Daily Archives: 20 December 2010

Day 81: Serifan’s Cosmic Cartridges!

by
Posted in Day Entries, New Genesis, The Forever People #2, Weapons & Devices.

Okay, let’s see: Beautiful Dreamer has the power to create illusions, Big Bear can concentrate his high-density atoms to the point of being invulnerable, Vykin has Magna-Power, and Mark Moonrider boasts the “Megaton Touch.” Now, what exactly does Serifan have up his sleeve…? Oh right, the copy-cat cowboy’s secret weapon is actually in his hat… Serifan’s hat-band, that is, which has loops to hold his myriad “Cosmic Cartridges,” each one having a specific — and often fantastic — power!

We first learn about the Cosmic Cartridges while The Forever People are setting up house at Uncle Willie and Donnie’s place, #309, as Serifan is apparently shirking work as the others haul about furniture. The youngest Forever Person is fiddling with a teevee set. Mark Moonrider says, “Why, that broken, old television set — it’s a pure representation of early, post Atomic, middle class home visuals!” Adds Serifan, staring at the idiot box, “And it shows Westerns! They’re just too much!” But Donnie is puzzled. “But how can you receive a picture on that set, Serafin? [sic] It’s a mess inside!”

“Oh, I know that!” replies the blond Super-Kid. “The service parts are beyond repair! I’m using one of these things on my hat!!” (Apparently the repair job turns a black-&-white set into a color one, because, kids, no person of lesser means could afford a color teevee back in the day… I know!) Donnie observes, “They look like shiny, silver bullets! Where did you get them?” Taking what looks like a bullet from the loops in his hat band, Serifan replies, “Our point of origin — Supertown — a part of New Genesis — These are sensitizers, probes, — receivers and such — We call them Cosmic Cartridges! They’re sensitive to the universe — to its largest and smallest limits — Here — hold one!” (First one’s always free, kid… heh-heh…)

Donnie admits, “I’d rather hear more about Supertown and New Genesis! — But I’ll try this –!!” Taking a capsule in his hand, the object glows. “I-it feels warm — like it was alive! — Like it was me! — And I-I’m everywhere at once –” Suddenly the boy is having a mind-blowing experience, perceiving the infinite expanse of the universe. “I-I see — everything — and everything moves — and makes a kind of beautiful noise –” Serifan offers, “Harmony is the word, Donnie! — You’re listening to — All there is!”

Now, that’s just about as close as mainstream comics ever got to depicting an LSD trip in 1971! (And a tripping pre-teen, no less!) Talk about far-out! So we got a cartridge that will make us one with all existence; how about the other Cosmic Cartridges? Let’s take a sprint through the books and see the different varieties (and note, of course, I’ve made up the names of said items):

    • Stun Power Cartridge (which Serifan vainly attempts to use against Desaad’s guards in Happyland)

    • Integration Substitution Cartridge (used to start the damaged Justifier Aero-Van during Serifan’s escape from Happyland — “One of my Cosmic Cartridges can do the job!!! It will attune itself to the principle that powers this vehicle! It will integrate with the damaged mechanism and substitute for its function!!”)

    • Pattern Signal Cartridge (utilized to have Super-Cycle, which is in self-defense mode, recognize Serifan as a “friendly” — “I’ll have to count on my Cosmic Cartridges to spell out my individual pattern –!! Its signals will register on the cycle’s computer!!”)

    • Atom-Shield Cartridge (serves to repel zealots during attack — “Even as the Justifier’s weapon fires, the Cosmic Cartridge generates a shield of atoms — strong enough to repel the shot and cause it to rebound on the attacker!”)

    • Mod Couturier Cartridge (creates a hip new ensemble for Beautiful Dreamer, leather fringe and all, by “atomically” re-shifting her original pagan dress get-up!)

    • Life-Force Cartridge (reanimates life of the “Monster in the Morgue,” after Doc Gideon steals it and tapes the cartridge to his dead creation’s forehead, makes Miss Trixie’s dolls dance and given to Deadman, the super-poltergeist, for “it will be the heart and motion of your new form!” — “Of course, the cartridges are mostly functional! But this little-used blue has a strange link with the infinite! It transmits something I can only term as a ‘life-force!’ See how it animates those dolls! I’ve trapped this force! But I haven’t satisfactorily traced its origin!”)

    • Solid State Energy Cartridge (able to cap a leaking gas-line — “This night is a busy one for my Cosmic Cartridges!”)

    • Atom-Compactor Cartridge (makes Deadman, a ghost, fully visible — “This cartridge will compact the few atoms that still cling to you! For a fleeting moment — you will feel reality! We shall see you as you are!”

    • Glass Cutter Cartridge (able to cut through inches-thick steel-hard glass)

    • Heat Induction Cartridge (thaws out a frozen Deadman)

    • Heavy Gravity Cartridge (engaged to incapacitate Devilance the Pursuer — “A surge of heavy gravity energy leaps from the cartridge and envelopes Devilance! His weight increases tenfold and he topples forward!”)

    • Shock Repelli-Field Cartridge (protects Serifan from exploding Thermo-Bolt Machine (and could be the same as the aforementioned Atom-Shield Cartridge) — “Don’t be alarmed, Big Bear! I’m encased in a shock-repelli-field!! The Shield has dissolved into free atoms!! It’s returned to the object in my hand! A Cosmic Cartridge, you big humbug!”)

It’s telling, I think, that Jack depicts Serifan handling his Cosmic Cartridges as if they were pistols on the cover of FP #7, seemingly ready to fire on the Justifiers attacking him! The kid would have loved to have seen such a heroic old Western pose as Jack drew… And adding up the number of cartridges here, that makes 12, enough for two six-shooters! So, Serifan is a rootin’-tootin’ six-Cosmic Cartridge shootin’ real cowboy, hombre! Cool beans!

Day 80: Donnie and Uncle Willie!

by
Posted in Day Entries, Earth, Supporting Characters, The Forever People #2.

When first we encounter The Forever People in this story, the gang is creating a ruckus on a busy intersection in (it appears) downtown Metropolis, with their Super-Cycle parked amidst a cacophonous traffic jam. The new-agers are merely hoping to “establish proper coordinates,” says Mark Moonrider to a flustered traffic cop, who replies, “Joke’s over, kids! Now find a parking lot for whatever that thing is!”

Passers-by stop to observe the colorful, smiling group, with one wag starting to heckle them. “Doo ya dooty, officers! Why don’tcha bust dose hippies before dey tie up da whole town!” And the smart-aleck doesn’t stop there, as after a young lady suggests the crew be airlifted, the yuckster ripostes, “Yeah! Get dose hippies up in de air, an’ mebbe dey’ll cancel out the smog!”

Big Bear takes an interest in the jerk, observing, “The dialect is primitive, brother! But the humor cries out for a straight man! Tell me, Mister Corn! What’s a hippie?” Busting a gut, the man dubbed Corn answers, “Ha, ha — Dat’s easy! All ya gotta do is show him a bathtub — an’ if he runs — he’s a hippie!” Laughing himself, the Super-Cyclist grabs the citizen and gaffows, “Ha ha ha ha! It’s like direct involvement with ancient vaudeville!” And, with that, Big Bear gives a spine-crushing… ummm… bear hug to the monsieur — CRUNCH! — and says, “Thank you for the experience, brother!” The comedian collapses to the ground as Big Bear exclaims, “Even the brother was overcome by this joyous emotional release!”

Well, the fuzz order the hipsters out of there and they “phase out” of “Mad Avenue” and reappear in the more low-rent end of Metropolis, on what Serifan jokes is “Desolation Row,” a place the lovely Beautiful Dreamer still finds peaceful. Mother Box pings distressingly but Serifan says, “But I see nothing that could harm us!” Vykin answers, “He can!” indicating a young boy cautiously advancing toward the group. As Mark Moonrider protests, “But he’s only a child! An invalid child!” the kid inquires, “A-are you guys U.F.O.’S?”

That youngster, immediately enamored with the Super-Kids, is Donnie, who gives voice to our questions to learn more about the fascinating five. He’s about ten or eleven and, as Mark notes, is an apparent cripple who uses crutches to get around the decrepit proximity. He also endowed with intense curiosity, an active imagination and appreciation of the bizarre. “I saw that!” the youngster gushes. “A flash — and you guys coming out of — thin air!” The team’s de facto leader then explains the aerodynamics of the Super-Cycle, “We call it ‘phasing’! I hope it didn’t frighten you! It’s just another way to travel!! Here, men build roads from what they see — We build roads from what our sensors see!” The boy is enthralled. “Oh, wow! I’ve hit the jackpot! You’re from outta this world — and you’re real!”

As Beautiful Dreamer explains the quintet to Donnie, her hands on his shoulders for emphasis — “Of course, we’re real! Truth is real! Truth lives forever — We’re the Forever People!” — Big Bear parks the cycle, and Vykin and Mark puzzle over Mother’s Box’s anxious signals. There’s obviously danger in the vicinity…

Suddenly an older gent waves a shaky handgun and barks at the newcomers, “Hold it right there, you motorcycle savages! Take your hands off that boy!” This paranoid geezer is Uncle Willie, Donnie’s apparent relative and the slum’s security guard. Sensing the man is distraught with this strange looking group, Beautiful Dreamer begins to use her empathetic powers, creating the illusion for Willie’s perception that they are a wholesome bunch of average teenagers dressed in old-fashioned garb.

Having won over the boy and old man, the crew seek lodging in the run-down neighborhood and Willie offers them a place to stay in his building. Big Bear hauls in musty old furniture as if it were made of balsa — “This is pure camp! It’ll be great in our room!” — and Serifan is mesmerized by the “early, post Atomic, middle class home visuals!” (Willie’s teevee) but Donnie is startled to see the set working as “it’s a mess inside.” The cowboy shows the lad his special Cosmic Cartridges, which can fix broken boob tubes and commence to give the boy a decidedly trippy experience. (More on those pill-shaped beauties tomorrow, sport fans!). Uncle Willie breaks bread with the remaining Forever People when, having seen a news flash about Mantis’s siege of Metropolis, Serifan calls the Super-Kids away to attend to the Apokolips scourge.

While that’s the last we see of Uncle Willie, Donnie appears in the third issue, being manhandled by one of Glorious Godfrey’s Justifiers, who threatens the boy with death — “you little garbage!” — if he doesn’t say where The Forever People are (who are standing right behind the thug). Mother Box saves Donnie after the Justifier flings the hapless cripple and the group grabs the kid and hauls out of the apartment. This zealot is revealed to be a suicide bomber, almost killing the gang with his Omega Ray Bomb and, as he was climbing out the window when he detonated, the Justifier was successful in destroying Uncle Willie and Donnie’s digs. As the smoke clears, the team decides to investigate Glorious Godfrey.

Two of the Forever People take the time to say farewell to their new friend:

Beautiful Dreamer: We must leave, Donnie! We will be back — if we can —

Donnie: B-but what will happen?

Mark Moonrider: Donnie — life is good! Live it for others — not against them! In that way, you will always be close to us!

And, to ensure Donnie will be safe from another attack, Mark instructs, “Barrier this place, Vykin! A Justifier may come again!” Holding the protective sentient computer, Vykin replies, “He’ll be a target for deadly micron particles! Mother Box fills the air with them! The particles are computed not to harm the boy!”

Then, as they climb aboard the Super-Cycle, the team has last words for Donnie, who implores, “You must come back! You must!”

Beautiful Dreamer: Good-bye, Donnie! We leave you what cannot die — Love! Friendship!

Serifan: It is so in New Genesis! It can be here!

It’s hard to say if pathetic little Donnie, a handicapped kid living in abject poverty on skid row, is better off or not having encountered his New Genesis acquaintances. In the few days the lad was in their company, he watched his Uncle Willie have a conniption, was exposed to a mind-altering experience, was threatened with death by a gorilla-sized brute, and lived through a doubtless traumatizing suicide bombing that destroyed his place of residence… and here’s hoping Uncle Willie wasn’t in the flat at the time of its destruction! That would really suck!

But given the Cosmic Cartridge view he shared of a completely harmonious universe and the vital words of wisdom about love and friendship given to him by the Super-Kids, it is likely the boy benefited immensely from the short but intense visit, maybe a life-changing event for him…

When Beautiful Dreamer defines reality, truth and The Forever People, and Donnie replies, “You sure sound sorta ‘far out’ — but it isn’t freaky — nothing like that!” it’s an endearing moment, one I could relate to as a kid not much older than the briefly-seen character. To me, the team was “far out”! “Freaky”? Well, I liked freaky but I found that kind of stuff in those intentionally trippy comix…

Day 79: Mantis!

by
Posted in Apokolips, Day Entries, The Forever People #2, Villains.

The cover blurb atop The Forever People #2 hollers, “Stop, Mantis! is the cry of a great city — at the mercy of an evil power vampire!” Combined with the Apokolips villain’s quintessential Kirby pose — hands thrust toward the reader, crouched and ready to spring, Mantis is one impressive character, a worthy bad guy joining Darkseid’s growing roster of super-powered lieutenants!

But, still, when we first meet the brilliantly-colored (a sweet complementary mix of yellow-&-green) costumed enemy of The Forever People, he’s shown in vivid close-up, giving out “a scream of awesome terror!!” Darkseid minions are yanking him out of his coffin-like Power-Pod, treating him impudently and with disdain. “Out of your Power-Pod, Mantis!” says one. “Did you think to hide from Darkseid?” barks another. “Don’t rouse me!” yelps Mantis in protest. “It is not time! My body will lose its precious gain of voltage!” Throwing him at the feet of the ruler of Apokolips, a henchmen orders, “Don’t whine! You are in our master’s presence!”

Cravenly cringing before Darkseid, the weak baddie begs Darkseid to concede that Mantis is loyal. “Am I not one with you — and all who live on Apokolips?” The Master of the Holocaust grants, “You are a creature of great power, Mantis! But your biology ever betrays you!” Seems Mantis has prematurely taken the Boom Tube to Earth in the hopes of securing the planet for his own. Like a petulant child, Mantis yaps, “Earth is mine! Mine! I came here first! You have no right –” Before ordering Mantis back to his pod and to “Unleash the terrors of the night! Make man gringe! Make him tremble — Make him fear!” Darkseid tells his underling he can have our planet, for the King of Evil is only interested in extracting the greatest prize of all, the Anti-Life Equation… and Earth be damned!

A few pages later, we are witness to a familiar scene from many a vampire movie, this one expertly atmospheric courtesy of Jack’s artistry: A bell tower clock rings midnight, eerie sounds whistle through cemetery trees and we see an ominous sarcophagus in an underground crypt. Suddenly the lid is opened from the inside and we hear sinister boasting, “It is time! My powers are at maximum charge! — And the city waits — for the coming of Mantis! Here, I shall carve out the kingdom I am destined for! Against all foes!”

Yep, we see Darkseid’s point: Mantis is wildly ambitious and will, I’ve little doubt, become one day a threat to seize the throne of Apokolips itself, and it’s a relentless drive we are exposed in all of his appearances in the Fourth World saga. This vampire “bug” wants it all and then some!

