COUNTING DOWN TO COUNTDOWN, II: ECLIPSO AND JIMMY OLSEN

[MattBrady]

Yesterday, we began our looks at the characters and threads that will be featured prominently in DC’s upcoming Countdown with Darkseid and Jack Kirby’s Fourth World. Today, we keep it rolling on with Eclipso and Jimmy Olsen. One is looking to corrupt Mary Marvel, the other is looking to not get killed.

ECLIPSO
By Jeff Marsick

Rising from the imagination of Bob Haney and the pencils of Lee Elias, Eclipso emerged in the August 1963 issue of House of Secrets #61 from DC Comics. Dr. Bruce Gordon, a scientist on expedition in the jungles of Diablo Island to study a solar eclipse, was attacked by a tribal shaman named Mophir, who wounded Gordon with a strange black diamond. From that point on, whenever Gordon was angry and in the presence of an eclipse of any variety— lunar, solar, an errant pair of underwear partially obscuring a longer lasting lightbulb – the good doctor found himself transformed, Hyde-like, into the villain named Eclipso. With trademark purple circle shadowing two-thirds of his face, Eclipso was a fairly cookie-cutter villain, possessing super-strength, nigh invulnerability, but capable of projecting eye blasts that he focused with the use of a black diamond. His Achilles heel was almost laughable while being relatively easy to exploit: one flash of bright light banished Eclipso to the shadows and returned Bruce Gordon to the fore.

Routinely beaten over the years by the likes of Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), the Metal Men, and the Justice League, Eclipso made appearances in the major DC events like Crisis on Infinite Earths but in 1992 he received a much needed retcon in the mini-series Eclipso: The Darkness Within by Keith Giffen and Bart Sears. His origin was tweaked, and now, instead of merely being the manifestation of Bruce Gordon’s repressed dark side, Eclipso was revealed to be the original Angel of Vengeance before turning evil and was subsequently replaced by the Spectre. Stripped of his title, God had imprisoned Eclipso’s physical essence to the gaol of a giant black diamond called the Heart of Darkness, and was hidden somewhere in deep dark Africa. A 19th century treasure-hunter found the Heart of Darkness, brought it home to London, and had it cut into a thousand duplicates, unknowingly weakening the spell of banishment and effectively freeing him. With his consciousness in hiding in a crater on the dark side of the moon and black diamonds now as plentiful as Skittles, Earth was now one big playground filled with unlimited possession potential for the villain.

Eclipso’s powers also received an upgrade. He was no longer limited to needing an eclipse in order to invoke a possession. All one had to do was hold a black diamond, succumb to feelings of rage or revenge, and voila! Eclipso either transformed the possessee into a version of himself and manipulated them to his will, or, if the person was a passive aggressor, Eclipso would take a shadow form of the victim’s power fantasy. He could network his possession skills across several people, even from as far away as his headquarters on the moon. Holding a black diamond to his eclipsed eye produced a cold beam of impenetrable black light; held against his good eye, it created focused laser-beam light.

The mini-series established a new status quo for Eclipso, elevating him from the bowery of B-level buffoondom and into the stratum of the savagely sinister. Tired of constantly thwarting Bruce Gordon’s efforts to destroy him, it was a visit by the just-passing-by-on-my-way-to-earth hero Valor (Lar Gand) to Eclipso’s lunar lair that sparked an epiphany and launched a new grand scheme for causing chaos: possess the super heroes of the world, and if he couldn’t do so directly, then manipulate them or hurt them by possessing their loved ones. Eclipso waged his war and merrily murdered dozens of innocent people throughout eighteen of 1994’s annuals, possessing the likes of Shazam, Batman, and Superman twice.

The mini-series wrapped with the book-end Eclipso: The Darkness Within #2 when Eclipso’s former host, Bruce Gordon, brings the fight and an army of super heroes to his doorstep on the moon. Eclipso stood strong and huge, reinforced and bulked up with the powers and mass he had absorbed from the heroes he possessed, including Starman (Will Payton) whom he claimed credit in creating in the Starman series. Eclipso had used Starman’s shape-shifting abilities to his advantage and had infiltrated the heroes with ease. Eventually freeing himself of the dark influence, Starman apparently sacrifices himself by detonating within Eclipso. That, combined with a solar bomb from Dr. Gordon, and Eclipso was once more defeated.

