Monday, November 11, 2024
Good and Greedy Geniuses: Grayson & Hammond
Friday, November 8, 2024
Caped Crusaders' Crusading Careers : Batgirl & Huntress
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Chemically Created Corporate Crimefighters
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Atomic Antagonists Agonize Adventurers
Monday, October 21, 2024
The Mystery of Rubberman: Plentiful Plastic
Friday, September 27, 2024
The Ladies Behind the Legendary Leeches of Parasite & Atoman
While themselves nearly as infamous as their fellow vile villains, the Luthors the Toymen and Pranksters, counterparts Parasite and Atoman may not have achieved their legendary status without the women behind the scenes. For Parasite, this was is former attorney turned wife Lorna Kramer*, a selfless woman who saw the good in the irradiated rogue whom she sought to legally defend. For Atoman, this was the black marketeer who gave prized Kryptonite meteor rock to Nazi scientist Der Teufel to spawn the irradated Atoman.
Black Widow initiated a bidding war with four prominent men including Teufel, demonstrating to potency of the recently discovered Kryptonite which weakened their mutual foe, Superman. Although Widow's relationship with Atoman was tangental through her client and his superior Teufel, together they were able to hatch a threat upon the Superman of Earth-Two that nearly ended his life. Although Atoman failed to subdue and slay his foe after multiple encounters, Atoman would return decades later to renew their conflict, while the Widow retired from crime.
Lorna Kramer was a German American defense lawyer, working on the early release from prison request of her client, Raymond Maxwell Jensen aka the Parasite. After a period of time together, the pair fell in love, and as a newly wed couple sired twins. Despite this, the strains of Parasite's former criminal past as a recurring foe of Superman coupled with his powers becoming reactived due to an alien invader known as Mister Xavier caused the couple to divorce.
However, Raymond and Lorna's son Troy and daughter Trini inherited the mutated genes of their father, which nearly ended their lives. Having moved with her children back to her native Germany, Lorna eventually sought out her ex-husband who was able to restore their health with his renewed powers. With the aid of scientists, Parasite was able to extra enough energy from a captive Superman to rid the children of their life-threatening “para-fever”, while giving them temporary powers.
Sadly, continuing to be with his ex-wife and children might eventually have debilitating effects on them physically, as well as emotionally for the bad example he was setting. So Jensen left them once more, finding solace is his continual conflict with his greatest foe, Superman!
While neither Heinrich "Atoman" Melch nor Scarlet Widow had any children of their own, the doppelgängers of Troy and Trini were the German Jewish brother and sister Horst and Frieda, children of the telepathic mutant Friedrich who perished protecting his family and Wonder Woman from Nazi sailors using his power for their benefit. Unlike Troy and Trini, Horst and Frieda had neither father nor mother as they were placed in an American orphanage. Such was the sad tale of these children of gifted men with tragic lives.
* The existence and canonicity of Lorna and her children Troy and Trini were verified in the Parasite's entry in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe Vol 1 17.Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Sinister Symbionts Siphoning Supermen
The first technique is exposing the heroes to Green Kryptonite, the radioactive substance remaining from the planet Krypton. On Earth-One, the criminal cyborg Roger "Metallo" Corben was implanted with a Kryptonite "heart" with a two-fold purpose, to keep his cybernetic body alive and as a radiological weapon against the modern day Superman. On Earth-Two, the German soldier Heinrich "Atoman" Melch was injected with a Green Kryptonite serum which both empowered his superhuman body and as a radiological weapon against the golden age Superman.
A less common technique is projecting purple energy dampening radiation, coming from an extraterrestrial origin. On Earth-One, janitor turned criminal Raymond Maxwell "Parasite" Jensen was inadvertently exposed to radioactive material brought from outer space, and which Parasite then used against Superman which weakened him. On Earth-Two, scientist turned villain George "Metalo" Grant developed a purple ray projecting weapon which likewise weakened Superman. While Parasite employed his purple ray aura to transfer Superman's abilities to himself, Metalo developed a related super-serum from the purple radiation to grant Grant his Superman-like attributes.
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Parasites’ Power Plays
Sunday, September 15, 2024
Mindful Malevolent Metallics Mask Mystery
Goitrude was the forerunner of a generation of special vehicles aiding various superheroes, including the Black Widow, Sand-Car, Atomobile, Esmerelda and the Doll-Plane... driven by the Spider, Sandman, Atom, Wonder Woman's friend Etta Candy and the Doll Man, respectively.
Monday, September 2, 2024
Mercurially Malevolent Metal Men
Friday, August 23, 2024
Cantankerous Cops Cause Costumed Crusaders Conundrums
Wednesday, August 21, 2024
What is a Penny Worth? Enough to Fund the Wayne Foundation
In his new identity, the Outsider sought to disrupt and destroy the lives of the two men whom his alter ego Alfred cherished deeply. Unleashing from the behind the scenes the man-monster known as Blockbuster, the Grasshopper Gang, and even Batman's future Justice League colleague Zatanna against the Caped Crusaders... the Outsider's schemes were designed to tear away the confidence of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson until they ended up as he felt they had left him. But the memory of their fallen friend Alfred helped them to endure.
