Comics Explained: DC Multiverse

A map of the Multiverse

One of the key aspects of the DC Universe (DCU) is the Multiverse. An idea of a Multiverse is not unique to DC and some scientists have even hypothesized that we may even be living in a Multiverse. A Multiverse is basically a parallel universe where things are different; for example, there could be a reality where an alternate version of you got your dream job. Some scientists, like Ethan Siegal, have argued against the idea of alternate universes. DC comics has had a long and complicated history with alternate realities so the purpose of this post is to make it simpler. Due to how complicated DC's Multiverse has been this will be more of an overview so if you've noticed that I've missed something it's likely intentional - although feel free to mention it in the comments. DC's Multiverse originated as a way to justify a retcon...

Real World Origins of the Multiverse

DC originated in the 1930s and 1940s and its cast of characters, with a few exceptions, were largely magic based. Of course there were exceptions, such as Superman, but heroes were largely magic based. These included Wonder Woman, Doctor Fate, the original Green Lantern (Alan Scott), and Hawkman. They proved to be so popular that in 1940's All Star Comics #3 a precursor of the Justice League, called the Justice Society of America, was made out of some of the more popular characters - however Batman and Superman weren't apart of it and 1940s sexism made Wonder Woman the JSA's secretary. After the Second World War interest in superheroes decreased. This did not just affect DC, Marvel's precursor Timely also faced this issue. Throughout the late-1940s and early-1950s comic book companies instead sold stories about horror (which crashed thanks to the Comics Code of Authority), romance, teen drama, Westerns, and war. Until the mid-1960s Archie Comics actually sold more than Marvel! With the exception of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and a few others superheroes were out. By the mid-1950s the Space Race had begun making a new generation interested in sci-fi so DC thought to bring back superheroes. Largely magic was dropped in favor of science, or science merged with magic. In 1956 Showcase #4 remade the Flash with Barry Allen as the titular hero; as a bit of meta ingenuity Barry Allen loved reading the Flash comics from the 1940s so chose that as his moniker. In 1959 Green Lantern received a sci-fi makeover in Showcase Presents Green Lantern #23. Soon enough the JSA was remade into the Justice League in The Brave and the Bold #28.

Fans weren't entirely on board with these changes. Of course it was very popular - after all it restarted the love for superheroes which only dipped thanks to the 1990s Comic Book Crash which you can read about here - but some long time fans weren't happy. Many older readers were wondering what happened to the older stories? Why are Alan Scott and Jay Garrick comic book characters but Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman 'real' in this continuity? What happened to the JSA? Something that can be compared to modern comics some Flash fans hated Barry Allen initially. After a while they did grow to like him but many were upset that the Flash they grew up with had just become a fictitious character in a comic. So in 1961 they decided to answer this question and create the Multiverse. Flash fans buying Flash #123 saw Barry Allen and Jay Garrick on the cover.

The Flash #123

In this story Barry Allen vibrates at a different frequency and accidentally travels into a different dimension where Jay Garrick lives. Garrick has aged in real time and inspired by Barry comes out of retirement. Thus the Multiverse was born. Throughout DC history we find out that each universe vibrates at a different frequency and when we dream we sometimes see different universes; the Gardner Fox and Harry Lampert of the DCU therefore saw Garrick's universe as they slept. The Flash #123 received a ton of positive fan mail. Longtime fans who liked both Garrick and Allen were thrilled to see them together; Garrick fans who disliked Allen loved that they paid respect to the character; and new fans who knew nothing of Garrick were eager to find out more about the interesting 1940s characters (comic guides wouldn't come around until the late-1960s). Barry Allen would occasionally go to Garrick's reality but in 1963 with Justice League of America #21 and #22 the Justice League met the Justice Society. The most recent universe, from the 1950s, was named Earth-1 while the older universe was named Earth-2. Until 1985 there would be at least one JLA/JSA crossover a year.

Expansion of the Multiverse and Crisis on Infinite Earths

With the Multiverse now created DC had fun with it. Earth-3 was introduced in Justice League of America #29 which is an 'opposite' world: Columbus discovered Europe, England rebelled against the USA etc. Instead of a Justice League we have the Crime Syndicate of America featuring Ultraman (Superman), Super Woman (Wonder Woman), Owlman (Batman), Johnny Quick (Flash), and Power Ring (Green Lantern). DC had also purchased Captain Marvel (now Shazam) - who at one time was even more popular than Superman - and Plastic Man from other companies so DC designated their old universes Earth-S and Earth-X respectively. When Marvel powerhouse Jack Kirby moved over to DC he expanded the Multiverse with New Gods beginning in 1971. The New Gods of New Genesis and Apokolips exist outside the Multiverse and figures like Darkseid interact with the Multiverse, mainly Earth-1, via portals called Boom Tubes. We also see the Source Wall which is a structure separating the Multiverse from the 'Source' - the literal origin of all knowledge and everything that exists. Since the 1970s the Multiverse continued and continued to expand. Power Girl is one just example. Power Girl is the Earth-2 version of Supergirl - older than her Earth-1 counterpart she got trapped on Earth-1 so created her own identity as there was already a Supergirl there. 

Destruction of the Multiverse

By 1985 DC decided that a change was needed. After decades of stories they were worried that new fans would be turned off by the mountains of stories, and the Multiverse did not help. Even normal fans were confused about which stories were in which universe never mind new ones. Plot holes started to appear and with general confusion DC decided a clean slate was needed leading to 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths. Writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Perez were tasked with this story and to this day this story marked the key dating point when discussing DC's history. An ancient being called the Anti-Monitor attacks the Multiverse causing all the heroes to unite and fight it. One key thing to note: Barry Allen died in this story. The character who introduced the Multiverse died with it. Despite the heroes defeating the Anti-Monitor the Multiverse is destroyed forming one new reality: New Earth.

Post-Crisis

Gotham by Gaslight, the first Elseworlds comic

DC treated Crisis as a new start. A few characters, like Wonder Woman, received entirely new origins and some aspects of characters were rewritten to make more sense. For example, Bruce Wayne hired Alfred after becoming Batman and he discovers that Wayne is Batman when Alfred finds him injured. Post-Crisis rewrote this so that Alfred had always been with the Waynes and had always knew that Bruce was Batman. The Justice Society was active during World War Two but disbanded due to McCarthyism. DC planned that there were to be no Multiverse at all - alternate realities were allowed but it had to be clear that there would be no interaction with New Earth. Many of these were published under their darker imprint called Vertigo which featured Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing and Hellblazer. In 1989 DC launched Elseworlds to cover alternate reality stories so fans would not get confused where the first to be published was Gotham by Gaslight featuring Batman living in the Victorian era tracking Jack the Ripper who had come to Gotham. Meanwhile, characters intimately tied with the Multiverse had to have rewrites. Some were simple: instead of existing outside the Multiverse the New Gods exist in a galaxy which cannot be reached via normal means. Attempts to reboot Power Girl were not well received. She was changed to be descended from an Atlantean sorcerer and fans hated it. Some parts of the pre-Crisis continuity remained. Barry Allen's death was one and he remained dead for decades with Wally West acting as the Flash since then. John Constantine could also remember the pre-Crisis timeline.

Since 1985 DC had published several alternate reality stories and some are the best from comics. The Dark Knight Returns featured an elderly Bruce Wayne becoming the Batman once again; Superman: Red Son featured Superman landing in a collective farm in Ukraine in the 1930s and years later he becomes a key figure in the USSR; and Kingdom Come tells the story of a retired Superman returning to show the new violent heroes how to be a hero. The stories from Vertigo were considered semi-canon: if something contrasted with the main reality then that story didn't officially happen. There was no Multiverse, discounting the sequel crossovers to Kingdom Come called Hypertime, until 2005 with Infinite Crisis by Geoff Johns. We find out that following Crisis certain heroes, such as Earth-2 Superman and Lois Lane, following the destruction of the Multiverse were trapped in a pocket universe. However, many of them were unhappy. Compared to pre-Crisis heroes the post-Crisis heroes failed, they were flawed, and they argued so the surviving pre-Crisis heroes viewed them as false heroes. One was Superboy-Prime, a version of Superman where all DC heroes are comic characters, manages to punch his way out of the universe! This caused ripple effects causing heroes to come back alive or change their backstories. We even find out that Power Girl was actually from Earth-2 but she became trapped in New Earth instead of Earth-2. Barry Allen also came back in Infinite Crisis. Following Infinite Crisis the Multiverse came back. Now Hypertime, Vertigo and another imprint called WildStorm could actively crossover.

Flashpoint and After

Flashpoint

In 2011's Flashpoint Barry Allen wakes up in a world completely different to his own and we find out that he accidentally caused this: he had ran so fast that he traveled through time to stop his mother's death but the Butterfly Effect reshaped the world. One good example of this is Bruce Wayne being shot instead of his parents and his mother becomes the Joker while his dad becomes an ultraviolent Batman. When the Flash reversed this it destroyed the Multiverse once again and New Earth, the Vertigo universe, and the WildStorm universe merge together forming Earth Prime. The Multiverse was recreated to form 52 new realities - one even got its own comic series, Earth-2. The New 52 had a mix reception mainly as DC said this was an entirely a new start, they wanted readers to act as if DC had never published a story before. Except DC kept referring back to older stories and now no one knew what was canon or not. After that tangent we get to Multiversity by Grant Morrison and I would highly recommend people read it. Morrison mapped out the Multiverse (at the top) and explored some of them. My personal favorite is shown in The Just. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are dead but before they died they made sure injustice, crime and alien invasions died with them. Now their children, and some retired heroes, act as celebrities doing battle reenactments. The later Convergence event, which Multiversity helped set up. The heroes of Earth-2, and a few others, go on a journey to stop Brainiac who has been collecting people from destroyed realities with the intention of putting them together to study what happens.

Finally I'm going to mention DC Rebirth, Dark Knights: Metal, and Doomsday Clock. As they are still currently happening and I haven't fully caught up with each one this shall be a broad overview. In DC Rebirth, a half-reboot to rectify somethings disliked in the New 52, we find the Comedian's button from Watchmen in the Batcave and we find out that Dr Manhattan has been intervening in the DCU leading up to Doomsday Clock. Here Ozymandias, the new Rorschach and a criminal duo travel to the DCU hoping to find Manhattan. Meanwhile, with Dark Knights: Metal we find out that there is a 'Dark 52'. These were universes destined to be destroyed and are invading the 52. This invasion is being led by the Dark Knights - basically evil versions of Batman. 

The Dark Knights

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The Time when Marvel and DC almost went Bankrupt

When Comics Almost Died

It is currently common knowledge that Marvel has in recent years been fighting hard to get the rights back to all of it's characters - Spider-Man and his associated characters from Sony (something which they've partially done); Deadpool, X-Men and Fantastic Four from Fox; and the Hulk's distribution rights and the character Namor from Universal. Why did Marvel sell off their characters in the first place? The answer to this is lies in the late-1980s and early-1990s when both Marvel and DC almost went bankrupt.

The Origins of the Comic Book Bust

The Comic Book Crash happened in a similar way to the Housing Market Crash of 2008 and even the Wall Street Crash of 1929 which brought about the Great Depression: speculation. DC and Marvel had their origins in the 1930s and 1940s - see here for DC and here for Marvel - during the midst of Depression and War where most people could not afford to buy non-necessities. Companies were also on a knife's edge and were often less willing to make risks in case it bankrupted them. DC's founder Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson after three years had to be bought out as he was going under. As a result companies like DC, Timely (Marvel's predecessor), Fawcett Comics and others printed few issues on cheap paper to save costs (incidentally this cost saving method created the first Batman/Superman crossover). This time was known as the 'Golden Age of Comics'. Cut to the 1950s and 1960s we have the 'Silver Age'. Superheroes had returned to popularity with a vengeance. DC had struck gold with their reinvention of the Flash and Green Lantern, a new series of Superman comics, and eventually bringing together their main heroes in the Justice League. Meanwhile, in the 1960s Timely, now called Marvel, under Stan Lee and Jack Kirby soon dominated the industry with their new comics including Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Hulk, X-Men, and the Avengers. Even non-superhero comics were doing phenomenally well. Consistently Archie comics outsold DC and Marvel featuring wholesome stories about love triangles in the town of Riverdale. One thing was consistent - these comics were cheap. Amazing Fantasy #15, Spider-Man's first appearance, was only sold for 10 cents. It was relatively cheap to be a comic book fan.

Spider-Man's First Appearance

Then we get to the 1980s and 1990s. Since the 1960s comic buying guides had been in circulation and soon comic collecting became profitable. The worth of Golden and Silver Age comics had shot through the roof by the 1980s due to both their comparative rarity and the popularity of their characters. An issue of Detective Comics #27, Batman's debut, went for $55,000 in 1991 to just show how profitable these were. Comics from the Silver Age, like X-Men #1, could be sold for a fortune - somewhere over $100 at times. Soon collectors, and non-fans, realized that if they bought a comic for $1 now and kept it in good condition then in ten to twenty years time they'll be guaranteed to earn a lot. Even if they waited a year they could earn up to $10. People would buy five copies of just one issue from the 10,000 comic stores across the US. This is when the problems began.

How the Bubble Burst

People started rapidly buying mainly Marvel and DC comics. Meanwhile, Marvel and DC saw the increased sales as a sign of increasing popularity of their stories. They had no idea that five issues of a Batman comic sold was actually going to one person waiting for its worth to increase instead of five people wanting to read the stories. Editors-in-chief saw an increase in sales so started printing more. In 1988 Marvel had 50 titles which grew to 140 in 1993. Not only that both companies started printing different variants of the same issue - sometimes up to 12 variants! Marvel in particular was at fault for flooding the market with titles. Both companies rose their prices as well, not much but there was still a price increase - from $1 in 1988 to $1.25 in 1993. While this was happening speculators were buying as many comics as possible so the normal quality checks were thrown out the window. Normally poor quality comics - whether through material, writing or art - were ignored by fans whereas speculators bought them regardless with the idea that they could potentially earn a lot later on. This became exacerbated with the creation of Image Comics in 1992. The idea behind Image was that Image wouldn't own their characters, instead the creator would - in contrast Spider-Man was owned by Marvel and not Stan Lee or Steve Ditko. This new company offered new promise for speculators: could they be the new Marvel or DC? Could they produce the new Wonder Woman or Superman? If this company went bust how much would one of their comics be worth in ten years or even twenty?

However, as the market had been flooded by comics of various qualities their worth soon plummeted. Comics were worth so much was because they were fairly uncommon so now this boom had made them extremely common. They just wasn't worth it any more and soon the boom became a bust. The bust didn't have a sudden, singular moment were comics lost their value as in 1929 or 2008. Instead it was a gradual but very destructive period between 1993 and 1996. Through this period we have the Comic Book Bust.

The Results

Naturally all comic book companies were immediately affected with many smaller ones going bust entirely. Several of the larger companies decided to drop distributors to distribute their comics themselves, however, through the bust without a distributor many companies could not even afford to distribute their own comics. Marvel, who tried to be their own distributor, even filed for bankruptcy in 1997. DC noticed a drop in sales in both Batman and Superman so decided to do something drastic which affected the industry greatly. In 1993 they killed Superman in The Death of Superman and paralyzed Batman in Knightfall. These saw great publicity and a boom in sales for DC until hardly a year later Superman returned and Batman regained his ability to walk. Fans were outraged that a potentially monumental part of comic book history had been used for a publicity stunt which further damaged the industry. Furthermore, The Death and Return of Superman would have a long term impact on writing with many comic book historians citing this as when 'death died in comics'. Today comics are known for killing off and then resurrecting dead characters yet this is a relatively new phenomenon. Most characters remained dead when they died but the return of such an important character changed this. Now anyone could come back.

In 1989 Time Warner had taken over DC which partially saved DC when the bust came. Starting with Tim Burton's Batman in 1989 a wave of adaptations of DC's properties, mainly Batman, began ranging from the other Batman movies to Batman: The Animated Series. DC managed to recoup a lot of their losses. Marvel in contrast had no parent company to bale them out so they literally had no choice but to sell off their characters. If they didn't we would be talking about Marvel past tense. Blade went to New Line leading to 1998's Blade yet that was not enough to save Marvel so they sold off more. The X-Men, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Punisher, Deadpool, Namor, and Elektra to just name a few were all sold. Marvel still was not doing well; throughout the late-1990s it had three separate owners!

2000s and After

To an extent the comic book industry has yet to recover from the crash. DC and Marvel combined sell a quarter of what they sold in the 1980s a month. A large part of this is due to how easy it is now to pirate comic books. In the early-2000s Marvel, DC, Image and other major companies had their heads just above the water where Marvel in particular was still in danger of going under. It was earning money through Fox's X-Men and Fantastic Four and Sony's Spider-Man but most of it went to Sony and Fox. In 2005 Marvel decided to make its own movies when the second-in-command at Marvel's film branch, Kevin Feige, realized that although Marvel could not use some of their big characters like Wolverine and Spider-Man they did have access to many of the key Avengers. Feige and the head of Marvel's movies, Avi Arad, decided that to make a huge crossover featuring many of Marvel's heroes. Feige thought big, so big that Arad resigned thinking it couldn't be done. Still not recovered from the bust Marvel had to go to Merrill Lynch for money. If their plan failed Marvel would not exist anymore. Feige wanted to start with Iron Man, a character who back then had few notable stories and most happened to be crossovers like the then recent Civil War story. He wanted Robert Downey Jr. to play Iron Man and initially Marvel refused due to his controversial public image so Feige had to threaten to quit if Marvel didn't accept Downey as Iron Man. To everyone's surprise Iron Man was both a commercial and financial hit - Iron Man actually earned more money than Merrill Lynch had initially given Marvel. Soon Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, and Iron Man 2 were made in order to eventually create The Avengers, a movie currently the fifth highest grossing movie of all time. This was also due to Disney purchasing Marvel which meant that funding for movies soon became less of an issue.

The New Era of Comic Book Media

The success of the new Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) saved Marvel. The MCU created a new wave of comic book fans, including myself who became interested in comics through Iron Man. As a ripple affect other companies saw an increase in sales and started producing their own adaptations. When Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy ended DC tried to make its own version of the MCU starting with 2013's Man of Steel. Both Fox and Sony tried to reinvigorate their own franchises by introducing Wolverine movies, rebooting X-Men, and successfully trying to reboot Spider-Man and Fantastic Four with the failed Fan4Stic and Amazing Spider-Man movies. Image also dove into this with the TV series The Walking Dead and we might also be seeing a new Spawn movie soon. Even Dark Horse has joined in with a new Hellboy coming out before 2020. Archie comics have been rebooting their characters over the last few years which received an edgy TV adaptation as well with Riverdale. Comic sales rose in accordance with the movies. Sales are still a fraction of what they once was and there were some dips in sales, such as around 2012, but they are not as low as during the bust. You could say that Iron Man helped rescue the comic book industry.

Currently there has been another dip in comic book sales since 2016 - personally I put the blame on how easy it is to pirate comic books compared to just five years ago accompanying a huge amount of titles published by DC and Marvel in recent years. However, this drop in sales has not been disastrous compared to the 1990s. One thing you can't keep down is everyone's love for a superhero.

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Comics Explained: Steppenwolf

Steppenwolf

The new edition to the DCEU, Justice League, has recently been released and with it we have a new villain not yet seen outside of comics or animation: Steppenwolf. He was originally going to be in the theatrical release of Batman v. Superman but his cameo was cut making Justice League his first actual appearance. However, when he was announced to be the primary antagonist of Justice League many people, including comic fans, responded with, Who is Steppenwolf? Steppenwolf has made very few appearances in comics, Rob of the YouTube channel Comics Explained estimates that he was in only 70 comics, so many wondered why he was chosen as the antagonist over Brainiac or Darkseid. Today we're going to look at just exactly who Steppenwolf is.

New Gods #7

New Gods #7

Steppenwolf first appeared in Jack Kirby's New Gods #7 in 1972. Kirby was half of the dreamteam which made Marvel the success that it was, but he felt he wasn't getting the recognition that he rightly deserved (people mostly credited Stan Lee over Kirby) so amicably left to work for DC. There he made the New Gods which are a very inventive series of comics. Originally, the New Gods lived on two worlds existing outside the Multiverse in what has been named Kirby's 'Fourth World': the idyllic New Genesis ruled by Highfather, and the dystopian Apokolips ruled by Darkseid. As they existed out of the Multiverse the only way they could be reached, or come to the DC Universe, by portals named Boom Tubes. When Crisis on Infinite Earths destroyed the Multiverse the Fourth World was moved to existing inside the DC Universe, but they existed in a galaxy cut off from the rest of the universe only accessible via Boom Tube. The one last thing we need to discuss is the Source Wall. This 'Wall' exists at the edge of the Multiverse and separates the Multiverse from the Source: a collection of all knowledge and power in the Multiverse. If someone fails to get across the Source Wall they become part of the Wall itself.

Now we turn to Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf was the commander of Apokolips' military while Apokolips was under the rule of his sister Heggra, someone who had been ruling Apokolips since her husband, Yuga Khan, was claimed by the Source Wall. Later, when Heggra's son Uxas, (Darkseid), killed her he began serving his nephew. Steppenwolf was the enforcer for Apokolips; when Heggra or Darkseid wanted something done he would do it. This brings us to his first appearance in New Gods #7. Darkseid wanted his mother dead, (after all she had his wife, the only person he ever loved, executed), and wanted war with Apokolips' eternal enemy, New Genesis. So he sent Steppenwolf to assassinate Avia, the wife of New Genesis' ruler Izaya. This resulted in a bloody war which devastated both worlds. During the war Darkseid poisoned Heggra and Izaya smashes Steppenwolf killing him yelling: You'll never kill anyone again, Steppenwolf!

Steppenwolf's Death

During the war Izaya learned of the Source and devoted himself to peace renaming himself Highfather. He made a peace agreement with Darkseid where his son would be raised by Darkseid, while he would raise Darkseid's son Orion. While the sons were on their new worlds the peace would stand, so Darkseid had a torturer daily abuse Highfather's son so he would be compelled to escape the planet and end the non-aggression pact. Darkseid then showed his power and resurrected Steppenwolf putting him back in charge of Apokolips' military. Until the DC Universe was rebooted in the New 52 he was a background character with the only noteworthy thing that he did was dying at the hands of the Terror Titans; an inverse group of the Teen Titans.

New 52

Steppenwolf was reintroduced following the New 52 in Justice League Vol.2 #6. Again, he is in charge of Darkseid's army, however, he plays a minor role with Darkseid being the main villain. As the New 52 brought back the Multiverse the Fourth World was moved again to being outside the Multiverse. One of the 52 new universes was Earth-2 and Darkseid declared war on this reality. He sent Steppenwolf with an army of Parademons to wipe out the main threats of this reality before he invaded, clearly learning from his failed attempt at invading the mainstream universe. Steppenwolf destroyed entire countries and even destroyed Amazon Island causing the Olympian Gods to pray for humanity to fight through this. Batman infiltrated towers controlling the Parademons while Superman and Wonder Woman directly fought them. However, Steppenwolf impales Wonder Woman on his sword killing her and Superman is killed when Parademons overrun him. 

Steppenwolf kills Wonder Woman

Finally, Batman sacrifices himself destroying the towers, and with it the Parademons. Steppenwolf then is trapped on Earth where for five years with the remnants of his army he tried to establish his own kingdom in order to later conquer the rest of the planet. Steppenwolf had been using a clone of Superman, called Brutaal, to fight for him and had been indoctrinating him to worship Darkseid. However, this worked too well so when Steppenwolf decided to conquer the Earth for himself, and not Darkseid, Brutaal killed him. Sometime later Steppenwolf was resurrected again by Darkseid appearing in Justice League Vol. 2 #42.

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DC's First Comic

The DC logos until today

Even non-comic book fans know DC comics. Alongside Marvel it is the largest comic book company in at least the English speaking world giving us characters such as Superman, Wonder Woman, and my personal favorite of Batman. For decades this company has dominated the world of comic books and pulp fiction. How then did DC comics start? To answer this question we must go back to 1935...

The World of 1935

What would become DC comics came about in 1935 in a time when the world was in crisis. In 1929 the Wall Street Crash had plunged the world economy into crisis leading to the Great Depression. In the United States over 20% of the workforce became unemployed and in Germany it stood at 25%. The only country to be largely unaffected was the Soviet Union who had become a social pariah in a capitalist world. In 1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president and he began a program named the 'New Deal' which redefined the American left and began lifting the USA out of Depression, (although it would take until American entry into the Second World War for the economy to recover). Meanwhile, in Europe and Asia the far-right was taking over. Imperial Japan started to become ultra-nationalist and in 1937 would reinvade China, the Kuomintang in China drifted towards fascism under Chiang Kai-shek, Italy under Mussolini hoping to rebuild the Roman Empire invaded Ethiopia in 1935 committing horrible atrocities, and in 1933 Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. In 1935 he would start German rearmament in violation of the Treaty of Versailles and would pass the Nuremberg Laws which stripped German Jews of their rights. 1935 also saw the friendship ruining game Monopoly being released by the Parker Brothers and in I Haven't Got a Hat Porky Pig made his debut. It was in this setting that comic book history was made.

Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson

The man who made comic book history

Who would have thought that a former army major would shape comic book history so much? The man pictured, (while in his army uniform sometime in the 1890s), is Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. He had written an open letter criticizing army command causing him to face a lawsuit and even being shot, something which his family described as being down to the army attempting to assassinate him. After resigning in 1923 he began writing pulp stories in Adventure and Argosy writing about historical and military adventure stories. He even acted as a ghost writer for six novels for Street and Smith Publications. In 1925 he first stepped into the comic book industry by founding Wheeler-Nicholson Inc. which published a daily comic-strip adaptation of Treasure Island. Then came the Depression. With the economy in tatters Wheeler-Nicholson had to find a way to keep things a float and Famous Funnies seemed to be the answer. In 1933 Famous Funnies published what can be seen as the very first comic book. Instead of just comic-strips this new comic book offered many comics in one for just 10 cents. The next year Famous Funnies became regularly sold with the first issue offering 100 comics and games for just 10 cents. Cash strapped people bought this book by the thousands. The equivalent today would be a company selling the seven main Harry Potter books for $10. Although Wheeler-Nicholson didn't realize that the comic's success also made the company go over four grand in the red he saw dollar signs. In 1934 National Allied Publishing was founded and the next year New Fun #1 was published.

New Fun #1

The First Comic

New Fun would act like Famous Funnies where Wheeler-Nicholson would reprint famous or at least somewhat popular comic-strips in a book format. It was subtitled 'The Big Comic Magazine' as it was literally larger than the competition at 25.4 x 38.1 cm (10 x 15 inches). In this one issue there were several stories including the cowboy Jack Woods fighting cattle rustlers (depicted on the cover), Super-Police fighting crime in 2023, Native Americans attacking a band moving West, and some kids being sent to Ancient Egypt by a crystal ball just to name a few stories. All these would be brief, one page, and would continue in the next issue. However, Wheeler-Nicholson was at a disadvantage. Although he wanted to reprint famous comic-strips he couldn't: licensing was expensive and many of the famous strips were already being licensed by Famous Funnies. Although later they did manage to publish a story involving Oswald the Lucky Rabbit; the character Walt Disney made before Mickey. Not only that but New Fun could only afford color on the front while Famous Funnies could afford color throughout. It would take until issue three for it to have color on the inside. New Fun did pioneer something though which would revolutionize comic book history. Wheeler-Nicholson, to save money, got people to write original stories so he didn't have to pay the expensive licensing costs. Although they were comic-strips they served as a landmark in comics as they were original stories. Issue one came out in February and in October, with issue six, something important happened: DC's first super hero was introduced.

DC's First Character

Issue Six

On first glance New Fun #6 appeared to be like the five preceding comics. Several of the stories featured happened to be 'part 6' of the ones from the first issue. For this issue a pair named Jerry Siegel (the writer) and Joe Shuster (the artist) were hired to write two stories. The first was 'Henri Duval, Famed Soldier of Fortune' went on to appear in in only four installments. Their second story, written under pseudonym, was 'Dr. Occult, the Ghost Detective'. In this story the titular hero and his assistant, Rose Psychic, attempt to save a man and his wife from a vampire. Those who know their DC comics will understand the significance of this. For those who don't Dr. Occult and Rose Psychic regularly feature in stories to this day, and are DC's 'superheroes'. Siegel and Shuster went on though to write an even more important character.

Siegel's and Shuster's Second Character

By 1937 with the Depression still ravaging the world economy Wheeler-Nicholson was going under despite owning two titles, More Fun Comics, (formerly New Fun), and New Adventure Comics, and he couldn't afford to create his desired third. He wanted a title devoted to detective stories and mysteries after seeing the success of the Green Hornet and the Phantom but neither of his titles could accommodate them. He turned to his distributor Harry Donenfeld who helped get Detective Comics #1 released as well as forming Detective Comics Inc. Still Wheeler-Nicholson was not seeing profits so by the end of the year he was forced out. Donenfeld's business adviser Jack Liebowitz was eager to buy Wheeler-Nicholson's shares saying that 'I had a feel for it [comic books], that it was a good field'. While this was happening Siegel and Shuster were continuing to write comics. They had a love for science-fiction and started implementing it into their comics. In More Fun Comics #15 they had Dr. Occult don a blue costume and red cape to resemble a character which they had pitched years earlier. This character was a bald-headed, cape-wearing powerful alien trying to dominate the world but their plan had been rejected. In 1938 Detective Comics Inc. bought More Fun Comics and New Adventure Comics with many of the writers/artists coming with them. Siegel and Shuster were hired to write a story for the new title, Action Comics, and they decided to bring back their old character. However, they changed him. Instead of a villain he would be hero. As Siegel and Shuster were Jews in a time of intense hatred to not only Jews but other minorities including African-Americans and Asian-Americans they decided to make this character an alien. That way minorities could see themselves as this character, another minority. In fact, the subtitle for this story was 'Champion of the Oppressed'. Although other stories were featured alongside it Siegel's and Shuster's story was granted the cover page. Thus the world was introduced to the Superman.

The Arrival of Superman

From there DC produced more and more memorable characters. A year after Superman's debut the world was introduced to the Batman. However the last words of Superman's debut story would reverberate in the history of pop culture: And so begins the adventures of the most sensational strip character of all time.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this. For future posts please see our Facebook or follow me on Twitter @LewisTwiby

Comics Explained: Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Two (Part 3)

War with the Green Lanterns

Last time Superman's oppressive regime on Earth allied itself with Sinestro and the Sinestro Corps. The Green Lanterns in retaliation have sent a huge squadron to bring Superman to heel. Seeing this as a chance to do away with the Regime Batman and the Resistance have allied themselves with the Green Lanterns. Now Regime and Resistance wait for the arrival of the Lanterns...

Regime against Lanterns

A paralyzed Batman and Oracle give out a message to the Resistance from Green Lantern Guy Gardner to inform them of the Green Lantern Corps arriving on Earth. That message is: When the sky goes green. Oracle's insider in the Justice League has managed to get her a chance to track the League's communications which she then uses to locate the positions of each Justice League member. She also informs Batman where each of the Resistance's forces are but Batman is unhappy with Harley Quinn's presence in the Resistance; Quinn was inducted thanks to the assistance of Black Canary. Suddenly the world is shrouded in darkness: the Lanterns have arrived. The other Earth-based Lanterns, Hal Jordan and John Stewart, are bewildered that Guy Gardner has brought such a vast amount of Lanterns to Earth, including their largest member (Mogo the Living Planet). Guy happily greets his fellow Guardians but is dismayed when he sees Superman and Sinestro (with members of the Sinestro Corps) flying to him as well. Hal forms a bubble around the three Lanterns and Superman to allow for last minute diplomacy. Guy begs Superman to help the Green Lanterns to take out the Sinestro Corps, and to turn himself in saying that the Guardians of the Universe will leave his friends alone as well as giving him a fair trial. Clark retaliates by saying that if the Green Lanterns leave no one needs to die. Guy threatens that Clark cannot win against the Lanterns while Superman calls Guy an embarrassment to the Justice League and Earth. Angry Guy tries to punch Superman but his Kryptonian reflexes allows him to easily dodge the punch. Superman breaks Guy's arm and hurls him from the light bubble.

Parley failed

Concerned for his friend John goes to see to Guy as the Green Lantern Salaak orders the attack on the Sinestro Corps and Superman. Suddenly Guy yells for Hal to get out of the way. He tells John that his antagonizing of Superman was a feint: it was to get Superman and Sinestro in Mogo's line of fire. Before John can warn his friend Hal, Superman, Sinestro and several Yellow Lanterns are caught in Mogo's blast.

Mogo's Attack 

On Earth Oracle says that this is the sign which the Resistance was waiting for (with Harley saying 'Naww, pretty'). Batman communicates with Black Canary in the Batcave who is being given a custom made pistol by Alfred. This gun has kryptonite tipped bullets. Batman asks Dinah to shoot to incapacitate Clark but she says 'the guy with the best aim is dead'. Elsewhere the League find out that they have lost contact with Superman. Suddenly, in space, Superman bursts from Mogo's rays with Hal under one arm and Sinestro under the other. Hal forms a bubble around Clark so he can talk to Cyborg (after all space is a vacuum). Superman tells Cyborg that a quarter of the Sinestro Corps have been killed and that the remaining ones should go to the upper atmosphere knowing that the Lanterns won't repeat that attack with them there. Superman has now descended to using Earth as a shield. With the League distracted and Sinestro Corps scattered the Resistance decides to make its move...by attacking the Hall of Justice. Commissioner Gordon's group gets ready to lay siege to the Hall and he warns Harley not to go off task: if she doesn't take out the Flash their operation could be done for. Harley uses a bomb strapped to herself to blow up outside the Hall next to a guard (thanks to the nanotech pills though she is unharmed). The Flash quickly goes to rescue the guard which turns out to be Catwoman in disguise who uses small device to incapacitate Flash. Suddenly, she comes under attack from Robin.

Robin attacks Catwoman

Outside Gordon leads the assault on the Hall of Justice. The GCPD quickly breaks in and Cyborg is forced to hold them off with an arm cannon. Lex Luthor orders Cyborg to take the teleporter to the Watchtower; if he gets captured the Regime would have lost their most key individual. However, when Cyborg reaches the teleporter he realizes that their communications have been hacked. Cyborg refuses to follow Lex's orders to turn off communications as he argued that it would leave the League blind. Just as Cyborg teleports away Lex is overran. We then cut to Catwoman and Robin. Selina has lost all patience with the child saying 'Your father is much better off without you. You're just this joyless, entitled, moody, whining little **** and you hurt Bruce. I'm going to punish you for that.' Luthor surrenders to Gordon (with Harley asking if she can rub his shiny bald head for luck), but Luthor tells Gordon that he knows his daughter is Oracle and he wants to talk. We find out that Luthor is Oracle's insider and that Cyborg is going to trace the hacked communications to her. Lex takes Gordon to the teleporter so he can deal with Cyborg, although Lex asks for his secret to be kept. A mole is useless if everyone knows who the mole is. Gordon asks Lex if he knows how far along his cancer is. When Lex says that he does Gordon says 'dead men don't tell secrets'.

Soon after the duo teleport away Catwoman informs Oracle that they've captured the Hall of Justice. This prompts a force under Batwoman and Huntress to attack the Ferris Airfield. This prompts Carol to get Hal to break off from the fight who is unknowingly followed by Guy and Sinestro. As Huntress tries to pilot a jet a green hand construct grabs hold of the plane. However, Guy soon arrives ordering Hal to let go of the jet. Just as a fight is about to break out between the two Lanterns (despite Guy cradling a broken arm) Guy is blasted with a yellow light construct. He is shocked. He had tried with all his might to convince the Guardians that Hal wasn't allied to Sinestro. Angry he yells 'You were supposed to be the best of us...You're not supposed to be Superman's puppet'. Just as Sinestro goes to kill Guy a green construct blocks the blast and suddenly leader of the Green Lanterns Ganthet appears...

Ganthet comes to save Guy

Sinestro starts to battle Ganthet and Guy quickly saves Carol from the flaming debris from a jet thrown by Sinestro at Ganthet. Seeing this enrages Hal who attacks Guy ignoring the safety of Carol. Ganthet sees this and declares Hal an oathbreaker stripping him of his ring. In order to save Carol, (now falling from the sky), Hal accepts a Yellow Ring from Sinestro. Hal has now become a Yellow Lantern.

Hal Jordan, Sinestro Corps member

Gordon

Batman and Oracle realize that Sinestro is purposefully stretching the Green Lantern forces thin. The Yellow Lanterns are purposefully locating themselves in large cities so they can use civilians as human shields. As Batman tells Oracle to give the Lanterns new orders she finds out that someone is tracing them. On the Watchtower Cyborg hears the teleporter and assumes that it is Lex Luthor. He says that he has found out their hacker is someone called Oracle, and that he should find them soon. However, he then hears the click of a gun's safety. Gordon now is standing over the 'unconscious' body of Luthor. Cyborg calls Gordon's bluff believing that Gordon wouldn't dare shoot inside a space station only for Gordon to shoot the metallic side of his face. He threatens to shoot the human side if Cyborg doesn't end the scan. Cyborg refuses saying that Gordon would never kill in cold blood and that he just has to wait. Upon scanning Gordon's vitals he has found out that the GCPD commissioner only has moments to live. The nanotech pills have put a strain on Gordon's body. Cyborg asks if there is anything which he can do to comfort Gordon in his final moments, but is surprised when Gordon attacks him. In his final moments he renders Cyborg unconscious which ends the trace. Gordon tells Batman and Oracle how beautiful the Earth looks, and for Oracle to stay strong.

Gordon's last words

Canary v. Kryptonian

We now return to the Ferris Airfield. Upon seeing Hal as a Yellow Lantern standing next to Sinestro Ganthet declares both them a mistake. With Hal distracted Batwoman and Huntress take this as an opportunity to commandeer another jet. Black Canary, meanwhile, has gotten into the Batplane to do her part in the mission. Batman warns her though that the Batplane is lined with lead; thanks to this Superman won't be able to see her and may think that she is Batman. At the airfield Ganthet orders Guy to leave enraging Sinestro who's egomania causes him to overstate his own power. Ganthet easily kills the other Yellow Lanterns and leaves Sinestro declaring him to be insignificant. In the skies just as Superman is about to kill Salaak Ganthet creates a light construct preventing it. The Guardian renders Kal-El unconscious and he is narrowly saved by two Yellow Lanterns, (who are in turn driven off by Batwoman in a jet). As he wakes up Superman sees the Batplane and in a fit of fury destroys it with his heat vision. However, he is immediately flawed by a sonic cry. Black Canary releases another Canary Cry and the two meet one another on the ground. In the crater created by Superman's crash he tries to tell Dinah that he never meant to hurt anyone. She spits back: 'You want me to feel sorry for you? You're the most powerful thing on Earth. Stop pretending that someone else is to blame. It's pathetic. You have super-vision. You're telling me that you can't see the evil, murdering dictator that you've become? I'm just glad that Lois died before she could see you like this.' This enrages Superman who grabs her by the throat. This gives her the opportunity to shoot Superman with the kryptonite bullet. She says that the only reason why she missed vitals was because of a promise to Batman. As she comments about his reign being over Ganthet starts annihilating the Yellow Lanterns and incapacitates Shazam. Cyborg, who was teleported back to the Hall of Justice by Luthor, is also rounded up by the GCPD as Catwoman looks over a captured Robin, and Harley tries to 'reprogram' Flash with electroshock therapy,..and a Superman puppet.

Electroshock therapy and puppets

Just as Dinah calls for Guy to take Clark away a Yellow Lantern ring goes to Superman: Kal-El of the planet Krypton. You have the ability to instill Great Fear. Dinah tries to stop him from getting the ring but he shoots her through her torso with his heat vision. Superman stands over Black Canary as a member of the Sinestro Corps...

Kal-El, Yellow Lantern

End of the War

As Superman towers over her a dying Dinah reveals her last trick card: she was wearing contacts which just streamed Superman's murder of her across the world. Enraged Superman leaves her to die in a pool of blood and begins killing Green Lanterns. He confronts Ganthet demanding to know if this is what he wanted. Meanwhile, John Stewart has been trying to call for peace. Sinestro feigns concern and tries to convince John that the Guardians don't care for Earth. When he refuses to believe that Sinestro stabs John through the heart. 

Sinestro murders John

Sinestro flies a dying John to Hal who dies in his arms before he can reveal the truth. He tells Hal that Guy did this; in fact, this entire war was a plot by Guy to become the sole Lantern for the Sector. John was very close to Hal. Losing John and seeing himself betrayed by the Guardians of the Universe he stops thinking straight. Hal now only wants the blood of Guy Gardner. Hal finds Guy and attacks him, but his former friend refuses to fight back. He begs Hal saying that he could still be the greatest Lantern, but Sinestro just goads Hal further. Hal tears off Guy's ring arm letting a shocked and betrayed Guy fall to his death.

Guy's death

Upon hearing of Guy's murder Batman calls for a retreat. With Hal fully turned and Superman now a Yellow Lantern the Green Lanterns are doomed. Also, their streaming of Black Canary's death just boosted Superman's power. Sinestro Corps members utilize fear and the more fear they can instill the more powerful they become. By streaming Superman's rampage the Insurgency just made billions scared of Superman...giving him the fear of billions to use. Ganthet in the heat of battle decides to use his omnipotent power to personally execute Superman. However, the fear of billions allows Superman to be unscathed. Superman grabs Ganthet and throws him against Mogo forcing the Guardian to the planet's core. Declaring that the Earth doesn't need protection from the Guardians anymore he throws them into the sun.

Superman triumphant

In an epilogue Dr Fate looks over the body of Black Canary. He says two words: **** fate. Dinah soon wakes up in a cabin somewhere. Dr Fate informs her that she was destined to die but he intervened and took her to another reality with her infant son, Connor. Oliver Queen walks in and Fate tells her that the Dinah Lance of this reality died years ago. He leaves them as Oliver is introduced to his son.

That is it for Injustice: Year Two. In Year Three a new front opens in the war between the Insurgency and the Regime as both sides court the use of magic...

Year One Part 1:http://historyandgeekstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/comics-explained-injustice-gods-among.html

Year One Part 2:http://historyandgeekstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/comics-explained-injustice-gods-among_11.html

Year One Part 3:http://historyandgeekstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/comics-explained-injustice-gods-among.html

Year Two Part 1:http://historyandgeekstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/comics-explained-injustice-gods-among.html

Year Two Part 2:http://historyandgeekstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/comics-explained-injustice-gods-among.html

Comics Explained: Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Two (Part 2)

Injustice Year 2

Last time on Injustice the Guardians of the Universe, the leaders of the Green Lanterns, decided to intervene in Earth's affairs as Superman's rule becomes more and more tyrannical. Hal Jordan is divided: should he continue his support for Superman or aid his fellow Lanterns. Leader of the Yellow Lanterns, Sinestro, has tried to make an alliance with Superman against the Green Lanterns. As all this is happening Batman, now paralyzed, and the Resistance are hiding in the tower of Dr Fate. The Guardians send a team under Kilowog to apprehend Superman as Hal Jordan is incarcerated to prevent him from assisting Superman. This is where we pick up...

Kilowog vs. the Justice League

On Oa Hal is frustrated that the Lanterns that he has been locked in a cell. Believing that the Guardians have made a mistake he wants to show them the error of their ways by aiding Superman. However, his guard is Salaak who sides with the Guardians. Salaak is an intensely loyal member of the Lanterns who believes in the orders of the Guardians, right or wrong. Meanwhile, back on Earth Hal's former mentor Sinestro is in a cell after voluntarily handing over his power ring. Hawkgirl is in belief that he would do this willingly as Lex Luthor agrees believing that Sinestro has an ulterior motive. Sinestro merely reiterates what he has been saying: Superman will soon require his help. Back on Oa another Lantern informs Salaak that the Guardians have asked for him to take over guard duty. When Salaak replies that he's received no such orders a green light construct soon grabs hold of the alien's head and smashes him into the wall rendering him unconscious. Hal's rescuer turns out to be John Stewart who refuses to believe that the Man of Steel has turned into an autocrat. After locking up Salaak the two head off to Earth. We then shift scene to Fawcett City where Superman interrupts the class of Shazam's alter ego Billy Batson (some readers may know Shazam as Captain Marvel). Superman informs the teacher that he needs to talk to Billy and because it's Superman asking the teacher accepts. Superman flies off with Billy saying that the Watchtower has picked up several objects flying at high speed towards Earth and that he'll need Billy's help. Billy agrees and after shouting 'SHAZAM' he turns into the hero Shazam. When in his superpower form he asks Superman who or what the objects are for Superman to reply that they're likely Green Lanterns. Soon the Lanterns led by Kilowog arrive on Earth greeting Kal-el. Kilowog explains that he has to accompany him to Oa where the Guardians want to talk. Hawkgirl (who arrived to meet the other heroes) asks where Hal Jordan is but the Lantern remains silent. Superman gives the order to Cyborg on the Watchtower who fires a red beam of energy which engulfs the Lanterns.

The Lanterns under attack

On the Watchtower Cyborg asks for confirmation that the Lanterns are down. However, the League were overconfident. Green Lantern energy constructs are as powerful as the willpower of the users which allowed Kilowog's squadron to easily protect themselves from the energy blast. The Lanterns fly directly towards the three heroes. When Kal-el easily avoids Kilowog's light constructs the alien resorts to more direct action and goes directly for the Kryptonian. Being far stronger Superman gets Kilowog in a headlock. To Shazam's and Hawkgirl's horror Superman suddenly collapses. Kilowog laughs 'They always underestimate the squirrel'. Turns out my personal favorite Lantern took down Superman: Ch'p.

Ch'p beats Superman

So far in Injustice Superman has been beaten by Alfred and a squirrel. As Ch'p's light constructs are so small he was able to send them into the Kryptonian's brain making his synapses go haywire. In his cell at the Hall of Justice Sinestro calls for Luthor to release him. When he refuses the Yellow Lantern asks if Luthor's great ambition is to see Superman fall for his own personal gain, and that without his aid Superman will be taken by the Green Lanterns. Reluctantly Luthor hands him his ring. Meanwhile, in Starling City Dinah Lance, (Black Canary), returns home to see her apartment door partially open. After quickly contacting Oracle that Superman could be behind it she goes inside to see Guy Gardner (albeit after smashing him into the wall). Gardner wanted to give her his condolences for Oliver Queen's death but also ask how she got so strong. She explains that she's been taking pills that Batman gave to the Insurgency copied from Superman's pills which gave the taker superpowers. He informs her that Kyle Rayner has gone missing and asks if Superman was capable of killing him. When she replies yes he is destroyed. How could Superman fall so low? As this is happening the Lanterns have subdued Hawkgirl and Shazam but Ch'p is suddenly shot through the head by a yellow light construct. Kilowog looks up to see Sinestro gloating.

Ch'p's death

As Hal and John arrive on Earth to their horror they see Ch'p's ring flying back to Oa which informs them of his death. To their horror they soon see Superman, Hawkgirl, Shazam and Sinestro battling Kilowog and the Green Lanterns. Stewart moves to contain Sinestro as Hal comes between Superman and Kilowog to prevent more fighting. Suddenly Sinestro announces the arrival of his Corps who are here to help Superman win this war. In Gotham GCPD detective Harvey Bullock sees a Regime soldier harassing a couple for being out after curfew (implemented to possibly stifle Gotham's high crime rate), but when he intervenes the soldier backhands him through a window. The soldier brutally beats Harvey ignoring the detective's badge. Later he is recovering in Gotham General where he is met by Commissioner Gordon and fellow detective Renee Montoya. Bullock starts ranting about the Regime and when he is finished Gordon orders him to get up (despite Montoya saying that he should have rest). He tells Bullock to leave his badge as they're going to police Gotham...Batman style.

With the Lanterns Kilowog suddenly orders a ceasefire. Kilowog surrenders for them to return to Oa with their dead and injured. As Sinestro opposes this arguing that they'll just return with more Lanterns Jordan rebukes this saying it is not his call. Superman, however, has become tired of clemency. He agrees with Sinestro whose forces surround the Lanterns.

Gotham and Lanterns

In Gotham there is a protest demanding that the Regime cease their occupation of the city. Throughout history occupiers are always heavy-handed and the Regime is no exception. The leader of the soldiers ends up grabbing an old woman by her neck as she desperately hits him with her walking cane. At the GCPD station Gordon with Montoya, Bullock and the Birds of Prey declare a resistance. Superman's Regime does not understand Gotham and how using brute force to enforce new draconian laws won't help. As of now all officers have their jobs back but it will be harder and bigger than before. The GCPD will now protect Gotham from its current 'protectors'. In South Dakota the Sinestro Corps has captured all of Kilowog's squadron. Sinestro calls for Superman to execute them but Hal and Shazam rebuke this saying that as heroes they cannot condone execution. Angered Kilowog spits that he can't ever remember real heroes standing next to the 'scum' of the Sinestro Corps. In response Yellow Lantern Arkillo wraps Kilowog tightly in a yellow construct making the Lantern contort in pain so Hal forms a vise around Arkillo's head. Hal demands the release of Kilowog but Arkillo reminds him that even if Hal kills him the Green Lanterns are still outnumbered. As tensions mount Superman orders Arkillo to release Kilowog. Superman asks for Kilowog and his Lanterns to hand over their rings so they can be humanely detained. However, Arkillo in the background tries to provoke Kilowog so he can have an excuse to kill the Lanterns. Kilowog decides to begrudgingly comply but promises that the Guardians 'are going to kick your ass'.

Kilowog surrenders

Superman tells Sinestro that the Sinestro Corps must now leave Earth. As Sinestro tries to complain Hal and John reiterate the order but with more threats. Unexpectedly Superman says that although his Corps is unwelcome Sinestro personally is. He accepts this but tells Arkillo to be ready as the war has just begun. In space Guy Gardner sees the Sinestro Corps leave. He informs Dinah (still at the Gotham rally) and says that the situation is worse than previously thought: there may be an Earth/Korugar alliance. Guy heads off into deep space to inform the Guardians. At the GCPD Gordon informs the officers that a private benefactor will be funding them (guess who) so they won't lose out of pay for defecting from the force. One officer questions how they can resist. After all, how can regular humans last against someone like Superman? Gordon offers the pill stating that this will be their new badge. To demonstrate Bullock shoots Gordon only for the bullet to fall harmlessly off of him. Gordon tells them, 'This is a game changer'.

Dinah vs. Harley

Dinah against Harley

Oracle tries to get Black Canary back to Gotham to train the resistance as the hero has returned to Starling City. Dinah jokes that the only reason why she wants her back is because she's easier to boss around than her father. She informs Oracle that she has to go to the Arrow Cave to sort out some of Ollie's affairs. As she enters the Cave she jokes that when they had Harley captured there following Superman's execution of Joker Quinn had suggested the name the Quiver was a better name for the hideout. Both admit that Quiver is a far better name. Suddenly, Dinah sees that Harley is in the Cave with a bow and slippers! Angry Dinah demands to know why Harley is in the Cave who replies that she has nowhere else to go. With the Joker dead and Arkham Asylum cleared of inmates by the Regime she really is alone. Dinah demands that Harley leave who then throws her slippers at Dinah...which turn out to be bombs. Harley laughs saying that they weren't actually explosives and that she had tricked Dinah. Dinah unleashes her Canary Cry which sends Harley flying across a table but she comes up with a giant mallet before charging at Dinah. Black Canary yells stop and puzzled Harley does so. She keels over ordering Quinn to get a bucket. Harley soon realizes what is up with Dinah: morning sickness. Making light of the situation Harley laughs commenting how funny it is that a superhero is pregnant. In one of the most heart breaking moments of Injustice we now see more of Harley. The villain confides in Dinah that she is also a mother to a four year old girl called Lucy who lives with her sister so she can have a normal life. Even worse is how Joker never noticed how she had been gone for almost a year. The Joker was Harley's world, but Harley was nothing to him.

Harley's revelation

Harley tentatively admits that she knew of Ollie's death and asks if the baby is his. Dinah in turn reveals that Ollie saw some chance for redemption in Quinn. Harley asks if Superman killed Ollie. Upon hearing the answer she asks to join the Resistance. 

Resistance

On Oa the Guardians are puzzled: the Earth has suddenly vanished. Ganthet is questioned about the Lanterns sent to Earth for him to reveal that he has heard nothing from them. Salaak soon interrupts the discussion by dragging in a badly injured Guy Gardner. Gardner explains that there is now a Korugar/Earth alliance and that the Sinestro Corps now monitors the path from Earth to Oa. It was thanks to this that he was ambushed and barely got away. The Guardians realize that this is the reason why Earth has vanished from their view. Sadly Guy says that although Kilowog's Lanterns were alive when he left everything could have changed since then. All of them sadly accept that for this reason they have now also lost Kyle Rayner. When asked about Hal and John Guy says that there is no way that they will condone this activity but begrudgingly admits that recently he seems not to know his friends. However, Ganthet remains hopeful that he can later use Hal and John, but for the time being they must leave Earth alone or otherwise fall into a plot by Sinestro. 

In Gotham the Resistance makes its first strike. A team made of Black Canary, Batwoman, Huntress, Bullock and Montoya ambush a patrol of Regime soldiers. With their skills and enhanced strength they subdue the two soldiers. Gordon arrives ordering that they be prepared for interrogation: they are now prisoners of war. 

Seven months then pass. Dinah has given birth to her son whom she names Connor. On the Watchtower Cyborg and Robin observe a fireball heading towards Chicago. They issue a call for help only to find that Superman is missing. Cyborg is distraught to find out that Hal, John and the Flash won't make it in time before the fireball hits. However, Sinestro unexpectedly intercepts it which turns out to be Despero. Despero is a tyrant much like Superman and Sinestro. Ruling the planet Kalanor his third eye gives him immense telepathic powers while using the 'Flame of Py'tar' to augment his already formidable strength. Despero demands to know why Sinestro attacked him and threw him towards Earth. The warlord becomes confused when Sinestro starts yelling about not wanting to harm him. As John and Hal arrive he uses his constructs to make it appear that Despero was strangling him. He seemingly begs Despero not to make him do it as he constructs a bubble around the tyrant's head which he then uses to snap his neck.

Sinestro kills Despero

He apologizes to the two Green Lanterns for killing Despero but both admire him for ending it before he could do more damage. Sinestro has just had his Reichstag fire. Meanwhile, an ecstatic Harley meets Dinah in the hospital. Quinn has brought her several gifts for the baby: a bow and arrow set, a fake mustache, and a muzzle in case little Connor inherited her Canary Cry. As the two laugh Dinah's bag glows and her communicator suddenly has the Green Lantern symbol on it. On the other end Guy Gardner tells her that in three weeks he will arrive with with a large group of Lanterns and a secret weapon, and that he needs the Resistance ready. She is worried. What would happen to Earth, her son's world, if it gets caught between a war of Green Lanterns, Sinestro Corps, and Superman's Regime. Guy jokes that he he's bringing his own planet: Mogo.

The Lanterns are Coming!

The Lanterns are Coming, The Lanterns are Coming...

Upon their way to Earth Guy and Sarlaak are informed that Mogo has been detected by two Sinestro Corps members. Guy reluctantly authorizes lethal force and the two are dealt with. Knowing that the element of surprise has ended Salaak tells Guy to inform Earth. They can now come to Earth quickly now. Outside the Hall of Justice, and flanked by Sinestro, Superman makes an announcement to the public that the Earth is now officially at war with the Green Lanterns. In a secret base Oracle and Black Canary are disgusted about how Superman is now calling for people to be nothing more than human shields. Oracle soon receives a file linking her to the Watchtower's communication network. When Zatanna arrives telling them now is the time Oracle gives Dinah the option to opt out. Upon looking at her son she decides that if she does not fight for the sake of her son who will? They are teleported to the Tower of Fate where Batman is struggling with a mechanical brace being applied to his son to help his recovery from paralysis. As Catwoman chastises him for taking on Superman alone the year prior Alfred informs his master that he mustn't leave the Tower until he has fully healed. When Bruce asks if Zatanna could just heal him with magic she jokes that if anything happened the spell would end and he would be 'bat-floored'. When Alfred asks to begin the Resistance when he has healed Batman rebukes this: the Green Lanterns are coming and time is up.

Batman opens the line of communication to all the Resistance apologizing that it has come to this. The Man of Steel has lost all his senses and morals so must be taken down. Some of them may not come home after the war. He promises that they will be the one who will end Superman's tyranny and apologizes that he cannot fight with them. Catwoman kisses him knowing it could be the last time that they see one another. Zatanna takes hold of Connor as she teleports Dinah, Catwoman and Alfred to the Batcave. Batman asks her if they should fail to not get involved; she is needed for 'Plan B'. Zatanna then gives Bruce his wish to be teleported to where Oracle is. He declares that he has to make sure that Superman is taken down no matter how broken he is.

And that is the end of part two of Year Two. Next time Superman's Regime and the Green Lantern Corps go to war with tragic results...

Year One part 1: http://historyandgeekstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/comics-explained-injustice-gods-among.html

Year One part 2: http://historyandgeekstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/comics-explained-injustice-gods-among_11.html

Year One part 3: http://historyandgeekstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/comics-explained-injustice-gods-among.html

Year Two part 1: http://historyandgeekstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/comics-explained-injustice-gods-among.html