Catwoman #14 - "Out of one hell and into another. What does Joker want from me?"
"Death of the Family" isn't about to leave poor Selina Kyle untouched, as the Joker wants Catwoman to toughen up!! He knows something about her but isn't about to tell...not while she's being so soft on Batman...she's practically a good guy these days!! Not the "black queen" that Joker wants to make his "king" strong!
So it's time for torture, traps and mind games galore as the Clown Prince puts Catwoman through a gauntlet of deadly peril, more or less for chuckles. And you know what? It IS pretty funny! Hehehehehe.
There's a really interesting moment at the end of this comic, where Catwoman and Joker have a more-or-less calm conversation that just carried a lot of emotional weight with me. Mainly because of the historic signifigance of the characters...Batman's two oldest foes, both introduced back in 1940 in Batman #1 (even before Alfred!). How far they've come...
Justice League, Nightwing, Wonder Woman and more after the JUMP!!
Justice League #14 - "If I can't trust my own instincts, I can't trust anyone."
We return to the Justice League this month to find our heroes still in the Congo, fighting the Cheetah, whose bite has somehow infected Superman and turned him into another creature like herself, albeit seemingly mindlessly aggressive! It's a huge threat that the League may find unstoppable EXCEPT...right away, literally on page THREE, some tribespeople show up and blow a horn that knocks the Cheetah of Steel off of his feet. Cyborg mimics the sound and uses it to subdue Supercheetah until the tribes' Shaman can administer a quick and anticlimactic cure...sort of disappointing...as I was hoping for more of a brawl!
Luckily, the REAL Cheetah puts up more of a fight, injuring the Flash and causing some problems for both Wonder Woman and Aquaman!
Wonder Woman learns that the Cheetah, who is actually her friend Barbara Minerva, was NEVER really her friend...Barbara isn't even her real name! She was always a criminal working under various aliases. This forces Wonder Woman to realize that maybe she's NOT the best judge of character all of the time. Luckily, she's got the now-healed Superman to cheer her up (Clark and Diana sitting in a tree....)!
Oh, we also get a SHAZAM! back-up story. Black Adam shows up in New York to cause some chaos and drop the first hints of his master plan, while Shazam himself plays with the novelty of being an adult with crazy powers instead of an annoying bratty orphan boy...good times are had by all!
Red Hood and the Outlaws #14 - "He's just floating there -- in the sights of one of the most powerful handguns made by man...and you'd think we were throwing roses at his feet."
Superman decides to pay a little visit on Red Hood and the gang this issue, literally knocking on the side of Starfire's spaceship (The Starfire, naturally) and asking if he can come in for a little chat! Of course, our heroes are a little hesitant...after all, they ARE outlaws...it's right there in the title of the book!
When it comes to Superman, you may not have a choice but to do what he wants...luckily, he's not here to STOP the Outlaws this time...he wants to ask Starfire about her recent encounter with one of Helspont's minions...could the Last Son of Krypton need HELP from a couple of lowly humans and their Tamaranian companion???
Of course, the Man of Steel isn't the ONLY story this month...Jason wants to drop his (accidentally interstellar - long story) love interest, Isabel, off at her place since they've been off-planet for so long. Unfortunately for both of them, she lives in Gotham City. Gee, isn't that where "Death of the Family" is stomping all over anyone even remotely associated with Batman??? I suddenly hear carnival music in my head...
Nightwing #14 - "No longer are you a Robin. but still you fly in the shadow of the Bat."
Nightwing's got a lot of business to take care of, despite his concerns that the Joker is active in Gotham...and number one on that list is finding out what Lady Shiva is doing in town and stopping her from committing any assassinations!
All this while he's working hard as Dick Grayson to rebuild and reopen Amusement Mile and Haly's Circus in Gotham...it may be too much! Particularly when he actually does confront Lady Shiva...it's true that she's the worlds deadliest assassin and even a match for Batman in fighting skills! As good as Dick is, he's got an uphill battle with this fight!
And of course Dick's right to be worried about the Joker...he's implementing his agenda all over the place! Right on schedule...
Wonder Woman #14 - "Everything I cherished she took from me. To punish me for something Zeus had done."
Wonder Woman approaches yet another offspring of Zeus, her half-sister Siracca, who has power over the wind ("I AM the Wind" she says) and is in NO mood to help anyone who is harbouring or aiding Hera in any way! Diana needs help to find Zola's baby (stolen by Hermes if you recall) and must convince Siracca that, despite taking in Hera after all she has done, she and Siracca are both alike! It's an uphill battle and with good reason! We learn a lot about how Hera's a rather horrible person...
Meanwhile, the other gods sulk on Mount Olympus and scheme, as they are wont to do...Apollo is worried that some prophecy of doom (mainly to HIM) revolves around Wonder Woman. We, however, discover the TRUE threat to all of the pantheon is Zeus' and Hera's first-born! He's a deity abandoned at birth and trapped in the centre of the Earth for seven thousand years! Now, he's finally dug himself out to recover his birthright, as the prophecy foretold! This is probably terrible news for all the other gods and also may possibly signify the end of time itself! Uh-oh...
Birds of Prey #14 - "My God, Starling. He IS dressed in a bird suit."
The Birds of Prey are in Japan hunting down Katana's magic sword, which was stolen last issue by the Dagger Clan to use as bait so that just what is happening happens! In other words, it's a trap! However, a strange vigilante named Condor interfered, taking Katana's blade for himself. Now the Birds are up against him, too!
Of course, when hundreds of ninjas are deployed, we can always be sure that they're more or less cannon fodder and nothing bad's going to happen, right? They're probably not even ninjas...just some guys dressed up like ninjas to look impressive! No way they can stand up to the combined might of Black Canary's sonic scream and the Condor's telekinetic powers, as they're forced to work together to survive! Can they??
On the plus side, Katana gets her sword back. On the negative side, it looks a lot like they're all going to die...
Supergirl #14 - "I should stay close to Kal. He's the only family I have left. And yet every time I see him...I'm just reminded of how much I've lost."
"H'El On Earth" continues here, as this month's issue continues from where we left off in Superman #13, with Kara and her cousin Superman defeating the giant Ancient Kryptonian Three-Pawed Dragon of Doom or Some Such. They've brought the defeated dragon carcass to the same scientist who was studying Kal-El in the aforementioned issue of Superman to try and learn how it could have gotten to Earth. In a startling turn of events, Kara is talking to her cousin instead of punching him!
Then, after a brief interlude in which Kara visits her friend (and Black Banshee's daughter) Siobhan, H'El arrives, with prisoner Superboy in tow!! We finally learn something about his agenda...he believes that the Kryptonians together can somehow go back and SAVE their planet! Could this be true? Kara isn't sure, but H'El gives her a "gift" which could persuade her...
So that's it for the week! Some excellent reading! Of course, tomorrow's another New Comic Book day, so the fun never stops around here! Look for Batman Incorporated, a couple new Before Watchmen comics, the continuation of this week's Supergirl in Superman #14, Talon, Teen Titans and MORE! It's a big week!
In the meantime, watch me try once more to come to terms with the opposite sex at Stryder's Dementia...always good for a laugh...
Have a great week! Less than a month 'till Christmas! Just in case the Aztecs are wrong, better start shopping...Peace!
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