Marvel's New Universe (1986)

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I'm very jealous. Somewhere in my parents house is a complete run of DP7, a mostly complete run of Nightmask a handful of Starbrands, Kickers inc, Justice and a copy of the Draft. I'll be most interested when you start getting towards the end of the run.
 
I think the concept of a “new universe” was a great idea. I just don’t think the material they came up with was great. I remember being interested back then (13 years old) and then seeing the comics themselves and saying “meh”.
 
I was a total comics virgin when it came out and just the idea of an ongoing story was a relevation(this was before the days of comic shops and geek media. You grabbed a copy in the newsagents if they had it).

To go from random silver age comics to an ongoing story based in a realistic world...mind = blown.
 
(I've just gone back through the thread and didn't realise I'm just repeating myself. Apologies for the early onset dementia I'm exhibiting)
 
Some of the in-house ads, and promo items sent to comic book shops to pimp the start of the imprint.

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i’ve never seen that third piece of art before! In the late 2000s I cleaned out my Comic Scene collection, and among them was a short NU article with a picture of Justice in what Ai believe was to be post-Pitt NYC. AFAIK that art was never published anywhere else (and I don’t recall him in NYC post-Pitt) adding to my list of regrets of recycling my Comic Scene collection.
 
In an alternate universe somewhere....

“Little Johnny, are you going to read this comic anymore? I’m going to throw it in with the rest of the recycling.”

“Go ahead, ma! I’ve read Action Comics #1 a million times already!”
 
The following sales pitch/mission statement appeared in all the various Marvel comics during the month of the launch of the line.

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Gonna hold you to that, Jim.
 
Almost ready. A few last-minute notes on the format I'll be using, to avoid confusion:

I'll be going through the various issues in order of publication. Both Cover Date and Publication Date will be listed, courtesy of Mike's Amazing World of Comics. For those not familiar with American comics in the 80's, the Cover Date was usually around 3-4 months ahead of the actual Publication Date, for, err, reasons. There is, I suspect, at least one error in the listed Publication Dates, but I can't prove so one way or the other, and it's not a big deal either way.

As there were usually two comics published per week during the first year of the imprint, I'll be doing them in reverse alphabetical order, so I can start with the flagship title Star Brand.

(Anal-retentive? Moi? What on earth makes you say that?)

If more than one artist is listed, but no other details are provided, it will be the penciler and inker, respectively.

Because these stories are in theory supposed to advance in real time, I'll also be posting the real-world dates that the stories were supposed to take place in, if it can be determined (in the last year of the imprint, an integrated timeline of the early events began to appear in the back of the remaining books – some issues are skipped though, and there may otherwise be some errors).

Finally, just for fun (okay, it'll be fun for me, if no one else) I'll be listing three different counters as they get triggered: Crossover Elements (not including the White Event itself, since that's the core premise of the line), Violation Of Premise, and Retcons (the second will inevitably lead to the third, at least in a few cases).
 
According the NU timeline, the White Event occurred on July 22, 1986, 4:22 PM EST. Yes, that's why I waited until today to start this. Happy 35th anniversary, New Universe.

* * *​

Star Brand #1 - “The Star Brand”

Cover Date: October 1986
Publication Date: July 15, 1986
Story: Jim Shooter
Art: John Romita, Jr. & Al Williamson
Timeframe: July 27-29, 1986

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A pretty generic cover, to be honest.

There is a weapon in the universe more powerful than all others. So says our opening splash page. No more coveted, feared, loved or hated thing exists. Only a fool, or a madman – or the right man – would dare possess... THE STAR BRAND. I guess we'll see over time which category our protagonist falls under.

Cut to the Laurel Mountains of western Pennsylvania, where a motorcyclist is testing himself on the rough terrain. He comes across a large burned area, and notes that the nearby trees are broken down, as if the area had been bombed. As he surveys the scene, he encounters someone.

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The next page has Connell waking up the next morning, and then we see flashbacks of the old man talking to him. He mentions the White Event (although not referring to it by that name), and says that time is running out for him, as he's dying, and he was looking for someone to pass on the star brand to.

Green Lantern origin? You're swimming in it!

Connell freaks a bit when he realizes he can't remove the brand. Following the tracks of the old man to the bottom of a ravine, he finds the old man 1) dead, and 2) his appearance no longer human. Connell buries the old man/alien in a cave, using his newfound super-strength to seal it off. A few hours later, he returns to his apartment in a suburb of Pittsburgh. As an aside, while not fancy, his apartment looks pretty spacious for something that only one person resides in. He tests his new abilities, which aside from super strength also seem to include flight and invulnerability. He then goes to see his friend Myron (who does pretty well for himself, judging by the size of his house) in another part of the Pittsburg area. After demonstrating his new abilities, the two talk about whether they should reveal this to the authorities or not.

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And then an alien in powered armor shows up out of nowhere and attacks. Don't you hate it when that happens?

Connell flies away, luring the alien away from Myron, and toward a slag dump near a railroad. The alien demolishes one of the railroad cars, and Connell begins to panic. Perhaps tied in to that panic/fear is his super-strength momentarily failing him. The alien confronts Connell, telling him that the old man was lying, and that he is not dead, and that he has been duped. The alien tells Connell that he is more worthy of the star brand, and Connell, frightened, briefly considers.

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“Well, eat it!” I'm certain Spider-Man is embarrassed that he never came up with a quip quite so scintillating.

Myron eventually makes his way to the battle site, where he finds a naked Connell. The channeling of energy into a nova-like explosion had disintegrated all of his clothes and possessions he was carrying... which wasn't all bad, as he admits that at one point during the fight he had wet his pants.

We then get to meet another member of the supporting cast...

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Debbie the Duck, a Manic Pixie Dream Girl two decades before that term came into being.

Ken has Debbie call out of work the next day, and has to deal with the mundane realities of paying a locksmith to let him inside his apartment, as well as getting a replacement driver's license and credit card, since they were also destroyed in the explosion. He makes a mental note to repay Deb for her assistance, which reminds him that he has a date with is actual girlfriend later that evening. He goes to the mountain where he had buried the old man, only to find that his body is no longer there. There are instead a suit of clothes left behind that Ken intuits did not belong to old man alien, but will instead fit him instead.

Later that evening he is having dinner with his girlfriend Barbara Petrovic. After Barbara sends her two children Laurie and Bobby to bed, he comments that she's pretty much perfect, which prompts her to bring up the topic of marriage. Ken waffles, and she immediately backtracks, realizing that he's clearly not ready for that sort of commitment. They get ready for some proper necking when Ken hears something outside her apartment, his paranoia immediately kicking in.

Rushing up to the Laurie's bedroom, they find the window open. As Ken investigates, Barbara see Laurie holding one of the alien's guns, aimed at Ken's back. He snatches it away, startling Barbara. She thinks that Laurie is just sleepwalking, and that the gun is just one of Bobby's toys (even though she never buys him toy guns) or perhaps one of his friend's toys. Ken knows better, realizing the alien is still alive, and rushes off, leaving a perplexed Barbara behind.

Later, when on the phone with Myron, Ken acknowledges that this is getting to him, that he's afraid to turn his back on anyone, and is afraid to go to sleep in case the alien attacks again. For his part, Myron, who is calling from a pay phone (remember those?) because he's fearful that his phone might be tapped, as the FBI has been in the area, and the damage to his house had them asking questions.

Debbie shows up, letting Ken know that his boss said that if he doesn't show up for work tomorrow that he'll be fired. Realizing that something is bothering Ken, she asks if something is wrong with him and Barbara, as she apparently knows that he's dating her (no idea if the reverse is true). She says she wishes that she could make whatever is wrong better... but failing that, Ken will always have her.

Damnit, girl, get some self-esteem already.

She then sees one of the alien's guns on the couch, and Ken overreacts, knocking her out of the way to get it away from her. She thinks that's she's somehow done something wrong, and is apologetic, but after a moment of the alien's mind games preying on Ken, he apparently has a realization of what to do next. He tells Deb that everything will be okay, and causally mentions that he loves her, but never bothers to apologize for hitting her.

The next day, Ken is at his job at a used car reconditioning shop, apparently doing a good enough job that his boss's anger at him not showing up the day before is mollified. Ken uses his powers to get the boss's car from the upper level of the building.

Remember that bit in Shooter's sales pitch for the New Universe about buildings in comics having flat, smooth bottoms pre-Marvel? Well, in the New Universe, apparently cars have flat, smooth bottoms that you can easily lift if you have super-strength, instead of inconveniently not being able to support the entire weight of the vehicle in the areas you would be lifting against, collapsing down on you.

Later that day, Ken puts on the suit the old man left for him knowing that it is durable enough to stand up to him using his powers. He flies back to the mountains, and eventually finds the alien, with an alien vessel rising out of the ground. This time the fight goes Connell's way, as he is more confident and has at least some idea of what he is doing.

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Watch out, butts of the universe!

* * *​

So that was the premier issue of the flagship title of the New Universe. The original title for the series was 'Will Power', with the name that was eventually used coming from an unused concept by Archie Goodwin.

In all honesty, you can't say the first issue is particularly great – if memory serves it takes Shooter a few issues to really hit his stride – and there are parts that you might struggle to call merely good. In particular, some of the dialogue (“Well, eat it!' “Hm! Door...” “Get off of my planet!” “...if I have to kick every butt in the universe!”) is laughably bad. Also, we are supposed to believe that Ken has two women who are in love with him, even though from what we see of Ken it makes you wonder what they actually see in him. I dunno, maybe his dick is laced with cocaine, or something...

But even when the story isn't great, it's interesting. Ken Connell is a believably flawed character. In many ways this is Jim Shooter's most personal writing work he has done, and it shows through, for both good and bad.

Also, there's quite a bit going on here, and it covers a fair amount of ground. That may sound like it's a bit of a backhanded compliment, but it really isn't intended to be. In an era of decompressed storytelling, this would no doubt have been stretched out for several issues. But Shooter wanted to hook you with a single issue, and he gives us mysteries, multiple physical conflicts, insights into our protagonist (and how he isn't a typical comic book superhero), and a decent introduction to our supporting cast. It's rushed in spots, but at least it moves along at a brisk clip.

There are some nice touches in the writing, here and there. Shooter shows a fair amount of restraint in spots – the White Event is referenced, but not named, and he leaves it to other titles to explain to give more info for it. We don't get Connell's last name until page four, and his first name until page nine, letting us learn them when it would come up naturally, instead of just forcing it via exposition. There's also the nice conceit of the old man leaving various memories and knowledge via a form of sleep-teaching, letting Ken recall the relevant bits piecemeal instead of giving us one big info-dump.

Earlier in the thread G Gabriel brought up how Ken is the only one to have thought balloons. Not only is this true, but everything we see is focused around him. There are no cutaway scenes to show what other characters are doing when Ken's not around. Everything we see is pretty much from Ken's POV.

I've been concentrating on the writing, but the art is quite solid. Given the lack of budget the NU line had to work with, it was a bit of a surprise that rising star John Romita Jr. and industry vet Al Williamson signed on to the book as penciler and inker.

* * *​

Violation Of Premise counter: 1 – Despite the fact that everything in the NU is supposed to spring out of the White Event, we have aliens show up in the first issue.

(spoiler alert – this maaaaaay get retconned later on)
 
12 year old me had a bit of a thing for Debby "Duck". Even at that young age, and from that single issue, I could see Ken was no good for her.
 
Even though Barbara is the one that in the real world would be considered the greater catch, Debbie being odd and quirky (not to mention undemanding) is clearly the one Shooter meant for fanboys to be drawn to.
 
Even though Barbara is the one that in the real world would be considered the greater catch, Debbie being odd and quirky (not to mention undemanding) is clearly the one Shooter meant for fanboys to be drawn to.
And here's me bemoaning the laid-on-with-a-trowel nature of harem tropes in contemporary anime.
 
I've wondered for a long time what the truth behind the mystery of Star Brand actually was supposed to be. I don't really mind the idea of aliens in New Universe. I found the later revelations about the nature of things to be extremely anticlimactic and disappointing.

Then again, there's a good chunk of it in the art. It's right there in the image showing both Ken and the Old Man in profile. I don't think that was just an accident on Romita's part. I think at least some variant of that aspect was intended.

I think the stuff with aliens in Star Brand was some interesting double bluff kind of faking the audience out by showing them things that would be accepted without comment in another comic and then later analyzing those elements.
 
Even though Barbara is the one that in the real world would be considered the greater catch, Debbie being odd and quirky (not to mention undemanding) is clearly the one Shooter meant for fanboys to be drawn to.
I felt she had more personality and was atypical for comic love interests at the time. Shame she got treated badly by Ken. Aaaargh.
 
I would never think of Duck as a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, nor a draw for the fanboys. Back in the day I took her to be a little slow and a little down on her luck. By her standards (and perception) Ken is a great guy, but the reader knows he’s an egotistical jerk. For me, Duck was there to let us know how bad a person’s life could be affected by Ken, more a plot device tgan a person.



I recall being excited to find the first issue of Star Brand in a discount bin a few months after its release, only for Ken’s treatment of her to be the main reason I only bought the series from clearance boxes from then on.
 
It’s interesting to see how Romita Jr’s art had already changed since the early 80s. I see a lot of his later art style in there, such as the run on ASM with JMS.
 
Then again, there's a good chunk of it in the art. It's right there in the image showing both Ken and the Old Man in profile. I don't think that was just an accident on Romita's part. I think at least some variant of that aspect was intended.
I don't talk about it as much, but I do like Romita's work here, and he does some interesting things with the art. I especially like the dream sequences. On page five, panels three and six, with the bleed/transition between reality and memory (aided by colorist Christie Scheele) is *really* nice.

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Also, it's a small thing, but I also like how the borders of the dream panels are ragged instead of straight. Pretty certain I didn't notice that when I read these comics as a kid.
 
As an aside, there was some early speculation that the New Universe tied in directly to the last page of Shooter's Secret Wars II mini-series, which had concluded a half-year prior to the debut of the NU.
I can confirm that at least in my little corner of the world and fandom, that was absolutely what everyone believed. It's basically my headcanon about the New Universe.

In my headcanon, the White Event is the beginning of the New Universe in a literal sense. Basically that was the expansion of their spacetime. They began existence at the White Event and their pasts and futures expanded from that point.

I think it would have been a very interesting concept on multiple levels.
 
I can confirm that at least in my little corner of the world and fandom, that was absolutely what everyone believed. It's basically my headcanon about the New Universe.

In my headcanon, the White Event is the beginning of the New Universe in a literal sense. Basically that was the expansion of their spacetime. They began existence at the White Event and their pasts and futures expanded from that point.

I think it would have been a very interesting concept on multiple levels.
Hrms....watch this space, not quite the same but it might stir interest. :grin:
 
Spitfire And The Troubleshooters #1 - “Beginnings”

Cover Date: October 1986
Publication Date: July 15, 1986
Story: Eliot R. Brown (co-plotter), John Morelli (co-plotter), and Gerry Conway (script)
Art: Herb Trimpe (penciler), Joe Sinnott (co-inker), and Tom Morgan (co-inker)
Timeframe: August 5-9, 1986

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Welp, that's a cover, all right. More dynamic than the Star Brand cover, I guess, but it's still not particularly good.

Our story begins with a gray-haired man who is clearly in dire straits. The captions inform us that his name is Dr. Karl Swensen, and that he has 13 seconds to live. He is threatened by a figure in a metallic suit; said figure is after some of Swensen's designs, and admits that cooperation will merely determine how quickly the scientist dies. Swensen is defiant, trying to use various lab robots to ward off his attacker, but to no avail. In the end Swensen dies, and it is mentioned that the suit the threatening figure was in fact built by Swensen. The armored figure leaves the man's corpse, taking a safe with him, saying, “With or without you... we get what's ours!”

We then switch scenes, with a splash page introducing most of our main cast.

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The students are interrupted by one of their teachers, Professor Jenny Swensen. She isn't really upset by their prank – she had done similar as a student – but is more worried that they might get caught and suspended. Upon hearing someone coming, she moves to distract, giving the students a chance to clean up and leave. The people showing up are actually police detectives, there to inform Jenny of her father's death. A “freak lab accident”, they say, but they will still investigate.

At the funeral, Jenny meets Mr. Krotze, who was Karl's employer, and says he was also a friend. Jenny thinks to herself that her while father had mentioned Krotze before, it was never as a 'friend'. Krotze informs her that due to Karl's work contract, she only has 24 hours to remove any personal belongings from his lab, which was built on Krotze property.

The next morning, she goes to her father's house, under the watchful eye of a Krotze employee. She eventually makes his way to her father's computer, and with only a few minutes left to her, she uses her father's childhood nickname for her, 'Spitfire', to access a message from her father not to trust Krotze, but can't get any further before she has to leave.

After getting the runaround from Krotze to have more time to access her father's belongings, she spars a bit with her martial arts teacher, her anger obvious to him. She then goes to the students shown earlier – the Troubleshooters – as they call themselves. She originally had wanted to get their help in breaking into her father's house, but changes her mind when she considers the consequences of what could result. After she leave, the students decide to help her out anyways.

Later, Jenny is considering how to try to break into her father's house, which has multiple guards watching it. A nearby explosion draws the guards away, and Jenny quickly deduces who could have caused the diversion, berating herself for drawing her students into a criminal activity, no matter how justified. When she makes her way inside, she finds the Troubleshooters already inside, about to make their way inside the lab. She wants them to leave, but they're committed to helping her.

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Jenny then reveals that her father had built the lab with a few surprises. The lab splits into three parts, with each third on the flatbed of a tractor trailer, so that it could be taken away at a moment's notice. They manage to escape, the gunfire of the guards unable to stop them inside their semi-trucks.

Outside of Boston, the original model of the M.A.X. Armor – the suit used to kill Jenny's father, of course, is being tested with its upgraded military weaponry. When Krotze is told that Swensen's lab has been raided, he decides to send the model one M.A.X. To retrieve what he feels is his as a field test. Krotze and his people track down Jenny and the Troubleshooters to a rock quarry outside of Boston. Knowing that the trucks stand out where they are at, Jenny gets inside the model II M.A.X. Suit, which her father had dubbed Spitfire. She uses the suit to try to create a cave inside the rock wall where the trucks can be hidden.

That's when the model one M.A.X arrive, and the required fight sequence begins. Although the model II is smaller, and has no weaponry, Jenny is eventually able to overcome the man who killed her father. She then confronts the nearby Krotze, but decides not to kill him, vowing to find proof that he was responsible for her father's death. The issue ends with Jenny and her students crossing the Massachusetts-New Hampshire state line, heading for a place to lay low.

* * *​

There's not a whole lot to recommend about this. The basic concept is okay, but the plot is by-the-numbers, the characterization is paper-thin (with the Troubleshooters in particular being practically indistinguishable from each other in terms of personality), and the overall execution is pretty bland.

The original concept was developed by Eliot R. Brown and John Morelli (hence their credits as co-plotters). Their idea was a more realistic take on the Iron Man concept, with a suit that was at least somewhat mechanically believable – even by the mid-80's, Iron Man's suit was basically powered by plot device, and that was even before nanotechnology ever came into the picture.

* * *​

Violation Of Premise counter: 2 – even with the (by comic book standards) more grounded use of technology, the M.A.X. Suits are still beyond what real-world technology was capable of in the 1986. In Warren Ellis's newuniversal reboot from a couple of decades later, he gets around this a bit by making Jenny a paranormal, helping to explain how she can design such ultra-tech devices.
 
I was looking forward to Spitfire when it was announced, being big into hi-tech heroes back then. I still remember where I got the first and last issues, as sell as the ones a relative picked up for me while on active duty.



The series never really clicked with me, though. The initial supporting cast didn’t impress me, and I suspect my liking Jenny was my fondness for redheads I didn’t know I had at the time. I did enjoy a certain member of the later supporting cast, even if his appearances in other titles later upped his creep factor.
 
Psi-Force #1 - “Hour of the Wolf!”

Cover Date: November 1986
Publication Date: July 22, 1986
Story: Steve Perry
Art: Mark Texeira, Kyle Baker
Timeframe: August 3-6, 1986

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Another fairly generic cover, but not an awful one.

At a California dock at nighttime, KGB agents seek their prey. Which, as it turns out, is directly beneath them, a Native American man named Proudhawk and a Russian girl named Anastasia. He's been wounded, and while she can help him with her healing abilities, she tells him that there must be rest and recuperation in addition to what her special ability can do. He responds that there will be plenty of time for rest when they make it to a nearby boat, which will take them to a safe house.

They don't make it, of course. The KGB agents cut them off, claiming that Anastasia is the property of the Soviet People's Republic. Proudhawk replies that people aren't property, and for them to get bent. This prompts gunfire from the KGB agents, aiming at him as they don't want to hurt Anastasia. She thinks to herself that although he broke her out of the Siberian Project with ease, that she has been a burden to him and that It will be her fault if he is killed. The head KGB agent claims that Proudhawk's own government has disavowed his actions, and that there is a police bulletin out on him. Proudhawk doesn't fall for the latter claim, knowing that going through official channels would take too much time and draw more attention than the KGB wants. He tries to use his psychic ability to 'push' the agents into trusting him, but fatigue and injuries means he isn't quite able to control them all.

This has drawn the attention of the astral form of a young man named Tyrone, who returns quickly to the boat the get the help of Ling, who goes out of her way to aggressively conform to every Valley Girl stereotype you can think of. Ling freaks out when she realizes actual guns are being used, but even though she hates using her power, she telekinetically shatters the dock the KGB agents are on, causing them and their cars to drop into the waters below. The head KGB agents gives the 'this isn't over!' spiel as Proudhawk and Anastasia escape on the boat. Ling – first name Kathy – makes it clear she doesn't like any of this, as she used to be one of the popular crowd, but is now having to hang out with other freaks and weirdos. Much more reasonably, she's now ticked that Proudhawk has drawn the attention of the KGB on them. Then she freaks out again when she realizes that he's been shot. Anastasia heals him once again, but not without cost, as the more she uses her abilities, the more she feels the pain of their injuries.

We then get some backstory-via-flashback for Anastasia, whose parents in Russia sent her away to her aunt and uncle in Kansas, possibly because they realized she was 'different' – even as a child she had an unusual ability to work with plants. When said aunt and uncle were killed in an 'accident' she found out that her parents were also dead, and she was claimed by the KGB. Taken to a Siberian instillation, she finds herself with other people being tested who also seem to have unusual abilities. But it was only a few weeks earlier that her knack for growing flowers became a full-fledged healing ability, able to close wounds and heal various maladies with a touch.

We then get another set of flashbacks, this time for Proudhawk. A CIA agent, his assignment was to keep tabs on 'gifted' people with high ESP test scores or signs of otherwise unusual abilities. This task was of great interest to him, as he had always seemed to have a knack for being unusually persuasive. A few weeks earlier he learned that he could 'push' people into doing things. He also learned that the list he had compiled had been leaked by someone within the agency, and that people on the list had started to disappear. And that they had also shown signs of boosted powers. Quitting the CIA he began searching for the people on the list; some dead, some he couldn't find, but five (including Anastasia) he did find and has brought to a shelter for runaways in San Francisco called Sanctuary.

At Sanctuary, we meet Colby Shaw, who runs the shelter, and is salty at Proudhawk because she has had to keep one Wayne Tucker in check for the last week and a half; his powers don't make things any easier, and she's not inclined to act as a jailer for any kids who don't actually want to be there. While sympathetic, she's also realistic about the usual abilities the other kids he's brought in scaring the other residents of Sanctuary. Then the aforementioned Wayne shows up.

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Ah, teenage misunderstandings. Don't miss it at all.

Proudhawk explains that he believes that the info on them has probably been sold to interests who would not have their best interests at heart – possibly powerful private sector interests, maybe the Russians, or perhaps other branches of the U.S. Government. He had also had a dream (prophetic vision?) a year earlier that he believes applies to himself and the five youths, and that they are stronger together than separate.

The kids are of mixed feelings regarding this, and Anastasia in particular feels that Proudhawk being hurt was her fault, and that if she stays other people will get hurt as well. She leaves Sanctuary, and calls from a nearby pay phone one of the Russian agents in the area, who has been talking with another Russian agent called Mindwolf. Proudhawk finds out that she's left, and when the other kids aren't exactly eager to help, he 'pushes' them into searching for her.

They find her quickly enough, but she has already let the Russians know where she is. Wayne then overcomes Proudhawk's 'push', and the teens are understandably upset about him controlling them. That's when the KGB shows up, of course. Proudhawk and Mindwolf engage in psychic battle, with the Russian eventually killing his opponent. Kneeling over his corpse, Wayne realizes the medallion he was wearing seemed to be a focus for Proudhawk's powers, and that he feels compelled to take it. Michael and Kathy manage to take out most of the KGB agents, but Mindwolf doesn't go down so easily. Remembering that Proudhawk had said that their powers were stronger when working together, Wayne gets Michael, Kathy and Tyrone to focus on the medallion along with himself, and to “think about Hawk!”

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The Psi-Hawk engages Mindwolf battle once again, but Mindwolf is still too strong... until Anastasia, despite her reluctance, also adds her strength to the gestalt. Psi-Hawk is finally able to overcome Mindwolf, then dissipates after the battle is done.

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* * *​

This was one of the most popular of the NU titles, and it's easy to see why. The premise resembles a more grounder version of the X-Men. The five young protagonists, while all pretty much confirming to teenage stereotypes, are at least distinctive (as opposed to the Troubleshooters), and you can easily see how there can be conflict between the group as well as with the various factions that will be hunting them. Mark Texeira's art probably didn't hurt (although it would be a few more years before he became a star with the Ghost Rider series in the early 90's).

No, the comic wasn't written by the lead singer of Journey. More plausibly, he also isn't the Steve Perry who has written the Matador novels as well as a buttload of various licensed tie-in novels.

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Violation Of Premise counter: 3 – psychic powers existing before the White Event, even if on a more subdued and subtle level.
 
Nightmask #1 - “The Awakening”

Cover Date: November 1986
Publication Date: July 22, 1986
Story: Archie Goodwin
Art: Tony Salmons, Bret Blevins
Timeframe: July 22-24, 1986

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Not a great cover, but at least a more interesting one, and not quite so painfully generic, giving a hint of the sort of story we can expect to get.

A young man runs through darkness, naked. Dreams like this, even nightmares, never bothered him the way this is, as dream-research was the focus of his parents' work. Light appears, but something about the light frightens him. But the voice of his younger sister Teddy draws him toward the light...

Cut to a hospital room, the young man in a bed, a young woman in a wheelchair sitting next to him. Two hospital staff rush in, one male, one female, the latter occasionally peppering her speech with bits of Spanish to let you know that she's of Latino descent. The woman complains about the blinds being left up, and the man responds that was on doctor's orders, to “see if the kid in the coma there'd at least react to sunlight.” He comments further on the “freaky strobe effect from ma nature” that caused the lightshow through the window, and that it barely lasted a second. The woman Lita checks to see if the wheelchair-bound Teddy is okay, but she's more worried about her brother Keith. Then enters Dr. Ballad, who says that this 'white event”, as the radio has dubbed it, was a worldwide event.



So you're telling me that in maybe the span of a minute after the 'freaky strobe effect' we already have confirmation on the global nature of the phenomena and an agreed upon term for it? In pre-internet, pre-global instant communication 1986? I'm calling shenanigans, doc. See, it's stuff like this why trust in the medical profession has deteriorated in recent years.

Anyways, Keith – our young dreamer - has awakened, and is wondering why his parents aren't there. Then we flashback to an airport, where Keith's parents and Teddy are seeing him off for his summer trip to Zurich, studying at the Kleinmann Institute where his parents met. But as he realizes something is wrong, he tries to run away, but can't, because this isn't a flashback, but rather a dream-memory of the moments before an explosion killed his parents, crippled his sister, and put him into a coma. He himself had only barely survived, had multiple operations while in a coma, and might still be in one if not somehow awakened by the White Event. The bomb that exploded was placed by a terrorist, or at least that's what the authorities say, according to Ballad trying to comfort a now-awake Keith.

Later, while undergoing some physical therapy, Teddy tries to shake her brother out of his depression, and notes that the scar on his forehead – in the shape of a crescent moon – gets red when he gets angry. And then Lita shows up...

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Despite Lita's assertion, Keith does find himself dreaming later that evening, but now the airport is intermixed with the hospital. Following a voice from below, Keith finds a man being engulfed by tentacles coming from even further below; despite Keith's best efforts, the tentacles are too strong and numerous for him to help free the man. The man proclaims that “the Gnome” will never allow him to escape, and that he must die to protect the Gnome's treasures, “as those others had to die!” The talk of death angers Keith, and he finds the strength to rip the tentacles free of the man. As he does so, a loud pounding booms through the dreamscape, and his hospital robes changes to the clothes he had worn at the airport. Seeing the bomb in the other man's hands, he realizes that this is the person he killed his parents. A third person then grabs Keith from behind, a threat implicit in his rasping voice voice, as Keith can only see the large and brutish hands that have grasped him.

Fortunately he wakes up, with the assistance from Teddy. She tells him that his scare was glowing as he dreamed, and then she reveals that she was also experiencing what he was dreaming. This revelation is interrupted as another victim of the airport explosion, who had been in the room next to Keith has just suddenly had a heart attack.

The next morning Dr. Ballad is understandably skeptical that Keith and Teddy could share dreams, or to also do so with the heart attack victim. However, when Lita manages to procure a pre-explosion photo of the heart attack victim, it matches a sketch that Teddy had already made of the man that Keith had encountered in his dream. Later, Ballad monitors Keith as he attempts to Lita's dreams...

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The 'man of your dreams' will only disappoint you, Lita. Best that you learn that sooner rather than later.

That evening, on the drive away from the test lab, Ballad confirms that Keith can indeed enter other people's dreams, but that if their dream ends violently, or if the dreamer dies, the shock could hurt or kill Keith. Keith and Teddy believe that she can be his 'anchor' to pull him out if things get too rough. Keith asserts that he has to try again with the man in the hospital, that it may be the only chance to prove that he was the one who planted the bomb in the airport. Ballad counters that the man recognizing Keith may have had a part in triggering his heart attack, and that Keith needs to create a less identifiable presence while in others' dreams, so that they don't recognize him. Keith then begins to fall asleep; despite the distance, he recognizes that the man he is interested in has started dreaming again.

In a cemetery, Keith makes his way into a mausoleum that resembles the hospital, filled with skeletons. He finds the bomber, being threatened by the large menacing figure of the Gnome. The Gnome tells the man that he doesn't want him dead, as he is still of use. The Gnome had altered the timing of the bomb so that the other man was still in range when it went off, but now seems to regret this, as he still needs the man, as “my treasure is still threatened.” He also notes that Keith's parents are now dead, and that their children are “too badly injured to remain a nuisance.” The revelation that the Gnome was responsible for the death of his parents startles Keith so badly that the Gnome detects his presence. This was the purpose of the dying bomber, to act as a lure to draw forth the other that could enter dreams as the Gnome can. The Gnome strides forth, ready to deliver a fatal blow...

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Fortunately, Teddy is able to pull Keith out of the dream anyways. Ballad warns that he shouldn't take the link between he and his sister for granted, as the risks he had spoken of earlier could also be passed on to her. He's not opposed to continuing to try to find out the truth – Keith's parents were his friends – just to do so under supervised conditions where the risks can be minimized. Later, Teddy is relating what she found in a book on mythology. It describes gnomes as “dwarf-like beings given to protecting treasure hoard,” usually found in Germanic legends. The latter bit of info sparks a thought in Keith, when a nurse comes by with their medication. Teddy says that their meds are optional, but Keith accepts them anyways, saying that they both need some rest. Secretly, he plans to continue his quest to find the truth, but not to involve Teddy, so that she won't be harmed if he fails or dies.

