Once Upon a Geek

Tonight is officially “Must See Shag TV”!  Two of my all-time favorite superheroes are appearing on the small screen tonight!  Doctor Fate and Firestorm, two different TV shows, on the same night! What are the odds?!?!?!?

Doctor Fate is making his first live action appearance ever on Smallville tonight!  We’ve seen him in animation on Superman: The Animated Series and the Justice League cartoons, but never in the flesh.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we get to see some Ankh bolts tonight.   Click here to read an interview with actor Brent Stait on playing Doctor Fate in Smallville.   Here is a lengthy episode description:

A man named Sylvester Pemberton tracks down Chloe (Allison Mack) and tells her he knows about her team of superheroes and needs their help. However, before he can explain who he is, he is attacked and killed by Icicle (guest star Wesley Macinnes). Clark (Tom Welling) and Chloe’s (Allison Mack) investigation leads Clark to the former headquarters of the Justice Society of America where he meets up with Nelson AKA Dr. Fate (guest star Brent Stait), Carter Hall AKA Hawkman (guest star Michael Shanks) and Courtney AKA Star Girl (guest star Britt Irvin). Courtney pleads with Hawkman and Dr. Fate to help her catch the killer that is targeting their group but they are reluctant to resume their duties as superheroes. Clark, John Jones (guest star Phil Morris), Green Arrow (Justin Hartley) and Chloe team up to help the JSA stop Icicle before he murders another member of the group. Meanwhile, Lois (Erica Durance) receives a package from a mysterious agency called Checkmate, run by Amanda Waller (guest star Pam Grier). Geoff Johns wrote the two-hour episode. Glen Winters directed the first hour and Tom Welling directed the second hour.

My thanks to Luke over at the Hawkman blog (Being Carter Hall) for sending me tons of great information on Doctor Fate’s appearance on Smallville.

Firestorm finally returns to animation after nearly 25 years!  Firestorm was a regular on the last two seasons of the Super Friends in the mid-1980s.  Since then, he has been absent from our airwaves.  He didn’t even get a cameo in Justice League Unlimited.  Well tonight he returns in a big way on the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold.  Click here for an interview with Michael Jelenic, Producer and Story Editor for Batman: The Brave and the Bold, about Firestorm’s appearance on the show.  Here is the brief episode description:

A school field trip goes awry when Dr. Double X causes a lab explosion that fuses slacker science teacher Ronnie to his genius pupil Jason, creating the reluctant hero Firestorm…and unbeknown to them, it leaves Batman divided into three parts!

Smallville “Absolute Justice” airs tonight at 8pm-10pm eastern time on the CW network.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold “A Bat Divided!” airs tonight at 7:30pm eastern time on Cartoon Network.

Hooray for Doctor Fate and Firestorm!

Welcome to ONCE UPON A GEEK’s part of the Crisis on Earth-Blog: The DC Challenge! ONCE UPON A GEEK is a blog that focuses on a variety of geeky topics, including: comic books, Doctor Who, Star Wars, role-playing, 80’s TV shows, and science fiction in general. If this is your first time here, welcome aboard! If you’re a regular, I think you’ll enjoy this crossover event.

Today and throughout the next few weeks on comic book-themed blogs across the internet, DC Comics characters are being spotlighted in a series of challenges. In my case I’ll be representing Doctor Fate, one of my all-time favorite superheroes. Your DC Challenge, if you choose to accept it, involves visiting each of these various blogs and tackling their particular challenge.

The objective of these challenges is to go from blog to blog until you reach the goal-page featuring a lush scan from an obscure George Pérez pin-up of every major character involved in this crossover event. We all hope you enjoy this online scavenger hunt, and the new comic blogs you’ll be exposed to! Many thanks go out to mastermind Frank Lee Delano (of the blogs: Idol-Head of Diabolu, Justice League Detroit, and …nurgh…) for coordinating this massive effort! Way to go, Frank!

Your ONCE UPON A GEEK challenge is the crossword puzzle below. I couldn’t embed the crossword puzzle itself, so you’ll have to click the image to be taken to the interactive puzzle.  Each question in the puzzle relates to either Doctor Fate, a character participating in this crossover, or other well-known DC characters. Just a heads-up, I removed any spaces or hyphens from the answers. For example “Captain Amazing” would simply be “CaptainAmazing”; or “Locust-Man” would simply be “LocastMan”. Once you’ve finished the challenge, follow Doctor Fate’s mission beneath the puzzle. Have fun!

Hope you enjoyed the crossword puzzle!  Now you’ll have to work your way through Doctor Fate’s mission and a few of the blogs below if you want to reach the goal-page featuring an obscure George Pérez pin-up of every major character in this crossover.  Some of these blogs are participating in the crossover today, others will be in the coming weeks.  Visit them now, visit them later, visit them often!

