Stories by @jreeve50

Jack Kirby's New Gods Season 2

Green Arrow

Zatanna

Zatanna Zatara is a stage magician in Las Vegas. She performs tricks to small audiences and just barely gets by. Despite the small crowds, one person seems to be in attendance at every one of Zatanna’s shows. One night, Zatanna calls on the Stranger to participate in the show in order to find out why she keeps coming. Their back-and-forth is cut short by a giant monster who destroys the venue. The Stranger encourages Zatanna to use her magic to fight the monster but Zatanna insists that she is just a stage magician. The Stranger defeats the monster just before it kills the two of them, revealing she was sent by the Celestial at the Palace of Casters to arrest Zatanna for the murder of her father Giovanni Zatara. Zatanna convinces the Celestial that she did not inherit her father’s abilities and they send her back to her apartment. Back in Vegas, one of Zatanna’s rabbits turned into a humanoid creature called Bunny. Bunny tells Zatanna that the Casters have been lying about what they know regarding Zatara’s death. Bunny tricks Zatanna into using her powers, which is spotted by Ocularis. At a coffee shop the next night, Zatanna meets with Bunny to discuss her father and his crimes. She learns while fighting the evil sorceress Allura, Zatara committed the worst crime one caster can do to another: he stole her magic. Bunny and Zatanna are attacked by the Stranger, but are protected by Zatanna’s ex-boyfriend John Constantine. Zatanna, Bunny, and Constantine flee to Paris to escape the Casters but are ultimately found again by the Stranger, but this time she wants to join them. The Stranger shows Zatanna a vision of the past where her father brought Zatanna to the house of his most trusted friend, Thomas Wayne, after she was struck by Allura. In order to protect his daughter, Zatara sacrificed himself by bestowing his powers onto Zatanna, keeping Allura away. The true plan was for the Casters to resurrect Allura, but first they need to steal Zatanna’s powers.

The Batman

The Batman has been protecting the streets of Gotham for a decade with the help of his allies Batgirl and Robin. Gotham has become one of the safest cities in the country, but that safety comes into question when the mayor-elect, Sebastian Hady, is found dead in his penthouse apartment. Commissioner James Gordon and Officer Harvey Bullock conclude that Hady must have been killed with a large blunt object, but Batman has another theory. The imprints on the body are similar to those left by a fist. Before Batman, Batgirl, and Robin can begin investigating, a string of crimes spring out at once. Batgirl goes to stop Firefly from burning down Gotham’s boardwalk. Robin is evacuating a ballroom of Gotham’s elites as Deadshot fires at them all. Batman attempts to take on Solomon Grundy, who is running around the streets breaking anything in his path, but is ultimately outmatched. Thankfully, Batman’s former partner and first Robin, Dick Grayson, appears in a modified version of the Robin costume. The pair take down Grundy like old times and Dick joins the team to investigate the sudden uptick in crime. While the four of them were stopping Firefly, Deadshot, and Grundy, another murder occurs in the same manner as Hady’s. This time to Gotham’s district attorney Janice Porter. The team concludes that the attacks were coordinated to distract them all from finding out who the mysterious killer is. We eventually find out that the killer is a newcomer to Gotham named Bane, a masked man who was raised on a prison ship serving out his father’s sentence for him. Bane, powered by the super-enhancing venom, fights a weakened Batman and beats him. Now it is up to Batman’s sidekicks to fight Bane while Batman is down.

Strange Adventures

Adam Strange is an archeologist that was working on a dig site in Peru when he was hit by a beam of light that transported him to another world. Adam finds himself in the middle of a desert, full of strange plants that he does not recognize. People in ragged garments, speaking a language unknown to Adam, charge at him with spears. Adam manages to escape with the help of a young woman that picks him up in her spaceship. Adam is unable to understand the woman’s language either. She brings him to a laboratory in a large city, where an old man places a metal device on Adam’s head, translating the native language into English. The old man explains to Adam that his name is Sardath, the chief scientist of the planet Rann. The woman that saved Adam is his daughter, Alanna. Adam was transported to Rann by way of a Zeta-Beam, a ray that was designed to communicate with other life forms, but was contaminated with radioactive energy and was able to transport organic matter across 4.5 light years of distance. Adam is told by Alanna about Rann’s history of nuclear warfare, leaving the majority of the planet destitute of organic materials and many of the people infertile. Rann is also in an ongoing conflict with the planet Thanagar, who’s tyrannical ruler, Onimar Synn, is using Rann’s capital city Ranagar for its advanced technology. Adam takes it upon himself to aid in the fight against Onimar Synn, but the effects of the Zeta-Beam are not permanent, meaning Adam must seek out other Zeta-Beams on Earth to bring him back to Rann. Adam and Alanna are aided in their fight by a group of intergalactic freedom fighters known as the Omega Men, as well as two natives of Thanagar, Hawkman and Hawkgirl. One of the Omega Men members, Blackfire, betrays the group, revealing herself to be a spy for Onimar Synn. Adam defeats Onimar Synn and becomes the champion of Rann.

Wonder Woman: Legacy

Wonder Woman is the longest active superhero in the world. Her first public appearance was in 1942 when the U.S. government created a team of metahumans to aid in the fight against the Axis Powers. This team, known as the Justice Society of America, was forced to disband in 1959 as the age of McCarthyism came to an end. In the modern day, Diana lives in New York City, working as the ambassador to her home island of Themyscira. At the Themysciran embassy, Albert Rothstein, the godson of Diana’s former JSA teammate Al Pratt, finds Wonder Woman to tell her that he has developed superpowers and wants her to train him to become a superhero. Before she can answer, Diana’s old friend, Artemis of Bana-Mighdall, and the messenger god Hermes appear before them. Artemis is badly hurt and explains that Hermes helped bring her to the Embassy to tell Diana that Themyscira was attacked by the sorceress Circe. Hermes brings Wonder Woman, Artemis and Rothstein to Themyscira to find it destitute. Diana’s mother, Hippolyta, is critically injured. Wonder Woman sees an owl holding an arrow, which she recognizes to be a messenger of Athena. We find out that Circe is working alongside the goddess of Strife, Eris to plunge Mount Olympus into war and kill the goddess Gaea so she can control all life on Earth. Wonder Woman, Artemis and Rothstein (also known as Atom Smasher) seek out multiple gods of Olympus to aid in their fight against Circe and Eris. Circe also seeks out help from the goddess Hecate, who in return is promised to overthrow Hades as ruler of the underworld. With the help of Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes and Ares, the three fight Circe and an army of the dead atop Mount Olympus to save Gaea.

Green Lantern Corps

Hal Jordan is a former military test pilot and a veteran member of the intergalactic police force, the Green Lantern Corps. Jordan returned to his home town of Coast City to receive a lifetime achievement award in heroics. He is accompanied by fellow Green Lantern John Stewart, who was a former marine and architect from Detroit. During the ceremony, Coast City is attacked by the Manhunters, the first attempt by the Guardians of the Universe at creating an intergalactic policing force. The two Green Lanterns get into action but most of Coast City is destroyed in the process. Hal Jordan returns to the Corps’ headquarters on the planet Oa to plead with the Guardians to investigate Sinestro, a former Green Lantern turned evil, for being behind the attack. The Guardians refuse as they do not want to cause a war with the Yellow Lanterns, leaving Hal angry. John Stewart convinces Hal to investigate the attack anyway, and the two bring in Green Lanterns Kilowog and Katma Tui to help. Hal noticeably becomes more irritable as the investigation continues. The team goes to several planets, investigating other attacks done by the manhunters. John notices that each attack occurs on a planet of significance to Hal. First on Earth where Hal is from, then Ungara where the Lantern that gave Hal his ring was from, then Mogo who is a sentient planet. The team traces back the attacks to Warworld, a mobile asteroid ruled over by the tyrant Mongul. On Warworld is the power battery of the Yellow Lanterns, which is revealed to contain Parallax, a being of pure fear. Parallax has infiltrated Hal’s body and has taken over, turning him into a Yellow Lantern. The Guardians of the Universe give John Stewart a special ring that is not rendered useless by the color yellow. Now the Green Lantern Corps must fight against both Mongul and Hal Jordan to save the universe.

Superman

It’s been three years since Superman made his first appearance in Metropolis. Since then, it seems a new monster shows up every week. Superman is a beloved figure and symbol of hope for all in Metropolis, but some view his blind optimism and commitment to kindness as being an outdated sentiment for the modern day. Defense magnate, Lex Luthor, stands out as the biggest skeptic to the blue boyscout. On the ground, mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, along with his girlfriend Lois Lane and best friend Jimmy Olsen, is researching shady business dealings associated with LexCorp. Lois has uncovered some documents related to an English research laboratory called Action Labs, which she believes LexCorp is embezzling government funds to. Clark is afraid this story may be too dangerous to take on, but Lois feels Clark has been coddling her ever since telling her he’s Superman. This leads to an argument and Clark storming out of her apartment. The next day, Superman is fighting a kaiju in the middle of Metropolis when, out of nowhere, the monster wails in agony and falls dead. Superman just barely manages to move some bystanders out of the way before the kaiju crushes them. The monster was killed by Manchester Black, an antihero with telepathic powers. Later, Lex Luthor holds a press conference announcing he has partnered with the United States Department of Defense to create a new team of superheroes that he calls “The Elite.” The team is comprised of Manchester Black, Coldcast, the Hat, and Menagerie. Superman and Lois are skeptical of this team, both by their affiliation with Luthor and their affinity of using deadly force. As time goes on, some members of the public begin defending the harsh nature of The Elite. Superman fights against Manchester Black, insisting that compassion and hope is the only way to fight for truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.

Jack Kirby's New Gods

Long ago, the Fourth World was ruled by the Old Gods. Their wicked ways of war, famine, lust, and mischief prevailed until a being of pure anti-life created a cataclysmic event that destroyed everything except for two twin planets, which would come to be home to the New Gods. New Genesis, lead by Highfather, and Apokolips, ruled by Darkseid, were locked in a never-ending war for supremacy over the Fourth World. This was until Darkseid’s uncle, Steppenwolf, murdered Highfather’s wife, and in turn, Highfather killed Steppenwolf. The two leaders came to a peace deal in which they would trade their infant sons, decreeing that as long as the boys remained on their new planets, there would be peace between New Genesis and Apokolips. Darkseid’s son, Orion, grew to be New Genesis’ greatest warrior, known as “The Dog of War.” The primordial source of creation, known only as The Source, foretells a prophecy that states “Apokolips will be freed and war will cease when the rightful heir takes his place.” This leads Metron, New Genesis’ chief scientist, to tell Orion the truth, that he is actually an Apokoliptian and the son of Darkseid. Meanwhile, Highfather’s son has escaped Apokolips, leading to the peace deal between the planets to no longer be in effect. Kalibak, Darkseid’s other son, hears of the prophecy and believes he is destined to kill both Darkseid and Orion and lead Apokolips to defeat New Genesis. Orion must now discover his true identity while protecting his planet against the wrath of Kalibak.