Personal Lives (Checkmate #12, Cover Date April, 2007)

Characters Main Heroes: Fire, Thomas Jagger
Minor Heroes: Mr. Terrific, Sasha Bourdeax

Major Villains: Amanda Waller
Minor Villains: Bane, Colonel Computron
P'Shat

After a brief flashback of young Beatriz training in gymnastics with her father, and current Fire visiting her invalid father, we quickly get into the plot. In the country of Santa Prisca, an election has gone horribly wrong. The anti-American candidate, backed by Bane, received the most votes, but vote rigging led to the pro-American candidate getting the most votes. Aware of the cheating, Bane has declared martial law and taken over. We quickly learn that the vote-rigging was planned by Waller through an intermediary, leading to the ironic result of Colonel Computron, the vote-rigger, tries to get help from Checkmate to escape from his employer, not knowing that his employer is really Waller.

Mr. Terrific immediately suspects Waller, and wants to send two Knights to rescue Colonel Computron. Waller's Knight is out, obviously, and Thomas Jagger is also excluded since his father was killed by Bane, making him questionable in this nominally pro-Bane operation. When Mlle. Tautin is struck down by a Deus-Ex-Appendectomy, though, the only two Knights left are Fire and Jagger.

Black King and Thinker are working on a clue -- Carvalho -- that regular readers only know is something Waller is using to blackmail Fire. Ben Talib figures it out, but it is too late to abort the mission. As Jagger and Fire "rescue" Colonel Computron, Fire immediate turns on him and fries the Captain.

Drash

As I mentioned in this Checkmate post, Fire and Jagger are the only characters who have been given any personal history in this book so far, and here they are on a mission together. Jagger is actually given some much more important character development here. He is the son of the original Judomaster, Hadley "Rip" Jagger, but was told by his father not to follow in his path. So when Judomaster was killed by Bane in Infinite Crisis #7 (in his patented "Broken Bat" move), Jagger consciously chose to go his own way with Checkmate rather than become the "new Judomaster."

Now, as fate has it, chosing his own path leads him back onto his father's as he inevitably will have a showdown with Bane.

Of course, the most interesting part of this Jagger-centric story is that it's completely not at all about Jagger being gay. The new Diversity Guy always has to beware the Scylla of having monthly "Gay-Themed Adventures" and the Charybdis of quickly dying or turning evil. I am therefore happy to see Jagger's first post-"out" adventure involve confronting his father's killer, which is a perfectly normal thing for a comic book hero to do, and doesn't revolve around his sex life.

Meanwhile, I love ambiguously-evil Amanda Waller as a complex character, but come on now! Eventually, someone's going to stop trusting her with upper level administrative responsibilities. There are only so many times that the White Queen can re-construct the Suicide Squad or divert a United Nations agency to her own nefarious ends before they take away your keys to the international-executive washroom.

In my internal fan-fic, she leaves office with Lex Luthor, they get married, and she becomes a new Supervillain. Amanda Waller-Luthor could be even more dangerous than Lex.

Bearing Witness (Manhunter #28, Cover Date April, 2007)

(Not the cover of an Aquaman story)

"C'est magnifique, mats ce n'est pas la Manhunter" -- General Bosquet

Characters

Major Heroes: Kate Spencer, Wonder Woman, Cameron Chase
Minor Heroes: Blue Beetle, Batman, Dylan Battles, Mark Shaw, Sasha Bourdeaux, the Madmen

Major Villains: The Madmen, Dr. Trapp

P'Shat

The sudden appearance of Ted Kord hurts Wonder Woman's defense that she had to kill Max Lord because he was a known killer. As our heroes fly away in the Bug, Ted says that he has no memory of the last 18 months. The Bug is attacked by the "Madmen", and after they parachute to safety, Ted says that he believes Max Lord is his friend, and that his first memory is awaking in the Alps, where he had been captured by Checkmate. The Lasso of Truth confirms that Blue Beetle truly believes he is Ted. A blood sample taken by Batman will, we assume, prove the same.

Meanwhile, in Gotham, Cameron rescues her sister from capture in a wax museum, but is promptly assaulted by Dr. Trapp, posing as a wax figure. Dylan tries to run in to the rescue, but the gates clank down, preventing his entrance.