Eventually, Batman and Robin were able to vanquish the Outsider, and restore Alfred Pennyworth to the man he once was. Although forgetting his brief path towards villainy, the experience subconsciously shaped his life, subtly hardening him as had young Bruce when faced with his own trauma years earlier. Meanwhile, the foundation of their friendship endured and grew, just as the foundation named after Alfred transformed.
While Alfred Pennyworth of Earth-One would on occasion revert to his Outsider alter ego, his doppelgänger Alfred Beagle had a different type of physical transformation, as he in his younger years engaged in extensive physical fitness to shed some girth, becoming more gaunt like his cosmic twin
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Batman Family #13 was the first issue purchased by a young Doppelgänger aka Mallo, founder of this blog, and had a profound impact in his comic journey. Subsequent purchases of further comics, highlighting the adventures of an older Bruce Wayne's daughter Helena "The Huntress" Wayne along with his teammates the Justice Society, and their team ups with the Justice League sparked an intense interest not only in comic books, but also in the Multiverse. Points of divergence, where one man retains his station as the trusted butler of the Wayne family, while another man transforms into a supervillain for a time. Such is the shear beauty.... of the DC Multiverse!
Super-Blog Team-Up: Foundations
Date: August 21st 2024
Our comic book journey takes us to foundational works that ignited your collecting passion. We cover works that built the basis of a character such as a 1st appearance or a major storyline development. We can consider a major story or plot line that had major foundational impact on a universe, set of characters or over all genre. A foundation can be a start point, a central point in history, a trigger, a catalyst. The sky is the limit.. the Foundation begins now.
Participants:
Between the Pages Blog - Everything I Need To Know I Learned From Star Trek
https://www.betweenthepagesblog.com/2024/08/everything-i-need-to-know-i-learned-from-star-trek.html
TEAL Productions/NewsPrint Commando - Witzend A Foundational Comic
Superhero Satellite: The Comics Digest. A foundational entryway to comics from Archie to DC Blue Ribbon and Beyond.
https://charltonhero.wordpress.com/2024/08/21/super-blog-team-up-foundations-a-digest-story/
Dave’s Comic Heroes Blog - Justice League Of America 200.
https://davescomicheroes.blogspot.com/2024/08/justice-league-of-america-200.html
*51 - My First Next Issue, Incredible Hulk #333
https://asterisk51.blogspot.com/2024/08/my-first-next-issue-incredible-hulk-333.html
The Source Material Comics Podcast - “Traumatic Resonance - What I Learned from Deb Whitman” - https://www.spreaker.com/episode/super-blog-team-up-traumatic-resonance-what-i-learned-from-deb-whitman--61072981
DC Multiverse - What is a Penny Worth? Enough to Fund the Wayne Foundation
https://earth-one-earth-two.blogspot.com/2024/08/what-is-penny-worth-enough-to-fund.html
Saturday, August 10, 2024
2nd Generation Goggled Gliders: Von Hammer II & McNider II
At some point, possibly in the 1940s, Von Hammer died of undisclosed causes. In the late 1940s, McNider himself technically died alongside his fellow members of the Justice Society when each of them was attacked by an insane museum guard impersonating history's greatest villains. While Von Hammer had progeny in the form a descendant named Heinrich Von Hammer, McNider faced a drastically different situation.
After being brought along with four other Justice Socialites to Transformation Island by their colleagues Wonder Woman and Black Canary, each of them was revived thanks to Paula VonGunther's Purple Healing Ray (of which the original model was invented by Wonder Woman herself). Months after the Society defeated the crazed museum bandit, the Justice Society faced Professor Zobar Zodiak, who bound the male members of the team on his perpetual motion machine.
After a sky duel in which Heinrich assumed his forefather's role as the Enemy Ace versus Batman, the German lost his life when his plane crashed. At this point, it was his rival and the true heir to the original Enemy Ace's legacy, the Batman who took up his role. As such, shortly after during a cosmic crisis involving Creator 2, the cosmos deemed that Doctor Mid-Nite's closest Earth-One counterpart was the Batman, since both previous Enemy Aces had since perished. Soon after, the Batman of Earth-Two would himself die in battle saving his allies of the Justice Society.
Friday, August 2, 2024
Miracle Medicines Manufacture Meta-Human Marvels
But there were other means, developed by scientists, to unlock metahuman potential in themselves and others. Among these were miracle medicines or divergent drugs, such as those considered below. These examples are both a small sampling of the many possible chemical combinations potentially available in each universe.
Zoologist Kirk Langstron of Earth-One sought to harness traits found in the unique flying mammals which inspired his personal hero, the Batman, Through his Bat-Gland serum, Langstrom was able to transform his body into Man-Bat, a hybrid hero blending but human and bat into a new life form. Initially, his transformations affected his mind, until Batman was able to help him regain his sanity. Man-Bat would oscillate between hero and villain, using his wings to glide, his sonar sense to navigate and his superior strength to subdue his foes.
