Who's Blue Devil?

Who's This? A weirdness magnet

The facts: A stuntman who got trapped inside his high-tech stunt suit by mystical energy, Blue Devil first appeared in a preview insert in Fury of Firestorm #24 (June 1984), then in his own series that lasted 32 issues. He would later be a member of the JLA during the nadir of that team's history, and they'd try to relaunch him in Underworld Unleashed. Nothing really came of it, and he would sort of start showing up in mystical stories, and made his biggest modern splash in Shadowpact.
How you could have heard of him: The New52 re-introduced him as Black Lightning's partner in DC Universe Presents, but since then, he's once again the guy who shows up randomly when a magical guest-star is needed. He did appear in a few episodes of Justice League Unlimited, in Young Justice, and in Justice League Action, but only alluded to in Arrow and Gotham. Dan Cassidy appears in the flesh (and as Blue Devil) in the ill-fated Swamp Thing series the WB tanked.
Example story: Blue Devil #27 (August 1986) "Wild Goose Chase" by Dan Mishkin, Gary Cohn, Allen Kupperberg and Bill Collins

Okay, why this one? Well, I really wanted to experience the full-on "weirdness" the character was known for, and this cover always seemed an affirmation of it. It also has a link to Blue Devil's world, i.e. Hollywood and the pastiche studio he works for, Verner Brothers. So naturally, Godfrey Goose is a VB cartoon, one of the stars of... let's call it Happy Harmonies.

Dan Cassidy is moving into the old animation studio after production on the Blue Devil sequel was halted and he's curious about a film can that says "Live and Animation". Godfrey is evidently a parody of Daffy Duck, but I really wish they'd grabbed on the DC's old funny animals from the early day (the way they made Peter Porkchops Pig-Iron in the Zoo Crew). In any case, suddenly a live-action hand appears on screen, and it looks like they're gonna pull a Walt Disney rotoscoping job on the reel. Godfrey hands it a stick of dynamite, there's an explosion and a scream, and suddenly...

But is Godfrey in our world, or are we in his? Dan's friend Norm is suddenly a cartoon bear, and everywhere Godfrey goes, people are turned into animaniacs. Only Blue Devil seems immune. And it's a safe bet the inky fowl is heading straight for the rest of the supporting cast, and a pretty fun Easter Egg actually:

Papa Kirby would be proud. But wait, Godfrey Goose isn't there yet when a criminal duo called Spit & Polish crash into the ballroom to steal the award statues!

Is it "weirdness" or "ridiculousness"? Outside, it's cartoon chaos

This is two years before Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, by the way! Cartoon shenanigans ensue, while over at the awards show, the two dumb clucks realize the statues aren't made of real gold. Oh comedy!

Granted, this kind of obnoxious slapstick works better on the animation cell. The fight spills into the ball room where Dan makes quick work of the thieves and then Verner, fittingly transformed into a pig, lets the goose out of the bag.

The actually creative Verne Brother has been M.I.A. - "Missing in Animation" - for all these years, the victim of his own process for combining live action and animation. Only in comics. Godfrey runs into a Rusty Raccoon short, projected on the wall, his porcine brother after him. Dan can't leave Jock in there, so he goes after them both, and the result is...

So, weird enough for you?

Blue Devil has a solid look, a distinct world of his own, and a fun light-hearted feel. But it's a very thin line between weird comedy and silliness, and this may have crossed it. It would help if Godfrey Goose were actually funny, but at his best, he's just parroting Bugs Bunny's most famous lines. Perhaps I should have picked a story from earlier in the run, when he was still dealing with supervillains like the Trapster, but as this is what Blue Devil became, and possibly the reason why he wasn't used as much as some other leading features from the 80s, I think it's still relevant.

Who's Next? One of his villains.