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BATMAN MOVIE 30th ANNIVERSARY! Producer MICHAEL USLAN and screenwriter SAM HAMM interviewed, a chat with BILLY DEE WILLIAMS (who was almost Two-Face), plus DENNY O’NEIL and JERRY ORDWAY’s Batman movie adaptation, MINDY NEWELL’s Catwoman, GRANT MORRISON and DAVE McKEAN’s Arkham Asylum, MAX ALLAN COLLINS’ Batman newspaper strip, and JOEY CAVALIERI & JOE STATON’s Huntress!

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SUPERHERO STAND-INS! John Stewart as Green Lantern, James Rhodes as Iron Man, Beta Ray Bill as Thor, Captain America substitute U.S. Agent, new Batman Azrael, and Superman’s Hollywood proxy Gregory Reed! Featuring NEAL ADAMS, CARY BATES, DAVE GIBBONS, RON MARZ, DAVID MICHELINIE, DENNIS O’NEIL, WALTER SIMONSON, ROY THOMAS, and more, under a cover by SIMONSON.

GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD! ALEX ROSS’ unrealized Fantastic Four reboot, DC: The Lost 1970s, FRANK THORNE’s unpublished Red Sonja, Fury Force, VON EEDEN’s Batman, GRELL’s Batman/Jon Sable, CLAREMONT and SIM’s X-Men/Cerebus, SWAN and HANNIGAN’s Skull and Bones, AUGUSTYN and PAROBECK’s Target, PAUL KUPPERBERG’s Impact reboot, abandoned Swamp Thing storylines, & more! ROSS cover.

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Celebrates the 40TH ANNIVERSARY of MARV WOLFMAN and GEORGE PÉREZ’s New Teen Titans, featuring a guest editorial by WOLFMAN and a PÉREZ tribute and art gallery! Plus: The New Teen Titans’ 40 GREATEST MOMENTS, the Titans in the media, hero histories of RAVEN, STARFIRE, and the PROTECTOR, and more! With a NEVER-BEFORE-PUBLISHED PÉREZ TITANS COVER from 1981!

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Volume 1, Number 126 April 2021 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow

Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

DESIGNER Rich Fowlks COVER ARTISTS Jose Marzan, Jr., recreation from a Mike Wieringo sketch (commissioned illustration from the collection of Nathan Turner) COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg

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FLASHBACK: Growing Up Fast: Wally West’s Race to Become the Fastest Man Alive . . . 2 We zip through the Speed Force to witness the evolution of the one-time Kid Flash OFF MY CHEST: The Romita Legacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 A tale of the father, the son, and Spidey BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: Green Genes: The Green Goblin, from Criminal Mastermind to Family Tradition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 A star-studded examination of Harry Osborn’s devilish daddy issues INTERVIEW: Superman Returns’ Brandon Routh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 The actor who played two different Supermen is quite super himself FLASHBACK: Ant-Man: Never Let a Good Name Go to Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Scott Lang was not one to shrink from duty when stepping into Hank Pym’s old role FLASHBACK: Infinity, Inc.: Old Heroes Never Die, They Simply Fade into Infinity . . . . . 52 The story of the JSA legacy characters and the Crisis that altered their lives FLASHBACK: Reign of the Supermen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 After the “Death of Superman,” it took four Men of Steel to take Kal-El’s place BACK TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Reader reactions

BACK ISSUE™ is published 8 times a year by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief, 112 Fairmount Way, New Bern, NC 28562. Email: euryman@gmail.com. Eight-issue subscriptions: $90 Economy US, $137 International, $36 Digital. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by Mike Wieringo and Jose Marzan, Jr. The Flash and Kid Flash TM & © DC Comics. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2021 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows Inc. ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.

Legacy Issue • BACK ISSUE • 1

Legacy heroine Power Girl specialty drawing by the late, great Darwyn Cooke, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions. Power Girl TM & © DC Comics.

PROOFREADER Rob Smentek

by J o h n

Whiz Kid (left) Kid Flash and Robin no more, on George Pérez’s cover to New Teen Titans #39 (Feb. 1984). (center) Wally’s first solo run begins in Flash #1 (June 1987). Cover by Jackson Guice and Larry Mahlstedt. (right) Wally’s faster than ever before in the “Zero Hour” tiein Flash #0 (Oct. 1994). Cover by Mike Wieringo and Jose Marzan, Jr.

Wells

“Being a superhero isn’t easy, especially with a double-identity. You can’t have a normal life… and as for marriage… well, I was lucky to find a girl like Iris. Not many women would put up with a husband who’s always on call to catch criminals or save the world. How can I fault you for wanting a fair shot at a job and a family just like any other man?”

[Author’s note: Keith Dallas’ exhaustive The Flash Companion, published by TwoMorrows in 2008, was a vital resource when writing this article and includes many quotes from its Mark Waid interview that I conducted in November 2007. For brevity’s sake, the book is generally abbreviated as TFC here.]

TM & © DC Comics.

2 • BACK ISSUE • Legacy Issue

So said Barry (the Flash) Allen to his nephew Wally West, a newly minted high school graduate who had just announced his plans to retire as Kid Flash once he finished college (1978’s DC Special Series #11, by Cary Bates, Irv Novick, and Joe Giella). It was a touching moment but also something of a hollow one in a universe where characters never got appreciably older.

RELUCTANT SUPERHERO

As the 1970s turned into the 1980s, the old rules were changing, and Wally West had to race to keep pace. Thanks to the creative team of Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, Kid Flash was at the forefront of DC’s blockbuster New Teen Titans, albeit grudgingly at first. As the series launched, Wally was already retired, but was seduced into suiting up again thanks to the mysticism of Raven. Shaking off the enchantment, Wally eventually found a true girlfriend in his hometown of Blue Valley: the troubled, magnetic-powered Frances Kane (NTT #17).

In contrast to his fellow Titans, Wally was the member with a stable, happy relationship with his parents. Wolfman emphasized that in NTT #20’s (June 1982) “Dear Mom and Dad,” a tale written in part to balance the previous issue’s presentation of Kid Flash’s conservative, anti-Soviet rhetoric. Ultimately, though, Wolfman admitted to Glen Cadigan in The Titans Companion (2005) that he “never liked” the character. In a group setting, he was simply too powerful. “If the goal is to put down the villain as opposed to make a good show, just send Kid Flash out and have him beat up the guy before the guy could see who was beating him up.” Hence, Wally called it quits in NTT #39 (Feb. 1984) and declared his intention to be a full-time college student. Wolfman (with artists Carmine Infantino and Mike DeCarlo) checked in on the retiree in Tales of the Teen Titans #49 (on sale in September 1984), revealing that his speed was decreasing and causing him escalating pain. The Flash theorized it was a side effect of the chemical bath that gave both their powers. “I was an adult when the chemicals altered my body,” he observed. “My body chemistry wasn’t changing. But Wally was just a kid, still growing and developing.” The end result may have genetic damage. Famed writer Harlan Ellison expressed his opinion about Wally’s dire condition to Wolfman in a subsequent phone call. “I told Marv I didn’t like what he was doing to Kid Flash,” Ellison relayed to Don Thompson in The Comics Buyer’s Guide #572 (November 2, 1984). “I said he obviously didn’t like the character and planned to have him die of a heart attack while running. He said, ‘How did you know that?’ and I said, ‘Because you’re talking to someone who knows how to plot.’ “I suggested another direction he could take, and he liked it and went to Dick Giordano with it. Dick said it would make a mini-series. Marv said he couldn’t write it, and they talked about who could. Finally, they thought of me.” Ellison added that he’d likely change Wally’s codename. “Calling someone Kid Flash is so Fifties.” With Marv Wolfman and George Pérez’s monumental Crisis on Infinite Earths looming, Ellison’s miniseries never got past the conceptual stage. Indeed, The Flash itself was cancelled in July 1985 before Barry Allen died a month later in Crisis #8. Wally returned to the stage in Crisis #9, urged by the original Flash (Jay Garrick) to share his waning powers in Barry’s absence. Consequently, Kid Flash explained to Keith Dallas in The Flash was on the front lines during the final Companion (2008). “I think running battle with the Anti-Monitor and took 600 miles per hour is just fine, and that a blast of energy from the universewould still be an incredible power.” shattering villain. For fans, the matter of Barry Allen’s One of the final scenes in Crisis successor had been settled. Behind #12 (on sale in December 1985) the scenes, however, DC executives revealed that this had been a good Jenette Kahn and Dick Giordano saw thing. Thanks to the cosmic radiation, Wally as a placeholder and put out Wally’s body chemistry had adapted an open invitation for writers to to its speed forces and Kid Flash pitch new versions of the Flash. was no longer dying. Retiring his marv wolfman Len Wein and Marv Wolfman’s distinctive yellow costume, Wally concept even made it into a write-up suited up in Barry’s old outfit. “I for 1986’s Amazing Heroes Preview Special #2. Secretly want the Flash—his Flash—remembered!” S.T.A.R. Labs scientist Mackenzie Ryan, this Flash would “manipulate various forms of energy—light, sound, BIG SHOES TO FILL In January 1986, the newly minted third Flash returned and so forth—in order to defeat his foes.” Wolfman to the lineup of the Titans in New Teen Titans vol. 2 #19 even inserted Ryan into New Teen Titans #19 as an (cover-dated Apr. 1986). Having used the Anti-Monitor unseen character spoken to on the phone. Meanwhile, in the fall of 1986 plans were afoot to scale back Wally’s powers, Marv Wolfman had no problem bringing him back. “What I wanted to do to launch a new company crossover called Legends, was slow him down to the speed of sound,” the writer developed by new DC editor Mike Gold and writer

Superhero Dropout Barry Allen and Wally West discuss Wally’s decision to give up his Kid Flash identity, from DC Special Series #11: Flash Spectacular (May 1978). By Bates/Novick/Giella. Unless otherwise noted, all scans accompanying this article are courtesy of John Wells. TM & © DC Comics.

Legacy Issue • BACK ISSUE • 3

Running Out (left) Wally’s concerned about the limits of his powers in New Teen Titans vol. 2 #19 (Apr. 1986). By Wolfman/ Barreto/Tanghal. (right) Guest-star Flash (Barry Allen) analyzes Wally’s decreasing speed in Tales of the Teen Titans #49 (Dec. 1984). By Wolfman/Pérez/ Infantino/DeCarlo. TM & © DC Comics.

John Ostrander. As related by Gold in 1987’s Flash #2, Dick Giordano called him with a request. “We think it would be a great idea if you use Legends as the launching pad for a revival of the Flash… maybe something entirely new, who knows?” Puzzled, Gold contacted Marv Wolfman and asked if he’d misunderstood the Wally West scene at the end of Crisis. Wolfman assured him that he had not. “I couldn’t see any reason to change it,” Gold continued. “So, we already had a new Flash. I called Dick back and broke the news to him.” It was goodbye to Mac Ryan and all the other pitches. Giordano was fine with that but insisted that Wally be featured prominently in Legends before getting an ongoing series. Gold and Ostrander (joined by John Byrne and Karl Kesel on art and Len Wein on dialogue) complied and the miniseries premiered in August 1986. Like Wolfman was doing in New Teen Titans, the creative team emphasized the new Flash’s desire to honor his uncle’s memory but also his diminished powers. Indeed, Wally’s latest encounter with Barry’s old foe Captain Boomerang didn’t go so well for the hero in issue #4. Still, Wally West was the only Flash that the world had left. Earlier in 1986, even the original Flash, Jay Garrick, had been shuffled off to another dimension along with most of the Justice Society. “Wally West [was] a thirdgeneration superhero,” Mike Gold wrote in 1986’s Flash #2. “More important—most important, after I thought about it—he was the first major sidekick to take on his mentor’s mantle. […] We had a real opportunity to have Kid Flash become the Flash—the real Flash. And in order to become the real Flash, Wally West had to have his own comic book. He couldn’t be a member of the Teen Titans; he had to become an adult.”

4 • BACK ISSUE • Legacy Issue

Hence, the Flash—with girlfriend Frances Kane in his arms—made a slightly awkward exit from the Titans in NTT #31 (“I’ve got my own life to lead!”) and celebrated his 20th birthday a month later in The Flash #1 (on sale in March 1987, cover-dated June). (Incredibly, it was the first “Flash #1” ever published by DC. Jay had debuted in Flash Comics #1 and Barry’s ongoing book began with Flash #105.) For his writer, Mike Gold approached Mike Baron, the fan-favorite creator of mold-breaking independent titles Nexus and The Badger. Baron, his editor enthused in Flash #2’s text page, was “one of a small handful of newcomers in this field—Alan Moore is another—who can look at something everybody else always has seen as blue and see colors nobody ever noticed before.” That was a quality deemed particularly important on a character like the Flash. He was dressed the same as his predecessor, but he needed to act differently and move differently. Baron took care of the former while penciler Jackson Guice—newly arrived from Marvel—and inker Larry Mahlstedt tackled the latter. Gold handed Guice a challenge. “I told him to come up with a new way to draw a speedster,” the editor detailed in Amazing Heroes Preview Special #4 (Winter 1987). “Even though Carmine Infantino drew the Jay Garrick Flash and the Barry Allen Flash, they were both two totally different art styles. I wanted Jackson to come up with a truly unique design, different from the other two. He did it! A lot of the things you think of when you think of the Barry Allen Flash are not here.” Speaking to Keith Dallas in TFC, the artist attributed some of his success to “the simple ignorance of my youth. Not being overly familiar with Carmine’s work on The Flash at the time—I was always more interested in his Adam Strange work growing up—I tried a little bit

of everything I could think of, as well as following whatever leads or suggestions Mike Baron was throwing into the mix. In the end, it really wasn’t that much different an approach from what came before.” For his part, Baron departed from tradition with the vivid detail that Wally “has to eat enormous quantities and sleeps sixteen hours at a stretch in order to get the energy he needs.” Discussing the series with Maggie Thompson for The Comics Buyer’s Guide #686 (January 9, 1987), he continued, “He doesn’t just take off on round-the-world jaunts, like the old one used to. He has to think about it before he goes into action. I came up with the concept with [Young All-Stars penciler] Brian Murray, though people later told me that Harlan Ellison had come up with much the same idea some time ago.” Along with food, the new Flash also needed financing. Approached to deliver a heart across country to a transplant patient, he negotiated a deal with the hospital to ensure that all of his subsequent medical bills were taken care of. Ironically, money ceased to be a problem by the end of issue #1: Wally West became the latest winner of the New York lottery and claimed 6.5 million dollars! (In another departure from tradition, the latest Flash lived in a real metropolis rather than the fictional Central City or Keystone City that sheltered Barry and Jay.) Baron also employed first-person narration to make an immediate connection with readers. “My name is Wally West,” the Flash said by way of introduction. “Today I am twenty years old. I feel lucky.” Writers came and went over the course of the title’s run, but they largely maintained the storytelling device into the 21st Century.

