IN EACH MAN THERE IS A DEMON!

Or, in other words, "Behind each man with a demon, there's a chick!"

Poor Black Canary. That her above, standing over the bodies of her fallen Justice League compatriots. For those of you who think, wow, there's going to be a great story inside, showing this sexy gal in the fishnets knocking the crap out of Superman and his buddies, well, you'd be mistaken.

As is the norm in the Justice League comic book, the story where a new character is inducted into the ranks usually focuses on the new member's significant contribution to solving the case. There's a crest at the start of the story listing the privileges and tokens you get with membership, including a key to the secret hideout, which, at this point, was a satellite high above the Earth. (They used to converge in a cave decked out with sexy mod furniture, and you know that place was spic 'n' span, because Wonder Woman had cleaning detail).

This story, however, is significant because not only is there no formal announcement of Black Canary joining the League, the story instead focuses on Green Arrow and his identity crisis, with Black Canary doing nothing more significant than any other Leaguer, and the event that literally knocks her fellow heroes on their feet is beyond her control. By some unknown occurrence, Black Canary is suddenly able to emit sonic waves from her throat, but can't control it, so this ability is viewed more as a menace than helpful.

Like I said, poor Black Canary. Maybe she's not a household name, but she's a significant heroine in comic book lore because, unlike the more popular Supergirl and Batgirl, she's not a rip-off a male character. So why do they stick her with Green Arrow, himself a rip-off of Robin Hood, down to his "steal from the rich and give to the poor" politics? To be fair, Green Arrow wasn't always a political character, not until he was undertaken by Denny O'Neil, who wrote this story, and was putting his stamp on many of the big DC Comics heroes at that time, like Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman.

O'Neil's "stamp" on Wonder Woman is the reason she's missing from the Justice League at this point, and the need for another broad to replace her-- in O'Neil's Wonder Woman comic, she loses her powers, job, and star-spangled underoos; her homeland of Paradise Island vanishes from the face of the Earth, her longtime boyfriend Steve Trevor is killed, and, as plain "Diana Prince," she learns kung fu and becomes an apprentice to a blind Oriental mentor, I-Ching. Basically, she stopped being Wonder Woman and became Emma Peel of the "Avengers."

As you can probably tell, and as Gloria Steinam later attested, Denny O'Neil was not interested in writing strong, independent women. In O'Neil's first Wonder Woman story, for instance, Wonder Woman gets groped at a party and needs Steve to defend her. When Steve later tells Wonder Woman he's mad enough to kill the guy, and the guy winds up dead, it is Wonder Woman's testimony that puts Steve in jail. Steve is so inconsolably mad at Wonder Woman-- instead of the ludicrous story convention that would put America's top war hero in jail on such flimsy evidence-- that he basically tells Wonder Woman to get lost. Yet another ludicrous story convention-- instead of saying "screw you," Wonder Woman is mad at herself! She's so upset that she's hurt her asshole boyfriend she does whatever it takes to get him out of jail, which involves turning her plain-Jane Diana Prince persona into a sexy, swingin' bachelorette.

Having cleared Steve of the charges, the penitent Wonder Woman cuddles up with Steve, begging his forgiveness, as Steve notes the credit belongs to Diana Prince, and maybe he'll ask her out on a date. The story ends with Wonder Woman musing she's going to have to do something different to keep the attention of her man. Her asshole jerk of a man. Yeah, you've come a long way, baby.

It's no surprise, then, that a writer subjecting Wonder Woman to such humiliation wouldn't have much regard for a second-stringer like Black Canary. In the previous issue, Black Canary watched her husband murdered by an interstellar villain, and distraught and adrift, she left behind her former life and world to join the Justice League-- and yet, the distress and hand-wringing in this issue belongs to Green Arrow, who's having a case of the humdrums, wondering whether he's actually useful as a hero. Okay, there are other factors as well-- he lost his fortune, in another ludicrous story convention that occurs within a panel-- but, compared to Black Canary, Green Arrow's distress is pure 70's self-indulgence.


Green Arrow's identity crisis propels the story. Is he Green Arrow or Oliver Queen? In his own words, "Is a part-time crime-fighter really useful?" Visiting a therapist with a revolutionary new therapy, Green Arrow (in his identity as Oliver Queen) gets strapped into the "Id Actualizer," which is meant to show the patient his true self. Instead of tearful self-realizations, a big green version of Green Arrow emerges from the machine and declares himself Arrow's "fighting spirit," the "warrior" within. He punches the therapist and takes off to the Justice League satellite.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Justice League-- a bunch of guys-- are arguing over whether Black Canary is worthy of the Justice League, even though she had served many years in a more august crime fighting organization, the Justice Society. It is only when Canary opens her mouth to protest that the event pictured on the cover occurs, and the Justice Leaguers are "flung about like leaves in a hurricane." Watch out when a woman opens her mouth! Black Canary herself explains, she's "unable to even guess what had happened."

It's up to the guys to figure it out. Canary sits back, strapped to the Justice League computers, showing complete bafflement as the guys posit what might have happened. They surmise she became an instant mutant in the attack that killed her husband; additionally, Canary not only has no control of this new ability, but, according to the Atom, she generates these sonic waves "without... willing it."

Strangely enough, this ends the debate. Canary's on the team. A hero with a brand new ability she cannot control, or even will into existence; an ability that can send even Superman reeling; a character who has gone through recent changes that would make even the most stolid hero a loose cannon-- but who cares? What is it? "We need another broad and what broad isn't unstable?" Or-- "who cares-- what about Green Arrow's pain?"

Because once again, we're brought back to the main conflict-- Green Arrow has to fight a figment of his inner self, and how can he do that? For as the text states, "no man can battle himself!" (shudder!) The phantom Green Arrow arrives at the JLA satellite, and touching the other heroes, they, too, are suddenly shadowed by their own destructive duplicates. Is it up to Black Canary, as a woman, to show the guys how to do it? A woman who's been through so much turmoil that confronting her own ugly inner self shouldn't be too difficult? Nope. Superman saves the day, as usual.

For some reason, Superman was not duplicated when touched by Green Arrow's phantom, so while the rest of the Justice League sit in existential despair as their duplicates wreck havoc, Superman secretly paints one of his trusty Superman robots green and has it crash the meeting, masquerading as his own unchecked id. Kicking and punching the hapless robot until it's out of commission, Superman exhorts the others: "See, if I whipped my own bad side, so can you!"

The League is inspired, and off they go to tackle their counterparts. Although the actulaized ids are meant to commit the acts the heroes "dare not do," as the Batman duplicate notes, each seems to represent a paranoid and insecure vision of themselves. The Batman and Atom clones each proclaim their physical and scientific superiority to their counterparts. The Hawkman clone proclaims the real Hawkman is too old-fashioned to prevail. (?) And the Black Canary clone flirtily steals a motorcyle by knocking the rider from his seat. Are we to assume the clone is suggesting Black Canary never shows her sexy side? Or does Canary feels guilty about her own motorcyle, given to her earlier in the story and "specially built by Superman" --as though she's thinking she needs to "repay" him for the gift?

In any case, the real Canary feels the "strange singing building in her head" (again, she doesn't seem to be willing it) --but she can't control the direction, and knocks a rider from his bike behind her. She has to rely on her "old skills," jumping the "hussy" and applying a judo choke hold.

But for Green Arrow, "It's different." He can't attack his doppelganger because the phony speaks the truth-- that Arrow only wanted to be a hero for the fame, always more interested in his wealth than heroism. It's only when he's confronted by shop owners who have been robbed by the phony Arrow that he finds a new impetus- guilt. He did nothing to stop the phony Arrow from looting a jewellery store, and now the elderly proprietors have lost everything. Since that's something he can understand, he's able to find his motivation, facing down his doppleganger and shooting him with an that dissolves not only his own doppelganger, but the doppelgangers of the rest of the Leaguers as well.

All is well! Green Arrow had been wounded in the encounter, but his doppelganger must be a lousy shot, because he was aiming for the heart and yet hit Arrow in the thigh (Arrow muses, "his aim was off a bit." ?) Still, he's "happier than ever before! Because now, I know who I am!"

"Well... I don't!" Black Canary replies. "I still don't belong to this time, this place! But I'll try..." She says they're both crippled: "you by your wound, me by my loss, my doubt--"

So, Green Arrow has "found himself" and Canary has even started looking, and somehow that makes them even? Green Arrow has spent the entire issue working through his "issues," and has come back from existential crisis full of life, and a few weeks wearing a band aid on this leg. Somehow, that's equivalent to the issues Black Canary has yet to face. "But with some luck and some love, maybe we can find peace..." Is O'Neil suggesting that all Canary needs is a boyfriend, and by hooking her up with Arrow, all will be fine? Green Arrow simply needs to find himself, and Black Canary simply needs to find a man.

So, in a story traditionally meant to highlight the abilities of the new recruit, what have we seen? Black Canary did nothing special. When she tried to use her fantastic new power, she finds she cannot direct it, knocking out an innocent guy behind her ("Oh dear!" she muses). We never see the League actually coming together and voting on her behalf; the members who were doubtful showing reason for why they've changed their mind. Of course not-- because they'd be out of their mind to do so. Unless, that is, they're scared to have say "no" to a loose cannon broad who can knock them on their asses without even willing it.

WONDER WOMAN #27 -- "A SENSE OF LOSS"

There are a lot of things I really like about this story. The initially sympathetic Zeus later reveals his gristly plans for the Amazons. Does he believe he’s actually doing the Amazons a good turn? Or is he simply betraying Athena? As for Athena, her death almost seemed too convenient, a way to get her out of the way so as to advance the plot—but, then, it seems too easy, as though she’s got something up her sleeve. Is she planning her eventual rebirth, like the New Gods, giving herself a newfound relevance? Is she tricking Zeus once again? This plotline is so outrageous it teeters on the ridiculous, but so far, it’s the most fun and exciting part of the story.

The scene with Sarge Steel is also fun, with Sarge going even further off the rails, ready to bring down everyone including, seemingly, himself. We don’t need any description from any of the other characters to explain just why he’s absolutely bonkers, he just is.

I wish I could say the same about the other plot points— Diana’s defeat by Genocide, Genocide herself, and the significance of the lasso. It’s a classic case of show, don’t tell. We keep being told that Genocide inspires a feeling of “overwhelming dread,” but don’t actually see what this means. We see numerous contacts between Genocide and people in this issue, and yet never see how this dread is manifest. Why couldn’t we see a victim’s pleas turn from hopeful to dreadful acceptance? Phobia and the DMA secretary show garden variety pleading; Cheetah seemingly has a normal conversation with the creature, as do Firestorm and Green Lantern, who only seems to have a bad reaction when he’s wrapped in the lasso, and it is only through Canary’s comment that she’s “never heard a Green Lantern scream like that” that we’re supposed to imagine the terror.

But what’s the big deal with the lasso? Diana keeps telling us it’s this terrible weapon, and I assume we’ll see more of that in the future, but what are we supposed to take from this first attack by Genocide? Green Lantern comes to the terrifying conclusion he’s prideful! And alone! I mean, really. Try therapy, dude. Unless we see how these rather mundane feelings are manifest in a terrifying way, all we see is Canary’s report of his scream, which hardly gives goosebumps down the spine.

Similarly, Diana is laid low in this issue not only because of her physical wounds, but because she’s been defeated “as a warrior.” She knows what it means, Nemesis apparently knows what that means, but do we? We didn’t get to see the battle, nor why this is so devastating for Diana, so we have to assume this is a BIG DEAL because Diana is feeling so thoroughly defeated. It just seems so strange for the main character to have a major shift of mood and yet we never see how it happened.

Another aspect I felt could have been more dramatic and interesting was the “golden pathways.” It seems strange that the gods, only recently coming back to themselves, would have the knowledge, power, and resources for something so dynamic. There was a similar situation in an earlier story, when Diana returns to Paradise Island after her powerless phase. Diana was an amnesiac, drawn to return to her homeland so irresistibly that she stole a jet, was shot from the sky, and fought off sharks before finding Paradise Island. These golden pathways just seem so easy, and too much like the deus ex machinas we’ve become accustomed to in recent Wonder Woman issues. But there’s a tradition in Classical literature of the hero having to go through certain rites or trails before they can ascend to another plane or magical land; somehow, working as a manager at a Cancer center doesn’t really cut it. I think the scenes of the Amazons in their worldly disguises, as well as the double page of Zeus receiving the pathways, might have been better used to show something a little more worthy of the Amazon’s desire to return to home, not just a “hey, I’m out’a here!” and a handy walkway.

I really liked the last issue. Finally, we were back to a story that centers on Diana and her supporting cast and the kinds of threats she might face as Wonder Woman. I feel a little deflated that we’re only a third of the way in, and I’m already feeling disappointed; that I’m supposed to accept Genocide is a terrible threat because people keep saying she is; that Diana has been so thoroughly defeated because she’s acting morose, or that the lasso is so terrible is someone else’s hands because, well, because! Certainly there’s a lot of time for this story to get back on track, I just wish I wasn’t already feeling doubtful about this latest version of the ultimate badass Diana foe.

WW #124-- THE IMPOSSIBLE DAY

Or, in a less gentle manner, "The Day of the Penis-Menace!"

Presumably, so this comic could bypass the Comics Code, the menace inside does not appear on the cover, where instead we see the less thrilling spectacle of Wonder Woman balancing younger versions of herself on her head and hands as a fire-breathing dragon burns away the tight rope she's walking. But what about the Penis-Menace? We're rewarded on the splash page, as we see the so-called "Wonder Family" -- Wonder Woman, along with Wonder Girl and Wonder Tot, who are Wonder Woman as a teenager and infant-- along with their mom, Wonder Queen Hippolyta, all spread-eagled in the air after having been rammed by a giant penis with a sinister face. How did this come to be?

Steve Trevor, Wonder Woman's boyfriend, must be like the insecure pretty girl, because he invites his less attractive friend, Diana Prince, on holiday. Spelunking in a cave, they find cave drawings of a dinosaur being lassoed by crude renditions of the Wonder Family. How could humans, let alone Wonder Woman at different ages, be depicted alongside dinosaurs?

Diana (Wonder Woman) Prince muses, "it is impossible... at the same time, it did happen!" She reminisces on the time she and her mother, in answer to "thousands" of letters, devised a way of showing Wonder Woman and her two younger selves in an adventure together. Up until now, we had see Wonder Woman, Wonder Girl, and the newly introduced Wonder Tot in seperate adventures, but with the highly advanced super-Amazon science of film-splicing, the Queen is able to combine countless films of her daughter at various ages so as to create an "adventure" in which all three versions of her daughter appear together.

Film-splicing? What amazing scientists the Amazons have! They've also devised a miniaturized film projector that can be worn as a ring. Sitting in the theatre, the Queen must hold her hand up, completely still, or the film becomes shaky or not seen at all. How futuristic and super-convenient!

Our fabricated story starts with the quartet taking off from a lofty cliff "like gliders" -- as we're reminded, the Amazons do not fly, they drift on air currents. Just off shore of Paradise Island, they witness a nearby nuclear test. You'd think the Queen, with her "Space and Time Projector," which can see any occurence, anywhere, at any time, would have been alerted to the impending disaster, as she has done many times in the past. Nevermind-- the Amazons prevent the fallout from reaching their home by whirling in a circle, drawing the fallout through a rain cloud so as to "wash" it. Yet more Amazon super-science, instructing little girl readers of the 50's and 60's that nuclear fallout could be eliminated through the rinse cycle.




Are the Amazons that simplistic, they think an intrusion from man’s world so easily dispersed? Think again, foolish female—out of the remnants arises the huge phallic menace of “multiple man.” A giant runaway penis, he rams the Amazon family, sending them hurtling into the sea. Finally we get the real answer to how there are suddenly progeny on Paradise Island—those damn men and their damn penises. As the Wonder Family sink to the sea bottom, unconsciously drifting into a giant clamshell that closes about them, giving them shelter-- Yonic Symbol, anyone? --it is Wonder Tot who is roused to the impending danger of penis-menace's approach. In the most hilariously obvious symbolism of a penis charging a vagina, the Amazon babe lifts the clamshell and holds it vertically for the onrushing missle. How the hell did this pass the censors?

Wonder Tot captures the penis within the clamshell-- they must get sex education early on Paradise Island-- then dashes them, together, onto a rock-- bam! Talk about a climax.

But of course, as Eve discovered, you let in one penis, you can't hold back the rushing hordes. Once destroyed, Multiple Man simply takes on another guise, and the story unfolds as a typical Wonder-Family story, with each individual member confronting her own menace. Wonder Girl and her merman boyfriend prevent Multiple Man, as a "molten menace," from boiling the sea, by hurling a cache of convenient treasure chests which happen to be made of lead. He's reduced to a leaden puddle, which Queen Hippolyte fashions into a bracelet, so if Multiple Menace reforms, she'll "be the first to know."

The Queen should have figured something was up when her bracelets had a little man's face on it. Bracelets, of course, are significant in Wonder Woman's mythology, as the bracelets worn by the Amazons are their former shackles, retained so as to remind themselves to never allow themselves to be enslaved again. They also keep the Amazons subservient to Aphrodite, reminding them to always use their strength for good, with the punishment, should they be removed, that their strength becomes uncontrollable and drives them to violence. They become "free to destroy like a man."

Of course, this was the philosophy as intended by Wonder Woman's creator, William Moulton Marston. Marston had been dead for 15 years at this point, and his sucessor, Robert Kanigher, systematically removed all the mythology Marston had created. Still, a neat twist that this time, it's the wearing of a bracelet, not its removal, that drives the Queen mad. Under Multiple Man's baleful influence, she is roused from sleep, knocks aside an Amazon guard, then becomes so enraged at a statue of Athena at the Temple of Astrology, that the towering statue would "look down on a Queen," she hurls the massive statue at the temple, reducing it to ruins.


Realizing she has become a menace, the Queen bids farewell to her sleeping daughters, then asks an Amazon scientest to send her far into the past, where "there will be no one to harm."

When her daughters learn of the Queen's actions, they follow her into the past, just in time to help the Queen from being dragged off the cliff by the bracelet (!). Why is the Queen, who can fly as well as her daughters, suddenly threatened by heights? And why, as the Queen notes, if Multiple Man can "endure forever," and therefore can "terrorize the world of the future," did the Queen drag him into the past in the first place?

And how, if Multiple Man can endure forever, are the Amazons quartet satisfied he has been defeated by a mere lightning bolt? After Multiple Man transforms into a fire-breathing dinosaur, the Amazon family use a tree as a catapult to launch Multiple Man into the midst of a storm cloud, where a "chain of lightning bolts" strike the lasso-bound villain with the "force of an exploding sun." They accept Wonder Woman's assurance that he "no longer threatens the world," then follow a caveman wearing a fur jockstrap into a cave to receive a present when-- zap! --the Amazon scientist returns the quartet before they face any further danger. Maybe she's the only one with a brain, knowing Multiple Man will surely resurrect, and wanted to prevent another endless cycle of adventures.

Multiple Man does return, in future issues, to confront the Wonder Family-- although he never seems as creepy or menacing as in this first appearance. Perhaps he was successfully neutered, for he no longer recites the mantra that makes him so creepy in this story-- "Whatever I want... I take! Whatever stands in my way... perishes! Nothing can stop-- me!" Just like a man! Perhaps, after polluting both the Queen and their sanctuary of Paradise Island, he's already done the bulk of his dirty work.