In the other meanwhile, Mark Shaw gets some flashback/extrapolation on the history of the Knights of St. Dumas and Azrael, and is informed that he is to be their new hero.

We end with Kate receiving a copy of the unadulterated Wonder Woman/ Max Lord tape from Sasha Bourdeaux.

Drash

So, the real problem with Manhunter #28 is that it is not, as far as I can tell, about Manhunter. Or Kate. Now, it's been three issues into the story arc, and the only time Kate has been in "uniform" has been when she was sparring with Wonder Woman in #26. Now, some might complain about that, but I was fine with it, because Kate Spencer, Attorney at Law, was a crucial part of the story for #26 and #27.

But read through Issue #28 again and tell me exactly what it is that Kate and/ or Manhunter DOES for 22 pages. She watches Ted Kord talk to Wonder Woman, and fails to respond to reporters. She watches Ted and Diana rescue her from inexplicable bad guys in the Beetle-mobile. She watches Wonder Woman and Batman do the science v. magic testing of Ted. She watches Sasha give her evidence. She isn't present when Cameron fights Dr. Trapp, or when Mark Shaw becomes the new Azrael, or whatever.

It's like in those old 1960s covers where Aquaman or whoever talks to the audience while the rest of the Justice League has the actual adventure. We like Aquaman, of course, but we're not quite sure why he's there. Same here. It's a great story. Highly recommended. Five stars. I just have no idea why its happening in a book entitled "Manhunter".

Did White King's Knight Just Come Out? (Checkmate #9, Cover DateFeb. 2007)

Characters:

Main Heroes: Checkmate, Department of Metahuman Affairs

Main Villains: Kobra

P'Shat

When last we saw our intrepid anti-heroes, a covert Kobra cell had just gone active, killed some racist drug-runners, and was promptly taken out by the Department of Metahuman Affairs. This upset Checkmate because one of the arrestees was actually a deep-undercover Checkmate agent (Pawn #502), and having an undercover agent in jail defeats the purpose. Much tension ensues between Checkmate and DMA over the necessity of the bust. ("They were killing people" v. "Yeah, but only bad people.")

So . . . Sasha Bourdeaux plans a "jail break" wherein the Kobra cell will make a daring escape while they are being transferred, killing six guards in the process. Bourdeaux deputizes the Shadowpact to create illusory guards to be "killed" by Kobra. Amongst those fake corpses is White King's Knight Thomas Jagger. Bourdeaux informs the Shadowpact that she's not done with them yet.

Meanwhile, Mr. Terrific has selected "The Thinker" as his (White King's) Bishop. I don't know anything about the Thinker, except from what I read here -- he appears to be an entirely artificial intelligence that is projected into the form of a human.

Drash

Checkmate is absolutely the best comic out there that absolutely no one is talking about -- especially no one who cares about diversity issues in comics -- because Checkmate gets it all absolutely right. All races, all genders, good guys, bad guys (plays hell with my "Characters" chart, since how the heck do you characterize Amanda Waller?) All represented, all full-fledged characters -- not "the woman" or "the Arab" or "the black guy". Even down to the cover (no "male gaze" in this Checkmate/DMA showdown!). I wrote in depth about the diversity success story in this post, and won't re-hash.

I am planning to adopt it as my "Lost Cause" as sales appear to be plummeting.

This week adds two more cards to the diversity pile, though. The Thinker adds that missing Artificial Intelligence diversity element (maybe DC was getting hate mail from Deep Blue.) More interesting though was Thomas Jagger (one of only three "regular white guys"), a regular since the beginning, who appears to "come out" as a stripper hits on the way to the Oblivion Bar, where he has accompanied Jessica Midnight and Josephine Tautin (Black Queen's Knight and Bishop) to recruit Shadowpact.

The door to the Oblivion Bar changes regularly, and for the next few hours it is in the back of a stripclub. Inside, the women are ignored, but a stripper immediately approaches Jagger.

Stripper: Hey there, soldier. . . why don't you make a lap so you can get to know me better.

Jagger: Wouldn't make a difference, I'm afraid. I'm gay.