Chemist Rex Tyler of Earth-Two developed the Miraclo pill, enabling him to obtain superhuman strength, speed, durability and agility for one hour at a time. As the Hourman, he successfully carved out a costumed career for himself, soon after becoming a founding member of both the Justice Society of America and the Freedom Fighters. However, addiction to Miraclo caused Rex to experience adverse affects, leading him to partially retire until he could reformulate his miracle drug into a safer compound.
Research assistance Duncan Pramble of Earth-Two worked alongside an archaeologist when he discovered an ancient elixir known as Liquid Light, which when ingested caused Pramble to mutate into various bodies. Each body had its own superhuman abilities, which he used unsuccessfully as the supervillain Multi-Man, as the Challengers of the Unknown defeated him time and again, as its leader and resident scientist Prof Riley developed an anecdote that neutralized Liquid Light's effects.
Rex Tyler eventually developed a variation on his Miraclo treatment, creating a Black-Ray device which helped him unlock the pills powers by bathing in its radiation. Eventually, Tyler developed a safer version of Miraclo, perhaps derived from investigating the foe of his Justice Society ally Doctor Fate. That foe, Mister Who, had himself developed the Z-Solution which allowed him to transform into various forms similar to that displayed by both Multi-Man and Garfield "Changeling" Logan of Earth-One, who's father treated him with to save his life. Having observed how Mister Who displayed no detrimental physical defects to his solution when both Doctor Fate and Hourman battled him, Tyler may have adopted part of Who's formula and integrated into his reinvented Miraclo pill.
Thursday, July 25, 2024
Green Globs vs Glowing Globes: Good vs Greed
Monday, July 22, 2024
Plant People Pester Planetary Protectors
King Tassel and his lieutenant Lord Cob were the rulers of the planetary moon known as Rykornia, which sought to usurp control over worlds they visited. Their terraforming of Earth-Two was opposed by Justice Society member Wonder Woman, along with her friend Etta Candy and the other Holliday Girls of Holliday College.
Each Dastardly Duo was armed with powerfully potent seeds, which they spread across areas of North America. These subverted the normal ecology of the Earths, causing devastating effects to the environment as their alien nature was incompatible with the worlds they were introduced to. Initially, they plant men and their vile vegetation seemed to overwhelm their superhuman opponents.
Ker Sed and his papa Bur Sed wielded staffs, which were the source of their amazing powers. This included the power of flight, teleportation, force fields and the ability to redirect any force projected against the ones who wield them, which made the Seds nearly invincible when facing individual Leaguers and the combined team. Similarly, the various forms of plant life which they introduced on Earth-One proved difficult to remove.
Lord Cob and his master King Tassel had a vast army of creatures like themselves. While mentally controlling their fellow Plant People, the Rykornian’s forests quickly grew to gigantic size, sucking the nutrients from soil of which it was planted.
Eventually, the Justice League hatched a scheme where they tricked the father-son foes by pretending to aid them I spreading their seeds, distracting them as their staffs were stolen from them. Now susceptible to the excess oxygen in Earth-One’s atmosphere, Bur Sed and Ker Sed had to flee from that planet once their staffs were given back to them.
Similarly, Wonder Woman and the Holliday Girls constructed and unleashed a gigantic mechanical vacuum, capable of capturing King Tassel, Lord Cob along with their Plant People and large stalks. With this device, the Amazing Amazon exiled them back to Rykornia, which she was able to thrust back into space.
Friday, July 19, 2024
Diametrically Different Dimensions: Aqua & Tbolt
Thunderbolt Dimension was first entered by humans arriving from Earth-Two shortly after the Justice Society along with Earth-One's Justice League battled the alien antagonist known as Aquarius. As she just lost her husband Larry Lance in death during the battle, Black Canary herself was also succumbing to radiation poisoning from the battle. Superman brought her to this dimension to see her daughter Dinah, who had been sleeping in suspended animation for decades following her traumatic metahuman mutation as a baby, Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt transferred the memories of mother in to daughter, with the young Dinah now gaining her mother's maturity allowing her to master her sonic screams that plagued her as a child. Years later, she along with Starman would return to the Thunderbolt Dimension, when Johnny's Earth-One counterpart temporarily took control over the Thunderbolt.
While Dimension Aqua had Atlantean-like humans as its residents, the Water Sprites were native to Earth-One. The Thunderbolt Dimension had the Sprites' counterparts the Thunderbolts as residents, while the Aqua-humans' doppelgängers (such as Mera's counterpart Eeras) were native to Earth-Two. As with the intrinsic nature of Hard Water and Lightning Bolts differing in each universe, So too the physics of these parallel Dimensions mirror this. Hard water grants superhuman speed on Earth-Two which lightning grants on Earth-One. Conversely, lightning creates solidified constructs on Earth-Two and hard water does the same on Earth-One.
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