QUICK FIX DOUBLE FEATURE: Men are from Mars!
MARTIAN MANHUNTER versus KIDNAPPERS
Martian Manhunter (DC)
Where: Secret Origins #35 When: Holiday 1988
Why: Mark Verheiden How: Ken Steacy

Quick Fix...
"Make no mistake -- It took a seventy-thousand dollar sliver of meteor to stop the one in Metropolis. With you, all I need is a penny for a book of matches."

When it comes to the Martian Manhunter, sometimes it can be very difficult to nail down exactly what it is that makes him one of the most intriguing characters in the DC stable.
In so many ways this character resembles the far more iconic stranger from space, Superman, and yet, far beneath the multi-media powerhouse of the Man of Steel lies an obscure but dedicated fanbase to a character often described as the soul of the Justice League. It's fitting then, whilst discussing one of the varying origins of that team [Secret Origins #32], that we turn our ponderous eye to two of the Martian Manhunter's retroactively defining moments.

When it comes to the definitive Martian Manhunter story the modern era provides a retro example. Many a fanboy will inevitably turn to Darwyn Cooke's, DC: The New Frontier, from which the opening quote is taken. This powerhouse story has earned critical acclaim for it's depiction of some of DC's major Silver Age icons, like; Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, and of course, J'onn J'onnz.

There is, however, a little known gem in the DC catalogue that could almost lead to speculation of influence on Cooke's handling of the character.
Sharing both theme and three-panel presentation in common; each story distills the character to his earliest struggles as Det. John Jones, who secretly strives to identify and co-exist with humans after his abrupt transmission to Earth.

Typical of Secret Origins stories immediate to post-Crisis editorializing; a thread pertaining to the contemporary era provides the basis for connecting a newly confirmed backstory. In the case of "Martian Manhunter", the returning memories of an aged and tired police officer reveal to him his forgotten past with John Jones; the disguised martian whose secret and backstory was revealed to him telepathically one fateful night, during the pursuit of kidnappers.

Vital to this story is it's graphic design.
Like Cooke; artist Ken Steacy channels the retro energy and bold lines of the nineteen fifties, suitable for the era in which Martian Manhunter is derived.
In the interest of servicing this entry, my selection of panel scans are not only under represented by the quality of my scanner, but also by their selection.

At conclusion, if this review can do nothing else, it will be to compell every Martian Manhunter fan to seize any [legal] opportunity they have to come into possession of this story. Having rattled around in my brain for twenty years, in reflecting, I not only see how much I value this short as a piece of my youth, but also as an unconscious influence on my work on The Kirby Martin Inquest.

While a feature of "KMI" has been a sliding and multi-layered narrative; this tale takes my own experimentation with narration in a more specific and extensive direction, exclusively telling the tale through captions, and no dialogue.
In an interesting way, this manages to make the tale all the more vivid, capturing the mystique and abrasive loft of John Jones' stone-jawed demeanor, while also delivering a heart warming, silent reunion between old friends. No doubt Steacy's design plays a major part in appropriately communicating the script, which Ken himself may have contributed to.

This version of the origin locates the bewildered Martian Manhunter, (and the scientist who brought him to Earth, Dr. Erdel), in Denver, Colorado. Personally I prefer to think of MM in terms of his identity as a citizen of Gotham, which actually compliments this story quite well, despite the details.
As discussed previously [Solo #1, JLA #118], I tend to think Gotham colours it's inhabitants with the musty grey of it's decay and corruption, making for an appropriate contribution to what I think of as a well written Martian Manhunter. Bringing it full circle, that description of Gotham's inhabitants maybe even comes a little from this story I hold so dear.

Visually Steacy's colours typify Gotham with it's muted browns, greys and complimentary blacks, but as the fantasy of the metamorphosis of John Jones works it's way into the action, so too does the colour change. Reds pop and purples permeate as the green of the Martian explodes from within the blue of his trademark cape. It's a subtle, but powerful tool for differentiating between the nature of the sci-fi superhero and detective worlds.

Hot on the trail of the kidnappers who have taken the town Mayor's daughter hostage; the Martian Manhunter comes face to face with his weakness: fire!
Suddenly this bulletproof dynamo withers like a plant without water, suffering under the heat that emenates from the kidnappers' makeshift hideout in an abandoned, but fully functional, steel foundry.

