THE COUNTDOWN RUNDOWN: WEEK 45 - MONITOR DUTY

THE PLAYERS
Donna Troy/Wonder Girl/Troia
Jason Todd/Robin II/The Red Hood
Forerunner
James Olsen/Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen
Holly Robinson/Catwoman II
The Monitors
Val Armorr/Karate Kid
Thom Kallor/Starman V
Nura Nal/Dream Girl
Pieter Cross/Dr. Midnight III
Nathaniel Adam/Captain Atom/The Monarch

ISSUE 45
Written by Paul Dini with Tony Bedard (incorrectly credited as Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray); Pencils by Jim Calafiore

This week opens right where last week left off – with the Monitor’s agent of destruction, Forerunner, continuing to drop a beating on Donna Troy and Jason Todd. Just as Todd’s about to go down for the final count (again!), Donna steps it up and brings the battle to the mysterious Forerunner. The intergalactic enforcer proves more powerful than even a woman with the powers of the gods, however, and if not for the interference of a rogue Monitor, Donna and Jason would have been toast.

We learn a little bit about the origins of Forerunner from her encounter with the Monitor, and about her races' unique relationship to the Monitors. Mysteries still abound here, but it looks like the Monitors have been active for quite a bit longer than anyone’s previously considered.

We’ll get back to the end result of Donna’s and Jason’s run-in with Forerunner and the rogue Monitor a little later, but first let’s hit the other players of this week’s issue.

Jimmy Olsen is trying to wring some answers out of the wreckage of the building where Sleez was attacked and in so doing gives a brief rundown of the New Gods. Holly Robinson is also still skulking around that same building in Suicide Slum and before the book leaves her, she encounters a mysterious character shrouded in shadow. More on those two in coming weeks.

Next, the book checks in on Karate Kid and his Legion of Super-Heroes compatriots meeting with Dr. Midnight on the Justice League Satellite. This interlude is a bit behind the rest of the DCU books, as over in Justice League of America and Justice Society of America, the crossover story, the Lightning Saga, reached its conclusion this week. Check out those books for more info on the appearance of the 30th Century heroes in our time period and the ramifications of that story on the entire DCU – next week the Rundown will take a closer look at those developments.

Finally, this week’s issue ends with a beaten Forerunner and a new alliance forming between the rogue Monitor, Donna Troy and Jason Todd. With the defeat of Forerunner – who is apparently powerless against the Monitors, genetically bred by them over centuries in accordance with a mysterious prophecy – the Monitor disappears with Troia and Red Hood. Alone, stranded on Earth, disgraced by her defeat and failure to complete her mission of assassinating Troy and Todd, the Forerunner severs her physical link with her masters, the Monitors.

Alone, however, isn’t quite right, for in the final panel of the issue, it’s revealed that none other than Monarch is watching over Forerunner! The former villain seems about to put Forerunner to his own uses, claiming she is too valuable to discard. Hmmm . . .

Who is Monarch, you ask? In simple terms, Monarch is Captain Atom. Now he is, at least. But the history of the character is more convoluted than a study of the human genome.

In 1991, DC Comics rolled out its latest summer crossover event, Armageddon 2001. Originally conceived as a simple event comic involving a dystopian future ruled by a former super-hero who had destroyed all of his fellow heroes and become a powerful dictator, the story behind the story became the bigger pageturner!

In the year 2030, the DCU is ruled over by the Orwellian Monarch – a powerful entity that ruled with an iron fist. Once a hero of the DCU, the Monarch had turned against his allies, destroying them all, and taking over the world. The crossover event consisted of two bookends, spanned by stories through that summer’s DCU Annuals. When a rebellious scientist named Matthew Ryder uses time travel technology to escape the world of 2030, he is transformed into Waverider.

Upon reaching the year 1991, Waverider vows to use is temporal powers to discover, and then destroy, the present-day hero who will be corrupted and eventually become Monarch in the year 2001. Over the course of a dozen Annuals, Waverider glimpsed into the futures of DC’s most popular heroes and villains, all the while revealing clues to who would become Monarch. Finally, in the summer’s last annual before the bookend, Armageddon 2001 #2, was released, Waverider encountered Captain Atom and their physical contact ripped a whole in the space-time continuum allowing Monarch to travel from 2030 to the then present-day DCU.

