COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

Hello there, comic fans!  I apologize for the layoff---been very busy with the job thing, and had NOT had time to continue our journey through the Corps of the Emerald Gladiators.  THIS week, we focus on one of the most iconic GL's of all--John Stewart.  Mr. Stewart has been, arguably, the 2nd most popular Green Lantern next to Hal Jordan, and have proven himself time and again that he is every bit as good as Jordan.  So, as we celebrate 80 years of the Ring Slinger, we focus on one of the true greats.

GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW  #87

COVER ART: Neal Adams, Jack Adler

WRITER: Dennis O'Neil, Eliot S. Maggin! (Green Arrow)

ARTIST: Neal Adams

INKS: Dick Giordano

LETTERS: John Costanza, Gasper Saladino (Green Arrow)

COLORS: N/A

EDITOR: Julius Schwartz

COVER DATE: December 1971

PUBLISHER: DC Comics

TAGLINES:  Introducing an unforgettable NEW character who REALLY means it when he warns "BEWARE MY POWER!", A classic extra--"Earth's First Green Lantern!"

STORY TITLE:  "Beware My Power!", "What Can One Man Do?" (Green Arrow story)

Green Lantern #87 introduced us to a brand new character to the Emerald Gladiator's mythos:  John Stewart.  A new GL for the times that had attitude, confidence, and strength to handle the mantle.  Stewart got over so well after his first appearance, that he ended up taking over as Earth's main  GL during the mid 80's, as Hal Jordan had given up the role.  Stewart asserted himself has quite a formidable hero in his own right, and it also allowed DC to have a minority character as a main hero.  Stewart has become the lynchpin of the GL Corps, and has stepped into his own spotlight, not only having taken over for Jordan for a spell, but working WITH Hal to establish the Corps on Earth, as well as becoming a member of the Justice League in his own right.  When Warner Bros. decided to give us a Justice League animated series...it was John Stewart that they used to fill out the roster.  Stewart is a former military man, and an architect who has guts, grit, and the toughness to take on anyone in battle.  And with CW's Arrow show giving us John Diggle---we're hoping that HE becomes the Green Lantern we've been hoping for.  Either way...John Stewart is an amazing character who's well worth ANY read.  

THE STORY:  An earthquake hits Coast City, and as Hal Jordan is saving people, he cannot get ahold of his other GL partner, Guy Gardner, who's injured by a bus.  The Guardians direct Hal to a man in the ghetto named John Stewart.  Stewart is reluctant at first, and reticent at best, but accepts the role, and he and Hal end up dealing with a racist Senator, whom tries to discredit John.  In the end, they save the day, and while Hal isn't happy with John's attitude or approach, he accepts him as a recruit.

In "What Can One Man Do?", Oliver Queen is going through a personal  crisis:  he doesn't feel he's doing enough, and whether or not it's worth continuing being the Green Arrow.  The mayor of Star City is not running for re-election, and Oliver's name comes up.  During a riot, Green Arrow sees a black child shot in the back.  He rushes the boy to an ambulance, and they take him to a hospital, but the boy ends up dying. Talking to Black Canary, Ollie decides that he needs to do more, so he opts to run  for mayor of Star City. 

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This issue gave us an explosive introduction to John Stewart, and though his character HAS changed and matured over time...he was an angry man when we first meet him, and Hal is weary of his attitude.  But he distinguishes himself well enough that Hal recruits him into the Corps...a decision that Hal would reflect on as one of the best decisions he ever made.  

In the second story, we also get some maturity from Oliver Queen, as he realizes that there's MORE to being a hero without wearing a mask...and finding a new purpose.  It was during this time that Both GL and GA were sharing a book, but it wouldn't last forever, as Hal would eventually get the book back to himself.  But this was a great emotional one-two punch issue. 

NEXT WEEK:  We meet the Lantern for the new age....

 

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

 

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

Welcome back once again to the Comic Shop of History!  We continue our 80th celebration of everyone who's ever been called Green Lantern, and this week, we get to focus on the 3rd man who would wield the ring---Guy Gardner.  Guy was introduced in this issue, and we pretty much all know where Guy wound up as a character.  Brash, bold, loud, abrasive, rude, crude, but confident and fearless, Guy would be one of the cornerstones of the GL Corps, and apply himself admirably...albeit with a cocky attitude.  Guy has been a polarizing character at best---people love him, people hate him, people just love to see him get put in his place from time to time.  But make no mistake---Gardner is a hero.  So, let's see how Guy came into the world of Green Lantern.

