THE COUNTDOWN RUNDOWN: WEEK 48-DEATH FROM ABOVE

The Players*
Mary Batson/Mary Marvel
Teth Adam/Black Adam
James Olsen/Superman's Pal
Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman
Jason Todd/Robin II/Red Hood
Donna Troy/Wonder Girl/Troia
Lightray of the New Gods
Thom Kallor/Starman
Val Armorr/Karate Kid
*previously appearing characters are linked in earlier columns

WEEK 48

This week opens on Mary Marvel at the mercy of Black Adam in his new digs - the abandoned consulate offices of the Middle Eastern nation of Kandaq, where he was once ruler. Few answers to Adam's return to power are answered, but it is quite obvious that he does have them back. Meaning, somehow, Teth Adam learned the secret word that Captain Marvel chose for him at the end of WWIII. Also, from the preview of next week's cover, it looks like Black Adam is about to make Mary Marvel the latest member of the Black Marvel Family! That can't bode well for Mary considering what happened to the last two members of Black Adam's family - Isis and her brother, Osiris.

The story continues with a look at Jimmy Olsen back in Metropolis at the offices of the Daily Planet, after his harrowing and unexplained transformation during his attack by Killer Croc at Arkham Asylum. It's still unclear if his use of his former Elastic Lad powers is something he doesn't know he ever had, or somehow something he never really did have on this New Earth, post-Crises.

When a battle breaks out above the clouds of Metropolis, Jimmy races outside to get the pics - and again, somehow kicks in with new meta-powers (superspeed) to save a doomed family from falling debris. Before he can even think about where all these extraordinary powers are coming from, though, Lightray of the New Gods crashes to the streets.

Before dying in the crater that he landed in, Lightray speaks a single word to Jimmy - "infinite." Encapsulated in a mass of light/energy, Jimmy emerges unharmed, but Superman poses the question: "What does it mean for the universe when a God dies?!" The Man of Steel might want to amend that to "universes."

Karate Kid again appears in this issue - still a prisoner of the Justice League of America on their space station - this time talking to fellow time-lost Legionnaire, Thom Kallor a/k/a Starman! The slightly crazy future Starman has been hanging out in the pages of the relaunched Justice Society of America lately and only recently remembered that he was from the 30th Century and a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Not much new information is revealed from their exchange, but the Apokalytian villain Dr. Impossible is mentioned and mysteriously referred to by Starman as "she" - the character's previous (and only) appearances in Justice League of America presented the villain as a man. Hmmmm . . .

Finally, this issue again touched on the Jason Todd/Red Hood storyline, following him to the Teen Titan's memorial service for Duela Dent/Joker's Daughter. Todd has a conversation with the Titan's Donna Troy (the former Wonder Girl and then more recently Wonder Woman, and now back to Troia of the Titans of Myth) revealing to Donna what the Monitors who killed Joker's Daughter said to him. It seems Jason is trying to ally himself with similarly seated cosmic anomalies. Both characters have died and come back, and in a very real sense, do not belong on New Earth.

Much speculation and mystery still surrounds this title. Now through its first month, the book promises to answer some of those questions soon, but the answers will most likely lead to more questions. While Issue 48 did seem a bit light on new developments, the inclusion of one of Jack Kirby's New Gods in such a dramatic role certainly fills in for a lack of forward movement.

Death in the DCU has become pretty commonplace in the last few years and while many a fan can't get behind it, here at Rundown HQ we're down with anything that moves a story to a new place and treats the characters with respect.

The recent death of The Question in the pages of 52 resulted in an outcry from angry fans of the Steve Ditko creation. However, it had been years since the character was used so prominently or written so well. It can be argued that the character had been creatively dead since his much-acclaimed series in the mid-80s and his recent resurrection was a swan song that any Question fan should be thankful for.

Next Week: Issue 47 - Black Mary??!!

MY FIRST DAY AS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AT DC COMICS

My main objective as the new editor-in-chief of DC Comics is to streamline the line. No more difficult continuity. Accessible and fun. DC's characters are iconic and their titles should reflect this. Since it's my first day on the job, I'm going to focus on the five most important titles.