1986

Inza Nelson sat on an antique couch, working a personalized other-dimensional crossword puzzle, within her invisible tower home in Salem, Massachusetts. Many wives find themselves “widowed” by their husbands’ obsessions with sports, gambling or what have you.  You could say Inza was a sorcery widow, as the unnaturally youthful woman had been since meeting her husband-to-be in the 1940s. It was then that Kent Nelson began his career as the crusading mage Doctor Fate, serving the cause of Order alone, and later as a member of the Justice Society of America. In the years since, Kent has become withdrawn from humanity and increasingly isolated in his studies, leaving poor Inza to her own devices.

Or not. Dr. Fate strode into the room, his features almost entirely obscured by his mantle of power, the gleaming Helm of Nabu. “Take cover,” he demanded, “I’m expecting uninvited guests.” Just then, otherworldly luminescence filled the room, followed by the material forms of three strangers.

The first looked like a derelict, with his unshaven face and long, unkempt black hair, streaked with crimson. He scowled, “I remember you two, even if you were withered old prunes when we met.” This menacing fellow, with a red ankh tattooed over his right eye, drew a golden blade on Dr. Fate. “I took that helmet of yours, and turned it into something useful. I was supposed to be the balance between Order and Chaos, but everything turned rotten, and I’ll end up with my own blade stuck between my ribs.”

The second figure exactly like Dr. Fate, but his tone was less haughty. “We took on your duties, and it will destroy us, body and soul. They warned us. We will stop you from cursing us.”

The third figure was also strikingly similar to Kent, but less poised, and with a costume bearing an ancient Egyptian motif. “I am Hawkman’s son. Why couldn’t I just defend the skies? Why did magic rot away my life, killing me, taking my lover’s mind and my son’s soul? Why couldn’t you do your own job?”

If Dr. Fate found any of this disturbing, he showed no sign of it. “I can sense the touch of Nabu in each of you, but you are not in a time of your own, and you each forget your place. Not a single one of you will carry the weight of my responsibilities for a fraction of my length of servitude. One day, you may each claim my place as Fate, but for now, begone.” With that, Dr. Fate dismissed these future inheritors of his mantle, seemingly with all the effort of an afterthought.

Inza rushed to the being who was both her husband, and something else entirely. She wondered who these Fates were, and what their appearance meant. “They were representatives of a possible future, manipulated into adulterating our present, and they are not alone. All across the Earth, these agents of a grim tomorrow haunt other superhumans. They do not belong, and I will see to their removal.”

With that, Dr. Fate exited his tower, leaving Inza to fret and displaced super-heroes to dread his pursuit.

Follow Dr. Fate’s mission through these blogs…

• The Aquaman Shrine
• The Atom: Tiny Titan
• Hawkman/Hawkwoman at Being Carter Hall
• Metal Men at Comics Make Me Happy
• Flash at Crimson Lightning
• Green Arrow at Dispatches from the Arrow Cave
• Black Lightning and Unknown Soldier at El Jacone’s Comic Book Bunker
• Firestorm Fan
• Black Canary at Girls Gone Geek and Wonder Woman at Girls Gone Geek
• I Am The Phantom Stranger
• Martian Manhunter at The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Elongated Man and Zatanna at Justice League Detroit
• Captain Comet at …nurgh…
• Doctor Fate at Once Upon a Geek
• He-Man and Battle Cat at Pretty, Fizzy Paradise
• Mister Miracle at random picture day
• Adam Strange at Reilly2040’s Blog
• Supergirl Comic Box Commentary
• Sgt. Rock at when is evil cool?
• Batgirl at The Anti-Didio League of America
• Plastic Man at The Continuity Blog
• General support from Toyriffic

If you enjoy blog crossovers, then you may want to check out the previous comic blog crossovers we’ve done. The first major Crisis on Earth-Blog celebrated the gorgeous George Pérez/Alex Ross painting from the Crisis on Infinite Earths 1998 hardcover. The next blog crossover was a celebration of the Super Powers Collection’s 25th Anniversary.

Today we are presenting the latest collection of geek related t-shirts from my closet.  This time around I’ve included some baseball caps and even one pair of new boxers.  For past entries featuring geek apparel, please click here.  These shirts are all fairly recent acquisitions.  Please note nearly all of these were gifts.  My wife has put a strict moratorium on buying myself anymore geek t-shirts as the closet is already bursting at the seams.  Happily my friends are under no such ban. 

This t-shirt and ball cap combination was a gift from Serv.  Notice how the colors on the Superman symbol are reversed.  I find that striking.  In fact, this hat has become my favorite to wear lately.  The shirt came pre-faded.

