Young Justice #49

Fighting Maad Part Three: A.W.O.L.

Peter David Writer
Todd Nauck Penciller
Lary Stucker Inker
Ken Lopez Letterer
Tom McCraw Colors
Digital Chameleon Separations
Tom Palmer, Jr. Assoc. Editor
Eddie Berganza

Don't let the Princess Bride reference fool you. This cover by Nauck and Stucker actually depicts the central conflict of this Fighting Maad storyline. The most vicious villain in all of Young Justice, the Baron, has killed Empress' dad, and she is justifiably going a little bit nuts. But before we dive into that, we need to bring Impulse back on the team.

Our story begins with Impulse randomly showing up in the Catskills Resort kitchen, making himself an enormous sandwich. Superboy is the first to find him, and he naturally asks Impulse what he's doing here. Bart says he doesn't have anything else to keep him busy, and when Kon reminds him that he quit the team, Bart replies, "And you listened to me?" Kon then notices that Bart's a bit bummed out, and Bart tells him that his comic book just got canceled — well, technically his favorite comic. He says he didn't realize how much he looked forward to that monthly adventure until now, and Kon says the same thing happened to him recently.

The Ray walks in and is immediately disgusted by Bart's eating habits, saying he tries to "eat light." But Ray also sympathizes with his teammates, saying his title — his favorite — was also cancelled years ago and when it comes to comics, he's basically been in limbo ever since. The three of them all complain about how unfair it is that certain comics get to keep going, even though they're not necessarily better or worthier. Robin then walks in, and everybody instantly glares at him. He asks what he did to deserve this, and Impulse, Superboy and Ray all angrily say, "Nothing."

Slo-Bo then arrives with the plot, telling the others that Anita is having a meltdown since the A.P.E.S. have decided not to take any action after her dad's death. Bart hasn't heard about Anita's dad, so Kon and Slo-Bo fill him in, explaining that Agent Donald Fite was killed a week ago by minions of Baron Agua Sin Gaaz, the same man who killed Anita's mom years ago. Bart asks why nobody told him and when the funeral is. Kon says the funeral was three days ago and that they tried to tell Bart, but couldn't track him down. Bart feels awful by this and wonders aloud what he should say. He suddenly has a huge burp, and Slo-Bo tells Bart to say anything but that.

Everybody heads to the main room, where Anita is arguing with her late father's partner, Agent Ishido Maad. Anita says they know where Sin Gaaz is and they should go after him. Maad points out that Sin Gaaz lives in Zandia, the nation inhabited entirely by supervillains. Snapper Carr suggests they go anyway, but Maad tells him that since Lex Luthor became president, the All Purpose Enforcement Squad has lost a lot of authority, especially in international matters. As such, all the A.P.E.S. can do is pursue a diplomatic solution, which Maad admits has a small chance of success.

So Anita vows to invade Zandia on her own. Slo-Bo is the first to insist on going with her, followed closely by Secret. Slo-Bo then turns to the team leader, Wonder Girl, to ask if the whole team should go. Cassie agrees, but says they're going to need a lot of help on this mission. Bart suggests the Justice League, but Cassie shoots him down, believing the League wouldn't agree with an invasion of a foreign nation. Snapper Carr then reminds everyone that he was appointed Young Justice's adult supervisor by Red Tornado, who takes his orders directly from the Justice League. Cassie sternly tells him that now's his chance to prove his loyalty to Young Justice. So Snapper dejectedly walks away in his Nightwing-themed shirt.

Cassie then asks Maad if he'll rat them out, but Maad says he has 17 weeks of saved-up vacation time, which he'll use to go on this mission with everybody. Anita happily gives Ishido a big hug, while Cassie starts asking for recommendations for anyone who can help out. She also warns everyone that if they want to back out of this mission, now's the time to do it. Ray raises his hand, and Slo-Bo, Superboy, Secret and Impulse immediately start berating him. But Ray was just going to ask where the bathroom is.

Snapper Carr then returns, carrying a bunch of papers and maps. Kon asks him when the Justice League is arriving to shut them down, but Robin suggests they not jump to conclusions. Kon reminds Robin that Cassie is the leader now, and they should follow her lead. Cassie decides to give Snapper a chance to explain himself. He hands her all the documents, explaining that they're detailed specs on Zandia, topographical maps, plans of their harbor and important buildings, in short, all the information they'd need for an invasion. Snapper tells them to never question his loyalty, even when he reminds them who sent him here. Cassie agrees, and Anita struggles to find the words to properly thank him.

We then cut to the home of Bonnie King-Jones, who is enjoying a game of darts with her daughter, Cissie, while discussing the sad fate of Anita. Cissie tells her mom that Cassie called not too long ago, telling her about their planned invasion. Bonnie assumes they wanted Cissie to join them as Arrowette, but Cissie says Cassie only asked her for phone numbers of other heroes. But Cissie does admit that she feels a bit guilty for being so mean to Anita for so long, especially since she was inspired by Arrowette to become a hero. Bonnie can tell that Cissie is considering coming out of retirement for this, and she says it's a bad idea. She says Cissie has never been so happy and relaxed since she retired, but Cissie says she feels guilty about doing nothing this time around. Bonnie says she's not doing nothing, she's doing what's best for herself, and heading into a dangerous mission with a misplaced sense of guilty could have fatal consequences. At that note, their stack of darts at the bullseye falls down, leading Cissie to wonder why they don't play Monopoly like normal people.

We then enter the black-and-white dream of Anita Fite. She finds herself naked in her house, with Slo-Bo reading the newspaper while wearing a tutu. She tells him pink isn't his color, and he asks how she knows the tutu is pink. Anita's dad then appears, wearing an apron that says "Kill the Cook." He says dinner will be ready in five minutes, and Anita tells him she had a weird dream where he died. Anita then notices a mysterious figure upstairs. Bits of the Empress costume appear on her and Slo-Bo, and her dad is suddenly covered in third-degree burns, saying dinner got a little burned.

Empress heads upstairs, as Secret suddenly appears and attacks Donald Fite. Anita finds the mysterious figure is Agua Sin Gaaz, and now they're in New Orleans, at the apartment where her mom was killed. Sin Gaaz tells her that the explosion was supposed to kill her dad, not her mom, and he regrets that. Empress pulls out two swords, but Sin Gaaz presents her with a knife stuck in a heart. He explains that it's the symbol of Erzulie, the Vodoun goddess of love. He offers it to Anita to show his love for her, but Anita slaps it away. Sin Gaaz then reveals that he is Anita's grandfather, but she calls him a liar.

