Nightwing fight the robot villain Steelback while Batwing fights Massacre, a villain who has been targeting members of an African supergroup, The Kingdom. The heroes defeat the villains, but Batwing discovers the man behind the Massacre mask is his brother, Isaac. He later discovers the man controlling Steelback and sending Massacre to kill is Josiah Kone, the man who formed The Kingdom. He explains The Kingdom let a perpetrator of genocide live and so he deemed it necessary to exact vengeance on them. Kone admits to finding Isaac living alone and trained him to be a killer so he could have a purpose. David (Batwing) takes it upon himself to save Isaac, who has now gone missing.
Batwing #10 July 2012 This issue is part of the crossover event, "The Court of Owls," beginning in Batman and carrying over into other Batman-themed comic books. David attends a gala hosted by the company Batman, Inc. He reflects on his fight with Massacre and how he needs to improve his suit. The court of owls send several Talons out (each a strong villain) to find and kill people close to Batman. A talon enters the gala and David changes into his Batwing suit to fight him. He is able to defeat Talon, but some of the guests are killed before he is successful.
[[Batwing Issue 1]] [[Batwing Issue 2]] [[Batwing Issue 8]] [[Batwing Issue 9]] [[Batwing Issue 10]]
On the left are issues tagged with the theme of being different. ''Example questions:'' How does [Character] handle being different? (provide example) Keeping that in mind, what do you think [Character] is feeling when [Situation] happens? How would you have felt? What would you have done? (provide example) When have you felt singled out or unlike your peers? What was that like?
[[Birds of Prey Issues]]
Birds of Prey #1 July 2010 Black Canary is in Iceland attempting to rescue a little girl who is held hostage by a group of men. Oracle calls her and Lady Blackhawk, asking them to meet up. She also calls Huntress, asking her to regroup as the Birds of Prey as well. Meanwhile, a mysterious man catches Lady Blackhawk's eye while she makes a stop at a bar. Hawk and Dove apparently spot Lady Blackhawk and agree to contact her. Later, Black Canary and Huntress discuss why they were called with Oracle. Oracle reveals someone has been keeping records of every secret, including names and addresses, of every hero and villain in the city. Suddenly, a Birds of Prey spotlight is cast on the clouds above Gotham City, and the three women respond. Penguin shone the light, and he is suddenly attacked by White Canary, who taunts the three superheroines.
Birds of Prey #2 Aug 2010 Huntress and Black Canary fight White Canary in an alley while The Penguin lays nearby, bleeding. Hawk, Dove, and Lady Blackhawk arrive, but the supergroup is unable to handle the villain. Oracle, back in the Batcave, overhears news reports about Black Canary supposedly killing a man ([[Birds of Prey Issue 1]]), and they realize White Canary set them up to be cornered by the police. The Penguin offers to help if they can get him to his hideout, which also does not help the Birds of Prey's public perception. Oracle receives a call from Creote, who says he and Savant were attacked by a woman, who killed Savant. He said the woman told him they were "guilty by association" for helping the Birds of Prey, and he commits suicide while talking to Oracle. White Canary tells the Birds of Prey that one of them will die every hour for the next six hours, and escapes.
Birds of Prey #3 Sep 2010 The Penguin begins the issue with a sexual dream about the Birds of Prey. Black Canary laments about her secret identity being public knowledge due to being framed for murder. The Penguin wakes up and threatens to kill the Birds, but Dove uses her powers of empathy to calm him down. A tank suddenly bursts into the Penguin's hideout and Oracle's computer system is taken out, leaving her paralyzed. Savant and Creote (allies previously thought to be dead) "greet" her, taking her hostage, and telling her she will reveal her identity to the world and own up to all of her actions. Meanwhile, the White Canary attacks Hawk, turns him into his human form, and paralyzes him for the time being. This surprises everyone as he is supposedly invulnerable, yet a poisoned blade was able to penetrate his skin easily. Black Canary chases White Canary and fights her, realizing who she is (yet to be revealed).
Birds of Prey #4 Oct 2010 Black Canary realizes White Canary was born into a family of twelve brothers, all trained to be assassins. They fight until Black Canary gains an advantage and handcuffs White Canary. Black Canary demands to know if she killed a man and framed her for murder, but White Canary says it was Shiva, and she offers to assist Black Canary and finding and killing Shiva. Meanwhile, Savant and Creote take Oracle to a dam and seemingly threaten to push her off. Creote explains they are doing this because Savant cannot tell time, every second of torture felt like hours or days, and he relives it every moment, blaming Oracle. Savant reveals he has actually come to the dam to commit suicide because he feels guilty for bringing so much pain to the Birds of Prey. Oracle demands Creote to help her, but he said he promised Savant to let him do this. Creote then reluctantly helps Savant up from the ledge. The Penguin turns on the girls and holds them all hostage while he waits for White Canary and Creote to return, saying he plans to take over Gotham City. The girls overtake him and take Hawk and Lady Blackhawk to a hospital.
Birds of Prey #5 Nov 2010 Black Canary agrees to leave the Birds of Prey to follow White Canary (villain) to Bangkok to find Lady Shiva, who is supposedly behind the attacks on the Birds of Prey. She is also supposed to be responsible for the deaths of people close to Black Canary. Meanwhile, Huntress holds The Penguin hostage, but Oracle orders her to let him go. She only does so after Oracle promises her they will be able to seek their revenge on Penguin. Later, Lady Blackhawk and Huntress travel to Bangkok to find Black Canary. They are attacked by thugs, and it is revealed at the end of the issue that Black Canary is now dressed in white and she is the leader of these thugs.
Birds of Prey #6 Jan 2011 This issue's storyline mostly involves Black Canary's desire to fight White Canary to the death in order to save her sister, Sin. Huntress steps forth and challenges Shiva Woosan for a fight to the death instead for Sin's life. Shiva agrees and the two fight. Meanwhile, Black Canary is led by one of Shiva's accomplices, who admires Black Canary, to the room where Sin is kept. Black Canary frees her and returns to the two women fighting. Black Canary tells them they do not need to fight to the death now, as the fight can continue for years, so long as one is eventually killed in battle. The women agree, and the Birds of Prey leave with Sin.
[[Birds of Prey Issue 1]] [[Birds of Prey Issue 2]] [[Birds of Prey Issue 3]] [[Birds of Prey Issue 4]] [[Birds of Prey Issue 5]] [[Birds of Prey Issue 6]]
[[Batwing]] Bloodwynd ([[Justice League America]]) Miles Morales (mixed race) from [[Ultimate Spider-Man|Ultimate Spider-Man (2011) Issues]] [[Spawn]] [[Steel]]
Blackest Night involves a personified force of death resurrecting deceased superheroes and seeking to eliminate all life and emotion from the universe. The Green Lantern Corps and the Sinestro Corps would be joined by five new Corps, each driven by a specific emotion and empowered by a specific color of the emotional spectrum, leading to a "War of Light" that would subsequently destroy the universe.
Brightest Day is a story told among various superhero franchises that centers on second chances. Some second chances will work out, others will not. Many less popular or discontinued comic book lines are resurrected for this event. Because of the number of titles under the Brightest Day banner (11 titles, most published once per month, two published every other week), not every issue from every title will be included here due to cost. [[Brightest Day Issues]] [[Green Lantern Issues (Volume 4)]] [[Green Lantern Emerald Warriors Issues]]
Brightest Day #1 Early July 2010 Please read the disclaimer found at the top of [[Brightest Day Issues]] before selecting an issue from this title. ''Green Lantern:'' Green Lantern, Star Sapphire, and Sinestro appear at the site of the White Lantern. They recognize it as being the cause of the recent resurrection of so many dead heroes and villains. Green Lantern attempts to lift it, but he cannot, noting it must be like the sword in the stone, which requires its rightful owner to life it. ''Aquaman/Deadman:'' Deadman has permanently turned from undead hero to living human who wears a white ring that prevents him from being seen or interacting with the world. Deadman witnesses Aquaman and Mera boarding a ship of thieves who have kidnapped 15 children. Aquaman summons sea creatures to take out the thieves, but is surprised when he sees the creatures he has summoned are undead, which Mera reminds him happened when he wore a black ring during Blackest Night. The creatures brutally kill the thieves, which may not have been Aquaman's intent. ''Black Manta:'' Black Manta, a villain in human form, works at a fish market when he overhears the locals being excited about the return of Aquaman. He kills the locals, blows up his own home, and transforms into Black Manta at the end of the issue. ''Firestorm:'' Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond) is currently fused with Jason Rusch. Ronnie hears Jason's voice complaining about this fusion, and they attempt to separate into two beings, but fail. The Atom and a professor say they cannot separate and there is bad news, which is left unrevealed. ''Martian Manhunter:'' Martian Manhunter has an intense vision of him choking Professor Erdel (not the professor from the Firestorm story) with a girl lying next to him. He believes it was transmitted telepathically from Earth, and he feels compelled to find out who that girl is. ''Hawkman/Hawkgirl:'' Hawkman wears the Claw of Horus, which is guiding him to a specific, yet unknown location. It leads them to a group of soldiers who were trying to transport two skeletons. After a fight, Hawkman and Hawkgirl realize these bones came from the bodies that used to house their souls during ancient Egyptian times. One of the soldiers escapes, who delivers the skeletons to Hath-Set, a villain who can continuously reincarnate himself through the possession of his descendants.
Brightest Day #2 Late July 2010 Please read the disclaimer found at the top of [[Brightest Day]] Issues before selecting an issue from this title. ''Firestorm/Atom:'' Atom attempts to separate Jason from within Firestorm's body by entering Firestorm and pulling apart the firestorm matrix molecule. Ronnie and Jason argue within each other, setting off a chain reaction in the firestorm matrix and causing a huge explosion. ''Hawkman/Hawkgirl:'' Hawkman and Hawkgirl discover ~Hath-Set has been making clay faces from the past bodies of Hawkman and Hawkgirl. They destroy the wall holding them, and set out to kill ~Hath-Set. ''Martian Manhunter:'' Martian Manhunter talks to the daughter of Professor Erdel, who apparently brought Martian Manhunter to Earth in the first place. She reveals her father summoned him to battle an evil alien he accidentally summoned during one of his experiments. She regretfully remembers her father keeping her from him and his experiments after that one went wrong, and this led to her not being able to be with him during his death. ''Deadman:'' Deadman watches Aquaman and Mera jump into the ocean, which kills all the nearby fish. Deadman is suddenly whisked away by the white ring, guided by a voice from the white lantern, who tells him he must fight ~Anti-Monitor, a humongous universe destroyer.
Brightest Day #3 Early Aug 2010 Please read the disclaimer found at the top of [[Brightest Day Issues]] before selecting an issue from this title. ''Deadman:'' Boston Brand, AKA Deadman, is ordered by the white ring to fight the ~Anti-Monitor, a destroyer of universes. He does not know what to do, when suddenly the spirits of all resurrected heroes leap out of his ring and momentarily attack the ~Anti-Monitor. The ~Anti-Monitor attacks back, and he falls safely into a net. ''Firestorm:'' Ronnie awakes in a hospital to see the professor explaining what happened when Ronnie and Jason successfully split as Firestorm. He explains the hero can be no more because Ronnie and Jason must stay separate as people. Meanwhile, Jason explains to his father he wishes to continue studying for an exam, and his father says he must come home. After an argument, his father gives up and allows Jason to stay in the hospital to study. Ronnie recalls wearing a Black Lantern ring and strangling a woman as Firestorm. ''Aquaman:'' Aquaman summons more undead sea life, and he tells Mera me must figure out why he cannot summon living sea life. ''Martian Manhunter:'' Martian Manhunter looks into the memory of a dog and sees a mother brutally killing her family while turning undead. ''Hawkman/Hawkgirl:'' Hawkman and Hawkgirl attack ~Hath-Set's base and discover he has collected the bones from each and every one of Hawkman and Hawkgirl's previous lifes in order to possibly live through them and become as powerful as dozens of Hawkmen and Hawksgirls.
Brightest Day #4 Late Aug 2010 Please read the disclaimer found at the top of [[Brightest Day Issues]] before selecting an issue from this title. ''Hawkman/Hawkgirl:'' Hawkman and Hawkgirl approach the gate Hath-Set created with their bones in search of the two sets of bones he has yet to aquire. They step through the gate and enter another dimension. ''Deadman:'' Deadman enters the room of a woman who turns out to be Dove. Hawk responds to Dove's distress call, but Hawk realizes Deadman does not mean harm. Deadman explains he came across a white ring which he watched give life to a dead bird and instantly sprout a dense forest in the middle of Star City. Hawk takes Deadman to Hawk's brother's grave and asks him to bring his brother back to life. ''Firestorm:'' Ronnie Raymond suddenly wakes to a vision of a girl named Gehenna ordering him to say her name.
Brightest Day #8 Oct 2010 Please read the disclaimer found at the top of [[Brightest Day Issues]] before selecting an issue from this title. ''Hawk/Deadman/Dove:'' Hawk, Deadman (AKA Boston Brand), and Dove talk about what the white lantern is telling Deadman. The lantern tells him he needs to find a protector for the white lantern, and Hawk must protect Dove. Deadman uses the white ring to teleport to Green Lantern along with Dove, leaving Hawk behind. ''Martian Manhunter:'' In the Tanami Desert, Australia, Martian Manhunter and M'Gann discuss whether she is a true green martian or a white martian, with Martian Manhunter explaining every white martian is accounted for, but a plague has possibly wiped out the entire race of green martians. She allows him to see into her mind to see for himself what she is. ''Hawkman:'' In Hawkworld, Hawkman is led through a forest by Tonrarr, a lionman who is the leader of a group called Lionmane Pride. Tonrarr teaches Hawkman about the origination of Hawkworld - humans and animals coexisted, but always remained at war with the hawks. The bloodlines merged, and manhawks traveled to Thanagar to fight each other as they conquered new land. An earthling woman then traveled to Thanagar to unite and rule the manhawks, and this queen is still there today. ''Hawkgirl:'' Hawkgirl (AKA Shiera) attempts to fight Hath-set when the queen knocks her to the ground and reveals she is Hawkgirl's mother. Martian Manhunter and M'Gann meditate together to find a telepathic anomaly, which they discover in Star City, which Martian Manhunter travels to at the end of the issue.
''@@Please note:@@'' This title serves as its own storyline, which can be easily followed without having to read any other titles. However, it also somewhat serves as a unifying title whereby the many resurrected heroes and villains within Brightest Day interact on a regular basis. Therefore, it may be especially difficult to follow and make sense of storylines and characters when selecting only one or two issues for therapy. For example, one issue typically involves 4 - 6 heroes' individual storylines advancing at once, which can be confusing to the reader. [[Brightest Day Issue 1]] [[Brightest Day Issue 2]] [[Brightest Day Issue 3]] [[Brightest Day Issue 4]] [[Brightest Day Issue 5]] [[Brightest Day Issue 6]] [[Brightest Day Issue 7]] [[Brightest Day Issue 8]] [[Brightest Day Issue 9]] [[Brightest Day Issue 10]]
Note: All demographics information as organized here comes from how the characters appear, and some will overlap. For example, a character may be thousands of years old, come from an alien planet, but maintain an appearance of a 35 year old White male. As a result, this character would be found in Alien, White, Male, and Adult categories. ''RACE'' [[Alien]] [[Black]] [[Hispanic]] [[Native American]] [[Undead]] [[White]] ''SEX'' [[Male]] [[Female]] ''AGE'' [[Child/Adolescent (Birth - 17)]] [[Young adult (18 - 29)]] [[Adult (30 - 49)]] [[Older Adult (50+)]]
''DC COMICS'' [[The Atom]] [[Batman]] [[Batwing]] [[Birds of Prey]] (Black Canary, Lady Blackhawk, Oracle, Huntress, Dove, Hawk) [[The Flash]] [[Green Lantern]] [[Hawkman]] [[Justice League of America]] (Hawkman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Atom, many others) [[Nightwing]] [[Superman]] [[Steel]] ''MARVEL'' [[The Avengers]] (Thor, Iron Man, Spider Man, Hawkeye, Wolverine, Captain America, others) [[Captain America]] [[Daredevil]] [[Fantastic Four]] [[The Punisher]] [[Silver Surfer]] [[Spider-Man]] [[The Thing]] [[X-Men]] (Wolverine, Professor Charles Xavier, Cyclops, Rogue, Storm, many others) ''INDEPENDENT (OTHER) PUBLISHERS'' [[Gwen (iZombie series)]] @@Suggested for mature readers@@ [[Plutonian (Irredeemable series)]] The title of this comic is Irredeemable, the main character is Plutonian. [[Soldier Zero]] [[Starborn]] [[Spawn]] You can also find some entries in these categories: [[By Time Published]] [[Events / Side Stories]]
In this section, you will find comic book summaries organized by themes. In some cases, these themes are found lightly in some issues but heavily in successive issues. For example, Random Superhero #50 might have someone die in the very last panel, but Random Superhero #51 shows Random Superhero's reaction and processing of the loss itself. Both of these would be tagged with "Losing a Loved One" because they both relate to the theme in same way, whether in one pane or in an entire issue. However, issues of Revenge or Being Different may sound like they're extremely common themes in comic books, but themes like these are very carefully tagged onto issues where these themes are paramount to the story's progression. ''Using these themes work best when the client can read at least two issues, both for continuity purposes within the story and continuity purposes within the client. Therapy may feel disjointed if you select one issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, one issue of [[Batman]], and one issue of [[Spawn]] to work with over three sessions just because all of these issues have been tagged with [[Facing Fear]]. I strongly advise examining at least the issue immediately before or the issue immediately after the issue on which you're focusing to get a better understanding of the story's progression and the impact these themes have on the characters.'' [[Abuse of Power]] [[Being Different]] [[Collaborating with Others]] [[Deception]] [[Defamation]] [[Difficult Decisions]] [[Facing Fear]] [[Family]] [[Honor]] [[Losing a Loved One]] [[Losing Powers]] [[Others' Expectations]] [[Personal Attack]] [[Revenge]] [[Roles]] [[Romance]]
This section can be helpful when searching for comics published during a certain period. Oftentimes, comics reflect the current values and events in society (for example, Peter Parker lost his job in [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 624]], reflecting the recession in the United States at the time). This can provide additional topics of interest to discuss with clients; furthermore, some clients may ask to see comics from older generations, or prefer to work with only newer comics. [[1980s]] [[1990s]] [[2000s]] [[2010s]]
[[Captain America Issues (Vol. 4)]]
Captain America was the alter ego of Steve Rogers, a sickly young man who was enhanced to the peak of human perfection by an experimental serum in order to aid the United States war effort. Captain America wears a costume that bears an American flag motif, and is armed with an indestructible shield that can be thrown as a weapon. Steve Rogers was apparently killed in Captain America vol. 5, #25 (March 2007), although he was later revealed to be alive; in any case, the Captain America series continues publication with Rogers' former sidekick, James "Bucky" Barnes, having taken up the mantle with Rogers insisting he continue in that capacity at least for now while Rogers operates as an intelligence agent in his own series, Steve Rogers: Super Soldier.
Captain America #10 (Vol. 4) May 2003 Most of this issue is a hallucination from Captain America due to a mix of herbs Inali Redpath forced him to drink. He fights innocent people trying to help him up, thinking they are villains. He remembers his friend and sidekick Bucky dying. He falls into the ocean and begins to drown. Hana, an Atlantean who can breathe underwater, rescues him. Nick Fury and his S.H.I.E.L.D. army shows up and asks them to come with him. Nick says they sent Inali (who was a S.H.I.E.L.D. soldier) into a cloning factory to investigate, and he disappeared for days. Suddenly, Inali emerges, appearing more Native American than he used to look, and this time he has an army of his own. Nick tells Captain America he is being too idealistic with his vision and values. He then shows Captain America the army Inali created was clones of Captain America and Bucky.
Captain America #11 (Vol. 4) May 2003 Captain America learns Inali Redpath was nearly killed while trying to take over a cloning facility, until he pulled out a Native American prayer stick and offer his soul to the Thunder God. Captain America calls in Thor to assist him in fighting Inali and his Thunder God. Thor takes on the Thunder God while Captain America fights Inali, who continues to warn him of the evils of the American government, citing its history of stealing the natives' land. Inali begins to fade away, but says he will be back. Captain America disagrees, saying there is a S.H.I.E.L.D. team on its way to meet with his grandfather, who appears to be running the show from North Dakota, summoning clones of Inali to do his bidding. Captain America, Nick Fury, and Thor each ponder what it means to be just in a flawed system of justice created by humans.
Captain America #7 (Vol. 4) Feb 2003 Captain America (AKA Steve Rogers) is explained as being frozen in the Arctic Ocean. It is also revealed he showed his true identity to the world just months earlier. He escapes from the ice and resumes his civilian life in New York City. He stops a few thugs who fired a gun near his residence. The next day, he runs into a small group of gangbangers, with a man named Tony being the leader. Steve explains they do not need their guns with him around, and they agree. Steve is later contacted by Nick Fury from S.H.I.E.L.D. and told his friend Inali (a medicine man) has died. Captain America meets with Samantha Twotrees where Inali died. Inali wore a black box that record his final moments, which reveal he was talking to a tornado that stayed in one place for 12 hours until it killed him. Captain America realizes it was not Inali's body, that it was simply a clone. He rides off on his motorcycle, it is revealed Samantha is working with villains, and Captain America suddenly finds himself surrounded by thugs and their leader, Barricade.
Captain America #8 (Vol. 4) Mar 2003 Inali Redpath is shown reciting the Emancipation Proclamation while thinking about how the white man invaded the land of other, native nations. He thinks to himself, in front of the Lincoln Memorial, about overthrowing the government. He then recalls a time four years ago when he and Captain America worked side by side in a rescue operation. Inali asks if the better American follows his government's orders or if holds himself to a higher standard than the nation's history indicates? Steve Rogers replies he does what is right in his heart, not just for other Americans, but for all mankind. Inali calls Barricade to talk him out of attacking Captain America, but Barricade does not believe it is Inali on the phone. Barricade fights Captain America with his fists and a flamethrower, and eventually threatens to burn a school bus full of children. Captain America does as Barricade says, until Inali appears, calls forth a tornado, and wipes out the villains.
Captain America #9 (Vol. 4) Apr 2003 Inali Redpath approaches Captain America and tells him he is working for S.H.I.E.L.D. again, and he personally needs his help. He explains to Captain America his desire to overthrow the government and return the land to Native Americans. Captain America resists, so Inali forces him to drink a concoction that will put him on a vision quest. Captain America chases after Inali on his helicopter, and the reader sees Inali argue with Nick Fury from S.H.I.E.L.D., eventually jumping out of the helicopter and letting the wind carry him to safety. The soldiers from S.H.I.E.L.D. agree to help Captain America once again, so he takes a parachute through all the wind and stumbles to the ground where it appears he begins hallucinating.
[[Captain America Issue 7 (Vol. 4)]] [[Captain America Issue 8 (Vol. 4)]] [[Captain America Issue 9 (Vol. 4)]] [[Captain America Issue 10 (Vol. 4)]] [[Captain America Issue 11 (Vol. 4)]]
[[John, middle aged, anxiety]]
1. [[The Thing Issue 9]] tagged with [[Defamation]] - The Thing is taken over by a wizard, who uses his body to wreak havoc on the city, thus hurting The Thing's reputation. How might an adolescent cope with someone else's actions damaging their reputation? How does the client act vicariously through The Thing in his/her recreation? 2. [[Hawkman Issue 5]] tagged with [[Abuse of Power]] - Count Viper mind controls several heroes. What happens when the client tries to assume the role of someone else they are not familiar with? Count Viper does not know what it is like to be Bloodwynd, so he struggles with controlling Bloodwynd and his powers. The therapist could focus on how someone may have the power to control others and seemingly force them to do their bidding, but that controlled person is no longer themselves in the process. A bully's victim no longer lives as they wish to when under the willful control of the bully. 3. [[The Avengers]] - In a simple exercise of imagination, ask a client to create a superhero of his or her own to join The Avengers. What would their powers be? Would they provide something unique that does not currently exist on the Avengers team? Would they copy someone else's powers because they think it would be cool? Would they copy powers because they think they can improve it somehow? Considering their powers, what role does the child's superhero fit? Examples of common superhero roles are tank (big, tough, damage absorber), healer (creates defensive shields, heals wounds of others, empathic outside of battle), support (uses telekinesis or telepathy, changes the environment to make it easier for other heroes), attacker (melee, ranged, soldier-type fighter).
Chapter Eight (X-Men: Legacy #236) July 2010 X-Club escapes the tower they were on as it blows up. Hope continues to deny that she's worthy of all this action. Bastion activates a giant, impenetrable red sphere that encapsulates much of San Francisco and every mutant on Utopia, and the X-Men are without any teleporters to get them outside of it. Cable reminds Hope he has enough energy for just one last time-jump, and he can teleport the both of them to safety in the future if she requests it. The X-Club examines the sphere from the outside, noting it appears as both matter and energy, and it cannot be "figured out" by mutants who can handle either. [[The Avengers]] (Iron Man, Captain America, Hawkeye, Thor, and Spider-Woman) show up to help the X-Club. Hope decides she has to stay with the X-Men. A team of X-Men investigate a white glowing sphere in the center of the Golden Gate Bridge and realize it is a portal. Out step Nimrod robots, which causes great fear in the X-Men.
Chapter Eleven (New Mutants #14) Aug 2010 Xavier asks his son David (Legion, a schizophrenic mutant with multiple personalities, each of whom is a unique mutant with unique powers) to help the mutants. Cyclops tells all remaining mutants they have been officially recruited as X-Men, and are expected to fight to the death against the incoming Nimrods. The Nimrods continue to adjust tactics and change the environment to suit the mutants they fight, which is becoming increasingly successful. The Nimrods begin arriving more quickly. In the future, X-Force breaks into the compound where the central A.I. is. Xavier, having entered the mind of Legion, instructs his son to summon each personality of his to attack the Nimrods in different ways so they cannot get a stable read on him. Meanwhile, X-Force enters the compound and finds two 300+ foot tall A.I. machines, one is sending the Nimrods into the past, while the other appears dormant. Suddenly, the second one stands up menacingly, glaring at X-Force. The Nimrods begin to spread out and attack the weaker mutants. Just as Beast is about to leave the Intensive Care Unit, Magneto stands up and tells Beast to tend to his patients, he is going to handle the machines.
Chapter Five (X-Force #26) June 2010 Beta team receives orders to head back to base because Karma is hurt. Alpha team fights Bastion's army at the trailer park. Nightcrawler, Rogue, and Hope stop in an alley to rest when Bastion suddenly appears. Rogue orders Hope to get near Nightcrawler so he can help her escape while Rogue, possessing the powers of multiple mutants, fights him off. She tears into Bastion, but he rebuilds immediately. As they fight, Hope gets too close to Bastion who attempts to reach out to grab and kill Hope, but Nightcrawler teleports in the way, which places Bastion's arm right through Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler uses his power to teleport Bastion's arm and Hope to Utopia. Nightcrawler dies. Bastion rebuilds himself and orders his allies to proceed with the backup plan.
Chapter Four (X-Men: Legacy #235) June 2010 Beta team of the X-Men continue to fight Hodge in his machine form, and Cypher orders Warlock to intervene. Cyclops sends Ariel (transporter) and Rogue to Alpha team to help them get to Hope. Meanwhile, Donald Pierce, a prisoner of the X-Men, takes down Cerebra, thus removing all telepathic communication among the X-Men. Warlock enters into the fight with the smiley robots, taking over them all. Alpha team, still driving cross country to catch up to Cable and Hope, are attacked by a jet fighter, blowing up the cars in which they were traveling. Ariel dies, but Wolverine and X23 (both of whom have regeneration powers) survive. Warlock easily kills Cameron Hodge, and the remaining X-Men know how Cable and Hope are being tracked. Cable and Hope arrive at an abandoned trailer park in Nebraska. Just as they are about to be attacked by humans, Alpha team intervenes and kills the attackers. Alpha team informs Cable how he is being tracked, and they decide Rogue should borrow everyone's powers and leave with Nightcrawler and Hope to protect her while the remaining mutants (and Cable) act as decoys.
Chapter Fourteen (Second Coming #2) Sep 2010 This issue is divided into 4 chapters: Chapter 1 - The final moments after Bastion's death are shown, with Hope apparently in a daze about what she's done. She remembers Cable has died, and she cries at his arm's side. The surviving mutants are shown recovering in intensive care. Chapter 2 - In the future, when Hope was younger, she confesses to Cable that she worries about him dying and having to live on her life without him. The chapter then moves to present day, during Cable's funeral. Hope gives a speech saying he died as he wanted to die - a soldier. Hope goes off on her own afterward, and some mutants discuss consoling her. One of them tells the others they don't have to, because "anything we can do -- anything any of us can do -- she's already there. It's like -- someone made a voodoo doll for the whole mutant race. That's what Hope is. She's us. All of us. So whatever you want to say to her -- she probably already knows." Cyclops then scolds Rogue for her careless actions and temporarily removes her from the X-Men. Chapter 3 - Storm and Wolverine argue about X-Force's actions, namely the planned assassinations and willful killing of its prisoners, which goes against all of the values of the X-Men. Wolverine defends his actions, saying it had to be done. Cyclops later discusses the same with Wolverine, saying he would still give out the same orders again because it got him the results he wanted, despite the feelings of dissent and disagreement from Xavier and the other mutants. Cyclops tells Wolverine X-Force cannot work alongside X-Men anymore. Wolverine secretly goes to his X-Force members and tells them their actions must now be hidden from everybody. Chapter 4 - Cyclops and Iceman, and Namor and Beast, all discuss amongst themselves their place with the mutants on Utopia and whether they should stay or go. Cyclops talks to Emma and says he thinks this was all done for the right reason, but he doesn't know for sure. Emma agrees, and says they will just have to wait until tomorrow. Cyclops leaves, and Emma sees Hope conjure a fiery phoenix from the bonfire. Emma runs off to tell Cyclops what she's seen, and he hushes her, looking at a computerized globe revealing new mutants are being born throughout the world. He smiles and says, "We were right."
Chapter Nine (X-Force #27) July 2010 The first several pages of this issue depict a horrific fight between the mutants and Nimrod sentinels, which are mutant-hunting machines from the future. Several mutants die (although arguably no prominent mutants), but they eventually fight the Nimrods off. Bastion seems to be stepping in himself to finish them off while more Nimrods get called in from the future. The X-Men learn there are at least 170,000 mutant-hunting Nimrods on their way to fight the less than 200 mutants remaining. Cyclops calls for the X-Force team to go with Cable into the future (using his final time-jump) and use Cypher's ability to "speak" to machines to control the central Artificial Intelligence and dismantle the Nimrod army. The remaining mutants near the white sphere watch as more Nimrods arrive. Cable tells Hope he loves her and takes the X-Force into the future to stop the attack. Cyclops realizes, "I just killed them. Cable's tech...it only had one jump left. He knew it. They all knew. They went anyway. It's a one way trip, win or lose. I just killed X-Force. I just killed my son."
Chapter One (Second Coming #1) July 2010 Cable and Hope appear through a time portal at the destroyed Westchester mansion and come under attack by robots. Meanwhile, Cyclops meets with a handful of mutants, discussing the recent deaths of 3 mutants from an attack. He notes that represents 1.5% of the remaining mutant population, as if a hundred million humans died. Cyclops receives word Cable has returned, and he assembles teams to protect the base and find Cable and Hope. Nightcrawler asks Cyclops how he can be sure Hope is going to save mutantkind, and Cyclops replies he simply has faith in her. The Sapien League, a group of humans whose goal is to kill mutants, chases after Cable and Hope. The X-Men get to the mansion too late and go to follow them. X23 and Wolverine violently question the captured members of The Sapien League, killing one of them, which polarizes the group present at the scene. It is revealed the U.S. government and Bastion is behind the plan to kill Hope.
Chapter Seven (New Mutants #13) July 2010 Cyclops contacts Domino to tell her Illyana is trapped in limbo, and Ariel and Nightcrawler have been killed. He tells her they need the Vanisher so they can still move Hope around when needed. Vanisher takes his wallet and disappears to a Portuguese brothel he frequents, where Steven Lang (human) and his men are waiting for him. They shoot him in the chest just as he vanishes to a deserted highway, which removes the X-Men's final teleporter. Beast returns to the X-Men to help out. Moonstar demands Cable to tell her Hope is worth the losses the mutants are sustaining. Hope intervenes in the argument and fights Moonstar. Cyclops enters to break it up, but Cable demands Cyclops let Hope fight it out because she needs to find her own way now. Suddenly, a loud boom sounds throughout the compound, the blackbirds (the X-Men planes) have been destroyed. Donald Pierce is discovered, and Cyclops kills him. X-Club, the group Cyclops assigned to check on Bastion's towers, discovers a bomb set to blow up in 6 seconds, they try to run. Hope admits she is doubtful whether she can handle the current situation or not. The fate of X-Club is revealed in [[X-Men Second Coming Revelations: Blind Science]].
Chapter Six (Uncanny X-Men #524) July 2010 The X-Men mourn Nightcrawler, and Hope feels responsible. Cable tells her she cannot control what others think of her, only how she responds to them. Cyclops introduces himself to Hope, telling her he's Cable's father, and he orders the others to notify Nightcrawler's family and assemble a Catholic funeral. It is revealed Donald Pierce fooled Danger (a security robot) into believing he is still captive, and he is responsible for taking out Cerebra, thus removing their ability to communicate telepathically. Pierce is ordered by Bastion to take out the X-Men's planes. Cyclops orders a team of X-Men to find out what Bastion's towers are for and to destroy them. Meanwhile, Hope meets Magneto, who is under the care of the X-Men. The X-Men assemble for a funeral for Nightcrawler, and each share kind words and memories of him.
Chapter Ten (Uncanny X-Men #525) Aug 2010 The Fantastic Four arrive to help The Avengers and X-Club figure out how to get penetrate the sphere. The remaining mutants inside the sphere also try to break into it while fighting off Nimrods. X-Force, in the future, is searching for the central Artificial Intelligence which is in charge of all the Nimrods. Cypher notices a wall that has pictures of every mutant with the banner SLAIN across every one of them. X-Force takes out a few machines that try to kill them, and Cable orders they proceed with their plan, even if it appears it leads to a dead end. Cyclops asks Xavier to ask Legion for help, despite him being a schizophrenic mutant who wants to hurt the X-Men. Thor and Thing continue to wallop on the shield, but have only depleted it by 15%. They admit they will not get through it fast enough to reach the mutants inside.
Chapter Thirteen (X-Force #28) Thor and The Thing continue to wallop on the sphere from the outside, trying to break into it. Cable suddenly appears in the membrane. Cyclops notes Cable finally let the techno-organic virus he's been fighting his whole life take him over so he could "open" the membrane wide enough to let X-Force and Cypher through to the present safely. Hope reaches for Cable, who smiles, and the membrane suddenly collapses, killing Cable. Meanwhile, Bastion turns his human allies into robots under his control and moves in to attack the remaining mutants. Hope recalls when she was much younger, well into the future with Cable. She asked him how she would know when she was ready to go back to the past, and he tells her, "You'll feel it, Hope. Like nothing you've ever felt before. It'll be like a switch turned on inside you. Like a fire. And once that fire's lit, everything will change." Bastion faces Hope while he sends his robots after the mutants. She stands up to Bastion, summoning powers of her own in the process, and tears into him. Every move and weapon he tosses at her, she's able to summon a power to counter or stop it. A sudden beam of light tears through the sphere, shattering it and Bastion, and allowing The Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Club to enter inside.
Chapter Three (New Mutants #12) June 2010 One of Cyclops's teams (Beta team), consisting of 7 or 8 mutants, is ordered to attack Cameron Hodge's army of hundreds of robots piloted by humans. Meanwhile, the primary X-Men force continues to fight Stryker and his army, who has come prepared with weapons effective against specific mutants. Beta team receives another order from Cyclops to kill as many enemies as they can, and the fight begins. As they fight, Cameron Hodge (human) activates a machine that removes his head and spine from his body and implants it into the machine. Back at the motel fight, Archangel turns into his metal self, complete with razor-sharp feathers and wings. He instantly kills dozens of enemies and slices Stryker in half with his wings. Cable and Hope continue to drive cross-country while Cable ponders how they were found so quickly by Bastion. In the end, Karma attempts to take over Cameron Hodge's mind, but she is discovered by the machine part of him and is pinned.
Chapter Twelve (X-Men: Legacy #237) Aug 2010 Magneto continues to battle the Nimrods while X-Force unsuccessfully battles the giant robot. Cypher attempts to hack into the A.I. controlling the Nimrods, and it begins to kill him. The fighting continues in the present and the future as Cypher tries to take control of the Nimrods through the A.I. He improvises, acting unpredictably, and beats the computer that is following sequential code in an attempt to kill him. The Nimrods stop attacking. X-Force look at the teleporting membrane (white sphere) in the future and worry that it will close before they can pass through; however, any attempt at an organic being passing through gets melted away. X23 attempts and fails, her regeneration powers heal her. Cable is seen bursting through the membrane in the present, and Bastion indicates he will attempt to kill the remaining mutants himself.
Chapter Two (Uncanny X-Men #523) June 2010 Nightcrawler argues with Wolverine about X-Force's actions (killing humans to get answers), and Wolverine claims Cyclops sanctioned it. Nightcrawler doesn't believe Wolverine and asks Cyclops through telepathy, who confirms it but appears upset he has to admit it. Bastion reveals Cable has a virus within him that allows him to be tracked, so he orders Stryker and his goons out to kill Cable and Hope while they sleep in a motel. Cable and Hope catch on to what's happening and prepare to fight. The X-Men arrive to help in the fight. The backup team for the X-Men also arrives and descend into the scene.
[[Miles Morales|Ultimate Spider-Man (2011) Issues]] [[Robin]] (Damian Wayne)
On the left are issues tagged with the theme of collaborating with others. It becomes apparent that a single hero or villain cannot be successful without the help of others. ''Example questions:'' Do you think [Character] would have been successful had he not had the help of [Character]? Why or why not? Can you think of a time when you were certain you would not have been successful unless you had help from others? At what point did you decide you needed the help? Describe to me how things would have happened had you not received help from others. Consider this situation between [Characters] and imagine you and your friends/family replacing the heroes. Who would you be? Who would your friends/family be? Can you think of any additional issues between you and those other people that would play out when you set out to achieve this goal?
1. [[War of the Supermen Issue 1]] tagged with [[Difficult Decisions]] - Supergirl argues with her mother about torturing the villain, who announces he will detonate himself and destroy New Krypton. Supergirl's mother pushes Supergirl to safety, who is the only one to survive the blast. How do you think Supergirl felt after being pushed to safety by her mother? How do you think she feels about the argument she just had with her mother, knowing she cannot mend their relationship? Tell me about being in a stressful situation and having an inclination to put others' safety/happiness/needs/wants before yours. 2. [[Irredeemable 5]] tagged with [[Losing Powers]] - Charybdis and his brother Scylla had incredible powers, but these powers only existed when these brothers were within a certain proximity of each other. Scylla dies two issues prior and Charybdis reflects on his brother and being currently powerless in this issue. Do you ever feel powerless? Tell me about a time when someone else's actions made you feel like you were no longer in control of a situation. How do you think these heroes function after they've lost their powers? Do you think there's more to a hero than their super strength or their ability to fly? If so, tell me about what else there is in someone besides what they can do. 3. [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 623]] tagged with [[Revenge]] - Vulture's (villain) face has been disfigured to look like a monster. He vows to find the person who did this to him and kill him. Tell me about a time when you felt upset, and the only way you thought you could stop feeling upset was if you hurt someone else. Is revenge ever good? What does it feel like to have someone seek revenge against you? What do you think will happen if Vulture is successful?
