GORILLA GRODD versus THE FLASH TRIO

Beyond The Super-Speed Barrier! (DC)
Where: DC Special Series #11 When: 1978
Why: Cary Bates How: Alex Saviuk

The Story So Far...
An ordinary night in the lives of three civilians becomes a bizarre mystery as each is summoned to don their identities as The Flash and Kid Flash of two worlds -- and race to meet in a single, solitary location on an Earth-1 hillside.

Compelled to run at blistering speeds against their will, the speedsters discover themselves confronted by a shocking force capable of bending their very impulses. Though believed executed for his crimes in Gorilla City: Super-Gorilla Grodd lives!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Gorilla Grodd 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Barry Allen 5 (Professor)
Speed: Barry Allen 7 (Lightspeed)
Stamina: Barry Allen 6 (Generator)
Agility: Gorilla Grodd 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Gorilla Grodd 2 (Projectile)
Total: Gorilla Grodd 28 (Metahuman)

Gorilla Grodd is the big-brained super-ape with super-primate strength, stamina, and durability, with telepathic powers to take it to the next level, but if he's so smart -- why is he challenging three generations of The Flash?!

Barry Allen is the frontrunner of the trio as the fastest man alive and arch-nemesis to Grodd. Thwarting the Anti-Monitor's attack on reality robbed Allen of decades of print, but his eventual rebirth brought him racing back to the present day to reaffirm his dominance over the Speed Force!

During Allen's lost years it was Kid Flash who assumed the mantle of the "Scarlet Speedster". Wally West established a connection with the speed force like no other Flash before him. This is our first time visiting his junior years, but his later exploits have included outpacing Marvel's Quicksilver, and teaming with Barry to stop the sprint of the Lady Flash.

Jay Garrick is the one and only "golden age" Flash who started it all! He might not hit the top speeds of his younger counterparts, but that never stopped him fighting the good fight against the monstrous Morgauth, villainous Reverse-Flash, or resourceful Rag Doll!

All three can run rings around Gorilla Grodd, so the question is: How can Grodd counter-act a triple threat of super-speed? Well, there are a couple of ways...

Numbers actually might work against the Flash trio if Grodd can use his mental powers to turn one or more against each other. This mind-controlling technique was on full display when he marshalled the Ultramarine Corps against Wally and the Justice League in JLA: Classified #3!

The Flash may be able to think fast on his feet, but we saw Barry Allen succumb to this very type of subterfuge when the Black Lantern Martian Manhunter telepathically tricked him into targeting the Green Lantern!

When mind games fail, Grodd can always use more direct means to turn enemies into allies. His quest for gorilla dominance has seen him use many methods to turn the populace into likeminded primates, as he did in Supergirl #3 with a mystical talisman.

The Tape: Flash Team-Up Ranking: Barry Allen (#20)

What Went Down...

Puzzled by a mysterious, irresistible force that compelled Barry Allen and Kid Flash to run backwards to their destination -- and bring Jay Garrick spinning from Earth-2 -- the trio is equally shocked to learn the source: Super-Gorilla Grodd!

Knowing Grodd by reputation -- Garrick doesn't miss a beat joining Kid Flash in a two-pronged attack that sees the two racing to grab one of the super-gorilla's arms and spin him at super-human speeds!

The attack does the trick, but as Grodd falls flat on his face, Barry Allen informs his friends that he learned from Solovar himself that Gorilla Grodd was executed in Gorilla City by inter-dimensional molecular dispersal!

As Garrick checks on the motionless Gorilla, he makes the grim discovery that the ape before them is indeed dead.

The Flash knows his allies couldn't have inflicted lethal force, and a booming disembodied voice confirms the truth. The ape before them was in fact Jroyy -- an agent killed with "mind-power" for outliving his usefulness.

Suddenly the voice comes from the mouth of Kid Flash as his face twists into a sinister, contorted parody of a grin, and he taunts The Flash with the mystery: "What has become of your detective abilities, Flash? You should have deduced who I am by this time!"

The Scarlet Speedster quickly recognises the voice to be Grodd's -- even as it suddenly springs forth from the mouth of Jay Garrick!

