A primer on Triumph and Tomorrow Woman

A budyd emailed me asking about DC's Triumph and Tomorrow Woman, both of whom have apparently been featured in the current "Trinity" series. So, not one to waste a decent email, I thought I'd share with the class:

1-- Triumph was created around 1994 and he's sorta' like Marvel "Sentry". He was rectonned to be an early member of the JLA...but he was wiped out of existence and completely forgotten. He was "lost in time" or some weird crap. He came back in the mid-90's and was a good guy for a bit. He even joined the JL:America or Justice League Extreme. He disappeared from DC around 1996 due to Lack of Interest. He came back again in 1999/2000 in "JLA" and had been brainwashed by an evil imp (Q'xl or whatever..an old Aquaman villain, sorta' like Mxyptylk) to be a bad guy of sorts. But he ended up becoming good, again, but soon fell victim to Lack of Interest. He was also used, recently, in "Brave and the Bold" and had apparently had a son.

2-- Tomorrow Woman was created for a JLA one-shot, circa 1998 as a new member of the JLA. She became a member, but it turned out she was just a robotic spy from Professor Ivo and T.O. Morrow. But she rebelled against her programming and "died" a hero (sorta' like Wonder Man in "Avengers", way back in 1965).

Nightwing finally gets "killed"!

I haven't been paying much attention to DC lately, yet I wasn't surprised when I picked up Nightwing #153 in my hold box, last week, and saw the tagline: "FINAL ISSUE" on it. The book's been a downhill train without direction for the last 100 issues or so. I was always amazed that "Azrael" got to 100 and I'm disappointed that in 153 issues, "Nightwing" actually out-sucked "Azrael".

What started out as a satellite Bat-title soon became a completely unnecessary title, period. The first 24 issues or so set up Nightwing's Bludhaven as a Triple A Gotham City, yet not without it's own unique appeal. Writer Chuck Dixon established a quirky little corner for Nightwing; a character who had mooched off of others for almost 60 years (namely, Batman and the Teen Titans), finally had his own mythology and realm.

Nightwing was originally sent to Bludhaven to pursue remnants of Black Mask's "False Face Society", but soon ran into Electrocutioner, Two-Face, Scarecrow, Brutale, Lady Vic, Stallion and others. All capped off by the obligatory "master villain": Roland Desmond the Blockbuster. After being enhanced by DC's 1995 crossover "Underworld: Unleashed", Blockbuster had become a super-powered Kingpin of sorts. And it worked. Mix in the corrupt Bludhaven PD, including Dudley Soames and things got really interesting.

Soames soon became one of the most gruesome villains in comics history: "Torque"...basically a guy who had had his head twisted around 180 degrees...and survived! With his head screwed around, Torque was in the vein of guys like Two-Face. Soames eventually ran into "Nite-Wing", a violent, overzealous dorkbag who wanted to become a superhero.

That got us to issue 25 or so. It was around that time that Dixon ran out of ideas. Soames and Nite-Wing seemed to almost take over the title, with their constant inclusion. A short interlude involving the retconned villain Shrike (hey, now THERE'S a character DC seriously needs to work with) was the only reprieve. For well over 100 issues, "Nightwing" lingered.

Around issue 120 or so, DC wanted to kill off the character of Nightwing. But fans revolted and the execution was passed over. DC re-launched Nightwing two or three times since with new directions for the book. All of which stunk and made Archie Superhero Comics seem like works of art.

The latest was a hack named Peter Tomasi who included lame dialogue that seemed to be copied from Wikipedia. Such as a master villain explaining how a woman's uterus produces a baby (really). He also worked in some of the shittest one-liners since a Lorenzo Lamas movie. Example: a water tower ruptured, sending water spewing below. Nightwing's "witty" remark was: "I guess the Beach Boys are in town". Ugh. In a later issue, when Nightwing was fighting some of Ra's Al Ghul's flunkies, he drove over them with a Batmobile and said: "welcome to Bowling for Ninjas".

Beach Boys and Bowling for Dollars references. Pretty sure those haven't been relevant since the early 70's. Not to mention that they weren't funny then, either.

So now Nightwing (the title) is being axed. Frustrating because the character of Master Dick/Nightwing has been extremely popular among fans for decades. Yet nothing of substance occurred in 153 issues of his long-awaited title. Now the character is being shuffled off DC's current "Battle for the Cowl of Batman" stuff.

He's right back to where he started: mooching off of others.

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling - 11/18/81

No idea why this randomly popped up on WWE 24/7, but I'm glad it did. From late 1981, it doesn't feature great matches, but a lot of good ol' fashioned angle-development fun.

Matches/interviews of note:

Jay Youngblood vs. Tony Harris
Pretty sure Harris was a young Black Bart. He was allowed to get a fair amount of offense in, but in the end Youngblood made the Spinach Comeback, chopped him and got the pin.

Special Interview with Sgt. Slaughter
Sarge introduced tape from the previous week, when Wahoo McDaniel complained about Sarge ducking him. Sarge was pissed, offered to put his US belt on the line against Wahoo, then ran to the ring and demolished a jobber. All the while, yelling for Wahoo. Also of note: Sarge was accompanied by "Pvt. Nelson", a young Boris Zhukov.

Special Interview with Roddy Piper
Claimed he was the baddest dude in MACW, etc. He showed a past clip, where he ran into Ricky Steamboat's match and dropped him with a blindside elbow.

Special Look at Tommy Rich
Taped from a different promotion, as Rich pinned a jobber. Bob Caudle and Sandy Scott were excited about new talent coming into MACW and wondered how to get more. Which segued into...

Special Interview with Sandy Scott
Scott's plan: offer a new $17,000 1982 Cadillac to attract new talent! They planned to give it away, somehow, be it in a battle royale or a tournament. This brought out the unofficial heel alliance of Ole Anderson, Roddy Piper and Sgt. Slaughter. They all expressed interest in the Cadillac, with Piper saying he'd sell his Grandma to the Huns for $17,000. Sarge also offered to wrestle his mother. This led into...

Special look at Angelo Mosca
Footage from the WWF of "King Kong Mosca" and his manager Lou Albano beating up a jobber. Scott then said how cool it would be to have Ole, Piper, Sarge and Mosca all in the ring at once, competing for a Cadillac.

Special Interview with Jay Youngblood,Ricky Steamboat and Jake Roberts
Steamboat contradicted Piper's early claim...then showed the rest of the match and how he rebounded from Piper's attack to win the match. Also kinda' funny how Jake Roberts was wearing a cowboy hat and playing up his Texas heritage.

Ricky Steamboat & Jake Roberts vs. Super Destroyer and the Grappler
Like a lot of folks, I remember Steamboat and Roberts and blood enemies from the WWF in 1986...so it's weird to see them as partners. Everyone went toe-to-toe with basic 'rasslin until Ole, Piper and Sarge all invaded the ring area. Super-D and Grappler were then DQ'd and the babyfaces cleared the ring. No idea who this Super-D was, but he was wearing blue n' gold. Pretty sure Grappler was the real deal of Len Denton.

Also, interspersed throughout the show were local promos for an upcoming card. Fun stuff, as we got to see Jimmy Valiant, Blackjack Mulligan, Jr. (Barry Windham) and an odd tag-team pairing of Jay Youngblood and Ray Stevens.

Overall, the show had a great cast of characters and some vintage old-school angles. 24/7 has been tossing up some random episodes of territorial promotions for the past few months, and these have been somewhat of a treat.

Crisis on Earth-Selig!

Bud Selig Might Reinstate Hank Aaron as Home Run King

Look, Hank Aaron is an American icon and all, but resetting the records isn't a good idea or a "fix-all" to MLB's steroid mess. It's like a dead beat, cheating, abusive dad thinking he's clear just because he got an anullment.

The inflated records are-- for better or worse-- baseball's stigma. It has to live with them, as penance for ignoring the problem. While suspicions of steroids have existed since the 80's, Bud Selig was more concerned about fixing that awful problem of a tie in the All-Star Game.

You can't wipe it clean and get a fresh start. You made your bed, now lie in it.

But someone could argue: "well, that devalues the purity of the game and nobody will ever be able to break these records". However, you could also argue that having these tainted records could possibly inspire future players to work harder and do it "the right way". I know... such an outlandish idea.

Besides, let's say you DO set about erasing all steroid homeruns from the record books. Using Bonds as an example, you'd have to go back and wipe out all of his offensive numbers.

Well, what if those numbers actually helped win a game or inflated someone's ERA unfairly? Okay...let's adjust those too.

Well, whattabout standings? I mean, Barry Bonds' homeruns, when mapped out, helped the Giants win an additional 10 games in the 2002 season (total estimate, just for the sake of argument). Well, the Dodgers finished 3.5 games behind the Giants in the Wildcard race, that year. Umm...shouldn't the Dodgers retroactively be cited as the Wildcard winner, now (or eventual NL Champ)?

Whattabout that pitcher whose ERA was unfairly inflated by a McGwire, Palmeiro or Bonds? Hmm, checking stats, he might've won the Cy Young that year. He could call his agent and sue someone for grievances and an unfair working condition. "Due to steroids, my client was unable to attain substantial financial compensation for his efforts".

In short, it could be a statistician's nightmare to simply "erase" any numbers.

Once again, MLB and Bud Selig made this mess. They'll have to live with it. We, as fans, had to live with it..and we can't go back and give ourselves a lobotomy to pretend we didn't follow or cheer for these 'roid clowns. This is reality-- not DC Comics-- you can't simply white-out what you don't like with a "Crisis retcon".

WWF Prime Time Wrestling- Jan 12, 1988

Caught this on WWE 24/7, last night. I don't have total recall of every little segment, but here's the gist of it:

Bret "Hitman" Hart vs. Paul Roma (w/Jim Powers)
Joined in progress, right after the bell. Which leads me to believe that this match was taped when the Hart Foundation were still tag champs and that Hitman had a belt with him. It was probably a "roadblock match", from around the time the Young Stallions "stole" the Harts' supposed theme song of "Crank it Up". Also a little funny that while Powers is seconding Roma, Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart is nowhere to be found. Anyways, Hitman dominates about 75% of the match, although Roma gets in some minor offense, including his nice flying forearm/fist drop from the corner. Roma makes a comeback, but it's quickly killed when Hitman catches him in a backbreaker, then flies off the second rope with a diving elbow to get the pin. Wow, the Stallions were made out to be complete pussies in this match-- Hart had no trouble dealing with both of them (Powers tried to get involved once or twice) and easily wiped the mat with Roma.

Ultimate Warrior vs. Steve Lombardi
Pretty much an early squash for Warrior, although Lombardi controls for a bit. Stragely enough, Warrior also comes out to "Crank it Up". Nick Bockwinkel and Gorilla Monsoon call the action, as they mention Lombardi was a "graduate of the Terry Garvin School of Self-Defense" and how he patterned himself after Garvin and Pat Patterson. Ick. Bockwinkel then keeps taking points off of Garvin and Patterson as the match proceeds. Warrior blasts Lombardi with a powerslam off the ropes, then stops the cover, so he can gorilla-press-slam him and pin him with one foot.

Back in the studio, Gorilla and Bobby Heenan take more shots at Lombardi. Brain asks: "why didn't he pull Warrior's hair when he was up in that gorilla-press?" Gorilla answers: "well, he was in a compromising position at that point". Brain fires right with: "shyeah! He's been in a lot of compromising positions!" Yow...that works on both a kayfabe and behind-the-scenes level!

KoKo B. Ware vs. "Iron" Mike Sharpe
Sharpe, on his neverending quest for redemption fails once again as he can't make it over the "S.D. Jones Hump" and pin anybody about that level. When asked for comment, Sharpe said: "Yaaaaaaaaaa!" Koko wins convincingly with the Ghostbuster piledriver/suplex.