Of course, it's possible that I'm the last one to know, and Jagger was already a known gay character. It's also possible that Jagger was just using a quick brush-off line to get the stripper to leave him alone so he could work. Also likely is that the whole matter just gets dropped. Checkmate is really more of a "work" title. There is either minimal or no examination of the private lives of the Checkmate agents. A few frames of Mr. Terrific and Sasha Bourdeaux together (are they still together?) a few indications that Waller is blackmailing Fire regarding something from her private life, but otherwise -- are any of these folks married? We don't know. It's not relevant. So, my money is on the issue just hanging there. Or returning to irrelevancy. No one cares if your gay when you're caught in a fire fight with Kobra agents.

Beyond the diversity however, it's a great, morally ambiguous, spy versus spy, counter-terrorist thriller of a book. A worthy successor to the OMAC Project mini, and I can't figure out why it's not more popular -- either mainstream or among the "WFA" crowd.

Scheherazade and the 1,001 Comics (Manhunter #27, Cover Date Mar. 2007)

Characters

Main Heroes: Kate Spencer, Wonder Woman, Cameron Chase, Dylan, Mark Shaw
Minor Heroes: Sasha Bordeaux

Major Villain: Dr. Trapp

P'Shat

Wonder Woman and Kate Spencer are sitting in at Wonder Woman's grand jury testimony (which is, despite the explanation in the book, completely not going to happen). The two rattle the prosecutors and the judge, and otherwise show that the writer has been been a part of a grand jury. It is also unclear why the grand jury is meeting in Los Angeles, as no part of the alleged crime happened there other than its the location of the defendant's lawyer.

Sasha Bourdeax is watching TV footage of the hearings, and notes that the video of the killing of Max Lord has been doctored. She orders a Checkmate company jet and flies off to Los Angeles.

Chase almost kills Dylan, and then goes into a lengthy flashback about the time she was kidnapped by Dr. Trapp, and helped in her own rescue while her father the Acro-Bat and the rest of the Justice Experience tried to save her.

Mark Shaw has been captured in the Himalayas. He escapes momentarily, but as he runs away, comes face to face with a knight who welcomes him to the Order of Saint Dumas.

Finally, Wonder Woman and Kate face the press after a day of grand jury testimony, when the proceeding is interrupted when what appears to be Ted Kord dressed as the Blue Beetle emerges from his Beetle-Plane.

Drash

In the story of Scheherazade, a woman, under threat of execution by her evil husband, is forced to a story every night -- ending each story with a cliffhanger so that the evil King Shahryar would let her stay alive for another night. By analogy, a comic book writer, under threat of cancellation, is here forced to layer plot point over plot point in a vain attempt that his comic book will not be executed if everyone is waiting on the edge of their seat for the next issue. . .

Or something like that.

Here's what we've got so far:

1. In issue #25 Iron Monroe -- now believed to be Kate Spencer's grandfather -- barges into Director Bones's office, demanding to talk to him about Kate. There has been no discussion of the Kate's-ancestry plotline in issues #26 or #27. Also dropping off is any discussion of Kate's personal life -- ex-husband, son, etc.

2. Mark Shaw -- the former Manhunter -- is trekking through the Himalayas based on a vision. (He was en route on a boat in #25). This might be starting to go somewhere by the end of #27, but we're getting minimal clues so far. Those clues, however, raise almost an entirely new plotline, since the Knights of Saint Dumas (creator of Azrael from the Batman comics) were supposed to have been destroyed. Left unaddressed is what, exactly, Shaw had a picture of in #26 that made the native woman scream and flee.

3. Cameron Chase 's sister is being held hostage by the evil Dr. Trapp. She has fled to Gotham to save her. There was minimal development on this issue in #27, except for some back-story and the fact that now Dylan is helping her.

4. Sasha Bordeaux notes that the video of Wonder Woman being aired is a fake. Why is no one noticing this until now?

5. A shadowy figure in Washington at the end of #26 punches out a window, and asks why he does kill Wonder Woman like she killed Max Lord. Who is this shadowy figure, and who is he with?

6. Wonder Woman's actual grand jury issues. Will the grand jury hand down an indictment? What are the prosecutor's motives here?

