My heart's...a-far...for El-var

The final entry in our series on the Wanderers looks at the clone resurrection version of Elvo.

Elvar's Look and Powers
Where his original look wasn't bad, I have always thought the clone version--notwithstanding the thigh high boots--was an improvement. For one, the original yellow and purple color scheme was pretty garish.  It's difficult to pull that off.  Green and black are much a better combo.

Second--and I realize mileage will vary here--I liked the more elf-like look given Elvar.  I've got to believe that the morphological affinity of "Elvo" with "elf" was part of the inspiration. Elvar combines the tropes of both the snarky elf and the agile sword wielding elf in one character. The former trope is illustrated by other examples like Marvel's villainous Elf with a Gun (introduced in July 1975).

The agility and swordsmanship combo was, of course, well established in fantasy literature.  Interestingly, Elvar's uniting of the elvan swordsman with superhero tropes was aped by Marvel's Excalibur version of Nightcrawler who, seemed to be wielding a saber every time you turned around.  I don't recall that being a part of Nightcrawler's basic depiction prior to Excalibur.  The basic chronology here makes me suspect that Elvar may have inspired the changes in Kurt Wagner. (However, as an admittedly arm's-length reader of both the X-Men and the Excalibur, I realize I may just be ignorant of "the elf's" backstory.  Perhaps some well-versed X-fan can clarify the situation for us?)

Does he look like a refugee from the Dark Crystal?  Sure, but I submit that's still better than looking like a guy with a yellow beach bucket on his head.

The power upgrade made Elvar a bigger asset to the team and just a more interesting character generally.  First, he got enhanced agility. Second there seem to have been some changes in regards to the energy properties of his sword.  As noted in the post on Elvo, however, there's inconsistent information about the precise parameters of those changes.

Aviax

Straining toward a serious raison d'etre that's just out reach...

This week's Wanderer is perhaps the poster-child of how a promising rebirth of 30th century ronin went completely off the rails.

An earlier post discussed the Ornitho.  When "reborn" he chucked this in favor of the name Aviax.  As with Dartalg/Dartalon, I think the rebirth name was an improvement.

The costume, however, is  a different matter.  While Ornitho's original outfit wasn't particularly inspiring, neither was it a trainwreck.  When I was eleven, I thought Aviax's threads were cool...but as I said, I was eleven.  With the wisdom and perspective of age, I gotta admit that Aviax's look has not aged well.  In the first place it just looks a little goony.  (What's the purpose of those giant shoulder wing pads?)  The color scheme is a bit loud.  In addition to the gooniness, the costume is largely dysfunctional.  

Where most of the other Wanderers either got a new costume or a new costume plus power upgrade, Aviax got both...plus a highly-limiting weakness.  While Aviax gained the ability to transform into any type of flying creature he could imagine--in addition to those that actually exist, as he had in his Ornitho form--this came at the cost of having porous hollow bones (like a bird's).

Now when you think about it, that's a pretty serious weakness for a guy who's going to travel around the galaxy fighting.  Furthermore, if you know going in that that's a weakness then would you wear...I don't know...a few more clothes than this?  Maybe some kind of padded armor or something to keep you from constantly having broken bones?

At a more fundamental level, does this weakness even make sense?  Clonus is able to give Re-Animage the ability to resurrect people from the dead, but he couldn't figure out how to clone Aviax in such a way that his bones wouldn't shatter under a strong wind?!

But the greatest fail...the coup de grace of SMH moments came in Wanderers #12 (MAR 1989), when at long last Aviax is able to demonstrate his usefulness to the Wanderers.  In this story, the team is trying to save a planet of dinosaurs from impending extinction due a radiation cloud spreading slowly over the planet.   What's the solution?  Why, to transform into a prehistoric bird and have sex with another prehistoric animal so as to (supposedly) imbue the creatures of the planet with Aviax's own genetic resistance to the radiation.

