Pick of the Brown Bag
June 22, 2021
by
Ray Tate
Welcome to the Pick of the Brown Bag. This week, I look at the new Mister Miracle, the new Wonder Girl and the return of Stargirl in her Spring Break Special. For some reason, It has been harder and harder to reach Twitter, but hopefully you can still find me there when in need of a quick decision: #PickoftheBrownBag.
Three men assumed the name of Mister Miracle. All three are valid because they were created by the legendary Jack Kirby.
Thaddeus Brown was the first Mister Miracle, a human escape artist who meets the drifting New God Scott Free. When the gang boss Steel Hand kills Thaddeus to win an escapology wager--a very high wager, Scott assumes Thaddeus' identity and soon gains a taste for the act.
Scott of course is the best known Mister Miracle, but there is a bona fide third Mister Miracle. Scott took on apprentice Shilo Norman. Also created by Jack Kirby.
Now wether or not Jack Kirby intended the passage of the torch is moot. However, the final issue of Mister Miracle contributes this scene in the for category.
That sounds like a setup for a new Mister Miracle to me. The Powers That Be at DC tend to allow sidekicks to age; their mentors always manage to keep their youth somehow. Barda and Scott are New Gods. They don't grow old like we mortals.
Shilo matured to adulthood and became the third Mister Miracle, last seen in Future State but better remembered in Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers. Neither I doubt has any bearing on continuity proper.
The mature Shilo Norman returns in Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom by writer Brandon Easton, artist Fico Ossio and colorist Rico Renzi.
I really enjoyed ninety-nine point ninety-five percent of this latest version of Mister Miracle.
First, it has nothing to do with Future State, where DC reintroduced Mister Miracle as a Superman backup. A failed experiment as far as I'm concerned. Second, Easton updates the Mister Miracle themes for the present day. We find that Mister Miracle is the perfect subject for our watchful society. Third, Shilo's not a superhero. He performs escapes, witnessed by millions.
Any purposeful acts of heroism come with an ulterior motive.
Heroism to raise one's presence and brand is an interesting twist. Though I object to the idea that any crime is beneath Superman's attention.
Especially if it occurs in Metropolis. My guess is Superman heard that explosion. He homed in on it with his telescopic vision. Saw Mister Miracle and checked that off as problem solved. No doubt making a note to follow Mister Miracle's progress and lend a hand if things go south.
The arson case catalyzes a number of events in the book that add depth to the story and dimension to the plotting.
Mister Miracle meets a potential candidate for a relationship. Not only do we get a cute female firefighter. Their accidental meeting also opens up the book for an exploration of complications associated with involvement between the Average Jane and a celebrity, a masked, anonymous celebrity.
That's interesting. She didn't even know Mister Miracle was curious until his lawyer/manager Vito shows up with the NDA. Mister Miracle avoids working up the nerve to ask somebody out. It's brilliance and total cowardice at the same time.
Mister Miracle is about something. The book tackles racism and for the most part successfully addresses it within the context of a superhero universe. I don't believe it was necessary to rewrite Thaddeus Brown as a black man, but that's all right. It doesn't alter the story in any bad way.
Certain things would change in a superhero universe. There would be less successful violent acts. There would be less disaster, natural and otherwise, but systemic racism? Yeah. That's a factor that would still be in play. There would be less organized racism from such fruitcakes as the Ku Klux Klan and the Proud Boys, but the casual every day racism metastasizing out of slavery and the fight to protect the shameful institution would still be there. The corruption in our society would still be a clear and present danger.
So that's that ninety-nine point ninety-five part of the book I liked minus the Superman objections. The big headache though arrives at the end.
When this character appears as the solution to who's been stalking Mister Miracle, my brain shut down. I just. What? How? When?
You may wonder if this figure and identity is enough to prevent me from picking up another issue of Mister Miracle. We'll see. Overall I was totally invested in Shilo Norman, his striving to be an ace escapologist, his occasional crimefighting, his personal life, his status as a hidden Black man. I was into that. Then that thing with the nineties dress sense shows up. Grrrrr.
More failed experiments from Future State given a new coat of paint and replanted into the present day. Wonder Woman from Future State is now properly Wonder Girl. The visually arresting Yara Flor is the latest in a surprisingly long line of Wonder Girls.
I won't be getting into a history lesson for Wonder Girls. Since it can be summed up thusly: the first Wonder Girl was Wonder Woman as a girl, the second Wonder Girl was Donna Troy who became an unnecessary poster child for why you should not "multiply entities." The third Wonder Girl was Cassie Sandsmark, who also became an unnecessary poster child for why you should not "multiply entities."
Of course my favorite Wonder Girl is Wonder Woman's actual sister Drusilla.
Portrayed by Debra Winger on Wonder Woman. "All our hopes are pinned upon you."
Sensation Comics #1
Anyway, our latest Wonder Girl Yara Flor is unaware that she is gifted with powers beyond those of mortals.
We are still unaware of how she received these abilities, but they may have something to do with the dream Yara experiences on a plane.
No snakes. Just dreams. She's on her way to visit Brazil, and she states a curious thing.
Yara seems nice. She's all about doing the right thing and everything, but as they were in the bloated special Infinite Frontier, the actual Amazons of Themyscira are twitchy.
They're not alone.
Oh, shit. Even Batman? But how. Batman has no special mental abilities.
What? Batman, Jr. Too!