[[Daredevil (2011) Issues]]
[[Daredevil Issue 1]] [[Daredevil Issue 2]] [[Daredevil Issue 3]] [[Daredevil Issue 4]] [[Daredevil Issue 5]] [[Daredevil Issue 6]]
Daredevil #1 Sep 2011 The issue begins with a quick summary of how Matt Murdock became Daredevil. It explains that he was struck by a radioactive cylinder when he was young, lost his eyesight, developed superhuman levels of his other senses, and picked up a sixth sense of being able to detect things and people in his environment. Daredevil sits near a wedding and tries to detect what is happening. Suddenly, a villain named The Spot opens up a portal hole and attempts to kidnap the flower girl. Daredevil calls out that he knows The Spot is working with someone else, and he hears someone's heart race. He points out the accomplice, and The Spot quickly kills him. Daredevil defeats The Spot and lands in the headlines of the newspaper. Murdock finds it difficult to to continue practicing as a lawyer since many people seem to think he is Daredevil. He explains it was made public knowledge, but he continues to deny it so he can enjoy both lives as a lawyer and superhero. Daredevil meets with someone who tries to get to the bottom of whether or not he is Daredevil. He later changes into costume and appears to be getting attacked by Captain America.
Daredevil #2 Oct 2011 Captain America tells Daredevil he is under arrest. Daredevil briefly mentions he was once taken over by a demon and committed heinous acts, but he refrains from sharing the details with the reader. They fight, but Daredevil convinces Captain America to let him go because he claims he was "turned into a hand puppet." Daredevil then moves on to investigate the trial case he was working on as Matt Murdock, and he learns that Gene, a gay man who was originally supposed to be Jobrani's lawyer, received several anonymous phone calls urging him not to take the case. The anonymous person threatened the life of his boyfriend if he did. Daredevil notes he is the third lawyer who told him this happened to him or her. He goes to Jobrani's old electronics store to investigate further and discovers strange beings building things in the basement. They suddenly make a loud shrieking sound, distorting Daredevil's "vision," and stun him. He awakens later strapped into a large metal contraption.
Daredevil #3 Nov 2011 Daredevil learns he is being held captive by Klaw, a villain he thought was permanently transformed into a sonic wave and transmitted into space. Instead, he has returned with several resonance minions who repeat what he says and can distort Daredevil's ability to see the world around him through sound. Daredevil gets Klaw talking about his evil plan, and while he is distracted Daredevil breaks free. He escapes, with Klaw and his minions chasing after him, spouting off sonic booms to attack Daredevil. Daredevil is continuously disoriented as he fights Klaw in a busy street, but eventually he defeats Klaw. Later Matt Murdock is shown to suffer from hearing damage, as he shouts at people instead of speaking to them. Matt discovers his legal partner Foggy helped set it up so their client, Jobrani, can only use Matt and Foggy for his case. In the end, justice prevails.
Daredevil #4 Nov 2011 Matt Murdock reflects on his inability to work as a lawyer since so many people think he is Daredevil, which disrupts court proceedings. However, he notes that he is enjoying helping people with their cases on the side. Later, he notes the difficulty with developing his ultra-hearing skill. Murdock receives word that there is a case he could help with, as it is about a young blind man who was seemingly fired for no reason, named Austin Cao. This young man reportedly speaks over a dozen languages and was very successful at his job until he was fired after eavesdropping on a conversation.
Green Lantern: Tales of the Sinestro Corps (TPB reprint, 2008) “Death of a Cyborg” Summary: Cyborg Superman (AKA Hank Henshaw) reveals in the beginning of this tale how his goal differs from that of Sinestro (though they are both villains in the DC Universe). Sinestro wants all to cower under his perfect reign of fear, while Cyborg Superman sees no perfection in the universe at all. He hopes to attain nothingness, not only for himself, but for the entire universe, and he has been promised this void by the Anti-Monitor. It is his sole motivation…to achieve death. Telling the story of how he went from shuttle pilot, Hank Henshaw, to the monstrosity, Cyborg Superman, and how he survived the rest of his crew dying (including his wife) as a result of their exposure to passing through a radioactive solar flare (which he continues to blame on Superman, who he thinks caused the flare), helps to establish him as an invulnerable character. Even when his body gives way from the effects of the accident, his consciousness absorbs information via computer databases and satellites, and he beams his signal into interstellar space, where he meets Mongul, another enemy of Superman’s who can provide Henshaw with a new cyborg body similar to that of The Man of Steel (Superman). Cyborg Superman laments that even the goal of defeating his enemy lost its glamour after a time, and now the only thing he longs for is the release of death. Despite their different goals, Cyborg Superman and the rest of the Sinestro Corps do battle against the JLA (Justice League of America), and Henshaw comes to realize that perhaps the death of Superman, destruction of Earth, and his own death are all a part of the same story, in the end.
''__Added:__'' [[Irredeemable 20]] [[Green Lantern: Tales of the Sinestro Corps]] two issues ''__Updated__'' Changed "By Superhero" to [[By Main Character]] in Main Menu Total issue summaries added this week: 3
''__Added:__'' [[New X-Men]] enters the database [[New X-Men]] Issues 114 - 116 added to database Total issue summaries added this week: 3
''__Added:__'' [[The Dark Things|Justice League of America/Justice Society of America Issues]] mini crossover event between the JLA and JSA Total issue summaries added this week: 5
On the left are issues tagged with the theme of deception. ''Example questions:'' How do you think [Character] felt when he/she was deceived? What do you do when you realize you have been deceived? What needs to take place in order for [Character] to fall for the deception? (trust, being taken advantage of, misunderstanding, etc)
On the left are issues that are tagged with the theme of defamation. One or more central characters' have had their integrity, name, or reputation damaged. A character could also be seriously threatened with defamation. ''Example questions:'' How important is reputation to a hero? How important is it to a villain? Is defamation ever helpful? Why/why not? Why do you think [Character] attempted to hurt the reputation of [Character]? Was it on purpose or malicious? What purpose did it serve?
[[Welcome!]]
Green Lantern: Tales of the Sinestro Corps (TPB reprint, 2008) “Despotellis Spreads Fear” Summary: At the center of the anti-matter universe, Qward, where Sinestro had first forged his yellow power ring, having turned against the Green Lantern Corps; the Sinestro Corps, now formed under his power, wielding fear as their rings’ power make their home. From the heart of the archive tower, keeper of the book of Parallax, Lyssa Drak, who is chained to the book for until her death and charged with forcing the new Sinestro Corps recruits to seek the darkness within themselves (in a structure called a “fear lodge”)in order to learn how to use their power rings. The first story she tells new recruit, Amon Sur, is that of a Green Lantern, Reemuz, who often patrolled his sector for many months at a time, leaving his home planet because he had so many inhabited planets under his watch. One day he returned home to find that all on his planet were dead. He looked for an enemy, but found only a yellow lantern. He flew all around his planet, searching for survivors, or an enemy to fight, but he found nothing. He grew tired, he got sick and weak. In his final breath he saw his enemy: the sentient bio-virus and Yellow Lantern, Despotellis.
Detective Comics #604 Sep 1989 After knocking the head off a mannequin he was in love with, Clayface breaks out of his cell at Arkham Asylum. Batman explains that Preston Payne, the third Clayface, injected himself with the blood from the second Clayface, but that deformed his body and continuously causes a great deal of pain that only subsides when he passes it on to someone else. Clayface eventually collapses from the tranquilizer darts fired at him, but just as the security guards are about to take him in, Looker appears and causes all of the guards to shoot each other instead. She takes Clayface to her car with her power of telekinesis and leaves. Later, Basil Karlo, AKA Clayface 1, reveals that he has called together every Clayface (Lady Clay/Looker, Clayface 3 who is tranquilized, Clayface 2 who right now is a mold of water dirt and clay and inanimate) to do the following: 1. Lay claim to the fame and fortune that is deservedly ours. 2. How we can acquire power beyond our wildest dreams. 3. How we can finally best the caped crusader. 4. How we can KILL him! ''The Mud Pack Part 1 of 4''
Detective Comics #605 Sep 1989 Batman calls Lia, AKA Looker, to find out why she's helping the Clayfaces. She denies any involvement, but suggests that Clayface 4 (Lady Clayface) could have impersonated her. Meanwhile, Lady Clayface tells Preston Payne (Clayface 1) about how she was able to live the high life taking on the identities of the rich and powerful. "And that was the trouble. All the time I was only acting, PRETENDING, stealing other people's pleasures. I never got to be me." She felt disgusted by this, and admitted she felt happiest as an outsider. Later, Lady Clayface morphs into Batman and assists Clayface 3 in robbing a bank truck full of money. The newspapers run a story about Batman going rogue, although Commissioner Gordon knows it's not the real Batman. Lady Clayface must keep using Looker's Psi Power to subdue Clayface 3 and make him do her bidding, although she continues to struggle with it. Clayface 3 and Lady Clayface, disguised as Batman, attempt to rob a Casino Night benefit, but the real Batman stops them. Someone else becomes involved, but it is not revealed who at the end of the issue. ''The Mud Pack Part 2 of 4''
Detective Comics #606 Oct 1989 Robin, who is supposedly dead, appears seemingly ready to help Batman, but instead fights him. Batman realizes this is Lady Clayface, and easily defeats her. Clayface 3 is about to crush and kill Batman when Lady Clayface forms a giant fist of clay and knocks Clayface 3 unconscious. She turns into a giant eagle and carries the two of them off to the theater. She uses psionic powers to find out Batman's deepest fears, which then displays as a movie that he is forced to watch. Meanwhile, Looker shows up at Commissioner Gordon's office looking for ways she can help. She finds a clue and heads for the theater. Clayface 1 drugs Lady Clayface and steals some of her and Clayface 3's blood to inject himself with later. Batman continues to relive his past horrors, including his parents being shot, Robin dying, villains running amok. Lady Clayface realizes she's been serving someone else against her own wishes, once again not being herself, and confesses to Clayface 3 that she never meant any harm. They fall in love and kiss before leaving the theater together. Looker finds Batman alone in the theater with a horrible look of fear frozen on his face. ''The Mud Pack Part 3 of 4''
Detective Comics #607 Oct 1989 Lia enters Batman's mind to clear the horrors. Using his detective skills, Batman figures out what has been going on and he heads to the hospital to find Karlo (Clayface 1). Karlo forces a doctor to inject the mixed blood of Clayface 3 and Lady Clayface (Clayface 4) into him. He assumes the malleability of Clayface 4 and the super strength and melting power of Clayface 3. Batman appears and fights Karlo. Lia is off looking elsewhere for Karlo and heads back to the hospital. Karlo is about to kill Batman when she appears and tries to subdue Karlo, although she is unsuccessful. Batman then tells her to instead overpower Karlo's powers. She does, and they force him out the window. He crashes into the ground and melts through the concrete. Lia's overpowering of his powers makes his melting power so strong that he continuously melts through the earth, when Batman jokes that they should probably alert China. Lady Clayface and Clayface 3 are shown sitting together on a hill watching sunrises and sunsets while kissing. ''The Mud Pack 4 of 4''
Detective Comics #871 Jan 2011 This issue begins with a horrific scene of an adolescent turning into a monster and biting the hand off of another young man. Alfred reminds Dick Grayson (formerly Robin, he is now the Batman of Gotham City while Bruce Wayne travels the world recruiting international Batmen) he has lived in Wayne Manor for a year and he still has not made it his home. Dick Grayson reflects on feeling as though he does not belong. It is later discovered the boy who turned into a monster had a vial of a mutagen that was stolen police evidence. Batman questions the boy's butler when suddenly the boy's mother shoots the butler and tries to shoot Batman until she falls out a third story window and dies. Batman sees she was under the influence of a brainwashing serum that was sewn onto her neck with a patch. This serum was also police evidence, both items of which were processed by a single cop. Batman goes to question the cop who suddenly dies when roots grow out from inside his body.
Detective Comics #872 Feb 2011 Batman chases William Rhodes, a former member of high society who was discovered to be involved in the buying and selling of criminal artifacts. Rhodes crashes his car, but Batman's head of technology development creates a mask to allow Batman to pass as William Rhodes at the next auction. Batman must wear a gas mask as he enters an abandoned building where the auction is held. The auctioneer explains he filled the air with a poisonous gas that will turn a person psychotic "before sparking massive, successive brain hemorrhages." The auctioneer then reveals he knows it is not the real William Rhodes, and Batman's gas mask does not work. He collapses in the crowd and sees them as monsters attacking him.
Detective Comics #873 Mar 2011 Dick Grayson is under the influence of a venom that causes extreme hallucinations. He is surrounded by people trying to attack him, and he sees them as monsters. The Dealer is the villain behind this. Dick thinks back to his training as a circus performer in order to escape the building. He recovers, and then sets out to stop The Dealer before he can escape. The Dealer injects himself with a man-bat formula that turns him into a giant monster. The two fight until Batman falls out of the plane they are fighting in, and he loses sight of The Dealer. Later, Dick notes he still has traces of the venom in his body, so he is surrounding himself in Wayne Manor with familiar keepsakes so he can feel psychologically grounded.
Detective Comics #874 Apr 2011 Commissioner Gordon’s son James, Jr. asks his father to speak to him late one night in a diner. James, Jr. had apparently been absent from his father’s life for a very long time, and he reveals he had spent some time in a psychiatric hospital. He said he was diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder and labeled himself as a “psychopath.” He tells a story of how he followed someone home one day after being very upset and imagined killing the man and his family, but thanks to a new drug trial, he stopped. Now, he wants to do something that helps people with APD, and he is asking his father not to prevent him from following this path. Meanwhile, Batman and Red Robin investigate a shipment of stolen endangered species. Batman still has traces of venom inside of him that causes horrific hallucinations, which he must overcome during this fight.
[[Detective Comics Issue 604]] [[Detective Comics Issue 605]] [[Detective Comics Issue 606]] [[Detective Comics Issue 607]] [[Detective Comics Issue 871]] [[Detective Comics Issue 872]] [[Detective Comics Issue 873]] [[Detective Comics Issue 874]]
The issues on the left contain the theme of making difficult decisions. Heroes are sometimes caught in a particularly conflictual fork in the road where neither option seems appealing. ''Example questions:'' What has been the most difficult decision you have made so far in your life? Can you provide an example of a difficult decision that resulted in action and a difficult decision that resulted in inaction? Why was it so difficult for [Character] to choose the path he/she did? Focusing on [Difficult Decision], how do you think the story is going to continue beyond the end of this issue?
Elie Saltzman M.S. is a student at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology with a focus on children and adolescents. He is currently working at a private practice and spends some time working in a Chicago area school. Elie is interested in bullying and plans on creating an anti-bullying program to be used in schools. He has been an avid comic book fan, and book fan overall, for most of his life, and loves using his knowledge of superheroes in his psychological practice.
Events and side stories are story lines that greatly affect the comic's (or several comics') universe or a particular hero's world, so much so that it changes the publication frequency of comics, starts new volumes of some heroes' stories, or crosses over multiple titles at once. It could also provide additional information about a character's story that did not get placed in that character's main line of comics (for example: Return of Bruce Wayne). [[Brightest Day]] - DC Universe event centering on second chances [[Gauntlet]] - Spider-Man faces an onslaught of villains and personal attacks [[Green Lantern: Tales of the Sinestro Corps]] [[Return of Bruce Wayne]] - Bruce Wayne returns, supposedly from the dead, to become Batman again [[Second Coming]] - Mutants in the Marvel Universe are given a second chance
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__Comicspedia in General:__ [[What is Comicspedia?]] [[What purpose does Comicspedia serve?]] [[What can I expect to see in therapy when I implement Comicspedia?]] [[How often will Comicspedia be updated?]] [[How can I see the changes made to Comicspedia?]] __Nuts and Bolts:__ [[What does yellow bold/yellow italics/other text markup mean?]] [[How do I bring up the Comicspedia welcome window?]] __Comic Books in General:__ [[Where can I buy comic books? How much do they cost?]] If you have any suggestions for an FAQ to be included here, please feel free to [[email me|mailto:[email protected]?subject=Comicspedia%20FAQ]] and let me know. [[Interviews, blogs, news articles]]
On the left are issues tagged with the theme of facing one's fears. ''Example questions:'' Why do you think [Character] chose to face [Fearsome Situation]? How difficult do you think it was for [Character] to face [Fearsome Situation]? Why do you think it was that difficult/not that difficult? Tell me about a time when you stood up to something or someone of whom you were afraid.
On the left are issues tagged with the theme of family. Heroes or villains in these issues either rely on family to be successful, involve family in their objectives, or deal with other issues related to family (by blood or by law). ''Example questions:'' Why is family still important to [Character] when he/she has so many superhero allies/friends? Do you notice any difference between how [Character] acts toward [Family Member] and how [Character] acts toward others? To which characters in this Character's world would you assign your family members?
[[Fantastic Four Issues]]
Fantastic Four #576 Apr 2010 Invisible Woman tells the rest of the Fantastic Four about a base set up in Antarctica that has been drilling to gather data about an underground lake. She explains that other drillers have discovered something worthwhile, and thus have set up their own angle of drilling, which the Four want to investigate to see why there is so much focus on such a lake. While the Four are underwater, they see a competing company sending men out to attack the human-like sea creatures who live there. There are several pages of "silence" or just art since so much of the story takes place underwater where communication is difficult. Ul-Uhar, the leader of the three remaining underwater races of Atlantis, asks to speak to the representative of the humans. Invisible Woman steps forward, accepting this role. They discuss the actions of the violent divers and the leader offers his allegiance.
Fantastic Four #577 May 2010 The Wayfinder is asked by Black Bolt to summon a city in the blue area on the dark side of Earth's moon. The Fantastic Four hear of activity happening on the moon and travel there to investigate it. They find Wayfinder, who explains to them about the experiments conducted on ancestors of humans in order to build superior species. He reveals five superior species were created, and all five have come together to live in harmony in this moon city. However, they intend to conquer the Earth because it is more hospitable than the moon.
Fantastic Four #578 June 2010 Johnny Storm (The Human Torch) is seduced by a woman at a club who goes home with him to the Baxter building (Fantastic Four HQ) and opens a portal to the Negative Zone. Suddenly, a bunch of bugs escape her body and enter the zone with bombs. The Human Torch enters the zone to stop them, but realizes quickly he made too impulsive of a move as he stumbles into a war zone. He tries to torch the bugs, but they resist and approach him. Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) talks to Johnny Storm about his impulsive mistake. Sea creatures are seen approaching the leader of other sea creatures, informing them Namor, ruler of the underwater world, does not recognize their royalty status. The bug races are shown fighting the supposedly improved human-like races from the moon at the end of the issue.
Fantastic Four #579 July 2010 Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) delivers a speech to the members (the brightest minds in the world) of a foundation he started. In this speech, he notes that too many members have become fearful of the future and seem to be claiming humanity needs to step backwards in order to survive, whereas he believes humans should explore the universe. Later, Alex Power confesses to Reed, despite his high intelligence, he is actually the "dumbest" member of Reed's new school, the Future Foundation. Reed points out Alex's strengths and reasons for being there. Meanwhile, The Wizard, kept in a psychiatric facility, appears to be going insane. Reed tells him he has a younger, "uncorrupted," clone of The Wizard living at the Baxter building (Fantastic Four HQ), who he intends to raise without The Wizard's problems.
Fantastic Four #580 Aug 2010 Franklin, son of Reed Richards and Sue Storm Richards, is upset at his father for ignoring him and paying more attention to his students. Johnny Storm agrees to take Franklin and one of his friends to a toy store to buy new toys from the superhero The Impossible Man. There, they run into Arcade, a villain who claims he has given up murder games and now helps create and distribute toys. This turns out to be false, as every toy turns into a killing machine, attacking The Impossible Man. Franklin and Johnny, as The Human Torch, intervene and save the day. Meanwhile, the children at the Future Foundation tell The Thing they have figured out a way to turn him human again, but for only one week per year.
[[Fantastic Four Issue 576]] [[Fantastic Four Issue 577]] [[Fantastic Four Issue 578]] [[Fantastic Four Issue 579]] [[Fantastic Four Issue 580]]
Green Lantern: Tales of the Sinestro Corps (TPB reprint, 2008) “Fear Is a Baby’s Cry” Summary: Green Lanterns Amnee and Matoo Pree, who were both picked to be members of the Corps due to the fearless nature of their love, are sent to The Citadel on Qward to guard Lyssa Drak, keeper of the Book of Parallax. Amnee is pregnant with the couple’s child, so Lyssa tells them the story of another Green Lantern, Jeryll, who had a child once she was in the Corps. Though she had considered laying down her ring to raise her child, her life-mate had convinced her that she could do both, which went fine until she encountered the Yellow Lantern, Kryb. She returns from her patrol to find her mate dead, and her baby in the clutches of this creature who uses the fear a parent feels for its child as its power. Jeryll is easily defeated and Kryb puts her baby into the nest of them upon her back, all orphans of Green Lanterns who have fallen to the same fear.
Green Lantern: Tales of the Sinestro Corps (TPB reprint, 2008) “Fearful Symmetry” Summary: Kyle Rayner (a Green Lantern who is currently trapped within his own mind by the evil being Parallax) finds himself in a prison of his own design. It is a replication of his deceased mother’s house, empty, but for one painting on the wall. The painting has been a source of stories when Kyle was a kid and he had always recognized it looking as though the boy in the art is wandering, lost, in the a field. While lost in thoughts about his situation, Parallax appears to Kyle in corporeal form (he is generally a parasite which controls one’s movement from within) and taunts him, bringing up the women from his past (and even the death of his mother) and how those circumstances could all be seen as due to Kyle’s own involvement in their lives. They fight each other and argue about whether, or not Kyle will find a way to overpower Parallax, to escape his prison. Parallax continues to toy with what he knows to be Kyle’s weak spots, particularly that Parallax made him kill on its behalf, the loss of the women in his life, and his struggles to be a better wielder of his power ring. After catching Kyle off-guard with the reminder of the killing, Parallax just leaves him alone in his prison and Kyle takes the painting of the boy lost in the field off the wall. He notices for the first time ever that his mother’s signature is on the back, so it was her work. He never realized that he had received his artistic gift from her, but it renews his hope.
Black Canary ([[Birds of Prey]]) Dove ([[Birds of Prey]]) Emma Frost (X-Men) Gwen ([[iZombie|Gwen (iZombie series)]]) Hawkwoman (AKA Shayera, [[Hawkman]]) Huntress ([[Birds of Prey]]) Invisible Woman (AKA Sue Storm Richards, [[Fantastic Four]]) Lady Blackhawk ([[Birds of Prey]]) Rogue (X-Men) Storm (X-Men) Wonder Woman ([[Justice League America]])
Spider-Man is put through The Gauntlet, an onslaught of villains and personal troubles. He faces new villains, old villains, reborn villains, and copycat villains while working through personal issues of romantic troubles, losing his job, and tight finances. This series was published weekly for several months in a way to show the reader how Spider-Man had little to no down time between fights. He is essentially put through one of the most troubling periods in his life in order to wear him down and possibly defeat him more easily in the end. In one issue, however, he is told that when you get put through the gauntlet, you end up being stronger than you were before. This series will demonstrate that no matter how bad life gets, and no matter how rapidly problems pile on top of each other, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you will become a stronger person if you see it through. [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 620]] [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 621]] [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 622]] [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 623]] [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 624]] [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 625]] [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 626]] [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 627]]
Genevieve Halton is a writer of comic books, fiction, and poetry with an academic background in psychology, human-computer interaction, and film. She has had a keen interest in comic books since she was young, and is an avid collector. Over the last decade, her collecting led her to work in online comics and collectibles retail, artist representation, and finally to realize her true calling in the creative side of the industry. Genevieve remains a dedicated fan of comics and graphic novels of all subjects and sorts in her adulthood, and she is very enthusiastic about being able to share her knowledge of them to help others.
To get started with this blank [[TiddlyWiki]], you'll need to modify the following tiddlers: * [[SiteTitle]] & [[SiteSubtitle]]: The title and subtitle of the site, as shown above (after saving, they will also appear in the browser title bar) * [[MainMenu]]: The menu (usually on the left) * [[DefaultTiddlers]]: Contains the names of the tiddlers that you want to appear when the TiddlyWiki is opened You'll also need to enter your username for signing your edits: <<option txtUserName>>
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[[Green Lantern: Rebirth Issues]] Several Green Lantern titles were tied to DC Comics Events during the 2000s and early 2010s. They can be found in the [[Events / Side Stories]] section. [[Green Lantern (2011) Issues]]
Green Lantern (2011) #1 Nov 2011 Despite having once been an enemy to the Green Lantern Corps, Sinestro is entrusted with a Green Lantern ring and a lantern itself, given to him by The Guardians, who oversee balance in the universe. He reluctantly accepts, and is ordered to protect his sector like other Green Lanterns. Meanwhile, Hal Jordan, once a Green Lantern himself, is struggling financially. He accidentally attacks an actor thinking the man was abusing his wife, when in reality they were filming a scene. Carol Ferris, who was once Star Sapphire, bails him out of jail. Later, Sinestro notices his people are being enslaved by the Yellow Lanterns, with whom he pledged alliance when he was an enemy of the Green Lanterns. A Yellow Lantern approaches him and Sinestro kills him. Hal and Carol go to dinner together, and he upsets her. She notes he has completely lost touch with what it means to be human because he has spent so much time in space fighting as a Green Lantern. Sinestro surprises Hal and offers to give the ring back to him if he does what he says.
Green Lantern (2011) #2 Dec 2011 Sinestro meets with Hal Jordan and offers to give Hal a Green Lantern ring so that he may gain his superpowers back. Hal receives the ring and attempts to fight Sinestro, but Sinestro notes he created the ring himself, and because of this, he cannot be attacked by it and he can turn the ring's power off any time he wants. Sinestro orders Hal to do as he says, but Hal flies off to try to save people from falling off a bridge. Sinestro interferes and allows the horrific scene to unfold to make his point that he controls Hal's powers as a Green Lantern. Sinestro then saves everybody just in time. Suddenly, a Yellow Lantern alien being named Gorgor erupts out of the water and attacks Sinestro. Sinestro says Gorgor and the others gave in to their "sadistic urges" and enslaved his people. He summons a giant sword from his willpower, and kills Gorgor. Sinestro then turns to Hal and tells him he wants Hal to help him destroy the army of Yellow Lanterns Sinestro built.
[[Green Lantern (2011) Issue 1]] [[Green Lantern (2011) Issue 2]]
Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #1 Oct 2010 Guy Gardner, a member of the [[Green Lantern Corps|Green Lantern Corps Biography]], receives a call saying a batch of stolen weapons-grade Rakkonium has been detected. He chases a group of thieves through space and eventually captures them as prisoners and retrieves the stolen Rakkonium. He reflects on a pact he made with Ganthet (a Guardian) and Atrocitus (a villain/Red Lantern) about patrolling the universe's uncharted sectors, so he travels to the Guardians to ask them for permission to enforce universe law in these unpatrolled sectors. Meanwhile, a Green Lantern is shown falling to the planet Daxam. Two children find him and hide him from hunters looking for him. Meanwhile, Guy Gardner travels to meet Ganthet to discuss their pact; Guy admits he feels uneasy having a villain like Atrocitus in on their pact. Atrocitus is later shown to have built a wall consisting of the skulls of his people who have died following a war with the Guardians' Manhunters as a reminder of their attacks on him. He explains he wishes to seek revenge.
Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #2 Nov 2010 Guy Gardner ponders what his legacy will be when people look back on his life. Meanwhile, Arisia has a dream that Sodam is alive and blames her for him being killed. She wakes up determined he is still alive. Elsewhere, Zardor of Kralok (villain) has collected and imprisoned telepaths from across the universe in order to enslave them, combine their powers, and allow him to control people and things from a great distance. He also controls two Green Lanterns. Arisia and Lantern Kilowog join Guy Gardner on his quest to police the unknown sectors of the universe. While flying through the universe, Arisia says she wants to search for Sodam, which Guy agrees to, but after he first stops at the Blue Lantern planet to cleanse some residual effects from wearing a Red Lantern ring, which once caused him to be evil. Just as he is about to be cleansed, he is attacked by a Red Lantern.
Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #3 Dec 2010 The Green Lanterns attempt to fight off the Red Lantern that has attacked Guy. A Blue Lantern intervenes and tells them fighting is not allowed on his planet. He also notes that the Green Lantern rings are reacting differently - he says a green ring should supercharge when in the presence of a blue ring, but he senses that is not happening. The Blue Lantern allows the Red Lantern to speak, who tells Guy he needs to maintain the influence of the Red Lantern ring he once wore in order to be powerful enough to handle an impending attack on all lanterns. Meanwhile, Lantern Yat (Sodam) wakes up on a planet of people who worship him as a god and tell him the people of his home planet (Daxam) and his father are trying to kill him. Later, Zardor (villain) is seen battling mercenaries to test his strength, and he reveals his plan to use his large collection of telepaths to allow him to control lanterns from across the universe. He is also cloning the telepaths to be even stronger. Guy Gardner tells the other Green Lanterns he knows the ring's power is deteriorating, and they suspect something is happening in the Unknown Sector that is causing this, and perhaps Sodam is the reason it is happening as well.
Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #4 Jan 2011 Gardner and his team crash in on a crooked president torturing somebody who knows where Sodam is. This person informs Gardner and they defeat his captors. Meanwhile, Sodam has carried an entire race of people from Daxam to a new planet, promising a brighter future under his rule and changed his lantern symbol to that of a person. Gardner and his team continue to search for where the Rakkonium is being mined from and where it is going. They find an alien race being enslaved for the purpose of mining Rakkonium. They defeat most of the slave-drivers, and Guy brings one of them up to the edge of the atmosphere to find out where they are sending the Rakkonium. His prisoner told him where it goes, but claimed he did not know who specifically the buyer was. Bleez, the Red Lantern, tries to use her powers to convince Guy to kill his prisoner, but he casts her aside and brings the man down safely to the ground. As Guy, Bleez, Kilowog, and Arisia fly away, they are ambushed by Green Lanterns for operating outside of their assigned jurisdiction.
[[Green Lantern Emerald Warriors Issue 1]] [[Green Lantern Emerald Warriors Issue 2]] [[Green Lantern Emerald Warriors Issue 3]] [[Green Lantern Emerald Warriors Issue 4]]
[[Green Lantern Issue 53 (Volume 4) (Brightest Day)]]
Green Lantern: Rebirth #1 Dec 2004 Kyle Rayner, the last Green Lantern, crashes to Earth in a spacecraft, injured and mumbling to a couple of hikers who find him before he passes out next to a coffin shaped container. A number of strange events follow including the re-appearance of Hal Jordan (often seen as the greatest Green Lantern of all), who had spiraled into insanity after Cyborg Superman's destruction of his hometown, allowing him to become the villain, Parallax, who killed a number of Green Lanterns, nearly all of the Guardians of Oa, and destroyed the Central Power Battery from which the Green Lanterns power up their rings. Hal had sacrificed his life in order to use his power to re-ignite the Earth's sun, which left his soul in Purgatory, chosen as the new host to The Spectre, the "Spirit of God's Vengeance." It is as this conflicted being, comprised of three parts with separate motivations (often conflicting) that Hal comes back. He goes to a baseball game with the other Green Lanterns, in their attempt to help him, but cannot stay, as people (sensing The Spectre) begin to confess their sins to him. He makes an appearance at the house of his good friend, Oliver Queen (AKA Green Arrow). Black Hand has come to steal a power ring that was being kept safe by Oliver for Hal, causing The Spectre to emerge and seek vengeance for Black Hand's crimes. Oliver sees that this is The Spectre’s doing, rather than Hal’s. Hal's hometown of Coast City, previously destroyed, is partially rejuvenated without explanation, and the alien body of Guy Gardner, previous Green Lantern, begins rejecting its own shape-shifting physiology. When the Justice League comes on the scene to help, the differing opinions about Hal and his motivations held by different members of the team become clear.
Green Lantern: Rebirth #2 Jan 2005 Hal Jordan speaks with his his ex-girlfriend, Carol Ferris at the airstrip where they met. Her father owned the jets and his father was a pilot. They both watched as her father insisted that Hal’s father keep a malfunctioning plane in the air for the benefit of investors. The plane crashed, killing Hal’s father before his and Carol’s eyes. He communicates to her that he has not felt in control of his actions (actions for which he is not proud) for the past few years. The Justice League (JLA) confronts Hal at the airfield, where John Stewart (the Green Lantern who is now working with the JLA) decides to stand against the others’ accusations, which causes The Spectre to try to leave, while Hal wants to stay. Back at the Watchtower (JLA headquarters), the emergency power ring Oliver has duplicates itself and flies onto Guy Gardner’s hand, making him a Green Lantern once more. Kyle Rayner, conscious again, is confronted by another Green Lantern, the alien, Kilowog who tries to take the coffin with his power ring, but is stopped by Ganthet (Guardian of Oa), who reveals that the body of Hal Jordan (within the coffin traveling with Kyle) is under the Guardians’ protection.
Green Lantern: Rebirth #3 Feb 2005 The last Guardian of Oa, Ganthet, overseer of the Green Lanterns asks Kilowog to lower his power ring once more before they do battle. During the fight, Kyle feels forced to use his power ring and in turn sees visions of the other Green Lanterns: Guy Gardner, a Lantern again; John Stewart, battling the Justice League, and Kyle is frustrated, desperate that Hal Jordan is really worth all of this chaos. Hal suddenly finds himself at the reconstructed building in which he used to live in the ruins that were Coast City (his hometown). It is here that he finds out that he and his other two aspects (The Spectre and Parallax) were responsible for bringing the back the apartment building. Ganthet transports Kyle and the coffin containing Hal’s corpse to the Watchtower (JLA headquarters), charging him with protection of the body and reminding him that they cannot merely //hope// to save Hal’s soul, for willpower is their only weapon against fear. At the Watchtower, Kyle explains to Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) the story of Parallax and how it took over Hal’s soul, while in Hal’s recreated apartment, Parallax and The Spectre tell Hal the same story. The Spectre explains also how he tried to kill Parallax (the embodiment of the yellow impurity) by holding it accountable for all of its crimes against the universe, but Parallax only took The Spectre as well. Oliver asks the pertinent question of who would have woken Parallax from its sleep while imprisoned in the Central Power Battery, at which point Sinestro (once a Green Lantern turned renegade) appears and takes credit.
Green Lantern: Rebirth #4 Mar 2005 Sinestro, who was previously presumed killed by Hal Jordan, reveals in the Watchtower to Kyle Rayner and Oliver Queen that Hal actually killed an illusion created by Parallax and that he had used his yellow power ring (forged in Qward by him to power up with and project fear) to communicate with and awaken the monster of terror. Sinestro fights Oliver and Kyle viciously, their rings tainted with the infection of Parallax. The Justice League of America (JLA), The Justice Society of America (JSA), and The Teen Titans come to Coast City to aid in the attack against Parallax, but they find themselves stricken with fear and their powers and effect weakened. Fortunately, The Spectre manages to separate Parallax from Hal’s soul and free himself in the process. The Spectre leaves to do as he needs to, and Hal’s soul finds itself pulled toward a light, which Ganthet (Guardian of Oa) guides him through just before Parallax takes control of his body, being now without a host. Ganthet’s green light leads Hal’s soul to his corpse in the Watchtower. The ring that Oliver had been using flies off his hand, and onto the hand of Hal’s body. The hair which had turned prematurely gray from the influence of Parallax changes back to brown, and Hal is reborn in time to aid his fallen friends in their fight against Sinestro.
Green Lantern: Rebirth #5 Apr 2005 Hal Jordan and Sinestro do battle beginning on the JLA’s Watchtower, but quickly taking things into space. They physically fight and argue about the events that transpired from the time they met (when Sinestro was still a Green Lantern and sent to train Hal) to the present story. Kyle Rayner comes to join Hal in the fight and together they overpower Sinestro until he disappears, escaping into an extra-dimensional vortex to the ~Anti-Matter Universe where he forged his yellow Qwardian power ring. This leaves Hal and Kyle to their first formal meeting. Kyle expresses his doubts that he is capable of overcoming fear like the other Green Lanterns, but Hal reminds him that he has been doing just that and they head back to Coast City to take care of Parallax (still inhabiting the host of Guardian Ganthet). Hal instructs all of the Green Lanterns to stand in a circle, light up their rings, and recall fear. As they are about to fly up and execute a plan to rid Ganthet of Parallax, Batman entangles Hal’s wrist with a batarang and tries to prevent him from acting.
Green Lantern: Rebirth #6 May 2005 Hal Jordan establishes the main problem between himself and Batman: he is inspired by light and courage, while Batman finds his strength in darkness and fear. Because of these differences they have never gotten along well. Batman has held Hal up from defeating Parallax so as to get an explanation from him of the events taking place, but Hal sees no time for that. Parallax, within the host body of the Guardian Ganthet, is infecting people the world over with fear to feed off. Hal tries to ignore Batman, but he is persistent, so Hal gives him a strong right hook to keep him temporarily out of the way. Though Batman wants to regroup the JLA and go for Parallax separately, Superman begins to intervene, but is interrupted by Alan Scott (Earth’s first Green Lantern and member of the JSA) and his daughter, Jade, who urge them to let the Lanterns handle the situation. Returning to their circle, with lit rings held aloft, the Green Lanterns fly up towards Parallax and using their individual forms of willpower, they attempt to send Parallax back to his prison in the Central Power Battery. Though Parallax gets in one final blow to the Lanterns, knocking all, but Hal down, Hal keeps his ring trained on the monster and refuses to give up until his fellow Green Lanterns can regain their balance and return to the fight. Parallax is separated from the host body of Ganthet and Hal is left to confront Batman who isn’t sure he was possessed when he committed his past atrocities. Finally though, Batman gives up fighting him about it and accepts Hal’s return.
[[Green Lantern: Rebirth Issue 1]] [[Green Lantern: Rebirth Issue 2]] [[Green Lantern: Rebirth Issue 3]] [[Green Lantern: Rebirth Issue 4]] [[Green Lantern: Rebirth Issue 5]] [[Green Lantern: Rebirth Issue 6]]
[[Despotellis Spreads Fear]] [[Never Alone Again]] [[The Fear Within]] [[The Greatest Once, The Greatest Again]] [[Fearful Symmetry]] [[Death of a Cyborg]] [[Into the Sun]] [[Fear Is a Baby’s Cry]]
[[Gwen Biography]] [[iZombie Issues]]
Gwen Dylan works in a cemetery in Eugene, Oregon. She is a zombie who needs to eat a brain once every month from a person she has buried, or else she turns into an incoherent, shambling (classic) zombie. She has one female friend, named Ellie, who is a ghost, and one close male friend, Scott, who becomes a werewolf (looking more like a dog) every full moon. All three characters seem to successfully hide their secrets as monsters from the rest of the world. There is a group of female vampires who stalks their prey to continue living, one apparent mummy who may be a murderer. Horatio and Diogenes are two monster hunters. After eating someone's brain, she takes on their thoughts, memories, and emotions for one week. In the beginning of the series, she realizes the person whose brain she just ate was murdered, and she is bombarded by thoughts and memories about this. She agrees to take on solving the mystery of his murder, which is a recurring theme in the series.
[[Hawkman Issues]]
Katar Hol was a young police officer on the planet Thanagar, and a child of a privileged family being the son of Paran Katar. But Thanagar was a planet which conquered and mined other worlds for their resources to maintain its high standard of living, and Hol realized that this was wrong. He rebelled against the system and favored the old days of Thanagar. He became a student of history and archaeology, and admired Thanagar's legendary hero Kalmoran. Hol became addicted to a recreational drug, and was manipulated by the renegade police captain Byth into killing his own father, and was sent into exile in the Isle of Chance.
During that time, he found one of the island residents in robes fashioned a pair of wings. Katar, disillusioned, killed him and took his wings. He learned the wings were meant for Hol and that the robed man had natural wings on his back. Horrified on what he's done, the brother of the man he killed help him deal with withdrawal symptoms from his drug addictions and made peace with himself.
When his sentence was up, Hol was sent to Downside. However, he managed to escape and uncover and defeat Byth, who had gained shape-shifting abilities. As a result, he was reinstated in the force and given a new partner, Shayera Thal - a young woman from a lower class of society.
Just after Fel Andar left Earth, Katar and Shayera were sent to Earth, where they served as goodwill ambassadors for their homeplanet and remained for some time fighting both human and alien criminals in places like Chicago's Netherworld. Dubbed by the press as Hawkman III, Katar and Shayera, Hawkwoman II, had a tempestuous working relationship, and eventually Shayera broke away from Katar, who continued alone.
Katar met Carter Hall and Shiera Sanders who returned from Asgard with the rest of the Justice Society. He learns that his father came to Earth during World War II, under the alias "Perry Carter". They were friends with Paran, and were the inspiration of the Wingmen. In one adventure, Carter took an injured Katar to be healed by an old friend, a Cherokee shaman named Naomi ("Faraway Woman"). Katar discovers that she had known Paran. She and Paran fell in love, and the two eloped with the Halls serving as witnesses. Thus Naomi is his birth mother and Katar is a hybrid Human/Thanagarian.
During the Zero Hour event, Katar Hol was merged with Carter, Shiera, and a "hawk god" creature in a new Hawkman version—a living avatar of the hawk god who adventured for a brief time, continued to prey on criminals and deal out his own brand of fierce justice. He later went insane (tormented by the voices of all previous hawk avatars in his head), until he was eventually banished to limbo by the combined skills of Arion and the Martian Manhunter.
Just before Hawkman vol. 3 (1993), people generally accept that Katar Hol and Shayera are dead, and therefore so are Hawkman and Hawkwoman. This occurred during a huge explosion. Shayera was brought back to life by Count Viper's doctors so he could use her body to lure Katar Hol in to be killed. Katar Hol is saved during the explosion by Carter Hall, "the original Hawkman." Carter carries Katar Hol to Katar Hol's mother, who heals him.
Hawkman #1 Sept 1993 This is a new Hawkman, volume 3 in the series. He is not the previous two people who wore the Hawkman suit. It takes place in Chicago, and the public and Netherworld (group of random mutants the public shuns) is surprised by Hawkman’s return given that the previous two people are not around anymore (busy or dead?). Deadline is a hired assassin who causes havoc in the Netherworld to get Hawkman’s attention. Hawkman shows up and defeats Deadline, and he gets the name of the person who hired him. At the end, Green Lantern becomes aware that Hawkman has returned, and is worried that Hawkman will tarnish the name of Justice League America, since his actions represent the JLA. ''THIS STORY RUNS THROUGH ISSUE #6''
Hawkman #2 Oct 1993 Hawkman has a recurring nightmare about a bird being helpless while it watches Death take his mate away. Hawkman chases after the man who Deadline said hired him. Marauder, an explosives villain hired by a company, watches as Hawkman talks with man. Green Lantern intervenes to find out Hawkman’s identity, which is Katar Hol, a previous Hawkman rumored to be dead. Marauder kills the man, and fights Green Lantern and Hawkman. They remove Marauder’s helmet to find out it is Shayera, formerly Hawkwoman. But the person is just made to look like Shayera. Later, we see Shayera is working for the company (might be another disguise?). With the man dead, the only clue Green Lantern and Hawkman have about who is trying to get Hawkman’s attention (or kill him) is that Marauder’s suit has the same anti-gravity material as Hawkwoman’s suit.
Hawkman #3 Nov 1993 Hawkman hires Knowbuddy from the Netherworld to disguise himself as a cop to find out more about the anti-gravity material found on Marauder’s suit. It points to Metatech, which Dr. Moon works for. Hawkman finds Moon, finds out there’s a base in the Grand Canyon where Shayera is being held, but it’s a trap. Airstryke, a mutated, genetically-modified villain, surprises Hawkman with Shayera as hostage and battles him in the sky. Shayera sees Airstryke is overcome with bloodlust and tries to shoot him down. Eventually, she uses some sort of mind powers to change Airstryke back to human form, and he falls. Hawkman and Shayera meet, and she swaps bodies with him. Count Viper was using Shayera’s body all along as a disguise, and he becomes Hawkman while transferring Katar Hol to Shayera’s body.
Hawkman #4 Dec 1993 Katar Hol, now in Shayera's body, escapes from the prison that Count Viper, now in Katar Hol's body, brings him to and searches for Shayera. Dr. Moon runs into Katar Hol and tells him where Shayera is being held. Shayera is in the body of the old man who has been imprisoned since the beginning of the series. Count Viper sends Airstryke and a team of Marauders to kill Shayera, although Airstryke wants to kill Katar Hol personally. Shayera escapes from the prison cell on her own, and Katar Hol, in Shayera's body dressed as Hawkwoman, prevents her from being killed by the Marauders. Katar Hol battles Airstryke until Airstryke is left unconscious. Katar Hol and Shayera team up to stop Count Viper. Count Viper is last seen meeting with Wonder Woman at the JLA HQ, whom he mind controls. Count Viper's goal is to become America's dictator to restore its ideals when it was first created. Count Viper is 250 years old, born around the time of America's birth.
Hawkman #5 Jan 1994 Shayera and Katar Hol share some background story about how they each survived the explosion. They return to Katar Hol's base where Dr. Moon is being held captive by the wolf, and Dr. Moon tells them all about Count Viper's plans. Meanwhile, Count Viper has controlled the mind of Bloodwynd at JLA. Still in the old man's body, Shayera puts on a Hawk suit. The Hawks travel to JLA HQ, where they meet up with and battle Count Viper (in Katar Hol/Hawkman's body), Wonder Woman (under mind control of Viper), and Bloodwynd (under mind control of Viper). Katar Hol pulls Wonder Woman beyond Viper's mind control range, which frees her, and they return to fight the others. However, Viper brings Airstryke back, who battles Wonder Woman. Shayera, fighting Bloodwynd, suffers a heart attack in midair (her fate is unknown as of now). Katar Hol is left to face Count Viper who has brought another ally that Hawkman did not see coming, which will be exposed in the next issue.
Hawkman #6 Feb 1994 Additional background information is provided, including how Katar Hol's parents met and how he was born and raised. The Eradicator shows up under Count Viper's mind control to battle Hawkman. The Eradicator was formed on Krypton, and Viper describes him as a villain that even Superman would struggle with. Eventually the Eradicator comes out of Viper's spell. Viper and Airstryke are left unconscious. Hawkman, Bloodwynd, Wonder Woman, Shayera, and Eradicator fly the two villains to southwest USA to find Katar Hol's mother. Katar Hol and Shayera must fall asleep to battle Viper in the spirit world. Katar Hol takes the form of a half man/half hawk creature to battle Viper, in the form of a giant snake. Katar Hol asks Shayera to take control of her animal form, but she says she doesn't believe in it. She then realizes she can take the shape of a wolf, it suits her better, and they successfully defeat Viper in the spirit world. They are then returned to their original bodies, and the story wraps up neatly at the end, although there is no explanation of what happened to Airstryke or Count Viper. ''THIS IS THE END OF THE STORY ARC THAT BEGAN IN ISSUE #1.''
Hawkman #7 Mar 1994 Netherworld inhabitants chase after a "furball," a hairy mutant. They pick on the mutant, try to corner it and fight it. Mongrel steps in and tries to convince them that they should not be fighting, that he wants to unify the netherworld so they can work together toward one common goal. Mongrel beats up some of the opposition to prove his strength. Knowbuddy, Mustang Suzy, and others disapprove but let him go on in the meantime. Katar and Shayera are in the mountains relaxing and enjoying quiet time together when he and his mother suddenly share a vision of a fiery dog torturing the people of the netherworld. He leaves to help save those people, explaining to Shayera that he thinks Mongrel is a good natured person who was picked on when he was younger, so he is just looking for payback with his new powers. Meanwhile, Mustang Suzy organizes a group of Metahumans to fight Mongrel and his Misfits. Hawkman appears and tries to break it up, but Mongrel tries to stop him. Over the course of the fight, the building starts to collapse and injure or kill those inside, including Mustang Suzy. Mongrel keeps telling Hawkman that he wants to unite the netherworld, that he doesn't want to kill anybody. After seeing Mustang Suzy die (at least thinking she died), Mongrel panics and flies away. Hawkman vows to find Mongrel and fight him again "and next time...THE GLOVES ARE OFF!" ''NEW STORY ARC''
Hawkman #8 Apr 1994 Hawkman takes Mustang Suzy to the hospital and demands that the doctors treat her wounds from the fight between Hawkman and Mongrel. He also demands that they treat anyone from the Netherworld who shows up needing care. They try to save her, but she dies in the hospital. Meanwhile, Mongrel is reflecting about what he's done and thinking about how he could fix it. He shows up at the hospital with a group of Misfits to fight Hawkman. After hearing that Mustang Suzy did, in fact, die, Mongrel shouts "NO!" and shoots his lasers at the wall. Hawkman and Mongrel begin fighting in and around the hospital. Some Misfits make their way to the Pharmacology Lab to steal what they think are drugs. While fighting Mongrel, Hawkman is grabbed by a Misfit and pulled down, where several Misfits begin to pound on him. Mongrel pulls Hawkman out explaining that it's his fight, and Hawkman leads Mongrel away to fight him in the Netherworld away from the hospital and humans. Mongrel continues to tell Hawkman that he did not intend to hurt anybody, he was just looking for a group he could belong to and maybe make the world a better place for others. Hawkman claimed Mongrel's youth and power got in the way of his thinking, that he can't just "get anything you want, Mongrel...you've got to earn it, boy!" The "drugs" the Misfits took ended up being a cold virus that winds up hurting or killing dozens of people in the Netherworld. Mongrel blames himself for this and once again flies away. ''END OF STORY ARC''
[[Hawkman Issue 1]] [[Hawkman Issue 2]] [[Hawkman Issue 3]] [[Hawkman Issue 4]] [[Hawkman Issue 5]] [[Hawkman Issue 6]] [[Hawkman Issue 7]] [[Hawkman Issue 8]]
The Heroic Age (abbreviated HA) was a theme created by Marvel in 2010 to begin a markedly different style and theme in the comic books associated with the banner. It could be considered an Event, but the way Marvel executives describe it, it seems to simply be more of a new direction in which Marvel is heading. For the past 7 years, the storylines of many Marvel heroes have been grim; several heroes have died, the heroes' patience has been worn thin, battles have been gut wrenching - overall a dark mood has been cast over many comics in the Marvel Universe. HA, on the other hand, is intended to be a call back to the classic comic book style - there is more of a "swashbuckling" feel to fights, heroes' lives are not as clearly put in critical danger, colors are often brighter, villains disappear only to return and fight another day. I do not consider this to be an Event like those listed on the [[By Main Character]] page because their stories appear to have no more impact on other titles within the Marvel universe than usual, nor is the publication frequency of included titles changed.
Miles Morales (mixed race) from [[Ultimate Spider-Man|Ultimate Spider-Man (2011) Issues]]
On the left are issues that deal heavily with honor. ''Example questions:'' Why do you think [Character] performed [Honorable Deed]? What would you have done? What would happen if [Character] ignored his/her conscience? Where does conscience come from? Can you recall a time during the issue when [Character] was a good role model? Why was he/she a good role model at that point?
There is a timeline on the far right, just below the search box, that lists each change according to date. Some entries may be an issue summary that is new to the database, some entries may be a simple rewording or update of information.
The white-lettered "Comicspedia" at the very top in the bright red banner is clickable! Click that to open the welcome window.
Comicspedia is updated most Mondays with new summaries and/or structural changes.
[[Case Examples]] These ideas may be used individually or part of a treatment program. They are ordered in terms of how strong the therapeutic relationship must be in order to be effective (weakest to strongest) and in terms of how much therapeutic content may be yielded (least to most). Idea #1 can be used in conjunction with any of the other ideas to maintain a high level of rapport or, when using ideas #3 and #4, to provide topics of discussion during the creative process. 1. ''__Connect with issues.__'' Allow a client to read 1 issue during a session. Use the themes tagged with each issue to ask specific questions about how the story connects with the client's life. [[Examples|Connecting with Issues]] 2. ''__Change a storyline together.__'' This can be done in many different ways. The therapist and client can talk through the changes the client would make to that storyline. The therapist and client can use a form of art, such as creating blank comic panels onto which the client can draw their version of the story, or the therapist can photocopy pages with bubbles blanked out into which the client inserts their own dialogue. The client could be invited to insert him- or herself into the story assuming the role of a hero or villain. The client could also be invited to create a superhero or supervillain of their own to insert into the story using the talking, drawing, or rewriting methods mentioned earlier. Role playing could also be used where the therapist and client each perform significant roles from the story. The therapist can then pay close attention to how the client changes the story as they approach each thematic element. [[Examples|Changing a Storyline]] 3. '' __Create an entirely new superhero/supervillain set.__'' Include ancillary characters, such as: cop, thug, superhero/supervillain's family, mentors to the superhero/supervillain, accomplices/colleagues, victims, so on. The therapist can join with the client or not, although I have found the client is often more open to creating when the therapist joins, and it gives the therapist an additional dynamic to process (how does the client's characters interact with an adult/authority/helper/stranger's characters?). Use drawing, painting, Play Doh, role playing, anything else you can think of! 4. ''__Create a comic book.__'' Spend multiple sessions allowing a client to create his or her own comic book. The therapist can add their own creativity to the client's comic book or develop a separate one in parallel. The therapist may instruct the client to include a beginning, middle, and end to their story, and, should the therapeutic relationship be undeniably strong, the therapist may instruct the client to include him- or herself as a character.
Here you can find coverage of Comicspedia and its creator Dr. Patrick O'Connor. If you'd like to conduct an interview of your own, please [[email me|mailto:[email protected]?subject=Comicspedia%20Interview]]. [[IAmA on reddit.com|http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/n4v7t/iama_psychologist_who_uses_comic_books_to_treat/?limit=500]] [[Article on comicsalliance.com covering the above IAmA|http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/12/08/psychologist-superhero-comics-psychology/]] [[Casey Jones, author of All Fall Down, mentions Comicspedia|http://www.caseyjonescaseyjones.com/?p=368]] [[Dr. O'Connor interviewed by Comic Booked|http://www.comicbooked.com/patrick-oconnor-gets-comic-booked/]] [[Audio interview on HEAVEmedia (25 minutes)|http://www.heavemedia.com/2012/01/24/pocket-protectors-comics-and-psychology/]] [[I have also been a guest on the Geek Therapy Podcast|http://www.geektherapypodcast.com/]] [[Check out this awesome webcast on the psychology of Batman!|http://www.spreecast.com/events/legends-of-the-knight-tuesday-march-5]] [[A brief piece in INSIGHT Magazine, the magazine for alumni of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology|http://insight-magazine.org/2013/campus-news/black-cape-optional/]]
Green Lantern: Tales of the Sinestro Corps (TPB reprint, 2008) “Into the Sun” Summary: This story opens with ~Superman-Prime (AKA Clark Kent from a parallel universe) returned to Earth after an exile on Oa, defiling the gravestone of The Flash (the 4th incarnation, AKA Bart Allen), his nemesis. Clark has arrived on Earth to do battle with the Sinestro Corps against the JLA (Justice League of America) and other collaborating superhero teams. Clark flashes back to how it all began with him on an Earth where there are no real superheroes. They are all characters in comic books until one day Clark finds he can fly and he encounters Superman from ~Earth-Prime, who explains to him about the parallel universes, taking him away from his Earth to learn more about his powers. Just as he leaves, the ~Anti-Monitor destroys his Earth (including his girlfriend and parents) leaving him angry and confused by the alliances of the heroes that are now his only friends. He fights with them, he fights against them, but never quite seeing eye-to-eye on things. He is imprisoned, powerless, in a red sun by the Green Lanterns for killing the old ~Superman-Prime (because he perceives him to be dark and corrupted at this point), but the Sinestro Corps break him out, so he joins them, still not entirely on their side. He has his own agenda. On Qward he finds the ~Anti-Monitor, reborn, and realizes that by working with Sinestro he may be able to topple the ~Anti-Monitor once and for all. The Earth’s yellow sun rises over the fighting heroes and Clark flies toward it, his body drinking in its power.
Irredeemable #1 Apr 2009 Plutonian (also nicknamed Tony) enters the home of Hornet and uses his heat vision to burn Hornet's wife and baby in front of him while he tries to gather his family to flee the house. He later kills Hornet in front of his ~9 year old daughter, asking, "Do you know who I am, Sarah? I'm a super-hero." Qubit and other heroes are shown asking Samsara if he remembered when he first met Tony. Tony destroyed a nuclear robot at a baseball game, saving thousands, but Sam noted that Tony looked distraught over some of the comments in the audience (many good, but one said "showoff jerk"). Sam told Tony at the time that the gem in his head allows for a certain level of regeneration, allowing him to be immortal, although later with Qubit and the others, Sam has trouble remembering many details of his first encounter with Tony. The others remind him that he was closest to Tony, so he must know the most about him. He ends up having a burn scar in the back of his head (which Tony made), which apparently contributes to his memory loss. After receiving no useful information, they let him lay back down in his grave. The other heroes (Qubit, Volt, Scylla and Charybdis, Bette Noir, Kaidan, and Gilgamos) agree to begin looking for more information about him, including a possible girlfriend and family background. Tony shows up, shooting his heat vision at them, and they use quantum bracelets to teleport to safety.
Irredeemable #10 Jan 2010 Bette Noir and Gilgamos travel back to the old Paradigm HQ to talk about her relationship with Tony, but Bette initially resists. The demon the US Generals summoned (Orian) takes Bette captive and fights Gilgamos, who says he thought he banished the demon years ago. Meanwhile, Cary (now The Survivor with a new costume) and Kaidan go to find Scylla's body in a stasis tube. Cary makes a romantic advance on Kaidan (who used to be linked romantically to Scylla), who pushes him away and runs. Cary sees that Scylla's body is missing. Tony and Sam go to a convenient store for food, and Tony kills a man who cocked a .44 pistol, saying he "really hate[s] that sound." He tells Sam about how he got a new (foster) mom at age 11 who was married to an abusive husband. Tony showed his mom what he could do, that he could protect her and they could love each other instead of caving into his foster parent's fear like in the past when he'd get sent back to the orphanage. By this time, he had developed his hearing ability, and while in school, he heard her saying she couldn't go on anymore. He heard the click of a .44 and ran as fast as he could. "The school was two miles away. At the speed I could move, it may as well have been two inches. Except. Sound takes nearly 10 seconds to travel two miles. She was already dead." His mother had committed suicide. Sam asks Tony to trust him because he wants to help him. Back near the HQ, Bette tells the demon not to kill Gilgamos because she has another secret to share besides cheating on Gil with Tony.
Irredeemable #11 Feb 2010 Bette tells Orian about how she fell in love with Gilgamos, that he was the nicest, kindest person she had ever met, but that was the problem - there was no mystery, no excitement. She knew there was more to Tony than his "boy scout charm." She advanced on Tony, who resisted at first, then gave in to his desires. He revealed to her that in order to touch her and not kill her, he would have to burn a candle that completely removed his abilities. He burned the candle, and they make love. Bette tells Orian that her secret is she took a piece of the candle wax afterward and she was willing to trade it for Gil's life. Cary and the others of Paradigm arrive at HQ and find Gil's wings. Qubit figures out a helicopter took off with them, and Cary puts them into a bubble and carries them to find the helicopter. They find the helicopter, Gil, Bette, and Orian. Volt tells Kaidan that Orian is a hunter from another dimension who has only been beaten by Tony. Meanwhile, Tony and Sam head to a house in Wyoming where they find one of Tony's old foster families - his old brothers and sister (one brother and sister adopted, one brother is offspring of the parents). Anita and Loren haven't spoken a word since Tony was returned to the orphanage at age 7. They say that their parents gave birth to a "miracle child" (Joey). Tony begged to hold the new baby, but his squeeze was too strong and Joey developed special needs. This prompted the parents to return Tony to the orphanage.
Irredeemable #12 March 2010 The members of Paradigm try fighting Orian, but he is hardly affected. Bette admits that she knew it was Tony who snapped, and that she was to blame, but she was scared to confess because it meant admitting that she was the villain, that she was responsible for millions of deaths. Orian tells them they are all under arrest by the US Army. Meanwhile, Tony tells Loren and Anita what he went through in his life, devoting himself to helping others. Yet they still treated him like a time bomb and were scared of him. Tony notes that Joey was loved unconditionally despite needing constant care, that Joey hasn't done anything to earn that love. Tony yells angrily, "All I want to know is why you loved HIM and not ME!" Tony tells Sam to wait outside, and he kills Loren and Anita, but leaves Joey alive. Paradigm is gassed, hooded, and taken away by the army. Orian teleports Cary and himself to another dimension.
Irredeemable #13 May 2010 Bette Noir meets with her father, who is now living homeless in a park. She confides with him how she feels responsible for Tony's carnage. Volt and Bette Noir are fighting an evil robot when they find out Sky City has been destroyed by Plutonian. They return to the Paradigm HQ to find out what happened. Qubit reports Metalman and Citadel have been killed, and the group sees it was Tony who did it. Gilgamos asks Bette if she knows of anything that can stop Tony. She remembers how she learned of an alien candle that removes his powers the night she cheated on Gilgamos and slept with Tony. She simply replies, "No," and reflects on the consequences of such a statement. She recalls going to an elementary school where Tony held a group of children hostage. Tony reveals, "I was never able to play with other kids when I was a boy for fear I'd break them. I couldn't even tell them why. I just had to put my head down and pretend and get tormented and bullied." He throws a grenade at the children, the Paradigm attempt to intervene and momentarily save them. After a long battle, Tony blasts off away from the school. Bette and Gilgamos see he killed the children anyway. In the present, Bette asks her father for forgiveness. He points out her husband is imprisoned, millions are dead, the world is on the brink, and asks, "What are you going to do about it?"
Irredeemable #14 June 2010 Survivor and Orian appear (gruesomely) on Earth to find Plutonian. The heroes of Paradigm are imprisoned by the U.S. military, each captive in cells specially designed to prevent them from using their powers. Gilgamos reflects on when he met Alexander the Great in a prison and the lesson he taught him. While sharing a rat for dinner, Alexander tells Gilgamos, "Aristotle taught me that anger and panic cloud the warrior mind, while a calm head allows for resourcefulness." He then steals bones from the rat carcass and picks the locks of their shackles. Bette releases the Paradigm heroes from their cells and shows them Gilgamos's cell. He ripped off his only remaining wing to get a bone to pick his locks and escape without meeting up with his fellow heroes. Volt angrily tells Bette he is still upset that she withheld the information about the candle that removes Tony's powers. They find Gilgamos, who stole the bullet made of the alien candle wax. He is with Survivor and Orian, who invite Bette to come with them to take the shot at Tony. They all leave together, Qubit warns them Orian is evil and shouldn't be trusted. The group finds Sam alone, and the issue ends with Tony blasting in to stop them.
Irredeemable #15 July 2010 Plutonian fights members of Paradigm. He seems to be under their control throughout the fight with the assistance of Orian. Meanwhile, Samsara (inhabited by Modeus) runs off with Volt to show him something he claims can calm Tony. Sam pushes Volt over a cliff where he falls to his death. While Tony is held down, Bette is ordered to take the shot with the bullet made of alien candle wax that removes Tony's powers. The bullet is fired, and Qubit quickly opens a portal to transfer the bullet's path out of the way of hitting Tony and instead sets it on course to strike Orian in the head, killing him. The heroes cannot believe Qubit does this. Sam calls for Tony's help, who whisks him away. Bette cries and runs away, telling Qubit he took away her one chance at redemption. Survivor tells Qubit, "She no longer has to carry the guilt of six million dead. You do." It is secretly revealed to the reader that Qubit created another quick portal that allowed him to catch the bullet after killing Orian.
Irredeemable #16 Aug 2010 Kaidan reflects with Qubit on people she has lost in life and what it means to her now that Volt is dead. Gilgamos is shown walking beside an empty highway thinking about his relationship with Bette Noir and how she cheated on Gilgamos and withheld information regarding the alien wax candle that removes Tony's powers. Survivor visits a U.S. army general and destroys the computer system that controls their nuclear weapons, telling him "We're your nuclear arsenal now," referring to the supergroup Paradigm. Sam suddenly appears in front of a car that swerves to avoid hitting him and rolls over, killing the man's family inside. The man begs Tony to turn back time and prevent it, but Tony tells him this is what happens when you make a single mistake. "There's no forgiveness." Kaidan continues to tell Qubit stories about heroes who have died at the hands of Plutonian, and Qubit points out she has managed to bring their spirits back using her powers. Samsara tells Tony he might be able to bring people back from the dead.
Irredeemable #17 Sep 2010 Qubit walks around Talwart, Iowa noticing the bravery and hope this farm community has while recovering from Tony's rampage. Qubit rebuilds a tractor and adds a solar panel so it can operate without fuel. The residents are initially suspicious of Qubit and question why he didn't stop Tony. Survivor suddenly appears and tells the residents how Qubit prevented Tony from being killed, and the tension builds. Meanwhile, Kaidan practices summoning Volt and Metalman, and she realizes why she cannot summon Scylla - he's still alive somewhere. Samsara tells Tony that the Lost Sapphire of Ishwar will bring back the dead if Tony can activate it, since it provides the same regenerative powers that Sam's stone does. The citizens beat on Qubit while demanding to know why he didn't kill Tony. Qubit explains he chose to kill Orian because he was going to summon an army to destroy Earth if Tony was killed. He also pointed out Tony saved the world a hundred times over, and he earned salvation. Tony blasts the sapphire, but nothing happens. He mentions Modeus would have figured out how to activate it, and tells Sam (still currently inhabited by Modeus) about how evil Modeus was. He reveals Modeus earned a "perfect score" on the Hare Checklist for Psychopathy who simply loved to murder without reason. He tried questioning Modeus, but got no answers. Tony was able to surprise Modeus one day and discovered he was building a small army of Plutonians, and in that moment of surprise the real Plutonian discovered Modeus's emotions - Tony believes Modeus is in love with him, and he is trying to destroy all that Tony cares for so he would be the only thing left for Tony to love. Tony then reveals he knows Modeus is inside the reanimated corpse of Sam.
Irredeemable #18 Oct 2010 Tony briefly confronts Samsara/Mobeus in the issue, explaining how he figured out Mobeus has been inside Samsara's body. He then burns Sam's face with his heat vision and Sam runs off while Tony laughs. Qubit reveals Hornet sent him a hologram message only to be watched in the event of Hornet's death and outside of the range of the Plutonian's super hearing. In the message, Hornet reveals he has had suspicions about Tony for a few years. He reflects on the opportunities he and other heroes of Paradigm have been granted thanks to choosing to be heroes, such as visiting alien worlds. He then turns to discuss what happened during an alien invasion of the Vzz-P'ah, or as Hornet shortened it, The Vespa. The aliens had calculated exactly how to deal with the Paradigm, and the heroes began to lose the battle. Hornet sneaked onto the ship and saw thousands of soldiers being prepared to finish the conquering of Earth, when he was captured himself. Hornet told the aliens he fears Tony will turn one day, so in exchange for leaving Earth for now and promising to return at a later date should Tony indeed turn evil, he will regularly provide the Vespa with the coordinates of other inhabitable planets the Paradigm have visited to protect so that the Vespa's empire may expand. The aliens agree to this and leave, while Hornet is celebrated as a hero. Before Hornet died, he enabled a distress call to the Vespa to return and kill the Plutonian, and they arrive at the end of the issue.
Irredeemable #19 Nov 2010 The Vespa attack the Plutonian by teleporting Tony's invulnerable molecules from the surface of his skin into a test tube. Qubit tries to warn the aliens that Tony is still extremely powerful and will not be captured without a fight. Tony super-accelerates, moving faster than a bullet, causing him to slice through the aliens with ease. Qubit then orders Kaidan to call forth the spirits of the heroes who have died at Tony's hands. Dozens of heroes emerge and, with the help of Survivor, successfully hold him until the Vespa are able to construct a straitjacket out of Tony's invulnerable molecules. The Vespa wrap him up in the straitjacket, but he suddenly bursts out of it. Tony recalls that he can blast the Lost Sapphire of Ishwar with his heat vision and bring the dead back to life. He zaps it and people emerge from the destruction he once caused. Tony extends a helping hand to the people with a smile, offering to help them once again. It is then revealed that this is all in his imagination, as he is currently still in the straitjacket and held captive by the Vespa.
Irredeemable #2 May 2009 Kaidan remembers her first encounter with Plutonian (Tony). Her power allows her to call upon Japanese warrior ghosts to become real and fight for her. While she was fighting villains, Tony intervened and stopped her from being killed. During the present day, Kaidan moves on to find Tony's ex-girlfriend, Alana Patel. Alana remembers that she helped evacuate a crowded dance hall when a villain attacked the crowd, which Tony admired. She described the wonderful things Tony did for her when they dated. The only times she worried was when Modeus attacked him, because he was the only supervillain Tony feared. She added that he revealed to her that he had a secret identity as a coworker at her satellite radio station job, which she panicked about and told the others. They spread the word on the radio, but Tony instantly leapt into the sky to destroy the satellite before it could broadcast. He yells at the coworkers, saying, "Do you realize you now know the most dangerous secret on earth? [Villains] would torture you [to learn about my private life]. They would flay your partners and rape your children with hot knives." He tries to comfort Alana saying he could protect her, but she leaves him. The coworkers all commit suicide within days because of the paranoia. Alana reveals that he once mentioned something about family in Wyoming. Qubit is shown working in the base alongside a small group of people who resemble Modeus.
Irredeemable #20 Dec 2010 While held captive by the alien race The Vespa, Plutonian continues to hallucinate that he has redeemed himself as a superhero by bringing his victims back to life and rebuilding civilization. Meanwhile, Qubit, Kaidan, and Survivor celebrate Plutonian's capture and their newfound safety. Survivor uses a device to communicate with the people of the world that they are now safe from Plutonian's wrath. He personally guarantees full amnesty to all criminals (with superpowers and without) should they help the Paradigm and other heroes restore order. His promises grow more and more grandiose, even going so far as to guarantee a Utopian world. The Vespa continue to process Plutonian's entry into their prison, and note that he no longer fantasizes as a result of their drugs, but because he chooses to. Even after ceasing the forced medication, he fantasizes about being a hero again and saving the world, all the while his real body is beaten bloody by the other monster prisoners held by The Vespa.
Irredeemable #21 Jan 2011 The Vespa, an alien race holding the Plutonian (AKA Tony) prisoner, are able to look into his mind and see the delusional construct he has been able to manifest in order to protect himself from the harsh realities to which they attempt to subject him. They see he is envisioning himself as a hero once again, no longer being the worst villain Earth has ever known. The Vespa note his extreme strength and invulnerability make him a prime candidate to be a Terromite miner, which appears to be a precious resource for this alien race. Meanwhile, the people of Earth celebrate Tony's disappearance, believing they are safe from his tyranny; however, Qubit and Survivor, members of the supergroup The Paradigm, argue over whether the sudden resurgence of supervillains is good or bad. These villains feared Tony and stayed hidden, but now that he is gone, they feel it is safe to wreak havoc once again. Survivor thinks it is better to have them as opposed to Tony, Qubit disagrees. Back aboard the Vespa's spaceship, two Vespa discuss the safety system they have in place that creates half the force of a black hole, making the prisoners immobile until order is restored. During a demonstration, Tony's powers become amplified beyond his control in his delusion, where he attempts to save a falling child and instead crushes him as he catches him. He takes the boy to a hospital begging doctors to save him, but his delusion begins to unravel. The Vespa enable this ultra gravity machine to its maximum power, which liquefies the other prisoners, but Tony is shown to be strong enough to resist it at the conclusion of the issue.
Irredeemable #22 Feb 2011 The Plutonian (AKA Tony), inside of his own delusion, crashes into his secret hideout, seemingly unable to control his powers. Samsara, once his best friend, greets him and tells him to relax. It is revealed the Vespans have wrapped his body and locked it in a vault, which they plan to transport to a remote location to dispose of it. Meanwhile, Modeus, the Plutonian's arch enemy, dresses up an unresponsive Scylla as the Plutonian and kisses him. He feels nothing, so he asks Encanta to place him inside Scylla's body, but he realizes the benefit of currently inhabiting a robot - he has no heart to break. He vows to reunite with Tony. The Vespans note Tony's prison has the gravitational pull of half a white dwarf star, and they allow it to collapse into the center of a star. Meanwhile, the remaining members of the Paradigm recruit villains to become good and help rebuild Earth. Inside Tony's delusion, a masked man named The Auroran puts glasses on Tony and dresses him in civilian clothing. The Auroran asks Tony to be at peace. Tony's body is shown to be discovered by a different alien race in a crater on the star.
Irredeemable #23 Mar 2011 Tony escapes to an alternate reality in an effort to protect himself from what is really happening. In the alternate reality, The Auroran tells him he does not have to be the hero anymore, and The Auroran instead fights the criminals in Tony’s place, which Tony is pleased about. Tony meets with his previous girlfriend Alana, who tells him he’s all she’s ever wanted. She (and everyone else in the restaurant) suddenly turns into Modeus, Tony’s arch-nemesis, and they advance on him until he falls out a window. Tony “wakes up” from his alternate reality and finds The Auroran is real. The Auroran tells Tony they are both locked in an intergalactic insane asylum. Meanwhile, Survivor uses Burrows (a telepath) to interrogate villains to find out if their offer to help rebuild the world is genuine. The thoughts Burrows sees deeply scares him. Qbit telepathically asks Burrows to look into Survivor’s thoughts to see if he is genuine too, and what Qbit receives back is also deeply frightening, indicating Survivor may have a hidden agenda.
Irredeemable #24 Apr 2011 The Auroran tells Tony he understands where Tony is coming from. He describes Tony as a misunderstood boy who traveled from foster home to foster home, only to be shunned by each set of foster parents. He later became The Plutonian in an effort to display his powers as useful for good deeds to earn the love of the people of Earth, but his mistakes led to an irredeemable reputation. The Auroran explains they are in a "cosmic madhouse" where aliens with mental illness are kept. Tony wishes to escape with The Auroran's help. Meanwhile, Modeus reflects on how he came to love Tony, and, along with Qubit, threaten to hurt the Vespan alien race if they do not tell them where Tony is being held.
Irredeemable #25 May 2011 Modeus explains to Qubit that the Plutonian does not actually possess the superpowers he thinks he does. Instead, his powers are an extension of his mind's ability to control matter. For example, Tony is not super-strong; instead, he manipulates the weight and density of an object with his mind so he may pick it up. Modeus then mentions Qubit figured this out, but Modeus keeps Qubit in the dark by erasing his memory every time he catches on. Meanwhile, Burrows and Thermo discuss Burrows's mind reading power, and how Burrows was able to learn what Survivor's secret motivations are behind his rebuilding of the world after Tony's rampage. Survivor then discovers Burrows is reading his mind. Later, Tony recalls the first life he saved and how familiar this person's face was. It is revealed to readers (although not to Tony) that The Auroran is this first person Tony saved.
Irredeemable #26 June 2011 Tony discovers new aliens on the insane asylum planet in which he is imprisoned. One alien believes he is God, but is quickly proven wrong by Tony. Another hears voices that tell him what to do, but Tony discovers this alien has mouths on his back that speak these voices, and the alien never knew it. Tony helps him by creating a tunic for him to wear, silencing the voices. Lastly, Tony stumbles upon an alien who inflicts pain on others by hurting herself. Tony gathers the voices alien and self-harm alien to join him and his other teammates to plan an attack on Earth. Meanwhile, Kaidan is still trapped with zombified Scylla watching over her. She reminisces about her time with the living Scylla and how much she loved him. While doing so, her powers return to her and she is able to summon Scylla's spirit.
Irredeemable #27 July 2011 Tony discovers an alien (Mallus) whose fists become tachyon hammers that he uses to punch people back in time. Tony then confronts The Auroran about who he really is. He explains he is one of the doctors' tools of the asylum planet, a psychic symbiote whose job is to bond to a host (patient) and please him. The Auroran, now in his true self as a sort of humanlike blob, explains he was impressed by Tony's history and his potential for good that he wished to remain close to Tony. He mentions he can mimic any person and power, and asks to be taken with when Tony leaves. Tony punches through The Auroran's chest, killing him instantly. Tony then takes his new group of villains with to confront Modeus and Qubit. Qubit attempts to destroy his teleportation devices, but Tony uses Mallus's power to send Tony back in time to grab the villainous group and teleport to Earth just before Qubit destroys the technology. This seemingly leaves Qubit permanently trapped in space.
Irredeemable #28 August 2011 The president of the United States calls for a conference to inform the public that the government has entered into a sort of business agreement with other countries to assist one another in rebuilding following Tony's rampage. Tony returns to Earth and uses his heat vision to burn his symbol into the United States, killing more people and destroying more cities. Tony also sleeps with the cutter, perhaps in order to feel intimate with someone again, but this is a failed attempt. Tony and his villainous group confront Survivor and his new Paradigm supergroup, and Tony's group quickly and easily kill a few members of the Paradigm. Survivor orders Burrows to read Tony's mind to determine his next moves. Burrows runs off in horror and commits suicide by hanging, which Tony laughs at. It is also revealed to the members of the Paradigm that Survivor lied to them when he said he knew where Qubit was and that Qubit had developed a plan to kill Tony. Survivor inadvertently says Qubit is missing in the heat of battle, and his teammates briefly turn against him.
Irredeemable #29 September 2011 Tony takes members of the new Paradigm supergroup and travels far away, where he hurls each one into space and asks members of his villain group to "wish upon the shooting star." Later, he finds Bette Noir and confronts her about her actions, but he finds that through Cutter's jealousy of his relationship with Bette, Cutter is able to cut Tony and make him feel her, which he values. He decides to keep Bette around. Meanwhile, Kaidan talks to a stranger about how she was able to escape and resurrect Scylla, whose zombified body was keeping her prisoner. She said she realized she could use her powers to summon Scylla's spirit and use it to fight Scylla's body and distract him while Kaidan escapes. This stranger is revealed to be Gilgamos, a former member of the original Paradigm supergroup. Kaidan shows Scylla's spirit is still alive, and his spirit explains that he and Charybdis (AKA Survivor) were not superhero twins, but they were superhero triplets, and there is a third sibling who has yet to be contacted for help.
Irredeemable #3 June 2009 Plutonian is shown forcing two people to role play as himself and Bette Noir while having sex. Scylla and Charybdis enter Inferno's (supervillain who is dead) hideout, where other villains have gathered, to spy on them. The villains note that if Tony is now killing people, maybe that means he is on their side. Meanwhile, Qubit explains to Kaidan that he has six Modeus robots working for him in his lab which he programmed to think exactly like Modeus so they can locate him. He hopes that Modeus may know how to stop Tony. The villains are startled when they see Tony is walking around the hideout with a small box and a cup of coffee. He talks to the villains and notes his own hideout is inside a volcano. The villains offer to work alongside him against the heroes, and he says they have to earn his trust. He hands them each a red button, noting that Inferno invented something that could kill him. He hands red buttons to each villain, saying they wouldn't press them if they were genuine about an allegiance. The villains press the buttons, which begins a countdown of a bomb inside the hideout. Charybdis flies in to save Scylla, but it appears to be too late. The hideout explodes, killing everyone inside but Tony. Tony later finds Encanta encased in a protective bubble she created. She offers to do anything to be spared, and he asks, "I wonder what you'd look like in a wig...?"
Irredeemable #30 Oct 2011 Elliott, brother of Charybdis and Scylla, recalls growing up with superpowers. He noted when they were 17 they made foolish mistakes that resulted from overzealousness. He recalls feeling different from his brothers as they were more interested in the battle between good and evil, whereas Elliott became increasingly aware of the imbalance of their powers against the common person. Elliott, now a priest, reveals this to a dying man. Survivor, AKA Charybdis, approaches Elliott and discusses the world's events since the Plutonian's rampage. Survivor is upset because he believes Elliott and he could work together to stop the Plutonian, but Elliott chooses not to use his powers for any reason. Elliott says he understands why Survivor is here, as killing Elliott will allow Survivor to absorb all of the remaining power from the set of brothers. Survivor shockingly looks at his hands as they light up. Meanwhile, Plutonian and his band of villains meet with Bette Noir. They have a brief argument over Tony favoring Bette, and Tony flies off to think alone. The President of the United States is shown sending iodide tablets to his daughter to protect against radiation as a precautionary measure. He, and other world leaders, press buttons to enable what appears to be a series of nuclear explosions that triggers what could be a giant spiritual beast.