NEW FLASH ROGUES AND FRIENDS

A cornerstone of Barry Allen’s run was its colorful Rogues Gallery, but they were, at the outset, off limits. “Gold asked me to create largely new characters and that’s what I’m doing,” Baron declared in CBG #686. “When I did the first one, I discovered after setting up the villain that I’d ‘reinvented the wheel’ and simply created [longtime immortal adversary] Vandal Savage. So, I replaced my creation with Savage.” Baron’s follow-up foe was all his and Guice’s though, a startling departure from anyone that the previous Flashes had encountered. The Kilg%re was a techno-organic being from another realm who Wally accidentally released while running speed-tests. Controlling and reshaping any earthly tech, the Kilg%re seized control of the telecommunications power grid with the intent and purging the planet of its “noisome” humans. Purging the entity required an unprecedented degree of global cooperation and pushed the Flash to his new limits to outrun what was left of the Kilg%re in issue #4 (Sept. 1987). In CBG #686, Baron described a Wally West quite different from the upstanding boy-next-door of the past two decades. No longer bothering with a secret identity, “he’s always sitting on the edge of his seat and saying, ‘Come on! Let’s get going! We’re going to be late!” […] He’s 20 years old, charismatic, and he’s going to find himself in romantic situations.” No one could have imagined, however, something like issue #5’s cover: a crazed villain catching the Flash and a woman in an embrace as she screamed, “Oh, no! It’s… my husband!” The female in question was Tina McGee, a 32-year-old nutritionist with a Harvard grant to study the Flash’s powers. She entered the picture in issue #3—just pages after Frances Kane split with Wally— but didn’t take center stage until Flash #5. Beaten up by her estranged ex-husband Jerry, Tina accepted refuge in Wally’s new mansion. Fueled by a steroid derivative and technology, the addled Jerry “Speed” McGee (alias Speed Demon) came charging after the couple. “He’s just a great character,” Baron enthused in Amazing Heroes Preview Special #5 (Summer 1987). “He keeps running into brick walls and picking himself up, saying, ‘I didn’t feel a thing.’ Of course, his body’s turning into hamburger.” The action shifted to the Soviet Union in issues #8 and 9 as the Flash sought a Russian scientist who could save the life of the dying Jerry McGee. Doctor Pytor Orloff agreed to come to the US to help but he was joined by Red Trinity, a trio that he’d endowed with super-speed. Unfortunately, they represented his second try at developing speedsters. The earlier Blue Trinity—more akin to Jerry McGee in temperament—stood in the way of the Flash and company. Overlapping with the story was DC’s latest company crossover. In Millennium, a character close to each DC hero was revealed to be a spy

The New Flash (top) Wally West picks up the mantle of the Flash in Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 (Mar. 1986). By Wolfman/ Pérez/Ordway. (bottom) A less-powerful Flash takes on DC’s deadly marksman, Deadshot, in Legends #1. By Ostrander/Wein/Byrne/Kesel. TM & © DC Comics.

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by D a n

Johnson

Of all the businesses out there, you don’t really think of comics as being a family affair. That isn’t to say there haven’t been family legacies in the industry. There was, of course, Max Gaines, the founder of Educational Comics, and his son, William Gaines, who took his father’s struggling company and turned it into the legendary Entertaining Comics or EC. Then there is DC’s definitive Hawkman and Sgt. Rock artist, Joe Kubert, and his sons, Andy and Adam Kubert. There is even John Byrne, the man who reimagined the Fantastic Four and Superman in the 1980s, and his stepson, Kieron Dwyer, and last issue’s cover artist, Matt Wagner, and his son, Brennan, who has become a superb colorist. But there is one family that shines brightest in comics, and that is the Romitas. The father, John, Sr., was one of Marvel’s most in-demand artists throughout his career and he was the man who helped design many of the company’s most famous superheroes, villains, and supporting characters. He was the man who designed such iconic characters as Wolverine, the Punisher, and the Kingpin. He was also Marvel’s art director from 1973 until the late 1980s. While serving in that role, he was the ringleader of Romita’s Raiders, an entry-level apprenticeship program that allowed new talent to do uncredited corrections on pages, and this program allowed many a rising star to break into the business. The son, John, Jr. has also become a legend in his time. He was the artist who took the X-Men to their next level of greatness in the early 1980s, and he had a hand in revitalizing the very character on which his dad first gained fame, Daredevil, in the 1990s. In an industry where artists come and go and changing styles and tastes can make and break careers in a matter of years, John, Jr. is a talent that has always been, like his dad, in demand. Heck, I feel we should also give a shout-out at this time to Virginia Romita, who worked with her husband and son at Marvel Comics serving as the company’s traffic manager during the time John, Sr. worked for the comic-book publisher. Her job was to see that the comics came out on time and that the office ran smoothly (well, as smoothly as any office that made comic books could run). But getting back to John, Sr. and John, Jr., I feel we really need to focus on the character that they both have in common and on whom both have left their mark: Spider-Man. If you were to ask most comics fans who the greatest Spider-Man artists of all time were, I have no doubt that both Romitas’ names would easily be on a list of the Top Ten.

Artistic Wizards The Amazing Spider-Man, as penciled in 1996 by John Romita, Jr. and inked by John Romita, Sr., originally produced as the cover for Wizard #53. Original art courtesy of Heritage (www.ha.com). Romita portraits by John, Sr. Spider-Man TM & © Marvel.

Legacy Issue • BACK ISSUE • 23

JAZZY JOHNNY SPINS HIS WEB

Jazzy Johnny (top) The iconic Romita, Sr. cover to Amazing Spider-Man #39 (Aug. 1966). (bottom) John, Sr.’s much more recent, yet undated, variation on that classic Spidey/Goblin epic, from the Heritage archives. TM & © Marvel.

24 • BACK ISSUE • Legacy Issue

John Romita, Sr. was making a name for himself on Daredevil and he came to be the artist on The Amazing Spider-Man only because the Web-Head’s co-creator, Steve Ditko, left the book after issue #38 (July 1966). At the time John, Sr. came onboard, though, he wasn’t sure it would be a long-term assignment. “People laugh when I say this, but I did not want to do Spider-Man,” said John, Sr. in an interview with Roy Thomas for the book, John Romita… All That Jazz! “I wanted to stay on Daredevil.” One thing John, Sr. is legendary for is his modesty, his humble nature. Indeed, this is the man who thought his artwork was the reason Captain America’s early 1950s revival was cancelled! “The only reason I did Spider-Man was because Stan asked me and I felt that I should help out, like a good soldier,” John, Sr. stressed during his interview with Thomas. “I never really felt comfortable on Spider-Man for years. I had felt at home immediately on Daredevil. On Spider-Man I felt obliged to ghost Ditko because—this may sound naive, but I was convinced, in my own mind, that he was going to come back in two or three issues.” Not only did John, Sr. stay on Amazing Spider-Man for many years to come, first as its penciler and then as its inker, his artwork helped to increase the sales of the book. With John, Sr. drawing the book, Amazing found a whole new audience and generated a whole new group of fans. John, Sr.’s time with Spider-Man is also memorable because of his streamlining the appearance of the character and giving Peter Parker and his supporting cast a more glamorous look (this was John romita, sr. due to his years working on romance comics at DC). Romita’s work became so associated with Spider-Man, his drawings of the character were used as model sheets for much of the merchandise that would be released in the late 1960s and early 1970s. John, Sr.’s influence could be seen in everything from action figures to posters to even the Spider-Man ABC cartoon series that premiered in the fall of 1967. But all of that only came about once John, Sr. realized he shouldn’t ape Steve Ditko and he had to be himself, and in the process, make Spider-Man his own character. “After six months, when I realized it wasn’t temporary, I finally stopped trying to ghost Ditko,” said John, Sr. “Till then, I was using a thin line. On [Amazing Spider-Man] #43 (Dec. 1966), the one with Jameson’s son, I outlined the whole thing with a Rapidograph and then used the big, bold brush to put ink in. I thought that was Ditko’s style. Looking back on it now, I realize I wasn’t doing a very good Ditko imitation, but I was not being myself, either. In Daredevil #18 (July 1966), my last issue, I was doing that big, bold thing that Frank Giacoia inked; and when I inked myself, like on the covers, it was a big, bold style with a big, heavy line. But on Spider-Man I was doing these nine-panel pages and the thin line, and I was doing Peter Parker without any bone structure—just like Ditko was doing, I thought. The only reason it wasn’t better was that I couldn’t ape him any better.” According to John, Sr., as Spidey was becoming an even bigger hit with readers, he was also becoming a hit at the Romita home, and the wall-crawler became part of the family. I remember interviewing John, Sr. for a previous piece in BACK ISSUE and him telling me how John, Jr. grew up with Spider-Man in the household. It was almost as if John, Jr. and Spidey were brothers.