Back in the real world, Secret admits to Robin that she didn't vote for him to be team leader. He says he figured that, anyway, since he can count votes. Robin doesn't understand why Secret felt the need to lie about it, but he didn't want to say anything about it. Secret angrily says it's good that he didn't say anything, because when he does say things, they can't always be believed. She reminds him how he promised to never leave and always be there for her, but then he did. Robin says she can't take it personally that he quit the team, but she insists it is personal. Their argument is interrupted by Anita crying out in her sleep. Robin tries to wake her from her bad dream, but Secret can tell this is no ordinary dream, so she enters Anita's mind through her ears.

In Anita's dream, Empress has stabbed Sin Gaaz, to no effect. She says her grandpere died in a car crash after he left Haiti with her grandmere but before her mother was born. Sin Gaaz says Anita's grandmere left Haiti while pregnant because she was afraid of what he'd do to their child, then she stayed hidden from him with her Vodoun arts. Sin Gaaz then pulls the sword out of his chest, explaining that they're in Anita's mind, so she can't harm him, but he can harm her. He holds her over a pit of alligators and says he'd prefer not to hurt her and instead would like to give her the opportunities he wanted to give his daughter. He again maintains he accidentally killed his daughter, but he is willing to deliberately kill his granddaughter.

Secret then arrives and pulls Anita away from Sin Gaaz. Anita angrily blames her for taking her father's life, but Secret says now is not the time to discuss that. Sin Gaaz calls Secret a warder, and says he's surprised to see her trying to salvage the living instead of conducting the dead. Secret's shocked that he knows what she is, and he responds by saying it's been 28 years since he killed a warder and he wonders if he's got a knack for it. Secret wraps herself around Anita to teleport her away, but before she does, she warns Sin Gaaz that they're gathering a force to attack him in Zandia. And she's doing this not just because he killed Anita's dad, but also because she was present at his death and compelled to bring him to the next life. Sin Gaaz says he'll be waiting for them, along with his army of large, muscle-bound men he calls anti-bodies, soulless, synthetic life forms.

Anita wakes up, still shouting to Sin Gaaz, "You're not going anywhere — !" She's answered by Cassie, who says it'd be a shame if they everybody got dolled up for nothing. Surrounding them is virtually every teenage superhero in the DC Universe. And we've met a bunch of them — the Point Men, the Relative Heroes, many members of the various Titans teams, including Impulse's old teammates Damage and Terra. We also have Jakeem Thunder, the Star-Spangled Kid, Lagoon Boy and the Wonder Twins (remember the Super Friends? Shape of ice bucket, form of pterodactyl!). But the most shocking hero in attendance is Arrowette, wearing a red hood.

We end our story by visiting Agua Sin Gaaz at his home in Zandia, where he is speaking with a short woman named Devastation. She notes his talent for re-creating life and growing bodies, but says it hardly compares to her powers of a god. The Baron informs her that Zandia is going to be attacked, which she doesn't care about until he mentions Wonder Girl.



It's so great to have Impulse back on Young Justice! I love how casually he slid back onto the team, acting as if nothing had happened. And his conversation with Superboy and the Ray was a beautiful wink and nod to the readers. This was Peter David saying, "Yes, it sucks that these books got canceled. And no, it isn't fair that Robin gets to keep going." No offense to Robin fans out there, but I firmly believe his title wasn't any better than Superboy or Impulse. It was just connected to Batman, which ensured its survival.

Impulse really did come back to Young Justice at the right time — leading up to the 50th issue special. This issue was all set up, and it succeeded in getting me excited for next issue. Baron Sin Gaaz is a truly creepy and vicious villain with a literal army at his command. Young Justice is not only back to full strength, but have also enlisted the aid of basically everyone you could ever hope to see. That two-page spread at the end had nearly 50 different characters on it! And it's a testament of Todd Nauck's prowess that each and every one of those characters looked incredible.

Sadly, there isn't any letters to the editor in this issue, so let's head straight to the ads:

Straw included. Spitballs sold separately. Tang Berry Panic.

Cut loose. Stretch your tongue. Fruitopia.

Batman Haunted Knight, The Long Halloween and Dark Victory.

Let the mooching begin. Starburst. Isn't life juicy?

Super Monkey Ball 2 for Nintendo GameCube.

The Monkey Party Sweepstakes! Chances to win a GameCube, Super Monkey Ball 2, a TV, toys, etc.

Who needs nine lives when you can control time? Blinx: The Time Sweeper for Xbox.

Warning: When the game turns off, so do your powers. Superman: Shadow of Apokolips for PlayStation 2.

Naughty little bears. Haribo Gold Bears.

Pollution and paradise don't mix. Super Mario Sunshine for GameCube.

The wheelman is back! Driver 2 Advance for Game Boy Advance.

A word scramble for Tony's frozen pizzas.

Warning: Pot is addictive. It goes something like this: First you smoke pot, then you keep on smoking pot, then you can't have fun without pot, then you can't do anything without pot, then you're that skeevy loser who hangs out all day in front of the arcade.

Look at it this way — you either walk away a champion or a toaster. Battlebots for Game Boy Advance.

My only fear is running out. Got chocolate milk? with Joe Rogan.

Next time, we review our final issue of 2002, Young Justice #50!

The Flash #189

Messengers

Geoff Johns • Writer
Rick Burchett • Penciller
Dan Panosian • Inker
Gaspar Saladino • Letterer
James Sinclair • Colorist
Digital Chameleon • Separator
Joey Cavalieri • Editor

Our cover by Scott Kolins is a fun homage to the Silver Age of comics, where it was quite common to throw a bunch of melodramatic questions and teases on the cover. I do, however, find Wally's smile to be a bit unnatural. I know this is a lighter issue, but it still looks weird to have him smiling like that.

For our review, let's just answer the questions on the cover. Who causes chaos at the ice rink? Wally. He's ice skating with his wife, Linda, and he falls on his butt. Not a whole lot of chaos. But after their date ends, Wally tells Linda that he's going to be checking in on a bunch of his friends today and he wants to tell them that Linda is pregnant. She, however, wants that to stay a secret for a little bit, and Wally agrees.

Who needs a helping hand from the Flash? Cyborg. He's now living in an apartment in Central City and is a bit depressed, since he recently had an accident that more or less reverted him back to his "classic" form he had back on the old Teen Titans. They're calling it "metallic paralysis." Whatever. Wally cheers him up by telling an extremely corny Gorilla Grodd joke.

Who is chasing after the Golden Age Flash? Impulse. Jay and Bart are training in their backyard in Denver. Bart is tasked with taking Jay's helmet off his head, and he tries sneaking up on Jay, but the experienced speedster dodges Bart's attack at the last second. Bart insists he is faster than Jay, so Jay explains he needs to work on his stealth, recommending he try to glide instead of making his feet so heavy. Bart holds up one of his infamously large feet and says that might be hard for him to do.