Having staggered back to Police HQ, J'onn is discovered by the unnamed officer whose tale this is to tell. With a telepathic download of information, the cop returns to the foundry where he attempts to tackle the kidnappers alone. He manages to powerdown the equipment just as he's shot by the crooks.

It looks like certain doom for our hero, but with the machines shut down, a green guardian angel is able to unleash a vengeful tide of violence on these men who would endanger a small child. The Manhunter bursts through a solid brick wall, easily repelling speeding bullets as they collide with his martian muscle.

Though angered, fury fails to impair the Manhunter's stern sense of justice.
The gunmen suffer the bone rattling locamotion of being thrown against a wall at car crash speeds, but J'onn J'onnz has no intention of killing them. Particularly not when a frightened child and a wounded friend require aid. Both are returned to safety, but for the officer, commendations are his consolation, as the event is stripped from his memory by the secretive martian.

I think it's interesting to think of Martian Manhunter as the 'soul' of the Justice League, because it's here, in the realm of far more human tales, that I think the character truly shines. As favourably as the lighthearted trappings of Giffen and DeMatteis' Justice League International are regarded; I can't help but look to a story like this, with the pulp trappings of an alien detective as the definitive instance of the Martian Manhunter character.

Recent attempts to revamp the character appear lacklustre and contradictory to everything I would like to see. In Batman and the Outsiders, MM is shunted out of the book amidst creative turmoil, the canonical explanation being attributed to moral differences between MM and Batman - something I like to interpret as highly unlikely, with the two characters sharing a strong, unspoken bond conspired by their Gotham design - something ties them together on common ground other Leaguers could never fully appreciate.

More specifically, I find myself entirely frustrated by the further demystification of the Martian Manhunter mini-series which indulges in efforts to waterdown the notion of J'onn J'onnz as the last survivor a dead race. This is something I loathe of the Superman franchise, but find inexcusable for a far less popular brand.
Additionally, I find something untrue about the Manhunter's sudden burst of overt martian pride, and his shift to the cone-head said to be his natural form.

Ultimately I think it's his status as a self-imposed outsider, and the duality of his identity as someone no longer martian, but not quite human, that makes the character so compelling. The juxtaposition of Martian Manhunter against his superhuman equivalents is very interesting, but it's his interactions with humanity and psychological motivations and metaphors that make him one of the most intriguing aliens in the DC Universe. Every time I try to think of a way to describe J'onn J'onnz personality, I find only contradictions, and as such, should maybe leave you to draw your own conclusions.

I want to say he's innocent, yet slightly corrupted; violent, yet utterly passive.
I want to say he's a loner, yet values friendship. Is sad and stoic, yet joyous and friendly. I suppose for someone who can become anyone, maybe it's valid that he's all these things. Or maybe, to be even more accurate, these varying states of persona and emotion are indicative of one single transformation: the shift of J'onn J'onnz, Manhunter from Mars, to J'onn J'onnz - champion of Earth.

The Fight: 3.5 The Story: 7
Winner: Martian Manhunter

"Martian Manhunter" is collected in the long out-of-print 1990 "Secret Origins", which also happens to include Secret Origins #32, which contains the Justice League origin we're currently following, as well as other origins classics like the Denny O'Neil story which provided inspiration for Batman Begins, "The Man Who Falls". Otherwise, I don't know how you'll track this classic tale, but it's well worth it!

---

BATMAN/MARTIAN MANHUNTER versus
THE HILL STREET CULT
Book Two: Strange Adventures
Chapter Four: Gods and Monsters (DC)
Where: DC: The New Frontier #2 When: April 2004 Why: Darwyn Cooke How: Darwyn Cooke

Quick Fix...
Now, back to that little matter of the match sticks and meteor... I have to admit, it probably seems a little odd to lead with that kind of quote, before talking about Martian Manhunter in terms of a close relationship with Batman.

The two characters, who debuted 198 issues and 16 years apart, began their print-lives in the pages of Detective Comics, and have since gone on to be regularly associated in various incarnations of DC's compilation franchise, the Justice League.

Darwyn Cooke brings to the two characters together in the series that focuses on the transition from the Golden Age of the thirties and forties, into the Silver Age of the subsequent generation(s). As such, events transpire in those given decades, and allow characters to be repositioned in familiar classic settings, with the benefit of contemporary characterization.

Even though DC: The New Frontier has since been incorporated into DC's model for the new multi-verse [aka; the mega-verse] as designate Earth-21; I actually like to think of the interactions between the Bat and Martian in this, and the following issue, as reasonably plausible for their earliest encounter.

In thinking about the now abandoned Earth-38 posts; which were built on the premise of an alternate DC Earth where real-world chronology more specifically influences the emergence of characters in the canon; I grew to really appreciate Batman as one of the earliest proponents of the "super human" movement, and also as one of the most paranoid.

To contradict myself, I think that paranoia and distance should be inherent to Batman, but at the same time, have different meanings in different situations.
For Batman and Martian Manhunter, it seems perfectly reasonable to me that Bruce Wayne would approach this powerful, alien clandestine influence in his city with concern and suspicion, but ultimately be quite capable of coming to turn that blind hatred to a stern friendship as he becomes better informed.

That said; we've seen, somewhat ironically, what kind of lengths Batman could potentially go to in the pages of Marvel's, Civil War.
Tony Stark's decision has a very different face on it, but ultimately boils down to a similar means-to-an-end similar to Batman's actions surrounding Project OMAC and the Brother Eye satellite, and various other stories that have specifically seen Batman as, for lack of a better term, an obsessively organized anarchist.

I think it's very interesting to transplant Batman's relationship with the other heroes at it's most strained, and reimagine that in a world where he's already monitoring goings-on as these alien powers emerge in a time of post-war suspicion and paranoia. To reiterate, however, it's also just as interesting to see how the lifestyle of Gotham and the common ground of two isolated men can bridge that divide, which I think we see in New Frontier.

The characters meet, as you might expect, on the job.
J'onn, as Det. John Jones, accompanies his partner, Slam Bradley, on a call to, as it would happen, the kidnapping of a wealthy financier's small child.
Unlike the previous entry in this quick fix, J'onn finds himself working with far less willing colleagues, sickened by the depth of corruption within the Gotham Police Department. Slam makes a note that the exceptionally corny comic-book-speaking Jones is probably one of the few straight cops on the beat, except for maybe "that new guy, Gordon."

While his fellow officers may be of no help to the child's life, luck would have it that there is another secret force for good, operating in much the same clandestine fashion as the shadey Martian. When he and Slam storm the Hill Street Catholic Church, they find a one man army battling an army of gaudy robed cult members. Against dozens of them, the Batman holds his own!

Slam jumps into the fray, throwing fist and lead with wanton regard.
There's a kid's life on the line, and just as he's about to start formulating an exit plan with his partner, it dawns on him. John Jones - super-dick - is already on the stage and stealthily making his way toward the centerpiece of the dramatic plot.

Then, something unexpected happens.
The Batman's skirmish knocks a candle holder, and suddenly the drapes are aflame and all the slick runs off John Jones. He becomes a mess. Unable to move -- gripped by fear and confusion -- all while his partner is trying to yell sense as he tears himself away from the masses of robed hoods, desperate to save the kid who's in danger of being sacrificed by some crazy goon with a moustache.

Slam's words fall on deaf ears as J'onn J'onnz is paralzyed by the first signs of weakness during his time hidden amongst the frail humans. Ultimately, it is one of their own that does what he cannot. Like some kind of devil, the Batman slinks across the stage and yanks the cult leader into the shadow of his cape, where only the screams of terror can be heard to eminante from the looming figure.

The Batman does his best to console the child, with whom he might even feel a kindred spirit, but the nightmarish image that sends the cultists fleeing into the night, bares a similar effect on the innocent child already frightened so.

Slam does what any macho male does for a man he admires: he makes an excuse, pretending not to have seen John Jones in his uncharacteristic moment of weakness. Batman, on the other hand, is much less altruistic, silently deducing the secrets of the Martian Manhunter, filed away for future reference. You already know how that pans out, when he brings a medallion to the book-wielding Martian and forces a joint secret-investigation.

I'm running very late, on very little sleep, so I might not have had opportunity to express everything I would've liked to, but at the very least, I hope this can be an interesting future reference point for would-be Martian Manhunter fans.
By interesting coincidence, Kalinara started thinking a bit about JJ only a couple of days after us, putting out a call for strong stories. When it comes to recommendations, I suppose these two issues are what best represent my vision of the character, but there's a whole range of other styles and appearances to be found out there.

What are some of your Martian Manhunter experiences?
I know you readers are out there, and you don't need to be registered to comment, so share your thoughts! I'm sure some of you must be fans of JLI, or how about Sandman? Maybe even the solo work of John Ostrander? Let us know!

The Fight: 5 The Issue: 7
Winner: Batman & Slam Bradley
(w/ Martian Manhunter)

Chances are by now you don't need to be told how fantastic The New Frontier has managed to be! For those of you eagerly anticipating the DTV animated movie release, released soon, you might like to consider owning the original full-length story for yourself! Amazon not only provides both the paperback and Absolute editions, but helps sponsor your favourite secret earth every time you use the provided links to purchase. So do so, and help keep us in business!

MONTHLY PUNCH-UP #15 (March 2007)
SLAM BRADLEY versus BATMAN
Wild Ride: Meanwhile (DC)
Where: Catwoman #22 When: August 2003
Why: Ed Brubaker How: Nick Derington & Cameron Stewart

Quick Fix...
Another big month for the site, and here we are at another opportunity to reveal just how full of shite I really am.
Batman returns with a vengeance to the site with yet another appearance, a mere month or two after I said it might be lights out for the dark knight. I bow!

Wanted to get some DC action up here for the Quick Fix at the very least, and where better was there to go for a quick tussle than Ed Brubaker's revolutionary work on the revamped Catwoman title? Actually, it was a nice opportunity to visit this series for the first time at Secret Earths, perhaps largely due to the fact it was driven by more than fisticuffs.

Ed Brubaker's come up a few times recently, mostly through his Daredevil work, but his status as darling of Marvel comics was preceded by some very solid work as one-half of the writing team of the critically acclaimed Gotham Central, and of course, as writer here on Catwoman.

I have to admit, a lot of what made this such an attractive read is the visual style, which owes a lot to Darwyn Cooke's role in kicking off this new approach to the character, but is followed through well by a team comprised of Cameron Stewart, Guy Davis, Nick Derington, Matt Hollingsworth and apparently a slew of others, whose significance blurs amongst all the issues.

The minimalist style popularized by DC through their animation, and embraced likewise in the comic books, plays superbly here to a fun, sassy and exciting read, without ever getting silly. In fact, for all it's simple charms, Selina Kyle is as sexy as ever, and the action hits just as hard in what was probably one of the strongest titles being published pre-Infinite Crisis.

This storyarc, Wild Ride, features various guests (such as the JSA's Wildcat and Captain Cold), with the throughline of a fun, road trip story. Various hijinks occur, delivering strong characterizations in all the featured roles in unison with tight-knit, quirky story telling.

Our bash-up brings us to a B-story featuring Slam Bradley, who finds himself on the questioning end of Batman, his rival as romantic interest for Selina Kyle aka; Catwoman.

Tensions between the two build, and Batman makes reference to a tawdy night spent between Bradley and Kyle -- and it's on!

Bradley charges furiously at the Batman, making the assumption that he'd surprised him, simply because he actually lands his punch square in the Bat's mouth. Not that he doesn't quickly find himself on the tread end of Batman's reflexes, getting a boot for his troubles.

The Bat warns the grizzled detective off of any further attack, but the testosterone probably makes the decision for him. Bradley rolls his sleeves up, and moves in with his dukes ready to do the talking.

Batman's superior fighting skills see him slipping from the jab with ease, delivering his own blunt force with a closed fist.

Slam continues his jealous rage. Batman strikes a pressure point, taking one of Bradley's arms away, before following it with a swinging kick to the back of the head. It sends Bradley slamming into a pigeon avery on the rooftop.

"Are we about done now, Bradley...?," Batman asks.
Slam responds with a bloody grin, "... Why...? You gettin'... gettin' tired...?"

The Batman lets Bradley take more of his medicine, but as the match-up continues to be more and more one-sided, Bradley's continuing to get up probably makes it's point. Batman laughs.

Batman gives Bradley credit due for his sheer determination, and leaves him to enjoy a cigarette on amicable terms.

