A Look At Green Lantern & Doctor Fate From The Justice League Infinite Fanfic

As you’ll recall, at the start of the week, I announced that I’m doing a Justice League fanfic entitled ‘Justice League Infinite’. As such, I’ve been going through all seven members of this world’s League, what makes them different from their counterparts, and so on. So far, we’ve looked at Batman, The Flash, Poison Ivy, Superman, and Wonder Woman, as well as Mera, who plays a role in this universe’s back-story, especially as it pertains to Wonder Woman. So, for today, let’s wrap this up by taking a look at the final two members of the Justice League Infinite, starting with this world’s version of Green Lantern, Simon Baz.

So, major change to the Green Lanterns in this universe is that there are no Guardians of the Universe and no Green Lantern Corps, meaning there is only one Green Lantern at a time…with one exception, which I’ll get into some other time. Basically, Alan Scott was the first Green Lantern, with the ring operating similarly to the current mainstream versions in that it seeks out those with the strongest will to wield it. Today, the ring is in the hands of Simon Baz. Unlike in his mainstream origins, in this universe, Baz was on a subway train that was demolished by a bomb. Simon managed to survive, but circumstantial evidence not only led the government to believe he was the one who planted the bomb, but that he was in fact a terrorist. From there, his origins play out the same, with the Green Power Ring reaching him just before hardcore agents could kill him. Now, unable to see his wife again, Simon is having to take up the guise of the Green Lantern as a means of hiding from the law, as well as using his new powers to protect the innocent. Baz possesses incredible will and selflessness, able to gladly take up the role of a hero in spite of how he’s been wronged. He seeks to one day prove his innocence so that he can be with the woman he loves, and despite the lack of evidence left behind on the train, he will not give up on that dream. He’s since met up with a teenaged Kyle Rayner, who possesses the Blue Power Ring, the two using the combined power of will and hope to defend and serve.

Simon’s costume is a bit different in this universe, as it is a full body costume covering him completely to keep his identity a secret. It has pretty much the same colour-scheme and design, it just covers his entire body, leaving no skin exposed, his mouth covered, and even his eyes hidden behind lime green lenses. Power wise, he’s exactly as you’d expect of a Green Lantern. While wearing the ring, Simon is able to form green light constructs of anything his mind wills him to create. He can fly, he’s semi-invulnerable, and he can survive in the vacuum of space. He can even summon the Green Power Ring to him no matter where he is. However, the ring only has a 24 hour charge to it, even shorter depending on how much is used at once. To recharge the ring, it must be touched to the matching Green Power Battery by the wielder, who must also speak the Green Lantern oath…I consider myself more a Blue Lantern kinda guy, but whatever, I’ll say it…

In brightest day, in blackest night
No evil shall escape my sight
Let those who worship evil’s might
Beware my power, Green Lantern’s light!

And that’s it for Green Lantern, which leaves the final member of the Justice League: Doctor Fate.

Now, like Green Lantern, there are two Doctor Fates in the history of this story: The original Doctor Fate, Kent Nelson, and his successor of Egyptian decent, Khalid Ben-Hassin, PhD. Khalid was searching ancient tombs in Egypt when he came across the Helm of Nabu, which he felt a connection to due to the original Doctor Fate being his childhood hero. As such, he has become Doctor Fate both out of a desire to protect the world from supernatural threats, as well as to try and locate Kent Nelson, who quite literally disappeared off the face of the Earth years ago. Khalid can occasionally have moments of self-doubt and hesitation, due to being uncertain if he’s the rightful owner of the Helm of Nabu, and because he oftentimes finds himself mentally drained and unfocused after using it. As an archaeologist, he’s fascinated by various ancient tombs, pyramids, and the like, which can at times override Nabu’s influence and personality. He’s also been helping Jackson Hyde, AKA Aqualad, in his studies of the mystic arts.

Since this is Khalid Ben-Hassin, his costume is virtually the same from the pages of Earth 2, as are his powers upon putting on the Helm of Nabu and merging with the ancient spirit. He can fly, grant himself super-strength, generate protective energy shields, bend fire and lightning to his will, move objects with his mind, teleport across large distances, read minds, is immune to disease and infection of any kind, will never age, and even more powers that he’s discovering all the time. However, for all of this power at the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth’s disposal, it comes at a great cost: The more Khalid uses, the weaker he’ll become over time, meaning he has to balance out how much power he makes use of. Also, while he keeps a small amount for himself even when not wearing the helmet, he’s far more vulnerable in this state. Likewise, the spirit of Nabu is trapped within the helmet, and is incapable of doing much without a host, though he can generate a temporary form if necessary, though at great risk to himself should something happen to him while in this state.