Ballad is told by his director that the ongoing medical bills may wind up bankrupting Keith and Teddy's estate that they have now inherited from their parents. Afterwards, Lita tells Ballad that Keith has disappeared. As it turns out, Keith has found a secluded area of the hospital, closed momentarily for renovations. Laying in a bed, a German/English dictionary by his side, he awaits the dreams of his target.

In a post-apocalyptic landscape, Keith, now once again in his Nightmask persona (even if it's not called that yet) finds the Gnome and the dreaming bomber. Keith reveals that he knows the Gnome is actually Dr. Kleinmann, head of the Kleinmann Institute and supposed friend of his parents. In the earlier dream, he had seen lots of German names in the cemetery, and in German Kleinmann literally means 'small man' - a gnome. It was only because of the relative threat and power that the bomber saw him as large and threatening. Realizing that the Nightmask before him is the son of the couple he killed, he assumes they had sent him as a spy to learn his secrets of moving in dreams. As they fight, the bomber surrenders himself to the abyss, finding peace in death. The destruction of the man's dreamscape threatens both Keith and Kleinmann... but Keith is pulled back to reality by Teddy, who did not take her sleep-meds after all. Ballad then says the important thing is how Keith uses this gift in the future.

Meanwhile...

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* * *​

A good premise that could have used a bit more room for a better execution. Still, the ability to enter dreamscapes gives a lot of options for visual storytelling. It pales compared to what we would see a few years later in Neil Gaiman's classic Sandman run; in many ways it's closer to a more-grounded version of Kirby's own Sandman title from a decade earlier.

This is the first in-comic direct mention of the White Event.

Keith's last name is Remsen. REMsen. You know a pun is bad when it makes me groan.

* * *​

Violation Of Premise counter: 4 - besides the fact that Keith and Teddy seemed to have a low-grade psychic dream connection even before the White Event (similar enough to the main cast of Psi-Force that I'm not pinging it separately), the Gnome has access to technological devices that allow him to enter someone else's dreams from a continent away.
 
My recollection is that Nightmask felt extremely derivative at the time, in a bad way. The movie Dreamscape had been in theaters just a couple of years earlier, and Nightmask used a very similar setup and premise. Also, I may be misremembering, but I think there was a minor rash of movies about people who could enter dreams around that same time. This made Nightmask come across much the same as US1, a title trying to hook its fate to a popular fad. Except the dream movies of the time weren't all that popular.

I forget how long I followed Nightmask, but I do recall that it was an easy title for me to give up on.
 
G Gabriel beat me to the Dreamscape parallel. I used to own Failed Universe, a one-shot parody of New Universe. It pointed out Nightmask was similar to the film Dreamscape, which I knew nothing of at the time. Having looked up the film a few years ago, I can see why the comment was made.



As for psychic abilities pre-White Event, I’ll just say that I’ve had a few conversations with folks who worked at Marvel over the decades who believe in psychic abilities, including one who professed to be psychic himself. I wouldn’t doubt there were folks who worked on NU who thought such abilities were 100% genuine and felt they kept to the “World Outside Your Window” concept.



And, I hate to admit it, but looking at that page with Lita brings back a faint memory that young me thought she was cool, but not cool enough to buy more than the first issue.



As for The Gnome...kind of sad I never thought of this character while dating a woman with that nickname, kind of amused this reminds me Chaosium put out an adventure in the 80s where dreams could be recorded on Super VHS tape. 80s me was very “WTF?” on that.
 
As for psychic abilities pre-White Event, I’ll just say that I’ve had a few conversations with folks who worked at Marvel over the decades who believe in psychic abilities, including one who professed to be psychic himself. I wouldn’t doubt there were folks who worked on NU who thought such abilities were 100% genuine and felt they kept to the “World Outside Your Window” concept.
Reminds me a bit of Watchmen, where everything outside of Dr. Manhattan is very realistic... and then near the end of the story you also find out that, oh yeah, there are also psychics, because Alan Moore totes believes in psychic abilities.
 
I usually give artists a lot of slack but I’ve never seen anything by Tony Salmons that I like. He did an issue of G.I.Joe, #84 I believe, and it’s dreadful, one of the worst drawn issues of the whole run. This isn’t much better.
 
I usually give artists a lot of slack but I’ve never seen anything by Tony Salmons that I like. He did an issue of G.I.Joe, #84 I believe, and it’s dreadful, one of the worst drawn issues of the whole run. This isn’t much better.
Apparently he was picked because it was felt he was the best artist at the time for doing Ditko-esque worlds (aside from Ditko himself, of course).

Yeah, I'm not seeing it either.
 
As for psychic abilities pre-White Event, I’ll just say that I’ve had a few conversations with folks who worked at Marvel over the decades who believe in psychic abilities, including one who professed to be psychic himself. I wouldn’t doubt there were folks who worked on NU who thought such abilities were 100% genuine and felt they kept to the “World Outside Your Window” concept.

I guess we're psychic, because I had been thinking the same thing.

I'd say that back then there was a lot of pop culture belief that psychic powers were real. Back in the 80s we believed in some cracked out shit.
 
I guess we're psychic, because I had been thinking the same thing.

I'd say that back then there was a lot of pop culture belief that psychic powers were real. Back in the 80s we believed in some cracked out shit.

i had family who were hardcore into alien abductions back then, and I kind of suspect that’s why Star Brand’s alien didn’t seem like violating the “world outside your window” premise to me.
 
Psi-Force #1 - “Hour of the Wolf!”

Cover Date: November 1986
Publication Date: July 22, 1986
Story: Steve Perry
Art: Mark Texeira, Kyle Baker
Timeframe: August 3-6, 1986


Another fairly generic cover, but not an awful one.

At a California dock at nighttime, KGB agents seek their prey. Which, as it turns out, is directly beneath them, a Native American man named Proudhawk and a Russian girl named Anastasia. He's been wounded, and while she can help him with her healing abilities, she tells him that there must be rest and recuperation in addition to what her special ability can do. He responds that there will be plenty of time for rest when they make it to a nearby boat, which will take them to a safe house.

