Welcome to our coverage of Whos Who! For this summer, well be focusing exclusively on the 26-issue 1985-1987 series, without any of the updates. Those will, hopefully, follow next year.
Today, we dive into the fifth installment, which continues the Legionnaire focus and brings us some of the kookiest villains DC has to offer.
Best overall entry: Crime Doctor
While I maintain that the Flash has the best villains at DC, there are some Batman villains that are just perfect. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane back in 1943, the Crime Doctor is such a fun idea. Hes the doctor to the underworld, and collects a portion of their loot for his fee, but still upholds the Hippocratic Oath. It also has the perfect comic book copout ending, where someone who knows that Bruce Wayne is Batman winds up in a vegetative state with no memory.
Best non-character: The Construct
Now, maybe youll argue that this is a character. Im not going to argue that its debatable, but Id say that a collection of radio waves that became sentient is not, actually, a character.
Marquee character: Cyborg
We are still in the midst of the New Teen Titans being one of DCs most popular comics, and so Cyborg is front and center on this cover.
Most obscure character: Colonel Future
Col. Future may be the most obscure character yet in Whos Who. Aside from a Superman Sourcebook and this issue, he was only in two other pre-Flashpoint comics. There was a Superman villain on Earth-2 with the same name, but he is only in 5 issues. And, there was a reboot in the the Americas Best Comics imprint, but he was only in five issues there, too. 12 issues across three different timelines is an impressive and small footprint.
Also, the dude got a full page! Some pretty major characters got the half page treatment, but not Colonel Future!
Most incomprehensible entry: The Controllers
This is the perfect storm of incomprehensibility: 30th Century, Green Lantern, pre-historic, alien, and monolithic. This all (mostly) made sense to me, but Rao help someone without a brain rotted by comics.
Most bizarre entry: Composite Superman
This is such a fun character, but everything about it, from the look to the origin (Legion statues struck by lightning while a janitor walks by) make this a nutty concept, even for hardened comics guys to embrace.
Most Surprising Entry: Clayface
Now, I knew that there were multiple Clayfaces (Claysface?), but I wasnt aware that, pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths, that Basil Karlo didnt have any shape shifting abilities.
Top three pieces of art:
3. Colonel Computron
Carmine Infantino and Klaus Janson absolutely kill this boxy weirdo.
2. Cyborg
All hail George Prez (and Romeo Tanghal) for all of this, but especially the transformation in the top background.
1. Creeper
Dave Gibbons is so associated with Watchmen that I think he gets looked over for just how great his other work is. I mean, just marvel at this for a moment. Hot damn, son.
Best lines/details per entry:
Chronos: Clinton, admiring the clockwork precision with which everything was run in prison, decided he would make time work for him rather than against him.
Brians commentary: Irony is an overused term, but it is borderline ironic to do crimes inspired by prison.
Cinnamon: Known relatives: Unnamed Father (deceased)
Brians commentary: I know that her father plays into her origin, but the fact that hes dead and unnamed means that you can probably not mention him and still be ok.
Circe: During the most recent of their encounters, Wonder Woman was indeed responsible for the destruction of Circles precious herbs of immortality, so that the enchantress is now aging normally.
Brians commentary: Herbs of immortality? Sounds like Circe is 420 friendly, no?
The Citadel: With the technology in place, the First Citadelin forcibly ejected his Psion allies (making war even on them), creating the Citadel race but the clones were imperfect and retarded.
Brians commentary: Uhhhmay want to rephrase that, bro.
Claw: The Unconquered:
Brians commentary: This is some of the most stringent anti-fap action weve ever seen in a DC comic.
Clayface(s): His flesh now malleable, Payne transformed himself into an Adonis and stepped out on the town.
Brians commentary: If youre blue and you dont know where to go to, why dont you go where fashion sits?!
Clock King:
Brians commentary: Sometimes, these villain origins are torture porn. My goodness.
Cluemaster: Convinced the very knowledge that they were facing the Batman was a psychological handicap that gave the Masked Manhunter an edge over his foes, the Cluemaster was determined to lean the Batmans true identity so that he could sneak-attack and dispose of the Batman in his civilian guise.
Brians commentary: Is Masked Manhunter a common name for Batman? Also, this acts like Cluemaster is the first person to realize that if you could solve Batmans secret identity, that youd have a leg up on Batman.