GREEN LANTERN #59

COVER ART: Gil Kane & Murphy Anderson

WRITER: John Broome

ARTIST: Gil Kane

INKS: Sid Greene

LETTERS: Gasper Saladino

COLORS: N/A

EDITOR: Julius Schwartz

COVER DATE: March 1968

PUBLISHER: DC Comics 

STORY TITLE:  "Earth's Other Green Lantern"

Green Lantern #59 brings us the first appearance of a character that would become one of the most fascinating and polarizing characters in the history of the GL Corps, if not the DC Universe - Guy Gardner.  No one had a clue as to what would come when he came on the scene, nor the evolution he would go through over the years...especially into the mid-1980's, when the character was pivotal in not only Crisis on Infinite Earths, but also the mini-series follow-up, Legends.  Guy would become a core member of the newly reformed Justice League, but underwent a MAJOR character shift, as he cockiness, arrogance, and fighting spirit made him worthwhile reading.  He would go on to get a series of his own, Guy Gardner:  Warrior, and would get a power change, but he eventually made his way back to the Green Lantern Corps, and is one of the cornerstones of the elite interstellar police force along with his fellow Earthlings Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and Kyle Rayner.  Love him or not, Guy is certainly a character that livens ANY book up with just who he is.  

THE STORY:  While on Oa, Hal Jordan sees through a Memory Machine the Guardians had set up, that there was another man - Guy Gardner - who could've been chosen as the next Green Lantern when Abin Sur was critically injured.  But since Jordan is the closest at the time, the ring chose him.  Hal watches through the machine what Gardner would've been like as a Green Lantern.  After watching Guy's "adventure" through the machine, Hal decides to meet the real Guy Gardner in person.

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The cover alone kind of gave us an idea of what Gardner would be like as a Green Lantern, and as Hal watches one of Guy's "adventures", we get a sense of the kind of man Gardner would be.  It's also a great way to introduce another character into the GL Corps other than Jordan, who was just as worth of wielding the power ring.  Broome continues to craft a well told story, and Gil Kane's art is really at it's best here.  If you're a completiest...you cannot forget about Guy's first appearance.

NEXT WEEK:  We meet Hal's first successor....

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

 

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

Once again, we are at our comic archeological dig, and have unearthed our book for this edition, and we are continuing the 80th anniversary of the Emerald Gladiator known as Green Lantern.  Today, we focus on, perhaps, THE greatest and MOST recognizable ring slinger of all:  Harold "Hal" Jordan.  Hal was a reimagining of the original Green Lantern created by John Broome and artist Gil Kane, and made his first appearance in the pages of Showcase, 18 issues after the debut of ANOTHER new popular hero for which Jordan would be tied to forever:  Barry Allen...The Flash.  So, we're going to take a peek at this issue, and discuss the new GL appearing on the national stage as DC's newest superhero.

SHOWCASE #22

COVER ART: Gil Kane & Ira Schnapp

WRITER: John Broome

ARTIST: Gil Kane

INKS: Joe Giella

LETTERS: Gasper Saladino

COLORS: N/A

EDITOR: Julius Schwartz

COVER DATE: October 1959

PUBLISHER: DC Comics

TAGLINE:  Featuring "Menace of the Runaway Missile"

STORY TITLES: "S.O.S. Green Lantern!", "Secret of the Flaming Spear!", "Menace of the Runaway Missile!"

Showcase #22 was the platform for writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane to give Julius Schwartz what he wanted:  a re-imagning of Green Lantern.  But this time around, Groome and Kane decided to go away from the mystical aspects of the original Lantern, Alan Scott, and create an entire NEW version, based a little more in science fiction.  We got Hal Jordan, a test pilot who is given a ring created by cosmic beings called the Guardians of the Universe, by a dying alien who was patrolling his "sector" and got fatally injured.  Jordan then becomes Green Lantern - one of about 3600 members of a unique universal "Police Force" made to keep the peace.  Instead of wood being the weakness of the ring (like Alan Scott's), Jordan's ring is useless against anything yellow.  Also, these Green Lanterns must possess no fear.  Jordan has gone on to become THE Greatest Green Lantern in comics history, and has also quite being GL for a time, came back, and then became the villain known as Parallax during the Zero Hour miniseries back in the 1990's, was killed, then reborn thanks to writer Geoff Johns.  The history of the GL's have been expanded, as well as the rings, and Jordan has faced many bad guys in his career.  Jordan is still the standard bearer for which all Green Lanterns are compared, and was given his own series after HIS initial appearances in this book    

