DC has acquired characters from other comic companies over the years, but none seemed to integrate as well as the heroes from Charlton comics. Maybe it was because most of the Charlton creators also worked for DC, or because of DC's willingness to go and include the characters in their own series and as members of team books right away. Blue Beetle in particular seemed to fir right in - he seemed like he had always been a member of the DCU. and was finally where he belonged.
I got a few of the Ted Kord Blue Beetle series after Crisis. I liked it a lot! It's on my bucket list to get the complete run.
ReplyDeleteThank you for using the Justice Machine again, my favorite team not from the big 2. I read it in college when it first came out.
ReplyDeleteApparently, Justice Machine used a blind tailor.
ReplyDeleteI think Nightshade (another Charlton character) did really well in the first volume of the Suicide Squad series. And then later she moved onto other things, changing more and more over the years until you could barely recognize her from how she was originally. Of course, the Blue Beetle legacy after Ted Kord has also changed drastically over the years, too. But Ted stayed true to himself, even when he worked with the Birds of Prey. I liked that about him and still wish that DC hadn't killed him off.
ReplyDeleteOrdinaryguy2
Well, there were different levels of integration for the Charlton stable. Yes, Blue Beetle and Captain Atom fit right in, and Question, Nightshade and even Sarge Steel found their niches. But Peacemaker and Judomaster, not so much.
ReplyDeleteI personally think that Blue Beetle and the Question have found their niches in the DC universe better than any of the others; this is not so much in spite of as because of their legacy successors. Jaime Reyes and Renee Montoya are worthy namesakes for Ted Kord and Vic Sage, even as the elder heroes remain true to themselves (though I rather wish that Vic hadn't been killed off; I would have preferred him taking a disabled-mentor role).
ReplyDeleteCaptain Atom (sorry, Jay) stands as a decisive but still respectable third place.
I had been about to correct DD's statement above that the Justice Machine's tailor was merely color-blind, but then I noticed Blazer's outfit. Yep, that's pretty ill-considered (even taking into account that those dots normally appear higher up on her chest).
@Bob: To each their own. I've always been more of a team guy, and CapAtom fits in groups better than Question ever did. Although come to think of it, Justice League Extreme was one of the shining examples of all that was bad in '90s comics.
ReplyDeleteI liked Denny O'Neill's original work with the Question, but it seems to me that nobody after that really knew what to do with Vic, and I haven't seen enough of Renee in the mask to form a decent opinion. I did like the conspiracy-nut version of Vic shown in Justice League Unlimited, though.
Given the continuing popularity of the comic book spin-offs of the video game "Injustice," I think it all too-plausible for the "planet" Georwell to arise from a Superman-ruled despotism.
ReplyDeleteThat being the case, a "revivified" (= cloned?) Ted Kord might go about preventing that in three ways. Discover a way to mass produce synthetic kryptonite; mentor an alternate universion of Jamie Reyes in the proper wearing of a kryptonite-powered exo-skeleton (similar to Batman's in BvS:DOJ); or the rediscovery of the magic-powered azure scarab of Khaji-Da (last owned by Dan Garrett, Jr.).
If ever there was a team that needed to make a comeback it is the Justice Machine. I know Mike Gustovich sold the rights to Justice Machine to Mark Ellis and supposedly there was a graphic novel released in 2014 but the Machine has not been seen since.
ReplyDeleteRe: Jay
ReplyDeleteYeah his comment about going thru everyone's garbage was great.
For a world ruled by a despotic Superman, one need look no further than the Tangent Universe. Yes, that Superman is an African-American named Harvey Dent, and (by design) bears no resemblance to Kal-El beyond the nom du guerre, but Harvey's rulership isn't far off what Kal would do in his place.
ReplyDelete@Bob Greenwade: plus "Georwell" isn't that far off in pronounciation from "Jor-El."
ReplyDeleteBut closer to George Orwell
ReplyDelete@ my two namesakes: Well, duh! ;-)
ReplyDeleteJustice Machine was one of those concepts that I enjoyed the idea more than the execution. It was a great concept that never really got the level of storytelling it deserved.
ReplyDeleteMORE COMICO CHARACTERS PLEASE!!! My favorite independent publisher from the 1980s!! Please, Ross, more!!
ReplyDeleteWhat my namesake said. :-)
ReplyDelete