Wally suddenly arrives, and Bart excitedly runs circles around him before grabbing Jay's helmet. Jay says he feels like waking up from a nightmare after his encounter with Rival, and he plans on staying in Denver until Joan completes her real cancer treatments. He also vows to continue training Impulse, as he grabs back his helmet. Bart claims he wasn't ready and he reminds Jay of Mr. Terrific's motto — fair play. Joan then comes out and gives Wally a plate of cookies.

Who is Iris West's new best friend? Officer Fred Chyre. Iris seems to have abandoned her life of solitude for fear of revealing secrets about the future. Not only has she adopted the infant Joshua Jackam, but now she's dating one of Wally's best allies on the police force.

Who broke out of Iron Heights? The Pied Piper. This is the only potentially threatening question from the cover. However, Hartley Rathaway may be under some sort of mind control right now. I don't know, and I really don't care too much. But I do care about Wally's brief conversation with Jesse Quick. When the Rogues made their big attack against Wally, they apparently also prepared for Jesse by targeting her company, QuickStart Enterprises. They made it look like she had lost billions of dollars in seconds, so she spent her time with her accountants and programmers undoing that damage instead of helping Wally fight the Rogues. But as we can see, Wally obviously survived the attack that took months to plan.


This issue wasn't too bad. It's nice to occasionally take time to provide a quick update on all the supporting characters in a book. However, I am very frustrated that neither Bart nor Jay mentioned Max Mercury. Their first words to Wally should have been, "Help! Jay's archenemy Rival has possessed Max and stolen a time machine!" I mean, seriously! That's a big deal! And both Wally and Bart have the ability to travel through time! Sigh ... We have now entered the post-Impulse world. Bart will still be around, but no one is going to care about anything that happened in his series.

Next time, we head to the publication date of November 2002, where Impulse finally rejoins his friends in Young Justice #49.

Impulse #89

"... Godspeed."

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

This issue's cover: One's a crowd, courtesy of Carlo Barberi and Wayne Faucher! This is a beautiful, bittersweet cover. Dozens of Impulses, each one with a different expression. (Can you find the Impulse that's picking his nose?) It's almost like Barberi took this opportunity to draw all the Impulses he'd never get to draw again. And right in the middle of this pack is the real Impulse, angrily demanding to know why no one likes Impulse. I guess the better question is why didn't more people like Impulse? I'll try to answer that at the end of this review.

Our story picks up where we left off last issue, with Bart and Carol making a daring escape from the Doocers in the 63rd century. Carol literally shoves Bart into the time machine, then assures him that futuristic technology is very user friendly. All she has to do is push "reset," and they'll travel back to 2002 and Manchester, Alabama ... or rather, Bart's new home in Denver, Colorado.

When Bart steps out of the time machine, he finds a lot of damage has been done to his new house and front yard. Joan Garrick sees Bart has arrived, and she quickly tells him that he needs to find Jay and stop him. She explains that Jay's old enemy, Rival, had been posing as her doctor, and when Jay found out, he began battling Rival, causing all the destruction around them. Bart asks if she's worried Rival will kill Jay, but Joan says she's never seen Jay this angry before, and she's worried the opposite might happen.

We then go back in time by six minutes, to when Rival first revealed himself to Jay. The former Professor Edward Clariss, now a being of pure energy, grabs Jay by the throat and admits to Jay that he had planned on exacting revenge on him by slowly killing his wife through a long and painful "treatment process." But now that his plan has been discovered, he immediately rushes over to the Garrick house to kill Joan. Jay follows Rival, and begins battling him in the front yard. By the time Joan comes out to see what's going on, Jay has his hands around Rival's throat and is shouting at him for threatening his wife. Joan is able to piece together what's happened, and upon seeing the look of murderous rage in her husband's eyes, she tries to calm him down. But Jay shouts at her to get back inside, giving Rival an opening to punch him and escape. Joan offers to call Wally West or the JSA, but Jay refuses and takes off after Rival. And that's when Bart's time machine suddenly appeared in the front yard.

Bart immediately heads out to find Jay, following the path of destruction from his battle with Rival. It doesn't take Bart too long to catch up, and he immediately grabs Jay's arms from behind, begging him to stop. This gives Rival another opening to escape, and Jay immediately throws Bart off him. He explains that he's not just trying to stop Rival, but also trying to protect nearby innocent bystanders. Unlike the heroic speedsters, Rival doesn't harmless vibrate his molecules through objects or try to sidestep people. He just runs right through everything and everyone, not worrying about what he destroys or who he kills. As Jay tells this to Bart, he manages to pull a man out of Rival's path before resuming his chase.

Bart follows them to the Sahara Desert, where the high-speed chase has turned the sand into glass. Bart finds Jay beating Rival to a bloody pulp, and he tries again to stop him, but gets punched in the face for his efforts. Jay insists its different this time, as Rival has violated his family's life. Bart reminds Jay that he's a good guy and that he's supposed to be teaching Bart how to be a better hero. He asks Jay what he would do if their roles were reversed. Jay looks at his fist, covered in Rival's purple blood, and he slowly realizes that Bart is right.

Rival slowly gathers himself up, looks at Impulse, and says he and his teammates never planned for "the boy." He explains that his scheme to lure Jay Garrick to Denver was just part of a much larger plan for the Rogues to attack Wally West. They wanted to keep all of Wally's allies away, so they somehow contacted Rival, who had been trapped in the Speed Force by Jay years ago. Rival needed a body to enter the real world, so he began luring in Max Mercury. As he talks, Rival allows his purple energy to subside for a minute, showing the battered body of Max underneath.

Bart jumps on Rival demanding to know what Rival's done to Max and if he's hurt him, he'll tear him apart and scatter the pieces all over the planet. Rival explains that he has essentially changed places with Max. He's using Max's body as a host, while Max's essence is now trapped in the Speed Force. Rival also warns Bart that if he were to kill him, then Max would be lost forever. Bart considers this for a moment, then manages to calm down enough to start discussing some solutions with Jay.

They start running back home across the Atlantic, with Jay dragging Rival behind him. Jay says they can stash Rival in a holding cell at S.T.A.R. Labs, then they should go help Wally battle the Rogues. Bart also suggests enlisting the aid of Dr. Morlo to find a way to get Max back in his body. Jay thanks Bart for stopping him from doing something he'd regret, and he apologizes for not being a good teacher. Bart says Max always said a good teacher needs to know when to learn from his students. He then returns the conversation to Rival's fate, suggesting they could use the time capsule he recently acquired.

