Rip Hunter's chalkboard scribblings *SPOILERS*

**doomworm** · 06-16-2006, 01:06 AM

Nobody has started a thread devoted to the scrawlings on the chalkboard, and we all know at least some of it will be important later on. I have hereby blatantly pulled the list Jack wrote from the main discussion thread so we could fire away at these many, many lines.

Originally Posted by Jack

Because I'm oh so bored, here is a complete list of the stuff written on the blackboard, plus the books on the floor.

TIME IS BROKEN
Dead by lead?
Further time is different
The four horsemen will end her rain?
He won't smell it.
Sonic disrupt[obscured] -> Time Masters -> Time Servants
The reach (x3)
The Tornado is in pieces.
"I'm not kryptonite"
it hurts to breathe.
2000 years from now
The Scarab is Eternal?
Where is the Curry Heir?
Who is Super Nova?
Find the last "EL"
MAN OF STEEL
What happened to the son of Superman?
Who is Diana Prince?
Don't ask the Question. It lies.
MORTAL SAVAGE (IM crossed out at the beginning)
The old Gods are DEAD, the new Gods want what's left.
Te versus (Au + Pb)
Who is Super Nova?
World War III -> Why? How?
The LAZARUS PIT RISES
WHEN AM I?
OTHERS?
I'm supposed to be DEAD?
KHIMAERA LIVES AGAIN
Where is the Batman? -> Who is the Batwoman?
SILVERBLADE
FIND THE SUN DEVILS
INFINITY INC
WHO'S WHO
What is spanner's galaxy?
CASEY THE COP
WORLD WAR III WHY? HOW?

Other things include: pieces of paper grouped with the numbers 51, 53, 54, 55 and 56, but the one places where 52 should be is blank. There are a whole load of 52s in circles on the blackboard, and a lot of the notes have Sigmas in front of them. There are also some crosses on the globe, and lots of clocks with the time being 5 to 12.

Personally, I'm gonna go with the clocks being at 8 minutes to 12.

It has also been noted that Te is Tellurium, the 52nd element in the periodic table.

I'm wondering if "it hurts to breath" and "He won't smell it" and possibly "I'm supposed to be DEAD?" are related.

Also: "Who is Super Nova?" and "What happened to the son of Superman?" might be give-aways just as easily as red herrings.

Rip Hunter's Wiki entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_Hunter

**sly_kat** · 06-16-2006, 01:17 AM

personally i heard this odd theory that was bouncing round... perhaps... those 52 seconds stolen from the previous year by dr. tyme is being used to house the scientists....? and as for booster... well he's got something coming one way or another... itll be interesting to see how all this works itself out.... isnt the khimera one, the ancient evil reborn in st. roch in the hawkgirl current series?
also y is it on his bulletin board it says 'who is super nova' twice?:)

**Pól Rua** · 06-16-2006, 02:45 AM

Dead by lead? Could be a reference to Daxamites, whose fatal weakness is lead. Possibly a reference to the Metal Men (though that's more of a stretch, really), or even Blue Beetle (shot in the head).

He won't smell it. Super-smell? Krypto?

Sonic disrupt[obscured] -> Time Masters -> Time Servants Sonic Disruptors was a series set outside of DCU Continuity. Time Masters was a miniseries about Rip Hunter and his crew vs the Illuminati.

The Tornado is in pieces. Red Tornado? Possibly a reference to The Tornado Tyrant/Champion?

The Scarab is Eternal? Could be Blue Beetle's scarab, could be The Scarab, (out-of-continuity) Vertigo Miniseries set in the DCU featuring a Dr.Fate-a-like.

Where is the Curry Heir? Arthur (Aquaman) Curry. Aquababy? killed by Black Manta. May also be a reference to Garth (Tempest/Aqualad).

Who is Super Nova? Based on upcoming solicitations for 52, Super Nova will be a new hero in Metropolis. (Shades of Alpha Centurian!)

Find the last "EL" El, of course is Superman's family name, so yeah, probably refers to Clark/Kal.

MAN OF STEEL - John Byrne's post reworking of Superman's origin, which was superseded by Waid's Birthright. Again, with the eliminated continuity.