This Red Lantern t-shirt was another gift from Serv, this time for my birthday.  Can’t you feel it?  The shirt just radiates rage.  Rage!  RAGE!

Neat mega-print Batman shirt from Lore (the irredeemable brother) for my birthday.  I really like the Bronze Age styling of the image.

Hilarious Star Trek t-shirt from Lore (the irredeemable brother).  This gag still makes me laugh!

Neat Superman hat I’ve had for a while.  I picked it up at Wal-Mart of all places.  I really like the bold colors and that the hat is fitted.  Where there would normally be an adjustable strap on the back, it’s just solid fabric with the stitched Superman symbol shown in the insert.

This Ghostbusters shirt is actually billed as a “T-shirt Costume”.  I picked this up at Target last Halloween.  The slime glows in the dark also.  I’ve been slimed!

A birthday gift from my boss.  This shirt is hilarious!  I tried to make the image big enough for you to read all the various powers.  I think my favorites are, “Communicate with Fruit” and “Summon a Lamp… Once”.  LOL!

This Scooby-Doo t-shirt is another birthday gift from Lore (the irredeemable brother).  I really like the coloring on this shirt. The mystery machine is faded and everyone in the foreground is really solidly colored.  Just looks sharp.

A friend gave me this Star Wars ball cap about 15 years ago.  It’s served me well, even in the years before Star Wars was cool again.

I picked up this Unique Geek t-shirt prior to DragonCon to help promote the website.  The insert shows the back of the t-shirt.

Okay, I don’t normally post pictures of underwear, but this is an exception.  I already featured these boxers on FIRESTORM FAN, but thought they were worth mentioning here also.  I just picked these up last week from K-Mart.  While there are tons of DC Comics boxers on the market, these are astonishing because they include both Firestorm and Doctor Fate.  Seriously?!?!?  Firestorm and Doctor Fate?!?!?  Two of my favorite characters that have proven time and again they can’t support their own monthly comic books?!?!?  Two characters that almost no one in the general public would recognize?!?!?  You betcha!  The other characters (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Robin, and even Green Arrow) aren’t surprising to see on apparel as they are fairly well known.  I just never imagined they’d make Firestorm or Doctor Fate boxers.  I’m thankful they have!  I will say it’s a bit awkward where they’ve placed Firestorm.  He’s right on the flap. Kinda creepy.

The Helmet of Nabu informs me that you’re wrong, mere mortal.  How about you check out some of the other blogs participating in this crossover instead.

You’ll have to work your way through a few of these challenges if you want to reach the goal-page featuring a lush scan from an obscure George Pérez pin-up featuring every major character involved in this crossover event.  Some of these blogs are participating in the crossover today, others will be in the coming weeks. Visit them now, visit them later, visit them often!

The Aquaman Shrine
The Atom: Tiny Titan
Bat-Blog : Batman Fan
Being Carter Hall
The Continuity Blog
Comics Make Me HappyCrimson Lightning
Dispatches from the Arrow Cave
El Jacone’s Comic Book Bunker
Firestorm Fan
Fortress of Baileytude
Girls Gone Geek
Green Lantern Butt’s FOREVER!
I Am The Phantom Stranger
The Idol-Head of Diabolu
Justice League Detroit
Love Dat Joker
…nurgh…
Once Upon a Geek
Pretty, Fizzy Paradise
random picture day
Reilly2040’s Blog
Supergirl Comic Box Commentary
Toyriffic
when is evil cool?

Coverage of Dragon*Con 2009 continues here!  To read about Friday, click here.  If you’d like to see over 600 pictures I took at the event, you can view them on Flickr and THE UNIQUE GEEK photo gallery.

Saturday

After the WAR OF THE SNORE the night before, Choco Taco and I decided to grab some breakfast.  Thankfully we had access to the Executive Level in the Hilton where they supply complimentary breakfast.  Turns out that many of the celebrities also have access to the Executive Level.  So there we were eating, while a couple tables over were Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter), Adam Savage (Mythbusters), Michael Hogan (Colonel Tigh on Battlestar Galactica), Neil Innes (best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python), and others.  It was neat being with so many celebrities during their down time.  As I looked around the room trying to identify everyone, I wondered if they were looking at us trying to figure out if we were famous too.  Probably not, but a boy can dream.

We then made our way to the parade.  We got there minutes before the parade started, so we didn’t have a great view.  Last year there were approximately 3,500 spectators for the parade; I’d say we had more this year.  The parade was pretty good this year.  The Colonial Marines lead the parade and the Star Wars characters finished it.  In-between were the usuals like the Cobras, Star Trekkies/Trekkers, superheroes, Middle Earth folk, pirates, Stargate folks, Battlestar Galactica folks, horror folks, Ghostbusters, Doctor Whovians, Anime folks, and many, many more.  I’ve got over 100 pictures of the parade up on Flickr and THE UNIQUE GEEK photo gallery. The most creative parade costume I felt was the two-person AT-AT.  Unfortunately, my pictures of the AT-AT didn’t turn out that great, so here is a pic from the costume creators.  A really clever idea!