But with a thousand black diamonds floating around on earth and road rage the in-thing, Eclipso couldn’t be dormant for long. His 1994 solo series found him back on Earth, calling the South American nation of Parador home. The ever vigilant Bruce Gordon continued his pursuit of Eclipso and we learned why the latter didn’t just off his former host and finally be rid of him and his solar threats: one day Gordon and his girlfriend would have a child who would become a famous treasure hunter, go back in time to the 19th century, find the Heart of Darkness, and free Eclipso trapped within. Not wanting to mess with time stream mojo, Eclipso had to keep Gordon alive. But that didn’t make him any less vicious. When Bruce Gordon led another group of supers calling themselves the Shadow Fighters into Parador, Eclipso put on a demonstration of his lethality. Wildcat (Yolanda Montez), Manhunter, Major Victory, Dr. Midnight, Commander Steel, the Creeper, and the Peacemaker all perished at Eclipso’s hand. Only Nemesis would walk away.

Establishing that he was beyond the reach of a ‘normal’ super hero, it was the Phantom Stranger who would decisively, if not at least temporarily, handle Eclipso. Having spent his summer vacation gathering the thousand black diamonds, the Stranger fused them back into the Heart of Darkness, recast God’s spell of binding, and trapped Eclipso within.

Later on in the 1990s, during John Ostrander’s watch on The Spectre, Eclipso’s nature would be defined, specifically when compared to the Spectre. While the Spectre sought vengeance, Eclipso was driven to seek revenge. Put into a biblical analogy, it was Eclipso who caused the Great Flood while it was the Spectre who killed Egypt’s first-born children.

In the Princes of Darkness storyline of JSA, Alexander Montez, the curator of the JSA museum and cousin of Yolanda, the Wildcat who died at Eclipso’s hand, hatched a plan for revenge. Alexander gathered all but one of the black diamonds, liquefied them and injected them into himself. His body covered in special tattoos, sigils of binding he learned from Diablo Island, he confronted a possessed Dr. Bruce Gordon, and with the help of Wildcat and the Phantom Lady, managed to steal not only the final black diamond, but Eclipso as well. Now, with Eclipso trapped within Alexander, the demon could be called upon yet never released. As the new Eclipso, Alexander worked with the JSA to defeat Mordru and Kobra’s Hand of Shiva.

In JSA #52, Black Adam recruited Eclipso into a special squad created for the invasion of Khandaq, and soon Eclipso starts a relationship with another member of the squad, the female Nemesis. When the JSA arrive in Khandaq to put a stop to Black Adam, a fight naturally ensues, and one of Eclipso’s binding sigils is damaged, with Alexander losing control of the demon inside. The villain, eager to get even, possesses Alexander and quickly sets to killing Nemesis. In an attempt to prevent being used any more, Alexander takes his own life in an attempt to seal Eclipso away.

Whew. End of story? Hardly.

Flash forward to the end of 2004’s Identity Crisis series, when Sue Dibny’s murderer, Jean Loring, is locked away in Arkham Asylum. There she finds a strange black diamond in her cell and is transformed into the new Eclipso. Escaping from Arkham, she hunts down her opposite, the Spectre, who is running one gear short of four-wheel drive now that Hal Jordan has returned to the Green Lantern mantle and has left him hostless. Some clever machinations and a healthy sprinkling of prodding by Eclipso, and the Spectre declares war on magic in the Day of Vengeance mini-series.

Eclipso’s plans for revenge, however, go awry, thanks to the efforts of the Shadowpact and specifically the duo of Black Alice and Nightshade, who trap Eclipso in perpetual orbit around the sun.

NOW we’re done, right? Not quite. In week 27 of 52, Ralph Dibny and the Helmet of Fate meet with the Spectre about returning Sue to life. The Spectre, eager to get revenge on Eclipso but hampered by the one-year grace period afforded his pending new host, Crispus Allen, orders Ralph to do the deed for him in trade for bringing Sue back to the land of the living. Temporarily given the power of the Spectre, Ralph intends to have Eclipso trapped in an endless loop of watching Sue Dibny be murdered again and again. Ultimately, Ralph’s humanity wins out, and unable to complete his pact with the Spectre, returns Eclipso to perpetual orbit of the sun.

