The Power Company

Chronology + Annotations

Thanks to Loki Carbis

Major story arcs

A new member joins

A hero dies

Chronology

Jump to the Annotations

Sequence of Events	Issue (Date)
1943
Jeb Stuart and the men of the Haunted Tank encounter a mysterious crystal formation in North Africa. Jeb takes a fragment of the crystal, which the General tells him will be important in the years to come.	Power Company #16 (7.03)
1946
[Sep 2] Former Manhunter Paul Kirk seemingly dies while on safari in Africa (but is actually placed in suspended animation by the mysterious "Council").	Detective Comics #439 (2/3.74)
16 Years Ago
Candy Gennaro, the future Sapphire, is born	Power Company #4 (7.02)
8 Years Ago
Paul Kirk, the original Manhunter, hunts down and destroys many of his clones, taking down several in a massed combat in Marrakech. One of them, deciding he wants no part of this, hides himself away. He will assume the name of Kirk dePaul.	Power Company: Manhunter #1 (3.02) (Detective Comics #439 (2/3.74)
Carl Bork, mystically empowered by the natives of Desolation Island, attempts to take over the Gotham docks, but is stopped by Batman and the Flash II. He is sent to the Van Kull Maximum Security Correctional Facility near Metropolis.	Brave & Bold #81 (?.?)
Bork escapes the Kull and returns to his mother's house in Newark, New Jersey. His mother, disappointed in his criminal career, tells him to mend his ways. When the police surround the house, she has a heart attack. Batman promises Bork to take care of his mother if he will come quietly, and Bork agrees. The Flash II races Bork's mother to hospital, and Bork returns to prison to serve out his time.	Power Company: Bork #1 (3.02)
Nobel Prize-winning physicist Professor Martin Stein and high school student Ronnie Raymond are fused together in a nuclear accident, becoming Firestorm. This new hero later joins the Justice League of America.	Firestorm #1 (3.78)
Green Arrow and Black Canary II investigate the Coast City headquarters of BioSPHEER after becoming suspicious of their practices. Their visit coincides with that of Josiah Power, attorney to the Spheer family Jack Spheer, the CEO, has perfected a process called BioMax, which he uses to fight off the heroes. He is accidentally killed in the fight and his son Jason inherits the company. Jason retains Power as his attorney, and the two get to work cleaning up the company's woes. Guest apps: Hal Jordan & Carol Ferris.	Power Company #6 (9.02)
Number One (Arthur Pemberton) of the Strike Force is captured and imprisoned after his team clashes with the JSA. He is replaced by a new and more successful Number One.	All Star Comics #71 (3-4.78), Power Company #4 (7.02)
7 Years Ago
Kirk de Paul surfaces in Oranga and Bwunda, working as a mercenary. He quickly moves up through the ranks of the underworld.	Power Company: Manhunter #1 (3.02)
On June 19th, US Navy Lieutenant Celia Forrestal is denied a promotion she is eminently qualified for. Despite her idealism and patriotism, she seriously considers leaving the Navy.	Power Company: Skyrocket #1 (3.02)
On July 3rd, Celia Forrestal returns to her parents' house to tell them of her decision. They show her the Argo harness.	Power Company: Skyrocket #1 (3.02)
On July 4th, the home and workshop of Celia Forrestal's parents is attacked by Scorpio, killing her parents. She dons the Argo harness, and joins Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) in fighting off Scorpio. A few days later, the Lantern comes to her parents' funeral to encourage her to keep up the good work.	Power Company: Skyrocket #1 (3.02)
6 Years Ago
In January, after leaving the Navy, Celia Forrestal first goes into action as Skyrocket.	Power Company: Skyrocket #1 (3.02)
While visiting Opal City, Witchfire buys a scroll of ancient incantations from Knight's Past, the curio shop of Jack Knight, who will later be Starman VIII.A few weeks later, Witchfire plays to a packed crowd at the Fleet Center in Boston. Using her newly purchased incantation summons Nekron, Lord of the Unliving, but with Wonder Woman's assistance, Witchfire is able to fight him off and close the portal to his dimension. Note: Jack Knight makes no actual appearance in this story.	Power Company: Witchfire #1 (3.02)
In one of her earliest cases, Skyrocket tangles with Javelin.	Power Company #5 (8.02)
5 Years Ago
While visiting Metropolis on business, attorney Josiah Power is caught up in the great alien Invasion of Earth. A few days later, his latent metahuman abilities are activated by the alien Gene-bomb. On November 27, Power's metahuman ability activates for the first time while he is presenting a case in court. It is effectively the end of his legal career. Later, he is contacted by a group which is recruiting newly empowered metahumans with the intent of using them to commit crimes. Power's own abililties do not manifest again, and he is compelled to sit out their missions. Those who go on them confront the Creeper, Firestorm and Wonder Woman in separate incidents. A few weeks later, the combined efforts of the Justice League, and Superman succeed in capturing the raiders, and tracking them to their lair. Upon their arrival, the heroes discover that Josiah has already subdued all those present. Later, Superman smeets with Josiah Power again in order to get the full story.	Power Company: Josiah Power #1 (3.02)
2 Years Ago
Danny Tsang, a stuntman in Hong Kong, falls into a vat of experimental fuel and is electrocuted. When he awakes, he discovers that he has gained superhuman powers: great strength and the ability to generate a powerful field of bio-electricity. His friend, Charlie Lau, designs several devices that use and channel Danny's power, allowing him to fly and project beams of sonic force. Unfortunately, the director of the film Danny was injured while filming duplicates the process, and Danny teams up with Superboy to defeat him.	Power Company: Striker Z #1 (3.02)
Kirk de Paul first wears his new Manhunter outfit when he crosses paths with Nightwing in Malindi, Kenya.	Power Company: Manhunter #1 (3.02)
1 Year Ago
Having mutated even further over the years of his sentence, the barely human Carl Bork is released from prison. He starts looking for a straight job suited to his talents, but as a mutant ex-con of horrific appearance, finds this difficult.	Power Company: Bork #1 (3.02)
Recently
A month after running away from home and making her way to San Diego, Candy Gennaro steals the Serpent's Egg from Kobra while he is distracted by infighting in his own organisation and the JLA. Bonding with the Egg, Candy gains metahuman powers, and adopts the name Sapphire.	Power Company: Sapphire #1 (3.02)
A member of the alien race known as the Controllers comes to Earth, and probes its magnetic field, seeking a device belong to his race. Unfortunately, the comatose Dr Polaris is linked to the Earth's magnetic field, and the alien's probe awakens him. Polaris cures Black Mass of his cerebral damage and the two escape from the Slab, capturing the Controller in the process.	Power Company #13-14 (4-5.03)

Regular Title Begins
Skyrocket battles two members of the Cadre in St. Louis, after which Josiah and Manhunter invite her to join the team, while Striker Z, Witchfire and Bork train at HQ. Against her better judgement, Skyrocket agrees to accompany the team on a trial basis when they respond to a call. The Strike Force is raiding the St Claire Museum at the behest of Dr. Cyber when the Power Company arrives. Although the heroes make short work of the Strike Force, a stray laser blast activates an ancient artifact, allowing the Dragoneer to enter this dimension.	Power Company #1 (4.02)
The Strike Force takes advantage of the distraction to flee the scene while Skyrocket rallies the Power Company to battle the Dragoneer. The Dragoneer routs them and escapes to Alcatraz, pursued by Manhunter. The following day, both the Power Company and the Strike Force close on the Dragoneer, attempting to reclaim the artifact he stole. Meanwhile, Christine St Clair sees Manhunter on the news, and contacts Asano Nitobe to tell him she's found the last clone.	Power Company #2 (5.02)
The Power Company defeats the Dragoneer and scatters the Strike Force, reclaimng the artifact. However, a mysterious gem-like entity emerges from the portal and embeds itself in a Marin County beach, undetected by all. Dr Cyber severs all ties with the Strike Force, leaving them to their fate. Skyrocket agrees to join the team as its Cheif of Operations (field leader).	Power Company #3 (6.02)
While the rest of the Power Company is interviewed on tv, their base is attacked by the Strike Force, who seek to take Josiah hostage. Sapphire and Josiah defeat and capture them, and Sapphire joins the team. Asano Nitobe arrives in San Francisco to investigate Manhunter.	Power Company #4 (7.02)
The Power Company view the final cut of a short promotional film that they have made. While most of them are very happy with the film, Skyrocket is displeased at both the mercenary feel of it and the time taken from her pursuit of Dr. Cyber. Meanwhile, Dr. Cyber meets with the Satanstone, who kills her and takes over command of her operation.	JLA #61 (2.02)
Skyrocket defeats Javelin again, and meets Lieutenant Solomon Driver. While Josiah negotiates a contract with Jenet Klyburn of STAR Labs, Bork and Sapphire go house-hunting together, eventually deciding to get a shared place. Christine and Asano confront Manhunter, who convinces them to give him a chance to show them that he's different.	Power Company #5 (8.02)
While Bork and Sapphire work out, Josiah, Manhunter, Witchfire and Skyrocket bicker through their partner's meeting. Jason Spheer contacts Josiah to hire the Power Company to provide security for BioSPHEER. The media announcement of this convinces Green Arrow to investigate anew.	Power Company #6 (9.02)
After getting caught between the bickering Manhunter and Skyrocket, Striker Z volunteers for a solo mission at Ryder Technologies. He battles the forces of Aryn the Underlord and captures the double agent in Ryder who was working with them. And he begins to pick his own path in life.	Power Company #7 (10.02)
A robber shoots Josiah, hospitalizing him. The day before, Striker Z and Manhunter are attacked by stuntmen pretending to be the HIVE while on assignment for BioSPHEER. Skyrocket, Sapphire and Bork investigate attacks by the Cadre. Returning to BioSPHEER, Striker Z, Manhunter and Jason Spheer are attacked by Green Arrow. Jason Spheer is revealed to be possessed by his father, who was transformed into a gaseous entity by the BioMax process. Biomax, as it calls himself, possesses Green Arrow as well, while Skyrocket's team is ambushed by the Cadre.	Power Company #8 (11.02)
Manhunter blackmails Biomax into surrendering and letting Green Arrow go, while Skyrocket's team is ignored by the Cadre after their employer, Dr. Polaris, shows up. Returning to base, Skyrocket, Witchfire and Manhunter argue ends and means, much to the amusement of Green Arrow. Josiah is able to smooth everything over, even Green Arrow. The following day, after Josiah's shooting, the team gathers at his bedside, where they all pledge to bring in his shooter. Lt.Driver interrupts to tell them that the cops already have him in custody.	Power Company #9 (12.02)
Skyrocket visits the comatose Josiah in hospital, before heading to STAR Labs for a meeting and thence to the base where she okays Witchfire and Manhunter's idea about recriuting a new member. Frustrated by office politics and the mercenary nature of her employment, she takes out her anger on one of Dr. Cyber's drug labs, before deciding to stick with the team, if only to protect the others from the influence of Witchfire and Manhunter. Throughout the day she is troubled by mysterious psychic flashes caused by something trying to contact her. Firestorm agrees to join the team. NOTE: Firestorm makes no actual appearance in this story.	Power Company #10 (1.03)
Firestorm's first case with the team shuts down the re-nascent terrorist organisation Shadowspire. At the press conference announcing Firestorm's membership in the team, Manhunter exaggerates the power and reach of Shadowspire in an attempt to drum up business. Meanwhile, Witchfire and Striker Z are on assignment in Louisiana, retrieving a mystical sword, when they are attacked by an octopus-like monster, and Witchfire's arm is cut off, revealing her to be made of solid magic.	Power Company #11 (2.03)
While Witchfire lies in hospital, Asano and Christine continue their surveillance of Manhunter. He secures the team a job bodyguarding a paranoid actor, while Skyrocket fails to convince STAR Labs of the threat posed by Dr. Polaris. STAR labs is convinced only when Polaris leads the Cadre in an attack on their facility.	Power Company #12 (3.03)
As the Power Company, minus Manhunter and Witchfire, engage Polaris and the Cadre at STAR Labs, Asano and Christine try to help them. Polaris reveals his plan to cleanse the Earth of humanity, and the mysterious entity that attempted to contact Skyrocket is revealed to be an alien Controller, and a prisoner of Polaris. Witchfire and Manhunter both make their way to STAR to join the fight, and Josiah stirs in his coma, but Polaris captures the rest of the team, and the last component for the device he is constructing.	Power Company #13 (4.03)
While the JLA tries futilely to reach San Francisco, Manhunter seeks a way in through Polaris' magnetic shields. Aided by Charlie and Witchfire, he manages it. Witchfire, still at the hospital, uses her magic to keep up communications between the team. Meanwhile, the Controller explains his plight to Skyrocket, and Polaris finishes building his device, only to be betrayed by the Cadre. The Cadre and the Power Company defeat Polaris, freeing the alien, who promises to return - in a century or so! The JLA takes the fallen villains into custody but Firestorm feels bad about it all, and Manhunter still has Asano and Christine on his case.Guest apps: Superman, Manitou Raven, John Stewart, Faith and the Flash	Power Company #14 (5.03)
Manhunter takes a solo mission in Gotham City for an old enemy of his from his days in Africa, rescuing his enemy's grad-daughter. Crossing paths with the Batman, Manhunter tricks him into helping him rescue the girl.	Power Company #15 (6.03)
"HOSTILE TAKEOVER"
STAR Labs finally signs with the Power Company, and Garrison Slate comes aboard to replace Josiah until he awakes from his coma. Firestorm quits the team and Witchfire takes a leave of absence to consult with Baron Winters, who tells her that she is a homonculus. Jeb Stuart, wounded in the attack on STAR, sees the General again, and learns that he will soon die, and that his grand-daughter, Jen Stuart, will take over for him. Ariadne, a former servant of Dr Cyber, leads the team into a trap set by the strange crystal entity which now calls itself the Satanstone.	Power Company #16 (7.03)
Bork, worried about Sapphire after she fails to come home, joins the search for the missing team. Meanwhile, in the Ashalanti dimension, Sapphire, Manhunter, Striker Z and Skyrocket fight off an attack by minions of the Satanstone. As Inter-Sect steps up its efforts to buy the Power Company, Bork convinces Witchfire, Jen Stuart and the revived Josiah Power to join him in finding the others. Inter-Sect is revealed as a supporter of Nyi'tarla, the spirit of the Satanstone.	Power Company #17 (8.03)
In the Ashalanti dimension, Sapphire, Manhunter, Striker Z and Skyrocket learn the history of the Satanstone, and the lost gem that can stop it. Reaching its temple, they battle its minions. Meanwhile, on Earth, the Satanstone's army of transformed demons engages heroes across the USA. Garrison Slate. Silver and Charlie Lau's plan gets them into the heart of InterSect's complex, where they disrupt operations on Earth side of the portal. Bork, Witchfire, Josiah and Jen Stuart (the latest driver of the Haunted Tank) reinforce the others in Ashalanti. The gem that Jeb Stuart gave Jen turns out to be the same gem necessary to stop the Satanstone. Skyrocket uses it to do so, ending the threat of the Satanstone in both dimensions. The Power Company returns to Earth. Guest apps: Nightwing, Jade, Wildcat, Dr Fate, Hawkgirl and Black Adam.	Power Company #18 (9.03)
Kirk De Paul is warned by Mark Shaw (another Manhunter) that a serial killer is targetting costumed heroes named Manhunter. De Paul blows Shaw off, but is later stalked and killed by a man appearing to be Shaw's old enemy, Dumas.	Manhunter #11 (8.05)
Kirk De Paul's corpse is identified by Josiah Power.	Manhunter #12 (8.05)
Witchfire is among the mystics gathered at the Oblivion Bar during the Spectre's attack.	Day of Vengeance #1 (6.05)
Infinite Crisis For more Infinite Crisis details... > Read the timeline
Witchfire joins the Phantom Stranger's army of mystics in rounding up the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man, and is briefly possessed by Lust.	Day of Vengeance: Infinite Crisis Special #1 (3.06)
Skyrocket assists at Bludhaven after Chemo's attack.	Teen Titans Annual #1 (4.06)
Skyrocket, Bork and Sapphire are among the heroes who gather for to pray and plan during the Infinite Crisis. NOTE: this appearance is only found in the collected edition of Infinite Crisis.	Infinite Crisis #5 (4.06)
Witchfire joins the gathered mystics at Stonehenge to summon the Spectre.	Infinite Crisis #6 (5.06)
Skyrocket is among the first to respond to Oracle's call for reinforcements during the prison break preceding the Battle of Metropolis, joining Arsenal, Halo, Flamebird and others at Alcatraz.	Villains United: Infinite Crisis Special #1 (6.06)
52
Sapphire attends the memorial service for Superboy.	52 #1 (5.06)
Witchfire takes a turn monitoring the town in which the Shadowpact is imprisoned	Shadowpact #2 (8.06)
Witchfire's surveillance continues	Shadowpact #3 (9.06)
One Year Later
Skyrocket and other heroes are captured alongside Superman. NOTE: Skyrocket states that she is no longer a member of the Power Company.	Action Comics #842 (10.06)
Skyrocket, Superman and the other heroes escape and defeat the aliens who captured them.	Action Comics #843 (11.06)
Bork is a prisoner of Roulette.	JSA: Classified #19 (1.07)
Skyrocket is one of the heroes invited to join Oracle's new Birds of Prey.	Birds of Prey #100 (1.07)
Kid Devil attempts to follow Witchfire into the Oblivion Bar.	Teen Titans #42 (2.07)

Annotations

Written by John "Mikishawm" Wells

The letter column of the ongoing POWER COMPANY series is slowly documenting the DC trivia details that were included in January's Power Surge one-shots that documented the earlier lives and origins of the heroes destined to come together as the Power Company. At the time, I put together some footnotes of my own and posted them on DC's PCo message board. For your reading pleasure, they're reproduced here.