After the parade I visited the Walk of Fame.  I considered taking my picture with Eric Roberts since he was in Doctor Who, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.  I can’t stand his acting and really hated him in the Doctor Who TV movie.  I did stop by and visit Alan Ruck (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Spin City, Star Trek: Generations).  He was super cool!  We shook hands (he offered his hand immediately) and he asked me my name.  I’m not much for autographs, I usually prefer to get my picture taken with famous people.  So we chatted for a few moments and then he came around the table for the photo.  A couple days later, we were both on the same street corner waiting for the light to change.  We started to chat and he remembered meeting me and shook my hand again.  He was probably one of the nicest and most approachable celebrities I’ve ever met.

Then I visited Dirk Benedict (Battlestar Galactica, A-Team).  One of my goals at Dragon*Con this year was to meet him.  To me he represents everything that was fun about television in the late 70’s and early 80’s.  I had a question prepared that I didn’t get to ask during Friday’s A-Team panel, so I figured now was a good time.  I asked if the scene with the Cylon in the A-Team opening credits was originally scripted, or was improvised on-set.  He said the shot was his idea as a joke for the guys who weren’t there on-set that day.  Apparently the Director didn’t want to do the shot, but Dirk convinced him to.  Turns out the shot was so well-received, it ended up in the opening credits!  After that I got my picture taken with him and also purchased one of his books. I’m about a quarter of the way through his first book, Confessions of a Kamikaze Cowboy: A True Story of Discovery, Acting, Health, Illness, Recovery And Life.  The book covers his early life, his battle with cancer, the benefits of a macrobiotic diet, and taking control of your own health through diet.  There is a lot of controversy surrounding his dietary suggestions, but it’s worth listening to.  I don’t normally go in for autobiographies, and I REALLY don’t go in for health food propaganda.  However, I’m really fascinated by this book and find myself questioning the way I eat.  I’d recommend this book to anyone with an open mind.

I then when hunting for more great costumes to take pictures of.  I was shocked to find out I’d filled my memory card entirely after about 500 pictures!  Wow!  Thankfully I brought my laptop that has a built-in SD reader slot.  So I downloaded all the pictures, cleared the memory card, and started off again.

There were two panels I was planning to attend but was disappointed to find out they were canceled.  Both the Eureka creator panel and the Leonard Nimoy panel were canceled for Saturday. Bummer.  So instead I got in line for the Stargate Atlantis panel.  I’ve seen some Stargate panels before at Dragon*Con. They’re very well organized and the guests are great, so I figured it was worth a shot.  The line was insanely long.  It went outside and wrapped around the building.  I waited for about an hour with some very nice people and we had a great chat.  Once we got inside we were lucky enough to find seats on the fifth row!  That was awesome! While I’m not an expert on Stargate Atlantis, I have watched my fair share of episodes.  The cast were funny, kind to the fans, and genuinely seemed to be having fun.  One of the stars, Rachel Luttrell (Teyla), was late.  So Joe Flanigan (Colonel Sheppard) called her on his cell phone.  He held his phone to the microphone so we could all hear the conversation.  He lied and told her the panel hadn’t started yet and the hilarity ensued!  Throughout the panel they all had some really good banter and teased each other mercilessly.  This panel was a blast. I’m going to be sure to attend more Stargate panels at future Dragon*Cons.

After that I hit the Art Show.  There I picked up my third Tom Fleming print. This time out it was Doctor Fate!  I’ve already got an Aquaman and Firestorm from him.  They look great framed in my office!  He’s slowly working his way through the JSA, so I might pick up some more from him in the future.  You can see more of Tom Fleming’s work by clicking here and clicking here.

Later Ravenface and I came across someone in an Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld costume!  We couldn’t believe it!  You may recall a few months back Ravenface and I interviewed the creators of Amethyst for this blog (click here for more on that interview).  This was the first time either of us had ever seen someone dressed as Amethyst.  We chatted with this lady for about ten minutes.  She was super sweet and really was a big Amethyst fan.

After that we witnessed the astonishing Alpha Flight photo shoot being organized.  Allen (a.k.a. The Evil Twin) had dressed up as Firestorm last year for Dragon*Con.  This year he created an impressive Sasquatch costume.  Seriously, this costume was eight feet tall!  You can read more about it on his blog. We were only there while they were preparing the photo shoot.  So I’m using some pictures here from other photographers.