IN HIS FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS

Sr. is quick to answer that charge and shut that down. “When he was a kid, Around this time, in the late 1960s, I didn’t want him coming up there John, Sr.’s work was beginning to because I did not want him subjected influence his son and the career path to charges of nepotism,” said John, Sr. he would eventually take. “[When Dad in an interview with Jim Amash, also was doing Daredevil], that was from John Romita… And All That Jazz! John romita, jr. the beginning,” said John, Jr. in “I really felt that was a hell of a thing to an interview featured in Modern © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. put on the kid. And sure enough, he Masters vol. 18: John Romita, Jr., “I saw and understood he was an artist, and how did get that for years, but the point is that he did such a good he was, it kind of blossomed from there. It was yeoman job. He was like Roy [Thomas]’s hands when Roy the one moment I saw the Daredevil cover that I was in California, and John was in New York. Roy would call the turning point, but after that it was a slow call and tell him what he wanted done on a certain book, and John would do it. John was dealing with John development, especially my art skills.” Within a few years, John, Sr. could begin to see his Buscema and other artists, and all kinds of emergencies son’s creativity, and this led to John, Jr.’s first credited in the office, helping Roy out. He did a great job and comics work in The Amazing Spider-Man #78 (Nov. 1969). made me very proud. No matter how many times It was for this issue that John, Sr. pitched a character people insinuated that he was there through nepotism, his son had created to Stan Lee, the Prowler. “I just John proved them wrong. It was a great foundation had the standard skin-tight costume,” said John, Jr. for him. He was able to handle an awful lot of stuff, “I was 12 or 13, whatever it was. It was a dopey solving all of those problems on a day-to-day basis.” Both father and son agreed that if John, Jr. was costume, but as a good father, [Dad] took it Stan Lee and said, ‘Look at what my son has been doing.’ Stan going to make it in the comics industry, he was going said, ‘That’s a good name. I like that name. Don’t like to do it on his own merits and not because of his lineage. “My father didn’t want to be that guy that the costume, but I like the name.’” It would be a few years more before John, Jr. got the perpetuated the father/son thing with all the problems chance to show Marvel Comics what he could really that that would entail,” said John, Jr. “I don’t know if do, initially doing work for the company’s UK reprints. he discussed it with Marie [Severin] or not, but he told And if there was any concerns he got to where he is me, ‘I’m not going to give you a job. I’m not going to today because of his dad and his father’s success, John, keep you from a job.’”

Jazzy Junior John, Jr. has had several stints drawing Spider-Man, dating back to the Bronze Age. (left) Cover to Amazing Spider-Man #573 (Oct. 1983), inked by Dave Simons. (right) Osborn family dysfunction, penciled by JR, Jr. and inked by Klaus Janson, from Amazing #573 (Dec. 2008). TM & © Marvel.

Legacy Issue • BACK ISSUE • 25

Tables Turned How long will Harry’s remorse last? The startling title splash to Spectacular Spider-Man #181 (Oct. 1991). TM & © Marvel.

replaced by a Green Goblin as twisted and as deadly as the original—and at this point, Harry wouldn’t have it any other way. And yet… given the choice of letting Peter die in an explosion or saving him, Harry frees himself of his father’s influence and returns to the light. But his act of heroism proves to be his final one—the formula he used on himself takes its toll, the fever and dizzy spells having turned out to be precursors to a fatal reaction. Harry dies holding the hand of Spider-Man. Of Peter Parker. Of his best friend. “I didn’t go into my Spectacular run intending to kill Harry,” DeMatteis reveals. “I let the characters and the situations take over and lead me where they wanted to go. I didn’t realize until very late in the storyline that this was going to be the tale of Harry’s death. In some ways I was just as stunned as the readers when I realized that this was what it was all leading up to.” Now both Norman and Harry Osborn were dead and buried. Until they weren’t.

BACK FROM BEYOND

Norman was revealed to still be alive in The Amazing Spider-Man #418 by DeFalco, Steve Skroce, and Bud LaRosa, and Spider-Man #75 by Howard Mackie, John Romita, Jr., and Scott Hanna (both Dec. 1996), with a full explanation provided in the one-shot Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal (Feb. 1997) by yours truly, Kyle Hotz, Jason Moore, and Al Milgrom. The same thing happened with Harry in Amazing #545 by J. Michael Straczynski, Joe Quesada, and Danny Miki (Dec. 2007), with the details revealed in Amazing #581 (Feb. 2009) by Dan Slott, Mike McKone, and Andy Lanning. Since then, Norman has periodically assumed the identity of the Green Goblin, while Harry, ironically, has distanced himself from his father and strived to remain sane, clean and sober, and an upstanding member of society. Conway likens the return of Norman to two infamous DC Comics stories: the introduction of Mopee, the interdimensional imp who was supposedly responsible for Barry Allen becoming the Flash, in The Flash #167 (Feb. 1967), and a story in Superman #330 (Dec. 1978) that established that the reason no one realizes that Superman is Clark Kent without his glasses on is that the Man of Steel subconsciously uses superhypnosis so that people see Clark as weaker, frailer, and less handsome than he really is. “Everyone basically agrees those two stories never happened,” Conway says with a laugh. “As far as I’m concerned, Norman Osborn is still dead.” DeFalco, as noted above, was one of the creative people involved in the return of the original Green Goblin—much to his regret. “I did not agree with the idea of bringing back Norman,” he says, then acknowledges that sometimes that kind of decision is simply out of the writer’s hands. “That’s the biz.” With regard to Harry, DeMatteis takes it in stride that one of the Spider-Man stories he is proudest to have written was eventually overturned. “In a shared universe, it’s just a reality you have to accept, that someone else may come along and undo something you did,” he says. “I’m both surprised and gratified that it took so long to bring Harry back.” On the bright side, if DeMatteis ever returns to Spider-Man, he’s got an opportunity to do something he never could have done before. “When I wrote Harry, Norman was ‘dead,’ and when I wrote Norman, Harry was ‘dead,’” he notes. “With the both of them back, that’s something I could really sink my teeth into. There’s so much to explore there, the character dynamics between the two of them—I’d be totally up for that.” He just may get his chance someday. If the long, twisting, and turning saga of Norman and Harry Osborn has taught us anything, it’s that anything is possible. GLENN GREENBERG is an award-winning writer and editor whose work includes comics, fiction, journalism, and marketing content. His comic-book writing credits include The Spectacular Spider-Man, Untold Tales of Spider-Man (writing as G. L. Lawrence), The Silver Surfer, Dracula: Lord of the Undead, Star Trek: Untold Voyages, The Rampaging Hulk, and a story in the Ringo Awardwinning anthology collection, Mine!: A Celebration of Liberty and Freedom for All Benefiting Planned Parenthood.

36 • BACK ISSUE • Legacy Issue

TM & © DC Comics/Warner Bros.

interview by

Michael Eury

transcribed by Rose Rummel-Eury

Legacy Issue • BACK ISSUE • 37

Christopher Reeve left behind some big boots to fill. Red ones, at that. But ably stepping into them, in 2006’s Superman Returns, was actor Brandon Routh, who adroitly conjured the spirit of the Reeve Man of Steel while earmarking the character as his own in a blockbuster that should have warranted at least one sequel. On Saturday, June 9, 2018, ye ed had the good fortune of interviewing the talented actor—known to audiences in television and film roles in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Chuck, and as Ray (the Atom) Palmer in Arrow and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, among many other credits— at the Superman Celebration in Metropolis, Illinois, where Brandon headlined as a special guest. While the topic was mainly his role in director Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, no one at the event—including Mr. Routh himself—knew at that time that just over a year later, he would return to the role of the Last Son of Krypton… albeit as the Superman of Earth-96, or the “Kingdom Come” Superman, in the CW’s December 2019 crossover miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths. MICHAEL EURY: I’m Michael Eury, the editor of BACK ISSUE magazine, and it’s my honor to introduce to you today a talented actor with a diverse range of credits—but to this crowd, you’ll appreciate the fact that you’re about to get two, two, two superheroes in one. Brandon Routh, everyone! [applause] BRANDON ROUTH: Thank you, Michael. EURY: This isn’t your first visit to Metropolis. ROUTH: No, I was here in 2011. EURY: You’re a native of the Midwest? ROUTH: Yes, I’m from Norwark, Ohio. [crowd applause] I didn’t grow up on a farm, but a block away from a cornfield, which I ran through a lot as a kid. My town, growing up, was about the size of Metropolis, about 6,000 or 7,000 people. EURY: Did you read comics? ROUTH: I didn’t read comics. I didn’t have friends in that culture. The one I collected was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but it wasn’t the cool Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it was the Archie Comics version. [audience applause] I grew up with football cards, stuff like that. I read a lot of fantasy novels, so my geekdom is in the fantasy world. EURY: That makes you unique as a Superman, because most of the people who have donned the red cape on screen don’t have that background.