Immediately Mantis shows his terrific power (derived where from, I’m not exactly sure, but he needs time to recharge his batteries and, in this story at least, works best at night), which is to detonate minute anti-matter particles in things and to infuse material with incredible amounts of destructive energy. “AAAA — the power surges inside me — rushing to get out! — And destroys what my fingers touch!” And who needs to use the stairs when he can tunnel through rock in mere seconds! Zowie!

(In fact, in the full-page Jack devotes to Mantis in The New Gods #2, featured during the “Mother Box” sequence when Orion shows his newly acquired Earth comrades the threat Darkseid and his ilk pose to poor old Mother Earth, the character is referred to as “the awesome digger,” and perhaps is responsible for the network of underground tunnels noted by Metron in NG #1: “[Darkseid] and his power elite are now on Earth — creating a tube network beneath its great cities! Soon they will be able to reach any spot on that globe!”)

Watching teevee, Serifan catches a news report of Mantis’s rampage through the city, and the team, knowing full well of the villain and his destructive abilities, beckons forth The Infinity Man to do battle. (The amalgamated hero seems to possess a Sixth Sense, unnoticed until now by yours truly, as he says while flying into action, “This city is besieged! My mind reaches out for the thought waves of the aggressor! … I can sense his fiery hunger for conquest and power!“)

Mantis wrecks havoc in Metropolis and he and The Infinity Man duke it out. We discover Mantis has the ability to also produce fire and ice from his finger tips, as he freezes the sixth member of The Forever People in a block of frozen water and subsequently sends “rivers of flowing heat” cascading down the side of a building, engulfing a city block in flames. Our hero finally figures how to escape the giant ice cube, and then, after touching IM, detonating “Anti-matter blasts through your very being,” Mantis crouches over his prey and brings his hands together in the villain’s classic posture, harking to his insect namesake’s pose just before striking the lethal blow (and there’s a Dracula vibe present in the theatrics, as well!)… Awesome!

But — a-HA! — The Infinity Man, takes advantage of the Apokolips denizen’s vanity and socks him but good. “You hesitated to gloat, Mantis! It was your undoing! Try this Infini-Beam! It will release your stored energy in one vast rush!” Mantis (who has the ability to fly, by the way) careens wildly out of control and, drained of his power (which, he boasted, had the capacity to “shatter star systems!”), he scampers back to his Power-Pod to lick his wounds and hatch another plan to conquer his coveted dominion, Earth!

Before they combine as The Infinity Man to engage the villain in battle, the other Forever People are sitting around Uncle Willie’s dining table when Serifan rushes in to tell them the news report of the riotous Mantis, and Mark Moonrider makes a curious remark, one we won’t fully understand until the villain’s reappearance, late in The New Gods run. “He is feared as much as Darkseid himself,” yelps Beautiful Dreamer’s boyfriend. Sure, we see Mantis as a formidable opponent, with terrific power… but one with equal power to strike the same terror as Darkseid in the hearts of the nightmare planet’s inhabitants? Alas, we finally comprehend Moonrider’s exclamation during the horrific events of the “Bug” two-part epic over in Orion’s comic book quite a few months later…

For, in the closing blurb, trumpeting the next issue’s contents, of The New Gods #9, we read:

If dreams can come true — so can nightmares!!! In fact, they’re coming!!! By the thousands! By millions! — Armies without number! — Led by Mantis!! — with a lust for power! — and a claim to — Earth — the Doomed Dominion

In NG #9, it is revealed that there is a somewhat sinister subculture ruling the underground of New Genesis, one born during the Great Clash, when Darkseid’s forces infested Izaya the Inheritor’s planet with “bacterial monsters” which “fester and play” under the surface. As the issue begins:

War is a process of violent, never-ending beginnings! What once began as the first ‘Great Clash’ between the new gods — also began bacteriological attack!! — The spreading of toxic ‘micro-life’ as a ‘destructant’! This life did not end with the ‘Clash’! It festered! It grew! It evolved! And it was different!!!“

We learn these humanoid insects litter the world with innumerable colonies (called Mounds) that are constantly warring with one another over food. When these “Bugs” come to the surface they are at risk of murderous insecticides which are spread by Highfather’s flying Monitors. Each hive is ruled, it appears, by an “All-Widow” and her second-in-command, a dominant male called “Prime One.”