At the mention of a time machine, Rival somehow breaks free of Jay's grip and heads off toward Denver. Assuming Rival was going after Joan, both Jay and Bart immediately vibrate through the house's wall. But they find Joan and Carol peacefully sharing a glass of lemonade. Bart then sees Rival getting into his time capsule. Bart and Jay just manage to get outside as the time capsule rises up in the air, offering Rival enough time to tell Jay he'll kill him next time they meet, and torment Bart with another glimpse of Max's face and a vow that they have unfinished business. After Rival disappears, Bart asks Jay if there's a way to track him. Jay can't think of anything right now, and he suggests they just head inside right now to relax after an exhausting day.

The next day, Bart runs Carol back to Manchester, Alabama (after they've found some normal clothes for her). On the way, Carol asks Bart to stop in Kansas so they can talk for a bit. She says that before she went away to the future, she was so happy to finally be in a relationship with Bart. And during her adventures with Bart's mom, she worried that she might not see Bart again. Carol tells Bart that she always wants him in her life, and she doesn't want to lose him, but as hard as it might be for him to hear, she suggests they take their relationship slow. Bart is just happy to have Carol back and is more than happy to follow her lead on this. Besides, he realizes they'd have to take it slow, now that he lives in Denver. They share a warm hug and continue their journey, with Carol assuring Bart that no matter where he goes, he's going to have lots of friends.

Sometime later, back in Denver, Bart is playing a Superman video game when Jay and Joan get back from an appointment with some real doctors. They've found that she does have a form of leukemia, but it's highly treatable. They're also happy to learn that Rival wasn't able to cause too much harm during his stint as their "doctor." Bart gives Joan a big hug, then Jay joins him in his video games while Joan prepares dinner. And in the final panel of Impulse, Dox the dog turns to the reader and thinks, "Thanks to everyone out there who've been such a big part of our family!! See ya in the funny papers!"



It seems like Todd Dezago had a lot of loose ends to tie up and not quite enough time to do it. The side story of Max detecting a disturbance in the Speed Force began in issue #80. So it was good to finally find out what that was all about. Although it seems highly improbable that the Rogues would have had the ability to contact Rival in the Speed Force to arrange for him to take out Max and distract Jay without letting any of the other Speed Force entities such as Barry Allen or Johnny Quick know what was happening. And if these Rogues had so meticulously planned out this grand scheme against Wally, then why didn't they also plan for Impulse? It is nice to occasionally know why certain heroes are unable to help out, but it said excuses have to make sense. Besides, if Wally really was in such peril, then why didn't Jay and Bart go back to help him after Rival escaped?

So much of this issue revolved around watching Jay lose his cool and nearly kill Rival. Sadly, I had little to no emotional investment in this. I don't know who Rival is, and even though Jay has always been around, he hasn't exactly been a big part of Impulse. Right after Bart moved in with Jay, World Without Young Justice happened, followed by a two-issue epilogue and another issue detailing an adventure in the future. So all things considered, we did not get to see one minute of Bart living with the Garricks before this issue.

One other loose end that had to be tied up was bringing Carol back home. The only thing worse than taking her to the future would have been leaving her there. And as sad as it was, it really was the right decision to have Bart and Carol depart as friends. This may have been some incredible foresight by Dezago, knowing that with Impulse's own series being canceled, there was no way that Carol would even be mentioned in any other comic. And I'm sad to say that this was exactly what happened. This was the final appearance of Carol Bucklen in all of DC comics. Although we'll be able to follow Bart's adventures for a few more years, we'll never see Carol, Helen, or any of our friends from Manchester, Alabama, ever again. This is sad for many reasons, including the dropped plot line of Evil Eye discovering Bart's secret identity. He clearly wrote a note to Bart and snuck it into his box of mementos, but Dezago never had time to follow up on it.

Speaking of unfollowed plot lines, don't expect a satisfying conclusion to Max's story arc. It's almost as frustrating as watching Bart and Jay stand idly by as Rival very slowly escaped, not even considering having Bart create a scout to go back five seconds to stop him. I'm also deeply saddened that Dezago didn't have a chance to bring back Inertia. Bart's greatest enemy will eventually return, but ... it won't be very good.

Now I guess it's time to talk about why Impulse got canceled. First and foremost, I think Impulse was a victim of the times. Blame it on 9/11, general shifts in early 2000s culture, changing leadership at DC, whatever, but by 2002, there just wasn't much of a market for light, funny comics like Superboy, Impulse and even Young Justice. At least that's what the higher-ups at DC felt. It's true that Impulse's sales numbers had been on a steady decline since Mark Waid and Humberto Ramos left the book, but how much of that is the fault of the book's creators?

Editor L.A. Williams was fired after issue #67, and the series took a noticeable dive afterward. Dezago's stories seemed crisper and cleaner under Williams. There were fewer plot holes and significant actions taking place off page. But what really plagued the Joey Cavalieri era was the constant stream of editorial mandates. According to Dezago in several interviews, Cavalieri did a great job of fighting for Dezago. It was the people above him (the same people who fired L.A. Williams) who demanded that Impulse get a girlfriend, get new powers and get magic powers. Dezago didn't want to do any of those things, and I think it showed.

Equally problematic were the frequent crossover events, constantly interrupting the flow of Dezago's narrative. Since issue #67, Impulse was involved in Circle of Fire, Our Worlds at War, Last Laugh and World Without Young Justice. Conversely, Impulse's appearances in other books also dropped off. When Geoff Johns took over The Flash, he simply stopped including Impulse in any and all of his stories. And after Our Worlds at War, Impulse quit Young Justice and didn't return until after his own series was canceled. This surely had to hurt sales. I've seen so many letters to the editor of readers saying they became hooked on Impulse through The Flash or Young Justice. Take those books out of the equation and you're going to have a hard time attracting new readers.

I wonder what this book would have looked like had Dezago not been forced to pair up Bart and Carol and give Bart a new power. Both those things happened in the disastrous Dark Tomorrow storyline, where Dezago seemed to think the best course of action for Bart's girlfriend was to stash her far away where we'd never see her again. But even worse was Bart's new power, which was unfathomably powerful. I'll admit it was kind of fun with Bart's scouts constantly calling Bart "boss" against his wishes. And Our Worlds at War and World Without Young Justice did explore some interesting aspects of this power. But at the end of the day, giving Bart the ability to solve virtually any problem instantaneously is not a good idea. Because it becomes a glaring issue whenever Bart fails to utilize this power to save the day — like at the end of this issue.