Colonel Computron: Though it has been speculated that Colonel Computron is in fact either Basil Nurblin, the actual inventor of the Captain Computron toy, his wife Francine, an electronic wizard in her own right, or their genius daughter, Luna.
Brians commentary: Electronic wizard sounds like either an early 80s MCs name or a toy that Radio Shack sold.
Colonel Future:
Brians commentary: This power is pretty cool, but it sounds like no one would want to have the physical effects of getting to that power.
Color Kid: His power to alter the color of objects, a result of a laboratory accident that bathed in a multidemensional light, was considered nearly useless and he was rejected.
Brians commentary: I meanyeah.
Colossal Boy: When the true identity of Yera (the Durlans stage name) was revealed, Gim realized he had fallen in love with her, and reaffirmed his marriage.
Brians commentary: Sometimes, the best marriages are the ones that begin with deception.
Commander Steel: As of this writing, the details of Commander Steels exploits between 1941 and the present have not been officially recorded.
Brians commentary: Then why, pray tell, would you even mention that?
Composite Superman: When possessing these powers, the Composite Superman is an extraordinary athlete and superior hand-to-hand combatant. Plain Joe Meach is neither of those things.
Brians commentary: Sick burn.
Computo: A now-tamed version of Computo is contained in an energized circuit globe that serves as majordomo for the LSH headquarters under Brainiac Fives watchful supervision, and the suspicious lances of other Legionnaires.
Brians commentary: Im highlighting this just for the use of the word majordomo, which is a lovely word we dont use nearly enough.
Congorilla: Explorer, Big-Game Trapper, Naturalist, Corporate President
Brians commentary: Donald Trump Jr. wants this exact bio for his Truth Social bio.
The Construct:
Brians commentary: This is some sci-fi bullshit, but exactly my kind of sci-fi bullshit.
Controllers: The Legionnaires also confronted the Controller, who died of an apparent heart attack that may or may not have been caused by the presence of Ferro Lads ghost.
Brians commentary: I love to hear that near-indestructible alien races can still suffer from the effects of heart disease.
Copperhead: Constructed from a unique weave of experimental metallic and elastic fibers, the snake-suit is coated with a polymer film that enables Copperhead to slither through impossibly small spaces and makes him almost untouchable.
Brians commentary: So his suit allows his bones to shrink or go limp?
Cosmic Boy: Recently, Rokks mother, Ewa, was killed in a fireballing incident.
Brians commentary: I feel like we need more context for what, exactly, a fireballing incident entails.
Cosmic King: He has demonstrated no skill at physical combat.
Brians commentary: Whos Who values two things above all else: are you an Olympic-level athlete, and can you throw a punch? If there answer to either is no, get the fuck out.
The Council: The Council values secrecy above all else and does all it can to avoid attracting attention to itself. Thus, at this writing, the world is generally unaware of the Councils existence.
Brians commentary: Seems like writing this exact entry would make them impossibly mad.
Count Vertigo: Alter Ego: Count Werner Vertigo
Brians commentary: I know that he wasnt exactly looking for a secret identity, but cmon dude.
Crazy Quilt: After murdering Kinski during an argument, Crazy-Quilt managed to lure Robin into an alley and, beating him mercilessly, left the boy for dead, not knowing that this was Jason Todd, the new Robin.
Brians commentary: Dont you hate it when you beat the wrong boy and nearly kill him?
The Creature Commandos:
Brians commentary: The idea of a Frankenstein called Taylor is never not funny to me.
The Creeper: In order to infiltrate a costume party where the kidnappers were rumored to be fathering, Jack threw together a makeshift out from from old odds and ends, including yellow makeup and a shaggy sheepskinrug.
Brians commentary: I like that Jacks costume also involved some red gogo boots and a green striped pair of briefs. Lets go to this party!
Crime Doctor: Occupation: Physician and Part-time criminal
Brians commentary: Shouldnt his name be Doctor Crime then? You lead with the title thats most a part of you, no?
Crime Syndicate:
Brians commentary: Please, give us more ridiculous examples!
Crimson Avenger: The Crimson Avengers calling card was a cloud of crimson smoke through which he made a most dramatic entrance.
Brians commentary: Ive known people who appear through a cloud of verdant smoke, if you catch my drift.
Croc: Born in a Florida slum to an unwed mother who died giving birth to him, Waylon Jones was raised by a deadbeat alcoholic aunt.
Brians commentary: Jesus, why not just slander the whole family while youre at it?
Cyborg: The morose young athlete was virtually rebuilt from scratch and given a body far more powerful than that of any normal human being.
Brians commentary: Wouldnt you be morose if you were almost killed and now was half machine? Way to judge, Whos Who.
Cyclotron: Though ultimately cured of her radiation poisoning in an as-yet-disclosed manner, Terri Curtis passed the effects of the radiation on to her own son, Albert, with led to his becoming the super-hero known as Nuklon.
Brians commentary: If you think this is confusing, wait until you see how Nuklon was retconned into being the Atoms son.
Go here to see the original:
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe Vol. V - Multiversity Comics
- Indestructible UConn One Win Away from Immortality After Final Four Win over Alabama - Bleacher Report - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality - BusinessLine - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Immortality Is PossibleWe Just Have to Overcome One Stubborn Law of Physics - Popular Mechanics - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Naruto: Orochimaru and Madara could have achieved immortality easier if an Akatsuki member helped them - Sportskeeda - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Most The Last Airbender Fans Don't Know Only 1 Avatar Knew a Secret Immortality Technique She Learned from a ... - FandomWire - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Revolutionizing Grief: How AI is Redefining the Concept of Immortality - elblog.pl - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- IRaH - The Immortality App Movie Review: Rohit Roy Starrer Is A Thrilling Dive Into Digital Deception - Times Now - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- One Piece's Final Villains Are Officially Immortal (And The Series Already Explained Why) - Screen Rant - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- One of the great sporting gestures: How Jared helped Jasmin to Barkley Marathons immortality - Run247.com - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- One Piece: The Immorality Of The Gorosei, Explained - GameRant - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Dilraba Dilmurat and Chen Xing Xu Start Filming the Search for Immortality Mystery C-drama Love on the Turq... - A Koala's Playground - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Grief Tech And Digital Immortality: How Far Would You Go? - Sify - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- When Celine Dion paid emotional tribute to the Bee Gees with poignant rendition of 'Immortality' - Smooth Radio - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Nobody Wants to Die will explore immortality and transhumanism later in 2024 - TheXboxHub - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Nike Giannis Immortality 3 "White On White" DZ7533-102 - Sneaker News - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Cosmism: The philosophical movement that predicted space travel - Big Think - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Is Immortality Really All Its Cracked Up to Be in The Lord of the Rings? - CBR - Comic Book Resources - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Elves Immortality Is More of a Curse Than a Blessing in The Lord of the Rings - IMDb - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Dragon Ball's Weakest Villain Killed All The Strongest Heroes (In ... - Screen Rant - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- The Recorder - Connecting the Dots: Project Immortality - The Recorder - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Opinion: Gordon Lightfoot | The immortality of a shipwreck - News Courier - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- A Classic Spider-Man Villain Almost Killed the Hulk - CBR - Comic Book Resources - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Ilkay Gundogan has evolved and can now reach Manchester City immortality - Yahoo News - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Keanu Reeves Wont Ever Die! A Conspiracy Theory Of His Immortality By Fans Brings Up An Uncanny Resemblance To A Centuries-Old King, His Graceful... - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Amrit and the terror of impermanence - The Economic Times - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- 20 Split-Second Decisions Made in Movies That Completely ... - MovieWeb - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- 10 Movies like Renfield you must watch - Ready Steady Cut - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror reviews roundup - The Guardian - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- 10 Anime with immortal protagonists, ranked by likability - Sportskeeda - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Superman's Final Fate in DC Canon is Worse Than Fans Can Imagine - Screen Rant - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Palpatine Was Never a Star Wars Jedi - And It May Explain His Power - CBR - Comic Book Resources - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- INDYCAR Championship: Full Driver Standings After GMR Grand ... - Crash - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Tale Of The Nine-Tailed 1938 Promises An Explosive 2nd Season ... - soompi - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- DARLINGTON RACEWAY NOTEBOOK: Some of Sunday's drivers ... - SCNow - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Rumours Reimagined to hit the stage in Harrison this weekend ... - Agassiz Harrison Observer - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Unity (U) Q1 2023 earnings results beat revenue expectations - Shacknews - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Who is the real villain in Hells Paradise? - Dexerto - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Mark Patinkin's mom celebrates 73rd Mother's Day as center of family - The Providence Journal - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Deadpool 3 Has A Hilarious Way To Tie Into The MCU Infinity Saga - Screen Rant - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- WATCH: Exclusive Clip from Cartoon Network's We Baby Bears ... - GLAAD - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Frightening and fascinating facets of a deathless world - The New Indian Express - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- A Timeless Tale of Immortality and the Battle between Light and Dark - Digital Journal - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- The keys to longevity are hidden in the microbes that give us beer and wine - EL PAS USA - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Ding Liren Wins 2023 FIDE World Championship In Rapid Tiebreaks - Chess.com - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Hells Paradise: The history of Shinsenkyo explained - Dexerto - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- For Succession, Everything Is IP - Paste Magazine - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Canon U.S.A. Supports 18th Annual Japan Center Essay ... - InvestorsObserver - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- What I Learned at a Funeral about the Power of Love - spokanefavs.com - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Benedict Cumberbatch Is Perfect As Lord Voldemort, See The Photo - Giant Freakin Robot - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- 2023 European Championships Here comes the sun... 4barsrest - 4barsrest.com - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- What it means to have a perfect resurrection body - The Christian Post - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- The Flash Just Unlocked Immortality as DC's Most Un-Killable Hero - Screen Rant - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- Bucks County Community College names winners of High School ... - The Bucks County Herald - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- 10th Old School Kung Fu Festival: The Ghost Hill (1971) Review - Voices From The Balcony - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- The Sith Weren't The First Darkness The Jedi Unleashed On The ... - Screen Rant - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- Jamie Carragher lauds Manchester City as 'superior to Man United's Treble winners' - Daily Mail - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- Carol Burnett's 90th birthday special stars Cher, Bob Mackie creations - USA TODAY - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- Biological Clocks Have Been 'Rewired' to Increase Lifespan by 80 Percent - Newsweek - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- One Piece chapter 1081 reveals the fate of the Heart Pirates - Dexerto - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- Sweet Tooth Season 2 Episode 3 Recap - why does Becky enlist ... - Ready Steady Cut - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku and BLEACH Have This Interesting ... - GameRant - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- The Story of the Tree Has Artistic and Scientific Branches - UConn ... - University of Connecticut - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is an Inspired Tarot-Crafting Game - Hardcore Gamer - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- Honkai Star Rail Officially Available On Mobile And PC; PlayStation ... - Noisy Pixel - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- ChooxTV's iconic tank Layla build will have you scratching your head - ONE Esports - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- 'Sisu' review: Nazi-killing World War II film is a gory good time - The Arizona Republic - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- Biological immortality - Wikipedia - February 20th, 2023 [February 20th, 2023]
- Immortality Director Considering Using Graphics, Rather Than Actors and Sets, for His Next ... - Latest - LatestLY - January 19th, 2023 [January 19th, 2023]
- Immortality (video game) - Wikipedia - December 21st, 2022 [December 21st, 2022]
- Lionel Messi attains footballing immortality and receives royal coronation on the grandest stage of them all - VAVEL.com - December 21st, 2022 [December 21st, 2022]
- Immortality for PC Reviews - Metacritic - December 18th, 2022 [December 18th, 2022]
- Netflix Subscribers Can Download Immortality Game for iOS Devices - December 18th, 2022 [December 18th, 2022]
- Immortality review | PC Gamer - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- 'Immortality,' the latest game from 'Her Story' creator Sam Barlow ... - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- Nike Giannis Immortality 2 "Floral" FD0213-400 | SneakerNews.com - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- Guerrero: I once fell for the fantasy of uploading ourselves. It's a dangerous myth - Los Angeles Times - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Grand Rapids landmarks to light up Oct. 13 to raise awareness for metastatic breast cancer - MLive.com - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Make It Stop: Colbert Will Host Celebrity Pickleball Show - UPROXX - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Interview with the Vampire stars Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid on the "endurance and acceptance" of immortality (Exclusive) - Sportskeeda - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- What Was The Significance Of The Paragon "Hourglass" Symbol? Was Stanton Feeding The Dead Patients To The Ghosts? | DMT - DMT - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]