Yes, You May Call Me “Chief” Superman Returns star Brandon Routh and BACK ISSUE editor-in-chief Michael Eury, post-interview, Superman Celebration, Metropolis, Illinois, June 9, 2018. Do ya think ye ed could pass for Uncle Michael Kent?

38 • BACK ISSUE • Legacy Issue

ROUTH: Because I was into fantasy novels and film, one movie my sister and I used to rent—endlessly—was Dark Crystal. [applause] If it was her choice it was Labyrinth, and if it was my choice, it was Dark Crystal. So that otherworldly nature was deeply imbedded in me. My love of Superman began with the second film [Superman II, 1980], so I was definitely a fan of Superman, I just didn’t read the comics. Chris [Reeve] was, and is and will always be, my favorite. [audience whoops] EURY: How old were you when you first saw Superman II? ROUTH: Five or six when it came on television, when Superman II came out. I had Superman pajamas, which my mom still has, and a cape, and was jumping around and very excited about seeing the movie for the first time. I was so excited, I gave myself a migraine headache, so I was throwing up throughout the movie! [laughter] It was a very memorable experience. EURY: You’re not one of those kids who put on the cape and tried to fly off the rooftop, were you? ROUTH: No… the couch! [laughter] EURY: [pointing to woman backstage] Is that your mom? The lady who’s smiling so proudly? ROUTH: That’s my mom! [applause] EURY: How did you get started in acting? ROUTH: Professionally, after my freshman year at University of Iowa. I was there as an English major and just kind of thought I might have a shot making money modeling locally in Des Moines, and doing some acting to make some money as a poor college student. That spun into going to New York to meet some managers and agents and I met someone there who wanted to manage me, so I moved to L.A. for three months and dropped out of college—which was challenging, because I loved school. Lived with some family who lived outside of L.A. —a great aunt and uncle, Uncle Dan and Aunt Sue—stayed with them and booked my first small gig and then got the bug! That was 1989. EURY: What was your first role? ROUTH: My first role was in a sitcom called Odd Man Out. I said five words, but it was a live studio audience. Most of my acting experience up to that point had been theater in high school and comedy. I loved hearing the audience feedback and the excitement and energy and thrill. That being my first paid gig after moving to L.A., I was hooked— hook, line, and sinker.

EURY: Being raised in the Midwest, did you find that gave you advantages or disadvantages when adapting to the environments of New York and L.A.? ROUTH: Good and bad. My naiveté served as a positive and negative in certain instances. Not understanding certain social instances was good and bad at the time. But we all work with what we have at the moment and in the end it worked out really well. It certainly helped with Superman. Being from Iowa and having that certain sensibility—helped me to be who I am and gave me an energy that I carried with me. EURY: Since most of these people are wearing a big red “S,” let’s cut right to Superman Returns. Walk us through the casting. ROUTH: Casting was the hardest part for me. I had my first meeting about Superman through a television audition for a completely different project. I had impressed a producer who was a friend of the producer of the movie that was happening at the time. He thought I looked a lot like Superman and should probably meet with him. They got me hooked up with the director at the time, so I sat down and met with McG. I later had a couple of auditions and screen tests along with a couple other candidates. That version of the movie didn’t end up happening for various reasons, and I was crushed watching four months of my life— dreaming about it—and then felt like it was taken away. Then nothing happened for about a month and a half and I went back to my bartending job. Then, out of the blue, Bryan Singer and Mike Dougherty and Dan Harris came up with a script and pitched it to Warner Bros., and Warner Bros. loved it and that whole process started again. I met with them, they did casting auditions, screen tests, and then finally

got the role. From beginning to end, it was about a seven-month process. The whole film took ten months, so it was almost as long! EURY: What about the physical training? ROUTH: Once I got the role, I was in training for about four months before the movie started and all the way through the filming. EURY: What was your workout regimen? ROUTH: The first part was just getting my body ready to train heavily because I had never really trained. I was always in sports, playing soccer growing up, but never really lifted weights. So, my first two months was doing that and getting my diet in line. That was three or four hours a day. Wasn’t much lifting, just stretching and yoga, so I wouldn’t hurt myself when I started lifting. Then, I started lifting and that was a couple of hours a day. EURY: What was the costume made of? Obviously it was different from Chris’ and the insignia was different. ROUTH: I believe it was a combination of Spandex and Lyrca. It was similar to what Chris had—it was a double-layered thing. When it wasn’t on anybody, it was this big [gestures a small size, and audience laughs]. Basically, it was a big rubber band. The cape was bigger than the suit and I don’t remember what it was made of. But we had a hundred different suits. Different suits for different activities and different ways of flying. I had to wear a harness underneath. There were different suits to adjust to different harnesses. EURY: How was it inside the suit? ROUTH: When there was no breeze, it was warm. When the weather was warm, it was warm, and when the weather was cold, it was cold. There was only about a five-degree variance inside and out. It was probably about 68 degrees was comfortable.

The Metropolis Marvel Artist Simone Bianchi illustrated this stunning rendition of Routh as the Man of Steel for Warner Bros.’ advertising campaign for Superman Returns. Courtesy of Heritage Comic Auctions (www.ha.com). TM & © DC Comics/Warner Bros.

Legacy Issue • BACK ISSUE • 39

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If the Marvel Age of Comics commenced with Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961), then its second recurring character is Henry (Hank) Pym, who first appeared in Tales to Astonish #27 (Jan. 1962). Hank invented a shrinking potion by isolating subatomic particles, which were later dubbed “Pym particles.” Testing it, he soon found himself to be “The Man in the Ant Hill.” Apparently, sales were good and so Stan Lee brought Hank back as the shrinking superhero Ant-Man in Tales to Astonish #35 (Sept. 1962). Hank later adopted the alias of Giant-Man (Nov. 1963), then Goliath (May 1966), then Yellowjacket (Dec. 1968), whilst occasionally revisiting his Ant-Man identity.

ANT-MAN’S BACK IN TOWN!

by J a

rrod Buttery

The cover of Marvel Premiere #47 (Apr. 1979) advertises “The Astonishing Ant-Man” but also asks: “Is this the real Ant-Man or an imposter?” Writer David Michelinie explained in BACK ISSUE #71 (Apr. 2014) that he had always had affection for shrinking heroes, and when he realized Ant-Man was not being used by Marvel (because Hank Pym was now Yellowjacket), he jumped at the chance to come up with a new Ant-Man—completely different to Pym. Michelinie kindly speaks with BI once again: “As far as I can recall, Ant-Man hadn’t been around for some time and no one seemed interested in using him. So that gave me pretty much a free rein on re-imagining the character with a brand-new civilian identity, personality, background, and supporting cast. It just seemed like a fun thing to do without a ton of history to bog things down, while still maintaining awareness and respect for that history.” Marvel Premiere #47 opens in medias res with Ant-Man fighting armed goons. The introductory text box heralding the beginning—and possibly end—of a brand-new superhero career, suggesting that this Ant-Man is not Hank Pym. This is reinforced when our hero immediately expresses concern for the life of his daughter. [Hank Pym (at this point in time) has no daughter (that we know of).] After a brief battle, a flashback informs us that this new Ant-Man is electronics genius and ex-burglar Scott Lang. We meet Scott as he is released from prison and reunited with his nine-year-old daughter, Cassie. Scott stays on the straight and narrow, with a job at Stark International, but his world is turned upside-down when Cassie is diagnosed with an inoperable heart condition. Cassie’s only hope lies with heart surgeon Dr. Erica Sondheim. Scott traces Sondheim but finds she is being detained at Cross Technological Enterprises (CTE). Reckoning that he’ll need money to force his way inside, Scott returns to burglary. However, when he breaks in to an upmarket brownstone, he finds the Ant-Man costume and equipment and realizes he’s in Hank Pym’s house! Scott “borrows” the costume, figuring he can now sneak into CTE. Doing so, Scott discovers that Dr. Sondheim is held captive by the enormously muscled Darren Cross—CEO of CTE. Himself suffering a heart problem some months ago, Cross underwent insertion of an experimental nucle-organic pacemaker. The device boosted his heartrate, but also his metabolism and musculature—so much so that he now needs regular heart transplants (from unwilling donors) to

Big Shot Scott Lang, as the new Ant-Man, in his first starring role, Marvel Premiere #47 (Apr. 1979). Cover art by Bob Layton. TM & © Marvel.