JLA #61

Page One: Petroil appears here for the first time though there was a chain of Petroco gas stations in the DCU during the 1950s (HOURMAN # 23).

Page Two: Originally based in Japan, the Black Dragon Society was an anti-U.S. organization who fought Minute-Man (MASTER COMICS #21), the Justice Society (ALL-STAR COMICS #12; ALL-STAR SQUADRON #30), the Atom (ALL-AMERICAN COMICS #41), the Black Condor (CRACK COMICS #28), the Sniper (MILITARY COMICS #24) and Johnny Everyman (COMIC CAVALCADE #10) during World War Two. They were based on a real organization by that name though this Black Dragon Society wasn't quite as sinister as its comics counterparts. The Dragon King struck off from the Society early on, deeming them "ineffectual" (ALL-STAR SQUADRON #4) and he survived into the present (STARS & S.T.R.I.P.E. #1, 3, 5-7, 10-13).

Page Eleven: On Earth-One, Doctor Cylvia Cyber led a global network of female criminals before her encounters with Diana Prince, the de-powered Wonder Woman, led to her downfall and facial disfigurement (WONDER WOMAN #179-182, 187-188). These and Doctor Cyber's other appearances (WW # 200, 221, 287, 319-321) aren't part of current DCU continuity and her revised origin remains a secret.

JOSIAH POWER #1

Page Two: Lexcorp, the conglomerate owned by Lex Luthor, first appeared in THE MAN OF STEEL #2 (1986), though a prototype called the Thunder Corporation exists in Elliot S. Maggin's earlier novels, SUPERMAN: LAST SON OF KRYPTON and MIRACLE MONDAY.

Page Three: Following the Alien Alliance's assault on Australia in INVASION! #1, the Wingmen of the planet Thanagar struck Metropolis in SUPERMAN [second series] #26.

Page Four: The Cuban conflict took place in DETECTIVE COMICS # 595, MANHUNTER [second series] #8-9 and FLASH [second series] #22. Josiah also recalls "the battles in the South Pacific (FIRESTORM #80; STARMAN [first series] #5; JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #22; WONDER WOMAN [second series] #25) and China (NEW GUARDIANS #6) to the counterattack in Australia (POWER OF THE ATOM #7-8) ... to victories in Moscow (SUICIDE SQUAD #23) ... in the Arctic (DOOM PATROL [second series] #17) ... in space (CAPTAIN ATOM #24; INVASION! #2) ..." Near the end of INVASION! #2, "Captain Atom addressed the world" about the Alliance's surrender.

Page Four: The M'changan artifact from the Nitantu Valley alludes to the African nation of M'changa, birthplace of the Vixen, whose powers were derived from the Tantu Totem (first detailed in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #234).

Page Four: The negative-image detonation of the Dominators' Metagene Bomb was seen in multiple DC titles that led into INVASION! #3.

Page Five: The repercussions of the Gene Bomb cited here all took place in INVASION! #3.

Page Nine: Doctor Ovarni is a geneticist whose fascination with cloning and the life sciences led Baron Bedlam to nickname her Madame Ovary (ADVENTURES OF THE OUTSIDERS #33-35). At the end of that story, she was presumably smuggled out of Markovia by the Bad Samaritan, a freelance spy who was allied with the Soviet Union in the aforementioned issues and THE OUTSIDERS [first series] #3, 4, 10 and 12. According to Kurt, the normally Caucasian Doctor Ovarni is a victim of bad lighting in this story.

Page Eleven: "The Shockley data" is a reference to scientist Eugene Shockley, who studied the effects of the meta-gene on Richard Redditch in THE SPECTRE [second series] #24-29.

Page Eleven: The Creeper fought the Recruits between his appearances as Jack Ryder in BATMAN ANNUAL #13 and ACTION COMICS #668.

Page Twelve: Firestorm appears here following FIRESTORM #94. First seen in FURY OF FIRESTORM #38, Vandemeer University became a fixture in that title, initially serving as a school for Ronnie Raymond and employer for Martin Stein. John Ostrander later changed the spelling to Vandermeer and made the campus the host to the Institute For Metahuman Studies.

Page Twelve: Wonder Woman appears here following WONDER WOMAN [second series] #41.

Page Fifteen: The Chicago branch of S.T.A.R. Labs was featured prominently in the 1986-1988 run of BLUE BEETLE (#1-4, 6, 9, 11-12, 14-19) and had recently been under the supervision of company founder Garrison Slate.

Page Sixteen: Pictured here [left to right] are the Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Blue Beetle, Superman and Mister Miracle, plus the unidentifiable Booster Gold, Captain Atom and Guy Gardner. Justice League America appears here between ACTION COMICS #650 and DOCTOR FATE #14, Captain Atom is between ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #463 and CAPTAIN ATOM #38 and Superman is between ACTION COMICS #650 and SUPERMAN #41.

Page Nineteen: The hero next to Superman is Captain Atom.

Page Twenty: Guy Gardner and Booster Gold appear opposite Blue Beetle..

JOSIAH POWER follows the Eugene Shockley/Richard Redditch sequence in THE SPECTRE #24-29 (Feb. - Sept., 1989; note that Dr. Shockley's research is mentioned on page 11). The story also has to take place after Superman returned from his exile in space (ACTION COMICS #643: July, 1989) and renewed his League ties (JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE #9: December, 1989) but before Booster Gold quit the Justice League (JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #37: April, 1990). Here goes ...

In FIRESTORM #94 (February, 1990), the new Firestorm was reunited with Martin Stein at Vandermeer University, where they exposed Clement Morrison, a scientist working with a "transferable ... but ... ultimately fatal" metahuman virus. Aware of Firestorm's renewed presence in the area, the Agent arranged for a team to distract the fire elemental during their subsequent raid at the University (JP #1).

Meanwhile, Wonder Woman found herself a bit bored while Julia and Vanessa Kapatelis were engaged in activities outside of Boston (WONDER WOMAN #41). Though she'd allowed her Justice League membership to lapse almost immediately after joining the team (JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE #1), Diana sought out the League after an encountering some of the Agent's soldiers in Boston. The details that Wonder Woman provided, combined with evidence gathered by S.T.A.R. Labs (who'd been present at Vandermeer thanks to the Morrison incident in FIRESTORM # 94), were enough to establish a pattern.

Working with S.T.A.R. founder Garrison Slate in Chicago, Justice League America (between JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #35 and 36 — and, specifically, ACTION COMICS #650 and Doctor Fate #14), Captain Atom (between JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE#10 and 11 — and, specifically, ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #463 and CAPTAIN ATOM #38) and Superman (between ACTION COMICS #650 and SUPERMAN #41) laid a trap for the raiders and followed them back to their lair. Captain Atom reports on the case to Justice League Europe during a meeting glimpsed in CAPTAIN ATOM #38.

[A tip of the hat to Dave "Datalore" Marchand for working out most of the details of the JLA-JLE continuity.]

STRIKER Z #1

Page One: Superboy appears here between SUPERBOY [third series] #19 and 20.

Page Thirteen: Superboy is accompanied by his manager, Rex Leech, and Rex's daughter, Roxie, first seen in ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #502.

STRIKER Z takes place after the period when Superboy wore x-ray specs (SUPERBOY #0, 9-15) and the Rex Leech gambling debt subplot was resolved (SUPERBOY #16-19) but before Roxy got involved with the SCU (#20-21) and Knockout moved in (#21-22). Most likely, the STRIKER Z flashback takes place between SUPERBOY #19 and 20.

WITCHFIRE #1:

Page One: Princess Diana a.k.a. Wonder Woman was still new to the United States and was learning about the culture from Boston professor Julia Kapatelis. Diana had also formed a close bond with Julia's daughter, Vanessa, who is seen here. This story almost certainly falls in the midst of the "Time Passages" vignettes in WONDER WOMAN [second series] #8, sometime after Diana's talk at Vanessa's school (pages 16-17) but before her "Farewell Tour" (pages 20-21).

Page Twelve: The "little curio shop in Opal City" might be Jack Knight's collectibles shop, Knights Past, first seen in STARMAN [second series] #0.

Page Fourteen: "B'haar Weyein S'tatn ..." brings to mind Mike W. Barr, Len Wein and Joe Staton, the plotter, scripter and penciller responsible for creating 1981's TALES OF THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1-3, a mini-series that introduced ...

Page Fifteen: ... Nekron, "Lord of the Unliving!"

Page Fifteen: Mnemosyne is the Amazons' resident historian, with early appearances in WONDER WOMAN [second series] #10, 37-39, 50, 58-60 and WW ANNUAL #1.

Page Seventeen: Wonder Woman's "enchanted bracelets" were made from fragments of the Aegis, Zeus' mighty shield (WONDER WOMAN [second series] #21).

Page Twenty-One: Nekron appears next in CAPTAIN ATOM #43.

Since WITCHFIRE occurred "six years ago," this obviously took place early in the George Perez run, as supported by Diana's comment that Julia was still teaching her about the U.S.'s customs and language. The WITCHFIRE flashback almost certainly fell in the midst of the "Time Passages" vignettes in WONDER WOMAN #8, sometime after Diana's talk at Vanessa's school (pages 16-17) but before her "Farewell Tour" (pages 20-21).

SKYROCKET #1

Page One: Green Lantern had recently been a frequent visitor to St. Louis during his ill-fated romance with Kari Limbo in GREEN LANTERN [second series] #117-122. The Emerald Gladiator appears here between GL [second series] #132 and 133.

Page Two: Scorpio is a group of terrorists-for-hire who fought the Sea Devils and the Challs in 1966's CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN #51.

Page Twelve: Scorpia is Number Eight, the Scorpio operative who seduced the Sponge-Man in COTU #51.

Page Eighteen: Scorpio returns in PETER CANNON ... THUNDERBOLT # 2-3, 7-12.

Page Twenty: Hal (Green Lantern) Jordan's salute stems from his service in the Air Force (GREEN LANTERN [second series] #36 and others).

Page Twenty-One: First seen in JIMMY OLSEN #133, FOREVER PEOPLE [first series] #1 and MISTER MIRACLE [first series] #1, Intergang is a criminal operation with weaponry and support supplied from the evil world of Apokolips.

According to the timelines I've done, "seven years ago" would correspond to comics published from 1979 to 1981 (while "six years ago" matches 1982-1986). And that fits neatly with the period when Joe Staton began drawing the Emerald Gladiator's adventures on a regular basis.

Since SKYROCKET took place in July of that year, I'd put it at the midway point of the 1979-1981 Green Lantern appearances and — hey ! — there's a nice gap in continuity in the summer of 1980 between Denny O'Neil's departure as scripter and Marv Wolfman's arrival. Most likely, "First Gleamings" took place after GL #132's industrial sabotage story but before the Doctor Polaris arc that began in #133.

There was, incidentally, a good reason for Hal to have been in St. Louis beyond searching for Scorpio. He'd been romantically involved with St. Louis resident Kari Limbo in GL #117-122 though the relationship hit a snag when her beloved Guy Gardner turned up alive (#122-123). With Guy in a coma and Kari maintaining a vigil at his bedside, it seems reasonable that Hal would check in on their St. Louis properties from time to time.

Who is Scorpio? I've got four entries in my database but we can eliminate the two individual villains.

That leaves two groups, neither of them based in the U.S. First up is "the notorious criminal organization" who fought the Sea Devils and the Challs in 1966's CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN #51. They hired themselves out to various foreign powers and, in this instance, were "paid ... plenty to sabotage the United States' 'Fortress Fishhook.'" The leaders of the group wore crimson hoods and cloaks while the field agents had more functional red shirts and pants with a scorpion insignia. The group was led by a man known only as Number One.

Cut to1993 in PETER CANNON ... THUNDERBOLT #7 and 8. In this sequence, Thunderbolt encountered Scorpio, a group of terrorists clad in blue/gray body armor and visored helmets. They were, according to one man, "European mobsters. They've got their paws into everything legit as well as criminal. I've heard they moved into Britain." As the story progressed, we learned that Scorpio had crossed paths with the Crimson Fox and watched as Green Lantern and Justice League Europe joined the hunt.

Ultimately in PC: T #12, the head of Scorpio was exposed as businesswoman and former model Cairo DeFrey. In issue #1, she'd noted that "I inherited DeFrey Endeavours on my father's untimely death." And one of those interests was Scorpio. "Like my father before me," Cairo declared in #12, "I seek to free the world from chaos."

It now seems apparent that Scorpio II and Scorpio IV are one and the same! Based on this, I think it can be concluded that Claude DeFrey was Scorpio's Number One from COTU #51 and that Cairo took control of the operation after he died.

Kurt's story seemed to depict Scorpio in an intermediate phase — the group was still clad in red but the visors of the later era were now in place. According to Kurt, Scorpia is actually Number Eight, an agent from the original COTU story.

BORK #1

Page One: Carl Bork's battle with Batman and the Flash took place in 1968's THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #81 (reprinted in 1988's BEST OF THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #2).

Page Five: Batman and the Flash appear here following their exploits in THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #143 and ADVENTURE COMICS #459, respectively.

Pages Thirteen & Fourteen: Carl Bork's visit to Desolation Island and its mystic statues were mentioned in THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #81 but this is the first time Bork's origin has actually been seen.

Page Twenty: Following this case, Batman recorded a previous adventure for his archives (BATMAN #303) while the Flash took on Heat Wave (THE FLASH #266-267).

Page Twenty: The Wayne Foundation is a philanthropic organization that was originally conceived as the Alfred Foundation in tribute to Bruce Wayne's deceased butler (DETECTIVE COMICS #328). When Alfred was revealed to have survived, Bruce revised the Foundation's name to its present form (DETECTIVE #356).

I wanted to place BORK in the latter half of the "Eight Years Ago" time frame to allow as much time as possible for Bork's multiple escape attempts cited on page two. For that reason, I leaned towards issues published in 1978.

At the same time, the Flash's upbeat demeanor would seem to place this before Barry and Iris' marital difficulties that emerged late in 1978.

[Dave Marchand suggested that Batman might have been on the JLA satellite when the call came in (though the Flash wasn't; he comments that Batman called him in). That makes perfect sense to me.]

And, finally, since the Van Kull prison was "south of Metropolis," we need to account for Superman. Here goes ...

Superman, Green Lantern and several other JLA members are called away to an as-yet-unrecorded "case across the galaxy" (mentioned in BATMAN FAMILY # 20). Barry Allen misses the case because he's finishing up his class reunion in Fallville, Iowa (ADVENTURE COMICS #459) while Batman is occupied with closing down a major drug operation alongside the Creeper (THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #143).

Belatedly arriving at the satellite, Batman gets the news of Bork's escape from Ralph (Elongated Man) Dibny and calls in the Flash to help with his recapture (BORK #1). The Elongated Man subsequently dispatches Red Tornado to Washington, D.C. to battle the Power Sower. With no other JLA members available, Batgirl and Robin help Reddy defeat the villain (BATMAN FAMILY #20).

Afterwards, Green Lantern fills in Ralph on the space mission while Batman and Flash discuss the Bork case. Unknown to all, an energy being called Xum senses Batman, Flash and the Elongated Man in the JLA satellite and creates a body that is a composite of their costumes. He soon battles Green Lantern, Green Arrow and Black Canary as Replikon (GREEN LANTERN #108).

[In the original GL story, it was Wonder Woman, of course, not the Elongated Man but post-Crisis DCU history messed that up. Ralph's costume is red and blue, though, and the yellow stripes on Replikon's chest could easily represent his belt.]

Following the Bork case, Batman recalls the tragic story of another muscle man he'd encountered the previous summer and belatedly records the circumstances of the "unsolved case" for his archives (BATMAN #303). Meanwhile, the Flash returns to Central City and fights Heat Wave (FLASH #266-267).

MANHUNTER #1

Page One: Paul Kirk's exploits as Manhunter from 1942 to 1944 were originally recorded in ADVENTURE COMICS #73-92. The details of his death and resurrection, along with the Council's cloning procedures, were elaborated on in DETECTIVE COMICS #439-440. Manhunter's subsequent war with the Council and his eventual death were the subject of DETECTIVE COMICS # 437-443 (compiled most recently in MANHUNTER: THE SPECIAL EDITION).

Pages One & Two: The aftermath of Paul Kirk's battle in Marrakech was seen in the opening of DETECTIVE #439's Manhunter episode.

Page Three: Nightwing was last seen in THE NEW TITANS #114 and ZERO HOUR #3-1.

Page Three: General Haile Selaisse Frelimo was the leader of Ogaden, an African nation situated between Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya that had been wracked by civil war for years. Ogaden appeared in FIRESTORM #77-79, SUICIDE SQUAD #24-25 and CAPTAIN ATOM #54 & 56 and WAR OF THE GODS #2. Frelimo's rise to power was discussed in FIRESTORM # 77 and he actually appeared in SUICIDE SQUAD #25.

Page Four: Oranga was an African nation ruled by a despot with the unfortunate name of Ada Baba (a.k.a. Idi Amin of Uganda) from SUPERMAN FAMILY #186's Lois Lane episode. BLACK CANARY/ORACLE: BIRDS OF PREY #1 introduced Bwunda and its leader, General M'barra.

