The X-Files – Season 1, Episode 2 – “Deep Throat”

The X-Files

Mulder and Scully investigate the mysterious case of a military test pilot who disappeared after experiencing strange psychotic behavior.

Yeah, so it actually sounds like the only one who’s going to be doing any deep throating in this episode is Special Agent Fucks Mulder.

The X-Files, Season 1, Episode 2 - Deep Throat

“Scully, I’ll be doing all the deep throating today. I promise.”

We begin in southern Idaho near Ellens Air Force Base where a military SWAT team of sorts is trying to break into some poor lady’s nice-looking house while she just stands there and watches them. They bust through the house breaking all sorts of shit, and then eventually find a man in his underwear sitting on the floor against the wall. He’s shivering AND completely covered in burns! An interesting combination.

Sounds like a strange case for Mulder AND Scully, the Team of Dreams. Scully waits for Mulder in a bar. He shows up and makes his presence known to her by sticking his face within four millimeters of her face. Personal bubbles this guy ain’t know nothin’ about.

The almost-naked guy was a military man named Colonel Robert Budahas, who didn’t look like a dignified Colonel to me! He looked like a dork. He’s not at the house anymore. The military will not reveal what had happened to him, and several other pilots had experienced similar weird issues near the same base. Reportedly, they were all flying EXPERIMENTAL PLANES! Budahas’ wife won’t even disclose the information. The Colonel’s disappearance being officially ruled a kidnapping!

While Mulder freshens himself up in the little boy’s room, a man pops in and scares the shit out of him. “Leave this case alone, Agent Mulder,” the man says with a slight underbite and a raspy voice. A fairly deep throaty timbre, if you ask me. And you shouldn’t. The military doesn’t want some nerd hunting for aliens to be involved with this routine kidnapping case! The man will not tell Mulder who he is; he is merely advising him congenially! And he’d better toe the line before Skinner kisses him to death.

Scully scans the really outdated newspaper archives looking for similar cases and stumbles across the letters “UFO” a lot in the headlines. Scully calls Mulder and the phone sounds bugged. There’s a man in an unmarked van right outside Mulder’s apartment looking very conspicuous and menacing, so Mulder tells Scully to shut the hell up and they’ll talk about things later. They’ll talk about things later while they hug and kiss each other. Some day.

The X-Files, Season 1, Episode 2 - Deep Throat

“Scully, you’re breaking up. Are you going through a tunnel? Do you remember what I said about me doing all the deep throating?”

BUDAHAS WIFE INTERROGATION TIME! Her testimony is that Robert came back from his mission acting all weird: putting fish food on his steak, shaking like he was having a seizure, pooping his pants in front of the kids and playing with the poop, loving his country like a fucking idiot. And it’s not just her husband; Mrs. Budahas has a buddy whose military husband came back from a mission all cuckoo. We seem him pulling hairs out of his head and trying to tie them around flies. That sounds like a good hobby, and it sounds way more productive than this thing I’m doing right now.

Agent Dana Levelheaded Scully has an explanation for all this that has nothing to do with creepy crawly aliens. Stress! Being a military man is stressful! Case closed. Let’s go to Denny’s and have a Grand Slam breakfast.

Mulder isn’t done yet, though. There’s more investigation to be had here. They meet up with a man named Colonel Kissell, who not only has nothing to say about Budahas, but he is ALSO very mean and uncooperative with them. It’s like he’s hiding something. Fishy stuff. Mulder’s interest is piqued further.

A man named Paul Mossinger, who is also interested in these cases, approaches the FBI Twosome to help investigate. This guy thinks people who believe in aliens and UFOs are complete assholes, so Mulder gets salty and you can tell his half-erection starts drooping immediately. With all this information collected, it’s time to visit the Ellens Air Force Base. Scully thinks this is a waste of time and starts shrieking at Mulder while he climbs hills and searches for UFOs in the sky. By now the 1993 viewing audience has changed the channel to start watching American Gladiators while drinking Crystal Pepsi. And while they are doing that, Mulder shows Scully some weird lights in the sky floating around as if they were terrible special effects! Mulder says they’re aliens. Scully says they’re lasers. Mulder, then, probably thinks they’re alien lasers.

Here comes that part I’ve been waiting for. A 19-year-old Seth Green shows up with his girlfriend while a black helicopter chases the four of these military base trespassers down. He plays a completely burned-out stoner with long, fluffy hair.

The X-Files, Season 1, Episode 2 - Deep Throat

How about NO, Scott. Okay?

Later in a restaurant, the agents ask what the two kids doing there in the base. Instead of saying “fucking”, they say they were listening to music and watching the “air show”. They have nothing really of import to say, other than UFO conspiracy stuff that revitalizes Mulder’s erection while Scully shakes her head in exasperation.

Mulder and Scully bid them farewell the next morning and get in their car. “You could’ve showed that kid a picture of a flying hamburger, and he would tell you that’s exactly what he saw,” Scully tells her partner incredulously after he admits he believes every word Seth Green said. Now it’s Mulder’s turn to be incredulous. How can Scully possibly still be skeptical when SHE SAW EVERYTHING HE SAW WITH THEIR OWN TWO EYES! Flying lights, man! Come on!

The X-Files, Season 1, Episode 2 - Deep Throat

“Looks like you deep throated one too many conspiracy theories, Mulder.”

Time for more weird happenings. Mrs. Budahas calls Mulder and Scully over, crying, to report that her husband has finally come home. But he’s some sort of pod person now. Sounds like a case of Capgras syndrome, where you think a loved one was replaced with an impostor, but Robert Budahas is able to answer every personal question asked. Questions such as “when were you born” and “how many mailboxes did you break with a bat last night”. And the answer to both is the same: 1948.

When Mulder asks Budahas if a certain flight maneuver is possible, Budahas admits that he can’t remember! He can’t remember simple aircraft information! A Colonel of the Air Force! Mulder now knows that certain memories had been erased from Robert Budahas’ mind by the government, but Scully is chalking it up to selective amnesia.

By now it’s obvious that Mulder knows too much and is asking all the wrong questions. A couple of cars containing well-dressed sunglasses men run Mulder and Scully off the road and demand to see their paperwork. National Security Agents. They give Mulder the ol’ gut-punch and then escort the two of them back to their hotel.

At this point, Mulder admits that his phone was bugged during that earlier call. All these strange government involvements are finally starting to rattle Scully, but something this huge would be a national scandal. Not extraterrestrials or Martians or Zoidbergs. Perhaps it’s just secret government experiments that the two of them simply do not have clearance to know about. Now let’s get the fuck out of Idaho before we lose our jobs and get attacked by potato-throwing Mormons.

Mulder ain’t havin’ it! He leaves Scully in the hotel room and drives away to find the stoned kids. They let him through the gate where they entered the base, but they don’t remember where they were when they were there and stoned. Plus there are landmines, but I don’t think Mulder knows that. It would be funny if he fucking killed himself, but then there wouldn’t be Episode 3.

The X-Files, Season 1, Episode 2 - Deep Throat

Maybe if I stand in this field long enough, the aliens will take me to their leader.

He hangs out there for 17 hours waiting for something exciting to happen on the airstrip. And something exciting eventually does happen: a large triangle flies over Mulder while he smiles serenely. And then the military chases him down and 46 guys drag him into their armored car.

COMMERCIAL BREAK! Enjoy some Crystal Pepsi! It ain’t bogus!

Scully is still at the hotel, very suspicious that Mulder’s not home yet. She’s been up all night waiting! She tries a few phones in the hotel, but nothing is working. FISHY. Fish fish fish. Fish everywhere ’round these parts.

Mulder is elsewhere getting wheeled into a strange facility on a gurney. He’d be having fun if he weren’t half-conscious with what looks like a nitrous oxide hook-up. He spots a large hangar with a parked triangle-shaped craft! And Scully’s not even here to see it! Arrghh!

When Scully visits Paul Mossinger to gather some information, she learns that he’s a top-level bad guy government agent type and pulls a gun to his face. She threatens to blow his head off through his butthole unless he gets on his walkie-talkie and finds out where Mulder is! STAT! And Mulder, meanwhile, is having the time of his life getting weird eyedrops splashed into his eyes by men in white coats.

The X-Files, Season 1, Episode 2 - Deep Throat

I have incredible point-blank range aim, sir.

Mossinger drives Scully to the base while she keeps the gun trained at his head. Needless to say, Mossinger is a little bit irked. He warns her that she’s being a silly goose, but she doesn’t care. She wants her Mulder back before he forgets his knowledge of simple flight maneuvers!

At the base gates, where Mossinger and Scully are waiting, Mulder stumbles through looking like he’s had about 90 drinks at the dive bar while shooting heroin into his eardrums. Scully drives away with him while he stares vaguely at the road ahead. “Scully, I…” he says to her while she looks like she’s about to hyperventilate, “…how did I get here?”

♪ ♫ ♬ Letting the days go by!… ♫ ♬ ♬

Scully decides that it’s time to go. Aliens aren’t real. She writes up her report to conclude that there has been nothing learned since the beginning of their investigation and that Mulder is a lunatic.

While jogging on a track wearing a Georgetown University shirt, which he probably didn’t even attend, the mysterious man from the beginning of the episode approaches. He’s sharply dressed, befitting of a confidant of his stature.

“You’ve seen things that weren’t to be seen,” he advises harshly. “Care and discretion are imperative.”

Mulder attempts to argue, but he gets shot down.

“Mr. Mulder, why are those like yourself who believe in the existence of extraterrestrial life on this earth not dissuaded by all the evidence to the contrary?
“Because… all the evidence to the contrary is not entirely dissuasive.”

The Man of Mystery lets that breathe for a minute.

“Precisely.”

And Mulder is informed that “they” have been here on Earth for a long, long time.

The X-Files, Season 1, Episode 2 - Deep Throat

DEEP THROAT. IN THE FLESH. OR, DOWN THE THROAT, AS THE CASE MAY BE.

Next Time on the X-Files

Season 1, Episode 3 — “Squeeze”
Mulder listens to “Tempted” by Squeeze on a loop while Scully whittles a knife so she can stab him in heart.

Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2), Issue #1 – “Zodiac (Part 1)”

* Part 1 of 8 of the Zodiac storyline *

Welcome to Loneliness & Cheeseburgers Presents: Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2) Issue #1 – “Zodiac (Part 1)”!

First regular Avengers, then New Avengers, and now a story where the Avengers assemble? How is that different? Have what I’ve seen already been examples of the Avengers only half-heartedly assembling? And how many different Avengers titles does one really need?

GREAT QUESTIONS! I’ll barely answer exactly one of them! Marvel NOW! has, by my count, 18 different general Avengers series, including ones (like this one) that started a bit earlier than the official Marvel NOW! relaunch. I’m not even taking into consideration the countless Avengers team member spinoffs. And that’s just Marvel NOW! There’s also an entire 60 previous years of this bullshit! As for how many different Avengers titles does one really need: zero.

That being said, I have no real introduction for Marvel NOW!’s Avengers Assemble other than it’s yet another road on my futile journey into oblivion. And I’m happy to take it!

Oh yeah, and my buddy Brian Michael Bendis wrote the first story arc before the series was taken over by Kelly Sue DeConnick, and this was a complete coincidence on my part. I didn’t seek him out on purpose, I guess he just happens to be prolific.

So, onward.


Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2), Issue #1 [May, 2012]
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
“Zodiac (Part 1)”

Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2), Issue #1

Let’s take a gander at exactly who we’ll expect to be attending this assembly of Avengers. Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Hulk, and that buttfucker Captain America. Quite an unimaginative, trite combination there, Brain Michael Bendis. If that IS your real name.

And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth’s mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat! On that day, the Avengers were born, to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand!

BOOOORRING! Boring! Show me Hawkeye eating potato chips in his underwear while cracking up at Tim Allen’s anti-woke Last Man Standing reruns. Now that’s entertainment.

“I am cancer,” says a bald man in the dark. Maybe bald from cancer. I don’t know who this is, but he looks like and is dressed like a white Tibetan Buddhist. “The reason the great Cosa Nostra was successful for many decades was because they lived by a code of honor.”

BOOOOOOOOORRRRRIINNNG! Why is this guy talking to me in the dark just like Reed Richards did at the beginning of New Avengers? Do I look like I want to be talked at by men?

This code of honor was a strong code of honor. Real robust. He blah blah blah blah blahs about dreams and ambitions, That everyone has the same dreams and ambitions and no one in the history of mankind has achieved these dreams and ambitions alone.

“I’m offering you simplicity: if one of us succeeds, we all succeed. If one of us is in trouble, we all come to the rescue. We all pay in and we all cash out. And I’ll start the pay in with… POWER. A secret source of power that we will all benefit from.”

Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2) Issue #1

Now who wants to be Sagittarius? Virgo? …no, you don’t get to be Cancer. I’M Cancer! No one is crabbier than I am!