THE STORY: "S.O.S. Green Lantern!" - Ferris Aircraft test pilot Hal Jordan is summoned by the dying alien Abin Sur to become the next bearer or the Green Lantern ring, and be a hero to patrol this sector of the universe from evil.

"Secret of the Flaming Spear!" - Saboteurs try to destroy an experimental aircraft developed by Ferris Aircraft called the Flaming Spear, and it's up to Green Lantern to stop them.

"Menace of the Runaway Missile!" - Dr. Parris, and evil scientist putting his own motivations ahead of his country, launches a missile at a Coast City hydrogen power facility, but the missile is coated in yellow...Green Lantern's one weakness.  It's up to GL to find a way to stop it. 

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This issue---like so many Silver Age books, can be found in reprints all over the place, and in various collections put together by DC Comics.  This was yet another issue of this anthology series where the star of the book got to have 2 other stories in the issue as well.  Booklength stories were a rarity back in those days, so they always had 2-3 stories an issue...sometimes with different characters.  But GL took the spotlight here.  Broome, who'd also been doing the writing chores on The Flash, was instrumental in getting the Silver Age off the ground, and penned some fantastic stories of the day, and Gil Kane's work was A LOT different back in 1959 as compared to his later years, mostly due to whomever was inking him.  But he had a sleek look to his work, and had a platform to expound on his work, because he wasn't limited to just Earth.  He eventually got to take GL to the stars, and different worlds, and his work on his creation is still top notch to this day.  

NEXT WEEK:  We focus on Hal Jordan's contemporaries....who's a little more, shall we say...brusk.

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

 

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

Welcome back!  Once more, we enter the Shop of Comic Book History, and see what we pull from the bin of classics.  For the next few weeks, we're going to focus on yet ANOTHER DC character who's celebrating 80 years - Green Lantern.  There have been MANY incarnations of the Emerald Gladiator, but today...we're gonna start at the beginning, and get introduced to the first man to bear the mantle of Green Lantern:  Alan Scott.

ALL-AMERICAN COMICS #16

COVER ART: Sheldon Moldoff

WRITER: Bill Finger

ARTIST: Martin Nodell

INKS: Martin Nodell

LETTERS: Martin Nodell

COLORS: N/A

EDITOR: Sheldon Mayer

COVER DATE: July 1940

PUBLISHER: All-American Publications (which later became DC Comics)

TAGLINE:  Introducing....The Green Lantern!

STORY TITLES: "The Origin of Green Lantern", "The Rescue", "Sealed Orders", "The Infra-Red Destroyers", "Goodbye, Widow-Maker", "The Power Plant Failure", "Stamps" 

All-American Comics #16 was one of the pivotal comics of its time, as it introduced us to a brand new character:  Alan Scott, The Green Lantern. Created by Martin Nodell, this character was an engineer who obtained this magical power from something called the Green Flame of Life.  He molded a ring from the lantern that provided the flame, and became a superhero.  The comic series was published by All-American Comics, which was run by William M. Gaines, who later formed EC Comics and the the genius behind MAD Magazine.  All-American would later merge with National Publications, and form what we now know as DC Comics.  Green Lantern became a charter member of the Justice Society of America, and helped pave the way for the Golden Age of Comics.  Scott was given his own book after his run in All-American Comics, and eventually disappeared after the end of World War II.  The Lantern was also revealed to be a charter member of the All-Star Squ adron.  Scott would ride with this book until issue #102.  He was also granted his own title during this time.  This book also featured backup stories (as was the norm during the time), from Hop Harrigan, Red, White, and Blue, Adventures in the Unknown, Scribbly, Gary Concord - The Ultra-Man, and Popsicle Pete.  But the main focus was the new hero Nodell introduced to the world, and gained instant popularity.  