The Golden Age Flash becomes the vessel from which Grodd reveals that the only thing that could penetrate the dimensional barrier that trapped his atoms was precise super-speed! Thus, Jroyy orchestrated events that would take each of the three speedsters unwittingly to the correct vibrational frequency.

Speaking through Barry Allen; Grodd describes the billions of his atoms that clung to each of his foes as they passed through his dark domain. Then in a single terrible instant -- Super-Gorilla Grodd returns!

Freed from Grodd's molecular influence -- the trio of Flashes race away from the reassembled villain to regroup. Quickly gaining ground, they turn back to make a bee-line towards the scheming simian.

Once again its the eldest & youngest speedsters who reach their target first, but neither of them could've imagined that Grodd would've gained his own temporary super-speed as a result of piggybacking on their molecules!

A rapid swatting of his hand allows Grodd to stop the charging Kid Flash in his tracks, before effortlessly side-stepping the Golden Age Flash, turning his momentum against him with a simple super-fast toss into a nearby tree!

Earth-1 Flash closes in at high-speeds, digging his heel into the ground to launch a blanket of rocks at the Super-Gorilla!

Alas, Grodd's temporary super-speed and powerful mind-powers allow him to face the spray of rocks with impunity -- telekinetically hurling them at The Flash!

With no speed advantage and nowhere to run -- Flash has no choice but to spin on the spot, using his incredible momentum to deflect the incoming projectiles.

Kid Flash attempts to take advantage of the distraction, rushing Grodd from behind with a flurry of hammer-fists -- while Jay Garrick recovers to dive straight at the villain with a flying kick!

Seeing it coming -- the Super-Gorilla vibrates himself at fast enough speeds to achieve molecular intangibility and leave the two Flashes colliding into each other!

The Flash takes a page out of his sidekick's book, using the distraction to dive onto Grodd's back and start stomping at high speed!

For a moment it seems the gorilla is capitulating, but he soon sends The Flash flying into the dirt with a speedy back kick!

With the Flash trio on the ropes, and mere seconds of residual super-speed at his command, Grodd hops to his feet and begins racing across the battlefield in preparation for delivering a single finishing blast of mind-power!

Grodd's gloating of superiority unwittingly inspires a new tactic in Barry Allen, who turns his sprint towards his allies -- running at such phenomenal speed as to collect their atoms in a confusing blur of three speedsters!

For an uncanny moment the three Flashes are merged as one -- allowing The Flash of Earth-1 to pilot their combined speed into a single powerful punch! A mighty knock-out blow even Super-Gorilla Grodd cannot withstand!

The Hammer...

A gloriously bizarre end for a mildly unusual episode.

The Flash takes the team-up to its most literal conclusion -- combining powers & bodies to wholly share the victory with Kid Flash and Jay Garrick!

It's not a trick I remember The Flash pulling very often, which might be why I'm not completely disgusted by it.

I get a little crankier about the on-going trend of superheroes switching powers and identities these days. Today we have to endure entire years of this type of distracted nonsense, but in this story, it's a quick little gimmick, using the established trope of The Flash manipulating his molecules at high speeds to perform weird & wild feats. A colourful end to a fun plot.

A more modern take on the story would probably see the speedsters creating a slipstream to slingshot the fastest of the trio towards their target. A less mind-bending version of sharing speed, but hey. Let's just chalk it up to Speed Force.

Back then they didn't have a catchy name for the extra-dimensional super-normal phenomena that informs The Flash's incredible abilities, but its intuitive invention is here on display in 1978. If Gorilla Grodd's dispersed atoms weren't imprisoned in the Speed Force dimension itself, similar concepts aided in freeing him.

The story of Grodd's temporary death runs throughout the issue. Not to be confused with the classic 80-Page Giant series; DC Special Series #11 never the less uses the 80-page format to tell a value-packed one dollar story, comprised of six or so chapters, each an episode in the lives of the three Flashes featured.

Solovar oversees the execution of the criminal super-gorilla in the opening story, setting up the thrilling main event featured today, after each Flash is run through their paces by various opponents, with covert interference from Jroyy.

If you think opening with Grodd in what amounts to an electric chair death scene is grisly, wait until you see Kid Flash chasing his girlfriend Leslie on an out-of-control motorcycle that goes so fast -- her body bursts into flames! Reducing her to a skeleton! It's just an illusion cooked up by Jroyy, but geez! That's a bad date!

Irv Novick, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, and Kurt Schaffenberger handle pencils on the other chapters, all written by Cary Bates, but our featured installment boasts a 26 year old Alex Saviuk, with inks by Joe Giella. A nice look into the early work of what would become a favourite Spider-Man artist in later years, both on the mainline books, and the aesthetically memorable Spider-Man Adventures.

Saviuk's action is pretty solid and the Amalgam-style mash-up design of the three merged speedsters is amusing enough. For the time, and circumstances, it's fun to see Grodd grifting some residual super-speed for his latest clash with his arch-nemesis, even if the real enjoyment comes from Flash facing off against opponents who challenge him in ways other than his own powers of speed.

Yes, I'm taking another swipe at contemporary storytelling, where if The Flash isn't being sucked into time travel and multiverse shenanigans, he seems to be stuck in the quagmire of everything being coloured by speed. TV seemed to be particularly guilty of this. I'm glad to look back at one of his other classic foes.

If you enjoyed this article and would like to see more of The Flash's famous rogues gallery -- consider becoming a supporter on Patreon. As a thank you for helping make all of this possible you'll unlock options to sponsor future entries, or join the discussion on the Discord server. A big thank you to new patron Dominic!

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has recorded over 700 battles and ranked well over 1,000 characters! Find them all by following links throughout each and every post, or by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

Get free daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to Twitter and Facebook, or by becoming a freebie follower on Patreon. Don't forget to smash that like, fave, and share -- and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday on Twitter, Patreon & Discord!

Winners: The Flash, The Flash & Kid Flash
#16 (+4) The Flash (Barry Allen)
#24 (+14) Kid Flash (Wally West)
#146 (+288) The Flash (Jay Garrick)
#449 (-2) Gorilla Grodd
#1010 (new) Jroyy

GREEN LANTERNS versus HOUSE OF ZOD

Zod's Will Part One: First Contact (DC)
Where: Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #37 When: March 2018 Why: Robert Venditti How: Rafa Sandoval

The Story So Far...
The Guardians of the Universe have reinstated their post as overseers for the Green Lantern Corps, and while John Stewart contemplates quitting the ranks over a history of indiscretions, Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner continue to fly the beat as Green Lanterns of Sector 2811.

A routine investigation into reported unauthorized resource exploitation on the planet Jekuul brings the pair to a primitive civilization making unexpected advancements. The beginnings of construction signal an occupation by the unlikeliest of welcome parties: Zod!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Zod 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Eradicator 5 (Professor)
Speed: Zod 6 (Mach Speed)
Stamina: Zod 6 (Generator)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting: Zod 4 (Trained)
Energy: Hal Jordan 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: General Zod 33 (Super)

The Green Lantern Corps are: Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner.

Two Lanterns are on call to investigate this case. Hal and Kyle have a complicated history; the latter becoming the last Green Lantern after Jordan completely wiped the Corps out under the influence of Parallax; but they're buddies now.

After Hal's "rebirth", the pair worked together to stop Sinestro and his Yellow Corps bringing war to Earth, but the ringless fisticuffs used to settle that score probably won't help them against today's super-powered adversaries!

The House of Zod are: General Zod, Ursa, Lor-Zod, and Eradicator.

This family of Kryptonians is headed by the militant despot General Dru-Zod, who was banished to the Phantom Zone before the destruction of his home planet, Krypton. He's cruel & violent, representing a hopeless counterpart to Superman!

We saw General Zod lead an army of Kryptonians against Superman and the Earth back in Action Comics #846, so it isn't unreasonable for the Green Lanterns to suspect invasion and exploitation of the primitive Jekuul inhabitants.

We know Zod and his family are tough enough to stand toe-to-toe with Superman, but what about the most powerful weapon(s) in the universe?

Our closest reference was when Guy Gardner wielded his Qwardian yellow ring against Eradicator in Action Comics #688. Not quite a Green Lantern and not quite Kryptonian, but the pair are at least proof positive that energy rings can hold up against a physical powerhouse in the mould of Superman.

The Tape: House of Zod Ranking: Hal Jordan (#24)

What Went Down...

General Zod casually approaches the two Green Lanterns investigating his nearby construction, extending a welcome, and a willingness to explain the circumstances of his new home on planet Jekuul. The startled Lanterns are not convinced.

Hal Jordan immediately recognizes the Z-shaped crest on the man's chest and springs into action -- slinging his ring to form a giant vice around the General!

Amidst the confusion - Jordan reverts to an intention to arrest the known villain, whose presence has caught both he and Kyle Rayner by surprise, and is presumed hostile. Zod denies any crime has been committed.

A strain begins to emanate through Jordan's ring. "Lantern, do you know what I missed most during my years imprisoned inside the Phantom Zone?"

Drenched in the yellow sunlight of Jekuul -- General Zod throws his arms wide and breaks free from the hard-light construct holding him in place!

Jordan orders Kyle Rayner to make a hasty exit to recruit back-up, but even if he wanted to leave -- he never had a chance. A dark blur is upon him in seconds as Ursa uses her Kryptonian super-speed to hit him in the face like a freight train!

Her son, Lor-Zod, and the Eradicator, float with her overhead, as the Green Lanterns suddenly find themselves surrounded by super-powered Kryptonians!

Back-to-back with his partner, outgunned and outnumbered, Hal Jordan calls an audible, choosing the two targets on the left, while he forms an energy shield shaped like a jet fighter -- and flies straight into battle!

Kyle creates a giant-sized armored samurai as he launches himself at mother & son, while Jordan's plane takes double-barreled eyebeams, on a course towards Zod and Eradicator!

With a single, almighty punch -- Ursa smashes the gigantic samurai, shaking its hard-light armor plates loose with a rippling impact that ejects Kyle out the back!

Jordan fares a little better, losing a wing from his plane, and part of the fuselage, but aiming true for his target.

He pulls back his fist and charges up the ring as he closes in on General Zod and the remains of his plane break over the target -- but even a powered-up punch is child's play for the sun-charged General!

"So this is the self-proclaimed "most powerful weapon in the universe.""

Zod's cold confidence spells a foregone conclusion as he delivers a short uppercut at super-speed, bloodying the Green Lantern's mouth & nose, knocking him out cold and falling to the ground below.

Things aren't going any better for Kyle Rayner. A curious Ursa delivers a callous punch to the gut, wondering why the Green Lanterns would use a ring, rather than armor, a gun, or "a blade, at least".

A snap of her elbow backhands Kyle, sending him head-first into the rocks and dirt of Jekuul.

A flying right-hook knocks the mask from his face, and another sprays his blood across the air. General Zod grabs her fist and tells her "enough."

Deemed "tenuously" alive by the Eradicator's scan, Hal Jordan does his best to attempt an alert to Corps headquarters, but to no avail. Communications have been jammed. General Zod has prepared for this moment, though the Green Lanterns' discovery has come sooner than anticipated.

The Hammer...

I've always kind of accepted that, although messy, Crisis on Infinite Earths set about solving some things...

It revised & refined seminal concepts created without generational foresight, streamlining worlds accumulated through time and corporate acquisition, into a single reality capable of sustaining & exploiting enduring, coexisting pop culture icons.

I think we've come far enough to say the New 52 reboot solved very little. In fact, it might be the inverse opposite of Crisis, causing a lot of ugly and unnecessary problems, reinstating confusion, and generally creating a rift in the DC Comics canon that makes it very easy to invest much less interest. A "jumping off" point.

The New 52, and its marketing department pseudo-reboots, have been the kind of undertaking that makes a guy wonder if Superboy-Prime has lived long enough to become the hero the DC Universe needs -- but I wouldn't say it's all been bad.

Movies would have you believe General Zod is an integral part of the Superman mythos, but his comic book footprint was actually relatively small until recently. There were only a handful of issues between Zod's 1961 introduction in Adventure Comics #283, and big screen debut in Richard Donner's Superman.

As the lead antagonist of 1980's Superman II, Zod left an indelible mark on the broader consciousness, but the obscurity of a character already best known for his imprisonment in the Phantom Zone was exacerbated by the post-Crisis reboot, which sought to restore Superman's status as "Last Son of Krypton" -- the sole survivor of his doomed home planet.

Kara Zor-El, Supergirl, wasn't fully reinstated as Superman's cousin until 2004, and attempts to resolve the disparity between mainstream awareness of General Zod, and comic book canon, was clumsy and inconsistent.

The most egregious revival of Zod was 2001's Russian super-villain of the same name, with a fever-dream stopgap in the highly publicized '04 For Tomorrow story, before goggles & grey became Kryptonian chic with Richard Donner himself collaborating with Geoff Johns on a shaky, but full-fledged comeback, in 2007.

Despite the looming influence of Terence Stamp's performance in films, no real consensus seemed to be reached about design or characterization, even when Zack Snyder reprised the character for 2013's bleak, and generally unhelpful, live-action cinematic franchise-starter, Man of Steel. Which presents a rare problem the New 52 era of comics could -- and maybe even did -- solve.

This dark haired, bearded Zod clearly isn't Terence Stamp, but there's a sense of acknowledgement in the design that also builds on elements of Jim Lee's mirrored zed emblem, and Adam Kubert's shock-haired interloper.

It feels like this Zod exhibits a stage of revision and refinement that's approaching a definitive incarnation -- a rarity for this era of DC Comics.

Along with just being an intuitive place for a super-powered alien criminal to turn up; The House of Zod's showdown with Green Lantern feels like another knowing reference, calling back to their 1979 encounter in Green Lantern #122 & #123.

It's not necessary to box the character into past appearances -- and they haven't -- but in an era of confusion and book burning, it's nice to feel like there's some knowledge and awareness informing what's going on. Although, again, I wouldn't want to downplay the natural intuitiveness of moving these characters away from Superman, and into a collision with DC's resident space cops.

Of course, in doing so, this also satisfies the increasingly familiar trope of the evil Superman, without any of the baggage that deteriorates Superman himself, or the innate concept of a true villain with absolute power.

To some extent this scenario satisfies the dream match of Superman vs Green Lantern, and the question of what Superman might do with his powers if he was a militaristic conqueror of worlds. The only difference is exploring and expanding upon General Zod in the DC Universe is ultimately far more satisfying and valuable than a less convincing tangent, like Injustice.

That seems to be part of the conceit of this appearance, which in my estimation, places a little bit too much of a premium on the unbridled power of the "bad guy Supermen". The Lanterns are pretty soundly outmatched, which doesn't gel with past appearances, and downplays the powers of the Green Lantern ring.

If Ursa was smacking Kyle Rayner in the face like this, I feel like he should have more to worry about than a bloodied lip. I'm not sure if this a conceptual problem stemming from the script, or an aesthetic conceit. The Lanterns are depicted as having energy shields around them, but it's a little subtle for my liking, and the pencils don't quite gel with my conception of that shield completely surrounding the body (and face), rather than just being a two-dimensional outline.

Rafa Sandoval's action is dynamic, but the layouts are a little bit all over the place. The balance of detail in panels shifts from a little cluttered, to a little sparse -- unconscious habits I associate with digitally created comics. I could be presuming too much, and on the whole, it's a solid read, with good clean lines.

This is only the first chapter of this arc of Hal Jordan and The Green Lantern Corps, though. There's more to talk about and I'd like to come back to examine more of this story, and perhaps past battles. By becoming a supporter on Patreon you can help make that possible, while also unlocking access to additional updates, the new Discord server, and sponsored content like Rank & File Top 10!

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has recorded over 700 battles and ranked well over 1,000 characters! Find them all by following links throughout each and every post, or by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

Get free daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to Twitter and Facebook, or by becoming a freebie follower on Patreon. Don't forget to smash that like, fave, and share -- and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday on Twitter, Patreon & Discord!

Winners: General Zod & Ursa (w/ Eradicator & Lor-Zod)
#124 (+109) General Dru-Zod
#362 (new) Ursa
#654 (--) Eradicator [+1 assist]
#651 (new) Lor-Zod [+1 assist]
#27 (-3) Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
#87 (-6) Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner)