SOLOMON GRUNDY versus MOLLY MAYNE & THE GREEN LANTERN
Took Ill on a Thursday (DC)
Where: Solomon Grundy #4 When: August 2009
Why: Scott Kolins How: Scott Kolins
The Story So Far...
In the 19th century, Gotham City was home to a wicked soul named Cyrus Gold. Responsible for murder and misery, he was cursed upon death to forever rise from his unmarked resting place in Slaughter Swamp as the beast Solomon Grundy!
Caught in an endless cycle of death and rebirth, the shambling monster is forever drawn to new acts of evil as an unstoppable undead creature - until now..?
A mysterious force has given Cyrus Gold seven days to end his curse, but dark forces conspire to prolong the agony of Solomon Grundy! He was bedeviled by The Demon, delayed by Bizarro, and vexed by Poison Ivy. Now a taunting voice draws him into the suburbs to find the source of his greatest enemy's power!
Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Solomon Grundy 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Green Lantern 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Green Lantern 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Draw 6 (Generator)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Green Lantern 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Green Lantern 27 (Metahuman)
Solomon Grundy's on the warpath, but we already know all about that: We've tracked his cursed movements through Killer Croc, The Demon, Bizarro, and Poison Ivy. You're probably a lot more curious to know who Molly Mayne is!
In today's battle she's the suburban second wife of the Green Lantern, but in a former existence she was better known as the original Harlequin!
Her costumed alter-ego was an attempt to get closer to Green Lantern by becoming his criminal target. Romantic aspirations meant Harlequin's crimes were never too severe, and she eventually joined the side of angels, before marrying her super-hero sweetheart in the pages of Infinity Inc.
Harlequin's hypnotic glasses probably could've been an effective tool against Solomon Grundy, but the mature-aged retiree hasn't used her gear in quite some time. Good thing GL's Starheart battery has tipped him off to the trouble at home!
We saw the Golden Age Green Lantern school his younger counterpart, Guy Gardner, in the pages of Justice Society of America #9, and he even briefly slowed Superboy-Prime in the Sinestro Corps War epic of Green Lantern #25!
Unfortunately, this Green Lantern's power ring has a weakness to objects made of wood -- which allows the swamp-borne Solomon Grundy to cause all kinds of trouble. He used a tree to smash right through GL's construct in JSA #65!
Although incredibly strong, Solomon Grundy is often a lumbering and slow-witted opponent who can be out-smarted, or even out fought. The latter was the case for Stargirl & Jakeem Thunder in JSA #29, and the otherwise challenged trio of Hawkman, Hawkgirl & Monolith in Hawkman #33.
Grundy is coming off a win against Poison Ivy in today's story, but Green Lantern and the former Harlequin should be industrious enough to come up with ways of defeating. It all just depends on GL getting there in time!
The Tape: Green Lantern Ranking: Green Lantern (#90)
What Went Down...
Where: Solomon Grundy #4 When: August 2009
Why: Scott Kolins How: Scott Kolins
The Story So Far...
In the 19th century, Gotham City was home to a wicked soul named Cyrus Gold. Responsible for murder and misery, he was cursed upon death to forever rise from his unmarked resting place in Slaughter Swamp as the beast Solomon Grundy!
Caught in an endless cycle of death and rebirth, the shambling monster is forever drawn to new acts of evil as an unstoppable undead creature - until now..?
A mysterious force has given Cyrus Gold seven days to end his curse, but dark forces conspire to prolong the agony of Solomon Grundy! He was bedeviled by The Demon, delayed by Bizarro, and vexed by Poison Ivy. Now a taunting voice draws him into the suburbs to find the source of his greatest enemy's power!
Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Solomon Grundy 6 (Invincible)Intelligence: Green Lantern 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Green Lantern 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Draw 6 (Generator)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Green Lantern 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Green Lantern 27 (Metahuman)
Solomon Grundy's on the warpath, but we already know all about that: We've tracked his cursed movements through Killer Croc, The Demon, Bizarro, and Poison Ivy. You're probably a lot more curious to know who Molly Mayne is!
In today's battle she's the suburban second wife of the Green Lantern, but in a former existence she was better known as the original Harlequin!
