The Great Batman: Brave and the Bold Rewatch: Duel of the Double Crossers!

Season One, Episode Twenty-One: Duel of the Double Crossers!
Written by Todd Casey
Directed by Michael Chang

Plot Synopsis

Teaser: Despero stands on a rooftop, preparing to throw a giant globe down on to bystanders. Batman communicates to the Outsiders(Black Lightning, Katana, and Metamorpho) telling them what to do to stop the villain. The Outsiders, though, are doing things their own way, which mostly involves lots of property damage and not much stopping of Despero. Only when they listen to Batman, working as a team, do they stop the alien conqueror, although the damage to the city is severe. It turns out it was all a simulation, and Batman tells them they'll keep doing it until they get it right, restarting the simulation.

Episode: In front of a large sunset, the bounty hunter Jonah Hex rides, heading towards a saloon. Only when we get inside, and see the saloon is full of aliens and not old west ne'er do wells, do we realize Hex is not in his native time or world. Hex sits down at a card table with an alien named Arges, and proceeds to attempt to take him, but Arges blasts him with an eye beam. Hex, with some help from his robot horse, captures Arges, and is teleported away to Warworld.

Upon arriving on Warworld, Hex confronts its master, Mongul, who welcomes Hex back, pleased with his new captive. Hex is less pleased, and demands Mongul send him back to his own time. Mongul says he will, but only if Hex delivers one more bounty to him, a warrior who will stand up too his sisters gladiators: Batman.

On Earth, Batman easily takes out the villain Zebra Man just before Hex arrives. Batman knows about Warworld, and knows why Hex is there, and the two men prepare to face off. Batman throws a Batarang, which Hex shoots out of the air, and the two face off, but Hex is able to lasso Batman.

On Warworld, Batman is led away by Mongul's guards, and Hex again tells Mongul to send him home. Mongul again refuses, saying that Hex is too valuable, and when Hex threatens to shoot Mongul, the alien warlord reminds Hex that killing him will leave Hex stranded in the present forever. Hex contemplates doing it anyway, but they are interrupted by Mongal, Mongul's sister and competitor, along with two of her guards, Lashina and Stompa, members of the Female Furies. Hex decides to stand down rather than fight the Furies, flirting briefly with Lashina, and threatens Mongul that he will help in Mongul's fall. Mongal scoffs at the idea that Batman could beat her champion, Steppenwolf, but Mongul seems more confident in the Dark Knight.

In the arena, we see Batman led out into the center, along with Arges, a Gordanian, and another alien. Mongul pronounces this to be Battle Arena Warworld, a combat entertainment with no rules and with only one victor. Batman tries to convince the others to work together against Steppenwolf, and they refuse, as the Apokoliptan general, Steppenwolf appears. Steppenwolf attacks, starting to easily take out his foes. Flash away from the arena to an irritated Hex, who shoots the screen showing the battle, as Mongal approaches him. She offers to send Hex home simply to screw with Mongul, and gives him a map to the time machine and the deliverance to send him home. He tips his hat and heads off.

Back in the arena, Steppenwolf has made short work of most of his opponents, leaving only Batman and Arges. Batman gets Arges to agree to help him, only for Arges to use Batman's distraction to escape. Batman now stands seemingly alone against Steppenwolf, but Hex arrives on robot horseback. Hex joins in the fight, and although he shoots his way through Steppenwolf's shield and disarms him of his axe, he is downed. Batman, adding techno-brass knuckles to his fists (which he refers to yet again as the Hammers of Justice), engages Steppenwolf in a fist fight. They trade blows, but Batman's superior fighting skills win the day, leaving Steppenwolf defeated. Hex rises, and the two head off.

Hex leads Batman to free the prisoners of Warworld before he heads home, They are confronted by Mongal and her Furies, and Batman and Hex engage the Furies in combat, Lashina calling Hex out. Batman and Stompa fight, but Hex and Lashina are continuing to flirt as they fight hand-to-hand. Eventually, the Furies are defeated, but that leaves them with Mongal. Hex is able to lasso her and tie her to Hex's robot horse before heading off again. Mongul sees his sister and laughs, but she tells him where Batman and Hex are going as she is dragged away.

At the cells, Batman and Hex arrive. The prisoners are overjoyed to see Batman, but angered by Hex. Hex tells them he's going to spring them and then head to settle his score with Mongul as Mongul teleports in. Mongul is able to sucker punch the heroes, but even after he no longer has the element of surprise, he still has the upper hand. Batman prepares to free the prisoners to join the battle against Mongul, but is told is he does he will destroy the time tunnel platform as well, stranding Hex. Hex agrees to it, knowing the consequences, and with the cells open, the gathered alien warriors attack Mongul and Mongal, who has conveniently ust been dropped off the the robo horse.

With the battle done, Hex prepares to send Batman home. Batman offers to have Hex come with him, and see if Batman can find another way to return Hex to his own time. Hex decides to stay behind, though, and see what's to do. Batman returns home, and Hex finds Lashina waiting by his horse, and the two ride off together.


Who's Who

Jonah Hex (Voiced by Phil Morris)

First Comic Book Appearance: All-Star Western #10 (February-March, 1972)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Eleven- Return of the Fearsome Fangs!

Mongul (Voiced by Gary Anthony Williams)
First Comic Book Appearance:  DC Comics Presents #27 (November, 1980)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Twenty-One- Duel of the Double Crossers!

Mongul is one of the great galactic conqueror villains of the DC Universe. While his origins have changed substantially depending on which timeline in the DC Universe you are following, his story is always tied to that of Warworld, a mobile planetoid battlestation, and the Black Mercy, the plant that attaches itself to a host and gives them a fantasy of their greatest desire. Mongul's best known origin has him as master of Warworld when Superman, travelling the galaxy, finds himself on the planet and forced into the arena to fight. Superman eventually defeated him, leaving him no fallen in the eyes of the citizens of Warworld. Mongul would go on to serve as a lackey to the villainous Cyborg Superman, and took part on the destruction of Coast City, Green Lantern's home town. The original Mongul would go on to be killed and replaced by his son, also named Mongul, who looked identitcal to his father, but more on that below in the notes. Mongul II would continue to be a nemesis of Superman and various Green Lanterns, and would briefly go on to lead the Sinestro Corps. Mongul has most of the traditional big galaxy conquering bad powers, like super strength, invulnerability, and the ability to fire energy.

Mongal (Voiced by Gary Anthony Williams)
First Comic Book Appearance:  Superman Vol.2 #170 (July, 2001)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Twenty-One- Duel of the Double Crossers!

Mongal was the sister of Mongul II, and worked with her brother on various occasions. She eventually became ruler of the planet Almerac, but eventually went back to work with her brother, who in a fit of pique, murdered her because family was a weakness. She had powers identical to those of her brother.

Lashina (Voiced by Nika Futterman)
First Comic Book Appearance:  Mister Miracle #6 (January, 1972)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Twenty-One- Duel of the Double Crossers!

Stompa
First Comic Book Appearance:  Mister Miracle #6 (January, 1972)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Twenty-One- Duel of the Double Crossers!

The Female Furies are members of the elite guard of Apokolips, the world of the evil gods ruled by Darkseid. Selected by Granny Goodness, the master of Darkseid's orphanage, for their ruthlessness and power, the Furies include Bernadeth, sister of Desaad, Lashina, of the metal whips, the superstrong Stompa, and the claw wielding Mad Harriet, among many others. Lashina is probably the most developed Fury, storywise as she became a member of the Suicide Squad under the pseudonym "Duchess" for some time.

Steppenwolf (Voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson)
First Comic Book Appearance:  New Gods #7 (February, 1972)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Twenty-One- Duel of the Double Crossers!

Uncle to Darkseid, Steppenwolf is one of the generals of Apokolips and its master's chief military adviser. He was one of the members of Darkseid's retinue when Darkseid personally attacked New Genesis, home of the New Gods, and slew the wife of Highfather. He has been one of the evil gods most prominently appearing since the new post-Flashpoint continuity, as one of the chief antagonists on Earth 2, and has appeared in other New Gods related stories. Steppenwolf will also be one of, if not the main, antagonists in DC's upcoming Justice League film. Steppenwolf has all the base powers of a New God, meaning he is immortal and has physical strength, stamina, and durability far beyond those of a mortal. He is also a master hunter, hand-to-hand combatant, weaponsmaster, and military tactician.

Zebra-Man
First Comic Book Appearance:  Detective Comics #275 (January, 1960)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Twenty-One- Duel of the Double Crossers!

The original Zebra-Man was a one off villain who appeared in one issue of Detective Comics, and is a classic Silver Age science villain, whose own science experiment backfired on him, giving him powers, in his case based on magnetism. Various other Zebra-Mans have appeared over the years, but they are all at best D-list villains who mostly appear in the background as parts of supervillain crowds.

Black Lightning (Voiced by Bumper Robinson)

First Comic Book Appearance:  Black Lightning #1 (April, 1977)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Six- Enter the Outsiders!

Katana (Voiced by Vyvan Pham)

First Comic Book Appearance:  The Brave and the Bold #200 (July, 1983)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Six- Enter the Outsiders!

Metamorpho (Voiced by Scott Menville)
First Comic Book Appearance:  The Brave and the Bold #57 (January, 1965)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Six- Enter the Outsiders!


Despero (Voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson)
First Comic Book Appearance: Justice League of America #1 (October, 1960)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Ten- The Eyes of Despero!

Continuity, Comics Connections, and Notes

While Jonah Hex is best known for his gritty or occult themed adventures in the Old West, time travel isn't completely unheard of for Hex. Not onyl did the last arc of his most recent series, All-Star Western, have Hex come to the present DC Universe, but his first post-Crisis series, simply called Hex, have Jonah in a Mad Max-esque dystopian future. And in his Justice League Unlimited appearance in "The Once and Future Thing," where he encounters a time travelling Batman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman, he identifies them as time travelers, and when Batman asks him what makes him think that, he simply replies, "I've had an interesting life."

The origins I gave for Mongul and Mongal above gloss over the somewhat strange connection between the two characters. The original Mongul died during the DC crossover event, Underworld Unleashed, in a way that was clearly set up to show what a threat the big bad of that series, Neron, was. And he stayed dead. When Mongul II appeared, it was convenient that he had the same name and an identical appearance to his father, to the point that the fact that he is technically the son of the original character stopped being mentioned, as if there had always been one Mongul. This is reminiscent to me of the season fifteen episode of The Simpsons, "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot," where the Simpson cat, Snowball II, dies, and after many attempts to get a new cat, they find an identical one and keep the name, which is played for comic effect. I feel Brave and the Bold made the right decision in simply avoiding that whole mess and combining the two characters into one.

Two of The Brave and the Bold regulars return this episode, with Kevin Michael Richardson, who previously voiced Black Manta and Despero, voicing Steppenwolf, and James Arnold Taylor, who voices Green Arrow, voicing one-off character Arges.

While I list this episode as Zebra-Man's first appearance, he did technically appear before in the dream sequence in episode nineteen, "Legend of the Dark Mite!"

The Great Batman: The Brave and the Bold Rewatch: Return of the Fearsome Fangs!

Season One, Episode Eleven: Return of the Fearsome Fangs!
Written by Todd Casey
Directed by Brandon Vietti

Plot Synopsis

Teaser: In the Old West, the bounty hunter Jonah Hex is tied to four hoses on train tracks, about to be pulled apart by the Royal Flush Gang of the era. At noon, the station whistle will startle the horses and they will pull Hex apart. As the whistle blows, a Batarang severs the ropes, and Batman pulls off a poncho and stands to fight the Gang. The Royal Flush Gang take off on horseback, but Batman and Hex chase them down. Hex asks Batman if he wants a share of the bounty, which Batman refuses, but Hex throws him a gold coin and tells him to get a proper cowboy hat, because Hex can't partner with someone in that ridiculous Bat outfit

Episode: An old man walks out of a temple at the top of a mountain, only to be fired upon by archers, but he deftly destroys the dozens of arrows with his cane. Ninjas fall upon him, but he just as easily stops them. He calls out to the ninjas' leaders, Fox, Shark, and Vulture, the Terrible Trio, asking when they will give up. Fox, their leader, says only when they have the totem. Shark and Vulture attack, but the old man bests them, mentioning he was their former master. But while the man is distracted, Fox shoots a poison dart at him, and he falls. As the sun rises, the ninjas disappear, and the Trio disappear as well, leaving the poisoned man, who Fox says will be dead by nightfall.

Batman captures The Top, who is robbing a bank, but is then pulled into a psychic realm at the voice of the old man, who he calls Master Wong Fei. Wong Fei pokes fun at Batman's form and his costume, but tells him that Batman's old classmates and their Shadow Clan are coming to take the Wudang totem, which will grant them limitless power, and Batman must come to the Wudang Temple to stop them before sunset. Batman says he will bring Bronze Tiger as well, but Wong Fei scoffs, saying Tiger is too proud to come to the school's aid. When Batman says he will see Wong Fei before nightfall, the old master says he will not, that his journey is done, and then fades away.

In the Batplane, Batman flashes back to his time as a young man in the Wudang Temple. There we see a young Batman, wearing the mask of the Bat, along with the Terrible Trio and Bronze Tiger. Wong Fei begins his training in the ways of the spirit animal he has chosen, teaching Batman how to fight blind. He fends off the Trio, but Bronze Tiger connects, and with Batman stunned, Fox begins to kick him while he's down, Wong Fei calls for a stop, but Fox continues, and Bronze Tiger knocks him down. Wong Fei chastises all three, saying Bat was terrible, Fox must not seek enjoyment in battle, and Tiger must let Bat fight his own battles. Bat does thanks Bronze Tiger, who walks off in a huff.

In a jungle, Batman finds Bronze Tiger fighting a cage match, and sees he is the undefeated champ. When Tiger sees Batman, he calls him up to fight with him. Batman doesn't want to fight, and that the Wudang Temple needs them, but Tiger refuses to help, saying he only defends this village now. Batman jumps into the ring and challenges Tiger, saying if Batman wins, Tiger must join him and fight by his side. They fight, and Tiger has the upper hand until Batman tells him the lesson Wong Fei taught after Tiger left the school: When all else fails, cheat. Batman trips Tiger with marbles and then gets him in an arm lock until Tiger taps out.

They arrive at Wudang Temple, and Batman explains about the Shadow Clan,which only exisst at night, and the Wudang totem, and how the totem will grant the Shadow Clan immeasurable power. Tiger scoffs at the magic of it all in frustration, moving into another flashback. All the students are challenged to attack Wong Fei, and Fox wonders if eh kills Wong Fei if he can jkeep the temple for himself. Wong Fei  bats Vulture and Shark aside one handed. He sidesteps Fox and knocks him aside as well, making it clear he heard Fox's snide remarks.Bat attacks, and though it takes a little more effort, Wong Fei beats him as well. Tiger, though, puts up a real fight, breaking Wong Fei's staff before he is beaten. But Wong Fei offers no compliment, again tossing insults at Tiger, who takes off his mask and walks away.

In the temple in the present, Batman and Bronze Tiger walk into the totem's room just as the Terrible Trio and the Shadow Clan arrive to take it. Fox directs his underlings to kill the heroes, and Batman fights Shark and Vulture as Tiger goes after Fox, still full of anger at him for being dismissive years ago and too proud to think he can be beaten, only to be overpowered by a mass of ninjas. With Batman and Tiger held by the ninjas, the Trio walk forward and pick up the totem together, and are transformed into animal/human hybrids of their totem animals. Tiger again goes for Fox, and when Batman goes to his aid is intercepted by Vulture, who flies him into the air and drops him off the mountain,

Seeing Batman fall, Tiger is distracted and Fox is able to grab him, and though Tiger breaks the hold, Fox defeats him, telling him that Fox will let him live just so he can see that he has failed to defeat the Trio, and the destruction of Hing Kong and his village at their hands. Tiger is left alone as the Batplane appears, and Batplane orders him to get in.

In Hong Kong, bulked up Shadow Clan ninjas and the transformed Trio are menacing the populace. The Batplane flies over and the heroes see ships sailing in filled with magically mutated Shadow Clan ninjas. Vulture flies up and disables the plane, but Batman and Tiger bail in time, only to be faced by the Trio and all their ninjas. Batman prepares for a fight, but Tiger offers his surrender if Fox swears to spare his village. Fox agrees, but only if Tiger bows before him, and Tiger agrees, saying his pride has gotten the best of him too many times, but reminds Batman of Wong Fei's greatest lesson: when outmatched, cheat.Tiger knocks the totem from Fox's hands, and Batman and Tiger grabbing it, transforming into animal hybrids themselves.

Their power now equal, Tiger defeats Shark handily, then begins defeating ninjas. Batman embraces Wong Fei's teaching, letting his other senses take over, and he is able to defeat Vulture's sneak attack from behind, and takes to the air himself on his bat wings to defeat him. As Tiger battles Fox for the totem, Batman destroys the oncoming ships. Tiger finally defeats Fox, and he and Batman take the totem back to the temple. Tiger decides to stay at the temple, bringing his people with him to restart the school and defend the totem, With a smile, Tiger challenges Batman to a rematch, and the two leap at each other as the episode ends.

Who's Who

Bronze Tiger (Voiced by Gary Anthony Sturgis)
First Comic Book Appearance: Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter #1 (April-May, 1975)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Eleven- Return of the Fearsome Fangs!

Ben Turner was a young man who travelled to Asia to learn martial arts, and mastered many of the arts along with his fellow student, Richard Dragon. Turner, taking the name Bronze Tiger, and Dragon began working for covert intelligent agencies under spymaster King Faraday and infiltrated the League of Assassins, where Tiger was taken and brainwashed to join the League. Faraday eventually discovered this and sent his agents Rick Flag and Nightshade to retrieve him and they were able to break his brainwashing. Filled with guilt at all the deaths he caused while under League control, Tiger became one of the regular members of the Suicide Squad for quite some time, until he eventually felt he had done enough and became a martial arts teacher and mentor. In the current, post-Flashpoint continuity, he is once again a member of the League of Assassins. Bronze Tiger is one of the most proficient martial artists in the world; he has bested Batman and is seen on par with Lady Shiva.

Terrible Trio 

First Comic Book Appearance: Detective Comics #253 (March, 1958)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Eleven- Return of the Fearsome Fangs!

The earliest version of the Terrible Trio were inventors who donned the masks of animals, built inventions around those themes, and became criminals. Over the years they have popped up occasionally, usually fighting Batman, although they once became heads of industry and fought the modern age Dr. Mid-Nite. A second group took up the name in Gotham during a hiatus the original group took, but only appeared the once. While they have only appeared a handful of times in the comics, they have appeared in all three of the longer lasting animated Batman animated series: Batman: The Animated Series, The Batman, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. The Terrible Trio do not have any powers, but usually are presented as criminal masterminds with highly developed intelligence.

The Top

First Comic Book Appearance: Flash #122 (August, 1961)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Eleven- Return of the Fearsome Fangs!

The Top is Roscoe Dillon, an early foe of the Silver Age Flash, Barry Allen. Like most of the Silver Age Flash foes, he had something that was a lifelong obsession, in his case tops, and   developed a power set based around that. Somehow, this also allows him to develop powerful psychic powers that allow him to jump from body to body. He was a regular member of the Rogues early on, and the sometimes boyfriend of Lisa "Golden Glider" Snart, sister of the Rogues' leader, Captain Cold. He and Cold would often compete for leadership of the Rogues, and Top's final death was at the hands of Cold. Along with Mirror Master, he remains one of the two major Rogues yet to appear on the current Flash TV series. Top's initial power set allowed him to spin at high speeds, and carried trick tops with various gimmicks. The spinning somehow gave him heightened intelligence, and eventually telepathic and telekinetic abilities.

Jonah Hex (Voiced by Phil Morris)

First Comic Book Appearance: All-Star Western #10 (February-March, 1972)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Eleven- Return of the Fearsome Fangs!

I've written extensively about Jonah Hex before, but the short version is this: A former confederate soldier, Jonah Hex was scarred after a fight with his Apache foster brother. Now with no one to call family and nowhere to go, Hex became the wild west's deadliest and most accomplished bounty hunter. He's a cold-blooded killer and has no compunction about bringing a bounty in dead rather than alive. Hex does have a strong personal code of ethics, though, and has a habit of helping those he feels are being oppressed, usually in a lethal manner. Hex is a master tracker and gunman, and an excellent hand to hand combatant.

The Royal Flush Gang
First Comic Book Appearance: Justice League of America #43 (March, 1966)
First Brave and the Bold Appearance: Season One, Episode Eleven- Return of the Fearsome Fangs!

There have been half a dozen different incarnations of the Royal Flush Gang in their fifty years in the comics. They have been the gang of arch villain Amos Fortune, the gang of Hector Hammond, and a nation-wide criminal organization with different suits all over the world. The most famous version of the gang is quite possibly the one from Batman Beyond, where they are a legacy of criminals, with titles passing down through the family for generations.

Continuity, Comics Connections, and Notes

Wong Fei is not a character from DC Comics, but is instead an actual Chinese folk hero. The subjust of many legends that have become books, tv series, and movies, Wong Fei-hung was a physician and martial artist.

As with most episodes of this series, Batman's face remains hidden even in the flashbacks; the series does its best to focus on Batman and not Bruce Wayne, so he only appears unmasked on rare occasions.

The Bat mask that Batman wears in the flashbacks is very similar to the mask he wears in the comic event "Knight's End" as he trains with Lady Shiva. While that might be a coincidence, or the mask might be based in a traditional design I haven't found, parts of that series were drawn by Mike Manley, who worked as a character designer for Brave and the Bold, so it might be intentional.

Lost Legends: DC Challenge!

When I talked about DC's Emerald City Comic Con announcements, I mentioned the original DC Challenge mini-series and that I would get around to talking about it. Well, now's that time. Let's head back to 1985, a simpler time, when there were still infinite Earths, when heroes were heroes, and when it was decided by DC brass to try one of the strangest experiments in comic book history.

Now, remember, this is back in the day when letters pages in comic were not the exception, but pretty much the rule, and through the letter pages of this comic, readers got an explanation of how this particular project came about. Long story short, as the first letters page essay is longer than my average column, A group of comic writers got together at San Diego Comic Con in 1983 and decided to propose doing what they called a round robin, or what some  might know as a game of exquisite corpse, where writers each write one chapter of a story and leave it to the next writer to pick up the story without being told what the previous writer's intention was to wrap up the story. There were specific rules against consultation between creative teams, about not using the, "It's just a dream!" gambit to get out of a sticky situation, and a few more logistical points, but generally, this was no holds barred comics like we rarely get anymore, twelve issues of pure crazy joyful comics.

I've been trying to decide how to write about this series since I realized I wanted to write about it. It's not easy, because it goes in all sorts of crazy directions. While each writer had to wrap up some of the plot points left by the previous writer or writers, some were left to dangle for issues at a time, to the point that I can't imagine reading this in anything but the concentrated burst I did; after all, if the writers were ignoring something for six months, how could readers be expected to remember them? Also, some of the best parts of the series are discovering the random, "Wow, that's a character that I never expected to see in here."

The basic premise, at the start of the series anyway, is that there are djinn-like creatures possessing people and interacting with heroes, while Floyd Perkins, a copy boy at the Daily Planet, is encountering hidden floors on the planet building and dead celebrities seemingly back from beyond. Pretty soon, aliens are involved, as are time travelers seeking mysterious stone tablets, battles between different alien species on the planet Rann, an alternate reality where Hitler won World War II, and Cthulhu like tentacle creatures from beyond. It's everything and the kitchen sink too storytelling.

As for the characters used, well it starts out simple enough with the DC Comics holy trinity of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, as well as their supporting casts, and sci-fi hero Adam
Strange. But issue two starts the spiral of the obscure, by bringing in not just well known western hero Jonah Hex, but Congorilla and B'wana Beast, as well as then little used villain, Mongul, who had only appeared in a handful of DC Comics Presents issues, as well as the legendary Superman Annual #11, "For the Man Who Has Everything." One of the rules the writers were given was they had to work with characters they didn't write on a monthly basis, so by series end, not only had most of the Justice League appeared, as well as many big name DC heroes, characters from other DC Earths of the time like Captain Marvel and Blue Beetle, but lesser known characters like Rip Hunter, Viking Prince, Detective Chimp, Captain Comet, Space Cabby, Enemy Ace, and Doiby Dickles, sometimes sidekick to Plastic Man all had featured roles. Basically, if you're a long time fan of DC Comics, you will find your favorite obscure character on the 60s, 70s, and early 80s somewhere in here.

And as for the creators who worked on this book? Well here's a rundown of each issue (along with the titles that each issue had, which were given to the new creative team by the previous one) and who the creative team was. These are guys who are now legends, some of the greatest writers and artists of the 70s and 80s, and they all worked together on this one project.

Issue #1, "Outbreak": Written by Mark Evanier; Illustrated by Gene Colan & Bob Smith

Issue #2, "Blinded By the Light": Written by Len Wein; Co-Plotted and Pencilled by Chuck Patton; Inked by Mike DeCarlo

Issue #3, "Viking Vengeance": Written by Doug Moench; Illustrated by Carmine Infantino & Bob Smith

Issue #4, "Atomic Nights": Written by Paul Levitz; Illustrated by Gil Kane & Klaus Janson

Issue #5, "Thunderbolts and Lightning": Written by Mike W Barr; Illustrated by Dave Gibbons & Mark Farmer

Issue #6, "A Matter of Anti Matter": Co-Written by Elliot S. Maggin & Dan Jurgens; Illustrated by Dan Jurgens & Larry Mahlstedt

Issue #7, "Don't Bogart That Grape... Hand Me the Gas Pump!": Wriiten by Paul Kupperberg; Illustrated by Joe Staton & Steve Mitchell

Issue #8, "If This Is Love, Why Do My Teeth Hurt?"" Written by Gerry Conway; Illustrated by Rick Hoberg, Dick Girodano, & Arnie Starr

Issue #9, "All This And World War, Too!": Written by Roy Thomas; Illustrated by Don Heck

Issue #10, "Jules Verne Was Right!": Written by Dan Mishkin; Illustrated by Curt Swan & Terry Austin

Issue #11: "How Can You Be In Two Places At Once When You're Not Anywhere At All?": Plot by Marv Wolfman, Dialogue by Cary Bates; Illustrated by Keith Giffen & Dave Hunt

Issue #12: "Fathers Against Suns"

Issue twelve had half a dozen chapters, each from a different creative team, and many of the artists were not involved in the earlier issues, including Tom Mandrake, Denys Cowan, Jan Duursema, and others. All twelve issues were colored by Carl Gafford and lettered by John Costanza.

And while I don't want to talk more about plot than I already have, since it would give away the fun and also take a ton of time to describe all the strange intricacies of the plot, here are a few favorite moments:

- Issue #2's cliffhanger has a time displaced Jonah Hex knock out the gangsters who have abducted him, led by a seemingly resurrected Peter Lorre, only to realize he doesn't know how to drive the car they're in as it screams down the road towards a group of nuns and school children.

- Issue #7 gives us Albert Einstein, who on his deathbed master the Unified Theory and now is the master of time and space, living in the nexus of all reality like a kindly Time Lord.

- Issue #8 is suddenly narrated by the Joker out of nowhere, because why the heck not?

-Issue #11's reveal of the big bad who's been behind the whole series. This is a character that few artists capture as well as Keith Giffen does, and the big splash page is amazing. Actually, that issue's art is possibly my favorite, as Giffen also draws an excellent Batman and Spectre.

While there's a lot of experimentation with form and character in comics outside DC and Marvel right now, the big two like to play it fairly safe. They don't try a lot of new things. DC Challenge might not have been transgressive or world shaking, but it was something that hadn't been done in comics before, and ended up being a project that was wildly fun, and in the still dark era of mainstream comics, I can only hope the new Kamandi Challenge series can recapture some of the glorious insanity of the original.

As with all Lost Legends posts, DC Challenge is currently uncollected, but I found it at a convention as a set not too long ago for a very affordable price.. However, as we near the release of the Kamandi Challenge title, I wouldn't be surprised if a collection was released. I do hope they include all the creator notes from the letters pages in that collection as well, as they added a lot of interesting back story to this unusual project.

"I've Had an Interesting Life," The Ballad of Jonah Hex

"Cold blooded killer, vicious, unmerciful hellion without feeling, without conscience... A man consumed by hate, a man who boded evil...That was... Jonah Hex." Those were the words that ran over the masthead of All Star Western Vol.2 #10, the first appearance of DC Comics most famous Western character, the bounty hunter Jonah Hex. And while the creation of John Albano and Tony DeZuniga has been fleshed out by many creators over the years, it's still pretty accurate. And since it was just announced that Hex would be appearing in an episode of DC's new Legends of Tomorrow series, I thought it would be a nice time to talk about Hex, his origins, and what makes him great, and make it clear to the uninitiated why the most public appearance of the character isn't something he should be judged by.

While Western comics have been a genre that hasn't really been popular for decades, Jonah Hex has been a character who has appeared pretty regularly since his inception forty years ago. That's because Hex isn't your typical cowboy hero. He's considerably closer to Eastwood's Man With No Name than he is to the Lone Ranger. Scarred, both physically an mentally, Hex is a bounty hunter without a heart of gold. He might have a personal code, and he might occasionally do the right thing for the right reason, but nine times out of ten? It's about the money. Hex pre-dates the superhero anti-heroes like Wolverine and the Punisher by two years and the 70s was a time, like now, when the anti-hero was on the rise, and so Hex remains a timeless character.

Hex's life is one where he was always on the wrong side or at the wrong place. He was sold by his sleazy father for safe passage through Apache territory. He did eventually become a member of the tribe, but was betrayed by his foster brother. He joined the Confederate army because they stood for individual rights, but when the North granted emancipation to all slaves, Hex decided it was time to leave the Confederacy, as he clearly had no love of slavery. But he didn't want to betray his soldiers, including his good friend Jeb Turnbull, so he simply surrendered to the Union. The Union soldiers were able to find his fellows, and they blamed Hex before they were all slaughtered, except Hex, who survived bu was wounded. He eventually returned to the Apache, and declared his foster brother, the chief's son, and it was decided that to settle the dispute, there would be a trial by combat. But Hex's foster brother sabotaged Hex's tomahawk, and so Hex had to resort to his knife to save himself, which was considered cheating. So Hex's face was branded with the Mark of the Demon and he was cast out again, That's the short version of the origin of Jonah Hex, but you can tell that this is a guy who's lived a rough life.

As for his publication history, Hex debuted in the second volume of All-Star Western Vol.2 #10, and he headlined that title when it changed it's name to Weird Western Tales with issue #12. He was the main feature in that title until issue #3, when he was given his own self-titled comic, which ran for 92 issues. The title ended around the time of Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC's first major crossover that streamlined continuity and while other characters went back to basics, Hex starred in a new title, simply called Hex, where he was time tossed into the 21st Century and the comic was basically mad Max with Jonah Hex, which is an odd concept, no doubt. The title only ran eighteen issues. With the advent of the Vertigo line, Hex was one of the characters handed over to the mature readers line, and three mini-series written by novelist Joe R. Lansdale and drawn by Tim Truman were released throughout the '90s. These were supernatural stories, as this was in the era where most if not all of Vertigo's comics had to have some fantastic element to them, and they're enjoyable stories.

My real experience with Hex in comics began in 2006, with the launch of his new monthly title. Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, the series ran for seventy issues. It was an excellent comic, focusing mostly on one off stories, which was a change for comics at the time and still today, and while the vastly under-rated Luke Ross kicked off the series as artist, it didn't have a regular artist, with new artists coming in every issue or so, whose styles worked with the kind of stories Plmiotti and Gray were telling. The series drew on Hex's rich history, pulling aspects of his history together. The series didn't take place in chronological order, with flashback and forward issues popping up regularly, although that phrase isn't exactly right;it felt more like Starman's "Times Past" issues where we'd get a glimpse of when Jonah tried to settle down at some point in the future, or get a three issue arc that detailed Hex's origins.

Because of Hex's habit of, well, killing his opponents, and regular rogues gallery wasn't common, and because he isn't exactly the friendliest sort, a supporting cast wasn't in the works either. But there were a few characters who would return again and again. As nemeses go, if Hex had an arch enemy it would be Quentin Turnbull, the father of Hex's friend, Jeb, who was on an endless quest to revenge his son's death upon Hex. Throughout the most recent Jonah Hex series, various classic Western heroes would pop in and out, most notably the supernatural avenger El Diablo and the dandy Bat Lash. And it was in that series that Tallulah Black was introduced. A woman who was brutally scarred by men who killed her family, Jonah taught her to shoot and helped her on her revenge quest. Tallulah would eventually become a bounty hunter in her own right, and she would often pop up on Jonah's adventures, and the two developed something akin to a romantic relationship.

The artists who worked with Palmiotti and Gray throughout that run were absolutely incredible, featuring many of my favorite artists. Darwyn Cooke drew issues 33 and 50. J.H, Williams III drew issue 35. Eduardo Risso, famous for 100 Bullets, drew issue 62. Phil Noto drew half a dozen issue,s including the inaugural Tallulah Black arc. Tony DeZuniga returned to draw issue 5 and 9 and an original Jonah Hex graphic novel by Palmiotti and Gray, No Way Back. Ryan Sook drew the final issue of the series, number 70. Famed Spanish artist Jordi Bernet was the closest thing to a recurring artist the series had after Ross left, drawing sixteen issues, including the three issue origin story that ran in issues thirteen through fifteen, Legends like Russ Heath and Dick Giordano came in and drew an issue each,and rising stars of the time like Fiona Staples and Jeff Lemire also came on board for an issue. And that's only who I remember off the top of my head! I'm a story guy when it comes to my comics, but the murderer's row of artists that worked with Palmiotti and Gray on this series is undeniable, and remembering it makes me want to go back and reread them all.

Most recently, Hex headlined a new All-Star Western series, part of DC's "New 52" initiative. The series took Hex to Gotham City in the 1880s, where he teamed up with Jeremiah Arkham, founder of Arkham Asylum, for various adventures. The series was deeply tied into the new DC continuity, featuring Vandal Savage in one arc and the Court of Owls in another. The stories, still, were by Palmiotti and Gray, and Hex was still the Hex they had been writing, the cold, darkly funny at times, bounty hunter. The series had longer arcs than Jonah Hex, and a regular artist throughout most of its run, the excellent Moritat, although Darwyn Cooke came in to draw the final issue. The series ran for 34 issues, plus a zero issue. And while Hex hasn't appeared since the end of that series, where he was given an oddly hopeful ending for Jonah Hex, I have no doubt he'll appear again soon, because you can't keep a good bastard down.

For a Western hero, Hex has had a fairly decent presence in DC comics animated media. I first encountered the character in "Showdown," an episode of Batman: The Animated Series where an aged Hex hunts a man named Arkady DuVall who is working for Ra's al Ghul. It's a brilliant episode from Hex writer Joe R. Lansdale, with one of the most touching endings of any episode of the series. Hex would appear in a couple episodes of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, because why not? The creators of that show did a great job not softening Hex's persona while still keeping him in line with the series all-ages dictate. And in the excellent two-part season one finale of Justice League Unlimited, "The Once and Future Thing," Hex appears in the first part, an episode with the line that is in this post's title, where he observes that he thinks Batman is a time traveler, and when Bruce asks him why his thinks that, his response is simply, "Experience. I've had an interesting life." That dry response and matter of fact attitude sums up Jonah Hex to a tee. And Joe R. Lansdale returned for one final animated tale of Hex with one of the short films that used to accompany DC direct-to-dvd animated movies, in a darkly animated and gorgeous short that came with Batman: Under the Red Hood and was collected with the other shorts in the collection Superman/Shazam: The Return of Black Adam!

Since I am talking abut Hex's history and appearances, I would be remiss if I didn't briefly mention the 2010 Jonah Hex feature film. The mission statement for this blog is to talk about good comics and the things we love about them, and so while the film has its fans and defenders, it simply didn't click for me. However, Josh Brolin did a great job as Hex himself and he looked the part, so I am curious of how the look and the casting will be for  Legends of Tomorrow. I will say, if you get the chance, the Blu-Ray of the film has a great ten minute documentary that talks to many of the creators who have been deeply involved with Hex over the years.

Jonah Hex is a character who is a portrait in contrasts. He's a former slave who wears a confederate jacket. He's a mean s.o.b. who still maintains a strong personal code of ethics. And its these contrasts that have kept readers fascinated with him for years, and will keep them coming back. Legends of Tomorrow will hopefully open up a new generation to the scarred old west bounty hunter, and I look forward to seeing Hex stride the screen again.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 7/25

All Star Western #11
Story: Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti
Art: Moritat & Scott Kolins

I was a big fan of Jonah Hex, the previous incarnation of this series, and was a little worried that it was being transformed from a series of mostly done-in-one stories to a more arc based series when it changed titles with the New 52. I'm happy to say my worries were unfounded. Gray and Palmiotti still tell some of the grittiest westerns in comics. This issue continues the war between the followers of the Crime Bible and the Court of Owls in 1880s Gotham City. The story features the return of Tallulah Black, Hex's on-again/off-again... I don't know how to describe them, exactly. Love interest is too strong, but lover seems to remove some of the emotional depth of their relationship. Tallulah narrates much of the issue, which is a change from Hex or Amadeus Arkham, who usually narrate the stories. Tallulah is tough as nails, but she is a distinct personality from Hex, and her voice is suitably different. Moritat continues to draw a gorgeous vision of Gotham in the 19th century, and his work has a realism that makes the grit of the city seem more real. His version of the Talon, the Court of Owls' assassin, is one of the best, acrobatic and graceful, but still with power. This issue also began a new back up story, featuring an 19th century version of Dr. Thirteen, the Ghostbreaker, a character who debunks supernatural occurrences. The story, dealing with him hunting for a "spectral" highwayman whose weapons shoot fire, is a fun one, with Thirteen being a condescending jerk towards those who live in superstition, which is pretty funny to read, actually. Scott Kolins art style is different from that of Moritat, but works well for this story. I hope that he proves an ancestor to a Dr. Thirteen who will pop up in the present DCU as well.

Axe Cop: President of the World #1
Story: Malachi Nicolle (Age 8)
Art: Ethan Nicolle (Age 31)

Axe Cop is something that defies any description of characterization. It started out as a webcomic, where artist Ethan Nicolle basically adapted playtime stories he and his younger brother, Malachi, came up with. The webcomic has grown in popularity, and the world of Axe Cop, a police officer with a magic axe who beheads criminals, has grown in complexity. The webcomic is a delight to read, so completely insane that only a kid could have come up with it. The comic has grown so popular that Dark Horse has released two collections of the webcomics, and last year published an original miniseries, Bad Guy Earth. This new mini, President of the World is a follow up to that series, but as is the way with playtime with young relatives, you can just kind of jump in with no previous knowledge. I don't want to talk too much about the issue, because to reveal that actual logistics of it would ruin its charm and the hilarity, but I will say there is the new character Goo Cop (who was changed into goo by aliens), a talking gorilla with robot hands and a magic tail, Ralph Wrinkles (Axe Cop's talking dog with magic healing laser eyes who happens to be his chief of staff), and killer robot penguins. The thing I love about Axe Cop is that it is the unbridled imagination of a child translated to the page, and giving young Malachi the longer form to play with only makes the stories trippier. I can't wait to see what curveballs wait in the next two issues.

The Flash #11
Story: Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato
Art: Marcus To

Some titles that came out of the New 52 were simply continuations of existing continuity and character, and some were changes to teams or formats, but keeping a lot of the essential. Some books were true reimaginings, though; taking a core concept and building a fresh world around them. While some, like Wonder Woman, which I talked about last week, have been successful, others have not. The Flash is one one of the best examples of these reimaginings. I am a Wally West fan, by the way; he was Flash when I started reading comics, and became a favorite superhero of mine. But writers Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato have done a very good job of fleshing out Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash returned from the dead, in a way that has made me really like him. We continue to get a view of Barry's new life, as he has faked his death to protect the people he cares about and to free up time to be the Flash. Barry's struggles give him a humanity and a depth that I have felt that many writers have missed in writing the usually very square and upright Barry. Barry has also moved to Keystone City, the sister city to his usual running grounds of Central City, and the creators do a good job of giving it a different look and feel than the prettier Central. This issue also features the return of another of Flash's classic enemies, Heat Wave, reimagined. Like the other Rogues (yes, capital R. That's the team name of Flash's enemies), Heat Wave's power and look have been tinkered with, and now he seems to have his flame casting weapon as part of his body. He gets into a fight with Captain Cold, the leader of the Rogues, and Flash intercedes and saves the day. What makes the issue interesting is that the two are fighting for personal reasons that still remain unclear. This isn't two guys fighting over a score; there's something really between them. We also get glimpses of the rest of The Flash supporting cast, but this issue really is about Barry and the Rogues, and the world that they now live in.

Superman Family Adventures #3
Story & Art: Art Baltazar & Franco Aureliani

While I don't know if anything can fill the Tiny Titans shaped hole in my heart, Art and Franco's new Superman Family Adventures does a great job of giving me something new and different to enjoy. The series is a little more action based, with some real super hero fights happening, but never in a way that would make you think twice about handing it to a kid. This issue features Jimmy Olsen trying to use his signal watch to call Superman to stop an alien invasion and getting the Super-Pets instead, and Clark trying to convince Lois he isn't Superman using a Superman Robot, and this going comically wrong. The book is very fun, and hearkens back to classic Silver Age Superman stories. But Art and Franco continue to use their all ages book to make sly commentary on the current DCU, just like in Tiny Titans, with a sequence that explains why Superman no longer wears red shorts on his costume, and it's a hilarious explanation. If you're one of those people who miss the red shorts, you should check the issue out just for that.

Animated Discussions- Batman Isn't Always About Batman

So, yes, my move has prevented me from reading most of this week's comics, but I don't want you all forgetting me, do I? This is the first in a semi-regular feature that will be talking about superhero and comic book based animation, and what better place to start then the greatest superhero cartoon of all time (and not shockingly at all, my favorite), Batman: The Animated Series?

