Mild Mannered Reviews - Classic Post-Crisis Superman Comics

JLA #62 (1992) JLA #61 (1992)

Justice League America #61 and #62

Cover date: April-May 1992

Writer: Dan Jurgens
Penciller: Dan Jurgens
Inker: Rick Burchett

"Pawns of the Weapons Master" - Parts 1 and 2

Reviewed by: Tom-EL



Justice League America #61

"Born Once Again" (Part 1)

Guy Gardner Green Lantern is sitting in the JLA cave headquarters amid the rubble caused by Despero-L-Ron (see previous issue). He's thinking about how now that the Justice League has split into two divisions, he's going to take over the leadership role of the team he is part of, Justice League America. The other members (he thinks) are all going to take their marching orders from him. He says to himself "If they don't, I'll power ring their lousy butts all the way to Pluto!" About that time, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold show up, and Gardner wants to know where they've been. Guy and Blue Beetle begin argueing about how the leader should be chosen when Lady Maxima arrives, and Beetle declares he is definitely in love. When Gardner says "Go back to where you came from, Space Chick!", she replies that she can't until she finds a suitable mate to sit at her side as King of Almerac. Gardner claims he's not interested in the job, but Beetle says he definitely is interested. She lets them both know there is only one man on this entire world that meets her standards. "You call him Superman, I would call him mine".

In the meantime, Superman walks into the offices of Innovative Concepts, which is run by Maxwell Lord. Max, Oberon, Fire, and Ice are there. Max has big plans for the new reformed team, but Superman lets him him know right off the bat that this League is not one of his toys, it doesn't exist to feed his ego, it's there because there's a need for it, and it is theirs - not his. Ice totally agrees and leaves with Superman. Fire comments that Guy Gardner may now have some competition for Ice's attention, Max insists he's not done with the League just yet.

At sea, there is a yacht with three people aboard. One is a member of the Dominion who is there to hire the Weapons Master to take something from the Justice League. Weapons Master accepts the offer, believing that after the other beings in the universe he has beaten, the Justice League hardly represents any threat. As part of his overall plan, he manipulated the Royal Flush Gang into taking on the League so that he could observe and evaluate the League's battle techniques. He was not impressed with what he saw, and the weapons he plans to use will insure his victory. He leaves saying "Prepare yourselves, Justice Leaguers, the Weapons Master is on the hunt!"

Back at the cave, Blue Beetle is trying to impress Maxima with the information that he was a rich and powerful industrialist, but she replies that Earth's paltry system of wealth is of no concern to her. At that moment, Weapons Master appears and attacks, firing an energy beam at Gardner. He tells them his name, and that he's been assigned the task of retrieving a rare and special item from them. Maxima fires back with psionic eye beams, that Weapons Master wasn't prepared for, and he didn't expect to see Maxima there, so he retreats to reassess his situation. The three Leaguers and Maxima wonder about who he is and how he knew who Maxima was, when he shows up again, wearing different armor, including a helmet that will protect him from Maxima's psionic powers. Booster Gold charges at him as Weapons Master defends himself with a sword that can cut through any form of energy, including Booster's protective force-field. Guy Gardner doesn't believe that the armor will protect Weapons Master from his power ring, but it will, because the armor is yellow in color, "The entire universe is aware of the ring's sole deficiency" he tells Gardner as he gives him a kick that sends Gardner flying. Weapons Master knocks out Blue Beetle with an energy staff, that also stops Gardner's second attack. He asks why Maxima is there, "You were born to rule and conquer galaxies" he tells her. She replies "My only answer is - FORCE! Weapons Master says "Don't talk to me about force - I COMMAND FORCE!", and he knocks her out. With the four vanquished, Weapons Master believes he can now get what he came for, then a voice says, "You'll get it all right". Superman, Fire, and Ice are there and Superman punches him across the face that knocks the faceplate off of his helmet.

Superman continues to connect blow after blow to the Weapon's Master, damaging his armor. Then, he touches Superman on the chest, saying "Warp!", and Superman begins to de-materialize. He throws an energy-dampening net over Fire that extinguishes her fire power. Ice tries to freeze him in a mound of ice, but there is enough of the power in his armor still intact to burn through Ice's attack. He is able to knock her out, saying "When I am hired to aquire something, I never fail". He again thinks he can retrieve the item he is after, when a new voice says "Stop!" It is Bloodwynd, who Weapons Master refers to as another intruder, but one he doesn't know. It turns out the item that Weapons Master was hired to retrieve is Guy Gardner's power ring, and he fires another energy weapon at Bloodwynd, who disappears before it hits him, then re-appears demanding that Weapons Master give him the ring. Bloodwynd hits him with a force beam from his eyes that Weapons Master determines to be sorcery, which he was unprepared for, but he says "I refuse to be sand-bagged by a cheap parlor magician". He activates another warp power in his armor, that causes him and the other Justice Leaguers to vanish, leaving Bloodwynd alone in the cave with a weapon that Weapons Master inadvertantly left behind.

On the yacht, the Dominator is growing impatient, asking Weapons Master's female assistant, "Where isss he? Where isss my ring?" She tells him that he's the type who likes to "strut his stuff". He considers himself like a cat and the Justice League like mice, so he's probably taken them to one of his "dimensions". That is exactly what he has done, he and the seven JLA members are sitting at a table in some other dimension. The members seem to be in a zombie-like state, giving him the opportunity to arrogantly expound on his motive.

According to him, it isn't money or power that makes life worth living, it's the challenge of aquiring them. The challenge to win the game - that's what its all about. He then directs his attention towards Blue Beetle, saying "Do you enjoy games, Blue Beetle? Games of life and death?" Beetle is now the only conscious JL member, but Weapons Master has him unable to get out of his chair. Weapons Master proposes that he and Blue Beetle play a game of chess, the stakes will be, not only Guy Gardner's power ring, but the lives of the other Leaguers. Between them is a chess board, figures of the League members as pawns. The board is divided into danger squares and freedom squares. If a piece lands on a danger square, the corresponding person dies. If it lands on a freedom square, the person returns safely to JL headquarters. Weapons Master mentions that he got this board from a red-skinned alien with three eyes, and it has unique properties. Beetle wants no part of this game, believing that the game must be rigged. Weapons Master picks up the Ice chess piece, saying "You refuse to play? Watch". He sets the pawn on a square and Ice disappears from her chair. He tells Beetle that she's now on a world of fire and lava, "All because YOU wouldn't give the game a chance". Beetle grabs her pawn and sets it back on the board, telling Weapons Master to bring her back. Weapons Master says "Too late, she's dead! Play the game, Beetle - or the new Justice League of America will be finished before it's begun!"

Justice League America #62

"Pawns" (Part 2)

Weapons Master has provided Blue Beetle with a holographic display of the predicament Ice now finds herself. She's in a place of flame and lava, and her ice power that's keeping her alive is at low ebb. Weapons Master accuses Beetle of being responsible for her being there by refusing to play his game. Beetle is not buying that argument, saying "Oh no, you're the official game show host here. She's in that inferno because you sent her there". "Thats because YOU wouldn't participate!" repeats Weapons Master. He then threatens Beetle by saying that if he continues to hold out, then Booster Gold will be next, being sent into the heart of nuclear detonation. Beetle is still skeptical that any of the squares represent safety, but he's got to do something. He reasons that if, as Weapons Master stated, each square represents a location, moving Superman's pawn to the square that the Ice pawn was just on will send Superman to the same place Ice went. Beetle makes the move, and Superman disappears from his chair and re-appears in the holographic display with Ice.

Weapons Master is furious! He never expected Beetle to make a move like that. "You deliberately sent Superman there to rescue her!" Beetle replies "Imagine that!" He tells Beetle that if he tries anything like that again, he will devise a slow, excruciatingly painful death. Beetle says "You want me to play, I'll play", but he's thinking about the board. He originally thought that Weapons Master was doing the transporting, but when he saw Superman go where Ice was, he now thinks maybe the board does work. He decides to experiment, so he picks up both the Booster Gold and Maxima pawns and move them at the same time. Both are able to speak a few words before they de-materialize, and Beetle wonders what he can do with that bit of information.

Bloodwynd is at Max Lord's office seeking information. Max has questions about Bloodwynd and wants an explanation about who he is and how he knows so much about the Justice League. Bloodwynd states he's not there to answer questions, just discuss the League's rescue. Bloodwynd saw a psychic image of the yacht from the discarded weapon, and knows Max and Oberon can help him locate it. Meanwhile, Superman and Ice are trying to find a way off the fire and lava planet. Despite scanning with his telescopic vision, Superman has absolutely no idea where they are. The problem is, the heat is getting to Ice, and she isn't going to last much longer. With Ice getting weaker by the minute, Superman vows he will find a way to get them out, but she's got to do her best to help herself. At one point, weakly she asks him "Superman, are you married?" He answers "No", she asks "Why not?", and he answers "Let's just say that it's a HOT topic". Then she asks if he will call her Tora, he says "Sure... Tora".

Maxima and Booster Gold were transported to the same place. Neither has any clue where they are. Booster is not exactly the model of chivalry, telling Maxima "If that cute tush of yours needs a rescue, then Booster Gold, idol of millions, is just the man to do it". Maxima requires no man's protection, telling Booster as much, and then using a psionic beam to put a huge hole in the chest of an advancing rock creature. Afterward, she flies off, with Booster in pursuit, saying "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to ditch me!"

Back at the chess table, Weapons Master, who is now wearing Guy Gardner's power ring, is admiring the power it contains. He says "I should have gotten one ages ago". Beetle doesn't believe that he stole the ring just to admire it, so Weapons Master opens up and shares with Beetle the true reason he agreed to steal the ring for the Dominion. It's ALL about money. The Dominion plans to use it to invade Earth again, the Earth will need more advanced weapons to stop the invasion, and Weapons Master will be happy to be there to sell those weapons to them. He then tells Blue Beetle, "You have 2 more pieces to play". Beetle moves the Guy Gardner pawn, causing Gardner to wake up and say "Gimme back my RING!", and the ring flies off of Weapons Master's hand and onto Gardner's. Beetle saw that the Leaguers had a brief second of conscious freedom before they disappeared and he figured Guy would have just enough time to establish the link to his ring and get it back. Gardner tells the Weapons Master "Kiss your weapons good-bye, sucker!' Guy goes after him, but Weapons Master slips out of that dimension and into another. A second later he's back wielding a huge gun with two barrels that shoot energy beams at Gardner, who repels them with shielding from his ring. Failing that, he zaps out again, telling Gardner and Beetle that despite what they've cost him, he still intends to have that ring, even if he has to kill Gardner to get it. Beetle tells Gardner that they must find the others and get back to Earth. Beetle now knows it was the chessboard doing the transporting, so he figures that Guy's ring can pick up on the residual energy trail and point the direction to where the others were sent. It can and it does, pointing a green arrow they can follow.

Weapons Master re-appears back on his yacht. The Dominator is seething mad, knowing that he had the ring in his posession and lost it. Weapons Master doesn't intend to let this incident sully his reputation that he spent years building. He pulls out another weapon and zaps the Dominator, killing him. Just then Bloodwynd shows up, looking for the rest of the Justice League. As Bloodwynd and Weapons Master battle, the Leaguers who are all together now in the other dimension, are watching the fight courtesy of a big screen TV powered by Gardner's ring. Weapons Master and Bloodwynd continue their fight with Bloodwynd getting the better of it. Just as Bloodwynd seems about to take him, Weapons Master tells his partner to hold out her hand. He and she teleport out, but not before he can say "You may have ruined this entire operation, but I'll be back, and when I am, you will rue the day you crossed the Weapons Master." Immediatly, Bloodwynd sees that they are gone and realizes he's failed to capture them, but he is able by magic to help the Justice League return to this dimension.

Back in our dimension, the JLA come together in Max Lord's office, who still acts like he runs the group. He recommends that Maxima and Bloodwynd be offered full membership. Max has also worked out the details for a deal with the U.N. that allows the League to officially use a state of the art building that the U.N. owns as the JLA's new HQ. Superman reminds Max, as he told him before, the League, not he, decides who they extend membership to and where they stay. Fire and a couple of others indicate they'd prefer to be in the new building rather than "that musty old cave". Superman flies off through the window, as Oberon calls out "Superman, you forgot your signal device again!" Superman (without looking back) replies "I know Oberon, believe me, I know."

5Story - 5: Many Superman fans know the name of Dan Jurgens. He is an accomplished comic book writer and artist who spent some time working on the Superman titles, including the creation of Doomsday, before he took over the writing and art of Justice League America starting with issue #61 in 1992. Jurgens was also the penciller of the 1990-1991 series Armageddon 2001. I like his work, to me it bears some resemblance to the style of John Byrne. Jurgens stated in an interview that, following Keith Giffens humorous version of the Justice League, he and Gerard Jones were planning to steer the book away from broad comedy toward more serious stories. Jergens said, "In JLA, we'll be getting into solid stories where humor will come out of characters reactions to, and interacting with each other." Jurgens also stated that it was felt that Superman had been segregated for too long, that as the pre-eminent hero of the DC universe, he should be involved in more things outside his own continuity, starting with a leadership role in this new version of the Justice League. Sadly, Superman's participation in this League only lasted ten issues. In issue #69, the JLA attempts (and fails) to help Superman stop Doomsday. Issue #70 was one of the books in the story-arc "Funeral for a Friend".

One of the many things I liked about this story were the hommages to the Fox/Sekowsky version of the Justice League. The villain in this story, the Weapons Master, was a new version of a villain originally seen in the second JLA story "Challenge of the Weapons Master", in The Brave and the Bold #29, from 1960. In part one, when Weapons Master tells Blue Beetle that he got the chessboard from "a red-skinned alien with three eyes", that is a clear reference to Despero, first seen in Justice League of America #1, and in subsequent JLA stories. By coincidence, Despero was one of the last villains the modern JLA faced prior to this issue. This was a great, action-packed, two part story, as were most of these Jurgens stories, that only lasted for about a year.

5Art - 5: As I mentioned above, I have become a fan of Jurgen's art. I liked him on the Superman titles, and I liked how he handled his short tenure with Justice League America. His art reminded me in some respects of John Byrne, whose Superman, next to Curt Swan's, is one of my favorites. He seems to have a good eye for detail.

5Cover Art - 5: The 5 rating is mainly for issue #61 which is another hommage to the original League. The characters are around a table, with one hero and the villain playing chess, and pawns of the other members on the board. This is a repetition of the cover of Justice League of America #1 (November 1960) which had the Flash playing against Despero, with the other JLA members sitting around the table in a trance-like state.


Classic Post-Crisis Superman Comic Book Reviews

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