Batman and the Outsiders #2: Pages 21-22

And now for the Battle Royale... or at least the Battle Regent.Fun quiz! What do you think is happening here?
a) This castle is best known as the Leaning Castle of Markovia
b) The concentration of Dirt Energy is making the Castle sink into the Earth
c) The atmospheric pressure in Markovia is very wonky

If you answered (c) because it also explains why the perspectives are perpetually weird in this comic, go get yourself a No-Prize!
Yes, not only does Bedlam have GF's gravity and magma powers, but the extra power of controlling lawn rolls.
GF quickly dispatches the clump of dirt... with heart! (This isn't mentioned in Who's Who anywhere... someone dropped the ball.)
Oh but wait! A reversal! Bedlam is about to kill Geo-Force! How will he get out of this? Or will the Outsiders come to his rescue?
Neither. Bedlam chumps himself out by dropping a big ol' rock on his own head. And that's how Geo-Force wins the fight.
A familiar shadow falls on our hero, and the sarcasm drips off the page. GF, quick to recoup, fudges a "yes". "Yes, I took a long time to beat him" is infinitely superior to "I had nothing to do with it." Of course, Batmen who spent the better part of the issue in a dungeon unable to escape shouldn't throw stones.
And now, for one final time in this story, Mike Barr and Jim Aparo present: Turning your back on the enemy.
Despots may be closer than they appear. That wonky atmosphere again.
So there. You don't go after Geo-Force. Not if you want to stay in the game. Maybe that's why the Outsiders don't have a powerful rogue's gallery. Mike Barr can't abide villains making a fool of his ultimate creation.
Batman would hate to turn a criminal over to the courts, that just isn't done. Especially the world court. Especially after he dissed the United Nations earlier that week.
No problem, says our blue-blooded hero! We'll just execute him right here! Ladies and gentlemen, I believe this is where America's obsession with the killer anti-hero begins. That is HAWT! And we can thank Geo-Force for paving the way for such luminaries as Punisher, Wolverine and Spawn.

But surely, someone will swoop down and stop this defenestration in progress?

Comments

Anonymous said…
But surely, someone will swoop down and stop this defenestration in progress?

My money's on Halo. "What's defenestration? What's a World Court? What's a citizen? What's an anti-hero?"

That's like twenty full pages of Mike W. Barr right there! Twenty-two, if the citizens of Markovia can turn their backs on Bedlam for just a second more.

And yeah, how embarassing would it be for Batman, after telling the UN what to do with their pansified Resolution, dropped Bedlam on their doorstep as if his identity and guilt are obvious. Especially if you consider that, if he spins the Nazi involvement story right, Bedlam might have a pretty good case for doing what he did.

Oh, and you can't see it because of the stone block, but Geo-Force's left foot? Just accidentally squashed a microscopic civilization about to destroy humanity. You go, GF! Kinda.
De said…
So Batman is the John Bolton of the DC Universe? That explains a lot.
The Mutt said…
Dateline: Markovia

Twelve people were killed today when a body thrown from the top of a 300 foot castle wall landed on a crowd of protesters.
Siskoid said…
Ano: Halo is still wondering when the nice man'll get up three issues later.

De: I don't know what that means. :)

Mutt: I'd be surprised if Markovia had any kind of television.