Countdown #38 *SPOILERS*

[Firestorm23]

OK is it just me or on page two were the jsa is fighting some thugs, Atom is not apart of the team so why is he there and not damage, unless damage can grow but i dont recall him ever being able to before, so if this is the back bone of the dcu, why cant they get the characters correct?

[EZMOHR]

Maybe Atom Smasher was just helping the JSA out, like he was in the recent Black Adam #1.

[Jack Zodiac]

And the Fourth World slaughterfest continues. See ya' in hell, Deep Six! Takin' bets on who's next. I'm gonna' say... Mantis!

[Cayman]

Did they really kill Slig? He was kick-ass in Simonson's Orion.

[Magneto Rocks]

Is it me or was this issue better than some recent ones? I mean, it actually had some different plots loosely interconnecting and seemed to be written with a semblence of actual skill. As opposed to 90% of what we've seen so far!

That badass (if brief) Darkseid appearance is EXACTLY what I've been expecting and hoping for since issue one, could've done without the ten week absence but I'll be happy if he shows up once a month or so to lay the smackdown and look ominous.

[Jack Zodiac]

These past couple issues have, at least, had some momentum. I wouldn't say they were good, but stuff's actually happening.

[Captain Jim]

Not a bad issue. It continues to hold my interest, and the plot seems to be advancing. Plus, the art was much better this time. (I'm a fan of Jesus Saiz, though this was not his best work, by far.)

Curiously, the most interesting revelation may have come in the back-up. There one of the monitors says,

"At least three beings from other universes have recently walked your earth, brother, contaminating everything they come in contact with. Donna Troy. Kyle Rayner. Jason Todd. For the sake of all we hold dear, they must be exterminated."

So, evidently these three are indeed from alternate earths? I suspected it all along in Jason's case, and I guess it makes sense for Donna (since she did return from the dead), but why should this Kyle be from another earth? Not sure I get that one.

[jv2k]

I'd say that this was the best issue not counting the Flash Funeral.
Oracle was cyber fighting Calculator, Mary Marvel showed some magic muscle, and the rogues described Bart's death with puppets.

[Phoney Bone]

Oracle's web fu is strong, grasshopper.

[Captain Jim]

Oracle was cyber fighting Taskmaster...

You mean Calculator, don't you?

[MAK15]

Trickster's puppets were great.
'If the mask don't fit, we must aquit! yay!'

[Buried Alien]

why should this Kyle be from another earth? Not sure I get that one.

Kyle was supposed to have been from Earth-Eight, wasn't he?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[TheKerrMan]

On the cover of Countdown #38 it says "THE FIRST APPERANCE OF MR. ACTION!" and "COLLECTOR'S ITEM!" but ofcourse if you were reading countdown you would know that this isnt Mr Actions first apperance infact his first apperance was way back in issue #41. So why is it that DC still publicizes this crap. I am thinking one of three things

A. Boosting Sells, putting collectors item will make the sales raise

B. First Apperance of him on a cover

C. First apperance of Mr Action to the Teen Titans


Which one?

[Jack Zodiac]

D. Joke...

[MAK15]

D. Joke...

yes, thats the one.
I think they used to do this 'first appearance of' stuff back in the day, and it's possible that the cover is an homage to it.

[QuietRiver]

Kyle was supposed to have been from Earth-Eight, wasn't he?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

I think it was Earth 8 of the old Multiverse. I don't get how Kyle, Donna, or Jason Todd are supposed to be from parallel Earths. They existed on New Earth when every single parallel Earth was identical in every way, before Mr. Mind screwed things up. Before anyone knew about the new Multiverse. So that should mean that there were Kyles, Donnas, and Jason Todds on each of the 52 Earths before Mr. Mind...

[worstblogever]

At least the writers are finally learning that it's pointless to check in with some of the protagonists to say, "Guess what, They're still doing what they were last week!" 52 had the decency to leave you waiting to see where people left off for a week, maybe two or three here and there. There's already been several weeks of Countdown where characters have been stuck in quicksand, and have little but reminders that they're still there.

Issues where Jimmy Olsen didn't understand his powers, or figure out how to use them, issues where Mary Marvel just was brooding about the change in her powers, issues where Holly Robinson got a pedicure, or the Rogues just sat around doing coke and hookers. At some point, things need to start happening. They finally are, but it only took 52 six issues to get the ball rolling... not fourteen.

Case in point, in 52, Lobo wasn't in issues 1 through 17. Know why? Nobody wanted to see Lobo in space trying to be nice with a dolphin for four months. But when he became relevant, they made it a point to start including him. When Adam Strange, Animal Man, and Starfire were adrift, we didn't check in to see them in zero gravity still wondering if they'd make it home EVERY week. Maybe every third. Pages of this book are just being wasted. It's like they wrote a 40 issue story, and are just trying to stretch it to 51 issues.