A betting man would wager that this is the last the DC Universe will see of the purple one, but as the promotional stills for Countdown indicate, Eclipso shall return, once more preying upon the innocent in her psychotic quest to plunge the world into complete darkness. With the number of times he has been trapped and defeated, the list of those he needs to get revenge on continues to grow, and if history is any indication, when Eclipso returns, she will be more vicious and bloodthirsty than ever.

Heroes beware.

Jimmy Olsen’s Blues:
A Profile by Troy Brownfield

People love the sidekick. It’s true! Ask anyone to name their favorite characters from Star Wars or Buffy or Lost; they’ll rarely respond with Luke, Buffy, or Jack. We may devotedly follow the main character, and we may find great enjoyment from their adventures, but we identity with the sidekick, the buddy, the best friend. That’s but one reason that you have a ridiculous amount of young men who wanted to grow up to be Han Solo, a legion of young women devoted to Willow, and a goodly number of people that tune in for Hurley.

No one has filled the everyguy buddy role in American popular culture quite the way that Jimmy Olsen has. In fact, his role is so universally recognized and defined that he once had his own series for twenty years, the very appropriately named Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen (man, it’s got to be rough to be billed second in your own book). Mr. Olsen has been the subject of rock songs, the source of countless reporter and television references, and even served as the only character from the Superman films to appear in Supergirl (which, of course, highlights another of his character traits: he’s not always lucky). Hell, he’s such a regular guy that he was in the comics for three years before he got a name.

Now, some 69 years after his first appearance, Jimmy Olsen gets to move front and center in the DC Universe. Darkseid (a villain that first appeared in, you guessed it, Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen is back, as are a number of Jack Kirby characters and concepts that used to orbit the intrepid cub reporter/photographer. We’ve seen the ads that proclaim that “Jimmy Olsen Must Die!” Whether that happens or not, let’s take a look at this iconic buddy’s fictional life.

Unnamed Background Character: Jimmy first appeared in Action Comics #6 in 1938, but he didn’t get his name until 1941 in Superman #13. His existence is partially symptomatic of the “sidekick” impulse of those days; many heroes were given teen sidekicks of one type or another so that the younger readers had someone with which to identify. Even as a kid, I thought the flaw in this was obvious: I wanted to be Batman, not Robin. Nevertheless, the perpetually bow-tie wearing Olsen caught on as an interesting figure, partially because he really wanted to be a full reporter, and therefore idolized Clark Kent just a much as he did Superman. He provided an interesting corner in the friendship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane, and he often gave the writers an inexperienced character to whom the other characters could communicate exposition. Olsen also eventually received a “signal watch” from Superman; a device disguised as a simple wristwatch, it emitted a signal that only the Man of Steel could hear (quite handy, if you’re tied to railroad tracks and such).

TV Stardom: Given that Jimmy played a significant part in many of Superman’s adventures, either as a useful ally or a person to get out of trouble, his attendance was mandatory of the Adventures of Superman television series. The show began shooting in 1951, debuted in 1952, and became a massive hit. Actor Jack Larson portrayed Olsen throughout the run of the series. As popular as Superman and his supporting cast were from the comics, the television show had enormous impact, and Larson’s earnest and occasionally comedic portrayal helped cement the Olsen character’s iconic status.

Pals: In 1954, as Superman reigned on TV, Olsen got his own book in the form of Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen. It would run for twenty years, with much of the run informed by camp and comedic sensibilities. If there was a ridiculous or insane situation that the writers could concoct for Jimmy, whether in his own title or other Superman books, Jimmy Olsen got into it.

Among the more frequent bits would be Jimmy’s recurring transformations. Over time, Jimmy found himself transformed into, among other things, a turtle boy, a werewolf, and of course, a gorilla. Jimmy also received (and lost) several short-lived sets of powers. The most significant of which were the stretching powers that turned him into Elastic Lad. Jimmy made his first pliable appearance in #37, and later became a reserve member of the time-traveling Legion of Super-Heroes under this identity.