During the convention, some of our friends were handing out THE UNIQUE GEEK bingo cards.  You can see the cards below.  In order to qualify to win, you had to have very specific pictures.  My old friend Shockwave took this challenge as a personal crusade.  Through determination and cleverness, he managed to get a bingo!  Way to go Shockwave.  Below you’ll see one of his required photos, a JSA member in Saturday Night Fever pose.  In this case, Doctor Fate discoing.

Finally, from 10pm until 4am we were at the Nuts on the Road: Gonzo Sound & Vision film fest (presented by NeedCoffee.com and Quickstop Entertainment)!  This thing is amazing!  They play hilarious video clips all night long, taking breaks every hour to hand out thousands of dollars in prizes.  Seriously!  If you show up, you’re going to go home with something.  More than likely you’ll go home with multiple prizes. This year I went home with Sideshow Collectibles gift cards, Batman The Brave & the Bold The Atom action figure, and a DC Universe Infinite Heroes action figure set with Bizarro, Supergirl, and Wonder Girl.  There were also numerous packages of caffeinated mints, caffeinated chocolate chews, and Bacon-flavored chewing gum given out (or to be exact, thrown out to the audience).  They offered a lot more prizes, but I declined as my suitcase was already beyond full.  Also featured was an opening musical act, Neil Innes (best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python – yes, the same guy we saw at breakfast).  There were other celebrities on-hand, such as Adam Savage (Mythbusters), Dr. Forrester & TV’s Frank (Mystery Science Theater 3000), Doc Hammer (Venture Bros), and more.  As always, we had a phenomenal time.  This year’s crop of comedy videos was possibly the best yet.  If you attend Dragon*Con next year, this event is a MUST!  Below is a photo of THE UNIQUE GEEK gang around 4:00am after the event was over.

That was Saturday!  Come back tomorrow for a recap of Sunday and Monday…

*** UPDATED WITH MORE LINKS ***

CELEBRATING DOCTOR FATE (AND NEARLY BLUE DEVIL) IN THE SUPER POWERS COLLECTION!

Fourteen different blogs have combined forces today to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Kenner’s Super Powers Collection! While we’ll be looking at Doctor Fate here (as well as the proposed Blue Devil figures), every other blog in the crossover will cover different action figures or mini-comics from the Super Powers Collection.  Back in 1984, Kenner released the first wave of Super Powers action figures based upon heroes and villains from DC comics. While there was a fairly large marketing campaign, I doubt they realized just how celebrated these figures would become.

ACTION FIGURES

The first wave of figures had characters like Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, Hawkman, the Joker, Lex Luthor, Brianiac and the Penguin.  Two more waves were released, bringing the line to a total of 33 figures.  One of the primary reasons the Super Powers Collection became so successful was that the molds were very good. These figures actually looked like the characters in the comics. That may sound like a no-brainer in the age of DC Direct and McFarlane Toys, but keep in mind prior to the Super Powers Collection adherence to characters likeness wasn’t exactly a priority. Another reason for the line’s success was the inclusion of popular heroes and some relatively unknown characters (I mean, who really demanded a Tyr figure anyway?). This mixture proved to be popular with comic book fans and kids alike. Finally, some people will argue that the “Power Action” hidden gimmick in each figure was a big selling point. I don’t necessarily agree with that, but hey, everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, right?

The Doctor Fate action figure was released as part of Wave 2 in 1985. This figure was really the first tangible piece of Doctor Fate merchandise, outside of his comic book appearances. To this day, I still think his helmet looks phenomenal!  Check out the Super Powers Collection Doctor Fate action figure below!

Below-Left is a picture of the Super Powers Collection Doctor Fate still on the card. This is the Canadian version, which I’ve seen advertised recently on the card for as much as $369 in near-mint condition.  Below-Right is the file card found on the back of the packaging explaining more about Doctor Fate.

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Each of the Super Powers figures had a hidden gimmick, referred to as “Power Action”. In Doctor Fate’s case it was a “Power Action Mystic Spell Cast”. By squeezing his legs together, his arms would move up and down. I suppose this was to simulate Doctor Fate casting one of his trademark Ankh Bolts. While the gimmick was nice (especially since it didn’t disrupt the appearance of the figure), it really wasn’t necessary to the character.

To see the “Power Action Mystic Spell Cast” in action, check out the Super Powers review site done by Cool Toy Review. Go to the bottom of the page and roll over the photo to see Doctor Fate in action.

MINI-COMICS

The first two waves of Super Powers action figures each came with a mini-comic book starring that particular character. These comics were 4.5 inches by 2.75 inches, and had 13 pages of story.

Not much information exists about who the writers and artists were for these mini-comics.  Paul Kupperberg (writer of the full-sized DC Super Powers mini-series from 1985 and 1986) had this to say about Kenner’s Super Powers Collection mini-comics, “I wrote only one of the Kenner minis, for Steppenwolf (#13). Alas, I have no real memory of having done it. Art looks to be Jose Delbo. The rest were probably written by the likes of Jack Harris, Rozakis, and the like. Wish I could remember more about them: don’t even recall who the project editor was…probably Barry Marx, who worked under Joe Orlando in Special Projects.“  Special thanks to The Aquaman Shrine for the quote!

Doctor Fate had his own mini-comic in which he battled the brainwashed Superman and Martian Manhunter.  The mini-comics served to introduce the characters to new readers, as well as to promote other action figures in the line. While both Superman and Martian Manhunter co-starred in Doctor Fate’s mini-comic, they also had figures of their own in the Super Powers line. In the same vein, Doctor Fate appeared in the mini-comics of Steppenwolf, Kalibak, Desaad, and the Parademons.

Here is the Doctor Fate Super Powers Collection mini-comic in its entirety:

For more Superman Super Powers coverage, be sure to check out Michael’s blog today, FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE.  For more on Martian Manhunter’s Super Powers activities, be sure to check out Frank’s IDOL-HEAD OF DIABOLU blog today.

I remember at the time being very confused by Doctor Fate’s mini-comic and his appearance in the full-sized 1985 DC Super Powers mini-series.  In both stories, Doctor Fate (who was from Earth-2) was interacting freely with characters from Earth-1.  This made no sense to my youthful continuity-laden brain.  While I knew there were rare crossovers between the two Earths, it would have been worth mentioning if the good Doctor had indeed crossed the multiverse.  The truth behind Doctor Fate’s presence would become apparent five months later when Crisis on Infinite Earths began to wrap up.  The multiverse was destroyed, leaving one unified Earth in which Doctor Fate coexisted with all the other DC characters.   However, for those five months I was one confused kid.

Doctor Fate also appeared in the Paul Kupperberg written Steppenwolf mini-comic.  I have to say that I found it interesting that the mystical guy is the one who reparied the computer problem.  Unusual.  For more on Red Tornado’s contribution to the Super Powers Collection, check out Doug’s Doom Patrol blog today, MY GREATEST ADVENTURE 80. Below are a few Doctor Fate-centric pages from the Steppenwolf mini-comic:

In the Kalibak mini-comic, Doctor Fate does some trippy mojo and creates demonic illusions of Superman and Red Tornado in order to scare off Kalibak.  Just a reminder, for more Superman Super Powers action check out FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE; for more Red Tornado Super Powers action check out Doug’s Doom Patrol blog today, MY GREATEST ADVENTURE 80.  Below are a few Doctor Fate-centric pages from the Kalibak mini-comic:

In the Desaad mini-comic we get to watch Doctor Fate get his butt handed to him.  Don’t worry, he eventually gets rescued by Green Arrow and Robin.  For more Green Arrow Super Powers coverage, be sure to check out Adama’s blog today, DISPATCHES FROM THE ARROW CAVE.  Head on over to Tommy’s BAT-BLOG today for more on Batman & Robin’s activities in the Super Powers Collection.  Below are a few Doctor Fate-centric pages from the Desaad mini-comic:

For Doctor Fate’s involvement in the Parademons mini-comic, check out FIRESTORM FAN today for all the details.

Finally, it wouldn’t be a Doctor Fate comic tribute without showing some Ankh Bolts!!!

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UNPRODUCED BLUE DEVIL AND SHOCKWAVE SUPER POWERS FIGURES

Many people don’t realize this, but there were additionally planned, yet unproduced action figures for the Super Powers Collection. Turns out that Kenner was working on several figures for release after the third wave. You can read all about it, see presentation artwork, and mock-up figures by clicking here.

Two of the unproduced figures were Blue Devil and Shockwave (a Blue Devil villain). While we don’t know when they were hoping to release them, we do know the Shockwave figure got fairly far along in the manufacturing process.  A prototype for the Shockwave figure was found by a collector and can be seen below.  The detail is amazing on this prototype!

Below is a custom mock-up of what Blue Devil’s Super Powers action figure could have looked like.  Nicely done by Jason Geyer. It makes me sad these figures never came to be.  They would have been a revered part of my childhood.

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CRISIS ON EARTH-BLOG  **UPDATED**

As mentioned, fourteen different blogs (**UPDATE** fifteen) have teamed-up today to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Super Powers Collection. While I’m featuring Doctor Fate and Blue Devil here on my site, you can visit these other character-specific blogs to see how they spotlight their own favorite characters today. Be sure to check out:

• Rob (the blogger who inspired most of us to start our own superhero blogs) rolls out the pomp and circumstance for the King of the Seven Seas over at The Aquaman Shrine. Also, thanks to Rob for the excellent “Crisis on Earth-Blog” logo!  **UPDATE** Rob followed up a couple days later with an additional post on the Super Powers Give-A-Show projector.
• Frank investigates J’onn J’onzz, the Manhunter from Mars, at Idol-Head of Diabolu. **UPDATE** Frank followed up with four additional posts.  (1) Doctor Fate mini-comic, (2) Mantis mini-comic, (3) Martian Manhunter Super Powers action figure, and (4) Super Powers #1 Martian Manhunter biography.
• Tommy applies his detective skills to the Batman universe of characters over at the Bat-Blog.  Also, special thanks to Tommy for the fantastic “Super Powers 25th Anniversary” logo!  **UPDATE** Tommy did eight separate Super Powers related posts. (1) Super Powers 25th Batman & Robin Wallpapers, (2) Batman-related spin-off products, (3) The Penguin action figure and mini-comic, (4) The Joker action figure and mini-comic, (5) Batman, Robin and Riddler toys, comics and vehicles, (6) Super Powers Batman-related cup holders, (7) a post with links to all the other participating blogs, and (8) Super Powers action figure and vehicle original production art.
• The Clowny Princess brings us a different view at her blog dedicated to the Clown Prince of Crime, Love Dat Joker.
• Kelson types the fastest blog alive and covers the Flash over at Speed Force.
• Running side-by-side with Kelson is Dixon’s Flash blog over at Crimson Lighting.  **UPDATE** Dixon followed up with four additional posts. (1) Super Powers Flash action figure, (2) Super Powers TV commercial with Flash, (3) Super Powers #2 comic book cover, and (4) complete Super Powers Flash mini-comic.
• Frank explores the figures and mini-comics that might have been for Justice League Detroit.  **UPDATE** Frank has followed up with two additional posts, one on the Super Amigos Vibe mini-comic and the other on the Super Amigos Vixen mini-comic.
• Luke provides the rundown on the winged wonder, Hawkman, over at the cleverly named blog Being Carter Hall.  **UPDATE** Luke followed up with another post on Super Powers Puffy Stickers.
• Doug puts a new spin on the adventures of Red Tornado today over at his Doom Patrol blog, My Greatest Adventure 80.
• Adama keeps Green Arrow’s aim true over at Dispatches from the Arrow Cave.
• Michael will be providing up, up and away coverage today of Superman over at the Fortress of Baileytude.
• Frank tackles as many Super Powers mini-comics today as humanly possible over at his blog called … nurgh … **UPDATE** Frank managed to get through all the mini-comics!  Starting with #1-8, then #9-16, and finally #17-23.
• Finally, today I’ll be tackling Firestorm’s Super Powers antics over at my other blog, Firestorm Fan.
• **UPDATE** A surprising fifteenth entry appeared by Michael over at The Legion Omnicom covering the Tyr Super Powers action figure from the Legion of Super-heroes.  Thanks for joining in Michael!

While the following blogs are not participating in today’s crossover, I’d like to thank them for their support.  For various reasons, they were unable to join us today but have been very supportive of the project.  Thanks!

• Ryan over at Green Lantern Spotlight
• **UPDATE** Rick was kind enough to promote our blog crossover on Plastic Man Platitudes and Mail it to Team-up
• **UPDATE** Bubba Shelby was also kind enough to promote our blog crossover on his site Toyriffic.  In September, Bubba Shelby did a post on the Super Powers Parademon action figure.
• **UPDATE** Matt over at No Cure for Comics and PopCultureShock discussed the crossover and even included a Super Powers TV commercial!
• **UPDATE** Reis over at About.com Guide to Action Figures talked about our blog crossover.

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CONCLUSION

What a great series of action figures!  For those of us who owned some back in the day, we’ll never forget the magic of these toys.  My thanks to all the bloggers involved today in this crossover event!  Happy Birthday Super Powers Collection!

Going through my closet recently, I came across these great puzzles from the Warner Bros. store featuring DC comic book characters. I really miss the Warner Bros. stores.  They were a fantastic source for some really unique DC collectibles.

The first one — Heroes of the DC Universe 1000 piece puzzle — was released in 1999 and features most of the active characters during that time.  A few notable characters that really reinforce the era this puzzle was produced during include: Jack Knight (Starman), Hitman, Artemis (in her green and white Requiem outfit), Alan Scott (in his Sentinel costume), Teen Titans (from the late 1990s series), Guy Gardner (as Warrior), The Ray, the Metal Men (including Veridium), and Fate (Jared Stevens).  I can’t prove it, but I’m pretty confident this image was drawn by Dan Jurgens.  The inclusion of the Teen Titans, Veridium, Booster Gold, and so many Zero Hour spin-off characters lends credence to this theory. Click to enlarge the image.

The second puzzle — Magic Effects 500 piece puzzle — came out in the year 2000 and was also from the Warner Bros. store.  The art on this puzzle is a bit generic, so I really don’t have a clue who the artist is.  They tried to get creative and use foil in the puzzle to make it shine — a bit too reminiscent of the foil-cover-era of comics for my liking. I probably wouldn’t have purchased the puzzle, except it had Doctor Fate on it.  I mean c’mon, how often are you going to find a Doctor Fate puzzle?  Also, the characters are a strange collection.  The big guns of Morrison’s JLA are obviously present, but add Hawkman, Supergirl, Captain Marvel, Doctor Fate, and the Spectre?  I guess if you’re going for a “magic theme” you could explain each of these.  Doctor Fate & the Spectre are obvious, Captain Marvel’s power comes from the magical wizard Shazam, Supergirl around this time was an Earth-born angel, and Hawkman’s history had become so screwed up by this point that magic had been worked in there somewhere.  Click to enlarge the image.

Collected Editions did a fun series on putting together the first puzzle last year.  Check it out by clicking here.

I picked up some new action figures recently.  From the DC Direct Justice League International line, I picked up Black Canary and Ice.  I’ve got Fire on order, but she’s not due for a while.  This will help me fill out my DC Direct JLA collection of figures.  I’m one of the few people that actually liked this Black Canary costume.  The more I think about it, I believe I’ve liked every Black Canary costume.

I was also given a new Brave and the Bold Aquaman action figure from a very generous friend.  If you haven’t seen him on the show, you are really missing out.  He’s hilarious!  They write him as a true hero, but also full of bravado.  It’s a riot!

I picked up for myself this cool Doctor Fate action figure from the DC Universe Infinite Heroes line.  It seems to me that the Infinite Heroes line is hit-or-miss.  While the smaller size in neat and they’ve done some really cool characters (i.e. Reverse Flash, Guy Gardner, and Adam Strange), the detail quality and paint jobs are often disappointing.  This Doctor Fate came out really nice.  And it’s the JSA Hector Hall version.  Sweet!

Finally, I was given this fantastic old school Super Friends t-shirt from another friend!  Check out the retro-Aquaman!  Also, don’t miss Wendy, Marvin, and Wonderdog.  If you haven’t been reading the Teen Titans comic book, you should really check it out for an interesting take on Marvin, Wendy, and Wonderdog.

Here is an awesome retro Doctor Fate t-shirt I just got!  I’m a huge Doctor Fate fan, so I was thrilled to find this.  You can order your own from PopFunk.com by clicking here.

Here is a close-up of the graphic.  The t-shirt color came out gray in the photo, even though it’s actually slate blue as shown above.  I’m not 100% confident who the artist is, but after doing some research and consulting with experts we believe it was drawn by Dick Giordano.  I don’t know when it premiered, but the Doctor Fate logo has been around since at least Flash #306 (February 1982) when the good Doctor began appearing as a back-up strip in that book.

I recently purchased another Doctor Fate t-shirt.  You can find that shirt on display in today’s FIRESTORM FAN post.  Check it out!

If you aren’t reading the current mini-series ‘Reign in Hell‘ and ‘Ambush Bug: Year None‘, then you are really missing out!  Keith Giffen is firing on all cylinders right now.

‘Reign in Hell’ covers a war between two factions for control of Hell. Blaze and Satanus have become the rulers of Purgatory and lead a rebellion against Hell by offering “hope to the hopeless”. They are opposed by Neron, and other demonic characters from the DCU.  Some of the main characters featured in the story include: Zatanna, Blue Devil, Doctor Fate, Black Alice, Ibis the Invincible, Sargon the Sorcerer, Zauriel, Doctor Occult, Etrigan, and at least one other surprise MAN who plays a MAIN role.

‘Ambush Bug: Year None’ is a brilliant parody that covers one recent major DC event per issue.  Across the six issues they are tackling: Identity Crisis, Countdown to Infinite Crisis, Infinite Crisis, 52, Countdown to Final Crisis, and Final Crisis.  This is lots of fun!  It can be enjoyed by someone who has never read an Ambush Bug comic or a long-time fan.  Definitely worth your time.

Keith Giffen is writing both these books, and penciling the Ambush Bug title.  It sort of feels like the late-1980s/early-1990s again with Giffen working on characters such as Ambush Bug, Doctor Fate, and this certain MAN who plays a MAIN role in ‘Reign in Hell’.  Am I being too vague?  I’m looking at you SGhoul.

‘Ambush Bug: Year None’ issue #5 and ‘Reign in Hell’ issue #6 are scheduled for December, but I’m sure you can pick up the previous issues at your local comic shop.  Check them out!