Irredeemable #4 July 2009 Qubit recalls his first time meeting Tony and notes that Scylla died and Charybdis barely survived. Leaders in the United Nations argue over whether to declare war on Tony or to offer kingship of their respective countries. Tony appears, turns the United States ambassador (who wanted to declare war) into ice, and bursts the block with a light whistle. He asks the ambassador from Singapore to explain his offer. He calmly explains that his country embraces him, but his heart races when he explains that they are grateful to him. Tony flies out to space and starts throwing meteors of pure diamond at Singapore, creating a foundation in the center and causing widespread panic. Qubit, Bette Noir, and Gilgamos teleport to Singapore to try to save the people. Tony tells Qubit that he can save ten of them, to which Qubit replies, "Tony, there are MILLIONS--" and Tony insists. Qubit selects ten randomly from the huge crowd, and Tony tells him, "That's what it feels like," and he burns the remaining people. After Qubit, Bette, Gilgamos, and the ten teleport out, Tony pushes on the foundation of diamond, sinking the island of Singapore.
Irredeemable #5 Aug 2009 Tony broadcasts a message over all electrical devices that includes the revealing of whispered secrets among ordinary people, how many people he has killed, and how he could be anybody at all in the world. The world responds with panic and chaos. Volt recalls his first time meeting Plutonian and the rest of Paradigm (the superhero group to which Tony and the rest of the heroes belong). Cary (Charybdis) enters the room while Volt is talking, badly wounded, and notes that unselfishness gets people nowhere, using the fate of him and his brother as an example. Cary realizes he has no powers without his brother. Volt recalls losing his left arm when he figuratively offers it to Tony to stop his rampage. Bette Noir wakes from a coma, remembering that Tony told her she betrayed him, but she does not share this with the others. The Modeus robots locate Modeus, showing Tony's hideout (which Bette verbally recognizes) on a screen. Cary points out that Bette must be holding out on Paradigm, since she obviously recognized Tony's hideout, considering nobody has supposedly been there before. At the end, they notice the Modeus bots "up and left."
Irredeemable #6 Sep 2009 Plutonian (Tony) is seen reflecting on being passed around from foster home to foster home as a child because the foster parents were afraid of his powers. Meanwhile, Paradigm fight off Modeus bots in their HQ, when they discover one of them activated a special S.O.S. pager linked directly to Tony. The heroes panic and escape to safety (Tony's hideout, ironically) while Charybdis (Cary) asks to be left behind to buy time. Tony finds Cary, and Cary reminds him of the time they fought the Children's Plague, a virus that liquefies the skin of children, leaves their bones animated, and travels by the screams of adults. Cary and his brother Scylla work with Tony to carry a counter-frequency of the screams, which stops the virus from spreading. The heroes of Paradigm discover that Tony has a playroom of dead children made up to remind him of the Children's Plague in his own hideout, and Cary tells Tony he knows Tony was behind it.
Irredeemable #7 Oct 2009 The heroes of Paradigm, in Tony's lair, are investigating. Bette Noir stumbles upon a room full of paintings and mannequins of herself nude, but tells the others there is nothing in that room. Encanta shoots a laser at the group, and they eventually subdue her. Gilgamos asks why she's dressed like his wife (Bette Noir). Cary explains to Tony that he knew Tony was behind the Children's Plague because he found an S.O.S. pager linked to Tony at the wreckage site of the lab where the virus originated. Tony said it was not his fault, that it was certain people who pushed his hand. One person, Dr. Seabrook, was all over the media complaining that Tony should be sharing the alien technology found during an alien invasion, that he should not be so selfish. This got to Tony, so he approached Dr. Seabrook and gave him a device he found on the alien ship. He did not know what it was, other than it seems to emit a certain sonic frequency. All the while, Tony is faintly hearing the cries of millions of people around the world. He leaps out of Seabrook's office to answer one, and finds the person is complaining about damage to his yacht after Tony saves him a pirate attack. Tony screams, "I OWE YOU NOTHING!" and blasts off to the moon to escape the cries of the world for 10 minutes. On his way back down, he hears the S.O.S., but is too late, the Children's Plague virus has been released. Tony tells Cary he is lucky that he does not have powers anymore because he is blessed with silence, not having to listen to the neverending pleas for help. Cary blasts Tony with an attack of energy from his hands, revealing that his brother never had his own power, that Scylla shared Charybdis's power.
Irredeemable #8 Nov 2009 The heroes of the supergroup Paradigm continue to question Encanta and realize that the Modeus bots misled them because Modeus is not in Tony's lair. Cary explains that he let his brother siphon power from him, and that it would be easier to appear powerless to Tony and the others because only he and Scylla knew about this. Cary asks Tony why all the rampage, where did it all start? Tony said it was because of Samsara, his once sidekick. He brought a rare gift to Sam, but Sam begged to know that "it wasn't true." Sam told Tony that some scientists called Sam to tell him that they know Tony was behind the Children's Plague, but they did not want to confront him because they feared him. They asked Sam some questions about it, and Sam was now asking Tony if it was true. Tony denied any involvement, and Sam said, "I never knew you could lie." Tony immediately blasts off, beats up the scientists, starts tearing apart the lab, and orders them to, "STOP IT! Stop looking at me like I'm some BOMB that could go off at any time!...Is that what you want me to be?" and right then, levels the laboratory with everyone inside it. Tony (present day) blasts off from where Cary had him and dug into the ground to hold onto Samsara in his grave.
Irredeemable #9 Dec 2009 Four years ago, the Plutonian publicly greeted the people of the world and introduced Paradigm as a legion of superheroes who will protect the citizens of Earth. Cary tells the others that he should just go kill Tony, but the others think they still need to work together. When Cary almost kills Encanta, Qubit teleports her to a safe hideout. Meanwhile, the United States enact "Project Ultimatum" which summons a demon (Orian). Back at the hideout, Qubit orders Encanta to tell him the location of Modeus. She tells him how she met Modeus, but she does not know his location other than "it's the safest place on Earth," his words. Meanwhile, Tony lies next to Samsara's body in its grave, and is happy when Sam wakes up, telling him he's his only friend. It's revealed to readers that Modeus inhabits Sam's body. Cary calls a press conference with some of the members of Paradigm at his side, and he tells the press about how he was able to beat up the Plutonian, and Cary should now be known as The Survivor. He continues by saying he will save everybody. The press look at him quietly, and he yells, "Why aren't you CHEERING?" apparently mad that they're not thankful.
[[Irredeemable Issues 1 - 12]] [[Irredeemable Issues 13 - 24]] [[Irredeemable 25]] [[Irredeemable 26]] [[Irredeemable 27]] [[Irredeemable 28]] [[Irredeemable 29]] [[Irredeemable 30]]
[[Irredeemable 1]] [[Irredeemable 2]] [[Irredeemable 3]] [[Irredeemable 4]] [[Irredeemable 5]] [[Irredeemable 6]] [[Irredeemable 7]] [[Irredeemable 8]] [[Irredeemable 9]] [[Irredeemable 10]] [[Irredeemable 11]] [[Irredeemable 12]]
[[Irredeemable 13]] [[Irredeemable 14]] [[Irredeemable 15]] [[Irredeemable 16]] [[Irredeemable 17]] [[Irredeemable 18]] [[Irredeemable 19]] [[Irredeemable 20]] [[Irredeemable 21]] [[Irredeemable 22]] [[Irredeemable 23]] [[Irredeemable 24]]
First appearing in The Brave and the Bold #28 (1960), the League originally appeared with a line-up that included Superman, [[Batman]], Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter. However, the team roster has been rotated throughout the years with characters such as Green Arrow, Atom, [[Hawkman]], Black Canary, Captain Marvel, Zatanna, Plastic Man, and dozens of others. Throughout the years, various incarnations or subsections of the team have also operated as Justice League America, Justice League Europe, Justice League International, Justice League Task Force, Justice League Elite, and Extreme Justice. In a story told in flashback in 1962's Justice League of America #9, Earth was infiltrated by the Appelaxians. Competing alien warriors were sent to see who could conquer Earth first to determine who will become the new ruler of their home planet. The aliens' attacks drew the attentions of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter. While the superheroes individually defeated most of the invaders, the heroes fell prey to a single competitor's attack; only by working together were they able to defeat the competitor. For many years, the heroes heralded this adventure as the event that prompted them to agree to pool resources when confronted with similar menaces. Years later, however (as revealed in Justice League of America #144), Green Arrow uncovered inconsistencies in League records and extracted admissions from his colleagues that the seven founders had actually formed the League after the Martian Manhunter was rescued from Martian forces by the other six founders, along with several other heroes including Robin, Robotman, Congo Bill/Congorilla, Rex the Wonder Dog, and even Lois Lane. Green Lantern participated in this first adventure solely as Hal Jordan, due to the fact that he had yet to become the costumed hero at that time (the biggest inconsistency Arrow found, as they celebrated the earlier incident's date, while recounting only the later one's events). When the group formalized their agreement, they suppressed news of it because of anti-Martian hysteria (mirroring the real-world backdrop of Martian scares and anti-communist hysteria of the 1950s). Because the League members had not revealed their identities to each other at the time, they did not realize that Jordan and Green Lantern were one and the same when he turned up in costume during the event described in #9. While most subsequent accounts of the League have made little mention of this first adventure, the animated Justice League series adapted this tale as the origin of the League as well. 1989's Secret Origins #32 updated Justice League of America #9's origin for Post-Crisis continuity. Differences included the inclusion of the original Black Canary as a founding member and the absence of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman (the 1960s time frame was retained, but the post-Crisis versions of DC's three biggest stars were young and early in their careers in the late 1980s). Additionally, while Hal Jordan served as the public face of the Justice League, this iteration of the League's origin cast the Flash as the team's unofficial leader, since it was Allen who usually came up with the plans that best utilized everyone's powers. 1998's JLA: Year One limited series, by Mark Waid, Brian Augustyn, and Barry Kitson, further expanded upon the Secret Origins depiction, with the revelation that the group was secretly financed by Oliver Queen, a.k.a. the superhero Green Arrow. It also stated that Superman rejected membership into the group, leading to much animus between him and the other "founders" during the early years of the group. In 1994's Justice League Task Force #16, during Zero Hour, an unknown superhuman named Triumph appeared. It was revealed that, in a plotline never explored before, Triumph was revealed to have been a founding member of the Justice League, serving as their leader. On his first mission with the fledgling Justice League, Triumph seemingly "saved the world", but was teleported into a dimensional limbo that also affected the timestream, resulting in no one having any memory of him. This was to explain how all the heroes ended up in Washington for their first meeting. Further convolutions came with the issue of Batman's involvement with the League; during the 1990s, the editors of Batman sought to distance Batman from the Justice League, to the point of demanding that Batman's entire Justice League membership be removed from the group's canon. According to Christopher Priest, this "Batman was never in the Justice League" edict came down ironically after DC published Justice League America Annual #9, which featured Batman as a member of the League during its early days. The edict itself was largely haphazardly enforced; while Mark Waid had Batman proclaim to have never been a member of the League in Justice League Incarnations #7, other writers such as Grant Morrison and Keith Giffen took the stance that Batman had simply never joined the team until the Justice League International era. This edict was ultimately dropped by the early 2000s, as Batman's involvement with the League is now referenced heavily by later writers such as Brad Meltzer. The convoluted change made to Hawkman's background in the wake of the launching of the Hawkworld ongoing series, in 1990, resulted in a retcon where the original Golden Age/Justice Society Golden Age Hawkman, Carter Hall was now a member of the team as opposed to Katar Hol (who would now not join the group until 1994's Justice League America #0). The details of how Carter Hall joined the team, would be revealed in the 2001 "Justice League Incarnations #1, with the revelation that Carter joined the team to serve as a mentor for then-young heroes. In 2006's Infinite Crisis #7, the formation of "New Earth" (the new name for the Post-Crisis Earth) resulted in the retcon that Wonder Woman was a founding member of the Justice League in the early days. In Brad Meltzer's Justice League of America (vol. 2) #0 (2006), it was also revealed that both Superman and Batman were founding members as well. 52 - Week 51 confirmed that the 1989 Secret Origins and JLA: Year One origins were still in canon at that time, with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman joining the team (consisting of Aquaman, Black Canary, Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter) with founding members' status shortly after the group's formation.[10] However, in various issues (particularly issue 12) of the current Justice League series, the founding members of the Justice League are shown to be: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Flash (Barry Allen), Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter.
JLA #101 Sept 2004 A fire is raging out of control and the some fire fighters are unsure of what to do. Superman arrives and offers help. He goes inside and finds two men trapped under a beam, who are able to move. Superman does not know how to lift the beam and move them men, when another masked man comes and lifts the beam for Superman. Superman takes the men out of the building as fast as he can while keeping them safe. He is about to return to the other man, when a gas tank explodes killing the man. Superman goes to the watchtower and destroys some of the furniture. Green Lantern happens upon him and expresses his concern for a clearly distraught Superman. Superman goes to visit the man’s wife to offer his condolences.
JLA #102 Oct 2004 Continued from JLA #101. A fire is consuming a building, but it is nothing the fire department can’t handle; especially not with a little help from the Flash. Flash comes in a save a woman who is dangling from a ledge. He then makes a quick run through the rest of the apartment complex only to find two children by a closed window, dead. He is visibly upset and is talking to a fireman. He then goes and buys all the fire alarms and batteries he can and uses his super speed to install them in houses all over the city. As he does this, the rest of the Justice League (Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Martin Manhunter) intervene, and he confesses the difficulties he is having. An emotional meeting is held in the watchtower where Flash expresses his difficulties, and asks how to deal with it. Superman provides some advice. We then find Superman watching over the son of the man who died while trying to help him.
JLA #103 Nov 2004 Continued from JLA #102. Green Lantern is on patrol when he hears a cry for help and threats, he is about to investigate when he hears more cries for help and threats from the apartment directly opposite the first one, across the street. He uses his ring to create a construct of a stop sign through one window, and he flies into the other window. When he quickly goes to check on the second room, he finds a the man has just murdered the woman. Green Lantern realizes his responsibilities extend to the entire planet and he has to save everyone. Later, a very sleep deprived Green Lantern attempts to save a car from going over a bridge, but can not keep his focus. Superman and the rest of the League come to help and confront him. Later, we again find Superman watching over the son of the man who dies while trying to help him.
JLA #104 Oct 2004 Continued from JLA #103. Martian Manhunter (MM) and the rest of the League are having a meeting about their recent emotional struggles, when MM leaves abruptly. We then find MM as John Jones getting a job at a detective agency. He is hired due to his impressive résumé, but the boss is concerned about his lack of emotions. A female detective is sent to try and uncover his secrets, but John Jones remains neutral and shows no emotion. Later, the woman sees John Jones transform into MM and she confronts him. When she does, she discovers that he is not trying to hide, rather he wants to be found so he can leave. The rest of the League enters and mentions the importance of dealing with their emotional difficulties.
JLA #105 Nov 2004 Continued from JLA #104. Wonder Woman is in battle with an unknown villain. She wins the fight, and breaks down into tears. She goes to the watchtower, looking for help, and finds Green Lantern, the Flash, and Martian Manhunter, who are all unable to provide the support she wants. She finds Superman watching over the son of the man who died while trying to help him, and they talk about the emotional difficulties both of them are facing. The boy then lifts two other children off the ground. Superman confronts him, and the boy punched Superman through a number of walls.
Justice League America #72 Mar 1993 Sapphire and Wizard break into a museum. Martian Manhunter appears having defeated Blockbuster and Plantmaster and tells them, "NOBODY stops us." Sinestro appears out of nowhere to attack Martian Manhunter, but is quickly defeated. Martian Manhunter then vaporizes Sapphire (known to some as Carol). Green Lantern appears to help, seeming surprised that Carol has been killed. After a quick argument with Commissioner Gordon, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter leave with Sapphire to take him to a rehabilitation camp in the Nevada desert and promise that Sinestro will be stopped by the JLA task force, their own heavily armored police. Instead, Green Arrow and Black Canary find him. Sinestro almost gets away when Hawkman intervenes and stops him. After bringing him to the rehab center, Hawkman orders the guards to cut off one of his hands and his other arm at the shoulder. Commissioner Gordon summons Batman, and Batman tells Gordon that the JLA may be taking extreme measures, but they're effective. The Chinese are about to send nuclear missiles to JLA HQ when Flash and Atom intervene. Atom rigs the silos so the doors remained closed, which sets off several nuclear blasts at the launch site killing thousands or more. At JLA HQ, Green Arrow sounds his disagreement with the new JLA policy, but Hawkman says it's needed. The President of the USA contacts JLA and says they're taking things too far, but then it is revealed that Green Lantern is the new Vice President, and he's willing to take over as President if the people of the USA become an issue. At the end of this issue, Dr. Destiny is shown in Arkham Asylum saying "The costumes BURNNN!" ''Destiny's Hand I''
Justice League America #73 Apr 1993 Bloodwynd, Wonder Woman, and others are told by a U.S. General that NASA picked up images of a satellite orbiting Earth. Bloodwynd recognized it as once belonging to the Justice League, but noted that it had been destroyed a long time ago. Bloodwynd, Ray, and Guy Gardner fly out to investigate. Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Firestorm see them coming, and Firestorm leaves to fend them off. He uses his powers of energy to force them back to Earth, where they notice that the world has significantly changed, with a nearby newsticker reporting nuclear blasts in China. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman, Black Condor, and others are flying to Nevada where they've detected an energy anomaly. In a nearby prison, Sinestro escapes literally unarmed and Hawkman leaves to find him. Black Condor saves Sinestro and Maxima dismantles a gunship that was about to shoot up Sinestro. Hawkman appears suddenly and stabs Sinestro in the chest with a sword made from his (Sinestro's) own ring. Hawkman promises the other heroes are next. Back in the alternate New York, Bloodwynd and others are ambushed by an invisible Martian Manhunter, who brings along Firestorm and Green Lantern to fight the heroes. At Arkham Asylum, Dr. Destiny is shown teleporting a security guard to his worst nightmare, who drops his keys, and allows Dr. Destiny to escape. At the end of the issue, Atom is shown feeling extremely tired and collapses to the floor of JLA HQ in primary New York. ''Destiny's Hand II''
Justice League America #74 May 1993 Hawkman continues to fight Black Condor. Wonder Woman and others try to intervene, but they're all taken to Hawkman's interrogation facility. Meanwhile, Bloodwynd escapes Green Lantern and his allies. Dr. Destiny is wandering the streets looking for the heroes. Atom is at a facility with other heroes who have all been in a coma for a long time. Atom has lost 40lbs and cannot seem to catch up on his sleep, reporting he is having the same nightmare over and over about a corrupt Justice League. Bloodwynd meets with Batman, who left the corrupt Justice League to get answers about why heroes are now villains. Bloodwynd shapeshifts to look like Hawkman and carries Batman and Wizard (villain) to Hawkman's compound in Nevada. Once there, they discover all the captured heroes. Bloodwynd and Martian Manhunter fight, until Bloodwynd morphs into Martian Manhunter and assumes the same powers to the same degree as Martian Manhunter. Answers are promised in the next issue. ''Destiny's Hand III''
Justice League America #75 June 1993 As the heroes battle each other, Dr. Destiny makes his way to the base where Atom and Beetle are being cared for while comatose. Beetle starts to explain to the others what he's figured out about the "dreamverse" while Atom is elsewhere trying to rig the satellite to shoot a laser beam down at the Nevada facility. Batman and Green Arrow fight Hawkman and his allies, but Hawkman kills Green Arrow. Dr. Destiny explains that he is doing this because Morpheus stole his stone, which prevented him from dreaming. As a result, Dr. Destiny went insane without being able to dream. He searched for the right dream in someone else to enact, and found Atom imagining a world where the JLA had complete rule over everyone and all crime ended. Dr. Destiny spun that into a nightmare and trapped the JLA heroes inside of it. Meanwhile, Dr. Destiny stabs Atom in the chest, and just as he is about to slit his jugular, Beetle forces himself awake and takes down Dr. Destiny. With Dr. Destiny unconscious, Beetle's dream self grabs a hold of all the heroes and brings them back to the real world. Now, after seeing Bloodwynd turn into Martian Manhunter, the JLA wishes to uncover what his true abilities are. ''Destiny's Hand IV''
[[JLA Issue 72]] [[JLA Issue 73]] [[JLA Issue 74]] [[JLA Issue 75]] [[JLA Issue 101]] [[JLA Issue 102]] [[JLA Issue 103]] [[JLA Issue 104]] [[JLA Issue 105]]
__''Added:''__ [[New X-Men]] 5 issues [[Batman]] 2 issues Total issue summaries added this week: 7
''__Added:__'' [[Detective Comics Issue 871]] added to database [[Irredeemable 21]] added to database [[Soldier Zero]] enters the database [[Soldier Zero]] Issues 1 - 3 added to database Total number of issues summarized: 5
''__Added:__'' [[New X-Men]] Issues 121 - 126 Total issue summaries added this week: 6
John was a middle-aged man with a history of anxiety and depression who presented as a man with much about which to be concerned. He frequently reported issues with finances, being in and out of employment, and having a volatile relationship with his stepson and stepson’s fiancé, both of whom lived with him. His wife had a disability that prevented her from being able to work. He was often worried about whether or not he would be able to keep enough food in his home to feed himself, his wife, his stepson, and his stepson’s fiancé. He also believed people had regularly taken advantage of him because of his kind-hearted nature and naiveté. John presented several of these issues, along with many minor issues that would come up in between sessions, each week in therapy and often struggled with focusing on one issue at a time. Attempts by the therapist to narrow the session’s focus were met with resistance and increased anxiety as John continuously brought up other issues he also thought were important. John was somewhat successful in developing and following brief plans of action to address his issues outside of the session, but he admitted he did not always follow the plans and appeared to be unmotivated to make the consistent effort needed for change. John had been in therapy for nine years with several therapists. It is possible, through no fault of his previous therapists, John could have become complacent with traditional talk therapy whereby he could sit for 50 minutes and talk around his problems instead of work through them. John’s therapist asked if he would like to read a comic book in session and discuss its content. John agreed, and the therapist introduced the Detective Comics Mud Pack (issues #604 - #607), a four-issue storyline where Batman fought a group of Clayface villains who had teamed together to fight Batman. There were four Clayface villains, each of whom had different powers, although the primary power was the ability to transform his or her own appearance at will. The primary themes of the set were [[being different|Being Different]] and [[facing fear|Facing Fear]]. The therapist chose this set due to John’s reported feelings of being taken advantage of due to his own perceived differentness as well as his difficulty with handling day-to-day anxieties. In the first session, John spent the first 20 minutes reading Detective Comics #604. Immediately thereafter, John appeared much calmer. By discussing the story itself for about 10 minutes, John was able to spend over half of the session focusing on one thing – the storyline he was presented. John no longer appeared wound up over his anxieties; instead, he appeared much more focused and relaxed, ready to begin therapeutic work. John later steered the discussion into Batman and his villains in general, having noted “Batman’s villains always seem to be trying to drive him toward being evil, or they try to hurt his public image, convincing the citizens of Gotham City that he really is evil.” His therapist asked why he thought that was a consistent theme in Batman stories, and John responded, “It’s because he’s so dark and he uses fear to intimidate his foes. His behaviors appear to be evil in the first place, so going one step further and actually being or appearing evil doesn’t require much change.” His therapist then asked if he ever felt like people took advantage of him through his strengths or abilities, and his issue involving his distrust of others due to being taken advantage of resurfaced. However, instead of bringing up several other issues with which to bring into focus, John was able to spend the remainder of the session processing his feelings about, and experiences of, being different and having his differentness be the focus of others’ exploits. Because John had been in therapy for nine years, having been approached with a novel approach to therapy likely caught him off guard and prevented feelings of complacency from surfacing given his unfamiliarity with this approach. The structure of the session was not much different than others where comic books were not used. John essentially spent the first 20 minutes in a mindfulness activity (which led to a decrease in initial anxiety), he spent 10 minutes discussing surface-level material, and he spent 20 minutes processing through deep, complex, emotional work using a fictional story as a primer and foundation with which to maintain focus. He left the session appearing in a much better mood than when he arrived, and noted, “That was a pretty cool story about Batman, I’m interested in seeing where it goes.”
[[JLA Issues]] [[Justice League of America/Justice Society of America Issues]]
Justice League of America #46 Aug 2010 Members of the Justice League notice several chaotic natural disasters are destroying Earth. They group up at JLA HQ and discuss what is happening. They realize it has something to do with arrival of the Starheart and the death of Jade's father, Alan Scott, who was once the Green Lantern. The Starheart is a chaotic force that can inhabit a person and turn it evil. Jade discovers the Starheart is located on the moon, so the JLA sends Starman to explore the area around its location. He sees a giant emerald city made up of Green Lantern constructs - buildings and people created by the power of a Green Lantern's ring. Suddenly, Alan Scott appears and rips the gem out of Starman's chest, rendering him powerless. ''The Dark Things Part 1 of 5''
Justice League of America #47 Sep 2010 The Justice League of America infiltrates the emerald city built on the moon by Alan Scott (Green Lantern), who has been taken over by the Starheart, an evil chaotic force that turns its host evil. The city appears to be an optical illusion at first, with countless falls and angles, confusing the JLA briefly. Meanwhile, the captured Justice Society of America members begin to realize this Alan Scott they see before them may not be real. Doctor ~Mid-Nite searches the compound for the injured Starman. Kyle Rayner, another Green Lantern, arrives and tells Jade he is ordered to kill Alan Scott, Jade's father. ''The Dark Things Part 3 of 5''
Justice League of America #48 Oct 2010 Alan Scott, once a hero as the Green Lantern and now a villain under the control of the Starheart, gets ready to fight the Justice League of America and the Justice Society of America alongside Obsidian/Jade, his two children who have merged together into one being. Obsidian and Jade suddenly split and Jade is turned into a White Lantern momentarily. She is warned to stay separate from her brother during this fight, and she is turned back into Jade. Obsidian begs to merge again, but she refuses and Obsidian is taken away by Kyle Rayner, another Green Lantern. Alan Scott easily begins to handle the JLA and JSA in a fight when Starman appears to stun him. While stunned, Jade unleashes all of her power, noting she is facing her greatest fear: death. She is able to force the Starheart out of her father, Alan Scott, and Alan becomes a hero Green Lantern once again. ''The Dark Things Part 5 of 5''
[[The Dark Things Part 1|Justice League of America Issue 46]] [[The Dark Things Part 2|Justice Society of America Issue 41]] [[The Dark Things Part 3|Justice League of America Issue 47]] [[The Dark Things Part 4|Justice Society of America Issue 42]] [[The Dark Things Part 5|Justice League of America Issue 48]]
Justice Society of America #41 Sep 2010 Members of the Justice Society of America look for clues about the Starheart when they discover Obsidian and Dr. Fate, apparently evil. They capture the members of the JSA and imprison them back at the emerald city on the moon, constructed by an evil Alan Scott (Green Lantern). The Justice League of America learn that humans with very little superpower capabilities are suddenly having their powers amplified uncontrollably. The JLA suspect these events may be related to what is happening on the moon. ''The Dark Things Part 2 of 5''
Justice Society of America #42 Oct 2010 Obsidian (once a hero, now temporarily evil) greets his sister Jade (hero) and asks her to merge with him. They do, and they create a new villain who has both the powers of a Green Lantern-type person and a person who can envelope foes in darkness. Kyle Rayner (Green Lantern) struggles to use his ring's powers to fight the new duo. Meanwhile, Doctor ~Mid-Nite surprises the evil Dr. Fate and the ropes that kept the JSA members captive disappears. Doctor ~Mid-Nite takes the gem from the evil Alan Scott (who turns out to be fake) and returns it to Starman. Meanwhile, Power Girl and Supergirl fight the real Alan Scott back on Earth. Dr. Fate, now broken of the Starheart's spell, suddenly appears to break up the fight between Obsidian/Jade and the JLA. Alan Scott appears afterward to continue the fight. ''The Dark Things Part 4 of 5''
These [[record cards|http://www.comicspedia.net/documents/recordcards.png]] can be useful when tracking issues read and themes covered week to week. This is particularly effective when you have picked a handful of issues with which to work because of a single theme, but you still want to track trends in other themes presented. Print it out, cut each sheet into four cards, and check off which Themes were present in the issue covered in session. This [[sign out sheet|http://www.comicspedia.net/documents/checkoutsheet.doc]] can be useful in a group practice where all comics are available to multiple therapists. Save the file and edit it to better fit your needs.
On the left are issues that contain the theme of losing powers. Either a hero or villain struggles with losing the primary powers on which they normally rely for success. ''Example questions:'' When have you felt powerless? Why do you think [Character] responded the way they did when they lost their power(s)? What makes a superhero unique after they have lost their powers?
On the left are issues with the theme of losing someone a villain or hero loves. ''Example questions:'' Does losing a loved one mean a hero did not do their job well? Is it his/her fault? Is a superhero allowed to take time to him/herself following the death of a loved one? If you could enter the comic shortly after [Character A] realized [Character B] died, what would you tell [Character A]?
[[Hawkman]] [[Steel]] [[Cable]]
[[What is Comicspedia?]] [[Tutorial]] ---- [[By Main Character]] [[By Themes]] [[By Demographics]] ---- [[Ideas for Therapy]] [[Logistics]] [[FAQ/Help]] ---- Total issues: 295
[[The Atom]] [[Batman]] Cable ([[X-Men]], [[Second Coming]]) Captain America ([[The Avengers]]) [[Green Lantern]] Hawkeye ([[The Avengers]]) [[Hawkman]] The Human Torch (AKA Johnny Storm, [[Fantastic Four]]) Mr. Fantastic (AKA Reed Richards, [[Fantastic Four]]) [[The Flash]] [[Plutonian (Irredeemable series)]] [[Spawn]] [[Spider-Man]] [[Steel]] [[Superman]] The Thing (AKA Ben Grimm, [[Fantastic Four]]) Thor ([[The Avengers]]) Wolverine ([[The Avengers]], [[X-Men]])
__''Added:''__ [[Batman Issues]] 706 and 707 [[Birds of Prey Issue 6]] [[Detective Comics Issues]] 872 - 874 [[Irredeemable Issues]] 22 and 23 [[Silver Surfer]] enters database [[Silver Surfer 2010 Limited Series Issue 1 of 5]] [[Soldier Zero Issues] 4 and 5 [[Starborn]] enters database [[Starborn Issues]] 1 and 2 [[The Flash Issue 6]] [[X-Men Issues]] 5 and 6 Total issue summaries added this week: 16
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<html> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <title>Comicspedia</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en"> <meta name="description" content="A database of hundreds of comic book summaries, each tagged with relevant themes to assist therapists in bringing comic books into therapy."> <meta name="keywords" content="comicspedia, comics, comic, comic book therapy, book, therapy, psychotherapy, psych, psychology, comicbook, graphic, novel, database, comixpedia, comics pedia, comicspeedia, comixpeedia, comic therapy, comics therapy"> </html>
Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher #1 Oct 2010 The Punisher recounts how the world became infected by a virus that renders people, heroes, and villains alike in a zombie-like form. It appears to be possible to kill the infected permanently, but others require special circumstances to remain dead. For example, he killed Deadpool over 30 times before dismembering him and burying the pieces in separate holes in the ground. One feature that makes them not zombie-like is the infected sometimes form tribes and use weapons to kill others. It was described as being "simplified," similar to becoming more animal-like or barbaric. He remembers Spider-Man fighting Rhino and suddenly eating away at Rhino, thus infecting him. Supposedly, it was a chemical developed by scientists that remained dormant for 7 months, which was plenty of time for the chemical to spread throughout the world while going unnoticed. Other scientists then created a chemical that would allow someone to survive bites, breathe infected air, and eat anything (food or nonfood) to continue leaving, which The Punisher received. He receives a clue from Patient Zero, someone he is hunting who is believed to be the first to be infected, that there are still survivors somewhere in the world, and The Punisher has set out to protect those survivors from the infected.
Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher #2 Oct 2010 The issue opens with a fight between The Punisher and The Hulk. After taking out The Hulk, The Punisher hears a man calling for help. He discovers a priest who cannot become infected and a young boy. Venom suddenly appears, but before he could deliver The Punisher a message, he is killed. The Punisher, the priest, and the boy leave the church and they discover Deadpool's remains have been dug up by somebody else and likely reassembled. The priest recalls what happened during the plague; first, he helped protect hundreds of survivors, then they began to turn one by one every day, and now he is left alone with just a boy. The priest and The Punisher share a discussion about religion, faith, and ethics. Deadpool suddenly appears and tells The Punisher he is a messenger from Patient Zero (the first person to be infected with the plague). While distracting The Punisher, it is revealed that Spider-Man is likely Patient Zero, who has now captured the priest and the boy in his web.
Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher #3 Nov 2010 Patient Zero (Spider-Man) talks to The Punisher about how things went sour with the superheroes. Infected heroes turned on their friends, became enemies, tribes emerged among the infected, but all focused their attacks on the uninfected. Spider-Man offers The Punisher complete safety from all future attacks by the infected, as well as safety for his survivors, if he can kill the King of Death, who is moving in on Spider-Man's territory. The King of Death also holds Mary Jane hostage. Spider-Man claims Manhattan as his territory, and he currently speaks for and rules all infected. The Punisher initially resists, but after the priest convinces him that he needs to kill for a reason (the reason being to save the survivors), he agrees and searches for the King of Death. He gets jumped by infected, kills them all, and finds Mary Jane, who isn't infected but is pregnant. He is then surprised again by the King of Death, who knocks him unconscious.
Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher Issue #4 Nov 2010 The Punisher tries to fight the King of Death, but is eventually captured, shackled, and interrogated, and tortured. The Punisher reflects on his wife and children being killed and how that made torture bearable. The priest and child try to bring the guns into the King of Death's compound for The Punisher, but they are captured. Deadpool escapes from his cell, finds the weapons, and drops them where The Punisher and Mary Jane (pregnant with Spider-Man's baby) are being held. The Punisher says, once again, that his goal is not to save anybody, but simply to punish the wicked. He kills all the bad guys, including the King of Death, and returns Mary Jane to Spider-Man. The Punisher suddenly kills Spider-Man, and Mary Jane screams and sobs. The Punisher rationalizes this by saying he was a monster, to which the priest replies, "I see only one monster here." The Punisher sends the priest, the boy, Mary Jane, and the rest of the survivors on rafts away from Manhattan, noting, "This isn't a place for the weak. This place can't be healed. This is a place for killers. For monsters."
[[Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher Issue 1]] [[Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher Issue 2]] [[Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher Issue 3]] [[Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher Issue 4]]
''Check out Patrick O'Connor's review of [[Max Gamer|http://www.maxgameronline.com/]] at the blog link below!'' http://maxgameronline.blogspot.com/
[[Hawkman]]
Green Lantern: Tales of the Sinestro Corps (TPB reprint, 2008) “Never Alone Again” Summary: In the archive tower on the planet Qward, Lyssa Drak tells Amon Sur a story about a girl who twice had her family taken from her. The girl is Karu-Sil, now a member of the Sinestro Corps, who was originally found on the jungle planet, Graxos III. This is a world where all of the species are carnivores, but there is not enough meat to go around, so competition is common. Raids of villages and encampments are common on this world. As a child, Karu-Sil is left the only one alive after her parents are killed by invaders. Left to find her own food, the girl waits four days before going into the jungle in search of something to eat. She attacks a wild animal, finding that it was being stalked by three large creatures who could easily overpower her. She shares the prey with them, and gains a pack with which to hunt. In exchange they also protect her. As she grows up, she wonders, not seeing other humanoid creatures around (deep in the jungle), why she is so different from the other members of her pack, so she files her teeth with a bone, so they will be sharp fangs like the pack members have. When the pack has been hungry for weeks, the beasts urge Karu-Sil further out of the jungle than she has gone before. She sees a boy whom she knocks out and feeds to the pack. At that moment a Green Lantern kills the beasts and takes Karu-Sil away. She is institutionalized, but when she gets a yellow power ring she recreates her pack, so she can be with her family forever.
[[New X-Men Issue 114]] [[New X-Men Issue 115]] [[New X-Men Issue 116]] [[New X-Men Issue 117]] [[New X-Men Issue 118]] [[New X-Men Issue 119]] [[New X-Men Issue 120]] [[New X-Men Annual 2001]] [[New X-Men Issue 121]] [[New X-Men Issue 122]] [[New X-Men Issue 123]] [[New X-Men Issue 124]] [[New X-Men Issue 125]] [[New X-Men Issue 126]]
The New X-Men Annual 2001 Sep 2001 This story includes the first appearance of Xorn, who is initially described as a Chinese mutant with a star for a brain. He has been kept, chained and masked, for over fifty years in Feng Tu, China, currently by one Ao Jun. He demonstrates the power of Xorn for a potential buyer, Mr. Sublime, and Xorn is given a “new master.” Meanwhile, the X-Men are also visiting China. Emma Frost (AKA The Hellfire Club’s White Queen, a notorious X-Villain) is working with the X-Men now, as she sees it the only reasonable way to deal with the world’s stance on mutants. She asks Scott about his troubled marriage with Jean Grey, and she points out that he hasn’t forgotten the times she tried to kill him. She wants sympathy. Along with Hank and Logan, they meet up with Domino (AKA Neena Beatrice Thurman……), mutant mercenary for hire, in Hong Kong. Her partner at the X-Corporation, Gloria Dolores Muñoz (AKA Risque), has been killed by someone connected to a company named Sublime Pharm Solutions. Domino and Logan (in a tuxedo) infiltrate Ao Jun’s mansion in Hong Kong where they get the keys to Xorn’s prison. Emma touches them and it overwhelmed by the stories and emotion she encounters from the contact (generally establishing such a connection is difficult)—she goes into diamond form. The X-Men and Domino go to the place they found out Xorn was being kept, and Scott talks him out of blowing his brain up, offering him a job with the X-Men; Xorn has been upset by the waste of his immense potential, and Scott has offers him the keys to his freedom and the realization that he still has the opportunity.
The New X-Men #114 Jul 2001 The story opens on Cassandra Nova showing a dentist, Mr. Trask, a simulation of the defeat of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis by Homo sapiens sapiens thirty thousand years ago. She believes that the next step of evolution is for Homo sapiens superior (mutants) to wipe out Homo sapiens sapiens (modern man), unless the mutants are wiped out first. Back at the Xavier Institute, Beast (AKA Henry McCoy, or Hank), who looks more humanoid animal during this series than human being, is getting Professor X (AKA Xavier) hooked up to Cerebra, his enhanced version of Cerebro, the X-Men’s machine to locate mutants’ X-Gene via Xavier’s telepathy. Jean Grey enters the room and she and Hank get to talking while the Professor takes a look at the world’s mutant population via Cerebra. Henry notices a spike in Ecuador, so he calls on Cyclops (AKA Scott Summers) and Wolverine (AKA Logan), who have been on a rescue mission in Australia, to check it out. Back to Cassandra Nova and her dealings…she finally reveals that Mr. Trask is the nephew of the man who created the original Sentinels—mutant-killing androids. She lets him know that a highly adaptive master mold has been fitted with adaptive A.I. by a shadow program funded by U.S. tax dollars. Meanwhile, Jean and Hank have left Xavier alone in Cerebra and gone back to Beast’s clinic. There is slight mention of trouble in the marriage of Jean and Scott, but Jean doesn’t want to get into it. She feels something strange psychically and heads back to the Professor. On his own, Xavier suddenly hears a voice coming through Cerebra in his mind. The voice tries to take over his body, but he threatens to shoot himself. Just then, Jean runs in and knocks the gun out of his hand as he warns that the threat is in Ecuador, where Cassandra shows Trask that his line of DNA is protected from the Sentinels and their wild variations.
The New X-Men #115 Aug 2001 On their way into Ecuador, Wolverine & Cyclops (with rescued Aussie mutant, Ugly John) get attacked by a Sentinel. They crash the X-Jet on the land there, and self-destruct it to avoid the Sentinels using its technology to create wild sentinels. Ugly John gets captured by a Sentinel and Wolverine goes after him. Inside the complex Cassandra Nova has been copying Trask’s DNA and now that she has absorbed it, she no longer needs him involved, so she disposes of him. The sentinel brings in Ugly John and Wolverine, and she kills John with no hesitation. She is about to dispose of Wolverine as well, but he leaps off the Sentinel and puts his fist to her head, threatening claws until she reveals where she sent the Sentinel army to attack. Unfortunately, they find out nothing in time, and Cassandra Nova successfully attacks Genosha, destroying nearly the whole mutant population there in front of Xavier’s very mind’s eye in Cerebra, as he is trying to re-establish contact with his away team, since the X-Jet’s destruction.
The New X-Men #116 Sept 2001 Beast and Jean Grey take an X-Jet down to Genosha (where half the mutant population of the world has been destroyed) to search through the wreckage for any survivors…look for some evidence of what happened. Jean psychically senses something underground and Emma Frost (AKA, previously, as the White Queen of the Hellfire Club, a notorious X-Men enemy force throughout the years) emerges, bearing one of her students, dead, in her arms. Her skin has hardened like diamonds but she has no idea how or why. She appears to be in shock, but has turned over to the good side and is an enemy to the X-Men no more. They bring her back to Xavier’s institute and Beast confirms that she has undergone a secondary mutation, much like his own turning more feral in appearance and Jean Grey’s recovery of telekinesis. Jean enters the room and the friction between the two becomes palpable. She leaves and all of the others convene where Cassandra is being held in stasis, so they can make a decision about what to do with her, and to hear Beast’s theories. He has discovered that there is an extinction trigger in the human genome and that it is triggered on. He suspects Cassandra Nova is of the next step past mutants in the evolutionary ladder, but when Wolverine questions why Cassandra and Xavier look similar, Cassandra escapes and things get a bit crazy. She heads for Cerebra to amplify her power and makes it, but Emma, who has a sudden change of heart on the way out, materializes behind her and takes the helmet from her. Xavier shoots her, and the X-Men rally. Jean and Scott discuss their relationship a bit that evening and watch as Professor X reveals that he is a mutant on live television.
The New X-Men #117 Oct 2001 This issue of the run finds the New X-Men going through a lot of changes with mutant numbers around the world having dwindled strongly and Xavier’s revelation on live television that he is a mutant. At the same time, the X-Men find themselves thrown into a bit of social chaos as well. Beast suffers a break-up with his reporter girlfriend due to his change in appearance (a secondary mutation, which many mutants of high power are experiencing) and at the same time gains a fatherly role in the life of one of his loner students, Barnell Bohusk (AKA The Beak). Jean Grey goes to visit Logan as he meditates atop a mountain, and she even ends up kissing him, reflecting on how alone she feels with Scott as her powers are getting stronger again (secondary mutation, again), but Logan says they would never work out, as they both already know, and he leaves. At the mansion, Beast is accompanying Xavier as he is about to board the Shi’ar ship to visit with Lilandra. Beast reveals what he is learning about Cassandra Nova to Xavier, and when he gets to the bit about their DNA being the same, Cassandra Nova reveals that it is actually her using her twin brother, Xavier’s body as a host. She (in Prof. X’s body) fight a bit as she twists Henry’s mind about the things he is worried about, and his maturity, and Barnell shows up, mid-fight, to visit his teacher. Cassandra (still in Prof. X’s body) control’s Barnell and makes him beat Dr. McCoy near to death as she uses his body to get onto the Shi’ar flagship, pondering all of the power it possesses.
The New X-Men #118 Dec 2001 The media is hyped about mutants, mutant culture seems to be pervading the human mainstream media, it’s appealing to the kids, and Sublime’s human/mutant hybrids are finding their own followers, though not everyone approves. Jean Grey is noting the hype via Cerebra. She senses a mutant in Wyoming and asks Wolverine (who is nearby) to look into it. Beast is still hospitalized after the beating from Beak. Emma, Jean and Scott face the rabble of media and picketers outside the mansion that they are left to contend with as they believe Charles gone to Shi’ar. Everyone has questions about the mutant army they are training, and thinks that the institute must be up to no good, as it has only come out as a mutant organization so recently. Emma eventually just triggers their pleasure centers, tired of the seemingly pointless jibber-jabber, so they can all get back to teaching. We follow Logan to rescue the mutant Jean sensed in Wyoming. She is a 14-year-old girl who is being abused by her father and now kicked out of her house because she is manifesting mutant powers. She is scared and thinks that the changes happening to her (mutation) are wrong. She wakes in a cocoon with wings sprouted and additional powers to the ones manifesting before. John Sublime’s engage her and she demonstrates that when threatened she spits some sort of acid. She flies away with a deafening noise coming from her beating wings, but she only makes it as far as a power line before she gets caught up and falls to their clutches. As that goes on, Emma and Scott pay Sublime a visit in his office. He tells them about his beliefs and then proceeds to bully them (literally).
The New X-Men #119 Dec 2001 Emma, visiting John Sublime with Scott, has turned to diamond form, having been punched in the face by one of his goons. Sublime taunts her and Scott, controlling their minds with another mutant brain he is keeping in a jar of liquid full of syringes under his desk. He talks of how he would cut off the parts of their bodies that contain the mutant bits and just discard the rest. As that goes on, Logan is rescuing Angel (AKA ) from Sublime’s U-Men. They stop for a meal in a diner nearby, but when they begin to manifest their mutant powers in the restaurant they find trouble with the owner not liking their kind. The man shoots his rifle at them until they leave. At Xavier’s Institute, Jean Grey is speaking to Hank in his coma. People at the mansion are all getting colds and minor illnesses. She can feel that there is something horrible happening. As she walks from Beasts bed through the ward, she hesitates at Barnell’s tank and reads into his thoughts. She cries at what she finds there and expresses that she won’t pry too far. She wants one piece of information in particular: who was in his head, forcing him to beat Hank so badly. It is revealed as the image of Charles Xavier. Just then, an alarm sounds and the U-Men break into the Institute to harvest mutants. Jean meets them outside with an army of students ready to defend their school from the intruders.
The New X-Men #120 Jan 2002 Logan (AKA Wolverine and his rescue, Angel (AKA) get into a fight at the next diner at which they stop for a bite to eat on the way to Xavier’s Institute. As Logan explains to Angel that he is her only chance to survive in the world at this point, some U-Men being initiated are hemming and hawing over having to remove Scott’s (AKA Cyclops’) head as part of the process to gaining entry to the group. As they discuss, Emma breaks the mutant brain, Martha’s, control, and changes back from diamond form, taking control of the others’ minds. She is very upset that they ruined her expensive nose job. Back at Xavier’s Institute, Jean and some students fend off a slew of U-Men with Jean’s telepathy and the aid of some of the students’ particular talents. By the end of the affair, Jean is so worked up that she has managed to manifest the Phoenix force, a very strong power that can be potentially dangerous as it takes her over. These are all signs of the secondary mutations that Beast had been describing earlier in the series…the more potent of the mutants developing new or stronger mutant powers as of late. Jean sends the U-Men screaming and running from the premises as Logan arrives with Angel, giving her quite the first impression. As Jean is explaining how fantastic manifesting the Phoenix force felt for her to Logan, Beast (still injured after the beating he received from Barnell’s bat), enters the scene, carrying the naked, dripping body of Cassandra Nova, who is unconscious. He claims Professor X is trapped in her head.
The New X-Men #121 Feb 2002 NOTE: This issue is nearly entirely art driven and text silent. Images are surreal, sensual, and intense. In therapy, content may be associated with: [[Drug Abuse]] Emma Frost and Jean Grey enter a sealed room marked “silence” where the body of Cassandra Nova is being kept unconscious and monitored: they leave Scott (AKA Cyclops) and Logan (AKA Wolverine) waiting outside. The two telepaths enter the winding corridors of Cassandra’s mind in search of Xavier (AKA Professor X). Emma stops to inspect the doors in the hallway, while Jean heads off towards the tower across the water to search further. As Jean creates a bridge of bricks to the tower using her telekinesis, Emma gets tangled in the obstacles the doors provide, and she realizes they are a dead end. Jean climbs the stairs and enters a room where she finds the projection of Xavier’s consciousness, chained in a crater at the center of the circular floor. His head is overgrown and weighty, orbited by all of the separated pieces of his wheelchair floating about him. Picking up a snow globe holding a couple who look to be Xavier’s parents on their wedding day, Jean witnesses Xavier’s conception, as well as the simultaneous conception of his twin sister, Cassandra. Cassandra wakes first and tries to bully and strangle Xavier, but then he wakes and releases his mutant power in a death blow at her still in the womb. His mother falls down the stairs from the force of his blast within her. Jean tries to comfort the professor, collects Emma, and they leave Cassandra’s mind. They then exit the room and Jean reports to Scott and Logan.
The New X-Men #122 Mar 2002 Open on the Shi’ar ship. Lilandra, Empress of the Shi’ar, commands one of her subjects to breach 4-Space and warn the X-Men of the coming menace of a Shi’ar assault fleet is on the way. A number of her people have been killed and her ship severely damaged by Charles Xavier’s (AKA Professor X) body being driven by the mind of Cassandra Nova and surrounded by a visible aura of her consciousness, which survives on its own, but only briefly, until it finds a human host. Meanwhile, at Xavier’s Institute in New York, Emma Frost addresses the students about changes in curriculum, Dr. McCoy’s (AKA Beast) return to work, and the attention mutants are getting from the media. Privately, Scott Summers (AKA Cyclops) and Jean Grey (AKA Phoenix) have a talk which begins with his concern for her manifesting Phoenix powers again and points out where their perspectives on being mutants have begun to differ. There is an undercurrent of added tension due to the strain in their marriage. Jean storms out of the room after telling Scott that Xavier is dying. Beast and Jean explain to Emma, Scott, and Logan that Cassandra is actually living emotion that uses human cells as a host and mimics human character traits with the mission of killing Xavier for control of the world (stemming from the urge to kill him for control of the womb). They suspect a connection to the U-Men and John Sublime, and the flu symptoms some have been exhibiting. Via telepathy, Xavier asks Jean to hold a press conference to rally some humans to their side before Cassandra strikes again. After the meeting, Scott takes an X-Jet and goes to find Xorn, the healer, to aid Xavier. Finally, Superguardian Smasher of the Shi’ar lands on Earth and issues the warning that the assault fleet is on the way and “she has come,” but he quickly blacks out in the field where he lands with only a few cows to hear him.
The New X-Men #123 Apr 2002 Jean Grey (AKA Phoenix) and Emma Frost walk the grounds of Xavier’s Institute discussing the current year’s students, how Xavier is doing, still trapped inside the dying body of Cassandra Nova, and how Jean will deal with the upcoming press conference she is holding to gain human support for the mutant cause before Cassandra makes another attack. Emma comes upon the Stepford Cuckoos, the group of five young identical twin girls who can act together to amplify their telepathic powers. They are upset about the fact that one of them has caught the attentions of a boy for the first time, and they are not a complete unit. Emma tries to explain to them that relationships will come and go in their lives, but they tell her they think it is some sort of plot. Logan rides up to Angel on his motorcycle as she is complaining about the other kids at the Institute. Emma interrupts their chat and the Angel confronts Emma. Meanwhile, Jean visits Xavier’s deteriorating body briefly before addressing the press. She explains Charles Xavier’s dream to them. She tells them how he became telepathic at eleven years old and was suddenly exposed to the fears, desires, and guilt we all keep secret. Jean moves the press conference to the telepathic meeting room to be more entertaining for the guests, but Emma gets into an argument with one of the women of the press and influences her mind…Jean disapproves. She settles Emma just in time to hear from Beast that the sample of blood he has contains nano-sentinels. Jean wins the support of the press as we discover that Esme’s boyfriend, Kato, is actually a scout for the Shi’ar Superguardian Team aiming to sterilize mutantkind, who have also managed to capture Cyclops and Xorn.
The New X-Men #124 May 2002 Aboard the Shi’ar superdestroyer, Scott Summers (AKA Cyclops) and Xorn try desperately to talk Lilandra and her men from trying to kill them, but Cassandra Nova is with them in the body of Charles Xavier (AKA Professor X), controlling their minds. Back at Xavier’s Institute, sterilization teams are touching down on Earth and fighting the mutants. The Stepford Cuckoos take out a couple of them and then convince Angel to stop fighting with them and join forces to fight the “space-super heroes.” Jean telepathically steers the press conference guests to the Danger Room for safety and then she and Beast go back out to fight. They fight admirably and take down many opponents, and we rejoin Logan, who has also been taking out the enemy team, but Gladiator explains that they cannot keep fighting them off and expecting to put off the sterilization that has been ordered for their whole species by imperial order. Back again to the superdestroyer, Scott and Xorn decide it is time to make their move. Scott gives Xorn a hint of how to get them loose using his power and he manages to induce reactor failure in Lilandra’s man, G-Type, as a way to remove him in order to escape.
The New X-Men #125 Jun 2002 On the Shi’ar ship, Lilandra, still under the mind control of Cassandra Nova within Xavier’s body, orders superguardian G-Type to kill her guru, the sage Araki. G-Type tells his empress how Xorn caused the reactor failure and shamefully he goes to do Cassandra’s bidding, thinking it is Lilandra’s. Just as he is about to kill Araki, Scott Summers (AKA Cyclops) and Xorn show up and begin to fight. Cassandra guides Lilandra to suicide as she is through with the Shi’ar Empress, but Xorn catches her as she jumps to her death. Left alone with Scott, Cassandra tries to get to him by playing on his insecurities, but he stays focused on the task at hand. He cannot strike at her while she wears Xavier’s body. Xorn comes back up the stairs with Lilandra, realizing that the entire ship is set to commit suicide…he can hear electromagnetic alarms going off. At Xavier’s Institute, the Stepford Cuckoos are telepathically guiding Angel to fetch a DNA sample from Henry McCoy’s (AKA Beast) lab. While there, Angel comes upon Beak (AKA Barnell Bohusk) and sets him free. They return to the courtyard where the Cuckoos and Emma Frost are waiting with Stuff (the Shi’ar scout), whom the Cuckoos influence to get the metal hood off Emma’s head. Inside the Institute, Beast is about to administer a sentinel enriched liquid to Xavier’s body to heal it when Jean Grey urges him to stop. She explains that Cassandra wants him to save the body, but she wants to put Xavier’s consciousness into her mind and let the body die, so Cassandra has no host to return to. Reluctantly, he agrees and they tell all humans to get back to the Danger Room. Beast notices that Trish, his old girlfriend, is among the press. He gets the courage to tell her he doesn’t want a relationship with a human at the moment. Cassandra comes back to the Institute and Jean uploads Xavier’s consciousness into her mind.
The New X-Men #126 Jul 2002 Scott Summers (AKA Cyclops) and Xorn are heading back to the Institute with the Shi’ar Lilandra and Araki’s weak bodies in hand. The students at Xavier’s are gearing up to fight for their themselves, their school, and their kind, though Jean is trying to forbid it, when Scott and Xorn appear. Henry McCoy (AKA Beast) updates Scott as Xorn sees to the Professor in Cassandra Nova’s body, but he observes that the body is dead. Xorn realizes his true purpose at the Institute is to heal the nano-sentinel blood infection the mutants there have. Xavier (via Jean) tells the others that Shi’ar legends reference “mummudrai” as the opposite…particularly, before birth, the other self that everyone encounters in the womb. Because he was such a powerful telepath, she gained more power than normal and was actually born when he was, though she didn’t have a body at that point. As Xavier explains, Jean is downloading his consciousness into Cerebra, a little piece into each mutant, the world over. In Xavier’s body, Cassandra confronts Logan (AKA Wolverine). She tries to get to his emotions, but he is in an instinct driven mode and she cannot affect him. Beast joins him, also switching to an instinctual mode, so she cannot affect his emotions. Xorn comes in and leaps at Cassandra to heal her, and holds her back, so Beast can stick her with a couple of syringes in Xavier’s leg. She throws them off and retreats to find her body. She gets to the Danger Room, where she finds Jean. She thought she would be scared seeing Cassandra again, but she only feels sorry for her. Cassandra gets into Cerebra and allows Xavier’s consciousness to reenter his body once more, pushing the emotional entity out of the body. At that point Emma Frost returns with Cassandra’s original body, which she offers to Cassandra’s consciousness in return for her and her Stepford Cuckoos’ survival of the mutant holocaust. Cassandra agrees, but as it turns out, Emma traps Cassandra in the body of Stuff, the Shi’ar scout, with a tiny intellect, programmed to learn from a telepathic projection. The X-Men welcome Xavier back and bring him his wheelchair, but are startled to find that he is suddenly able to walk.
[[Nightwing Issues]]
Nightwing #101 Early March 2005 Robin (Dick Grayson) arrives late to help Batman (Bruce Wayne) fight Clayface. Robin is able to draw Clayface into the snowy outdoors and freeze him, but gets no recognition from Batman, who angrily reminds Robin he cannot be late. Robin recalls how he has always been trying to impress Bruce Wayne since he took him in as a ward after his parents died. Later, at the Batcave, Bruce tells Dick Robin is supposed to be his partner, his lieutenant. Bruce feels Dick has just been wasting his time, so he fires Dick as Robin and orders him to leave his costume behind.
Nightwing #102 Late March 2005 Dick Grayson contacts Clark Kent in Metropolis to ask him for advice regarding being recently fired as Robin by Bruce Wayne. They then go to stop the nearby Presidential motorcade from being bombed by two villains. Superman successfully stops one, and Dick is almost successful at stopping the other but Superman still had to come rescue him. Superman then tells Dick the story about Nightwing, a hero from Krypton who was abandoned by his family and was determined to show them he was better than they gave him credit for, so he helped the weak. Dick travels back to the circus to rediscover his roots, where he stops a petty crime and offers to do trapeze work again for the circus. Deadman shows up at the end of the issue.
Nightwing #103 Early April 2005 Dick Grayson wanders around the circus gathering his thoughts and contemplating his future as Nightwing. Deadman continues to try to make contact with him through the bodies of others around him. Dick reflects on losing his parents to someone purposely weakening the rope to the trapeze from which they swung. A costume designer shows Dick an image of his father in costume and asked if he could wear that when he performed for the circus, and Dick later turns it into the costume for Nightwing. At the Batcave, Alfred discovers a boy tied up and gagged. Bruce Wayne says he is Jason Todd, whom he met trying to steal a wheel from the Batmobile, and he explains he intends to make him the next Robin. Deadman is then shown reporting back to Bruce Wayne, telling him Dick Grayson is safe.
Nightwing #104 Late April 2005 Nightwing contacts Jim Gordon to notify him that he is a new hero in Gotham City. Batgirl (Barbara Gordon, Jim's daughter) meets up with him and they fight crime together around Gotham. Nightwing contacts the Joker and the Penguin and tells them he is a new hero. Meanwhile, Batman trains Jason Todd to be the next Robin.
Nightwing #105 Early May 2005 Alfred dresses as ~Two-Face and Bruce Wayne dresses as one of ~Two-Face's thugs in order to test Jason Todd's mettle as the new Robin. Barbara Gordon, AKA Batgirl, asks Dick Grayson to meet her as Nightwing at 2am on a rooftop. He believes he is stood up until he sees Jason Todd arrive as Robin, then he thinks Todd is rubbing it in his face that he is the new Robin. Alfred and Bruce our out looking for Todd so they can test him when their car is struck by Killer Croc's goons. Bruce makes it out of the crash badly injured, but Alfred, believed to be ~Two-Face is kidnapped. While Bruce is injured, Nightwing and Robin must save Alfred, even though they do not know he is dressed as ~Two-Face.
Nightwing #106 Late May 2005 Bruce Wayne is badly injured, recuperating at the Batcave. Nightwing and Robin are contacted and told they must save Alfred, who is dressed as ~Two-Face and held captive by Killer Croc. The two work out their differences and fight Killer Croc and his thugs together. Dick Grayson and Jason Todd clearly prove their worth to Bruce Wayne as the standalone hero Nightwing and Batman's new Robin. As thanks for Dick's efforts, Alfred creates a much better quality costume for him to wear as Nightwing.
[[Nightwing Issue 101]] [[Nightwing Issue 102]] [[Nightwing Issue 103]] [[Nightwing Issue 104]] [[Nightwing Issue 105]] [[Nightwing Issue 106]]
__''Added:''__ [[Brightest Day Issue 4]] [[Green Lantern: Rebirth Issues]] 1 - 6 [[Fantastic Four]] enters database [[Fantastic Four Issues]] 576 - 580 [[The Flash]] enters database [[The Flash Issues]] 1 - 5 (2010) [[Journal|journal]] begins [[Logistics]] section, containing forms to help track themes, issues used, and issues borrowed Main Menu in the left panel gets divider lines Added [[Updates|journal]] link to Main Menu __''Updated:''__ Three example questions for each theme, 48 questions in total, in [[By Themes]] [[By Demographics]], Male and Female each get new entries New [[FAQ|FAQ/Help]] question: [[How can I see the changes made to Comicspedia each week?]] Total issue summaries added this week: 16
__''Added:''__ [[Amazing Spider-Man|The Amazing Spider-Man Issues]] 628, 629 [[Green Lantern: Tales of the Sinestro Corps]] Event [[Tutorial]] [[Ultimate Nightmare]] Total issue summaries added this week: 11
__''Added:''__ [[Batman Hush|Batman Issues]] Batman #608 - #619 [[Case Examples]] [[Green Lantern: Tales of the Sinestro Corps]] Added two more issues [[Irredeemable Issue 19|Irredeemable 19]] [[Nightwing]] enters database [[Nightwing Issues 101 - 106|Nightwing Issues]] - Nightwing Year One storyline [[Return of Bruce Wayne 6|Return of Bruce Wayne Issue 6]] Total issue summaries added this week: 22
Cable ([[X-Men]], [[Second Coming]]) Professor X ([[X-Men]], AKA Charles Xavier)
A One-Shot is a comic book published as a single standalone issue with the purpose of briefly continuing another storyline beyond its end, adding more information previously unrevealed, or highlighting characters who did not receive much focus in that title's current storyline.
On the left are issues tagged with the theme of having to deal with other people's expectations of you. ''Example questions:'' How does [Character] respond to others' expectations? How would you have responded? How does one determine when others' expectations warrant a change in behavior? How much of a superhero's actions are borne out of others' expectations of him or her helping others in need?
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Patrick O'Connor, Psy.D. is a professor of psychology in the Chicago area with a background of treating teens and young adults. Patrick is interested in the clinical implications of themes in comic books, specifically what a person can learn about him/herself and the world by reading comic books and discussing the subject matter with a therapist. He is also interested in the clinical implications of video game use, having completed and published his dissertation titled, "Current Video Game and Play Therapy Research: What Clinical Psychologists Need to Know."
On the left are issues tagged with the theme of being attacked on a personal level. Instead of a hero or villain being fought simply for being on opposite sides of the good/evil plane, someone is being attacked in a much more personal way. This includes revenge, attacks hitting close to home, consistently attacking someone emotionally (instead of the often-common single attacks on a sidekick or family member, it should span at least two issues). ''Example questions:'' How is this attack on [Character] different from engaging in a typical fight? How do you think this attack makes [Character] feel? How is this attack going to change the future for [Character]?
[[Plutonian Biography]] [[Irredeemable Issues]]
Irredeemable is about the turning of Plutonian, once the world's greatest superhero, now the world's greatest supervillain. Mark Waid, the series' creator, said, "It is about how the lessons we learn about right and wrong as children can become warped and twisted when challenged by the realities of the adult world." He further explained the idea behind the series: "The beauty of Superman is that he can deal with that level of adulation without it going to his head, without it warping him, but he's a very special individual. We presume, whenever we write superheroes and we come up with superhero origins, that anybody who gets the powers of a superhero — even if they are like Spider-Man and they've got things they've got to work out that issue and responsibility and power and responsibility — we assume that they eventually have the emotional makeup it takes to overcome these things. Well, what if you gave that level of power to someone who, at heart, didn't have that emotional capability?" Waid further notes that, "by the classic superhero rules," a hero can't concern themselves with what people think of them, but that if "you are so far removed as to not care what people think of you, it takes one less step to not care what people think." As the series develops, heroes who belong to the alliance of which Plutonian was one a member reveal secrets of their own that also make them seemingly irredeemable. People associated with Plutonian often reflect on mistakes they have made that eventually led to the reasons why he behaves the way he does.
Bruce Wayne was placed in the Late Paleolithic Era after Final Crisis, but people in present day Gotham believe he is dead. He must overcome amnesia and find a way back to present day Gotham City to become Batman again. Members of [[Justice League America]] are chasing after him trying to stop him from reaching the present day because they believe he will cause a time rift and destroy the universe. He travels through prehistory, the witch hunts, pirates at sea, the wild west, 50s noir, and present day Gotham in a six issue special. His absence carries over into issues published between 2008 and 2010, where Dick Grayson (previously [[Robin]] has assumed the role of [[Batman]] and Batwoman is the featured star of Detective Comics. This is a 6-issue limited run. [[Return of Bruce Wayne Issues]]
Return of Bruce Wayne #1 Early July 2010 Cavemen discover a spaceship. Bruce Wayne walks out of a cave, with his utility belt, in a daze speaking gibberish. The cavemen go inside the cave and find one of their elders is dead, and drawings of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Booster Gold's symbols are on the wall nearby. These cavemen are members of the Deer People tribe, and they welcome Bruce. Suddenly, members of the Blood Mob tribe attack, killing some of the Deer People and taking Bruce hostage. One of the boys from the Deer People hides nearby and watches what unfolds. The chief of the Blood Mob beats Bruce with rocks and lets him suffer overnight, mentioning to others he intends to eat Bruce's brain in the morning after disease has made him weak. The boy appears in the middle of the night and gives Bruce his utility belt. The chief arrives in the morning but finds Bruce is missing. He and the boy attack the chief, who runs off scared. The other Blood Mob people chase after Bruce and the boy, who both dive into the ocean. The boy surfaces, but Bruce is not found. Superman, Booster Gold, and Green Lantern arrive looking for Bruce, but Superman notes he is not there. He says if Bruce makes it back to the 21st century, "everyone dies." Bruce is later shown to be pulled out of the water by a Puritan woman with a monster in the water behind them.
Return of Bruce Wayne #2 Late July 2010 Bruce battles a giant octopus creature and is saved by a young woman named Annie. Meanwhile, members of the Justice League learn about how lines of time can run parallel, intersect, and even run laterally. They are trying to find where and when Bruce Wayne is. Brother Mordecai (much later to be revealed as Bruce Wayne) inspects Goodwife Tyler's case. She claims her husband was killed by a witch. He figures out she killed her husband for repeatedly beating her over the years of their marriage. Brother Malleus attempts to drown her for being a witch, but Brother Mordecai insists she is not a witch. Mordecai meets with Annie in the forest, who confesses she believes in gods of animals and nature. Mordecai is later led into the forest by Malleus trying to show him a dragon exists, and he sees Goodwife Tyler's husband who has been killed by a ladle, so Mordecai does not believe Malleus. Annie confesses to Bruce she summoned him to help her, when suddenly the giant octopus appears again. Bruce fights it and Annie runs. Annie is caught by Malleus and is burned at the stake. She calls him Nathaniel Wayne and curses him and all his kin. The Justice League try communicating to Bruce Wayne that Darkseid has turned him into a "doomsday weapon...aimed...directly at the 21st century!" Bruce Wayne later awakes on a beach, being kicked in the face by the pirate Blackbeard.
Return of Bruce Wayne #3 Aug 2010 The pirate Blackbeard finds Bruce Wayne and accuses him of being the Black Pirate, who supposedly knows the way to treasure. Jack Valor, claiming to be Jack Loggins, is captured alongside Bruce, and Bruce agrees to help the pirates find their treasure in exchange for his and Jack's lives. They travel into a cave, guarded with traps and the Miagani, AKA the Bat People. The Justice League continue to discuss the fact that Bruce Wayne must be stopped from reaching the present because he is a doomsday device. Loggins confides in Bruce Wayne that he is a direct descendant of the Black Pirate, and he is protecting the treasure. Blackbeard's men kick Bruce Wayne off a ledge and into a river within the cave. He suddenly appears later and takes out his men with the help of the Miagani. Valor tells Wayne the Miagani want to meet him, as he is "The Man of Bats." It is later revealed Bruce Wayne has traveled forward in time to the 1800's, to Jonah Hex's era.
Return of Bruce Wayne #4 Sep 2010 Members of a family guarding a box with a bat symbol on it are murdered by henchmen, and the daughter is taken hostage. The men believe she knows how to unlock the box. They take her to Monsieur Sauvage, who has hired a Native American to translate the contents of the box, believed to be handed down by the Magiani, AKA Bat People. He has also hired Dr. Thomas Wayne to extract the combination from her to open the box and famous bounty hunter Jonah Hex to protect Monsieur Sauvage from Bruce Wayne. Following disagreements among the men and deceptions caused by Bruce Wayne, some of the men begin killing each other. Sauvage, Wayne, and the captive girl escape the saloon with Bruce Wayne following and Jonah Hex following Bruce. The men are momentarily taken out, and Bruce is allowed to view the contents of the box. Jonah Hex then shoots Bruce, who falls into the water nearby, and the girl is devastated. Bruce stumbles into a city in the 1950's and lays unconscious, bleeding from the gunshot.
Return of Bruce Wayne #5 Nov 2010 Bruce Wayne is approached in the hospital by a woman named Marsha, who claims her friend Martha had been murdered. Outside the hospital, Marsha is almost attacked by several men, when Bruce intervenes and beats them up. Marsha instructs Bruce he is to join her in meeting with Betsy Kane in order to retrieve keys to Wayne Manor so they may assist in solving the murder of Martha Wayne, whom Marsha claims was set up to be killed by her husband Thomas Wayne. Marsha then convinces Bruce to dress in a bat costume in order to scare Thomas Wayne into confessing to the murder while she dresses as Martha to further add to the effect. It turns out he has been set up by Marsha, who, dressed as Martha Wayne, is being video taped as she attempts to murder her husband Thomas Wayne (played by Bruce). The whole event is being video taped apparently in an effort to ruin the Wayne name. Bruce is able to escape into time, and members of the Justice League realize Bruce is near their time, possibly leading to the destruction of the universe.
Return of Bruce Wayne #6 Dec 2010 Bruce Wayne tries to take control of time and save the universe from collapsing, but he is taken over by a machine that is trying to keep him alive long enough to destroy the universe. The Justice League tries to intervene, but Bruce easily handles them while under control of the machine. Other members of the Justice League (Superman, Booster Gold, Dr. Hunter, and Green Lantern) are placed in a time sphere that Bruce helped create that allows them to travel time. Time Drake as Red Robin tries to save Bruce by explaining to him what is going on. Bruce asks Wonder Woman to use her Lasso of Truth on him, and Bruce is compelled to confess he is trying to stop the machine from the inside out but he needs help. Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern then try to help him, but Bruce realizes this is his fight, so he tears off the machine, which the others place in the time sphere and send it back to prehistoric times. Time continues to unravel because Bruce Wayne is still alive. Bruce dies from tearing off the machine and is kept dead long enough for time to right itself. He is then placed in the Lazarus Pit, a pool which restores life to the dead, and brought back to life. He then resumes the role of Batman.
[[Return of Bruce Wayne Issue 1]] [[Return of Bruce Wayne Issue 2]] [[Return of Bruce Wayne Issue 3]] [[Return of Bruce Wayne Issue 4]] [[Return of Bruce Wayne Issue 5]] [[Return of Bruce Wayne Issue 6]]
On the left are issues with the theme of seeking revenge, either by the villain or the hero. ''Example questions:'' Is revenge ever a good thing? How does [Character] respond to revenge? What has to happen in order for revenge to be sought? (usually someone has to feel wronged in the first place) What could have been done to prevent the revenge?
[[Robin Biography]] [[Batman and Robin Issues]] - Note that Dick Grayson, the original Robin, assumes the role of Batman in this series. Damian Wayne, son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Ghul, assumes the role of Robin in this series.
Dick Grayson was a 10-year-old acrobat, the youngest of a family act called the "Flying Graysons". A gangster named Boss Zucco (loosely based on actor Edward G. Robinson's Little Caesar character) had been extorting money from the circus and killed Grayson's parents, John and Mary, by sabotaging their trapeze equipment as a warning against defiance. Batman investigated the crime and, as his alter ego billionaire Bruce Wayne, had Dick put under his custody as a legal ward. Batman rigorously trained the boy, teaching him hand-to-hand combat, martial arts, and detective skills. During this time he came to love Batman as a second father. Together they investigated Zucco and collected the evidence needed to bring him to justice. From his debut appearance in 1940 through 1969, Robin was known as the Boy Wonder. Batman creates a costume for Dick, consisting of an orange tunic, yellow cape, green gloves, green boots, utility belt, green spandex briefs and bare legs. As he grew up, graduated from high school and enrolled in Hudson University, Robin continued his career as the Teen Wonder, from 1970 into the early 1980s. The character was re-discovered by a new generation of fans during the 1980s because of the success of The New Teen Titans, in which he left Batman's shadow entirely to assume the identity of Nightwing. Recently, after Wayne's apparent death, Grayson has taken over the mantle of Batman.
On the left are issues tagged with the theme of having to live life with multiple roles, or a character suddenly finds their primary role to be threatened or altered. ''Example questions:'' How is [Character] affected by [Change in Role]? What would you have done if you found yourself in a similar situation as [Character]? What role would you have assumed? Why do you think [Character] felt it necessary to assume a different role than they are used to?
On the left are issues tagged with the theme of romantic relationships. ''Example questions:'' Can a superhero maintain a successful romantic relationship given their responsibilities? Why or why not? How would you have handled [Romantic Conflict]? How does [Character] balance the needs of his/her partner and the needs of others? Is this fair to the partner? Is this fair to others?
The mutant species in X-Men have largely been killed off in the world, with less than 200 remaining (at their peak, there were millions). The species' existence is further threatened when no new mutants have been born anywhere in the world. Hope Summers is the only newly born mutant in recent history. She is sent to the future with Cable as her guardian to await her development into an adult so she may return to the past and save the dying mutant population. Once in the past, villains try to kill her while Cable tries to protect her, as she is supposedly the one person who will save mutantkind. [[Second Coming Issues]] [[Uncanny X-Men One-Shot (HA)]] - This One-Shot follows the events of Second Coming and should be read after Chapter Fourteen. It is tied into the [[Heroic Age]] (HA) theme that is spanning several Marvel titles.
Issues in this event cross series lines and are organized according to chapter order. This event is meant to be read in the order presented below. Given the X-Men is a group of superheroes who often work together, the [[Collaborating with Others]] tag will not be applied to any issues because it would be redundant. ''Back story leading up to this event:'' "Mutantkind needed a miracle. Years passed and no new mutants were born, putting the beleaguered species on the brink of extinction. But then, a mutant baby was born and many fought over her. The X-Men saved this baby girl and sent her into the future with Cable for her protection. The baby became a young woman and Cable named her "Hope." One day, after years of hard living, Hope decided she was ready to return to her proper time and whatever destiny awaited her. Little does she know, things are bleak for the X-Men they left behind. With their Westchester mansion destroyed, they decided it was time for a change and moved to San Francisco. After a major battle with Norman Osborn and his Dark Avengers, Cyclops moved the X-Men to an artificial island off the coast. They call it Utopia, but their world is far from perfect. They wait for a miracle named Hope. But they aren't the only ones waiting..." [[Chapter One (Second Coming Issue 1)]] [[Chapter Two (Uncanny X-Men Issue 523)]] [[Chapter Three (New Mutants Issue 12)]] [[Chapter Four (X-Men: Legacy Issue 235)]] [[Chapter Five (X-Force Issue 26)]] [[Chapter Six (Uncanny X-Men Issue 524)]] [[Chapter Seven (New Mutants Issue 13)]] [[Chapter Eight (X-Men: Legacy Issue 236)]] [[Chapter Nine (X-Force Issue 27)]] [[Chapter Ten (Uncanny X-Men Issue 525)]] [[Chapter Eleven (New Mutants Issue 14)]] [[Chapter Twelve (X-Men: Legacy Issue 237)]] [[Chapter Thirteen (X-Force Issue 28)]] [[Chapter Fourteen (Second Coming Issue 2)]]
[[Silver Surfer 2010 Limited Series]]
[[Silver Surfer 2010 Limited Series Issue 1 of 5]] [[Silver Surfer 2010 Limited Series Issue 2 of 5]] [[Silver Surfer 2010 Limited Series Issue 3 of 5]]
Silver Surfer (2011 Limited Series) #1 of 5 Apr 2011 Silver Surfer introduces himself as being in touch with a cosmic power that makes him invincible and ultra powerful. He explains he helps Galactus, the world eater, find planets to feed on in order the spare ones Silver Surfer deems worthy of survival. Earth is one such planet Silver Surfer spares. Descending upon Earth, Silver Surfer spots a couple being murdered by agents of the O.A.S. (Organization of American States). He kills the OAS agents. Endo, an independent contractor, is hired by the OAS to investigate Silver Surfer’s return to Earth. She finds Silver Surfer repairing the woman’s body, bringing her back to life. Herbert Edgar Wyndham, AKA the High Evolutionary, briefly captures Silver Surfer and renders his protective skin useless. Silver Surfer is shot and the bullets penetrate his skin as his armor melts off.
Silver Surfer (2011 Limited Series) #2 of 5 May 2011 Norrin Radd, who was the Silver Surfer, now sits in human form in a Mexican military hospital room recovering from gunshot wounds. He has not felt his own skin, heartbeat, or emotions for a very long time, and he is shocked to experience them once again. He recalls leaving his girlfriend of wife when he became the Silver Surfer and how he misses her touch. He tries to escape the hospital on his own, but is unsuccessful. A woman helps him escape while asking about the High Evolutionary along the way. We learn the High Evolutionary is trying to gain the Power Cosmic so he can become a world destroyer like Galactus. Norrin and the woman crash their vehicle into a jungle, and it is hinted that Norrin will regain the powers of Silver Surfer soon.
Silver Surfer (2011 Limited Series) #3 of 5 June 2011 A family waits under a tarp in the hot desert son. One person comments about how they are without water. The High Evolutionary rises up from the ground, showering the elderly man of the family with water, which he drinks. Meanwhile, Norrin and Suzi are navigating through dangerous jungles looking for the High Evolutionary. Norrin recalls being the Silver Surfer and observing how an alien life form was once destroyed by Galactus, and in the process that life form suddenly felt fear, pain, and love for the first time just before extinction. Norrin realizes this is what he is experiencing. He and Suzi find the family in the jungle and they share a kiss, admitting love for one another. Suddenly, the elderly man becomes silver (like the Silver Surfer) and flies away. The High Evolutionary explains to Norrin that he saved this elderly man's life, possibly making him immortal. The High Evolutionary then begins a process of converting Suzi into his herald to join him in his mission, turning her into The Seeker.
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[[Comicspedia|Welcome!]]
[[Soldier Zero Issues]]
Soldier Zero #1 Oct 2010 Captain Stewart Trautmann, a paraplegic young man who was injured while on tour in Afghanistan, processes the personal and social difficulties of being in a wheelchair. He also discusses with his brother James possibly meeting a girl (Lily) for a date. They meet alone on top of a tall building to watch a meteor shower, and he tells her how he became paralyzed. They nervously stumble over their words with one another when a robot-looking alien crashes into the building they are on. A spirit seems to come from the alien and enters into Stewart, who is able to push a giant concrete slab off himself and stand up, all while suited in armor. He tries to carry Lily to safety when he finds James and asks him to help the two of them.
Soldier Zero #2 Nov 2010 Stewie, who has been taken over by a robot-looking alien and can now walk, is trying to stop this alien from controlling his body, but he is still forced to move and say things against his will. Meanwhile, an alien enemy kills a police officer and assumes control of his human body. Stewie later shifts into human form and communicates with the alien spirit inside of him, demanding to know what is happening. The alien explains he was a leader of an army that fought against a brutal enemy. After his platoon was killed, the alien escaped, hoping to find safety. He also explains he is making improvements to Stewie's body to better integrate himself. The alien forces Stewie to go for a walk, and along the way he sees a store get held up by a small group of thugs. He transforms into the alien robot and stops the robbers, but this uses too much of the alien's energy and he is forced to change back into human form in the middle of the street, where the evil alien cop finds him.