The final Impulsive Reactions sadly does not have a farewell message from Dezago, Barberi, or any of the other creators. All we get is a brief note from Joey Cavalieri, confirming that this is the final issue of Impulse and saying that he shares the fans' feelings of disappointment and anger.

David A. Steel thanks everyone involved with Impulse. He says after one of the worst days in his life, he received an unexpected pickup by watching two of his favorite characters — Max Mercury and the Phantom Stranger — team up to save the day.

RickShaw1 likes how we got to see Helen again before the end and let Impulse get wild for a bit. He enjoyed Barberi utilizing different styles of art to show the happy, friendlier version of the Justice League. But Rick feels like DC should have given Dezago the chance to write a series of wrap-up stories to end Impulse. Cavalieri says he kept asking for "one more issue" to ensure the book went as far as it did. (I think DC should have let the book reach issue #90. Eighty-nine is an odd number to leave off on.)

Havk felt the last few issues were rushed, pointing specifically to the limited amount of time Bart got to spend with his entire family that was all brought together in place for the one and only time in DC comics history. Cavalieri acknowledges this complaint, but also admits that the pacing at the end was partly intentional. After receiving complaints about dawdling too much on past storylines, they decided to bring some velocity to their final stories about this young speedster.

Corndog7 loved the scene with the cartoony Justice League and Robin's "Bat termites." He also felt the story was rushed, but says it's understandable with the end of the series approaching.

Anthony O'Brien enjoyed the brief family reunion, the surprise appearance of the Phantom Stranger, and Impulse's purple suit, which bore resemblance to the suits of Bart's grandfather and father. Cavalieri ends everything by encouraging readers to follow him on The Flash.

Next time, we'll heed that advice and check out a quick Impulse cameo in The Flash #189.

Impulse #88

Running Out of Time

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

This issue's cover: Bart gets a good reception, thanks to Carlo Barberi and Wayne Faucher. I'm not the biggest fan of this cover. It's a pretty cheap joke presented in a rather vague and boring manner. It's just a crowd of people pointing at three gigantic TVs sitting in an empty void of nothingness. Surely there were more interesting ways to show what this issue is about. Maybe I'm just grumpy because this is the second-to-last issue of Impulse.

Our story begins in the 63rd century, where Carol Bucklen and Meloni Allen have been captured by an alien race called the Doocers and imprisoned on the eighth moon of Korpor and forced to compete in dangerous challenges on a reality TV show. Today's challenge involves them using hover boards to run away from green alien lions. But the hover boards are running out of juice, and Carol and Meloni have been chased to the edge of a cliff. Just when all hope seems lost, Impulse's scout arrives and takes Carol and Meloni up to higher ground. As the scout ties up the lions, he tries to tell Carol that history has been fixed and it's safe for her to come back to the year 2002. But as he's busy, Carol and Meloni mysteriously vanish.

The scout sadly returns home empty-handed and receives a lecture from the real Bart. But "Scouty" (as Bart calls him) explains that it took him a long time to track down Carol and Meloni, and that he needed to come back to recharge. Bart then realizes that Scouty was followed back home, as a spherical time machine suddenly appears, bearing a message that reads: "Come and visit the glamorous and relaxing 63rd century!! You deserve it!! We'll treat you like a king!!" Without much thought, Bart tells Scouty to get in. With even less thought, Scouty jumps into the time machine, eager to start the next adventure. Bart says he meant for Scouty to merge with him, then complains that he even drives himself crazy, as he climbs into the time machine and disappears with a "FWINK!"

Bart arrives in the 63rd century, and it immediately greeted by a large group of grey aliens. They place a collar around his neck that translates their Gungalac to English, and they lead Bart to a huge celebration feast. Bart politely follows them, but he's too surprised by this star treatment to realize anything sinister happening. Until one of the servant robots drops a tray of food and Bart tries to catch all the food with super speed, but finds he's lost his powers. The aliens explain that Bart's collar not only translates languages, but also has the ability to cut off his connection to the Speed Force when the aliens choose. And to make matters worse, Bart will be unable to vibrate out of the collar, even when his powers are turned on.

Bart is then thrown in his cell, which has a massive video screen as one of the walls. Carol and Meloni appear on the screen, telling Bart that he'll be given a chance to "save" them tomorrow. But Carol gets cut off right when she tries to say that they're being held as slaves. All of this was broadcast to a race of white, fluffy aliens called the Soomars, who are excited that their show has gained a new hero.

We then return to the present day at the Cantele Research Center in Denver, Colorado. Jay and Joan Garrick are meeting with Dr. Lateris, who informs Joan that in order to stop her cancer from spreading, they'll have to perform more surgeries to implant internal combatant devices. Jay is hoping they can find a non-invasive procedure to try, but Joan is tired of the treatments. She says she's had enough and wants to just go back to Keystone City now and spend her last days with her friends and family. Dr. Lateris shouts out, "No! You can't!" before catching himself and saying he strongly recommends that Joan stay in Denver a bit longer so they can run some more tests. Jay, however, starts to grow suspicious.

Back in the 63rd century, Impulse begins his first day on the Doocers' reality show. He is shown an image of Carol chained up and surrounded by bio-mech serpents over the Peril Pits of Xover. Bart's collar turns his powers on, and he circles the moon three times before finally finding Carol 13 seconds later. He easily avoids all the mechanical serpents, but as soon as he reaches Carol's platform, she disappears.

The next six days follow the same pattern. Bart is placed in a new, wacky environment (one is underwater, one is in the Wild West) and each time his mother or girlfriend disappears right before he's able to save them. During another video call with Carol and Meloni, they all lament how even though Bart keeps winning the challenges, the Doocers never deliver them their promised freedom. They realize they're doomed to keep repeating this process as long as the Doocers keep getting good ratings on their show. Bart laments the fact that he hasn't thought up an escape plan yet, but his mom assures him something will turn up.

Meanwhile, three producers are discussing the new Impulse show in the Doocer programming office. The ratings are through the roof, but there is some talk that viewers are beginning to feel the show isn't being fair to Impulse and his family. The president, however, dismisses these concerns and demands the show become bigger, better and more spectacular. Back in Carol and Meloni's cell, Meloni reveals that the reason Bart is never able to save them is because they're never in the same area as him. What Bart is seeing is only holograms of the "damsels in distress." Apparently, everything the Doocers do is with holograms, from the different environments, to the threatening monsters, which are robots covered in dense light projections. And somehow, someway, Meloni was able to steal a hologram projector.

The next day, before the Impulse show can begin, a Doocer comes running into the programming office, warning everyone that somehow they've lost control of all their robots and creatures, which are now stampeding toward them. They consider sending in their guard, but one of them points out that the guard has no experience with something like this, and they'd surely be killed by these rampaging robots. So they decide to send in someone who has consistently defeated these robots — Impulse.

