Comic Book Resources

Game #1 - These covers all feature characters who aren't who they seem to be. Bloodwynd (man, that was a stupid name) is actually sort of J'onn J'onnz, M is actually her two little sisters, and Cybermancer (at least according to Wikipedia) is some sort of alternate reality techno-organic doppelganger thingamajig.

I think the theme is that you took a damn long time just finding and posting all these cover. Whew, It took me a while just to look at them all!

I'll agree with M Bloom (who I guess is the winner) because SPOILERS, Night Thrasher is not who he appears to be. He is revealed to be the brother of the original Night Thrasher, who masqueraded as a man who was unable to walk.

Nice boobs on She-Venom, BTW.

I can't believe Force Works lasted 20 issues....

Game 5: Heroes who use weapons? The new Night Thrasher can zap people with electric shocks but he uses a crossbow to do it, Blue Beetle had his flash gun, and Adam Strange uses a trusty ray gun to defend himself.

Game #3

New story arcs??

Game #4

New origins??

give me a couple of weeks to dig out the issues, read them, puzzle over the connections and I will probably come up with the wrong one!

Ah well! I do love it when you reveal the true connections!

Game 1: all after the title passed from good to crap.

Game 2: Impossible anatomy.

Game 3: Good cover layout.

Game 4: black (or in comics, "blue") costumes with white accentuations (ie: gloves, designs).

Game 5: The importance of proper eye-protection for super-folk.

So. How'd I do?

X_the_Phantom-Longbox__

@ The Phantom Longbox...

Wow! I had the exact same thought for Game 4! But then thought that it couldn't be that easy! I reckon you're right and Brian is pulling a double-bluff! In fact I'm just going to second you on 1, 2 and 4... but I'm going with sterg's answer for no. 5.... Adam Strange and Night Thrasher have both gone for full head cover.. Ted's left his nose and mouth unprotected!

DAMN! For once I get a cover game and someone beats me to it (Cover Theme Game #1). Maybe there's still a way to salvage this though: I think the person who isn't what they seem to be in the Force Works cover is Tony Stark, not the Cybermancer chick.

wow, that "Fury" cover is gross.

Not sure about the one's that haven't been answered yet, but #5 must be about the three featured heroes not having actual superpowers outside of their suits.

Have a good day.
John Cage

Oh! I just got #4 - - it featured characters who have 'been' black at one point. Star Boy in the new Legion series, Fury in the Ultimate comics, and Ann Weying (She-Venom) in the new Venom origin.

Have a good day.
John Cage

Is #4 Characters who have gone missing at some point. Star Man/Boy was AWOL from the Legion's time while he was in JSA, Fury was missing for a few years over in Marvel (until recently) and She-Venom...well, didn't she disappear before she was confirmed as dead or something?

Excepting "The Ray" #5, "Fury" #11, and "New Warriors" #10, all the covers either have a Ditko character, or his goofy finger/hand positioning?

#2: The stories all feature Scarlet Witch in different incarnations/costumes?

I think the theme is that you took a damn long time just finding and posting all these cover. Whew, It took me a while just to look at them all!

Coming up with the themes themselves takes up the most time, but once you've done that, finding covers to express them is pretty simple!

If no one guesses the next four by tomorrow, I'll give new hints! Also, the guess for #1 was close enough to being right to count, but it was even more specific than "These covers all feature characters who aren’t who they seem to be."

Oops, I missed John's guess for #4.

Yep, that's correct, John! Although Venom's ex-wife supposedly was just accidentally colored black in Venom: Dark Origin #2. However, she was also black in #3, sooo....

I've been thinking about this and while I can't guess the others, I'm going to take a shot at #1 and guess that it features characters who've all lost a sibling (Booster Gold, Skin, and Hawkeye). Or am I way off?

Have a good day.
John Cage

On number 5, I haven't read the New Warriors book but a quirky similarity between that issue of Blue Beetle and the first appearance of Adam Strange is that they both feature an archaeologist (Dan Garrett and Strange). But, Garrett isn't on the cover...so maybe they feature an origin story that relates to archaeology?

That seems a little out there, though...and i somehow doubt that new warriors issue has anything to do with archaeology.

#3: Something to do with heroes involved in WWII? Maybe updates of heroes from WWII?

Game #2 featured members from the House of Magneto?

Here's a stab at Game #2 (assuming it's not the obvious Magneto connection): All feature characters who lost and "recovered" their children.

Scarlet Witch and her magic twins, now Wiccan and Speed of Young Avengers (what was the point of Disassembled again?). Spider-Woman and her daughter, who was kidnapped by the Commission. And finally, Magneto and his dysfunctional brood, who he didn't know he fathered for a long time.

Game #3: Properties established by other companies or in other media first.

GI Joe was a toy line/cartoon. The Ray was a Quality Comics character before becoming a DC character. And the cast of Fables (and Prince Charming) is borrowed liberally from literary/mythical stories.

I'm a lot less confident in this answer, but here it is anyway.

Game #5: Characters who appeared in short-lived or derivative versions of better-known teams.

Night Thrasher (assuming Donyell) was a member of the short-lived line-up of New Warriors which featured winners like Hindsight Lad and Powerpax, and currently leads a bunch of Decimated mutants w/ gadgets calling themselves New Warriors.

You can make the case that Ted Kord spent his entire career on short-lived/derivative teams, from the JLI to the Super Buddies.

Adam Strange, aside from being the Justice Leaguer that never was, had a one-time appearance in the Seven Soldiers of Victory line-up that featured Batgirl and Deadman.

I was too amused with the idea of using THREE Force Works covers - I should have not used that cover with Spider-Woman on it for that very reason, Anthony.

I have replaced it with a new cover.

That said, your answer sounds good - I'll count it as an alternate correct answer!

As for the other stuff - I think "another comic book company" is a bit of a reach for the whole "came from a different medium" answer - that's a clever answer, though!!

And I really like the thinking for #5, too, but I think that's also a bit of a stretch - the actual answer is a lot more straightforward than that (and yes, you're correct to assume it's Donyell) - it is really obscure and hard to guess, but straightforward once known, at least!

For Game #5 - All three have been time-displaced. Donyell when he went back, to save the New Warriors, Ted Kord in both Manhunter and the recent Booster Gold series and Adam Strange in the recent Rann-Thanagar Holy War Adam Strange Special...

Who in comics hasn't been time displaced at one point or another?

I'd say the connective tissue for Game #3 is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, because you have Doc, Happy and of course the handsome Prince.

Yay, Buttler!!! If only there was a comic book character named Dopey, Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy or Bashful! Alas, I had to use Prince Charming instead (by the way, I was shocked at the paucity of Happy Hogan covers - whenever he showed up, his name seemed to be on the cover).

Yeah, as Carl notes, "traveled through time" is basically every comic book character, so too broad to be a specific theme.

It's true, though - they did all travel through time!