[Characters of DC] Spies Like Us [January 2021]

Hello members of the Characters of DC Club and welcome to our first session of 2021. This month we will be taking a look at the spies and spy organizations of the DCU. Everyone likes a good spy thriller am I right? The DCU has a lot of spies, spy agencies and organizations that deal in covert ops. We looked at one a few months ago: Task Force X otherwise known as Suicide Squad but this month we will be looking at some individual characters and some of the other organizations in the DCU.

Organizations/Titles

Spies

ISSUES FOR THIS SESSION

You are also free to read any of the books linked earlier if you want.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Will be posted weekly so be on the lookout for them throughout the month. The first set will be posted on January 3rd.

To Join CHARACTERS OF DC hit the link. :grin:

And that’s all for January. Next month we will be taking a look at Characters of Color and their development over time in the DCU.

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With things a little topsy turvy because of the changeover from DCU to DCUI and the recent update to the forums please feel free to let me know if the links to comic issues here are not working correctly for you.

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Silencer link isn’t working, but grabbed those since I’ve read and enjoyed all three of the others. If I had to recommend only one it would be very tough. Grayson to me is a great series, the one time they had Dick Grayson not be Nightwing that actually really worked. But, I also loved Frankenstein.

That’s odd. All of the links work just fine on my phone, which has gone through the recent update but when I click those very same links on my Kindle, which has not, I get redirected to the Help Center. Of the four books linked above only one still says DC Universe in the link, the rest say DC Infinite.

Guess I have a problem to report???

Same here on IPad

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I can never get the links to work on my iPad, even before the change. But they work on my phone no problem. :woman_shrugging:t3:

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Okay I think I fixed the problem. The Silencer link should be working now @msgtv and @AlexCarr if you want to check and see if they work on your IPad now that would great.

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All four work and those are all great comic books

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I like all four of them myself.

Grayson was and is probably my favorite take on the character. Dick Grayson may be Nightwing for a lot of fans but I sometimes feel like the character has lost his way getting there and that writers have lost touch with what makes him who he is. This book brought that back by reminding readers of the joy Dick has always taken in being a hero and saving others and touching on his history. My favorite issue is issue # 5 " We All Die at Dawn" which is a homage to my favorite Batman issue “Robin Dies at Dawn” (Batman # 156) I was sad when it ended even though I knew it wasn’t a permanent thing. I would not have minded if it had been though or if they had used this as a springboard to having him head up the spy corner of the DCU as the new head of Spyral.

The Silencer though is may favorite of this lot. I’m a sucker for agents who “get” out only to be dragged back “in”. and I really liked Honor and her supporting characters.

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Read issue 1 of Silenceer tonight and was very impressed. We know just enough to understand the world she comes from and what she’s about to lose but not the how, what and why.

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All of that was what dragged me into the story and what kept me.reading.

Danger Trail, which I mentioned above as being where King Faraday first appeared, is pretty good too.

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Bookmarked, hope you don’t mind if a non-member visits this month.

I really like it when DC Comics breaks outside the superhero in pajamas mold and gets into other interesting areas that are still have a nice sci-fi flavor.

I just read the Silencer in the now paused / closed DC Universe Book Club, so I may still have comments but won’t actually be reading it that week.

I’m a big fan of all the forms of Checkmate and Frankenstein.

We won’t be reading it this time around I see, but the New 52 version of Stormwatch led by Martian Manhunter was really good reading.

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Not at all @Don-El. Visitors are welcome to join in whenever they want. :sunglasses:

I also really like it when DC Comics does something outside of the superhero comics that is their norm. Oftentimes those types of books are the ones I enjoy the most and this list is an example of that.

I thought about doing the N52 Stormwatch book here but I do have future plans for it later in the year so that’s why I didn’t. :+1: It is a good book though.

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Two issues into Silencer and already trying to figure out how to fit this into my larger reading schedule

You definitely should add it into your schedule somewhere. It’s a good read.

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CHECKMATE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. How familiar were you with Checkmate before reading these issues? Did you find the set up of the organization interesting?

  2. Which story was your favorite of the ones presented here?

  3. Which character was the most interesting to you of the ones seen in these issues?

  4. What did you do think of Bullock’s involvement with Checkmate? What about Amanda Waller’s?

  5. Gary Washington (Knight 1) and Harry Stein (King) were old partners in the NYPD. Do you think that makes them a good team or do you think being old friends is a danger in this line of work?

  6. A new story brings a new Knight to the scene. What did you think of “One Knight in Venice” and the Knight of the story?

Next week’s discussion questions will cover Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. and will be posted on Jan. 10th.

I have a bone to pick with you on The Silencer! You assigned four issues, but I feel totally misled and bamboozled. No way I could stop after four. This is really good. Look forward the the question prompts.

I really liked The Silencer @msgtv. It’s still a favorite of mine actually.

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FRANKENSTEIN:AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF S.H.A.D.E 'S HQ? WHAT WAS IT’S MOST INTERESTING FEATURE AND WOULD YOU WANT TO WORK THERE?

  2. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE CREATURE COMMANDO’S AND THEIR CREATOR? IF GIVEN THE CHANCE WOULD YOU UNDERGO A TRANSFORMATION AS THEY DID AND IF SO WHAT TYPE OF CREATURE WOULD YOU LIKE TO BECOME?

  3. STOPPIMG AN ALIEN MONSTER INVASION SEEMS LIKE ITS ALL IN A DAY’S WORK FOR FRANK AND HIS TEAM WHAT DID YOU THINK IF THE FIGHTS IN THESE ISSUES?

  4. CHARACTERS WHOSE IDENTITIES ARE UNKNOWM AND WHOSE ORIGINS ARE LIKEWISE MYSTERIOUS INTRIGUE ME. ANYONE ELSE FIND KHALIS INTERESTING?

  5. THIS IS MY FAVORITE SET OF PANELS IN THE ENTIRE GROUP OF ISSUES WE READ.


WHAT IS YOUR’S?

6 WHAT DID YOU THINK OF FRANKENSTEIN HERE? DID YOU LIKE HIS INTERACTIONS WITH HIS FATHER AND THE OTHER CHARACTERS? WHAT ABOUT THE TEAM AS A WHOLE? DO THEY WORK WELL TOGETHER OR DO THEY NEED MORE WORK?

THAT’S IT FOR THIS WEEK. THE NEXT SET OF QIESTIONS DEALING WITH GRAYSON WILL BE POSTED ON JANUARY 17TH

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Hey, sorry, my whole entire community page went out, I just got it back. So I’m thinking that may have been part of the problem! Thank you!

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