I happened upon a review of this issue that described it as writing Batman better than he was in his own books. Personally, this isn't what I consider Batman to be, but that said, I enjoy the luxury afforded by this type of title to give the character that spin. A spin that allows him to knock around with an old detective and indulge in a laugh at the end of it.

I don't know if it's the fun nature of the title, or the blinding glory of the graphic presentation, or perhaps the luxury of following in Darwyn Cooke's mighty footsteps, but Brubaker shines here in a way I haven't seen.
The writing has that familiar compacted quality to it, working a lot of economy into the scripted page, as I would hope an urban superhero book would. However, it somehow feels much less laboured than the likes of Captain America, Daredevil or even the joint effort on Gotham Central.

Here the story unfolds with a relaxed whimsy that allows it a sense of fluidity, and natural flow that makes it a breeze to open, and a disappointment to close.

The Fix: 6 The Issue: 7
Winner: Batman

The Top Five...
Two months into a brand new top five system for 2007 doesn't leave a lot of room for change, and you could perhaps begin doubting the logic of abandoning the cumulative rankings. If you can be patient enough to read on to The Hammer, we'll talk a little bit about implementing changes to that, and hey... The overall top five isn't doing much either!

#1 Spider-man (+1) (7) (Marvel)
Class: [Meta] Last Opponent: [Magneto]
Win Percentage: [77.78%] Features: [9]

A tie with Magneto doesn't do much for Spidey's win percentage, but it's enough in these early stages to lift him to the top of the monthly top five! Yaaay!

I've got to be honest -- I'm on a realy Spidey high right now. What's weird is maybe that it has very little to do with the Spider-man 3 movie, or even the Back in Black promotional event in the comics. I'm just really enthusiastic about the Spider-man villains, and how well they seem to be being represented in the comics right now! It's a reneissance for villains that may have slipped into the B-list.

I got a stack of new comics, there's a handful of Spidey stories in there I want to get up on the site, there's a handful already on my to-do list. Secret Earths is liking Spidey a whole lot right now! Put your money here, kids!*

#2 Moon Knight (-1) (2) (Marvel)
Class: [Champion] Last Opponent: [Taskmaster]
Win Percentage: [100%] Features: [1]

Moon Knight remains in the top five, and honestly, at number two I can feel a whole lot less guilty about the whole affair.
Moon Knight is a great character, and akin to those so-called B-list villains I mentioned just moments ago, but he isn't a number one. Not based on that one quick fix against Taskmaster, at least... Let's be honest.

I wouldn't expect to see this guy sticking around on the top for too much longer. The Moon Knight title, for all it's positives, just seems to be dragging it's heels so poorly that even if there is going to be a fight -- chances are it's going nowhere.

Lord knows I was thoroughly disappointed by the 'Casualties of [Civil] War' issue, which features maybe four pages of the web-slinger, including the cover.
I'd love to invest in the Captain America guest-issue, but honestly, I'm not expecting much more than a similar cameo there. As far as I know, Moon Knight has been content to remain neutral, and with some assemblence of a story simmering in the background, these gratuitous guest-spots are meaningless.

#3 Red Hood (-) (2) (DC)
Class: [Meta] Last Opponent: [Brick]
Win Percentage: [100%] Features: [2]

Among the purists visiting, I imagine this is the most embarassing feature in the top five. Of the two returning sidekicks-gone-bad, I imagine the split falls more in the favour of Winter Soldier/Bucky, rather than Red Hood/Robin, but you know what? I'm not too fussed.

Though I didn't pick up the follow up to the battle with Brick, I feel the character has at least earned the circumstances by which he finds himself on our top five.

While the character has suffered under the barrage of crossover fever, he has managed to avoid languishing, and I think that's great!
It's just a shame that to keep the character afloat, Winick had to drag him over into a pretty cheesy villain team-up in Green Arrow. I guess that's what you get for being the chief proponent for his return.

#4 The Punisher (-) (2) (Marvel)
Class: [Champion] Last Opponent: [Rhino]
Win Percentage: [100%] Features: [1]

The Punisher lingers as a character we're only just seeing return to the superhero fight scene. Good to have him on board, and while I don't have a large stock to draw upon for the character, you can probably make a safe bet that he'll be popping up on the site again soon.

