Dean Compton here, and I am ever so excited to continue our foray into the most unjustly forgotten masterpiece of the 1990s, The Golden Age!
Things are getting rougher and rougher for our cherished Justice Society of America & their compatriots. But there’s an old saying that it is always darkest before the dawn, and maybe, just maybe, if they keep their heads up and their spirits strong, the heroes of The Golden Age will make it out of this somehow. If they are going to though, they’ll need a miracle…or at least…a Manhunter…
I cannot say enough about the impact of Paul Kirk (Manhunter)’s dreams on me when I read this as a young man. The dreams are vivid, horrendous, bloody, violent, surreal, and utterly captivating. The dreams mean something, though, and we will find out this very issue exactly what it is that they mean…and what they mean for Manhunter.
This issue is also the issue where the JSA and their pals find their spirit and their mettle despite the major setbacks they have recently had. But before they can overcome any of them, they have to find out the nature of the setbacks…and they have to overcome a few more. It’s 1949, folks, and the game is certainly not over for our heroes…in fact, it is just getting heated up. Just ask Tex Thompson or Daniel Dunbar. Just ask Libby Lawrence, the former Liberty Belle, who is getting back into another game just in time before her beau, Jonathan Law (Tarantula) completely destructs right before her eyes…
Daniel Dunbar and Tex Thompson are both more and less than they seem. Dunbar’s constant hype for the election and of Thompson’s virtues are making the mystery men uncomfortable by now, not to mention the readers, as we have seen the seedy side of Dunbar.
I do have to wonder what it must be like for a super powered being to take drugs. Does Dunbar have to smoke 6237823 times as much crack as a normal person would to get high? Is that powder he snorts and injects the world’s most powerful speedball? What level of medical marijuana would he have to smoke to get even the semi-munchies? I am fascinated by this; that’s probably why Hourman’s mission to perfect his Miraclo also fascinates me. After all, Hourman runs the risk of being an addict himself as his Miraclo tolerance grows. Of course, Rex Tyler, Hourman, always manages to find the time he needs to be perfect…
His fall was broken by the ceiling of an American family who will be reimbursed, but what of the fall of an American who is protecting, well, America? What of the fall of a man who was sticking up for the mystery men and their “lack of service” during the Second World War?
And why does our society punish those who are different, even after great service? Why do folks like Donald Trump or the Rockefellers get lauded while heroes like Tesla and Eugene Debs are ignored and discarded to the dissident historical tomes? Why does our country take and take what it needs from me like Thomas Paine, only to abandon them and their ideals as soon as possible? Why does it seem that the only times that the petty men in power will take up for these dissidents, the ones who actually make our society move forward, are when and if it helps them somehow?
I suppose these questions may never have answers, but at least someone did what they could while also striking at Tex Thompson, who has demanded that all the Mystery Men come forward and unmask, and I am sure everyone is aware by now, Tex is not all he seems…
Even the man sticking up for the Mystery Men is doing so for his own reasons, and on some level, “ain’t that America?”, as John Cougar Mellencamp told us in the 1980’s? Our nation has such an individualist streak, particularly when it comes to those petty men and women we allow to rule us. Even when doing the right thing by taking up for the superheroes (who, as we know from issue #1 of The Golden Age, were barred from entering the Second World War because of Parsifal), it has to be done from a purely self-pragmatist point of view. When folks try to tell you of the good old days when people cared for each other, try and recall that many of our social paradigms have been the same for some time. Try and recall that when you are told otherwise. And also, if you cling to your convictions not to fall…or get pushed.
Or maybe your convictions are less than stellar, and perhaps you are mad with power, drugs, and the belief in strange Gods and stranger orders. Maybe you are drunk on power and high on drugs. Maybe you are Daniel Dunbar.
Whatever was left of Daniel Dunbar is gone, given over to madness, power, drugs, and something else…
Of course, even our heroes still have their personal problems, some of them deeply entrenched within the mind. Of course, without his problems, would Starman ever have brought the world the greatness he has? Would this world of The Golden Age be even worse off? Or is Starman right and he has unleashed something abhorrent upon everyone? Is his madness a form a of conviction?
Ted Knight’s descent into madness and ascent out of it is a story for the stars themselves to tell, as he will be needed before this is all said and done. Ted reminds me so painfully of myself, vacillating between the peaks of mania and the depths of depression. Maybe he reminds us all a little of ourselves.
I wish Alan Scott, Golden Age Green Lantern, reminded me more of myself. I fancy myself a loyal man, but his loyalty in the face of one of the most vile anti-freedom machines produced by our government is truly inspiring. Many people would crumble against such an onslaught. Of course, many do not have his willpower…
Yet despite the assault of the House on Un-American Activities, despite the crumbling of his broadcasting empire, and despite the pressure of all of this, Alan Scott stands tall and noble. I mean, not so noble he won’t get angry or tell someone exactly how he feels. That combination, to me, is the defining characteristic of most of the Justice Society of America, but maybe especially Alan Scott. Nobility paired with honesty…
Ah, even the most noble of heroes can long for the past, when times were “simpler.” The truth, folks, is that the times when we were young were not simpler; we were.
Some of our heroes are not struggling with the nobility we see in Alan Scott, or even the courage of Ted Knight in the face of his mental disease. Some of them, like Jonathan Law, have completely given into to vice…and violence.
Of course, for every action, there is a reaction, and Liberty Belle isn’t a pushover for anyone, even one who used to be her lover…
While this foray into domestic violence could have gone seriously wrong, James Robinson gets it right. What I especially like is how Libby needed no one to save her. Johnny Quick did not come running in from Paris in 5.3 seconds to rescue her from this vile assault; she saved herself. Conversely, though, not NEEDING Johnny Quick did not prevent her from MISSING Johnny Quick.
Many folks never admit how much they need one another, and one of them, Paula Blake, is just getting ready to find out how much she needs Captain Triumph, and also, how much she is needed. Captain Triumph, however, desires anything but to be Captain Triumph. He’d trade all his powers and wealth for just a moment of peace.
On the other hand, Paul Kirk has realized how much he needs people. He has leaned more and more on Bob Daley, and Bob has helped him. The difficulties Manhunter has faced continue, and while he is beyond where he was when our tale started, he is still facing the surreal horrorscape that can, on occasion, be our dreams. That horrorscape is all he dreams…
Manhunter, despite his fears, despite his obstacles (both real and in his head), and despite the danger, is answering the call to be a hero. He refuses to allow his fear to get the better of him, and as Gandhi told us, the real enemy is fear.
That’s sort of the message I get from this issue; despite all the reasons that things could go wrong, we must continue to face our enemies. We can and must never allow ourselves to defeat ourselves prior to the battle. If we are to be worthy as human beings…not even superhuman beings, we have to answer the call.
Joan Dale, though, isn’t sure if there is a call to answer, as things are getting hard on her. I would imagine being Tex Thompson’s girlfriend in and of itself would be awful, but her description makes it seem downright harrowing. Even Joan, though, had nary an idea just how harrowing her experience was.
Sleeping with the enemy has never been as disturbing as the notion that Joan Dale, Miss America, for Christ’s sake…has been having sex with the Ultra-Humanite. And what could this mean for America? How did this happen? What does he have in mind as far as his ascent in the world of American politics?
Some of those answers will have to wait, but for now, we can tell you how the Ultra-Humanite accomplished the brain swap, thanks to Paul Kirk, Manhunter, and the most-well known chairman of the Justice Society of America…Hawkman!
Before I move on with the revelations of Manhunter, I have to comment just how cool Paul Smith has made Carter Hall look here. I have always loved the connection between ancient Egypt and Hawkman. There’s something inherently magical about it to me, and also, it somehow just makes sense. I wish they had not messed up Hawkman’s continuity so badly at DC, but that’s a story for another column. In the meantime, gaze at the Winged Pharaoh for a bit, then see what Manhunter has been running from..and why…
The Ultra-Humanite has a lot of flaws, to say the very least, among them being a sociopathic murderer, but at least he subscribes to the notion that “if there’s no body, the guy ain’t dead”. I have seen so many super-villains do so many idiotic things, even villains supposedly super geniuses like the Ultra-Humanite, that I am sort of proud of him for getting it right.
But our heroes are in deep now, Legions of the Unspoken. The Ultra-Humanite’s plan is almost complete, and it somehow involves that drug addict superman, Daniel Dunbar. Hawkman asks the most valid question, which is what’s next, and the only proper answer is what we learned from the Blues Brothers; they have to get the band back together. Someone must answer the call. When you get the call, will you pick up?
Business is about to pick up, folks…