WWF Update with Craig DeGeorge
A recap of the recent dog-napping of the British Bulldogs' mascot, the lovable Matilda, by the dastardly Islanders. WWF Pres Jack Tunney declares the Islanders suspended without pay, until Matilda is returned.

Highlights of Hulk Hogan vs. King Kong Bundy from SNME
From the January 3, 1988 SNME, where Hogan finished off Bundy. A rematch from the November 1987 SNME, when Bundy beat Hogan by countout. Essentially, this match ended Bundy's first WWF tour, which lasted for about 3 years. But the big shenanigans occur after the match, as Andre the Giant entered the ring and choked out Hogan. Strike Force, the British Bulldogs and Jake Roberts can't break Andre's grip on the Hulkster! "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan finally breaks it up with his 2x4, but it also appears that Andre was simply done, for now.

A Very Special DeGeorge Podium Interview with Ted DiBiase (w/Virgil)
DiBiase isn't used to not getting what he wants. Even though Hogan turned down his offer to buy the WWF Championship, DiBiase has hired someone who will give the title to him: Andre the Giant! Back in the studio, Gorilla chides Heenan for selling out and abandoning his dream of someday managing the champion. Heenan doesn't care, as he's satisfied with simply having a championship manager's payday. Gorilla warns him that all the money will go back if Andre doesn't beat Hogan. Hmm...don't think that point will ever brought up, again.

"Leaping" Lanny Poffo vs. Danny Spivey
Joined in the progress of a BEARHUG, which instantly tells me to hit the head or get a snack. Spivey wins with a reverse neckbreaker (think: "Rude Awakening") after Poffo misses a drop-kick

A Very Special "Mean" Gene Okerlund Interview with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
Gene plugs the "Rumble Royale", then brings in Steamboat, who will be squaring off against "Ravishing" Rick Rude at the event. Steamboat says he's been sitting at home the past six months, but now he's back and ready to make a mark. Ehh....according to who you want to believe, Steamer worked a good chunk of matches from June to December 1987, he was just off of TV.

Heenan blasts Okerlund for calling the "Royal Rumble" the "Rumble Royale". He also refers to Steamboat as "Mr. Mom". They plug the upcoming FREE event some more and name the participants in the Rumble. Bam Bam Bigelow is announced, but he'll end up skipping the match. I'm wondering who replaced him... maybe Tito Santana? They also mention that the Rumble will feature a "face-to-face confrontation" between Andre and Hogan. Yet they don't mention the upcoming "MAIN EVENT".

Cowboy Lang vs. Lord Littlebrook
MIDGET MATCH from Paris, France. Lang actually comes out to "Crank it Up", as well! Littlebrook: "ayyy-yi-yi-yi-yi-yiiii!" Since it's a midget match, we get the obligatory butt-bite. Littlebrook finally wins by hooking the tights. This match was given TWO whole segments....but, as Heenan might say, it still came up short.

Brady Boone & Billy Jack Haynes vs. Demolition (w/Mr. Fuji)
Boone's filling in for the injured Ken Patera. Lots of pounding, although Boone and Haynes work pretty well as a team. Smash gets the pin with his "stun-gun" top-rope drop on Boone. Funny point, but there's no ringcrew, so Demolition has to carry their own masks, chaps and jackets back to the locker with them. Like Bundy, I think this was the end of Haynes' WWF tour.

Well folks, that wraps it up for this edition...

"Youngblood" Set to Sell 8 Movie Tickets

Sad, but true... someone is looking at developing the 1992 pile known as "Youngblood" into a movie. Complete with shoulderpads, catcher's masks, poofy hair and tiny ankles:

Youngblood movie at Variety.com

What cracks me up is how the report calls it "an iconic graphic novel".

And I'll officially lose all hope for you guys if someone comments: "Yes! This will rule!!"

All Hope.