The Flash Secret Files and Origins 2010 #1

Running to the Past

Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Scott Kolins
Colors: Michael Atiyeh
Letters: Rob Clark Jr.
Cover: Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato
Editors: Adam Schlagman & Eddie Berganza

Our cover is a simple, yet effective shot of Barry Allen turning into the Flash. As I've said before, I absolutely love Manapul's style, so I cherish every chance I get to post some of his work on this blog. I'm a little let down by Barry's grumpy face here, but at least he doesn't look evil like Ethan Van Sciver would draw. I took this image from dc.fandom.com since DC hasn't digitized this issue yet, which really surprises me.

Unlike previous Secret Files and Origins issue, this is not an oversized issue with one main story, several backup stories and a bunch of profile pages and timelines. This issue only has one story and a handful of profile pages. And everything about this issue is setting up the new monthly Flash series by Johns and Manapul. So the Rogues each got an individual profile page, but the Flash family all got crammed together, given minuscule blurbs that don't say anything we don't already know. It's hinted that Max Mercury might travel through time again, but nothing will come of that. And it says that Bart will soon join the Teen Titans, which seemed pretty obvious. So we'll only be dealing with the main story here.

Barry has a nightmare where he's a little kid getting picked on by bullies. His mom takes him to the comic shop to cheer him up, but she suddenly disappears right before his eyes. Barry wakes up at 3:05 a.m., and doesn't want to wake his wife, Iris, so he begins puttering around the house, but no time has passed. He eventually throws on his Flash uniform and runs out to his childhood house, which is abandoned and in disrepair. Barry remembers the fateful day of coming home to find his mother dead and lying in a pool of her own blood. Suddenly, Jay Garrick shows up at the house.

Jay says he was somehow drawn to Barry, able to feel his distress through the Speed Force. Barry laments that he's not as adept at time travel as Eobard Thawne, explaining that every time he tried to go back in time to change history, he ended up centuries off course or in a parallel world. Jay urges Barry to focus on the present and the future, and reminds Barry that he's not alone. Right on cue, they're joined by Jesse Quick, Bart Allen, Wally and Irey West and Max Mercury. Bart says he doesn't know why they're all here, and he asks if everything is OK. Barry gladly gives them all a big hug and tells them everything's going to be great. He then returns home and falls asleep next to his wife at 3:06 a.m.

At 3:07 a.m., the Rogues have broken into Sam Scudder's old glass factory five miles outside of Central City. Captain Cold leads them to Sam's old contingency plan — a massive mirror labeled "In case the Flash returns break glass." Trickster eagerly asks, "So ... are we gonna break it or what?"




I don't really much to say about this issue. It's your usual Johns-Kolins collaboration on the Flash, so you know it's a well-put-together comic book. I do think it's a bit odd, however, how all the speedsters were drawn to Barry just because he was feeling slightly upset. On one hand, it's kind of sweet to think of the Flash family being able to sense when one of their own is distressed. But on the other hand, this has never happened before or since. And I'm kind of glad for that. It would be kind of ridiculous for the entire Flash family to constantly show up for every little conflict, fight and moment of self doubt.

And in one year, Barry will completely ignore this heart-warming moment and go against all better judgment to run back in time to try to save his mom from Eobard Thawne, creating Flashpoint. In more ways than one, this little story will quickly be completely negated. So it kind of makes this whole comic completely pointless.

Next time, we'll see Kid Flash and Superboy finally return to the Teen Titans.

Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files & Origins 2005

I Am Donna Troy

Adam Beechen Story
Darryl Banks Pencils
Sean Parsons Inks
Sno Cone Colors
Nick J Napolitano Letterer

Cover art by Tony S. Daniel and Marlo Alquiza, color by Chris Blythe. Now that Donna Troy is back (mostly) it's time for another Secret Files & Origins issue to update everybody on the new status quo. This is the second Secret Files issue for the Teen Titans and Outsiders, but instead of calling it issue #2, DC chose to just use the year 2005 to distinguish it. The cover features Donna, front and center, with everybody else standing around somberly behind her. I'm not sure why everyone is so serious. These Secret Files covers also usually included a few text blurbs teasing the various contents inside, but this time, DC merely listed almost every single person who worked on this issue. And in this case, it is true that the creators themselves are more interesting than the actual content here.

Our opening story picks up where we left Donna Troy — the sole inhabitant of the tiny world New Cronus and possessor of the Harbinger Orb, which can basically show her anything and everything. The orb has given Donna a startling vision of the upcoming crisis, so she is slowly steering New Cronus back to Earth to warn the others. This is a very slow and long trip, even thought the Teen Titans, Outsiders and Wonder Woman were all able to travel there very quickly. Anyway, as distressed as Donna is, she chooses to spend her time reviewing the key moments from her oh-so-confusing life. (I'd imagine she needs to do this on a regular basis to keep everything straight.)

After briefly looking at her time spent with the original Teen Titans, Donna spends some time on her death at the hands of a Superman robot, and the subsequent formation of the new Outsiders and Teen Titans.

Donna feels guilty about dragging her friends back into another crisis, but she presses forward anyway. Slowly, but surely. (Seriously, though! Is there no faster way for Donna to warn everyone about Infinite Crisis!)


The main story is a sprawling adventure that apparently happened two months ago involving half the Teen Titans and half the Outsiders. But Kid Flash was not included, nor did he receive a profile page in this issue. But he did make a very brief appearance in one of the other side stories.

Secrets

Nunzio Defilippis & Christina Weir – Writers
Todd Nauck – Penciller
Ray Snyder – Inker
SnoCone – Colorist
Nick J. Napolitano – Letterer

This story takes place in San Francisco two weeks ago. Cassie has invited her old friend Cissie over to discuss the recent revelation that her father is Zeus. Cassie says she told Conner about this, and to her dismay, Conner believes Cassie's mom and Wonder Woman made the right call in concealing the truth from her. Now Cassie worries that if she tells the rest of the Titans, they'll treat her differently. Cissie sagely points out that Cassie is crazy to think this, saying that this new doesn't change anything.

As they argue in a park across the bay from Titans Tower, the girls stumble upon the super villains Multiplex and Hyena, plotting an ill-conceived attack on the tower to prove to the Society that they're more than C-listers. Cissie offers to help Cassie take down the ambitious villains, but Wonder Girl reminds her that Arrowette is retired, so she vows to handle this alone.

Wonder Girl quickly knocks out Hyena with a single punch, but Multiplex, and his ability to create duplicates of himself, is a different story. Cissie rushes in to help, but Wonder Girl flies her away. Cassie then manages to wrap her lasso around all the Multiplex clones and electrocutes them until only the original is left unconscious.

As the police head over to pick up the villains, Cassie asks Cissie if she wants to come with her to tell the Titans about her dad, but Cissie declines. She says the Titans are Cassie's family. Cissie says she's already provided all the emotional support Cassie needed, and she offers to get something to eat with her after her big talk. So Cassie flies over to the tower and tells them all they need to talk. But Robin says Conner has something he needs to tell them first. And coming down the stairs behind all our heroes is the bald, brainwashed Superboy.

Todd Nauck is back! Well, sort of. But I'll gladly take what I can get from him. Unfortunately, this story does not fit in at all with what happened in Teen Titans. Geoff Johns clearly didn't know Zeus was Wonder Girl's father. Otherwise things would have played out very differently. And as great as it was to see Cissie again, I don't like how she kept trying to break her solemn vow of no longer being a superhero, or how she refused to see the other Titans. Cissie doesn't want to say hi to Bart, Tim and Conner?

Between Nauck and Daniel, this Secret Files issue had better art than usual. Unfortunately, the stories were more forgettable than usual. Of course, I'm mainly saying that because Bart Allen only stood around silently in the background of two panels. But I really didn't like Donna's complete lack of urgency with the impending crisis, and the revisionist history with Cassie and Cissie. Well, guess I should stop whining and check out some advertisements, since I do happen to have the physical copy of this comic.

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GameRiot video game expo and competition.

Has the stupidity of life got you down! It's time to get MAD magazine.

Back at full power! Green Lantern Corps Recharge. Written by Wizard Top Ten Creator Geoff Johns & Comics Legend Dave Gibbons.

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Superman/Shazam! First Thunder.

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Next time, we'll wrap up the Geoff Johns era on The Flash.

Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files & Origins

A Day After ...

