More Countdown Theories

Despite my many grievances with Countdown, I'm utterly fascinated by it. Obviously it's not because it's good, it's that the plot seems to be centered around almost everything Jack Kirby ever created for DC.

The most obvious known Kirby DC creations are the New Gods, and they're being systematically souljacked by a mysterious silhouette that may or may not be the Infinity Man. Add to that Darkseid is shown repeatedly scheming with his chess pieces in what must be the most complicated Risk strategy ever devised, especially since it seems to include Holly Robinson as an essential factor.

Early Kirby creations the Newsboy Legion pop up in their original lineup to help Jimmy Olsen figure out why he has those Silver Age powers(the powers are actually pre-Kirby Jimmy Olsen, but his New Gods stuff started out in that series). Their fate is up in the air because even though Countdown declared "JIMMY OLSEN MUST DIE!", that's obviously not gonna happen. What remains to be seen is if Cadmus and their many, many clones will survive the character purge Final Crisis seems to be. Lord knows Kon-El didn't survive the last one.

Command 'D', the secret hideout of the Atomic Knights who debuted in The Battle For Bludhaven, was originally the name of the bunker The Last Boy on Earth, Kamandi, was raised in and named after. Kamandi was the last boy because most of the human race was wiped out in something only refered to as The Great Disaster. For casual readers, The Great Disaster has been a long standing plot device to explain why there are no superheroes or records of the past in the future. Kamandi was raised and trained in Command 'D' by his grandfather, Buddy Blank, the original OMAC. Makes that annoying blonde kid in Countdown more interesting, doesn't it.

With Countdown only half over, there's still 6 months for more of Kirby's inventions to pop up. That boom tube Waller and the government are using to deport super-villains is probably sending them to Transilvane, the planet in the basement. It's the perfect prison and probably where Ray Palmer's been hiding out. Maybe Atlas is the guy killing off the New Gods. As a titan, he would consider himself a 'real' god. And, God willing, maybe these guys would show up for the hell of it.

Far out.

Really?

Keep in mind that the rest of the characters are current character incarnations and costumes:
So what the hell is Spoiler doing there? Please, oh please, don't tell me someone took up the mantle of an incompetent gang war inciter because Spoiler was such a symbol of justice in Gotham. Because that's retarded.

In Other News,

...I share my birthday with Charles Bronson, Adam Ant, Kathy Kinney, Godzilla and Roseanne Barr. I'm proud to be in the company of two of those people, one of which is a rubber suit.

Overreactions

What do you do when someone saves you from being ripped apart by the Crime Society and the Extremists?

Beat the piss out of him, apparently.

I'm not a huge fan of Jason Todd the anti-hero but Donna's reaction to him saving their asses kind of makes her look like a bitch. They were outnumbered four to one and Jason managed to get them some leeway by shooting a near invulnerable woman with a low energy blaster. I'm not saying she shouldn't be pissed for being shot, but kicking him in the face was uncalled for.

What You Should Be Reading...

We all know that supporting characters are put through the ringer in comic books. When their fathers are not being crushed by debris or blown up during intergalatic wars, they're being thrown off bridges or buildings and stuffed into kitchen appliances. It's rough, and becoming a little banal. It's time someone shook things up.

In Daredevil, Mister Fear wants to make sure Daredevil is too busy to stop Fear from taking Kingpin's place in the underworld. He douses Gladiator with his fear gas, making him kill at random with no memory of his episodes. While Daredevil is trying to find out the source of Gladiator's madness, he doesn't notice that Milla is becoming more and more paranoid.

While Daredevil is confronting Mister Fear and the Enforcers, Milla is confronting Mafia heiress Lily Lucca, thinking Lily is trying to steal Matt away. Lily just needs help leaving the Mafia behind, but Milla becomes violent and tries to push Lily into the path of an oncoming train, but knocks a bystander down instead. While the Enforcers pound on Daredevil, Mister Fear reveals that the same gas that turned Gladiator into an unpredictable murderer was used on Milla.

Now, Matt Murdock has to save his wife from being inprisoned in a mental ward, leaving Mister Fear to consolidate his empire without Daredevil intervention. Of course, Daredevil is hellbent on finding Fear to get an antidote to his fear agent, but I think it's an ingenious twist on the paramour in danger plot. By making Milla a danger to others, Mister Fear has Daredevil consumed in both his public and secret personas.

Brubaker is a crafty storyteller and is making Daredevil one of the best books being published.

For Ben...

Whenever someone makes fun of your love of girl comics, ask them...

He's Been Turned

*Thanks to Julian for the picture.