Yeah.  I'm not makin' it up.  That was actually, a real story as told in a professionally-published comic book. If you want the last vestiges of your illusions shattered, you can read more about this debacle in Brian Cronin's piece for CBR.  But even if you don't, just take a look at the cover for that particular issue.  It'll basically tell you everything you need to know.

And the series was cancelled after the very next issue.  I know...shocking, right?

Dartalon: wearing weapons (and emotions) on his sleeve

In a previous post, we looked at who I consider the most-underwhelming of the original Wanderers, Dartalg, Master of the Blowgun! (See...don't you feel a little stupider just saying that?)
Anyway, our ole buddy Dartalg is one of the characters who most-benefitted from his clone resurrection.  Today, dear reader, we consider the most "prickly" of 31st century heroes:  Dartalon!

As mentioned above, it seemed to me that Dartalon got the best upgrade of any of the Wanderers.  He went from being a near-useless dude with a blow gun, to a guy whose body could generate its own weaponry.  His darts could either be fired as projectiles, or used as Wolverine-like claws. In addition to all this, he also maintained his earlier practice of treating certain darts with explosives, sedatives, etc.

His orange/khaki look was (IMO) a major improvement over the old frumpy green outfit he originally had. Given all of that, I'd have expected him to be generally pleased with his new self.  However, Dartalon wound up being the one who complained the most about how Clonus had turned him into a "monster."  I'm sure that spiky form set him off some...but c'mon.  He inhabits a world with characters like Blok, Tellus, and Wildfire. Dude...no one wants to hear you whining about how your really sharp body stubble is off-putting.

 

Wildfire

The "Queenly" Psyche

Once there was an unnamed couple on an unnamed planet who both had "the ability of enhanced empathy" (Comic Vine).  To this enigmatic union was born an unnamed daughter who wound up being even more powerful than her parents, because she could, "control the emotions of others, bending them to her will" (Comic Vine).

Feared by their neighbors, this unnamed family lived in a remote stronghold away from the most populous areas of their unnamed planet.  Until the day when, for some unexplained reason, the recluse young girl's powers came to the attention of the space-faring Wanderers, who recruited said unnamed girl into their ranks with no more rationale given to her parents than, "Look, I just have to...okay?"

And that, dear reader, is the complex and intricately woven backstory to the heroine Psyche,  today's Wanderer of the Week.

While all the resurrected Wanderers received new looks, an interesting thing occurred with Psyche.  Whereas Quantum Queen when from a pretty modest costume to a "feelin'-cute-maybe-I'll-give-up-heroing-and-become-an-exotic-dancer" look:

Original Quantum Queen

Quantum Queen Redivivus

Psyche went from a 60's mini-skirt number to a far more formal-looking outfit.  

Original Psyche

Psyche Redivivus

 I just find it quite ironic that the "queen" wound up looking like a rebellious teenage daughter who thought it'd be cool to strip at the local "gentleman's club," while the gal whose whole power-set is based on emotions and emotionalism wound up looking like the more mature character.

Anywho, let's look briefly at the first issue of the Wanderers.

The Wanderers #1 (JUN 1988)
The beginnings of the Wanderers Redivivus occurred--appropriately enough--in their series.  In this series, it's revealed that the original Wanderers had all been killed and were "resurrected" via the technologies of Clonus, an apparently renegade member of the powerful race known as Controllers.

Recognizing that simply bringing them back in the same form they were originally defeated in, Clonus used his advanced technology to enhance the powers of most of the Wanderers. 

Curiously, however, not all of the Wanderers were returned. This first issue explained that Celebrand's DNA was too degraded for him to be brought back -- though the writers seemed to be trying to leave the door open for a return by explaining even in this first appearance that, "a small fragment" of his DNA was implanted into Immorto/Re-Animage.  

From Immorto to Re-Animage

The uninspired figure you see below was the original look of the Wanderer Immorto.  Aside from his gun (which made him more useful than Dartalg, though less than the better-armed Celebrand) his primary contribution to the team was that he couldn't die (which, apparently, wasn't actually the case since he did die and was later resurrected by Clonus.)  Sadly, the power to not die does not inherently imply the power to win fights.

Immorto in Adventure Comics #375 (DEC 1968)

Now, I'll be the first to admit that the idea of a un-killable superhero sounds good.  That makes it all the more surprising, that despite both DC (with Immorto/Re-Animage) and Marvel (Mr. Immortal) taking a swing at it, no publisher has really been able to construct a compelling character on this basis.

Following his resurrection in Wanderers #1 (JUN 1988), Immorto got a fashion upgrade, moving from the puke-and-poop ensemble pictured above to this fetching red-white-and-blue look.

Obviously, he got a name change as well.  Whether or not Re-Animage is an "upgrade" from Immorto is up for debate.   The new name is weird and definitely didn't implicitly signal the character's powers in the same way his original name did.  On the other hand, following his resurrection, not only was Re-Animage near immortal he could now temporarily share his revivifying power with others--even to the point of resurrect recently the recently deceased!  (I'm guessing this explained the name change.  He could now "re-animate" others; and since his unexplained power seemed so fantastic as to be near magic the "mage" moniker seemed appropriate.)

Another (never quite explained so far as I'm aware) aspect of the revived Wanderers was Steve Dillon's decision to leave Celebrand on the other side of the River Styx.  In Celebrand's absence, Re-Animage took over leadership duties.

Finally--at a later date--Re-Animage got to trade in his cap gun for a more Cable-esque sidearm.  I've never heard or read an explanation for this.  Maybe it was his way of overcompensating for perceived leadership failures? 

(Now I'm envisioning one of the others accessing their inner Lloyd Bentsen to announce:  I knew Celebrand.  Celebrand was a friend of mine; and Re-Animage, you're no Celebrand.)

Next Week:  Psyche and the tale of Wanderers #1

Elvo: premiere swordsman of the 30th century

Source: https://loshreference.tumblr.com/post/129435225595/elvo-aka-elvar-comic-vine-entry

This week's OW (Original Wanderer) is the master swordsman Elvo.  Despite having a less-than inspiring name and head gear, I still thought Elvo was a decent character.

According to a Legionworld discussion board post from 2003:

The yellow-and-purple clad Elvo carried a super-charged sword. Whether its powers came from science or from magic was never revealed, but either way, the master swordsman could con[s]truct force-shields and discharge energy blasts at his command, making him a formidable opponent. 

And, honestly...that's pretty much it.  There's just not much you can find online about the original Elvo...and what there is is in conflict.  For example, the above-quote indicates that Elvo's blade always had some sort of energy-discharge capabilities.  Comicvine's entry on Elvar, however, indicates that the energy element of the blade was a post-resurrection feature:

When he died and was brought back as a clone he took on the new name Elvar...He also gained the ability to energize his power sword to enable it to cut through almost anything. 

While I haven't been able to determine with certainty when Elvo/Elvar first manifested energy capabilities, I feel like I remember running across a panel depicting him creating an energy shield during the Wanderers' first fight with the Legionnaires.  Oh well, in any case, this week we feature the next chronological appearance of the Wanderers.  This took place in pages of:


Legion of Superheroes #294 (DEC 1982)
This was the wrap up to what I would argue is most-epic Legion story ever--"The Great Darkness Saga."  The Legion faces the galactic threat of a resurrected Darkseid, who had managed to mentally enslave the population of Daxam.  (If you're not up on LSH universe, let me briefly explain why that's a big deal:  the Daxamites were essentially genetic cousins to the Kryptonians.  In other words, Darkseid has more or less got an army of Supermen enslaved to his will!)

Meeting the threat requires--as Dream Girl notes--"every warm superpowered body."  Our old friends the Heroes of Lallor, the Legion of Substitute Heroes, and of course the Wanderers respond, ready to give the last full measure of devotion.

Note our hero in the upper right background.  (Doesn't that sword look "energized" to you?)

Ornitho, Celebrand, (and
is that verdant-garbed Psyche?)

Note Ornitho in the upper left...and is that
Dartalg behind him?

A Bird's Eye View of Ornitho

We return to our foray through the history of DC's 30th century ronin, the Wanderers, by looking at  Ornitho.

Source: Comicvine

Possible inspirations
As I reflect on Ornitho, it seems there might be several points of connection between him and other heroes.  Obviously, he is yet another in the ranks of the winged superheroes. Since he emerged in the late 60s out of a DC publication, I'd assume that Hawkman was the nearest inspiration. After all, Hawkman did have a syndicated cartoon on television around this time.

Over at Marvel,  the Angel (a founding member of the popular X-Men) had made his first appearance only three years earlier.

Source: Comicvine

A much later (and, therefore, correspondingly tendentious) possible connection is illustrated in Marvel's 1982 debut of the French hero, Peregrine.  Though Alain Racine's abilities were the result of his costume, as opposed to being inherent in himself, am I the only one who perceives some suspiciously similar color schemes going on?

Ornitho in 1968

Peregrine in 1982

A word about Ornitho's powers

Adventure Comics #375 (DEC 1968)

Pivoting from inspirations to power sets, I gotta tell ya:  there's a key element that just doesn't make sense to me.  I can see how transforming into a parakeet might help on stealth missions, or turning into a flame-breathing space bird could add valuable oompf to the team's punching power; but--at a gut level--there's just something incongruous about a guy with wings whose main power seems to be to turn into other things with wings!  I mean--what's the point of having the wings in the first place?   DC made a stab at simplifying/rationalizing Ornitho's powers during his 1980s reboot as Aviax.  Unfortunately--as will be illustrated in a future post--those "solutions" created as many (perhaps more) problems than they solved.


Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes #200 (JAN 1974)

Though, technically, the Wanderers appear in this issue.  They basically do nothing more than make a brief cameo.  The issue as a whole records the tale of Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel's wedding--and its predictable "crashing" by the super-villain Starfinger.

Indeed, there's only one (admittedly, now iconic) scene in this entire issue featuring the Wanderers...and I'm not too sure that I can spot Ornitho in it at all.  What say you?

Dartalg Misses the Mark

Originally, Dartalg was--if I'm honest--the corniest member of the Wanderers. Like Celebrand, in his original incarnation Dartalg lacked superpowers, but where Celebrand at least boasted a massive Han Solo-esque blaster, Dartalg was the mighy master of....the blow gun.

That's right friends, a weapon principally utilized and associated with colonized native terran societies in 15th - 19th centuries, was the weapon-of-choice for a cosmic adventurer in the 30th century.

The only thing sadder than Dartalg's armory, was his inability to defeat
a guy whose super-power was blowing up like a balloon.  This really makes Dartalg's trash-talk all the more pathetic.

If my speculation that the Wanderers were inspired by The Magnificent Seven, then just as Celebrand was the cosmic version of Chris Adams, Dartalg might've been inspired by the knife master Britt.

Like a latter day, Green Arrow (well, at least one version of him) Dartalg attempted to off-set the inherent limitations of his weapon with high-tech, specialty darts (e.g., explosive darts, poison darts, etc.). Unfortunately, no writer was ever able to pull this off in a way that seemed even remotely plausible for a 30th century setting. 

Adventure Comics #376 (JAN 1969)
Though technically considered the second appearance of the Wanderers, in truth their role in this story is even less impressive than their debut.  Indeed, only two of the Wanderers seem to have made an appearance in this issue (Celebrand and Psyche) and then, only in flashbacks to the previous issue.




I'll be out of the country for the next two weeks, so I'm not sure I'll be able to make posts.  I'm trying to prepare a couple of interludes, but we'll see if I can get them done before departure time.  After I return, we'll continue this foray through the original Wanderers by looking at the winged hero Ornitho!

Dartalg in the deck
Jim Gallagher artwork