As Monarch rages against the assembled DC pantheon, he beats and kills Dawn Granger, a/k/a Dove of Hawk and Dove! Now without the counterbalance of Dawn's pacifism, Hank Hall, her lover and the warlike Hawk, attacks with the full force of his power. As the battle ensues, Monarch is killed by Hawk and his armour is damaged, revealing that Monarch is really. . . Hank Hall!!??? Suffering a psychotic break, Hank Hall instantly takes the armour of Monarch and becomes him!

Huh-wha??

Apparently DC had been planning to reveal Captain Atom as the time-traveling Monarch, but word of the decision leaked to the fan press, and an editorial decision was made to change the reveal to Hawk, so as to keep the surprise of the event intact. The problem was that in the course of the summer's annuals, Waverider had looked at Hawk & Dove's future which showed them actually battling against Monarch, therefore ruling either of them out as the future villain! The fan and creator outcry against the change to the story was loud and clear.

The story ends with a guilt-ridden Captain Atom (since it was his power that ripped the timehole open and let Monarch back to the 20th century to kill Dove) takes on the villain one-on-one and the two tumble through time in a battle that was shown to readers in the pages of Armageddon: The Alien Agenda. The two eventually are caught in an atomic blast during WWII and while Captain Atom is sent to the present day by the blast, the fate of Monarch is left open ended.

So, how does that bring Captain Atom to the point where he is wearing the Monarch armour? What happened to Hank Hall/Monarch?? Be here next week for another Countdown Rundown Special Edition looking at the parallel histories of Captain Atom and Hank Hall and their fates within and without the DCU!

And then, be back on Friday for our regular installment: Countdown #44 in stores on Wednesday June 27th! Return of the Monarch!

Oh, and if you are wondering what happened to the Rogues in this issue -- they were a little busy over in Flash #13, the final issue of the series!

COUNTDOWN RUNDOWN - WEEK 46: WEAPON OF WAR

THE PLAYERS
The Monitors
Jason Todd/Robin II/The Red Hood
Donna Troy/Wonder Girl/Troia
Flash’s Rogues/The Rogues
Mary Baston/Mary Marvel/Black Mary
James Olsen/Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen
Lois Lane
Holly Robinson/Catwoman II
Forerunner
Sleez

ISSUE 46
Written by: Paul Dini with Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray; Pencils: Jesus Saiz

This week opens on the Daily Planet’s intrepid photog, Jimmy Olsen who is determined to find out more about the death of Lightray (the New God who died last week in Metropolis) and the visions he had of the Source Wall. Jimmy receives a mysterious note and heads into Suicide Slum to meet with someone. That someone turns out to be Sleez, self proclaimed “former servant, aide and counsel” to Darkseid, who informs Olsen that he has finally figured out how to destroy the Master of Apokolips. Before he can reveal that secret to Jimmy though, someone or something appears in a blaze of light and kills Sleez - and it wasn’t Darkseid. The only thing the reader is left with is the tagline DC had been using in the advertising campaign prior to Countdown’s launch - “So Begins the End!”

It looks like there’s about to be a major war among the New Gods - but who’s hunting whom is a question that still needs to be answered.

A side note to Jimmy’s encounter with Sleez in the Slum, is the appearance of a girl outside the building who saves a homeless man during the attack which drops half of the burned out building onto the street. The girl is wearing a variation of a Hello Kitty t-shirt and in Rundown HQ’s opinion its none other than Holly Robinson, recently transferred to Metropolis from Gotham. With Holly in Metropolis it’s only a matter of time before her and Olsen cross paths.

Switching gears, the book also continues to follow Mary Batson’s adventures in Gotham. Now invested with all of Black Adam’s powers, Black Mary (as the fan press has named her, if not the comic itself) is patrolling the skies over Gotham, trying to ascertain the fluctuations she senses on the magic wavelength. She comes across a group of pregnant woman performing a demonic ritual that results in the summoning of a demon with a body made from dead infants (a wee bit distasteful, to be honest.) Mary makes short work of the demon and leaves him for the authorities, revealing that she is definitely more powerful than ever before and a bit harsher than her normal sunny self. The effects of Black Adam’s powers are obviously more than just to her new fashion sense.