THE STORY:  Alan Scott is caught in an explosion of a trestle bridge, and finds out he was saved from the very lantern he'd been carrying.  The Lantern reveals its story about how it was formed years ago by a Chinese man who formed it from a meteor that had fallen. Scott forms a ring out of it, and becomes the superhero known as The Green Lantern.

As of this writing, we have no synopsis for the backup stories in this issue

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This issue will remain one of the most important issues in superhero comic book history, because we had NO clue just how big Green Lantern would become in the coming decades.  Hop Harrigan is a character I am slightly aware of, but haven't heard anything about within the last 30 or so years.  Red, White, and Blue I believe I had heard about, but none of the other backup characters in this issue.  But as for the Lantern's adventures, they are all reprinted in collections put out by DC.  Alan Scott has been re-imagined within the last couple of decades, the essence of who and what he is in the superhero community has lasted 80 years...and inspired a new generation.

NEXT WEEK:  We SHOWCASE a new ring-bearer....

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

 

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

Once again, we have another classic comic culled from the archives to discuss.  And this week, we pull out a book that is considered one of the classics from the Armored Avenger.  During this time in Tony Stark's life, he was facing his biggest enemy of his life:  the bottle.  During a nine issue run (which turned out  to be artist John Romita, Jr's final issues of his run), called "Demon In a Bottle", Tony fought his greatest foe:  alcoholism.  This was a riveting story that gave us new depths to the character of Tony Stark, and what excess and the job of being Iron Man took as a toll on Tony.  So...let's dive in, and see what happened....

IRON MAN #128

COVER ART: Bob Layton

WRITER: David Micheline & Bob Layton

ARTIST: John Romita, Jr.

INKS: Bob Layton

COLORS: Bob Sharen

LETTERS: John Costanza

EDITOR: Roger Stern 

COVER DATE: November 1979

PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics

TAGLINE: Demon in a Bottle

STORY TITLE: "Demon In A Bottle"

Iron Man #128 has one of THE classic covers of all time, but is also a VERY compelling story about a hero in freefall.  The series ran 9 issues through the 1979 year, with this issue being the final issue of the storyline.  Tony Stark...his life as Iron Man, and his status as a billionaire playboy/socialite/weapons manufacturer has quite the life.  But that life is now in turmoil, as his dependency upon alcohol has consumed him.  Everything falls apart for Tony, and he eventually loses his business.  Plus, his recklessness as a hero causes those around him to intervene.  Originally, writer David Micheline only intended to just write the next issue of the series, but when the issue came out where alcohol was the bad guy, it caught on, and he went with it.  What's become is a series that is one of the most pivotal chapters in Tony Stark's career.  It's a great read if you can get it in a collection.

THE STORY:  Tony Stark...having lost his company, lost his way, and can't seem to get away from the bottle...gets help from friend Bethany Cabe, as well as former butler Edwin Jarvis, he he tries to put a cap on his alcoholism before it's too late.  

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One of the things I credit writer David Micheline on is his ability to take an idea and run with it.  This storyline was immensely powerful and amazing all at once.  This is what made Marvel characters more relatable at the time:  depth of character, the humanizing of them...and that heroes CAN fall.  Tony is a prime example of a hero in crisis, battling his own demons, and suffering the consequences of his own actions.  If you find this in trade paperback, DO pick it up.  It's an eye opener, and it shows you just how dangerous the bottle can be.  

NEXT WEEK:  We dive once again into the bins for another classic!

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

 

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

Welcome back!  It's been yet another delay (for that, I apologize, but I just recently started a new job, and in the training phase at the moment).  This week's comic book, we go back to Merry Marvel for the original spinoff of the Uncanny X-Men, The New Mutants.  This series premiered in 1983, and showed us the next generation of mutants trained at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.  They end up getting into all sorts of trouble, but we get some memorable characters from it. And since the movie was just released, I thought, "what the hell". So, let's take a peek behind the cover of this historical comic, and see where we got started....

THE NEW MUTANTS #1

COVER ART: Bob McLeod

WRITER: Chris Claremont

ARTIST: Bob McLeod

INKS: Mike Gustovich

COLORS: Glynis Wein

LETTERS: Tom Orzechowski

EDITOR: Louise Jones

COVER DATE: March 1983

PUBLISHER:  Marvel Comics

STORY TITLE: "Initiation" 

New Mutants #1 came out in the Spring of 1983, after having made an appearance in Marvel Graphic Novel #4, which introduced us to the team.  This comic is a spinoff of The Uncanny X-Men, and it focuses on Charles Xavier and his new class of mutants that he tries to teach in how to control their powers for the betterment of mankind, as well as help them work through their issues as young teenagers and kids.  We are introduced to many new members such as Cannonball, Magik, Moonstar, Wolfsbane, Sunspot, Karma, and more over the years.  The series lasted 100 issues, before the team was renamed X-Force, and the comic took off from there, as these new youngsters would now be led by the man called Cable.  

THE STORY:  The New Mutants get adjusted to their new home at The Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, get to know each other, their talents, and unawares this whole time they are being spied upon by Henry Peter Gyrich and his government group.  Moira MacTaggert learns that Professor Xavier has a son, David.  Psyche, one of the new recruits, gets attacked by a mysterious assailant in the Danger Room.

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The one thing I loved about the New Mutants, was that it expanded on the X-Men mythos, and allowed Marvel and Chris Claremont to create a new class of young heroes to carry on the X-Men tradition, and we would get to see them LEARN their powers, and GROW as people...even though they ended up growing up too quick.  We new that, someday, these youngsters would eventually replace or join up with the members of the X-Men.  Later on, however, we learn that a core of them ended up reforming into X-Force.  The New Mutants is a good read, because THOSE characters that are now heavy hitters in the mutant teams, started out here, and it's a great place to watch themn while they were fairly innocent.

NEXT WEEK:  We dig through the archives to find more hidden treasure.

STARGIRL - SEASON 1.13

 

REVIEW:  STARGIRL - SEASON 1.13:  "Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. Part 2"

We have reached the END of Season 1!  And what better way to give us a season finale, than with a battle between the good guys and bad guys, as the Injustice Society have initiated Icicle's "America First" plan to reprogram all the adults across the world into their image, while the new Justice Society looks for a way to put them down.  Can these youngsters pull together in time to stop this menace?  Let's find out!

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This season went by fast, and so did this season finale.  Honestly, I had THOUGHT the battle between the ISA and JSA would be a tad more epic, but, all things considered, it was a satisfying ending with some new and SHOCKING plot twists to send us into Season 2...which will be a bit of a wait.  But for what we got, I was completely satisfied and entertained with the show, and can't wait to see the new adventures of Stargirl and this new JSA.

When we last saw our heroes, Brainwave was sinched into Ito's machine, powering it and controlling the minds of all the adults not only in Blue Valley, but across the country as well.  People in the town are looking to evacuate, but end up being frozen in their tracks.  At the America Best Building, Barbara is frozen in place before Beth's eyes, and can't do anything but to try and communicate with the team to keep them up to date.  Meanwhile, Stargirl has her hands full, as S.T.R.I.P.E. begins to attack her, as Pat is now under Brainwave's control.  Justin has been frozen into place in front of Wildcat and Hourman.  And the Gambler has informed our new Dr. Mid-Nite they have 30 minutes before all adults in the country are bent to the Injustice Society's will.  Jordan is looking over his handiwork, letting one kid know that his father will be...better...once this is all over. Dr. Mid-Nite finds out that the the ISA have blockers to prevent them from being taken over by Brainwave's power.  

While The Gambler tries to block Mid-Nite from gaining access into the system to hack it, Chuck offers Beth a different solution:  go after what he values MOST - his MONEY.  So, Mid-Nite hacks into all of The Gambler's accounts, and begins to clean them out, much to his chagrin.  He informs Jordan about the JSA on the scene, and he's got the team ready for battle.  The Gambler goes to release Grundy, and at this time, Stargirl manages to snap Pat out of his trance to help in the fight.  Cindy, who was told by Brainwave that she's worthless, and that her father didn't love her, is itching to get out, but still can't to join the fight.  Both teams meet in the tunnels, and the fight is on!

The teams engage in battle, and Grundy fighting Pat, as Wildcat and Hourman debate slaying him.  Cindy finally gets released to play, and she joins the fight, only to impale her own father out of spite, so that takes Dragon King off the board, as he and the Shining Knight were dueling, and he had the upperhand, about to deal the death blow.  Stargirl is fighting Icicle, when she switches up, and goes after Sportsmaster and Tigress, while Hourman tries to take down the Frosty One.  Once he's down, they begin to worry about Grundy, who's coming.  Pat then tells Stargirl to head for the satellite and take it down, he's got Grundy.  Her and Wilcat take off, just as she finishes off Shiv, who wanted another rematch with her.  

Brainwave, meanwhile, senses trouble, and goes after the kids.  Meanwhile, the Gambler tells Jordan about Dr. Mid-Nite trying to hack the system, and tells him her location.  

With Shiv and Stargirl still going toe-to-toe, Wildcat makes her way towards the satellite, and bumps into who she sees as Hank.  Hank tries to convince her that everything is cool, and that he's been hiding in the shadows.  But when he asks where HER friends are, she slashes him, and says that they were Hank's friends, too.  We then see that Brainwave has been taken down....and he dies.  Stargirl then blasts Shiv once again for good measure, and she's down for the count, then joins up with Wildcat to take down the satellite.  Meanwhile, Grundy and S.T.R.I.P.E. are battling it out as well, and Grundy's getting the best of him, ripping off his arm, and taking the robot apart to get to Pat.  Before Grundy and get him, he's nailed by Hourman, and Pat says he's okay, but he's got to go and rescue Barbara.  At this time, Stargirl has flown up to the satellite, and started blasting it with the staff.  The satellites are destroyed, and the machine is down.  The town starts waking up.

Jordan has made is way to America first, and sees a still catatonic Barbara.  He manages to destroy the goggles of Dr. Mid-Nite, and she is of no further use.  Jordan takes Barbara, as he still tries to salvage SOMETHING of his desperate plan.  He takes her to the rooftop of a building, where he tells her what his plan was, but that his family ruined it.  He said he had a plan to where he could cure cancer, but he'd be willing to sacrifice lives in order to do it.  Barbara tells him that his wife would be ashamed, and he snaps at her.  Pat arrives in time to prevent Jordan from killing her...just for the moment.

In the tunnels, Hourman and Grundy battle, and Hourman gets the upperhand, pounding on Grundy profusely, until Grundy just...gives up.  Hourman sees that Grundy wants to die.  But Hourman can't do it.  He tells Grundy to go, and NEVER return...which Grundy does.  He then informs Stargirl that the Icicle took her mother, and that Beth is hurt.  Stargirl and Wilcat race to go save her.  

Jordan looks to get one last kill in before he leaves, and as he looks to throw Barbara off the building in front of Pat, Stargirl arrives to do battle with him.  He manages to knock her off the building with the staff, and Wildcat catches her, while Barbara, who almost goes over the building, is saved by Pat.  Icicle reaches the ground, and powers up to battle Stargirl, gets hit with a pickup truck Mike is driving, and shatters into ice.  

In the aftermath, the team surveys the football field, and remembers when it opened up to reveal the HQ of the ISA.  Beth is upset that Chuck has been destroyed, but Courtney reassures her they'll fix the goggles and get Chuck back.  Later on, Justin says it's time for him to go...find the other Seven Soldiers, and Pat tells him they'll be other dragons to slay....and if he finds them, to let him know.  Underground at the ISA HQ, The Gambler hears the National Weather Service call the phenomenon in Blue Valley and 'earthquake'.  And there's this mist that comes into the room, letting him know that everything is folly.

At the Dugan home, it's Christmastime, and the family gathers together with friends.  Courtney gives Pat the gift that she had meant for her father:  a mug that says "World's Greatest Dad".  They hug, a father-daughter relationship born...to Barbara's joy.  

The staff drags Stargirl out on patrol, and she lands on the water tower of the town...now knowing SHE is its hero.  She's then joined by S.T.R.I.P.E.  overlooking the snowly landscape.  They pause, knowing the peace is brief, but enjoy it nonetheless---and off they go...looking for adventure!

Back again at the ISA HQ, Cindy is searching through containers and boxes, until she finds what she's looking for...a diamond shamped amulet that she says houses Eclipso.  And then we switch to Hollywood, California, where we see a man knock on the door of an apartment building, where the resident answers.  The man says he's looking for Pat Dugan, but the man tells him he moved.  When he asks who he is ...we see his face, and he says he's Sylvester Pemberton!

This was a very fitting end to the first season, though, as I said, I had HOPED the battle between the JSA and ISA would be a bit more epic, and was surprised to see Brainwave fall, but did so appropriately at the hands of Wildcat, giving some closure and peace to Yolanda, who still cared for Hank, despite his transgression...though he made it up to her by sacrificing himself to save her and the team.  So, some solace for HER coming out of it.  It was also nice to see Rick have a change of heart at the end of HIS battle with Grundy, even though Grundy killed HIS parents.  Rick realized that killling Grundy...who WANTED to die, anyway, wasn't worth it.  It showed growth on his part.  I felt for Beth, because she feel like she lost a friend, but the team DID need her to help save the day, though she lost Chuck and the goggles in the process.  But the best part was Pat and Courtney---their growing relationship at the end of this season was great.  It solidified a father/daughter combo we saw there, but THEY needed to explore that journey, and come to that conclusion themselves.  And with Barbara and Mike contributing, we now have a solid Dugan family unit.  

Icicle biting the dust seemed a bit anticlimatic, but since he IS made of ice...I don't see HIM down for long.  Also, we got a glimpse into the aggressive nature of Isaac Bowen at the end, so I can see him taking up his mother's mantle, now that SHE is gone.  Sportsmaster and Tigress are either in the wind or in jail...I can't see them gone for long.  I have no idea how this effects Artemis, but it will be interesting to see the children of the ISA, and how they respond to what went down.  The crazy one is Cindy---who had NO problem killing her father, because she felt slighted by him.  And she wanted a seat at the JSA table....and she's gonna get it!  Especially NOW holding the power of Eclipso with her---which, I assume, will be the big bad of Season 2.

Okay...and that shocker at the end---HOW in the hell is Sylvester Pemberton ALIVE?!!  And what does this mean when he tracks Pat to Blue Valley, only to find out there's a 15 year old girl wielding HIS staff?  These are going to be quesetions that we have to hold onto for a few more months, as we await the next season of Stargirl.

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That does it for Season 1!  What did YOU think of the show?  What were some of YOUR favorite moments?  Subscribe and leave a comment below!

Until next season...keep looking towards the stars!

STARGIRL - SEASON 1.12

 

REVIEW:  STARGIRL - SEASON 1.12: "Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. Part 1"

Well....for those of you who have followed the OTHER version of my "Pop Fiction" blog, I have ran into a snag with my previous page, and had to start a new one (don't ask me WHY it went all wonky, but it did).  Either way, This is the new and improved version, and we'll pickup the reviews of our favorite CW shows, movies, comics, as well as anything else that will tickle my fancy to share with you.  So, thanks for your patience as I got this back out.  But if you wanna check all my OTHER blogs out...you can do so at Pop Fiction Blog, and peruse the old stuff.  But for now, we begin anew here, and we left off with our Star-Spangled Heroine...Stargirl.

When last we checked in our gal and team, she had just met her real father, and he wasn't what she thought he'd be---Sylvester Pemberton.  He turned out to be nothing more than a bum, Brainwave is now feeling the power of two, thanks to killing his son, Hank, and also knows the identity of Stargirl and the team.  Jordan is about ready to put his plan into action, and the Shining Knight has joined the team to help put down the ISA.

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We're close to the end, and this was another solid episode!  We now know that Brainwave's power can handle what Dr. Ito's machine pumps out, and their plan is WELL underway.  The team is in desperate mode, as they try to stop the ISA from taking over all the adult's minds.  

This episode basically set up the plan for the Injustice Society, laid it out all nicely for us, and also gae us some justpoxisition on the Justice Scoiety members prior to them going into battle.  We got some little moments between Mike and Courtney, as Mike finally now understands what's going on.  

So, with Jordan and Brainwave finally going over the final touches to the plan, he still notices some hesitation in Jordan, but says that the sooner he forgets Barbara, the better.  The Dugan family is a threat, and as long as Stargirl is out there, the plan is in danger.  So, Brainwave has sent Sportsmaster and Tigress to kill them.  Tigress shows up at the Dugan household as Barbara and Courtney are packing things up, and getting ready to leave for their discreet location.  Barbara holds her own, avoiding Tigress' attack as best she could, taking a couple of lumps, but Courtney ends up grabbing the staff, and taking Tigress out.

