If I’m not mistaken, in season 3, the Legends rewrote history so that Mari grew up in Zambesi, so she and Kuasa share the totem and use it to protect the village. That’s to say, every one of her appearances has been retconned out of existence, and considering she’s out of the country and presumably known only to the Legends now, she’s gonna be tough to bring back into the fold without Crisis itself causing yet another retcon. Amaya is the only Vixen we can really assume anyone outside the Waverider is familiar with, especially since Zambesi is still included on Cisco’s post-Crisis world map. Our best bet at seeing her again is either the Flash with a Gorilla City story, or Batwoman if they start to dig into Tinasha (home of original Batwing David Zavimbe and Jada Jet namesake Jezebel Jet).
Oh, and this isn’t the first inkling of an Arrowverse Swamp Thing! The first is courtesy of the original Constantine series, namely a phone message you could hear if you called John’s number. He’d mention that “if you’re looking for Alec Holland, try the swamp.” Later in Legends season 4, the gang deals with a swamp monster in Maine. John says, “Well, I happen to know a swamp thing. But then again, Maine is way too far north for that muppet.” Batwoman’s nod confirms that he’s known in Gotham and by name - as is Aquaman and (at least pre-Crisis) Wonder Woman. Considering that Batman was just an urban legend outside Gotham until Batwoman started playing nice with others, it sounds like Bruce has had some pretty notable adventures off-screen - or at least, that Gotham City is just as interesting a place as ever!
You are so right about the Constantine/Swamp Thing comments. At the time, I remember smiling at, as a wink-wink, nod-nod to continuity, and then forgot about it. I’m glad you didn’t. Thanks for the recap, and the update on Mari.
Here’s a question: What was the last official story before the New 52 began, counting anthologies, specials, one-shots, etc.?
Justice League #1, the offical start of The New 52, was published on August 31st, 2011. Only one other canonical comic came out that week: Flashpoint #5, which led directly into The New 52. Whether you’d like to count that or not is up to you.
But going a week earlier, here are all the non-Flashpoint, in-continuity stories which dropped on August 24th, 2011, the week before the conclusion of Flashpoint and the start of Justice League:
- Action Comics #904
- Batman, Incorporated #8
- Batman: Gates of Gotham #5
- Batman: The Dark Knight #5
- Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search for Swamp Thing #3
- Gotham City Sirens #26
- Green Arrow #15
- Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #13
- Justice Society of America #54
- Teen Titans #100
- Wonder Woman #614
As you’ll see, many of these are the conclusions to storylines which had been proceeding for a while in their prospective titles. Some had the time they need, most were rushed. Others still had concluded their central stories a few issues prior, and were simply waiting out the New 52 conversion with some light fill-ins, often by different creative teams. It was not the smoothest of transitions, and this week’s release of issues tells the story of a universe asked to come to a sudden halt.
Thank you.
On part 3 of the CW Flash “Armageddon” story-line, Barry is raving about losing everything, including his mind! He mentions the “Injustice Protocols” to Black Lightning. Something their new team appears to have established, should any of them ever go rouge. It would be interesting to see what their charter actually says. Since the only time that’s ever come up (as far as I know) in the comics, dealt with the ones Batman created, that got 'jacked in “Tower of Babel.” My query being, has the League ever created their own contingency plans, for a future Justice Lords scenario? After that fiasco with Ra’s al Ghul, they must have, right?
On a side note, have you ever wondered how the individual writers for JLA characters would extricate their charges from Batman’s take down scenarios? I mean, that is what they get paid for isn’t it? Placing them in peril, and then finding some creative way out? Batman’s rightfully called one of the world’s greatest escape artists (after Mr. Miracle). But honestly, don’t other DC heroes pretty much do the same thing, all the time? Just a thought.
Stay safe, be well.
Hello @HubCityQuestion, I’m back, (blew my chance for Red Hood Badge).
Recently I’ve been playing alot of Lego Batman Videogames series, my question is Did Lego Batman ever had his own comic series? Just wondering. Thankyou.
Glad to see you back Reagan!
Great question! And welcome back! There have been some early reader LEGO DC picture books, but I wasn’t able to find any official LEGO Batman comics. However, in November of 2014, nearly every comic published by DC shipped with an alternate LEGO cover. Here are the Batman-related selections from that period:
Batgirl #36
Batman #36
Batman & Robin #36
Batman/Superman #16
Catwoman #36
Detective Comics #36
Grayson #4
Harley Quinn #12
Justice League #36
There might not have been an official LEGO Batman comic, but I know for a fact that LEGO Magazine has run quite a few LEGO Batman comics in its own pages over the years! They’re rarely if ever anything to write home about, but occasionally they’ll feature some characters never-before-seen in LEGO form, leading the LEGO fandom get their hopes up for a couple of days 
I saw some of those, but was unable to verify if they were fan creations or from LEGO themselves. Appreciate the clarification.