During a particularly intense battle between Forager’s colony and another, Mantis appears to turn the tide in favor of the brood of the unsuspecting new god. “The battle is over! — The enemy beaten!” exclaims Forager, with other voices adding, “But not without the aid of Mantis!” And another, “His arrival decided our victory!!!” Striking his trademark “preying mantis” pose, Mantis bellows, “For the power was in these limbs, my kin –! Power granted to me by a mighty ally! And now, this ally grants to me a new and large dominion! A place of abundance and food! A place where our kind can rule!! Harken to Mantis! — For he can show you that place!!”

For, in service to Darkseid and his own lust to rule planet Earth, Mantis has arrived on New Genesis to unite the colonies and invade our world with thousands — millions — of Bugs! “Other colonies have joined me,” he persuasively tells Forager’s colony, “to create a create army!! Join this swelling host! — And see wonder upon wonders!” Mantis leads his hordes into the Boom Tube and they blanket Metropolis, a huge infestation of “bugs” threatening human existence.

Before the great invasion, in the splash page blurb, we get a hint of Mantis’s origin:

Beneath the world of New Genesis are the burrows that support the strange species the gods refer to as ‘Bugs’! Countless numbers of them, savage and restless, are stirring within their great colony, known as the mound! A powerful force has returned among them! He lies now in his Power-Pod — generating and building the immense cosmic charges — with which he will lead his legions against Earth — the doomed dominion

Combined with his use of the word “kin” when first arriving on New Genesis, I reckon it’s fair to surmise Mantis is actually born of New Genesis, only now returning to the bosom of his species to seize control and use the Bugs of Orion’s world for his and Darkseid’s evil purposes. “We go to Earth!” Mantis vows, “And there Mantis will make you the masters!! There you shall rule instead of run!” To the cheers, he adds, “Hear further! Hear how this war between Apokolips and New Genesis will end with victory — for us!!” A voice in the multitude cries out, “Great Darkseid of Apokolips is our ally! And when he wins this war — we win!!” Responds the energy vampire, “Yes, you win powers such as he’s given Mantis! Each of you will rule a part of Earth with these powers! Now, follow me! Follow Mantis! To war! To Earth! — To victory!”

Good lord, what a sight it is to see Mantis’s swarm enveloping Metropolis! But rather than to describe what transpires, suffice to say Orion and Mantis wage a terrific slugfest — “The entire city is then witness to a battle of titans! Fierce gods, lashing out in terrible fury!” — and Lightray thwarts the invasion with Mantis and his minions forced to travel back through the Boom Tube.

There’s a curious incident in “Even Gods Must Die,” after Darkseid resurrects Kalibak and others from his elite back from the dead. “Steppenwolf is back!” Darkseid notes. “Now… resurrect Mantis!” And, a little while later, we see a relatively mindless Mantis, hands in shackles, craving to do battle. That’s the last we see of the villain and it frankly begs the question: Why did Mantis have to be resurrected as when last we saw, he was escaping into a Boom Tube, very much alive, presumably returning to New Genesis. I don’t think it’s ever explained but I’ll betcha that Mantis might well have gotten too big for his britches and made it to the wrong end of Darkseid’s lethal Omega Effect. I mean, think of it: Mantis has a foothold on both Apokolips and New Genesis, and commands quite possibly the largest army on any of the three worlds. Like the full-pager in NG #2 describes, “Mantis, whose mammoth power rivals that of Darkseid himself…”; ya can’t imagine the ruler of Apokolips would’ve tolerated him for too much longer…

All that said, Mantis is a superb addition to the mythos and one impressive villain.