So the Doocers broadcast this massive battle, billing it as the final challenge to free Carol and Meloni.  As Impulse battles various aliens and evil robot clowns, the Doocers begin to debate whether they'll actually be able to make good on their promise of freedom this time. One of them points out that the Soomars are growing restless and angry watching Impulse being jerked around from one stupid gimmick to another.

Suddenly, a Doocer reports that Meloni is missing and the real Carol is in the cage Impulse is racing toward, not a hologram. Fearing this to be an escape plan, the Doocers turn off Bart's collar. Carol's cage is guarded by the green lions from earlier, but Bart is still able to defeat them without his speed by using a carefully timed jump to cause the two lions to collide into each other. Rushing to protect their ratings, the Doocers send in their guard to arrest the powerless Impulse before he can get Carol out of the cage. As Bart is led away, he tells the Doocers he will no longer act as their "pet hero." And to the Soomars, Bart tells them to not let other people tell them what to watch, buy or like. "You're free to choose for yourselves! Tell them what you want — and make them listen!"

Bart turns to assure Carol that he'll find a way to save her, but she suddenly disappears. One of the guards then reveals herself to be Carol, and she blasts the other guard with an electric shock. And in the programming office, one of the Doocers reveals herself to be Meloni, who holds all the executives at bay with a large rifle. Carol leads Bart to a hidden time machine, and Meloni calls them up, saying she's neutralized their collars and she's going to stay behind to make sure the Doocers don't follow them. Bart starts to protest this, but Meloni says, "We always find a way, don't we Sunshine ... ? I'll be fine." And with that, Bart and Carol leave the 63rd century.

Back in 2002, Jay returns to Dr. Lateris' office. He angrily says that when he first learned Joan had cancer, he didn't take the time to thoroughly look at the doctor that came so highly recommended. But now he has, discovering that Dr. Lateris has seemingly appeared out of nowhere with a falsified resumé. As Jay demands to know why this fraud has been treating his wife, the doctor transforms into a being of purple energy with the same helmet Jay wears and an upside-down lightning bolt on his chest. Jay instantly recognizes his age-old nemesis, Rival.


This issue probably would have been better served split into two or three separate issues. We barely got to see the different trials the reality show put Impulse through, we didn't see how Meloni stole that hologram projector or how she and Carol escaped their cell and strategically put themselves in the right place at the right time, and the Jay Garrick story is feeling very rushed. I guess that's what happens when you only have one more issue to wrap everything up with. I also don't know if this was a deadlines thing or what, but this is the fifth consecutive issue with a different inker. Most of them did a decent job, but Terry Austin had a very different, inconsistent style. In some cases, it almost didn't even look like Carlo Barberi's pencils anymore.

Putting all those frustrations aside, I thought this issue made an interesting commentary on the entertainment industry. When characters are constantly put through one gimmick after another, fans start to get frustrated. And when the producers ignore fans' complaints and assume they know the fans' desires better than they do, then things start to fall apart. But on the other hand, fans have the responsibility to let the producers know what they want. They need to vote with both their voices and their wallets. And this is an evergreen lesson that constantly needs to be repeated.

Impulsive Reactions begins with Joey Cavalieri publicly announcing that Impulse will cease publication with the next issue.

Jeffrey says there aren't enough books out there that younger kids can read. Most comics are too violent or complicated for 5- to 10-year-olds, and Jeffrey has enjoyed being able to read Impulse with his nieces and nephews. He says DC is making a big mistake by cancelling Impulse and Superboy, since both books had the potential to develop lifelong fans starting at a young age.

Kryptonotes has been a fan since the first issue and is really sad to see Impulse get the axe. Kryptonotes did like seeing Bart in the Kid Flash uniform in World Without Young Justice, and offers the suggestion of starting a new Kid Flash series, carrying over Dezago and Barberi. Kryptonotes thinks it could be a good series if it focuses on Bart's new relationship with Jay, and manages to avoid "crossover hell."

Morgan the Raider thinks Bart living with the Garricks would make for some great stories, if we get the chance to see some.

Real Life Superman complains that his local comic shop had stopped ordering Impulse because of low sales.

Josiah Power notes how weird it is for a store to not order all the titles involved in the World Without Young Justice crossover.

Corndog7 liked the gag with Bedlam's hammer, and he laughed at Wally's old costume fitting Bart like a glove, noting that Wally must have also had big feet as a kid.

BartAllen12 hopes the news of Impulse's cancellation was just a dream. He says it's a shame that the series will end after Bart went through so much development.

Next issue: Impulse: The conclusion! (I hate to write that!)

Young Justice #47

Fighting Maad Part One: M.I.A.

Peter David – Writer
Todd Nauck – Penciller
Lary Stucker – Inker
Ken Lopez – Letterer
Jason Wright – Colors
Digital Chameleon – Separations
Tom Palmer, Jr. – Assistant Editor
Eddie Berganza – Editor

Our cover by Nauck and Stucker is actually a rather odd one. And since Impulse doesn't appear in this story, the cover is all we're going to talk about today. First, the composition. The background is extremely vague — nonsensical even — showing a generic computer-generated house tilted at a bizarre angel. And sitting on top of this background, with no regard or relation to what's behind them, are the four biggest stars of Young Justice, frozen in rather bland poses. Don't get me wrong, Nauck has drawn them all wonderfully. They just look like something you'd see on a box of macaroni and cheese or fruit snacks. However, I do believe there was a method to this madness, but to explain that, I need to provide some background.

Since Impulse left Young Justice, there were two issues that I strongly considered reviewing, but decided not to, as Impulse technically wasn't in them. One of them focused on Secret, showing us that she really is Greta Hayes, younger sister of Billy Hayes, who killed her in his process of becoming Harm. During a flashback, Greta's dolls transformed into Young Justice dolls. In the end, I figured an Impulse doll isn't a compelling enough reason for a full review.

The other issue had an even weaker reason to be reviewed. It announced the arrival of the Ray to the team, showing him shredding the costumes of Impulse and Robin. I only mention this because of the significance of Ray joining Young Justice. At 19 years old (and incredibly powerful), he immediately began arguing that he should be the leader of the team. After World Without Young Justice, Robin rejoined the team. He explained that the main source of conflict before was his secret identity, but since Bedlam kind of exposed that, he's ready to come back with no hard feelings. However, Robin assumed he'd naturally resume his leadership role, not realizing his absence created a power struggle between Wonder Girl, Superboy and the Ray.

