Wednesday Comics: DC, September 1984 (week 4)

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! This week, I read the comics on sale on June 28, 1984.

Warlord Annual #3: I reviewed this annual by Burkett and Jurgens/DeCarlo starting here. In it, Morgan and crew are back in time and meet one of Deimos' ancestors and also learn the origins of Atlantean beast-man creating technology.

Action Comics #559: It's another 2-story issue and again the first story by Rozakis and Schaffenberger is sort of a throwback as it brings back the Yellow Peri from 1982. Loretta Grant gets the magic book back that transforms her into the Yellow Peri. She performs good deeds magically for a fee, an idea of her grifter husband who eventually manipulates her into attacking Superman. Despite all this, Superman lets her keep the magic book in the end. I'd suspect that won't turn out well, but I'd place equal odds-on Yellow Peri never showing up again Pre-Crisis. We'll see!

In the second story by Kupperberg and Saviuk, an encounter with an alien creature results in the temporary de-supering of Superman's hair, allowing Clark Kent to indulge in a visit to the barbershop for a haircut.

Arion Lord of Atlantis #23:  Duursema is back on art. Arion and crew get back to Atlantis and the king seems uninterested in their warnings about Garn Danuuth. Soon strangers start being hostile to Arion and then his friends. Garn shows up but he seems all good now. This all culminates with Wyynde and Arion fighting a duel to the death in the arena. The weakness of this issue is that Arion seems really dumb. From the moment they arrive, and the king is acting out of character, he should have considered a plot by Garn, but know, he doesn't seem to even after his friend and lover turn on him. Maybe mind control magic doesn't exist in Atlantis, so he doesn't consider he because he has no framework for it, but I suspect his thickness is merely in service of padding out the plot.

All-Star Squadron #37: Thomas and Jones/Howell pick up where last issue left off. An uncharacteristically (well, for the Earth-One version, at least) hotheaded Superman is spoiling for a fight with the Marvels, and briefly gets it before cooler heads prevail, and they all realize they are on the same side. We hear how they got here from Earth-S and how they want to get Billy/Captain Marvel back and go home. The magical plot contrivance shield over Europe makes it difficult, but if the two join the technologically empowered JSA as plain old Freddie and Mary, it shouldn't be a problem. Sneaking into Germany, the JSA and the kids find Billy Batson captive, but they are ambushed by the Nazi Captain Marvel. It seems a Nazi scientist has a device that can separate the powered forms from those empowered by Shazam's magic lightning. They do that to Mary and Freddie, too, and send the Marvels to attack Britain.

The mind-controlled Marvels are able to get the better of the powered JSA members left behind, but luckily the group in Germany escapes. As soon as the Batsons and Freddie get out of the range of the Nazi's shield, the Marvels turn good again and help the JSA defeat a German invasion force. Then, they use their powers to recombine and transport themselves back to their Earth.

Detective Comics #542: Again, the assassin makes an attempt Bullock's life but dumb luck (scrambling to get a car cigarette lighter) saves him. With an injured arm, Bullock is on light duty and winds up being the one to accompany the Child Welfare worker to pull Jason from Bruce's custody. The legalities of Bruce's custody are weird here. Moench seems to not want to have Bruce breaking the law, but yet maintain he can't legally have Jason (for some reason the papers weren't signed). It just seems contrived. 

Anyway, while Bruce meets with his team of legal eagles and offers to double their salaries if they can figure a way to get Jason back. Jason slips out of his new living space to answer a bat signal and try to protect Bullock from the assassin. Ultimately, Batman arrives to save the day, but now Batman and Robin have two separate abodes.

Sun Devils #3: The mysterious, ethereal Myste helps Rik Sunn led hi ragtag squadron to victory over the Sauroid invaders. Their dictator natural executes the commanders responsible for the failure, but his troubles only increase as his Crustate allies rethink their planned attack on Earth. Meanwhile, the success of Rik and others leads the Centaurian forces to reconsider rejecting them, and they give them special status with new fighters and snazzy red and black uniforms. Myste reveals herself to the group and is going to continue to aide them. Rik and Annie get some private time and their relationship blossoms. Things aren't all roses for the Sun Devils, though, as we discover there is a traitor among them.

Super Powers #3: Kirby/Cavalieri and Gonzales/Kupperberg have the heroes comparing notes on their recent encounters with villains with heightened powers. Their speculations are cut short by an attack by the Amazons, including Wonder Woman, on the island nation of San Marcos thanks to the actions of the enhanced Brainiac. The heroes have to pull out all the stops to defeat them, including Aquaman summoning a kaiju. Then Brainiac de-evolves Superman to a belligerent, Kryptonian caveman.

Tales of the Legion #315: Levitz/Giffen and Shoemaker/Kesel have a trio Legionnaires crash the trial room of the Dark Circle, but the Circle members tap their sun's power to teleport themselves and Ontiir to a secret satellite. The Circle orders Ontiir to prove his loyalty by giving up his secrets and committing suicide. The Legionnaires arrive in time to prevent that with the Science Police on their heels. The Legionnaires see the Dark Circle's true Cthulhoid form. Ontiir refuses to drop his weapon and is shot and killed by Chief Zendak without us every learning what side he really though it was on. The Circle declares they have nothing to fight over anymore and leaves. Later, Supergirl tells Brainiac 5 that maybe she shouldn't and come, and she doesn't fit in with the Legion anymore. Promising to see him sometime later, she heads back to the 20th Century.

In the backup by Levitz/Newell and Tuska/Kesel, the White Witch continues telling her origin story to Blok. She reveals how Mordru was one of her teachers, and how he betrayed her out of spite and changed her appearance, so she looked like an old woman.

World's Finest Comics #307: Kraft/Rozakis finish this epic with von Eeden/Andrews. I wonder if Kraft was satisfied with the result? Anyway, Superman is trapped by the villains, giving X'ult time to reveal his backstory. He's an alien and the source of everyone's powers is really a technological artifact from his home world. He revives Barracuda and places her under his control. He makes the mistake of having Batman locked in a cell though, which the Caped Crusdader of course, escapes from, then frees Swordfish and Null. They get Superman out too, and the heroes confront X'ult. Swordfish's love frees Barracuda from control, and the two of them and X'ult are plunged into the past, still battling.

With X'ult gone Null's and Void's powers are...well, you know. The heroes take them back to the authorities.

Star Trek Movie Special #1: Nice cover here by Chaykin. Barr and Sutton/Villagrain adapt Star Trek III: The Search for Spock which was released on June 1, 1984. Though it's been clear from hints dropped in the regular series, that Barr knew at least some of the plot points of STIII, he didn't quite set things up for the start of the film, so there's a bit of discontinuity between what we last saw there and where this issue picks up. It's unexplained, for instance, at what point Saavik left Enterprise and how much time has passed since we saw Kirk acting as captain with a full crew compliment and the apparent decision to decommission the vessel. Still, the same creative team on the adaptation does make it seem to flow into continuity better. It will be interesting to see what they do regarding STIV that seems to pick up closely on the heels of this film in movie continuity, but won't actually be released until 1986, leaving a lot of comic issues in between.