Meanwhile, Pat has his own issues, as he arrives at the garage to grab S.T.R.I.P.E., when Sportsmaster shows up.  Pat and him fight as well, but it doesn't go so well for Pat.  While he gets his shots in, Sportsmaster is obviously the better combatant.  But just as Pat is about to go down for the count, Mike manages to knock out Sportsmaster from behind, taking him out.  Mike is now fully dragged into this scenario, and he and Pat make their way to their secret hideout in the mountains.  Justin also arrives, and the team tries to map out the next move.  Justin tries to give encouragement to Rick, who is sitll frustrated at trying to solve his father's equation.  Pat later on offers some encouragement as well, and Rick says he's tried every number that he could think of, and Pat brings up the model year of the Mustang.  Rick's inputs it, and it works!  He's now solved his father's equation.  

It turns out that the equation, once Chuck scans it, Beth's gogles shine, and it's coordinates to a map that shows the entire underground network of the JSA.  Information Rex Tyler had prior to him and his wife getting killed by Solomon Grundy.  While they have discovered that, Courtney and Mike had a chat, and Mike admires Courtney, and hopes that one day he can be a hero like his dad and her.  She lets him touch the staff, but it doesn't work for him.  Courtney apologizes, but their bond gets closer.  

With the map now on display, they decide to split up to stop the ISA's plan, which is using this weapon Ito created called a synaptic amplifier, which will control the minds of everyone unless they stop it.  Courtney says they'll break off into teams, and attack the ISA a different places to avoid detection.  Pat and Barbara managed to have a tiny chat beforehand, wondering where they go now with Pat's past coming back to haunt him.  He thought he'd left it all behind but he couldn't.

Principal Bowen had been lifting up her son when she found out he was bullied again.  She told the story of how his father had used the bow of his fiddle to jam it into the ear of a person who bullied him....they then gave him respect.  She gets a call, and has to leave.  She arrives at the Dugan household, where Sportsmaster and Tigress recover from the ass kicking they took.  The Fiddler tells them she's there to clean up their mistakes, and to put down the Dugan family once and for all.  She berates them for their sadism in idiocy.  She also feels sorry for Artemis.  That was pushing it, as Tigress shoots a tiny bow into her, killing her.  They take off to join up with Icicle and Brainwave.  

Meanwhile, Ito and Brainwave prepare for the task at hand, and Ito warns him that there could be side effects such as brain damage and paralysis if this doesn't work.  Brainwave is hooked up to the machine for a test run, and Ito starts it.  There's a massive power surge, but Brainwave survives the test...he is ready to execute the plan.  

The team splits, with Stargirl, S.T.R.I.P.E., and Justin approaching from the lake side, while Yolanda and Rick, apporach from another section, while Barbara and Beth head to America Best to hack into the computer to try and stop the machine from activating from there.  However, the Gambler hacks Beth's goggles, and tells them they can't stop what's about to happen.  What they discover is that this machine will only effect the adults in the world, and before they can react, Barbara and Justin are under control as well as the adult townsfolk.  In the tunnels, Pat is also under control, and begins to attack Stargirl as the episode ends.  

This episode was a nice build-up to the season finale.  It gave us the outright plan for the ISA, and gave the team time to formulate a plan, just before things seem to go wrong.  I finally am happy that Mike is in the loop about everything now, and seems in awe of Courtney.  Also, props to the kid for sticking up for his dad when Sportsmaster was pounding the crap out of him.  We also got some more of Barbara and Pat's situation, with him regretting that his past has come back to haunt him.  Feeling bad about dragging Courtney into it, but she's actually proud of her daughter.  We have a now cohesive family unit.  Justin seems to be returning to his old self, and we finally got the answer to the equation and what it was for.  

Anyone notice that homage to X-Men, with Dr. Ito's machine for Brainwave?  Can you say CEREBRO, anyone?  Just too obvious with that idea.  Also, Sportsmaster and Tigress are certainly out on a limb---going so far as to shoot The Fiddler for her ripping them a new one, and eventually going a step too far, bringing up Artemis in her rant.  Now, I wonder what Isaac will do once he finds out his mother is gone too?  She was just used to put more heat on the psychotic duo on edge, and she paid the price for it.  But her death was so quick.  I always felt that Bowen was just so expendable in this show.  

Anyway, we're set for the finale, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens, as this new JSA battles the ISA.  

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That's it for this next-to-last episode of the season....the finale is next!

What did YOU think?  Subscribe to the blog and leave a comment!  

Until the finale...keep your eyes on the stars!