“We will be the ZODIAC,” he declares to a room full of eleven other ugly, grim-looking bad guys! Well, two of them are bad gals. Women represent only 16.67%. Let’s work on that next time.

Mr. Scarface, a real looker, asks Cancer where the fuck this big, great, secret source of power will be coming from.

Something to do with the Avengers, I suspect! Fireworks are going off around a tall building with STARK on the side. Like TRUMP, only with more Robert Downey Jr. and less Donald Downsey Jr. It’s a worldwide celebration in the heat of New York! Like anyone in Brunei gives a shit. “The new Avengers tower is open for business,” announces an unknown, biased narrator.

This guy really blah blah blahs too. He sucks off Tony Stark a little bit, apes the man’s declaration that this tower fortress project was “the thing he was most proud of in his entire career”. Yeah, until a plane flies into it. Nice fortress you got there, it’s 100 stories tall. No match for King Kong or Godzilla.

People from all over the world attended the ceremony, and the Avengers were there to greet everyone and say hello and offer snacks and stuff.

Captain America stands at a dais looking all important in his ruffly blue outfit. “We are a planet of the free, a people of freedom…! And if you choose to stand in the way of that freedom, you will hear this words: AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!

Yeah, tell that to Syria. I don’t see you helping them out. “Planet of the free” my rump!

Later, the Avengers assemble, so to speak, in a meeting room watching the ceremonial footage. “Why don’t any of you stop me when I get like that in front of the press?” Steve Rogers moans, watching his dumb smiling face on the screen with embarrassment. Everyone is like “because we luuuurrrvvv you, sir!”

Tony Stark offers all of them the liberty to crash at his new pad…”but, please, really, I’m begging you, don’t knock over the building anymore.” Ha! So a plane flew into the old Avengers building! I understand now.

Stark suggests fighting bad guys somewhere other than New York City sometime. Even just once. They might like it!

Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2) Issue #1

Hulk conscientious objector! Hulk has two toes on each foot! Hulk has swastika tattoos on thighs!

Speaking of somewhere other than New York City, the “Incredible” Hulk sits solemnly on the precipice of a bluff overlooking a desert of the western United States, probably. Military dudes in jeeps roll up to where he’s sitting, very conspicuously green within a backdrop of red, orange, and brown. Hulk not happy! Hulk mad!

You think the army cares? No, son, the army only cares about the army.

The giant FABOOOOMMM of an explosion rocks the convoy of army vehicles. The vehicles fly everywhere. The military men who don’t fly everywhere are surprised to see the Hulk and blame him immediately for the explosion. The Hulk is confused, like always.

A very large, swirling, watery blue entity arises from the epicenter of the explosion. “Wow, the Incredible Hulk,” it says, calmly surprised, “I somehow always thought you were a myth.”

Hulk’s like “BAHRBAL BRRBABRRLLRLRLRL” and lunges at the creature. Hulk passes right through its watery waterness. How humiliating for both of them! Hulk lands with a FUMP in front of another military vehicle. “THEY’RE COMING RIGHT FOR US!” an army dipshit basically says. Interpreting this FUMP as a direct offensive attack, army dudes start shooting a million bullets into the general vicinity of, I don’t know, something!

Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2) Issue #1

The only way to stop bad guys with guns is a good guy who can absorb the bullets.

Mr. Water Man is like “wow! cool! wow!” as Hulk gets riddled with bullets. Next, Waterman becomes a tsunami of torrential, raging H2O, engulfs Your Hulkiness, washes away military men and their miltary jeeps, and– …oh wait, someone launches a tank shell right at Hulk’s chest and sends him (and Watery Walter) flying.

There is just a veritable abundance of panels covering the military attacking these two and, conversely, these two attacking the military. I can barely tell what’s going on. I don’t know who’s winning. It doesn’t even look like it matters much.

“Well, this was an eye-opener. I’ll tell you that,” says Watergate. About what, I don’t know. I DON’T KNOW! I don’t know.

I. Don’t. Know.

*gets slimed*

This is the part where Mr. Hulk gets mad as a hatter, I tell you what.

“It’s gone! The package is gone!” yells Army Douchebag #3, “I told you people to guard it with your life!”

They think Hulk stole the “package”. Hulk, again, is hella confused. As always.

“You don’t even know what it is! You couldn’t know!” screams the Army Man. Hulk doesn’t know what the fuck this idiot is yelling about. Now they think Hulk’s watery friend took the package! “Not Hulk’s friend,” Hulk insists while Army “General Whedon” Douchebag #3 radios in for backup, which sounds like he wants someone to drop a nuclear bomb on their heads.

Hulk notices an object on the ground. It looks like this:

Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2) Issue #1

It looks like this.

It looks like that. He picks it up while the army guys try shooting their guns again. Maybe it’ll work this time! Just keep trying, why not?

There’s a lot of BUDDABUDDABUDDABUDDA TOOM TOOM TOOM going on with respect to Brian Michael Bendis’ attempt to figure out what bullets sound like. At this moment, Hulk hops really high in the air with the thing he picked up, effectively escaping. This is what he should’ve done first, but the guy is dumb as a box of really heavy, dumb bricks when he’s green and shirtless, so I suppose this is the best we can all hope for.

There’s a smoldering piece of strange wreckage on the ground. It looks like a large capsule. Some of the army dudes wonder who the Waterboy was and how he did the things with water. General “Joss” Whedon doesn’t care about that bidness. He wants to get the Avengers on the horn.

Alas, though, some of the Avengers are currently busy not assembling, you might day. Black Widow and Hawkeye are staking out a cabin surrounded by guards. Seven guards! Seven armed guards! Seven guards armed with semi-automatic rifles! *burp* That’s a lot of semi-automatic rifles.

Hawkeye takes a moment to be rude.

Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2) Issue #1

Slick as a wet shit, dude.

Heh heh. Anyway, let’s take these dudes out! Hawkeye draws back his bowstring and looses some blunted arrows at three of the SEVEN guards ARMED with SEMI-AUTOMATIC HAMBURGERS. Blunted arrows to the head knocks all three out. I have to keep stressing the point that these arrows are BLUNTED. Nobody dies here, unfortunately.

Hawkeye still hits on Black Widow a little bit while he’s rendering these guards unconscious. It’s revealed that they’re both at this cabin/house to “stop some lunatic from selling God know what to God knows who”, which I find quite enlightening. Black Widow tells him to zip his lip or she’ll tell everyone what his favorite movie was when they attend his funeral. Hawkeye zips the lip.

I’m used to Natasha being Daredevil’s girlfriend, but that whole storyline was just Kevin Smith’s self-insert and we’ll hear no more of it! You can use your imagination there.

The two of them peer through a ground floor window. We don’t see what they see, but they see something “weird” and, apparently, Black Widow finds it unlikely that they can handle it by themselves. Hawkeye wants to, though. He doesn’t want an additional four wheels in his date! Black Widow assembles the Avengers like they’re an IKEA dresser.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the cabin, Army is moving the strange capsule out from the back of a truck. Or into the truck. It’s really hard to tell. This issue is really bad at making anything clear. Our two Avengers punch some more lights out and steal the truck. I have no idea if the capsule is in the truck or not.

Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2) Issue #1

See? Who knows.

It gets weirder still. A behemoth, maniacal bull-like creature with thick, sinewy, sexy thighs starts chasing after them. Hawkeye launches some more arrows (super pointy this time!), but they don’t make a difference. The truck is already going 70 miles per hour, but Hawkeye tells Black Widow to drive faster. However, she sees two glowing red star-like objects in the night sky, smiles, and says “We’re good.”

I suppose the two lights in the sky means THOR’S A-COMIN’, but Thor a-comes. Iron Man follows suit, but Thor’s a god damn god (damn!) and hits the beast with his hammer before Iron Man is able to, I don’t know, knock back a bottle of bourbon in front of them?

It gets weirder. Some other weirdos with their own semi-automatic rifles start shooting more fucking bullets into things. Of course, they just shoot them at Iron Man, whose iron manliness stymies the bullets forthwith. These weirdos are Latverians, which is like a combination of Latvians and Bavarians, and Thor doesn’t know who they are? I think I’ve come across a mention of Latveria before. I don’t remember where, though. Who cares.

“What manner of foul creature do we have here?” Thor asks about behemoth-bull-man-perfect-thighs. Thor is not very omniscient for a god.
“Not asgardian?” Iron Man asks.
“I believe it is a creature of magics,” responds Thor. And asgardians aren’t? Man, I don’t know shit.
“I AM TAURUS!” bellows the stinky bull. He then whips these two Avenging fools around like ragdolls. “You stole from me,” Taurus says, clocking Thor in the jaw. Stole what? His virginity?

Avengers Assemble (Vol. 2) Issue #1

HE’S COMING RIGHT FOR US!

Black Widow and Hawkeye stare speechless. Mouths agape. Taurus blasts the everliving fuck out them, tearing the jeep into a million twisted pieces. The capsule was in the truck after all! But now it’s most definitely out of the truck.

“YOU DO NOT STEAL FROM THE ZODIAC!” yells the irate bull.

Final Thoughts

Well, it’s certainly been quite some time since I’ve been absolutely bewildered at the beginning of a story, and this time I can’t even blame ignorance of the characters!

Don’t let me down, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Michael Bendis.

East of West, Issue #26 – “Collapse”

* Part 11 of 14 of the The Apocalypse: Year Two storyline *

Welcome to Ghostliness & Nerfherders Presents: East of West, Issue #26 – “Collapse”! In the previous installment, Wolf talks Uncle Narsimha into following him for creepy cult reasons. Archibald drags his niece Constance semi-willingly for creepy cult reasons. A little bit less than half the creepy cult meets up in a chamber where Orion and his pet Hell Demon await for the “final gathering of the Chosen”.

Who’s left? Bel Solomon. Xiaolian Mao. Madame LeVay. John Freeman 8.

Here’s what I noticed: everyone has a companion.

Orion = Hell Demon
Narsimha (fill-in for Cheveyo) = Wolf
Archibald = Constance
John Freeman = Vizier Sharra
Bel Solomon = Thomas the Hunter
LeVay = Doma Lux

Xiaolian Mao…

Well, not everyone…

This is the second-to-last year of the apocalypse. This is where the shit is on the brink. This is where the fence between fate and free will is straddled, and it’s a chain link fence so it’s poking the balls a little bit. It’s the final meeting of the Chosen. This moment sets the course for the future, and there will be no going back.

You feel that? Goosebumps! Tingles!


East of West, Issue #26 [May, 2016]
Written by: Jonathan Hickman
“Collapse”

East of West, Issue #26

All the pilgrims are witness to the Chosen entering this dumb cave to bicker and fight over their various political agendas and personal inanities.

“It was a moment of pure potential. As all at once, there was everything to gain, and everything to lose. It was the breaking of nations, and the rebirth of new ones.”

Archibald and Constance enter the Chamber of Secrets. Constance turns around real quick and looks at the masses. Millions upon millions upon millions of them.

This must be a pretty big deal! I wouldn’t have gone to this concert, but I’m happy for all of them.

See the horizon, and the arrival of the Chosen. Look how they are holy. Look how they are damned.

I warn you. From here to the very end of time… ready yourself for blood.

There’s blood in every issue of East of West! I guarantee it. I’m always ready for some dang blood.

Eyepatch Barman Hunter and Death are cozying up for some planning. The middle of the bar has a giant hologram of the Earth. Death is ignorant of holograms so, for the benefit of the reading audience, asks for help on interpreting the thing floating in front of him that looks like Earth. It’s Earth.

Eyepatch talked about this a long time in Issue #3, but then it was the other Horsemen who were here instead. Eyepatch is the pathfinder and is in charge of collecting data and giving it to scouts all over the world. This floating orb is like the internet and he can look up shit from anywhere in the world. What are you looking for, Death m’boy?

Duh, even I know the answer to this one by now.

East of West, Issue #26

Man, what are you even going to do if you find your son? Kill him?!

Of course the Hunter can find your little twerp of a shitty son! Is he out and about walking around forests and frolicking through meadows? Then it’s easy! One caveat, though: stop wrecking the bar, you animal. Goddamn, how is he supposed to earn a living when Death keeps murdering the clientele and throwing chairs around?

Ha! No. “You want me to pay?” Death growls before slamming a knife, tip first, on the bar. “Son, do not talk to me about what you owe or are owed. As you will not be happy with my accountin’. Your ass remains in arrears.”

Arrears? I have to look that word up. Gimme a second here… “money that is owed and should have been paid earlier.” Should’ve given up that ass when you had the chance, fucker.

Hunter doesn’t take the hint and pushes back: “Unreasonable and unfair,” he mutters. Hunter knows he has the upper hand here. He knows he’s going to be Death’s only shot at getting his son back. So be nice, because Hunter can find this kid and dump him in a lake if Death isn’t cordial from this point forward. “This – this job here – this is the one that settles things,” he says with conviction and confidence and pants full of some accidental turds. For once, Death doesn’t argue. And Hunter punches some numbers into his fancy hologram Apple IIe.

“Hrmpt,” he says, Archibaldly.
“What’s wrong?” Death asks. You can’t hear comics, but I can tell he has a tinge of panic in his question.
“Well, I’ve run the search, and I’ve come up empty.”
“So… you can’t find him.”

Hold your horses, complainer. There’s more than one way to skin a son… uh, cat. Hee hee. “Search of existing information came up empty,” Hunter explains. “So now I gotta put a call out.”

Yeah yeah yeah, excuses excuses. Death’s a busy man. There was just a flash flood in Malaysia and there are 100,000 people waiting to die and he’s late for the appointment!

“Any idea where mighta been last? Any kinda startin’ point?”

Yeah, up your butt, Hunter. OR, more likely, that one facility in the middle of nowhere. He’s gone now, so he should be in the wild and you should be able to find him with your fancy schmancy Star Trek computer dealie. Hop to it.

Don’t worry your pretty little head about it. Hunter’s assembling a crack team.

East of West, Issue #26

Massive Head Wound Harry, Unabomber, Scars on Broadway, and Hole Face. Avengers Assemble!

“They ain’t many, but they are a talented bunch. They’ll most certainly get the job done,” Hunter says with, I imagine, very little confidence instilled in the Deathly One. These mopes look like incompetent fuck-ups, honestly. They look like they’re going to shoot up heroin and accidentally crash an airplane into Disney World. “I’ll tell them to get started.”

Ha! Like hell you will. Death takes out his gun and points it right at Hunter’s craggy, ugly face. “How do I know you’re on the up and up,” he rasps, scaring the poop out of the guy once again; ready to throw those chairs around the bar again. Hunter starts crying, and I can tell that squishy eyeball is going to leap out of that socket again.

Speak of the devil! He starts pointing his two cents in:

East of West, Issue #26

Oh dear! Mine eyes have betrayed me once again! Fiddlesticks!

Out it jumps. “Start the clock, the time is nigh. Message was sent: Death’s son’s to die.”

Yeah, the last thing Hunter needs is more of this eyeball poetry, especially of the damning variety in front of the one guy who really doesn’t want to hear such a prophecy.

You son of a bitch,” Death snarls like Sawyer from Lost, pointing his giant gun two inches from Hunter’s face. Right between the eyes. Or lack thereof. Hunter desperately stammers out a defense. Tries to claim that it’s not what Death thinks. Tries to sell him on still working things out! It’s gonna be allllllll right!

“You did say you wanted things settled once and for all, didn’t you?”
“Yes. Yes, I sure did.”
“Well… now we’re square.”

BAM! Right in the face! Probably headless now. Hunter won’t need a head where he’s going… uh… Headless Heaven? They make people quite comfortable in Headless Heaven. They give them pillows.

Now he’s gone and done it. He’s scared the eyeball.

East of West, Issue #26

Death is pretty badass. Not even afraid to look his victim in the eye.

Hunter is dead, and all that’s left is the fat little eyeball from the dead Hunter’s ugly eye socket. The eyeball does what every other character has done in this position: bargain. He rhymes his way through a deal like Rev. Jesse Jackson! “Hunter knew many things. To the table, much I bring. I shared a space inside his head. I’ll reveal the road ahead. Together we can find your son. Come on, let’s go, we have to run.”

Death lost his eyeball roughly fifteen issues ago and now he’s going to get one back. Hunter’s eyeball slithers up the front of Death’s handsome white suit and jumps into its front pocket. “Hey, look, you’re missing an eye. If you want a spare, I know a guy.”

Yeah, and if the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit. We’ve all been down this sordid path!

“Alright, I’ll take you, but one rule,” Death snaps at his new buddy, “Don’t talk unless you got somethin’ meaningful to say.”

Well, that would be literally nobody in this godforsaken comic book series, so Eyeball Jones had better keep his squishy little pupil trap shut if he knows what’s good for him. All the eyeballs are slick Archibald motherfuckers.

Aha, we’re at the Southern Gate where Ezra Orion is holding his cave meeting. And lookie who’s here now! Madame LeVay and Lux have arrived! Doma Lux aims her gun at the pious masses. “If one of these people touches me, please shoot them immediately,” LeVay coldly sneers. No problem, ma’am! Let’s make an example out of a few hundred, ok? Please? Please?

LeVay enters and says hi to Ezra and Archibald. She forgets the names of the rest! Stevie. Duke. Scott Summers. Paper Mario! Hi, everyone, is anyone else gonna show up?

Ha! Unlikely! Go to hell, you miserable woman, for even thinking that no one else is going to show up. THIS IS THE WORD, LADY. THE WORD IS INFALLIBLE! EVERYONE IS GOING TO SHOW UP TO THIS PARTY!

East of West, Issue #26

I predict that the Apocalypse is going to begin and end with Harley Quinn over here.

LeVay will not be intimidated, obviously. A brief flashback shows that, following Doma Lux’s happening upon a bounty of Kingdom gold, Narsimha was shown to instruct her to drop off most of it in a safe place (this is shown, but it is unclear to me where exactly she stashed most of it). Then, after bringing the rest back to the White Tower, claim that it was all the Kingdom was willing to offer. She will stew in her own paranoia of mistrust. She will overcompensate by faking strength. She is weak. Weak as Archibald’s fried chicken recipe! He was never able to beat the Colonel at the chicken game.

WE GOT OTHER PEOPLE KNOCKING AT THE SOUTHERN GATE DOOR NOW! Mao is here and she’s ready to RUUUUUUUMBLE!™. Don’t you dare sue me, Michael Buffer. I will suplex your wrinkled old face.

“I always thought part of the attraction of being in a club is that you got to exclude the undesirables,” Constance muses as the Mao family enjoys makes a grand, belligerent entrance. In fact, Xiaolian Mao’s actually not here at all! She sent over some representatives with a holographic message. Ezra Orion is getting really tired of these bickering little children, and he’s REALLY not having this Mao absence. “Xiaolian is Chosen… however, this is not she, and I do not see her among your number… Explain yourself.

Sure thing, Pops! Here’s the skinny: go fuck yourself. Roll the tape.

Roll the tape, indeed. Mao’s hologram is cordial and pleasant, thanking Orion for the gross letter written on skin, but she can not attend the meeting at this time. Too many, uh, other important matters. For one thing, her Royal Toilet is clogged as the dickens. Also it’s Chicken Dinner Thursday. Also, someone tried to murder her and she’s not feeling much like consorting with a group with an individual who likely may have been involved. Ta ta.