Page Nine: Nightwing's alias of Junior Malone is a riff on Batman's underworld alter ego of Matches Malone, first seen in BATMAN #242 and 243. Dick Grayson posed as Matches twice, once in BATMAN #243 and again in #353.

Page Thirteen: Paul Kirk's healing factor was revealed in DETECTIVE #439 and named as such in issue #440.

Page Twenty-Two: Following this adventure, Nightwing consults with Sarge Steel, head of the government agency known as Checkmate (THE NEW TITANS # 0).

In MANHUNTER, the key detail is Dick's costume. It's the version designed by Tom Grummett and Nightwing began wearing it in THE NEW TITANS #88. Nightwing pulled his hair back as a ponytail during "KnightsEnd" but occasionally let it all hang out again circa "Zero Hour" (in NEW TITANS #114 and 0).

My first inclination was to place this in the period immediately following Kory's recovery in THE NEW TITANS #105. This was when Nightwing showed up in FLASH #81-83 and SHOWCASE '93 #11-12 and took part in a couple adventures overseas (JUSTICE LEAGUE TASK FORCE #1-3 and BLACK CANARY #10-11).

But somehow that didn't feel right. The Dick Grayson in those stories was full of inner doubts stemming from his failures with Kory and the Titans and Batman's decision to choose Jean Paul Valley as his successor. We see none of those insecurities here.

Beyond that, there was no obvious connection between Dick's journey to Kenya and those other international cases. Nightwing was angry at having been used by the U.N.'s Hannibal Martin at the end of JLTF #3 so the "European contacts" alluded to on page three are most likely unconnected to the Task Force.

Instead, consider this scenario: Checkmate's Sarge Steel had forced out Nightwing as leader of the Titans in favor of Arsenal (TNT #100). After helping Batman and Robin defeat the unhinged Jean Paul in "KnightsEnd," Dick was reunited with Arsenal and was horrified to learn the Titans had signed a contract to work on behalf of the government (TNT #114). Before he could do anything, Nightwing, Arsenal and company found themselves embroiled in the crisis in time known as "Zero Hour" (ZERO HOUR #3-1 — written and penciled by ... Dan Jurgens).

Afterwards, Dick confronted Steel. The head of Checkmate agreed to consider Nightwing's demands if he'd track down some stolen plutonium that was en route to an African dictatorship. With memories of comrades who recently materialized on Earth from other time periods and alternate timelines during "Zero Hour," Nightwing could be forgiven for not immediately realizing that Kirk dePaul was a clone. Upon the recovery of the plutonium, Nightwing did as Manhunter suggested, "call[ing] the right people and arrang[ing] for it to be disposed of."

Once Checkmate had taken care of the plutonium, Nightwing found himself in a position to negotiate a better deal for the New Titans, recommending members, establishing a headquarters and making sure that "they started out right." As he prepared to assume the mantle of the Bat, Nightwing told Steel, "I've committed myself to other problems." His story continued in ROBIN #0.

Meanwhile, Checkmate's newly-acquired data on the mysterious Manhunter eventually filtered down to Josiah Power, who made him an offer to join the Power Company. And the rest is history ...

Still unknown is whether this was the first time that Kirk (inspired by Nightwing) had returned to the Manhunter name and costume since his break with the Council. If this was Kirk's first official claim to the Manhunter name as a solo agent, this places his debut (barely) after Chase Lawler took the name for himself back in Star City.

Oh, and that prologue on pages 1 and 2 ? It immediately precedes DETECTIVE COMICS #439's Manhunter episode. When that story opened, the bodies of the blue and white Manhunters were sprawled in an alley of Marrakech and Paul Kirk was recovering from his wounds.

SAPPHIRE #1

Page Two: The members of the Justice League of America are Plastic Man, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Superman, the Flash ...

Page Three: ... the Atom, the Martian Manhunter and Batman.

Page Three: Kobra is the leader of a worldwide cult of cobra worshippers who has variously been concerned with the acquisition of power (beginning in KOBRA #1-7) and the propagation of chaos (starting in SUICIDE SQUAD #30). The fracture in the Kobra cult was revealed in ROBIN #88-91 when Eve, Kobra's former paramour, attempted to install a new Kobra-Prime (or Naja-Naja). Batman's own hatred of Kobra stems back to his failure to save the life of Jason Burr, the serpent lord's twin brother (DC SPECIAL SERIES # 1 a.k.a. "FIVE STAR SUPER-HERO SPECTACULAR").

Page Six: Kobra's containment field technology has progressed from a personal protection device (SUPERMAN #327) to a shield used to protect his space ark (OUTSIDERS ANNUAL #1) to a barrier capable of sealing off Keystone City (FLASH [second series] #98-100).

Page Seven: Lady Eve first met Kobra when she and her family saved his life in the Indian Desert (BATMAN & THE OUTSIDERS #26) and she quickly became his lover and perhaps the closest member of his inner circle. During the culmination of the cult's Project Morpheus (FLASH [second series] #95-100), Kobra was openly dismissive of Eve (OUTSIDERS [second series] #16), creating a rift that grew into the aforementioned split in ROBIN # 88-91.

Page Seven: The Servitors originated as alien probes from the world of Illandus. Kobra initially discovered one in Peru (KOBRA #1) and soon learned of its origin and the means of manufacturing more (KOBRA #4). Eve and her forces had possession of the Servitors in ROBIN #88-91.

Page Eight: "Nulla Pambu, the bloodthirsty cobra god" was first mentioned in KOBRA #1 and his name was frequently used as an oath by his followers in succeeding issues.

Page Nine: Kobra's serpent-men are the latest result of the cult's genetic-engineering experiments seen previously in SHOWCASE '93 #6-11 and JLA: FOREIGN BODIES.

Page Nine: The Kurtzberg Gallery is a nod to Jacob Kurtzberg a.k.a. Jack Kirby, the legendary writer-artist who co-created Kobra with Steve Sherman.

Page Nine: Kobra's fascination with artifacts from the stars dates back to KOBRA #1.

Page Fifteen: Kobra's definition of mercy is reminiscent of another sequence in THE FLASH [second series] #96. In the past, he frequently tortured his minions for slight infractions (KOBRA #1, 2, 6 and 7) and once strangled an underling for the mere expression of doubt in his power (BATMAN & THE OUTSIDERS #27).

Page Nineteen: "The old ways — they're still the best!" The six-inch Atom began using his control belt to adjust his weight to a full 180 pounds in his first appearance (SHOWCASE #34). Mark Bagley's pencils evoke those of the Atom's designer, Gil Kane.

The Power Company #1

Page One: On Earth-One, Doctor Cylvia Cyber led a global network of female criminals before her encounters with Diana Prince, the de-powered Wonder Woman, led to her downfall and facial disfigurement (WONDER WOMAN #179-182, 187-188). These and Doctor Cyber's other appearances (WW #200, 221, 287, 319-321) aren't part of current DCU continuity and her revised origin remains a secret.

Page One: The Strike Force are the self-described "elite of America's underworld — well financed — well armed — well trained — entirely capable of destroying any police force stupid enough to stand in our way." Using his family fortune to give him access to a wide range of abandoned government weapons and data, the team's leader, Arthur Pemberton (a.k.a. "Number One") created a base for the Strike Force beneath Gotham Stadium. It was there that the Star-Spangled Kid (Pemberton's uncle, though he was unaware of it), Wildcat and [in pre-Crisis continuity] the Huntress defeated the paramilitary operation (ALL-STAR COMICS #70-71).

Arthur Pemberton later lost his fortune to his Uncle Sylvester (INFINITY, INC. #3) and was said to have been the son of Syl's older brother. He may, in fact, have been the offspring of Syl's adoptive younger brother, Breezy (seen in STAR SPANGLED COMICS #6 and WORLD'S FINEST #6). It's unclear whether the current Number One (whose spiky hairstyle is evocative of the original's crew cut) is Arthur Pemberton."

Page Three: The Cadre — Black Mass, Crowbar, Fastball, Nightfall, Shatterfist and Shrike — was a group of technologically-advanced humans who were assigned by a so-called god named the Overmaster to "test" the human race — as he'd done over the millennia to other now extinct life forms. The Martian Manhunter dismissed the Overmaster as a fraud but the matter was left unresolved when an extraterrestrial giant caused the entire Cadre to vanish in a burst of light (JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #233-236). The Overmaster later returned with a new Cadre, retaining only Shatterfist from the original line-up (JLA #89-90; JLI #65-66; JLTF #13-14), and was ultimately killed when Amazing-Man projected the villain's own power back at him (JLI #66). Of the original Cadre, Black Mass was left a vegetable after suffering a bullet wound to the head (JOKER: LAST LAUGH #4-6), Crowbar is in jail (JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #44), Shatterfist was slain by Ice (JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #90) and Nightfall recently surfaced in New York (WONDER WOMAN #174-175). A successor to Shatterfist fought Matt O'Dare in STARMAN #47.

Page Four: Fastball was a former baseball player whom the Overmaster equipped with an exoskeleton, gloves and wrist bands to enable him to pitch potentially deadly explosive spheres. He reappeared briefly in CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #9 (set on a parallel world that no longer exists) but has otherwise been unseen until his return in POWER COMPANY #1. His last name, Malone, is revealed here for the first time."

Page Four: The original Shrike, as detailed in WHO'S WHO '85 #4, was "an escaped mental patient who possesses a shrill, powerful shriek that can paralyze or kill her opponent, and wings with which she can fly at speeds exceeding Mach 3." After embarking on a "spiritual quest" that left at least thirty-three men dead, Shrike eventually found herself assigned to the Suicide Squad. While on a mission in Ogaden, she was killed in a hail of gunfire (SUICIDE SQUAD #24-25). Her successor, Starshrike, appears here for the first time.

Page Four: Ryder Technologies is, according to Kurt in an earlier MB post, part of the Ruby Ryder empire. Ruby was a red-headed billionaire based on Milton Caniff's STEVE CANYON villainess Copper Calhoon (who appeared at intervals from 1947 to 1987). Both women were more than willing to commit illegal acts for the sake of expanding their respective fortunes — and used their lawyers to deflect anyone who might object. Ruby appeared in THE BRAVE & THE BOLD, initially seducing Plastic Man (#95, 123) and later trying to steal Bruce Wayne's fortune (#135-136).

Page Seven: Based on the Big Boy hamburger franchise, Big Belly Burger has a more hirsute, vision-challenged cartoon mascot, one who resembles John Byrne. Founded in Coast City (1993's NEWSTIME facsimile), Big Belly Food Stuffs, Inc. even survived the destruction of its corporate headquarters when the metropolis was destroyed in SUPERMAN #80. Though Byrne scripted Big Belly's first appearance (ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #441's Mister Mxyzptlk adventure), it may have originated with co-plotter and artist Jerry Ordway as a gag. Joke or not, Big Belly has gone on to be one of the most ubiquitous fast food joints in the DCU, rivaled only by Chuck Dixon's McDonalds simulacrum O'Shaunessy's (beginning in GREEN ARROW #94-95). As its slogan says, the burgers are "belly belly good."

Page Ten: "Yes, before you ask — I'm a clone of that Manhunter." The story of Paul Kirk and the Council's cloning experiments became public knowledge following the publication of Christine St. Clair's book, "Mask of the Manhunter" (1988's MANHUNTER #1).

Text Page: The weekly Newstime magazine and its publisher Colin Thornton made their debut in ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #460, the beginning of a subplot in which Clark Kent became managing editor of the publication. Though Clark would soon lose the job thanks to the influence of the Kryptonian Eradicator (ADVENTURES #465), Newstime would remain a fixture of the DCU from that point on. In 1993, DC even published a full-length facsimile issue devoted to Superman's death. Colin Thornton would prove to be an enduring character as well, one who'd eventually be revealed as the human face of Lord Satanus (SUPERMAN #71).

Text Page: Wilton G. Fredericks, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Roger Stern, was the Newstime columnist whose thoughts closed the aforementioned 1993 facsimile issue. He reappeared as a panelist on "Public Forum" in ACTION COMICS #699 and the simultaneously published SUPERGIRL [third series] #4. Tulsa McLean made his one and only appearance in JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL QUARTERLY #12."

Text Page: S.T.A.R. Labs made its debut in the Len Wein-scripted SUPERMAN #246 (1971) but Len would wait until 1987's BLUE BEETLE #12 to identify the founder of Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories. WHO'S WHO '90 #4 (written by Robert Greenberger) would later tell us that, years earlier, "scientific genius" Garrison Slate had "assembled a celebrated team of scientists and researchers who were feeling underappreciated or underfunded at other companies" and put them to work at his firm. S.T.A.R. became "a nationwide chain of research laboratories that would not be connected to the federal government but [would] still be able to make serious research a cornerstone of its operations." In BLUE BEETLE, Garrison Slate arrived at his Chicago facility to take personal control of the struggling branch. In the days that followed, a horrified Slate learned that a major project had been subcontracted to "one of our biggest rivals" and that a subject designated "File 13" had escaped (BB #12, 14-15, 17-19). Slate returned to the background as soon as possible, with the subsequent WHO'S WHO profile noting that he "prefer[red] to avoid publicity."

Text Page: Introduced in 1959's SHOWCASE #22, the Coast City-based Ferris Aircraft has been at the forefront of aviation technology for decades. It's also had its share of legal problems. Faced with the alcoholism and irresponsibility of his partner Carl Bloch, co-founder Carl Ferris was forced to remove his friend from the company in its early days (GREEN LANTERN [second series] #140). Years later, after Ferris had left most of the day-to-day maintenance of the business to his daughter Carol, the company skirted dangerously close to bankruptcy (GL [second series] #89). In years to come, Ferris would be plagued by saboteurs and the cancellation of its government contracts (GL [second series] #133-134), a devastating attack by the Demolition Team (GL [second series] #178-179) and a hostile takeover (GL [second series] #202) among many other setbacks. In recent times, Carol Ferris has regained control of the company (GL SECRET FILES #1) and Ferris Aircraft's recent achievements include their contribution to the new Blackhawk squadron (SUPERMAN: OUR WORLDS AT WAR SECRET FILES #1) and the launch of a commercial airline service (YOUNG JUSTICE #33)."

The Power Company #2

Page Four: The Strike Force are the self-described "elite of America's underworld — well financed — well armed — well trained — entirely capable of destroying any police force stupid enough to stand in our way." Using his family fortune to give him access to a wide range of abandoned government weapons and data, the team's leader, Arthur Pemberton (a.k.a. "Number One") created a base for the Strike Force beneath Gotham Stadium. It was there that the Star-Spangled Kid (Pemberton's uncle, though he was unaware of it), Wildcat and [in pre-Crisis continuity] the Huntress defeated the paramilitary operation (ALL-STAR COMICS #70-71).

Page Eleven: Located in San Francisco's Pyramid Building (1987's SHAZAM: THE NEW BEGINNING #3), the TV station KWHZ is based on Station Whiz, the radio (1940's WHIZ COMICS #1) and TV station (1946's CAPTAIN MARVEL ADVENTURES #54) owned by Sterling Morris in the original Captain Marvel series. Although NEW BEGINNING's revamp of Captain Marvel was soon junked in favor of a Billy Batson who worked for Whiz Radio in Fawcett City (THE POWER OF SHAZAM!), "Whiz-TV" made its mark in still-canonical stories such as LEGENDS #1 & 2 and FURY OF FIRESTORM #62. After a one-time stint as a TV broadcaster at the San Francisco affiliate (LEGENDS #1), Billy Batson returned to Fawcett City for a career at Whiz Radio that was temporarily disrupted when his grades in school slipped (POWER OF SHAZAM! #3)."

Page Twelve: On Earth-One, Doctor Cylvia Cyber led a global network of female criminals before her encounters with Diana Prince, the de-powered Wonder Woman, led to her downfall and facial disfigurement (WONDER WOMAN #179-182, 187-188). These and Doctor Cyber's other appearances (WW #200, 221, 287, 319-321) aren't part of current DCU continuity and her revised origin remains a secret. Cyber's operative Ariadne was first seen in JLA #61, an episode still in our future, and also appeared in PCo #1.

Page Fourteen: Witchfire's long-suffering manager, Paulie, was last seen in The Power Company: WITCHFIRE #1.

Page Sixteen: Charlie Lau met Danny "Striker Z" Tsang when he was working as a special effects man for Fragrant Harbour Films sometime prior to The Power Company: STRIKER Z #1.

Page Sixteen: Skyrocket has been St. Louis' hero-in-residence for the past seven years, beginning in The Power Company: SKYROCKET #1."

Page Twenty-One: The daughter of a Zurich banker, Christine St. Clair grew up to become a key agent of Interpol. Her investigation of a mysterious "Manhunter" and his battle with blue-and-white costumed clones eventually exposed a far-reaching conspiracy by the scientific enclave known as the Council. Christine allied herself with Manhunter, actually a chronologically-revived World War Two hero named Paul Kirk, only to learn that the Council had operatives very close to her — Interpol chief Damon Nostrand and her own father. After convincing Kirk's martial arts trainer, the legendary Asano Nitobe, to oppose the Council, Christine, Manhunter and others embarked on a final assault on the secret society that took Kirk's life (DETECTIVE COMICS #437-443)). Christine and Asano continued to pursue and kill the evil clones of Manhunter in the years that followed, the last recorded incident having taken place in Gotham City (MANHUNTER: THE SPECIAL EDITION). The story of Paul Kirk and the Council's cloning experiments became public knowledge following the publication of St. Clair's book, "Mask of the Manhunter" (1988's MANHUNTER #1). The red-headed Christine had evidently dyed her hair blonde for an undisclosed mission prior to this issue.