Soldier Zero #3 Dec 2010 Stewie is questioned at the police station about his presence near a robbery that was stopped by Soldier Zero. The police officer who is inhabited by an evil alien did not suspect Stewie as Soldier Zero. Meanwhile, Lily is recovering at the hospital after being saved by Soldier Zero. She was being interviewed about the incident live on the radio when two CIA agents say they want to talk to her. Soldier One, the evil alien, hears the radio interview and finds Lily in the hospital. Soldier Zero flies in to stop him from attacking her, and a fight begins at the end of the issue.
Soldier Zero #4 Jan 2011 Soldier Zero (hero) and Soldier One (villain) fight each other. Meanwhile, Lily and James attempt to find Stuart. Lily does not know Stuart is Soldier Zero, but James does know. While fighting, Soldier One shoots a laser that disintegrates Jame's left arm up to his shoulder. He survives, but Zero and One continue to fight. Stuart and the alien within him argue over whether to kill One or not, and Stuart briefly experiences a flashback to when he was fighting in Afghanistan. Just as Zero is about to make the decision of whether to kill or not kill One, One transforms into a deceased police officer just before he dies himself to make it look like Zero has killed an innocent cop, thus hurting his public image.
Soldier Zero #5 Feb 2011 Application Nine, a shape-shifting being, arrives at the hospital where Stuart, his brother, and Lily are being cared for. He carries an electronic device that grants him different superpowers based on which app is activated. Stuart’s brother James lost his arm, and he demands that Stuart give him Soldier Zero so he can regrow it. Meanwhile, Application Nine continues his search throughout the hospital, and eventually discovers Soldier Zero’s location in Jame’s hospital room. Application Nine and Soldier Zero fight, and Nine mentions Stuart does not even know how to control the Zero suit.
[[Soldier Zero Issue 1]] [[Soldier Zero Issue 2]] [[Soldier Zero Issue 3]] [[Soldier Zero Issue 4]] [[Soldier Zero Issue 5]] [[Soldier Zero Issue 6]] [[Soldier Zero Issue 7]]
[[Spawn Issues]]
Albert Francis "Al" Simmons, born in Detroit, Michigan, was a very intelligent and physically strong man in the United States Marine Corps, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He later joined the United States Secret Service and became a highly decorated member. This led to his promotion to the CIA. In the CIA, he was recruited into a special division known as the U.S. Security Group, a task force with jurisdiction in all domestic and foreign situations. Jason Wynn (the director of the CIA) and Simmons began to butt heads more often and Simmons planned to resign. Wynn ordered an assassin (Jessica Priest) to murder Simmons. Simmons was sent to Hell, due to his life as a mercenary, and made a deal with Malebolgia: Al would be reborn a Hellspawn. Malebolgia returns Simmons to the world, but with little memory, a badly disfigured body, limited yet seemingly boundless magical powers, and a monitor, the Clown, AKA Violator. Simmons slowly realizes that five years have passed. When he decides to visit Wanda for his "one final visit", he shapeshifts his body, but discovers his transformation ability cannot give him his former appearance. He discovers that his wife, Wanda Blake, has since married his best friend, Terry Fitzgerald, and the two have a daughter, Cyan. Malebolgia explains to Spawn that his task is to kill the evildoers on Earth, sending their souls to Hell so that Malebolgia can create a sizable army with which to fight God and His army. Additionally, the more powers Spawn uses, the closer he comes to "second death." Simply acting without the use of powers enables him to continue living on Earth. Now known as Spawn, Al's first few adventures are anti-hero in nature: he takes down street gangs and organized crime (including their enforcer Overtkill), and he kills a child molester/murderer named Billy Kincaid. Spawn encounters an "~Anti-Spawn", who is actually Jason Wynn (unknown to Al), and the Redeemer (a God-fearing man transformed in a similar fashion as Wynn). He survives an assault by Angela, an angel whose mission, as dictated by Heaven, is to hunt Hellspawn for sport and claims the Medieval Spawn, a medieval Predecessor to the modern-day Spawn, as one of her trophies. As this occurs, he takes over the alleys that comprise "Rat City" and befriends the homeless within it, becoming their champion. In particular, an old bum named Cogliostro seems to know a lot about him. Cogliostro and the Clown act as polar guides for Al, trying to convince him to use his powers for good and evil respectively. The Clown shows that he can transform into his real form, a demon known as the Violator. In his earliest adventures, he also encounters Harry Houdini, who teaches Spawn some new tricks, saves Terry from being murdered by the mob. Spawn also brings his friend Bobby back to life after he's been killed by Chapel. In a spin-off issue, Spawn encounters Batman who subsequently throws a bat shuriken at him, slicing Al's face in two. Even though Spawn could use his limited energy to heal, he turns to his loyal friend Bobby, who instead ties it shut with a shoe lace. This shoe lace would eventually be removed by Terry Fitzgerald, and later worn as a necklace by Terry's daughter, Cyan Fitzgerald. "Shoestring face" Spawn would remain one of the iconic visuals of the character.
Spawn #1 May 1992 This first issue describes in detail who Spawn is, which will be explained in the Spawn Biography. Very little happens in this issue otherwise. Spawn remembers dying and asking someone or something to be brought back to life, but a female's face keeps haunting him. He vows to find this woman and then find who framed him during his death. Spawn begins to fight random street thugs, and stops a woman from being killed by a gang of men. Once the fighting is over, she speaks and he is sent back into scary flashbacks where he's haunted by the woman's face again. He notes that his body is dead and his soul has continued to live while her body continues to live but her soul is dead. He realizes the woman in his flashbacks and dreams is his wife. He takes off his mask and finds his body is seemingly charred and undead. A demon is shown laughing and promising Spawn that more is to come.
Spawn #2 June 1992 A man with a painted clown face brags that he could violently rip apart Spawn in any number of ways. Spawn tests some of his powers while trying to figure out more information about who he is and his past. He turns himself into a white man, but cannot seem to change himself back to who he was. Meanwhile, a demon is going around ripping the hearts out of gangsters. Spawn experiences another flashback, and remembers Jason Wynn, his boss. He remembers that Wynn was involved in a lot of coverups, and he was violating people's personal liberties. He remembered him as being "truly evil." Spawn falls off the building he was standing on, and meets the clown-faced man, who tells Spawn that he is named Spawn, and he brags about how he could kill Spawn. Spawn turns to walk away, saying he doesn't have time for him, and the clown-faced man turns into the demon that has been killing gangsters.
Spawn #3 Aug 1992 Spawn remembers his wife's name is Wanda Blake, and he continues to search for her. Meanwhile, a demon "somewhere in time," laughs at Spawn's ambition to find his wife and kill the demon for turning him into Spawn. The demon also mentions that Spawn was a hired killer in his previous life. He finds the government files on Wanda, including her history and current address. At the office where these were kept, he threatens a man who just sexually harassed his secretary, telling him he'll kill him if he harasses her again. The demon laughs at Spawn's apparent move toward being vicious and violent. Spawn travels to Wanda's house and turns into the white man that he did in the previous issue. He meets her, but also meets her 15 month old daughter. He passes out, and Wanda and her husband Terry briefly care for him. Spawn remembers that he was sterile as Simmons, and is heart-broken that Wanda is now married and has a child. He leaves, changes back to Spawn, and curses out whoever made him this way. The clown-faced man appears again, and turns into a demon called Violator. He rips out Spawn's heart, Spawn collpses, but then rises again and says, "Who said anything about being human?"
Spawn #4 Sep 1992 This issue begins with an excellent recap of the Spawn story thus far: "For the past week or so, Lt. Colonel Al Simmons has been trying to cope with his so-called reality. That reality includes him being brought back from the dead; selling his soul; being given what seem to be unlimited powers; and getting shot five years into his future, as a white man...when he is black. Fate has not been kind to Mr. Simmons, with the advent of his death becoming a distant memory, his life continued forward. There's the irony. His whole reason for returning from the grave was the unrelenting love he had for his wife. Earlier in the day he saw her again. The devil had kept his end of the bargain. But while seeing his wife, he also learned that she was happily remarried. Worse than that...the one thing she had always wanted, the one thing Al could never give her, had been delivered. A child. That meant that Simmons had been the problem. Now he feels like less of a man. No wife. No identity. No pride." Spawn takes his heart back from Violator, and they fight gruesomely, literally tearing pieces and limbs from each others' bodies. The father demon (possibly the devil), appears and orders them to stop. He explains to the pair that he is their creator, and he specifically chose Simmons to become Spawn, the one person who will help him grow his army from Hell. He continues by explaining that Spawn will kill the evil of the Earth, sending them to Hell where they will join the devil's army, which he is building to fight God and his army. Also, Spawn has almost limitless power, but the more he uses his power, the more drained he becomes and closer he gets to "second death." If Spawn does not use his powers, then he will continue living eternally on Earth. The devil demon "grounds" Violator for being a poor agent by removing his ability to change forms, forcing him to remain a clown-faced man. Later, Wanda wakes up from a dream where Al was begging her for help, but she refused to come to his aid, which led him to cry.
[[Spawn Issue 1]] [[Spawn Issue 2]] [[Spawn Issue 3]] [[Spawn Issue 4]]
[[The Amazing Spider-Man Issues]] [[Ultimate Spider-Man (2011) Issues]]
In his first appearance, Peter Parker is introduced as an orphaned science whiz teenager living with his aunt and uncle in the Forest Hills section of New York City. He is a brilliant student but the subject of mockery by his peers who regard him as a bookworm, and perpetual victim of bullying by Eugene "Flash" Thompson, who would call him "Puny Parker" and humiliate him daily. One day, he is bitten by a radioactive spider during a science demonstration. As a result, he gains spider-like powers such as super-strength, the ability to climb walls, and a phenomenal jumping skill. Peter's own intelligence allows him to develop gadgets which fire adhesive webbing. As Spider-Man, he becomes a successful TV star. One day at a studio he refuses to stop a thief, saying that it is the job of the police, not that of a star. Later he returns home to learn that his beloved guardian, Uncle Ben, has been murdered and an angry Spider-Man sets off to capture the killer. When he does, he is horrified to find that the man is none other than the burglar he refused to subdue. Learning that with great power comes great responsibility, Spider-Man becomes a vigilante. After his uncle's death, Peter and his Aunt May become desperate for money, so he gets a job as a photographer at the New York Daily Bugle selling photos to J. Jonah Jameson, who proves to be jealous of Spider-Man and has begun to vilify Spider-Man in the paper. As he battles his enemies for the first time, Parker finds juggling his personal life and costumed adventures difficult. In time, Peter graduates from high school, and enrolls at Empire State University, where he meets roommate and best friend Harry Osborn and his second girlfriend (having been romantically involved with Betty Brant before) Gwen Stacy, and Aunt May introduces him to Mary Jane Watson. As Peter deals with Harry's drug problems, and Harry's father is revealed to be Spider-Man's nemesis the Green Goblin, Peter even attempts to give up his costumed identity. In the course of his adventures Spider-Man has made a wide variety of friends and contacts within the superhero community, who often come to his aid when he faces problems that he cannot solve on his own. Enemies frequently endanger his loved ones, with the Green Goblin managing to cause the death of Gwen Stacy. Though haunted by the death of Gwen, he begins to date Mary Jane Watson. Peter discovers what he thinks is a black version of his Spider-Man costume, which turns out to be an alien symbiote; Peter is able to reject the symbiote after a difficult struggle, though the symbiote returns several times as Venom for revenge. Peter eventually marries Mary Jane Watson. In a controversial storyline, Peter becomes convinced that Ben Reilly, the Scarlet Spider (a clone of Peter created by his college professor Miles Warren) is the real Peter Parker, and that he, Peter, is the clone. Peter gives up the Spider-Man identity to Reilly for a time, until Reilly is killed by the returning Green Goblin and revealed to be the clone after all. In stories published in 2005 and 2006 (such as "The Other"), he develops additional spider-like abilities including biological web-shooters, toxic stingers that extend from his forearms, the ability to stick individuals to his back, enhanced Spider-sense and night vision, and increased strength and speed. Peter later becomes a member of the New Avengers, and reveals his civilian identity to the world, furthering his already numerous problems. His marriage to Mary Jane and public unmasking are later erased due to a deal made with the demon Mephisto, resulting in several adjustments to the timeline, such as the resurrection of Harry Osborn and the return of Peter's mechanical web-shooters and loss of his additional spider-like abilities. After months of the new status quo in the Marvel Universe where nobody but Peter himself knew the identity of Spider-Man, he unmasks to his teammates on the New Avengers at the request of Ronin, the team's new leader, in order to earn the team's trust. Around this time he also unmasks for the Fantastic Four.
[[Starborn Issues]]
Starborn #1 Dec 2010 Benjamin Warner works in a dead-end job and writes science fiction novels as a hobby. He recently submitted a novel to a publisher, but was turned down. His stories largely center on intergalactic races constantly at war with one another. One such group, The Hive, were once a group of humans sent to the moon to populate it. Something in the moon dirt infected these humans’ minds, and they became a group of same-thinking people who resent the previous way of human life. There are also shape-shifting secret agents who try to maintain order in the galaxies. The girl of his dreams, Tara, suddenly pops back into his life. Ben is approached by a member of The Hive, and Tara seems to be one of the secret agents, and she tries to protect Ben from the Hive.
Starborn #2 Jan 2011 Aliens discuss an heir to the throne of Bin, which may be Ben. Meanwhile, Tara and Ben continue to evade Hive attackers. Ben denies that any of what he has experienced is true because he believes he thought up these stories as fiction since he was a child. Tara notes he has a neuronal implant that could have been leaking information. Tara also reveals she is a member of the Crimson Hand, which may be a group of secret shape-shifting agents. The issue ends with a drone being sent by The Network attacking Tara and Ben.
Starborn #3 Feb 2011 Benjamin and Tara are attacked by robots that belong to The Network. Benjamin recalls writing about The Network in his own science fiction novel, but also that Kirk Allen also wrote about the same race of robots in his work. Tara gives Benjamin The Gauntlet, a glove that can be used as a weapon, in order to fight the robots. She said it belonged to Benjamin’s father (who was once a great emperor) and can only be used by someone from his bloodline. They escape the robots and drive into a desert, where Benjamin rests and reflects on his childhood. He recalls asking his adoptive parents about his biological parents, but they could not give him answers. He said he imagined as a child being an alien with superpowers, but quickly realized this was not true after injuring himself during an attempt to discover these powers.
Starborn #4 Mar 2011 Benjamin and Tara are attacked by The Pride, a race of human-beasts that are excellent hunters. Tara tries to fight them while Benjamin watches from behind cover. They are then approached by The Witches, another alien race looking to capture Benjamin. Hive mutants and robots from The Network arrive as well, when suddenly a dragon known as an imperial demon arrives to carry Benjamin and Tara away safely into space. A Witch and a Pride member discuss what they saw happen, noting they hope they can capture Benjamin to prevent the “evil bloodline” from murdering all of their alien races.
[[Starborn Issue 1]] [[Starborn Issue 2]] [[Starborn Issue 3]] [[Starborn Issue 4]]
[[Steel Issues]]
Doctor John Henry Irons was a brilliant weapons engineer for AmerTek Industries, who eventually became disgusted when the BG-60, a powerful man-portable energy cannon he had designed, fell into the wrong hands and was used to kill innocent people. As the company would have coerced him to retain his services, John faked his death, and eventually came to Metropolis. While working a construction job high up on a skyscraper, he fell off while saving a friend from the same fate. His own life was saved by none other than Superman. When John Irons asked how he could show his gratitude, Superman told him to "live a life worth saving." During Superman's fatal battle against Doomsday, Irons attempted to help Superman fight the deadly menace by picking up a sledge hammer, but was buried in rubble amidst the devastation. Shortly after Superman's death, he finally awoke and crawled from the wreckage, confused and saying that he "must stop Doomsday." He recovered, but to discover that the gangs in inner-city Metropolis (now unopposed by Superman) were fighting a devastating gang war using BG-80 Toastmasters, an upgraded version of his earlier AmerTek design. Irons created and donned a suit of powered armor (similar to that of Marvel Comics' Iron Man) in Superman's memory in order to stop the war, as well as the weapons, which were being distributed by Dr. Angora Lapin (a.k.a. The White Rabbit), a former partner and lover of his during his time at AmerTek Industries. Steel was spun off into a solo series, written by co-creator Louise Simonson and later by Christopher Priest, from 1994-1998. The series began by having Steel leave Metropolis and return home to Washington, D.C., revealing that it had been five years since he had left. He erroneously believed that his old employers, AmerTek, would no longer be interested in him. This turned out to be false when they attacked his home (presumably for destroying their property back when he faked his death). Between this attack and his knowledge that the Toastmasters were now being used on the streets of D.C., he reforged his armor (it was now stronger than ever); he began his crusade against AmerTek, which he correctly knew was responsible for leaking the weapons onto the street. Steel decided not to use the "S" emblem, however, since he felt that his battle might take him outside the law. Steel's family was introduced in this series: his grandparents, Butter and Bess, his sister-in-law Blondell, and her five children Jemahl, Natasha, Paco, Tyke, and Darlene (the latter two are foster children). Steel's early adventures pit him against AmerTek and against the gangs that are using his weapons. His nephew Jemahl is involved in one of the gangs, which he thinks offers him protection. He is proven wrong, however, when the gangs turn against him to get to Steel. Tyke is paralyzed by a bullet meant for Jemahl and Blondell is assaulted. Steel eventually takes down AmerTek and the gangs and focuses on who was helping AmerTek distribute the weapons. This leads him to track down a group called BLACK Ops led by the villain Hazard. Steel briefly joined up with Maxima, who was still on Earth at the time and working with the Justice League, to help her with an alien warlord named De'cine. During this time, Steel developed the ability to teleport his armor onto and off himself. At first, it appeared purely by reflex (whenever he was in mortal danger) but he soon began to better control it, although he had no idea how it happened. Steel continued his battle against Hazard's BLACK Ops and against the return of the White Rabbit. A bounty hunter named Chindi attempted to take down Steel, but after realizing Hazard was experimenting with children, he ended up as an ally of Irons. He was called away from Earth as part of the Superman "Rescue Squad" when Superman was put on trial for the destruction of Krypton. Tragedy would strike the Irons family upon his return from space. Tyke, frustrated and angry over his handicap, betrayed John Henry's true identity to men working with Hazard. Hazard unleashed a cyborg named Hardwire who opened fire on the Irons family. Most of them received minor injuries, though Butter is seriously wounded. Child Protective services came to reclaim Tyke and Darlene. Tyke is later shown to end up in the custody of Hazard. Hardwire battles Steel at the Washington Monument, resulting in Hardwire's suicide. Steel had to send his armor away to save his life—this resulted in his secret identity being revealed to the world at large. Steel is then taken by Hazard, but he manages to escape. Steel retrieves an anti-matter weapon, called the Annihilator, which he had designed and hidden years before, for his showdown with Hazard. He also learns at this point that he can teleport himself, not just his armor. He destroys Hazard and his lair and in the battle, three young soldiers of Hazard are apparently killed by Irons. Now that Steel's identity is out, his family has no peace. They are harassed by neighbors and mobs of people. Then the family is attacked by Doctor Polaris, Parasite, and others. John Henry's beloved grandmother Bess is killed and the family is forced to go into hiding, relocated by a friend of Steel's called Double. Steel learns that the three BLACK Ops agents were not truly killed. They briefly join him in battling a monstrous, animated form of his armor that attacks him. Steel speculates that the armor came alive because of his own guilt and the strange teleportation effects. He manages to banish the monster and recall his true armor. The title received a shakeup when Christopher Priest became the lead writer for issue #34. Steel relocated to Jersey City, New Jersey with Natasha and began to work at a hospital. He built a new suit of armor that was significantly less powerful than the previous one (but one that featured the return of an "S" shield on it). While in Jersey City, Steel was reunited with his brother, Clay, who was a hitman that everyone assumed had been killed. Clay assumed the alias "Crash" and managed to acquire a pair of Steel's flightboots before turning himself in so that he could save his daughter, Nat, when she needed a blood transfusion. The series was canceled with issue #52 which featured Steel running the hospital after the unmasking of its previous coordinator, Dr. Villain (pronounced "Will-hane").
Steel #0 October 1994 Steel's background is explained. There is a lot of focus on the importance of family early on. A senator is ambushed by men dressed as cops who murder him. Steel swoops in to protect Senator Weaver and takes out the men. Shellshock, Hardsell, and Mainline appear to battle Steel. After some fighting, Split appears and takes all of them to Black Ops HQ, Hazard's lair. While unconscious, they tap into Steel's memories to learn where he came from. Steel came home as a kid and found his parents murdered. He focused on his baseball and academic abilities, later gaining acceptance to Yale. He developed weapons called the BG-60, which later fell into the wrong hands and obliterated innocent women and children in a foreign country. He faked his death and worked construction on high rises. After saving someone from falling, he himself fell while his memories of pain and wrongdoings flashed before his eyes. Superman saved him and told him to make his life worth saving. After watching Superman die, he decided to take advantage of his knowledge and athletic ability and become Steel in Superman's (The Man of Steel) honor. Just as Hazard fires a shot at Steel, his armor suddenly reappears to everyone's (including Steel) surprise. Steel damages some computers, grabs Split, and threatens to kill him if he doesn't teleport him somewhere. Split teleports him to somewhere desolate and very far from home.
Steel #1 Feb 1994 John Henry Irons exits a bus from Metropolis to Washington, D.C. when a bomb goes off in the bus. A gang called "Central" is behind it and are using Toastmasters (BG-60's), a very powerful weapon John Henry designed while working for Amertek. The E Streeter gang is the target, and they drink tubes of "tar," a paste that causes them to grow to massive hulks who start to fight the Central gang members. John Henry gets involved in the fighting until he's knocked unconscious by a Central hulk. He returns home with his niece Natalie, and he has dinner with his family (niece, cousins, grandparents). They tell him they know he's the black Superman. Suddenly, Amertek agents burst through the wall wearing armor and tell John Henry he's under arrest. The family runs to the basement while John Henry defeats all of the agents. He realizes that since Amertek has targeted him and his family, he has to bring back the armor and become Steel. He ditches the Superman "S" chest plate because he says he's not avenging Superman's death anymore, he's acting on his own and might have to go beyond the limits of the law to do so.
Steel #14 April 1995 Steel attends Rosie Kurtz's funeral as John Henry Irons where he runs into Shauna Beryl, a D.C. police officer, who tells him Rosie helped finger a serial killer the police have been after. An explosion suddenly happens nearby, and John Henry turns to Steel to find out if anyone needs help. Too many people are trapped in a fiery building, so Superman shows up to help Steel save those inside. Another explosion goes off at a nearby building, and they move on to save people and put out the fire. The fires seem to be because of gas mains being ruptured and ignited. They find out Firebomb is behind it - a villain who exists as a gas inside a suit, then changes states to help ignite the fires. They have trouble finding him because he keeps turning into the fire itself. Steel and Firebomb fight, but Steel struggles to gain an advantage. Superman freezes both of them with his icy breath, but once thawed, Firebomb escapes leaving his suit behind. Firebomb is working with White Bunny, and he was trying to distract Superman and Steel while White Bunny's computer hackers mesmerized Senator Weaver and other politicians into changing their stance on gun control (pro to con). White Bunny promises she has plans for Steel, which will be revealed in the next issue.
Steel #15 May 1995 Senators who support anti-gun legislation are either being killed or brainwashed into supporting pro-gun legislation. White Bunny and her gang of villains seem to be behind it. John Henry Irons meets with Miles Duncan, an actor, backstage at one of his plays. His cousin, Sarah Weaver, is the author of the weapons control bill, but now she thinks guns do not need to be limited, just manufactured better, which surprises everyone. Duncan is trying to find out what happened to Weaver. His father, apparently a wealthy or powerful man, sends Duncan a superhero outfit and gadgets so he can be more effective. Duncan calls himself Double. Double and Steel both enter the same facility where Sarah works to find out more information, but they do not know about each other. They cross paths and fight until Double's identity is revealed, then they work together to hack into Sarah's computer. They find out that someone has tampered with it, but before they find out anything more, White Rabbit sends Jitter and Worm to take out the heroes. This issue ends just as they're about to fight.
Steel #16 June 1995 Steel and Double battle Worm. Double escapes, Steel's armor blinks out and he begins falling with Worm, who orders that they both be teleported to Whitehall. White Rabbit, Gearhead, Jitter, Bug, Digit, and Worm are at Whitehall. Tyke is at home and dreams he's running the bases in baseball, wakes up, thinks he is no longer crippled, but falls out of bed helplessly. White Rabbit tries to entice Steel to help her or she will kill him. Double shows up to save Steel using his ability to quickly jump around the room, but the villains' powers provide a difficult fight. Bug can distort reality, Digit can grow to massive size and strength, and Worm can multiply himself endlessly. Just as Digit is about to crush Double, Steel's armor reappears and he lands a crushing blow to Digit's jaw. The two take out most of the villains, until Default shows up to teleport all of the villains to a safe location. On his way home, Steel is shot at by Federal agents. Once home, he discovers that Tyke has gone missing.
Steel #17 July 1995 Steel breaks into an Eastlie Gang hideout looking for information to help locate Tyke. He roughs up some bad guys and tries to get one to talk, but realizes they're not behind Tyke's disappearance. John Henry Irons returns home to spend time with his family, Jemahl tries to leave on his own to look for Tyke in the streets, but John Henry tells him to stay home and watch after the folks. Meanwhile, Chindi is watching Steel and building gadgets that work against Steel's weaknesses. Steel gets a tip from Officer Beryl, a female who said there have been a lot of missing child reports lately. While out flying and thinking about what he knows so far, Steel's flight becomes hampered and he falls. Chindi appears, tells him Chindi means "The dark spirit that remains on earth when someone dies" in Navajo. Nearly every attempt to escape or fight Chindi results in Chindi overpowering Steel's various abilities. Steel finally outsmarts Chindi, but Chindi escapes. Steel also moves on to continue his search for Tyke.
Steel #18 Aug 1995 Steel is feeling emotionally drained, and his armor is blipping on and off. He goes to a lab for analysis but they cannot find anything wrong. Government agents are after him, but he gets away from the lab in time. He travels to a waste management facility in order to find out information that can aid him in saving Tyke (from previous issue). The company that owns this facility is S.T.A.R. While copying files, he trips an alarm. He battles some security guards, then Chindi shows up, a villain who has been working on gadgets that can counter Steel's armor. They battle, and Chindi begins to gain an advantage with his various gadgetry taking advantage of Steel's weaknesses. Eventually, they stumble upon a prison where children are being kept for experiments. Hazard from Black Ops is funding this research, which the government is carrying out. The goal is pacification of the people for mind control. Chindi changes his mind about attacking Steel and instead tries to help him get the kids out of the facility. Someone from the facility said he has been ordered to blow up the whole facility, which will destruct in 5 minutes. All the doors and windows seal shut, and Steel and Chindi cannot put a dent in the walls. Next issue is the conclusion to this story arc.
Steel #19 Sep 1995 Steel and Chindi work together to rip open a steel wall and escape the plant with the children before the bomb goes off. Steel and Chindi are off to Hazard's HQ to rescue Tyke and stop Hazard. Steel quickly makes it through to Hazard, who has several villains around him. Hard Sell (brute), Shellshock (booming punches), Quake (claps hands for earthquake), Mainline (super speed), and Hotspot (flame thrower). Chindi and Steel work together, although Chindi eventually takes on all of the minor villains while Steel goes after Hazard alone. Steel destroys Hazard's robotic right arm, and Split (teleporter) appears quickly to take Hazard to safety. John Henry later welcomes Tyke back into his home, but Tyke is furious. Tyke said he wanted to be there with Hazard because Hazard was going to give him robotic legs so he could walk again. Tyke screams, "I HATE YOU!" repeatedly. ''END OF STORY ARC.''
Steel #2 March 1994 Steel ponders how to take down AmerTek, a company that is producing an extremely powerful gun he developed. He breaks up a fight between two gangs, one of which his nephew (Jemahl) belongs to. He later scolds his nephew for being in a gang. Jemahl claims they are protecting his family, and they are like his family too. Steel later picks up Spiral, one of Jemahl's friends within the gang, and Spiral rats out when and where the gang's next big weapons deal will go down. Jemahl's sister talks to Jemahl about the problems with being in a gang. Steel breaks up the weapons deal, and the gang takes Jemahl hostage believing he is a rat. Steel bursts in and takes down the leader, who shoots and kills Spiral before he is captured. The police tell Steel they do not like vigilante justice, so they will keep an eye on him.
Steel #3 April 1994 Colonel Weston, a former friend of Steel's, watches a demonstration of a new illegal drug AmerTek is producing called S-Tar, short for Super Tar. It grants its user increased size and super strength and is highly addictive, but once the user has consumed a certain level of it, they are guaranteed to die. Steel later finds Weston and demands he tells him what AmerTek is doing with Toastmasters, the gun Steel once helped them developed. Weston confesses, but his motives are revealed to be evil - he is attempting to trap Steel. Later, Jemahl (Steel's nephew) sits in disputed gang territory when he is suddenly attacked by a rival gang and a user of Tar. His own gang members save his life. Back at AmerTek, Steel fights off an army of soldiers waiting for him, but Weston and his army momentarily capture him. One of Weston's soldiers whisks him away just in time for a gas explosion, which sends Steel flying out of the building. He realizes he has possibly downloaded enough proof to show AmerTek is conducting illegal business operations.
Steel #4 May 1994 Colonel Weston tells the media Steel purposely destroyed AmerTek's headquarters. Meanwhile, children are shown teaching each other gang signs and talking about what it means to belong to a family (gang). Amalgam, a leader of the Cenave gang, is shown being released from jail from bond Weston posted. Amalgam is ordered to give one of his expendable gang members the new S-Tar drug to make him super powerful and take out Steel during Spiral's funeral. Steel is attacked, and he momentarily takes out the other gang members who were at the funeral to mourn Spiral so he can focus on the drugged up superstrong gang member. The drugs wear off and the man goes unconscious. Gang warfare between the Cenave gang and the Eastlies is shown. Steel's nephew Tyke is gunned down, and doctors report he is paralyzed. Jemahl is shown becoming angry at this and throws a Molotov cocktail into a group of Eastlies, and his sister is later hit by a car.
[[Steel Issue 0]] [[Steel Issue 1]] [[Steel Issue 2]] [[Steel Issue 3]] [[Steel Issue 4]] [[Steel Issue 14]] [[Steel Issue 15]] [[Steel Issue 16]] [[Steel Issue 17]] [[Steel Issue 18]] [[Steel Issue 19]]
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[[Action Comics Issues]] [[Superman Issues]] [[Superman/Batman Issues]] [[War of the Supermen Issues]]
Superman #701 Sep 2010 Superman is taking a walk across the United States in an attempt to reconnect with the people he protects. Reporters and citizens badger him about walk, insisting he must no longer have powers or accusing him of letting crime happen while he simply walks. Along the way, he meets locals at a diner, children on the street, and other people going about their day, and he listens to their stories. He eventually comes across a woman who is threatening suicide by standing on the ledge of a skyscraper. He flies up to meet her, and she insinuates that he is simply going to act bull-headed and take her down to the ground floor. He instead offers to listen to her, giving her the time she needs to think about her future. After she vents her frustrations, he offers the advice that if she believes there is the possibility of even one more good day, she should let him take her down. The issue closes with a brief, yet thoughtful discussion about heroism between Superman and a man walking his dog.
Superman #702 Oct 2010 Superman is continuing his walk across the United States. In this issue, he discovers an alien family living in Detroit that escaped tyranny on their home planet and emigrated to Earth. They admit to being a very advanced race, and Superman insists they give back to the community in which they now live. They discuss immigration and the importance of incoming cultures adding to the melting pot of the United States. Later, he meets a security guard who watches over an abandoned automobile factory. The guard tells him about how the factory seemed to be driving the world toward the future, but lamented that it now sits unused. The guard suddenly experiences a major health issue, and Superman rushes him to the alien race. Superman uses this as an opportunity to show how they can give back, and they open new medical research facilities, thus bringing the guard back to good health and employing him and many other local citizens.
Superman #703 Nov 2010 Superman continues his walk across the United States. Batman (in this issue, Dick Grayson, formerly Robin, is Batman while Bruce Wayne is believed to be dead) finds Superman and they discuss the problems with being heroes. As Batman puts it, once someone decides to become a masked hero, they leave behind the "normal" world and continue to lose touch with the common man. He insists Superman is wasting his time with this walk, as he will not reach his goal of reconnecting with the people. Later, a shard from the planet Krypton crashed into Earth, which some children found and brought to their teacher. She becomes infused with its powers, and she passes them to a man who finds Superman and fights him with superpowers. Superman defeats him, but destroys part of the city of Danville, Ohio in the process. The citizens of Danville are upset at Superman, including the teacher who is infused with powers, and she insults Superman on the local news.
Superman #704 Dec 2010 This issue is an interlude to the Grounded storyline, where Superman is walking across the United States in an attempt to reconnect with the average person. Lois Lane arrives in the town where she went to college - Rushmark, Indiana - in advance of Superman's arrival. She meets current members of her former sorority, and appears somewhat surprised at the difference in personality between them and her. She then meets with a former boyfriend, who is currently married and has children of his own. She joins his family for dinner, and she reflects on what life would have been like had she not met Superman/Clark Kent. This leads her to question her importance in Superman's life, who swoops in and flies her into the night sky. He tells her that she is the strongest bond between himself and the people of Earth, and they share a romantic moment.
Superman #705 Jan 2011 Superman continues his walking journey across the United States; in this issue, he passes through Chicago. Some people tell him that they feel scared when he is nearby because he attracts trouble. He talks to Lois about this fear and how it bothers him. He then has a nightmare where he is filled with doubt about his ability to save anyone. Later, a boy is excited to possibly meet Superman, but his abusive father hits him and his mother, despite the son's attempt to prevent his mother from being attacked by his father. The boy is locked in a basement, and he calls out Superman's name, who brings the father to the police. A police officer tells Superman that they are thankful someone like him could help the family, but Superman replies, "All it really needed was someone, anyone, with a pair of eyes, a voice, a phone, and ten cents' worth of compassion."
[[Superman 701]] [[Superman 702]] [[Superman 703]] [[Superman 704]] [[Superman 705]]
Superman/Batman #72 July 2010 Superman is flying through space breaking up comets that would otherwise cause damage to nearby planets. He reflects on his foster father's teaching about being obligated to use the gifts you're given. He accidentally smashes a comet with kryptonite inside, causing him, and large chunks of comet, to fall and destroy a building on an alien planet. He repairs the building and zooms off, while Lex Luthor notices the aliens disliking him for destroying the building in the first place. He orders a team to find out what they can about the alien race. Meanwhile, Lois is drugged and tied to a stake, where she is about to be burned by a group of people who claim she should not have turned away Superman to marry Clark Kent. Because Superman is so far away, Batman must intervene and try to find Lois.
Superman/Batman #73 Aug 2010 Lex Luthor talks about psychologically manipulating the people of a distant planet who currently hate Superman so they view Luthor as a god and do what he says. Meanwhile, Lois breaks free from the burning stake she was tied to, and Batman and Superman sweep in to take out the cult that worships Superman. All three set out to figure out who runs the cult and why in their own unique ways - Batman is surveying a man's apartment for clues, Superman is sweeping the city for clues, and Lois Lane is searching databases for clues. All the while, they second guess each other and their chosen lifestyles - Batman ponders the weakness that exists when bringing a loved one into the picture, Superman ponders Batman's choice to work alone and the resulting loneliness, and Lois ponders the doubt she believes the men have for her ability to turn up clues. All three turn up at the worshiping site at the same time and attempt to stop the cult. They are successful following only a little bit of trouble.
Superman/Batman #74 Sep 2010 Lex Luthor continues to send technology to an alien planet in order to impress them so they continue to think Superman is evil. Lex is reminded that various low level henchmen are committing petty crimes throughout Gotham City in order to keep Batman's focus out of Metropolis. Batman begins to catch on that these crimes are designed for this reason, so he begins to look for answers. Meanwhile, Superman visits the alien planet, where he is "greeted" by weapons containing kryptonite, so he flies off. He intercepts a rocket destined for the alien planet that has Luthor Corp. logos on it, and flies back to question Lex. Batman tells Lex he knows he is behind the crimes, and he warns Lex to stay out of Gotham City. Superman comes up next, telling Lex he knows what he is doing to that alien race, so he set up a camera that will allow him to keep an eye on the aliens to ensure Lex no longer interferes with their lives.
Superman/Batman #75 Oct 2010 A clone of Lex Luthor from an alien planet with kryptonite radiating from his skin has traveled through time to fight Superman. The Legion of Super-Heroes intervene, help Superman get to the Batcave, and try to figure out when and where the attacker came from. The Legion travels back in time to when Superman was younger and find the attacker has traveled back in time once again to try to kill the young Superman. The Legion of Super-Heroes prevent this from happening and realize that since they never did figure out from when or where the attacker came, they suppose it could happen again at any time.
Superman/Batman #76 Nov 2010 Superman tells Lois, Dick Grayson, and Damian Wayne that Bruce Wayne has died. Everyone responds with different emotions. Only the Justice League is allowed to attend the funeral, and Superman recalls the time they met. Superman later hears Batman is back in action, and he finds Dick Grayson in Batman's suit. He angrily demands Dick remove the suit immediately because it is insulting to Bruce, saying, "And you know...his disguise was Bruce Wayne. He was Batman. You're parading around in his skin." Dick empathizes with Superman, saying he has lost his father too. Later, Superman vents to Wonder Woman and calms down. Superman then goes to Dick Grayson to apologize for what he said and did. They agree to work together again side by side.
[[Superman/Batman Issue 72]] [[Superman/Batman Issue 73]] [[Superman/Batman Issue 74]] [[Superman/Batman Issue 75]] [[Superman/Batman Issue 76]]
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The Amazing Spider-Man #620 Apr 2010 The Maggia are devoid of leadership, so Maggia bosses hire Mysterio to create an illusion of Silvermane, a past Maggia leader who will rally the troops. Meanwhile, Mr. Negative is trying to create a chemical that will help him kill Spider-Man. Spider-Man finds Mysterio and his henchmen, and begins to fight them; however, they are all using stage props to make it look like a worse fight than it actually is. Spider-Man moves on to find Mysterio, and instead finds Silvermane. They battle, and Mr. Negative shows up with his henchmen. All fight each other when suddenly Mr. Negative spills out the chemical that can paralyze only Spider-Man because it was created using his DNA. Mysterio armed Silvermane with C-4 explosives, and Spider-Man's spidey senses enable him to escape just as Mysterio presses the button to ignite it. Spider-Man returns with a gas mask on and defeats Mysterio, but he escapes. Later, it is shown that Chameleon has come to recruit Mysterio.
The Amazing Spider-Man #621 Apr 2010 Spider-Man and Black Cat infiltrate Mr. Negative's lair to retrieve Spider-Man's sample of blood, which Mr. Negative has been using to create more Dragon's Breath, a chemical weapon that kills anyone whose DNA was used to make the chemical. Black Cat uses Spider-Man as a diversion, and Spider-Man realizes that since Mr. Negative's henchmen can't die, he can have fun letting loose and pummeling them without holding back. Meanwhile, Officer Carlie Cooper is trying to get a sample of her father's blood to find out if the man who has been helping her really is her father. Also, Harold T. Osborn, who used to be The Goblin and a millionaire, is out of money and crashes at Mary Jane's apartment. Back to Spider-Man, he realizes that Mr. Negative gets his power from creating a "negative charge," which can lead to super strength. Mr. Negative demonstrates this by pushing Spider-Man out of his building, through another, and onto the ground five stories down. Cooper, meeting with her "father," releases what she claims is Devil's Breath on him. He curses her and tries to rip off her mask, and she admits that it's actually just knockout gas, but his actions proved to her that he was not her father. Black Cat makes a clean exchange of pig's blood for Spider-Man's blood, and meets up with him. Cooper meets with Peter Parker and tells him "When you [go through the gauntlet] right, it makes you stronger. You just have to reach the other side."