Legacy Issue • BACK ISSUE • 45

Identity Theft (top left) Splash page to Marvel Premiere #47. By Micheline/Byrne/ Layton. (top right) Later in the story, Scott Lang makes an important discovery. Special thanks to Jarrod Buttery for these scans. (inset) Martin Pasko (R.I.P., Marty) and Ant-Man writer David Michelinie at a DC Comicssponsored party, early 1980s. Photo by and courtesy of Bob Rozakis. TM & © Marvel.

replace each worn-out heart. Continuing into Marvel Premiere #48 (June 1979), our debuting protagonist must outwit Cross and rescue Sondheim, so that Sondheim can save Cassie’s life! Hank Pym observes most of the action from a distance and urges Scott to keep the costume, declaring, “The world can always use another hero!” Previously, in BI #71, Michelinie stated that he came up with the idea of a reformed criminal for the new Ant-Man. Elaborating, Michelinie explains, “Yes, I came up with Scott’s backstory and personality myself. The only—and unintentional—input I received came from a lunchtime conversation between artist Bob Layton and myself. We were eating at a boisterous college-town restaurant with loud music and talk all around. I had finished telling Bob my ideas for the new Ant-Man and he wasn’t impressed. He thought the concept of a villain having a daily heart transplant, even with super-science involved, wasn’t believable. So, to lighten the mood, I joked that I was going to name the new civilian character ‘Scott Land,’ a pun on ‘Scotland.’ With all the noise Bob thought I had said ‘Scott Lang’ and offered that it was good idea since there was another

46 • BACK ISSUE • Legacy Issue

Marvel character named ‘Lang’ and maybe I could tie in with that somehow. So, being no fool, I said, ‘Uhhh, yeah! That’s exactly what I had in mind!’ And the name stuck.” [Layton may have been referring to Steven Lang, who revived the Sentinels in Uncanny X-Men #98 (Apr. 1976), and who later merged his consciousness with the Master Mold in Incredible Hulk Annual #7 (Dec. 1978)—an issue which Layton inked.] Regardless of the subtle name change, Scott is a Michelinie creation: “Scott Lang’s origin is simple: I originated and developed the character on my own, with no collaboration and no outside input other than editorial thumbs-up or thumbs-down. I don’t know how I can state it any simpler than that.” Michelinie confirms that his idea was pitched to editor Roger Stern, who assigned John Byrne to pencils and Bob Layton to inks. Stern recalls, “When Marvel Premiere was added to my editorial duties, I started looking around for new material. (I’d inherited a couple of projects already in the works. I believe that the Jack of Hearts story had been commissioned by Archie Goodwin. And the Man-Wolf two-parter had originally been plotted

by Dave Kraft for the old Creatures on the Loose title.) That said, I don’t remember much about Dave’s pitch, other than that it sounded good. Dave was writing both Avengers and Iron Man for me at the time, and I kind of liked the idea of a new Ant-Man based on Henry Pym’s tech. “Around the same time, as I recall, John Byrne had been talking about wanting to draw an Ant-Man story, so having him break down the story seemed like a good idea. I thought it came out well. I don’t remember what the sales were on those two issues, but they apparently weren’t great enough to warrant a new Ant-Man series. Still, Dave had a great new hero to use as a supporting character in Iron Man… and elsewhere. And four decades later, he got his own movie. Who’d have thunk it?” Michelinie was indeed writing Avengers at the time and—strictly speaking—Scott Lang’s first appearance (by one month) was in Avengers #181 (Mar. 1979) as a Stark International technician at Avengers Mansion. Was this an intentional “sneak peek” of our new hero? “I’m pretty sure that was just a quirk of the publishing process,” opines Michelinie. “Avengers was a monthly ongoing title and, as such, was plotted and written with significant lead time. Whereas Premiere was an anthology series of one- and two-part stories that were inserted into the printing schedule as they were completed. So the slot for the two-part Scott Lang origin story just happened to be scheduled after that Avengers cameo had already come out.” As discussed, Marvel Premiere also introduced the suave but amoral corporate villain, Darren Cross—one month after the introduction of Justin Hammer in Iron Man #120 (Mar. 1979). Did the two scoundrels inspire each other? “Nope, two different situations,” confirms Michelinie. “Cross created by me, Hammer co-created by Bob and I. Publishing order was decided by the available slot for the Premiere stories. And as far as me favoring ‘suave but amoral corporate villains,’ well... that phrase is redundant in so many ways and opens so many plot possibilities!” Besides Scott and Cross, Marvel Premiere also introduced one of the most delightful Marvel characters of the ’70s (and beyond): Cassie Lang. Interviewed on the Adventures in Poor Taste website (July 6, 2018), Layton described how—as a divorced parent with a daughter—he identified with Scott and Cassie. Michelinie clarifies the subject: “Just because Bob and I were co-plotting Iron Man at the time, many people assume that all other projects with both our names on them followed the same procedure. Not so. Cassie was my creation—and inspiration—alone. I loved the idea of a kid whose father was a superhero, but she couldn’t tell anyone. (Playground scene—bully: ‘Your dad’s just a techno-nerd! Mine could beat him with one hand tied behind his back!’ Cassie: ‘Oh, yeah? Well, my dad is… um… er… oh, yeah?’) Bob was estranged from his wife and daughter at the time, so that may have given him a bit of empathy for Cassie, but he had nothing to do with actually creating or developing the character.” It’s difficult to overestimate the importance of Scott’s twopart Marvel Premiere debut. His characterization is established immediately and stands solid for the next decade. In a medium where it’s sometimes difficult to establish individual voices, Scott is instantly identified by his electronics know-how, his love for his daughter, and his frequent references to movies and TV shows. In these first two issues, he mentions Steve Martin, Raquel Welch, and King Kong. The first time he shrinks to the size of an ant, he asks himself, “Where’s James Whitmore when you really need him?” (James Whitmore starred in the 1954 movie Them! featuring giant ants.) Scott also names his favorite ants Emma and Steed, after the British TV show The Avengers. Michelinie was asked if this characterization mirrored his own: “I’ve always loved movies, TV, and any other storytelling medium. And at the time, one thing that set Marvel apart from DC was that Marvel stories took place in the real world: people drank Coke, not Soder; they ate at Burger King, not Big Belly Burger; they lived in New York or Chicago, not Metropolis or Gotham City. So it seemed a good fit to make one of Scott’s character traits references to pop culture and mass media. It also added to the fun of writing.”

And in writing both Iron Man and Avengers, Michelinie had several opportunities to feature the all-new Ant-Man. Almost immediately, Scott makes a guest-appearance in Iron Man #125 (Aug. 1979), infiltrating Ryker’s Island prison to extract information from the villainous Whiplash. But Scott’s biggest impact on the Marvel Universe (so far) occurred a few issues later. After Tony Stark channels all his power into one punch to knock out the Hulk, he fuses his Iron Man armor. Fortunately, Tony has a shrinking superhero on staff! In Iron Man #133 (Apr. 1980), Scott—respectfully—makes his way inside Tony’s armor to free his boss. Scott’s expertise proves invaluable in this electronic version of Fantastic Voyage.

THE TERRIBLE TOLL OF THE TASKMASTER

Michelinie next used Scott in Avengers #195 (May 1980). Therein, the team investigates a shady (not in a good way) sanatorium. The Wasp may be captive inside, and so Hank Pym (as Yellowjacket) asks Scott’s help to investigate. Scott mentions Clint Eastwood in The Eiger Sanction and, in a cheeky exchange, Hank asks, “How come you’re always making references to movies and TV shows?” Scott replies, “Guess I’m just a dyed-in-the-wool video freak, Hank. I mean, everyone’s gotta have a hobby, right? Like I’ve got the media… and you’ve got the Wasp!” Hank and Scott soon discover that the Solomon Institute for the Criminally Insane is actually a training academy for the endless goons and lackeys employed by supervillains. On the final page of the issue, we’re introduced to the master of the academy: the Taskmaster.