1. SUPERMAN by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely

This was the easy one as Morrison and Quitely are already doing my favorite Superman work ever in All-Star Superman. Clark. Lois. Jimmy. Perry. Luthor. Brainiac. Bizarro. Kryptonite. Phone Booths. Krypto. Fortress of Solitude. Kandor. Supergirl. Daily Planet.

Use it all.





2. BATMAN by Ty Templeton and Paul Pope


Take the classic sensibilities of Templeton (late of the various Batman Adventures titles) and combine it with the electric line work of indie sweetheart Paul Pope and you've got the most exciting Batman title of the last decade. Like the Superman title, it's time to focus on the iconic. Batman. Robin. Alfred. Commissioner Gordon. Bat-signal. Batmobile. Batcave. Riddler. Joker. Catwoman. Penguin. Two Face. Man Bat. Poison Ivy. Utility Belts. Bat-a-rangs. It's time to get the organized crime out of Gotham and focus on the Rogues Gallery.

3. WONDER WOMAN by Allan Heinberg and Terry Dodson


I'm a big believer in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy. Heinberg and Dodson's far too brief run on the title was the first time ever that I liked the character, in no small part because Heinberg embraced every iconic symbol that the general public knew about the Amazonian princess and wove it flawlessly into a ridiculously entertaining super-hero book.

4. THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA by Mark Millar and Carlos Pacheco

It's time for Millar to prove his worth at DC writing the premiere super-team in comics. Let him tell the biggest stories possible with one of the greatest artists working in comics today.

5. THE TEEN TITANS by Grant Morrison and Mike McKone

Morrison's run on NEW XMEN succeeded in part to his acknowledgement to the work of Chris Claremont and John Byrne. Now I want to see what he can reimagine in the world of Marv Wolfman and George Perez. I NEED to read Grant's take on Trigon, Brother Blood, Deathstroke, Raven, Terra, Blackfire, as well as his interpretations of the Titans new and old. McKone's solid storytelling and affinity for the characters make him a natural collaborator.

COUNTDOWN: T-MINUS 3 DAYS

In anticipation of their new weekly series, Countdown, DC Comics first released a series of pins only available at comic conventions across the country over the past year. Visit various panels over a weekend and collect the four pins. "Look to the Skies" was a reference to Jack Kirby's Fourth World characters; "Jimmy Olsen Must Die" pointed to the various pitfalls and adventures Superman's Pal would be facing in the upcoming year.
"WWMMD" had people stumped for a little while, but eventually internet savvy fanboys came up with the answer: What Would Mary Marvel Do? The kid sister of Captain Marvel (a/k/a Shazam! to the public at large) was finally going to get the spotlight she deserved.

The fourth pin "I Found Ray Palmer" pointed to the DC Universe addressing a long unsolved mystery in their books - what happened to Dr. Ray Palmer (the public persona of the size-controlling hero the Atom) after his disappearance at the end of Brad Meltzer's and Rags Morales's critically acclaimed mini-series Identity Crisis! A murder mystery focusing on the hunt for a killer of a super-hero's wife, Identity Crisis was the lead-in to DC's massive Infinite Crisis, One Year Later, and 52 storylines. For those who haven't read the book, I won't spoil it, but suffice it to say that the shock of the events in Identity Crisis forced the Atom to transform himself to sub-atomic size and disappear. Now, it looks like DC will finally be turning a microscope on the last year and an half of Ray's life.

Finally, if convention goers were spotted with all four pins by an employee of DC Comics, a fifth pin was handed out: "Darkseid Rules!" This pin (not available to show here) featured a darker orange background, the words "Darkseid Rules" and a close-up image of the lord of Jack Kirby's Fourth World planet Apokolips himself, Darkseid. With the inclusion of this image, readers's questions were answered - after years of little to no use of Jack Kirby's classic 70s creations the New Gods, they would finally be showing up in the next year.

Later today I will post the first advertisements that DC issued using the same slogans from the buttons with a few added elements to create even more speculation.

For those of you who can't wait until Wednesday, though, DC in conjunction with MySpace have allowed a preview of the upcoming Countdown #51 - find it here.

STRANGE(R THAN FICTION) VISITOR

From the Associated Press:

A mineral recently discovered in Serbia has the same composition as Kryptonite — the fictional substance that robs Superman of his powers — the British Museum said Tuesday. While the material is not a perfect match, its chemical breakdown is strikingly similar.