Jeane Lafitte? Great Scott! I didn't even know Jean Lafitte was part of the DCU.
I mean the girl is just wheeling around a small suitcase in Rio. She must be emitting some amazing pheromones.
Holy Moley! One of the crocodiles from The Rescuers is perturbed as well! The vibes are so powerful they're breaching the Marvel-Disney verse.
Pretentious, Wonder Girl is not. It's very clear to me that Joelle Jones wants to have fun with this character, and it's fairly infectious.
Jordie Bellaire's colors must also be mentioned. Wonder Girl represents a multitude of skin tones, all of them aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, there's burnished armor, the red white and gold of Superman and green melodic seascapes.
Above all, Wonder Girl feels like a crash course in the history of Wonder Woman. There's the historical element in the dream. A modern day story. A return to Themyscira. A visit to Mount Olympus. Nazis are the only thing missing.
Yara bears some sort of link to an Amazonian heritage, but she's neither savage or stupid. That's something a lot of Wonder Woman scholars miss.
All Star Comics #8
The Amazons in the original Wonder Woman stories weren't the feral warrior-women of mythology. They were a sophisticated mutually cooperative society whose longevity led to an advancement of technology and a near Utopia. A radical notion when you think about it.
Keeping track of Stargirl? Courtney Whitmore alias Stargirl has a lot of staying power. She debuted on television in Smallville and returned to the medium fighting Nazis in Legends of Tomorrow.
After the CW's Crisis on Infinite Earths, Courtney premiered on a restructured contemporary Earth Two in her own eponymous series. Now deservedly heading toward its second season.
Originally known as the new Star-Spangled Kid, Stargirl was created by Geoff Johns and Lee Moder, for the series Stars and Stripe.
One of the best series DC ever produced in the post-Crisis. Stargirl made the jump to the New 52, debuting in Justice League of America before moving to the friendlier Justice League United where she had the honor of fighting alongside Batgirl.
Infinite Frontier erased the slate and facilitated the reintroduction of Stargirl. Make no mistake. For Geoff Johns, this is personal, not a Mary Sue. Courtney Whitmore is based on Johns' sister, who lost her life in the explosion of TWA Flight 800.
The latest version of Stargirl borrows some facets from the new television series. Pat Dugan is her stepfather and sidekick, which she emphasizes, in the Spring Break Special.
She talks about Stargirl being her destiny. The Staff is alive and chose her. Of course since Geoff Johns is heavily involved with the series. One can say he's borrowing from himself.
In Stars and STRIPE and subsequent continuities, none of this was exactly the case. Courtney became the Star-Spangled Kid to mainly needle Pat, who yes, built STRIPE. Meant to recall his former identity. Stripesy.
When his power became internalized, Jack Knight the son of the original Starman Ted Knight gave Courtney his staff. The staff wasn't alive, nor magical. Rather, it was a reconfiguration of the original Star Man's wand. It was science.
None of these fusions make a bean of a difference. Neither does the Shining Knight now sporting a beard like he does on the television series. Johns probably in hindsight would have liked to have made these changes.
I don't know what DC and Johns plans for Stargirl. This double-sized Spring Break Special however is pleasing for many a geek, such as myself and worth the extra coin. I'd be happy with just more seasonal specials if a series isn't in the works.
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The story is about the Clock King attempting to travel back in time and undoing his greatest misdeed. He sees the flaw in being a villain and wants to convince his younger self to eschew a life of crime.
You may know the Clock King as Temple Fugate. The classy time master from Batman the Animated Series. This is not the Clock King from the comics. Here's the historically accurate Clock King from Stargirl Spring Break Special fighting his arch foe.
The Green Arrow makes his restored appearance in the Seven Soldiers of Victory. Geoff Johns purposely kept the Green Arrow out of the New 52's reboot of the Justice League. I wonder if he intended for the explanation for his absence to be the elegant one found in the Stargirl Spring Break Special. No, no. No spoilers for this one.
In another fusion. Green Arrow partners with the new Speedy, meant to parallel Thea Queen from The Arrow.
I just miss Thea. That's why.
The Arrow actually introduced Emiko as Oliver Queen's second half-sister. Roy Harper the original Speedy was also one of the original Seven Soldiers of Victory. Johns' solution to the multiple appearances of Green Arrow and Speedy gives a better reason for Harper becoming involved with drugs and/or alcohol. As of this writing, the New 52 expunged Harper's needle addiction for a bottle.
The Seven Soldiers--Green Arrow, Shining Knight and the Vigilante--ask Pat Dugan to join them on a new mission. The lady is the new Crimson Avenger created by Geoff Johns and Scott Kollins. She didn't bank on the kids joining the show and strongly recommends their departure.
The mission takes the Seven Soldiers into the past to save the timeline. Johns doesn't fool around with the Seven Soldiers. This is a task worthy of their attention. It's worthy of the Justice League's attention as well as the Justice Society's attention, but neither organization is at the table right now.
Courtney and Emiko of course have no intention of butting out. Somehow they're part of this. They wouldn't be in the vicinity otherwise. At least, that's their thinking, and they may be correct. Time is in flux.
The original Crimson Avenger at the wheel
Make no mistake, I've had beefs with Johns' handling of stories involving the old heroes of the DCU before, but not this time. His tale just crackles, and he's perfectly partnered by Todd Nauck. Nauck's art is full of energy, and his style snaps. He's even better here than he was on the highly recommended Young Justice.