In real life, Peter David set this all up with an actual vote for readers to choose the leader. In the comics, Robin, Wonder Girl, Superboy and the Ray overwhelmed the few remaining members of Young Justice by begging for their votes. This included Cissie and Traya, but, sadly, not Impulse, who did not follow Robin's lead of rejoining the team after the fight with Bedlam. (You'd think somebody would have called Bart.) Since it took a while for the votes in real life to be counted, the first couple of issues after this "election" had the occasional panel where somebody would mention the "fearless leader," but we wouldn't see exactly who they were talking to. It's only natural that Nauck wouldn't have been able to change the panels in time to show who won the election. But I think he did have that ability with this cover.

According to Eddie Berganza, Wonder Girl won with 35% of the vote, just edging Robin's 32%. Superboy picked up 15%, the Ray earned a measly 8%, with the remaining 10% going to Impulse, even though he wasn't even on the team. Berganza attributed Impulse's and Superboy's votes to fan sympathy, since their individual titles were both facing cancellation. I think Berganza (and DC as a whole) overlooked Impulse's fanbase.

Anyway, I believe that David and Nauck knew that issue #47 would come out after the vote results came in, so he created these generic, interchangeable poses for the top candidates. Had Robin won, it would have been an easy Photoshop trick to put him in the middle, slightly larger than his teammates, and next to the words, "Follow the Leader!" Keep in mind, this is just my pure speculation — I don't have any inside information — but this does make the most sense to me. But what I find odd is Impulse's inclusion here instead of the Ray. Was that because Impulse technically earned more votes than Ray? That may be the case, but it feels a bit misleading, because Impulse is still a couple of issues away from actually coming back to Young Justice.

And thus ends perhaps my longest review of a cover. The story is interesting, as it finally brings back the bad guy we saw at the Australia Games way back when. The Baron, who had killed Anita's mom, is now wrapping up the job by going after Anita's dad, Agent Donald Fite. It is compelling stuff, but, alas, Impulse is not involved, so we'll leave it at that.

There aren't any letters to the editor for this issue, so we'll head straight to the ads:

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The new, more powerful Gundams. Careful where you build them.

Toonami DC sweepstakes, with prizes including a Frank Miller-autographed DK2 collection.

Another contest, this one from MAD magazine, offering CDs, shirts, and toilet paper.

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Next time, Bart will try to save Carol in the ... sigh ... penultimate issue of Impulse!

Impulse #87

Crisis on Impulse's Earth Part Two

Magically brought to you by:
Todd Dezago Writer
Carlo Barberi Penciller
Greg Adams Inker
Janice Chiang Letterer
Tom McCraw Colorist
Digital Chameleon Separations
Joey Cavalieri Editor
Impulse created by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo

Our cover by Carlo Barberi and Wayne Faucher shows Impulse running past ... comic book panels(?) ... showing all the chaos he's caused with Bedlam's powers. It is pretty funny, but I'm incredibly distracted by that random green-and-yellow beachball right in front of Bart. Where did it come from? Why is it there? Is it covering up a mistake Barberi made? Or is it even a beach ball at all? Maybe it's an umbrella that Bart is opening while he stands ... next to the panel showing a hurricane. Either way, it just doesn't work for me.

Our story begins with the Phantom Stranger talking to Max Mercury, using his crystal ball to show Max (and the readers) exactly how Bart got his new powers and what he's done with them. This two-page recap shows some new details, such as Impulse's scout leaping above the comatose Matthew Stuart in his hospital bed to intercept the Bedlam energy, and the super-powered Impulse fighting Captain Cold.

After finishing his story, the Phantom Stranger once again pleads his case to the powers-that-be, the Quintessence — Zeus, Highfather, Shazam and Ganthet. Shazam once again turns him down, saying the Quintessence does its best to not interfere with mankind. Max steps forward, saying that Bart is simply not capable of wielding the most powerful magic in the universe.

We then check in with Bart, who's hanging out with Dox, Carol and Preston at his castle. Preston loves Bart's new costume with the lightning bolt, and Bart says he considered putting a lightning bolt on his forehead. Carol says that would have been copyright infringement, and Preston, calling her Hermione, tells her to shut up. Bart then gets serious, saying he needs to focus on fixing some of the problems he's inadvertently caused, such as the weather calamities, the water wars, the ruined petroleum industry and the dog rebellion.

Carol has been keeping track of everything on a notebook, and regretfully informs Bart of even more problems he's caused. A lot of farmers have been put out of work since Bart banned asparagus. By saving the whales, the food chain has been messed up. By fixing the hole in the ozone layer, a new ice age has been triggered. And before Carol can explain the side effects of a world without mosquitos, Bart angrily interrupts her. With his eyes glowing purple, he menacingly threatens to make Carol and her notebook disappear. Bart quickly calms down, says he was just kidding, and walks away, while Preston and Carol hold each other in fear.

A short while later, Bart is approached by his dad and his Aunt Dawn. They tell Bart they're thrilled to be living with him, but they're worried about the time stream. In their future, they died fighting the Dominators, and now they wonder if their removal from that battle has inadvertently doomed mankind to that hostile alien race. Bart's grandpa, Barry, also has a similar concern. He died in the past, fighting the Anti-Monitor. So he asks Bart if his magic fixed the problems that would have been caused by this change in history, or if they're just waiting for those problems to catch up with them. Bart hasn't considered any of these things, and he quickly becomes emotional. With glowing purple eyes, he shouts at his family to leave him alone. Max and the Phantom Stranger observe that when Bart becomes confused, the Bedlam magic "asserts" itself.

Bart then angrily creates a dozen purple scouts, simply telling them to "fix it all." Barry kindly asks Bart to calm down, saying they just want to help. But Bart's eyes are still glowing, and he insists his scouts are going to fix everything. The scouts then all return at the same time, and Bart sadly falls to his knees, realizing he's created too many problems with too many timelines to follow. As tears roll down his cheeks, Barry puts a hand on Bart's shoulder, suggesting they talk to some of the other magical heroes. Bart does not like the sound of that, though, insinuating that they just want to take his magic away. He puts Barry, Don and Dawn in purple bubbles, then angrily turns on Carol. He shouts at her for ruining everything by thinking about the consequences. But before he does anything to her, the Phantom Stranger and Max show up and teleport Bart away.

Instead of taking Bart back to Limbo, the Phantom Stranger brings him to the Speed Force, explaining that his magicks won't be able to harm anyone or any other reality from here. Bart protests that he wouldn't hurt anyone, but the Phantom Stranger points out that his irresponsible use of his powers has irrevocable consequences. Max tells Bart he knows he's just trying to fix things, but he's really just making things worse. He tells Bart that he shouldn't have these powers, since they're too much for anyone to handle. Bart sadly says that Max doesn't think he's good enough, then, with glowing eyes, he angrily accuses them of trying to steal his powers. He turns and attacks Phantom Stranger and Max with a blast of purple energy. Phantom Stranger is able to counter this attack, and he warns Bart to surrender the powers or have them forcibly taken, which could leave him injured ... or worse.