The Rogues interlude is more of what’s all ready been displayed these last few weeks - they are out drinking and yet another fight breaks out between the Pied Piper and Mirror Master. It’s understandable, since Mirror Master is responsible for the death of Piper’s parents! While Rundown HQ is definitely happy that some of the best written villains in comics are getting a lot of page-time, we are getting a bit worn down by the decompression this particular plot thread is going through. It’s been six weeks and really the Rogues are in about the same position they started at in Week 51. Only readers of regular Flash comic know that Inertia (the current Flash, Bart Allen’s imperfect clone from the 30th Century) has sprung a huge trap for the Flash in an attempt to take the Speed Force from him; but in the pages of Countdown, the Rogues (including Inertia) have done little more than get their drink on!

The final pages of this week’s issue are dedicated to Jason Todd - a/k/a The Red Hood - meeting again with Donna Troy, this time in Washington, D.C. in the middle of the Amazons’ attack on the capital city (see the Amazons Attack mini-series for more details on that story!) Jason is trying to get Donna to realize the gravity of their situation in that they are similarly situated to the murdered Duela Dent as anomalies on this Earth - they’ve both died and been brought back. They just don’t belong in the universe. The former Robin's done some homework and discovered that the alien who killed Duela was none other than the Monitor (note to readers: the characters don’t yet know that there is a new Multiverse with 52 universes and 52 corresponding Monitors for each universe.) Donna can’t believe that the Monitor is even alive (she remembers the original Crisis on Infinite Earths, unlike most DCU characters), never mind that he would murder someone in cold blood. That’s when the Monitor’s newest weapon is unleashed on the pair with devastating results.

Obviously an analogue to the original Monitor’s agent on Earth - Harbringer (see pic above) - Forerunner (see pic to the right) seems to be fiercer, more vicious, and invested with more powers than Harbinger ever displayed. She easily (and quickly) takes out both Donna and Jason, leaving readers with another cliff-hanger ending.

As solicited, Forerunner will be appearing prominently in DC’s upcoming Countdown to Adventure series that will star Adam Strange, Starfire, and Animal Man. Her future role as hero or villain is unclear at this point, but right now things don’t look good for those deemed unacceptable to the Monitors. That list, while obviously containing Jason Todd, Donna Troy, and Kyle Rainer, could also contain a lot of other characters who have died and come back to life. A-list characters like Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Green Arrow Oliver Queen, and most importantly, Superman!

If the Monitors truly are waging war on these so-called anomalies, and there is a burgeoning battle brewing amongst the New Gods, the entire DCU could be in for quite a ride. So begins the end, indeed!

Next week: Enter the Justice Legion(?!) of America!

THE COUNTDOWN RUNDOWN: WEEK 47 - BRICKS IN THE WALL

The Players

James Olsen/Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen
Mary Batson/Mary Marvel/Black Mary
Teth Adam/Black Adam
Holly Robinson/Catwoman
James Jesse/The Trickster
Hartley Rathaway/The Pied Piper
The Monitors

Issue 47

This issue opens with Jimmy Olsen again, in the midst of a vision/nightmare, looking a lot like Lightray of the New Gods. He is glowing and apparently has become part of the Source Wall, the ancient edifice prominent in Jack Kirby's Fourth World saga that is made up of fallen gods and warriors and binds the universe. With so much New Gods action in Countdown so far, its more than a little ominous that Jimmy is having visions of that great barrier to the unknown. Interesting to note is the appearance of one of the alien Dominators who are playing a prominent role in current issues of the Legion of Super-Heroes book.

