Letters to DC2 Showcase Issue 3

Well, that's ironic, the first issue I read of this is the last one.

Cyborg: Another irony, Cyborg angsting about losing his humanity and becoming a hero; makes him more human than his current DCU counterpart, who has essentially become a Cypher.

Blue Devil: Bounces effectively between light humor and horror. I like the use of Neron in the DC2niverse.

I did think that Vic's story felt a bit uneven at times, but this last chapter was truly the best of the bunch. I did enjoy it very much and liked how it ended. Very nice job.

As for our blue friend (no, not papa smurf, the other one), it was an incredible ride with a fantastic ending. I'm hoping that we have just seen the beginning of this little group that has been brought together. Great job, as always, John!

Ammendum:


Months late-
He cracked his knuckles against each other and the night sky reverberated with a metallic groan. Flexing his fingers he squatted down and placed his feet against the starting blocks. It was a long time since he’d done this. A long time since he’d actually just ran for pleasure, for the sake of testing his bodies limits. So long he couldn’t remember whether or not he had ever enjoyed this. A lot had changed since then. In fact to get onto the track he’d had to break into the stadium in the dead of night, luckily he didn’t really need to sleep much. A lot really had changed since then and he wasn’t always sure it was for the better. Recently events had meant that he’d began to explore a lot more with his powers. After the incident with his father and what had happened to Romeo he decided he really had to begin using his new gifts for a reason and so he’d been wandering the streets of Metropolis that even Superman was scared to enter, trying to make some kind of difference. When he’d first received his new body he found he had to get used to coordinating his powers but now he was a single deadly weapon and worked with mechanical fluidity. And that was the problem. He often found that he could be more machine than man. Whenever he met someone new he never really connected with them, never really felt emotionally attached. It had nothing to do with the nanites running through his blood or the near indestructible metal coating his body, it was more to do with his mind. Things he had seen and done meant it was almost impossible to be near people, to care for people like he had before. Sometimes he would dream of his parents, imagine their faces in his mind and listen to their voices; but they always felt far off. There was one person however. One face that always bought him comfort and he has only seen her once in passing. He could picture her now, her golden skin, luxurious scarlet hair and those eyes. Those shimmering emerald eyes.
He tensed his legs against the blocks and counted down in his mind
--3

--2

--1
His feet shot from the blocks and he began barrelling down the track. Metallic feet slammed against the asphalt and particles of dust swirled around his heels. But it was pointless. There is no racing of his heart. No aching of his limbs. No sweat creeping down his forehead. There is no challenge. The enhancements have taken away the point of the one thing he had loved. Running for sport was now a trivial pursuit of no avail. He stopped halfway round the track and sighed. Recently he’s shaved his head and mentally reprogrammed the nanites to give his body a more streamline look, he’d even bought tools and read mechanics books so that he could alter his own body for better speed and manoeuvrability in fights. Now it seemed redundant. All he wanted now was some ‘bad-guys’ to beat the crap out of. He had once imagined he’d be doing that along side the Titans but it had been over a year since he’d spoken to them. The first time he’d used the communicator it seemed like he had the green light but then Kid Flash called him the next day on it and said they’d “‘have to take a rain check” as Raven had been put in hospital and they needed to find who’d done it. The next time they’d spoke it was because the Invasion had begun, the one which the papers had labelled the ‘Crisis’, and the Titans were looking for help but Vic had his own battles to fight when the aliens began landing. After that Vic attempted himself to contact Wally but he was told Raven had slipped into a coma and they weren’t really sure what was going to happen. Since then Vic stopped paying attention to the communicator and had hidden in his old house. When he went back he found that a new family had moved in but they clearly weren’t at home when he… ‘dropped by.’ Since then he didn’t know how many times the Titans had tried to contact him and whether they were taking new members or not. It had been about a year since then. He remembered the first time he had used that blasted machine and the false hope it offered him. He remembered as weak boy sat crying on the blackened floor try to stay strong through the sobbing tears:
“When do I start.”
It was going to be sooner than Vic Stone might have thought.

Great cover.

I really enjoyed the Cyborg tale, although personally I could have done without his killing of Romeo, which made him look to me more like a murderer than a hero.

As for the Blue Devil story: I liked it, but I have to confess that I found the opening scene at the camp (liked the naming of it) so engaging, that the rest of the story, while enjoyable, suffered in comparison.

I like the way this was worded. I don't necessarily agree that he killed but it was one helluva bold move. I also liked how Victor Stone was fleshed out so well in this story. Robert took this character and made him real flaws and all. Sure the writing was a little bumpy in spots but the raw approach was what made this story so appealing.



Neron is a cool character but used poorly (IMO) since his debut in Underworld Unleashed. He is going to stir up some trouble for Blue Devil down the road a bit. He will also go up against Baron Winter's Night Force sometime in the future as well. So keep an eye out for the other members of Night Force to be revealed in... somewhere.

As for the back-story on Baron Winters check out his Who's Who entry. Also, Baron has been lurking on the DC2 for a bit now. Appearing here briefly as well as in the Halloween Special and over in the Suicide Squad #8 with June Moone. See how I have no shame throwing out other stuff I have done here. No shame what so ever. ;D But it is leading to some bigger stuff.



There are plans in the works for the new Showcase. But that shouldn't stop you from submitting your ideas Moonknight. I have already seen your ideas on that one story ( ) so I am confident that you have a few or 100 more cool ideas to offer! (hey Sam we might have someone who can do something special for the you know what series. )



Thanks Mark. The name of the camp was named for the writers that created Blue Devil: Dan Mishkin, Gary Cohn.

The scene at the camp was an amalgam of a couple of real life events from my childhood. Just my way of dealing with some heartbreak and an embarrassing event!

Good stories, both of them, but they also both had shortycomings:

In the Cyborg piece, I honestly can't figure out why Romeo went from beign a thug to a terrorist. It seemed out of the blue...did I forget something from the past installments?

Blue Devil's story was anticlimactic, and once again, I feel like I forgot something -- how did Neiboros get there and why? Maybe I just waited too long to read this issue. I liked the idea of him suddenly getting mystic powers right off the bat instead of just being a guy trapped in a suit, however.

Overall, you guys did well, and I hope you continue to present your work on DC2. Now, on to the top-secret new Showcase thingy! ;D