The 1987 Dr Fate mini-series

Aesthetically speaking, ever since I first laid eyes upon his Super Power Collection action figure, Dr Fate was always one of my favorite DC characters. What's not to love? The yellow-and-blue color scheme. The ominous face-covering helmet. The big sweeping cape. He's pretty easy for an eight-year-old to draw. And the cherry on top: it's impossible to define his powers. What does he do? Just about anything. Can he beat Superman? Probably. Can he beat the Spectre? Maybe. Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman struck gold when they created this character back in 1940. I'm pretty elated to be re-reading the 1987 Dr Fate mini-series for this review.

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The year was 1987. DC was still trying to sort itself out with all the post-Crisis reboots and continuity conundrums. Dr Fate, who was now part of earth-one DCU thanks to Crisis On Infinite Earths, had been appearing in the new and very well-loved Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire Justice League ongoing series. It was an excellent time to revamp the character and get a new mini-series out there since interest in Dr Fate was at an all-time high. As an aside, for anyone who wasn't already familiar with Dr Fate from Roy Thomas' recent All-Star Squadron comics, you could've pick up The Immortal Doctor Fate three-issue deluxe reprint series that was released in 1985.

With a creative team of J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Keith Giffen (penciller) and Dave Hunt (inker), the house ad for this new Dr Fate mini-series... didn't really give anything away. I mean, it would appear that Dr Fate would be fighting some big monsters... but other than that, we had no clue that anything drastic would be happening in this mini.

House ad for 1987 Dr Fate mini-series

Needless to say, we were probably a little unprepared for the bombshells J.M DeMatteis and company would be dropping on us. True to the spirit of Dr Fate, it's a very odd story.

I'm telling you right now that this review is full of spoilers. If you want to stop reading this review, seek out this mini-series and read it on your own and be surprised, go ahead and do so. It's worth it.

I absolutely love this cover. Hell, I just love Keith Giffen art.

Kent Nelson is dying, or -- more specifically -- Nabu's host body is burning out. It's more or less revealed in the first issue of this mini-series that Kent is no longer in control when he wears the Dr Fate helmet and that Nabu is in the driver's seat. It's also revealed that Nabu is a Lord of Order. (I can't remember if this is the *first* instance of Dr Fate being named a Lord of Order, but either way, it's spelled out for the reader in this issue.) The Lords of Order want Nabu to cease his never-ending battle with the forces of Chaos since, according to the Yuga cycles, Chaos is just going to win anyways and then the cycle will restart... so why not just let this thing play itself out and they can restart the cycle from the beginning, and Order will come into power again?

panels from Dr Fate v1 #1 (1987). Pencilled by Keith Giffen, inked by Dave Hunt.

[It's probably worth mentioning that this 'Yuga cycles' stuff isn't fictional, and that DeMatteis is trying to educate us about Hinduism. Actually, a lot of DeMatteis' mystical writing is rooted in Hinduism, and now that you're aware of this you'll probably start to notice a lot of parallels you probably missed the first time.]

Despite the sage advice, Nabu decides that he needs to find a new host to keep on battling the Lords of Chaos. Enter: Eric Strauss. Eric is a 10-year-old boy who has always known he was destined for greater things. Kent Nelson goes out and abducts Eric from a playground so Nabu can begin training Eric to be the next Dr Fate host.

Dialogue between Kent Nelson and a young Eric Strauss. Note the close up of Inza Nelson's gravestone. panels from Dr Fate v1 #1 (1987). Pencilled by Keith Giffen, inked by Dave Hunt.

Nabu then ages Eric Strauss from a 10-year-old boy to a 20-year-old man thanks to some unexplained magic:

A 20-year-old Eric Strauss. Hey, that's Kent Nelson in the background! Why does he have a mouth in his abdomen? page from Dr Fate v1 #1 (1987). Pencilled by Keith Giffen, inked by Dave Hunt.