Page Twenty-Two: Candy Gennaro has been on the run from the forces of Kobra since bonding with the other-worldly Serpent's Egg a few days prior to this story (The Power Company: SAPPHIRE #1)."

Text Page: Hero Hotline was formed by Golden mystery man and war hero Tex "Americommando" Thomson as a kind of supplement to traditional public services that could be reached by a call to their hotline: 1-800-555-HERO (ACTION COMICS #637-640; HERO HOTLINE #1-6). Staffed with salaried metahuman employees, Hero Hotline had both a day shift (Diamondette, Hot Shot, Microwavabelle, Mr. Muscle, Private Eye, Stretch and Voice-Over) and a night crew (The Card Queen, Chlorino, the Hornblower, Marie the Talking Turtle, Ms. Terrific, Rainbow Man, Thunderhead and Zeep the Living Sponge) who dealt with assignments as simple as the recovery of a lost ring to as dangerous as battles with a variety of super-villains. A combination of disgruntled employees (HH #4-6) and a general lack of profits are speculated to have doomed the business though Hero Hotline's demise can only be inferred by the fact that several members have since been seen seeking other employment (SUPERBOY [current] #65)."

The Conglomerate was brought into being by Claire Montgomery, the ex-wife of Maxwell Lord, as a corporate-sponsored rival to Lord's own Justice League. Its original roster consisted of ex-League members Booster Gold and Gypsy along with newcomers Echo, Maxi-Man, Praxis, Reverb and Vapor. The members of the team quickly became disillusioned by their corporate-dictated presence in advertisements and fundraisers and other demands by their sponsors (JUSTICE LEAGUE QUARTERLY #1). The group disintegrated when Maxwell Lord arranged for them to leave for career opportunities that he was surreptitiously providing. A desperate Montgomery resuscitated the group twice, once unwittingly with villains from Qward (JLQ #8) and again with Echo, Reverb [renamed Hardline], Jesse Quick, Nuklon and Templar (JLQ #12). Shortly after the departure of Nuklon for the Justice League (JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #0), the Conglomerate was finally dissolved (at some point following BLOOD PACK #1).

Text Page: Wells & Schaum … well, you already know about that!"

POWER COMPANY #3

Pages Two-Three: The Dragoneer and his mount, Fireheart, were accidentally summoned to Earth via the Godstone in POWER COMPANY #3.

Page Four: The Strike Force are the self-described "elite of America's underworld — well financed — well armed — well trained — entirely capable of destroying any police force stupid enough to stand in our way" (ALL-STAR COMICS #70-71) and have been attempting to steal the Godstone for Doctor Cyber over the past two issues.

Page Seven: Skyrocket has been St. Louis' hero-in-residence for the past seven years, beginning in The Power Company: SKYROCKET #1.

Page Twelve: Silver Shannon was "the go-go girl with the golden voice" in the Maniaks, who may have been the most fiscally secure rock group of the 1960s. That's because Silver was also the quartet's financial advisor and "the mod miser" refused to dole out change for anything that wasn't absolutely necessary. "That chick has pinched so many pennies she's got copper stains on her thumb and index fingers," snarled one of her bandmates (SHOWCASE #68).

During May of 1967, Silver was briefly engaged to Richard Pip**** XIV, a high school chum of guitar player Jangle and, more importantly to her, "the second richest man in the world." In the end, Silver didn't go through with the marriage. She couldn't bring herself to repeat the phrase "…or for poorer" in the ceremony. A probable replica of the gargantuan diamond from her engagement ring (seen on the cover of SHOWCASE #69) now rests on Silver's desk."

Seen in the photo behind her are Silver's fellow Maniaks. From left to right, they are guitarist Philip "Flip" Folger, "a real swingin' acrobat and contortionist;" guitarist Gilbert "Jangle" Jeffries, a ventriloquist who "does all sorts of voices — impressions, sound effects — the works;" drummer Byron "Pack Rat" Williams, an obsessive collector who could seemingly use any scrap or piece of rubbish to escape a trap or solve a problem like the latter-day MacGyver.

The Maniaks played at Palisades Park and Shea Stadium during 1967 (SHOWCASE #68 and 69) and even had featured roles in the stage musical "Confederate Yankees" (SHOWCASE #71). The production starred "the mod fashion model … Twiggly" (a.k.a. Twiggy) and also featured Jeannette Punchinello (Annette Funicello), Rock Hutsut (Rock Hudson), Marjorie Maim (Marjorie Main) and Grubby Haynes (Gabby Hayes). There was no such hedging on the identity of the show's writer-producer-star. He was up-and-comer Woody Allen.

Allen had been a comic book fan in his youth, something he recalled in the April 24, 1978 issue of NEWSWEEK: "At lunchtime I'd race into the house, eat a tuna fish sandwich by myself and read a comic book — Superman, Batman, or Mickey Mouse. I'd run back out on the street and play ball. Then I'd run back in for dinner, read another comic book, run out again for two hours … Even when I was reading nothing but Donald Duck and Batman, I could write real prose in school compositions. There was never a week when the composition I wrote was not the one that was read in class."

In addition to his Maniaks guest-appearance, Allen also starred in his own comic strip, "Inside Woody Allen," which ran from 1976 to 1983. Needless to say, Woody Allen is no longer regarded as a DC character and the creator of "Confederate Yankees" is now known as A.S. Kingston. The text of the Broadway poster behind Silver was identified by Kurt in an earlier post. It reads:

CONFEDERATE YANKEES

A New Musical Comedy!

Starring Leslie Hounsleigh • Philip Folger • Byron Williams • Gilbert Jeffries • Silver Shannon

Music & Lyrics by G. Martin Coldham •

Written & Directed by A. S. Kingston

Opening Oct. 21, 1967 • The Lyceum Theater"

The Power Company #4

Page One: The Strike Force fought the Justice Society of America in ALL-STAR COMICS #70-71, a conflict that resulted in the arrest of the group's founder and original Number One, Arthur Pemberton.

Page Two: Gwyneth Tate, a reporter for San Francisco's KWHZ (a.k.a. WHIZ-TV), first came to national prominence following her interviews with G. Gordon Godfrey (secretly charismatic insurrectionist Glorious Godfrey of Apokolips) in LEGENDS #2 and BLUE BEETLE #9. Soon after, Tate received another high-profile assignment reporting on U.S.-Soviet arms talks in Reykjavik, Iceland — a conference that was disrupted by Firestorm's televised demand that all nations agree to disarm their nuclear weapons within twenty-four hours (THE FURY OF FIRESTORM #62).

Page Four: The battle with the Dragoneer took place in The Power Company #1-3.

Page Four: Candy Gennaro has been on the run from the forces of Kobra since bonding with the other-worldly Serpent's Egg a few days prior to this story (The Power Company: SAPPHIRE #1 and continuing in TPower Company #1-3).

Page Five: Founded roughly 136 years ago, Van Horn Industries was "an international arms manufacturing company" when Andrew Van Horn inherited it from his father, Gunther Van Horn. Frustrated by protests against the company in the U.S., Gunther finally moved its corporate headquarters to Paris but couldn't escape the objections of his own son about manufacturing weapons."

Page Five: Silver Shannon's first known marriage proposal came from "the second richest man in the world," Richard Pip**** XIV, in May of 1967. Silver backed out because she couldn't bring herself to repeat the phrase "…or for poorer" in the ceremony (SHOWCASE #69).

Page Six: A likely replica of the gargantuan diamond from Richard's engagement ring (seen on the cover of SHOWCASE #69) now rests on Silver's desk. Also seen here is a photo of Silver's three partners in the Maniaks rock group (SHOWCASE #68, 69, 71) and a theatre bill for "Confederate Yankees," the Broadway musical that they all appeared in (#71).

Page Seven: The mysterious object appeared on the beach in the wake of the Dragoneer's aborted summoning ritual in The Power Company #3.

Page Eight: Danny Tsang's origin was recounted in The Power Company: STRIKER Z, which also introduced his pal, one-time S.T.A.R. scientist Charlie Lau."

Page Seven: The mysterious object appeared on the beach in the wake of the Dragoneer's aborted summoning ritual in The Power Company #3.

Page Eight: Danny Tsang's origin was recounted in The Power Company: STRIKER Z, which also introduced his pal, one-time S.T.A.R. scientist Charlie Lau."

Page Eight: The venerable Paragon Pictures has been a major player in Hollywood since the 1930s and was responsible for a number of Jonathan Lord films, beginning with 1935's "Peril In Pompeii" (SILVERBLADE #5). More recent movies from the studio include "Armageddon Man" (LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT ANNUAL #5 ), "Crocky 2: The Motion Picture" (DETECTIVE COMICS #682), "Lethal Honey III" and "They Lurk Below" (CATWOMAN #20-21). At one point, studio exec Barry Zedmore actually negotiated with the Joker for the rights to a movie (DETECTIVE #669, 671-673). Paragon was also the site of a brawl between Hal Jordan and Prince Peril in GREEN LANTERN [second series] #45 but, since GL flew there from a plane he was piloting, the studio wasn't necessarily in Coast City.

Page Eleven: The subject of Witchfire's movie, "Le Chat Noir," was a French resistance leader whose code name translated to the Black Cat and whose real name was Steve Robinson. The black freedom fighter frequently allied himself with the Unknown Soldier over the course of World War Two (STAR-SPANGLED WAR STORIES #151-152, 155, 163, 179, 204; UNKNOWN SOLDIER [first series] #206-207, 212, 216, 222, 224-226, 231-232, 237, 258, 262, 268; [second series] #6). Le Chat Noir was gunned down by Nazi soldiers on April 29, 1945 (UNKNOWN SOLDIER #268).

Page Eleven: Witchfire's skills as a daredevil and singer were first displayed in The Power Company: WITCHFIRE #1.

Page Thirteen: Carl Bork made a deal with Batman to return to prison and complete his sentence in The Power Company: BORK #1."

Page Sixteen: A bust from the Nitantu Valley in the African nation of M'changa — coupled with the detonation of a "gene bomb" in Earth's atmosphere — had a profound effect on Josiah Power, whose powers and strange form first manifested in open court a few weeks later (The Power Company: JOSIAH POWER #1).

Page Seventeen: Mrs. Bork expressed her disapproval of Carl's earlier criminal lifestyle in no uncertain terms in The Power Company: BORK #1.

Page Nineteen: The difficulties in Candy's home-life that led her to run away were alluded to in The Power Company: SAPPHIRE #1.

Page Twenty-Two: Introduced in 1959's SHOWCASE #22, Ferris Aircraft has long been at the forefront of aviation technology and suffered more than its share of setbacks. In recent times, Carol Ferris has regained control of the company (GL SECRET FILES #1) and the company's recent achievements include their contribution to the new Blackhawk squadron (SUPERMAN: OUR WORLDS AT WAR SECRET FILES #1) and the launch of FerrisAir, a commercial airline service (YOUNG JUSTICE #33) also mentioned here.

The ubiquitous LexAir, certainly the best known airline in the DC Universe and a division of the Metropolis-based Lexcorp, was introduced in ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #424.

Page Twenty-Two: Interpol agent Christine St. Clair (DETECTIVE COMICS #437-443) and legendary martial artist Asano Nitobe (#439-440, 442-443) joined forces with Paul "Manhunter" Kirk to defeat the power-mad Council. Following Kirk's death (#443), Christine and Asano embarked on a worldwide quest to execute the Council's Manhunter clones, the last of whom was killed in Gotham City (MANHUNTER: THE SPECIAL EDITION). Christine recently learned that one of the clones — the Power Company's Manhunter — is still active (The Power Company #2)."

The Power Company #5

Page One-Two: Runaway Candy "Sapphire" Gennaro earned the enmity of Kobra and his forces after she stowed away aboard his seacraft and bonded with the other-worldly Serpent's Egg. Though unseen by the terrorists (The Power Company: SAPPHIRE #1), Candy nonetheless sought refuge with the Power Company, fearing that repercussions were inevitable (TPower Company #4).

Page Four: The Javelin and his men were already well-established criminals-for-hire when the Monitor hooked them up with Congressman Jason Bloch in GREEN LANTERN [second series] #173. The Javelin succeeded in stealing Ferris Aircraft's new solar jet and defeating Green Lantern with his gimmicked projectiles but overplayed his hand when he tried to use a javelin-rocket to destroy Ferris. Captured by GL (#174), the villain later agreed to serve on a mission with the Suicide Squad in exchange for the purging of his criminal record (JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #13 & SUICIDE SQUAD #13). He was called back into service with the Squad during the battle with Circe (SS #58) and the sorceress impaled Javelin with one of his own weapons. Because the actual moment of impact was unseen except for a close-up of Javelin's face (WAR OF THE GODS #3), it has remained questionable whether or not he survived … until this issue.

Page Eight: Striker Z was severely injured by a mystic blast from the Dragoneer's spear in TPower Company #2."

Page Eight: Created by Gerry Conway as a one-shot character in 1976's SUPERMAN #304 whose name played on that of DC's new publisher, S.T.A.R. Labs' Jenet Klyburn quickly became a fixture in the Man of Steel's universe when incoming scripter Marty Pasko revived her in issues #315 and 316 in 1977. Originally a put-upon scientist under Albert Michaels, Doctor Klyburn became director of S.T.A.R.'s Metropolis branch following Michael's disappearance and exposure as the Atomic Skull. During the 1980s, as her stature continued to rise, Klyburn began dividing her time between Metropolis (in BLUE DEVIL & SUPERMAN) and New York (in NEW TEEN TITANS) as well as popping up in several other series. The influx of a new generation of female S.T.A.R. scientists like Sarah Charles, Tina McGee and Kitty Faulkner gradually pushed Jenet to the background of the DC Universe and she's been unseen since 1991's WAR OF THE GODS #4.

Page Eight: S.T.A.R. Labs made its debut in the Len Wein-scripted SUPERMAN #246 (1971) but Len would wait until 1987's BLUE BEETLE #12 to identify the founder of Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories — Garrison Slate. The Power Company #1's text page revealed that, in his days as an attorney, Josiah Power helped Slate in incorporating S.T.A.R.

Page Eight: Josiah's longtime companion, Rupe, was introduced in TPC: JOSIAH POWER #1.

Page Eleven: Solomon Driver first appeared in MISTER MIRACLE [first series] #15 as a Metropolis police lieutenant assigned to leave murder witness Shilo Norman in the protective custody of escape artist Scott Free. Driver's relationship with Mister Miracle was cordial though he didn't take the hero's crime-fighting involvement entirely seriously ("It's not like giving a show") and believed that "escape artists could give us police a lot of trouble."

Page Twelve: Interpol agent Christine St. Clair (DETECTIVE COMICS #437-443) and legendary martial artist Asano Nitobe (#439-440, 442-443) joined forces with Paul "Manhunter" Kirk to defeat the power-mad Council. Following Kirk's death (#443), Christine and Asano embarked on a worldwide quest to execute the Council's Manhunter clones, the last of whom was killed in Gotham City (MANHUNTER: THE SPECIAL EDITION). The story of Paul Kirk and the Council's cloning experiments became public knowledge following the publication of St. Clair's book, "Mask of the Manhunter" (1988's MANHUNTER #1), which is mentioned here. Christine recently learned that one of the clones — the Power Company's Manhunter — is still active (The Power Company #2, 4).

Page Fourteen: Asano Nitobe is "the last living master of ninjitsu … the Japanese spy art which involves mastery of all other martial arts systems." In 1945, while serving as bodyguard to geneticist Doctor Oka, Asano and his charge were smuggled out of Nagasaki before it was a struck by an atomic bomb and became part of the enclave known as the Council. Even after Oka's death, Asano remained loyal to the Council and eventually trained and befriended Paul Kirk (DETECTIVE #439-440). Clad in "the traditional battle mask of [his] ninja clan," Asano was eventually forced to duel the fvgitive Manhunter … until he learned that the Council had murdered Oka (#442). As previously recounted, he joined the efforts to bring down the Council and its clones (#443), most recently in MANHUNTER: THE SPECIAL EDITION."

Page Fifteen-Sixteen: On Earth-One, Doctor Cylvia Cyber and her global network of female criminals fought heroes such as Tim Trench and, later, Diana Prince and I Ching (in the no-longer-canonical WONDER WOMAN #179-182, 187-188 and others). The Power Company unwittingly interfered with her attempt to steal the Godstone (via the Strike Force) in TPower Company #1-3.

Page Seventeen: When he awoke from a cryogenic sleep, Paul Kirk discovered that genetic surgery had enabled his wounds to heal rapidly. "The time this takes will vary with the size and seriousness of the wound … but if the injury is not to heart or head, the probability is that [he would]survive" (DETECTIVE #439). Doctor Oka had developed the "healing factor" (so named in #440) for Kirk but was slain by the Council before his secrets could be passed on to the Council and their Manhunter clones (#441). The fact that Kirk de Paul also possesses the healing factor (first deduced by Nightwing in TPC: MANHUNTER #1) has yet to be explained.

Page Seventeen: The future Kirk de Paul abandoned his fellow Manhunter clones in Marrakech in TPC: MANHUNTER #1, taking place just prior to the events of DETECTIVE #439.

Page Twenty-Two: The Cadre's last known electronics raid took place in at Ryder Technologies in St. Louis (TPower Company #1). With Black Mass standing behind them, the villains are, from left to right, Starshrike, Crowbar, Shatterfist II, Nightfall and Fastball."