The Fourth World: By the early ‘70s, the Olsen title was languishing. Oddly enough, one of the giants of comics would soon pick it up. With work beginning in 1970, Jack Kirby took over the writing and art on the title as part of his newly hatched “Fourth World” concept. If you’re curious about that, flip back to Jamie’s piece from yesterday; I’ll wait.

At any rate, to help introduce characters from New Gods, Forever People and Mister Miracle, Kirby began using Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen as the launch pad. The four books composed, in a way, their own little corner of the DCU, but they were massively influential. Among the characters and concepts to debut in Olsen were Darkseid (#134) and Project Cadmus (#133). While the whole Fourth World as originally envisioned only lasted until 1973, and wasn’t technically “finished” until many years later, the cast proved popular with creators and fans.

Darkseid and the New Gods subsequently appeared in a JLA/JSA crossover, and Darkseid even faced off against the Legion of Super-Heroes in the classic “Great Darkness Saga”. After that story ran in 1982, the whole of Fourth World concepts once again found their way into greater play in the DC Universe, making important appearances in events like Crisis on Infinite Earths, Legends, and more. Eventually, the Fourth World books were cancelled. Not too long afterward, Superman’s Pal wrapped with issue #163 in 1974, and the erstwhile Mr. Olsen continued his adventures in the Superman Family anthology title (which ran until 1982).

Post-Crisis Jimmy Olsen!: Jimmy didn’t change much with the revamps brought on by Crisis and John Byrne’s “Man of Steel” mini, though he did shed the tyranny of the bow tie. Essentially, he was still the name good, trouble-prone guy, though he was more competent and more willing to take risks to prove himself. As time went on, many of his bizarre Silver Age adventures were referenced in modern plots, usually with a wink and a nod. Olsen also headlined the mini-series Superman: Metropolis, acting once again as a POV guy for the audience.

Olsen’s presence in other media continues; he’s appeared in Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League, Lois and Clark, Smallville, and Superman Returns. And, to this day, he remains a vital part of the Superman family of titles.

And now? Well, we’ve seen the teaser ads that suggest “Jimmy Olsen Must Die!” We know that Darkseid’s coming, and he may be bringing a Great Disaster with him. And we’ve seen the newest ads in this week’s books that show a decidedly deranged Joker holding a photo of the intrepid reporter. Is Mr. Olsen doomed?

These days, you never can tell, right? Think of all the icons that have gone on to some great reward in the past few years. Is Olsen safe? At this point, who knows? But if I had to guess, there’s probably a guy in red and blue who’s just a signal watch away. And I’m guessing that guy wouldn’t want to let this pal down.

Come back tomorrow, when Michael C. Lorah takes you on a tour of the last regular Fourth World title, Walt Simonson’s spin on Orion.

Jeff Marsick is a member of the Best Shots team, and Troy Brownfield writes lots of stuff for Newsarama.

[skinnyboy23]

I find myself considerably more interested in the cast of Countdown over 52, but I think that may be due to the writers handling them.

McKeever and Dini are a dream team, and Beechen and Gray/Palmiotti are great too. I'm particularly interested in what's going down with Jimmy Olsen, considering his connection to much of the DCU.

[sweetmisery]

Well, Ill savor Black Adam the last few weeks of 52. He might die or make a long disappearance.

[swol]

They need more Showcase Presents with Jimmy Olsen and I still want one for Eclipso.

They were among my first comic experiences.
I remember learning to read and teaching myself while watching Bruce Gordon again banish Eclipso with some flashbulb gizmo.
And perhaps my first comic of all was the famous Jimmy Olsen giant turtle man issue.

I really need to see these collected.

BTW...latest Previews shows a trade of some of the weirder Jimmy trasformations.
Yes. I'll be buying that.

[whitemarkd]

Thanks for the heads up on Eclipso - did not know most of that...

[dadthedude]

One of the odder bits of trivia about Jimmy Olsen is that in one of the World's Finest issues, Superman thought Jimmy was a good enough friend to entrust him with Batman's and Robin's secret identities. I always thought this was kind of odd. After all, Supes wouldn't tell Jimmy he was Clark Kent, but Batman could tell Jimmy he was Bruce Wayne? Weird! You have to remember that comics were still being written for kids at this time and consider it a leap of faith.