Her costumed alter-ego was an attempt to get closer to Green Lantern by becoming his criminal target. Romantic aspirations meant Harlequin's crimes were never too severe, and she eventually joined the side of angels, before marrying her super-hero sweetheart in the pages of Infinity Inc.
Harlequin's hypnotic glasses probably could've been an effective tool against Solomon Grundy, but the mature-aged retiree hasn't used her gear in quite some time. Good thing GL's Starheart battery has tipped him off to the trouble at home!
We saw the Golden Age Green Lantern school his younger counterpart, Guy Gardner, in the pages of Justice Society of America #9, and he even briefly slowed Superboy-Prime in the Sinestro Corps War epic of Green Lantern #25!
Unfortunately, this Green Lantern's power ring has a weakness to objects made of wood -- which allows the swamp-borne Solomon Grundy to cause all kinds of trouble. He used a tree to smash right through GL's construct in JSA #65!
Although incredibly strong, Solomon Grundy is often a lumbering and slow-witted opponent who can be out-smarted, or even out fought. The latter was the case for Stargirl & Jakeem Thunder in JSA #29, and the otherwise challenged trio of Hawkman, Hawkgirl & Monolith in Hawkman #33.
Grundy is coming off a win against Poison Ivy in today's story, but Green Lantern and the former Harlequin should be industrious enough to come up with ways of defeating. It all just depends on GL getting there in time!
The Tape: Green Lantern Ranking: Green Lantern (#90)
What Went Down...
The entrance to the Scott residence is reduced to splinters as Solomon Grundy explodes through the front door -- smashing his way inside!
Molly Mayne recoils with understandable panic, but she's no ordinary suburban housewife. Even as a fearful tear trickles down her cheek, the former Harlequin steels herself with unique life experience, and rushes deeper into the house.
Slamming a door behind her buys precious seconds as Molly scrambles to rummage through a very specific drawer.
Grundy's massive fist comes crashing through the door right behind her, but she's already found what she was desperately looking for! She discharges the hidden weapon -- punching a hole clean through Grundy's rotting chest!
Molly Mayne recoils with understandable panic, but she's no ordinary suburban housewife. Even as a fearful tear trickles down her cheek, the former Harlequin steels herself with unique life experience, and rushes deeper into the house.
Slamming a door behind her buys precious seconds as Molly scrambles to rummage through a very specific drawer.
Grundy's massive fist comes crashing through the door right behind her, but she's already found what she was desperately looking for! She discharges the hidden weapon -- punching a hole clean through Grundy's rotting chest!
For a moment the beast looks down at the smoking cavity in his torso -- then swats Molly aside through nearby architecture with the back side of his hand.
Grundy's true target is quickly uncovered by hulking hands that tear through cupboard woodwork like it was paper.
Inside: the glowing green lantern that is the source of his oldest enemy's power!
As the monster reaches for the lantern shaped battery it begins to radiate with burning green energy. The light speaks to him through a familiar oath: "Beware my power!"
Solomon Grundy fights against the energy, grasping for the awesome artifact as if incensed by its powerful resistance. He shouts defiantly that he isn't afraid -- raising the lantern above his head as it spews blinding light all around him!
The monster brings the lantern violently crashing against the ground.
The impact is so strong it causes parts of the house to collapse over a stunned Molly Mayne!
Grundy barely even notices the collateral damage of his outburst. His determined focus remains solely on the lantern itself, now held in the palm of his right hand as he lets out an angry yell.
The furious behemoth brings both his hands smashing together around the lantern and presses with all his unearthly might! He vows to crush it!
Reaching out across the county to Slaughter Swam: the Starheart battery speaks to Alan Scott through his power ring. Alerted to the attack, Scott's mind immediately flashes to the imminent danger threatening his wife.
With the ring hoisted above his head, Green Lantern blazes a trail through the night sky! He flies as fast as he ever has, willing his wife to hold on. Willing himself to make it there before it's too late!
Molly stirs and speaks her husband's name, all the while Grundy continues to squeeze harder and harder around the Green Lantern's power battery. It begins to illicit a small, harsh clicking. Then in a terrible instant -- the lantern shatters!
The awesome explosion of power reduces the Scott residence to rubble -- but high above the smoldering crater is The Green Lantern himself! He cradles his wife, bruised & battered, but safe in the aura of his glowing energy!