A drill core of the unusual mineral was unearthed in Serbia by the mining group Rio Tinto PLC, which turned it over to mineral expert Chris Stanley at the Natural History Museum for analysis.

"Towards the end of my research I searched the Web using the mineral's chemical formula, sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide, and was amazed to discover that same scientific name written on a case of rock containing Kryptonite stolen by Lex Luthor from a museum in the film Superman Returns,' Stanley said.

The material is white, powdery and not radioactive — unlike the glowing green crystals usually depicted in the Superman comics. It will be formally named Jadarite when it is described in the European Journal of Mineralogy later this year.

Approximately 30 to 40 new minerals are discovered each year, the museum said, although usually only in the form of a few grains only visible under the microscope.

10 BEST SUPER HERO MOVIES

Super Hero movies.

I love them.

When I was a kid, if I had known that there would be a day that there would be several films a YEAR based on my favorite comic characters, I'd have been walking around with a boner through elementary school. These are super hero flicks, not based on comics (hence no American Splendor, History of Violence, 300, Ghost World or Sin City)

Boners aside, behold the list...

1. Superman - The Movie
It made me believe a man could fly.

Seriously.



2. Batman Begins
My favorite super-hero and an amazing interpretation



3. Spider-Man 2
Topped the first one. Lots of Stan Lee angst. Plus Doc Ock!



4. X-Men 2: X-Men United
The first one kicked ass. This one kicked the first one's.



5. Batman (1966)
The Dynamic Duo Vs. The United Underworld. The Batman of my childhood.



6. Flash Gordon
Believe it or not, this baby aged better than Star Wars. Technically based on a strip, but this one can't be missed. Now, Diiiiiiive!!!!



7. Rocketeer
Mis-marketed, overlooked and a hidden gem.



8. V For Vendetta
No longer about anarchy, but rather revolution, this fantastic adaptation is the first good film based on the work of Alan Moore.



9. Blade
D-List comic character that started Marvel Comics foray into big-budget feature films.



10. Hellboy
My favorite new iconic character of the last twenty years. The world in which Hellboy inhabits fell short, but Ron Perlman nailed Big Red.

HE AM NOT ON TV.

Kryptonsite reports that the season finale of Smallville will finally introduce Bizarro.

Me am not happy. Me hate Bizarro.

THEY'RE NOT DOLLS!!! THEY'RE ACTION FIGURES!

In my opinion, the best super-hero comic in the past decade was Darwyn Cooke's superb DC: The New Frontier. Cooke, a former magazine graphic designer-turned animator-turned cartoonist wrote and drew the opus, chronicling the older generation of heroes (Superman, Batman, Blackhawk, etc.) encountering the "new characters" of the late 1950's (Green Lantern, Flash, Challengers of the Unknown, etc.) and an alien threat to Earth itself.

In July of 2006 the first wave of toys were released.


Now, take a sneak peak found online, ripped from the pages of ToyFare, a preview of things to come!


DC: The New Frontier is currently being adapted by Cooke and Bruce Timm, among others, into a feature length direct to dvd animated movie!

JEPH LOEB INTERVIEW

Jeph Loeb is a busy guy. Not only is he one of the most successful writers in comics today, not only is he actively working as a Hollywood producer and screenwriter, but he is also hard at work producing the hit WB series Smallville. I first interviewed Jeph with Brian Saner Lamken way back in 2000 for the first issue of Comicology Magazine, conducting one of the most exhaustive interviews with him yet. Since then, Jeph's success in the comic book industry has grown substantially. He was gracious enough to take a few moments out his limited leisure time to chat with forcesofgood.com

Did you always want to be a writer?

I think I always wanted to be a storyteller. Whether it was through writing, telling stories, filmmaking - that was my passion. Still is.

How did you get into comics?

I came in backwards. I was working as a screenwriter (still am) and I was going to do a movie about The Flash. That fell through, but I met Jeanette Kahn who was then the head of DC Comics. She asked if I weren’t going to do the movie, would I do a comic book for DC. That turned into my first work, Challengers of the Unknown, which has just been collected as a trade paperback collection. (Unabashed plug.)

You started your writing career, scripting such fan favorite films as Teen Wolf and Commando. How did you break into the movie industry?

Again, not the usual way, I guess. I went to Columbia University’s Film School and then I came to Los Angeles, not knowing anyone. My then writing partner, Matthew Weisman and I wrote Commando on spec (meaning nobody paid us and we auctioned the script). That got us a job, strangely enough with Teen Wolf, which we wrote next, but it came out first.

You met and befriended one of your idols, writer Elliot S Maggin while in your teens. What kind of influence did he have on you and your work?

Elliot has a wonderful sense of humor about the work. He taught me not to take it so seriously — to tell the best story I could and that’s what I’ve tried to do.

You first worked with artist Tim Sale on Challengers of the Unknown. What was it like working in comics for the first time and what was your initial collaboration with Tim like?

It was pretty much a disaster — except that we became best friends.

It was disaster because I didn’t know what I was doing — I had him redraw so many pages because I wasn’t explaining things properly. Like with film, I had to learn the language of working with an artist. Now, it’s something I do naturally. Poor Tim!

You’ve since worked with Tim on Batman: Haunted Knight, The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Superman For All Seasons, Wolverine/Gambit, Hulk: Grey, Spider-Man: Blue, Daredevil: Yellow and now Catwoman: When in Rome. What’s it like being part of the Lennon and McCartney of comics?

HA! Well… You know the obvious question is when do we meet Yoko? Look, I’m very flattered by the comparison but putting me, at least, (and I know Tim well enough to say this) putting either of us in the same sentence with the Beatles is silly. We’ve had a good run. We’re both very grateful to the fans, the readers and everyone who has supported us through the years. But, there is no doubt about it — we never take those people for granted — we’re very, very lucky to work in our chosen fields.

You now write the hugely popular and successful series Superman/Batman. What about these two icons inspires you?

I think it’s their friendship. The light and the dark, side by side. It makes for good drama and also a few laughs. One inspires, the other strikes fear. But they both want the same thing: Justice. They just go about it completely differently.

Your day job is as a Supervising Producer on the television series, Smallville. This season we’re seeing the series debuts of Lois Lane, The Flash, Mxyzptlk and the return of actress Margot Kidder to the Superman mythos. As one of comic’s most successful writers do you feel an additional responsibility to the legacy of these characters?

Of course. But I would feel that way about any story I’m involved in. However, because I get paid to work on the world’s greatest hero, it’s especially sweet! Again, I’m very lucky.

You were the original Executive Producer of the proposed Buffy the Vampire Slayer the Animated Series. Are Sunnydale fans ever going to see this series?

Yes. I’ll have more to say on that very soon. And I’m still the Executive Producer of the show along with my pal, Joss Whedon who does all the heavy lifting in the genius department. I’m just there to make him look good. Like a Hollywood Wife.. (laughs)

Batman: Hush teamed you with artist Jim Lee and sales were phenomenal. What do you think made it so successful and were you satisfied with the end result?

I don’t know what makes a hit — if I did, I’d be running Hollywood! I think it had a lot to do with the combination of the right character and the right team. It wasn’t just me and the story. It wasn’t just Jim and the artwork. It was Scott Williams’ inks; Alex Sinclair’s colors; Richard Starkings’ lettering. We all worked very hard to put out the best comic we could and if it hadn’t clicked I would’ve been very, very disappointed. I mean, if you can’t win with that team, you’ve done something very wrong. I was really delighted that Hush had such a profound effect on folks… that’s what really matters.

What can you tell us about your upcoming reunion with Jim, Batman and Robin?

You mean, other than it’s not called Batman and Robin? (laughs). We’re doing a Batman AND Robin story. Where that happens and in what format is still to be determined. It’s a mystery. The story, I mean!

Do you have any dream collaborators or projects in either film or comics that you haven’t worked with yet?

The list is too long to mention. Although I’m seeing it get smaller every year. Superman/Batman provided a lot of them — working again with Ed McGuinness, with Michael Turner, with Carlos Pacheco, Pat Lee — it’s pretty sweet. And we still have a few surprises left! I’ll always work with Tim. Whatever we do next, it’s bound to be something that he does that astonishes me.

What are your seminal influences?

I get asked this a lot. Mostly, it was my Dad. He was a storyteller. He could make a trip to the post office seem like an Indiana Jones movie. He saw life as something you played, not that you lived. I see it in my son as well. It’s a very admirable trait. Storytelling — it’s a gift.