We also can't forget Linda Strauss, who is also first introduced in the first issue of this mini-series. Linda is Eric's 28-year-old step-mother. I was really hoping to glaze over this, but it's so in-your-face that you just can't ignore it: Eric and Linda have a very *unusual* relationship. This will be prevalent throughout the mini-series:

panels from Dr Fate v1 #1 (1987). Pencilled by Keith Giffen, inked by Dave Hunt.

Also introduced in the first issue: Dr Benjamin Stoner. Don't let the fact that he works at Arkham Asylum fool you: this is the first appearance of Dr Stoner (aka: he's not an already-established Batman villain) and he will re-appear at least once in the 1988 Dr Fate ongoing series. Dr Stoner takes his orders from Typhon, a Lord of Chaos, who also makes his first appearance in this mini-series.

The menacing Dr Benjamin Stoner.
panels from Dr Fate v1 #1 (1987). Pencilled by Keith Giffen, inked by Dave Hunt.

...and finally, there's Kent Nelson -- the golden aged Dr Fate. He's looking pretty rough; that mouth coming out of his stomach is a dead giveaway. Also worth noting: Inza Nelson is dead. DeMatteis spends the first issue of this mini-series turning everything you thought you knew about Dr Fate on it's head. It's all very weird and intriguing and, as far as sheer entertainment value is concerned, I just can't help but want to read more.

Nabu, Kent Nelson and a young Eric Strauss.
panel from Dr Fate v1 #1 (1987). Pencilled by Keith Giffen, inked by Dave Hunt.

As the story progresses, DeMatteis really delves into the whole 'Nabu is a manipulative jerk' idea and has Kent Nelson lashing out about Nabu's wicked ways. A sub-theme of this mini is Kent Nelson coming to terms with the fact that Nabu robbed him of a happy life, and that Nabu is really no better than a Lord of Chaos in the end.

Kent Nelson reflects. panels from Dr Fate v1 #2 (1987). Pencilled by Keith Giffen, inked by Dave Hunt.

Meanwhile, in an inner monologue, Linda Strauss decides to blurt out what we've all been thinking:

This is how Linda feels about Eric -- and she's not even aware he's an adult now.
panels from Dr Fate v1 #2 (1987). Pencilled by Keith Giffen, inked by Dave Hunt.

Coincidentally, Linda Strauss is twenty-eight-years old... and already feels a "connection" to this young boy. Hmmm. I wonder what's going to happen when Linda discovers that Eric has been suddenly aged to a twenty-year-old? Hmmm... I'm getting flashbacks of Hal Jordan and Arisia here.

panel from Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #1 (1981). Art by Joe Staton and Frank McLaughlin.

I've read enough four-issue minis' to know that in order to keep it interesting, at some point the antagonist needs to overpower the protagonist just so we can see how much damage and destruction would be caused if the protagonist gave up. This mini was no exception; Dr Stoner does, in fact, get possession of Dr Fate's mystical helmet and sacred amulet, he becomes a new Dr Fate (anti-Fate?) and plunges the world into chaos.

This appearance of Ronald Reagan here for no other reason than I collect images of Reagan from DC comics. panel from Dr Fate v1 #3 (1987). Pencilled by Keith Giffen, inked by Dave Hunt.

The Justice League and the Phantom Stranger make a special appearance in issue #3. Actually, they take up half of the issue. Not that I'm complaining -- seeing Keith Giffen illustrate and Dave Hunt ink the Justice League is just one more reason to hunt down and purchase this mini-series.

panels from Dr Fate v1 #3 (1987). Pencilled by Keith Giffen, inked by Dave Hunt.

On the topic of the Justice League, after this mini-series, Dr Fate would appear in only ONE more issue of Justice League International (it was a Millennium cross-over, too) and that would be it.


The fourth issue of this mini is the big showdown: Eric Strauss, Linda Strauss, Nabu, and Kent Nelson versus Dr Stoner (aka: the Anti-Fate). The battle's not going too well for our heroes, when -- out of nowhere -- one more BIG bombshell is revealed:

panels from Dr Fate v1 #4 (1987). Pencilled by Keith Giffen, inked by Dave Hunt.

...and we finally discover Linda Strauss' part in all of this:

page from Dr Fate v1 #4 (1987). Pencilled by Keith Giffen, inked by Dave Hunt.

The mini-series reveals that Dr Fate was always meant to be the aggregate of two human hosts. Kent and Inza Nelson were always meant to be merged into one, but Nabu put a stop to that... because he's a manipulative jerk. So that explains the whole Eric/Linda connection: she felt a 'connection' to him (easily confused for love) because they were meant to be the new Dr Fate! That explains it.

...but wait! There's more:

panels from Dr Fate v1 #4 (1987). Pencilled by Keith Giffen, inked by Dave Hunt.

Well... so much for that theory.

So, this is the part where I try to defend the weird Eric Strauss/Linda Strauss relationship dynamic.

Keeping in mind that J.M. DeMatteis had a consciousness-altering experience when he was 17 years old that set him on a course towards the teachings of Meher Baba, it's safe to presume that the teachings of Meher Baba's most popular book, God Speaks, The Theme of Creation and Its Purpose, had a big impact on DeMatteis and his story-telling.

As it so happens, reincarnation is a central tenet of Meher Baba's teachings. Thus, I'm choosing to explain this away as reincarnation -- Eric and Linda were meant to be together, and were probably together in a previous lifetime... but it just so happened that Linda was reincarnated thirteen years sooner than Eric. There. Something that, at first glance, may appear to be confusing and creepy can now be explained away as mystical and slightly romantic.* Anyways, will Eric and Linda be able to sort this out? Well, not in this mini-series, so we'll need to wait for the ongoing series to see how this unfolds.

* J.M. DeMatteis even chimed in on this via twitter:

God bless you, social media!

Kent Nelson, who finally get the peace he's been longing for, is unceremoniously re-animated by Nabu to be his living vessel (again).

panels from Dr Fate v1 #4 (1987). Pencilled by Keith Giffen, inked by Dave Hunt.

So, how did I enjoy this mini-series? I loved it. It's the perfect storm of 'excellent storytelling about a character I've always been interested in' combined with 'art that I just can't get enough of'. Giffen does a great job with setting a dark and ominous tone to this mini-series; he includes lots of shadows and lots of things with sharp teeth.

This is my favorite kind of Keith Giffen art  -- it's bold and dramatic, it's heavy on contrasts, it's filled with vibrant colors and has a 'pop art' feel to it --  it's the same Keith Giffen art that had me take a look at Legion of Super-Heroes with a new set of eyes. You can find similar Giffen art in The Heckler and the Ambush Bug minis and specials. A major appearance by the Justice League was just the icing on the cake.



The big takeaway:

1) Dr Fate is now a composite of two people: Eric and Linda Strauss. I'm not sure how this is going to play out -- will it be a 'Firestorm thing' where, when they merge, Eric is the body while Linda is a voice in his head? I guess we'll need to wait for the ongoing series.

2) Kent Nelson is back -- but he's actually Nabu. Yeah, that won't be confusing at all. To be honest, I just kinda feel bad for Kent... all he wants to do is rest and be with his late wife, Inza.

3) Dr Fate got his powers (of a sort) in Cairo, Egypt and his magic was always being represented with an ankh (a symbol of life used in ancient Egypt) -- so I'm pretty surprised to learn that there's some Hinduism mixed in there.


Coming up next: The 1988 Dr Fate ongoing series.


-Justin

A review of the 1986/1987 LEGENDS mini-series

LEGENDS had begun as a follow up to Crisis on Infinite Earths. Seen mainly as a springboard for launching several new titles such as Giffen & DeMatties' run on Justice League and John Ostrander's Suicide Squad, it still stands on its own as an entertaining read.

The plot is relatively straightforward, but with enough happening in each issue to make it feel like a bigger story than the page count suggests. Darksied is scheming with Glorious Godfrey on Apokolips to destroy the so-called superhero 'legends' of earth. If he does so, it will make humanity stop believing in higher ideals and be much more susceptible to being brainwashed and taken over. The Phantom Stranger shows up and makes a bet with Darksied that humanity will never turn its back on its heroes and good will never truly be snuffed out. To carry out his plans, Darksied sends Godfrey to pose as a TV preacher, G. Gordon Godfrey, and use the media to spin the public into believing that the very existence of superheroes mocks the 'common man' and that the US Government should outlaw them.

Glorious Godfrey as outspoken pundit from LEGENDS #1 (1986).
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

The public is surprisingly quick to agree with this and after a few incidents of anti-superhero mob attacks, Ronald Reagan is forced to temporarily order all heroes to cease activities for the time being.

I should point out that although it’s implied that Godfrey is somehow using New God technology to hypnotise people in to following him, it’s never outright stated as such, so what we’re left with is the fact that he was able to simply get the public to attack Batman and Robin up in a department store after they just saved them all from an armed robbery.

Fun fact: Five of the  eight characters in this panel were co-created by Gerry Conway.
Justice League Detroit (with Firestorm and Cosmic Boy) from LEGENDS #1 (1986).
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

Darkseid also sends out his minion Brimstone, a plasma-based skyscraping entity who fights with the Detroit-era Justice League (in a bittersweet last adventure before the end of that team), and is eventually defeated by the newly-created Suicide Squad. We get to see them in action, fighting atop Mount Rushmore.

Suicide Squad vs Brimstone from LEGENDS #3 (1987).
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

Ronald Reagan plays a background role, but it's a vital one; it’s his executive order to temporarily ban superheroes (in response to mass public unrest) that creates much of the drama of the series. Contemporary politicians in superhero comics is always a tricky issue -- since it instantly dates a comic book's longevity. It is rather interesting that he’s presented as an unknowing tool on behalf of Darkseid, the super-villain who Jack Kirby always equated with Richard Nixon.

The Then-President of the United States consults with Superman in LEGENDS #2 (1986)
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

Many heroes are affected by the ban. Captain Marvel, having been tricked by a clone of Macro- Man planted to explode when struck by lightning, believes he murdered him and is afraid to use his magic word to change from Billy Batson again. Blue Beetle is shot by a cop after he stops a criminal, thinking maybe it’s time to give up crime-fighting.

Blue Beetle being shot at by cops. From LEGENDS #2 (1986)
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

Guy Gardner saves an out of control plane from crashing by landing it on the freeway, and all he gets for his trouble is a bunch of angry passengers and inconvenienced motorists. Guy is atypically in control of himself in this mini, and seems like a competent, if not hot-blooded, Green Lantern. In comparison with Hal who he’s replacing, he seems like a much more exciting GL, making constructs of crazy monsters and using his power ring in clever ways like popping a small hole in an oil tank above a bad guy's head, as opposed to Hal "Giant Baseball Bat" Jordan.

Guy Gardner in all his glory! From LEGENDS #5 (1987)
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

This characterization stands in contrast to the half-cocked hotshot that would be a main character in DeMatties and Giffens’s Justice League International.

Dr. Fate is watching all of these event unfold and decides that it’s time to act. He gathers Superman, Batman, Flash, Beast Boy, Guy, Black Canary, Blue Beetle and Captain Marvel for the upcoming battle.

Gang's all here! From LEGENDS #5 (1987)
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

It all ends with a big showdown in Washington DC with the Dr. Fate assembled heroes versus Godfrey with his human-controlled Hunger Dogs and an army of parademons. Even Wonder Woman shows up, in her first Post-Crisis appearance in 'man's world'.

The dramatic debut of the NEW post-Crisis Wonder Woman in LEGENDS #6 (1987).
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

After disposing of the mechanical hounds, Godfrey taunts the heroes that they won't dare hurt innocent, if deluded, bystanders. In the end though, it’s the innocent children who save the day by rushing to the unruly mob and telling them that the superheros are good guys after all. Godfrey strikes a child, releasing the people from his spell and turning the tide of the battle. It ends with the heroes standing around making a somewhat unrealistic speech about how although hero worship isn’t healthy, there will always be a need for people to believe in something greater than themselves. And if it wasn’t hammered enough in that this story is a religious allegory, the book ends with a quote from The Book of Ephesians.

The altruistic ending from LEGENDS #6 (1987)
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

This theme -- demonstrating that the ability to influence the beliefs and values of the general public is a formidable power -- is a very common one though DC. It goes back to Jack Kirby and Darkseid’s quest for the Anti-Life Equation, all the way to the public turning on Superman in Kingdom Come (another book with heavy religious allegories), and is quite prominent in Grant Morrison's Final Crisis.

Glorious Godfrey preaching to the mob in LEGENDS #5 (1987)
Pencilled by John Byrne, inked by Karl Kesel

Iris Allen walking home is Final Crisis #4 (2008)
Art by J.G. Jones, Carlos Pacheco, and Jesus Merino.

A lot of what makes LEGENDS interesting is how, in many ways, it’s the first true BIG super team-up in the wake of the new status quo. Although Guy Gardner had been seen previously, this really feels like Guy's FIRST big public debut as the Green Lantern of Earth, and I’m sure that was the intention of the writers as they introduced Guy to a whole new crop of readership.

LEGENDS is a scientific experiment that seeks to ask the question "What would the fearful and hateful humans that populate the Marvel Universe (and X-Men comics in particular) do if they where in the much more superhero-friendly DC Universe"? The answer they seem to come up with is that they would act like jerks for a while, but in the end they would revert back to their docile selves. Somewhat unfulfilling if you ask me. It should be remembered that Watchmen was coming out at the same time as this mini-series, and didn’t shy away from asking tough questions about the morality of hero worship with schmaltzy scenes with children.

This book also fulfills the promise of showcasing a 'shared universe' by incorporating the heroes from the infinite earths that where saved during Crisis On Infinite Earths. Most notably, Earth-Two's Dr. Fate, Earth-Charlton's Blue Beetle, and Earth-Fawcett's Captain Marvel/Shazam.

Captain Marvel/Shazam from LEGENDS #5 (1987)
Pencilled by John Byrne, inked by Karl Kesel

Dr Fate! From LEGENDS #4 (1987)
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

John Byrne's pencils are in top form. It’s his version of Superman straight out of the Man of Steel mini-series, right down to the sharp eyes and confident smile. It’s interesting to see him draw Captain Marvel, he even captures C.C. Beck's "squinty eyes" on him. Byrne's art totally fits for a series like this, given the time when it came out. It’s clean but not lifeless, gritty and detailed but not overly cluttered. It’s hard to tell how much of the art that comes out is Byrne's pencils or Karl Kesel's inks. I’ve heard that, as more and more work would be assigned to Byrne, he would forgo drawing backgrounds and would only stick to characters. The inker would sometimes fill in the backgrounds and other details when needed. This is the case in some of the later issues of Marvel's Alpha Flight (for example 1984's Alpha Flight #13 features an eleven page dream sequence with no words and minimal backgrounds -- a sequence I DO like by the way).

Billy Batson to Captain Marvel in LEGENDS #3 (1987)
Pencils by John Byrne, inks by Karl Kesel.

Ultimately, I think it’s a good mini-series that deserves reading for being a bridge from Crisis On Infinite Earths to Justice League International, but I think it’s a bit simplistic in its morality. It’s just on the edge of being a mature readers book, but then it reverts back to the world of 'Peter Pan and Tinkerbell'.

The series is written by John Ostrander and Len Wein, with pencils by John Byrne and inks by Karl Kesel.



-Anthony Kuchar

Erik Tramontana reviewing 1988's The Weird mini-series

In the course of my ongoing Justice League International reread, I saw ads for a series I’d never heard of called The Weird. I was a little hesitant at first, but Jim Starlin and Bernie Wrightson, the creative team that gave the world Batman: The Cult? I couldn’t pass this up. So I bit the bullet and got the series on ebay for $3.50 plus shipping. Why such a low price, I wondered, and why haven’t I ever seen a collected edition before?

Turns out, it’s complicated. This series has phenomenal Bernie Wrightson superhero art, some of Jim Starlin's trippiest concepts ever, and yet it somehow remains excruciatingly boring. If you cut the fat and trimmed this four-issue miniseries into an 80-Page Giant, we’d likely be talking about it in the reverent tones we reserve for early Vertigo, but -- as it stands -- it is more of a curiosity of Post-Crisis "Throw Everything Against the Wall and See What Sticks" DC. Join me as I learn Who Is... What Is... THE WEIRD.