Growing Pains A hot-headed Wonder Man disapproves of Scott Lang’s presence as the future Ant-Man is introduced to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Avengers #181 (Mar. 1979). By Michelinie, Byrne, and Gene Day. TM & © Marvel.

Legacy Issue • BACK ISSUE • 47

It is an unwritten rule that superheroes exist in a perpetual state of the here and now. They seldom reflect specific events that would tie them down to any one era in time. These characters do not age and continue on in apparent defiance of the passage of time. A legacy is something that is passed down to a person by a predecessor. For our purposes, that is a role—a costumed identity. How can a legacy be established if these heroes do not grow older? For some characters, they age gradually. This is how it is handled by Marvel Comics. Peter Parker spent 20 years in college by our standards, and if Franklin Richards followed our calendar, he would be in his mid-50s today. For DC fans, this is handled by resetting the clock through various Crisis-level events. This way, Batman and his peers can stay a never-ending 30-ish, remaining fresh for battle for generations to come. So, then, how can they have any type of a legacy? Was this not part of the explanation for the adoption of sidekicks, that someday they would grow up and assume their mentors’ jobs? Alas, the answer is no, as the Teen Titans can grow into the Titans, but never into the Justice League. On the other hand, if one ignores the strictures imposed by Crisis on Infinite Earths, the beauty of a superhero legacy becomes apparent in the concepts created by Gardner Fox and Julius Schwartz in the story “Flash of Two Worlds” (Flash #123, 1961). In their desire to team up the Flashes of two clearly different realities, they opened the door to the multiple-Earth concept and a format where superheroes grew older. With the invention of Earth-Two, the Justice Society of America returned to continuity. As they were not part of the mainstream universe of Earth-One, possibilities for them emerged that could never be duplicated in the series of the “contemporary” heroes. Characters from Earth-Two could not only age, but face other forbidden problems, including death. At last there existed the possibility of a true heroic legacy, which began with the introduction of Power Girl.

A NEW GENERATION EVOLVES

In 1976, Gerry Conway revived All-Star Comics and the Justice Society. As the average JSAer was in his 50s, Conway needed a few younger characters on the team to attract younger readers, which led to the addition of Robin, Star Spangled Kid, and Power Girl (see BACK ISSUE #33 and 71 for more details). What is important here is that Power Girl was loosely connected to Superman. She was a modified version of Supergirl with no intention of assuming Superman’s role in the world (as proven by the lack of the S-shield on her costume). The idea of inheriting an older hero’s role emerged a few years later from Paul Levitz and Joe Staton (with a nudge from Bob Layton) with the appearance of the Huntress. This story was told in BACK ISSUE #38, but what needs to be acknowledged here is the unique nature of her conception. Huntress was Helena Wayne, daughter of Bruce (Batman) Wayne and Selina (Catwoman) Kyle. This was not an imaginary story like the tales of Batman II and Robin II recited by Alfred in the Silver Age—Batman and Catwoman had really wed and had a daughter. Also, as part of Huntress’ origin, Catwoman dies and Batman retires! Sacrilege? No, pure genius. Batman is still active, single, and childless on Earth-One, but anything can happen on Earth-Two, as Levitz proved shortly thereafter when Bruce (Batman) Wayne was murdered! Now, we have a true tale of legacy, with Huntress carrying on as Gotham’s guardian for several years in the second feature in Wonder Woman. The next stage in the JSA’s legacy arrived in Wonder Woman #300 (publication date February 1983). In a story designed to both celebrate Wonder Woman’s history and build a new direction for the character,

We’re the Young Generation Meet Infinity, Inc., on this spectacular Jerry Ordway cover for All-Star Squadron #25 (Sept. 1983). TM & © DC Comics.

52 • BACK ISSUE • Legacy Issue

by J o h n

Schwirian

Roy and Dann Thomas introduced Lyta Trevor, the daughter of Earth-Two’s Diana Prince and Steve Trevor. Lyta is a teenager, training with her mother, but no indication of a superhero identity or even a hint of another appearance is given here. Thomas may have had no intention to develop the idea further at that time, but neither did he forget about it. About the time that Wonder Woman #300 was at the printers, Roy and Dann Thomas were visiting New York City with the intention of proposing a new series called Time Titans to DC. “It had to do with mixing some DC heroes from various eras,” Thomas recalls, “like maybe the Viking Prince and different characters like that. Maybe a cowboy character plus a couple of new characters—a different kind of group that went through time and so forth.” Before their meeting with DC, husband and wife did some sightseeing, including a trip to the Statue of Liberty. After the tour, as they waited for the ferry ride back to the city, they tossed about several story ideas. Roy Thomas explains, “we started talking about the idea of the sons and daughters [of the JSA]. It might have been because we had already done Wonder Woman #300 where we roy thomas introduced the daughter of Wonder Woman, so maybe our minds were © Luigi Novi / on this because of that.” Just the Wikimedia Commons. skeleton of a pitch was developed on Liberty Island, but it was enough to get the go-ahead from executive editor Dick Giordano the next day. The Thomases proceeded to put together a formal proposal that is reprinted in Alter Ego vol. 3 #44. The core concept was to take the idea of the aging JSAers and continue the process started by Power Girl and Huntress, creating a new venue to showcase the modern characters of Earth-Two. The series would start with a ten or 12-issue origin saga with a big cast. By tale’s end, some of the heirs would leave, get killed, or turn evil (or a villain turn good), with the remaining cast finalizing the membership. As stated in the proposal: “The whole idea is to get a ‘new generation’ of heroes to take over from the old.” In addition to Power Girl and Huntress, the initial lineup was to include: Nuklon, the adopted son of Al (Atom) Pratt; Harlequin and Jade/Jayd, the twin children of Alan (Green Lantern) Scott and Molly (Harlequin) Mayne; Fury, daughter of Diana (Wonder Woman) Prince and Steve Trevor; Bobcat, Ted (Wildcat) Grant’s daughter; Blue Dolphin, Aquaman’s daughter; Shockwave, heir of Johnny Thunder; Silver Streak, a speedster; and

World’s Finest Legacy (top) Earth-Two characters Power Girl (Superman’s cousin) and the Huntress (Batman and Catwoman’s daughter) paved the way for the Infinitors. Power Girl illo by Joe Staton and Joe Orlando, Huntress by Staton and Bob Layton. (bottom) Roy Thomas introduces Lyta Trevor, in Wonder Woman #300 (Feb. 1983). Art by Ross Andru and Dick Giordano. TM & © DC Comics.

Legacy Issue • BACK ISSUE • 53

RetroFan:

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Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. By special arrangement with the Jerry Siegel family. by C h r i s t o p h e r

Larochelle

A mysterious alien was launched to Earth from the far reaches of space. Upon arriving in Metropolis, Superman alone was left to fight this creature called Doomsday. The fight was fierce, and the outcome? Both Superman and Doomsday were dead. So… what happened next? The follow-up to DC Comics’ 1992–1993 “Death of Superman” storyline was decided on when the creative teams of DC’s various Superman titles put their heads together under the editorial guidance of group editor Mike Carlin. Called “Reign of the Supermen,” the storyline wove through Action Comics (written by Roger Stern and penciled by Jackson “Butch” Guice), Superman (written and penciled by Dan Jurgens), Superman: The Man of Steel (written by Louise “Weezie” Simonson and penciled by Jon Bogdanove), and The Adventures of Superman (penciled by Tom Grummett, and the title that featured the only creative “change of guard” from the “Death” storyline as Jerry Ordway exited as writer with issue #500 while Karl Kesel stepped in). Each title featured a new character assuming the lead role in the series. Things quickly changed from a “world without a Superman” to four different Supermen roaming around Metropolis, as the Kryptonian took the stage in Action Comics, Steel proved an appropriate fit for Man of Steel, Superboy starred in Adventures, and the Cyborg was the focus of Superman. The “Death of Superman” issues sold incredibly well and succeeded in getting Superman a renewal of attention both with comics collectors and the general public. TV stations covered crowds that were lining up to buy copies of Superman #75, in which the titular hero collapses in front of the Daily Planet building. “There was a lot riding on the sequels,” recalls Louise Simonson. “Because the ‘Death of Superman’ had been so successful, we all felt a duty not to let our readers down, and to make the stories as good and as interesting as possible. We all wanted to create a really good story that paid off on the death.” Referring to the famous “Super Summits” that Mike Carlin used to keep four titles focusing on a single hero in sync with each other, Dan Jurgens reports that “each team or writer would start to come up with different ideas for what we wanted to do, and when we had made the decision to kill Superman, we did not know how we were going to bring him back. When we were going to bring him back, we had a vague idea that it would involve issue #500 of Adventures. As the ‘Death of Superman’ turned into a bigger and bigger thing, we knew that we needed a

Four Who Follow Limited edition Reign of the Supermen print (#165/500) illustrated and signed by Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding, produced in 1997 and sold exclusively through Warner Bros. Studio Stores (gone but not forgotten!). Scan courtesy of Heritage Comic Auctions (www.ha.com). TM & © DC Comics.

