Impulse #86

Crisis on Impulse's Earth

Todd Dezago Writer
Carlo Barberi Penciller
Rich Faber Inker
Janice Chiang Letterer
Tom McCraw Colorist
Digital Chameleon Separator
Joey Cavalieri Editor
Impulse created by Mark Waid & Mike Wieringo

Our cover by Carlo Barberi and Wayne Faucher shows the Flash, Batman, Superman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman standing back in awe and amazement of Impulse, who really is the most powerful hero in the universe ... well, at least he is for this issue. It's a simple, yet bold cover. As humorous as it is intriguing.

Our story begins with Wonder Woman (in her invisible plane) meeting Batman and Robin in the middle of the desert to answer a distress call from the Martian Manhunter. These heroes look a bit more colorful than usual, and they soon find three member of the Justice League being attacked by equally colorful threats. Martian Manhunter is surrounded by five floating fire-spitting heads. Green Lantern is being pounded into the ground by an enormous yellow wooden baseball bat. And the Flash (who's new costume coincidentally looks like his current Rebirth outfit) is trapped inside a green gelatinous creature. And overseeing all this mayhem are three odd-shaped heads of red, blue and green.

Wonder Woman tries to pull Flash out of the goo monster with her magic golden lasso, but the goo slides down the lasso and envelops her, as well. Batman and Robin have a long conversation about how they should rescue Green Lantern, with Robin suggesting they finally use the Bat-termites he's been carrying in his utility belt. But Batman says it'll take too long for the termites to eat through the giant bat, so he instead throws a batarang at one of the fire-spouting creatures attacking the Martian Manhunter. The batarang redirected the creature's fire blast toward the giant bat, but as it burns, huge, flaming splinters brake off and just happen to land around Batman and Robin, trapping them in a cage of fire.

Superman shows up and begins battling the three-headed creature that has claimed responsibility for these attacks. However, the creature says it knows Superman is vulnerable to magic, and traps him in a magical pink bubble. Wonder Woman tells Flash they're doomed, but he reminds her the Justice League still has one more powerful member. As he wonders where their greatest and strongest teammate is, a purple streak suddenly zooms in. The fire around Batman and Robin is put out, the gelatinous creature holding Wonder Woman and Flash is liquified, the giant yellow bat is cut in half with a huge axe, and Superman's bubble is burst. Everybody realizes these rescues could only have been performed by Impulse, the greatest Justice Leaguer of all time!

Impulse apologizes for being late, saying he was saving a trainload of orphans from the forces of evil. Flash warns Impulse about the devilish floating heads, but Bart's confident he can handle it with his magical powers. He easily avoids the heads' attack, appearing above them in midair, where he zaps them with a blast of purple magic. This reveals the heads to actually be Mr. Mxyzptlk. Superman reminds Impulse that the only way to defeat this "mischievous menace" is to trick him into saying his name backwards. So Impulse decides to transform Mxyzptlk into a comic book, which includes three backwards panels of Mxy saying his name and disappearing. Bart then breaks the fourth wall, encouraging kids to hold those panels up to a mirror to make the fifth dimensional imp disappear.

With the day saved, Impulse returns to his home in Manchester, Alabama, which has been given quite a makeover. All the buildings have been replaced with futuristic castles, and an enormous billboard says, "Welcome to Manchester, Alabama — Home of Impulse, the greatest and most powerful hero in the universe!!" Bart's home is a massive castle, complete with a courtyard featuring a golden fountain of himself and tons of video games. Preston, Rolly, Mike and Wade are all there, and they all know Impulse is Bart. They ask him to play some video games with them, but he says he's got some important business to attend to.

Bart heads inside, where he finds Helen having a cup of coffee and a conversation with Dox the dog, who is now wearing clothes and enjoying his new ability of speech. Bart tells them how he saved the Justice League and asks what they have for a snack. Carol suddenly gives Bart a big hug, calling him silly because he now has the ability to whip up any snack he wants. They briefly talk about Bart's new powers, providing a quick recap of World Without Young Justice, for whoever didn't read it. Bart says he's happy to have the ability to fix all the things that were wrong in his life and make everybody happy. And what makes Bart most happy is to finally be surrounded by his friends and family he's so often separated from. Living in Bart's castle are his parents, Don and Meloni Allen; his grandparents, Barry and Iris Allen (who is still caring for the Weather Wizard's infant son); his cousin, Jenni Ognats and her mom, Dawn; Jay and Joan Garrick; and Max Mercury.

But from a dark and mysterious place, the Phantom Stranger watches Bart prepare snacks for his family on a crystal ball. The Phantom Stranger recognizes the presence of Barry Allen and his children is a huge mistake, and he beseeches an unseen council to intervene and realign the balance of power. He argues that Bart is too young to understand the nature of this evil, ancient power and its ability to corrupt, but the council refuses to act impulsively, saying they will wait to see what the fates hold in store for this scenario.

Later, Bart is hanging out with Carol, rejoicing in his ability to make the world a better place. She congratulates him for saving the rainforests, the whales and the comic book industry, as well as creating flying cars that run on water, feeding the hungry and housing the homeless. But, Carol is sad to report that Bart's changes have caused a few problems. When Bart made the cars run on water, all the millions of people working in the petroleum industry suddenly lost their jobs. And the flying cars now produce a lot steam, which is throwing off the weather patterns around the world. And when Bart made Dox smart enough to talk, he granted this ability to all dogs, many of which are now rebelling against humans, demanding equal rights. When Bart joined the Justice League, he thought they were too serious, so he made them happier and more fun, neglecting to change the villains, who are now smarter and more diabolical by comparison. Not to mention the wars being waged because the flying cars have created a water shortage in some countries.

Carol tells Bart that there are always repercussions to whatever he does, so Bart starts to wave his arm in the air, saying he'll make sure everyone has enough water and he'll fix the weather. Carol grabs his arm, fearing this will cause more problems. Suddenly, an angry, purple image of Impulse appears and knocks Carol to the ground. Bart profusely apologizes, although his eyes are still glowing purple. Carol is OK, but she suggests that Bart refrain from using his magic for a little while.

Max watched that whole encounter from behind a tree and he realizes that this is all wrong. Bart has not only altered historical events, but he's also changed the laws of nature and physics. So Max heads to his room and prepares to attempt to exit this reality. He connects to the Speed Force through meditation, then runs in a circle, adjusting his vibrational frequency until finally, he crashes through the walls of this reality and ends up in a dark place of nothingness. Max is soon greeted by the Phantom Stranger, who welcomes him to Limbo. The Phantom Stranger tells Max he is right to be concerned, saying reality is on the brink of catastrophe. Max says if anyone can help him stop Bart, it's the Phantom Stranger.


This was a pretty interesting thought experiment. What would Impulse do if he had unlimited powers? And I think this issue perfectly answered that question. Impulse would spend his time going on fun, wacky adventures with a light, happy version of the Justice League, battling goofy villains like Mr. Mxyzptlk. Then he'd bring back his entire family, which we've never had all together in one place before. And, naturally, Bart would genuinely try to fix all the world's problems, but would fail to think through all the consequences of each of his actions.

I really like Impulse's new purple uniform. And, as sad as it is, I did like seeing that flash of evil Bedlam energy emerging from Bart. There has to be consequences for such enormous power. I also think it was fitting that Max would be the first to try to take action against Bart. His connection to the Speed Force is so strong, he has the ability to recognize the damage Bart is causing and actually do something about it. The Phantom Stranger is one of DC's most powerful and vague heroes, and his involvement here also feels fitting. Unlike the previous Bedlam attacks, there is no real effort by any heroes to stop Impulse. Partly because most of what Impulse is doing is good, and partly because Impulse has turned most of the heroes into happy-go-lucky idiots. I wish we could have seen the rest of Young Justice in this issue, but we did at least see how Impulse turned Robin from a brilliant detective into a Burt Ward-esque moron. So yeah, I think this situation definitely requires some "divine" intervention.

Sadly, this issue does not have a letters column, so we'll just head straight to the new ads:

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Where? www.owlsightings.com.

Next time, we'll begin comics with an August 2002 publication date, first by wrapping up our other genie-themed story in JSA #37.