The original Cadre — Black Mass, Crowbar, Fastball, Nightfall, Shatterfist and Shrike — was a group of technologically-advanced humans who were assigned by a so-called god named the Overmaster to "test" the human race — as he'd done over the millennia to other now extinct life forms. The Martian Manhunter dismissed the Overmaster as a fraud but the matter was left unresolved when an extraterrestrial giant caused the entire Cadre to vanish in a burst of light (JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #233-236). The Overmaster later returned with a new Cadre, retaining only Shatterfist from the original line-up (JLA #89-90; JLI #65-66; JLTF #13-14), and was ultimately killed when Amazing-Man projected the villain's own power back at him (JLI #66). Of the original Cadre, Black Mass was left a vegetable after suffering a bullet wound to the head (JOKER: LAST LAUGH #4-6), Crowbar was last seen in police custody (JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #44), Nightfall recently surfaced in New York (WONDER WOMAN #174-175), Shatterfist was slain by Ice (JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #90) and Shrike was slain on a Suicide Squad mission (SUICIDE SQUAD #24-25). A successor to Shatterfist was glimpsed at the Slab in GREEN LANTERN [current] #51 and fought Matt O'Dare in STARMAN #47. Shrike's heir-apparent, Starshrike, first appeared in TPower Company #1."

The Power Company #6

More annotations for PCo … and don't miss my penultimate Answer Man column today, which is the beginning of a two-parter on the history of the Manhunters. The link is: http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/bobro/index.htm

Page One: The itty-bitty newspaper article contains several references of note — the Daily Star, Alan Windsor, Jean Loring, Tyler and a partially-obscured reference to a reporter: "…rter III."

The Daily Star was introduced in the first Superman story (ACTION COMICS #1), its editor belatedly identified as George Taylor in SUPERMAN [first series] #2. Without fanfare, both the paper and editor were soon renamed (the Daily Planet in ACTION #23 and Perry White in SUPERMAN #7) and those early details seemed destined to be lost to history. Instead, during the 1970s, the Daily Star made a return in Earth-Two's ALL-STAR COMICS #62 as the newspaper where a gray-templed Clark Kent now served as editor-in-chief. Meanwhile, on the mainstream Earth-One, it was revealed that the leading newspaper in Green Arrow's Star City was the Daily Star. Its editor was George Taylor, Jr., father of an Olympic hopeful, George III (WORLD'S FINEST #244). It was eventually established that George, Sr. had preceded Perry White as editor of Earth-One's Daily Planet (SUPERMAN #366). George, Jr. later hired Oliver Queen as a columnist for the Daily Star (WORLD'S FINEST #258) and Ollie remained employed there until his move to Seattle (GREEN ARROW: THE LONGBOW HUNTERS #1)."

Chic Carter was a reporter for the Daily Star whose series bounced from SMASH COMICS (#1-24) to POLICE COMICS (#1-18) to NATIONAL COMICS (#33-47) between 1939 and 1945. Chic initially did much of his reporting overseas before settling in as a stateside police reporter in regular contact with Detective Sergeant Monahan. For a few months in 1941 (SMASH #24; POLICE #1-3, 5), Chic even got caught up in the costumed hero fad and became the rapier-wielding masked-man called the Sword. The secret was known only to writer Gay Nolan, Chic's girl friend (Power Company #3) and later fiancée (Power Company #11). Chic's adventures became stranger after he abandoned his costume, involving such adversaries as the cobra-worshipping exotic dancer Veda (Power Company #6), the Hangman (Power Company #7) and the ghostly Killer Kane (Power Company #18). Presumably, Chic and Gay were eventually married and proudly welcomed a namesake son and grandson, the latter of whom apparently wrote the newspaper article seen here. Chic Carter's incarnation of the Daily Star was variously set in New York City (SMASH #16), Central City (Power Company #9), Metropolis (Power Company #12) and now Star City."

Following the death of General Avery H. Sunderland (SAGA OF SWAMP THING #21), much of the Sunderland Corporation fell under the control of the General's British-born cousin Alan Windsor. It was under his watch, at Sunderland's new San Diego corporate headquarters, that Hal "Air Wave" Jordan's metahuman abilities were augmented as Maser (FIRESTORM #88). Windsor and his cousin Constance Sunderland subsequently had a power struggle over the Sunderland Corporation and Alan ended up creating the weapons company known as MetaTech (HAWKWORLD #29). Now based primarily in Maryland, Windsor was forced to deal with a new threat when the Count Viper seized mental control of the company's CEO in the hope of using MetaTech's resources to further his own dreams of power and revenge. Thanks to the intervention of Hawkman, Windsor regained control of his mind and company (HAWKMAN [third series] #2-5) but he hasn't been seen since."

Jean Loring's career as an attorney in Ivytown began — unbeknownst to her — at almost the same time that her boy friend, Ray Palmer, became the Atom (SHOWCASE #34). Despite the occasional high-profile case, notably her defense of the Justice League (JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #19), Jean didn't truly come to national prominence until her divorce from Ray and their decision to write a book about their experiences (SWORD OF THE ATOM SPECIAL #1). Loring and her new husband, Paul Hoben, opened up a new law office in Calvin City (POWER OF THE ATOM #10) but she eventually returned to Ivytown without him and established the firm of Grabemann, Loring and Ross. In general, Jean is "not involved in criminal law anymore" (CHRONOS #3) and attends to more mundane matters such as the administration of the estates of Carter and Shiera Hall (HAWKMAN [third series] #14) and David Clinton (CHRONOS #6). She makes exceptions, though, as in her defense of Cody "Risk" Driscoll in the recent past (DARK NEMESIS #1)."

The Tyler Chemical Corporation began in the 1930s (or earlier) as Bannerman Laboratories, Inc. (first seen in ADVENTURE COMICS #48 but unnamed until #63). A typo in SECRET ORIGINS #16 rendered the name "Bannermain" and it's stuck in every subsequent reference to the company. At some point in the latter half of the 1940s, Rex "Hourman" Tyler bought out the company that he'd long worked for (HOURMAN #5) and Tyler Chemical was in place by 1951 (STARMAN #77). In the decades ahead, the company thrived with facilities sprouting up near Long Island (HOURMAN #9), Gotham City (SHOWCASE #55) and Hartford, Connecticut (JSA SECRET FILES #1). Following Tyler's death (ZERO HOUR #3), his widow and son "sold their interest in the company" (JSA SECRET FILES #1) while Rex's grand-niece Rebecca Tyler took the helm as CEO. Today, Tyler Chemical (a.k.a. Tylerco) "specialize[s] in all manner of biotech research … synthetic human proteins, neurotoxin factors, you name it" (JSA #5). And its success seems assured for millennia to come. In the far future, an artificial life-form called Hourman will emerge from Tyler Chemorobotics (first identified in DC ONE MILLION #1 and seen in HOURMAN #12, 13, 23 and 24).

Page Three: Charlie Lau met Danny "Striker Z" Tsang when he was working as a special effects man for Fragrant Harbour Films sometime prior to STRIKER Z #1. Charlie was revealed to have hooked up with the Power Company in PCo #2."

Page Five: Witchfire was filming a video behind the scenes in PCo #6 while Skyrocket was fending off an attack by Javelin — who'd been secretly hired by Doctor Cyber.

Page Six: Ferris Aircraft has a long history with Josiah Power, who kept them "out of bankruptcy" during his days as a business lawyer (PCo #1). During that same era, Josiah helped Garrison Slate in "incorporating S.T.A.R. Labs" (PCo #1)and recently met with S.T.A.R.'s Jenet Klyburn regarding a contract with the Power Company (PCo #6).

Page Seven: The normally platinum-haired Silver Shannon was a rock singer during the 1960s (SHOWCASE #68, 69, 71) before becoming Josiah's secretary (first seen in PCo #3).

Page Eight: Josiah's interest in African art was first established in JOSIAH POWER #1. He'd been examining a M'Changan bust in a Metropolis gallery when the metagene bomb struck.

Page Eleven: Direct from the Denny O'Neil/Neal Adams-era of GREEN LANTERN/ GREEN ARROW are Dinah (Black Canary) Lance, Oliver (Green Arrow) Queen, Hal (Green Lantern) Jordan and Carol Ferris, with whom Hal had recently rekindled a romantic relationship (GREEN LANTERN [second series]#83)."

Page Eleven: Carol Ferris lost her ability to walk following an encounter with a young mutant named Sybil (GREEN LANTERN [second series] #83) and was confined to a wheelchair for months thereafter (through GL #89). The mental block that prevented her from walking was broken when Carol's Star Sapphire personality briefly flared into dominance (SUPERMAN #261).

Page Twenty: This flashback took place after Oliver Queen had found a new apartment in Star City (GREEN LANTERN [second series] #84) but before Green Arrow sustained an arrow wound to the arm (#85) that dogged him in the weeks ahead (#86, 89; FLASH #217) and suffered a series of personal setbacks (#85-87, 89; FLASH #217-219) that prevented him from giving any meaningful attention to BioSpheer.

Page Twenty-One: Josiah's longtime companion, Rupe, was introduced in JOSIAH POWER #1.

Page Twenty-Three: The skeleton seen here belonged to Richard Benedict, who was killed in PCo #4. The mysterious object appeared on the beach in the wake of the Dragoneer's aborted summoning ritual in PCo #3."

An attack by an alien parasite seemed to leave Gunther dead and gave Andrew metahuman abilities that he soon began to use under the alias of Gunfire (DEATHSTROKE ANNUAL #2). Andrew immediately made plans to start construction on Van Horn's new corporate headquarters in New York City (GUNFIRE #1), junking his father's experimental weapons projects (#1-3) and locating "new technologies that could be put to constructive — rather than destructive — uses" (#4). News coverage of VHI's involvement with a variety of sinister individuals and company's only reinforced the younger Van Horn's decision to get out of the weapons business (#5) in favor of "ecological interests" (#6).

Unknown to Andrew, his Aunt Lacey Van Horn was plotting a takeover of her brother's company, employing agents such as the Exomorphic Man (#5) and the Mirror Master (#6). An even greater threat was posed by Ragnarok, a genocidal madman who claimed to be Andrew's own father (#0). Eventually, "Guther" and Lacey formed a partnership (#10) and Ragnarok seized control of VHI's apparently benevolent laser drill in an attempt to destroy the world. VHI's New York headquarters was destroyed in the process (#12-13).

Though Ragnarok was killed and the crisis averted, the inevitable press coverage about VHI's involvement seemed to put the company's future in jeopardy. Meanwhile, the Justice League had been impressed with Gunfire, providing him with a communication device and an invitation to join the team (#13). Whether his newfound contacts in the metahuman community had any bearing on the matter is unknown but Van Horn Industries did survive, as the news of their security system reveals."

——————————————

Hi, John. Just wanted to tell you that even if I haven't been in touch, I'm still enjoying these columns - as well as your weekly Answer Man stints. LOVED the unexpected "Gasoline Alley" bit. GA is a favorite of mine as well, the little I've read of it.

Speaking about the Sunderland Corporation - can you sort out their connections with Vandermeer Steel for me? Weren't they the same company at some point?"

Actually, the only connection between those companies was a slight one. Vandermeer Steel's James Hancock Finch tried to hire Maser from Sunderland to fight Firestorm in FIRESTORM #87 and 88 but Finch ended up forcing Firehawk to help him instead.

(Finch tried to get Luthor to help, but Luthor felt HE was enough of a symbol for his company...)

Finch was held responsible by the stockholders in 89 for the destruction his battles caused the company (or, at least that was implied by Charthouse, his aide...)"

Posted: 2003-06-02 07:04:47.0 Hellst0ne wondered on August 07, 2002 at 10:47 AM -

"Miki - A question regarding your Manhunter column. What do you mean with the Manhunter of the Secret Society of Super-Villains not being canon? When was this explicitly retconned away?"

Mikishawm responded on August 08, 2002 at 06:00 AM -

"["What do you mean with the Manhunter of the Secret Society of Super-Villains not being canon? When was this explicitly retconned away?"]

It hasn't officially been written off but I think the odds are greater that those first five issues AREN'T canonical. In PCo, Kirk de Paul is being regarded as the only Manhunter clone who's ever split off from the crowd. And Darkseid's role in relatively petty Earth crimes is an aspect of his character that's been dumped from his post-Crisis persona.

I have come to the conclusion — after saying otherwise in various posts in the past — that Captain Comet COULD have been on Earth at this time and involved with the SSOSV. It turns out that the only reference to the specific time frame that Cap left Earth prior to L.E.G.I.O.N. (20 years) was in his WHO'S WHO entry, NOT in a comics story. So the jury's still out on that one.

The Wizard/SSOSV story (minus a few details like the Crime Syndicate story and other-dimensional travel) IS still part of continuity, having been specifically recalled in a full-page flashback in SECRET ORIGINS #23's Floronic Man story.

None of that means that SSOSV #1-5 couldn't have taken place in current DCU history — "Darkseid" could have been Desaad, maybe Christine, Asano and Kirk just never heard of the SSOSV Manhunter and, as I say, Captain Comet's status is up in the air — but the combination of shaky factors makes it a little questionable ... enough for me to call that arc "non-canonical" until some evidence appears to shift the balance in its favor."

Posted: 2003-06-02 07:15:08.0 Hellst0ne then said on August 08, 2002 at 10:03 AM -

"And I thought that you lived by the rule "If it ain't retconned away on-panel, regard it canon. And if it's retconned away on-panel, you still can't be sure."

Well, in my DC Universe, Kirk DePaul is the second surviving clone. "

datalore also added on August 13, 2002 at 08:39 AM -

"Looking back at SSOSV 1-5...

...they were still "secret" back then, and the impression given was that Manhunter (the clone) was the original (but HE specifically hadn't done a lot to get famous...)

...maybe they just hadn't had time to hunt him down yet? (There seemed to be quite the list in the Manhunter: Special Edition...likely, they were getting the more visible ones first?)

Darkseid and Captain Comet are still a little rougher (side-bar...have they given any depth, post-Crisis, to Atom's search for Jean Loring? Captain Comet was there a little, and, as such if he was on earth helping Atom and Aquaman, he might have been here for the SSOSV...)

Not to mention, Captain Comet was part of the group of Forgotten Heroes in Crisis 12...of course, that also had the pre-Crisis Rip Hunter (who I still want to see return, someday...)"

Posted: 2003-06-02 07:21:26.0 Mikishawm wrote on August 26, 2002 at 05:15 AM -

"Just a few bits of annotation for ...

The Power Company #7

Page Two: Last seen in issue #1, Ryder Technologies is part of the Ruby Ryder empire. Ruby was a red-headed billionaire based on Milton Caniff's STEVE CANYON villainess Copper Calhoon (who appeared at intervals from 1947 to 1987). Both women were more than willing to commit illegal acts for the sake of expanding their respective fortunes — and used their lawyers to deflect anyone who might object. Ruby appeared in THE BRAVE & THE BOLD, initially seducing Plastic Man (#95, 123) and later trying to steal Bruce Wayne's fortune (#135-136).

Page Four: Black Canary stopped Hodo and her band of martial artists from taking over Kozuito Motors' Central City plant in BIRDS OF PREY: WOLVES #1.

Page Seven: Going beyond the confines of the DC Universe, Glittering Goldie's is a reference to the great lost love of Scrooge McDuck's life. The so-called Star of the North, Goldie owned a dance hall in Dawson called the Black Jack Ballroom and had a momentous encounter with young Scrooge when he was prospecting for gold in Alaska. On the surface, the couple seemed to hate each other — and with good reason: she'd robbed him of his gold and he'd forced her to work his claim — but there was more going on than met the eye. Carl Barks' “Back to the Klondike” first appeared in 1953's FOUR COLOR #456 [a.k.a. UNCLE SCROOGE #2] and it's a classic that's been reprinted many times in the decades since.

Page Twelve, Sixteen: Eight years ago, the Injustice Society formed an alliance with Ayrn, the Underlord and his race. Long concerned with the surface world's assaults on their natural resources, Ayrn agreed to kill members of the Justice Society of America in exchange for the Injustice Society's diversion of world oil supplies back into the Underlord's realm (ALL-STAR COMICS #67). Discovering a suspicious pit at an oil well in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (ASC #66), Power Girl led the JSA into battle with the Underlord's forces and defeated Ayrn in personal combat (ASC #67).

Now referred to as the Underlands, Ayrn's realm was originally identified as the Tolkein-esque “Middle Earth.” There is no truth to the rumor that Ayrn's men were once known as Terries or Fermies."

The Power Company #8

Page One: The financially-troubled chemical corporation BioSpheer hired the Power Company in TPower Company #6 to safeguard its “revolutionary new product.”

Page Two: Josiah's longtime companion, Rupe, was introduced in JOSIAH POWER #1 and was last seen in TPower Company #6.

Page Four: Charlie Lau is a former S.T.A.R. Labs scientist who hooked up with Danny “Striker Z” Tsang when he was working as a special effects man for Fragrant Harbour Films sometime prior to TPC: STRIKER Z #1. Now the Power Company's resident technical wizard, Charlie has also overhauled Skyrocket's armor (TPower Company #2).

Page Five: The original H.I.V.E. was the Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination, a consortium of criminal scientists who'd pooled their resources to become a global terrorist organization (first seen in ACTION COMICS #513). The original group was defeated by the Teen Titans not long after the H.I.V.E. Master had been murdered and replaced by his wife (TALES OF THE TEEN TITANS #45-47). A reorganization led by an ex-H.I.V.E. member also met with failure (TEEN TITANS SPOTLIGHT #3-6). The troops that Manhunter and Striker Z wear the armor of the first incarnation of the H.I.V.E.

The H.I.V.E. was recreated by former Titans ally Adeline Kane, driven mad by grief and unwanted immortality. Her goal and that of the gold-and-black armored H.I.V.E. members was to eradicated all super-humans, whom she blamed for the tragedies in her life (THE TITANS #1-2). Kane eventually found release in death but her immortality was passed on to her second-in-command, Damien Darhk (THE TITANS #10-12).

Page Seven: Pantheon Studios gave Jennie-Lynn Hayden her “big break” when they used her in a bit part in a barbarian flick featuring Thog the Magnificent (INFINITY, INC. #43)."

Page Seven: Over the course of his career as a film director, Alan Markham has worked with many celebrities, among them metahumans. He met Jade and Obsidian “while filming music videos at Stellar Studios” (STARMAN [first series] #23; (SUPERMAN [current] #46) and crossed paths with an unidentified Will “Starman” Payton while shooting “Invasion: The Movie” (STARMAN [first series] #22-23). Among Markham's post-Invasion! films was “Club Red,” which he co-produced with Marla Bloom (1993's NEWSTIME facsimile). Witchfire tapped Markham to shoot this video in TPower Company #2.

Page Seven: Paulie has been Witchfire's manager for several years, as early as TPC: WITCHFIRE #1.

Page Eight: Dayton Industries has been a major player for the better part of the 20th Century, having been founded by the grandfather of Steven Dayton. The fifth richest man in the world, Steve Dayton was as brilliant as his forebears and developed a helmet that enabled him to amplify the power of his brain as the costumed ally of the Doom Patrol, Mento (DOOM PATROL #91).

Best known for its creation of the self-regenerating substance called Promethium (NEW TEEN TITANS [first series] #9), Dayton Industries (a.k.a. Daytech) has also been involved in the development of space stations (NEW TITANS #87), high-tech body armor on behalf of the government (DEATHSTROKE #47), virtual reality (DEATHSTROKE #50) and genetic engineering (NEW TEEN TITANS [second series] #24; NEW TITANS #103).

It was at San Francisco's Technodome, “Daytech's genetic research facility,” that Steve Dayton was revealed to have succumbed to madness and become fixated on acquiring world domination as the Crimelord. Implanting a Mento chip into his brain, Dayton abandoned his body and planned to merge with the Internet — only to have Checkmate block all computer access (DEATHSTROKE #49-50). The status of the disembodied Steve Dayton is unknown but ownership of the company that bears his name has apparently passed to parties unknown (suggested by the fact that Dayton's adoptive son, Garfield Logan, no longer has access to a fortune — BEAST BOY #1-4 and DOOM PATROL [current] #7).

Page Eight: The original Cadre was a group of technologically-advanced humans who were assigned by a so-called god named the Overmaster to “test” the human race (JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #233-236). In the recent past, the group has resurfaced without the Overmaster, engaging in raids at companies such as Ryder Technologies (TPower Company #1) and hinting darkly at their ultimate objective (TPower Company #5). Pictured here from left to right are Nightfall, Black Mass and Crowbar. The Dayton spokesman erroneously referred to Nightfall as Nightshade.

Page Twelve: Danny “Striker Z” Tsang's career as a stunt man for Fragrant Harbour Films was spotlighted in TPC: STRIKER Z #1.

Page Fourteen: The Power Company's pilot, Raul, previously shuttled the team to its confrontation with the Dragoneer on Alcatraz Island (TPower Company #2 and 3), having been referred to on page 21 of the latter issue. He makes his first on-panel appearance here.

Page Fourteen: During the Joker's siege at the Slab, Black Mass used his powers to draw the entire facility into a gravity well (JOKER: LAST LAUGH #2). A bullet to the head left Black Mass a vegetable (J:LL #4) but he retained his powers and, until his recent appearances with the Cadre (TPower Company #5) was the cell mate of Doctor Polaris, unwittingly keeping the magnetic villain's powers in check (J:LL #6).

Page Fourteen: Stagg Industries (first named as such in JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #32), along with such entities as Stagg Mining Company (ACTION COMICS #415), Stagg Cruise Lines (METAMORPHO #16) and Stagg Robotics (JUSTICE LEAGUE QUARTERLY #12), is a division of Stagg Enterprises Unlimited (METAMORPHO [first series] #1). Despite his egomania and ruthlessness, Simon Stagg is an undisputed scientific genius and technology makes up much of his empire, even extending to a technical school (METAMORPHO #14). Stagg has concerns throughout the world and the site seen here is likely the northern California facility attacked by Strikeforce Kobra in THE OUTSIDERS [first series] #21-22."

Page Sixteen: Luthor Steel Works had come crashing down with the stock market in 1929 but, decades later, Wallace Luthor's grandson, Lex, was determined to revive his family's business empire (SUPERMAN: Y2K #1). With insurance money generated after the deaths of his parents (whom he'd murdered) and revenue from designer drugs he'd secretly created (LUTHOR: THE UNAUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY), Lex Luthor had the funding he needed to build the LexWing, a stunning leap in aviation technology that put Lexcorp on the map (ACTION COMICS #660). Today, Lexcorp has a multitude of subsidiaries involved with technology, commerce, television, aviation and more. Its Good Foods division encompasses Koul-Brau Breweries (ACTION COMICS #660) and fast food chains like Ralli's Family Restaurants and Bun-'N'-Run (SUPERMAN [second series] #30).

Lexcorp first appeared in current continuity in THE MAN OF STEEL #2 (1986). A prototype called the Thunder Corporation exists in Elliot S. Maggin's earlier novels, SUPERMAN: LAST SON OF KRYPTON and MIRACLE MONDAY and Maggin actually referred to its late-21st Century incarnation as Lexcorp in SUPERMAN #416 (1985).

Page Sixteen: Founded by Rex “Hourman” Tyler in the late 1940s (HOURMAN #5), the Tyler Chemical Corporation has thrived with facilities sprouting up near Long Island (HOURMAN #9), Gotham City (SHOWCASE #55) and Hartford, Connecticut (JSA SECRET FILES #1). Following Tyler's death (ZERO HOUR #3), his widow and son "sold their interest in the company" (JSA SECRET FILES #1) while Rex's grand-niece Rebecca Tyler took the helm as CEO. Today, Tyler Chemical (a.k.a. Tylerco) "specialize[s] in all manner of biotech research … synthetic human proteins, neurotoxin factors, you name it" (JSA #5).

Page Sixteen: In 1872, Eli Branchwater discovered the Well of Addad in "a little African emirate called Karocco" and used its addictive waters (PSYBA-RATS #3) and Santa Priscan cola nuts (BIRDS OF PREY: REVOLUTION #1) as the prime ingredients in what would soon become one of the world's most popular soft drinks — Zesti Cola. Rivaled only by Soder Cola in popularity, Zesti is the soft drink of choice for boy wonders like Tim Drake (ROBIN #22) and Dick Grayson (NIGHTWING #60) and a fixture of comics written by Chuck Dixon (beginning with a billboard in 1992's DETECTIVE COMICS #645-646).

Branchwater has gone to great lengths to protect the elements of Zesti's formula, hiring Galiant to overthrow Santa Prisca's government in order to regain access to its cola nuts (BIRDS OF PREY: REVOLUTION #1) and employing the Collector in an attempt to keep the Well of Addad's secret. After the reservoir was destroyed in PSYBA-RATS #3, sales on Zesti went into a downturn and the Branchwater descendant in charge of the company began seeking "a substitute for the Addad well water."

Page Seventeen: Eight years ago, Green Arrow and Black Canary originally took on BioSpheer — and met their lawyer, Josiah Power — when a flawed food additive poisoned Carol Ferris and Hal Jordan (TPower Company #6).

Page Nineteen: BioSpheer founder Jack Spheer was apparently killed eight years ago when his son Jason accidentally knocked him into a vat of his Biomax formula (Power Company #6).

Page Twenty-One: In the addition to the previously glimpsed Black Mass, Crowbar and Nightfall, the other members of the Cadre members are Shatterfist (successor to the original), Starshrike (replacement of Shrike) and Fastball."

Posted: 2003-06-03 05:03:20.0 Mikishawm added on October 19, 2002 at 02:05 PM -

"["I'm not sure, though, why you include people and events exclusive to Power Company comics, eg Rupe, Raul and Witchipoo's manager . . . I thought the purpose of these threads was to illuminate the darkened corners of DC continuity rather than stuff from the last few months in the comics we're reading?"]

Thanks, Mart! For what it's worth, I've debated about whether I should keep including entries on regulars like Rupe, Charlie and Silver. The completist in me wants to include everything and I don't want to ignore people who are new to PCo (or just the boards). The three above are sufficiently well-established that I probably don't need to i.d. them anymore.

It's easier to defend the entries for Raul (just to confirm that he had been behind the scenes prior to this point) and Paulie (who hadn't physically appeared since the WITCHFIRE one-shot). Overall, though, I still want to highlight the more obscure bits that Kurt's tossed into each story.

In the good news/bad news department, I won't get PCo #9 and my next comics shipment until late October/early November and the local comics shop where I intended to pick it up early was already sold out (a sign of increasing interest, I hope). Anyway, that'll delay my next Page-By-Page thread accordingly (and I'll be avoiding PCo #9-related threads until then)."

The Power Company #9

Page Two: Josiah's shooting was depicted in PCo #8.

Page Seven: The Cadre members facing the Power Company are, from left to right, Shatterfist II, Fastball, Nightfall, Black Mass, Crowbar and (above them) Starshrike. In the recent past, the group has been engaging in raids at companies such as Ryder Technologies (PCo #1), Dayton Industries (PCo #8) and now Stagg Industries.

Page Eight: There have been, in a sense, four different versions of Doctor Polaris locked within a single body: Pol-1, otherwise known as Doctor Neal Emerson, a charismatic lecturer-entertainer who extolled the health benefits of magnetism; Pol-2, a bandana-wearing, magnet-gun-wielding thief and the first split-personality that emerged when Emerson bathed himself in excessive electro-magnetic energy (GREEN LANTERN [second series] #21); Pol-3, a purple-costumed magnetic villain with a helmet that included tuning-fork horns and who had more ambitious aspirations of acquiring great power (GL [second series] #46-47); and Pol-4, a veritable force of nature who wore a blue and purple costume with a Magneto-esque variation on Pol-3's helmet (THE RAY[first series] #4).

Pol-3 faced Hal "Green Lantern" Jordan multiple times, initially trying to expand his power base by stealing GL's ring and power battery (GL [second series] #46-47). It was a goal he ultimately achieved — briefly — and used in an attempt to seize the very nucleus of the universe (GL [second series] #133-135)."

An encounter with a spherical entity at the North Pole temporarily expanded Emerson's mind, enabling him to project Doctor Polaris as a separate entity (GL [second series] #65). Polaris subsequently returned to the Pole, using technology to directly tap Earth's magnetic field and become "a living magnetic battery" (#135). With each visit to the Pole, Polaris' powers grew, culminating with the emergence of Pol-4, who spawned tornados (THE RAY [first series] #4; XERO #6) and earthquakes (GL PLUS #1) and could surround himself in a magnetic force field (THE RAY [second series] #4).

Through it all, Neal Emerson's personality (and, to a lesser degree, that of Pol-2, as in DC SUPER-STARS #10 and WORLD'S FINEST #260) continued to resurface at intervals. After Emerson sought the Ray's aid in eradicating his evil personality (THE RAY [first series] #4-6), Pol-4 concluded that his alter-ego was a genuine threat and accepted the demonic Neron's offer to erase him from existence (UNDERWORLD UNLEASHED #2). Unfortunately, Pol-3 moved in to fill the void and, more than once, their internal clashes were enough to render Polaris outwardly catatonic (GREEN LANTERN PLUS #1; AQUAMAN [fifth series] #41).

Polaris has fought a plethora of heroes in recent years, among them the current incarnations of Green Lantern (GL [third series] #59) and the Flash (THE FLASH [current] #114-117, 135), Will "Starman" Payton, Power Girl (STARMAN [first series] #17-18), Hawkman (HAWKMAN [third series] #28), Steel (STEEL #29), Aquaman and family (AQUAMAN [fifth series] #40-41), Hamilton Drew (STARMAN [second series] #80) and even his own nephew, Grant "Damage" Emerson (DAMAGE #9).

Polaris was Joker-ized during a recent escape from the Slab (JOKER: LAST LAUGH #1) and, in Antarctica, managed to link himself with the Earth's magnetic field. He literally became the South Pole and "with each step he takes, the planet's axis follows." Though captured by the Justice League (JLA #59), Polaris couldn't be moved from the area without unleashing catastrophic destruction across the globe. Instead, the Slab was relocated around Polaris, with Black Mass designated as his cellmate in order to cancel out his excessive magnetism (JOKER: LAST LAUGH #6).

Most recently, Doctor Polaris was glimpsed in the re-ordered reality of the Ultra-Humanite (JSA #34-35). In the real world, someone matching Polaris' general description was buying technology from the Network in Keystone City (THE FLASH [current] #183). And we now know that Polaris was behind the Cadre's techno-raids that were seen or mentioned in PCo #1 and 8.

Page Eight: The entity in Polaris' force bubble is a Controller, a pink-skinned member of a long-lived race of aliens who were prominent in a number of Earth-One's Legion of Super-Heroes adventures (ADVENTURE COMICS #357, 367; ALL-NEW COLLECTORS' EDITION #C-55; LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES [third series] #7-8, 19-20; WANDERERS #1-6, 8, 10-13). In the current DCU, the Controllers have never met the Legion.

The beings destined to be known as the Controllers had originated on the planet Oa and were part of the Guardians of the Universe, even helping construct the android Manhunters. The faction reached a crossroads when the Guardians created the Green Lantern Corps. The weaponsmiths believed that evil must be destroyed, not contained" as the Guardians maintained. As a consequence, half the planet's population left to form the Controllers (CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #7).

Although the Controllers would later profess ignorance of Earth's very existence (DARKSTARS #4), they had, in fact, visited the world on at least two occasions in the distant past. During prehistoric times, a Controller was assigned to create an "ultimate anti-war weapon" for Earth but died when his spacecraft crashed on the planet (JUSTICE LEAGUE: A MIDSUMMER'S NIGHTMARE #3). Thousands of years later, the Controllers were said to have "wandered the universe, seeding many worlds. Among those was the planet Earth." Those Controller-offshoots became known as gods in Mesopotamia but many of their number, corrupted by power, were eventually banished to the other-dimensional underworld of Kurnugi (GREEN LANTERN ANNUAL #9).

The Controllers eventually recognized the benefits of having a law-enforcement agency at their disposal and formed the Network for the Establishment and Maintenance of Order. Their agents were the Darkstars, clad in crimson-armor that was powered by the Controllers' own energy (DARKSTARS #3, 0). "Controllers prefer OTHERS act for us," claimed one of the immortals (DARKSTARS #23).

In the end, the Darkstars became such a bureaucracy that its administrators were no longer working in the Controllers' interests. Declaring that "our need to reduce chaos in the universe is still largely unmet," the immortals retired NEMO (DARKSTARS #38) and began collecting individuals such as Earth's Martyn Van Wyck, whom they transformed into the flaming Effigy (GREEN LANTERN [current] #110-111, 113-114). Their plans to create an entire organization of such beings — all brainwashed to serve the Controllers — was well underway before Kyle Rayner learned of the plan and convinced the immortals to abandon it (GL #123-124).

Page Nine: Striker Z's digital video camera, created by Charlie Lau, was introduced in PCo #8.

Page Sixteen: S.T.A.R. Labs made its debut in the Len Wein-scripted SUPERMAN #246 (1971) but Len would wait until 1987's BLUE BEETLE #12 to identify the founder of Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories — Garrison Slate. The Power Company #1's text page revealed that, in his days as an attorney, Josiah Power helped Slate in incorporating S.T.A.R. More recently (PCo #5), Josiah has been negotiating a contract with the company.

Page Sixteen: Simon and Beowulf Stagg(ACTION COMICS #417) were part of a wealthy family that held a number of prominent ancestors, some infamous, like slave-trader Black Absalom Stagg (WORLD'S FINEST #218) and some progressive, such as women's rights activist, Sabrina Stagg (METAMORPHO #12). Early on, Simon demonstrated his family's persistence, refusing to settle for anything less than being the best "in sports, scholarship … popularity … everything." That ruthlessness earned Stagg the enmity of many in his life, from college classmate Ulysses Bronson (ACTION COMICS #413) to Maxwell Tremaine, from whom he stole and married the beautiful Mara (THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #58). Tragically, Mara would die young, leaving behind her grieving husband and daughter, Sapphire.

Despite early failures like the robotic Adam (WORLD'S FINEST #218), Simon soon built a worldwide empire, stimulated by his own scientific discoveries and diversification into other areas like transportation (METAMORPHO #16) and fuel (ACTION COMICS #415).

Stagg also had an awkward relationship with Sapphire's boyfriend, racing driver Rex Mason. Simon repeated tried to get rid of his would-be son-in-law on archaeological expeditions but Rex kept coming back with amazing discoveries like Java, the perfectly preserved caveman that Stagg revived and educated. On an expedition to retrieve the Orb of Ra, Mason was transformed into the element man known as Metamorpho and everything changed (THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #57).

Though aghast at the thought of his daughter marrying such a freak, Simon was equally thrilled at the prospect of having such a being in his employ. The relationship between Stagg and Metamorpho shifted constantly over the years, ranging from grudging affection to outright hostility. Simon was most recently seen alongside Sapphire and his grandson Joey in JLA #52.

Page Twenty: Helen Angelico had begun to make a name for herself "as a specialist in metahuman medicine" and was on the lecture circuit when she met promising college student Sarah Charles (SUPERBOY [third series] #80). There was a long-standing rift between the two after Sarah accepted a job with S.T.A.R. and Sarah assumed it was jealousy. In fact, as Helen explained in #81, "I've got a standing invitation to join S.T.A.R. anytime I want. They've been after me for years. My problem is with the company's approach to science. And I always thought you could do better than S.T.A.R., Sarah. You're too good for them."

Project Cadmus director Mickey Cannon called her in when Superboy lost his powers, noting that Doc Angel was an "old friend of mine" (SUPERBOY [third series] #75) and she "temporarily" accepted the post of genetics head (#76). The implication was that Helen and Cannon had a previous romantic relationship and she wasn't sure it was a good idea to work with him again. Cadmus went deep underground at the end of #88 and it's likely that Helen, disgusted with the Luthor Administration's newfound demands of Cadmus, decided to bail out prior to that (making her last appearance in #87).

Page Twenty-One: Solomon Driver first appeared in MISTER MIRACLE [first series] #15 as a Metropolis police lieutenant assigned to leave murder witness Shilo Norman in the protective custody of escape artist Scott Free. Driver's relationship with Mister Miracle was cordial though he didn't take the hero's crime-fighting involvement entirely seriously ("It's not like giving a show") and believed that "escape artists could give us police a lot of trouble." Now based in San Francisco, Lt. Driver first met Skyrocket in PCo #5."

The Power Company #10

Page Five: Josiah's shooting was depicted in PCo #8.

Page Six: S.T.A.R. Labs made its debut in the Len Wein-scripted SUPERMAN #246 (1971) but Len would wait until 1987's BLUE BEETLE #12 to identify the founder of Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories — Garrison Slate. The Power Company #1's text page revealed that, in his days as an attorney, Josiah Power helped Slate in incorporating S.T.A.R. More recently (PCo #5), Josiah has been negotiating a contract with the company.

Page Seven: The Cadre has recently been engaging in raids at companies such as Ryder Technologies (PCo #1) and Dayton Industries (PCo #8). It was at Stagg Industries that the Power Company discovered Dr. Polaris' involvement (PCo #9). And, unbeknownst to Skyrocket, S.T.A.R. Labs is the Cadre's final destination (PCo #5).

Page Eight: S.T.A.R. Labs has cultivated a number of strong relationships with costumed heroes over the years. Superman sought their assistance almost from the beginning of his career, whether dealing with a major viral outbreak (SUPERMAN FOR ALL SEASONS #3) or simply gathering paraphernalia for a trip into outer space (ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #7). The Man of Steel has been on particularly good terms with several of Metropolis' previous S.T.A.R. administrators, notably Wilson Farr (SUPERMAN [first series] #246), Jenet Klyburn (SUPERMAN [first series] #304) and Kitty Faulkner (SUPERMAN [second series] #7), the latter two of whom he met when they were still rising stars."

It was through Dr. Klyburn that Wally West and most of the Teen Titans first became affiliated with S.T.A.R. (NEW TEEN TITANS [first series] #36). He formed a more personal connection thanks to a brief affair with nutritionist-researcher Tina McGee (FLASH [current] #3-4) and remains a friend to her and husband Jerry at S.T.A.R.'s Central City branch (seen most recently in FLASH [current] #185-188). Typical of many of the company's relationships with super-heroes, they helped Wally — through medical research (FLASH [current] #3-4, 117-118), enhanced costumes (#50) and simple technical expertise (#84 and others ) — as much as he helped them.

The Titans had a personal stake in S.T.A.R. — and its San Francisco branch — for years. Karen “Bumblebee” Beecher was hired at this SF site during an early expansion (THE NEW TITANS #57). Vic “Cyborg” Stone, aside from being the child of two S.T.A.R. scientists (NEW TEEN TITANS [first series] #7), was romantically involved with Dr. Sarah Charles, a major player in the field of medical science (TALES OF THE TEEN TITANS #57-58) and one-time protégé to the pioneering Helen Angelico (SUPERBOY [third series] #80)."

When S.T.A.R. decided to make the San Francisco branch the hub of its entire medical operation, Sarah agreed to head up the facility (NEW TEEN TITANS [second series] #41). The Red Star, Eric Forester (NTT #48-49), Christopher King (HAWK & DOVE ANNUAL #1) and Crystallex (NEW TITANS #118) were among the subjects of the facility's metahuman studies and Mirage (NEW TITANS #122, 125-127) and Rose Wilson (DEATHSTROKE #51) were only two of those benefiting from its state-of-the-art medical wing. Sarah eventually transferred to New York (prior to THE TITANS #7) and Metropolis (THE TITANS #20) but Karen Beecher-Duncan, after a short stay in Los Angeles (TITANS SECRET FILES #2) has returned to the San Francisco branch (TITANS #44).

Page Nine: On the left side of the view- screens, we see Superboy, the Huntress, an unidentified caped hero and Pantha. Firestorm is in the center and Blue Beetle and Ragman are on the right.

Page Nine: Superboy was the result of Project Cadmus' attempt to create a duplicate Superman. Freed prematurely by the Newsboy Legion (ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #500), the teenage clone nonetheless manifested powers like flight and super-strength thanks to his tactile-telekinesis. A born self-promoter, the young man quickly became a fixture on WGBS-TV (#501) and was matched up with a shady publicist named Rex Leech (#502) who merchandised the hero to the hilt. Though his days as an active celebrity are behind him, Superboy remains in the public eye through his membership in Young Justice."

Page Nine: Born into a crime family, Helena Bertinelli was the only survivor when her parents and brother were murdered in a mob hit. A chance encounter with The Batman inspired the teenage girl to pursue a life of crime fighting (BATMAN/HUNTRESS: CRY FOR BLOOD #4) and she eventually became the Huntress, a crossbow-wielding, superbly trained athlete who became a ruthless adversary for modern day gangsters. Batman himself, however, was appalled that the Huntress was willing to kill and refused to sanction her actions in his city (DETECTIVE COMICS #653). The Dark Knight's opinion was only reinforced by Helena's failure to follow his orders in the alternate identity of Batgirl (LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #120) and her attempted murder of Prometheus (JLA #39).

Page Nine: Pantha, a genetic amalgam of cat and woman, was part of an experiment by the Wildebeest Society to breed human-animal beings. The only survivor, X-24, possessed heightened senses and sharp claws and was a savage, potentially murderous fighter. As Pantha, she was drawn into the New Titans' battle with the Wildebeests (NEW TITANS #73) but, even after their defeat, was consumed with her origin and constantly trying to learn whether she originally been a cat or a woman. Steve Dayton's Daytech was implicated in her creation (#103) and, given his subsequent exposure as the Crimelord, Dayton's claims of innocence (#110) can't be automatically accepted. Having found a degree of maternal satisfaction while caring for an infant Wildebeest, Pantha left the Titans to travel in the company of her baby and her teammate Red Star (NEW TITANS #114). She was last seen fighting the forces of Circe in New York City (WONDER WOMAN [current] #174-175).

Page Nine: Ted Kord learned that his college mentor Dan Garrett was the Blue Beetle shortly before the hero was apparently killed in the destruction of Pago Island. Determined to honor his friend's memory, Ted became the new Blue Beetle, putting his science background to work with the creation of a solar-powered combination aircraft-submarine called the Beetle's Bug (BLUE BEETLE [1960s series] #2). The modern Blue Beetle's fighting prowess, acrobatics and sense of humor quickly made him a popular costumed crime fighter in the modern heroic age but, privately, Ted's insecurities led to several periods of retirement (BLUE BEETLE [1980s series] #1; JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #76-83; BIRDS OF PREY #15). Most recently, Kord's friendship with Barbara “Oracle” Gordon brought him back into action as the Beetle (BOP #25). At present, a heart ailment has left Ted sidelined (BOP #39, 42).

Page Nine: Using the same spell that created the legendary Golem and substituting rags for clay, a council of Rabbis created a mystical Jewish guardian, one which required a human host to bring it to life. One such Ragman was Jerzy Reganiewicz, who rallied Jews in Poland during World War Two (RAGMAN [second series] #3), and another was his son, Rory Regan, who serves as the current incarnation of Ragman (RAGMAN [second series] #1-6). The patches of the costume, actually living souls of evil beings, endow Ragman with great strength and flight and supernaturally vanish and reappear as situations deem necessary. Most recently, Ragman has been affiliated with the group of mystics known as the Sentinels of Magic (DAY OF JUDGMENT #1-5).

Page Nine: Firestorm …. Ah, you don't want to know about him, do you ?"

Page Eleven: On the right of Blue Beetle is the Odd Man. Clad in a garish patchwork costume that included two blank eye inserts (one red, one yellow), the Odd Man used a variety of novelty weapons to disorient his enemies while defending the community of River City. Secretly private eye Clay Stoner, the Odd Man's only recorded case involved a deranged couple who imagined themselves the reincarnations of a Pharaoh and his lover (DETECTIVE COMICS #487). More recently, he's been affiliated with Hero Hotline (HH #5) and was an unsuccessful applicant for a Project Cadmus security post (SUPERBOY [third series] #65).

Page Twelve: On Earth-One, Doctor Cylvia Cyber and her global network of female criminals fought heroes such as Tim Trench and, later, Diana Prince and I Ching (in the no-longer-canonical WONDER WOMAN #179-182, 187-188 and others). The Power Company unwittingly interfered with her attempt to steal the Godstone (via the Strike Force) in PCo #1-3. Cyber allegedly hired Javelin to kill Skyrocket in PCo #5.

Page Fourteen: The entity glimpsed throughout this issue (and, as seen in PCo #9, a captive of Dr. Polaris) is a Controller, a pink-skinned member of an immortal race of aliens who also happen to be a long-separated faction of the Guardians of the Universe (CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #7). Despite their differences, the Controllers eventually acknowledged the wisdom of the Guardians' Green Lantern Corps by creating an interplanetary police force of their own, the Darkstars (DARKSTARS #3, 0). In the recent past, frustrated that the organization was no longer fulfilling its goals, the Controllers pulled their support (DARKSTARS #38) and at least part of the immortals set plans into motion to create a more tractable group of brainwashed warriors like the Earth-born Effigy. Kyle Rayner put the stops to that (GREEN LANTERN [current] #123-124)."

As a consequence, the Controllers are regarded as a potential threat by the Justice League (GREEN LANTERN/ATOM #1) but, outside of a handful of former members of the Darkstars, the immortals are virtually unknown by Earth's population.

Page Twenty: Rydertech is part of the Ruby Ryder empire. The ruthless, red-headed billionaire previously exhibited a willingness to break the law in pursuit of the all-mighty dollar in the pages of THE BRAVE & THE BOLD, initially seducing Plastic Man (#95, 123) and later trying to steal Bruce Wayne's fortune (#135-136). More recently, Skyrocket interfered with the Cadre's attack on Rydertech's St. Louis facility (PCo #1) and Striker Z fought the Undermen near one of their Yukon mining sites (PCo #7).

Page Twenty: KordCo was born as a small Chicago electronics firm with the unwieldy name of Kord Omniversal Research and Development, Inc. Grieving and distracted after the death of his wife, founder Thomas M. Kord lost interest in the company (BLUE BEETLE #24). Conversely, his son Edward (“Ted”) threw himself into an exhausting regimen that included a full college curriculum (SECRET ORIGINS #2) and working in Research and Development at Kord Industries at the request of his father. The scruffy young man cemented his reputation as an electronics prodigy when he provided the newly-organized Justice League of America with its first security system (JLA: YEAR ONE #3)."

In time, Ted became the Blue Beetle and the distractions of his costumed alter ego had an effect on KORD, Inc., now a major scientific enterprise. Thomas Kord, having long since ceded the reins of the company to his son, reasserted control and ousted Ted (BLUE BEETLE #24). Despite his public failure, including an embarrassing exposé about his “bankruptcy and humiliation” (BATMAN SECRET FILES #1), Ted persevered, initially helping pal Booster Gold develop Blue and Gold Software (DCU HEROES SECRET FILES #1). Presumably using the capital from that venture, Ted seems to have regained control of his father's company (THE L.A.W. #1), putting much of his emphasis on its consumer electronics division Kordtronics, Inc. (BIRDS OF PREY #15, 35). Though Ted hasn't initially been able to stem KordCo's mediocre profits (THE L.A.W. #1; BOP #35), the company remains attractive to outsiders and was the subject of at least one hostile takeover attempt (BOP #40-41).

Page Twenty: Ferris Aircraft has a long history with Josiah Power, who kept them "out of bankruptcy" during his days as a business lawyer (PCo #1). First seen in 1959's SHOWCASE #22, Ferris Aircraft has long been at the forefront of aviation technology and suffered more than its share of setbacks. In recent times, Carol Ferris has regained control of the company (GL SECRET FILES #1) and the company's recent achievements include their contribution to the new Blackhawk squadron (SUPERMAN: OUR WORLDS AT WAR SECRET FILES #1) and the launch of FerrisAir, a commercial airline service (YOUNG JUSTICE #33)."

Page Twenty-One: As revealed in PCo #1, Celia Forrestal subsidized her Skyrocket activities by managing a Big Belly Burger in St. Louis. Based on the Big Boy hamburger franchise, Big Belly Burger has a more hirsute, vision-challenged cartoon mascot, one who resembles John Byrne. Founded in Coast City (1993's NEWSTIME facsimile), Big Belly Food Stuffs, Inc. even survived the destruction of its corporate headquarters when the metropolis was destroyed in SUPERMAN #80. Though Byrne scripted Big Belly's first appearance (ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #441's Mister Mxyzptlk adventure), it may have originated with co-plotter and artist Jerry Ordway as a gag. Joke or not, Big Belly has gone on to be one of the most ubiquitous fast food joints in the DCU, rivaled only by Chuck Dixon's McDonalds simulacrum O'Shaunessy's (beginning in GREEN ARROW #94-95). As its slogan says, the burgers are "belly belly good."

Page Twenty-One: Firestorm was originally the union of two men, high school athlete Ronnie Raymond and nuclear physicist Martin Stein. Caught at the heart of a nuclear reaction, the duo was transformed into a single being, one who could fly, generate bursts of fiery energy and, most notably, change (or transmute) the form of items by altering them at the molecular level. Stein, by virtue of having been unconscious at the moment of fusion, served as a mental advisor to Firestorm's dominant personality, the fun-loving, exuberant Raymond (FIRESTORM #1)."

When separated, Stein had no conscious memory of his activities as Firestorm. Wracked with guilt over the professor's descent into alcoholism, Ronnie retired their joint alter ego. A crisis prompted Firestorm's return and Superman persuaded the young hero to stick around (DC COMICS PRESENTS #17), even sponsoring him for membership in the Justice League of America (JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #179). Determined to be more honest with his partner, Ron told everything to Professor Stein, relieving him of the burden of his mysterious blackouts (THE FLASH #289-290). For a time, Firestorm was one of New York City's (and later — after Ron went to college — Pittsburgh's) most well-regarded super-heroes, Professor Stein's insights tempering Ron's youthful excesses in the role.

Diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, Martin convinced Ron that Firestorm should go out with a bang by demanding total nuclear disarmament (FURY OF FIRESTORM #62-64). Caught at ground zero of a nuclear explosion with his Russian counterpart Pozhar (Mikhail Arkadin), Firestorm found his matrix changed to Arkadin and Ron Raymond though neither man controlled their new alter ego (FIRESTORM ANNUAL #5). Professor Stein (no longer part of the equation though he'd unconsciously shaped the new Firestorm) was eventually located in a Nevada mental institution. Recovering from amnesia, his brain tumor was gone (FIRESTORM, THE NUCLEAR MAN #75).

The second incarnation of Firestorm was nearly destroyed when a Russian clone of the Nuclear Man absorbed his powers (#83). In order to stop the threat of the clone Svarozhich, Raymond and Arkadin agreed to merge with the creature and create a third version of Firestorm. No longer capable of reverting back to their human forms, Ron and Mikhail effectively sacrificed their individual personalities (#85)."

In the process, it was revealed that Firestorm was meant to be Earth's fire elemental. Martin Stein had originally been fated for that role only to have the matrix corrupted by the unexpected presence of Ron Raymond (#85). The disclosure prompted a radical suggestion from the professor when Earth's sun was threatened by the entity known as Brimstone. At Stein's request, a desperate experiment was conducted that recreated the Firestorm entity with himself in sole command. Raymond and Arkadin resumed their normal lives while the fourth variation of Firestorm explored the alien universe where the battle with Brimstone had trapped him (FIRESTORM #100).

During a crisis, Martin and Ron were briefly united, with Raymond serving as a conduit by which Stein's Firestorm could reach Earth (WAR OF THE GODS #1-2, 4).

Months later, Ron was diagnosed with leukemia and suddenly burst into flames, manifesting himself in his original Firestorm persona (EXTREME JUSTICE #3-4). Simultaneously, Martin Stein's incarnation (Firestorm IV) returned to ask Raymond to reunite with him so that he could retain a sense of wonder at the cosmos. Raymond declined the offer. Before returning to outer space, a sympathetic Stein cured his former partner of his cancer while allowing him to retain his Firestorm powers (#5). Stein's aspect still struggles to hang onto his humanity in space and crossed paths with Ron's incarnation most recently in GREEN LANTERN/FIRESTORM #1.

Firestorm (Version 5.0) immediately joined Justice League West (EXTREME JUSTICE #5) and remained with the group until shortly after the Sun-Eater crisis (THE FINAL NIGHT #1, 3). In between, Ron Raymond gained a fair amount of fame as a male model (EXTREME JUSTICE #8) and was forced to confront his alcoholism (SHOWCASE ‘96 #6-7), not always successfully (JLA #69)."

Ron's college studies fell by the wayside after his fusion with Mikhail Arkadin but he's recently enrolled at Ivy University under Professor Ray Palmer, otherwise known as the Atom (GREEN LANTERN: CIRCLE OF FIRE #1), and joined in many classes by Isaiah “Joto” Crockett, late of the Teen Titans (TITANS SECRET FILES #2). JLA #69 implied that Ron was now at Eastern State University.

Firestorm has had difficulty using his transmutation powers lately (starting in DC ONE MILLION #2), placing the blame on Professor Stein's absence (SECRET FILES & ORIGINS GUIDE TO THE DC UNIVERSE 2000) and relying on heroes like Oracle (JLA #40), the Atom (DAY OF JUDGMENT #1-5) and even a robotic Green Lantern (GREEN LANTERN/FIRESTORM #1) to do his thinking for him. There's no definitive evidence to suggest that Firestorm actually needs a conscious knowledge of chemical equations to use his powers and this may simply be a matter of his insecurities overwhelming him.

A team player since his days of dribbling the basketball at Bradley High, Firestorm was also part of an independently-conceived revival of Justice League Europe but saw that group decimated around him (STARMAN [second series] #38). He's frequently called into action with the Justice League Reserves (JLA #27 and others), most recently joining the core team in the wake of the first string's disappearance (JLA #69, 71, 73, 75).

FIRESTORM I (Ronald Raymond/Martin Stein): Firestorm [1] #1

FIRESTORM II (Ronald Raymond/ Mikhail Arkadin): Firestorm Annual #5

FIRESTORM III (Ronald Raymond/Svarozhich/Mikhail Arkadin): Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #85

FIRESTORM IV (Martin Stein): Firestorm [2] #100

FIRESTORM V (Ronald Raymond): Extreme Justice #3

Power Company #11-14

No annotations written.

The Power Company #15:

Page Three: Oranga is a small equatorial African nation whose capital city is named Champula. The DC Universe analog to Uganda, the small country became infamous thanks to the horrific human rights violations of its one-time ruler, Ada Baba (SUPERMAN FAMILY #186).

Page Five: After breaking away from the villainous Council, Manhunter functioned as a mercenary in several African nations including Bwunda and Oranga (PCo: MANHUNTER #1).

Page Five: When the Dark Knight originally offered his services in taking on the Council eight years ago, Paul Kirk expressed the same sentiment as Batman does here. "You have your OWN code and ways of operating," Kirk told him. "WITHIN them, you're FINE. But you're NOT a killer. And THIS — is a KILLING mission" (DETECTIVE COMICS #443).

Page Twelve: President Ada Baba (based on Uganda's Idi Amin Dada) spent six years as "president-for-life" in Oranga, taking multiple concubines (at least one of whom bore him a son) and routinely incarcerating so-called political prisoners "such as priests, nuns, doctors, women and children — anyone, in fact, whom the crazed dictator [considered] a threat to his regime." Thanks to a captive British scientist, Baba also had access to a kryptonite-based mind-control ray that he delighted in using on his enemies. After WGBS reporter Melba Manton was attacked by Baba's soldiers on live television, Superman accompanied the Daily Planet's Lois Lane to the nation and President Baba fell victim to his own mind-ray weapon, which effectively rendered him a vegetable (SUPERMAN FAMILY #186).

The Power Company #16:

Page Four: Named after legendary Civil War general James Ewell Brown "J.E.B." Stuart, Jeb Stuart grew up to fight in his own generation's World War Two as the commander of a Stuart M3 tank. Jeb regularly received guidance from his ghostly namesake and the rest of the crew soon found unwanted notoriety as the men who rode in "The Haunted Tank." The track record of Stuart's Raiders (GIC #87-168, 170-281, 285, 287-288 and others) more than compensated for its commander's supposed eccentricities and, in the years following 1945, Jeb Stuart rose to the rank of General. He was even tapped to head up a revived Suicide Squad in 1951 as part of Task Force X. Upon the deaths of his cousin, Sharon, and her husband, Rick Flag, Jeb also became the guardian of their son, Richard (SECRET ORIGINS #14). In the relatively recent past, Jeb has mobilized the Suicide Squad to rescue Richard Flag's son (SUICIDE SQUAD #49-50) and personally rode to the defense of Washington, D.C. (accompanied by apparent spirits representing his former crew) during the supernatural "Day of Judgment" event (ANARKY #7). And, alongside his granddaughter Jennifer, Stuart was present at the San Francisco branch of S.T.A.R. Labs when it was attacked by Doctor Polaris (PCo #13-14).

Page Five: S.T.A.R. Labs founder Garrison Slate was introduced in BLUE BEETLE #12, with his background expanded upon in WHO'S WHO '90 #4. Slate, a "scientific genius," had "assembled a celebrated team of scientists and researchers who were feeling underappreciated or underfunded at other companies" and put them to work at his firm. S.T.A.R. became "a nationwide chain of research laboratories that would not be connected to the federal government but [would] still be able to make serious research a cornerstone of its operations." Having helped Garrison Slate incorporate S.T.A.R. Labs during his days as an attorney (PCo #1), Josiah Power had hoped to make Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories a client of the Power Company (#5). Despite the rejection of the proposal by lower-level S.T.A.R. administrators (#12), the contract has finally been accepted.

Page Six: Ariadne was a key lieutenant to international crime-lord Doctor Cyber (PCo #1-3). Assigned to find a means of unobtrusively eliminating the Power Company, the young woman learned of the existence of a mysterious crystal entity that promised to do just that. Instead the otherworldly being seemed to destroy Doctor Cyber and entered into an alliance with Ariadne (JLA #61).

Page Nine: Doctor Fate is one of the most powerful mages in the DC Universe, his abilities tempered only by his inexperience in the role. Via artifacts such as a golden helmet and the Amulet of Anubis, Hector Hall channels the magical abilities of the Lord of Order known as Nabu (beginning in JSA #3-4), carrying on the Doctor Fate persona originated in 1940 by Kent Nelson (MORE FUN COMICS #67).

Page Nine: Heir to the powerful magical abilities of her parents, Zatanna is the daughter of celebrated magician John Zatara and a member of the Homo Magi known as Sindella. She was raised on the East Coast, primarily in the Gotham City area (JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #162; ADVENTURE COMICS #413), but paid an extended visit to San Francisco when she was eighteen. There, Zatanna made a lifelong friend in the form of a local Coven leader named Marsha (ZATANNA #1, 3) and encountered an English scoundrel named John Constantine at a Tantric Studies group (SWAMP THING #49). In the wake of her father's death and a succession of difficult experiences, Zatanna decided to seek a fresh start in the city she recalled with such fondness and bought a home in San Francisco (revealed in THE BOOKS OF MAGIC [first series] #2). It remains her primary residence today but, given her magic show's extensive touring schedule, she's frequently out of town.

Page Nine: Jason Blood is a well known demonologist and expert on the occult but only a relative handful of people are aware that he is also virtually immortal thanks to having been bonded to the demon Etrigan for centuries (THE DEMON [first series] #1). He spent many years in a lavish Gotham City apartment but, in the wake of the building's destruction (THE DEMON [third series] #54), made a move to the West Coast, settling in Gateway City (WONDER WOMAN [current] #109) and, most recently, San Francisco (SUPERGIRL #66).

Page Nine: The soulless Baron Winters is charged with maintaining a balance between good and evil (represented by the divine "Other Side" and the malevolent "Snake"), preventing them "from stepping over each other's boundaries" (NIGHT FORCE [2] #12). More often than not in the past three hundred-plus years (NF [1] #13), Winters has found himself opposing evil and manipulates men and women from the present and past into becoming a Night Force to combat it. Deliberately affecting a blunt, cold-blooded demeanor, the Baron has sent some agents to their deaths (NF [1] #8-10) and aroused a deep resentment in others, who've been maimed as a consequence of their missions (NF [1] #1-8). The Baron operates from Wintersgate, a mansion in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. whose "nexus" is the occult "Laboratium Arcanum" (NF [2] #10). The structure is also honeycombed with doorways that lead to the past. Winters is capable of passing through many of those portals but is (for reasons unknown) forbidden from exiting the mansion into the present. The Baron's closest companion is the centuries-old Merlin, a leopard who possesses a degree of sentience unsuspected by most who encounter the big cat (NF [1] #13). Of late, Winters has been accused of favoring "The Other Side" but he and Merlin have avoided being replaced by their female successors who are waiting in the wings (NF [2] #12).

Page Twelve: J.E.B. Stuart was a renowned Civil War general who was killed "at Yellow Tavern, Virginia, in 1864, in the battle for Richmond." Stuart, his beard turned a snowy white in death, joined a ghostly pantheon of great military leaders and was eventually assigned by Alexander the Great to be the guardian of a Stuart tank manned (to his horror) by a Northern crew in late 1942. "Like the ghost at Delphi," he was advised, "you can only warn them in riddles. And except for the dying, you will only be seen and heard by its commander. Named after you." The general was soon won over by the heroism of Sgt. Stuart and his men in North Africa (G.I. COMBAT #256, 114) and counseled the soon-to-be lieutenant for the duration of World War Two. In the course of guiding the Haunted Tank, General Stuart had periodic clashes with Attila, himself designated a ghostly guardian of a German panzer (beginning in GIC #130) and formed a bond with the legendary General George S. Patton, who was capable of seeing J.E.B.'s ghost (GIC #208, 277). Jeb Stuart typically viewed his namesake as a white wraith but, now a spirit himself, perceives the General in color.

Page Fourteen: : Crocky is a loveable green crocodile in a white t-shirt bearing the phrase "I Love You," the word love represented by a red heart (ROBIN #42). A kid-vid superstar, Crocky was portrayed for years by Dexter Crabtree but was dumped by Paragon Pictures were he demanded a raise and "points" to appear in "Crocky the Movie" (DETECTIVE #668). On the eve of "Crocky 2"'s video release, Crabtree helped Robin defeat a criminal robbing Gotham City-area businesses. "Crabtree got his old job [back] with a big bonus and a piece of the gross" (ROBIN #42). Terrified that the supposedly-revived terrorist organization Shadowspire might try to kill him, Crabtree "demanded full-on super-human protection" and Paragon hired the Power Company" (PCo #12).

Page Fifteen: The flashback here takes place in the spring of 1943 but, given the non-sequential nature of the Haunted Tank's stories, it's problematic to place within the context of the original series.

Page Sixteen: Seen from left to right is the original Haunted Tank crew — Lt. Jeb Stuart, gunner Pvt. Rick Rawlins, loader Cpl. Arch Asher and driver Cpl. Slim Stryker. Arch perished later in the war when caught in the explosion of a German tank and was replaced by disgraced Olympic champ Cpl. Gus Gray (G.I. COMBAT #162). In early 1945, Slim was killed as well, succeeded by World War One vet Cpl. Bill Craig (#244). Craig was later joined on the crew by his son Eddie, relieving Gus as loader so he could back up Rick as a second gunner (#262).

The Power Company #17:

Page Six: The Dragoneer and his reptilian mount, Fireheart, were accidentally summoned to Earth via the Godstone in PCo #1 and were ultimately defeated in #3.

Page Seven: Named after legendary Civil War general James Ewell Brown "J.E.B." Stuart, Jeb Stuart grew up to fight in his own generation's World War Two as the commander of a Stuart M3 tank. Jeb regularly received guidance from his ghostly namesake and the rest of the crew soon found unwanted notoriety as the men who rode in "The Haunted Tank." The track record of Stuart's Raiders (GIC #87-168, 170-281, 285, 287-288 and others) more than compensated for its commander's supposed eccentricities and, in the years following 1945, Jeb Stuart rose to the rank of General. He was even tapped to head up a revived Suicide Squad in 1951 as part of Task Force X. Upon the deaths of his cousin, Sharon, and her husband, Rick Flag, Jeb also became the guardian of their son, Richard (SECRET ORIGINS #14). In the relatively recent past, Jeb has mobilized the Suicide Squad to rescue Richard Flag's son (SUICIDE SQUAD #49-50) and personally rode to the defense of Washington, D.C. (accompanied by apparent spirits representing his former crew) during the supernatural "Day of Judgment" event (ANARKY #7). And, alongside his granddaughter Jennifer, Stuart was present at the San Francisco branch of S.T.A.R. Labs when it was attacked by Doctor Polaris (PCo #13-14). The spirit of the comatose Stuart was summoned by his ghostly guardian in PCo #16.

Page Seven: J.E.B. Stuart was a renowned Civil War general who was killed "at Yellow Tavern, Virginia, in 1864, in the battle for Richmond." Stuart, his beard turned a snowy white in death, joined a ghostly pantheon of great military leaders and was eventually assigned by Alexander the Great to be the guardian of a Stuart tank manned (to his horror) by a Northern crew in late 1942. "Like the ghost at Delphi," he was advised, "you can only warn them in riddles. And except for the dying, you will only be seen and heard by its commander. Named after you." The general was soon won over by the heroism of Sgt. Stuart and his men in North Africa (G.I. COMBAT #256, 114) and counseled the soon-to-be lieutenant for the duration of World War Two. In the course of guiding the Haunted Tank, General Stuart had periodic clashes with Attila, himself designated a ghostly guardian of a German panzer (beginning in GIC #130) and formed a bond with the legendary General George S. Patton, who was capable of seeing J.E.B.'s ghost (GIC #208, 277). Jeb Stuart typically viewed his namesake as a white wraith but, now a spirit himself, perceives the General in color.

Page Eight: S.T.A.R. Labs founder Garrison Slate was introduced in BLUE BEETLE #12, with his background expanded upon in WHO'S WHO '90 #4. Slate, a "scientific genius," had "assembled a celebrated team of scientists and researchers who were feeling underappreciated or underfunded at other companies" and put them to work at his firm. S.T.A.R. became "a nationwide chain of research laboratories that would not be connected to the federal government but [would] still be able to make serious research a cornerstone of its operations." Having helped Garrison Slate incorporate S.T.A.R. Labs during his days as an attorney (PCo #1), Josiah Power had hoped to make Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories a client of the Power Company (#5). Despite the rejection of the proposal by lower-level S.T.A.R. administrators (#12), the contract has finally been accepted. Slate recently agreed to become interim administrator of the Power Company while founder Josiah Power recovers from an attempt on his life (#16).

Page Eight: Blind since birth, Cassandra Craft was compensated after a fashion by a psychic sensitivity that enabled her to "read" situations, particularly those involving mysticism. She enhanced her natural abilities by training herself in a variety of supernatural rituals (notably séances), developing a modest collection of occult artifacts and acquiring a degree of fighting prowess by learning self-defense. The twenty-four-year-old statuesque blonde also kindled romantic feelings in the ages-old Phantom Stranger, whom she first met when she rescued him from the forces of Tannarak (PHANTOM STRANGER #17). Though the man Cassandra knew as "Friend" refused to pursue any kind of long-term relationship, romantic or otherwise, he nonetheless accepted the aid of her and, ironically, Tannarak, in a subsequent battle with Tala and the Dark Circle (PS #22-24). The Stranger allowed Cassandra to believe him dead following that adventure, although he continued to rescue (PS #40-41) and watch over her (SUPERMAN #344) in the months and years that followed. The young esper finally confirmed the Stranger's continued existence following her abduction and impersonation by Tala (ACTION COMICS WEEKLY #631-634).

Page Nine: Witchfire contacted Baron Winters about information on her powers and origins in PCo #16 and, as indicated on her notepad, has also attempted to seek out Madame Xanadu and Zatanna.

Page Nine: In the distant past, the woman destined to be known as Madame Xanadu was trained in the arts of sorcery by "a master wizard," paralleling, in some respects, the relationship of Nimue and Merlin (THE SPECTRE [third series] #7). One of the foremost mages of her era, she hoped to pass along her knowledge to her daughter but her young apprentice perished while "trying to achieve more than [she] had mastered" (SPECTRE [third series] #44). Though her powers and stature diminished radically as the world evolved, the sorceress survived, having acquired immortality by, she claims, cheating Death at cards (SPECTRE [third series] #7). And it was as a cartomancer — someone who reads and interprets cards — that Madame Xanadu came to be known in the past century. Nestled in a tarot reading shop on Christy Street in New York's Greenwich Village, Madame Xanadu offers advice and sometimes magical support to all who request her services, encouraging them to "enter freely and unafraid" (DOORWAY TO NIGHTMARE #1). In recent years, Madame Xanadu has augmented her power and standing in the mystic community, acquiring demonic familiars by selling her soul to Neron (SPECTRE [third series] #35-36), taking the reincarnation of her daughter as an apprentice (SPECTRE [third series] #43-44) and joining the Sentinels of Magic (DAY OF JUDGMENT #1-5).

Page Eleven: Ariadne and Doctor Cyber's fateful encounter with the Satanstone took place in JLA #61.

Page Twelve: The Controller alluded to his super-weapon in PCo #14.

Page Sixteen: Jennifer Stuart and the Cyber-Command Assault Vehicle were first seen in PCo #14.

Page Twenty-One: One of J.E.B. Stuart's mounts really was named Skylark but this is the first time that his ghostly steed has been named.