7. Ted Kord???

So, that's seven distinct plotlines weaving around here (some of which have subplots). I was excited at the end of #26 that there were all these intriguing possibilities to work through over the next 4 issues. Now, I feel, we've got far too many plot points to ever be dealt with in just 3 issues, especially since most of them haven't even gotten past the point of background and foundation-laying.

This is now TWO issues in which nobody has gotten into costume and fought a bad guy. How long will evil King DC allow Queen Willingham to keep leaving cliffhangers to be picked up with the following issue? I'm guessin they won't be as gullible as to King Shahryar.

To The Victor Went The Spoils (Checkmate #5, Cover Date October, 2006)

I have been thinking about the (lack of) diversity in the new Birds of Prey #100, but I'm not quite ready to write at length about it yet. Instead, I'm going to approach it obliquely by thinking about another story that was not quite as interesting, but addressed diversity issues much better. Then, I'll get to Birds of Prey a little bit at the end.

Characters

Main Heroes: Sasha Bordeaux, Jessica Midnight
Minor Heroes: Mr. Terrific, Alan Scott, Count Vertigo

Major Villain: Amanda Waller

P'Shat

There is a contest to replace Black Queen's Knight Jonah McCarthy, who was killed in a previous issue. Four finalists are chosen. One is eliminated for giving up to Count Vertigo on a mountainside, one is eliminated for giving up under torture, and the last is eliminated during a fist fight among the final two contestants. The winner is Josephine Tautin, who is to be the next Black Queen's Knight.

Meanwhile, Alan Scott has gotten all of the non-U.S. Security Council members to veto anyone other than Mr. Terrific for the job of White King. Also, Amanda Waller threatens Fire regarding some dark secret regarding "Cavalho".

Drash

The Checkmate designations are interesting. Under Checkmate's "Rule of 2", every "level" of the organization must be staffed by two individuals -- one human and one metahuman. This is necessary for appropriate oversight and checks and balances. Beyond that, however, there are other "Twos" that are not explicitly in the rules, and it is interesting to see how they are either upheld or not. Specifically there is male/female and white/other dichotomies that are frequent issues in comics.

The organization is headed by the White King and Queen, who are in charge of administrative and organizational issues, and the Black King and Queen, who are in charge of operations. Now, the King and Queen have, to date, been staffed only by gender appropriate individuals (the Kings are all male and the Queens are all female). There has been no explicit requirement, though that the Black Queen, for example, has to be female.

There has been no similar racial or diversity requirement -- a Black Bishop does not have to be Black -- but in this case this does not result in an all-White cast, as one would expect. Quite to the contrary, with the nomination of Michael Holt (Mr. Terrific) to be the White King after Green Lantern Alan Scott was blackballed out of the job, the "White" Royalty (Holt and Amanda Waller) are both Black and the Black King and Queen are both white (if Taleb Beni Khalid, the Black King and an Arab Israeli, qualifies as "White", which I guess is a question of perspective).

Of the 11 active principals however (2 Kings, 2 Queens, 4 Knights, and 3 Bishops), there are currently 5 women and 6 men. There are also 4 or 5 minorities (again, depending on how you count Khalid, plus Waller, Holt, Fire, and Shen Li Po). Put together, with Alan Scott and Jonah McCarthy gone, there are only 3 White Men (King Faraday, Thomas Jagger, and Count Vertigo) among the principals.

This is real diversity. The kind of rare diversity where, when we were faced with the four finalists for Black Queen's Knight -- two men, two women, and a variety of races -- there was never a moment where you thought, "This group would be more representative if they replaced Jonah with a ________ (insert minority group here)." The winner turned out to be a white female, but it could have just as easily been a Hispanic male or a white male or a Laotian hermaphrodite, and diversity would not have suffered. There was just no one I was "rooting for" on diversity grounds.

As I said above, I wrote this analysis to contrast it with my still percolating thoughts on Birds of Prey #100. The analysis on this thread and this thread seem to be that, while more diversity would be nice, how could you complain about Barda, Manhunter, and Judomaster? Well, I have the complete run of Manhunter, so don't question my Kate Spencer cred! And I would have had no problem at all, if they were added to Checkmate, or maybe the JSA or JLA, or some other group that did not begin with a "diversity problem". But when the only three regulars are Caucasian females, I don't think it's a sufficient response to merely point out how awesome Barda is.