In the slums of Metropolis, a guy is doing some sort of occult ritual in his seedy apartment. The ritual somehow causes a huge explosion of light over the city.

Superman investigates and discovers a construct of pure energy. He tries to touch it and the entity knocks him backwards three miles, in the first of many physical comedy routines peppered throughout the book. Captain Atom and J’onn J’onnz show up to check it out, bringing the rest of the Justice League with them.

A note in the beginning of the issue says that the story takes place before Justice League International v1 #7 (1987), which explains why Doctor Fate is still with the team.

Fate and Guy Gardner can’t figure out what the being is, and it is resisting the Green Lantern ring’s probe, so Guy turns up the juice a bit. The energy being explodes again and blacks out the city (and Blue Beetle’s Bug along with it), and knocks Guy unconscious.

The construct splits into two smaller pieces and looks as though it is about to attack the city. One of the pieces floats around the GENEX genetic research lab, while the other lands in a funeral home and disappears with the body! Batman thinks the creature is trying to build itself a body to contain its energy, because Batman is a scientist. The creature blows up a chunk of a building but disintegrates the rubble before any can reach the ground and hit an innocent bystander.

Guy tries to contain the being inside a forcefield, only to have it emerge as if from a cocoon minutes later, in this psychedelic two-page spread:

And what emerges is this:

No, it’s not EC Comics Horror Host The Old Witch, this handsome devil is The Weird himself. The League brings the now-humanoid creature to STAR Labs and discovers that its organs are not yet fully-formed even though he appears to be an adult. Superman uses microscopic vision to determine that its alien molecular structure is unstable as an atomic bomb, and the reaction could level Metropolis at any moment. Beetle pulls a 'Cisco Ramon' and names the creature.

Guy is wrong here. It is NOT a good name.

Batman wants to take The Weird to Mars for study, but The Weird won’t allow himself to be apprehended. The Weird walks right through Guy’s ring constructs in another physical comedy routine, and then Doctor Fate tries unsuccessfully to teleport him away.

The Weird eludes the League embarrassingly easily and shows up at Jason Morgan’s apartment (remember, the half-face guy casting spells?) but Morgan isn’t home. Morgan isn’t home, so The Weird goes to check in on the family of the dead guy from the funeral home. The little kid sees him and says “Dad?”

END OF ISSUE ONE, and if the whole thing ended here the story would be all the better for it. I LOVED this first issue. It’s funny, it looks great, it’s intriguing -- it reminded me of the early issues of The Sandman, when Martian Manhunter or John Constantine would show up to help the reader make sense of this strange new comic. Plus it’s got the great Todd Klein on letters, just as The Sandman did throughout its run. But, unfortunately, here on Earth-Prime the series went on for three more issues.

Issue two picks up where we left off, as TV reporter Lance Armstrong (ha!) explains what happened in issue one. Military guys ask Superman to find The Weird and also please don’t mention that he has an unstable molecular structure that could blow up Metropolis or maybe even the world.

Batman does a bit of Bwa-Ha-Haing, but it’s Batman so the joke doesn’t really land (picture Lieutenant Holt on Brooklyn 99):

The Weird flies Billy to the beach for some father-son bonding.

Billy drops some next-level 1980s slang:

The Weird explains that Billy’s Dad’s body is his host -- he has all of his memories and looks like him, but is something bigger than before. The Weird has super strength, can alter his molecular density, and can affect energy. Then there is like seven pages of wacky exposition.

There are these energy beings, you see, called Macrolatts and Zorolatts, and The Weird was a Zorolatt. He hated his crappy life being subservient to the Macrolatts, so he came to Earth where he’d be powerful, using this dimensional bridge. So far so good.

“The Jason” is one of the bad guy Macrolatts who merged with a skid row bum so they could stabilize the dimensional bridge.

The Weird liked Earth enough to try and stop the Macrolatts from taking over so he jumped through after them, wrecking the bridge in the process. "The Jason" must be prevented from re-opening the bridge.

The Weird leaves Billy and flies off to confront The Jason but is stopped by Superman. Superman chases him through Metropolis in some scenes of top-notch physical comedy. The Weird causes a building to collapse on Superman to buy himself some time.

The news is now reporting that The Weird is unstable and highly dangerous. The Weird wastes no further time confronting The Jason at his apartment.

They do battle in Jason’s apartment bathroom. The JLI are on the scene! During the fight there’s an explosion and Guy is prevented from getting in. Doctor Fate uses protective spells to save the civilians.

The Jason puts an energy shield up around the building to prevent the outsiders from interfering in the fight.

During the battle, Jason tells his sob story -- dead dad, drunk mom murdered, nothing ever good enough, homeless, garbage man, prison, booze -- until the Macrolatts promised to make him as special as he’d always believed himself to be.

More physical comedy ensues.

The Weird tries to reason with Jason but it’s no use. Jason traps him in a bubble and tries once again to open the dimensional bridge. The Weird realizes that if he goes critical mass then he could blow up the bubble -- and a chunk of Metropolis with it. He decides it’s worth the risk.

Two Macrolatts make it through the portal.

Sadly, The Weird realizes he must kill The Jason to save the Earth. He dies right around the same time as my enthusiasm for this miniseries.

Meanwhile, Superman gets hit with a bolt of energy while flying, and, bizarrely, Nuklon from Infinity Inc disappears (Nuklon’s sudden appearance makes me wonder if this story was originally intended for the Satellite Era League, with Firestorm playing the Nuklon role. As is, it’s a weird and jarring intrusion on a fairly self-contained story).

J’onn becomes tangible and knocks out The Weird. Batman instructs Guy to take him off-planet, but suddenly Superman and Nuklon are possessed by Microlatts!

There’s a big fight with Supes and Nuklon vs the Justice League. The Weird is all, "we can’t defeat the Macrolatts and it’s pointless to even try," and frankly I agree with him. I could not care less about any of this at this point. Batman and Superman have a Dark Knight Returns style throw-down that nearly kills Batman and it’s like 'Meh'.

Macrolatt Superman and Nuklon rage through the city. The Weird bows down before them and knocks out Batman to demonstrate his loyalty to his Macrolatt overlords. The Weird offers to let the Macrolatts absorb him and assist in their takeover, all they need to do is reach out and touch him but…

meme from imgur.com. original creator: unknown

The Weird absorbs the Macrolatts and prevents the invasion. Unfortunately, he still has that pesky unstable molecular structure.

The first thing he does is build a giant ship in a bottle, as a gift to Billy. They have a tearful goodbye.

The second thing he does is ask the JLI to take him to an empty planet to die.

He goes nuclear.

THE END

Well, that’s over with. It started out so promising, but by the time I got to issue 3 it became a total slog. I would love to know the behind-the-scenes of this story because I have a million questions.

 I wouldn’t recommend reading the story, necessarily, but if you happen to find a copy of Mystery in Space Vol 2 at the library or flea market by all means pick it up and flip through. It’s worth a look for the Looney Tunes-esque action slapstick fight scenes, and for the bizarre spectacle of seeing Justice League International in a Karen Berger proto-Vertigo comic. It’s no Infinity Gauntlet or Cosmic Odyssey (and it’s definitely no Batman: The Cult), but it is trippy Jim Starlin sci-fi so how can you lose.

You may NOT remember seeing The Weird on your local spinner rack (or even in the comic book shop you frequented), but you MAY remember this full-page appearing in various 'comic journalism' publications (notably Amazing Heroes):

the ad had the same art as the cover of The Weird #1 (1988), which was illustrated by Bernie Wrightson.

-Erik

Erik Tramontana is a teacher, a dad, and a lifelong Batman fan. He blogs about 1990s DC comics at jlaclassified.tumblr.com, and we're really grateful that he writes these amazing reviews for us. View more of his DC in the 80s reviews.




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