They don't make it, of course. The KGB agents cut them off, claiming that Anastasia is the property of the Soviet People's Republic. Proudhawk replies that people aren't property, and for them to get bent. This prompts gunfire from the KGB agents, aiming at him as they don't want to hurt Anastasia. She thinks to herself that although he broke her out of the Siberian Project with ease, that she has been a burden to him and that It will be her fault if he is killed. The head KGB agent claims that Proudhawk's own government has disavowed his actions, and that there is a police bulletin out on him. Proudhawk doesn't fall for the latter claim, knowing that going through official channels would take too much time and draw more attention than the KGB wants. He tries to use his psychic ability to 'push' the agents into trusting him, but fatigue and injuries means he isn't quite able to control them all.

This has drawn the attention of the astral form of a young man named Tyrone, who returns quickly to the boat the get the help of Ling, who goes out of her way to aggressively conform to every Valley Girl stereotype you can think of. Ling freaks out when she realizes actual guns are being used, but even though she hates using her power, she telekinetically shatters the dock the KGB agents are on, causing them and their cars to drop into the waters below. The head KGB agents gives the 'this isn't over!' spiel as Proudhawk and Anastasia escape on the boat. Ling – first name Kathy – makes it clear she doesn't like any of this, as she used to be one of the popular crowd, but is now having to hang out with other freaks and weirdos. Much more reasonably, she's now ticked that Proudhawk has drawn the attention of the KGB on them. Then she freaks out again when she realizes that he's been shot. Anastasia heals him once again, but not without cost, as the more she uses her abilities, the more she feels the pain of their injuries.

We then get some backstory-via-flashback for Anastasia, whose parents in Russia sent her away to her aunt and uncle in Kansas, possibly because they realized she was 'different' – even as a child she had an unusual ability to work with plants. When said aunt and uncle were killed in an 'accident' she found out that her parents were also dead, and she was claimed by the KGB. Taken to a Siberian instillation, she finds herself with other people being tested who also seem to have unusual abilities. But it was only a few weeks earlier that her knack for growing flowers became a full-fledged healing ability, able to close wounds and heal various maladies with a touch.

We then get another set of flashbacks, this time for Proudhawk. A CIA agent, his assignment was to keep tabs on 'gifted' people with high ESP test scores or signs of otherwise unusual abilities. This task was of great interest to him, as he had always seemed to have a knack for being unusually persuasive. A few weeks earlier he learned that he could 'push' people into doing things. He also learned that the list he had compiled had been leaked by someone within the agency, and that people on the list had started to disappear. And that they had also shown signs of boosted powers. Quitting the CIA he began searching for the people on the list; some dead, some he couldn't find, but five (including Anastasia) he did find and has brought to a shelter for runaways in San Francisco called Sanctuary.

At Sanctuary, we meet Colby Shaw, who runs the shelter, and is salty at Proudhawk because she has had to keep one Wayne Tucker in check for the last week and a half; his powers don't make things any easier, and she's not inclined to act as a jailer for any kids who don't actually want to be there. While sympathetic, she's also realistic about the usual abilities the other kids he's brought in scaring the other residents of Sanctuary. Then the aforementioned Wayne shows up.


Ah, teenage misunderstandings. Don't miss it at all.

Proudhawk explains that he believes that the info on them has probably been sold to interests who would not have their best interests at heart – possibly powerful private sector interests, maybe the Russians, or perhaps other branches of the U.S. Government. He had also had a dream (prophetic vision?) a year earlier that he believes applies to himself and the five youths, and that they are stronger together than separate.

The kids are of mixed feelings regarding this, and Anastasia in particular feels that Proudhawk being hurt was her fault, and that if she stays other people will get hurt as well. She leaves Sanctuary, and calls from a nearby pay phone one of the Russian agents in the area, who has been talking with another Russian agent called Mindwolf. Proudhawk finds out that she's left, and when the other kids aren't exactly eager to help, he 'pushes' them into searching for her.

They find her quickly enough, but she has already let the Russians know where she is. Wayne then overcomes Proudhawk's 'push', and the teens are understandably upset about him controlling them. That's when the KGB shows up, of course. Proudhawk and Mindwolf engage in psychic battle, with the Russian eventually killing his opponent. Kneeling over his corpse, Wayne realizes the medallion he was wearing seemed to be a focus for Proudhawk's powers, and that he feels compelled to take it. Michael and Kathy manage to take out most of the KGB agents, but Mindwolf doesn't go down so easily. Remembering that Proudhawk had said that their powers were stronger when working together, Wayne gets Michael, Kathy and Tyrone to focus on the medallion along with himself, and to “think about Hawk!”


The Psi-Hawk engages Mindwolf battle once again, but Mindwolf is still too strong... until Anastasia, despite her reluctance, also adds her strength to the gestalt. Psi-Hawk is finally able to overcome Mindwolf, then dissipates after the battle is done.


This was one of the most popular of the NU titles, and it's easy to see why. The premise resembles a more grounder version of the X-Men. The five young protagonists, while all pretty much confirming to teenage stereotypes, are at least distinctive (as opposed to the Troubleshooters), and you can easily see how there can be conflict between the group as well as with the various factions that will be hunting them. Mark Texeira's art probably didn't hurt (although it would be a few more years before he became a star with the Ghost Rider series in the early 90's).

No, the comic wasn't written by the lead singer of Journey. More plausibly, he also isn't the Steve Perry who has written the Matador novels as well as a buttload of various licensed tie-in novels.

* * *​

Violation Of Premise counter: 3 – psychic powers existing before the White Event, even if on a more subdued and subtle level.

Like that art, crisp and colourful. I see Kyle Baker did the colouring, I love his Vertigo comics Why I Hate Saturn, Cowboy Wally, You Are Here, etc. only much later did I realize he had worked on 'mainstream' comics.
 
G Gabriel beat me to the Dreamscape parallel. I used to own Failed Universe, a one-shot parody of New Universe. It pointed out Nightmask was similar to the film Dreamscape, which I knew nothing of at the time. Having looked up the film a few years ago, I can see why the comment was made.



As for psychic abilities pre-White Event, I’ll just say that I’ve had a few conversations with folks who worked at Marvel over the decades who believe in psychic abilities, including one who professed to be psychic himself. I wouldn’t doubt there were folks who worked on NU who thought such abilities were 100% genuine and felt they kept to the “World Outside Your Window” concept.



And, I hate to admit it, but looking at that page with Lita brings back a faint memory that young me thought she was cool, but not cool enough to buy more than the first issue.



As for The Gnome...kind of sad I never thought of this character while dating a woman with that nickname, kind of amused this reminds me Chaosium put out an adventure in the 80s where dreams could be recorded on Super VHS tape. 80s me was very “WTF?” on that.

To be fair I think Dreamscape was ripping off Zelazny's excellent sf novel The Dream Master.

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Mark Hazzard: Merc #1 - “Bad For Business”

Cover Date: November 1986
Publication Date: July 29, 1986
Story: Peter David
Art: Gray Morrow
Timeframe: August ?-12, 1986

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A pretty good cover. Reasonably dynamic, and lets you know what sort of story you're in for.

In Manhattan, we are introduced to our title character. In his apartment we see that he has both a huge array of firearms, as well as no small amount of books on the topics of war, military history and tactical strategy. There's a riff on Wolverine's famous tagline that declares that he is “one of the very best. It's just that some of the things he does... are not very good.”

Going through his messages, he gets one from his son Scott, asking if Mark can make it to his Little League championship game coming up, hoping that his father might actually show up for once, or failing that at least return the call. This is immediately followed by a message from his ex-wife Joan, telling him to ignore Scott's message like he usually does, and also that his child support check had bounced. Finally he gets the message that he's been waiting for, with the voice on the answering machine declaring “the gig is on.”

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Mark and his compatriot Mal scout out the home of the country's president, while inside the president comments to his wife that he suspects the local rebels will be making an attack soon. His wife mentions that she is mainly worried for her daughter, who has been raised in a sheltered manner, should something happen to them. Mark shows up, and declares that he is being paid to bring the president to the opposition, dead or alive. The president's wife tries to shoot with a gun she had hidden on her, but gets gunned down by Mark for her efforts. The president grabs a large knife from the wall and throws it at Mark while he scrambles to get a nearby Luger; Mark catches the blade and throws it back at the other man, hard enough to not only pin the president against the wall, but also for the tip to go through the wall into the room of the president's daughter, who had just been awakened by the earlier gunshot. Seeing her parents dead and their killer standing before her, she runs away.

We then get to see the caliber (hah) of the local soldiers, which goes past 'not all armies are trained equally' and into 'armed forces not of white European descent are buffoonish idiots' territory.

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Mark and Mal find out that the new president has little interest in establishing elections for the new government anytime soon, if at all. Getting ready to leave, the two mercs find a pair of soldiers flipping a coin to find out which one can have their way with the former president's daughter first. Mark says that he and Mal will get to have the daughter first, and use the opportunity to escape with the daughter.

The daughter, understandably, is not particularly pleased to be rescued by the men responsible for the death of her parents. As Mal leads the troops away along a false, boobytrap-laden trail, Mark hopes to lead the girl to safety, feeling responsible for her current situation. As the man and girl make their way through the jungle, we get a series of flashbacks for Mark – a disappointment to his parents, a 'disgrace' at West Point and to his family's military history – leaving to sign up for a tour in Vietnam. He would eventually spend three tours of duty there, taking the most dangerous missions, such as taking point on recon missions, or going underground as a tunnel rat. After his father's death, his mother disowned him after he declared that he was “cutting himself new orders,” choosing which battles he would fight, and taking orders only from himself.

(Tunnel rat? Earlier in the issue it's stated that Mark is 6'4”... even I know that the tunnel rats were usually smaller guys, for obvious reasons.)

Meanwhile, the third member of the mercenary trio, Treetop, is surprised to see the local soldiers start gunning for him near his helicopter, and deduces quickly that this is somehow Mark's fault. As Mal and Mark converge at the rendezvous point, which is under fire, the daughter tries to run away from Mark, and he eventually lets her go... which quickly gets her gunned down by the local soldiers. Treeetop guns down the remaining soldiers from his copter, and laments that they hadn't been paid yet. Mal is also annoyed with Mark's actions. Mark, seemingly going through a mid-life crisis, was hoping for some sort of meaning to what they were doing, but in the end they merely replaced one dictator with another, and he would up disappointing his son for good measure. Mal retorts that he couldn't have disappointed Scott, since his son knows enough not to count on his father in the first place.

Mark says that they'll have to skip an upcoming job in Libya, which pisses Mal off – the didn't get paid on this gig, and the Libyan job would be a lucrative one. Later, Treetop also says Mark is screwing things up, noting that while he's more of a part-timer who handles the booking and flies the chopper, Mal is all in as a merc, as it's the only life he now cares to live.

The next day, Scott gets a call from his father, confirming the time and place for the boy's upcoming baseball game. His mother Joan is less than pleased that Mark is only now opting to reconnect to his son.

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* * *​

So this was a pretty decent first issue. It's a simple enough story, but aside from a few questionable choices, is decently told. The life of a mercenary can provide plenty of fodder for future tales, and the frisson of Mark's nascent ethical concerns - providing conflict with his fellow mercs – and his desire to reconnect with his son, gives room for story beats outside of the usual action-adventure stuff.

This was during the time when Vietnam vets had a certain retroactive prestige in the American psyche. Marvel would release The 'Nam the following month, which would be one of their hottest books for a while, and you could find Soldier Of Fortune magazine on newsstands pretty much everywhere.

This is one of Peter David's earliest published comic book stories – he had written some issues of Spectacular Spider-Man, and this was about half a year before he would start his twelve-year run writing Incredible Hulk. Without getting into politics, David isn't exactly the first writer I would think of to chronicle the adventures of a gun-bunny, or even the hundredth, but he seemed to be making a serious effort here to make the series work.

Gray Morrow wasn't exactly a top draw as an artist by this point in his career, but he certainly wasn't a bad choice for the book, as he has always handled adventure series with more human and realistic elements well. I like how sometimes his art extends outside of the comic panel in question, and I also dig how he gave Mark a receding hairline.
 
Also, there's no elements of the unusual or paranormal in this story. You could strip the New Universe branding off of the cover and not have to otherwise change a thing.
 
Merc is kind of an odd story for me. Like several of the New Universe titles I found the first issue in a discount bin at a flea market, a few months after it was released. Someone got me one or two issues randomly, and I picked up the annual, I think it was, from the same discount bin as I found the first issue in.



Despite the fact that comics with normal humans were (and still are) my jam, Merc didn’t click for me. In retrospect, I think it was his muscle-for-hire background that made him uninteresting to me. I also seem to recall his son, and to a lesser extent his ex-wife, annoyed me.
As of the late 90s I started reading the men’s adventure genre, and as time has passed I’ve become more interested in characters whose motivations have more to do with money. It might be worth it for me to give Merc a try again, though I suspect I’ve given all my issues away over the years.
 
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