Legacy Issue • BACK ISSUE • 63

Summit of Solitude (top) The fateful Superman #75. (middle) Superman group editor Mike Carlin, circa early 1990s, at a Superman Summit, where creators gathered to chart storylines for the interlocking Superman titles. Courtesy of Mike Carlin/ Facebook. (bottom) A young Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s 1933 sci-fi zine collaboration featuring a character that would evolve into the Man of Steel. Courtesy of Heritage. Superman TM & © DC Comics. Reign of the Super-Man © Siegel and Shuster estates.

64 • BACK ISSUE • Legacy Issue

really good solution. We would all send in some ideas and nothing was really clicking. Everyone brought in some pieces of ideas that sounded good, but we couldn’t put it together. It was Weezie who said, ‘It’s just too bad we couldn’t all do our own thing. Too bad we couldn’t do all four ideas.’ We started talking about that a little bit… and all of a sudden, it started to come together! It started with this idea of not having the perfect solution to bring back Superman that ultimately ended up, by taking those four different routes, being the perfect solution.” Editor Mike Carlin knew that it was important to keep the momentum going after the massive success of the “Death of Superman.” Speaking to Jermaine Mclaughlin with syfy.com in an article titled An Oral History of the Original Death and Return of Superman, 25 Years Later (published August 10, 2018), Carlin said, “We did have an ‘Emergency Super Summit’ when we saw just how huge the sales figures were going to be [for Superman #75]… and we knew we couldn’t just have Superman sit up in his coffin in Adventures #500 and say ‘I’m baaaaaaack!’ This meeting was away from the office in a hotel in Tarrytown, New York, where we plotted ‘Reign of the Supermen.’” In order to work, the “Death of Superman” storyline required all four books to sync up perfectly with each other, telling a single story in lockstep, serialized on a weekly basis. The idea with “Reign” was that a very different approach would be taken for a few months, with each book able to have its own identity, as each featured a completely different character taking over as protagonist. “For a little while, the teams would all get to kind of do their own thing after years of forced collaboration—at least for a few months,” said Carlin. “Louise and Jon did their ‘everyman as Superman.’ Roger and Jackson explored the Kryptonian side of Superman. Karl and Tom got to do the adventures of Superman when he was a boy. And Dan got to do the allpowerful superhero who needed no civilian life. The storyline would run under the banner ‘Reign of the Supermen,’ which itself was an homage to the original short story by Siegel and Schuster entitled ‘Reign of the Super-man,’ the pair’s first published work with a character named Superman, predating the debut of the caped version in Action Comics #1 by about five years.” In order to preserve the fallout of the “Death of Superman” while ramping up the excitement for “Return,” there were a few business-related items that needed some attention. Again speaking with syfy.com in 2018, Mike Carlin reported that “we called [DC executive] Paul Levitz and the marketing guys to tell them our grand scheme: four titles all published the same day spotlighting a NEW Superman who might be the real deal… or not. They loved the idea, but with the solicitation cycle we would be telling people Superman was returning before they actually bought Superman #75! So everyone decided we would stop publishing Superman comics for three months, which was unheard of since 1938!! I was relieved that would give us three extra months to get those first four issues done… and then I wasn’t relieved because I had to publish SOME kind of Super-stuff in those three months. We did stuff like a Lex Luthor/Supergirl miniseries, and an actual issue of Newstime Magazine (the DC Universe’s version of Time Magazine). This marketing maneuver really was smart—it preserved our story’s surprises and added to the illusion that Superman was really gone forever!” It was decided, then… four titles, four Supermen.

Adventures of Superman #500 (early June 1993) gave each creative team a chance to introduce the new “Superman” that would be starring in each of the series. Four pages was all that the creative teams got, and the entry from the Action Comics team of writer Roger Stern and penciler Jackson Guice quickly establishes that the Kryptonian is a person to be feared. “Basically, I wanted to show the readers just how frightening and ruthless a cold-hearted Superman could be—and to demonstrate how wrong that sort of thing is for our hero,” says Stern. “The Kryptonian was, in part, a response to the whole grim-and-gritty thing that was going on in the ’90s.” In a four-page introduction, the Kryptonian launches a powerful energy blast at a criminal while declaring: “I shall use the power that is mine as Krypton’s son to bring justice to this Earth. And all who sin shall know the vengeance of Superman!” The mystery surrounding the Kyrptonian’s origins was essential for as long as DC’s publicity team pumped up the upcoming storyline. As the story unfolded, Action Comics’ protagonist was revealed to be a new form of the Eradicator, a piece of Kryptonian technology and an idea that had been present in the comics for years but was just waiting for the right moment to return. As Roger Stern recalls, “We wanted the readers to wonder which one of the four replacements—if any of them—was the real Superman. We didn’t tip our hand that the Superman appearing in Action Comics was the Eradicator. If any roger stern of the stories referred to him in Alexander Fuld Frazier. any way other than as Superman, it was to call him the Kryptonian. “The creation of the Eradicator was a group effort,” says Stern. “Way back in 1987, Jerry Ordway, George Pérez, Mike Carlin, and I came up with the Eradicator for the big story in Action Comics Annual #2, as part of the wrap-up of the “Superman in Exile” storyline. I later utilized the Eradicator in 1990 for Action Comics #651–652. Of course, in all of those stories, the Eradicator was a device, an old Kryptonian relic with a kind of artificial intelligence. The Eradicator didn’t take on humanoid form until the storyline that launched Superman: The Man of Steel #1 in 1991. That story ran through Superman #57 and Adventures of Superman #480, before wrapping up in Action Comics #667 with the Eradicator being dispersed within the Fortress of Solitude.” As planning began for the “Reign of the Supermen,” Stern mentions, “I remembered how the Eradicator had been sidelined in Action #667 (July 1991). And I realized that I could bring him back as my contribution to the four replacement Supermen. The Eradicator had always represented the cold, Kryptonian side of Superman’s heritage, so I thought that would make for a very different take on Superman. And I figured that if I constructed the story carefully enough, the readers wouldn’t realize who he really was until the ultimate big reveal.” In Action Comics #687 (June 1993, above), readers got to see the return of the Eradicator in its humanoid form. After learning of the recent events of the battle between Superman and Doomsday, the shocked Kryptonian construct visits the grave of the city’s most famous hero and considers it a duty to continue the work that Kal-El started. The Eradicator takes elements of Superman’s

THE KRYPTONIAN

costume and, after returning to the Fortress of Solitude, declares: “I want the cape and shield!.. I cannot rest while the world is in such a desperate state. The people cry out for me… for Superman! I must be their champion once more! I am needed in Metropolis!” It is evident from the Kryptonian’s speech that everything is black and white… there is a directive and it will be followed, and there will be no option to argue with Metropolis’ newest self-appointed protector. Later in Action #687, Lois Lane gets to meet the Kryptonian. The interaction leaves Lois saddened and very, very confused. “He looks like Clark, but he sounds so… so hollow,” Lois thinks to herself. The Kryptonian seems to know it all: “I know… that we were more than friends. You were engaged to marry Clark Kent. Kent… loved you very much. He trusted you completely… even with the secret of his double life.” For Lois, this seems to be confirmation enough that this really is a radically changed Clark Kent in front of her. The Kryptonian denies, however: “…things have changed. I have changed. Legacy Issue • BACK ISSUE • 65