What was the first appearance of The Spectre’s real name Aztar, and what was the first appearance of Darkseid’s real name Uxas?
As coincidence would have it, both incidents happen to occur in 1997.
The Spectre’s true name is first revealed while Jim Corrigan explores The Spectre’s own memories in John Ostrander’s THE SPECTRE #60, when the angel Michael calls him “Aztar” before assigning him the role of God’s wrath.
As for Darkseid, his given name as Uxas first appears in a backup story shedding some light on the New God’s youth for JACK KIRBY’S FOURTH WORLD #2, as written and drawn by John Byrne.
Thank you as always, HCQ!
Welcome back @Reaganfan78. Better luck next time on the badge
DC’s various futures have been a lot of fun to watch play out, over the last 60+ years. Possibly the only characters with as much convoluted histories as Hawkman, were the Atomic Knights and Kamandi. At one time, the Knights, Kamandi and a future version of Hercules all occupied the same post world as the Great Disaster, as I recall. Real time however, caught up to everyone. The Knights underwent serious changes, being integrated into the present, in creative ways. Kirby himself injected Superman’s costume into his version of Planet of the Apes, with “the Legend” in issue #29 (vol 1) of that title.
The real deal would meet the Last Boy on Earth later on. In the “Haney Universe,” Batman too would encounter the teen hero a few times as well. Now I see a future version of Rose Forrest is entering Kamandi’s world. The same Forrest who plays a part in the future world of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Yes sir, things are certainly not dull in these alternate futures.
All of which makes me wonder if anybody else remembers Leonard Cohen, the Batman of 2050? You know, the one who helps out Jonah Hex, when he’s trapped on that apocalyptic future Earth for a time. Before “mysteriously” finding his way back to the past again. Was that storyline ever tied into the Great Disaster? Or just left hanging, when the Hex title was cancelled? And might Rose & the Thorn one day have a part to play there, as well? Just curious, as always.
Stay safe, be well.
Other concerns almost made me forget what today is. December 7th, "a day which will live in infamy." A time when America was seen by many, as being as divided as it is today. Just prior to the bombing of our naval base at Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. Hitler made the mistake of believing our lack of unity (and attention to matters off our west coast), made us ripe for Nazi expansion. Clearly, both he and Hirohito, were wrong! Americans came together like never before to fend off external forces intending to destroy us.
All of which gave birth to “America’s Greatest Generation” on the battlefields. A home-front of “Rosie the Riveters” helped supply that force, all they needed to win that war. As an episode of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow showed so well, recently. America produced it’s fair share of war comics to boost morale back then, despite the paper shortage. Some of those enlisted military men came home, to take jobs producing those comics. Often relying on their own experiences. DC’s barracks of war heroes continued for many years because of those creative efforts.
Yet each year, the numbers of WW2 survivors grows smaller. The chance to praise them, and their part in a vast tapestry of heroic efforts to keep this world both safe and free, likewise diminishes. And so, to those men and women across this nation and the world, who helped save the freedoms that some of us abuse terribly these days, I salute you!
Stay safe, be well.
Well said.
I’ve discovered that a monkey named Beppo appeared in a 1946 Mary Marvel story, definitely predating Beppo the Super Monkey. Was Beppo a common name for monkeys or side characters in the forties?
This is a pretty fascinating coincidence, actually, which I can explain thusly:
In the 1800s, Italian immigrants to America were facing extreme prejudice and persecution, denying them access to most jobs. So, like many people in the great port town of New York City with no other employment options, many immigrants were forced to make money through panhandling. But because city residents are trained through prolonged exposure to ignore the poor and the homeless, one has to present a gimmick in order to draw attention. One of the most reliable ways to accomplish this was street performance. But for those without musical talent, the automatic “organ grinder” was a simple way to eke out a tune. An animal companion was also a reliable way to get the attention of passers-by — and in 19th century New York, rentals for a grinding organ and a monkey were both relatively cheap, and close by to the Italian immigrant ghetto, and so the two became quickly associated as a double act. By 1880, it was estimated that 1 in 20 Italian American men were working the streets as an organ grinder, until the practice was outlawed in New York in the mid-1930s. And so, many of the Golden Age comic writers, all likewise based in New York City would have memories of this practice.
Why “Beppo,” though? In Italian culture, “Beppo” is a diminutive nickname for “Giuseppe,” the Italian version of “Joseph.” So it’s just as common a name in Italy as calling someone “Joe.”