Anyway, shortly after this, also in World's Finest issues, Robin and Jimmy became the Kandorian crime fighting duo of Nightwing and Flamebird. Anyone heard those names recently?

[Kamino Neko]

Originally Posted by dadthedude

Robin and Jimmy became the Kandorian crime fighting duo of Nightwing and Flamebird. Anyone heard those names recently?

It was Superman and Jimmy. Dick's never been a Kandorian Nightwing. He and Batman did team up with Supes!Nightwing and Jimmy!Flamebird, which is where he learnt the name and why he decided to use it - taking the name Superman used while playing the Kandorian Batman was a way of honouring both of them.

[fearlessrees]

i just got a feeling that after 52, and after countdown, we'll have another 'weekly year' series... in 5 years, robin'll be like 21... then there'll be a 'crisis' and he'll be back to 15 or something.

i like the idea of this, but i dont like the idea of aging, and it'll just be a huge retcon for sales sake (well,theres an ironic comment)

that being said, i'm on board for 12 issues...

[I am MODOK]

Originally Posted by whitemarkd

Thanks for the heads up on Eclipso - did not know most of that...

I highly recommend you pick up the Eclipso story from those 90s Annuals. Great stories, with some fantastic fights. I remember especially loving the Superman Annuals.

[Randy Hassan]

Eclipso put on a demonstration of his lethality. Wildcat (Yolanda Montez), Manhunter, Major Victory, Dr. Midnight, Commander Steel, the Creeper, and the Peacemaker all perished at Eclipso’s hand. Only Nemesis would walk away.

The Creeper died?

How'd he come back?

[vbartilucci]

I always thought that having Eclipso in orbit around the sun was BAD prison, because it meant 50% of him was in shadow all the time. Even that close to the sun there has to be a spot where the sun don't shine, so to speak.

INSIDE the sun would have been a better place to keep him/her. But they're already doing that with SBP, and apparently you can't use the same inescapable prison on more than one supervillain.

As for the Olsen bio, I'd have mentioned the "Mr.Action" era. During the days of Superman Family, Jimmy got promoted from simple photographer to full-blown investigative reporter. He was a cross between Macgyver, Geraldo Rivera and Indiana Jones. He would get into outlandish situations in pursuit of "the story". A personal favorite is Jimmy going undercover as a Coutry singer, and having Superman use the Super-computer at the FoS to analyze all the country songs ever written, and compose a statistically perfect country song.

One gets the feeling that after Crisis, the Super-Computer was bought by Hollywood, and is now used to write movie scripts.

Another point is the classic Signal Watch; pre-Crisis, Superman gave the watch to Jimmy, Post Crisis, Jimmy built it himself, to show that he was a more pro-active DIY type of guy, not simply a walking target.

[vbartilucci]

Originally Posted by Kamino Neko

It was Superman and Jimmy. Dick's never been a Kandorian Nightwing. He and Batman did team up with Supes!Nightwing and Jimmy!Flamebird, which is where he learnt the name and why he decided to use it - taking the name Superman used while playing the Kandorian Batman was a way of honouring both of them.

Story-wise, of course. Real-world, it was almost certainly a cool name they didn't want to lose the trademark to.

Not wanting to bother to check, wasn't there a young lady who took the flamebird name in one of the team books for a while?

And, of course (which is what I assume dadthedude was alluding to) they were used again in the OYL Supergirl, in a storyline that I don't think was ever adequately explained, and has already been all but forgotten.

[OM]

Originally Posted by Jeff Marsick

Eclipso put on a demonstration of his lethality. Wildcat (Yolanda Montez), Manhunter, Major Victory, Dr. Midnight, Commander Steel, the Creeper, and the Peacemaker all perished at Eclipso’s hand. Only Nemesis would walk away.

...Well, at least immediately after the carnage. The Creeper obviously made it out eventually

Originally Posted by vbartilucci

Not wanting to bother to check, wasn't there a young lady who took the flamebird name in one of the team books for a while?