Anyway, that’s the last of the members. I’ll be sure to post on here when the first chapter is uploaded to Fanfiction.net. In the meantime, lemme know what you think of these choices, and be sure to enjoy the following collages I did to advertise the story. Ja né!

 

Favourite DC Superheroes – The Honourable Mentions

So, I took a look back at my favourite DC and Marvel superheroes from my birthday last month. While I still agree with those lists, I do feel as though there were a number of characters that deserved to be honourable mentions for DC. So, that’s what I’m gonna do now. Here are 10 heroes I think deserve to be mentioned with honours. lol

Kara Zor-L, AKA Power Girl

I believe I already covered what it is I like most about this character (no not THOSE…though they ARE nice, lol). For those who didn’t see, I particularly like how Power Girl not only has the abilities of Superman, she also is the head of her own business. Combine that with a never-say-die attitude and…well, THOSE, and you’ve got yourself a winning formula in Power Girl, who I DEFINITELY wouldn’t mind seeing in the Man of Steel movies someday. Kara’s also one-half of the Worlds’ Finest with Huntress, though sadly that book doesn’t present the best depiction of the character. Still, we do occasionally see them as a powerful duo.

John Stewart. AKA Green Lantern

And…

Alan Scott, AKA Green Lantern

I mentioned these two before as being tied as the unofficial #11 in my 10 Favourite DC Superheroes, and I still stand behind that. Though personalities and the manner in which they gained their powers couldn’t be more different, both bring honour to the name Green Lantern, and they are my personal favourites to hold that title. Also, VERY glad to see that John Stewart is now a DLC skin/voice swap for Hal Jordan, though I’d kind of like an Alan Scott one too.

Dick Grayson, AKA Nightwing

The original Robin all grown up. Be he in blue or red, be he in Blüdhaven or Chicago, Dick Grayson will always be a special kind of hero to people. He’s been through having his parents killed before his eyes, leaving his mentor to become leader of his own team, having his wedding broken up, having the love of his life leave him (and the planet for that matter), having to become Batman after Bruce was thought dead for a time, having his old circus troop destroyed, and now having helplessly watched his partner murdered. And yet, in all of this and more, he continues to try to have a positive attitude on the job…Still though, he REALLY needs to go back to blue. lol

Mera

Okay, while I don’t read a lot of the books she appears in, Mera gets on this list for a few reasons. First off, that she neither has nor requires an alias. Second, she’s Queen of Atlantis, which takes up most of the known ocean. Third, much like her husband Aquaman, she has the same natural advantages that he does having operated out of the bottom of the ocean (advanced strength, speed, durability, and sight). Fourth, as I’ve mentioned before, while the power to control water might not seem threatening at first, considering how much water makes up the average human body, that actually conjures up some rather frightening visuals of what she could do if she lost her cool. Speaking of which, while she’s usually a kind-hearted woman, the kind that you could easily get along with, she DOES have an on-again off-again struggle with her sanity. In other words, be as nice as humanly possible to Mera when you see her.

Damian Wayne, AKA Robin

The latest Robin to appear, Damian brought something new to the role. Having the genetics of Bruce Wayne, the skills passed down through the League of Assassins, and many skills and personality traits seen in Dick, Jason, Tim, and Stephanie, Damian could be considered the perfect Robin in a lot of respects…except that he kept killing people. I mean, he meant well, you could tell he cared, but he kept killing bad guys. That just bothered me to no end, though it almost became a running gag wherein if he said “I will kill no more”, he was usually five minutes away from killing someone. Alternately, if he said he WAS going to kill someone, they usually had a good chance of escaping with their lives for some reason. Apparently, he’ll be returning soon for a mini-series that looks at the alternate future where he becomes Batman, and it’ll be awesome to see him again…but dammit Damian, stop killing people. lol

Victor Stone, AKA Cyborg

BOOYAH!…Yeah, I know. lol Anyway, as of the New 52, Cyborg is now a founding member of the Justice League. While this robs him of his history with the Titans, it IS nice to see Vic standing among the big seven that make up Earth’s greatest heroes. Cyborg’s only real flaw is his personal issues, trying to find the balancing point between the machine and the man. Otherwise, you better be packing some serious power when going up against him, or he will flatten you.

J’onn J’onzz, AKA The Martian Manhunter

This one’s mostly based on his DCAU appearances, though I have checked him out elsewhere and been left confused by something: Martian Manhunter has heat vision in the comics, they’re missing from the cartoon. I’m not really sure why, other than so that two members of the Justice League didn’t have heat vision. However, this brings up something even more confusing: J’onn is vulnerable to fire. Shouldn’t using heat vision hurt him? Well, whatever, he’s still an awesome hero, though he REALLY needs to chill out in the New 52.

Khalid Ben-Hassin, AKA Doctor Fate

Okay, other than a couple of cool moments in Justice League Unlimited, I wasn’t really all that sold on Doctor Fate. Then Earth 2 happened. Now I know better. lol The second most badass individual to have the word “Doctor” in their name, Doctor Fate has a mastery over magic beyond that of any of the other magic-based heroes of the DC Universe. In other words, if he really wanted to, he could kill Superman just by wiggling his toes. His only real weakness, at least for Khalid in Earth 2, is that wearing the Helmet of Nabu can have some negative psychological effects. Otherwise, he might just be the greatest of Earth 2’s heroes, and is all too deserving to be a founding member of the JSA when it eventually forms.

Helena Wayne, AKA Huntress

There have actually been two women to predominantly go by the name Huntress. Prior to the reboot, Huntress was a woman named Helena Bertinelli, the daughter of a mafia boss who became Huntress to fight the very same kind of crime her family once created, eventually becoming a member of the Birds of Prey and getting this weird belly window for her costume that carried over into Justice League Unlimited. In the New 52, much like the original pre-Crisis interpretation of the character, Huntress is one half of the Worlds’ Finest with Power Girl, and is Batman’s daughter from Earth 2, though thus far, he has yet to show that he has any knowledge of this. Personally, I think she should just talk to him, especially given recent events. It might get him to cool down a little to know he still has family. Both are hardcore asskickers armed with crossbows, and both are deserving to be on this list.

So there ya go, 10 (sort of 11) honourable mentions. Along with Batman, Superman, Stephanie Brown, Wonder Woman, Wally West, Raven, Red Robin, Supergirl, Barbara Gordon, and Hawkgirl, they are my favourite DC Superheroes. Who do YOU think should’ve made it to this list? Lemme know in the comments, and I will see y’all next time. Ja né!

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Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Favourite Moments From Earth 2

So I noted earlier that one of my favourite books of the New 52 turned a year old this month. That book being Earth 2, the tales of the Earth in the second universe over from the world the majority of the DC books take place on. So, after 12 issues of this book (13 counting #0), I decided to count down my 5 Favourite Moments of the book that tells of a world without Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman around to defend it, thus leading to the rise of new heroes: The Justice Society.

#1 – Alan Scott Becomes The Green Lantern

This is the point where I realised to just what degree this comic was AWESOME. Alan Scott, media mogul, just went through a horrible train explosion, having to endure the loss of his boyfriend as he was just in the middle of proposing, suddenly presented with the chance to avenge his love and to protect the world from the coming dark. As such, he is transformed into the Green Lantern, protector and champion of The Green, and possibly Earth’s mightiest hero…well, until this guy showed up…

#2 – Khalid Ben-Hassin Becomes Doctor Fate

Khalid Ben-Hassin, a Ph.D, is made to face his destiny, thus wearing the Helmet of Nabu and merging minds with the ancient wizard to become Doctor Fate. This led to possibly the best first-time reveal for a character in their costume in resent times. I just love how everything reflects off the golden armour, it’s so shiny. XD

#3 – Green Lantern Defeats Solomon Grundy By Exiling Him To The Moon

This was a pretty cool way to beat Grundy, hurling him to the moon where the Grey couldn’t reach him and he couldn’t do any more damage. I’ve since come to understand that this method has been used on him before in comics, however it hasn’t been used since the Golden Age. In fact, that makes it all the more appropriate that it was used here.

#4 – FEMALE PRESIDENT! WHOOOOO! XD

So yeah, during the fight with Solomon Grundy in Washington, D.C., Wesley Dodds and the Sandmen have to go in and extract President Lightfoot before she can be lost in the conflict. And because this is an alternate universe and because how could they possibly resist, President Lightfoot is, in fact, a woman. Seriously, I’m Canadian, and I STILL am waiting for the day there is a woman in the White House…You know, not counting Hilary Clinton. BAZINGA!

#5 – Mister Miracle and Big Barda Début

Because it’s Mister Miracle and Big fucking Bardna in a post-apocalyptic Gotham with giant monsters fighting! All arguments invalid! 😀

Anyway, that’s my 5 Favourite Moments From Earth 2. Hope you enjoyed, hope I’ve encouraged people to check it out, and feel free to mention your own favourite moments from the book below. Ja né!

What I Bought Today – Detective Comics #18, Earth 2 #10 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

Well, one week has passed since Damian‘s passing, and I’m still feeling kinda down about it, but it’s Wednesday and that means it’s time to look at…

So let’s kick off by getting back to Batman with Detective Comics #18.

Poor Bruce. First his parents, then Jason, now this…:(

Okay, first off, while I appreciate the Requiem bits that are gonna be in every Bat Family book this month, it’s very clear that it was kinda tacked on with Detective Comics, and honestly it just invites WAY more questions than DC is willing to answer regarding timelines in the books. By the way, if you’ve been following along, they don’t ever try to attempt to explain how these events fall into a timeline. I think the closest we’ve ever come to that was Snyder leaving mention in Batman #13 that it had been a year since Joker had disappeared at the end of Detective Comics #1.

Okay, mini-rant over. As for the story itself, awesome. Penguin manages to get himself set free after getting roped up in Joker’s plans in Death of the Family, and then finds out that Ogilvy screwed him over. Meanwhile, after spending a moment to mourn the loss of his son, Batman returns to the Batcave to learn that apparently Joker let one of the inmates loose: Zsasz. Frakking ZSASZ! Also, he has run into Ogilvy, who has given him a Court of Owls blade and set him on Penguin’s allies. The good news is, when Batman catches Penguin causing a fracas after going to the zoo for weapons he’d stashed there, Penguin tells him his lawyers will get him out of this, only for Batman to reply that Zsasz murdered them. However, it seems that Emperor Penguin has decided Batman has served his purpose and now seeks to get rid of him. Oh, I know, big scary mob boss wants to kill Batman, how terrifying. Well, it seems he’s got a trick up his sleeve. Remember that woman who was part of Casey’s group in Talon? The one who left the League of Assassins? Well, in exchange for protection from Talia al Ghul, she gives Ogilvy the FRAKKING MAN-BAT SERUM! OH GOODY! That’s gonna go over so great, especially if Batman ever finds out the connections with her and Casey’s group. And he’s already keeping an eye out on Calvin’s operations.

Before I talk about this month’s issue of Earth 2, I thought I’d bring up some info I heard. Apparently the current plan is to plant seeds for an eventual crossover between the events of Earth 2 and the JSA and the mainstream universe of DC. When is this gonna take place? 2014. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be late 2014. WOW. I don’t know if that’s brilliant or stupid. I guess it’ll just depend on how this is set up. Although this makes World’s Finest all the more pointless a book since we now know that they aren’t getting home any time soon. Also, it furthers my point that there needs to be more than one book telling this story, like one focusing on the JSA and another focusing on the stuff involving Sloan and Steppenwolf.

So yeah, Earth 2 #10 is…well, it’s weird, but it’s fun weird. We get a little bit of background involving Khalid, who is Dr. Fate before he becomes Dr. Fate, and Kendra, where we see her get her wings and Khalid obtain the Helmet of Fate. Cut back to the present where Jay Garrick, his mom, and Khalid are held in the Realm of Nabu by Karel Wotan who talks WAYYYYYYY too much to be perfectly honest. The gist of what’s going on is that Wotan is making Flash and Khalid go find the Helmet, which Khalid sent away due to the effects it was having on his sanity, or Wotan will kill Jay’s mom. So where did Khalid hide the Helmet? The frakking Tower of Babel! Oh, and at the very end is this freaking monster that’s apparently guarding the Helmet. Khalid, you were one of those kids who tried way too hard and got way too creative playing hide and seek, weren’t you?

The other thing going on in this book is that Green Lantern is in Wuxi to see Sam’s father, who, while he disapproved of Sam’s relationship with Alan, at least saw how happy he was with Alan. Alan feels guilt over what happened to Sam, feeling that Sam only died because someone detonated the train Alan was on, but it seems that Sam’s father did some digging. The target was never Alan, it was Sam all along. This sets GL after some gang (I’m assuming the Chinese Triad, I don’t know), who, I guess, were the ones who set the bomb, but none of them know why the hit was placed on Sam. As such, Alan goes to Louisiana to meet with Hawkgirl, who is cleaning out a Parademon cell she’d been looking for, and tells her that he may have been wrong before and that he needs her help.

So yeah, this was a fun week comics wise. Next week…oh boy, next week we get into some awkward territory as we look at Batman #18, Batgirl #18, and Batman and Robin #18. Ja né!

…Does anybody else hear Unable to Stay, Unwilling to Leave when they see this? Is it just because it’s the saddest theme I can think of? 😥