What happened to the son of Superman? Again, with the out-of-continuity stories. There were several imaginary stories about the sons of Superman.

Who is Diana Prince? Pre-(and of course, now post-)Crisis secret identity of Wonder Woman. More references to continuity eliminated by CoiE.

Don't ask the Question. It lies. The Question, of course, is from Pre-Crisis Charlton Continuity (Earth-6).

MORTAL SAVAGE (IM crossed out at the beginning) Vandal Savage, maybe... or possible reference to the Immortal Man/Vandal Savage thing. IM was of course, killed in Crisis.

The old Gods are DEAD, the new Gods want what's left. Kirby's Fourth World reference.

Te versus (Au + Pb) Tellurium vs Gold + Lead. Gold & Lead, of course are members of the Metal Men, and of course there's the whole Lead/Gold Dichotomy in Alchemy (More Morrisonian hijinks, methinks - witness the Alchemical Wedding in his Doom Patrol).

Who is Super Nova? Again, with the Supernova. Nova, of course also means 'New', so a 'New Superman'. Wahey. Also, possibly an all-new Super-Character (Earth-Prime Superboy?) ... the Last El?

World War III -> Why? How? Could be a reference to pre-Crisis, out of continuity stories like Kamandi, Atomic Knights, Hex, etc...

I'm supposed to be DEAD? This sounds like a character who's been thrust back into existence in the wake of IC confused by the realization of his pre-Crisis death.

KHIMAERA LIVES AGAIN Can't remember who this is a reference to, yeah, yeah... take away my nerd badge.

SILVERBLADE Another Pre-Crisis, Out-of-continuity miniseries.

FIND THE SUN DEVILS Ditto.

INFINITY INC Of course, another series affected by Crisis Continuity shuffles.

WHO'S WHO The DC Guidebook produced DURING Crisis, which featured pre-and-post Crisis info, depending on how far through it you've gotten. Again, with the comic title metatextuality, Grantidee doing his whole self-aware characters in a story Schtick (see Coyote Gospel in Animal Man).

What is spanner's galaxy? Another pre-Crisis out of continuity series.

CASEY THE COP Early days humour strip (out of continuity, natch).

WORLD WAR III WHY? HOW? Again with the WWIII. This may have even been another miniseries... hrm. Can't precisely recall. Of course, the why? how? may be because our 'speaker' is receiving conflicting information from a number of separate 'realities'.

Okie doke, to put it all together, this sounds like stream-of-consciousness word soup concocted by people displaced or having had their histories/continuities displaced by the two Crises.
Any others?
Stuff I missed?

Bueller?

**Babylon23** · 06-16-2006, 03:01 AM

Nice analysis Pol Rua. It looks like Rip is scribbling about the old multiverse.

Once quick correction: The Scarab Vertigo series is part of DCU continuity. Scarab appeared in the early issues of the current JSA series.

I also wonder if the Curry Heir refers to the mysterious young Arthur Curry currently appearing in Aquaman, Sword of Atlantis.

MOrtal Savage could also refer to the current Vandal Savage storyline in JSA Classified, which features a dying Vandal Savage. At the beginning of the sotry, Savage returns from space, so it may be that he plays a role in 52.

**Paul Newell** · 06-16-2006, 04:31 AM

Originally Posted by Pol Rua

Te versus (Au + Pb) Tellurium vs Gold + Lead. Gold & Lead, of course are members of the Metal Men, and of course there's the whole Lead/Gold Dichotomy in Alchemy (More Morrisonian hijinks, methinks - witness the Alchemical Wedding in his Doom Patrol).

Tellurium has an atomic number of 52. :)

**Michael Painter** · 06-16-2006, 07:05 AM

The "He won't smell it," seems like it has to do with Elongated Man. His nose twitches every times there's a mystery. Perhaps his part of 52 will be more about him, and less about solving the 52 mystery.

**TommyV** · 06-16-2006, 07:14 AM

All of the above remarks are correct, and there's a lot of foreshadowing and mystery going on here. However, I can't help but think that a lot of the chalk-board scribblings are merely references to what's going on in the one year later books right now - sort of an advertisement for them and nothing more, such as the MORTAL SAVAGE thing (Vandal Savage's current story in JSA Classified), WHO IS DIANA PRINCE (read WW # 1 to find out!), KHIMAERA LIVES AGAIN (read Hawkgirl), etc. A lot of these have yet to be explained, but some of them ARE currently being explained in the OYL books.

**UniqueFrequency** · 06-16-2006, 10:44 PM

i dunno about you guys, but i got a very "Lost" vibe when i saw that page. reminded me of Locke seeing the blast doors in Lockdown.

i really loved it! wonder what most of it is alluding to. first '52' by Tornado Red and now 52 all over Rip Hunter's board!!

**doomworm** · 06-17-2006, 04:23 AM

Originally Posted by Michael Painter

The "He won't smell it," seems like it has to do with Elongated Man. His nose twitches every times there's a mystery. Perhaps his part of 52 will be more about him, and less about solving the 52 mystery.

Nicely figured. I never though about that.

**van-zee** · 06-17-2006, 03:06 PM

Originally Posted by doomworm

Nicely figured. I never though about that.

What the heck is Ralph up to anyway? We haven't seen him since that crazy hoodoo Kryptonian Cult mambo-jambo. Wonder if he's one of them now?

**UniqueFrequency** · 06-17-2006, 08:23 PM

Originally Posted by van-zee

What the heck is Ralph up to anyway? We haven't seen him since that crazy hoodoo Kryptonian Cult mambo-jambo. Wonder if he's one of them now?

yeah that's one thing about 52. they can't seem to cover everything they want to for that week. just like how Steel and Montoya seemingly have done nothing in week 6.

**Sabrinaset** · 06-17-2006, 09:32 PM

TOP TEN RIP HUNTER MESSAGES NOT SEEN IN THE COMIC:

10) Hawkman continuity ARRRGH
9) Must stop time travelling to check out Power Girl's rack ... must stop...
8) Dr. Thomkins is a killer! No she isn't! YES SHE IS!
7) I'm insane! Damn Yellow Fear Monster!
6) I thought this was chalk, but it's really a Clayface! Nooooo!
5) No More Mutants.
4) The Earth is Growing! Damn you Neal Adams!
3) Kite man is returning! Beware!
2) The Goddamn Batman!
1) Whose side am I on?!?

**SuperSince92** · 06-18-2006, 08:33 PM

I'm hoping World War III is actually a reference to something yet to come. In light of what unfolded earlier in this issue with the GL's and Black Adam's new coalition, I'm hoping we get a big storyline that perhaps plays out amidst 52...or even in the books once 52 is completed.

**Lex** · 06-18-2006, 09:12 PM

Originally Posted by Babylon23

It looks like Rip is scribbling about the old multiverse.

I'm thinking those things have now been integrated into this new universe. We saw the Tangent Green Lantern appear, so I'd bet that other things have entered this universe.

It'll be interesting to see how the Sun Devils and those others fit.

**doomworm** · 06-19-2006, 11:58 AM

I was wondering if anyone else caught that appearance by the Tangent Lantern. She has a new name, but the powers sound the same. That's cool. I would be stoked to see the Tangent Superman show up, too. I don't know that he would make it very far in the greater DC universe, but he was a neat character.

The thing I'm having a difficult time accepting is the willy-nilly chicken scratch methods of the chalkboard, as well as the somewhat crazy nature of the pictures of Booster. I suppose Rip Hunter discovered sinister something when his time machine broke, and knew he would be captured, in which case he was literally trying to leave notes about what he knew for whomever would come along after him.

Given that his machine is broken, I suppose I can accept the fact that he was actually in a hurry to record this stuff as quickly as possible. However, if he was really that scared, he would have to know that his soon-to-be kidnapper could violate his hideout's time control lock. That limits our suspects to only a few dozen (!) DC time travelers.

And Egg Fu, of course. :)

So besides "Casey the Cop" being an older strip, does anyone know much about it? Looks like it's back in continuity.

Sabrinaset, NICE list! That had me rolling!