Next up, we return to Earth (or at least one of the 52 Earths) for a very brief encounter with Holly Robinson, friend of and former replacement Catwoman/Selina Kyle. Holly shows up in Metropolis and a newspaper article reveals that she is wanted for the killing of a police officer in Gotham. While we here at Rundown HQ know little about current goings on in Catwoman, head writer Paul Dini has said that Holly will play a major role in Countdown. Originally introduced in Frank Miller's classic Batman: Year One, Holly Robinson has always been an intriguing character and in the hands of such a well-versed Batman writer as Dini, her inclusion here holds great promise.

The issue briefly touches on Flash's Rogues (again partying!), and while the story of the Trickster and Pied Piper has, so far, been the slowest to develop, the characterization of these villains (or sort-of villains in the case of the Trickster and Piper) has been spot-on. Not since Geoff Johns' run on Flash have the Rogues been as interesting or as unique. Another promising storyline that looks like it's just about ready to bare bitter fruit.

The remainder of the book focused on two major developments. First, the Monitors (led on by the exterminator of Joker's Daughter) make a major decision - the eradication of all multiverse anomalies. Since the ones they seem most concerned with - Donna Troy and Jason Todd - are at the top of the list, it looks like times are about to get very dicey for the former Titans. The final page of this issue also throws Countdown smack into the middle of the Amazons Attack event (more on that next week!)

Finally, let's address Mary Marvel. Picking up from last issue, we find Black Adam questioning Mary's purpose and her innocence. The villain turned hero turned walking tragedy turned mass murderer is clearly at his most desperate and darkest hour.

Without readers knowing how, Black Adam is back in full possession of his powers, but confesses to Mary that he doesn't want them; that they have been nothing to him, if not a curse. Mary - whether in desperation or foolish bravado - clearly desires that power, and Adam is more than happy to impart it to her.

The twist comes, however, when Adam gives all of his power to Mary, transforming the young hero into a more mature, more menacing and a lot less innocent version of what can only be called, Black Mary. Sporting a new outfit akin to Black Adam's, Mary looks devastating in the black miniskirt and high-booted outfit. While word on the internet is split on this "seduction of the innocent" development, it seems that one thing can be agreed upon: this is a Mary Marvel that the DCU has never seen before.

Mary's story has developed the fastest in Countdown, and since we are only five mere weeks into the year-long ride of this title, the future looks bright for fans of the Marvel Family. As we spoke last week about The Question, we have to address the complaints about Mary's changes in the same way: when was the last time you read a really good Mary Marvel story? You may not like the transformation of Mary Marvel to Black Mary, but besides Jeff Smith's The Monster Society of Evil (a modern classic in the making, by the way!), Rundown HQ would say these have the best Mary Marvel appearances the DCU has ever had. Not since Fawcett Comics' The Marvel Family has Mary been portrayed so prominently, or so strongly.



To be fair to the other side of the argument, however, here are some comments by Jerry Ordway, writer of the excellent 1990s DC title, The Power of Shazam on the darkening of Mary Marvel from the Comicbook Resources Blog, Comics Should Be Good.

With all this focus on the character, next week The Countdown Rundown will feature a History of Mary Marvel alongside the weekly column - be here for the first of a series of articles focusing on the stars of Countdown, then come back on Friday for Countdown: Week 46 - a Forerunner of adventures to come!

CONTINUING THE COUNTDOWN

One of the first images that DC released related to Countdown and the event(s) its counting down to was a spread that apparently takes place in New York City, with a tumbled Statue of Liberty supporting a wide cast of characters.


Some of the many teasers in this image are the apparent rift between Green Arrow and Black Canary; the Atom's hand reaching out of the rubble; a Legion flight ring in the rubble; Red Robin from Ross and Waid's Kingdom Come; Mister Miracle and Big Barda of the New Gods; possibly the Barry Allen Flash; an Elseworlds Batman; an emo Superman; and of course, many of the casualties of the last two years worth of events in the DCU.

Finally, one thing that some observers have noted is the fact that while the main cities of the DCU are based on NYC, Gotham and Metropolis supplant NY for the company's flagship titles. Since NYC seems to be so prominently featured here, along with a tumbled Statue of Liberty, signs seem to be pointing to the future world as seen in Kamandi - another Kirby classic.

Oh! And here's one more pic of those buttons, with the final "Darkseid Rules" button included: