Countdown #42

Shock to the System

Paul Dini – Head Writer, with Sean McKeever & Tony Bedard
Carlos Magno – Pencils
Mark McKenna & Jay Leisten – Inks
Rod Resi – Colors
Ken Lopez – Letters

Our cover by Terry Dodson shows Mary Marvel and the Riddler drowning in a pool of Clayface. It is equal parts cartoony and pure grossness. Of course, this isn't nearly as gross as the story Dini has for Mary Marvel in this series, but that's a separate matter.

Our story begins with the death of Bart Allen. Heatwave hits him in the back, jokingly calling it a Flash-fire. As Bart begs for help, Captain Cold comes in with his own jokes, saying, "Don't ever say I never did nothin' for ya!" As Bart breaks free from the ice, he grabs the Trickster and weakly demands to know how he could let the Rogues do this to him. As Trickster struggles to answer, Weather Wizard blasts both Bart and James Jesse with a bolt of lightning.

If that seemed different from Bart's actual death, then that's because it was. The whole thing was a nightmare of the Trickster's, and he wakes up screaming. He finds that he's handcuffed to the Pied Piper and surrounded by Multiplex and Deadshot. (Trickster and Piper are now in their super villain outfits, which means that Multiplex and Deadshot changed their clothes while they were unconscious.) Deadshot tells the Rogues they're under arrest for the death of Bart Allen. He also explains that their handcuff is designed to kill both of them if they pull too hard on it or break it.

Even though Trickster and Piper are both haunted by the guilt of Bart's death, neither of them was willing to turn themselves in to face the consequences of their actions. And they're still not interested in paying that price now that they've been caught. Trickster removes a false tooth from his mouth and spits it up in the air. The tooth explodes in a burst of light, momentarily blinding Multiplex and Deadshot, giving Trickster and Piper the chance to burst through the door of their cell. Unfortunately, they find out the hard way that they were in an airplane and now they're falling toward the city a thousand feet below them.




I said Mary Marvel's story in Countdown was disgusting. The upcoming Trickster/Piper story is equally disgusting. I won't get into the gruesome details here — you can read that on your own if you dare. But in the meantime, I do find it interesting to see the ripple effects of Bart's death through the DC Universe. Despite Wally and Wonder Girl vowing to bring the Rogues to justice, it was the Suicide Squad that quickly and efficiently rounded them up before anybody else could. And only Trickster and Piper were "lucky" enough to get away. (It might have been better for them had they stayed in the Suicide Squad's custody, but that's a debate for another day.) Of course, I do find it highly unlikely that somebody could be completely unaware they're on an airplane flying above a city, let alone have the ability to open up the plane's cargo hatch simply by ramming his shoulder into it. Just another example of the sloppiness that is Countdown.

Next time, we'll continue mourning the loss of Bart in Teen Titans #50.