A great character who has thrived in his own corner, you couldn't knock his position, but it seems a little unlikely, at least in this world, that he'll survive slipping off the bottom of the pile.

#5 Beast (-) (2) (Marvel)
Class: [Meta] Last Opponent: [The Lizard]
Win Percentage: [50%] Features: [4]

Once more we finish up our top five examination with the intelligent, gentlemanly, and ever powerful - Beast!

It occurs to me that other than Wolverine breaking into his own home to fight Sabretooth, I don't have a whole lot of an idea what's going on in the X-corner of the Marvel Universe.
Brubaker, for all the positives highlighted in Catwoman, is taking the X-Men on a retro journey that is the exact opposite of what I'm interested in. Astonishing X-Men remains, in my opinion, a disgustingly overrated piece of derivative tot. And everything else is a bit below my radar, I suppose.

It may be sad, but at the number five spot, we'll almost certainly be saying goodbye to the mighty Beast.

Super Stock...
1. Batman (-) (DC)
2. Spider-man (-) (M)
3. Wolverine (+1) (M)
4. Iron Man (-1) (M)
14. Robin (+10) (DC)
16. Red Hood (-1) (DC)
18. Steel (-1) (DC)
19. Deadpool (+26) (M)
20. Beast (-2) (M)
27. Wasp (-) (M)**
28. Nightwing (-2) (DC)**
54. Catwoman (-) (DC)
69. She-Hulk (-) (M)
100. Bucky (Heroes Reborn) (-) (M)
193. Space Phantom (+1) (M)
194. Rhino (+1) (M)
195. Lizard (+1) (M)
196. The Joker (new) (DC)
198. Blade (new) (M)
200. Metallo (-2) (DC)
203. Taskmaster (-1) (M)
204. Magneto (-3) (M)
205. Brick (-3) (DC)


#22 The Sub-Mariner
Class: [Meta] Last Opponent: [The X-Men]
Win Percentage: [40%] Features: [5]

I try to do a lot of things through this humble blog o mine.
One of those things is to try to include some sort of perspective of where the written aspect of the story might come from. Granted, that isn't the chief exercise here, but I figure if I'm going to tote myself as a writer, I could at least try to exhibit some understanding of the process, and exploit it to my advantage.

If you noticed the inclusion of the Brother Eye satellite in the banner, it's purely for the inclusion of this section. This spotlight is an opportunity to type up the stats of a character perhaps not in the top five, and talk a bit more about my fabled Sub-Mariner pitch, which has been pepper referenced for quite some time.

So as a spine to this section, I'll be featuring the characters that are wrapped up in this sordid little pitch. Of course, I hope to reserve at least some of my secrets, in the vein hope that one day they may actually find themselves canonized.

Moving on, the crux of the idea is a four issue mini-series that would lead in to an on-going series, or at the very least a title that would last a year.
Much of the concept rests on, as tired a phrase as it is, changing the status quo of the Namor character, and realigning him in the Marvel Universe as a newly relevent, but readjusted character.

I began writing and conceiving this idea QUITE some time ago now, so it predates many of the developments seen in Civil War and other Marvel titles, although, as with all good ideas, it's reasonably malleable to move with those circumstances.

Opening this four issue mini-series, Sub-Mariner: Underworld, is the premise that young Atlantean women have been disappearing. The numbers of missing girls have grown to such that the crimes are brought before the Prince himself - Namor.

What surrounds this initial development is an opportunity for Atlanteans to debate topics as base as teen sub-culture, and the parental gap. This has actually become rather topical where I live, where a girl died recently and clues have been sought on her MySpace page, which is decked out in a gothic motiff with a few 'racey' pictures of the young teen.

As most of us net-savvy folk would know, this is not at all unusual to MySpace sub-culture, but it's amusing to hear of it spoken in such misunderstood terms in news bulletins. So, in that respect, some of the 'impetuous youth' angle bares immediate relevence, at least here. It is, of course, a fairly universal theme.

The idea is that, like human youths, some of the Atlantean teens and young women have been a bit rebellious. One of the dangers for Atlanteans is the attraction of the surface world, which raises other debats among the concerned groups, particularly the Sub-Mariner's own lengthy association with the surface.
As a Prince, you would have to imagine his status as a role model would certainly come under fire, and that's something that would be raised here, even though traditionally Atlanteans cannot naturally sustain themselves on the surface.

Ultimately Namor is spurred to return to the surface, following the few clues he has to New York City's seed urban side. A side of Marvel that the character isn't necessarily associated with, but is none the less aware of, be it through casual visits, or even 'the lost years', when Namor wandered the streets as a transient hobo without a memory.

A lot of the ideas draw on established pieces of fiction in the character's history, including much of the 'corporate Namor' era built by John Byrne.
It's my interpretation that Namor still retains many corporate and industrial interests on the surface world, and he would immediately make use of a room in an apartment tower. One of many surface homes he could potentially own.

The Civil War, prior to his involvement, but even now, helps guide the original idea that he would be steering away from the 'super' side of the Marvel universe.
His sense of royal responsibility and logic is that this isn't really something that he would involve the Fantastic Four with, for instance.

At a later date his relationship with the FF was to arise again, as he becomes needing of scientific advice, and opts for an unlikely source, rather than Reed Richards. Who, of course, is conveniently now characterized as being someone Namor would be less than likely to turn to.

I see Namor as a chivalrous kind of hero, and the kinds of urban struggles that go on in Hell's Kitchen and similar seedy sides of the Marvel urban underworld would present him with distractions. This was also to bring him into conflict with Daredevil, a character he battled in DD's early sixties adventures.

As a mini-series it would be nice if it could stand on it's own feet and date itself prior to Matt Murdock's incarceration, particularly as I had mind to use Iron Fist later on, and actually think his role as substitute-Daredevil fits quite neatly.
Never the less, a theme that would be picked up again in the on-going series would be Namor's difficulty in coming to terms with the way in which the surface world works.

In Atlantis his justice is swift and absolute, but Daredevil quickly informs him that he can't simply plow a would-be rapist spine-first into a brick wall.
The Sub-Mariner in urban New York becomes quite literally an allagory for the fish out of water. The on-going series would feature more of how he tackles this in a unique way, and actually draws largely on Matt Murdock's incarceration.

In the mini-series it's driven more by the story at hand, and it takes a turn as other characters inflict themselves on the Sub-Mariner's path.
And with that, I'll hopefully pick up next month and tell you more about where I would like to go with this story, that attempts much, but in a tight space.

The hammer...
Speaking of attempting much, 5000 hits was passed a week and a half ago, which is huge! This has been the biggest month yet for Secret Wars on Infinite Earths, and I want to send out a huge thanks to everybody checking the place out! Hopefully you're enjoying it, and those of you I see coming back, will keep doing so!

I was thinking about celebrating with some extra updates, and then I went out and picked up Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, which kicked me in a whole different direction.

I've had some developments on the personal front with a sick relative, so it might be a bit much to chew, but I'm going to attempt three updates a week. That's right -- three! Just to sustain that interest!

So the schedule reads something like this, for March Madness:
- Marvel Ultimate Alliance Mondays
Featuring villains from the video game that utilizes the largest assembly of Marvel Comics characters all in the one game. With Civil War being all about the heroes, it seemed like a great opportunity to take a look at the villains.
Even though the villains are the spotlight, expect the heroes fighting them to be characters from the game, just for that extra authenticity!

- What if Wednesdays
This was my original consideration, and hey, after we tipped 5000, why not?
Wednesdays will be all about alternate realities, including not just stories from the Marvel Universe, as the name implies; but also multiverse madness from the DCU. Not that I've got a whole lot of that, mind you...

- Friday Fight Nights
All these bonus updates will, of course, not be at the sacrifice of our usual random fun every Friday. We'll continue to feature patternless battles between characters from the Marvel and DC Universes, and maybe some place else, too.

Anyway, that's the plan guys, but as I said. I've got some personal things going on, so there may be some delays. We'll see how it plays out.

Hope everyone's having a great time, and stay tuned next month because I imagine with a fifth week special in there, we're going to have plenty of movement on the top five rankings!

All the best guys!

February Hit Count: 5208 (+1261)

* Secret Wars on Infinite Earths does not, in anyway, encourage or condone underage gambling. We believe in mocking those who undertake in such activities, and such was our intention. Stay in school.

** Result of a statistical anomaly that was rectified.