...Yup. Bette Kane, Kathy's neice - at least, pre-Crisis she was - who was a tennis pro who in her spare time was a bimbo stalker after none other than - Dick Grayson. Pre-Crisis she was "Bat-Girl" until Julie Schwartz threw away all the 50's "Giant Prop Batman" elements and introduced Babs Gordon as Batgirl (no hyphen). When Marv Wolfman tried the "Titans West" concept during his run of Teen Titans in the 80's, Bette was retconned into Flamebird. He made her far less a bimbo, but she still had this major psychotic desire for Dick, and IIRC actually lamented on panel about his new costume not showing off his legs anymore. The mistake Marv made with that retcon is that he had a really *great* opportunity to give fans of Dick Grayson what we'd always wanted to see: someone with extreme power blowing "Bat-Girl" away for being a lovesick bimbo.

Bette: "OH, you are such a phony whore, Starflooz! I'm going to tell my beloved Dick to ditch your obvious fake balloon-bod and your lame-assed hair extensions, and come let a *real* woman wrap herself around him!"

Kory: "X'Hal! I've never met anyone more deserving of death since my sister! Die, you insufferable bitch!!!"

[ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZRAAAAAAK!!!]

Dick: [sniff!] "Hey Kory! What's that smell? Are you cooking dinner tonight?"

Kory: "Why, yes Dick...a little homestyle specialty I call 'Tamaranian Aviary du Flambe'!'"

Dick: "MMMMM! What's it taste like?"

Kory: "Hmmm...I'd have to say chicken."

[Gernot]

Originally Posted by fearlessrees

i just got a feeling that after 52, and after countdown, we'll have another 'weekly year' series... in 5 years, robin'll be like 21... then there'll be a 'crisis' and he'll be back to 15 or something.

Naw, I don't think Robin' ll be 21 for another 15 or 20 years. Don't forget: Dick Grayson was in COLLEGE from 1969 until 1981, before he dropped out!

[Gokitalo]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

Post-Crisis Jimmy Olsen!: Jimmy didn’t change much with the revamps brought on by Crisis and John Byrne’s “Man of Steel” mini, though he did shed the tyranny of the bow tie.

Well, not at first

[Nighttech]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Marsick
Eclipso put on a demonstration of his lethality. Wildcat (Yolanda Montez), Manhunter, Major Victory, Dr. Midnight, Commander Steel, the Creeper, and the Peacemaker all perished at Eclipso’s hand. Only Nemesis would walk away.

...Well, at least immediately after the carnage. The Creeper obviously made it out eventually

I have no proof but I always assumed since the Creeper's arm was the only thing found he either lost the arm and went into hiding or he somehow regenerated from the arm over time.
Also it was later revealed it was not the Manhunter who died but rather Dumas.

[Hawkmoon269]

Quick question, sorry, I haven't kept up with 52:

Is Jean Loring still tied to Eclipso? The article, while very insightful, didn't make that very clear.

Thanks!

[brucewayne1]

Thanks for these articles.

Ugh. Eclipso's history is so damn convoluted, but Jimmy is an icon.

Heck even my great grandmother knows who Jimmy Olsen is.

[loupgaroukid]

What's so convoluted about Eclipso?!? Everything of note that happened to him began in 1990 (and the bookends and annuals told you everything that you needed to know). That cover with the diamond glued onto it was sweet
What I don't understand is why Eclipso was banished into relative obscurity after his series ended...too often the most powerful big bads in the DCU disappear and aren't properly utilized (Despero anyone?).

[strong guy79]

Han Solo is not a sidekick!!!!!

[grantg]

Originally Posted by Randy Hassan

The Creeper died?

How'd he come back?

The Creeper was attacked and killed by a bunch of Eclipso-Hyenas. Seriously. The only piece that survived was his hand. Later, in the 1997 Creeper series, it was revealed that he had regenerated from that left-over hand.

What's the Creeper's status after his Brave New World mini? I think the mini was a reboot, but, I haven't heard anything about it.

[vbartilucci]

[quote=OM] (Flamebird was) Bette Kane, Kathy's neice - at least, pre-Crisis she was - who was a tennis pro who in her spare time was a bimbo stalker after none other than - Dick Grayson. Pre-Crisis she was "Bat-Girl" until Julie Schwartz threw away all the 50's "Giant Prop Batman" elements and introduced Babs Gordon as Batgirl (no hyphen). When Marv Wolfman tried the "Titans West" concept during his run of Teen Titans in the 80's, Bette was retconned into Flamebird.[quote]

Thought so - who needs wiki when you've got a phalanx of able-minded geeks ready to serve up every piddling detail desired...

Originally Posted by OM

Dick: [sniff!] "Hey Kory! What's that smell? Are you cooking dinner tonight?"

Kory: "Why, yes Dick...a little homestyle specialty I call 'Tamaranian Aviary du Flambe'!'"

Bwah, Hah, and while we're at it, Hah, sir.

Originally Posted by grantg

What's the Creeper's status after his Brave New World mini? I think the mini was a reboot, but, I haven't heard anything about it.

It was a reboot, and whether or not we'll see him again is anybody's guess.

(IMHO) Once again, the portrayal of a DC character in the animated series(es?) supercedes the portrayal in the comics. I thought the Creeper as played in Batman TAS was a delight. The closest we'd get the Freakazoid in the DCU. Give him to Giffen and stand back...

Originally Posted by Hawkmoon269

Is Jean Loring still tied to Eclipso? The article, while very insightful, didn't make that very clear.

She is - the entity floating in space orbiting the sun is Jean Loring's body possessed by Eclipso.

Now whether or not that little twist was planned all along when Identity Crisis was written, that's an argument that could go either way. I'm betting not - I'm assuming Identity Crisis was a standalone story they chose to elaborate on later when the larger plan came into focus.

[ziza9]

Originally Posted by OM

.. He made her far less a bimbo, but she still had this major psychotic desire for Dick

heh heh...sorry. I'm off to grow up now.

[longshot7]

Originally Posted by strong guy79

Han Solo is not a sidekick!!!!!

True. He's the 2nd lead. Chewbacca was the sidekick.

[OM]

Originally Posted by ziza9

heh heh...sorry. I'm off to grow up now.

...That's why I was specific to state Dick Grayson. I *knew* someone was going to misconstrue that into an innuendo, but for *once* it was -not- intended that way.

Personally, I always expected Kory to become lesbian lovers with either Donna or Raven...

Originally Posted by vbartilucci

Thought so - who needs wiki when you've got a phalanx of able-minded geeks ready to serve up every piddling detail desired...

...Yeah, but these days, there's a lot of those types posing as wiki admins, behaving more like wikinazis than being a guiding hand. There's this one underage dork who operates out of Englandland who works with one of his schoolchumps - who passed himself off as an adult until he got his adminship approved, and then revealed he had just turned 15! - and they've managed to run off quite a number of serious contributors by enforcing suggested guidelines as if they were absolute, iron-clad rules. They've caused problems on the Lost, Jericho, Battlestar Galactica (Reimaged) and Rome pages for over a year now, and working together they've managed to get anyone disputing their actions blocked from editing any wiki pages.

...The sad part was that quite a few admins were backing them up for the same reason good cops back up bad cops: they want to prevent setting a precedent. As long as there's doubt that their actions were, in fact, wrong, they can claim deniability and stem off a tide of admin abuse claims. The sadder part is that these two punks have had their user pages wiped of all the personal info they retardedly put up to "protect" them from reprisals for their caustic and immature actions.

...I've got one OMBlogger who's been screwed over by these two particular twerps, and the whole story on that one is so full of corruption on the part of all the admins involved that someone really needs to synop the whole thing and let The Register or one of the tech rags that frequently denounce Wikipedia for this sort of crap to run with it and expose this major problem once and for all. Not to destroy Wikipedia, but to help get the thing back on track.

...So, while I may end every OMBlog with a wikilink of the day, I also recognize that Wikipedia is a good concept that's been corrupted by dips'hits, trolls, and underage punks all pretending they're adults long enough to gain power to screw with people who piss them off, and as a result the quality and integrity of articles - especially those dealing with genre topics - have declined dramatically in the past two years. This sort of bulls'hit is one of the reason Nature abandoned their own Wikiproject; no accredited scientist is going to put up one of his papers for peer review just to have it trashed and pwned by some sexless 14-year-old trying to pretend he's a PhD.

Bah, I'm digressing from the thread here. Where were we, anyway? Brother Power, the Geek being a New God or something?