“Charming as ever, that woman,” Archibald comments smugly, “When she is gone, the world shall surely weep.”

East of West, Issue #26

Regicide? Moi? Oh Ezra, darling, you bad. You bad.

Orion shoots his wary eye over to the only one in the room who would have absolutely, definitely tried killing Xiaolian Mao. The only one in the room who is King Shit of Knowing What the Fuck Might Be Going On With Respect To Conspiratorial Matters, Amen.

More people have shown up to the lovely party! John Freeman and his plus-one. “He is the Great Prince. Heir to the Throne of New Orleans. Future King and the First Gun himself. Crown Prince Freeman has arrived,” Sharra announces while Freeman gives a devious little look that says “yeah, that’s right, you all gotta hear this shit”.

If you’ve been paying attention so far like I have, then you will know what happens next. Each member of the room takes turns to either sort of welcoming the Freeman clan begrudgingly or stare with contempt. But there’s one that’s going to be legitimately thrilled to see him.

And I really do mean that.

“My god…” the individual says with huge, white eyes (and beautiful sky-blue irises!).

“Is that…?” John responds, also in someone of a restrained awe.

And then they hug. “Brother,” John says to Wolf, “my God, it’s good to see you. Shocking, but good. How are you, Wolf?”

Wolf’s seen better days, buddy. Hanging out with Death is weird, but you get used to his quirks after a while! A nice guy too, if you like your nice guys to aim giant guns at your face! Freeman’s been really good though, he’s a fucking Prince! Have you heard? That’s some high school reunion bragging type stuff right there, friendo.

They catch up in front of the room of antsy, sulky Chosen Ones. Freeman introduces a smiling Sharra, the love of Freeman’s life and a sexy piece to boot! Wolf has his own squeeze too! The bird hanging out on his shoulder reforms into the Crow lady we all “know” and “love”. “Oh man, that’s great news! Now it all makes sense,” Freeman laughs to himself.

This really is a heartwarming display of gaiety and mushy feelings, isn’t it? Personally, I’m stunned that someone like LeVay or Archibald isn’t taking the opportunity to lash out and admonish the reuniting friends for wasting everyone’s precious Chosen time!

We still have one group left to show up, though, and here they are.

East of West, Issue #26

You DO NOT speak to Mel Brooks this way!

Bel Solomon and Thomas “Hunter Biden” the Hunter aim their guns right back at Freeman. They were invited, motherfucker.

And thus, everyone has convened.

Final Thoughts

At the beginning of this issue, I hinted that Mao was the only member of the Chosen without a companion. As we saw, she was the only member of the Chosen to bow out of the final assembly.

This is going to prove to be very significant, and I imagine, more likely than the opposite, this will be her downfall.

Far out, man!

Sucky Funnies for October 23, 2022

Here in Chicago it’s about 75°F outside. Unseasonably warm. Light breeze. Beautiful blue sky. Colorful trees still filled with autumn leaves. And here I am indoors scanning the Sunday comics and making fun of Moose & Molly. It’s a wonderful day!


Moose & Molly

Moose & Molly - October 23, 2022

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Get the gun, Molly. The NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS LADY looks rabid, and she may have stolen her hair from the NEIGHBORHOOD CLOWN.

This one’s a real thinker! It demands paying attention. For instance, since I didn’t want to spend an extra nanosecond reading this horrible Moose & Molly strip, I couldn’t even tell what the punchline was at first. And then once I cracked THAT code, I was worried about the poor fish. BUT then I saw it alive and well! Lots of Easter eggs here! Very rewarding. The average Moose & Molly reader must have an IQ of 292.


Judge Parker

Judge Parker - October 23, 2022

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Like hell I’ve been keeping up with Judge Parker. I barely even know these characters! Gloria Shannon? Steve? WHATEVER, MAN.

I’m going to try to guess what happened to Steve. He was jogging along the side of the road with earbuds full of ABBA and James Taylor. A car full of hooligans, enjoying a morning of knocking down mailboxes, cracks Steve in the face with a bat while going 85 mph. Another car, a family on a road trip, drives up to Steve’s unconscious body and empties all their piss bottles on him. Then someone ties a rope to his legs and pulls him down the road by their truck for roughly 35 miles. Then a bird pecks out his eyeballs.

Gloria’s going to find that bird if it’s the last thing she ever does.


Mary Worth

Mary Worth - October 23, 2022

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It’s objectively funny that Zak, a guy who looks a lot like Mac DeMarco and is probably at least 25, is using toxic machismo to risk his life to prove absolutely nothing. Is this supposed to be suspenseful? Because this is the hardest I laughed at the Sunday comics today.

They’ll never, ever find Zak’s body. His gravestone will say “Here Lies Zak Magoo. 1997 – 2022. Died doing what he loved: being a dumbass. His last words were “OOPS…UFF!”

And then they’ll throw that gravestone down Piccadee Falls.

Superman: The Man of Steel (Vol. 1), Issue #97 – “Bridge the Past and Future”

* Part 9 of 9 of the Superman: No Limits collection *

Welcome to Loneliness & Cheeseburgers Presents: Superman: The Man of Steel (Vol. 1), Issue #97 – “Bridge the Past and Future” In the previous issue of the Superman: No Limits collection, Superman and Mongul beat up a guy who is supposed to be Imperiex but he’s not. He actually only answers to Imperiex, who is even bigger than Fake-Imperiex! Also, Mongul betrays Superman for roughly 45 nanoseconds before Superman turns the tables.

It’s Christmas and Lois Lane is eating Chef Boyardee ravioli alone in the apartment.

In the previous issue of Superman: Man of Steel (Vol. 1), Lois Lane stole an artifact from the vicinity of the Fortress of Solitude while she and Superman were cavorting around Antarctica, which led to an entity named Kem-L to storm his way through Lois and Clark’s apartment. There’s a dumb fight. Also, Perry White yells at Jimmy Olsen.

This is the final issue of the Superman: No Limits collection. I hope you were just as confused trying to keep all these stories straight as I was! Comics are rough, man. You gotta be some sort of Rubik’s Cube genius to navigate through this stuff!


Superman: Man of Steel (Vol. 1), Issue #97 [February, 2000]
Written by: Mark Schultz
“Bridge the Past and Future”

Superman: Man of Steel (Vol. 1), Issue #97

“RETURN OF THE ERADICATOR WITH A VENGEANCE!”

Sounds sexy. Tell him he can come over and eradicate the sperm from my balls.

Of the four series represented by this collection, Superman: The Man of Steel is by far the worst one. Mark Schultz leaves a lot to be desired. He is now ON NOTICE along with Mark Waid. In fact, let’s throw all the Marks into the ON NOTICE bin. They can fight each other to try to get in my good graces.

“I am not a believer of apocalyptic destiny. I’m a scientist, a firm adherent to the principle of cause and effect. I know that mankind’s morbid fascination with cataclysm associated with the turning of the millennium means absolutely nothing to the rest of the universe.”

Well, well, well, if John Henry Irons were around my neck of the woods in 1999, he could’ve told my aunt this and she wouldn’t have spent the better part of the year stockpiling water and cans of baked beans! I wonder if she ever ate all those beans…

Irons talks about the number ten and its significance to humans. We’re so stupid to think that numerology matters and is real and it’s why Donald Trump will rise from the ashes to become supreme ruler of Shit America.

BUT, John Henry Irons was awakened to a strange reality when the clock struck midnight, January 1st, 2000. “The day the bottom dropped out, and the rules changed forever. The day everything was transformed.”

GET THE GOOD PART, YOU LOUSY COMIC BOOK. Ughh, you won’t, will you? You’re actually going backward in time to December 31st, 1999. The day before all our clocks threw up and computers were eradicated forever. Irons and his niece, Natasha, were moving some equipment into an old mill that he was leasing for his business.

Superman: The Man of Steel (Vol. 1), Issue #97

I’m going to kick this guy’s ass so hard.

Natasha tells him to cork it. She’s been grumpy and cranky ever since her uncle ruined her Christmas break by making her help set up 250,000 tons of equipment! Is something wrong, dear? Is she not happy with their new gross steel mill that will double as a new home?

Home? This shanky pile in the middle of a muy bizzaro white bread city? Maybe you’re at home wherever you set up your workbench…” she grumbles. A fair point. She uprooted her life, left her mother/family for reasons unknown to me at this moment, to a place where she has no friends. Seems kind of shitty to me too. Especially the white people part. White people are the fucking worst.

“And– AND– it’s been two months to the day that I finally learned he was HIV positive!” she yells, gripping a purple teddy bear, “He never told me. You took your sweet time. Happy New Year– HA!”

Heh, well, yeah… uh… yeah, that’s a lot to process. Uncle John is going to make a couple of TV dinners! The ones with the brownie! And he taped a couple episodes of *checks 1999 TV Guide* Nash Bridges! Whattaya say?

Whew, good thing something broke the awkwardness. Superman himself taps on a window outside the mill. He brought a housewarming gift! A giant chunk of metal!

Superman: The Man of Steel (Vol. 1), Issue #97

Looks great! Just think about all the magnets I’ll be able to stick to this baby!

Irons is geeked! Maybe this will cheer up Natasha! “Come over and check out this meteor, and say hello to…”

She tells them both to go fuck themselves. Did the room just get colder? Superman certainly felt it! Heh heh, well, time to boogie! Good luck with whatever you think you’re gonna do here, Irons! Bye!

And Superman zooms off. Irons scolds his niece for being rude, but she doubles down on the rudeness and tells her uncle that Superman was giving him the ol’ side-eye like he was his competition. “And if you weren’t so starstruck, maybe you’d notice the alert signal on your atmospheric whatchamacallit has been mad flashing,” Natasha scolds back, pointing a thumb at a computer that’s a foot away from them.

Oh snap, you’re right. Pizza’s here! Just kidding! There’s some really alarming fluctuations in the ion field, which is heading right for Metropolis! LOL!

WELCOME TO A FEW PAGES OF ERADICATOR ORIGIN STORY! I really kind of just remembered that the Eradicator was a thing that was covered in Issue #95 and Issue #96. I “can’t wait” to find out more about him/her/they/them.

“What am I? In the beginning I was a simple navigational aid…”

Ok, we’re going to get into some Isaac Asimov malarkey. Time for paraphrasing! He’s essentially an android imprinted with the psyche of his creator, the Cleric. Then he ended up on Krypton and was mangled up and turned into a killing machine by Kem-El, destined to destroy anything that is even remotely non-Kryptonian. Flowers, marbles, Estonians, pencils, you name it.

“But now all control is lost– all proportion is gone as all these components, layers and layers of them, rage against each other.”

Hmm, yes, that sounds like a real problem. Raging against the layers and layers of components of the machine. Not a very good band name. Let’s keep it more succinct next time.

Superman: The Man of Steel (Vol. 1), Issue #97

I do appreciate the yellow text over the light blue background. Very easy to read. Comfortable on the eyes.

Now there’s something about these raging components getting all intertwined with the corpse and persona of some scientist named David Connor, which complicates things further and sends the raging components into an even more ENRAGED state. Fighting, fighting, always fighting! The fighting never ends! Why won’t you get along, components? Does the corpse and persona of David Connor have to turn this car around??

“The creation of Kem-L led to the death of my – Connor’s – estranged wife… as it would have to m– Connor’s children… had I left them at risk from the ticking time bomb within me.”

“I did not.”

Hey Mark Schultz, you ugly sack of wet cement, who hired you for this job? Because of your bachelor’s degree in Eradicator Anthropology? That you forged?

To make it even CRAZIER, all the complications are not even internal anymore. Now there are external forces. External forces such as THE RUINED FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE! Wubba lubba dub dub!

There’s a spirit of another Eradicator there! Horning in on the turf! It’s driving Eradicator Prime wild! He needs to fight for control! He needs the control! He needs to control! Oh God! Oh God!

So, he decides that his path is clear: anyone who would do any harm to anything and not just Kryptonians must be eradicated! The predators and anarchists and destroyers of civilizations and pedophiles and Among Us fans and Twitter celebrities and heretics and republicans and school shooters and drug smokers. And that sounds reasonable. I sure am glad this all makes a lot of sense.

The Eradicator flies to a prison on Stryker’s Island and starts burning and blowing up the joint.

Superman: The Man of Steel (Vol. 1), Issue #97

No, no, no. Hold on… let’s see how this plays out…

Back in Irons Land, the chaotic Stryker Island situation is decided to be a good way to test out the ol’ Special Crimes Unit riot gear! That includes the lovely Steel suit for John himself, and a big hulking impossible-to-operate thing for a Captain named Maggie. Irons keeps making no guarantees on the effectiveness, if any, of the equipment. LET’S GO!

“Well, there’s nothing like a good, old-fashioned field test for building confidence in new equipment!” he says jubilantly as they fly on over the fucked up destruction happening on Stryker’s Island. “THIS IS S.C.U. TURF NOW! HIT YOUR MARKS AND MAKE YOUR CAPTAIN PROUD!” Maggie screams as they enter the fray. She’s gonna get so dead.

Irons zooms around and narrates to himself about the actions of the Eradictor, which I’ve already learned is a nice and lazy Mark Schultz plot-forwarding device. Stuff like “man, what’s this guy up to?” and “hey I thought the Eradicator was one of us” and “look at that guy over there doing the bad stuff to the prisoners, that sure is bad” and “looks like I’m the only one here who can stop him”. You know, dumb shit that’s meaningless and inane.

Irons tries to hit him with his hammer but it doesn’t work very well. “You. You are the one called Steel,” Mr. Cracked-Mud-Face Eradicator booms, “We have fought together. Now, would you challenge my efforts to cleanse this nest of vipers?”

Yeah, maybe! …But also, not at all! Sorry for leading you on like that.

Superman: The Man of Steel (Vol. 1), Issue #97

That’s only because you don’t have an open mind about it!

Steel’s flailing efforts leave a lot to be desired. The thing about superheroes narrating their own actions, besides being lazy writing, is that it makes them appear to be less capable. Maybe it’s supposed to be endearing that John Henry Irons is only human and, therefore, isn’t perfect when it comes to fighting… well, anything. But I’ll be goddamned if it doesn’t make him sound less than capable to do it. Go home and eat some Doritos. You’re out of your league.

ANYWAY, the funny thing is, Superman swoops in and steals Steel’s thunder! He Steals Steel’s Steely Dan Thunder! It even pissed him off a little bit. “HEY! I had things under control…”

Superman thanks Irons for his efforts, but then asks him to kindly fuck off and let the adults take over, and thank you.

“You too, Superman?” the Eradicator huffs at his counterpart’s bold (even tweedy, you might say) impertinence, “You would prevent the extermination of these vermin?”

Superman has HAD IT with this guy! David Connor or no David Connor, this Eradicator guy is a real bullshit piece of shit nuisance. Bottom line, pal: if you’re still intent on ERADICATING, then the beef is on!

*grrr* *snarl*

“Superman may have exercised his prerogative – and reduced me to a bystander – in the air, but on the ground my nonlethal systems were carrying the day,” Irons narrates. This guy is totally bitter about Superman horning in on the action. This was supposed to be his day!

So he asks Maggie if she needs help. Maggie says no. Ha!

Too bad it was more because Irons’ weapons system is really useful and effective! Would’ve way funnier if they just didn’t like him and wanted him to go home.

Superman: The Man of Steel (Vol. 1), Issue #97

Enjoy a chest-full of my eyeball diarrhea, Superman!

Superman and the Eradicator keep fighting. Fighting and fighting and fighting and fighting. Superman mocks the killing machine, arguing that he can still sense that ol’ David Connor in him due to the arrogance. He uppercuts this fuckface right off Stryker’s Island, and that’s a win for now, unless he ends up landing at a school playground. Ha! Whoops!

While Superman flies over to where he launched Eradicator (possibly a petting zoo), he wonders WHY this jerk has been activated and if it has anything to do with the Fortress of Solitude’s “duplicate Eradicator program”. No shit. Maybe it’s just the weather. Eradicators like to come out this time of year.

Superman stops under a bridge to look around for this guy. Nowhere to be seen. Starting to get antsy. Perhaps even nervous.

Then the thing bolts out of the water and pushes Superman through the bridge from its underside. Bridge gets messed up. Cars get messed up. Maybe they’ll need to call Green Lantern to sort out this bridge situation! Especially since a child falls out of a car which is falling off a bridge, which is kind of rude. Should have worn a seatbelt, you insolent little whelp.

Superman observes the Eradicator freaking out before swooping down to catch the falling girl. Superman catches the falling car. Eradicator sobs. “I… I caused this… I nearly destroyed those I’d sworn to protect,” he says while hugging the girl, who looks happy to not be dead but also unhappy being cradled by this terrifying rock-face.

This is all it took for him to calm down, I guess. On Stryker’s Island, Steel Irons Jeremy Irons Steel John Hancock rounds these prisoners back up and considers their operation an “overwhelming success” even though they literally did nothing while Superman did everything, as usual. Most of the prisoners are just shaken up, some slightly hurt, but that’ll learn ‘em to do crimes anyway so it’s an “overwhelming success”!

And here’s another thing! The prison is in ruins! Overwhelming success! For Irons anyway, because they’re going to need his help building it back. Wait’ll he tells Natasha that they’ve got some work, she’ll love continuing to be absolutely miserable here.

Superman: The Man of Steel (Vol. 1), Issue #97

Yes! I have a lot of great ideas! Picture this… a 10,000 volt testicle shocker in every cell! Frilly curtains and prison bars made out of granola! Silly Hat Days!

“It was the shock of seeing this girl – so close in age to my youngest son – endangered by my own hand…” Eradicator huffs and puffs, “…that allowed David Connor to regain control.”

Wow, yes, cool. Cool stuff. I always get relieved when rogue Eradicators turn themselves back into the corpse and persona from which they yada yada yada. Too bad it appears to be temporary. Give it another two or three minutes and this guy’s going to start chucking prison toilets at puppies again.

Superman repairs the bridge with his arc welding eyeballs. Eradicator takes his moment of lucidity to explain to Superman that his possessed condition is much more complicated than it originally seemed. Superman isn’t listening. He finishes repairing the bridge and thanks a fat cop and flies away. Eradicator follows him.

“They respect you a great deal,” Eradicator David Connor Whatever says. Again, no shit. He can’t be half the man Superman is in this state. He can’t even be 1/8th the Superman! After that the fractions get a little bit hazy. His only choice, as far as he sees it, is to leave Earth. Forever if he has to, until a solution can be reached. Superman promises to do what he can to end its evil. Eradicator corrects him: it’s not evil, it just is. It just exists. No more and no less.

On Stryker’s Island, Steel looks on near the bridge. “There is something troubling the Man of Steel, and it has something to do with the Eradicator,” he thinks to himself. Can someone drop a piano on this guy’s head? What a waste of everything.

WHATEVER! This is Steel’s moment! Superman’s bullshit can wait another day.

Final Thoughts

That’s it for this collection of Superman comics! Mark Schultz can suck a big old wang, but the rest of the writers they had for these series at this time are pretty good. I liked the writing of Adventures of Superman the most, while the combination of writing and story from the Superman (Vol. 2) issues were the most satisfying overall!

That’s enough Superman for now. Jesus Christ, people.