Now, I'm not saying I hate Countdown, or regret buying every issue. I don't. I just know it hasn't had the same amount of punch as "52" through 14 issues.

[NMoline]

It is definitely intended to be a throwback cover. His character is a throwback to heroes of the past. Some people need to lighten up a bit.

[Captain Jim]

Kyle was supposed to have been from Earth-Eight, wasn't he?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Where was that stated?

[Ungenesis]

I'm pretty sure it was Infinite Crisis #6, but I don't have my issues here to check.

[Sean Walsh]

Man, I wish I'd known all this yesterday. Last night I filed suit with DC Comic and Time Warner for false advertising. :rolleyes: :p

If I win, they have to launch Didio in a catapult at the sun. I suspect he won't make it to Venus, so I figure I'll make a killing in the following lawsuit!

[jadrax]

Where was that stated?

In a wizard magazine interview from the start of 2006, I believe.

[4thHorseman]

I'm pretty sure it was Infinite Crisis #6, but I don't have my issues here to check.


Might have been. Because Alexander also said the same about Breach and someone else I believe.

[van_line]

At least the writers are finally learning that it's pointless to check in with some of the protagonists to say, "Guess what, They're still doing what they were last week!" 52 had the decency to leave you waiting to see where people left off for a week, maybe two or three here and there. There's already been several weeks of Countdown where characters have been stuck in quicksand, and have little but reminders that they're still there.

Issues where Jimmy Olsen didn't understand his powers, or figure out how to use them, issues where Mary Marvel just was brooding about the change in her powers, issues where Holly Robinson got a pedicure, or the Rogues just sat around doing coke and hookers. At some point, things need to start happening. They finally are, but it only took 52 six issues to get the ball rolling... not fourteen.

Case in point, in 52, Lobo wasn't in issues 1 through 17. Know why? Nobody wanted to see Lobo in space trying to be nice with a dolphin for four months. But when he became relevant, they made it a point to start including him. When Adam Strange, Animal Man, and Starfire were adrift, we didn't check in to see them in zero gravity still wondering if they'd make it home EVERY week. Maybe every third. Pages of this book are just being wasted. It's like they wrote a 40 issue story, and are just trying to stretch it to 51 issues.

Now, I'm not saying I hate Countdown, or regret buying every issue. I don't. I just know it hasn't had the same amount of punch as "52" through 14 issues.


this is exactly the problem for countdown with me. This week we had Jimmy Olsen again not understand his powers again.

[blackphoenix]

Now I know why Jimmy Olsen has to die...that outfit is absolutely horrid! Mr. Action my ass.

[blackphoenix]

I think it's the H-Dial.

[Paul Newell]

Might have been. Because Alexander also said the same about Breach and someone else I believe.
Helena Bertinelli/Huntress....Oh and Jason Rusch/Firestorm was on the list as well.

[Captain Jim]

"Our" Huntress is from another earth? That's a strange one. Helena Wayne, yeah, but Bertinelli?

[Captain Jim]

In all seriousness, maybe this Jimmy is from another earth. (Hence his use of all these powers.) The monitors seem convinced that anyone who's on the wrong earth has to die.

[David Atkins]

"Our" Huntress is from another earth? That's a strange one. Helena Wayne, yeah, but Bertinelli?

Well, if they can retroactively say that Kyle was (or was supposed to be) a native of Earth 8 prior to the first Crisis, I suppose the same could as easily have been said about Helena Bertinelli.

[Paul Newell]

"Our" Huntress is from another earth? That's a strange one. Helena Wayne, yeah, but Bertinelli?
The idea was that it was a fun little multiversal explanation that would fit a lot of the new Post-Crisis "legacy" heroes into the multiverse.

Eg. If the Multiverse still existed, we would have been introduced to Earth-8, where the age of heroism would have started several years later than it did on Earth 1, 2 & 4. On this Earth Kyle Rayner would have been Green Lantern instead of Hal Jordan, Breach would have been Captain Atom, instead of Nathaniel Adam, Helena Bertinelli was the Huntress, not Helena Wayne and Jason Rusch would have been Firestorm instead of Ronnie Raymond.

Other potential heroes would probably have been the Post-Crisis Katar-Hol, the current Blue Beetle and the Ryan Choi Atom.

Presumably we never saw Earth-8 during the Crisis because the potential for it hadn't happened yet, due to its heroic age starting much later than the other Earths and it wouldn't have diverged from the others until years after the Crisis happened.