Judd Winick & Geoff Johns – Writers
Ivan Reis & Carlo Barberi – Pencillers
Marc Campos & Norm Rapmund – Inkers
Nick Napolitano – Letterer
Sno Cone – Colorist

Cover art by Tom Raney, Scott Hanna, Mike McKone and Lary Stucker, colored by Gina Going. Three different pencillers on one cover is a bad idea. This looks more like a collage than a single, unified image. But what really confuses me is the location. Are the Teen Titans and Outsiders at a dance club? And if so, why? Everything about this cover is just really perplexing and disappointing.

Our story begins with the conclusion of Graduation Day. Wonder Girl is walking away from Superboy and Robin, angrily telling them that they'll never learn enough as Young Justice. And Nightwing is stubbornly turning his back on Arsenal, declaring the Titans finished. Six weeks later, Dick is still mourning the loss of Donna Troy and is refusing to answer Roy's phone calls. So Roy decides to move on without Dick. He shaves his head, gets a new costume and starts making phone calls.

In San Francisco, Starfire and Beast Boy are flying around, unintentionally scaring jets, and discussing Cyborg's plan for a new Teen Titans. Kory is hesitant to accept a mentorship role, but Gar insists that there are a lot of kids out there who are different like them and need somewhere they can go to find themselves. Vic has four specifically in mind, with a few others that could be added if things work out. Starfire asks if they can really be the Titans without Nightwing and Donna. Beast Boy simply says, "We aren't all gone, Kory."

At Smallville High, Conner Kent has trouble remembering his locker combination and is lectured by a hall monitor for being late to class. When he's threatened with a phone call to his parents, Superboy laughs this off and flies away. Meanwhile, someone is sorting through some old equipment at an abandoned Cadmus facility, finding a hard drive labeled "Project Superboy."

In Gateway City, Cassie Sandsmark's high school is attacked by a griffin. She playfully battles the mythical beast, while several teachers urge the principal to contact Cassie's mother to discuss her future at Gateway High. Ares watches all this from a distance, feeling disappointed that Wonder Girl has so much power that no one has bothered to harness.

In Keystone City, Bart Allen is lounging on a baseball-shaped bean bag in his room, surrounded by a board game, several video games and leftover pizza. Bart is doing something unusual for him — making a phone call. He's called up the Themysciran Embassy to try to locate Cassie via Wonder Woman. But he has a hard time convincing the receptionist who he is, and Jay Garrick keeps interrupting. In the end, Bart decides it's a lost cause and gives up.

Jay then enters Bart's room, saying they need to talk about his low scores on his entrance tests to Keystone City High. Bart says he hates studying because it's boring, and he feels he doesn't need an education since he's going to be a full-time superhero when he grows up. Jay asks Bart if he doesn't need to know anything, to which Bart reminds him that he was already been taught everything he needs to know while in the virtual reality in the future. He can't stand learning from books, so he doesn't.

We catch up with Arsenal, who has visited a S.T.A.R. Labs facility to check on the progress of blue robot girl that indirectly caused the deaths of Omen and Troia. The scientists have taken to calling the robot Indigo and have placed her in a tube of green liquid, while she continues to repair herself. Cyborg, who still hasn't acquired new legs, is riding around in a floating golden wheelchair (exactly like Professor Xavier's in the '90s X-Men cartoon). Vic repeats his assertion that Indigo's attack on them was an accident. Roy agrees, asking that Indigo be fully repaired, reactivated and placed under his control.

In Gotham City, Robin is swinging around the rooftops with Nightwing, still talking about their failure from six weeks ago. Robin notes they've been ambushed before, but he wonders why they lost focus. He also notes that all of them have seen people die before, and they thought that would make them stronger, but it didn't. He tells Nightwing he knows he blames himself, just as he does. Yet Dick remains silent through all this. Tim finally asks what they're going to do now. Nightwing says he doesn't know, but whatever it is, they should do it alone.



This story did a fairly decent job of bridging the gap between Graduation Day and Teen Titans #1. I needed to see these characters spending some time grieving. The narrative as a whole is strengthened by realizing there was a six-week gap of inactivity before the new Teen Titans were gathered. Of course, I still have a hard time being satisfied. There still was no mention of Young Justice, the Ray, Empress, Snapper Carr or Red Tornado. One of the reasons Young Justice was set up with adult mentors was to help get them through situations exactly like this. I wish Geoff Johns could have given us a page or two of the Young Justice people trying to gather everyone to comfort them. I really needed to see why that group was insufficient to meet the needs of Wonder Girl, Superboy, Robin and Impulse. I didn't need to see Superboy and Wonder Girl having difficulties in high school — we already had that in Teen Titans #1. But I did need to see the official collapse of Young Justice.

Bart's phone call was rather odd. It makes sense that Bart would want to reach out to Cassie, seeing as how she was devastated after Donna's death. But why can't Bart find her? He has been to Cassie's house before. Has she moved? Is Bart still in contact with Robin and Superboy? I have so many questions from such a simple scene. It was nice to see Carlo Barberi draw Bart again. But it looked so strange with Bart's shorter hair. It just ... doesn't feel right. Sorry, I'm still going through shell shock after seeing the last vestiges of Impulse being taken away.


Who Was Donna Troy?

Words & Pencils Phil Jimenez
Inks Andy Lanning
Colors Tom McCraw
Separations WildStorm FX
Letters Comicraft
Special thanks to Devin Grayson

This story picks up at the end of Donna Troy's funeral. Superboy asks Wonder Girl if she's going to be OK, and she says she isn't. Impulse can only look on helplessly.

Later, Cassie starts going through Donna's photo album, reliving her (very confusing) life. We also see some more mourning from past members of the Teen Titans, including Wally West. Superman apologizes to Wonder Woman, taking responsibility for his robot killing Donna. (Yeah, why didn't you dismantle it if you knew it was unstable?) Wonder Woman blames herself for not being there for Donna. Lois Lane promises to write a great obituary. Even Batman comforts Diana, but Nightwing remains aloof.

In the end, it's Cassie who comes to Diana's side. She tells her the last words Donna gave her: "I have no idea where I'm going to be tomorrow. But I accept the fact that tomorrow will come. And I'm going to rise to meet it."



I don't have anything to say about this backup story. It was a nice, necessary resolution to Donna Troy's legacy. I do feel bad, however, that absolutely nothing was shown for Omen. Anyway,  let's wrap this up with Bart's profile page.

Kid Flash

Jeremy Johns: Text
Geoff Johns: Pencils
Nelson: Inks
Tom McCraw: Colors
WildStorm FX: Separations

Real Name: Bart Allen
Marital Status: Single
Height: 5'2"
Weight: 115 lbs.
Eyes: Yellow
Hair: Brown
First Appearance: The Flash #91 (June, 1994)

Bart Allen — the grandson of Barry Allen, the second Flash, and Iris West — was brought back through time to our century after his father was killed. At Iris's request, Wally West, the current scarlet speedster, began to teach Bart how to fit into this new era and get a grasp on his powers. Frustrated by his nephew's lack of focus, Wally turned his attention elsewhere. Bart became known as Impulse and set out to become a super-hero in his own right.

Bart Allen's powers mirror those of Wally West, with one major exception: Bart also has the ability to remember everything he reads at super-speed. Currently, he resides in Keystone City with Jay Garrick — the original Flash — and Jay's wife Joan. Despite Wally West's misgivings, Bart accepted an invitation to join the new Teen Titans.

Recently, Bart was injured when Deathstroke put a shotgun to his leg. Thankfully, his accelerated healing enabled a handful of skeptical surgeons to replace his kneecap with an artificial one, and Bart was back on his feet in a matter of hours. But the effects of this encounter were much more than physical. Feeling unsure, and tired of being underestimated, Bart went to the local public library and read every single book in the building. He retained that knowledge, but what he'll do with it from here, and how it will balance with his lack of experience, is anyone's guess.



The last time Bart had his own profile page like this was three years ago during Sins of Youth. That listed him as 5'3" and 114 lbs. So since then, I guess Bart has gained one pound of muscle, and lost an inch in height when he cut his hair. Jeremy Johns also incorrectly said that Bart was Wally's nephew. The two are actually cousins (once removed, via adoption, if you want to get technical). Unsurprisingly, Johns did not mention Bart's ability to create time-traveling scouts, and I have to say that's probably for the best. It was an overpowered ability, and it will be simpler to move on without it. I still wish we had a story showing Bart losing that ability, though.

What is surprising about this profile page is that it was drawn by Geoff Johns. It's the only image I've seen him draw, and I have to say it actually looks pretty good. I even like this style more than Mike McKone's. The shorter hair doesn't look too bad with this costume, but it does worry me that Bart's beginning to look too much like Wally West did back in the day. It's becoming more common for artists to forget what color Bart's eyes are, and we'll gradually see his hair turn from brown to red.