There are very few people who would argue that, without Batman: The Animated Series, the modern animation landscape would be very different. Batman: The Animated Series brought a level of sophistication to daytime animation that had never been seen there before. The show was moody, intense, and its detailed art deco inspired designs weren't like anything audiences were used to. The series has become so engrained in the minds of the people who saw it that Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, who voiced Batman and the Joker respectively, have been credited with those rolls more than anyone else has, having performed in no less than four different series, plus movies and video games.

In rewatching the series is syndication on the kids network The Hub recently, I noticed one of the most fascinating things about Batman: The Animated Series: the lack of its title character in a number of episodes. The great Will Eisner would often write Spirit strips that barely featured the Spirit, but would instead be about people who crossed paths with him at one point or another in the story, and I feel like the writers and producers of Batman: The Animated Series took a cue from that. This is fairly unique, even in the generation of cartoons inspired by it. Sure some episodes Justice League/Justice League Unlimited focused on villains, and a couple of Batman Beyond episodes did use this formula, but it was really something Batman: The Animated Series did often and best. So, here are some of the best episodes of Batman: The Animated Series (abbreviated B:TAS from here on out) with the least Batman.

Joker's Favor

Joker's Favor is probably best known as being the first appearance of Harley Quinn, but it's also the first appearance of Charlie Collins, a put-upon businessman who, after a long day at work, curses out a driver who cuts him off. Unfortunately for Charlie, the driver is the Joker, who spares him with the promise that one day, Charlie will do him a favor. So, one day, even after changing his name and leaving Gotham, Charlie gets a call to come to Gotham and pay his debt. This is my favorite purely Joker episode of B:TAS. It's funny to see poor Charlie thrust into the Joker's sphere, and how he tries to get out if it. Batman appears at the end of the episode to sweep in and get involved in the action, but the star of the episode is Charlie, voiced by Ed Begley Jr., who in the end gets to play a joke of his own on the Joker.

The Man Who Killed Batman

On the other end of the everyman spectrum from Charlie Collins is Sidney Debris. Charlie just wanted to live a quiet life, but Sidney wanted to be a big man, and he got the chance when an accident makes the Gotham underworld think that Sidney killed Batman. This begins a series of misadventures for Sidney, as he crosses paths with the Gotham Police, the Joker, and crime boss Rupert Thorne. Batman's presence if minimal, since he is "dead" for much of the episode, and Sidney narrates his story. I pair this with Joker's Favor because they both show an aspect that is left out of many Batman appearances in media: they're funny. Batman might be a dark character, and he might be the driving factor behind these stories, but it doesn't mean there's no room for comic relief anywhere.

It's Never Too Late

It's Never Too Late aired towards the end of B:TAS first week on the air, and it was the episode that made my eleven year old brain explode. The first week or so of episodes had been very cool; Batman has fought Catwoman, Man-Bat, Mister Freeze, and Clayface. But this episode didn't have a supervillain. This was, for all intents and purposes, a noir. There was a mob war, and the episode centers around mob boss Arnold Stromwell, who is in a mob war with Rupert Thorne, It is Stromwell's story, with Batman acting as the angel on his shoulder, or his guide through the Underworld if you'd prefer, to give Stromwell one last chance to mend his ways. It's a very effective piece of television, and its use of Batman as an agent of redemption as opposed to violence and vengeance is different than many interpretations of the character and was another sign that viewers of B:TAS were in for something special.

P.O.V.

P.O.V. was the first episode of the series that really focused on the Gotham Police, and gave a full introduction to a character who would become important in both the show and the comics: Renee Montoya. The episode is told in the style of the legendary Akira Kurosawa film Rashomon: Montoya, Harvey Bullock, and Wilkes, a rookie, each tell their version of the events around a failed bust where Batman became involved. It's a great device to get different views of Batman, and had been used in the legendary story from Batman #250, "The Batman Nobody Knows!" (which was later adapted as the episode Legends of the Dark Knight).  The different police all see Batman in a different way: as a hero, a menace, or as something more than a normal man. And who's to say they all aren't a bit right?

A Bullet for Bullock

A Bullet for Bullock is a pitch perfect adaptation of Detective Comics #651 by Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan, one of the most under-rated Batman creative teams of all time. Someone is trying to kill Harvey Bullock, Gotham's slovenly detective, and he has to go to Batman for help. It's another episode where there are no supervillains, just mobsters, and is told almost exclusively from Bullock's perspective. There's not much more to it than that, other than it's a great mystery that fleshes out one of the major supporting characters of Batman's world for the animated series.

Harley and Ivy

Harley and Ivy is actually one of three episodes that fit as kind of a trilogy in my head, the other two being Harlequinade and Harley's Holiday that really made Harley Quinn the breakout character from B:TAS. Arleen Sorkin's amazing voice performance is definitely a factor, making Harley such a distinct character, but these three episodes, each of which gave Ms. Sorkin a chance to shine, were instrumental. Harley, being a character created for the show, gave the writers a chance to play in a way they couldn't with more established characters, and they used that latitude to create some hilarious, as well a poignant moments. Batman really spends much of his screen time in these episodes playing straight man to Harley's antics, and in Harley and Ivy winds up not even being the person who captures the titular duo; that honor falls to Renee Montoya.

Showdown

Showdown is different from the other episodes I'm talking about here because Batman isn't even a part of the main narrative. Batman runs afoul of some of Ra's al Ghul's men, and finds an audio cassette (yes, the Batmobile had a tape deck back then), which recounts a confrontation Ra's had with Jonah Hex back in 1883. The story is really a Jonah Hex one, written by Joe R. Lansdale, one of the great Hex writers, and is a gorgeous period piece. I include it mostly because it was my first real exposure to Hex as a character, a character I've come to love over the years, and because the ending, after the Hex story is done and Batman confronts Ra's, is a strangely touching one.

Almost Got 'Im

There was no way I could talk about episodes of B:TAS that only sort of deal with Batman and not mention this one. Almost Got 'Im makes pretty much every best of list for B:TAS, and is often found in the top slot. Basically, Joker, Penguin, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and Killer Croc are sitting around a table playing cards and talking about times they almost killed Batman. It gives great insight into the minds of the villains, as well as providing some of the show's best animation and dialogue. If you only watch one episode I've discussed, or one episode period, this is the one to choose.