Bloodbath
Volume 1, Issue 1
Cover Date: Early December 1993
Release Date: October 12, 1993
Cover Price: $3.50
Guide Price: $3.50 (as of 2003)
"Bloodbath"
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SPOILER WARNING: The following page may contain story spoilers. Read at your own risk.
ARTISTS
Writer: Dan Raspler
Pencillers: Bill Willingham, Chuck Wojtkiewicz
Inkers: Agop Gemdjian, Kieth Wilson
Colorist: Stuart Chaifetz
Letterer: Albert DeGuzman
Editors: Archie Goodwin, Bill Kaplan
Cover Artists: Ed Hannigan, Tom McWheeney
CHARACTERS & SETTINGS
heroes: Arsenal, Atom II, Batman II, Battalion, Beast Boy, Bloodwynd II, Booster Gold, Demon, Doctor Light IV, Elongated Man, Green Lantern II, Guy Gardner, Hawkman III, Killowat, Martian Manhunter, Maxima, Nightrider, Nightwing II, Pantha, Power Girl, Ray II, Red Star, Redwing, Robin III, Superboy III, Superman, Tasmanian Devil, Terra II, Wonder Woman
villaines: Angon, Deathstroke, Gemir, Glonth, Lissik, Pritor, Taker, Venev
supporting: Amanda Waller
Setting: 20th-century Metropolis, DCU, USA
ISSUE SUMMARY
Cover Description: Assembled heroes of the DC universe fight alien invaders within the alien stronghold. The pictures heroes, listed alphabetically, are Batman II, Booster Gold, Elongated Man, Flash III, Green Lantern II, Guy Gardner, Maxima, Pantha, Power Girl, Red Star, Starfire, Superman, Tasmanian Devil, and Wonder Woman.
Brief Synopsis: Amanda Waller assembles many of the heroes of the DC universe in order to repel an assault on humanity by a dragon-like race of shape-changing aliens.
Costume Worn: MARK II armored power-suit
Issue Notes: This is the penultimate story in the summer-long "Bloodlines" storyline running throughout the 1993 DC annuals.
ISSUE ANNOTATIONS
Page 6, panel 1
Booster Gold assembles to discuss strategy against the alien menace with the following identifiable heroes: Atom II, Batman II, Battalion, Bloodwynd I, Changeling, Deathstroke, Dr. Light IV, Elongated Man, Etrigan, Green Lantern II, Guy Gardner, Hawkman III, Martian Manhunter, Maxima, Nightrider, Nightwing, Pantha, Power Girl, Ray II, Red Star, Redwing, Roy Harper (as Arsenal), Superboy III, Superman, Tasmanian Devil, Terra II, and Wonder Woman. This is Booster's first appearance with so many heroes in his new armor, and it is his first meeting with Arsenal, Batman II, Battalion, Nightrider, Superboy III, and Terra II. Etrigan the Demon previously appeared at the JLA Headquarters in Justice League America #70, though it is unclear if Booster met him at that time. Note that Superman is present, having returned from the dead less than a year after being killed by Doomsday.
Page 12, panel 4
Booster accompanies fellow Justice Leaguers Bloodwynd I, Guy Gardner, Martian Manhunter, Maxima, and Wonder Woman to the rescue of Ray and a LexAir passenger airliner that has been assaulted by the alien named Glonth.
Page 13, panel 3
DON'T MAKE 'EM LIKE THEY USED TO: As the others deal with saving the airliner, Booster charges the falling Glonth, only to fall to the alien's superior strength. Mark II Booster Gold 0, Enemies 5. These panels are the first to indicate that Booster's current flight ability may indeed be powered by his new armor's boots and not his Legion Flight Ring.
Page 15, panel 4
Booster recovers from Glonth's blow in time to see the alien captured by Guy Gardner.
Page 24, panel 2
Booster is a member of the second wave of Waller's strike plan against the alien stronghold in the park land near the old Reservoir Road in Metropolis. Accompanying Booster in Wave Two are Arsenal, Maxima, Pantha, Red Star, and Terra.
Page 29, panel 5
Booster's Wave Two is the first group of heroes to encounter the alien Venev within its stronghold. Despite Booster's best efforts, Venev escapes.
Page 48, panel 1
Following a prolonged confrontation with the aliens, Booster is among the heroes present as the space parasites Angon, Gemir, Glonth, Lissik, Pritor, and Venev sacrifice themselves to birth the titanic Taker, a greater threat to Earth than the other aliens combined. Other heroes present for the birthing are Batman II, Battalion, Bloodwynd, Changeling, Deathstroke, Elongated Man, Green Lantern II, Guy Gardner, Hawkman III, Killowat, Martian Manhunter, Maxima, Nightrider, Nightwing, Pantha, Power Girl, Ray II, Redwing, Robin III, Starfire, Superboy III, Superman, Terra II, and Wonder Woman.
Page 54, panel 2
Though Booster is not specifically shown to be captured by the Taker, he is not pictured among "all that's left," the few heroes who escaped the Taker's initial assault. Booster's fate will not be revealed until the next issue.
ISSUE REVIEW
Boosterrific Review: Breaking the tradition of the company-wide crossover story, the Bloobath mini-series does not bookend the 1993 DC Comics Annuals but rather concludes them. This strategy makes for a more cohesive mini-series. As uniquely 90's as this series is (edgy heroes, erratic art, long-haired Superman, "blood" in the title), it is not at all bad. The story is a straight-forward brawl featuring many popular heroes of the contemporary DC Universe. Aside from the terribly uneven art (especially the careless coloring by Stuart Chaifetz), this issue remains a surprisingly readable comic book.
Boosterrific Rating: Gold Standard.
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