Well, believe it or not, we are done with comics from the year 2003. Next time, we'll review the year and try to hand out some awards.

JLA/JSA Secret Files & Origins #1

Stormchasers

Jim Beard / Writer
Clément Sauvé / Pencils
Serge La Pointe / Inks
Kurt Hathaway / Letters
Tom McCraw / Colors
Digital Chameleon / Seps

Cover by Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Meriño, with color and separations by Guy Major. From time to time, DC will attempt a horizontal cover, but they never fully commit to the idea (just like the Sins of Youth covers). The picture is going one way, but all the words are going the other. Anyway, this is your standard posed image of all the major members of the Justice League of America and the Justice Society of America. It's alright, I guess. Nothing too striking.

In keeping the tradition of Secret Files & Origins, this issue features a main story, several quick backup stories and a handful of profile pages. The main story serves as a prologue for the upcoming special, JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice, which we actually will cover on this blog because Impulse does make a very quick cameo in it. But all we care about today is this issue's backup story that includes Impulse.

We begin in Johnsville, Ohio, which is being threatened by the flooding Ohio River. Aiding in the relief effort are several members of the JLA, JSA and Red Tornado, which confuses a news reporter, since he's not sure which team the android belongs to. Red Tornado works alongside the townspeople to help create a massive wall of sandbags. Superman and Jay Garrick both join up with Red Tornado, and Superman asks him to rejoin the Justice League right before Jay asks him to come back to the Justice Society.

Red Tornado is honored by the requests, but he tells the two heroes he has to decline the invitations. As he talks, Impulse, Superboy, Robin and Secret show up to help, and they're all in a bit of a rowdy mood. Red Tornado tells Superman and Jay that Young Justice needs the guidance he once received from the JSA and JLA. The android says he has long searched for an identity, and now he has found one in a parental role to these teenaged heroes. He then takes off to scold Impulse about spilling sand in Superboy's face.

Bart had his own experience with a flood in Manchester, so I'd imagine this mishap with a sandbag was a mistake, and not just him goofing around with Kon. But more importantly, I have to point out the glaring continuity error in this story. Red Tornado put Snapper Carr in charge of Young Justice, and he hasn't been with them for quite a while now. And even when Red Tornado was the official supervisor of Young Justice, he still was an active member of the JLA. So the idea that he doesn't have time to be on the JLA or JSA is a completely ridiculous one, thus rendering the entire purpose of this story null and void.

Next time, I promise a much more meaningful story in Young Justice #51.

The Flash Secret Files & Origins #3

Flash Facts

Ian Edginton: Writer
Jason Johnson: Pencils
Aaron Sowd: Inks
Steve Dutro: Letters
Tom McCraw: Colors
Digital Chameleon: Separations

Cover art and color by Scott Kolins. I'm not the biggest fan of this cover. I just don't like it when artists give the Flash a bunch of legs to try to show how fast he's moving. But the color is nice, and the background is beautifully detailed. And to tell you how stupid I am, I didn't even realize Flash was running up the side of a building until I turned the cover sideways.

The main story of this issue focuses on an eager investigator named Hunter Zoloman joining the Keystone police squad to help track down the Rogues. And all the Profile Pages feature the Rogues, as well. If it weren't for this one random Flash Facts page, we'd be continuing Geoff Johns' streak of ignoring Impulse in The Flash.

In case you can't read the image, we see Max wake up Bart to teach him that the quahog, a type of clam, can live up to 200 years, which Bart notes is almost as old as Max. The next fact Max brings up is that the human sneeze leaves the body at 300 miles per hour. Bart asks him if he got sick from eating that 200-year-old clam. Finally, Max explains that the tip of a cracking whip moves faster than the speed of sound. Bart gets a little dirty by saying, "Cool, if that's your idea of a good time!" He then ends the Flash Facts with, "Education is fun-duh-mental ... accent on 'mental'!"


I found this to be a lot of fun. Jason Johnson, artist on Bart Saves the Universe was the perfect choice for this goofy, light-hearted page. Although I did have a few issues with Johnson's work previously, I still wish he could have drawn a bit more Impulse. As for The Flash, I know Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins are doing some interesting things other there, and it makes me sad that Impulse was not included in it.

Next time, we'll have an unofficial epilogue for Our Worlds at War with Young Justice #37.

Superman: Our Worlds at War Secret Files & Origins #1

Earth Allies

Written by Chuck Kim
Art by Ariel Olivetti
Color by Tom McCraw
Separations by Digital Chameleon

Cover art by Ed McGuinness and Cam Smith, color by Richard and Tanya Horie. Since this is a Superman event, it is nice to have the artist of Superman handle this cover. McGuinness has a big, beefy, explosive style that DC tried to make sure was matched on all the Superman titles, which helps add some consistency to events like this when you read it altogether in a trade. And speaking of trades, this cover was used on the Our Worlds at War: Book One trade paperback (although none of this issue's stories were included inside). Anyway, this is a pretty straightforward cover — Superman punching Imperiex with a handful of heroes knocked out below, including poor Superboy. I like this kind of art. Not much to complain about.

Like all Secret Files issues from this time, this issue is 64 pages, anchored by one main story and peppered with a couple of backup stories and a few profile pages. The main story shows Imperiex destroying several planets (just like we saw last issue), which leads to the formation of an alliance of several aliens who are normally enemies. We learn that Superman had previously battled who he had believed to be Imperiex, but that turned out to just be one of Imperiex's clones. The real Imperiex is much larger and more intimidating. The story ends with Liri Lee of the Linear Men observing Imperiex's quest to destroy the universe and deciding to allow this to happen. (The Linear Men really are big jerks!)

In one of the backup stories, Amanda Waller is gathering resources to face this threat, and she laments that she can't call on Lobo since Klarion turned him into a teenager. Another story shows a documentary about the old Justice Society of America's involvement in World War II, which includes the original Flash, Jay Garrick. And that's about all in this issue that concerns Impulse beside the profile page he appears on.

The text is presented as a news report by Lois Lane, detailing the JSA, JLA, this new Suicide Squad and, of course, Young Justice. Here's what she says about our favorite heroes:

"I'm a little worried about Young Justice. They're mostly protégés and sidekicks of the Justice League who formed their own group. Though formidable in their own right, I question Dad's (Secretary of Defense Sam Lane) judgment in drafting teens, super-powered or not, into the war effort. Their latest recruit, the newly teenaged Lobo, also has me worried, but for completely different reasons."

Also worth noting is that Cissie — not Arrowette — is shown with the team. Wonder Girl is oddly absent, and Secret is not colored correctly. On a whole, I am not a fan of this artwork at all. It feels rushed and sloppy. But I did like Lois Lane's concern about sending teenagers off to war. And we will find out exactly how and for what purpose Young Justice was drafted in the next issue of Young Justice.

Next time, we begin comics with a September 2001 publication date, starting with Impulse #76, which chronologically takes place before Our World at War.

JLA Secret Files & Origins #3

Blame

D. Curtis Johnson • Writer
Pablo Raimondi • Penciller
Claude St. Aubin & David Meijis • Inkers
Tom McCraw • Colorist
John Costanza • Letterer
Tony Bedard • Editor

Cover art by Dave Ross & Dan Adkins
All color separations by Digital Chameleon

Our cover shows Batman looming ominously over the newly reduced roster of the JLA — Superman, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Plastic Man, Green Lantern, Aquaman and the Flash. This matches the theme of the stories inside well, as the JLA recently learned that Batman had been keeping secret contingency plans against his fellow teammates, and these plans had been stolen and used against them.

Like all other Secret Files & Origins issues, this comic is comprised of one big story, several shorter stories, and a bunch of profile pages. There's a brief look back at the history of the JLA, but everything else deals with the current status of the team moving forward. Of interesting note, one of the side stories is drawn by Ethan Van Sciver, who might have done this during one of his breaks on Impulse. Speaking of Impulse, he actually makes two brief appearances in this issue.

The main story details how Batman began to create his countermeasure files on each member of the JLA, and how Talia al Ghul stole these plans. But, perhaps of most interest, we get to see what these plans actually contained. We only care about Impulse and the Flash, so let's just skip to that part.

In a flashback, we see that Batman began working on a vibra-bullet to stop a speedster shortly after Barry Allen died in the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Alfred was uncomfortable with this, but Batman notes that Wally is now taking over the Flash's mantle and both Johnny Quick and Jay Garrick could get back in the game someday, so there is still a need to have a way to take down speedsters. To Batman's defense, he does explain that he's only doing this in case of mind controllers, body swappers, Amazo clones or other such events.

Subject: Flash

The vibrational characteristics of Wally's superspeed at full strength are very nearly the same as Barry's. The countermeasures I devised for Barry should continue to suffice. They may also have application against other speedsters, if this vibrational pattern set is common.

Addendum: Recent developments hint at some sort of unified "Speed Force," which would explain the similarities between the various speedsters I've observed. More data on the phenomenon will have to be gathered.

I believe these vibrational characteristics can be mimicked, which suggests that countervibrational artifacts could be created which could not be vibrated through safely. Active countermeasure barrier materials could be used to create an inescapable cell, for example.

Even more interesting are the possibilities suggested by introducing these countermeasures directly into Wally's central nervous system. Seems like a good general-purpose incapacitation with, hopefully, no permanent side effects.

And that's all we see of Impulse in the main story. Of interesting note, the story is called "Blame" because Talia asks herself who's to blame for this tragedy. Is it her dad, Ra's al Ghul for telling her to steal the plans? Is it Batman, who made the plans in the first place? Or is it the JLA, who put so much trust into Batman?

Lost Pages

Mark Waid Writer
Steve Scott Penciller
Mark Propst Inker
John Costanza Letterer
Tom McCraw Colorist

This short story begins with Flash visiting Nightwing at Titans Headquarters. Wally tells Dick that it was Superman who cast the deciding vote to kick Batman out of the League. Wally voted to keep Batman in, but he admits he made that vote against his better judgment. He explains to Dick that the while the Titans have always felt like a family, the JLA is a diverse group with a lot of major differences. And because of these differences, its necessary for them to trust one another implicitly. Nightwing angrily says he's trusted Batman with his life since he was 8, and Wally notes that it's worked out well for him, but now Nightwing's teammates on the Titans are wondering just how much information Batman trusted him with. If Batman kept anti-JLA files, did he also keep anti-Titans files?

This same question is being tossed around in Young Justice, who are battling Team Turmoil at the moment. Superboy asks Wonder Girl if Robin has anti-Young Justice files, but Cassie doesn't think this could be true. Impulse then tries to vibrate one of the villains into a wall, and Robin tells him not to, since his powers don't work that way. Bart repeatedly asks Robin how he knows this.

When Robin angrily exclaims, "I just know!" Superboy and Wonder Girl exchange a worried look. Oracle is also worried, and she tells Batman that both the Titans and Young Justice are now suspicious of Nightwing and Robin. But Batman refuses to say he's sorry or not sorry from this fallout, and he hangs up on Oracle. She then sends a video of that conversation to Superman, who is also pretty broken up by this whole situation.


And that's it for Impulse's involvement in this issue. This was an interesting first look into what will be an ongoing point of contention for all characters associated with the "Bat family." I think overall, it's a really good ethical debate. Was Batman right to keep these files on his teammates? Was the JLA right to kick Batman off the team? And the beauty here is there's no right or wrong answer. It's all relative.

I am glad that Mark Waid got to write Impulse again, even it was for only a couple of panels. However, it seems like he hasn't been paying attention to the evolution of Bart's powers. In the pages of Young Justice, Bart was able to vibrate himself and his teammates through the floor of a building. And Robin was one of those teammates, so he should know that Impulse is fully capable of vibrating a bad guy into a wall. I get what Waid was going for here, but he should have chosen a different ability for Robin to harp on.

Naturally, there aren't any letters to the editor, so let's check out the new ads:

Gotham Girls and Lobo. Awesome animation with an interactive twist. Check out the wild webisodes, only at warnerbros.com.

What will the real fruit juice inspire you to ponder? Starburst.

A DC subscription ad, showing you could get 12 issues of The Flash for $19.95.

You could win instantly a trip to WWF WrestleMania through Cornnuts.

Introducing new Sour Skittles.

Greenday Warning: The new album.

And you thought you were good at raising a little Hell. Spawn world broadcast premiere on TBS.

Next time, Impulse and Young Justice will make another quick cameo in Superman #163.

Young Justice: Sins of Youth Secret Files & Origins #1

Cover art by Todd Nauck and Lary Stucker. Cover colors by Digital Chameleon. This is a great cover, but it doesn't really show what's happening in Sins of Youth. Instead, it shows what we thought might have happened before Sins of Youth — a showdown between the JLA, JSA and Young Justice. Naturally, each member of Young Justice is directly confronting their mentors. Wonder Woman has Wonder Girl in her lasso, and Superboy, Robin and Impulse are being closely followed by Superman, Batman and the Flash, respectively. Secret, who doesn't have a natural adult counterpart, is double-teamed by Plastic Man and Green Lantern. Like I said, this is a great cover, but it's not particularly applicable to our story anymore.

This issue is 64 pages of wonderful information, telling us everything we'd ever want to know about the dozens of characters involved in this event, and how Klarion's spell has effected them. However, Impulse's involvement in this comic is quite limited, so I'll be doing a lot of skimming here.

Our main story focuses on the Titans, beginning with a slight continuity contradiction by showing Cameron Chase telling Arsenal that he and the Titans need to support Young Justice at their rally two days from now. The problem is, Wonder Girl announced the rally just one day before it happened, and we saw how the Titans decided to attend. Arsenal thought it could be a trap, but the others pressured him into going.

Anyway, the story jumps ahead to the aftermath of Klarion's spell and Doiby's ray gun. Damage and Argent have been turned into adults, Cyborg and Starfire have become young teenagers, but Nightwing, Arsenal, Troia and Garth remain the same. And even though we saw Jesse Quick with the Titans in Sins of Youth #1, she is nowhere to be seen here, which is sad, because I really would have loved to see what the serious, CEO Jesse would have been like as a girl.

When all the heroes scatter, the Titans head straight to S.T.A.R. Labs to look for a cure. Nightwing has a theory as to why he and the other original Teen Titans weren't affected. Long ago, Robin, Speedy, Wonder Girl, Aqualad and Kid Flash prevented a robbery of an anti-aging formula. In the process, they were all exposed to the gas, except for Wally, which is why he became younger. Nightwing believes the doctors at S.T.A.R. Labs can analyze their blood to find a cure, but before they can do so, they learn of an attack of a group of terrorists called the Wildebeests.

Leading the call to action is the adult Damage, who is now calm, composed, in complete control of his powers, and is beginning to wonder if he wants to return to being a teenager. The Titans eventually defeat the Wildebeests at the JFK International Airport, but soon learn of another attack at Grand Central Station. So they rush off to save the day again, further delaying their search for a cure. Naturally, this is all part of the Contessa's plans. Not only is she arranging things to keep the heroes busy, but she was also behind that original robbery years ago.

So this story was a bit contrived, but it is nice to see what the Titans were up to doing this whole event. And I found Damage's reaction to his new age rather interesting. Everyone immediately starts looking to return to normal, which is a natural inclination, but he's the first so far to wonder if he's actually better staying like this.

CD-TV ad

Written by Lary Stucker
Pencilled by Pascual Ferry
Inked by Rob Stull
Lettered by Comicraft
Color by Tom McCraw with separations by Digital Chameleon

This is a sweet, goofy little demonstration of Ace Atchinson's personality. At top, is Ace getting punched by Superboy's favorite rapper, Hard Kore. In the middle, Ace is cowering under the table beneath the Joker during an Arkham Asylum riot. And at the bottom, Ace prepares for an interview with Young Justice. I really like the concept of this fake ad. I just wish it was drawn a little better ...

After that ad, the issue dives into the Profile Pages, beginning with Robin. After providing a brief background on Tim Drake, his bio says that he was dismayed to see his adult self is under six feet tall, but he does learn there are advantages to being Batman instead of Robin.

Impulse

Text by Todd Dezago
Pencilled by Matthew Clark
Inked by Ray Snyder
Color by Tom McCraw with separations by Digital Chameleon

Real name: Bartholomew "Bart" Allen (II)
Occupation: Student/Costumed adventurer
Base of Operations: Manchester, Alabama
Ht: 5'3"
Wt: 114 lbs.
Eyes: Yellow
Hair: Brown
First Appearance: The Flash #91 (June, 1994)

Born in the 30th century, Bart Allen was brought back to our time by his grandmother, Iris Allen (widow of Barry Allen — the Silver Age Flash!), in an attempt to cure him of a hyperaccelerated aging process. That cured (by none other than current Flash, and Bart's cousin, Wally West!), it was decided that the future was not a safe environment for Bart to grow up in and that it was best that he remain in the 21st century. Unfortunately, Bart's hyperaccelerated attention span requires that he be under the guidance and supervision of a uniquely patient individual. And so Bart — later called Impulse — was put into the care of his mentor, Max Mercury — the Zen Maser of Speed! Bart spends most of his days trying to conform to the "mind-numbingly slow" pace of "normal" life ... and Max spends most of his time keeping Bart out of trouble! Of his recent experience as an adult, Impulse's response was, "No thanks! Too much thinking!"

I'm very glad that Impulse writer Todd Dezago was brought in to write this Profile Page, which perfectly sums up the backstory of Impulse in a concise manner. I just wish that Impulse artist Ethan Van Sciver could have drawn this page. Matthew Clark's art isn't necessarily bad, it's just that Van Sciver's art is amazing! And I miss it. He's been MIA for the past three months. Anyway, one interesting note here is Impulse's height and weight. In previous Secret Files and Origins, he was listed at 5'1" and 110 lbs. Now it appears our little speedster is starting to grow up!

The next Profile Page is Superboy, which mostly recaps Superboy #74. Wonder Girl is next, which talks about how Cassie enjoys being a grown-up, and may be the perfect candidate for Young Justice's next leader. The Empress page follows that, and it doesn't offer any details on who or what she is. It does speculate that she could be a new heroic identity for Arrowette, but immediately dismisses that possibility as hopeful speculation.

We then get Cissie Jones-King, which talks about how she has retired from being Arrowette. Everywhere else I've seen her name as Cissie King-Jones, but I think Jones-King makes more sense, since her dad's last name was Jones and her mom's last name is King. Next is the Secret, which briefly details her tragic past, her brother Harm, and the D.E.O., before saying that she, too, is reluctant to return to childhood. Lagoon Boy portrays him as a fun-loving party animal, able to find enjoyment both as a teenager and an adult.

The Star-Spangled Kid talks about how Courtney is now the adult Starwoman, and her stepfather, Pat Dugan, is now the child S.T.R.I.P.E.S.Y. with his tiny robot S.T.R.I.P.E. The Junior Society of America gives us the new names for the youngest oldest super-hero team in history — Hawkbaby, Starwoman, Teen Lantern, The Star-Spangled Kid, Hourboy, Bigg Boy, Cry Baby, Kid Mid-Nite, Wildbrat, Terrific Lad, Li'l Fate, S.T.R.I.P.E.S.Y., The Golden Age Kid Flash, and Sandy, the Golden Boy and Chairman of the JSA.

We then get a very fun short story about the JLA and JSA going to the partially destroyed Young Justice cave to collect some rocket fuel the JLA may have left there back in the day. Apparently Doiby Dickles has another de-aging gun on the planet Myrg, and the JSA intends on flying there with their spaceship. But the JSA and JLA all get into a fight over this just because they're wild, rambunctious kids.

Some of the best jokes involve Aquaboy hitting on Starwoman. He boasts that he can "dive for hours without having to come up for air," which is hilariously dirty if you think about it. Wally teases the younger Jay Garrick that he better slow down or he'll break a hip, to which Jay says, "That's so funny I forgot to laugh!" Wally responds by asking if Alzheimer's is kicking in already for Jay. Kyle Rayner immediately steals that Alzheimer's line when he teases the younger Alan Scott. The two young robots, Red Tornado and Hourboy, have fun trading arms and capes. And the young Captain Marvel tries to restore order by lecturing everyone about how they should remember who they really are and stand up for truth, justice and the American way. But this speech is promptly ignored.

Eventually, the JSA gets their rocket fuel and takes off. Aquaboy asks Starwoman one last time if she wants to "get a little ... wet," but she again flatly turns him down. Wonder Woman realizes the adult Young Justice are going to be ticked at them, and Batman asks the others to not tell Robin that he was here. Aquaboy laments to Kid Flash that Starwoman left him "high and dry," and Wally tells him that they all do.

After this most amusing, and also informative story, we return to the Profile Pages, starting with JLA, Jr., which gives us the new names for these heroes — Superman Jr., Batboy, Kid Flash, Aquaboy, Li'l Steel, Green Lantern, Li'l Captain Marvel, Plastic Boy, Li'l Red Tornado, Wonder Girl and Martian Kidhunter. Up next is the the Marvel Family, which sadly doesn't mention their new status in the Sins of Youth world.

But I guess that's OK, since the next short story shows us that Mary Marvel has become an adult, while Captain Marvel Jr. is just normal teenager Freddy Freeman, unable to transform into his heroic identity for some reason. The two of them track down Klarion the Witch Boy to a museum, where they also find a youthened Captain Nazi. Klarion quickly teleports away. While Mary Marvel protects the bystanders, the depowered Freddy saves the day by electrocuting Captain Nazi. And sadly, we get no explanation as to why CM3 didn't also become an adult.

We then get The Titans Profile Page, which recaps the big story we just had in this comic. And sadly, this also fails to mention Jesse Quick, who I guess just went home before any of the age-changing occurred. Up next is Li'l Lobo, which reminds us that he made a cameo appearance as a statue in Young Justice #1,000,000. This bio doesn't explain exactly how or why Lobo was affected by Klarion's spell, but remember, the explanation of the magic/science blast did say it spread heavenward. So, I can only assume that Lobo happened to be however many light-years directly above that exact spot in Washington, D.C., and got hit by the lingering effects of the blast. I guess.

The next page goes to the Point Men, telling us a bit about all the members we've seen, except for the enormous Groundswell, who we only saw briefly during the big fight in Washington. We then have a page devoted to Young Villains — Li'l Amazo, Li'l Pengy, Mini-Maxima, Private Cold, Li'l Sphinx, Li'l Manta and Li'l Black Adam. Next is Klarion ... bum, bum, BUM ... the Witch Boy. This explains that he's primarily a villain of the demon Etrigan, but he's now teamed up with the Contessa to cause chaos and have fun. And now that he's altered the ages of the heroes, he's decided to travel the country and de-age a bunch of supervillains, as well.

And our final story shows Klarion doing just that. He interrupts Catwoman during a routine jewel heist and turns her into a little kid, then promptly disappears. And our issue ends with a final Profile Page for the Agenda. This explains that their leader, the Contessa, was once the bride of Lex Luthor. As part of her grand scheme, she has manipulated both the D.E.O. and the A.P.E.S. into discrediting Young Justice, while she simultaneously infiltrated Project Cadmus and Young Justice via Match. She genetically engineered the Point Men to assist in this plan, and has allied herself with Klarion to maximize the chaos and increase paranoia against superheroes.


I always love these Secret Files and Origins issues. A longtime collector of basketball cards, I love learning the players' (or in this case, heroes') height, weight and backstory. The highlight of this issue was the JLA/JSA fight, which gave us a great preview of what these teams will be like in their own issues. The Marvel story was frustrating since it presented what appeared to be a direct contradiction to the rules of this event without offering any explanation. And the main story with the Titans felt contrived and was a bit boring. But other than that, this was a very fun and informative comic book. And speaking of Todd Nauck's workload during this event, in addition to drawing the cover, he also drew five Profile Pages here. And as always, his work was held to his amazing high standard, which stood out in stark contrast compared to a lot of the other artists' work in this issue.

Up next is Part 4, where we begin the special one-shots, starting with Sins of Youth: JLA, Jr. #1!

Secret Files & Origins Guide to the DC Universe 2000 #1

Here and Now

Story by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Pencils by Scott Eaton
Inks by Ray Kryssing with Doug Hazlewood (special thanks to Kristie Kryssing)
Letters by Bill Oakley
Colors by Carla Feeny
Separation by Digital Chameleon
Edits by Maureen McTigue and Tony Bedard

Cover pencilled by Darick Robertson, inked by John Dell. It is a pretty nice, poster-like cover showing off some of the most popular DC characters in the year 2000 — Starfire, Steel, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, Superman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Batman and the Star-Spangled Kid. I'm pretty sad that Young Justice and the Flash weren't included here, but I guess you need to cut it off somewhere, and sticking to 10 characters that represent a lot of different aspects of the DCU is better than trying to cram 20 or 30 characters on the cover.

This issue has a horribly obnoxious title. However, that's the only negative about it. It's a 96-page information dump, telling you everything you ever wanted to know about the DC Universe, appropriately timed for the start of the year 2000. In addition to the main 44-page story, we have 11 shorts, 12 profile pages and a 7-page timeline. You would be hard-pressed to find a character or element in the DCU that was not represented in some way in this comic book. For geeks like me, this is a gold mine.

Our main story begins with Green Lantern being approached by the D.E.O. with a special mission. He meets with Major Lutwidge and Doctor Charles (two former Young Justice antagonists) who tell Green Lantern that another old Young Justice foe, Bedlam, is apparently loose and looking for a superhero to possess. The D.E.O. wants Green Lantern to help them scan every hero he can find to try to find Bedlam, and they want him to do this discretely so Bedlam won't be alerted to their search.

Green Lantern agrees to this, and first comes across the Justice Society of America, including the original Flash, Jay Garrick. Kyle Rayner has a slightly awkward conversation with the heroes, but he does manage to discretely scan them all and send the data back to the D.E.O. Kyle is initially worried that he sent back too much data at once, but Lutwidge assures him their computers can process the data faster than he can send it. Seeing this as a challenge, Lantern scans every metahuman in New York at once.

Noticing the Titans aren't at their headquarters, Green Lantern tracks them down the Caribbean, where he meets several of Impulse's old teammates — Arsenal, Damage, Donna Troy, Starfire and Cyborg. Lantern helps them fight the H.I.V.E. while scanning them, then takes off as soon as the D.E.O. reports still no traces of Bedlam. Next on Kyle's tour is Metropolis, where he comes face to face with Superman. Luckily, Superman quickly takes off to check on an earthquake, so Green Lantern didn't have to lie directly to the Man of Steel.

The D.E.O. then suggests that Green Lantern fly up to a geosynchronous position above the U.S. mainland so they can quickly direct his scans to cities with known superheroes. So Kyle flies up into space and scans Supergirl in Virginia, the Marvel family in Fawcett City, Resurrection Man in South Carolina and Max Mercury in Manchester, Alabama. The D.E.O. then wants Green Lantern to track down Young Justice, which is a little bit tricky, giving their recent fugitive status and the recent destruction of their headquarters in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. Luckily, Lantern's ring is able to track the energy signals from the Super-Cycle. The D.E.O. is fairly critical of Young Justice, but Kyle defends them, saying their his friends and they don't deserve the bad press they've been getting. However, Superboy, who has been quite jumpy lately, does not welcome Green Lantern's sudden arrival.

Robin calls Superboy off and asks Green Lantern what he's doing there. Kyle says he was just worried about them and wanted to see how they're doing. Superboy angrily insists they're fine and tells "Mister Bleeding Heart" to beat it. So Green Lantern takes off, having scanned them all and still not finding any signs of Bedlam. His next stop is Keystone City, where he meets both Wally and Walter West — something that really perplexes the D.E.O. scientists.

Green Lantern then visits Wonder Woman in her flying dome before heading up to the JLA Watchtower. Martian Manhunter (a telepath) seems a little suspicious, but Green Lantern quickly exits and goes down to Atlantis to scan Aquaman. His last stop is Gotham City, which raises Batman's suspicions. The D.E.O. congratulates Green Lantern on his work, but report they still have found no trace of Bedlam and they would like Lantern to stand by.

We then see that Major Lutwidge and Doctor Charles made up the story about Bedlam (as any good Young Justice fan will know, that genie gave up his powers to become a human baby). Instead, these corrupt D.E.O. agents are using Green Lantern's data to power up a giant robot called the Amazo 2000. Luckily, Martian Manhunter and Batman were good detectives, and they told Green Lantern that Bedlam's previous host, 13-year-old Matthew Stuart, is still locked up tight. So Green Lantern goes back to the D.E.O. base, confronts Lutwidge and Charles, and battles Amazo 2000.

The fight is surprisingly quick and simple, apparently because the D.E.O. never scanned Green Lantern himself, giving him an advantage over the robot that didn't know how to fight him. With the robot destroyed, the real D.E.O. arrives to shut down Lutwidge and Charles' operation. They even reluctantly allow Green Lantern to wipe their computers of all the data he acquired on the heroes, so in the end, it's as if nothing ever happened.


This was a pretty fun story that provided a creative way for us to take a tour through the DC Universe. Green Lantern was a natural choice for this, since he's young enough to relate to Young Justice and the Titans, and old enough to associate with the JLA and JSA. I just wish the final fight would have been more satisfying. I mean, it's a giant Amazo 2000! It should provide at least a small challenge! Well, let's check out the other pages Impulse shows up on.

Young Justice

Text by Scott Beatty
Pencilled by Todd Nauck
Inked by Lary Stucker
Color by Tom McCraw

First Appearances:
YJ Team JLA: World Without Grown-Ups #1 (August, 1998)
Secret The Secret #1 (June, 1998)
Empress Young Justice #19 (April, 2000)

The teen heroes of Young Justice have gone far to prove to the world (and themselves) that they are more than simply junior facsimiles of the JLA. Mentored by the enigmatic android Red Tornado and presently headquartered in an old abandoned resort in the Catskills, the team's membership currently includes Wonder Girl, Robin, Superboy, Impulse, and the wraith-like Secret, with the mysterious Empress in the wings. But while the supporters of Young Justice are growing in number, so are the team's detractors, most particularly the government agency A.P.E.S., which believes Young Justice to be a threat to national security. Moreover, the aged membership of Old Justice, a union of former "teen sidekicks," has actively lobbied for legislation to prohibit teen vigilantes. Together, both organizations may spell the end of Young Justice forever.


It feels like I'm reviewing this issue too soon, because so much of this bio refers to things we haven't seen yet. But I am sticking with publication date order, and this comic book has a March 2000 publication date. Next time, when I start the April books, we'll find out all about Empress and the new Young Justice headquarters. Wonder Girl's new look will come even later (although we have been teasing it for a long time now.) Despite this jarring chronological conflict, this profile page does boast a beautiful image from Nauck and Stucker.

The Flash "Family"

Text by Scott Beatty
Pencilled by Paul Pelletier
Inked by Doug Hazlewood
Color by Tom McCraw

First Appearances:
The Flash (Wally West) Flash (first series) #110 (December, 1959 – January, 1960)
The Flash (Jay Garrick) Flash Comics #1 (January, 1940)
Max Mercury Flash #77 (June, 1993)
Impulse Flash #91 (June, 1994)
Jesse Quick Justice Society of America #1 (August, 1992)

They are the riders of the lightning, fleet-footed heroes drawing their super-speed from the Speed Force, an energy source that lies beyond the light speed barrier. As The Flash, Wally West is the fastest man alive, carrying on the heroic legacy of the previous Flash, Barry Allen, a speedster who gave his life to save the Earth. Allen himself was inspired by living legend Jay Garrick, the original "Flash," who continues to run rings around his comrades after 60 years of heroism. Trusted ally Max Mercury, the so-called "Zen Master of Speed," currently enjoys the unenviable task of instructing Allen's grandson Bart Allen, the teen speedster Impulse, to use his own powers responsibly. Fast friend Jesse Quick inherited her extreme velocities from father Johnny Quick, who accessed the Speed Force by mentally focusing on the mathematical formula "3X2(9YZ)4A." Having recently defeated the techno-sorcerer Abra Kadabra and reunited with his lost love Linda Park, Wally West hopes that life will slow down for himself and his fellow speedsters, if only for a little while.


All right, no chronological conflicts here. Just great art by one of my favorite Flash artists of all time, Pelletier, and a succinct explanation of who all these people are. And that's exactly what a profile page is supposed to do. Jay also shows up on the JSA page, Wally and Jesse both are on The Titans, and Wally is on the JLA page, as well.

Timeline

Compiled by Robert Greenberger & Phil Jimenez

This timeline is incredibly dense and wonderful. It's seven pages of pure text, starting with Clark Kent becoming Superman for the first time 12 years ago. This is also the same year that Barry Allen became the Flash. Wally West became Kid Flash a year later, and helped form Teen Titans a year after that (10 years ago from now). Six years ago, Barry sacrificed himself to destroy the Anti-Monitor's antimatter cannon, and Wally took over as the Flash.

Two years ago, Bart Allen, the super-fast grandson of the Flash (Barry Allen), arrives from the 30th century. "Adopted" by speedster mentor Max Mercury and stationed in Alabama, Bart takes the name Impulse. And during the past year, Robin, Impulse, and Superboy join forces as Young Justice and eventually admit Wonder Girl, the Secret, and Arrowette as members.


It's a little odd to think of Impulse being around for two years, but in a lot of ways, it makes perfect sense. He had a brief stint with the New Titans, then had time to form Young Justice. He's celebrated two Christmases, and has had at least one summer vacation. However, when he first showed up here in the 20th century, they said he was 14 years old. You could argue that Bart's now 15, but I think 16 is a bit of a stretch. Plus, it seems like he's still going to junior high school. But that's how time works in comic books. Very slowly and selectively. In real life, Bart Allen has been around for almost six years, but nobody's ready for a 20-year-old Bart ... yet.

So, all in all, this was a fantastic comic book. A wealth of information crammed into 96 pages. Well worth the $6.95 cover price. There aren't any new ads, so I'll see you next time, when we start April 2000 with a quick cameo in JLA #40.

Young Justice Secret Files and Origins #1

Take Back the Night

D. Curtis Johnson Reporting
Ale Garza & Cabin Boy Visuals
Tom McCraw Colors
Digital Chameleon Separations
Comicraft Readouts
Eddie Berganza Project Director
Cover by Humberto Ramos, Wayne Faucher and Digital Chameleon

It is always wonderful have Ramos back. Not only is he one of the best Impulse artists of all time, but he does a great job drawing the entire Young Justice. I think everyone looks great here, although I am a little confused as to why some of them are happy while others are serious — especially Impulse. He's never the serious one. And there is one real error on the cover — Arrowette is still wearing her old costume. I guess Ramos drew this before seeing the new design.

Even though we just had Young Justice featured in an 80-page giant that detailed all their origin stories, we're getting a full-fledged Secret Files and Origins issue. And I'm not complaining. I'm just surprised that DC devoted so many special issues to this team. As with all Secret Files and Origins issues, this 48-page special contains one main story, a "Day in the Life" feature, some "Lost Pages" a tour of the headquarters, and a bunch of profile pages. This issue is not yet available digitally, but you can find the main story in DC Comics Presents: Young Justice #2.

That 100-Page Spectacular also includes Young Justice: The Secret #1, and another story we haven't covered yet. And the cover is actually from Young Justice #19, a completely unrelated issue we also haven't covered yet. So, without further ado, let's dive in to our story.

When we last left our heroes, they were dealing with a new villain named Harm. But at Secret's beseeching, they decided to put Harm on hold and help Secret rescue some kids from the Department of Extra-normal Operations. Fortunately, it's not a school night, so nobody feels bad about sneaking around upstate New York late at night.

Superboy is growing impatient, but Wonder Girl thinks it's quite romantic to be in the wilderness under the moonlight. But Superboy brushes her off, saying he's worried about Arrowette's shoulder, which had an arrow sticking through it just an hour ago. Impulse quickly scouts ahead, and within minutes, the team arrives at the dreaded D.E.O. Wabe Facility. Secret again thanks the teens for helping someone they don't really know. Impulse says they know her better than anyone, but Secret sadly says that's because she doesn't know anyone. Robin notes that the facility looks pretty tough, but he's confident they can still sneak in.

About the same time, inside the massive base, we're introduced to two girls, Casey and Claire, staying up past their bedtime. Claire has the ability to create portals, which she is currently using to watch TV from the guards' room. The show is D.E.O.'s Greatest Fugitives 2, which is talking about Plasmus and the Clock King tonight. The girls complain that the DEO agents on the show are much better looking than the ones they contacted in real life. And even though they both chose to join the DEO, the agents constantly treat them like they're going to try to run away.

Note: It's really hard to keep these two girls straight because the creators of the comic kept mixing them up. The one I'm going to call Casey is a psychic, and she senses something is off about this place. Claire assures her she's just feeling homesick, and in no time the DEO will help them become amazing heroes with code names and costumes. But Casey has heard some bad stories about kids at the DEO, and she is particularly afraid of Dr. Charles and Major Lutwidge. Claire tries to relax her roommate by using her portals to show her how goofy those guys look when they're asleep. But Claire can't find Lutwidge or Charles in their quarters. Instead, they're in the main security area because half the base is apparently on alert.

Turns out Young Justice aren't quite as stealthy as they planned to be. Unaware of how closely they're being monitored, Robin enacts his plan, first by sending Impulse to vibrate through the walls and try to find some vans they can use for their getaway. Robin has Wonder Girl fly up to the guard tower to make sure the guard stays asleep or distracted. Secret then helps Robin up the wall, while Superboy very happily assists Arrowette. Noting the motion sensors on the ground, Robin has Arrowette shoot a line across the yard.

We then check in with Major Lutwidge and Dr. Charles, who have already identified the intruding heroes (Secret is listed as Subject 2TDNII). Charles is thrilled to be able to study some outside heroes up close, and is even more thrilled to have his suspicions confirmed about the boys hiding Secret from him. Lutwidge is worried when the teens enter an unmonitored room, but Charles has a good idea of where they're headed, and he assures the major that the kid will show up on their monitors in a couple of minutes.

Impulse reunites with everybody in the unmonitored room, and he reports that he not only found vans, but helicopters and tanks as well, but Robin says the vans will be fine. Wonder Girl also comes back, and is quite happy with how well things are going. Suddenly, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Arrow and Green Lantern appear, and they're not happy. The JLA tell Young Justice they shouldn't have come here, and Robin notes that something's wrong with them. Impulse points out that the JLA are preparing to pound the stuffing out of them, so Robin tells everyone to get out into the open and hold off the JLA until they figure out what's wrong with them. Superboy tries to create a debris barrier, but Superman instantly tears it down. The Flash starts chasing after Impulse, calling him slow. Impulse tries to get Wally to remember him, but he doesn't listen.

Wonder Woman and Green Arrow take on Wonder Girl and Arrowette, respectively, and Green Lantern creates a vacuum to suck up Secret. But just when each teen hero is captured by his or her mentor, the adult heroes turn into pink goo and disappear. Impulse says it's as if the JLA was never there, but the damage remains.

Claire and Casey then arrive, and Casey apologizes for scaring them with her illusions. The two girls only wanted to warn Young Justice that they're heading into a trap, but Casey's illusions, which were intended to be reassuring, somehow turned hostile. Claire explains that once they leave this room, they'll be seen by the DEO again. Claire used her portals to transport Casey and herself there, which gives Secret and Robin an idea.

Back in the security room, Lutwidge becomes worried when Young Justice don't reappear on their cameras. Charles tells him to be patient, and boasts of their detailed files on the kids that will prevent them from being surprised. But Charles is proved wrong when a breach is reported from the server room on the opposite side of campus. Lutwidge loads up a large assault rifle and says he'll take care of the intruders his way now.

Our teenaged heroes gather around a computer, in hopes that Robin can find a way to shut down the security for the whole facility. Instead, Robin comes across the detailed files the DEO has on each of them. And the files they see are the same files we'll get later in the issue. Robin and Arrowette are pretty horrified by all this, and Robin decides to send the files to the JLA and destroy everything he can here. But Robin needs time for all his computer hacking, so he urges everyone to begin the breakout plan now.

Claire sees Lutwidge and his men approaching them, and Casey suggests they head back to their room. Claire wants to stay and help, but Secret tells her they've done enough. Secret then takes charge, telling Wonder Girl and Arrowette to cover Robin, Impulse to count to 6 million then intercept the guards, and for Superboy to burrow a tunnel to the cells below them. But Claire offers to take Superboy down there with her portals instead.

Claire and Casey are shocked to see so many grotesque, mutated kids being kept in small cages right below them. Casey realizes she was picking up on their misery, which caused her illusions to turn hostile. Upon this shocking discovery, Casey and Claire decide to keep helping Young Justice through the end. However, Secret's plan is ruined when Impulse gets carried away counting on his fingers, and is well on his way to 12 million when Lutwidge and his men arrive at the server room. Luckily, Robin finishes his computer work just in time, and leaves behind a small bomb to distract the guards while all the heroes escape through Claire's portal.

Dr. Charles watches Young Justice tear open all the cells, and he orders Lutwidge down to the area. But Lutwidge's path is blocked by a brick wall, curtesy of Casey. Charles suspects it to be an illusion, which Lutwidge confirms by sticking his hand through it. Once Lutwidge and his men get through, our heroes are ready for them, and easily take down all the guards. Young Justice lead all the captive kids to freedom, just as Dr. Charles realizes all his files have been destroyed.

All the mutant kids are loaded into the vans Impulse found, but surprisingly, Claire and Casey decide to stay behind. Despite seeing how horribly the DEO treated their peers, these two girls still believe the DEO is the best place for them to learn how to use their powers. Even more surprising, Robin fully supports their decision, although Secret is worried the DEO could start mistreating Claire and Casey. So Wonder Girl and Superboy lift up the vans and fly everybody to safety.

We get a bit of an epilogue that shows Director Bones and Agent Chase investigating the Wabe facility six hours later. The DEO is a large, complex and unwieldy organization. While most of the DEO may be good, no one within the organization was able to recognize the corrupt branch ran by Charles and Lutwidge. And although Bones and Chase suspect corruption, they are unable to punish Charles and Lutwidge. The two scoundrels are simply transferred to another facility on the other side of the country, leaving Bones and Chase to just hope they don't do anything bad again. All the remaining kids from the Wabe facility are also relocated, and it is hinted that Casey and Claire will return as heroes sometime. But that never happens. Those girls, and all the kids that were rescued, will promptly be forgotten in the ensuing months and never mentioned again.


I have to say I'm a little disappointed in this main story. After teasing to this for so long, what we finally got felt rather lackluster. After spending so much time sneaking around, when Young Justice finally did fight the guards, it wasn't really much of a fight — ending just as quickly as it began. And we barely even saw the kids our heroes were rescuing. The victims of the story should have been the focus. It was nice that almost everyone in Young Justice had at least one moment to showcase their powers, well, except for Secret. Although she did help Robin plan things out and kind of took charge for a minute there. I did not like the way the story ended, and I really didn't like the art. So we'll have to count this as another miss in the hit-or-miss Secret Files and Origins series.

Day in the Life: "Impulse's Trip to the Justice Cave"

Writer: Joseph Illidge
Penciller: Craig Rousseau
Inker: Dexter Vines
Letterer: Clem Robins
Colors: Tom McCraw
Separations: Digital Chameleon

In Manchester, Alabama, Bart receives a Justice alert on his watch, and he resolves to get to the Young Justice headquarters before Robin so he won't kill them. On the road, Robin complains about always being the first to arrive at their meetings despite being the only one without superpowers. In Venice Beach, California, Superboy receives the alert and plans to strong-arm Robin and Impulse if they get on him for not cleaning the cave.

So Bart takes off, but forgets his GameBoy, and has to head back. He takes off a second time, and passes through Fawcett City, where he saves Billy Batson from a lightning bolt, not realizing that Billy was summoning the lightning to transform into Captain Marvel. Bart's GameBoy dies during the trip, and he stops by Guy Gardner's Warriors' restaurant in New York City for a drink. Bart complains to Guy about all the chores he has to do and how Max won't let him have any fun. Guy says he's lucky his uncle is from this universe, saying he used to have to take orders from a bunch of alien midgets.

As Bart leaves Warriors', he realizes he's hungry, so he stops by the 61 Flavors Ice Creem Store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the store only offers free ice cream to JLA members, but it seems Bart bought the ice cream anyway, as he later let out a huge burp. Bart then heads to Africa for some reason, and makes friends with a monkey, which hitches a ride on his shoulder for the rest of the story.

Bart then randomly heads to the lost and found section of The Slab, the island prison for supervillains. He tosses aside the Riddler's jacket and decides to take a boomerang and a cape that could have belonged to Doctor Polaris. Then Bart somehow gets lost, and even his monkey friend can't help him find his way on a map. So Bart heads to Blüdhaven, where Nightwing points him in the right direction. Finally, Bart arrives at the cave with his monkey, cape and boomerang, and Robin and Superboy are ready to kill him.


This was a delightful little two-page spread, appropriately drawn by Craig Rousseau. Pure goofiness is exactly what Impulse is all about. My favorite joke was the Captain Marvel one. Although Bart has met both Billy and Captain Marvel, I don't think it's ever been explained to him that they are the same person. And even if he knew that, it is doubtful Bart would know that Billy needed to be struck by lightning to transform. So what Bart thinks is a good deed, is actually preventing Earth's Mightiest Mortal from saving the day.

Profile Page: Impulse

Writer: Matt Brady
Pencils: Humberto Ramos
Inks: Wayne Faucher
Colors: Tom McCraw
Separations: Digital Chameleon

It's always a welcome sight to have Humberto Ramos return to Impulse, even for something as brief as this. I know that image is pretty tough to read, so I'll type it up. Keep in mind, though, that this is the DEO file on Impulse, and they don't quite know everything.

Top speed appears to be near the speed of light. Has achieved speed Wally West never approached at the same age. Appears to think only after he acts, if ever.

Real Name: Bart (last name unknown)
Occupation: Apprentice hero
Base of Operations: Manchester, Alabama
Ht: 5'1"; Wt: 110 lbs.
Eyes: Yellow  Hair: Brown
First Appearance: Flash #91 (June, 1994)
• Wally West/Flash
• Mercury, Max
AL-DEO-1356.94
Clearance: Top Secret

While the backgrounds of many speed heroes can be traced to the lineage of Barry Allen, Impulse's familial origins and early years are unknown. His earliest appearance coincided with a chronal discharge in the Keystone City region. It is unknown if the two are related. Impulse is localized in Manchester, Alabama, and supervillain activity has increased since his appearance. Of the younger heroes, Impulse stands out for his immaturity and reckless behavior — the fact that he has survived to the present is most likely due to luck than skill. Impulse has been under the guidance of Max Mercur; however, as none of his senior Flash "family members" are in Young Justice, it is unknown who is guiding Impulse in the use of his speed powers or behavior. A.P.E.S. field agents have already witnessed one occasion where Impulse recklessly used his powers with dangerous results (see reports of Fite & Maad). If apprehension becomes necessary, Velocity 9 capsules will be issued.


So you can see the DEO got quite a few details correct. (Although I'm not sure how they knew which comic book issue he first appeared in.) The other profile pages are on Robin, Superboy, Red Tornado, Secret, Wonder Girl, Arrowette, Bedlam, Old Justice (who are supposed to appear in Young Justice #10) and Rip Roar. One odd thing I noticed is that Impulse, Robin, Wonder Girl and Bedlam are all 5'1". And both Superboy and Arrowette are 5'7". I would have liked a little more variations in their heights.

The Lost Pages section shows us that Mighty Endowed has been taken to the A.P.E.S. headquarters inside Mount Rushmore. Every scientist within a 1,000-mile radius has volunteered to study the former Nina Dowd and help return her to normal. But Mighty Endowed can hypnotize anyone who stares directly at her massive chest. She attempts a daring escape, but is easily stopped by Fite 'n Maad, who call her a routine bust.

Tour of the Justice Cave

Writer: Peter David
Penciller: Todd Nauck
Inker: Lary Stucker
Letterer: Ken Lopez
Colors: Tom McCraw
Separations: Digital Chameleon

For some reason, Superboy is filming a tour of the official Young Justice headquarters, formerly the JLA's Secret Sanctuary. Superboy wants Impulse to do it, but he apparently had something else to attend to. So Superboy shows off the library, the gym, the locker rooms (and accidentally walks in on a changing Wonder Girl), and the meeting chamber. The room is a bit of a mess, with junk food and Animaniacs comics on the table, a Xema poster on the wall, as well as a Hanson poster, which Impulse has spray-painted a big "not" sign over (he really hates that band). Superboy explains that they've set up monitors to show them any major crisis around the world, and, of course, ESPN.

Superboy then shows off some statues he's made of himself, Robin and Impulse, and they are the very same statues we saw in Young Justice #1,000,000. Superboy says he'll be making statues of the girls soon enough, and we know he'll do a good job because they will last for more than 83,000 years. Superboy then shows off the lounge and kitchen, then heads up the front hallway, explaining that their location is safely hidden inside a mountain. But when he gets to the front, he finds that Impulse has decorated the main entrance with neon signs advertising the home of Impulse and his friends, Young Justice.

The final page, usually a timeline, is another DEO file written by field agent Scott Beatty. He chronicles every major adventure Young Justice has been on, starting with Robin's first meeting with Superboy. Next is Robin's first meeting with Impulse, where they stopped Piotr Vilk from launching nuclear missiles at Russia. The file then mentions how Robin, Superboy and Impulse helped the Legion of Super-Heroes defeat C.O.M.P.U.T.O., and it even talks about their adventure to the Marvel universe where the three boys and Wonder Girl were fused with other heroes. (If the DEO knows about parallel dimensions that even those involved with have forgotten, then you think the organization would be able to figure out that Bart's last name is Allen.) The timeline concludes with details on the boys defeating Bedlam, rescuing Secret (which actually happened before Bedlam), discovering the Super-Cycle and defeating Rip Roar.


So even though I wasn't the biggest fan of the main story, I do like this issue overall. Ramos and Rousseau came in to give us some nice Impulse images, and Peter David and Todd Nauck did a great job on the brief, but fun Lost Pages and Tour. I normally would be upset by the gimmicky, incomplete Profile Pages, but it works in this context, mainly because we just had an 80-Page Giant detailing all these heroes' origins. So I'm actually glad that they weren't too repetitive here.

Next time, we'll finally return to the epic crossover, JLA vs. The Titans #2.