Action Comics Annual

ARTISTS

Writer: Dan Vado
Penciller: Chris Wozniak
Inkers: Karl Altstaetter, Karl Kesel, Steve Mitchell, Trevor Scott
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: Albert DeGuzman
Editor: Michael Carlin

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CHARACTERS & SETTINGS

heroes: Booster Gold, Captain Marvel, Fire, Ice, Superman
supportinges: Emil Hamilton, Jerry Cross, Lex Luthor II, Simon Bennett

Settings: 20th-century Crater Bay, DCU, USA; 20th-century Metropolis, DCU, USA

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ISSUE SUMMARY

Cover Description: Captain Marvel holds an Eclipso-controlled Superman in a headlock. (No Booster Gold.)

Brief Synopsis: An outclassed Justice League battles an Eclipsed Superman.

Costume Worn: MARK I power-suit

Issue Notes: The story in this issue ties into the summer-long "Eclipso: The Darkness Within" storyline running throughout the 1992 DC annuals.

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ISSUE ANNOTATIONS

Page 1, panel 1
Booster Gold, Fire, Ice, and Superman have come to Simon Bennett for help defeating Eclipso, who has been slowly taking control of the world through the spread of his black diamonds. Simon Bennett is the father of Mona Bennett, fiance of Bruce Gordon, the man who long ago freed Eclipso from his mystical prison and is most knowledgeable about Eclipso's powers and motivations. Simon Bennett, Mona Bennett, Bruce Gordon, and Eclipso all first appeared in 1963's House of Secrets #62.

Page 3, panel 2
Superman's plan suffers from the serious flaw that the Justice League is currently well overmatched by the power of a Superman. With Blue Beetle missing (Justice League America Annual #6), Guy Gardner off the team again, Maxima Eclipsed, and Bloodwynd unaccounted for, only Booster Gold, Fire, and Ice remain to oppose an Eclipsed Superman.

Page 5, panel 1
Fire is again wearing her old costume, replaced in Justice League America #63. Fire and Ice are taking the threat of an Eclipsed Superman rather lightly.

Page 6, panel 1
To make up for their lack of power, the Justice League turns to the expertise of Professor Emil Hamilton and Lex Luthor II, firmly establishing that these events are taking place within Metropolis.

Page 8, panel 3
Superman arrives in Crater Bay, a town whose residents were dominated by Eclipso in Superman Annual #4.

Page 13, panel 5
POWER UP: Arriving in Crater Bay, Booster Gold is punched by an Eclipsed Superman. Booster is one of the few Justice Leaguers who could survive such a beating thanks to his "impenetrable" force field.

Page 17, panel 2
"We're in way over our heads," must be one of the great understatements in history.

Page 22, panel 3
The mysterious man that Ice recruited to assist the Justice League against Superman is none other than Captain Marvel.

Page 27, panel 3
The Justice League faces not only the possessed townspeople of Crater Bay, but also monsters that Eclipso has created. These monsters are anthropomorphic personifications of the anger of the people under his control, and unlike the citizens themselves, are nothing more than Eclipso's will made solid.

Page 49, panel 4
Booster Gold saves Jerry Cross from a forest fire, somehow started by the fight against Eclipso. (Perhaps from Fire's flames? Superman's heat vision? Booster's Booster Shots? The town is clearly on fire before Superman douses Captain Marvel in gasoline.) Cross, a resident of Crater Bay, previously appeared in Superman Annual #4.

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ISSUE REVIEW

Boosterrific Review: Don't let the beautiful Quesada/Palmiotti cover fool you: the art in this issue is rushed and drastically sub-par. It doesn't help that the story is just not strong enough to fill this oversize issue. Perhaps it isn't fair to say that this is the worst of the "Eclipso" annuals of 1992, but it is certainly not far from the bottom.

Boosterrific Rating:

• Currently 2.0/5 Stars.

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