My mission: to read DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to the end of Crisis. This week, I'm looking at the comics that were on stands in the week of June 6, 1985.
Losers Special #1: With this, the first of the Crisis Specials, I think we hit a new phase of that event. We saw the Losers die in Crisis #3, but this issue gives them more of a sendoff and introduces a lot of readers to the characters, probably, if they bothered to buy the issue. Easy and a town of civilians are pinned down by German rockets and Bravo company was supposed to take those out, but they're all dead. The Losers take up the mission. Along the way, they reminisce about their individual pasts, catching the reader up on the characters that originally had solo strips, but were brought together as a team. The Losers take out the emplacement, but they are separated into two groups by smoke. Separately, Sarge and Captain Storm are killed. The smoke clears and Gunner, Pooch, and Johnny Cloud manage to regroup, but then a German plan strafes the area, killing them. The Navajo Johnny Cloud prays to the sky as he dies and sees an image of a Native American deity. Then, something strikes the hill. When Easy arrives, there is no trace of the Losers' bodies.
This story is a better death for a group of war comic characters, but it doesn't fit perfectly with their death as depicted in Crisis. Presumably, we're meant to assume they were taken from the battlefield just before death to die in Markovia at the hands of shadow demons. But how did they get moved and healed? This story can't take place essentially at the same time as that part of Crisis #3, because Rock and Easy appear in that issue in 1944 Markovia, too. I suppose it's possible this issue was retconned out of existence before it was ever published. This is how they would have died, had not the Crisis occurred transtemporally.
Crisis on Infinite Earths #6: The Monitor's adversary gets a name this issue (well, two, since the Psycho-Pirate just calls him "Monitor"): The Anti-Monitor. He gives the whining Psycho-Pirate enough power to control the emotions of the populaces of multiple Earths. He starts pushing the peoples of Earth-S, X, and 4 to suicide in the anti-matter wave.
Meanwhile, the Monitor's satellite is falling apart. The heroes scramble to save themselves while Alex gets read to attempt to bring the other surviving Earths into the Netherverse. Harbinger knocks him out and takes on the risk herself. Disparate groups of heroes (somehow, it's not clear) are transported to the 3 battleground Earths where they are forced to contend with the mind-controlled heroes of those worlds. Black Canary is wearing her new costume here that we have seen before outside of her Who's Who entry.
In the Anti-Monitor's base, the Psycho-Pirate suffers feedback and he loses control of the Earths' people. Harbinger manages to link Earths S, X, and 4 with the merging Earths 1 and 2 in the Netherverse, but she burns out her power, leaving her just Lyra. On Earth-Two, a new Wildcat debuts and a group of villains mysteriously disappear. On Earth-One, Brainiac scoops up Luthor from and tells him he has a plan...
DC Comics Presents #85: This is the first of two Alan Moore Superman stories this month. He he teams him up with Swamp Thing with Veitch and Williamson on art. A patch of still-surviving fungus from Krypton known as the bloodmorel infects Superman causing hallucinations and overheating. It will eventually lead to death from overexertion, and the Last Son of Krypton seems powerless in his delirious state to do anything about it. Trying to get away from people, Clark luckily encounters the Swamp Thing, who manages to link Superman to the Green through the remaining fungus. Immersed in cool calm, Superman is able to sleep and when he awakes the fever is broken. He returns to his life, unaware of the help of Swamp Thing.
Fury of Firestorm #39: Conway and Kayanan/Chen finish up the Weasel story from last issue. Firestorm manages to escape Weasel's death trap but can't capture the villain. Ronnie does some sleuthing and figures out that the connection of the people killed and those attacked is that they were all at Standford in the 60s. Knowing that, Stein still can't figure who the Weasel might be. The Weasel attacks again and Firestorm manages to best him this time. The villain is unmasked as John Monroe...some guy nobody remembers. Ronnie heads back to New York and graduation.
Justice League of America #242: Conway and Tuska/Machlan continue the story from last issue. Aquaman finds Mera, and they make up surprisingly easily. Meanwhile, the rest of the League splits up and blunders around the Canadian woods like teens in a slasher film and get taken out by Amazo. There's even a ridiculous sequence that seems perhaps a riff on a similar scene in Temple of Doom where Elongated Man just keeps talking utterly oblivious to Gypsy dealing with an irritated grizzly bear behind him. In the end, Amazo throws most of the League in a deep hole and covers it with a Boulder.
There's a MASK preview insert "Assault on Mount Mayhem" in this issue and Tales of the Teen Titans as well, but I don't have a copy of it, alas, in the format I'm reading them in.
Tales of the Teen Titans #57: Cyborg's surgery is a success, and he's more human appearing than ever. He's sent to rehab and meets a tough physical therapist who I feel like should be named Sarah Potential Love Interest unless I'm totally misreading Wolfman's intentions. Meanwhile, the other Titans are hanging out at the pool then doing a little training, oddly unconcerned that the Fatal Five are out there a new member the Titan's failed to stop them from busting out of prison.
That new member is Jinx, an Indian sorceress from who only speaks Urdu until Psimon gives her telepathic language lessons. The Fatal Five come for Cyborg's Doctor, and take him too, not recognizing him. They want her to awaken Neutron. Cyborg sabotages Neutron's containment vessel to a degree, causing an explosion they we are assured didn't hurt the guy inside. All the strain causes his new plastic veneers to start melting down, though.
Later. Psimon interrupts a press conference by the Major to demand ransom from the city, boasting the Fatal Five now has Neutron on its side.
Vigilante #22: Wolfman/Kupperberg and Smith/Maygar continue the story from last issue with Nightwing and Chase in a running fight across multiple locations, each saying tough guy things to each other and demanding the other stand down. Meanwhile, a guy with a heroin addiction sets out to commit a burglar on an attempt condo, and winds up through a series of bad luck and worse choices, killing 3 people, and causing a police car to wreck with a stolen pistol. He ends up out of bullets and executed on a rooftop by the Vigilante. When that makes the TV news, Nightwing and Chase overhear it and both realize that Chase isn't the current killer vigilante--Chase hadn't even known for certain. Nightwing leaves agreeing to hold off his hunt for the other vigilante so Chase who feels responsible for inspiring the guy can handle it, which given the murders and Chase's mental state seems a bit irresponsible but bro code and all that.
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