The hero slings a green containment field over an unconscious Solomon Grundy and makes a beeline for the nearest hospital. The awful truth doesn't begin to set in until the hero starts to feel dizzy with Gotham Metropolitan Hospital in sight...
The Hammer...
Green Lantern has to make a crash landing outside the hospital as his power ring begins to fizzle and fade. The Starheart literally bids him a fond farewell, lamenting the time it enjoyed sharing with him.Things look about as bad as they can for ol' Alan Scott, but don't worry too much. This isn't the end of the Golden Age Green Lantern.
Next issue he'll need to get a ride from Gotham Metropolitan back to his house in the suburbs, but once he's made that trip, GL will magically reassemble the shattered lantern to restore his powers and status quo.
I've got mixed feelings about this. On the one hand: it's very refreshing, particularly these days, to see a fundamental threat to a hero's existence resolved after only one issue. It's basically a good old fashioned superhero cliffhanger.
On the other hand: this is a cliffhanger based on the lie of a false peril.
You could argue that most perils to a franchise superhero are "false" because they will assuredly prevail in the end. However, what separates the good from the bad is the preservation of that threat, and the agency of the hero to resolve it.
Rather than prevent or see through this crisis with an act of heroic ingenuity -- GL literally resolves it with a simple wave of his hands.
It quickly becomes apparent, next issue, that the threat was never real. The sentimental goodbye from his ring was an illogical, maudlin act of manipulating the reader. An unsatisfying cheat in what feels like a sagging middle issue.
I don't want to judge this issue too harshly. The high-concept thrill of the Solomon Grundy series is a gauntlet of battles through some of DC's other eerie and monstrous characters. It doesn't really need to be much more complicated than that, but even by those basic terms, Solomon Grundy #4 struggles to satisfy.
Alan Scott's power battery just cannot live up to the role of being this issue's title bout. It isn't an entirely inanimate object, but dialogue and colour-tinting can't distract from the fact it's Solomon Grundy wrestling with a novelty lamp. Remember this one?
It might've been fun to see Molly Mayne break out her old Harlequin gear as a lantern-assisted feature opponent. A chase similar to Uncanny X-Men #143, with Grundy taking the role of the N'Garai Demon, could've been fun. Otherwise, the obvious solution is to just bring Green Lantern into the fray right at the start for an obligatory throwdown between classic adversaries.
Fortunately, this issue sets up another exciting opponent for the following issue. A shadowy cameo by Professor Ivo spells the imminent arrival of Amazo, who'll be deployed to take revenge for a failed team-up in a recent Justice League story.
Issue #4 also revisits the torment of Cyrus Gold, whose murder in 1885 set in motion his unending curse to rise from Slaughter Swamp as Solomon Grundy.
Cyrus soon finds himself back in the swamp, where he unexpectedly pulls the knife that killed him from the very same swamp Green Lantern had earlier been sent to search. This in turn triggers memories of the many lives he had claimed.
Mournfully regretting his life of sin, Cyrus is visited by a vision of the Phantom Stranger who guides him to find and forgive his killer if he wants to successfully end the curse. Some will remember we discuss The Stranger's presence way back at the start of the series.
If you want to read it all for yourself you might be lucky enough to find a collected edition via the Amazon link provided. Doing any shopping via these links helps support the site at no extra cost to you! If you don't see it, you may need to add permissions to blocking software.
We're slowly but surely working our way through the macabre saga. If you'd like to revisit previous chapters you should start with Faces of Evil: Solomon Grundy, then work your way through the links listed after Solomon Grundy in the Secret Archive. That's where you'll find every featured fight indexed alphabetically in order of publisher, series, and issue number.
Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 650 battles and ranked more than 950 characters! If you appreciate what it's all about and want to see these chronicles continue into the future you can join the fight on Patreon. As a thank you you'll unlock additional updates, polls, and custom articles.
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It was tough to render a decision in today's battle, but I'm coming down on the side of a draw. Grundy may've swatted Molly Mayne aside and shattered the lantern, but its temporary destruction also knocked him out cold and left him bloodied. A moot result, with Green Lantern showing up in time to assist his wife.
Winner: Draw
#145 (--) Solomon Grundy
#459 (new) Harlequin (Molly Mayne)
#90 (--) Green Lantern (Alan Scott) [+1 assist]
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