[Captain Jim]

Ah, I get it now. Thanks.

[Jack]

There's also the possibility that the Monitors are wrong. I mean, they're obviously not going to succeed in killing off half the heroes in the DCU, so I wouldn't take their statements of "fact" as quite that yet.

[Paul Dee]

Curiously, the most interesting revelation may have come in the back-up. There one of the monitors says,

"At least three beings from other universes have recently walked your earth, brother, contaminating everything they come in contact with. Donna Troy. Kyle Rayner. Jason Todd. For the sake of all we hold dear, they must be exterminated."

So, evidently these three are indeed from alternate earths? I suspected it all along in Jason's case, and I guess it makes sense for Donna (since she did return from the dead), but why should this Kyle be from another earth? Not sure I get that one.

Oddly, I understand the reasons behind Kyle Rayner (to a certain extent, based on that panel in Infinite Crisis) but not for Donna Troy or Jason Todd. I thought they were meant to be New Earth anomalies because they'd returned from the dead, not because they were from another world? Actually, that makes no sense whatsoever because Jason Todd was never meant to die apparently so his resurection restores things back anyway. And then there's also Superman, Green Arrow etc who died but came back.

ha, I'm so lost now!


I suppose because Donna's made up of all the other multiverse Donna's she's seen as a threat (that's right isn't it?). Seems ridiculous that this Jason Todd's from another universe though, regardless of out-of-character he's being. The only thing more ridiculous than bringing him back from the dead is to kill him off in another explosion, have a big mega-crossover Crisis event which explains why he came back from the dead, then create loads of other universes, have Jason show back up and then reveal he's from another universe. I'm not one of those who felt that bringing him back cheapened his death in A Death in the Family but I really think that bringing him back then killing him off again and replacing him with another universe's version does.

[The Shadow]

On the cover of Countdown #38 it says "THE FIRST APPERANCE OF MR. ACTION!" and "COLLECTOR'S ITEM!" but ofcourse if you were reading countdown you would know that this isnt Mr Actions first apperance infact his first apperance was way back in issue #41. So why is it that DC still publicizes this crap.

Maybe by the numbering it will be? Maybe he doesn't appear after 38... so his appearances would be in Countdown #'s 38-41 if the books were release in proper order!

[The Shadow]

Who were the characters in the Freedom Fighters?

I didn't get the recent mini and I only recognized Uncle Sam, Ray and Black Condor. Who were the women?

[Jack Zodiac]

Miss America and Red Bee.

[The Shadow]

Miss America and Red Bee.

Thanks... but I thought Marvel owned Miss America. :confused:

[Jack Zodiac]

Miss America, this one, was a Quality Comics character, like most of the Freedom Fighters. Created in 1941, predates Marvel's own Miss America by two years. I doubt either company's gonna' fight over her name or title. Pretty common name, unlike Captain Marvel.

[rerun]

So is Sinestro War happening in the future? Because Hal was there helping out but it seems like he's having his hands full in the Green Lantern book I just read :) Thi is the worst thing about Countdown.

[TotalWorldDomination]

In all seriousness, maybe this Jimmy is from another earth. (Hence his use of all these powers.) The monitors seem convinced that anyone who's on the wrong earth has to die.

Perhaps Jimmy is a "Merged" character like Donna Troy- the combination of all possible versions of himself from all over the multiverse. If that was true it would make him a big target.

I imagine the fact that each person from another universe staying in a non-native universe makes it easier to get to that universe from the previous one. That would mean characters like Jimmy and Donna are litteraly links to the whole multiverse, making it possible to get to New Earth from ANY earth in the multiverse. No wonder Jimmy Olsen must die...

[Captain Jim]

So is Sinestro War happening in the future? Because Hal was there helping out but it seems like he's having his hands full in the Green Lantern book I just read :) Thi is the worst thing about Countdown.

I'm not sure "future" is the right word, but think Countdown is indeed behind Sinestro War at the moment.

[The Shadow]

Miss America, this one, was a Quality Comics character, like most of the Freedom Fighters. Created in 1941, predates Marvel's own Miss America by two years. I doubt either company's gonna' fight over her name or title. Pretty common name, unlike Captain Marvel.

Great stuff!

Thanks!

[Paul Dee]

Did anyone else think that issues 38 and 39 had the covers the wrong way round? Either due to the art not being ready or simply doen to DC not noticing but the 'Viral Breakout' cover seemed more apt for #38 when the virus storyline was actually a major part of the issue and #39 should have had the first appearance of Mr Action since that issue actually had his frst (Countdown) appearance in it?


Also: are the Marvel family, Freedom Fighters etc in the same danger as Kyle Rayner?