... fighting in the sky - Starman #6

Fortunes of War

Starman #6

Cover Date: Janurary1989

Released: 29th November1988

⋅ Writers: Roger Stern ⋅ Pencilers: Tom Lyle ⋅  

⋅ Inkers: Bob Smith ⋅ Colourists: Julianna Ferriter ⋅

⋅ Letterers: Bob Pinaha ⋅ Editors: Robert Greenberger ⋅ 

Continued from Starman #6

So whilst the cover isn't a lie its tie into the Invasion! is very minimal. Blue Beetle is just there to provide a lift to bring Starman back to his hometown to carry on with his own plots. Okay, to be fair the Power Elite at the bottom are the main baddies through the back half of the story. 

But a quick aside as to the weirdness that is Invasion! the whole invasion! is over by part two, the heroes win and the aliens leave Earth alone. This comic comes between part two and three and I know what you're thinking, how can there be a part three if the Invasion! is over in part two? Well as it happens as revenge for losing, and probably a contingency plan, the main aliens set off a Gene Bomb, this natty thing sets some metahuman's powers to go out of whack before putting them into a coma. The heroes go off into space to find the cure allowing the injured heroes and villains to recover, some with enhanced powers. 

Anyway back to the hero part of the story. We open with Starman trying to help out repairing the Sydney Opera House because there are no other well-known landmarks in Australia! He bumbles for a while before getting some help from Hal, now I'm not normally a fan of Hal I'd rather have a Jessica or John (or Alan Scott for the JSA), but a conversation with Starman here actually makes me (almost) like him. 

And then Pee Gee turns up with some girders and the two of them begin to shore up the building and have some fun interactions, and that is what this first half is really good at fun interactions with other heroes. After a page of Starman and Pee Gee nattering, we get the Atom talking and giving Starman a few pointers as to how to deal with how to be a hero.

And that it, he gets a lift back home in Blue Beetle's Bug, with a remarkably demure Beetle, and then that it Invasion! is done with for Starman.

The back half deals with the Power Elite, who decide to use the alien shapeshifter captured from the last issue to act like heroes. They force the alien to shapeshift into a giant monster who attacks downtown, then they swoop in to play hero and defeat the monster. We also get lots of bickering between the team with the two females in the team, oh yeah there are two women in the team it seems, get a lot more to do in this episode thankfully.

And we end with a slightly annoyed Starman chasing down the Power Elite's battle bus causing the vehicle to apparently explode at the end of the comic.

It'll be a feature that will resonate down the next couple of posts, but there's something interesting about the general dynamics of superheroes just chatting to each other. I like to think of them like how office friendships are like with one or two not getting along but others just vibing with each other and swapping gossip amount themselves. This comic has that kind of dynamic with each hero having different conversations, that fit with their personalities. Pee Gee for example, obviously, has a very joky (possibly) flirty conversation with Starman, carrying on with her general encouragement from the last issue. it's a shame that this style of interaction isn't going to carry on into the next big step into Power Girl's future, something we'll start with next time...