The Amazing Spider-Man #622 Apr 2010 Spider-Man and Black Cat are having a masks-only relationship when she admits to him that she sold a vial of his blood to a vampire in the underworld. He disguises himself as a "vampire" to go to a club to find answers when he meets a woman who tells him Morbius has his blood. Spider-Man finds Morbius's lair and is about to wake him when Martine, the woman from the club, suddenly enters and confesses her love for Morbius. Morbius tries to fight her off but she turns to a bat and dodges him and Spider-Man. Turning back into vampire form, she threatens to turn Spider-Man into a vampire of Morbius doesn't confess his love as well. When he does, she throws Spider-Man across the room and embraces Morbius. Spider-Man holds a wooden stake, contemplating whether he could go through with stabbing her in the back while in the arms of Morbius. Morbius suddenly throws Martine into Spider-Man while he holds the stake and it kills her. Morbius realizes he should not have taken Spider-Man's blood without his permission, so he breaks the vial. Spider-Man then offers his arm to Morbius so that he may withdraw it with his permission.
The Amazing Spider-Man #623 May 2010 J. Jonah Jameson has been elected mayor of New York but "his term has been mired with financial meltdowns, super villain attacks, and Jonah's own mad-on for Spider-Man." Electro releases Vulture from prison, and Spider-Man stumbles upon the "villain" Simple Simon. As it turns out, Simple Simon is just a reality TV show character for "To Be a Villain." Vulture escapes and leaves Electro behind, eventually returning to an old hideout of his, when he is shocked to see what has happened to his face. It has been badly disfigured to the point of making him look like a monster. Vulture seeks out the person who did this to him, and he finds out it's Jameson. Word gets out to the press that Jameson has "created another super villain." Vulture goes after Jameson, and Spider-Man attempts to stop him, with no result of the attempt shown.
The Amazing Spider-Man #624 May 2010 Spider-Man realizes that Vulture did not attack Jonah, but rather killed one of Jonah's employees. Spider-Man chases after Vulture, and they fight midair. Jonah is upset that his own security guard was killed and he did not even know his name. Jonah's adviser is worried that Jonah's connection to Vulture and the death of his security guard could mean the end of Jonah's political career. Upon hearing about this from the adviser, Peter Parker decides to use photo editing software to make it look like Jonah fought Vulture, and that they were not on the same side. Meanwhile, Vulture finds out who he really was. He was once Jimmy the Fixer, a member of the Maggia mob who "fixed" situations that got out of hand. One day, he showed the other mobsters what a scientist friend of his was able to do - create a new Vulture. Jimmy mentions that they need a ruthless killer to become the new Vulture, and the mobsters turn on Jimmy, shooting him in the leg and forcing him into the machine that turns him into Vulture. The man Vulture is interrogating explains that since the Maggia had Mysterio as their new "fixer," they could use Jimmy as a new secret weapon. Jonah calls Peter into a press conference and notes that witnesses had come forth and exonerated Jonah from being connected to Vulture, and since he devoted his life to revealing the truth as a newspaper editor, he had to reveal that Parker's photo was faked. He fires Parker from his staff, and Peter takes off, ruminating about how badly he's screwed up and what it means to Parker's reputation.
The Amazing Spider-Man #625 May 2010 A new Rhino emerges who challenged the old Rhino, who decided to go back to civilian life after repeated defeats by Spider-Man, but old Rhino declined. He entered civilian life after falling in love and became more humane. Norah Winters pulls Peter Parker from the unemployment line and brings him to city hall where immigrants are becoming citizens so he can photograph this momentous day. New Rhino bursts onto the scene and challenges Aleksei Sytsevich (old Rhino) to hand over his skin so that new Rhino can become the one and only Rhino. Rhino accepts the challenge to duel, but later tells Spider-Man that he only did that to get old Rhino to leave. Aleksei and his wife enter the Witness Protection Program. Just as they are crossing a bridge out of town with a police escort, new Rhino violently appears and kills Oksana, Aleksei's wife. Old Rhino retrieves his skin to battle new Rhino. New Rhino claims that animals take nothing with them, and he is going to prove that old Rhino is just an animal. The two battle, and old Rhino handles new Rhino easily. However, because of the love he has lost, his animal instincts lead him to brutally kill and dismember new Rhino, who screams in fear. Spider-Man and Norah look at the destructive path in awe and sadness, noting that Aleksei and his wife are both dead, and all that's left is the old Rhino.
The Amazing Spider-Man #626 May 2010 Peter Parker meets his roommate Michele's client, Lucas. His spider senses go crazy, but he doesn't know why. Later, while out on patrol, he finds a group of mobsters secretly meeting at an abandoned building. The Hood is there, offering the costume of The Scorpion (and the powers) to the thug who wins in a free for all fight. Spider-Man meets Scorpion, a female in a Scorpion costume, and she sticks him with his venom, which removes his powers. The mobsters see Spider-Man, but he becomes an accidental diversion while Scorpion steals the costume of The Scorpion. Spider-Man changes to Peter Parker to further spy on them, but runs into Michele. She says she's there to save Lucas, since he's a good guy who shouldn't be hanging out with this crowd. They meet Lucas, and Lucas admits to his crimes saying he belongs in that world. Michele is devastated and runs off while Spider-Man saves Scorpion from being killed by the mobsters. Scorpion is later seen selling the costume to some "Russian nutjobs."
The Amazing Spider-Man #627 May 2010 Peter Parker gets a terribly splitting headache from his spider senses as a bright red ball flies through the sky and lands in Central Park. He turns into Spider-Man and finds that it's The Juggernaut, who has apparently been beaten. The NYPD, NYFD, and NY paramedics lift him out of the hole he created and take him to a prison hospital. Spider-Man contacts Dr. Strange's assistant to find out more about what could have happened to Juggernaut, but doesn't find out anything useful. Spider-Man later finds a man "parked" on top of a decorative arch in the park, who said a man in blue and white put him there. Spider-Man finds Juggernaut in the prison hospital and asks what happened to him. Juggernaut replies that it was a man in blue and white. Suddenly, a superhero appears behind a bright light, claiming to be Captain Universe, and he must finish off Juggernaut.
The Amazing Spider-Man #628 June 2010 Captain Universe arrives to kill Juggernaut while he is unconscious, and Spider-Man attempts to intervene. Captain Universe and Spider-Man fight, and Captain Universe tells him he seeks revenge for Juggernaut ruining his life. Juggernaut later wakes up, saves Spider-Man, and intends to kill Captain Universe. Captain Universe powers up and fends off Juggernaut, vowing to make him suffer.
The Amazing Spider-Man #629 June 2010 Captain Universe temporarily transports Juggernaut and Spider-Man into another dimension while he threatens Juggernaut's life. Captain Universe shares his story about how Juggernaut ruined his life. While fighting Spider-Man one day, Juggernaut crashed through an office building, which led to expensive repairs for the company, who then laid off several workers, including Will Nguyen. Will's girlfriend then left him, he was mugged twice, and the only job he could get was working in fast food. He considered committing suicide, but changed his mind. However, he still fell off a bridge and pleaded for forgiveness, which resulted in him receiving the powers of Captain Universe from The Enigma Force. The Enigma Force realizes Nguyen is abusing the power, so they give it to Juggernaut and ask him to stop a potentially deadly earthquake from destroying New York City. Juggernaut then becomes the hero of the story, which Nguyen does not believe. Nguyen later realizes the error of his ways, and decides to write a book about his time as Captain Universe, noting all proceeds are going toward fixing up the parts of the city he destroyed as Captain Universe.
[[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 620]] [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 621]] [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 622]] [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 623]] [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 624]] [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 625]] [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 626]] [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 627]] [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 628]] [[The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 629]]
[[The Power of The Atom Issues]]
[[The Avengers Issues (Heroic Age)]] [[Avengers vs. X-Men Issues]]
The Avengers #1 July 2010 This issue begins with Immortus telling the Avengers' children that he will watch them die, until he is killed by them. Captain Steve Rogers assembles a new Avengers team, including Thor, Spider-Man, Hawkeye, Wolverine, Captain America, Spider-Woman, and Iron Man, but Wonder Man tells him no. There is some in-fighting between Wonder Man and Rogers, as well as between the Avengers about the mixed past of previous Avengers teams regarding whether or not they were responsible for much of the evil that happened. Kang the Conqueror, a time traveling villain, suddenly appears holding a doomsday device that Tony Stark invents in the future. He tells the Avengers that their children live in a world that Ultron (supervillain) controls. Their children stand up against Ultron, defeat him, but wield so much power that they threaten the existence of the world, and the new Avengers must stop their children from doing this. The Avengers agree to begin looking for a time traveling device to figure out what to do. Kang travels back to his home land and time, where an elderly green Hulk tells him that the Avengers will soon learn that "Hulk is the smartest one there is."
The Avengers #2 (August 2010) The Avengers scout out Marvel Boy and ask him to help them build a device that allows them to view the future. Meanwhile, Captain America and Ms. Hill discuss Kang's motives. They believe he may have a hidden agenda by asking The Avengers to stop their children from destroying the world in the future. Marvel Boy and Tony Stark complete construction on a device that displays the future. It displays numerous futures for each of The Avengers, and they discuss how time is a thing that can be altered or broken. They see their children execute Immortus and destroy the world. Something goes wrong with the future viewer, and The Avengers suspect that the space-time plane has been broken. Wonder Man suddenly crashes in on The Avengers and attempts to stop them from continuing on their path. He is unsuccessful and disappears. Suddenly, the horsemen of the apocalypse appear.
The Avengers #3 September 2010 The Avengers battle Apocalypse and his Four Horsemen. One of the Horsemen destroys Iron Man's suit, causing Tony Stark to fall helplessly. Spider-Man rescues Tony in the nick of time. The Avengers continue to struggle with their foes. Iron Man lures Apocalypse away from the Horsemen and tells Apocalypse the timestream has been broken. Apocalypse suddenly vanishes along with the Four Horsemen. Iron Man explains they are "trapped in the timestream hell Kang created." He also explains some of the foes were ex-Avengers or allies, and they were behaving like caged animals because they didn't know when and where they came from or when and where they were going. Spider-Man realizes one of the Four Horsemen was a future version of himself. Half of the Avengers split up to travel through time while the others look for a "timestream ground zero" in New York City where these people are being teleported to and from. The first half complete the time machine and appear to begin their journey. At the end of the issue, a dinosaur and a man wielding a sword attack the present day Avengers.
The Avengers #4 (Heroic Age) Oct 2010 This issue is largely an action issue. Half of the Avengers team is in the present battling a suddenly random martian invasion that is causing the general population to riot. The other half is in the future looking down upon a mega fight of every superhero and supervillain in the Marvel universe. All of this is likely due to changes in timespace because of the time traveling going on and the ripples they are picking up. The Avengers team in the future is attacked by the young Avengers they are looking for and brought in to Bruce Banner in his Hulk form. A Tony Stark (Iron Man) from the future appears and orders the current Iron Man to be held still while the current's mask is removed and the future Stark pulls out a sort of hacksaw.
[[The Avengers Issue 1 (Heroic Age)]] [[The Avengers Issue 2 (Heroic Age)]] [[The Avengers Issue 3 (Heroic Age)]] [[The Avengers Issue 4 (Heroic Age)]]
Green Lantern: Tales of the Sinestro Corps (TPB reprint, 2008) “The Fear Within” Summary: Lyssa Drak, keeper of the Book of Parallax on the planet Qward explains to Amon Sur how he must enter a fear lodge and face the fear inside himself to be able to light his own yellow power ring without a power battery. As Amon prepares himself for this initiation, she tells him the story of Bedovian, the one Sinestro Corps member who does not have to enter the fear lodge, as he lives inside one. The story begins in sector 3 where a race of aliens touchdown on a planet rich with ore and begin mining the planet. The leader of the group is opposed to the mining corporations that impose unsafe working conditions upon their men and make money off their finds without sharing the wealth fairly, so he vows not to make the same mistake with his endeavors. He becomes a champion of the working man among his people. All of them fail to notice the fear lodge which has been sitting on the planet’s surface the whole time, but one night, after feasting, the head miner heads back to his home. He hears noises coming from the strange pod and stops to inspect it. The pod opens and Bedovian, who has not eaten in 600 years, pulls the head miner into the fear lodge with him. The lodge floats from the planet’s surface and out into space as Bedovian seeks another place to settle. Once Lyssa has finished the story, she allows the Book to absorb the fear from Amon’s ring and tells him to face what he fears most. As he disappears into the fear lodge he utters the name, “Jordan (Hal Jordan, Green Lantern).”
[[The Flash Issues]]
The Flash #1 June 2010 The Flash takes out some thugs speeding away in a car. Barry Allen (AKA The Flash) shows up for work at the police station as a forensics scientist and his boss scolds him for being slow and late. He also praises him as the best forensics scientist he has ever known. His boss tells him The Rogues are in Central City causing problems. He introduces Barry to his coworkers as being the best worker there, which leads to his coworkers resenting Barry. Later, someone appearing to be Mirror Master suddenly shows up dead in the street. Barry investigates and realizes it is not the real Mirror Master, but people seem to think it is. Barry transforms into The Flash to begin investigating the murder when he runs into Commander Cold and a group of Rogues, claiming to be from the 25th century and placing The Flash under arrest for the murder of Mirror Monarch in the future.
The Flash #2 Jul 2010 A group of villains from the future who claim to be heroes, The Renegades, try to arrest The Flash for the murder of Mirror Monarch. Mirror Monarch is supposedly a member of the "~Reverse-Flash Task Force." The Flash is able to evade them. One of the villains' time platforms is damaged. They travel back to the future, but this causes a ripple nearby that destroys an apartment building. The Flash is able to save everyone inside and even rebuild the apartment building. It is revealed someone from The Rogues contacted Captain Boomerang (villain) to tell him they will support him if he can escape from prison on his own and "make The Flash sweat." Barry Allen gets into an argument with a coworker when someone says they found blood on Mirror Monarch that did not match his DNA. It is revealed it is Barry Allen's blood.
The Flash #3 Aug 2010 Captain Boomerang is able to summon boomerangs and successfully escape prison. At the police station, Barry Allen's coworkers assume Barry simply contaminated the crime scene when they discovered his blood on Mirror Monarch, which hurts his reputation as the police chief's most prized employee. The Renegades return to arrest The Flash for the murder of Mirror Monarch. The are able to pin him and arrest him, but Captain Boomerang intervenes to take on The Flash by himself.
The Flash #4 Sep 2010 Captain Boomerang terrorizes Central City, attacking The Flash, The Renegades (villain group who become police from the future), and civilians. Top, a member of The Renegades decides he has to break protocol and tell The Flash how he is going to murder Mirror Monarch, the crime for which The Renegades are seeking to arrest The Flash. Heatsink tells Top that act is punishable by death, which Top ignores. Top explains The Flash's wife will be turned into a rogue, Mirror Mistress, via "a gateway to the nexus of the Mirror Worlds designed by the first Mirror Master." The only way to turn her back will be to kill the person who opens that gateway, and out of desperation The Flash kills the wrong man, thus securing her as Mirror Mistress forever and he having a warrant out for his arrest. The present-day Rogues then appear and try to take out The Flash.
The Flash #5 Oct 2010 The Flash and Top discuss what supposedly drives The Flash to murder - supposedly, a gateway to another dimension opens up and allows the Mirror Lords to enter Central City, who eventually take over The Flash's wife and turn her into a villain. The only way to reverse this is to kill the person who opens it, which is Mirror Master, except The Flash accidentally kills Mirror Monarch, which is why The Renegades have been sent from the future to arrest The Flash. The Renegades, The Rogues, and Captain Boomerang all fight each other and The Flash in an effort to kill or arrest The Flash. Captain Boomerang is momentarily mind controlled by a white lantern ring, telling him to throw his boomerangs in what he thinks is a forest, but it turns out he is still in Central City and one of his boomerangs strikes open the portal to the other dimension. The Flash realizes Top lied to him about Mirror Monarch opening the portal, but The Flash is overcome by visions of his past and thus cannot stop Top from getting to his wife. The Flash is captured by The Renegades and brought to trial in the 25th century.
The Flash #6 Jan 2011 The Flash is on trial in the 25th century for a murder he claimed he did not commit. He escapes imprisonment and travels back to the present day to stop The Top, who The Flash believes is setting all this up. The Flash catches up with The Top, and The Top confesses that he always wanted to be a member of The Renegades, a police force that travels through time to solve past crimes. However, if an ancestor of a person has a criminal record, that person can no longer apply. The Top had an ancestor in The Flash's present day who committed a crime, and The Top was trying to prevent the arrest and conviction of this ancestor, framing The Flash in the process. The Flash stops The Top, and The Renegades arrest The Top and take him away. Meanwhile, Barry Allen (The Flash's alter ego) is happy to see he solved an unsolved murder, and his supervisor orders all cold cases be reopened and examined for errors.
[[The Flash Issue 1]] [[The Flash Issue 2]] [[The Flash Issue 3]] [[The Flash Issue 4]] [[The Flash Issue 5]] [[The Flash Issue 6]]
Green Lantern: Tales of the Sinestro Corps (TPB reprint, 2008) “The Greatest Once, The Greatest Again” Summary: Lyssa Drak tells the story from the Book of Parallax of how Sinestro was once a great Green Lantern and how he came to be stripped of that power. She says he left his sector at the request of Ganthet (Guardian of Oa) to help a sector in need, and as he flies towards Earth, Ganthet explains to him that the people of Earth cannot travel past their moon, and they have hundreds of skirmishes at their political borders, which prompts Sinestro to question the “backwards” nature of the planet. He finds Hal Jordan doing a test flight without wearing his power ring, which he finds irresponsible, so he retrieves the ring and puts it on Hal before destroying his plane, saving him in a sphere of willpower. Spending weeks together establishing a common ground of individuality and questioning nature, Sinestro was a mentor to Hal Jordan. When Sinestro returned to his own sector, he considered Hal a friend and trusted him much as he had trusted his own mentor. Months after their time in Hal’s sector, Hal went to visit Sinestro’s home world of Korugar, a world without crime or war. Hal saw a world embracing Sinestro’s power out of fear, and he told the Guardians of this. Though Sinestro tried to defend his position, the Guardians of Oa took away his power ring and banished him to the planet Qward. There he created the yellow power ring and came into contact with the Anti-Monitor who would become the guardian of fear for the Sinestro Corps. Lyssa sees this as a story of change rather than revenge, as she believes that he will become the greatest Green Lantern again as he once was before.
The Power of The Atom #1 Aug 1988 The Atom (Ray Palmer) suddenly bursts through the phone of his friend Norm Brawler. Ray realizes he has no control over his powers anymore, and he appears permanently stuck at 3 feet tall, but Norm notes Ray is extremely heavy given his size. Ray tries to recall what happened leading up to bursting out of the phone. He was working in the Amazon with 6 inch tall aliens called the Katarthans. He helped them rebuild a piece of alien technology, which he learned would help them grow to full size again. He pondered the ethics of this, noting they were be seen as barbaric by modern civilization standards. The Atom is warned people have come to the forest to destroy it with napalm. The Atom sets out to stop them, but in the process all of the napalm tanks blow up and it burns the forest anyway, killing all the Katarthans. The Atom finds the people responsible, tries to fight them, but suddenly tries to leave by calling a familiar phone number and riding the electrons used to make the call. It is revealed the CIA has Brawler's phone line tapped, and The Atom now appears to have super strength.
[[The Power of The Atom 1]] [[The Power of The Atom 2]] [[The Power of The Atom 3]] [[The Power of The Atom 4]] [[The Power of The Atom 5]] [[The Power of The Atom 6]]
[[Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher Issues]] A four-issue limited run pitting The Punisher against a world of zombified versions of Marvel heroes and villains
[[The Thing Issues]]
Born on Yancy Street in New York City's Lower East Side, to a Jewish family, Benjamin Jacob Grimm has an early life that was one of poverty and hardship, shaping young Grimm into a tough, streetwise scrapper. His older brother Daniel, whom Ben idolizes, is killed in a street gang fight when Ben is eight years old. This portion of his own life is modeled on that of Jack Kirby, who grew up on tough Delancey Street, whose brother died when he was young, whose father was named Benjamin, and who was named Jacob at birth. Following the death of his parents, Ben is raised by his Uncle Jake (who at some point married a much younger wife, Petunia). He comes to lead the Yancy Street gang at one point. Excelling in football as a high school student, Ben receives a full scholarship to Empire State University, where he first meets his eventual life-long friend in a teenaged genius named Reed Richards, as well as future enemy Victor von Doom. Despite them being from radically different backgrounds, science student Richards described his dream to Grimm to one day build a space rocket to explore the regions of space around Mars, and Grimm jokingly agrees to fly that rocket when the day comes. After finishing college, Grimm joins the United States Marine Corps, where he is trained as a test pilot (his exploits as a military aviator are chronicled to a limited extent in issue #7 of the Captain Savage and his Leatherneck Raiders comic, in a story entitled "Objective: Ben Grimm!"). While in the Air Force, Nick Fury orders him to serve as pilot during a top secret surveillance mission into Vladivostok in the Soviet Union, along with Logan (the future X-Man Wolverine) and Carol Danvers (the future Avenger Ms. Marvel). Following this, he becomes an astronaut for NASA. The details of his life story have been modified over the years to keep the character current. In the earlier stories, up until the one published in the nineteen-seventies, Grimm had served in the air force during World War II and the space flight in which he was transformed into the Thing was an attempt to reach the Moon, occurring at a time before any manned space ship had escaped Earth's orbit. The Captain Savage story mentioned above was set during the Second World War. Some years later, Reed Richards, now a successful scientist, once again makes contact with Grimm. Richards has built his spaceship, and reminds Grimm of his promise to fly the ship. After the government denies him permission to fly the spaceship himself, Richards plots a clandestine flight piloted by Grimm and accompanied by his future wife Susan Storm, who had helped provide funding for the rocket, and her brother Johnny Storm, who helped the group gain access to the launch system. Although reluctant to fly the rocket, Ben is persuaded to do so by Sue, for whom he has a soft spot. During this unauthorized ride into the upper atmosphere of Earth and the Van Allen Belts, they are pelted by a cosmic ray storm and exposed to radiation against which the ship's shields are no protection. Upon crashing down to Earth, each of the four learn that they have developed fantastic superhuman abilities. Grimm's skin is transformed into a thick, lumpy orange hide, which gradually evolves into his now-familiar craggy covering of large rocky plates. Richards proposes the quartet band together to use their new abilities for the betterment of humanity, and Grimm, in a moment of self-pity, adopts the super-heroic sobriquet, The Thing. The team clashes with the Mole Man in their first appearance. Trapped in his monstrous form, Grimm is an unhappy yet reliable member of the team. He trusts in his friend Reed Richards to one day develop a cure for his condition. However, when he encounters blind sculptress Alicia Masters, Grimm develops an unconscious resistance to being transformed back to his human form. Subconsciously fearing that Masters prefers him to remain in the monstrous form of the Thing, Grimm's body rejects various attempts by Richards to restore his human form, lest he lose Masters' love. Grimm has remained a stalwart member of the Fantastic Four for years. The Thing first fought the Hulk early in his career, with many such further clashes over the years. Not long after that, he is first reverted to his human form, but is then restored to his Thing form to battle Doctor Doom. After the events of the first Secret Wars, Grimm leaves the team when he opts to remain on an alien planet where he can control his transformation to and from his rocky super-powered form. Upon returning to Earth, he learns that Alicia had become romantically involved with his teammate Johnny Storm during his absence (it is eventually revealed that this Alicia was actually the Skrull impostor Lyja). An angry Grimm wallows in self-pity for a time, later on joining the West Coast Avengers, and hanging out at the West Coast mansion.[volume & issue needed] Eventually, he returns to his surrogate family as leader of the Fantastic Four when Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman leave the team to raise their son Franklin. Ben invites Crystal and Ms. Marvel II (Sharon Ventura) to fill their slots. Soon after Sharon and Ben are irradiated with cosmic rays, Sharon becomes a lumpy Thing much like Ben was in his first few appearances while Ben mutates into a new rocky form. After being further mutated into the more monstrous rocky form, Ben was briefly changed back to his human form, and returned leadership of the Fantastic Four to Reed Richards. Grimm once more returned to his traditional orange rocky form, out of love for Ms. Marvel. He remains a steadfast member of the Fantastic Four. Despite his unquestioned loyalty to the Fantastic Four, Grimm has been temporarily replaced on the team twice. First, after Grimm temporarily lost his powers and reverted to human form, Reed Richards hired Luke Cage (then using the code name "Power Man") to take his place. Years later, after Grimm chose to remain on Battleworld in the aftermath of the "Secret Wars", he asked the She-Hulk to fill in for him.
The Thing #10 Apr 1984 The Thing struggles with feelings of wanting to be human again. While walking with his girlfriend Alicia in Central Park, some children begin to follow them and beg him to give them a display of his strength. He destroys a bronze statue, which scares the kids off. Meanwhile, he is trying to tell Alicia he does not want to date her anymore because she deserves to be with a human man. He then takes her to the Fantastic Four headquarters to escape the public. He reflects on the moment he realized he would permanently be The Thing, a monster, as he calls himself. A group of men from the U.S. Army find the Fantastic Four and begin shooting at The Thing at the sight of him, and he panics. Back at the headquarters, he tells Alicia he thinks Reed Richards has given up trying to cure The Thing and make him human again, about which he feels sad. Reed calls the Human Torch and The Thing out to investigate a sudden appearance of an arena in Central Park, which traps them. The story continues into another line of comic books separate from The Thing's title.
The Thing #11 May 1984 Ben Grimm (AKA The Thing) is on another planet in his human form, and he practices changing between Ben and Thing. He notes he can only do it on this planet, and Reed Richards (Fantastic Four) gave him a device that allows him to return to Earth whenever he wanted. This device is suddenly taken by an alien riding a giant winged creature. Ben chases them until it disappears into a glass tower. He cannot figure out how to get inside, but he sees a nearby town. He talks to the locals who explain to him the Takers steal things and disappear into that tower, and the locals have never gotten anything back. A young female local tells Ben she has one of the Takers' winged creatures, and she says he can ride it if he can retrieve something that was stolen from her. He agrees and flies the creature into the tower, teleporting him to another planet where the Takers live. He turns into The Thing, smashes his way inside, and the Takers grant him access to anything they have taken. He realizes he changed into The Thing without even thinking about it, which he vows he will be more careful with.
The Thing #12 June 1984 Ben Grimm travels across an empty planet when he stumbles upon a paradise. Suddenly, a giant (Hanrak of Leenn) riding a horse attacks Ben. Ben turns to The Thing and he fends off the giant. A female giant named Tarianna attacks him too, but he fends her off and turns human to show he does not mean harm. She tells him she and Hanrak are heart-mates and they are looking for and intend to fight a wizard, who turns out to be a giant Doctor Doom. Doctor Doom appears, and The Thing and Tarianna fight him, eventually defeating him. Hanrak and Tarianna argue over whether they should help The Thing or not, who is now fighting several smaller Doctor Dooms. Tarianna knocks Hanrak unconscious and saves The Thing. The Thing carries Hanrak and they all travel to her home, which appears to be Doctor Doom's home.
The Thing #13 July 1984 Ben Grimm, Tarianna, and Hanrak head to the main town, which looks to Ben like Doctor Doom's residence. Tarianna tells the people's leader about what happened ([[The Thing Issue 12]]). They doubt her at first, but Hanrak shamefully admits it is true, so they welcome Ben. The leader tells Ben a fantastical story about how the town came to be. Tarianna approaches Ben in his sleeping quarters and sadly admits she knew Ben did not believe the story. Later, Ben, Tarianna, and Hanrak travel to the main castle in the town, and all three run inside to find the evil that lives there. Ben is overcome by visions of demons, witches, and monsters until he focuses intensely on becoming The Thing and ignores them, knowing they are not real. Meanwhile, Hanrak ties up Tarianna, demanding she be his, and she refuses, explaining that she goes to the mightiest warrior, who is now Ben Grimm. Ben finds Doctor Doom, attacks him, but hits a machine instead, which destroys the castle. Outside, The Thing approaches Tarianna and realizes the whole city and its people was an illusion created by Doctor Doom, and she remained real only because Ben wanted her to be real.
The Thing #9 Mar 1984 Alicia Masters, The Thing's girlfriend, wanders through rubble: destroyed buildings, overturned cars, fallen lightposts, unconscious people all around. She is blind, and describes what she senses and feels in the destroyed world around her. She reaches a police station, where she is told that a monster is destroying the city and headed to the U.N. The police want to call The Avengers to kill him because his actions could be misunderstood as a declaration of war against other countries. She insists that he is really The Thing, and that something must have taken over him. She travels to the U.N. where it is discovered that an ancient Egyptian ruler's soul has inhabited The Thing and other host bodies for thousands of years, and a wizard has woken him up to take control of The Thing's body and rule the world. Alicia convinces the ruler that he has no right to steal the body of Ben Grimm without his permission, and he travels back in time with the wizard that woke him, giving The Thing's body back to Ben.
[[The Thing Issue 9]] [[The Thing Issue 10]] [[The Thing Issue 11]] [[The Thing Issue 12]] [[The Thing Issue 13]]
[[Uncanny X-Men Issue 518]] and [[Uncanny X-Men Issue 519]] contain an interesting storyline where a black alien void enters the minds of Emma Frost and Cyclops and actively works to bring them down from within by creating thoughts of self-doubt and paralysis. These characters go into each other's mind in an attempt to stop it from taking over the other.
The following is a list of the Top 5 individual issues or story arcs as chosen by [[Patrick O'Connor]]: 1. [[Irredeemable 11]], [[Irredeemable 12]] - Plutonian, once a superhero with limitless superpowers, finds his now-adult foster siblings and confronts them about why he did not receive the same unconditional love from them and his foster parents as his foster brother with cognitive challenges. He compares his limitless powers with his foster brother's inability to converse or care for himself, with heartbreaking results at the conclusion of issue 12. 2. [[Second Coming]] (Chapters Eight through Thirteen) - The X-Men engage in an intense battle with Nimrods, machines from the future specially designed to alter their powers depending on the mutant against whom they are fighting. The fights are exciting, dramatic, and we see incredible teamwork throughout the issues. The story reaches its devastating climax in chapter thirteen when a main character sacrifices his own life for the survival of the mutant race. 3. [[Batman and Robin Issues]] 1 through 3 - Batman and Robin disagree on how to handle solving crime. Batman believes crimes should be solved through careful detective work while Robin believes crime should be solved through brute force. Robin briefly stumbles along his own path and realizes (at least for the time being) that Batman may have been right, and they agree to work more closely together from now on. 4. [[Spawn Issues]] 1 through 4 - Although it is a darker, more gruesome comic, the beginning of Spawn is rich with religious metaphors, struggling with impotence, being deceived, and grappling with doing harm while doing good. A man is essentially granted rebirth and superpowers by the Devil, and he feels compelled to rid the world of evil. However, for every villain he stops, he grows the Devil's army by one more, which, as the Devil explains in [[Spawn Issue 4]], he is growing to lead against God's army in heaven. 5. [[Uncanny X-Men Issue 519]] - Scott (Cyclops) wrestles with an alien black void that has temporarily taking over his mind, constantly speaking self-doubts to him and promising a better life if he lets it take over him fully. He resists his girlfriend's offer of assistance, and is able to trap the void himself, promising to never let it out. This issue is excellent for discussing how and when stifling doubting emotions can be beneficial, and how it can unravel much later. As we see in later issues of Uncanny X-Men, Scott continues to doubt himself, despite thinking he has it completely locked away.
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[[Ultimate Nightmare Issue 1]] [[Ultimate Nightmare Issue 2]] [[Ultimate Nightmare Issue 3]] [[Ultimate Nightmare Issue 4]] [[Ultimate Nightmare Issue 5]]
Ultimate Nightmare #1 Oct 2004 The story begins in Tunguska, Russia in 1904, when a couple of locals witness the crash of something unexplainable and covered in fire hitting the Earth and exploding, leaving behind a huge crater. Fast forward to 1927 (still in Tunguska) as we find out when the witnesses return to ground zero, that a shaman has sealed off the entire area because of “bad magic” associated with the area. The Russians come upon something shocking to them there…something they have never seen before. The next page, the time shifts to 2004 where a horrific broadcast (television, radio, mind, and dream) suddenly causes people all over to commit suicide. At the home of the X-Men, Jean Grey (AKA Phoenix) awakes with a start and sweating from a nightmare that Professor Xavier and any other psychics on the planet would have had…the same transmission from what Cerebro (the X-Men’s machine for locating mutants) pin-points as a mutant in Russia. Professor X sends Jean, Logan (AKA Wolverine), and Peter (AKA Colossus) on a rescue mission to Russian. At the same time, at the headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D., General Nick Fury is viewing the situation from an altogether different angle. He thinks the transmission is a threat, possibly military, and wants to prevent war. He goes in himself with Captain America, Black Widow (AKA Natasha Romanova), and Sam Wilson (AKA Falcon).
Ultimate Nightmare #2 Nov 2004 Professor X, Jean (AKA Phoenix), Logan (AKA Wolverine), and Peter (AKA Colossus) are gathered to discuss the issue with the strange and horrible broadcasts coming out of Russia. Peter (being Russian), supplies the information to the group that even before the land was destroyed by what was thought to be a meteorite, few people lived there. Feeling that the mutant broadcasting this message cannot be doing well in such a situation, particularly considering the broadcasts, Xavier urges his X-Men to save the Russian mutant. As the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicruiser picks up Sam (AKA Falcon) from the Amazon, Peter and the other X-Men discuss the circumstances of their mission in the X-Jet. Peter explains how a shaman had sealed off the area due to radiation, so having mutant activity broadcasting from there was not such a long shot. Logan voices his concern that they will not have been the only ones to figure this out. On the helicruiser, Sam meets up with Nick Fury, Captain America, Black Widow (AKA Natasha Romanova) to discuss the mission they are on. Sam claims that he does not think Russia capable of launching a psychological attack of this scale…a point on which Black Widow agrees. Sam explains that he was on retainer from S.H.I.E.L.D. and is working on a possible way to revive dead soldiers using anything he finds out in the Amazon about using the plant, Ayahuasca. The S.H.I.E.L.D. team arrives first and Sam realizes from inspecting the lock on the door that the people who worked there must have abandoned the station and locked it. It is old technology and he opens the door. The X-Men team arrives soon after and Jean opens the door using her telekinetic powers.
Ultimate Nightmare #3 Dec 2004 The S.H.I.E.L.D. team of Nick Fury, Sam Wilson (AKA Falcon), Captain America (AKA Steve Rogers), and Black Widow (AKA Natasha Romanova) find the year 1927 carved into the stone of the bunker in Russia. Black Widow finds the date disturbing because they located postdating nuclear mines at the site. Black Widow looks through a book at the site and finds that, indeed, the people who worked there locked up and went home after being left unpaid for six months. Captain America expresses that he knew many Russians and none of them would have done that, to which Black Widow responds that the subsequent sixty years of disappointment following Cap's experieces with the Russians and their government would account for the change in behavior in the Russian people. They encounter the unnamed character, Ultimate Unicorn, who discharges electricity from his horn at them and is impervious to Fury’s bullets. Sam manages to use his wings to slice at Unicorns belly and then they take him down with Fury and Black Widow’s guns. Meanwhile, the team of X-Men follows Jean’s telepathy deeper into the underground complex, and Logan (Wolverine) tunnels right into an area inhabited by a man with rusted metal and robot parts bolted onto him (similarly to Unicorn’s horn, which was bolted to his head with skin grown over it). They battle the monster until the floor collapses and they all fall into a pit where another monstrosity awaits them.
Ultimate Nightmare #4 Jan 2005 The S.H.I.E.L.D. team proceeds through the Russian underground complex, as Black Widow reads to her teammates more from the scientists’ journal they found when they opened the door to the building. She explains that after World War Two, something biomechanical hit Tunguska (that was previously thought to be a meteor, though no one was certain). The Russians learned how to take it apart. With the threat of Captain America newly brought upon the world, and the possibility of the United States creating more “super-soldiers,” as Cap was thought dead at that point, Russia began to implant pieces of the Tunguska technology into humans to create their own “super-soldiers.” Black Widow says it is (ironically) Captain America’s fault. They all had nuclear landmines set to go off if their implanted radio monitoring devices sensed that they had left the premises. Once the scientists realized what mistakes they had created, they were too powerful to kill, so they were locked up and left for decades underground. The team of X-Men attempts to approach one of the Russian experiments in peace, as the rescuers they are, but they do not receive the welcome they expect, so Colossus and Wolverine turn to violence, but Jean Grey calls it to a halt. She uses her telekinesis to topple the monsters and insists on continuing to find the source of the screams in her head. At the same time, the S.H.I.E.L.D. team encounters the (unnamed) Ultimate Red Guardian, who is a very close approximation to the actual Captain America in appearance. Cap decides to give him the fight he wants. As the X-Men team approaches the central room of the complex, Jean becomes more possessed by the voice in her head.
Ultimate Nightmare #5 Feb 2005 Captain America and Ultimate Red Guardian fight. Cap stares his opponent down to catch him off guard and once Sam Wilson (AKA Falcon) gets the next door open they call Cap to come with them. He stays to continue the fight with Ultimate Red Guardian, whom he has revealed as being part machine as well. Black Widow, Sam, and Nick Fury proceed into the central chamber to find a biomechanical torso suspended from the ceiling. At this point the S.H.I.E.L.D. team and the X-Men team of Colossus, Logan (AKA Wolverine), and Jean Gray meet up and they fight against each other. At the same time, Captain America and Ultimate Red Guardian continue their fight, discussing the reasons behind fighting in general: glory, pride…Cap finally stakes Ultimate Red Guardian through the heart, explaining to him that “fighting is about winning.” The S.H.I.E.L.D. team neutralizes the X-Men team and they talk to the self-repairing biomechanical robot that was not only the source of the broadcast, but of all of the experiments with the Russian “super-soldiers.” He calls himself Vision, and he was sent with a message to warn Earth of the coming of Gah Lak Tus, the eater of worlds, which was to happen in 100 years. That was 100 years before the two teams came upon Vision. Once he has delivered his message, the X-Men disappear in a flash of light, transported away by Jean Grey, leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. to take Vision up into the helicruiser to learn from him.
Ultimate Spider-Man #1 Nov 2011 Norman Osborn reveals to one of his scientists that he inadvertently created Peter Parker's Spider-Man, and that he was expecting this scientist to replicate the previous accident. Late at night, a thief is shown stealing money and goods from Osborn's vault in the lab when a spider crawls into the thief's bag. Miles Morales, a young adolescent boy, attends a lottery with his parents where students are selected at random to attend a private school. His name is drawn, but he feels bad about the other students who were not allowed entry. Later, Miles visits his uncle Aaron, who turns out to be the thief, although Miles is not aware of this. Miles is bit by the spider, passes out, and wakes up to his father and uncle arguing. He runs outside and realizes he can now fade into his surroundings like a chameleon.
Ultimate Spider-Man #2 Nov 2011 Miles begins testing some of his new powers when he is approached by bullies on the street. He is able to shock one of them with his hand and escape unharmed. He meets up with a friend to try to figure out what is going on, and they discuss the possibility of him being a mutant. Mutants are shunned in the United States, according to this issue, so Miles is initially denying and shameful of the thought of being a mutant. He later meets up with his father who confesses to being a thief when he was younger, along with Miles's uncle Aaron; however, Aaron continues to steal. This is a major revelation to Miles, who struggles with the idea of his father once going to jail for burglary. In the middle of the night, Miles receives a text from his friend who believes Miles may be the new Spider-Man.
Ultimate Spider-Man (2011) #3 Dec 2011 Miles's friend Ganke excitedly asks Miles to demonstrate some of his powers. They continue to suspect Miles's uncle Aaron had something to do with this as Miles was bitten by a spider at Aaron's apartment. When they reach the apartment, they find it is completely empty. Shortly after, Miles hears sirens and leaps into action, saving a woman, child, and dog from a burning building. People cannot believe what they are seeing, and although Miles is initially pleased with what he did, he quickly leaves and hides in an alley. Ganke finds him, and Miles claims he cannot keep doing that as it isn't him, and that there already is a Spider-Man. Ganke and Miles begin their days at the charter school they won entry into when all the students are called to meet in the gymnasium for an emergency meeting. The students are told Spider-Man has been shot, and Miles looks shocked.
[[Ultimate Spider-Man (2011) Issue 1]] [[Ultimate Spider-Man (2011) Issue 2]] [[Ultimate Spider-Man (2011) Issue 3]]
Uncanny X-Men #516 Dec 2009 Maurauder Scalphunter is held prisoner and is ordered to fly a plane of Predator X's (creatures designed to hunt and kill mutants) into Utopia, the X-Men's new safety island for mutants. He is told that it is to save mutantkind. Meanwhile, Magneto appears in front of the X-Men and seemingly praises Cyclops and his leadership efforts in saving the mutants. Professor Charles Xavier does not believe Magneto, but Cyclops orders Charles to stand down. Cyclops tells Magneto that a mutant has been born (new mutants haven't been born for quite some time, threatening to end them as a species) and is being protected by Cable in another time. Scalphunter's plane arrives in Utopia and Nightcrawler teleports inside to see its cargo. After seeing the predators on board, he tells Scott to shoot it down.
Uncanny X-Men #517 Jan 2010 Maurauder Scalphunter is flying a plane full of Predator X's into Utopia. Cyclops shoots the plane down, and Scalphunter and four of the five Predators survive. Cyclops orders the young mutants into safe hiding while he and the X-Men search for Predators to kill. The King of Atlantis goes after one in the water on his own, summoning a legion of underwater warriors to kill it. Magneto handles one on his own, but the fight wears him out. The other X-Men fight another one. A Predator makes it into the compound and goes after the younger mutants. Rogue reveals that she can absorb and use the powers of others all at once. She absorbs the powers of several young mutants and obliterates a Predator. The X-Men struggle with the last Predator, and the Phoenix Force leaves the Cuckoos (a trio of women who provided a telepathic link among all X-Men) rendering them unconscious. Scalphunter shows up and kills the final Predator. He is then taken away to have his mind read about why he did what he did.
Uncanny X-Men #518 Jan 2010 Emma Frost contains a sliver of dark void within her that exacts and equal and opposite negative within her for every positive thing she feels or does. This results in her restricting her own psychic abilities, as well as showing any emotion. Scott, with the assistance of Charles, is going to go into her mind to try to get this dark void out of her. Meanwhile, Utopia is sinking into the ocean because of too much weight on it, and the X-Men look to Magneto for help. Scott and Emma battle the void, but Emma wakes up suddenly when the void jumps to Scott's mind.
Uncanny X-Men #519 Feb 2010 A mutant boy meets with Jean-Philippe Charles, "Mutant Man of Mystery," to tell him a Predator X killed his girlfriend. Meanwhile, Cyclops (Scott Summers) tries to fight the void inside his mind. The void takes on the shape of several women first reciting thoughts of doubt and later reciting promises of happiness. Meanwhile, Madison Jeffries, an autistic mutant who can shape glass, plastic, and metal in any form he wishes, tells other members of the scientist team "X-Club" that he sees trillions of nanoscopic recording devices floating in the air. He realizes they came from the Predator X's after they were killed, and the recorded information is being retrieved by the X-Men's enemies. Emma enters Scott's mind to try to help him battle the void. She tells him because it is his mind, he has complete control over what happens. He resists her, and decides to take on the void himself, ultimately being successful. Magneto approaches Namor about building a pillar to support the sinking island of Utopia. Beast is unhappy seeing "enemy" mutants collaborating with "friendly" mutants and tells Scott he is taking a leave of absence.
Uncanny X-Men #520 Mar 2010 Wolverine, Psylocke, and Colossus travel to New York to trace the source of the nanoscopic recording bots. They come across Jean-Philippe Charles, who killed a Predator X in the sewers. Jean-Philippe turns down the X-Men's offer to assist them. Magneto meets with Namor to check on the progress of the support structure he asked Namor and his people to build underwater to prevent Utopia from sinking. It is almost completed, so Magneto goes to Scott to tell him the good news. Scott asks to speak to Magneto alone, where he scolds him for acting without a direct order, even if it was something helpful. Magneto asks for Scott's trust, and he says no. Magneto tries to make amends with Charles Xavier as well, but is also turned down. Magneto leaves, alone, to think about how he can show his genuine feelings of selflessness. Meanwhile, the three X-Men arrive at the tower in New York where the nanobots are sending their recordings. The building has several villain humans inside preparing for their arrival.
Uncanny X-Men #521 Apr 2010 Scott (Cyclops) and Emma Frost find Magneto alone on a cliff entranced; he is focusing strongly on something currently unknown. Wolverine, Colossus, and Psylocke arrive at the source of the recording nanobots to find a room full of villain humans. The lead villain explains they have been gathering information on all known mutants, developing ways to modify their bodies to take on the powers they wish, and later he reveals they have developed a deadly flu that targets only mutants. Jean-Philippe Charles, also known as Fantomex, enters and begins to fight. The humans are stunned because they had no record of him or his powers. Fantomex releases E.V.A (Eva), an orb-like being separate but a part of himself to fight the humans and protect the X-Men from the flu when it is released inside the room. The humans say they work for John Sublime. Eva and Fantomex leave, carrying the X-Men to safety. Members of the X-Club figure out what Magneto is doing - he is calling home a planet-killing spaceship with an X-Man (Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat) trapped inside.
Uncanny X-Men #522 May 2010 Magneto is pulling Kitty Pryde home from inside her bullet-shaped spaceship. The X-Men worry that its detection will cause worldwide panic, so they spend much of the issue trying to hide it from the public's awareness. While in his intensely focused state, Magneto maintains a shield over his body and mind that allows nothing to penetrate either. While alone with him, Emma tries to communicate with him about Scott (Cyclops) and his fears. Regarding Scott's ability to effectively lead the X-Men to success, she confides in Magneto, "He's better at walking across that high wire than he knows but he's still Scott. He still can't help looking down and getting terrified." Magneto shows deteriorating health during this ordeal, and many of the mutants from Utopia are worried about him. They also get excited to hear Kitty Pryde is coming home. They gather around him, he pulls in the bullet, breaks it apart, and Kitty softly falls to the ground. She runs to her boyfriend, Colossus, but they quickly realize she is still "phased out" - all physical matter passes through her and she cannot figure out how to return to her solid self. The remainder of the issue shows the mutants of Utopia being happy, concerned, going about their daily lives, etc. Emma walks up to Cyclops, alone in a dark hallway, and he appears to be silently worrying.
Uncanny X-Men #526 Sep 2010 Iceman and Angel keep watch over a 19 year old girl in Vancouver who may be turning from human into mutant. Hope tells Scott (Cyclops) she is ready to go to Alaska to find her family. She leaves with a group of X-Men as escorts (Rogue, Dr. Nemesis, Cypher), while Scott leaves to catch up with Wolverine and Emma Frost goes to dinner with Tony Stark (Iron Man). Hope learns her mother is dead and her father's status is still unknown. Dr. Nemesis calls Hope's grandmother to meet her, although her grandmother does not know she and Hope are related. She tells Hope about her mother, who was a firefighter destined to save lives. Hope heads home and they receive a distress call that Laurie, the girl Iceman and Angel were watching, needs help. She freaks out over the changes happening to her and she jumps off a building. Hope's arms glow orange as she jumps onto her while falling. Laurie suddenly turns into blue steel and flies. She feels exuberant and thanks Hope. Hope is beginning to understand what her powers are.
Uncanny X-Men #527 Oct 2010 Gabriel Cohuelo, a young man from Mexico City, Mexico, is taking a test when time suddenly slows down for him, and he moves and thinks extremely quickly. He is sedated. Tony Stark appears to hit on Emma Frost, saying humans and mutants should work side by side. Later, Emma is seen with Danger (X-Men robot) overlooking Sebastian Shaw, who is Emma's personal prisoner she is keeping a secret from everyone else. Psylocke and Dr. Reyes visit Gabriel in Mexico, but they lose him in the room. They use Dr. Reyes's powers to seal the door with a force field and call Hope. Wolverine tells Scott he needs to process his emotions about Nightcrawler's death. Throughout much of this issue, Emma Frost is shown insulting fellow X-Men left and right, and resists Colossus's request to help him communicate telepathically with Kitty Pryde. Hope and Laurie (Issue 526) show up to find and help Gabriel. Hope captures him, who now has long hair, a beard, and long nails. He said he felt like he was running forever.
[[Uncanny X-Men Issue 516]] [[Uncanny X-Men Issue 517]] [[Uncanny X-Men Issue 518]] [[Uncanny X-Men Issue 519]] [[Uncanny X-Men Issue 520]] [[Uncanny X-Men Issue 521]] [[Uncanny X-Men Issue 522]] Uncanny X-Men Issues 523, 524, and 525 are part of the [[Second Coming]] event and can be found there. Also, there is an Uncanny X-Men One-Shot that ties into the Second Coming storyline, which can also be found there. [[Uncanny X-Men Issue 526]] [[Uncanny X-Men Issue 527]]
Uncanny X-Men One-Shot (HA) Sep 2010 This issue is divided into three chapters with the chapters for Cyclops (Scott Summers) and Hope merging at the end. All three chapters are presented just a few pages at a time and alternate between each other. They are presented separately below to avoid confusion. __Beast:__ Beast and Scott recall their parting of ways because of Beast's disagreement with Scott's policy on war for the greater good. Beast is later shown waiting for his girlfriend at a park, who he realizes has stood him up. Molly Hayes (Princess Powerful), a 12 year old mutant, runs into him and talks to him about extinction for a school project. Beast explains it, and she gets upset as she realizes he is insinuating that mutants will become extinct. Their story appears to parallel assimilation of culture and how certain aspects can become lost when a group feels forced to blend in with the surrounding culture. Beast tries to use her complaints as motivation to live her life to the fullest since he believes she's likely one of the last mutants with a full life ahead of her. __Scott:__ Scott fights dinosaurs in the Savage Land in order to find himself and discover his direction. While there, he meets Captain America, who briefly mentors him and provides guidance. Scott tells Captain America he has doubts about his ability to lead. This is a recurring theme throughout recent X-Men storylines. Captain America tells Scott he and the X-Men saved the world, and the world is grateful for his leadership. That same world is calling for his return to show their appreciation. Captain America explains that despite what Scott thinks about whether or not mutants are welcomed by humans, the humans need their protection. Later, Scott receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom and a large party is thrown by the humans for the X-Men. __Hope:__ Hope is medically examined by Reed Richards (Fantastic Four) following the events of [[Second Coming]]. Franklin Richards, young son of Reed, finds Hope and talks to her about adults' expectations of her. "Everything is gonna be weird for you for a bit. People wanting you to do stuff, to be something and you don't know what it is...these people that yell at you all the time and tell you to do stuff...they end up being your family. And it's a pretty amazing world out there when they let you get out and see it." Hope tells Reed she does not know anything about her family history, not even her parents' names. All she knows is a city was destroyed in Alaska because of her. Later, at Utopia, Scott runs into her and asks why she's not at the big party. She asks him the same thing, and they share a silence. Scott reminds her that since she's returned, 5 more mutants have been born in the world. He is about to order her to find those people when she resists and says she is tired of other people's expectations all the time. He agrees that it is time for her to embark on her own life, and offers help for her to find her family.
[[Spawn]]
War of the Supermen #0 June 2010 This issue serves as an introductory to the 4-issue War of the Supermen event, and thus is very short (13 pages). Superman travels to New Krypton to stop Zod from sending an army of 100,000 Supermen to Earth to destroy it. Zod tells Superman that he is no longer special, that every member of his army has the same strength and powers as Superman. He says he is doing this because Earth has been organizing their armies to attack and destroy New Krypton. Superman tells Zod this war will mean the end of both worlds. This issue also provides additional background information on Superman t the end of the issue.
War of the Supermen #1 July 2010 The comic begins with Zod gloating over his released forces, telling Superman there's no hope. Superman insists there's hope, and tries to escape, fighting Zod and his crew. Supergirl comes upon Reactron being tortured by Alura (Supergirl's mother), and sides against her mother. Reactron gloats about how he was always meant to be caught, and begins to detonate. Alura shoves Supergirl into a containment vessel just in time for Reactron to explode, destroying the planet New Krypton. Meanwhile, Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane bring Guardian, Nightwing, Flamebird, Steel, and Superboy up to speed on what's been happening with General Sam Lane. They believe that Natasha Irons ([[Steel]]'s niece) has inside information that could put away Lane. Superwoman hears, and smiles. Superman and Supergirl cry over the lost planet. Supergirl takes up the battle standard and flees. The New Kryptonian armada approaches Earth as Zod spurs them on. ''Begin 4 Issue Story Arc''
War of the Supermen #2 July 2010 Lois Lane shouts in the Daily Planet offices that New Krypton has been destroyed. Just before she admits to the editor that her father, General Lane, committed this act, Superwoman swoops in and takes off with Lois. Meanwhile, Kara (Supergirl) cries to Superman that she was responsible for the destruction of New Krypton and the death of her mother. Reactron thanked her for bringing him to New Krypton, where he detonated himself, destroying the planet. Superman tells her that they must work together to prevent the extinction of another race. She agrees, and off they fly. Other Superpeople (Nightwing, Superboy, Steel, others) are looking for Natasha Irons, Steel's niece. General Zod's Kryptonian army destroys one of Earth's space fleets, and Superman and Supergirl get in the middle of all the fighting to try to stop it so nobody on either side dies. General Lane contacts Lex Luthor to launch his missile, which was created using bits of a Kryptonian God's cadaver. The missile is launched into the sun, which turns it red, and begins choking the Kryptonians (including Superman and Supergirl).
War of the Supermen #3 July 2010 Mon-El, Steel, The Guardian, Nightwing, and Flamebird are attacking Mount Rushmore to retrieve Natasha Irons, who has incriminating evidence against General Lane. Flamebird realizes that Lex Luthor has used the Kryptonians' false God Rao to turn the sun red, thereby removing the powers of all the Kryptonians in space, including Superman and Supergirl. Flamebird takes off to destroy what is turning the sun red, and Nightwing follows. However, Rao intervenes and removes Nightwing, telling him he is not supposed to die yet, and allows Flamebird to sacrifice herself and turn the sun yellow again. Only 7,000 members of the Kryptonian army is left, as well as Superman and Supergirl. General Zod and Ursa join their army and begin killing millions of people all around the world. Some heroes try to stop them, but the army is too strong. Ursa makes her way to the White House in search of the President, but finds Supergirl there waiting for her. Meanwhile, Zod and his army move in to attack Metropolis, which is left without its defenders (the ones at Mount Rushmore), and only Superman is left to fight.
War of the Supermen #4 July 2010 Zod tells Superman that he is attacking Earth out of revenge for the humans destroying Krypton. Meanwhile, Supergirl is fighting Ursa near the White House, now destroyed, when Steel, Superboy, and others intervene to lock Ursa in Kryptonite handcuffs. Non fights members of the Justice League when Superboy and Krypto (Superboy's dog) intervene again, this time with the Phantom Zone Projector, and teleport Non to the Phantom Zone. Lois and General Lane argue over the ethics of the war and whether it should be fought. Supergirl finds General Lane and beats him up. Lois agrees that she will announce to the world what happened as a result of General Lane's actions, but General Lane commits suicide. Superman takes the Phantom Zone Projector and tells Zod he is going to teleport both of them there with Superman acting as Zod's warden. Nightwing intervenes and tells Superman that he has been chosen to watch over Zod and he must send Superman back to Earth, because "humankind needs Superman." In the end, Lois reflects on the heavy casualties on both sides of the war, despite it only lasting 100 minutes. She writes, "Someday I hope humankind will be more receptive to change, to living as a 'melting pot' of people and cultures. To set aside suspicions and live together peacefully."
[[War of the Supermen Issue 0]] [[War of the Supermen Issue 1]] [[War of the Supermen Issue 2]] [[War of the Supermen Issue 3]] [[War of the Supermen Issue 4]]
Comicspedia is an online database of hundreds of individual comic book summaries. Each summary is tagged with psychological themes that can aid in selecting specific books to read with others who identify with those themes, which can lead to stronger relationships. On the left, you will find a menu from which you can begin browsing comic book summaries and themes. You can browse: By Main Character - an alphabetical index of main characters found in this database By Themes - do the characters primarily deal with being deceived? seeking revenge? being "different?" By Demographics - main characters are sorted into categories of race, sex, and age Comicspedia was created by [[Dr. Patrick O'Connor|Patrick O'Connor]]. [[Terms of Service and Privacy Policy]] Comicspedia is a registered trademark of Patrick O'Connor. All rights reserved.
Your client's response is going to be as unique as the client him- or herself. Some read loudly (cheering, saying, "Wow!"), others won't make a move or a peep. Some will be ready to talk about it right away, others will put it down looking to you for direction. In general, the client will be open to talking about the comic itself. In early stages of rapport development, the therapist may want to focus exclusively on discussing surface level elements of the story. He or she may want to plan on bringing two, or even three, comic books if the client appears very resistant to spending much time discussing after reading. It is up to the therapist to decide when it may be appropriate to examine the deeper elements of each issue. As one moves down the list of each suggested idea in the individual section of [[Ideas for Therapy]], the amount of therapeutic content that reveals itself in the session increases; however, there is also an increased risk for resistance, so it is recommended the therapist progress gradually through the list over the course of eight sessions or more (roughly two sessions per step). The result of bringing comic books into the session is often exciting - many clients will light up just at the sight of a comic book. It can also be surprising. Imagine a 12 year old boy being brought in for therapy because a friend of his passed away. He may resist wanting to talk directly about it, or he can not find the words to describe what he is feeling. He is too old to use nondirective or directive play therapy with toys, but he is likely too young to delve deep into his issues verbally. Asking him to read about the death of a superhero and process that loss may bring out some thoughts and emotions from him both he and his therapist did not see coming.
@@''This database can currently be edited by anyone at any time.''@@ Therefore, the database may seemingly be at risk of being changed; however, changes are not made to the file itself without clicking "save changes" in the upper right corner. If you find you've accidentally altered an entry's content, simply exit the database ''WITHOUT'' saving and relaunch it. Additionally, should you accidentally (or purposely) save those changes, a backup file is created after every save (I literally have hundreds of backup files of Comicspedia), so the integrity of the database is easily maintained. Let me know, and I will quickly fix the issue. Click [[here|mailto:[email protected]?subject=Comicspedia%20Needs&20Fix]] to let me know the database requires fixing. Don't worry, you won't get in trouble unless you admit it was malicious! ;) Just above each open window are 4 options: close, close others, edit, more. "Close" will close just that window. "Close others" will close all other windows except the one from which you clicked that close others link. "Edit" will open the window for editing, as will double-clicking anywhere within the space of an open window. More information on editing can be found below. "More" will open additional options: fields, syncing, permalink, references, and jump. More information on "more's" options can be found below. ''Edit:'' After clicking edit, you are presented with 3 new options: done, cancel, delete. If you are editing with purpose, use "done" to save. If you accidentally pressed edit and do not wish to edit anything, "cancel" will take you out of edit mode without making changes. "Delete" will delete that entry entirely. Within edit mode, you are presented 3 boxes: One big box surrounded by two long, skinny boxes. The top box is for the title of the entry. The big box contains the text of the entry. The bottom box is for creating tags. More information on tags can be found below. ''More:'' "Fields" indicates how many times that entry has been changed. "Syncing" provides options to sync this database with a server. "Permalink" will place the permanent link to that window within your browser's address bar. If you copy this address into a new browser window, it will bring you directly to that window within Comicspedia. "References" shows what links point to this entry. This is slightly different from tagging in that the body of an entry must contain a link to that item. For example, if you click [[The Avengers]], then "more," then "references," you will see some demographic links to the title as well as this [[Detailed Information]] section because I have typed The Avengers as a reference link within those demographics and within this entry (also in the [[Ideas for Therapy]] section as an example). "Jump," the final option within the "more" expansion of options, allows you to jump from one open entry to another. This is especially useful if you open several issues of comics at once, but you don't want to close the other entries to free up screen space. ''Tags:'' Categorical tags to decades within [[By Time Published]] and themes within [[By Themes]] have been assigned to every issue within this database. When you enter the time published or themes sections, you will find links organized by alphabetical title to every issue that has received those tags as well as a brief description of the particular tag you are viewing. There is one categorical issue with this: "alphabetical order" includes the issue number, and the tags are sorted based on each character as they appear in order from left to right, not according to sequential number. For example, the order of issues will ''NOT'' be listed as "Hero Issue 1, Hero Issue 2, Hero Issue 3 ... Hero Issue 9, Hero Issue 10, Hero Issue 11." Because the database reads one character at a time from left to right, the order will be listed as "Hero Issue 1, Hero Issue 10, Hero Issue 11, Hero Issue 2, Hero Issue 3," because the database believes it should sort all "Hero Issue 1-" entries before moving on to "Hero Issue 2-" entries. Please keep this in mind if the issues look out of order. We, as people, might think they are, but the database disagrees!
Text appearing in yellow bold (like this: [[FAQ/Help]]) is a live link containing information related to its title. It may be a completed, finished archive of issues or information, or it may be a work in progress. Either way, it will likely contain useful information. Text appearing in yellow italics (like this: [[Super Wonderful Man]]) is a dead link containing no information. I likely placed it as a reminder to work on it in the future. However, it does ''not'' necessarily denote a complete lack of information within the collection of comics. In other words, I may have entered 7 races in the [[By Demographics]] section, but yellow italics does not mean those races are completely missing from the comics themselves. It is possible I simply have not gotten around to combing through the comics for entries to link within those demographics. All text in the light gray pane running down the right side of this page can be ignored. It simply provides a timeline of when each entry in the database was created or edited. Something highlighted @@like this@@ is simply a highlighting effect I use to bring something important to your attention.
Comicspedia is a database containing summaries of over 200 individual issues of comic books. Each issue has been carefully read, summarized, and categorized by [[Patrick O'Connor, Psy.D.|Patrick O'Connor]] These categories include [[Deception]], [[Facing Fear]], [[Roles]], and many others. By using this database, any therapist can arm him- or herself with an additional tool to bring into sessions and explore a new direction with clients. It is partly intended to provide a bridge for therapists who feel their clients are too old to participate in play therapy (12 years and older) or too young to delve deeply into their thoughts and emotions verbally (18 and younger), although it can be used in many different populations, as noted later in this section. Comic books are most often purchased at dedicated comic book stores. These stores can each contain tens (or hundreds!) of thousands of comic books dating from the 1930's until today, ranging from old western style comic books to Donald Duck comic books to Captain America comic books to graphic novels...the list is endless! Deciding where to begin can be a daunting task. This database cuts out all the work that would be required to comb through dozens of issues to find the right few to bring into therapy for just one client you may have in mind. Imagine Comicspedia as being your friendly psychologist buddy standing next to you in a comic book store. Ask me to find an issue of any comic that includes a central theme of living to others' expectations and I will retrieve your results immediately! Perhaps you have a client who loves the X-Men and recently lost his or her father, so you specifically want an X-Men comic book that deals with the theme of losing a loved one. By navigating the menu on the far left of Comicspedia or using the search bar in the upper right corner, you will quickly and easily find exactly that for which you are looking. Comicspedia is ''excellent'' for the following populations: *Children 8 years of age or older *Adolescents *Some young adults *Adults who have expressed a current or previous interest in reading comic books Additionally, Comicspedia has been used to effectively treat clients who had diagnoses of one or more of the following: *Attention-deficit and disruptive behavior disorders *Prenatal exposure to toxic substances *Mood disorders *Anxiety disorders *Adjustment disorders Comic books were targeted because they are often around 30 pages in length, require just 10 - 20 minutes to read, have a wide variety of heroes and villains to whom clients can relate, and allow for additional appreciation and processing of art. These stories are often rich with inter- and intrapersonal conflict, and allow for the client to experience some of Irvin Yalom's curative factors normally found in group therapy (universality, instillation of hope, witnessing altruism, and so on). For example, an adolescent client can watch Batman and Robin argue about solving a crime differently, with Robin insisting on a more violent and bull-headed approach. The client can then see what happens when Robin chooses this path and how it affects Robin, his relationship with Batman, the crime itself, and Robin's own learning from successes and mistakes. Perhaps the client has made a similar choice before (universality), he/she can see Robin's relationship with Batman is not permanently tarnished (instillation of hope), and he/she repeatedly provided with examples of Batman and Robin solving crimes for no other reason than to help the people of Gotham City. By working with comic books in a therapeutic setting, a client has the opportunity to process emotions, conflicts, relationships, morals, and values. The use of Comicspedia is considered to be a mixture of art therapy and bibliotherapy, combining to form "comic book therapy." Art therapy and bibliotherapy techniques are well-researched and have been found to be effective in training parents, treating depression, treating anxiety disorders, and are utilized in a wide variety of applications.
Comicspedia is an educational tool that provides therapists with the ability to quickly and easily find comic books with characters and themes they believe would be most helpful in generating therapeutic progress. The vast majority of comic books referenced in this database come from the most popular and widely recognized superheroes in recent comic book history. Comicspedia provides the perfect entry point for a therapist to enter the world of comic books while simultaneously meeting their client at the point of resistance. The primary intended consequence of using Comicspedia is providing an additional tool to make therapeutic progress while respecting a client's resistance, whereas the secondary intended consequence of using Comicspedia is to increase therapists' awareness and appreciation of their clients' worlds. A huge wall is often knocked down once the client realizes their therapist can talk about comic books, superheroes, and specific storylines, and Comicspedia provides the hammer to break down that wall.
''Cost:''
Should a therapist or client wish to purchase any comics within this database, the consumer should be informed that comic book prices vary widely, especially when considering non-current issues. Typically, current issues (published 2009 - 2011) cost between $2.99 and $3.99 each. "Back issues" are any comic books no longer considered to be current, and can go back several decades (after all, Batman was introduced in 1939!). Back issues from the 1970s until the mid 2000s roughly range between $1 and $20 an issue, often depending on that issue's quality. An especially rare issue, or issues published prior to 1970, can be very expensive ($50 - several thousands of dollars). All issues in this database have been purchased from retailers for $8 or less, with the vast majority of back issues costing less than $5 each. Retailers often have sales once or twice per year where they try to sell large quantities of back issues at extremely discounted prices. For example, one retailer near me offers every back issue (minus very old or rare issues) for just $1 each only one day per year. Online retailers often provide flat, inexpensive shipping rates and ship comics "bagged and boarded," meaning the comics are individually placed in a fitted plastic bag with a thin piece of cardboard to maintain its form and quality. The following is a preferred list of online retailers:
http://www.grahamcrackers.com/ (personal choice)
http://www.tfaw.com/
http://www.milehighcomics.com/
http://www.ebay.com/
''Subscriptions:''
Comic books are released every Wednesday (or the Thursday following a holiday weekend). Should a therapist or client wish to subscribe to a title and receive all current issues as they are provided, there are a few routes one can take:
1. The consumer can subscribe at their local comic book store. These stores receive current issues before any other retailers or consumers, often a full month ahead of time. They are allowed to sell them to subscribed and walk-in customers. A subscription will cost full cover price with small discounts sometimes applied for customers who have multiple subscriptions through that store. To find a comic book store near you or your client, go to http://www.comicshoplocator.com/ or call <span class="skype_pnh_print_container_1369242717">1 888 COMICBOOK</span><span tabindex="-1" class="skype_pnh_container" dir="ltr" onmouseover="SkypeClick2Call.MenuInjectionHandler.showMenu(this, event);" onmouseout="SkypeClick2Call.MenuInjectionHandler.hideMenu(event);" skype_menu_props="{'numberToCall':'+18882664226' , 'isFreecall':false, 'isMobile':false, 'isRtl':false}"><span class="skype_pnh_mark"> begin_of_the_skype_highlighting</span> <span class="skype_pnh_highlighting_inactive_common" dir="ltr"><img class="skype_pnh_logo_img" src="skype-ie-addon-data://res/numbers_button_skype_logo.png"><span class="skype_pnh_text_span">1 888 COMICBOOK</span><span class="skype_pnh_free_text_span"> FREE </span></span> <span class="skype_pnh_mark">end_of_the_skype_highlighting</span></span>
2. The consumer can subscribe from the publisher directly and have issues mailed. On average, a comic book subscription from the publisher costs less than full cover price and includes free shipping; however, the consumer will receive their issues well after the comic book stores and their customers do.
3. The consumer can set up a subscription through an online comic book retailer, such as those listed above. Issues cost full cover price, and customers can receive them before direct subscribers, depending on shipping plan. How frequently issues are shipped can sometimes be negotiated with the retailer. For example, I subscribe to several issues which all have different publication weeks within the month. I could request my retailer to send comics to me every week, which would cost $5 shipping each time, or I could ask them to only ship once per month, or I could ask them to hold off on shipping until a certain number (usually 1 - 12) of subscribed issues have been received by the retailer from the publishers. [[Graham Crackers|http://www.grahamcrackers.com/]] is great at offering several shipping plans, they maintain personal communication with their customers, and they offer discounts for multiple subscriptions, all of which are reasons why I prefer them.
[[Batman]] [[Cable]] Captain America ([[The Avengers]]) [[Green Lantern]] Hawkeye ([[The Avengers]]) [[Hawkman]] Hawkwoman (AKA Shayera, [[Hawkman]]) [[Plutonian (Irredeemable series)]] [[Robin]] [[Spider-Man]] [[Steel]] [[Superman]] Thor ([[The Avengers]]) Wolverine ([[The Avengers]], [[X-Men]])
NOTE: [[Second Coming]] is an event that spans several X-Men titles. They are organized according to chapter and publication date. Uncanny X-Men issues within the Second Coming event will ''NOT'' be found in the [[Uncanny X-Men|Uncanny X-Men Issues]] collection in this database. [[Avengers vs. X-Men Issues]] [[New X-Men]] [[Ultimate Nightmare]] [[Uncanny X-Men Issues]] [[X-Men Issues]] @@Horror-themed storyline, suggested for mature readers@@
The X-Men are a superhero team in the Marvel Comics Universe. They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1 (September 1963). Under a cloud of increasing anti-mutant sentiment, Professor Xavier created a haven at his Westchester mansion to train young mutants to use their powers for the benefit of humanity, and to prove mutants can be heroes. Xavier recruited Cyclops, Iceman, Angel, Beast and Jean Grey, calling them "X-Men" because they possess special powers due to their possession of the "X-Gene", a gene normal humans lack but which gives Mutants their abilities. Early on, however, the "X" in X-Men stood for "extra" power which normal humans lacked. It was alluded to that the mutations were incurred as a result of radiation exposure. All five original X-Men, including Professor Xavier were stated to be the children of parents who worked on atomic weapons for the United States military. Early issues introduced the team's arch enemy, Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants, who would continue to battle the X-Men for decades throughout the comic's history. Issues of X-Men often contain subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) themes of: diversity, LGBT rights, racism, red scare, subculture, religion, and oppression.
X-Men #1 Sep 2010 @@Horror-themed storyline, suggested for mature readers@@ Jubilee and Pixie are out having tea in a plaza when a leather-clad man appears suddenly. He opens his shirt, his skin sizzles, then he explodes, throwing his blood all over those around him. People who came in contact with the blood are slowly turning into vampires and/or undead. Jubilee is slowly turning vampiric as well, although very gradually. Monsters seem to be rising from all over, including a beastly creature with a giant sword who violently kills two police officers. Wolverine, Angel, and Pixie go out in search of the group behind this, and discover they are not easily killed. Dr. Nemesis explains to Cyclops that the virus is affecting Jubilee's midbrain, whereby she is experiencing carnal cravings that will soon take over her. Wolverine calls to report they have found dozens of bodies seemingly being prepped for something big.
X-Men #2 Oct 2010 @@Horror-themed storyline, suggested for mature readers@@ Colossus and Wolverine continue to battle vampiric monsters when they run into Blade (vampire hero from within the Marvel Universe, but not X-Men). Blade tells them Dracula cannot be leading this invasion because he is dead. They travel back to Utopia to tell the rest of the X-Men that Dracula's son, Xarus, is uniting all monsters to attack humans and mutants. The X-Men discover there are thousands or more monsters and turned humans around San Francisco, and Cyclops claims the only option is to resurrect Dracula to stop his son. Meanwhile, Jubilee says she feels a void inside that she needs to fill and she cannot fight it. She knocks Dr. Rao unconscious so she can escape and go where she feels her body is pulling. She meets with Xarus, who bites her neck and begins her transformation.
X-Men #3 Nov 2010 @@Horror-themed storyline, suggested for mature readers@@ Cyclops sends Wolverine out alone to bring back Jubilee from the vampires. The X-Men reassemble Dracula (AKA Vlad) to help them fight his son, Xarus. Meanwhile, Xarus sends out Jubilee as bait to lure in Wolverine. Wolverine fights vampires left and right on his way to find her, recalling how the X-Men are a family, and he feels a close kinship with her ever since they met. Jubilee appears to be imprisoned, and just as he sets her free, she bites him. Vlad later has second thoughts about helping the X-Men, and Wolverine appears turns into a vampire in the last frame of the issue, despite his self-healing properties (which usually allow him to fight off infections, poisons, etc).
X-Men #4 Dec 2010 @@Horror-themed storyline, suggested for mature readers@@ Cyclops and the other X-Men realize the vampire invasion is spreading throughout San Francisco. Blade and Angel attack some vampires, follow one to a hideout, then find themselves fleeing for their lives with dozens of vampires chasing them. The X-Men are discussing tactics when Cyclops places a call to Xarus, leader of the vampires. Xarus tries to convince Cyclops he seeks unification against the humans who supposedly hate mutants. Xarus reveals Wolverine and Jubilee have turned into vampires and he plans to use them as weapons to fight the X-Men.
X-Men #5 Jan 2011 @@Horror-themed storyline, suggested for mature readers@@ The mutants, on land and in water, fight the swarm of demonic monsters attacking Utopia. Wolverine closes in on Cyclops, who presses a button, causing Wolverine to writhe in agony. Cyclops explained he had nanobots installed into Wolverine that kept his healing factor suppressed. This would later be revealed to be an effort to expose the weaknesses of the monsters. Now Cyclops has reactivated it, allowing himself to heal out the vampire blood. The X-Men are able to successfully fend off the attackers. One of Xarus's associates tells him it will be weeks before they can rebuild an army. Dracula is later shown to relinquish Xarus of his command of the monsters.
X-Men #6 Feb 2011 @@Horror-themed storyline, suggested for mature readers@@ The X-Men invade the vampire hideout, where Xarus (son of Dracula) and Dracula are arguing. Xarus claims he became Lord of the Vampires when Dracula was supposedly killed, but Dracula claims the right to this throne is his. The two fight until Dracula rips off Xarus’s head. The X-Men enter the room and Blade tries to go after Dracula to kill him, but Cyclops shoots his laser at Blade, knocking him out. Cyclops claims he was honoring a deal he made with Dracula and he wants to keep his word. The X-Men return to Utopia with Jubilee, who is still a vampire. Blade reminds Wolverine that she will be a vampire forever, and she must be killed. Cyclops and Emma Frost discuss what to do about her, and they are both uncertain.
[[X-Men Issue 1]] [[X-Men Issue 2]] [[X-Men Issue 3]] [[X-Men Issue 4]] [[X-Men Issue 5]] [[X-Men Issue 6]]
[[Robin]] (Dick Grayson) [[Spider-Man]]
iZombie #1 July 2010 @@Suggested for mature readers@@ This issue introduces Gwen and establishes background information from which to continue the series. Gwen is a zombie (apparently this is unknown to others) who works as a gravedigger with a few guys. She mentions her death allowed her to make a clean break from her previous life. Her one girlfriend is the ghost of a woman who died 40 years ago (Ellie), who asks her to go out for the evening. Meanwhile, a different group of guys are out playing paintball in a forest at night when their referees turn out to be vampires. Gwen and Ellie go to a Diner and meet with Scott, who has a crush on Gwen. Scott shows interest in Gwen, who shrugs it off. Ellie and Gwen leave the diner suddenly when Gwen thinks she recognizes somebody from her previous life. Horatio and Diogenes, two apparent thugs from a corporation, are sitting in a car plotting to take out whatever monsters (vampires, undead, werewolves) might exist. Gwen goes back to the cemetery to eat the brain of the man she buried earlier that day. She explains if she does not eat one brain per month, she turns into a shambling, mindless zombie. After eating a brain, she takes on the thoughts and experiences of the person to whom the brain belonged. She realizes the man has been murdered, so to fight off his intruding thoughts she sets out to find his killer.
iZombie #2 Aug 2010 @@Suggested for mature readers@@ Scott apparently turns into a sort of werewolf during a full moon, but he hides this from his friends by avoiding them for the night. Gwen paints to process her thoughts and the thoughts of the person to whom the brain belonged she ate. Nemia, a vampire who leads a group of female vampires who run a paintball company, remind them they cannot go out in public picking up their targets. She instructs them to wait for customers and only drink enough blood to get by and not kill them. Meanwhile, Horatio and Diogenes find a body that has been sucked dry; they continue to investigate murders committed by monsters. Gwen, overcome with Fred's thoughts, approaches his wife and son; they have an awkward exchange. The mummy who supposedly killed Fred knows who Gwen is and mentions to his pet tiger that he intends to kill a few more people. Gwen mentions that ghosts cannot go anywhere they haven't already visited when they were living, so her friend Ellie cannot go far from the cemetery. One of Nemia's vampire accomplices is shown later at a bar picking up two of Scott's friends.
iZombie #3 Sep 2010 @@Suggested for mature readers@@ Horatio and Diogenes continue to chase the vampire Claire and her target. Scott shows up in werewolf form at the diner and gives Gwen more information about the supposed killer of Fred. Horatio runs into Gwen during the chase, and they share a brief moment. Later, at the killer's mansion, Ellie goes inside to investigate, but she is found. Gwen has a flashback memory of Fred having the good life - being faithful to his wife, having a good job - but after hitting his head in a car accident, his emotions were impossible to control and his impulses ran wild, eventually leading him to cheat on his wife. Gwen goes into the mansion to investigate, and a man (instead of a mummy) greets her, with Ellie sitting happily at his side.
iZombie #4 Dec 2010 @@Suggested for mature readers@@ Amon tells Gwen he is technically a 4,000 year old mummy, and he has been searching for her because she is a rare kind of undead. He also admits to killing Fred, the man whose thoughts and memories haunt Gwen, because Fred was not really a good guy, and Amon tries to kill people whose absence would make the world a better place. Meanwhile, one of Scott's friends is attacked by a vampire, but monster hunters rescue him. Amon explains to Gwen that every being has an "oversoul" (contains thoughts, memories, personality) and an "undersoul" (appetites, emotions, fears). He further explains that when a body dies, the souls depart, but in rare occurrences they remain or reappear elsewhere. He describes the following: Bodiless oversoul consisting of only memories: Ghost Bodiless undersoul consisting only of emotions: Poltergeist Oversoul remains in body, so they crave the missing undersoul: Vampire Undersoul remains in body, so they crave the missing oversoul: Undead Undersoul that has infected a living person: Thrope (such as a werewolf, a person who is infected by an animal's undersoul) Oversoul that has infected a living person: Possessed Amon then reveals to Gwen that monster hunters wear white, and have been trying to stop all of the above creatures for millennia. He then tells her she is a rare kind of undead because she has died, but she continues to have an undersoul and an oversoul.
iZombie #5 Nov 2010 @@Suggested for mature readers@@ Amon tells Gwen her memory is deteriorating, and she needs to start killing people instead of just eating their brains for her memory to remain intact. Gwen later meets with Scott and Scott's coworker at the diner. Scott's coworker reveals he knows Scott is a werewolf (wereterrier, as Scott calls it). On her way out of the diner, Gwen bumps into Horatio, a monster hunter. They go for a walk and they hit it off, realizing they have much in common. She realizes at the end of their walk that he is a monster hunter and she runs off. Gwen meets up with her ghost friend, Ellie, at the graveyard and they enjoy a picnic together.
[[iZombie Issue 1]] [[iZombie Issue 2]] [[iZombie Issue 3]] [[iZombie Issue 4]] [[iZombie Issue 5]]
On the left are journal entries briefly summarizing changes to Comicspedia. The order may appear strange - they are organized alphabetically.