Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • WLG #409: Controversial

      John Hays
      June 4, 2012
      Columns, Picks of the Week
    Recent
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

      Daniel Gehen
      October 30, 2020
    • Comictober 2020: DRACULA MOTHERF**KER

      Daniel Gehen
      October 27, 2020
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • 2.0

      Review: RAVENCROFT #1 Deserves Solitary Confinement

      John Hays
      January 29, 2020
      Big Two, Big Two Reviews, Marvel Comics, Reviews
    Recent
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • Stan Lee

      nguyen ly
      November 7, 2020
    • Collecting Profile: Jack O’ Lantern

      nguyen ly
      October 31, 2020
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • Interview: Jason Copland and Fabian Rangel Jr.: Santos: Crime Noir on the Rio Grande

      John Hays
      May 5, 2016
      Indie, Interviews
    Recent
    • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

      Daniel Gehen
      December 14, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • 4.5

      TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 Lives Up to the Hype (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      October 29, 2020
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
    • Valiant
  • Reviews
    Random
    • 3.0

      Flashpoint #4

      John Hays
      August 8, 2011
      Reviews
    Recent
    • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

      Daniel Gehen
      December 14, 2020
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • 4.5

      TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 Lives Up to the Hype (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      October 29, 2020
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Interview: Matt Kindt and Brendan Wright Part One: Collaborative Ethics Applied Towards Acid Expulsion

      John Hays
      March 17, 2015
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

      Daniel Gehen
      June 8, 2020
    • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

      Mike Nickells
      March 4, 2020
    • Simon Roy

      Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

      Mike Nickells
      January 29, 2020
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Classic Interview: Dick Giordano - "It was more fun to be a creator AND an editor!"

      John Hays
      July 24, 2015
      Classic Interviews, Interviews
    Recent
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Mark Stack
      January 2, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • Kickstarter Spotlight: Salvagers: Abandoned Cargo #4

      John Hays
      May 12, 2015
      Kickstarter Spotlight, News
    Recent
    • 2020 Ringo Awards Winners Announced

      Daniel Gehen
      October 26, 2020
    • BAD IDEA Announces 2021 Publishing Slate

      Daniel Gehen
      September 29, 2020
    • A Full Replay of NCSFest 2020 is now Available

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2020
    • Press Release
    • Kickstarter Spotlight
  • Books
    Random
    • 5.0

      RED ROSA: A Graphic Biography of Rosa Luxemburg

      John Hays
      October 26, 2015
      Books, Reviews
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      CB Staff
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      CB Staff
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Collecting Profile: Batwoman
  • Collecting Profile: Daredevil
  • Collecting Profile: Floronic Man
  • Review of Cheetah in Wonder Woman 1984
  • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist
  • Collecting Profile: Transformers
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
Columns

Countdown Breakdown #29

John Hays
October 12, 2007
Columns, Comics Bulletin Soapbox

Ah, yes. A nod back to my old love, the JLI/E. I am a JLI/E completist, and the Extremists were perhaps the best original villain groups created for the series. Even though they were knockoffs of Marvel villains (Lord Havok = Dr. Doom, Dreamslayer = Dormammu, Gorgon = Dr. Octopus, Tracer = Sabertooth, Dr. Diehard = Magneto), they were really powerful, made a great team, and at times were better interpretations than the originals.

The odd thing is, and this is not exactly breaking news at this point, how Captain Atom/Monarch is being portrayed here, since he was constantly fighting the Extremists in his JLE days. I realize these are different Extremists, but it still feels wrong.

The Extremists actually didn’t even start out on a parallel Earth. The original Extremists lived in another dimension on the world of Angor and fought the Champions of Angor, who were based on Marvel heroes. Their battles caused a nuclear holocaust, destroying practically everything on their planet. Just before this occurred, robotic duplicates of the Extremists had been created by a fun park owner named Mitch Wacky. These duplicates thought themselves the real deals, and followed the surviving heroes to the planet Earth, which is where the JLE came into the picture. The robots were defeated and deactivated several times. At one point, Maxwell Lord’s body was possessed by Dreamslayer. At another point, I think Lord’s mind might have possessed Lord Havok’s body. They were strange days. The Extremists briefly appeared in a few other titles through the years but have really been in limbo for the most part until Countdown, and of course, this is a different group entirely.

Double Down. Jeremy Tell is a character created by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver for the Flash, first appearing in the Iron Heights story. Tell was a con artist who got on the wrong side of a gambler with a cursed deck. When he killed the gambler, the deck fused itself to Tell’s body. Now Double Down can peel the cards from him, toss them, and control where they go. Since they’re magic, they can even cut Superman!

That’s it for this week! Catch you back here next week for more fun!

 

Comics Bulletin SoapboxJohn Hays

Share On:
Tweet
Omega the Unknown #1
Dwayne McDuffie: Bringing On The Bad Guys in Justice League of America

About The Author

<a href="https://comicsbulletin.com/byline/john-hays/" rel="tag">John Hays</a>
John Hays

John Hays is a writer for Comics Bulletin

Related Posts

  • “The Long, Strange Trip of Deathlok the Demolisher”

    Paul Brian McCoy
    May 22, 2017
  • Classic Comics Cavalcade: “Straw Into Gold: Captain Marvel in Marvel Super-Heroes #13”

    Jason Sacks
    November 13, 2015

Latest Columns

  • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

    Daniel Gehen
    December 4, 2020
  • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

    Daniel Gehen
    October 30, 2020
  • Comictober 2020: DRACULA MOTHERF**KER

    Daniel Gehen
    October 27, 2020
  • What Looks Good for the Week of 10/14/2020

    Daniel Gehen
    October 12, 2020
  • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – Monster Mash!

    Daniel Gehen
    October 9, 2020
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders