Showcase of Suspense #3

"Who's Saving Who?"

Previously:  Thor saw Superman attempt to throw Spider-Man to his death.  Little did he know that Superman had a spell cast over him that made him susceptible to Mysterio's gas.  Thor and Superman battled while Spider-Man fought Mysterio.  The fight between Superman and Thor ended when Spider-Man informed them about the spell placed on the Man of Steel.  The heroes are now face to face with the Composite Superman and the Enchantress.  Oh there's one other thing you should know: Mary Jane Watson, Lois Lane and Jane Foster were captured last issue and placed in traps designed to kill our courageous heroes.

New York City:

Our three heroes, Superman, Spider-Man and Thor have all left the Composite Superman, the Enchantress and Mysterio to save the women they love.  With no time to waste, Superman flies off to save Lois Lane, our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man swings madly into the city in an attempt to save Mary Jane and the God of Thunder storms off to save Jane Foster.

The Composite Superman watches as the heroes depart.  "The fools will never save their little sweethearts.  Amora, prepare to begin phase two of our little operation.  The Justice League of America shall fall before me next!"  A cold-hearted laugh escapes the villain's lips.

Spider-Man:

"There's Mary Jane now!"  Spider-Man sees Mary Jane Watson standing on a ledge above a whirling fan.  A glass cylinder surrounds the fan and Miss Watson.  "This doesn't look too bad."

A voice enters Peter Parker's head.  "Young fool!  The surface of that cylinder is made from a substance that nothing can stick to!  If she falls you can't catch her and stick to the walls!"

The wall-crawler runs to the cylinder and tries over and over to stick to the glass-like surface, but to no avail.  "Damn!  That ledge is starting to shrink."

"Spider-Man!  Help!"

"I'm trying hot-stuff, but this trap was designed to do me in."  Spider-Man pounds on the wall and it starts to crack.  "Well at least I can get through this stupid wall."  After a few seconds of punching the wall, the glass breaks enough for him to get through.  He now stands on floor, mere inches away from the whirling fan in the floor.   The platform holding Mary Jane Watson is too high for our wall-crawler to pull her to safety with his webbing.

"Noooooooo!!"  The ledge under Mary Jane's feet gives out and she starts to fall. 

Superman:

The Man of Steel breaks through the wall of an abandoned warehouse.  He starts to feel a little weak.  "Kryptonite." 

"Yes Superman, kryptonite.  It surrounds your pretty little girlfriend.  Of course if you don't go into the kryptonite to save her, she'll fall to her death."  An evil laugh echoes through Clark Kent's mind.

Superman looks up and sees Lois hanging from a rope above a plethora of spikes.  Green kryptonite surrounds the spikes.  Any attempt to save Lois will put him at the mercy of the kryptonite.  A flame shoots out of the wall and starts to burn the rope.

"Superman, don't do it.  The kryptonite will kill you."  Lois Lane knows that if he tries to save her, it will mean his death.  She thinks, "The world needs Superman more than it needs me."

"I've got to do something.  But what?"

Thor:

Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, slams through the door of an old movie studio.  Before him stands Jane Foster in a pit of quicksand.  An energy barrier surrounds her.

"Jane Foster will be pulled below the quicksand within the next 60 seconds."

"Quicksand is no match for the first born son of Odin!"

"Silence braggart!  The energy barrier around the quicksand will allow no weapons to pass inside.  Of course if you leave your hammer outside of the barrier, it will take you more than sixty seconds to free her.  I don't think the feeble Donald Blake is up to the task of saving a woman from quicksand."  Once more the evil laugh of the Composite Superman burns through the head of one of our heroes.

Thor launches himself at the barrier but the barrier holds.  The barrier repulses blow, after furious blow.  Jane Foster's head is barely above the quicksand.

"Thor!  Help me!  Please help me!" 

Gates behind Thor open up and release three wolfhounds.  These are no ordinary wolfhounds, however.  The Enchantress has created these creatures with her magic.

"Oh did I forget to mention the wolves?  If you leave your hammer outside the barrier, when you come out poor Donald Blake will have to fight his way out of here."

The wolfhounds slowly creep out of the gates.  Nurse Foster's chin is touching the quicksand.

Back to our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man:

As Mary Jane Watson falls, Spider-Man shoots webbing towards her falling form.  "Grab the ends of the webbing red!"  Peter Parker hopes this gambit works.  He's never tried this trick at such a distance or with someone falling towards the webbing.  "Hold it tight once you've got it!"

"I think I've got it!"  MJ grabs what she believes to be the end of the webbing and holds on for her life.  She has no idea what Spider-Man's plan is, but it's her only hope.  Her arms feel like they've been pulled out of their sockets.  That's when she notices that there's a web parachute above her head.  There's still the fan below that she's falling towards and she can't seem to make the parachute turn towards the side of the fan.

"Thank heavens that worked."  The wall-crawler thinks to himself.  "Don't worry cutey.  I've got one more trick up my sleeve."  A line of webbing attaches itself to Mary Jane's leg and Spider-Man pulls the lovely redhead towards him. 

A voice screams their heads: "You've won this round Spider-Man, but once I've finished off the other heroes, I'll take care of you myself."

"Don't worry about finding me!  Worry about me finding you first!"  Parker is shaking with anger.  Threatening the woman he loves was a mistake.

The Man of Steel:

SNAP!!!

The rope holding Lois breaks.  Without a thought about his own safety, Superman flies toward Lois.  The green kryptonite weakens him and thus he is only able to push Miss Lane and himself past the edge of the spikes.  "Oof!" The Man of Steel's body cushions Lois Lane's fall. 

They are both stuck inside a circle of green kryptonite.  "Get… out… of… here…."  Superman is unable to stand.  He tries to push Lois towards the door.  "He… might… come… back…"

"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!  The Great Superman saved the woman he loves at the expense of his own life.  I knew you'd sacrifice yourself for that woman!  Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!"  The laughter fills both Lois and Clark's minds.

"You forgot one thing loser!  I'm not some helpless female!" 

"Lois… get… out…<gasp> of <gasp>…."

"Not without you.  Sometimes I think you're as dense as that creep who set this stupid trap."  Lois Lane grabs Superman's arm and lifts him up.  "Man are you heavy.  No wonder they call you the Man of Steel."  Lois hopes that Superman's strength doesn't give out completely before she can help him to safety.  Unfortunately, the kryptonite overcomes the original superhero.  Superman collapses.

"Well it looks like I'll have to drag you.  Damn you're heavy."  Slowly but surely Miss Lane pulls Superman free of the kryptonite.  "I told you not to underestimate me!"  She wipes sweat from her forehead and then drops to the floor.  "I don't think I can pull him another inch.  I can only hope that I've pulled him far enough."

Superman stirs.  "Lois, you're as tough as any superhero I've ever met.  Now I've got to get you to safety and stop this madman!"

The God of Thunder:

The wolves keep their distance from the son of Odin.  Thor glances back at the wolves while trying to figure out how to save Jane Foster.  The quicksand is starting to inch over her chin. 

"There is but one action that I may take to save the lovely Jane Foster!"  Thor walks over to the barrier.  The wolfhounds continue to keep their distance and circle the trap.   Thor slams his hammer against the ground and changes into the feeble Doctor Donald Blake.  With cane in hand, Dr. Blake walks through the barrier.  Blake has no chance to save his co-worker, but by striking the cane against the floor, Dr. Blake turns once more into the Mighty Thor.

"As I surmised, the barrier keeps out the weapons of war, but has no effect on weapons inside."  With a quick flick of the wrist, Mjolnir flies through the air towards the woman trapped in the quicksand.  "Ho!  Jane Foster!  Grab the hammer and thou shalt be freed of the quicksand!"

The hammer returns to the hands of its master with Dr. Blake's nurse hanging on for her dear life.  "Was I seeing things, or did I see you turn into Donald Blake?"

"Thou didst see me in my mortal coil."

"I can't believe it.  I… I'm shocked… Oh I should stop being so rude.  Thank you for saving me."

"We aren't free from the machinations of this base villain!  The wolves beyond this barrier await the Odinson!"  Thor remembers the words of the Composite Superman.  "Stay here Nurse Foster!  I must pass through this barrier to battle yon wolfhounds!"  Thor passes through the barrier.  "The barrier only stopped weapons from going in, not out."

The wolves are no match for the Norse God. 

The Composite Superman:

"My traps all failed!  How could I have overlooked such simple flaws!"  The Composite Superman slams his fists through the desk before him.

"The intellect of Brainiac 5 is too complex to see simple solutions.  That must be the excuse for thy failure."  The Enchantress slowly circles her fingers across the Composite Superman's chest.

"Failure!  Did you say failure?"

"I meant no offense."  Amora slowly backs away.  "Thou wilt still win this day."

"You know I will!  Don't you ever doubt it!"  The Composite Superman scowls in her direction and then flies through the window to meet our three heroes.

He flies through towards the movie set where Mysterio set the Composite Superman's plan into action.  "This is where I'll finish off the heroes." 

The three heroes arrive together.  Superman is carrying Spider-Man while Thor lands off to left.  "So you all came back together.  How quaint."  Spider-Man slowly moves to the right.  Superman stands tall in the middle with Thor approaching our villain from the left.  "I see Thor and Spider-Man do not realize the amount of power I possess."

"I've already told them you have the powers of the Legion of Superheroes.  They just don't care."  Superman smiles.  "And you know what, I've made you run off with your tail between your legs before, so I don't see why the three of us can't do it again."

"You got lucky!  You won't be so lucky this time!"  Green chains surround the Man of Steel.  Using the powers of Elemental Lad, the Composite Superman has created chains made of kryptonite that surround our hero.  "How does that kryptonite feel, dolt?" 

"Not that bad actually."  Superman flexes his muscles and breaks the chains of kryptonite.  "You must be losing your touch."

The Composite Superman is too stunned from what he's just seen to react to the hammer thrown by Thor.  "Foul villain, didst thou thinkest we would be such easy prey?" 

Staggering backwards towards Spider-Man the Composite Superman tries to regain his balance.  "Could I be about to lose my powers again?  No, I still feel too strong.  But I must be…"  His thoughts are cut off as Spider-Man slams into him from the left.  However, Spider-Man's never been this strong.  "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you what's going on!"  Spider-Man rips off his mask and the Man of Steel's face lies beneath it.  "We knew you'd try the kryptonite trick so Spider-Man and I switched costumes."

Thor lands a punch to the ribcage of the Composite Superman.

"Let's see what this can do?"  The real Spider-Man, the guy in the Superman costume, throws a lead box at the Composite Superman.  Thor retreats from the scene as the box falls open.  A red rock falls out.

"Red kryptonite?  No!"  The Composite Superman can feel his powers changing.  Arms start to sprout from his sides.  A beak starts to form along with the feathers on the top of his head.

Webbing lashes out and pulls the red kryptonite back into the lead box and the box closes.  "Finish him off guys!"  Spider-Man yells to the other heroes.

Superman and Thor fly in from opposite directions and land their punches on the creature simultaneously.

BOOM!!!!!!!

The six-armed birdman that was once the Composite Superman flies into a wall and lies unconscious. 

"I know you guys are having a lot of fun, but we still have to get Mysterio and the Enchantress.  Any ideas where they might be?"  Spider-Man has put the mask on that Superman dropped during the battle.  After putting on the mask, he turns off the Kryptonian imaging device that allowed him to look like Superman. 

"No need to look for me mortal!  I bring thee Mysterio and the mortal named Jane Foster!"

"Let her go Amora!"  Thor steps forward but stops in his tracks.  He doesn't want the Enchantress to hurt Jane Foster.

"Oh still thy tongue.  The mortal witch shall come to no harm.  She knows thy secret and that is why I have brought her with me.  Thy heart belongs to me, Odinson.  This harlot is not worthy of thy secret and thus I must remove that from her memory."  Amora's hand touches Jane Foster's head.  There's a flash of light and Jane Foster falls to the ground.

"If thou hast hurt her…"  Before Thor can finish his threat, the Enchantress disappears leaving an unconscious female and a captured Mysterio.  Thor kneels beside the woman he loves and finds that she appears to be sleeping. 

Epilogue 1:

Jimmy Olsen walks towards the Daily Planet when he's suddenly grabbed by something and pulled towards the roof.

"Hey carrot-top.  I've got something for you."  Spider-Man drops a roll of film at Olsen's feet.

"What's this?"

"I got sick of Parker following me around and getting all the good pictures of me.  If you don't want them I'll give them back to Parker."

"I can't take these.  I didn't take them."  Olsen tries to hand the film back to Spider-Man.

"Don't worry about it kid.  I left Parker with two rolls of film.  He'll be fine."  Spider-Man swings off.  "I hope Perry White likes those pictures!"  While swinging away from the Daily Planet, Peter Parker thinks to himself "I had to do that after being a selfish jerk and making it difficult for Jimmy to get a good picture of me."

Epilogue 2:

"How long have I been here?"  Jane asks.

"Not long.  Are you ok?"  Dr. Blake takes her hand.

"I'm ok.  What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"The last thing I remember is a man coming into this office after we were closed."  She sits up and looks at Dr. Blake in the eyes.  "I feel like I've forgotten something.  I just don't…  He didn't do something to me did he?"

"No.  I came in and he ran off.  I'm just glad he didn't notice I'm a cripple."

"Don't say things like that.  You're a great doctor and an even better man."

Dr. Blake walks into his office and closes his door.  "Why did you have to erase her memory?  It would've made things so much easier!"

Epilogue 3:

Peter Parker prepares to enter the Daily Bugle when he hears a voice.  "Parker.  I'd like a word with you."  Peter looks up to see Superman.

"What do you want?"

"I thought I was pretty clear.  I'd like to talk to you.  Mind if I carry you?"

While flying to the top of the building, Parker wonders what's going on.  "I don't mean to sound paranoid, but what did I do?"

"Relax.  Jimmy Olsen wanted me to give you something."  After landing on the roof, the Man of Steel hands Peter a roll of film.  "There are some nice pictures of me in there.  Hopefully that'll make Mr. Jameson happy."

"Thanks."

"No problem.  By the way, it would've been more polite of Spider-Man to have given Jimmy more warning before picking him up."  Superman winks in Peter's direction.

"He knows."  Parker thinks to himself.   Peter then turns to Superman with a grin "I'll be sure to tell him when I see him.  Could you do me a favor?"

"It depends."

"Next time you see Clark Kent, could you tell him I'd love to work with him again… I mean sometime."

Superman's jaw drops in astonishment.  Then he starts to laugh.  "Mind telling me how you knew?"

"Spider-sense.  I assume you used your x-ray vision."

"With super-hearing I didn't need it, but it helped me check my theory.  Keep up the good work Parker.  I think Clark will look forward to working with you in the future."  Superman flies off.

Peter tosses the film into his camera bag and starts to whistle.

Epilogue 4:

"Herr Luthor, everything has proceeded according to plan.  When will you be ready?"  The Earth-2 Red Skull sits behind his desk. 

"I shall be ready right on schedule.  Did you expect anything else?  Don't bother me again until you have something worth my while to say."  Luthor hits a button and his face disappears from the screen.

The Red Skull laughs.  "It shall be fun to destroy him at the end of this little endeavor."

"Yes father.  It shall be fun to show him who is the true genius behind this operation."  Crossbones kneels before his father, the Red Skull.

Epilogue 5 (You sick of these yet?):

A dimensional portal opens over a desert in New Mexico.  The figure that exits through the rift in the sky is none other than Bizarro!!!

Next Issue: The Hulk on Bizarro World.  Don't miss it.

Note to Readers:  In the early issues of Spider-Man, Peter Parker's spider sense was able to do more than simply warn him of danger.  He had the sensory powers of a spider and that was the reason he could sense danger.  However, he could do other things too.  See Amazing Spider-Man #5 where Dr. Doom contacts Spidey using a special spider wavelength (I'm not making this up).  There were other examples in the early issues, but I can't remember them now.

Fantastic Action Letters:

Jeff Melton:

Showcase of Suspense #2
By Mark Beaulieu

First of all, the premise behind this series is a really good one. I've
always liked the idea of Marvel/DC team-ups, although I've been less than
enamored with the ones done in recent years (I like the old ones, though, but
that's another story). Mark has set the stage for some good team-ups between
the heroes, but it's more than that. He has allowed for some great
interaction between the supporting cast--something that could too often be
overlooked.

I'd like to say that I liked the way the Thor/Superman fight was handled this
issue. Mark did a great job of showing the wide-scale destruction that such a
conflict would cause, but he carried out a tradition that I've always
supported by having Superman and Thor fight evenly, without showing a
clear-cut victor in the conflict. I like this, and it harkens back to all of
the old Thor/Hulk battles, where the two were consistently shown to be
evenly-matched. He also did a good job or coming up with an excuse for the
two to fight (Enchantress' spell), but at the same time allowed for them to
fight at their top faculties for maximum carnage. :)

I really enjoyed the scenes at the Daily Planet, with Perry White and Jimmy's
interaction, and I thought it was particularly amusing that Perry threw a
cigar at Jimmy because he wasn't moving fast enough.

Like I said earlier, one thing I really like about this series is that Mark
has done some nuances that are often overlooked in such team-ups. I really
thought it was a good idea to show Mary Jane and Lois hanging out together. I
thought Mary Jane was a little dim-witted in the story (not that there isn't
basis for such a portrayal of her, mind you), but I thought Mark did a
bang-up job of showing Lois as I remember her: always sharp and trying to
find an angle for a story. The fact that she had suspicions about Peter
Parker being Spider-man very much reminded me of the classic 60's Superman
stories, where she's thinking that Clark is Superman and tries to devise ways
to trick him. Lois was very much in character, and I enjoyed seeing her
portrayed this way.

The Spider-Man portrayal this issue was very much to my liking.
Unfortunately, Spider-Man comics haven't been on my buying list in well over
a decade (due to reasons I'm sure are obvious to Spider-Man fans), but Mark
did a good job of handling him. He captured Spidey's smart mouth very well,
and the way he quips during his battles. I particularly enjoyed the
interaction between Spidey and Jimmy Olsen. That was some funny stuff.

Luthor and the Red Skull, eh? Very interesting. Like I said last time, I
really wish that this was the 60's or 70's Luthor that you're using, due to
my dislike (I'm being kind here) of Byrne's Luthor (or, actually anything
Byrne did with Superman). I guess subconsciously, I'm reading Luthor that
way. Anyway, I'm curious what Red Skull is up to, and was very intrigued with
the notion of an Earth 2/Golden Age Marvel Earth Skull. That could have some
very good possibilities.

Another good story, Mark. I recommend this series to anyone who likes seeing
Marvel and DC characters interacting. My only complaint about this issue is
that it was too short. :)

Thanks for the kind words Jeff.  The Luthor - Skull stuff is setting up the JLA-JSA-Avengers-Invaders crossover starting in issue #5.  I may have decisive winners in the superhero battles if it fits the story, but that didn't fit the story here.  I think this one's a little longer than issue #2.  But they both came out shorter than I predicted they would. J  Just for the record, I like both the pre and post Crisis Luthor's so I wanted to combine them. 

Will Short:

Showcase of Suspense #2, "Mistakes, Misunderstandings, and Missing Ladies!"
by Mark Beaulieu (this is a creator-owned series)

I have always enjoyed "team-ups" done correctly. In Showcase of Suspense,
Mark combines the worlds of Pre-Crisis DC and 70's Marvel into a perfect
universe where all the details are looked at in the best way. Mark handles
all the characters well, with a good story to back up the Thor/Superman
battle, and mixing the worlds of Spidey and Supes in a perfect balance.
Basically, everything that can be said for this title already has been, by me
or someone else: it's finally a crossover done right- and in a series-form,
no less. I will defenitely continue to read this series for the different
stories and the wonderful characterizations. I suggest this title to Marv
Wolfman-lovers, and to any classic Marvel and DC fans.

Over-All Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Wow!  Thanks. 

Shan:

Showcase of Suspense #2 by Baloo

      I vaguely recall saying during my last marathon review that this was
the greatest title I'd ever read.... er...waitaminute...wrong book...actually
I said it rots in hell BUT that the writing was terrific (a Baloo trademark).
I just can't stand the premise behind the whole thing (Marvel + DC). I also
predicted that most other MV1 folk would like it. I was right. He received
five really good letters from fans of his work for Showcase #1.
What the hell do I know anyway? :-)

I actually found the first review to be hilarious so don't worry about it.  I'm just glad you thought the writing was "terrific".  That means a lot. 

Sam Everett:

Hey Baloo!

Just got done reading SHOWCASE OF SUSPENSE #2, and I'm
as impressed with this issue as I was with the first!
It didn't take you long to get settled in this new
combined universe.  Already, we've got friendships and
enmities between characters who otherwise wouldn't
have even met!  I can't wait to see what the Red Skull
and Luthor have planned!  Can't be good!  In fact, you
opened a few cans of worms this issue that I can't
wait to see more of!  Only two complaints this time: I
wasn't as impressed with the Composite Superman's
appearance as other readers may have been, but that's
only because...well...I don't know who the character
is--my fault, not yours.  Also, the font size was a
little small.  Big whoop! :)

All in all, good work!  Can't wait for #3!!!

You can't say I don't listen to my readers.  I've increased the font size for this issue.  There were two reasons for this:  1) Sam wanted bigger fonts.  2) to make the story look longer and fool Jeff into thinking issue #3 is longer than it actually is. 

The Composite Superman is one of my favorite DC villains and if you haven't read World's Finest #142 you should.  The Blue Ribbon Digest reprint should be cheap enough to find. 

Since I can't print this in Champions, I wanted to print it here (this is purely an ego thing).  Since Steve Crosby was kind enough to read all of the Year 3 Champions stories I wrote, I thought I would print them here.  Champions was my first series at MV1 and I'm quite happy with how it turned out.  While 18-20 are pretty weak, IMO, I think the book starts to hit its stride with 21.  I'd be happy to hear any thoughts on my Champions issues, good or bad.

 

Champions 20-31: By Mark Beaulieu

This series starts of great, with the introduction of one of my favorite supporting characters, Cerberus! This run is full of terrific moments and great fights, foremost of which is the Hercules/Thor fight. Batroc is definetly my favorite character, with that hideos accent. This series has it all. Monkeys aplenty! Surprise characters galore. Comedy up the yin yang and some of the best fights I've read! The religious arguments between Hercules and Firebird are dead on, and Baloo sure knows how to create a cliffhanger (read issue 25). This series also lays the seeds for potential MV1 and FDC crossovers, and I know we all want that. Unfortunately, issue 28 is missing, most likely because its part of the Champions/Avengers crossover, and Avengers hasn't caught up.

And also, here is one of my picks for funniest moment. Remember the Gatherer's Vision. Well, he gets shrunken and eaten by Cerberus. Since he can't phase through the magical dog, there's only one way out! A great series full of hilarious moments.

 

Batroc and Hercules were both frustrating and fun to write.  It isn't easy writing Batroc's accent or Herc's olde English (Just ask Barry).  But at the same time, it's a blast to write them.  Thanks for the comments Steve.  I really appreciated them.

 

Mark Beaulieu

Ulysses and Pandora Productions