Elementals in the park - Adventure Comics #463

The Night of the Soul Thief

Adventure Comics #463
Cover Dated: May / June 1979
Released: 8th February 1979

If there was any proof that I read week to week rather than reading ahead is that here we do get an issue that covers some of Helena dealing with her loss, though it does mostly involve punching people. We also get a return to the better team dynamics of Power Girl. Oh and the cover is a total lie nothing like that happens in the comic at all, Vaux is even a third act reveal not that he's important enough for that to be a big deal!

We start with a cool group shot of the JSA running, with some major capeage before Dr Fate admits that he really doesn't know where he's going and takes off with Huntress to track down who gave Jensen his reality-warping powers. One neat little detail is that Helena and Dick are unmasked, but in costume, until the end of this issue. It's a subtle nod that this is closure for Helena Wayne rather than Huntress solving a murder.

He then takes off with her to be the A-plot. Power Girl show some frustration but Flash sensibly points out that Dr Fate is in the dark as they are. They then have a quick race around the park discussing things out like "real" grown-ups, it's mostly exposition being dumped (like Wildcat being left behind to recover), but it's nice to see Kara in a conversation and not another bickering argument. 

We then get a Robin and Green Lantern scene where Dick explains how it's not quite sunk in about Bruces death for both him and Helena. It also reveals that because they buried Bruce as batman the whole of Earth-2 knows who their secret identities. Which is probably the real reason they're not wearing their masks right now, but I prefer my theory better!

Dr Fate isn't faring much better in tracking down the source until he and Huntress see people being attacked by a hydra (the snake kind), though the comic calls it a water elemental and it has such a goofy face like that three-headed dragon meme floating around. The fight goes badly, Helena just has a crossbow and Dr Fate is apparently outmatched, so he surrenders to the creature's master (unhelpfully with dialogue).

After more racing and conversation Power Girl does what anyone does in a park, at least in the movies, and try's to buy them both hotdogs. That before a giant flaming creature, a fire elemental is you will, turns up and starts attacking the Gotham Coliseum. Power Girl does the sensible thing and starts punching the monster, with even more playful bickering, before Flash knocks into a fountain banishing the creature. Robin and Green lantern face some very handy tree's, wood elementals for those keeping counts, struggling a little before Power Girl and Flash turn up to save the day. They don't have much time to explain before some Earth Elementals turn up giving Power girl more things to punch. It's not them that take them down but a cloud of poisonous gas (Air at a reach I guess?).

We then get the reveal of the big bad of the comic, Frederic Vaux, who's offering the JSA up as sacrifices to the demons of chaos. He babbles on about this for almost a whole page, and whilst I doubt anyone was even thinking about the Lords of Order and Chaos in '79 it's interesting to think about the connection with later canon. He then begins to remove the memory of heroes existing on Earth-2. Apparently, this bringing of chaos free's Dr Fate, a champion of Order, from his surrender and he revives the others to battle this villain.

Whilst they fight the elementals again Dr Fate uses the memory of Batman as Gotham's protector as an anchor to halt the spell. This weakens him so Helena can give a very cathartic punch on the jaw, knocking the villain right out. Failing is not something the Lord of Chaos are big on as they apparently kill Vaux on the spot, or destroy his mind the issue is unclear. With reality still being in flux, Dr Fate does a mystical whammy so that everyone forgets that Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person and Helena and Dick can resume their secret identities. 

Yeah, it's a cop-out but I can't help but enjoy this issue, probably because we get less of angry Power Girl and a better sense of her as one of the team. In fact, the whole team seem to be generally getting along well, I need at least a little function of my dysfunctional family!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's the Final Countdown! (Again) - Wonder Woman #293

Image
Countdown to Chaos Wonder Woman #293 Cover Date:  July 1982 Released:   8th April 1982 The first thing here to comment on is this is a Wonder Woman comic so it's her show, though all the other female heroes get something to do, more or less. We however start with our last female heroes to join the quest, Starfire, Wonder Girl and Raven from the Teen Titans. Raven has a major case of the premonitions so they fly off to Paradise Island to get some help from the Amazons. And like any good hero burning a message into a panel so the boys know where they have gone! The one thing that really strikes me looked back is just how tiny Starfires costumes is, more or less a sparkly bikini, especially the back which for some reason we see a lot in this issue. I've nothing against skimpy costumes now and again, but with almost everyone being more dressed and the cheesecake on how it's drawn it really stands out here. Anyway Korri and Donna go to help stop the final horseman on another Ea
Read more

No butts - Infinite Crisis #2

Image
The Survivors Infinite Crisis #2 Cover Date:  January 2006 Released:  9th November 2005 ⋅ Writers:   Geoff Johns  ⋅  Pencilers:  Phil Jimenez   ⋅  ⋅  Inkers:  Many Hands  ⋅     Colourists:  Jeromy Cox / Guy Major  ⋅  ⋅  Letterers:  Nick J. Napolitano  ⋅  Editors:  Jeanine Schaefer /     Eddie Berganza  ⋅ So I'd like to say that this was planned, what with (as of writing) we're halfway through the most recent Crisis, Dark Crisis (of Infinite Earths), but basically the JSA comics heavily rely on this crossover, so we're bringing this one forward! To sum up issue 1 the DC universe is falling into chaos, the Trinity (Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman) are fighting over recent actions, including Wonder Woman killing Maxwell Lord live on television.  Watching from their crystal world the Earth-2 Superman and Superboy-Prime (last seen from Crisis on Infinite Earths) are dismayed at how the heroes are handling their universe, so punching the crystal wall Superman frees himself t
Read more

Power Girls Costumes - 2023 edition

Image
The Past Because Pee Gee has had so few costumes it is very simple to tell when an event is meant to have happened. This is exactly what we got this year in The Golden Years and boy what a costume they choose! Boob-windowless costume As has been told many times the story of Wally Wood and the every-growing boobs is a myth (though he did obviously create her busty to start with) but he did make the boob window grow slightly each time, something that the editors realized by All-Stars #64 (the cover obviously had to be quickly covered up).  The costume only lasted five issues and was in this weird place where Pee Gee was still pretty grumpy and angry, as can be seen in the comic, not long after she get's her scalloped topped costume she spends her mini-series chilling out ready for her meeting of Huntress, but hey we've covered all this before! The only weird part of this costume used in the issue is that the villain they faced, Vulcan (who I will never not be amused by the fact t
Read more