Max can't counter Bart's spell, but he is able to outrun it, reasoning with Bart all the while. Max warns Bart that if he continues using this magic, he'll become a villain, responsible for wars, disasters and death. Max tells Bart he knows him to be kind, considerate and caring, devoting his life to helping people and doing the right thing. He reminds Bart that he comes from a long line of heroes, and they're all so proud of him. Max tells Bart he's proud of him, too, at which Bart starts to come to his senses. Bart realizes this isn't him, and he begins to ask for help. But the Bedlam magic forms into a vicious version of Impulse, which yells at Bart to obliterate Max and the Phantom Stranger.

The Phantom Stranger pulls out a glass container, similar to the device the Bedlam magic was encased in when Matthew Stuart first acquired it. Phantom Stranger urges Bart to surrender his powers, explaining that if he does, then everything will go back to the way it was before and everyone will forget any of this ever happened. Bart doesn't like the idea of losing Max, Carol, his dad, his aunt and his grandpa again, and this internal struggle causes Bedlam to briefly take control again.

Max and the Phantom Stranger keep encouraging Bart to fight back, and as he does, a wave of purple energy freezes the two of them in time. Bart did this intentionally, saying he needed to do one last thing before giving up these powers forever. He creates a scout, which leaves the Speed Force, quickly returns, places something in the Phantom Stranger's pocket, then merges back with Bart. Bart writes a note on his hand, telling him to look in the Stranger's pocket, then he unfreezes time, surrendering his power to the Phantom Stranger. All the purple Bedlam magic flows into the glass container, and Max begins to fade away.

As the Phantom Stranger closes the talisman, he and Bart appear in an empty field. Bart, now in his regular red Impulse uniform, wonders who the Phantom Stranger is and how they got to this field. The Phantom Stranger declines to tell Bart what happened, but as he puts the talisman away, he discovers a notebook in his cloak. Bart sees the note on his hand and he realizes that the notebook is his, which he takes and quickly runs away with, leaving a confused Phantom Stranger behind.

Bart then flips through the notebook, recognizing Carol's handwriting. He's confused about the notes on talking dogs and flying cars, but then he finds a reference to the future and realizes that this must be where Carol is. Bart creates a scout, has it note the time and place in notebook, then sends it off to find his girlfriend.


I'm happy with the conclusion of this story. In what is sadly Max Mercury's final major interaction with Bart, he literally saved all reality. Hard to top that. I really liked the concept of a well-intentioned, yet misguided ultimate power threatening reality. It would have been fun to spend some more time in Impulse's world, perhaps even as a DC-wide crossover. In any case, it would have been nice to see more of the problems Bart caused, rather than simply be told about them.

I'm not sure whether the Quintessence granted the Phantom Stranger permission to interfere or if he just went off on his own. If the latter is true, then what was the point of including the Quintessence at all? I'm also not sure how the Phantom Stranger conveniently acquired a talisman that could contain the Bedlam magic. But I did like Bart's struggle at the end, and how he was not only able to overpower Bedlam, but also come up with a clever plan to allow himself to find Carol after reality had been reset. This issue also had some really nice art, beside one bizarre flashback page, where colorist Tom McCraw inexplicably failed to recognize Empress and just left her completely white.

Once again, we're missing the Impulsive Reactions. So let's check out the new ads:

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Next time, we begin September 2002, where Impulse will appear on the cover only of Young Justice #47.

JSA #37

Stealing Thunder Part 5 of 5: Crossing Over

David Goyer & Geoff Johns Writers
Leonard Kirk Penciller
Keith Champagne Inker
John Kalisz Colors
Heroic Age Separations
Ken Lopez Letterer
Stephen Wacker Associate Editor
Peter Tomasi Editor

Our cover shows Sentinel, Jay Garrick, Captain Marvel and the Star-Spangled Kid mournfully looking on as Jakeem Thunder tries to save the dying Johnny Thunder. It is an interesting image, but not one that appeals to me emotionally. Perhaps it would mean more had I been reading JSA, but as it is, I'm not too worried about whether Johnny Thunder will live or die. I mean, he is probably in his late 80s by this point, at least.

We pick up where last issue left off, with Captain Marvel having stabbed the Ultra-Humanite with a lightning rod to release the Thunderbolt genie. This caused a big explosion, and at the bottom of a crater lies Johnny Thunder's dying body. Mr. Terrific asks the Flash to find the Ultra-Humanite's brain, and Wally, Jay, Jesse and Bart very quickly locate the villain's hideout.

But instead of sticking around to help, our favorite speedsters apparently just go home after this. Sand follows their directions to the Ultra-Humanite, who is just a brain in a jar, surrounded by equipment that seems to be creating white gorillas for him. Icicle shows up, intent on killing the villain. As Sand tries to stop him, the Crimson Avenger arrives and shoots the brain. But this "shocking" turn may be undone by what happens next.

Johnny Thunder dies in Jakeem's arms, just like on the cover, but Jakeem is able to preserve Johnny's soul by combining it with the Thunderbolt genie. So now Jakeem's genie, which lives in his pen and responds to the magic words, "So cool," looks and acts like Johnny. After a bit of rule-explaining, Jakeem makes a wish to undo all the wishes the Ultra-Humanite made. This wish works perfectly and brings everything back to normal.


And that's it. Once again, I really don't have a whole lot to say about this story, especially since Impulse once again only appeared in one panel. This story was a fairly interesting alternate reality scenario that virtually involved every DC character imaginable. Of course, the problem with using so many characters is that you get a lot of characters like Impulse, who barely make an appearance in one panel each issue. I also felt this story did a poor job of explaining why certain heroes remained free in the Ultra-Humanite-controlled world, while most of them were captured. And the whole scene of Ultra-Humanite's death was rendered completely pointless, as all of reality was rewritten soon after. It also strikes me odd at how this story came out at the same time of World Without Young Justice, which shared so many similarities.

Next time, we'll wrap ups Bart's reign with near-unlimited magic powers in Impulse #87.

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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Rice Krispies, Cocoa Rice Krispies and Rice Krispies Treats. (The last one was an amazing achievement in the world of cereal.)

Watch out — here comes Spider-Man Pop-Tarts.

We added a little attitude. And a lot of creamy taste. Oreo O's. (Another outstanding achievement in cereal.)

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.