Comments on: Into the back issue box #37

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:25:07 +0000

Anybody have a picture of Amalgamax? He must be completely awesome.

By: Apodaca

Apodaca — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 21:45:20 +0000

We shift to a swanky yacht in Gotham City, where Bruce Wayne meets up with â€œDan,â€ an old friend. They talk polo, and we also learn that Bruce has given up his responsibilities at the Wayne Foundation because his far more important job of Batman was keeping him too busy. Dan wants him to play polo again, and even later, as Batman swings through the night, he considers it, because Dan uses his wealth to help others, so Bruce admires him.

Yeah, me and Bruce Wayne hang out and play polo.

By: Joker'sBoner

Joker'sBoner — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:41:12 +0000

What’s the point of shouting ‘Get out of the way you idiot!’ AND firing the gun at the same time? What the fuck did he expect Joe Meach to do?
If you ask me, the only idiot here is the guy firing the gun. A better line of dialogue could have come from Joe himself upon being shot: ‘AARRRGH! You shot me, you prick! Gawd, I wish I’d never taken this job! Y’know they wanted me to be a caretaker at Yankee stadium! URK!’

By: Michael Grabois

Michael Grabois — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 08:05:53 +0000

Don't give me TOO much credit, Greg. The only two things I remembered from this 2-parter were that the guy changed his name to Amalgamax and that the second part had a really cool cover by Giffen and Mahlstedt. I had no recollection of the conclusion of the story, so I'm assuming that the Wikipedia entry is correct! See also C-S entries at the Absorbascon, Dial B for Blog, Prism Comics, and even Metafilter. And he's even got a cool action figure from DC Direct, too.

By: suedenim

suedenim — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 04:55:47 +0000

Actually, I think this kind of story is VERY new reader friendly in its own way. The new reader might not know who Lightning Lad et al are, but it’s not truly necessary to follow THIS story… and it might pique the reader’s curiosity to learn more!

They were really, really good back at walking the line between “leave ‘em wanting more” and leaving the reader frustrated because he doesn’t know the obscure backstory details necessary to enjoy THIS comic book.

By: Greg Burgas

Greg Burgas — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 03:55:27 +0000

Whenever there’s a Legion question, Michael will show up and explain it all! Thank you very much, sir, for the excellent knowledge. I didn’t think the prologue in this issue was connected to the rest of it, but I guess it was. It’s weird that they don’t make any good transition between the two.

By: Michael Grabois

Michael Grabois — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 02:20:45 +0000

This C-S was Xan, the alien who gave Joe Meach his powers in the 2nd C-S appearance. Xan was just released from prison and wants the powers for himself to avenge his father against Supes and Bats; his father had been captured and imprisoned by them for some reason. According to Wikipedia's entry on Composite Superman, "Xan assumed the identity of the Composite Superman and displayed greater control over his powers and understanding over his weaknesses, such as timing his needed restorations of energy to maintain his power. Xan soon discarded the Composite Superman identity and created an original costume, with the new name Amalgamax. Superman traveled to the 30th century to ask the Legion of Super-Heroes for assistance, and Superman, Batman and the Legion defeated Amalgamax by making him believe that the disease that killed his father had developed in him and that his excessive power was causing the disease to develop rapidly."

By: Freeform2

Freeform2 — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 01:49:15 +0000

Ah, not as bad as modern comics but still not as new reader friendly… here is a villain who seems to be made up of half of our heroes… but his powers are actually those of an entirely different group of characters…

But I agree about Barr… Love the original Batman and the Outsiders…

By: FunkyGreenJerusalem

FunkyGreenJerusalem — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 23:46:29 +0000

Why he should be evil is glossed over,

It’s a standard DC rule, often showed by Jimmy Olsen – when you get powers, you have to try kill Superman.
My theory is of course that the whole world hates Superman from all those ‘pranks’ (or ‘boners’) he played in the 60′s, and so it’s an unwritten rule that if you get powers that give you even a chance of taking him down, you’ve got to do it.

By: Vincent J. Murphy

Vincent J. Murphy — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:58:14 +0000

“Why he should be evil is glossed over, as is the reason his skin is green”

I always figured it was Brainiac 5′s influence, not Chameleon Lad’s. I mean, there’s nor reason for it, but there’s also no reason to be half Superman/half Batman.

And Batman is represented in the name: he’s the MAN!